BOOK TOUR

I'm so happy to be a stop on the blog tour for author 

Suzanne Trauth

and her new book

SHOW TIME

Book 1 in the Dodie O'Dell Mysteries

The tide has turned for Dodie O'Dell since a hurricane upended her life on the Jersey Shore. Now she's further up the coast in sleepy Etonville, managing a restaurant that dishes dinners themed around the community theater's latest productions. But Dodie just never imagined she'd land the starring role in a case of bloody homicide . . .

Intrigued by rumors of vanishing box office money, Dodie has agreed to help oversee the casting of Romeo and Juliet at the modest Etonville Little Theater. If nothing else, it's a welcome escape from the thirty-something's usual going-to-bed-with-a-mystery-novel routine. But when Jerome Angleton, a well-respected member of the theater company, is inexplicably found murdered on the loading dock, deadly drama transcends the stage-and the page. As a crime wave crashes over the small town, the spotlight is on Dodie to orchestrate her own investigation behind the scenes . . . before someone has a chance at a killer encore.

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

Winner will be chosen after August 2

at the end of the tour

Check out the great prize and enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post. 

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.

www.escapewithdollycas.com

An Interview With Author

Suzanne Trauth

LKBR:  Thank you for being here today!

ST:Thanks for having me!

LKBR: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

ST:I’ve been writing since I was in grade school…I’ve always loved reading  and writing just seemed to naturally follow. I entered writing contests in high school…but I also became involved in theatre which absorbed a lot of my time. It took a few years before I found my way back to the writing desk!

LKBR: What was your inspiration for this series? Where did the name come from?

ST: I decided to set the Dodie O’Dell Mysteries in Etonville, New Jersey, where Dodie works as a manager at the Windjammer restaurant, right next door to the Etonville Little Theatre. So Dodie can manage the restaurant and hop next door to offer her help when she gets a break or on her days off. Especially when her good friend is found murdered at the theatre. The ELT is in the throes of rehearsing Romeo and Juliet, so Show Time seemed an appropriate title!

I’ve spent much of my life in theatre as a director, actor, playwright, and producer. So the setting came naturally.

LKBR: Do you ever get writer’s block? If you do, how do you work through it?

ST: I rarely get to the point where I feel blocked. I write in a couple of genres so if I do feel blocked I can shift to another project. But usually I just stare at the computer screen long enough and something starts to pop…or dig into my characters’ back stories. There’s always something there to discover.

LKBR: Do you have a favorite place to do your writing?

ST: I write in my office in my home but I also travel a bit so I sometimes write in airports and on planes. Or in coffee shops!

LKBR: What is your writing schedule like? Do you write a certain number of hours a day, or go by word count?

ST: I try to work every day and work can include drafting  new material, revising yesterday’s writing, or working on promotion. (Trying to avoid too much time on Facebook!)

I usually try to work 6-7 hours a day. That’s my goal! Sometimes that can be 1500- 2000 words (or more) depending on where I am in the novel. But some days I write a couple of hours and then spend a few more hours trying to get the word out about my book.

LKBR: What is the hardest part of writing? What is the easiest part?

ST: The hardest part is getting started. Sometimes I have to sit for an hour mulling over ideas, outlining, doodling before I get into the writing. The easy part is being in the creative flow where time passes and I’m not even aware that I’ve been at the computer for hours!

LKBR: Do you have plans for a new series?

ST: Since the Dodie O’Dell series is just beginning, I am focused on it. Book 2 – Time Out – is due out the beginning of 2017 and book 3 is on the way.

LKBR: What book are you reading?

ST: I recently read Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.

LKBR: What are three things you want your readers to know about you?

ST: Hmmm…I write plays as well as novels; I work at a gourmet soup kitchen where I get inspiration for the dinners/menus/cooking aspects of the novel; I love the Jersey Shore as much as Dodie O’Dell!

LKBR: Thank you so much for letting us get to know you better!

ST:You are most welcome!

More about Suzanne

Suzanne Trauth is a playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. Her novel Show Time is the first book in a new mystery series. Her plays include Françoise, Midwives, Rehearsing Desire,iDream, supported by the National Science Foundation’s STEM initiative on science and technology, and Katrina: the K Word, based on interviews with New Orleans’ survivors of Hurricane Katrina and produced in over a dozen venues throughout the United States. Her screenplays Solitaire and Boomer Broads have won awards at the Austin Film Festival and the Screenwriters Online Top Five Next Draft Competition and, most recently, she wrote and directed the short film Jigsaw, nominated for best film in the shorts category at the PF3 Film Festival and screened at New Filmmakers, New York. She is currently a member of Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey Emerging Women Playwrights program where her play Midwives has been developed.

Ms. Trauth has co-authored Sonia Moore and American Acting Training and co-edited Katrina on Stage: Five Plays. Her essays and articles have appeared in Theatre Insight, Soviet and East European Performance, and Notable Women in the American Theatre.

Ms. Trauth served as Associate Producer of TheatreFest and founded the experimental Next Stage. She co-produced and directed productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Whole Theatre,12 Miles West, and Encompass Theatre. She also served as Assistant Artistic Director and faculty member at the Sonia Moore Studio in New York City and performed for the American Stanislavski Theatre. As part of a global initiative, she directed The Crucible for the Theatre-on-Podol in Ukraine.

Ms. Trauth is a former member of the theatre faculty at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ where she served as an administrator, coordinator of the BFA Acting Program, and taught all levels of acting technique and scene study, directing, screenwriting, script analysis, theatre management, and dramatic theory. Ms. Trauth is a graduate of the University of Dayton and Bowling Green State University and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Mystery Writers of America.

When she is not writing, Ms. Trauth is thrilled to serve as a Celebrant performing wedding ceremonies for couples in the tri-state area. She lives in Woodland Park, NJ.

Suzanne's Website

MY REVIEW

A great debut to what promises to be a fun series!

With SHOW TIME, author Suzanne Trauth has penned a fast moving story, filled with mystery, intrigue, and humor. The plot was enjoyable. The multi-layered characters were as well developed as characters in a long running series. The mystery aspect was well written, and kept me guessing.

SHOW TIME was a wonderful story I didn’t want to put it down. A fun escape from the real world, one and I have every plan of visiting again in future installments.

GOOD LUCK!

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