BOOK TOUR

I'm very excited to be a stop on the 

blog tour for author 

Colleen J. Shogan

and her new book

HOMICIDE IN THE HOUSE

Book 2 in the Washington Whodunit Mysteries

Kit Marshall has bounced back from her first brush with the law, when she was suspected of murdering her senator boss. Now she is working for a freshman congresswoman, Maeve Dixon, a young Gulf War veteran representing North Carolina. It's February, and Kit is feeling out of sorts. A government shutdown has just been announced, wreaking havoc on the Hill, and Dan, Dixon's chief of staff and Kit's supervisor, is an inexperienced lightweight flying blind. Then there's Kit's distracted live-in boyfriend, Doug, who doesn't seem any closer to popping the question. Kit's best friend Meg is up to her eyeballs with her new beau and oversight committee job, and Clarence the beagle mix will certainly not win Capitol Canine if Meg has to campaign for him all by herself. Bad as things are now, they are about to get much worse. Early one morning Representative Dixon is caught standing over the corpse of Jack Drysdale, the Speaker of the House's top staffer, a man she argued with in front of the press the day before. The murder weapon was the Speaker's gavel. This item was entrusted to Dixon at the time, leading the police to believe they've found their killer. To save her job, Kit must clear her boss's name, and quickly. Dixon's career may be over if the police declare her a suspect or an anonymous blogger known as Hill Rat breaks the story. Solving this murder will test Kit's courage and all her fledgling powers of deduction as she roams a spooky, sparsely populated Capitol Hill looking for clues and sounding out suspects. 

Book 2 of the Washington Whodunit series, 

which began with Stabbing in the Senate.

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

Winner will be chosen after August 4

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

Colleen J. Shogan

LKBR:  Thank you for being here today!

CS:  Thanks for featuring Homicide in the House on your blog.

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

CS: I’ve been a writer for a long time, but I exclusively wrote nonfiction until a few years ago. I hadn’t thought much about writing fiction until I came up with the plot of my first novel, Stabbing in the Senate, one day when I was taking a walk in my suburban Washington neighborhood.

LKBR: What was your inspiration for the Washington Whodunit series?

CS: I worked for several years as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and now I work on Capitol Hill at the Library of Congress.  My inspiration is all around me.  New ideas for characters or stories are abundant in my line of work.

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

CS: That hasn’t been a problem for me. Some days, I’m more prolific than others. But I’ve never sat down in front of the computer and not been able to write.

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

CS: In the summer, I love writing on the deck in my backyard. It’s very peaceful and relaxing, and it’s terrific when it stays light late into the evening.

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

CS: I try to write for an hour or so when I get home from work. On the weekends, I write for longer periods of time. I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself.  This isn’t my fulltime job so I don’t want to make it stressful by forcing myself to adhere to arbitrary word count requirements.

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

CS: For me, the hardest part is finding the time to do it. The easiest part is writing dialogue, particularly between my main characters. I feel like I know them well and when I get a conversation going between them, it’s almost as if I’m watching the scene unfold and I’m dictating their conversation.

LKBR: Do you have plans for a new series?

CS: Not right now. I’m busy enough with the Washington Whodunit series!

LKBR: What book are you reading?

CS: I’m reading Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes, which won the Edgar award for Best Mystery. We’re hosting Mr. King at the National Book Festival this year and I’m enjoying reading some of his recent books this summer.

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

CS: The characters in my books aren’t based on real people, but I do try to paint an accurate picture of Capitol Hill and Washington, D.C. in my stories.  

Although my writing isn’t political or partisan, the theme I try to underscore is that the people who work for the government largely want to make the country a better place. Washington’s bad rap these days doesn’t mean there aren’t hardworking people trying their best. 

Finally, if I can write a novel, anyone can! I never studied creative writing, literature, or English. However, I have read a ton of books. Good writers are voracious, careful readers who pay attention to stories and how they unfold. If you have an inventive premise for a story, then sit down and start writing.

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

CS:  Thanks for the terrific questions!

MY REVIEW

A fantastic installment to the Washington Whodunit Mystery series!

When I read book one in this series, STABBING IN THE SENATE, I wasn’t sure what I would think of it. I read and review cozy mysteries. No way could a series set in Washington DC’s high power world of politics be cozy. However, author Colleen J. Shogan proved you can have a traditional mystery without limiting yourself to a small town. With roughly 95% of cozy guidelines followed, the Washington Whodunit Mysteries can and will be enjoyed by fans of the mystery genre.

HOMICIDE IN THE HOUSE is an exciting whodunit that made turning each page a thrill. Starting with a government shutdown, and dealing with murder, politics, personal agendas, and relationships, this second installment in the series is an action filled, suspenseful read, that will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the exciting reveal!

This is a great series to start now since it’s only two books in. Read STABBING IN THE SENATE and HOMICIDE IN THE HOUSE back to back. You’ll be anxiously awaiting book three as much as I am!

More about Colleen

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. She conceived of the plot of her first mystery, Stabbing in the Senate, one morning while taking a walk in her suburban Washington, D.C. neighborhood. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at Yale, George Mason University, Georgetown, and Penn. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as the Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service. She is currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress who works on great outreach initiatives such as the National Book Festival. Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan.

Colleen on Facebook

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