BOOK TOUR
I'm so happy to be a stop on the book tour for
KILLING TIME
Book 6 in the Dodie O'Dell Mysteries
by Suzanne Trauth
BAD BLOOD
With Halloween just around the corner, Dodie O’Dell is making preparations to transform the Windjammer Restaurant on the Jersey Shore into a haunted house, while the Etonville Little Theatre is staging Dracula. But casting the titular Transylvanian is proving challenging. The amateur actors in the company are not shy about chewing the scenery, but who among them can convincingly sink their fangs into a victim's neck? When a mysterious newcomer with a transfixing Eastern European accent lands the part, rumors that he might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who's recently been spotted in the town park.
But everyone’s blood really runs cold when a stranger is found in the cemetery with a real stake in his heart. Dodie decides to put her Halloween theme menu on the back burner and stick her neck out to bring the killer into the light of day. She'd better keep her wits about her, though—or Dodie may be the next one to go down for the Count . . .
With Halloween just around the corner, Dodie O’Dell is making preparations to transform the Windjammer Restaurant on the Jersey Shore into a haunted house, while the Etonville Little Theatre is staging Dracula. But casting the titular Transylvanian is proving challenging. The amateur actors in the company are not shy about chewing the scenery, but who among them can convincingly sink their fangs into a victim's neck? When a mysterious newcomer with a transfixing Eastern European accent lands the part, rumors that he might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who's recently been spotted in the town park.
But everyone’s blood really runs cold when a stranger is found in the cemetery with a real stake in his heart. Dodie decides to put her Halloween theme menu on the back burner and stick her neck out to bring the killer into the light of day. She'd better keep her wits about her, though—or Dodie may be the next one to go down for the Count . . .
📚🕮📚🕮📚
!!!GIVEAWAY!!!
3 lucky readers will each win a print copy of
KILLING TIME
Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.
Winner will be chosen after June 1 at the end of the tour.
This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.
LKBR: Thank you for joining us today, Suzanne. Please tell us a bit
about your book.
ST: KILLING
TIME, is the sixth book in the Dodie O’Dell mystery series.
With Halloween coming later this week,
Dodie, manager of the Windjammer restaurant in Etonville, New Jersey, is making plans for a town costume party in
the church basement. Next door to the restaurant, the Etonville Little Theatre
is rehearsing Dracula, which opens in two days. It’s been a bumpy
process since Etonville has developed vampire fever because a mysterious
newcomer with a vaguely foreign accent lands the starring role. Rumors that he
might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who's
recently been spotted in the town park!
And of course there’s a murder…a
stranger found dead in the cemetery on Halloween night. Once more, Dodie needs
to step up and follow a twisty trail of clues to flex her amateur sleuth
muscles.
LKBR: What are
you plans for this series?
ST: I wanted
to have an arc to the series for my
protagonist and her friends in Etonville, New Jersey. As the series progresses,
readers get to see Dodie tackle a variety of challenges solving murders,
getting romantically involved with Etonville’s police chief, and deep diving
into the world of technology with the help of her teenage tech guru. All the
while her best friends and neighbors are producing shows at the Etonville
Little Theatre, next door to the Windjammer restaurant. Each book in the series
features a different play so part of the fun is witnessing the members of the
theatre struggle with the production process, as well as each other!
LKBR: Are you
working on any new projects?
ST: I am. I
have started a new standalone mystery novel, very different from the Dodie
O’Dell series; I am also revising an historical novel that I began many, many
years ago. Because I also write plays, I am working on a new script I hope to
finish in the coming months.
LKBR: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
ST: I knew I
wanted to be a writer at a very
young age. In grade school I was already writing short stories and short plays.
They were probably very bad! But by high school I was entering writing contests
and actually winning prizes for an essay and a short story. I was hooked! So
writing was something I did pretty consistently even as I pursued a career at a
university teaching theatre classes in acting and directing. Eventually I wrote
full time—fiction, plays, and screenplays.
LKBR: Was getting
your first book published everything you thought it would be? The feelings? The
process?
ST: I had been
submitting and querying for so long (persistence is paramount!) that when
Kensington Publishing offered me a three book contract I was ecstatic. From
contract offer to the appearance of the first mystery was thirteen months so
while I was learning the promotion and marketing process for that first book, I
was writing the second book in the series. It kept me busy! There was a period
when I was promoting the first, reading copyedits and page proofs of the
second, and drafting the third. Writing a mystery series taught me the
importance of deadlines, discipline, and a daily work ethic.
LKBR: How did
you handle it when changes were made to your first manuscript? I don’t have a
thick skin, so I know how I would have felt.
ST: That’s a great question. I hired an editor once I had a
manuscript of the first mystery – SHOW TIME – and he was extremely helpful.
However, he did both developmental editing as well as line editing. Some days
it felt as if he was writing my novel! I know other writers who have felt this
way, too. However, I discovered that because he was so detailed with feedback
on my first novel and helped me shape character, voice, plot etc., I was much
better equipped to tackle books two through six when I was no longer working
with him. So those initial changes really paid off for me and I was grateful
for his advice.
LKBR: What is your favorite part of
being a writer?
ST: I
love the early part of the process once I know generally what a book is about,
after I’ve done a lot of thinking and maybe a little outlining, and can let my
imagination run wild. I know that whatever I produce will need to be revised,
maybe heavily, but at this point I silence my inner critic and just go for it!
LKBR: Have you ever read
a book that has stayed with you long after reading it?
ST: Lots…if I can only
remember their titles! Seriously, there are a few that have stayed with me: ALL
THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, BELOVED, and the Elizabeth George Inspector Lynley
series. All terrific reads, beautiful writing, specific, haunting settings.
Totally captivating.
LKBR: Why are
reviews, good or bad, so important to authors?
ST: I think
reviews provide insights for the writer…what works, what doesn’t, where could
the writer improve story/character/plot/setting. How could the writing be more
engaging, appealing. Knowledge is power! Reviews provide usable information for
the writer. That said, I think writers need to develop the aforementioned
“thick skin”!
LKBR: On what
sites do you recommend readers leave their reviews?
ST: I
appreciate readers leaving their reviews on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And
of course I love comments on the blog sites of the Great Escapes Tour so that I
can comment as well!
LKBR: If you
could spend one hour with a reader, what would you want to talk about?
ST: I’d like
to ask any of my readers what they enjoyed about the series and what they
wished to see more of. Which characters were appealing to them, where they
could imagine the series going. I’d also like to ask them what other mystery
writers they particularly enjoy…the answers would be illuminating for me.
LKBR: Thank you
so much, Suzanne, for letting us get to know you
better!
“It sure looks haunted,” Edna murmured to no one in particular, to the cast of Dracula in general. They were grouped around her on the sidewalk that ran past the old Hanratty place that Carlos and Bella had rented. I’d never been inside though once I’d driven by it when I first moved to Etonville on my way out of town. The house stood on half an acre of scruffy lawn with patches of dried dirt, surrounded by a few straggly trees—minus leaves at this time of the year—and no neighbors. The nearest houses were on a side street some distance away. The three-story building looked as if it might collapse at any moment, its outer walls covered with weathered, gray shakes, the steps to the front door supported by concrete building blocks. There was no handrail. Light leaked out of windows on the first floor. Curtains covering small, circular panes on the third story—an attic room?—quivered. Was someone up there watching us? I shivered. A turret rose upward from the right side of the structure, giving the house a smidge of outdated dignity. A drain pipe dangled loosely from the gutter.
“Let’s go.” Penny corralled actors and nudged everyone forward to the front door. There were six company members, Renfield saying he’d be along later, plus Penny, Lola, Pauli, and me. Strength in numbers.
We crept across the porch cautiously, aware of the creaking beneath us as the flooring shifted with each individual’s footsteps. Penny put out a hand to knock on the door. Before she could hit knuckles to wood, it flew open. “Welcome everyone!” Bella stood in the doorway, a silhouette backlit by muted foyer lighting.
Behind her Carlos stood silently, observing the group huddled in his entryway, like deer caught in headlights.
Lola took the lead, moving graciously into the house. “Thank you. So nice of you to invite us to your home.”
I’m not sure what the members of the Etonville Little Theatre were expecting. Given the exterior and location of the Hanratty homestead, I anticipated something out of a late-night classic horror film.
About Suzanne Trauth
Suzanne Trauth is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and a former theatre professor at a university. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Dramatists Guild, and League of Professional Theatre Women. When she is not writing, Suzanne coaches actors and serves as a celebrant performing wedding ceremonies. She lives in Woodland Park, New Jersey.
Author Links
Webpage www.suzannetrauth.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneTrauth/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuzanneMTrauth
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6187623.Suzanne_M_Trauth
Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Kobo
Webpage www.suzannetrauth.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneTrauth/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuzanneMTrauth
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6187623.Suzanne_M_Trauth
Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Kobo
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
May 19 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT
May 19 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
May 20 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 20 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW
May 21 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
May 22 – Laura's Interests- CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 22 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
May 22 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 23 – Christy's Cozy Corners- CHARACTER INTERVIEW
May 23 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
May 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
May 25 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 25 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
May 26 – Dee-Scoveries – SPOTLIGHT
May 26 – Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST
May 27 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST
May 28 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW
May 29 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
May 30 – Gimme The Scoop Reviews – REVIEW
May 31 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
May 31 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 1 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW
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