Spotlight on Susan and Megan Davis and Homicide at Blue Heron Lake

Happy Good Friday to you today. Only 2 more days until Easter, and we're headed out of town. So, I'm getting this one posted a smidgeon early.

Spotlight #2 this week features another of Heartsong Presents Mysteries cozy mystery books. Only this time, it's a mother and daughter team, where the mother is also a web design client of mine. That makes it double special. :)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Page Davis is a Maine native and author of mysteries, suspense novels, and historical romance. She has won the short historical category of the ACFW Book of the Year and the Inspirational Readers' Choice Award. She’s the mother of six home-schooled children. Three daughters now hold degrees in creative writing. Her husband, Jim, is a news editor.

HOMICIDE ON BLUE HERON LAKE
by Susan and Megan Davis
Published by Heartsong Presents Mysteries

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is your first novel with the recently launched Heartsong Presents Mystery Club, and one you've co-written with your daughter. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

I grew up in the beautiful town of Belgrade, Maine, nestled among several lakes. One of these served as Ernest Seton Thompson’s inspiration for On Golden Pond, complete with the mail boat that STILL runs in summer on Great Pond. I wanted to write a story about a guy (Nate in our book) who took mail to people in cottages on islands, who transported people over the lake and delivered packages. So Baxter Marina was born. I had the basic story line, and when I told my daughter Megan about it, she had a great idea for the plot. I asked her to write it with me. The result was our first book, Homicide at Blue Heron Lake.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced the characters of Emily and Nate? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

Emily is really more like Megan than me. She's young, lovely, poised on the brink of adulthood. Our heroine has been hurt, but she's made the best of it. We're proud of Emily and the way she deals with a scary situation.

3. What themes exist in Homicide on Blue Heron Lake that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Confession and forgiveness are prominent. The character Raven Miller especially portrays this. The past has warped her, and she needs reshaping. Emily and Nate, on a smaller scale, have to overcome the past. All of them learn that, even when you thought a situation was irreversible, there’s always hope.

4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

For me the hardest parts were scenes where several people gathered to talk about the murders. It's difficult to keep a scene moving when several people are talking and moving around. You have to focus on what will advance the story and stay with that, not get distracted by everything going on.

My favorites were when Emily and Nate were together. The chemistry between these two is great. Megan and I alternated chapters, and we both went over each section and then the whole thing to be sure the end product was seamless.

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

My next suspense book, Witness, releases in April from Love Inspired Suspense. In it, a woman witnesses a murder, but the police don’t believe her when they find no evidence of a crime. A couple of months later, I'll have a historical romance from Heartsong presents—Return to Love, set in Dover, New Hampshire, 1694. And Megan's and my second cozy mystery will release in August: Treasure at Blue Heron Lake. Those are written. I'm now working on my third Frasier Island Series book, Inside Story, for January 09 release.

Our MAINEly Murder series (Blue Heron Lake books) can be found at: http://www.heartsongmysteries.com/SusanDavis0001
And visit me at my Website: http://www.susanpagedavis.com/.

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Thank you, Susan, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Homicide at Blue Heron Lake.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net) or that it's available for viewing in your blogger profile. Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:" when you leave a comment and type the email address where you'd like them sent. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

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Spotlight on Darlene Franklin and Gunfight at Grace Gulch

Today, I have a new author to cozy mysteries introduce to you. And as I look at my list of upcoming, I've noticed there are a LOT of debut author in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy them! Darlene isn't new to publishing, but she is new to this genre.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author and speaker Darlene Franklin resides in the Colorado foothills with her mother and her lynx point Siamese cat, Talia. She has two grown children and two grandchildren. She loves music, reading and writing. She has published one book previously (Romanian Rhapsody, Barbour, 2005), as well as numerous devotions, magazine articles, and children's curriculum. Gunfight at Grace Gulch is the first book in the "Dressed for Death" series. Visit Darlene's website at http://www.darlenehfranklin.com/.

GUNFLIGHT AT GRACE GULCH
by Darlene Franklin
Published by Barbour Publishing / Heartsong Presents Mysteries

ABOUT THE BOOK

The feud between the Graces and the Gaynors is still going strong more than a century after its inception in the 1891 Oklahoma land run. Newspaper editor Penn Hardy is murdered during the reenactment of the most famous gunfight in the history of Grace Gulch, Oklahoma. Cici Wilde, owner of a vintage clothing store, feels compelled to investigate when police suspect people close to her. She soon discovers her talent for sleuthing equals her flare for wearing period clothing. Theater director Audie Howe never expected the reenactment to end in a real murder. He cares too much for the future of the Magda Grace Mallory Theater - and the charming Cici Wilde - to let her face danger alone. Cici and Audie take a dangerous gamble to nail the killer - and lay their lives on the line.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is your first cozy mystery and part of a brand-new line with Heartsong Presents. It's also the first in your "Dressed for Death" mystery series. What gave you the inspiration for this story? "

Since I once lived in Oklahoma, and my son lives there now, I decided to take advantage of the centennial of Oklahoma statehood. I missed it by three months, but I trust God's timing!

I came up with the idea of Gunfight at Grace Gulch because I wanted to tie Oklahoma's unique history of land runs into my contemporary mystery. Accusations of cheaters and "sooners" stirred a lot of bad feelings. In my story, the land run started a feud that resulted in a gunfight. Present-day descendents reenact the gunfight, only one of them dies.

My sleuth, Cici Wilde, sprang into mind complete with her dandelion 60's style hair and long gauze skirts when I read a newspaper article about a vintage clothing store.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced the characters of Cici and Audie? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

As I mentioned above, I lived in small town Oklahoma for several years, so I drew from that experience in creating the mythical town of Grace Gulch. Cici's self doubts very much reflect me. My son's acting career in high school gave me insights into the theater.

Having said that—Cici and Audie draw a lot less from my personal experience than do the characters in my first book, Romanian Rhapsody. I traveled with a Christian music group through college and know the experience well!

I don't know fashion all that well, but it's Cici's passion. I have never lived on a ranch. Unlike Audie, I don't read a lot of Oscar Wilde, and Proverbs may be my least favorite book of the Bible. Well, that’s not true, but I don't have it memorized chapter and verse the way he does.

3. What themes exist in Gunfight at Grace Gulch that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

I hope that, like Cici, my readers learn to accept themselves as unique and special just the way God created them. To stop wanting to be someone different.

Other themes cropped up in telling the story, of course. Settler Bob Grace struggled with his conscience during the land run—should he cheat and become a "sooner" or trust God and make the run for the land with everyone else? History tells us that three times as many people made the land runs as there was land available; he couldn’t be sure of staking a claim.

Also, evangelism often crops up in my stories. One of the murder suspects becomes a Christian. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you which one.

4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

In a way, writing the ending was the most difficult. I wanted to FINISH the book and tended to hurry. My favorite part was probably the reenactment of the gunfight and the letters from Bob Grace to his fiancé. I got to throw a bit of history into a contemporary story.

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

The second mystery featuring Cici and Audie, A String of Murders, is due out in December. Pearls belonging to Magda Grace Mallory, Grace Gulch's leading patron of the arts, are found at a murder scene. Which just happens to be Cici’s store. So once again Cici is on the trail of a murderer. Before A String of Murders, however, my first historical novella Dressed in Scarlet will appear in Snowbound Colorado Christmas. The biggest snowstorm in Denver's history dumped almost four feet of snow over a six day period in December 1913. My heroine, heiress Natalie Daire, gets into a car accident trying to drive home and she ends up staying at the Brown Palace Hotel. Fabrizio Ricci fixes her car, and romantic sparks flare. Can the heiress and the immigrant find true love?

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Thanks, Darlene, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Gunfight at Grace Gulch. Because Darlene is still waiting for her author copies, the book might not ship until the middle of March.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net) or that it's available for viewing in your blogger profile. Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'follow comments to" when you leave a comment. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

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