Investigating THE CASE OF THE FABULOUS FIANCE! Diane Burton's Newest!

Please help me welcome my friend Diane Burton to the blog today with her latest in the Alex O'Hara Series, THE CASE OF THE FABULOUS FIANCE! Before we dig into the read, let's find out a little more about Diane...


First off, thank you for allowing me to interview you. Could you tell us what is the best thing you’ve learned about writing and/or the publishing business?

How helpful, generous, and supportive other writers are. An example of this is going on right here. On our online group (Authors Helping Authors), we tweet for each other, share on FB, for spots on blogs, and so many respond—like you, MJ.

Believe me, it's my pleasure. And I agree about authors being generous people, Diane. I've actually given that same answer when I've been asked that question. When we're shocked on a regular basis by the evil in the world, it's nice to be surprised by people's goodness. Give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication.

I wrote for ten years before my book was accepted by a small niche publisher. Another ten years passed (life intrusions) before I tried self-publication. In the 5 years since I’ve had one book pubbed by a small press and self-pubbed 7 more. I’m very happy self-pubbing. I hire a freelance editor and a cover artist. Although I’m a DIY girl from way back, those two jobs are best left to the professionals.

Again, I concur. And it's funny how similar our stories are. I had twelve books written before I even started pursuing publication. Now that we know a little about your writing, how about you as a person. Where do you live? Where would you love to live?

I live on the west coast of Michigan, fifteen minutes from Lake Michigan. We moved here two years ago to be closer to our daughter and her family. Best move we’ve made. Love the time with the grandkiddies.


Share with us a little about your family. You mentioned your daughter, any more kids? 

I met my husband of 43 years on a blind date. We have 2 children. Our daughter lives nearby with her husband and 2 children. Our son lives in Phoenix with his wife and 8-month-old girl. We’re looking forward to spending Christmas with them. Now I just have to convince Hubs we need to spend most of the winter in Arizona.

Yes! Brilliant! Now here are a few questions just for fun--

What was one of the best Christmas presents you ever received?

My 2nd best gift was a Brownie Hawkeye camera when I was 10. It led to a lifelong hobby of photography. My absolute best Christmas present was my daughter, who was born 2 weeks before Christmas.

Name your favorite children's story.

My grandmother gave my sister and I a set of books, My Book House. Each volume had stories appropriate to an age group or grade. The 1st book was nursery rhymes, 2nd short stories, 3rd fairy tales, etc. The 1st book was well used, pages are torn and falling out. The 12th book looks brand new. Although I’m the oldest of 7, none of the others read the books. They’re now mine and I share them with my grandkids.

That's cool! How special that you get to share that with them! What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without?

I can’t think of anything I couldn’t live without. If I had to, I’d adapt. But I think flush toilets would top my list of what I don’t ever want to live without.

Ahh...yes. Good point. Hmm...kind of a bad segue, but...what are your three favorite smells?

A baby, almond flavoring, bacon.

Oh, bacon, yes! Why didn't I think of that? We've had a lot of people on here, but no one has ever said almond flavoring. I love the taste of almonds, but I wouldn't have thought about the scent...but it is good, isn't it? Thanks for joining us today, Diane!


Thanks so much for having me, MJ.

My latest release is a PI mystery, The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé. Here’s a little bit about it.

Blurb ~

Alex O’Hara wants to take her investigation agency in a new direction—background checks for potential spouses. She hopes this new case will do the trick when a high-powered executive asks for info on her boyfriend. Is the man she met on a cruise her Mr. Right or is he too good to be true? On the same day, Alex gets another case—finding a deadbeat dad. And both women want to double her rates so she’ll give them highest priority. She can’t believe her luck. Her finances are on the upswing. If only Nick Palzetti was around to share her good news. He disappeared on Christmas Eve, and she hasn’t heard from him in almost three months. Then glitchy phones and no internet bring everything to a screeching halt.

Excerpt ~

I picked up the pen before looking at Nora Finley. Even though I was in the middle of a major case, I never turned down a prospective client. At least, not right away. I’d hear her out and then decide.

“What can I do for you?”

Her expression completely changed. The high-powered exec disappeared. In its place, caution and . . . vulnerability. “Ellen VanderVeen said I could trust you.”

I smiled. Ellen and I had been friends since college. That girl had more fashion sense in her baby finger than I did in my entire body.

“Yes, I know Ellen.”

“She said you helped her investigate her fiancé.”

I nodded.

She hesitated and appeared to rethink what she was doing in a private investigator’s office. Quickly, she came to a conclusion. “I’d like you to do the same.”

“You want me to vet your fiancé?”

“He’s not my fiancé. Yet.”

She didn’t explain any further, so I asked, “Why? Do you suspect something?”

“No. Oh, goodness, no.” She pursed her lips before continuing. “My father left me a prosperous financial firm plus a sizeable inheritance. I am not saying that to brag but to explain my concerns. In my younger days, I was, uhm, taken advantage of. I need to be sure this man truly loves me—me, not my money.”

Although nobody would ever mistake me for an heiress, I understood her caution.

“I am almost forty years old,” she said. “I want to have children before I’m too old.”

Again, I understood. I’d recently passed a landmark birthday. The big Three-Oh. Rather than worry about kids, though, I devoted myself to my business. After a rocky start, I was on a pretty even keel. Plenty of work. Not enough time. But I did have plenty of time before settling down with kids. And a husband, of course. I’m kind of old-fashioned like that. I’d thought Nick might— Don’t go there.

“Ma’am, if you’d called for an appointment, I could have saved you a trip. I do not have time to devote to your case.”

A crestfallen Nora Finley stared at me, her mouth slightly open. I guess nobody ever turned her down. While hers might be interesting, I didn’t have a good feeling about this case. A client might want the lowdown on a prospective mate—as I’d discovered before—but they often resented the bearer of bad news. Of course, the client could be grateful if the news was good, like my friend Ellen.

“I will double your usual retainer.”

“It isn’t a matter of money—” Although money never hurt. “—I’m in the middle of a large case that is taking up all of my time.”

“How soon will you finish?” No longer disappointed, she looked calculating.

God save me from rich people who think everyone should drop what they’re doing to attend to them.

“Three weeks, minimum.”

“Good. I will be out of the country for the next four weeks. You may finish your present case then check into Clyde Wilson.”

Well, shit. I mean, shoot. I was trying to break my bad habit of swearing. I had misgivings about this woman. Demanding, she was going to be difficult to work with. She exuded the power that came from old money. Power that expected everyone to drop everything and do her bidding.

But then I’d had difficult clients before and managed them. I could probably wrap up the fraud investigation in a couple of weeks. I’d given myself a cushion when I’d told her three.

Were my misgivings about her enough to turn down double my retainer?

I drew the pad closer to me. “Tell me about this man. Clyde Wilson?”

That better not be a smug look on her face.



The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé is available at:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B0195K8F6G

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-case-of-the-fabulous-fiance-an-alex-o-hara-novel

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/case-fabulous-fiance-alex/id1066537800?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/599181

Author Bio ~


Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and The Case of the Bygone Brother, a PI mystery. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com



Connect with Diane Burton online



Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmburton72

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor

Goodreads: Diane Burton Author

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/

Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf

~ Encore, Encore for A RED, RED ROSE! ~

With us today is friend author Susan Coryell who has recently had her A RED, RED ROSE picked up by Amazon Encore. I'll let her tell you about it...


A RED, RED ROSE was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2013. The cozy mystery/Southern Gothic has been selected by Amazon for its Encore Publishing Division, an imprint devoted to taking successful small press books with decent sales and reviews and improving their exposure. The E-book is available only through Amazon, though the print version may still be purchased via all on-line bookstores.

Blurb ~

When twenty-year-old Ashby Overton travels to Overhome Estate for the summer, she hopes to unearth her ancestral roots and the cause of a mysterious family rift surrounding the horseback riding death of her Grandmother Lenore many years ago.

From the moment she enters her room in the oldest wing, Ashby feels an invisible, enfolding presence. She learns the room belonged to a woman named Rosabelle, but no one is willing to talk about Rosabelle—no one except Luke, the stable boy who captures her heart. As Ashby and Luke become closer, she realizes he can be the confidant she needs to share the terrifying, unfolding secrets.

Ever present is a force Ashby never sees, only feels. Candles light themselves, notes from an old lullaby fall from the ceiling, the radio tunes itself each day. And roses, always meant for Ashby, appear in the unlikeliest places. Are the roses a symbol of love, or do they represent something dark, something deep and evil?

Excerpt ~

So, so quiet. Dark and quiet. Another whiplash of thunder shattered the silence, so startling that I almost dropped the lighted candle. At that moment, the music started. There were no lyrics, but the gentle, mournfully flowing rhythm was tangible enough to reach out and grasp in my fingers. Lilting tones filled the space around me until I was dizzy with the swirling notes.

As suddenly as it began, the music stopped. Bewildered, I held out the candle as though it might illuminate the harmony I had heard so clearly only moments ago. Except for the dying sputter of the storm, all was quiet again. My ears strained, listening. Faintly this time, but distinctly, I heard the melody again, this time in the hall outside my closed bedroom door. Barefoot, holding the candlestick in front of me, I moved slowly to the door, drew the latch, and, without thinking, only feeling the music, I followed the mellow strains, like a child of Hamlin behind the Pied Piper. Descending the steep steps, on the first floor, now, I continued to follow the path of the music, through the dining room, to the old keeping room and out a door I had never used or even noticed before.

I halted, shook my head, trying to clear out the hypnotic tones that crowded out all thought and plugged my senses. Once again, the music abated. It was like a game of musical chairs. Where was I? No longer in the house, I felt the damp night air on my bare arms, and rough floorboards beneath my bare feet. Holding the candle at arm’s length, I crept forward, a step at a time, my other hand grasping at the air in front. I felt like a blind person without a guide dog.

My reaching fingers brushed across a grainy surface, and crumbling powder dusted my fingertips. Instantly, I recognized the metallic smell of old, rusting screens. I knew then I must be on the ancient screened porch tucked between the wings of the house, the crumbling porch with the antique rocking chairs. The old part of the house, reached only by the door in the keeping room. The music had led me here. Again the strains wafted over and around me, holding me captive as I stood, shivering, gazing at the dim light of my flickering candle.

The music stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Struggling to clear the cobwebs of sound spinning in my brain, I took a deep breath and looked around. I sensed, rather than saw a movement in my periphery. When I turned, I became aware of one of the old rocking chairs. Gently, so as to be barely perceptible, the chair rocked itself back and forth as though someone invisible sat in it, enjoying the languorous, rhythmic motion. Rocking, rocking, rocking, without any sound at all.

Not conscious of moving, I found myself standing beside the ancient rocker, now motionless, dusty, the seat sagging within inches of the floor, as though it had not moved in a hundred years. I had not dreamed it. The chair had rocked itself, and someone or something had led me here to witness it. Led me with the music. I had the evidence. On the decaying cane seat lay a single fresh rose just out of bud.

Author Bio ~

A career educator, Susan has taught students from 7th grade through college-level. She earned a BA degree in English from Carson-Newman College and a Masters from George Mason University. She is listed in several different volumes of Who’s Who in Education and Who’s Who in Teaching. Susan belongs to Author’s Guild, Virginia Writers, and Lake Writers. She loves to talk with budding writers at schools, writers’ conferences and workshops. Her young adult anti-bully novel EAGLEBAIT is in its third edition for print and e-book, updated with cyber-bullying. EAGLEBAIT won the NY Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age," and the International Reading Association's "Young Adult Choice."

A RED, RED ROSE, first in a cozy mystery/Southern Gothic series, was nominated for a literary award with the Library of Virginia. BENEATH THE STONES, the sequel, was released in April of 2015.

The author has long been interested in concerns about culture and society in the South, where hard-felt, long-held feelings battle with modern ideas. The ghosts slipped in, to her surprise.

When not writing, Susan enjoys boating, kayaking, golf and yoga. She and her husband, Ned, love to travel, especially when any of their seven grandchildren are involved.



Buy link for A RED, RED ROSE via Amazon Encore:



http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rose-Susan-Coryell/dp/B0145P8K16/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440421640&sr=8-1&keywords=a+red+red+rose



BENEATH THE STONES is the stand-alone sequel to A RED, RED ROSE. Buy link for BENEATH THE STONES:



http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Stones-Susan-Coryell/dp/1628308524/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440423262&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=beneath+the+stoneas



Links for Susan Coryell:

Website: www.susancoryellauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.coryell.7

Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/susan.coryell.7

Blog: www.susancoryellauthor.blogspot.com



Thanks, M. J. for inviting me to share on your awesome blog!

It's been a joy having you!

~ BENEATH THE STONES Lies a New Cozy Mystery/Southern Gothic by Susan Coryell! ~

Happy Spring and welcome to my blog today where I'm visiting with author Susan Coryell. Hi, Susan! Your cover gives us a nice, green, Springy feel. 

Thanks for inviting me to be your guest. I am excited to share my writing journey, and, especially, to highlight my just-released cozy mystery/Southern Gothic BENEATH THE STONES published by The Wild Rose Press.

Excellent! So let's get started. So, Susan, when did your love of writing start?

My mother always said I was born with a pencil in my hand. By early elementary school I was writing poetry and stories and even penned letters and mailed them to my friends in my classroom. When they would call to tell me they received my letter, I said to my mother, “What is wrong with these people? They are supposed to write back to me—not call on the phone!” Her answer: “They’re not all writers like you, Susan.” My maternal grandfather was a published poet and a prolific writer of children’s stories; I believe writing is a part of my DNA. Both of my brothers are published, all three of my children are published (one actually writes for a living) and several of the grandkids exhibit scribe-ish tendencies. My theory is that writers know who we are and writers have to write.

What is the best thing you’ve learned about writing and/or the publishing business?

The writing/publishing business has taught me several “best” things. First, I’ve learned to look around me and see what others might be interested in reading about. I need an “inspiration” for my novels and I find ideas are everywhere if we just open our eyes. For example, EAGLEBAIT, my first published novel about school bullies, grew quite naturally out of my observations where I taught middle school—a petri dish for the bully germ. My writer’s antennae perked up when I toured an ancient, historic estate rumored to be haunted—resulting in A RED, RED ROSE, my cozy mystery/Southern Gothic. The idea for BENEATH THE STONES, a standalone sequel, occurred to me as I was reading an article in the local paper about a Civil War property that was falling into financial ruin.

Another “best” is discovering the amazing resource of author collegiality engendered by technology. I have “met” and become “friends” with so many writers around the world as a result of blogging, social media contacts, and the Worldwide Web. The support and help these professionals render is a real factor in my continuing to write.

So true. That's how you and I met! What is something you struggle with when you write?

I have a tendency to wordiness; consequently, I have to delete, compress, and tighten my prose at every turn. One way to deal with this problem is to simply write, then go back and place parentheses around every unnecessary word—then hit the delete button and move on. Another is to read a passage from someone with a terse style (like Robert Cormier) and let it sink into my pores before sitting down to write. Good editors help, too. This is where a writing family comes in handy!

That is handy! My daughter actually helps me to proof, too. Speaking of kids...how do you balance the demands of your everyday life and your writing life?

Now that I have retired from full-time teaching and all my children have moved on to their own homes, I have the luxury of time—and it is a blessing! A morning person, I usually compose and create early in the day—saving editing and revising for afternoon or evening. The only thing that gets in my way is frequent travel—which my husband and I enjoy. But keeping up with a writing/promotion/marketing schedule far from my usual tools and using a tiny portable computer is tricky, at best.


But who knows when the next place you might visit may show up in a book! Please give us a brief glimpse at your road to publication.

EAGLEBAIT (bully book) came out in hardcover, published by Harcourt (now Houghton Mifflin). It won a national and international award and was well-received, but it was my editor’s last work there and after she left I had no one to champion my book. I was disappointed that they pulled it after 14 months when the publisher had said it would take two years to get through the library review system. Later I brought it out in paperback through Author Guild’s BACK IN PRINT program and recently I updated the book with cyber-bullying and self-published. It’s a great resource for schools, community and church anti-bullying advocacies.

A RED, RED ROSE was published by L&L Dreamspell, which folded a year or so afterwards. Fortunately, it was picked up by The Wild Rose Press—an awesome publisher. BENEATH THE STONES is also a TWRP publication and I hope to stay with this group of outstanding professionals.

Where do you live or could you please share a little about your family.

My husband and I live on the water at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia—a pristine pastoral setting conducive to creativity. My writer’s loft overlooks the lovely lake, which soothes the soul even in the worst of times. Recreational and civic activities abound here. We boat, ski, kayak and golf—attend concerts and art shows and work with charities, religious and political groups. We roam around the country visiting our three married children and seven grandchildren who live in Virginia, South Carolina and Hawaii. . I belong to two writers’ groups, two book clubs and the GRITS (girls, raised in the South). I am lucky to live in such a congenial corner of our state where I’m asked to speak about my writing and my topics in all sorts of venues—libraries, civic groups, churches, schools, museums—to name a few.

Sounds ideal! Thank you for sharing a little bit about yourself. Now let's hear about BENEATH THE STONES.


Blurb ~

 Ashby Overton has everything to look forward to, including a promising writing career and her wedding at summer’s end. But, Overhome, her beloved historic family estate in Southern Virginia, is in financial peril and it is up to Ashby to find a solution.

Interfering with Ashby’s plans is a dark paranormal force that thwarts her every effort to save Overhome. Supernatural attacks emanate from an old stone cottage on the property rumored to be a slave overseer’s abode, prior to the Civil War. As the violence escalates, Ashby begins to fear for her life. Who is this angry spirit and why is his fury focused on Ashby?

Mystery, suspense and romance flourish against a backdrop of Civil War turmoil and ancestral strife--where immortality infiltrates the ancient air breathed by all who inhabit Overhome Estate.

Excerpt ~

I moved downward, one step at a time, leaning against the wall for support.

I was half-way down when it happened—so suddenly that I had no time to react. Frigid air swooshed down on me from behind, freezing my face so that I screwed my eyes tight shut at the same time something strong and determined pushed against my back violently—so violently that I stumbled, then, tumbled forward, to be caught in Luke’s outstretched arms from several
stairs below.

“Whoa!” Luke exhaled from the impact of my body on his. “My God, Ashby. What happened?”

I slumped against him, unable to utter a single word, my breathing shallow and rapid. At last I found my voice. “Something pushed me, Luke. I don’t know what—or who—but it was powerful and deliberate.”

Luke glanced up to the top of the stairs. “Nothing there. I’m going back to the loft to look.”

I stopped him. “I doubt you’ll find anything.” I sniffed the air, expecting a new infusion of foul odor. “And what would you do if you did find
anything?”

Just then we both heard it. Hollow, chilling, trailing away from us with every syllable: “Go away. He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead...”


One more thing I’d like to share is my author’s note for BENEATH THE STONES:

The Civil War letters included in Beneath the Stones are based on actual letters written from battle fronts by family ancestors, Joseph Franklin Stover and John William Stover. After my mother-in-law’s death, the family found a nondescript box in her file cabinet. Inside we were amazed to find fifteen letters handwritten in beautiful, flowing script. Since this occurred as I was in the midst of writing Beneath the Stones, I immediately seized on the idea of using excerpts from the letters in the novel. Though, for practical reasons, I omitted many details, overall the letters reveal a haunting picture of life for the Confederate soldier. A final note: The flute mentioned in one of the letters is very likely the same flute on display at the Museum of the Confederacy in Appomattox, Virginia.



Author Bio~

I have long been interested in Southern concerns about culture and society, as hard-felt, long-held feelings battle with modern ideas. The ghosts slipped in, to my surprise, while writing cozy mystery/Southern Gothic A Red, Red Rose and its sequel Beneath the Stones.

Website: www.susancoryellauthor.com

blog: www.susancoryellauthor.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.coryell.7



Buy links: BENEATH THE STONES:

amzn.com/1628308524 (print)

(kindle) http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Stones-Susan-Coryell-ebook/dp/B00UF1YM6M/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1427307552&sr=8-1&keywords=beneath+the+stones+by+susan+coryell

A RED, RED ROSE: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_23?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+red+red+rose+by+susan+coryell&sprefix=a+red+red+rose+by+susan%2Caps%2C910


EAGLEBAIT:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Eaglebait+by+susan+coryell&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AEaglebait+by+susan+coryell