Saturday, June 14, 2014

Murder mysteries a series tongue-in-cheek romps

Hi Jean, and welcome to Adventures in Authorland. Please get comfortable and tell us about your adventure.

Jean Harrington
Do you see writing as a career?
Writing as a career?  Absolutely.  To write is to have a compelling incentive to get up in the morning, to exercise your creativity, to have a reason to live.  I love the time I spend spinning my stories and getting involved in my fictional world.  But beware.  When it comes to financial rewards, the arts do not recognize a middle class.  A few writers become super stars, the rest do not.  So gird your loins.

How many books have you written?
Eleven.  I’m currently working on the twelfth.  Seven have been published.  So I guess I did gird my loins.  My latest release is ROOMS TO DIE FOR, #4 in my Murders By Design Mystery Series.  The books are all set on the Florida Gulf Coast, and all are tongue-in-cheek romps with a red-haired interior designer as amateur sleuth.  Number 5, The Design is Murder, is due for e-book release in November.

Do you belong to any non-writing organizations?
Don’t know if it’s officially an organization, but for the last 15 years I’ve belonged to a discussion group of seven women.  Seven dear friends.  We discuss everything from Somali pirates to Alice Munroe’s stories to our husbands’ idiosyncrasies.  We meet every 2 weeks at one p.m.  Each member takes turns hosting, and with the sky the limit conversationally, we have a blast.  Next time we’re scheduled to discuss our wedding nights.  I’ll keep you posted!

If you could time travel back, or forward, for one day, where would it be and why?
I would love to go back and spend one more day with a very special person.  Just sit together and talk and have him tell me one more time, “Jean, you are such wonderful company.”

If you could have any super hero power, what would it be?
To have that special day I mentioned.

Do you have any advice for new writers beginning their adventure?
Yes.  Write every day.  Every day.  Every day.  Even if only for fifteen minutes, or an hour if you can.  Train your brain to perform on a regular basis.  Like anything, the more you write, the better (I’m not sayin’ easier!) it becomes.  Oh, and don’t pay a damn bit of attention to how much better, faster, wittier someone else writes.  It’s your authentic voice and style that matter in the long run.

Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
Let me see . . .
  1. After 2 wines (maybe 3) I sing on top of pianos. (Not really, but that does sound like fun, don’t you think?)
  2. My hair has been dyed six different colors.  (Not all at the same time.)
  3. My thighs are my best feature.  (Amen!)

About Jean: 
     Jean Harrington is the author of the Naples-set Murders by Design Mystery Series.  A former English prof at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, Jean is now living in Florida with her husband John.  (“We’ve been married forever.”) These days—and nights!—she’s writing for the exploding field of electronic publishing and is awed by its impact on readers and writers alike.  For excerpts from her tongue-in-cheek series—Designed for Death, The Monet Murders, Killer Kitchens, Rooms to Die For, and The Design is Murder, Jean invites you to visit her at www.jeanharrington.com.

Blurb: ROOMS TO DIE FOR: 

     Interior designer Deva Dunne finds more than fabulous furnishings on her trip to the design mall; she and her client come upon the body of one of Deva's favorite shop owners, swinging from the atrium railing. It looks like suicide, but Deva feels sure that the purveyor of Florida's finest antiques would never leap to his death from a tacky blue stool.
     Deva's boyfriend, studly and stoic police lieutenant Victor Rossi, looks into it, but there's not much to go on. He's focusing on their future these days, and he wishes Deva would steer clear of danger.
     But everyone around Deva seems to be keeping secrets, and she's getting some strange reactions to the designs she's doing for a big charity event. When she experiences a mysterious attack, she knows she's at the center of something huge—and if she doesn't outwit this killer fast, her only future will be six feet under

ROOMS TO DIE FOR and the other mysteries in the series are available as e-books through Amazon.com.



2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great series, Jean! Best wishes!

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  2. Angela, It is a fun series set in subtropical Naples, Florida, with an interior designer as amateur sleuth. If you'd like a PDF copy of one of the books, I'll be happy to send it to you.

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