7/23/2013

Get Lost with Debut Author Laura Morrigan


Get Lost in a Story Readers (My BAD!!!)  The wonderful Laura Morrigan returned her adorable Q&A, and your humble, careless poster cannot find among the myriad files of her computer!  So I'm here to apologize and rave about this woman sincerely (who I've known for several years now).  I think her concept is unique, quirky and as talented as she is.  (Did I mention she is an amazing cover artist?)  Here's a bit about Woof at the Door.  To make up for my goof, I'm also giving away one paperback or digital copy to one lucky commenter, so post away!  ~ Donnell


ABOUT WOOF at the DOOR

Grace Wilde’s job is anything but normal. When she’s not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she’s listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace’s life gets even more complicated, though, when the cops summon her to a crime scene to help deal with the murder victim’s terrified Doberman. The pooch turns out to be the only one who saw what happened the night of the shooting—and only Grace can get the information out of him. The problem is, how will Grace tell the distractingly gorgeous Sergeant Kai Duncan that it’s the dog who’s giving her the intel without spilling her big secret or sounding crazy? Left on her own, Grace will have to follow the pup’s lead to track down the killer. But she’ll have to be careful—or curiosity may end up killing the cat whisperer.
About Laura Morrigan

Spending the first years of her life on a Costa Rican coffee farm blessed Laura Morrigan with a fertile imagination and a love for all things wild.

Later she became a volunteer at a Florida zoo, helping out with everything from “waste management” to teaching an elephant how to paint. Drawing from her years of experience with both wild and domestic animals and her passion for detective novels, Laura created the Call of the Wilde Mystery series. She lives in Florida with her husband and far too many cats, loves the Blue Angels, wearing flip flops in November, and thunderstorms. Laura Is currently hard at work, writing the third Call of the Wilde mystery.
AND NOW THE CASE OF THE FOUND Q&A!!!!!
 
 
Fun questions:
DONNELL:  Wow, Laura, or should I say Bow wow!  I’ve been waiting for this story forever.  Whatcha been doing?
LAURA: Writing!! I’ve been waiting, too- so excited it’s finally out- and I’m getting great feedback. So I’m double-happy!
DONNELL:  It’s no secret you love pets.  What’s the most exotic creature you’ve owned?
LAURA: Aside from my husband? ;-) We ha a toucan when we liven in Costa Rica- and a squirrel. And I’m pretty sure the cat I have now is part monkey- if that counts.
DONNELL:  How much fun is it seeing the book you’ve worked on from concept to completion in book form?
LAURA: It’s very cool! This is my first book so it’s very strange to look at BookScan and see that people all over the US have bought a copy. I mean, I don’t know anyone in Salt Lake City or Wichita- so, total strangers are reading my book!! Whoa! 
DONNELL:  Your book involves a mystery.  I take it you like suspense.  What’s the most suspenseful thing that’s ever happened to you?
LAURA: Once, right after my husband, Blake, had had shoulder surgery, I heard something in the middle of the night and thought “is someone inside?” Usually, I’d alert my husband and we’d work together to clear the house. But he was out cold, doped up on pain meds. I retrieved my weapon and crept to the top of the stairs where I had a clear view of the foyer and waited... listening.
It felt like an hour but after about five minutes of silence, I made the decision to check the house. It was fine. The noise turned out to be nothing. A big plastic tub I’d propped in the kitchen sink to dry had fallen- Normally, I would have remembered but I think because I was so worried about my husband, I didn’t make the connection. So I crouched on the stairs, straining to hear past my pounding heart and struggling with what to do.  My internal debate went like this:
Should I call the police?
Why? All you heard was a thump- and the security alarm is on.
Right, but someone could have come through a window. Maybe I should try to wake up Blake.
What good would that do? He’s incapacitated.
And vulnerable. So if someone is inside or it’s more than one person... I’m calling 911.
Don’t be stupid, you haven’t heard anything in several minutes. Go check the house.
But If I leave, the upstairs open, someone could come up and Blake is out of it...
On and on it went.
The issue was the fear I felt for my husband, who is normally a force to be reckoned with. I didn’t know what to do. Paralyzing- but only for a few minutes, thank God!!
DONNELL:  What’s in your refrigerator right now?
LAURA: Let’s see...Leftover jambalaya, green tea, milk, hummus, salad stuff, leftover chinese takeout, way more condiments then we’ll ever use and a bottle of Taittinger champange (for when I hit the big time!)
DONNELL:  Do you have any quirks?
LAURA: Nope- I’m quirk-less! Okay- that’s not true. (No, it's not :)
I have an odd sense of humor- sarcasm is a factor there, but it can also be more off-beat than most. I find horror films to be funny and laugh at inappropriate times.
Sometimes, I dance around the house when I feel bummed out about something singing “Eye of the Tiger” or I’ll watch this clip of Dean from Supernatural over and over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7fyfKCh_i4
 
DONNELL:  If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
LAURA: Gosh, I don’t know. Dumbledoor? (does he count??) I’d love to go to Hogwarts!
 
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.  TIME TO ASK READERS A QUESTION. 
Hummm... okay. When you find a new author you like and realize they only have one or two books out, do you buy stories or novellas by them to “bridge the gap” between book releases? If so, what length do you prefer? (Short would be anything less than 10,000 words, so, up to 35 pages. Long would be 10,000-50,000 up to 150-200 pages) Or does it matter?
 
You can read the first chapter of Woof at the Door on Laura’s website www.lauramorrigan.com
Like the Call of the Wilde page on fb to get the latest info on give-aways and other news!https://www.facebook.com/CallOfTheWildeMysteries 
If you’d like to see some really cool inspirational photos of animals and funny stuff visit Laura’s pinterest page.http://pinterest.com/lauramorrigan/grace-wilde-call-of-the-wilde-mystery-series-inspi/
 
 
@laura morrigan on Twitter
 

DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes ~ Donnell
 
Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address

 

39 comments:

  1. Good morning, Laura, heck it's almost afternoon in Florida. Did you feel the drama heading your way last night and this morning--so sorry. I just checked out Pinterest, and what an outstanding collection you have of exotic animals. I cannot wait to read Woof at the Door. I feel like I've waited for this book forever!

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  2. Thanks Donnell!!!
    It stormed last night so, yes... :)
    I'm so glad to be here!

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  3. Hi Donnell and Laura - great Q&A, ladies. LOL on your dialogue with yourself - or should that be monologue? Love the blurb, Laura. If I love an author, I'll read anything and everything, regardless of length.

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    1. Thanks for answering, Margery! I'm curious about this...

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  4. Hello Laura,

    I would really love to win woof at the door, so so different from all other cozies I have read, (don't worry in a good way) I have read cozies about pets but I love that Grace can talk to animals. I'm sure I won't be able to put it down until it's done. Hope to win, thanks for the giveaway.

    sweething99@hotmail.com

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  5. This book sounds so good. thank you for the chance to win.

    nlb1050@yahoo.com

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  6. Win, lose or draw, I shall be reading Woof at the Door. The idea of the protagonist communicating directly with animals reached out to me. I have a friend with a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot; with her it is possible to verbally converse with an alien species, sort of a dream come true for me. And I agree about Dumbledore and Hogwarts!

    pibroch47@yahoo.com

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    1. Wonderful! There was a parrot in New York City in the late 1800s (if memory serves) who said the name of the man who murdered his owner- smart critters!

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  7. Love, love, love, the cover and blurb!! Good luck and many sales!! Having a sarcastic sense of humor always pays off...well, in my opinion.

    If I find an author I enjoy, length doesn't matter. I'll pretty much read anything she or he (he being John Sanford) publishes.

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  8. What a beautiful cover and it sounds like such a fun story!

    MinDaf @ Aol.com

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  9. I'm commenting so I have a chance to win a free book before I go out and buy one. Either way I'm gonna get that darn book I been hearing so much about.
    pat@pensacolaboatworks.com

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  10. I love that SPN clip. Just thinking about it makes me grin. And I gotta say I love the way you and Donnell just rolled with the little Q&A lost and found. Cheers!

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    1. Thank you, Clover! Gotta roll with the waves or , even better, learn to surf!

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  11. Great interview, ladies. Cute premise to your book, Laura. Sounds like a good read. I'm not much on shorter works. The only novella, I've ever read was written by Jerrie above, which is super good btw. So I just wait for the next book to come out.

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    1. Thanks, Marsha! I'm always wondering what lengths readers prefer.

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  12. Congratulations again, Laura. I'm looking forward to reading your book. Fingers crossed I win.

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  13. Oh. I often read short stories between books. They don't have to be by a novelist. I guess if I had to choose, I prefer those less than 10,000 words, but a good story should be as long as it needs to be.

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    1. Ah, yes, the "as long as it needs to be" answer. I knew it! :)

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  14. Sounds like a great book!
    lisaksbookreview@aol.com

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  15. Depends on the story; prefer longer books

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  16. Hi Laura, thanks for being here and finally getting to share your book with us. It sounds completely and totally fabulous! I, too, am a huge animal lover-- my daughter grew up to be an equine vet, so animals have always been around. She now has given us awesome grand-animals: an alpaca, a pot-bellied pig, a wallaby, two sugar gliders, a donkey and a goat, along with several dogs, cats and horses. With your background, it sounds like you'd be right at home!

    I'll read anything by an author I'm waiting for--so bring on the novellas or short books--I'll read any length! Can't wait to get into your debut!

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    1. Thanks so much Lizbeth!
      It sounds like your daughter and I would be fast friends- no doubt!
      I have a soft spot for donkeys and wallabys- heck all of them!!

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  17. If I discover a new author that I like, I'll ready everything I can find, including novellas or stories. I prefer longer novellas, I want more to read, not just a taste. :D

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  18. Laura, I saw Woof at the Door on Amazon and made a mental note to add it to my "buy" list. This was a fun interview (thanks, Donnell!), and I can't wait to read your cozy.

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    1. Linda, so glad you found me!
      and I say ditto to Donnell- Thank you!!

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  19. This sounds like a really fun book--I'm a sucker for cozies with animals. Congrats on your debut!

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  20. Great interview, Donnell. It sounds like a series I'd enjoy since I'm both an animal lover and have too many of my own. The most exotic not pet I had was a skunk I kept trying to get rid of by blocking up all the holes late at night when he/she left. Then I caught same skunk in a Have-a-Heart trap on my front porch when I'd set it for what I thought was a raccoon living under there. I did take the skunk in the trap to the woods and released it there. Think skunks don't run? You should have seen that one run it went as fast as my heart was beating. The skunk got even with me Christmas Day. Apparently it came back and when family members started coming in with the little ones all excited, it let loose and sprayed the foundation of my house. The horrible smell overwhelmed the smell of turkey and ham and other goodies. But more than fifteen people still sat down to a good meal and seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the smell took a long time to completely go away. When I went back to school more than a week later, other teachers and kids could still smell my clothes. Washing them only worked until they were hung back up in the upstairs closet.

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    1. Oh, wow, Gloria! a skunk!!! Le-Pew!
      makes for a great story, though!

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