Trouble in Glamour Town

I've known Sarah (S.R.) Mallery for about four years now, but I've never met her in person. I hope to one day.  Isn't that the power of social media?  We've chatted, plotted and helped each other out over the years and we've yet to see each other face to face.

I'm thrilled Sarah agreed to be interviewed for Get Lost In A Story, and I think you'll love her stories, I sure do.

So, let's get started, shall we?

Sarah, how often do you get lost in a story?

ALL THE TIME. With movies, TV series, and of course, books!...in fact I even get lost in song lyrics while I drive...

What's your favorite thing about your current book hero?

For my Work In Progress, TENDER ENEMIES (not due out until mid November 2018), I like my HEROINE because she's complex. Having been molested as a young girl, she's grown up with a dual personality: strong and sassy on the outside, insecure and vulnerable on the inside.

Do you have a favorite movie of all time? Tell me about it.

There are so many, but just listening to its opening music and how it makes me INSTANTLY cry, I'd have to say, "To Kill A Mockingbird"

What's your perfect day like?

Lots of writing, editing, and good connections with author friends. Then walking as I talked to several close friends/family on the phone, walking outside and listening to Pandora, or going to my Fit Class. Then at night, sitting around with my hubby of 38 years, watching a film that makes both of us either laugh, cry, or sit on the edges of our seats!

Let's do some rapid fire questions.

Okay doke.

Favorite meal?

Steak and salad or Pizza and salad

Name something on your bucket list.

That's a hard one. I hate heights so no sky diving....I had never tried a gun but being a mystery fan, I secretly wanted to at least see what it felt like to shoot. But no go. I was told at the gun range I couldn't (detached retina problem)

Dream vacation?

Going to Tuscany and renting a little cottage. It could also be in England or Ireland.. Just somewhere picturesque and OOZING charm.

Favorite book boyfriend?

I'm such an old lady....Rhett Butler!

Favorite memory.

There have been many, but what immediately pops into my head was the time I gave a stray pregnant cat to a woman who advertised she would take her and not kill her or the kittens afterwards. Then, several weeks later she called to see if I wanted to visit with the cat's litter of seven week olds. My young kids and I went, and apparently this woman had had other pregnant cats at the same time, because when the three of us walked into this small, special room, there were twenty-five little playful kitties. O M G! Such a fun time!

Geek or Jock?

I appreciate jocky guys enormously for their hunkiness, but I also need to be around a good brain. How about a combo? That's what attracted me to my husband years ago. He was so smart but also wore a tool belt. Youza!

The most daring thing you’ve ever done… Care to share?

Oh, boy. When I was a teenager, unbeknownst to my parents, I went up in a little four-seater plane with two male teenagers. The 'pilot' teenager who was taking lessons but wasn't licensed yet (he neglected to tell me this), thought it would be fun to fly upside down and try some aerobatic tricks to see my reaction. After what seemed like hours (it was probably only five minutes), he and his pal did decide to stop and come down––I wouldn't stop moaning and crying...

Anything you want to share about your favorite shoes?

LOL. Actually no. I do not wear particularly fashionable shoes. I've always gone for comfort and lower prices.

Do you have a giveaway? If so, tell me about it.

I will be giving away three Amazon gifted ebook copies of my TROUBLE IN GLAMOUR TOWN.

Please tell me what readers should do to enter?

Follow me on Book Bub, please.  

Winners chosen May 24th.  

Let's look at the blurb for Trouble in Glamour Town.

Murder. Corruption. Romance. Movie stars. A modern day TV shoot ‘em up? No. It’s 1926 Old Hollywood, and a film producer is gunned down in cold blood. In comes Rosie, a pretty bit-player, who, in spite of her stage-mother’s expectations, just longs to be happy. Silent screen idols Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Lon Chaney, and Rudolph Valentino float in and out, as Los Angeles’ corruption is exposed, the era described, and a chase to find the killer revs up before there’s another hit.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

“It will take a bit of effort…a bit of sweat and perhaps…

 a bit of blood.”

 –– From the 1922 movie, Nosferatu

IT WAS ANOTHER glorious day in Los Angeles. Sparkling like actress Theda Bara’s bejeweled robe in the 1917 movie, Cleopatra, the Hollywood hills behind the man and his rifle glistened in the midday sun as each ray glanced off the small, jagged rocks. With his 1903 Springfield bolt-action sharpshooter locked tight against his shoulder, the assassin slowly rolled the scope ring around to set the precise distance. He knew from experience that with the wind factor leveled near zero, his chances were good for a clean hit.

January 4, 1926, 1:15 p.m.

   For the third time, he peered through the lens. Fifty yards directly south of his position on the low-lying rooftop was Medford Studio’s back lot. There, on the outdoor set, where a Bell & Howell 35mm camera had been set up on a wooden tripod, an agitated film director was busy barking orders through his giant megaphone, while all the actors remained frozen in their assigned positions.

 Yet to the killer, none of that scenario was important. All he cared about was how his target stood off to one side, in perfect alignment with his scope view.

“Man down,” the shooter said as human screams from below echoed up to him.

“Here we go, here we go,” he muttered. He steadied himself against the roof edge and made sure the bolt was in the forward down position. With one eye pressed against the scope, he curled his index finger around the trigger and squeezed.
On the set, the director was still hollering his directions to the actors and crew when the shot rang out.

  With a quick ‘that’s done’ sigh of relief, the killer, still clutching his rifle, wiggled backward on his belly before he stood up out of sight of the ensuing chaos. A glance down at his shoes assured him the cloth swabs covering them were still in place. Then, his bag tucked under his arm, he hurried over to the outside ladder on the roof’s back edge. From there, he deftly descended, grateful he had practiced this procedure at least once beforehand.

You can read more by picking this book up here:  http://BookShow.me/B077D7T2KC/

A little more about Sarah.

A two-time READERS’ FAVORITE Gold Medal winner, S.R. Mallery has been labeled nothing short of 'eclectic'. She has been a singer, a calligrapher, a quilt designer, and an ESL teacher. As a writer, History is her focus and like in “Forrest Gump,” she weaves her fictional characters together with real people into her stories with a delicate thread. When people talk about the news of the day, or listen to music, her imagination likens the story to a similar kind of news in the past and is conjuring up scenes between characters she has yet to meet.