Get Lost in a Story welcomes Annette Dashofy

Get Lost in a Story readers, I’m thrilled today to introduce to you not only a fabulous author, but one of my most favorite people in the world. Annette Dashofy has been first a fellow writer, a critique partner and a friend. I want you to know about Zoe Chambers  mystery series and two characters that are as real to me as my neighbor next door. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania thanks to Annette, and follow religiously the exploits of Paramedic Zoe Chambers and Police Chief Pete Adams.  Please welcome, Agatha nominee and USA Today bestselling author Annette Dashofy as she promotes book three in the series, Bridges Burned.

About Bridges Burned:

Paramedic Zoe Chambers is used to saving lives, but when she stops a man from running into a raging inferno in a futile attempt to rescue his wife, Zoe finds herself drawn to him, and even more so to his ten-year-old daughter. She invites them both to live at the farm while the grieving widower picks up the pieces of his life. 

 Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams, of course, is not happy with this setup, especially when he finds evidence implicating Zoe's new houseguest in murder times two. When Zoe ignores Pete's dire warnings, she runs the very real chance of burning one too many bridges, losing everything--and everyone--she holds dear.

DONNELL:  Good morning, Annette, thanks for being my guest today.  I did a little arm-twisting to get you here – you’ve been busy.  Talk about a typical day for you.

ANNETTE: I’m so glad to be here, Donnell! As for “typical,” I’m not sure if there is such a

thing. I crave routine, but the life seems to have other plans for me. I write just about every day—or at least 6 days a week. But the rest of the day might involve doing promotion of some sort, taking care of Pennwriters business (I’m vice president), doing research, or spending time with my mom who turns 95 tomorrow! On rare occasions, I clean house.

DONNELL:  You once fell off a horse, and of course got right back on – but you did something else that has become a lifelong habit/passion for you.  What is that?

ANNETTE: I discovered yoga! I’d had a bad spill from a colt I was trying to break (who broke whom is a good question!) and landed in basically a shoulder stand. I was a regular customer at my chiropractor until I started taking yoga classes. Eight months of yoga did more to help my pain than eight years of chiropractic. Nothing against chiropractors, mind you. I still go for tune-ups. Anyhow, I became a yoga instructor, taught in a studio for over 10 years and continued to teach privately until very recently.

DONNELL:  You also have something in common with Paramedic Zoe Chambers.  How much is Zoe like Annette Dashofy, and in what ways are you dissimilar?

ANNETTE:  I worked as an EMT on our local ambulance service when I was younger, so I know the world Zoe lives in. Both she and I are farm gals who love cats and horses. The Kroll’s farmhouse where she lives is based on my grandparents’ farmhouse where I grew up. HOWEVER, Zoe is younger than I am, has a much better figure, and is tougher. While I had a boring, “normal” childhood, Zoe had a rough time of it, losing her dad when she was eight. As a teen, she was a wild child where the boys were concerned. Me? Eh. Not so much. I was a nerdy geek wallflower.

DONNELL:  Police Chief Pete Adams is one of my favorite characters of all time.  You have managed to make him very human to me.  He’s divorced, has a father with Alzheimer’s, works a case with a badly sprained ankle. You really put him through the ringer.  Bad for Pete, intriguing for readers.  Who/what inspired you to create Pete?

ANNETTE:  Pete and Zoe first appeared on the page in a short story I wrote (“A Signature in Blood”), which was nominated for a Derringer Award in 2007. At the time, I never intended to write anything else with them in it. But I wanted to create a new series, and someone who liked the short story asked me when she could expect to see more of Pete and Zoe. So I spent some time fleshing them out, but it wasn’t until I decided Pete kinda looked like Mark Harmon that he became a living, breathing character to me. I knew he was divorced from the start, but his dad came later, probably because I was dealing with losing my own father to the disease. And the bad ankle think happened organically during the writing of Lost Legacy. I even thought for a long time I might go back during revisions and take the injury thread out of the story!

DONNELL:  You also have another series that I’m dying for you to release. Any plans?

ANNETTE:  You simply will not let that one go, will you, Donnell? Ha. I know you don’t want to hear this, but no, I don’t have any plans to drag my racetrack veterinarian series out of mothballs and publish it. However, I never say never, so who knows?

DONNELL:  If you’re not writing, where will we find you?

ANNETTE:  You mean in my “spare time?” Please see my answer regarding my routine day. Okay, assuming I’m not writing, promoting, taking care of business and Mom, you’ll probably find me reading. Or, if I can finagle an invitation from one of my horsey friends, you’ll find me in the saddle, out on the trails.  

DONNELL:  Now it’s time for you to ask the reader a question.  And, readers, this just in . . .   Annette will be giving away a Zoe Chambers mystery (winners’ choice) to 3 commenters who answer this question: 

ANNETTE WANTS TO KNOW:  I was on a panel at a book festival a couple weeks ago discussing the trend toward unlikeable characters in fiction. My question is: What makes a main character likeable or unlikeable to you?

Readers, follow Annette at http://www.annettedashofy.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy
Twitter: @Annette_Dashofy

Thanks for being our guest, Annette!

Get Lost with Agatha Nominee Kendel Lynn

Today, Get Lost in a Story readers, Kendel Lynn takes off her publisher hat and puts on her author hat to talk to us about her AGATHA-nominated debut novel BOARD STIFF.  

Please welcome Kendel Lynn!

ABOUT BOARD STIFF:

As director of the Ballantyne Foundation on Sea Pine Island, SC, Elliott Lisbon scratches her detective itch by performing discreet inquiries for Foundation donors. Usually nothing more serious than retrieving a pilfered Pomeranian. Until Jane Hatting, Ballantyne board chair, is accused of murder. The Ballantyne’s reputation tanks, Jane’s headed to a jail cell, and Elliott’s sexy ex is the new lieutenant in town.

Armed with moxie and her Mini Coop, Elliott uncovers a trail of blackmail schemes, gambling debts, illicit affairs, and investment scams. But the deeper she digs to clear Jane’s name, the guiltier Jane looks. The closer she gets to the truth, the more treacherous her investigation becomes: a brutal attack on her own suspect and the murder of a witness. With victims piling up faster than shells at a clambake, Elliott realizes she’s next on the killer’s list.

And now to get to know Kendel Lynn! 

DONNELL:  Woohoo, An Agatha nominee for Best First Book, well done.  Board Stiff sounds like my kind of read--mystery.  Is it cozy, traditional, a series?  Does it include humor?

KENDEL: All of the above! It’s a cozy (a mostly amateur sleuth, small town island setting, no major on screen violence), traditional (crime and investigation rule the pages), humorous (Elliott’s life really is all fun and murder), and a series (Board Stiff is the first)! Whew. Who says you can’t do it all?

And thank you! I’m so very delighted and honored with the Agatha nomination. Kind of a shocker. The good kind.

DONNELL:  South Carolina.  I was there last year, and it’s absolutely beautiful.  Is that home?  Is Sea Pine Island an actual place?  Why did you choose this setting and if it’s fiction has it become real to you?

KENDEL:  Sea Pine Island is a fictionalized version of the lovely Hilton Head Island, which sits at the southern most part of South Carolina, and only 30 minutes from Savannah. For those who’ve never been, it’s quite like Kauai with abundant palms and flora and miles of shoreline, but little development to preserve its beauty.

I lived on the island for three years, and it proved to be ripe with quirky characters with nothing but time on their hands. A perfect palette for misdemeanors and murders.

DONNELL:  Talk about your protagonist, Elliott Lisbon.  A woman, right?  In what way is she like Kendel Lynn, and how is she different?

KENDEL:  I love Elliott! She’s just like me: smart, sassy, sexy, always says the right thing…Well, maybe not JUST like me. We’re about the same age, so there’s that. And she eats junk food on a daily basis, which is totally me (I could eat an In-N-Out burger every single day.) Elliott really puts herself out there as the director of the Ballantyne Foundation and as a PI-in-training. She drives her Mini convertible all over the island and beyond, tackling trouble (and finding plenty more). I’m more of a sit at a desk all day kind of girl. Though our sense of humor is identical…

DONNELL:  Ha!  Imagine that.  I have it on good authority you wear a good many hats.   How do you keep organized?

KENDEL: Oh I wear hats! I’m a list maker. I have a wall covered in checklists (not an exaggeration), plus a notebook of daily to-do lists and a desk calendar. I monitor them daily: add new, scratch off old, and circle items constantly (why didn’t I do this one yesterday?!). My Henery work comes first (which is why Whack Job, the second Elliott Lisbon mystery, got pushed of the schedule repeatedly), but I pencil in writing time so maintain some balance.

DONNELL:  What’s the most interesting thing you discovered while doing research?

KENDEL:  I love research! I volunteered at the Sheriff’s Office for two years and boy, nothing beats hands on experience. You simply can’t make some of this stuff up. And the crime! I had no idea there was so much, and some pretty oddball scams and schemes. All book worthy.

DONNELL:  I couldn't agree more. Volunteering.  A win/win! Finish this sentence:  If I could travel anywhere, I’d go to . . .

KENDEL: Disneyland! Still my Happiest Place on Earth.

Kendel, now it’s your turn.  Time to ask the reader a question.  

Okay, readers, tell me this: what’s your favorite junk food indulgence? Mine: The aforementioned In-N-Out burger: with cheese, ketchup and spread only. A neapolitan shake if I deserve a reward…

One commenter will received a signed copy of BOARD STIFF and a signed ARC of WHACK JOB.

Thank you so much for having me, Donnell. I’m a huge fan of your work, and an admirer of your spirit and tenacity. You give so much to the mystery community and it’s appreciated! 

My pleasure, Kendel.  Thank you for being our guest!  

Links   http://kendellynn.com/

http://henerypress.com/

Get Lost with HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN

Get Lost in a Story Readers.  We’ve dragged Author Hank Phillippi Ryan away from both her careers, her job at Channel 7 in Boston as an Emmy Award-winning Investigative Reporter, and as a fiction author of the Agatha and Anthony award winning Time series, AND her brand new release, book one of a series,  THE OTHER WOMAN to answer Get Lost in a Story’s fun questions.

ABOUT THE OTHER WOMAN : 

Jane Ryland was a rising star in television news—until she refused to reveal a source and lost everything. Now a disgraced newspaper reporter, Jane isn’t content to work on her assigned puff pieces, and finds herself tracking down a candidate’s secret mistress just days before a pivotal Senate election.

Detective Jake Brogan is investigating a possible serial killer. Twice, bodies of unidentified women have been found by a bridge, and Jake is plagued by a media swarm beginning to buzz about a  “bridge killer” hurting the young women of Boston.

As the body count rises and election day looms, it becomes clear to Jane and Jake that their investigations are connected…and that they may be facing a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to silence a sandal.

With its dirty politics, dirty tricks, and a barrage of final twists, THE TOHER WOMAN is the first in an explosive new series. Seduction, betrayal and murder—it’ll take a lot more than votes to win this election!

As one character warns: You can choose you sin, but you cannot choose your consequences.

Cover Quotes:

  Lisa Scottoline says “Riveting!”

 Louise Penny says "Thrilling!” 

 Sandra Brown  says “Wholly entertaining!”

 Joe Finder says "Hank is a star!”

 Carolyn Hart says “ Speed-of-light pace. Riveting suspense. A breakout book.”

Karin Slaughter says:  “A powerful fusion of political intrigue and crime that keeps the reader captivated.”

Lee Child says "I knew Ryan was good—but I didn’t know she was this good!”

THE CANDIDATE meets BASIC INSTINCT in award-winner Hank Phillippi Ryan's new high stakes, jet-fueled political thriller. Blending the world's two oldest obsessions, sex and political intrigue, THE OTHER WOMAN is a high-octane mix as timely and topical as today's headlines. Ryan joins the thriller elite and THE OTHER WOMAN belongs at the top of your reading list!   
                                                            Julia Spencer-Fleming

 Reviews: 

BOOKLIST:  starred review

Ryan…knows her way around politics at the highest levels, and use uses that knowledge to fashion a revenge-fueled plot that twists and turns at breakneck speed. Political skullduggery and murder make a high-octane mix for a perfect pre-election thriller. 

Library Journal: Starred review

Ryan, the Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author of the Charlotte McNally mysteries (Drive Time; Prime Time), employs her investigative reporting and political background to craft a dizzying labyrinth of twists, turns, and surprises. Readers who crave mystery and political intrigue will be mesmerized by this first installment of her new series.

AND NOW READERS, LET'S GET TO KNOW HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN!!

DONNELL:  Good morning, Hank, thank you for joining us today.  I know you live in Boston, but let’s put you on the spot.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?

HANK:  See, I’m a reporter, so I’m going to need to know some answers before I tell you. I do love my house, a white  Victorian (from 1894) in a Boston suburb, we have a lovely garden, and a swimming pool in the back where mallards come to visit every spring, a willow tree and rambling pale pink roses. So—I’m pretty happy there. However—if I could have endless money, and an instant babel-fish multi-lingual ability—I’d live in oh, Tuscany, with the cypress trees and fresh peaches and pecorino cheese, and gorgeous wine and black flats with capri pants, and windy roads and the scent of rosemary and  history and beauty everywhere you look.   And coffee. Or, with the agreed-upon money and language skills, smack in the middle of bustling Paris, with the fabulous light and wonderful food, the history, the architecture, the shopping, the ice cream and the baguettes with sweet butter. And  coffee! And the clothes and Hermes and Chanel and string quartets in the stained glass of Chartres.

And I’d have a gorgeous apartment in the 6^th arrondissment  or a 14^th century farmhouse in Castellina (with electricity, please..)

DONNELL:  What’s your favorite room in your house? And why?

HANK:  OH, too hard. My study is fabulous, it really is, and it is a MESS. There are floor to ceiling bookshelves on one whole wall, but there are still stacks of books and files on the floor. It’s covered with my posters and souvenirs—well, here’s a   photo. My desk is an antique semi-circular “hunt” desk, I think they call it, and my bay window looks out over a huge sugar maple.  The room is so chaotic and file-filed—when people come over, I don’t even clean it up. It is what it is.

DONNELL:  What’s the one thing during the day you won’t go without?

HANK:  Sadly? Coffee.

DONNELL:  THE OTHER WOMAN  is the start of a brand new series.  How hard was it to give up your first protagonist, Charlie McNally, and tell us about your new protagonist?  How are your protagonists alike, how are they different and what would they think of each other?

HANK:   Jane would look up to Charlie. Admire her. Which Jane would think is a very funny thought, and one that had never crossed my mind. Charlie s 46, worried about getting old in TV. She’s smart and successful—but is married to her job, and wonders what happens to a TV reporter when the camera doest love her anymore. She’d tell Jane to be more protective of her personal life.

Jane is younger, tougher, harder. Still funny—in a droll way. Very devoted to her job. Jane is a little more vulnerable, since she’s been fired for protecting a source. So in THE OTHER WOMAN,  she’s reeling a bit, trying to get back on her feet after a huge career setback. Jane might be falling into the same “it’s all about the job” trap that Charlie did—if that’s a trap!—but she’s also madly in love with a cop. And for a reporter, that’s impossible. So she’s focusing on work—because to focus on her personal life, she thinks, would be a disaster.

Funny to think about this. We all make choices as our lives progress. Both of these characters are examining the choices they‘ve made—and deciding whether it’s time to make a change in priorities. Will they do anything different? Well, that’s the surprise.

 

DONNELL:  You’re hosting a dinner party.  Your characters are invited.  Who would you leave off the guest list?  Tell us why?

HANK: Oh, easy one, Donnell. Let me just say, at the outset, that nobody in my books is a real person. Let me just be clear! But in every reporters life there’s the one person, usually an editor, who has decided they know what’s best. And by gosh, they are going to MAKE you do that. Whether it’s really “best” or not.

 Now, as writers, we know that editors can be wonderful—especially the ones who let you be a better you. You know? Whose goal is to cultivate your skills, challenge you with their knowledge, help you blossom into a better writer.

But other editors are more interested in making you be what THEY want to be. They stomp your voice and try to change you into them.  There’s a character in the TIME books who’s like that—the fictional Angela—and I’d be much happier having dinner alone!

DONNELL:  With technology changing in the blink of an eye, are you current?  Is it important to be?  Why or why not? 

HANK: Oh, well, who knows. I work in TV, and when I started we used film. When “videotape” was developed, we never thought it would last. But I’m very comfortable with live shots, and going undercover with a hidden camera, and TV technology, and computers, and digital video editing, and my smart phone and computer and social media.

The only thing I’m really baffled by is videogames. NO idea about videogames. I’ve never played one.

DONNELL:   Packrat or organized?

HANK:  An organized packrat. There’s a part of me that says—what if I need that? I’ll just tuck it away over here for later.  But I know where it is! I make lists and lists and lists and love to check off what I’ve done. I have a words-a-day chart to make sure I write enough words so I’m not behind on my deadline. I’m still always behind, but at least I have some idea of HOW behind I am.

My clothes in my closet are in color-order. (Which is kind of easy, come to think of it—black, black, black.)

DONNELL:   If you’re not writing, where will we likely find you?

HANK:  When would that happen?

DONNELL:  What’s your favorite holiday?  Favorite tradition?

HANK: Thanksgiving! Definitely. I love having thanksgiving dinner with my family, I love organizing and scheduling and cooking all the traditional things. (It’s such a triumph when it all comes out at the right time.) We MUST have stuffing and cranberries and all kinds of pie. We have champagne and oysters Rockefeller for appetizers.  Oh, I also love the 4^th of July—we make lobsters and corn and sit outside and watch the fireworks!  

DONNELL:  Are you superstitious?

HANK: Yes. I admit it. I mean—okay, I know it’s not logical. And my husband is not superstitious, not at all, and we are quite a pair. DO NOT PUT THAT HAT ON THE BED! I say. DO NOT STIR THAT COFFEE WITH A KNIFE! He looks at me as if I’m the wackiest person on the planet.

But let me say, about writing, I am NOT superstitious. I have two rocks on my desk, carved with “patience” and “imagine.”  But I consciously don’t have any writing rituals, nothing that I do or say or chant or incant, no special t-shirt I have to wear.  That’s because I don’t want to make my writing dependent on anything mystical, you know? Writing well is magic enough. It’ll come, I have to believe, without me trying MAKE it happen by some superstitious thinking.

But I do throw salt over my shoulder. And I’m not happy when a black cat crosses. And I will not walk under a ladder. I mean—why?

DONNELL:  You’re famous for conducting interviews:  If you could talk with any person in the world, past or present, who would it be?

HANK:  Shakespeare. Wouldn’t that be terrific? Then I could find out if he really wrote the plays, first of all. If yes—and I bet he did—then think of all the wonderful writing things he could teach! Oh, I’d love that. Edith Wharton. She was so brilliant—I’d love to just listen to her gossip and hear her views on society and writing. (Don’t you love that she wrote in bed, and just dropped the pages onto the floor for the maid to pick up?)

 HANK, NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.  YOU GET TO ASK READERS A QUESTION.

OH, a funny question? Well, there’s a car chase—or is there?—in THE OTHER WOMAN. Are you a good driver? Who’s better, you or our spouse/significant other? Do you backseat drive? What’s your favorite thing to say to when you’re annoyed while driving? (I yell  “MERGE MERGE this is a MERGE situation!” And my husband just shakes his head.)

Or—let me think. A serious one. THE OTHER WOMAN is partly about an honorable and tough reporter who’s trying to decide how important it is to report the possibility that a candidate in a pivotal election may be having an affair. What do you think about that? How much of a candidate’s personal  life matters to you? Think: John Edwards, Monica Lewinsky, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Anthony Weiner…would it change your vote? Should the public know?

 I’ll give away a copy of THE OTHER WOMAN to a commenter about each topic!)

READERS, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MORE INFO OR HANK, OR FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER.

http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hank-Phillippi-Ryan-Author-Page/250706175034817

twitter  @hank_phillippi

Blogging at http://www.JungleRedWriters.com    @junglereds

 Note: 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.

Get Lost in a Story with Beth Groundwater

Hello Get Lost in a Story Readers:  Today, I'm excited to welcome fellow Coloradoan and talented author BETH GROUNDWATER to answer some challenging questions.  But you'll learn very soon that Beth is all about challenges.  Please welcome Beth Groundwater!

Wicked Eddies blurb & review:

Fly fishing is dangerous? River ranger Mandy Tanner had no idea until days before a huge tournament in Salida, Colorado. True, the Arkansas River can be a man-eater, but the rapids weren’t responsible for driving a hatchet into the neck of would-be competitor Howie Abbott―a secretive man who may have been cheating. While casting about for suspects, Mandy seeks clues from Abbott’s family members, including her best friend, bartender Cynthia Abbott. But when Cynthia becomes the prime suspect, Mandy realizes she’s wading into deeper, more hazardous waters than ever.

"Once again, Groundwater, mixing mystery with outdoor adventure, comes up with an excursion that will please most comers.”

-- Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2012

To Hell in a Handbasket blurb & review:

An icy demise snowballs in book 2 of this Agatha Award-nominated series. Gift basket designer Claire Hanover is reluctantly enjoying a spring ski vacation with her family in Breckenridge, Colorado, when a bloodcurdling scream cuts the frigid air. Claire is appalled to find the sister of her daughter’s boyfriend dead on the slopes. Others assume the girl’s death was an accident, but Claire notices another pair of ski tracks veering dangerously into the victim’s path. To protect her daughter as incriminating clues surface, Claire unravels a chilling conspiracy.

"Groundwater's second leaves the bunny slope behind, offering some genuine black-diamond thrills."

-- Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2009

 AND NOW...FUN QUESTIONS FOR BETH GROUNDWATER:

DONNELL:  Beth: Welcome to Get Lost in a Story. If you could live anywhere on earth, where would it be?

BETH: Right where I am now, in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado! My husband and I had a vacation home here for years, while we raised our children in Colorado Springs. We moved here full-time last December, and we never looked back! We venture outside almost every day to hike, bike, ski or whatever and have been warmly received into the social scene.

DONNELL:  If you’re not writing, where will we likely find you?

BETH: On the trail—skiing, hiking, or biking, that is! Or, in the evenings at a play, party, or movie, and about three times a year on an adventurous 2-3 week trip, usually overseas. We have a long bucket list of travel spots to work our way through.

DONNELL:  You’re planning an important social function.  Just everyone will be there.  Which of your characters do you want to attend?  Who do you hope won’t crash the party?

BETH: What a fun question! From my RM Outdoor Adventures series, Cynthia Abbott, the bartender best friend of the protagonist, whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, would be a great party guest, with her blonde jokes and welcoming personality. I’d put her to work mixing drinks behind the bar. And, from my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, I’d invite drug dealer and BBQ restaurant businessman Leon Fox. Why a criminal? Because once you meet Leon, you’ll see he’s a boisterous character who lights up any room he enters and can really get a party going. He’s a great help to Claire in solving murders that affect her family, too.

As for those I hope won’t crash the party, all of the murderers from both series, of course! I can’t tell you who they are, because I don’t want to give away the endings of the books. But, I want my party guests to feel safe, so they can focus on the fun. ;-)

DONNELL:  What’s in your refrigerator right now?

BETH: Lots and lots of fresh organic fruits and vegetables from my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares from Grant Family Farms. I’m trying to be healthy and lose a few pounds, and I’m having fun trying to “hide” veggies such as rhubarb and beets that my dear hubby doesn’t particularly like in creative recipes. Also in the fridge are foods to go with those fruits and vegetables, such as whole wheat wraps, chili cheese curds, chicken sausages, Greek yogurt, snow crab legs, white wine, beer, and dark chocolate bars.

DONNELL:  You’ve written two series now.  Who is Beth Groundwater more like, basket designer Claire Hanover or whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner?

BETH: I’m a little of both. I’m closer to Claire in age and life experiences (with two grown children and a husband, like her), but Claire is braver than I am, sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong—and could get cut off! I like to think I’m smarter than her, though, because I write her out of the fixes she gets herself into. I’m an outdoorswoman like Mandy Tanner, and I love the thrill of whitewater rafting, as she does. However, she’s much younger than I am, has a lot to learn still about relationships and life, and like Claire, she’s braver than me!

DONNELL:  What was the first story you remember writing?  What was the first story you remember reading?

BETH: My first forays into fiction writing were my Freddie stories when I was in fifth and sixth grade. My protagonist, Freddie, had all sorts of wild adventures, including visiting an underground mole city after burrowing down in a giant screw-mobile. Freddie was a boy, because back in the sixties, I thought girls weren't supposed to have adventures. I know better now! And I was a huge Nancy Drew mysteries fan. I read every book in that series that I could get my hands on before moving on to Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, and Victoria Holt.

DONNELL:   What would you say is the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

BETH: Since moving up to Breckenridge, the closet in my writing office here has become the storage area for all the stuff we decided not to sell or give away but that we also haven’t found a place for yet. Peering in there, the most unusual thing I see is a robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex toy that I gave my techno-geek hubby for one of his birthdays.

DONNELL:  If you could meet anyone in this world, past or present, who would it be, and why?

BETH:  I would invite Jimmy Carter, Mother Teresa, and Jesus Christ to dinner. From this list you might think I was a very religious person. I do attend church somewhat regularly, but I’m not an over-the-top evangelist. Instead, what intrigues me about these people is the combination of their peaceful, loving demeanor and their power to cause tremendous change for the better in society, resulting in the foundation of a new religion, a huge relief effort for the poor, and the spread of democracy. Both Jimmy Carter and Mother Teresa are Nobel Peace Prize winners, to me the most important award in the world, and they were both motivated by their strong beliefs in Christianity. I’d love to have the opportunity to discuss faith and God with Jesus, his son, and to observe what Jimmy Carter and Mother Teresa would ask him.

AND NOW BETH'S QUESTION FOR READERS: 

In anticipation of the November re-release in trade paperback and ebook of To Hell in a Handbasket, the second book of the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, I will offer an autographed copy of that book or of the first book in the series, A Real Basket Case, to one commenter.

BETH:  When I write my mystery novels, I usually try to interweave at least two subplots with the main mystery plot, one of which is a romance. My question for readers is, when you read a mystery novel, do you expect or prefer a romantic subplot, or would you rather focus on just the mystery to be solved?

Bio: Bestselling mystery author Beth Groundwater writes the Claire Hanover gift basket designer series (A Real Basket Case, 2007 & 2011, a Best First Novel Agatha Award finalist, and To Hell in a Handbasket, 2009 & 2012) and the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner (Deadly Currents, 2011, and Wicked Eddies, 2012). The third books in both series will appear in 2013. Beth enjoys Colorado's many outdoor activities, including skiing and whitewater rafting, and loves talking to book clubs. Please check out her website at bethgroundwater.com and her blog at bethgroundwater.blogspot.com.

Website - http://bethgroundwater.com/

Blog - http://bethgroundwater.blogspot.com/

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/beth.groundwater

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THANK YOU for joining us during our RITA® celebration. Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook.   Join us tomorrow when Jillian Stone hosts Anna Randol.

Krista Davis

The "Get to Know You" interviews have been such fun. We hope readers are enjoying the different answers from our guest authors.

Today, it's time to get lost with Agatha award nominee Krista Davis, who writes the Berkley Prime Crime Domestic Diva Mystery Series.
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Donnell: Have you ever written a character who wasn’t meant to be a hero/heroine but he/she wouldn’t go away?

Krista: I wouldn't categorize Humphrey as a hero - maybe he will be someday! He had an overwhelming crush on my protagonist, Sophie Winston, when they were in grade school. She barely noticed him. In THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, Sophie's mother invites him to Thanksgiving dinner as a surprise. Humphrey means well, but he's socially inept. All he wants is to find someone to love, but he's always looking for love in the wrong places. I never meant for him to become a regular, but his awkwardness became endearing, and he grew on Sophie and me.

Donnell: What is your favorite cheese?

Krista: Fromage Affinois Poivre. It's rich and creamy with a zing of peppercorn. I don't dare indulge too often!

Donnell: Tea or coffee?

Krista: Definitely tea! My favorite is Newman's Own Organic Black tea, hot, with skim milk and sugar. In the summer, I take it straight -- iced, plain, no sugar or lemon, though I do like to make iced tea out of two bags of black tea and one bag of raspberry tea for a little fruity flavor.

Donnell: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Krista: Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I'm having my annual party with house guests for the weekend, so the fridge is full. New Year's Eve dinner will be fondue, so there's Gruyere and beef, mushrooms, and red peppers. We're in the south, which means we'll be eating black-eyed peas in a vinaigrette, spinach, and ham on New Year's Day for luck. I had a Christmas cookie recipe contest in December and froze lots of cookies so I could serve them on New Year's weekend, including the fabulous Quadruple Chocolate Chip cookies. I'm always experimenting with recipes for my books and trying them out on my poor friends, so there's also a cheesecake that I'm planning to flambé.

When I don't have guests, the fridge is usually stocked with more mundane things, like lots of celery (my big snack food), black olives, sweet potatoes (for my dogs), Asian pears, and chicken.

Donnell: Is Elvis really dead?

Krista: He'll never be dead.

Donnell: What does it mean to love someone?

Krista: Accepting them just the way they are. Dogs do it the best. They don't judge or try to change us. They love us no matter what.

Donnell: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Krista: I walk away from the computer and undertake some neglected household project. That usually lifts the fog, and I'm able to work through my problem. Of course, there's a down side because I leave a mess behind when I run back to the computer in the middle of cleaning a closet or working in the garden.

Donnell: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Krista: I'm not sure this is a quirk, but I was surprised to learn it about myself. I *have* to know who the murderer is and exactly how and why he/she committed the murder before I start writing. I run away shrieking at the thought of outlining, but I have to know about my killer before I can start.

Donnell: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Krista: I was certain I would be brave and learn from critical reviews. Unfortunately, while I so appreciate the lovely things reviewers say (and there have been some wonderful reviews), it's the harsh words that ring in my head over and over again. One complaint in particular stuck with me, and before I knew it, I was changing characters and plots to overcome that criticism, even though I didn't agree with it. I mentioned it to my editor (a very wise woman), who asked, "Are you writing your books for that one person?" Her question hit home. Of course I wasn't writing for one person, and certainly not that one! I adopted a line from Sara Lee -- everybody doesn't like something. It's so true. I don't like all books. It would be unreasonable to expect everyone to like my books. However, now that I know how easily I'm influenced, I have become cautious about reading negative reviews.

Donnell: What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing/researching a book?

Krista: As you might imagine, mystery authors research ways to murder people. So there I was, innocently researching arsenic, when I found a study analyzing the amount of arsenic found in grocery store chicken. Turns out we allow chicken farmers to add arsenic to chicken feed! Who knew?

Donnell: What’s the first thing you do when you finish a book?

Krista: Clean house. Ugh.

Donnell: Dog person or cat person?

Krista: Both! I'm a total pushover for anything with fur. I could easily become the little old lady with a houseful of rescued cats and dogs.

Donnell: Which is your favorite language other than your native language?

Krista: French is so melodious, how could I not love it? I'm big on German, though. Many of my relatives live in Germany, and I've spent wonderful vacations there.

Donnell: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

Krista: I would love to see Egypt in the 1930s and 40s, when Agatha Christie traveled there. Such fascinating and adventurous people toured on steamers, like in DEATH ON THE NILE. How exotic!

Donnell: How much money does it take to be happy?

Krista: More than I have! LOL! I think money makes life easier and makes us feel more secure, but I don't think it necessarily leads to happiness. Plenty of people with modest amounts of money are happier than the incredibly wealthy.

Donnell: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

Krista: Dog and cat rescue. I suppose that's not a profession, but if there were no other considerations, that's what I would love to do.

Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. Her first book, THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, was nominated for an Agatha award. Her most recent release is the fourth book in the series, THE DIVA COOKS A GOOSE. Krista now lives in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, but her mysteries are set in quaint, historical Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.

Learn more about Krista's books by visiting her website http://kristadavis.com/ or pay a visit to Mystery Lover's Kitchen, where mystery writers cook up crime . . . and recipes! http://mysteryloverskitchen.com/

Also, one lucky commenter today will receive The Diva Cooks a Goose!

KRISTA'S QUESTION FOR READERS: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PROTAGONIST IN THE DOMESTIC DIVA SERIES?

Thanks for joining us, Krista. Join us tomorrow, Friday, December 31st as the Get Lost Crew's own Angi Morgan explains "How to Claim 2011 as our Own."