IT ADDS UP TO MURDER - D A Featherling - One Free Book

Today's book is a debut novel for author D A Featherling. Remember, Readers, you must follow all the instructions at the bottom of the post to be included in the drawing.

Welcome, Dorothy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I think all authors, whether consciously or unconsciously, put bits of themselves into their characters. You use things that have happened to you as part of the plot and that’s deliberate. The character traits though tend to creep in and many times you don’t realize you’ve let that happen until after the book is done.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Hmmm. I’m not a very quirky person physically – I tend to be more quirky mentally and it shows in some of the situations my characters find themselves in – guess it’s that subconscious kicking in!

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I started writing creatively in junior high – I’ve done journalism, technical writing, and business writing for years, too.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love mysteries and suspense, I enjoy humor in romances. I read a lot – sometimes as much as one book a day (I read fast). Fiction, of course.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Oh, some days I think we all feel like a hamster in a cage. If it weren’t for the time I spend daily in Bible reading and prayers, first thing in the morning, I’d never survive. Plus I’m a big “to do list” maker.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Depends. Sometimes a name will just pop into my mind. When that doesn’t happen, I go to the Social Security website and, based on the age of my character, I go down the list of popular names in that birth year until one “clicks.” When I named Homicide Lieutenant Nick Vaughn in It Adds Up to Murder, I used that method for his first name. I knew he was of Irish descent, so I looked up a list of Irish surnames on the web and searched until I found the right one.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

A lady in my Bible study class several years ago was going through a very rough time in her life. She’d been wanting to ready one of my manuscripts. I printed off a copy of a romantic comedy and gave it to her to read. She must have read continuously, because a few days later she called me and gushed about how good a writer I was and how much she enjoyed the book. She said it gave her a chance to escape her troubles for a while and it had meant everything to do that. To me, that was my first major writing accomplishment.

I so agree that touching a reader deeply is a real high. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

Wow! Never really thought about it -- but probably a cat. I love cats. They are so independent, yet give so much enjoyment to their owners (on the cat’s timetable, of course.)

What is your favorite food?

Not sure I can zero in on a single dish, but I love Mexican food and Chinese food – things with flavor and spice.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Initially it was finding the time to write (which I think challenges most writers). The past few years it’s been trying to spend the needed time at the computer without aggravating my body. With fibromyalgia, as I have, you don’t overdo or you pay for it.

Tell us about the featured book.

It Adds Up to Murder is book one in a series entitled It’s Murder at the Office. Abigail Newhouse’s longtime job has ended due to loss of funding. To pay the bills, Abby begins working as a temporary. Her first long-term assignment at a management company lands her in the middle of murder. She wants to help solve the crime, but isn’t sure if handsome Homicide Detective Nick Vaughn just wants her out of the way to keep her safe, or if she’s a prime suspect. Abby finds her life at risk when she confronts a merciless killer.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The CFO’s expression twisted into a sneer. “You’re a temporary necessity, Ms. Newhouse. Don’t expect much of a welcome.”

I fought the urge to make a face at Viola Grimes. What a horrible woman. How dare she be so rude? I clamped my lower lip between my teeth and tried not to chew.

After ten minutes of exposure to her abrasive personality, I wanted to jump up and walk out of the office, but leaving was a luxury a temp couldn’t afford. Not one with a house payment due in two more weeks.

So, I, a recently laid off university employee, put on my best stoic mask and slightly inclined my head to acknowledge her words.

There’s little else I recall about the interview, which came across more like an inquisition. If I were as mindless and incompetent as she insinuated, I ought to be sitting in a corner babbling and drooling.

I paid polite attention to the do’s and don’ts that spewed from between her thin lips and tried not to focus on her frizzy perm, flabby face, and beady brown eyes.

If her list of rules were an example of what working for Viola Grimes would be like, I was in for a major challenge.

Sounds interesting. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.dafeatherling.com  It contains information about my books (my second book, a romantic comedy named Sauce for the Goose, is just out) and more about me by browsing my “Fiction a la carte” menu on the site.

Thank you, Dorothy, for sharing your new book with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
It Adds Up to Murder (It's Murder at the Office) (Volume 1) - Amazon.com
It Adds Up to Murder (It's Murder at the Office) - Kindle

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