Load The Boat by Rosalee Richland Interview

I enjoyed Load the Boat. It had mystery, drama, romance, lots of square dancing, interesting characters and clean story.
~readalot

This was an enjoyable mystery that made me want to take a cruise with Darla and her square dancing friends.
~Books-n-Kisses

The plot was fantastic and the characters likable.
~Shelley’s Book Case

I like mysteries and this is the first one that I’ve come across that involved square dancing … it sounds like a friendly close-knit community.
~Teena in Toronto

I thoroughly enjoyed this fun cozy mystery.
~Brooke Blogs

·  Series: Darla King Mysteries

·  Paperback: 250 pages

·  Publisher: Wordsmiths4u (November 19, 2013)

·  ISBN-10: 0985012943

·  ISBN-13: 978-0985012946

Synopsis

Darla King left her position as a Florida investigator hoping to avoid any further involvement with law enforcement—but her curiosity keeps getting in her way. Darla is beginning to realize that what she envisioned as the simple life of a square dance caller is not so simple after all. When Darla agrees to serve as a square dance caller on a cruise, she plans on a little work and a lot of fun, sun, and romance. Her friends from Clearton Squares have the same ideas. Instead, she and her friends discover pornographic DVDs, a dead crew member,  and a mysterious man with a satchel. She lands in danger, escaping with on-the-spot ingenuity. All that and Mandy, who has bad memories from a previous cruise and is getting a little too friendly with Doug. This is the second in the Darla King series and continues her adventures.

About This Author

Cyndi Riccio and Rhonda Brinkmann joined forces to create the Darla King cozy mystery series.  Darla’s curiosity often puts her squarely in the midst of unusual circumstances, and Darla can’t let go until the mystery is solved.   Through Darla and her friends, readers are exposed to the warmth and friendship among square dancers, as well as the enjoyment square dancing brings worldwide.

When not writing, Darla’s co-authors enjoy reading, traveling, meeting readers and fans, networking with other authors, and – of course – square dancing.  Currently they are working on Darla’s next mystery and the twists and turns it will take.  If you have a chance, stop in at a book signing and find out which half of Rosalee shows up! In the meantime you can stay in touch with Rosalee and Darla on on Facebook, Goodreads, or the Darla King Series blog (rosaleerichland.blogspot.com). Or just search for “Rosalee Richland” anywhere in cyberspace.

Interview:

First of all, thank you for hosting the Load the Boat blog tour today! 

1. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Probably the most interesting ‘writing quirk’ is that Rosalee Richland is two people – Rhonda and Cyndi.  We often get asked how that works.  We get together at various points in the process to discuss plot and characters, but most of the time one of us writes for a while then sends to the other – kind of like tag you’re it, and the next person takes the story a little further. 

As for marketing and bookkeeping and such, we separate our responsibilities so we can get everything covered. While we can both do any of the marketing and other activities, mainly Cyndi handles cyberspace and Rhonda handles activities such as setting up book signings and keeping track of sales.

2. What is a Square Dance caller? 

A square dance caller is the person who directs the dance by telling the dancers which dance move to perform.  For example, one such call might be “Allemande Left.”  The caller moves the eight people in each square/four couples through a variety of moves, all to the beat of music, and gets them back to their original partner and spot on the floor.  Ideally, all the dancers on the floor, eight to a square, are performing the same maneuver in unison – if you were to look down on the dancers, it might remind you of a kaleidoscope. 

The caller also is an entertainer. Most will insert jokes or find other ways to keep the dancers’ attention. Some callers like to challenge the dancers by putting dance moves together in unique ways to keep them on their toes.  A good singing voice is a must. The music will vary depending on the caller and may include a country, popular, contemporary, or more traditional.

3. Will there be more books in the series? Do they all relate to dancing? 

LOAD THE BOAT is the second in the Darla King Series. We have already started on the third in the book, FOLLOW YOUR NEIGHBOR.  Some of our fans, also square dancers, have given us suggestions for the fourth.  They will all relate somewhat to square dancing and carry a title that is also a square dance move.  Because square dances occur nationally and internationally, using square dance as a context means that Darla and her friends can go just about any where!  The names of all the books, beginning with the first one, RIGHT AND LEFT GRAND, are all square dance calls.

4. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

We do hear from readers – some on a regular basis.  As we already said, a few of them have made suggestions for which calls to use for the next title(s).  Others check in to find out when the next in the series will be released or tell us how much they’re enjoying the books.  We hear from them via email, through the Rosalee Richland blog, and in person. Since we square dance, we see some of our readers at square dances – honestly, our readers are the best marketers we have!

5. What would you like my readers to know?

Although Darla is a caller and the Darla King Series features a square dance theme, the stories are really about ‘regular’ people who have jobs, families, and emotional baggage just like any of us.  In our books, we hope your readers will enjoy both the mysteries themselves and learning a little about the square dance community at the same time.

Finally, we’d like your readers to know how much we appreciate cozy mystery fans—and you for hosting us today.

Author Links

Goodreads/Rosalee Richland:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6577514.Rosalee_Richland

Rosalee Richland on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosalee-Richland/284946448289065

Rosalee Richland blog:

http://rosaleerichland.blogspot.com/

email: rosaleerichland@yahoo.com

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPRGPIE

Tour Participants

March 19 – readalot – Review
March 20 – Books-n-Kisses – Review
March 21 – Shelley’s Book Case - Review
March 22 – Teena in Toronto – Review
March 24 – Brooke Blogs – Review
March 25 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading< /b> – Spotlight
March 26 – My Devotional Thoughts – Review 
March 27 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
March 28 – Books Are Life – Vita Libri – Review
March 30 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview