Gunfight at Grace Gulch by Darlene Franklin Excerpt & Interview

Gunfight at Grace Gulch by Darlene Franklin

 

Gunfight at Grace Gulch (Christian Cozy Mystery) (A Dressed For Death Mystery Book 1) Forget Me Not Romances A Division of Winged Publications (February 28, 2015) Paperback: 216 pages ISBN-13: 978-1508946991 E-Book B00U4XPROW

Synopsis

The feud between the Graces and the Gaynors is still going strong more than a century after its inception in the 1891 Oklahoma land run. Newspaper editor Penn Hardy is murdered during the reenactment of the most famous gunfight in the history of Grace Gulch, Oklahoma. Cici Wilde, owner of a vintage clothing store, feels compelled to investigate when police suspect people close to her. She soon discovers her talent for sleuthing equals her flare for wearing period clothing. Theater director Audie Howe never expected the reenactment to end in a real murder. He cares too much for the future of the Magda Grace Mallory Theater - and the charming Cici Wilde - to let her face danger alone. Cici and Audie take a dangerous gamble to nail the killer - and lay their lives on the line.

 

About the Author

Best-selling author Darlene Franklin’s greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. She lives in Oklahoma, near her son and his family, and continues her interests in playing the piano and singing, books, good fellowship, and reality TV in addition to writing. She is an active member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Authors Network. She has written over forty books and has written more than 250 devotionals. Her historical fiction ranges from the Revolutionary War to World War II, from Texas to Vermont.

Interview

Where are you from? 

That’s a bit of a poser. I grew up in New England, went to school in New Jersey and Texas, spent 20 years in Colorado before returning to Oklahoma (lived here for 10 years when the kids were little.) The siren call of grandchildren brought me back.

Tell us your latest news?

Instead of concentrating on historical romance this year (although I am writing at least three new novellas), I am returning with a new cozy mystery series, Murder by the Case. The first book, Case Closed, is written but won’t be published until I finish book two later this year. Murder stalks my sleuth, Carlie Cooper, a home health aide. She came to Oklahoma to start over—so expect major revelations throughout the series. At the end of book one, she’s torn between two men.

I’m also working on a series of devotionals to take the reader through all sixty-six books of the Bible. It’s a work of my heart, one that I am very excited about.

When and why did you begin writing?

I wrote TV-themed stories as a child—any other Trekkie writers out there?—and even wrote society news for a local newspaper for a couple of years. But I date my writing career from the wake of my divorce, in 1991. God encouraged me over and over and I wanted to share what I was learning. After I finished that book, I turned to fiction and haven’t looked back.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

After I had been writing for ten years. I had very few published credits to my name (maybe one a year?). I won a contest for the best nonfiction article by a published author at a national writer’s conference. Winning that contest gave me the confidence to call myself a “writer,” although my first book didn’t get published until 2005.

What inspired you to write your first book?

After the first book, a devotional about the aftermath of abuse and divorce, I turned to a story I had made up in childhood. The storyline resembled Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, although I had made it up in the Sixties and wrote it before the series started. I learned a lot about writing fiction in the process. My third book, Romanian Rhapsody, is the one that was published in 2005.

Do you have a specific writing style?

People say my writing is sweet, and that I have strong characters, that they know they’ll always come away with something.

How did you come up with the title?

For Gunfight at Grace Gulch? I wanted to write about feud-like arguments the land runs created. Reenacting a gunfight—what an opportunity for things to turn deadly! That’s the gunfight part. I chose “gulch” because of a gulch-like place I found in Lincoln County, which become my visual guide to Grace Gulch. Add a founder with a name starting with G, and I had alliteration—one of my favorite tricks.

What would you like my readers to know?

I love hearing from readers, old and new! Stop on by my website to learn more about me, opportunities to win my books, and to sign up for my newsletter.

Also stop by my page on Facebook for daily updates.

Author Links http://www.amazon.com/Darlene-Franklin/e/B001K8993A/ https://www.facebook.com/darlene.franklin.3 www.darlenefranklinwrites.com (currently in development, will be live by November/December) @darlenefranklin
Purchase Links Amazon

A Book Excerpt

The gigantic black hands on the town clock atop our municipal building inched toward twelve o’clock. Audie put a cell phone to his ear. Cord and Penn, reprising their roles as Bob Grace and Dick Gaynor, burst through the saloon doors, shouting insults. My heart stuttered a bit, worried for Cord. Penn sounded really angry. “You can’t get away with it. You’re a scoundrel and a cheat.” Penn’s face was set into deep lines, hatred aging him prematurely. “I’m not a cheat. I arrived first, fair and square. You have to accept it.” Tension twisted my shoulders. I held my breath. “That’s what you think!” Penn pulled out a Colt and fired. A flash of light—popping sounds—two men fell to the ground.

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