Death at the Midnight Dragonfly by Susan Boles Interview & Giveaway

Death at the Midnight Dragonfly
by Susan Boles

 
Death at the Midnight Dragonfly
Argent Ocean Publishing (November 10, 2017)
Paperback: 216 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0997909357
E-Book ASIN: B0771PXNYD

On the fourth day of Christmas,
In Mercy, Mississippi….

Four suspects lying,
Three sleuths a sleuthing
Two clues a hiding
And a very, very dead body.

It’s the Christmas season in Mercy, Mississippi. But things are far from jolly.

For Vlad Templeton the sleepy little town where he spent his childhood provides the perfect place to conduct his state funded sleep study. But when the local bank manager, who was participating in the study, is found dead on his doorstep, is it a set up…or is Vlad somehow involved?

But, when someone makes an attempt on Lily Gayle’s and Dixie’s life, the two realize they better move fast….or they might end up sleeping forever.

About the Author

Susan calls McNairy County, TN her home ground even though she has moved away. It was here, at Bethel Springs Junior High School that she began her writing career with two friends. They formed their own little writers group that was so secret they were the only ones who knew it existed. She still has some of the stories they wrote carefully preserved in a loose leaf binder and tucked away for safety.

She has worked in retail management, briefly for the Census Bureau and for many years in the investment/insurance industry in the regulatory compliance arena. All of which are left brain activities. So she exercises her right brain activity with reading and writing…just to keep both sides even.

Reading has been a passion since she was very young. As a toddler, her mother read to her from her ‘baby books’ and her Mother tells a story about her holding one of them upsidedown and ‘reading’ by repeating the story verbatim from memory.

Susan writes mysteries set in the big city of Memphis, TN and the fictional small town of Mercy, Mississippi.

 Interview

Where are you from?

I'm originally from McNairy County, Tennessee. My family have lived there since the early eighteen hundreds. As a result of that, I'm kin to about fifty percent of the population there. Currently, I live in Olive Branch, Mississippi. That's just south of Memphis, TN. It's still pretty small, but I can be in Memphis in fifteen minutes. I really like that. The best of both worlds. You can take girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl.

Tell us your latest news?

So my latest news is the release of Book 3 in the Lily Gayle Lambert mystery series. Book 1 won some awards and finaled in several competitions, so I'm hoping the new book is as well received. Death at the Midnight Dragonfly bring Lily Gayle, her best friend Dixie and Lily Gayle's cousin, Ben back together to solve another crime. With Ben complaining the whole time since he's the sheriff and doesn’t want his cousin nosing into his cases. This time the manager of the local bank is found dead on the steps of the Midnight Dragonfly. That's a former bed-and-breakfast that is fixin to open a sleep study.

When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing in junior high school. Lots of poetry and short stories. My best friend from back then, and still a close friend now, wrote stories too. We share them with each other and I still have them safe in an old clothbound three ring notebook. I wanted to put my own ideas down on paper and thought it would be really wonderful to be a published author some day.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I would have to say that was after my first flash fiction story was published. I guess I thought being published made me a real writer. Even though I'd been writing for years. That flash fiction story was published in a collection of flash fiction stories call "Blink: Flash Fiction Before You Can Bat An Eye" It's out of print now, but it was really exciting at the time. The story was titled "Intersection" and was about a women standing in a retail store who could see two cars – one older car stalled out in the intersection and the sound of a loud motor racing from the opposite direction. She runs outside screaming and yelling trying to stop the crash. The speeding car screeches to a halt kissing the bumper of the stalled car. Inside the stalled car is a medallion that says "Jesus Is My Co-pilot". It was less than one thousand words.

What inspired you to write your first book?

It was something I'd been sneaking up on for years. First with poetry, then short stories. Finally I took the plunge and decided to write a novel loosely based on one of my great great grandmothers. It's in print now as Sins of the Mother. It's a dark historical women's fiction, but it's meant to answer a mystery in my own life. I've done genealogical research for twenty-five years looking for her family and never found them. The book is my answer to what might have been her story. It took me two years to write it.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I try to tailor the style to the genre I'm writing. My first book, Sins of the Mother, is a very dark historical, and the tone is much darker to suit the story. I also have a contemporary romantic suspense with a completely different style from the historical. And the three Lily Gayle Lambert cozy mysteries have yet another style. Much lighter.

How did you come up with the title?

The title takes it's name from the house/bed-and-breakfast where the murder takes place. And the name for the house came from my love of dragonflies. I've always been fascinated by them. So beautiful! The name is a little different, but I hope everyone likes it.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

The message in the novel is family and friends. And traditions. And how all those things are wonderful, but can still hide secrets that hurt. Small towns may seem wide open, but deep down there are ugly things hiding in the dark. I treat them with humor in the series. You'll find laugh out loud scenes between the characters, but I'd like for readers to also see the hidden things behind the fun.

What would you like my readers to know?

I wanted to write a series set in a small southern town and have the reader know it's a small southern town with going all "kiss my grits" about it. As a lifelong southerner I can truly say I've never heard anyone say that unless they were being mocking. In my opinion, in the south, the way we phrase our sentences and the words we choose are very unique and I tried to convey that in the books. One reviewer of the first book in the series noted that very thing and that really meant a lot to me that at least one person got what I was trying to do.

Thank you so much for having me here. I truly appreciate the opportunity. It's been fun taking a look at the specific things you ask and thinking over the answers.

  

Author Links:
Webpage – Twitter – @SusanBAuthor – Blog – Facebook – Linked In – GoodReads 

Previous Books in this Series

Purchase Links – Amazon B&N

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 11 – A Holland Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 12 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 13 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

November 14 – Deal Sharing Aunt – INTERVIEW

November 15 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW  

November 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book -SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

November 18 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana. Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

November 19 – The Montana Bookaholic – GUEST POST

November 20 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 22 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

November 23 – THANKSGIVING

November 24 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 25 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

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