Misery – Dab of Darkness Book Reviews

Audiobook Giveaway & Interview: Patricia Hale, Author of Scar Tissue

Folks, please welcome mystery author Patricia Hale to the blog. I quite enjoyed her private investigator mystery, Scar Tissue. Enjoy the interview! And scroll to the bottom for the giveaway!

If warning labels and safety features didn’t exist, what would be the likely thing you’d die from?

There’s a wildlife refuge near my house that I visit whenever I can. They provide rehabilitation for everything from wolves, bears and bobcats to eagles and moose. I’d probably get too close to one of the animals and be mauled.

Animal companions can be an important part of life as well as a good story. How do animals feature in your life?

Animals have always played a big role in my life. I grew up riding horses and have always had a dog at my side. I’ve worked in veterinary hospitals and volunteered in shelters. I have shared my life with Labrador Retrievers, Jack Russells and six German Shepherds. My current female shepherd, Enya, and I take part in obedience, tracking and nosework. I am also blessed with a rescued Beagle mix named Muddy, who runs our household.

If you could, what book or movie or TV series would you like to experience for the first time all over again and why?

It would definitely be Dexter. That was the best series I’ve seen. Characters you don’t forget and a twisted plot line. Each installment left you hanging on edge until the following week. I haven’t seen anything as good with the possible exception of The Americans. That was another favorite.

Who are some of your favorite book villains?

Iago from Othello is the first that comes to mind. That story has stayed with me all my life, heartbreaking. Hannibal Lecter is on the list, of course. He was a skillful blend of creepy and charismatic. (You have to love Anthony Hopkins.) Annie Wilkes from Misery is a favorite. I loved her. Jack Torrance from The Shining and Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest are also at the top of my list.

What does your Writer’s Den look like? Neat and tidy or a creative mess? Can you write anywhere or do you need to be holed up in your author cave?

My Writer’s Den is right off the kitchen so I can keep in touch with what’s going on in the house while I write. Besides my desk, the room holds two overflowing bookshelves and a piano that I don’t know how to play. It’s one of my goals… The walls are covered with pictures of my children and my dogs. I guess you could say my desk is a creative mess. I have stacks of books and papers on either side of my computer, but I know where everything is. As I sit here, it’s snowing outside, my propane fireplace is on and my dog, Enya, is lying on her bed chewing a bone. It’s quite cozy.

If you could sit down and have dinner with five dead authors, who would you invite to the table? What would they order?

My guest list would include:
Edgar Allen Poe, Beef Wellington and Cabernet Sauvignon
Virginia Woolf, a winter salad and Pinot Grigio
Anita Shreve, Caesar salad with grilled salmon and Chardonnay
Jack Kerouac, burger, fries and beer
Jack London, trout, baked potato and whiskey

You have to run an obstacle course. Who would you invite along (living or dead, real or fictional)?

My son because he does Cycle Cross (obstacle courses on a mountain bike). Ja Lo, she’s in great shape and I’d love to meet her. Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis just because… Secretariat and Rin Tin Tin. I’ve really dated myself with that list!

What upcoming events and works would you like to share with readers?

I will be at Authors by the Sea, an event held at Cisco Brewery in Portsmouth, NH on April 14th signing and selling my books along with many other writers and publishers. I’ll also be attending New England Authors Expo, June 29th at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA. This is one of the largest promotional events for writers and publishers held in New England. Both of these events are free to the public.

About the Author

When I told my dad that I wanted to write, he told me that writers don’t make any money. Paid for or not, the words still have to be put to the page. And so… I’m a writer with a day job and split my time between the characters in my head and the ones I work with at a holistic veterinary hospital. When the computer is off, I’m hiking or snowshoeing with my dogs or if it’s summer, kayaking on one of New England’s beautiful lakes. I am a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and NH Writers Project. I received an MFA degree from Goddard College in Vermont and currently live in New Hampshire with my husband, our German Shepherd, one bossy Beagle and a grumpy, old cat.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ GoodReads

Book Blurb for Scar Tissue

Ashley Lambert jumped 18 stories to her death. It’s a clear-cut suicide. And Ashley’s parents want to know why their flawless daughter would take her life. They’ve hired the PI team of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan to find the answers. When the investigation leads to performance enhancing drugs and blackmail, Ashley’s coaches, peers and even her parents come into question. The disturbing truth is testimony to the lines that are crossed, and risks taken…in the name of love.

Meanwhile, when Britt sees the bruising on her neighbor’s arm she can’t let it go, and is working overtime to bring to light the violent behavior next door. The neighbor, Rhea McKenzie, has a secret. Bruises aren’t the only thing she’s hiding. When an off-hand comment discloses a connection to Ashley Lambert, the two cases become entwined, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Britt is sucked into an alliance with Rhea and forced to make decisions that challenge her ethics, threaten her relationship and in the end, may cost her everything.

Audible ~ GoodReads ~ Amazon

About the Narrator

Lili Dubuque has more than 15 years of voice-over experience. She has done everything from radio and TV to industrial training videos to telephone-messages-on hold. But her favorite is audio book narration. “I love to take a book that maybe was under-appreciated in print and make it explode through the magic of audio!”

ACX ~ Facebook

About Intrigue Publishing

Intrigue Publishing was established in May 2012 with the objective of publishing at least six books each year. We strive to publish books by authors who have a unique perspective and compelling authority. These will be works that intrigue the reader, that is, arouse the reader’s curiosity with their unusual, new, fascinating and compelling qualities.

We will achieve success in the publishing industry and earn for ourselves and our authors by producing books that appeal to the reader’s curiosity, fancy and interest. We will nurture authors who can create quality works that will appeal to the reader’s interest. We will mentor authors who produce writing that cannot be ignored.

We believe that talented authors deserve attention not only from publishers, but from readers as well. To sell the book is only the beginning of our mission. We will work to build avid audiences of readers who are enriched by the books we produce and are eager for future publications. Our library of works may span several genres.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

GIVEAWAY!!!

Intrigue Publishing is giving away 2 audiobook copies of Scar Tissue. You must have an Audible US account to receive the book if you win. To enter, do the Rafflecopter thing below, or answer these questions in the comments: 1) Do you have an Audible US account? 2) Who are your favorite private investigators? 3) Leave a way to contact you (email, twitter, etc.) in case you win. Giveaway ends April 30, 2019, midnight.

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Giveaway & Interview: Kathleen Valenti, Author of As Directed

Heya Dabbers, here’s another great interview and giveaway! Check out this entertaining interview with mystery genre author Kathleen Valenti. Then go check out the paperbook giveaway of As Directed at the bottom of the post.

A toy company makes a replica action figure of your likeness. What 2 accessories do they include?

“Action Figure Kathleen” would come complete with a cup of coffee that rivals the size of her head and a stack of books that she can’t wait to read. Unless, of course, the Kathleen doll is like one of those giant Barbie heads. Then it would have unkempt hair and spinach between the incisors.

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Fortunately—or unfortunately—I’ve experienced a number of mystery novel-worthy events in my life. In fact, my first two books feature ripped-from-Kathleen’s-life happenings. PROTOCOL, my debut novel, was partly inspired by a computer snafu in which my computer’s hard drive was swapped for someone else’s. 39 WINKS, the series’ second book, was informed by my chronic sleepwalking and the notion of sleep-crime.

Recently, I’ve been receiving packages containing items I never ordered. The packages typically contain no packing slip or receipt, and most don’t list a return address. The items have ranged from bubble making machines to phone cases to a sweatshirt with the statement I’M A CAT emblazoned across the front. The most eerie to arrive was a suitcase. After all of these mysterious packages, I was afraid to open it. What would be inside? Stolen jewels? Smuggled drugs? A body? Turned out it was empty, but STILL. It was pretty creepy.

I later found out that these packages were sent by overseas companies who had stolen our identity through Amazon. It’s a scheme called “brushing,” and evidently it’s a way for companies to build positive reviews by showing that their items were received by verified buyers. I don’t quite see how it pencils out for these companies, but they do it.

I think the idea of strange packages coming from unknown sources could make a great premise for a book. *scuttles off to write the first chapter*

If warning labels and safety features didn’t exist, what would be the likely thing you’d die from?

Okay, I’m not sure what I’d die from, but I did see a warning label that made me die with laughter. It was on the cord of my rarely used clothing iron, warning me against ironing clothes on my body. Good tip.

Is there a genre or literary niche that you feel hasn’t gotten its deserved amount of attention?

I’d also love to see more humor books à la Dave Barry and David Sedaris. The world needs more laughter.

What has been your worst or most difficult job? How does it compare to writing?

Customer service is ROUGH. I think my toughest—or maybe strangest— gig was at a lingerie shop. People tell you all kinds of very personal stuff when buying underthings. All I really wanted to know was whether they had a coupon.

Writing presents its own challenges, of course. It’s a lot of juggling to keep the plot, character, and good writing balls in the air, and it can be a solitary and lonely pursuit. It’s a job for which I’m very grateful. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Who are some of your favorite book villains?

I love villains! In some ways, I find them more interesting than heroes.

I think my favorite villain is Annie Wilkes from Stephen King’s Misery. She’s a stealth-villain. She doesn’t come on the scene with a bomb strapped to her chest or turn her friends into appetizers like Hannibal Lecter (although he’s a great villain, as well). Her villainy—and her mission—come on slowly, like a poisonous fog. King did a fantastic job of humanizing her and giving her a reason for her actions. When I create villains and antagonists for my books, I try to take a page from King’s works. He knows how to build bad guys and gals.

If you could sit down and have dinner with 5 dead authors, who would you invite to the table? What would they order?

I’d invite Agatha Christie (natch), who would order a traditional English tea and share her cucumber sandwich with me. (She’s kind and generous like that.) I’d also have J.D. Salinger who would order ham on rye (ha ha), Sylvia Plath who likely wouldn’t eat anything, Ernest Hemingway who would drink his meal, and William Saroyan who would dine on dolma. I hope all of us could break bread together. I’m sure we’d have much to talk about.

Care to share an awkward fangirl/fanboy moment, either one where someone was gushing over your work…..or one where you were gushing over another author’s work?

Just ONE awkward story? I got a million of ‘em.

A memorable one was when I met the fabulous and talented Hank Phillippi Ryan, whose work I greatly admire and who blurbed my first book. She was making her way from one panel presentation to another when I stepped into her path and said, “I love you. I mean…I love your books. And I loved that you blurbed mine.” I think it went downhill from there. I don’t know. I basically blacked out in an embarrassment-induced psychogenic fugue. I do know that Hank was gracious and wonderful as always.

You have to run an obstacle course. Who do you invite along (living or dead, real or fictional)?

I think I’d invite Lara Croft. I have a feeling she’d be equipped to handle whatever came our way.

Finally, what upcoming events and works would you like to share with the readers?

I’m suuuuuper excited to share my latest book, As Directed. It’s the third book in the Agatha Award-nominated Maggie O’Malley Mystery Series. Here’s the skinny:

Book Blurb for As Directed

In the shadow of a past fraught with danger and tainted by loss, former pharmaceutical researcher Maggie O’Malley is rebuilding her life, trading test tubes for pill bottles as she embarks on a new career at the corner drugstore. But as she spreads her wings, things begin to go terribly wrong. A customer falls ill in the store. Followed by another. And then more. The specter of poisoning arises, conjuring old grudges, past sins, buried secrets and new suspicions from which no one is immune. As Maggie and her best friend Constantine begin to investigate, they discover that some of the deadliest doses come from the most unexpected places.

Amazon ~ GoodReads

About the Author

KATHLEEN VALENTI is a nationally award-winning copywriter who pens for agencies in Oregon and North Carolina. Known as an adept storyteller who flexes her writing muscles with evocative description, compelling concepts, and emotional connections, Valenti has written for her supper for more than twenty years. She lives in Oregon where she says she pretends to enjoy running. For more information, visit Kathleen at www.kathleenvalenti.com.

Website ~ FaceBook ~ Twitter

Giveaway!!!

Kathleen Valenti and JKS Publicity are offering up 1 paperbook copy of As Directed. US only due to shipping. Do the Rafflecopter thing below or answer these questions in the comments: 1) What villain would you give a happy ending if you could? 2) Do you live in the US? 3) Leave a way to contact you (email, twitter, etc.) should you win. Giveaway ends April 10, 2019, midnight.

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Interview: Christopher Graves, Author of Sinner

Everyone, please give a warm welcome to thriller writer Christopher Graves! We chat about his forthcoming book, Hannibal Lector, Thunderdome, and so much more! Enjoy!

If you could be an extra on a TV show or movie, what would it be and what would you be doing? I think I’d have to go back to the days before I became a working actor and say I would have loved to be an extra in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. I’d want to be some dude without dental insurance, wearing rags and shaking buzzard feathers as I hang from inside the dome! I love George Miller’s work, but the REAL reason is because I have always had a massive crush on Tina Turner–like prolly just short of restraining order level crush!

If you could give any literary villain a happy ending who would you chose? I’d give Annie Wilkes from Misery another shot at happiness. Get her on a few meds, maybe a dating site for misunderstood fanatics (stalkers). I mean, I believe there’s someone for everybody. And a new career–I could see her going into professional wrestling: Annie the Ankle-buster?!

Is there a genre or literary niche that you feel hasn’t gotten its deserved amount of attention? To be honest, I’ve been focused on horrors and dark suspense thrillers for most of my life, so I might not have noticed if a particular genre is malnourished. But I can say I gravitate toward more grounded, could-actually-happen kind of plots, because of the adrenaline surges.

If you could, what book or movie or TV series would you like to experience for the first time all over again and why? Broadchurch and Happy Valley. Olivia Coleman and Sarah Lancashire are two of my absolute favorite actresses. The incredible writing combined relatable characters, complicated circumstances and a turbulent environment create unrivaled mystery/suspense.

What has been your worst or most difficult job? How does it compare to writing? I’ve been working since I was fourteen, so I’ve done everything from serving ice cream, to initiating huge redemptions for high net worth clients, to folding sweaters in a retail chain. But by far, the worst job I’ve ever had was picking cotton in southwest Texas…in August. It was sticky and prickly and the humidity felt like you had your own personal St. Bernard, constantly breathing on your dirt-crusted neck!

Who are your favorite hero duos from the pages? Definitely Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling and then also, Christopher Robin and Pooh.

Do you have any phobias? I’m not a lover of crowds or tight spaces, but I don’t think I’m quite to the point of phobias.

Would you prefer to visit Earth in 2100 or travel back to 1900 for a short visit? Why? I’d definitely pick the 1900 choice, though not in southwest Missouri (those Bald Knobbers were BANANAS!) I think I’d like the idea of living off the land and not having to worry about good cell coverage.

If you could sit down and have dinner with 5 dead authors, who would you invite to the table? What would they order? I’m an avid cook, so dinner would be at my place and would probably be some authentic Tex-Mex. Although some of these writers are still alive, I’d love to eat and chat with J. R. R. Tolkien, Maya Angelou, Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Harris, Mo Hayder, and Jane Austen (for my wife, whose own dinner plans would have conveniently cancelled for that night.)

Finally, what upcoming events and works would you like to share with the readers? My debut novel, Sinner, will be released on April 5th, 2018. It’s a dark psychological thriller about a modern-day fundamentalist serial killer who is a direct descendant of the infamous vigilante gang, the Bald Knobbers.

Also, in addition to starting on my second book, I’m developing a second season of my comedic, buddy-flick styled web series, With Friends Like These.

SINNER

By Christopher Graves

AWARD-WINNING SCREENPLAY, INSPIRED BY INFAMOUS 19^TH CENTURY VIGILANTE GROUP, SOON TO BECOME

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER NOVEL

SINNER, named Best Psychological Thriller Script by the New Hope International Film Festival, will soon become a published novel in April 2018. Written by Christopher Graves, the psychological thriller is inspired by the Bald Knobbers, one of the most feared gangs of vigilantes in 19th century America. Its prologue opens in Douglas County, MO, just 50 miles from the Bald Knobbers’ first meeting on April 5th, 1885 in Kirbyville. Readers are taken back in time to the year 1887, where Minerva Yates lies on a dusty patch outside her local brothel waiting to die. Met with enormous misfortune, she and her bevy of soiled doves are the latest targets of the infamous Bald Knobbers. Paul Adison, a teenage member of the group, stands mask-less between his disguised counterparts—surrounding the terrified young women who fear the worst. Declaring his devotion to the Word, Paul initiates the act of moral justice, dragging the sinful women to their deaths.

Now, more than a century later, a devilish character emerges from present-day Eastern Pennsylvania. Clad in a goat-horned hoodie, middle-aged Zeke is a modernized version of his Bald Knobber grandfather, Paul Adison. Speaking almost exclusively in verses quoted directly from the King James Version of the Bible, Zeke believes his crusade has been ordained by God himself, which gives him the ultimate consent and mandate to capture and cleanse. As he encounters more and more “tainted” souls in and around Pennsylvania throughout SINNER, it becomes clear this malevolent serial killer will stop at nothing in pursuit of his moral quest. Strong and colossally resilient female characters, like the flawed and severely destructive Sylvia and the scrappy, tenacious Dani, influence and propel Zeke’s entire journey.

A psychological thriller sure to engulf fans of the genre and beyond, SINNER offers readers:

· A fictional account of the heinous acts committed by the Bald Knobbers, one of the most feared gangs of vigilantes in 19th century America

· Grimy, psychological thrill alongside suspenseful acts of a ruthless main character, who will stop at nothing to cleanse the souls of those he deems tainted and unholy

· Terrifying, ceremonial moments fueled by a rage-filled mind and compelled by a violent, twisted interpretation of God’s will

· Cinematic imagery which creates the experience of watching a movie within the reader’s mind

About the Author

Christopher Graves is an actor, filmmaker and award-winning screenwriter. His performance credits include Sneaky Pete, Divorce, The Blacklist, Shades of Blue, Nurse Jackie, as well as many network on-camera and voice-over commercials for national brands. He is the creator and writer of the comedic web series, With Friends Like These and the feature-length screenplay, Sinner, which was named Best Psychological Thriller Script by the New Hope International Film Festival. Graves lives in Manhattan with his wife and two judgmental Siberian cats.