An Interview with Annette Dashofy by E.B. Davis

When a local Erie vet is shot during a robbery, Erie City Police Detective Matthias Honeywell and his partner Cassie Malone are tasked with pursuing the perpetrators. But as they close in on the truth, a mysterious sniper targets those involved in the case.

Emma Anderson has seen more than her share of cases since becoming a journalist in Lake Erie, and with news of the shooting becoming local interest, her instincts kick in. What she didn’t expect to uncover was a secret that could cause an ethical dilemma between Matthias and Cassie.

As the search for the sniper continues and the investigation taking a dark turn, Cassie and Emma find themselves caught up in a kidnapping plot. As the women are forced to draw on their resourcefulness to survive, will they manage to escape or is time against them?

Amazon.com

What’s the sign of a great series? Wondering what happens next to the characters after you turn the last page. In No Stone Left Unturned, Annette Dashofy writes suspense in every page. Luckily for us, the book is now on Kindle Unlimited.

 

In the first three books in the Detective Matthias Honeywell mystery series, I’ve grown to love Honeywell’s partner, Cassie Malone, who is his senior, a black, female grandmother, which may make her one of the deadliest creatures on earth. Unfortunately, in No Stone Left Unturned, her family becomes the main focus when her veterinarian husband is shot in the chest for no apparent reason. It’s up to Matthias and Emma to solve the mystery as Cassie is sidelined from participating in the case.

 

Do yourselves a favor and download this book. It’s suspense at its finest. You care about the characters, who find themselves in a downhill avalanche trying to stay alive.

                                                                                                                                         E. B. Davis

 

Aw, thanks, E.B!

 

I forget. How did Matthias get from Oklahoma, where he was raised, to Erie?

 

When he was a young cop, he fell in love with a woman from Erie and followed her there when she moved home. However, when he proposed marriage, she turned him down and married an attorney instead. She and her new husband returned to Oklahoma. A heartbroken Matthias stayed in Erie and has been there ever since.

 

Emma is at the crime scene outside of Shawn’s veterinary clinic after the police have been notified. As a newbie photojournalist, why is she uncomfortable in her job?

 

Emma never wanted a career in photojournalism because she feels it’s intrusive, taking pictures of people on their worst days. However, she has this “fantasy” of being at crime scenes, working with Matthias. I put that in quotes because she realizes it isn’t going to happen. If anything, it puts them at odds.

 

Shawn and Cassie are fiercely loyal to Shawn’s employees, as they are to him. How does Cassie react when he questions her about them?

 

Cassie’s defensive because Shawn trusts his employees like family. On the other hand, as a cop, she knows Matthias is only doing his job, and his questions raise concerns of her own.

Shawn Malone, Cassie’s husband, is known for his kindness, especially when it comes to treating pets who have low-income owners. Because of this policy, when his office manager, Bethany, accepts a last-minute appointment with a man who can’t afford his dog’s care, it’s treated as routine. But before the conclusion of the appointment, three masked men raid the office for drugs and cash, and then shoot Shawn in the chest. Why does Matthias suspect that Bethany may have been in on the attack on Shawn? 

Since the men gain access through a side door that’s locked to the outside, and since Bethany had just let the dog and its owner through those same doors, she’s immediately suspect. How else could those gunmen have gotten in unless she’d left the door unlocked for them?

 

Finding a motive for the shooting is the hardest part of the case. No one disliked Shawn. The detectives on the case, Matthias, and his underlings, Frazier and Roth, wonder if it is Cassie that the shooter was trying to hurt. Why do they eliminate that motive?

 

Cassie doesn’t recognize any of the gunmen, although since they’re masked, it’s difficult for her to be 100% certain. Once the police identify them, though, she’s positive she’s not encountered them in any of her past investigations. And the Erie police can’t find any connections to Cassie, either.

 

Why is Emma’s friend, Eric Baker, who lives in their hometown in Southwestern PA, so interested for Emma to sell the land that Emma and her younger sister, Nell, have inherited? Does he get a commission? Shouldn’t he know she can’t approve the sale without her sister’s consent?

 

There’s more going on there than meets the eye. Emma did leave the care of her property in Eric’s hands, so it’s logical that any offers would come through him, and he definitely knows that Nell’s consent is necessary to sell the land. As to why he’s being such a pain about it, you’ll have to wait for the next book!

 

Emma has to make a decision about her living arrangements. It’s August and the campground where she is living in a mobile home will close in October. What is she contemplating?

 

It’s not a mobile home; it’s a 17-foot camper with no insulation, so even if the campground stayed open, she couldn’t survive an Erie winter in her current residence. She doesn’t really have plans, although she needs to give serious thought to the situation. The idea that Matthias might invite her to move in with him is appealing, but she’s afraid too much togetherness might sink their fledgling relationship. A lot of Erie homeowners winter over in southern locales and rent out their northern homes for the season. That feels like a better option, but Emma doesn’t have the time or inclination to give it a lot of thought right now.

 

Because Matthias is busy trying to solve the case, he relies on Emma to give Cassie friendship and company while Shawn is in and out of the operating room. Emma is put into a dual role. She’s on the inside of a journalist’s story and yet, because the two couples socialize, she’s also a casual friend. How does Emma resolve the two?

 

Emma tries her best to avoid being put in the position of spy, but her loyalties are sorely tested! We are talking about Cassie Malone, after all, and Cassie is a force of nature, so when she demands details of the case, Emma can’t really say no. 

After Cassie talks to Shawn once he is stable, Shawn tells Cassie about the shooter. They conclude it was a racially motivated attack, but as it turns out, it was not. Is this an emotional response? Do people overcompensate by blaming what is convenient rather than looking at the facts?

It’s a logical assumption for them to reach, and it goes beyond emotions. They’ve experienced racism all their lives. It would be naïve to ignore the possibility in this case.

 

Among the things on Matthias’s mind while trying to solve the case is his relationship with Emma. He’s afraid she will leave Erie after her lease is up at the campground. What is the basis of his fear?

 

Matthias and Emma definitely have communication issues! From his perspective, he’s not had a lot of luck with women. He’s only been in love twice and both times, it ended badly. He built walls around his heart, and it’s been ages since he let someone get close. Now that he has feelings for Emma, he worries he’s going to lose her, too.

 

With one of the clinic’s suspected attackers found dead, they go after the second suspect who enters a warehouse area. While investigating, a sniper opens fire from an upper window. Unknowingly, Emma and her journalist partner enter the scene where Emma finds herself pinned down by the shots. Why doesn’t she dive for cover? Why does she hold the button on her camera down for automatic and continuous picture taking?

 

You get totally focused on that viewfinder and lose sense of what’s really going on. It happened to me. Well, not getting shot at, but I was photographing a wild coyote that was posing beautifully for me! I was so intent on getting the shot, I didn’t comprehend how close the coyote was getting until my husband shouted at me. I looked up from the viewfinder to realize it was very close! As for keeping the shutter depressed, when you’re dealing with action, you don’t try to compose the photo. You simply keep firing. If you’re lucky, when you go through a thousand images, you’ll find that one perfect shot.

When Emma allows Matthias to have a copy of her photos, she gets reprimanded by her boss at the online newspaper. Why? And what is Emma’s reaction?

The memory card Emma turned over to Matthias is property of ErieLIVE. The police may need those original source files when the case goes to trial, so they give her a copy to take back to the news outlet. But Emma’s boss sees it as a breach. Journalists don’t cater to the police, at least not without approval from management. Since Matthias saved her life, Emma doesn’t feel she could turn him down on the matter. It’s another case of Emma’s loyalties coming into question.

 

Why do guns and cameras have a lot of the same terminology?

 

I honestly don’t know. You aim both. You shoot pictures. Weapons obviously came first, but I’ve always found it interesting that photography stole so much of the terminology.

 

When investigating, secrets are revealed. But when the subjects of the case are friends, it is especially difficult to ask questions about them. Both Matthias and Emma dig up secrets of Shawn’s and those close to him. What is so hard about revealing the truth?

 

Some secrets are kept hidden to avoid re-opening old injuries. Haven’t we all made youthful indiscretions that we prefer stayed buried?

 

You chose to set your novel in the heat of August, which made for great January reading by your freezing audience. But as the motive turned out to be revenge, I question if you flaunt the quote about revenge being a dish served cold?

 

It wasn’t intentional. It takes the biggest part of a year to write a book, and I have no control over when it gets released. Believe me, having a mid-winter launch in snowy Pennsylvania would not have been my first choice!

 

Emma needs to go home and asks Matthias to accompany her. What’s next for them?

 

The fifth Honeywell mystery picks up right where this one leaves off, with Matthias and Emma headed back to her hometown to deal with Eric, Nell, and the land situation.  Watch for it in September!

An Interview with Annette Dashofy by E.B. Davis

 “Running isn’t an answer.”

Nell clutched Emma’s arm and shook it. “Running’s the only answer.”

Annette Dashofy, Keep Your Family Close, Kindle Loc. 3130

 

When a badly decomposed body is found in the basement of an abandoned warehouse, Erie police detective, Matthias Honeywell, is called in to investigate.

 

Meanwhile, freelance photographer Emma Anderson is desperately trying to find her drug-addicted sister, Nell. Then a devastating piece of evidence found at Detective Honeywell’s crime scene brings her world crashing down, a driver’s license belonging to her missing sister.

 

In need of her assistance, Matthias asks Emma to help with the case, hoping to solve the mysterious disappearance of Nell Anderson. But in doing so, will the investigation uncover more questions than answers?

Amazon.com

 

Portraying realism is one of Annette Dashofy’s writing strengths. It’s a problem because readers can relate all too well to the characters’ humanity. Human nature being what it is, main character Emma and her sister, Nell, share a history that has made each one vulnerable to abusive men. Nell compounds the wounds they suffered by abusing herself with drugs and alcohol. It’s the paradox of the victim that bites.

 

But Emma is older and has undergone the transition from victim to normality. As she watches Nell, her pain and empathy are apparent when Emma slaps Nell’s tormenter across the face. In Keep Your Family Close, Annette’s second Detective Honeywell Mystery, Emma’s trusted, hometown-friend Eric Baker becomes her ally in protecting Nell and the contention of Matthias Honeywell, whose gaydar isn’t working.

 

Welcome to the flip-side of WWK, Annette!                                                                       E. B. Davis

 

Thank you, E.B.!

 

Can extreme suffering create either victims or monsters?

 

What a great philosophical question. I’m not a philosopher by any means, but I do think any extreme emotional pressure will clear out the superfluous and bring the true nature of a person to the surface. With suffering, some will rise above the misery and become a better person. Of course, that doesn’t work well for crime fiction, so yes. Some will succumb to the pressure and fall into a victim mentality, while others will seek retribution, blaming the world for their troubles and will become so-called monsters.

 

What happened to Emma and Nell’s parents? Did Emma and Nell get any grief counseling after their parents died?

 

Years ago, their parents were killed in a traffic accident. They’d been away on a vacation, on which they’d wanted the girls to join them. Emma had refused, and Nell followed suit. Driving home, their father fell asleep at the wheel and crashed, leaving both daughters guilt-ridden. Emma tried counseling briefly, but her boyfriend at the time convinced her it was a waste. Nell never did seek therapy, choosing instead to crawl into a bottle, which started her downward spiral.

 

Both of the murder victims have fatal flaws. The first was a womanizer. The second was a bully. It was interesting to see how a realistic friend portrays the second victim in front of her family. Do you think most families are blind to the flaws of their members or do they share the trait, which they don’t think are flaws?

 

Basically, no parent wants to see their children’s flaws. “Not my baby. My child would never.” Et cetera, et cetera. As for family members not seeing the same trait in themselves, many of us are blind to our own weaknesses. Even when I’m writing villains, I always keep in mind that everyone is the hero of their own story.

 

The police started looking at Erie High School yearbooks to determine if relationships between victims and missing persons existed. How big of a town is Erie?

 

“Big” is a relative term, right? I live in a rural township, so Erie seems like a big city to me. But to someone from London (where my publisher is based), it’s a small town. It’s the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania with a population of just under 95,000. By comparison, New York City has 8.5 million. But Erie does have an international airport. This is all part of why I love it as a setting. There are so many story opportunities.

 

Why doesn’t Cassie Malone, Matthias’s boss/partner/friend, like good coffee?

 

Ha! It’s not that Cassie doesn’t like good coffee, but she’s practical. She’s a wife, a mom, and a grandmother raising her young granddaughter, so to her, buying the expensive stuff is a waste of money. Plus, she likes to nag at single, childless Matthias, and his high-priced coffee habit is good material.

 

After Emma is told of Nell’s death, she goes back to her hometown to make funeral arrangements. Did she have any interest in trying to find out what happened to her sister? Or did the phone call from hotel employee Katie bring Emma into the investigation?

 

When Emma first learns of Nell’s death, she isn’t surprised. That was a notification she’d anticipated for a long time. And yes, Katie’s phone call stirs Emma’s curiosity. While she has expected to learn Nell has died of an overdose, she’s still curious about her sister’s final days.

 

How did Eric know that Emma was interested in a man from Erie?

 

Eric has known Emma since they were kids. Knows her better than maybe she even knows herself. He can read her like the proverbial book. Her tendency to protest too much only confirms his suspicions.

 

Although Emma knows Matthias isn’t an abuser, does she have a reluctance to become dependent on a man?

 

Absolutely. She’s been down that path before with disastrous results. On top of that, Emma has seen Matthias’s anger issues. She trusts him not to hurt her—in fact, he has put himself in harm’s way to protect her—but she really doesn’t want any more complications in her life.

 

Do Emma and Nell own the family land where they lived after Emma’s tormenter and stalker burned down both houses? Wouldn’t some of the insurance money from the house fires go to Nell, not just to Emma?

 

It would. Stay tuned for future developments. *wink wink*

Emma knows that running won’t solve problems. Nell thinks running is the only solution. Is it knowing that the problem(s) follow and knowing that Emma won in the end that gives her the courage to stand fast? Or is Nell immature?

 

I don’t know that “immature” is the right word. In some ways, her life on the streets made her wiser than Emma. But Nell is definitely wounded. Deeply.

 

How did Emma luck out and find men, friend and romantic, who can cook?

 

Right? Lucky gal! Considering Emma lives in a 17-foot camper with a tiny galley for a kitchen, I think it’s a good thing she has people around who can feed her! Maybe it’s a sixth sense with her!

 

Emma finds out that Matthias can ride horses and that his mother was a barrel racer, something Emma only tried once. Is this another attraction for her?

 

This may be the biggest attraction for her at this point! She misses her old life on the farm. She misses her horse. Now here’s this man who she finds attractive but slightly scary. They have absolutely nothing in common. No reason beyond the search for the truth about Nell to bring them together. Then she sees those photos in his apartment! He becomes a lot more attractive to her now that she knows he’s a cowboy at heart.

 

Does Matthias have a morbid sense of romance? The first kiss at his old partner’s grave—really!

 

Not at all! Very early in Where the Guilty Hide, we learned that Emma enjoys the peace and solitude of the cemetery. Matthias visits his late partner there on a regular basis. It’s the first place Emma and Matthias ever laid eyes on each other. Nothing with this pair is ever going to be “normal,” so I think it was the perfect place for their first kiss!

 

What’s next for Emma and Matthias? Will Emma still try and connect with Nell?

 

Nell’s story has wrapped up for now. Emma has to learn to let go and move on. Next up, we get to dive into Matthias’s dark and mysterious past. I’ve hinted so much about what happened to him, it’s time to bring his worst nightmares to the surface.

 

    

 

An Interview with TG Wolff

Sometimes it’s easier to take responsibility for something than to be the victim. (415)

There are worse things than coping. (1645)

Intellect without purpose is a waste. (1844)

It took experience, hard lessons to begin to imagine how things you thought

were only about you could hit others hard. (2634)

TG Wolff, Driving Reign

The woman in the stingy hospital bed wasn’t dead. The question for Detective Jesus De La Cruz: did the comatose patient narrowly survive suicide or murder?

Faithful friends paint a picture of a guileless young woman, a victim of both crime and society. Others describe a cold woman with a proclivity for icing interested men with a single look.

Beneath the rhetoric, Cruz unearths a twisted knot of reality and perception. A sex scandal, a jilted lover, a callous director, a rainmaker, and a quid pro quo have Cruz questioning if there is such a thing as an innocent man. Truth is a strong rope, tied in a noose. As he closes in, the knot tightens, but who will pay the price? A killer or a member of Cruz’s own family?

https://tgwolff.com/mystery/

Driving Reign is TG Wolff’s second book in The DeLa Cruz Case Files. I interviewed TG about her first book, Exacting Justice, in May of 2018. You can read that interview here.

The plot of Driving Reign is compelling. A lone, young woman, Sophie, is attacked and raped. All the institutions, her sorority, university, and the justice system, designed to help her, fail her. Detective Jesus De La Cruz, TG’s main character, is asked to look into her case after she is found unconscious from an overdose of sleeping pills, an apparent suicide attempt. She lies in the hospital in a coma. The reader wants justice for Sophie.

Please welcome TG Wolff, who also writes under the pseudonym of Anita DeVito, back to WWK.                                                                                                  E. B. Davis

Falling snow can be calming. But in this Cleveland setting, it is anything but. How did you use it to set the tempo, accompany the clashes in this book, and affect the plot? Growing up in Cleveland, lake effect snow is as normal as Stadium Mustard and the Cleveland Browns changing head coaches. I only recently became aware of how rare the phenomenon is. There are only a hand full of places in the world where winds and lakes combine the way they do around the Great Lakes. If lake effect is new to you, check out this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHkKVEvscmg

You can see lake effect coming. It can bury half of Greater Cleveland and leave the other half untouched- it just depends on the winds. This story, on one level, is about the winds that change the lives of the three characters central to the mystery: Andrew Posey, Val Hannigan, and Sophie DeMusa. The decisions each makes permanently affects the others, as well as spilling over to Det. Jesus De La Cruz (Cruz), his family, and other characters. To an extent, the lake effect snow is a metaphor for the idea that we share this world, and change, when it comes, blankets everyone. That message is much more relevant now, amid COVID-19, than when I wrote the book just a year ago.

I was surprised that Aurora had horrible credit card debt. Her parents seem like responsible people who would have taught her financial responsibility, but her response is to get more credit cards. Was she spoiled as a child?

My initial reaction was no, Aurora was not spoiled, but the truth of that answer depends on the point of view. She and her sisters grew up in a two-parent household where both were professionals. They were not given everything, but they also didn’t want for much. If there was a parenting flaw, it was that they did not recognize Aurora did not know how to live within her means. By choosing to be an elementary school teacher, her means were significantly lower than those of her parents. But Aurora is an adult, one intelligent enough and capable enough to be trusted with children, so we won’t be blaming Mommy and Daddy. Truth is, this is fall out of Aurora’s personality. She is not motivated by money. She’s an artist; she is motivated by passion. Like all good characters, it is both her biggest strength and her greatest weakness.

How does Jesus convince Aurora to move in with him?

Jesus De La Cruz loves Aurora Williams. He had wanted to get engaged amid the hunt for a serial killer (Exacting Justice). Aurora loved him but realized the time wasn’t right. When he discovered the extent of Aurora’s debt and that some of the debt came from buying him gifts he took for granted, he searched for a solution to save her. She needed to slash expenses.  He used the practical solution (bye, bye rent, utilities, renter’s insurance) as the leverage to move them another step closer together.

Although Jesus claims to separate his professional and private life, he seems to transfer his suspicions to those dear to him like Aurora and Bollier. Why can’t he have faith in them?

Cruz isn’t a perfect detective. (If he was, Exacting Justice would have a different ending.) Cruz is a man who lived undercover for seven years, separating himself from his family, living a double life that drove him into a bottle. Then and now, as a homicide detective, people lie to him constantly. It has left a mark on him. Once bitten, twice shy, thrice determined to not let it happen again. With his analytical brain, it truly doesn’t dawn on him that “lying” can be about anything other than deceit.

With Bollier, Cruz did have faith in him. Absolute faith. Cruz had unconsciously put Bollier on a pedestal. When Cruz concluded Bollier lied to him, it broke that pedestal. Cruz didn’t know how to handle it and Bollier wasn’t much better. Good thing Aurora was smarter than the both of them.

When it came to Aurora, Cruz doesn’t have full confidence in himself as her man. The incident that ended his undercover career changed forever the face he knew. He hated what he saw, especially when the wounds were fresh. He has not learned to see what others see when they look at him. Aurora is beautiful; he has trouble believing  when she can have anyone, she chose him. 

Does the cat’s eye necklace have more significance to Jesus than a gift from Aurora?

Keeping with the theme of not believing Aurora would want a man like him, the cat’s eye stone, which is a reminder of Aurora’s eyes, symbolized her commitment.  Aurora gave him the stone on a leather necklace the morning he left to go back under cover. She was afraid, not knowing how long this goodbye would be. Cruz had just hit bottom, dealing with Internal Affairs, missing her art show. She was afraid to let him go but knew he needed to redeem himself in his own eyes. The necklace signified her acceptance of him, her commitment to wait for him to come out the other side.

Do all sororities and fraternities have employed representatives for each of their houses?

I did use creative license here. The original inspiration for the story was the Medusa (anagram DeMusa) legend. In the story, Poseidon is after the beautiful Medusa. She runs, hiding in a temple of Athena. Poseidon rapes Medusa. Rather than defend Medusa, Athena rages that her temple has been violated and turns Medusa into, well, Medusa.

The sorority (Alpha Theta Nu = Athena) is used to illustrate this “woman turning on woman” as a form of exerting power. The representative is the power, the women in the house are the future.

Sophie seems rather proactive. Why didn’t she immediately go to the police and have rape procedures done on her after the attack?

Sophie didn’t believe she was a victim. She was ashamed of her behavior (eating too little, drinking too much), she was uncertain of what she agreed to. She told herself she was a grown woman, grown enough to live with her mistakes. For Sophie, this was more acceptable than being a victim. If her head believed it, her heart did not. Over time, she began to exhibit the symptoms of being a victim, which her employers recognized. Seeking help and taking control back of her life was an inciting incident to the story, albeit one that happened weeks before Page 1.

Since the case Bollier asked Jesus to look into isn’t official, why does Jesus’s commander get involved? I thought it was an informal investigation.

Cruz isn’t a renegade cop, like Bosch or others. He doesn’t have an asshole boss or asshat co-workers. He respects his commander, Kurt Montoya, and so brings the case / request to his attention. With Montoya’s backing, Cruz is able to take the case farther using the resources of the Cleveland police. You’ll note that when it’s Cruz’s family being threatened, he does step over the line. Montoya snags him by the proverbial collar, pulling him back before he makes a career ending mistake.   

How does Yablonski, Jesus’s best friend and a narcotics officer have time to assist Jesus? Why doesn’t Jesus have a partner from homicide?

Cruz had a partner when he transferred to Homicide, an experienced detective who taught him the ropes. He left the force suddenly; Cruz never got the whole story. Montoya isn’t motivated to bring another person in to the department. Cruz is effective on his own, cheaper (kidding, not kidding) and after the years of undercover, Cruz prefers to work alone.

Narcotics and homicide overlap often enough that inter-departmental support is encouraged (at least in my fictional world). Yablonski is very good at managing his time and delegating. When he can lend a hand, he does. When he can’t, he says so. He’s also not shy about asking Cruz for help. It is a very balanced relationship between the two equally strong detectives.

Sophie’s cat’s name doesn’t describe the feisty one-eyed cat. Why would she name such a cat, Diana?

Sophie found the cat bloodied and soaking wet. Clean and dry, the cat had a regal air about her, regardless of the missing eye. Sophie named the cat for the Roman goddess Diana, the goddess of animals. 

How did 7Up and cranberry juice get the name Brass Ball?

Yablonski’s brother-in-law created the drink, Yablonski gave it a name. In Exacting Justice, Yablonski explained that “any alchy who has the balls to be in a bar deserves showing what he has—big, hug, brass balls that ring when he walks.” Since that was so long, he shortened it to Brass Ball. My brother-in-law is a recovering alcoholic. He openly talked to me about his addiction, which greatly informed Cruz’s recovery. After he read Exacting Justice, he ordered the 7-Up and cranberry, giving it his seal of approval.

When Jesus and Yablonski interview the main suspect, Posey, Jesus allows Yablonski to take the lead, which eventually ends up rebounding on him. Why did Jesus allow that?

Cruz trusts Yablonski’s judgment as much as his own. There is not one iota of competition between the two. When Posey incorrectly assumes Yablonsky is the lead, Cruz uses the misdirection to his advantage, searching the office in plain sight. Neither Cruz nor Yablonski had any expectation that the situation would rebound the way it did. Had Cruz expected the backlash, not only would he not have let Yablonski take the lead, he would have found a different approach all together.

This scene was inspired from a real one in my past. In my day job, I am a civil engineer. I went to

college at a time when it was one woman to every ten men. I have always been greatly outnumbered by men in my career. It isn’t a problem, it’s just reality. At a national convention years ago, my husband borrowed a friend’s badge and went onto the exhibit hall floor with me. There was a product I wanted to look at, so we went to the booth. The salesmen talked to my husband, a middle school teacher, and took no interest in me. When I didn’t intervene, my confused husband let the salesman keep talking. When he walked away, my husband was pissed that the salesman had disrespected me so badly. He asked me why I didn’t take control, exactly as Yablonski asked Cruz. The answer was…I didn’t want to talk to him. I wanted to look at the product on my own without the pitch. And, if the salesman was so oblivious as to not recognize his customer, that was his problem, not mine.

I wasn’t angry. I don’t like being angry. I don’t find it productive. Nothing I said was going to affect his opinion and I didn’t care to beat my head against a wall. I got what I wanted, he got nothing. Whether someone is biased against you because of gender, race, sexual orientation, age, etc., different people are going to react different. Cruz chose to move forward, as I did. It doesn’t matter that everybody wouldn’t react this way. It only matters that someone would.

Jesus is quite territorial of Aurora—to the point of putting a tracking device on her vehicle. Why doesn’t she see this behavior as controlling?

Aurora has a very accepting nature and doesn’t see Cruz’s behavior as anything except silly. She rolls her eyes at his opinion that other men hitting on her and doesn’t change her behavior one bit. The tracker pissed her off and she let him know. That won’t be happening again. In this story, they learn more about each other’s insecurities. Mutually, they will be more careful to give what the other needs, not because they have to, but because they want to.

What is a “river card?”

River card is a term from Texas Hold’em Poker. After each player is dealt two cards, the community cards are dealt face-up for all players to use. The first three cards are turned together and are referred to as the flop. The fourth card is called the turn card. The fifth is the river card. Bets are placed before, in between, and after the community cards are dealt.

In Driving Reign, the negotiation between the assistant prosecutor and Hannigan’s attorney reminded me of a poker hand. Each was playing to win, trying to read the other to see what it would take.

You describe Sophie as flying on roofies. But I thought roofies were depressants?   

It is a depressant. In describing her as flying, I was describing her lack of awareness of her situation, her acceptance of what was handed to her. In this case, it was enough sleeping pills to kill her.

What jurisdiction does the FBI have in getting involved with the case?

In this case, the Cleveland police invited the FBI in once they realized the political implications. They wanted transparency in the investigation to protect the trust built within the community. I write my answer as though it were a real case, which it is not. However, I saw in early July where the FBI arrested four councilpersons from Toledo, Ohio on bribery and extortion charges. This is on the same level that the fictional character would be facing.

https://www.justice.gov/toledo-city-council

Heroin and fentanyl are usually injected. What are the differences in effects of drinking such a potion?

In consulting a drug and alcohol counselor, he advised that the combination would slow reflexes, slur speech, and disrupt coordination. Someone exhausted could show similar symptoms. The conversation between Cruz and the patrol officer who pulled him over reflected the description of the effects of the cocktail.

Jesus came from a loving and close, traditional family. Why does he have trust issues?

His trust issues were learned. They are a combination of being lied to (by witnesses, victims, and suspects) and emotional baggage from his injuries. When those who Cruz trusts wholly—his family, Aurora, Yablonski, Bollier, etc—break his trust, it hurts him, so he pushes back hard.

I observed something like this in family members with careers in law enforcement. It seemed to me—as someone completely outside of that field—that they so often dealt with the rough people in the bad situations that they went into every situation prepared for a poor outcome. This is where Cruz is. The glass is always half empty.   

                                                                                                  

An Interview with Sherry Harris by E. B. Davis

When it comes to running a successful garage sale, Sarah Winston believes in doing her homework. She also believes in giving back. But when she agrees to manage an athletic equipment swap, she doesn’t bargain on an uncharitable killer. The day of the event, the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium.
 
Suddenly the murder suspects are the school board members—including the husband of a very difficult client who’s hired Sarah to run a high-end sale and demands she do her bidding. In between tagging and haggling, Sarah studies the clues to see who wanted to teach the superintendent a lesson. But as she closes in on the truth, the killer intends to give her a crash course on minding her own business . . .

https://sherryharrisauthor.com/

Although Sherry Harris’s title of the fifth book in the Sarah Winston series, I Know What You Bid Last Summer, is a humorous take off of a movie title, I’m also reminded that the movie was a horror film. No one would think something as mundane as a school sponsored athletic equipment swap would result in murder, but then horror is unexpected, which is why this cozy mystery strengthens Sherry’s series.

Another reason I liked this book? It’s a departure for the main character, who is in transition from a long-term relationship, which Sarah simultaneously finds freeing but mindboggling. She’s always possessed self-reliance, but now that asset is put to the test without having an old relationship to fall back on for protection.

Another reason? Sherry pinpoints a problem in our youth sports programs that can result in serious injuries—something I’ll only mention for spoiler fear, but having had children who played sports, I appreciate her focus.

Please welcome Sherry Harris back to WWK.                                                                          E. B. Davis

Thank you so much for having me back! You always ask questions that make me think about my books in different ways.

The murder takes place at an athletic equipment swap. It sounds like a great idea, but I’ve never heard of one—really. Are they common in New England? Yes, and I believe they are popular across the country. Kids outgrow things so quickly that it saves everyone money.

Having grown up in CA, I was surprised Sarah decided not to go to Florida with CJ. She knew it would cause a breakup—why did she decide not to go? There are many reasons. Sarah and CJ married young so when their marriage initially broke up twenty years later, Sarah had to stand on her own for the first time ever. She supported CJ during his military career, sacrificing the chance to have her own. When Sarah set up her business in Ellington it was because she loved it there, and she was ready to have some roots. While she and CJ tried to patch things up, CJ wanted the old Sarah back and not the woman she’d become. Sarah wanted to CJ to choose her and not a job.

What does Pellner think of CJ leaving for Florida and leaving Sarah behind? Interesting question! Pellner was sorry CJ left. He respected him as chief of police. His first loyalty was always to CJ. However, he also sees Sarah’s value – that she is smart, resilient, and resourceful. Pellner is a happily married man and wished the two of them could have worked things out.

Although Sarah’s parents are in CA, Rosalie and Angelo, owners of the local Italian restaurant, become Sarah’s surrogate parents, worrying about her. How does Sarah feel about that given Angelo’s emotional, tomato-sauce-flying temperament? Sarah loves the DiNapolis. She knows that Angelo’s gruff exterior and temper come from a place of love and concern for those around him.

Perhaps to keep Sarah busy and her mind off CJ, Angelo asks Sarah to shop the competition when he enters a lasagna contest. But the job is hard since the competition always seems to know of her presence. How do they know? Sarah is well-known in the area not only because of her garage sale business, but also because of her ability to solve crimes. Her picture has been in the paper and on the news so she isn’t exactly a low profile person. Her connection to Angelo is also well know. At the first restaurant she went to the owner recognizes her and suspects she’s up to something. He warns the other competitors.

Sarah got to know the victim, Melba, the School Board Superintendent, when they attended the same sales and auctions. Does continually bidding against someone reveal their character? I based this relationship on one I observed in a friend. We used to go to auctions together, but we usually didn’t bid against each other. She had a knack for letting people bid while she laid low. Then she’d swoop in at the end at outbid them. People didn’t like that. I pictured Melba doing that to Sarah, only Sarah wasn’t as upset about it as the people I observed. Sarah knew it’s part of the game when you go to an auction. And she was good at setting budgetary limits for herself and sticking to them. It doesn’t mean she wasn’t ever disappointed with the outcome. And yes, I think it does reveal character – good or bad.

Have you figured out why people get so passionate about teams and brands? My family all likes different footballs teams. There must be something deep down in us that likes to root for one team being pitted against another. Maybe it boils down to good versus evil on some level. Or maybe it’s more like I’m better than you if my team wins.

Seth, the DA and Sarah’s old flame, wants to keep their relationship professional even though CJ is now gone and Sarah saves his life. Does he protest too much? My lips are sealed.

I was surprised Sarah bought the food and drinks for the Long’s sale. Does she trust that they will reimburse her? She did. She’s had very good luck with her clients paying her when they said they would. The Longs have a lot of resources so it’s not a concern for Sarah.

Why don’t they sell nut grinders anymore? Food processors over-process nuts. I based this on at nut grinder my mom had. It was so cute and I was so fascinated with it when I was little. I would drop a few nuts in, crank the handle, and watch the nuts drop into the little glass jar. However, food processors are amazing too – not that I know how to work ours, but I love to watch my husband whip stuff up in it.

Was the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sarah passes by the same one connected (sorry) to the Headless Horseman or am I confused? The Sleepy Hollow cemetery associated with the headless horseman is in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Washington Irving is buried there. He also helped establish the cemetery.  The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord is famous because of its age and the famous authors who are buried there including Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Emerson. It is a beautiful, peaceful place.

“Military life was about relationships and helping others.”

Kindle Loc. 580

I never would have characterized military life in that way. Of course, I have no experience. How is it so? It’s one of those “everyone is in the same boat” things. You get sent to a base in a place you’ve never been before and perhaps it’s a place you didn’t want to move to. You don’t know anyone. But if you live on base or a neighborhood with lots of military your neighbors become your family. Things always seemed to go wrong when the military person is away. You lean on your neighbors for support. You have people over Christmas or a big group of women and children will spend Valentine’s Day together. A military spouse has to make the best of what life hands her. It’s a wonderful and tough life.

At what point does “protection” become “control?” It’s a very fine line. All of us want to protect our loved one, but when someone wants to isolate them it becomes control. I think the lines are more blurred now than ever before. We can track people with apps or stick something on their car. There’s things you can put in cars so it will tell you how fast it’s gone and where it’s gone. I wonder if we are losing our ability to trust someone.  

What did Ryne do before he moved to Ellington to help with his uncle’s antique store? Sarah doesn’t know.

Sarah’s favorite Dunkin Donuts are coconut and chocolate glazed (same as mine). What are yours? I admit to being partial to the coconut donuts at Dunkin Donuts. Other than that I would choose a cinnamon roll.

When Lance asks Sarah if she intends to sue the school board due to the attack, she feels “slimed.” I haven’t heard that slang for years—but it was perfect for the situation. Do idioms come easily for you? I’ve picked up different bits of language from all of the different places we’ve lived. I used the term “goat rope” in one of the Sarah books and didn’t realize it wasn’t familiar to people until my editor questioned its use. I found out it is common in the military but not so much anywhere else.

Sarah admits one of her biggest faults is doing something just because someone tells her not to do it. What’s her greatest asset? Sarah is tenacious especially if it involves a loved one. If she sees an injustice she wants to right it, even if it costs her personally – and it has.

Have you plotted the arcs of your major characters throughout the series? To some extent. It’s not always easy because of how many books I’ve had for each contract. It’s been three, two, two, two. I have always thought I would have ended the third book, All Murders Final, differently if I’d known there would be more. But as the series has continued I realize maybe it was the right choice after all.

What’s next for Sarah? Book six – The Gun Also Rises – comes out in January 2019 followed by Let’s Fake a Deal in July of 2019. I’m writing the eighth and will write book nine as soon as it’s finished. I feel very, very lucky!