Author's Choice with Heather Weidner

Please welcome Heather to Author’s choice.

Dear readers, here’s where you get to play along. The author will tell us two truths and one lie (ed comment – I randomized the order). At the end of the questions, we’ll reveal what really happened. Remember, we write crime fiction, so lying is in our nature . . .

Two Truths, One Lie

Truth or Lie?: I am a two-time Jeopardy champ.

Truth or Lie?: I met Evel Knievel in a bar in Virginia Beach.

Truth or Lie?: I learned how to make dummy bullets in first grade.

Eight Quick Questions

Now for some fun insight into today’s author. Here are eight forced choice questions.

1.        First draft: longhand, keyboard, or dictation? Keyboard

2.        Plotter, pantser, or plantser (that chaotic middle ground)? Definitely a plotter with an outline and a spreadsheet.

3.        Writing snack: sweet, salty, or "I forget to eat"? Chocolate first; pretzels second

4.        Character names: meticulously researched, stolen from real life, or whatever sounds right? No one is safe. I use a lot of names that I’ve come across, and I research others.

5.        Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home? Home sweet home with my dog and my tunes. I have different playlists for different writing tasks.

6.        Writer's block: push through, step away, or "it's not real"? I write detailed outlines and figure out the plotholes before I start, so it’s not really a problem for me.

7.        Social media for authors: necessary evil, genuine fun, or absolutely not? It’s definitely necessary, and I love connecting with readers and other authors.

8.        Reading your own work aloud: love it, tolerate it, or would rather eat glass? I really don’t like to do readings. I tend to edit and revise again in my head as I read.

About the Book

Enough about you, let’s turn to three questions about your book.

Q: If your main character in this novel showed up at your door right now, what would be the first thing they'd say to you (and would it be a complaint)?

A. I think all of them would ask if I wanted to go get coffee, and I’m sure a couple of them would have a list of things they’d like to talk to me about.

Q: What's one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

A. There is always justice in my mysteries. The bad guys don’t get to win.

Q: What question did you want me to ask, and what is your answer?

A. Are your sleuths you? No, they have traits like me, but all four of my sleuths react quickly and run immediately toward danger (sometimes without thinking).

The Big Reveal

Now let’s see how good a sleuth (or guesser) our readers are. Please reveal all.

The lie is that I have never been a two-time Jeopardy champion. Being on Jeopardy is on my bucket list.

I met Evel Knievel in a bar in Virginia Beach. We were in a local bar near college in Virginia Beach, and he and his entourage walked in. He still had the jumpsuit and the jewelry, but he was a lot older than I remembered. He was in town for a segment on the “700 Club” for CBN.

I learned how to make dummy bullets in first grade. I am a cop’s kid, and it was the 70s. My dad was on the SWAT team, and this was long before paintball was popular. My dad and I melted down my old crayons and made dummy bullets for them to practice with.

Book Blurb and Links

Event planner, Cassidy Jamison, and her not-so-helpful sexagenarian staff of Roxie, Kate, Aileen, and Ruthanne are up to their elbows with a high school reunion committee’s constantly changing requirements for an event that must be the most elaborate and memorable at all costs.

When well-known reporter, Darcy Branch, and former cheerleader, Brittany Mahoney, are found dead on her property, Cassidy and the gang have to find the killer before the party’s over. And the more Cassidy and her Chihuahua Elvis dig for clues, the more deadly secrets they uncover, including one that changes everything she knew about her family’s history.

The Pearly Girls need to solve this fast before the Class of 2009 goes down in Ivy Springs history as the Deadliest Reunion.

[Amazon]      [Barnes & Noble]       [Booksamillion]

Want to know more?

For more information about heather: https://HeatherWeidner.com