Author’s Choice with Suzanne Trauth

Please welcome Suzanne 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 was in the Ukraine when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Truth or Lie? I am a wedding celebrant.

Truth or Lie? I played semi-professional tennis for many years.

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)? PLANTSER

3.         Editing as you go, or vomit draft first and fix it later? VOMIT FIRST DRAFT

4.         Writing snack: sweet, salty, or "I forget to eat"? SALTY

5.         Character names: meticulously researched, stolen from real life, or whatever sounds right? WHATEVER SOUNDS RIGHT

6.         Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home? HOME SWEET HOME

7.         Reading your own work aloud: love it, tolerate it, or would rather eat glass? LOVE IT

8.      Book launch day: celebrate big, feel quiet relief, or hide under the covers? CELEBRATE BIG

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. PIZZA’S HERE!  NO COMPLAINT

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

A. FUN SOLVING THE MYSTERY

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

A. WHY DO YOU SET ALL OF YOUR BOOKS IN NEW JERSEY?

      IT’S MY HOME STATE AND THERE ARE MANY POTENTIAL MYSTERIES IN THIS FERTILE GARDEN STATE!

The Big Reveal

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

The lie I WAS A SEMI-PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER.

I WAS PART OF A CULTURAL EXCHANGE WITH A THEATRE IN KIEV. I WAS THERE DIRECTING SCENES FROM “THE CRUCIBLE” WHEN THE COUP HAPPENED—I WATCHED TANKS ROLL INTO THE CITY AND WE MANAGED TO FLEE KIEV WITH THE HELP OF ACTORS AND A BUNCH OF AMERICAN DOLLARS.

I OFFERED TO HELP A FRIEND PLAN HER WEDDING AND DO WHATEVER SHE NEEDED; SHE SAID “MARRY US” SO I DID!

Here’s a blurb for and some links where you can find Suzanne's latest:

Book Blurb

Connie Tucker, a free-spirited beach bartender, has been estranged from her family in New Jersey ever since her actress mother, Simone, disappeared one night during a violent storm at the theatre where she was rehearsing. Uncontrollable and in a rage at the loss of her parent, fifteen-year-old Connie is exiled to California, due to her delinquent behavior, to live with an aunt she doesn’t know.

Fifteen years later, Simone’s murdered remains are discovered at a construction site and Connie returns to the east coast for the funeral—she owes it to her mother. The cold case unit will take over now and solve the crime. But then she discovers a message her mother left behind. It feels like a dispatch from the grave.

Connie must face her tortured past, the guilt of concealing a devastating secret, and the part she played in her mother's disappearance. Unearthing buried family history and childhood demons, she confronts the agonizing reality that she doesn’t know where she belongs, where to call home. Who to trust. When a second suspicious death occurs, Connie races to unravel the events of the night Simone disappeared. Her mother was the first to die…but not the last.

[Amazon]       [Barnes & Noble]       [Bookshop.org (Indy Bookstores)]

Want to know more?

For more information about Suzanne Trauth https://suzannetrauth.com/