Author’s Choice with Annette Dashofy

Please welcome Annette back 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 can start a campfire on top of a water puddle.

Truth or Lie? I was an award-winning quilter and had my work displayed in a museum.

Truth or Lie? While researching Death By Equine, I galloped a Thoroughbred on the racetrack.

Eight Quick Questions

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

1.          Writing soundtrack: silence, instrumental music, or lyrics you can sing along to? Silence, or as close to it as I can come with my retired husband at home.

2.          Character inspiration: people you know, completely imagined, or "no comment"? You know that t-shirt that says, “Be careful what you say around me, or you might end up in my book?” Yeah. That.

3.          Writing time: early bird, night owl, or whenever chaos allows? I’m an early bird for drafting, but when I’m editing and revising, I need to be more awake, so that happens in the afternoon.

4.          Research rabbit holes: fascinating detours, necessary evil, or dangerous procrastination? I love research. I prefer full immersion, but if I’m doing it online, I consider it a fascinating detour.

5.          Feedback style: give it to me straight, sandwich it with praise, or let me marinate first? Hit me with your best shot. Praise may feel good, but it doesn’t do much to improve the book.

6.          Multiple projects: one at a time, juggle two, or chaotic multitasker? I prefer one at a time, but sometimes contractual deadlines mean working on multiple projects. I can manage it pretty well if I’m at different stages—writing one and revising another. As per my above answer, I will draft one in the morning, take a lunch break, which serves as a mental reset, and revise the other in the afternoon.

7.          When you're stuck: walk it out, talk it out, or sleep on it? None of the above. I do a load of laundry or take a bubble bath. Those two things are where I tend to find my solutions.

8.       Book reviews: read them all, only the good ones, or avoid completely? I try to avoid the bulk of them, but I will read those first few, which hopefully are good. The second I hit a bad one, though, I’m done

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. Yes, it would definitely be a complaint. Emma would want to know why I keep beating her up so badly. Matthias would probably have the same question.

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

A. Sometimes redemption doesn’t happen the way we want it to.

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

A. What are you working on next? Something completely new and different. While still technically police procedural, this one leans a little heavier into the suspense side of the genre. It’s not under contract yet, so I’m having fun “winging it.”

The Big Reveal

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

The lie is that I galloped a Thoroughbred on the racetrack. I love horses, but I’m not crazy.

I used to be an avid quilter and have won ribbons at quilt shows. One of my projects involved myself and three other women designing and creating a commemorative quilt for Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, a museum about 12 miles from me. That quilt has hung in the reception area of the museum for decades.

As for the campfire on a water puddle, while we were camping in Ohio, a downpour completely filled our firepit and it was lunchtime. And I was hungry. So I put a plank over the water, built a fire, and cooked lunch. 

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

Book Blurb for Hell Hath No Fury

There's no place like home…

Crime-beat photographer Emma Anderson is barely recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly took her life, when her circumstances go from bad to worse. Now, her recovering addict sister is missing, the developer trying to steal her family’s land from under her turns up dead, and her best friend Eric is in the frame for the murder.

Erie City Police Detective Matthias Honeywell is out of his jurisdiction and his comfort zone, but he’s not going to let Emma or anyone she loves go down for a murder they didn’t commit. Given his difficult personal history with the lead detective, Matthias is forced to think outside the lines as he and Emma race to find her sister and discover the true killer. And with the murderer always two steps ahead, it will take everything they have to save the ones they love…

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

Want to know more?

For more information about Annette Dsahofy https://annettedashofy.com