Welcome, Booklovers!
Grab your coffee, sit back, and prepare for something a little different. Instead of our usual author interview, we have a character visiting us from NJ Litz’ romantic mystery novel, No Bed of Roses. I guess we could call this the ultimate inside story. :)
Let’s get started by having our guest introduce herself and the book that brought her to life.
Welcome, Booklovers!
Grab your coffee, sit back, and prepare for something a little different. Instead of our usual author interview, we have a character visiting us from NJ Litz’ romantic mystery novel, No Bed of Roses. I guess we could call this the ultimate inside story. :)
Let’s get started by having our guest introduce herself and the book that brought her to life.
Hi! I’m Brianna Kincaid.
I have a PhD in botany and work for the world-renowned Missouri Botanical Garden,
the oldest botanical garden in the U.S.
My colleagues and I are mourning the death of my research assistant, Megan, in a car accident when a police detective shows up, asking a lot of questions about her, and my team’s travels out of the country. The police also need our help in identifying a mysterious substance in her body.
Once I figure out the substance, I suspect Megan’s death wasn’t an accident, especially when I stumble onto clues she left. She planned a treasure hunt for the mysterious father of her unborn child. I believe her lover killed her. To prove it, I partner with Nick Mancini, a down-on-his-luck journalist, to decode the clues and reveal her murderer. Along the way, the killer figures out what we’re trying to do, and suddenly Nick and I are no longer the hunters, but the hunted.
Once I figure out the substance, I suspect Megan’s death wasn’t an accident, especially when I stumble onto clues she left. She planned a treasure hunt for the mysterious father of her unborn child. I believe her lover killed her. To prove it, I partner with Nick Mancini, a down-on-his-luck journalist, to decode the clues and reveal her murderer. Along the way, the killer figures out what we’re trying to do, and suddenly Nick and I are no longer the hunters, but the hunted.
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Your story sounds very exciting, Brianna. I know you won’t reveal any more of the plot, but I have a lot of other questions. Let’s start with one about you…name three of your favorite things.
Brianna: All three of them are featured in the book. I love roses, which play an important part in the story, and I love to run, which both relaxes and challenges me. I get my best ideas when I run. I also love to eat. Because both Nick and I travel so much in our careers, we like many different types of food. From our travels, we know how much sharing a meal can form a bond with other people.
Ally: So getting back to the story, who was your favorite supporting character?
Brianna: My favorites were Riley O’Shea or my father, Scottie Kincaid. Riley works for her father’s detective agency. She makes a brief appearance, but she was different both times that we met so I think she would be intriguing if I had more time to get to know her.
My father is a force of nature. He’s a successful lawyer, a partner in a large firm, and he’s handled major trials throughout the country. Quiet is not often a word associated with my father.
Ally: Do you have siblings? Are you close to them?
Brianna: I’m close to my sister, Carly, though readers never get to meet her. She lives in Boston. She’s an assistant coach for a women’s college basketball team. Carly herself was a nationally ranked basketball player in high school and college. Sports is one way that my sister and I bonded. I was a nationally ranked runner in high school and college. We always looked so odd when we would run together. Carly is over six-feet tall while I’m only 5’4”.
Even though we were both outstanding athletes, Carly was much more laid back and carefree. She was the one who would sneak out her bedroom window on Friday night if she’d been grounded. My sister never missed a party, and she was always the life of the party.
What unites us both in the book is that we’re worried about our father, who is still grieving deeply over the death of our mother six months earlier. We connive to get him to visit Carly in Boston so I can store my mother’s things (with Dad’s permission.)
Ally: Is your love interest the way you pictured him or her? What would you change in appearance or personality?
Brianna: I’m a scientist so I recognize a superior specimen when I see it. Sure, I noticed Nick Mancini was tall, dark and handsome when I first met him. But he was also rude and condescending. If I hadn’t needed his help, I would have been happy never to have run into him again. On top of that, I wasn’t sure I could trust a journalist who had reported from every country with a beach. He seemed like a slacker, but he ended up having several useful skills.
Watching Nick charm drinks and information out of women, and talking with him made me realize he had a colorful past that included a lot of women. It happened before me, so I accept that part of his life.
Turns out he’s easy to talk with. I’ve always preferred plants because they’re less complicated and messy than humans. But Nick . . . he listens better than I thought for a man with a handsome face and rakish charm. He brings out the best in me, so there’s not a darn thing I would change.
Ally: How many re-writes did you have to live through?
Brianna: Shockingly, I only had to live through two rewrites. My author is slow, and normally she’s a firm believer that most writing isn’t polished enough for other eyes until the third draft. However, she had so much fun with the hero (and I can understand why because he becomes my favorite too). She also loves to garden and has been going to the Missouri Botanical Garden since she was a child so she’d been figuring out the clues for a long time, whether she realized it or not.
Ally: Are you hoping to make an appearance in a sequel or series? Why or why not?
Brianna: Oh, I have to make an appearance in another book—if I want to help save the life of someone who’s important to Nick—because a crisis develops during the epilogue.
The other wonderful thing about being a botanist is that I can travel all over the world so the mysteries I can solve can be in so many fantastic locations. It helps that Missouri Botanical Garden, for which I work, is a global leader in plant conservation. Not surprisingly, I’m very concerned both personally and professionally about climate change.
All this said, though, my author’s next two books are already written. They’re romantic mysteries set in the future (but without the scientific detail she thinks bogs down those kinds of stories.)
Thanks for letting me stop by, Ally!
Ally: Thank you, Brianna. I hope you and/or your author will visit again. Oops, we almost forgot something very important! Where can readers buy your story?
Ally: Your story sounds very exciting, Brianna. I know you won’t reveal any more of the plot, but I have a lot of other questions. Let’s start with one about you…name three of your favorite things.
Brianna: All three of them are featured in the book. I love roses, which play an important part in the story, and I love to run, which both relaxes and challenges me. I get my best ideas when I run. I also love to eat. Because both Nick and I travel so much in our careers, we like many different types of food. From our travels, we know how much sharing a meal can form a bond with other people.
Ally: So getting back to the story, who was your favorite supporting character?
Brianna: My favorites were Riley O’Shea or my father, Scottie Kincaid. Riley works for her father’s detective agency. She makes a brief appearance, but she was different both times that we met so I think she would be intriguing if I had more time to get to know her.
My father is a force of nature. He’s a successful lawyer, a partner in a large firm, and he’s handled major trials throughout the country. Quiet is not often a word associated with my father.
Ally: Do you have siblings? Are you close to them?
Brianna: I’m close to my sister, Carly, though readers never get to meet her. She lives in Boston. She’s an assistant coach for a women’s college basketball team. Carly herself was a nationally ranked basketball player in high school and college. Sports is one way that my sister and I bonded. I was a nationally ranked runner in high school and college. We always looked so odd when we would run together. Carly is over six-feet tall while I’m only 5’4”.
Even though we were both outstanding athletes, Carly was much more laid back and carefree. She was the one who would sneak out her bedroom window on Friday night if she’d been grounded. My sister never missed a party, and she was always the life of the party.
What unites us both in the book is that we’re worried about our father, who is still grieving deeply over the death of our mother six months earlier. We connive to get him to visit Carly in Boston so I can store my mother’s things (with Dad’s permission.)
Ally: Is your love interest the way you pictured him or her? What would you change in appearance or personality?
Brianna: I’m a scientist so I recognize a superior specimen when I see it. Sure, I noticed Nick Mancini was tall, dark and handsome when I first met him. But he was also rude and condescending. If I hadn’t needed his help, I would have been happy never to have run into him again. On top of that, I wasn’t sure I could trust a journalist who had reported from every country with a beach. He seemed like a slacker, but he ended up having several useful skills.
Watching Nick charm drinks and information out of women, and talking with him made me realize he had a colorful past that included a lot of women. It happened before me, so I accept that part of his life.
Turns out he’s easy to talk with. I’ve always preferred plants because they’re less complicated and messy than humans. But Nick . . . he listens better than I thought for a man with a handsome face and rakish charm. He brings out the best in me, so there’s not a darn thing I would change.
Ally: How many re-writes did you have to live through?
Brianna: Shockingly, I only had to live through two rewrites. My author is slow, and normally she’s a firm believer that most writing isn’t polished enough for other eyes until the third draft. However, she had so much fun with the hero (and I can understand why because he becomes my favorite too). She also loves to garden and has been going to the Missouri Botanical Garden since she was a child so she’d been figuring out the clues for a long time, whether she realized it or not.
Ally: Are you hoping to make an appearance in a sequel or series? Why or why not?
Brianna: Oh, I have to make an appearance in another book—if I want to help save the life of someone who’s important to Nick—because a crisis develops during the epilogue.
The other wonderful thing about being a botanist is that I can travel all over the world so the mysteries I can solve can be in so many fantastic locations. It helps that Missouri Botanical Garden, for which I work, is a global leader in plant conservation. Not surprisingly, I’m very concerned both personally and professionally about climate change.
All this said, though, my author’s next two books are already written. They’re romantic mysteries set in the future (but without the scientific detail she thinks bogs down those kinds of stories.)
Thanks for letting me stop by, Ally!
Ally: Thank you, Brianna. I hope you and/or your author will visit again. Oops, we almost forgot something very important! Where can readers buy your story?
About the Author, NJ Litz*:
My undergrad degree is in journalism, and I started out as a newspaper reporter before I moved into communications for corporations and non-profits. I’m now connected with a non-profit so it’s very rewarding to go to work every day. I live in the St. Louis area with my family and numerous dogs and cats.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I’m a Christmas baby so we just wrapped up my time of year. A December 25 birthday has both its pluses and minuses. I have no idea what it’s like to have to go to work on my birthday. Then again, I only get to celebrate once a year while most of you celebrate your birthday and a major holiday.”
Contact info:
Email: njwrite@outlook.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18608494.NJ_Litz
Website: https://www.njlitz.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LitzNj
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/NJ-Litz/e/B07KDJL6JC
*NJ Litz was on the Coffee Chat in January 2019. You can find her interview here.
My undergrad degree is in journalism, and I started out as a newspaper reporter before I moved into communications for corporations and non-profits. I’m now connected with a non-profit so it’s very rewarding to go to work every day. I live in the St. Louis area with my family and numerous dogs and cats.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I’m a Christmas baby so we just wrapped up my time of year. A December 25 birthday has both its pluses and minuses. I have no idea what it’s like to have to go to work on my birthday. Then again, I only get to celebrate once a year while most of you celebrate your birthday and a major holiday.”
Contact info:
Email: njwrite@outlook.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18608494.NJ_Litz
Website: https://www.njlitz.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LitzNj
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/NJ-Litz/e/B07KDJL6JC
*NJ Litz was on the Coffee Chat in January 2019. You can find her interview here.
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