Good Morning, Booklovers!
It is a beautiful early spring day in the Midwest! In another few weeks, we’ll be on the deck again! Meanwhile, we gather inside where to meet this week’s guest, Kris Bock, featuring her humorous mystery, Something Shady at Sunshine Haven.
Welcome, Kris. What can I get you to drink?
KB: I can't stand coffee! Not even something fancy like mocha. Instead, I'm totally a tea drinker. I like strong black tea, hot, with half and half, or maybe chai or pu-erh.
Ally: Then tea it is. While I prepare our drinks, please introduce yourself to readers.
Bio:
Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material when you sign up for her newsletter. You’ll also get a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels. Kris has also published over 100 books for young people under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I've written six sweet romance novels about a cat café – but I don't have cats. Tragically, I am allergic. Instead, my husband and I keep ferrets. Princess Pandemonium (Panda) and Teddy Black Bear (Bear Bear) provide us with lots of amusement, snuggles, and cute photos for social media.”
Find Kris:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
GoodReads Author Page
BookBub
Amazon US page or Amazon UK page.
Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material when you sign up for her newsletter. You’ll also get a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels. Kris has also published over 100 books for young people under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I've written six sweet romance novels about a cat café – but I don't have cats. Tragically, I am allergic. Instead, my husband and I keep ferrets. Princess Pandemonium (Panda) and Teddy Black Bear (Bear Bear) provide us with lots of amusement, snuggles, and cute photos for social media.”
Find Kris:
Website
Blog
GoodReads Author Page
BookBub
Amazon US page or Amazon UK page.
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
KB: For the Accidental Detective mystery series, I started with a character who is trying to reinvent her life as she turns 50. She spent 30 years as a war correspondent, so she’s pretty fearless, but that doesn’t always help her with the challenges of aging. She’s dealing with elderly parents who have health problems, a resentful sister, her own lack of retirement planning, and a body that doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to.
This character was inspired by my own experiences. Okay, the part about turning fifty, not traveling the world as a war correspondent. I didn’t necessarily intend to write humor, but both my agent and my editor said they laughed a lot. That comes from how Kate sees the world, which is how I see the world. Laughter helps with the pain.
Ally: Have you done any ghostwriting? Tell us about your experience.
KB: Yes, I’ve ghostwritten for two popular children’s mystery series that have been around for decades – six books total. They were fun to write, but I can’t tell you much about it!
Ally: Have you co-authored a story or novel? How did it work? Would you do it again?
KB: I’m writing a series with my brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama (yes, the movie starring Reese Witherspoon). Our young adult comedy series features “Felony Melanie,” Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. It’s a lot of fun to work with a writing partner, especially one I’ve known my whole life.
Book 1 involved a beauty pageant with a mystery and book 2 had Melanie desperate to participate in the local demolition derby. We are now editing book 3, which involves a high school prank war. Readers called the first two books “Laugh out loud funny,” so I guess the fun we have writing it is coming through.
Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. These first two chapters from the novel Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium stand alone as a short story. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
KB: The Accidental Detective book 2, Something Deadly on Desert Drive, comes out June 21. Book 3, Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek, is scheduled for September 29, and book 4, Someone Missing from Malapais Mountain, will be out in February 2023.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you select?
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book?
KB: For the Accidental Detective mystery series, I started with a character who is trying to reinvent her life as she turns 50. She spent 30 years as a war correspondent, so she’s pretty fearless, but that doesn’t always help her with the challenges of aging. She’s dealing with elderly parents who have health problems, a resentful sister, her own lack of retirement planning, and a body that doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to.
This character was inspired by my own experiences. Okay, the part about turning fifty, not traveling the world as a war correspondent. I didn’t necessarily intend to write humor, but both my agent and my editor said they laughed a lot. That comes from how Kate sees the world, which is how I see the world. Laughter helps with the pain.
Ally: Have you done any ghostwriting? Tell us about your experience.
KB: Yes, I’ve ghostwritten for two popular children’s mystery series that have been around for decades – six books total. They were fun to write, but I can’t tell you much about it!
Ally: Have you co-authored a story or novel? How did it work? Would you do it again?
KB: I’m writing a series with my brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama (yes, the movie starring Reese Witherspoon). Our young adult comedy series features “Felony Melanie,” Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. It’s a lot of fun to work with a writing partner, especially one I’ve known my whole life.
Book 1 involved a beauty pageant with a mystery and book 2 had Melanie desperate to participate in the local demolition derby. We are now editing book 3, which involves a high school prank war. Readers called the first two books “Laugh out loud funny,” so I guess the fun we have writing it is coming through.
Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. These first two chapters from the novel Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium stand alone as a short story. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
KB: The Accidental Detective book 2, Something Deadly on Desert Drive, comes out June 21. Book 3, Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek, is scheduled for September 29, and book 4, Someone Missing from Malapais Mountain, will be out in February 2023.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you select?
- Memorable book you’ve read: Sword Dance, by A.J. Demas, a spy adventure/romance with a damaged military hero and a non-binary sword dancer, set in an imaginary ancient world. Wonderful characters, exciting drama once it gets going, and interesting world building.
- Book you're currently reading: The Professor Bradshaw Mysteries by Bernadette Pajer, set in 1901 Seattle. The hero is an electrical engineering professor, and it’s interesting to see Seattle – and the state of electrical engineering – in that time period.
- Color of nail polish you have on: I can’t even remember the last time I wore nail polish, though I have worn a bit of eyebrow pencil when doing Zoom workshops, because otherwise my blonde eyebrows disappear on screen.
- Favorite comfort food: Chocolate. But my husband and I also greatly enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches (made with sliced cheddar rather than American cheese) and tomato soup as a cozy winter dinner.
- Favorite quote: “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ― Jack London
Something Shady at Sunshine Haven: The Accidental Detective Book 1
Genre: humorous mystery/female amateur detective
War correspondent Kate Tessler has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?
Injured in a bombing, Kate returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she's starting to feel her age (49), even though she's living like a teenager again: staying with her father, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still think of her as Kitty.
Seeing her mother in an Alzheimer's unit is the hardest part – until an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at that nursing home. Is a self-appointed "Angel of Mercy" killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won't fit.
If Kate can't uncover the truth, her mother could be next on the killer's list.
Buy Links:
Publisher (Tule)
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook
Apple Books
Kobo
Google Play
Amazon Kindle UK
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