Good Morning, Booklovers!
I’m still excited about the release of my first Regency mystery yesterday! But I’ll try to settled down and focus on this week’s guest author, DonnaRae Menard, featuring her cozy mystery, Murder on Eagle Drop Ridge, scheduled for release on July 19.
Congrats on your upcoming release, DonnaRae! What can I get you to drink?
DRM: I like my coffee and tea black. But I recently passed out from dehydration, so currently I'm big on water with a slice of lemon.
Ally: We certainly don’t want you to pass out, so we pour you a big glass of water with lemon. And maybe add a side chaser of a half cup of black coffee. 😊
I’m still excited about the release of my first Regency mystery yesterday! But I’ll try to settled down and focus on this week’s guest author, DonnaRae Menard, featuring her cozy mystery, Murder on Eagle Drop Ridge, scheduled for release on July 19.
Congrats on your upcoming release, DonnaRae! What can I get you to drink?
DRM: I like my coffee and tea black. But I recently passed out from dehydration, so currently I'm big on water with a slice of lemon.
Ally: We certainly don’t want you to pass out, so we pour you a big glass of water with lemon. And maybe add a side chaser of a half cup of black coffee. 😊
Bio:
DonnaRae Menard began the journey to a writing career in the seventh grade with notes containing disparaging descriptions of other students. Being forced to stand and read those notes aloud, began her the training for the one hundred yard dash in track and field.
Time went on. There were diaries, journals, two tiny columns in small-town newspapers, and competition pieces for Toastmaster's International, not to mention the banana boxes under the bed filled with novels finished and not.
In 2010, after a serious health scare, DonnaRae took on the biggest wish in her bucket list, to write and be published. A chance meeting with a small publisher at the Crimebake Writers Conference in 2019 was her spring board.
DonnaRae lives just outside of town in the type of place where people feel free to drop off cats, kittens, cages of gerbils or white rats, and even the occasional farm animal.
Something unusual that isn’t in your regular bio: “In the seventies I drove Powderpuff @ Catamount Stadium. '48, '49 Fords. I used to be really good at rebuilding clutches.”
Contact the Author:
Website is donnaraemenardbooks.com, but I can better be reached via email at menarddonnarae@gmail.com. Find me on face book DonnaRae Menard Author. And I'm just learning to twit ala Twitter.
DonnaRae Menard began the journey to a writing career in the seventh grade with notes containing disparaging descriptions of other students. Being forced to stand and read those notes aloud, began her the training for the one hundred yard dash in track and field.
Time went on. There were diaries, journals, two tiny columns in small-town newspapers, and competition pieces for Toastmaster's International, not to mention the banana boxes under the bed filled with novels finished and not.
In 2010, after a serious health scare, DonnaRae took on the biggest wish in her bucket list, to write and be published. A chance meeting with a small publisher at the Crimebake Writers Conference in 2019 was her spring board.
DonnaRae lives just outside of town in the type of place where people feel free to drop off cats, kittens, cages of gerbils or white rats, and even the occasional farm animal.
Something unusual that isn’t in your regular bio: “In the seventies I drove Powderpuff @ Catamount Stadium. '48, '49 Fords. I used to be really good at rebuilding clutches.”
Contact the Author:
Website is donnaraemenardbooks.com, but I can better be reached via email at menarddonnarae@gmail.com. Find me on face book DonnaRae Menard Author. And I'm just learning to twit ala Twitter.
INTERVIEW:
Ally: What inspired you to write this series?
DRM: This series came from the days of my youth, the family farm, which was a stage coach house back in the day. A small town in Vermont that gave me the best memories a person could ever have, and a big family with big hearts, and lots of stories to tell. There is a reference in this book about Jack. It's basically a true recounting. Be ready!
Ally: Are you self-published or traditionally published? How did you choose?
DRM: I’ve done both self-published and traditionally published novels (Level Best Books). I rate both the same as far as ease and stress. Working with Level Best Books, however, opened me up to knowledge I never would have gotten on my own, and new author friends who have just been over the moon wonderful.
Ally: Do people you know ever sneak into your novels?
DRM: My family and friends are always looking for people they recognize in stories I tell. Check out IT TAKES GUTS!! I have one reader who refers to Donnaraeisms, as a writing style. I think it's really funny, because I believe I talk and write like everyone else, except maybe people from California.
Ally: Are you a reader? What do you read?
DRM: I read everything. When I was young, the librarian allowed us Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldin. I would hide in the stacks and read Victoria Hart, Agatha Christie, and the grade B novels hidden behind the desk. There was this six-foot, white-haired guy... Currently I am reading Julia Spencer-Fleming who I had the luck to share a two-hour taxi ride on the way to Malice Domestic. I missed a few volumes. I'm working on it. I want to read everything my new friends put out, it's tough. I get through 2 or 3 books a week.
Ally: Do people ever suggest plots for your books?
DRM: I was challenged at Malice to write the pig book. You may have heard about my 450 pound lap pig. It took five weeks for me to write SNUFFLING OUT BONES. The book almost wrote itself, I just threw in a body. I'm still waiting to hear if the publisher that asked for it, likes it. Cross your fingers. Whoops, maybe I should have kept that cat in the bag!
Ally: Do you read reviews? Why or why not?
DRM: I want people to read what I write, to remember their good times, and to laugh, even as they get a little chill. If I misspelled a word, tell me. If you didn't like the book, tell me why. If you're happy with what's between the covers, feel free to share with the world.
Ally: Thanks for visiting with us today, DonnaRae. Before you go, please show us your featured book.
Ally: What inspired you to write this series?
DRM: This series came from the days of my youth, the family farm, which was a stage coach house back in the day. A small town in Vermont that gave me the best memories a person could ever have, and a big family with big hearts, and lots of stories to tell. There is a reference in this book about Jack. It's basically a true recounting. Be ready!
Ally: Are you self-published or traditionally published? How did you choose?
DRM: I’ve done both self-published and traditionally published novels (Level Best Books). I rate both the same as far as ease and stress. Working with Level Best Books, however, opened me up to knowledge I never would have gotten on my own, and new author friends who have just been over the moon wonderful.
Ally: Do people you know ever sneak into your novels?
DRM: My family and friends are always looking for people they recognize in stories I tell. Check out IT TAKES GUTS!! I have one reader who refers to Donnaraeisms, as a writing style. I think it's really funny, because I believe I talk and write like everyone else, except maybe people from California.
Ally: Are you a reader? What do you read?
DRM: I read everything. When I was young, the librarian allowed us Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldin. I would hide in the stacks and read Victoria Hart, Agatha Christie, and the grade B novels hidden behind the desk. There was this six-foot, white-haired guy... Currently I am reading Julia Spencer-Fleming who I had the luck to share a two-hour taxi ride on the way to Malice Domestic. I missed a few volumes. I'm working on it. I want to read everything my new friends put out, it's tough. I get through 2 or 3 books a week.
Ally: Do people ever suggest plots for your books?
DRM: I was challenged at Malice to write the pig book. You may have heard about my 450 pound lap pig. It took five weeks for me to write SNUFFLING OUT BONES. The book almost wrote itself, I just threw in a body. I'm still waiting to hear if the publisher that asked for it, likes it. Cross your fingers. Whoops, maybe I should have kept that cat in the bag!
Ally: Do you read reviews? Why or why not?
DRM: I want people to read what I write, to remember their good times, and to laugh, even as they get a little chill. If I misspelled a word, tell me. If you didn't like the book, tell me why. If you're happy with what's between the covers, feel free to share with the world.
Ally: Thanks for visiting with us today, DonnaRae. Before you go, please show us your featured book.
MURDER ON EAGLE DROP RIDGE (Book 2 Katelyn Took, It's Never Too Late series)
Genre: cozy mystery
Release Date: July 19,2022
Things are looking up for Katelyn Took, she has a job, a roof over her head, a new love, and she's down to fourteen cats. If it weren't for the human remains she fell into on Eagle Drop Ridge, she'd be over the moon. Then things start to slide.
Before she recovers from falling into the first set of bones, a second set of remains are discovered fifty feet down at the bottom of the ledge. She knows there has to be a connection, even though the father of the male victim, says no. His tunnel vision is mirrored by the sheriff, who's main focus is the woman.
Katelyn just wants it all cleared up before the climbing company that's considering renting the ledges drops out. It's a balancing act with the media thrown in for added confusion, and somehow the fate of her new love is jeopardized. Then Katelyn finds a small, shiny clue. What is she going to give up for peace of mind, or rather, what is going to be taken from her?
Where to Purchase:
Available on July 19th at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, The Eloquent Page bookstore, Rail City Market, and Studio 22.
Genre: cozy mystery
Release Date: July 19,2022
Things are looking up for Katelyn Took, she has a job, a roof over her head, a new love, and she's down to fourteen cats. If it weren't for the human remains she fell into on Eagle Drop Ridge, she'd be over the moon. Then things start to slide.
Before she recovers from falling into the first set of bones, a second set of remains are discovered fifty feet down at the bottom of the ledge. She knows there has to be a connection, even though the father of the male victim, says no. His tunnel vision is mirrored by the sheriff, who's main focus is the woman.
Katelyn just wants it all cleared up before the climbing company that's considering renting the ledges drops out. It's a balancing act with the media thrown in for added confusion, and somehow the fate of her new love is jeopardized. Then Katelyn finds a small, shiny clue. What is she going to give up for peace of mind, or rather, what is going to be taken from her?
Where to Purchase:
Available on July 19th at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, The Eloquent Page bookstore, Rail City Market, and Studio 22.
RSS Feed
