Author Wendy Roberts: Her Unusual Protagonist And A Giveaway

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Wendy Roberts here today to talk about her protagonist and the unusual profession she has. Wendy’s latest release is an InterMix mystery in her Ghost Duster series, DROP DEAD BEAUTY, that is available as eBook only.

Wendy’s protagonist is Sadie Novack and she is a crime scene cleaner and amateur medium. This is a fun combination that keeps Sadie’s life interesting and sometimes dangerous. Here’s a brief synopsis:
     Sadie Novack, crime scene cleaner and amateur medium, is going through a love crisis. While trying to renew her relationship with on-again-off-again boyfriend Zack, Sadie discovers that she’s pregnant which certainly throws her romantic plans for a loop!
    Now that she’s dealing with the fallout of her disastrous love life and her crazy hormones, Sadie needs a distraction from all the personal drama and finds it when Detective Dean Petrovich asks her to help with a murder investigation. 
    This time the case involves Petrovich’s ex-wife who was found dead in a luxurious spa and Petrovich is named the prime suspect. After all of the years the noble detective saved Sadie’s hide during various investigations, Sadie is determined to pay back his kindness by proving he was framed for the murder. But Sadie is shocked when her supposed “relaxing” trip to the luxurious spa puts the killer hot on her trail. Now, with her life at risk and her love life a bust, the Sadie must focus on solving the case before Petrovich is thrown in the slammer for good…

Thanks to Wendy and the lovely Kayleigh at Penguin Group, I have an eBook copy of DROP DEAD BEAUTY to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the details.

Wendy has graciously answered some questions about her protagonist and her writing.

Mason - How did you come to give your protagonist such a profession as crime scene cleaner and amateur medium? What inspired that?

Wendy:
I belong to Crimescenewriter, an author information group with law enforcement professionals who routinely answer questions. While obtaining details about a crime scene scenario they also gave me information about trauma cleaning professionals. My imagination took it from there!

Mason - Now that the book is out, what surprised you the most as you were writing it?

Wendy:
In DROP DEAD BEAUTY, I was most surprised by the ending. While initially writing a book I don’t really know whodunit and sometimes it shocks even me!

Mason - What type of research did you do for this book?

Wendy:
When I researched the series I spoke to people who worked as professional trauma cleaners. DROP DEAD BEAUTY allowed me to do some research in a spa – now that was fun!

Mason - Have you always wanted to write or was there an event that lead you to writing?

Wendy:
I’ve always enjoyed telling stories and considered it a kind of hobby but attending a local writers’ conference gave me the tools I needed to take things to the next level.

Mason - If you could write a book with any author (living or dead) who would it be and what type of book would you like to write?

Wendy:
I would love to write a story together with Stephen King and Janet Evanovich. I think Mr. King’s horror, combined with Ms. Evanovich’s humor would totally rock!

Mason - What can readers look forward to next from you?

Wendy:
I’ve written a number of chapters in a new paranormal mystery but I’m mostly in the research stage of that new story. I’d give you more details but then I’d have to kill you (in a book, of course!).
  
Wendy, thanks for joining us today and sharing how Sadie’s professional career came to be. She does lead an interesting life.

Now I’ll share a bit about Wendy. She is an armchair sleuth, fan of all things mysterious but a huge chicken at heart. She is the author of the Ghost Dusters mystery series, as well as GROUNDS TO KILL with Carina Press. 

She resides in Surrey, BC with her four children and a sluggish guinea pig. She happily writes about murder and is hard at work on her next novel. For more on Wendy and her writing, visit her website at www.wendyroberts.com
 
GIVEAWAY DETAILS: As this is an eBook only, the giveaway is for a NetGalley link where the book can be downloaded. The giveaway winner must have a NetGalley account (which is free) in order to receive the book. 

To enter the giveaway, please send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with the subject line, “Win Drop Dead Beauty.” Your message should include your name and the email address you’d like the NetGalley link sent to. And, just so you know, I don’t share any of this information with anyone other than the publisher nor use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for an e-copy of DROP DEAD BEAUTY is 8 p.m. (DST) on Saturday, July 6. The giveaway is open internationally.

Thanks so much for visiting today. What do you think of Sadie’s profession? Think you’d like to be a crime scene cleaner? I’ll leave you with a book trailer for DROP DEAD BEAUTY to entice your reading and you can also view other trailers for Wendy’s books on her YouTube channel. Enjoy!!