First let me thank
you, Diane, for allowing me the chance to reveal some things about myself and
to tell everyone about my latest release. I hope all of your readers will take
the time to get their name entered into my rafflecopter giveaway for a $25
Amazon gift card.
I married young at the
age of eighteen and hadn’t traveled much outside of Arizona. Marrying a soldier
changed that. Even after we got out of the service we kept moving around. After
many years of a near gypsy lifestyle, my husband and I have finally landed on
the northern prairies of Arizona. We've transitioned from city people to
country folk. We share our rambling farmhouse with our son the farmer, his
wife, my granddaughter and three dogs. Together, we’ve embraced an age-old
lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United States - multiple generations
living under one roof, who share the workload, follow their individual dreams
and reap the benefits of combined talents.
For many years, I
wanted to be an artist and majored in commercial art. I took a break due to one
of our moves, and I sort of stumbled into writing when I took a creative
writing class at a community college. I was hooked.
Although I didn’t
start out to write romance, I’ve found all good stories have to involve
complicated human relationships. I’ve also learned, no matter a person’s age, a
new discovery is right around every corner. Whether humorous or serious,
straight contemporary or suspense, all my books revolve around those two facts.
Where can readers find you?
Visit me on my website at www.brendawhiteside.com.
Or on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
I blog on the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
I blog about prairie life and writing at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/
What does your family think of
your writing?
My family is small and although
they are all very supportive, they each handle it in a different way. My mom
has read everything I’ve written and will bend the ear of anyone near her to
brag on me. My husband also reads everything I’ve written, but he didn’t get
fully on board until my latest release which is book one in my Love and Murder
Series. More up his alley than straight romance. My sister is a sporadic
reader, but she gets around to them eventually and says she loves them all. My
brother and my son have similar viewpoints. My son has never read anything I’ve
written because “I don’t want to know my mom has those thoughts.” Makes me
laugh.
How many books have you written?
Which is your favorite?
I’ve written eight books (one is
an anthology which contains three of my stories). My favorite so far is the one
on my editor’s desk. It is book two in the Love and Murder Series entitled
Southwest of Love and Murder. My heroine and hero are so different – the cowboy
and the bohemian, and my villain is quirky. It was pure fun, and I can’t wait
for the release date.
Are your stories driven by plot
or character?
Definitely character. People
fascinate me – what makes them tick, look like they do, say what they say.
Making up characters comes easy, and they sort of dictate the story to me.
If I was a first time reader of
your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?
My latest release, which is book
one in my Love and Murder Series. This is a romantic suspense with more depth
and story than I’ve ever written. This whole series should be attractive that
way. I’m getting great reader reviews for The Art of Love and Murder. My hero
is a serious hunk, my heroine is in danger – keeps you reading.
What do you hope readers take
with them after reading your work?
The feeling they’ve been
entertained and escaped their day-to-day life for a few hours of fun.
Tell us about your latest book.
The Art of Love and Murder lives up to its title. Lacy Dahl, prompted
by her daughter, sets out to research some art left by her birth parents who
died in an airplane crash when she was an infant. She goes to Flagstaff,
Arizona armed with the sketches and visits a step-aunt, an art gallery and a
museum. Those visits lead to a collector of the artist’s work and an old friend
of her birth mother. Everyone appears to
be holding back some truth. And from her first night in town when she is
followed down a dark alley, danger lurks, but she doesn’t know why. When a Paul
Bunyan of a man who happens to be Sheriff Chance Meadowlark, comes to her aid,
the mystery gets even murkier. His ties to a murder and the art may or may not
hinder their relationship. Lacy finds herself discovering secrets and lies that
threaten her life.
The Art of Love and Murder is a romantic suspense. I think there is
enough of both to satisfy both romance and suspense readers.
Here's the blurb:
Lacy Dahl never questioned her
past until the deaths of her adoptive parents and her husband. A husband
who wasn't what he seemed. Her research uncovers secrets about the mother
she never knew; secrets that dispute the identity of her father and threaten
her life.
Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is
still haunted by the murder of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the
name of justice. When he meets Lacy he is determined not to become
involved, but their pasts may make that impossible. As they move closer
to the truth, saving Lacy may be his only salvation.
Lacy begins to think the present is more important than her
past...until Chance's connection to her mother and a murder spin her deeper
into danger and further from love. Will the truth destroy Lacy and
Chance or will it be the answer that frees them?
Excerpt:
Momentarily struck dumb by his eye
color, she stared back. Why hadn’t she noticed until now? Although not as light
as hers or her father’s, the professor’s eyes were a startling green shade.
His hand nudged her arm. “Lacy?”
She jumped. “Oh, yes.” She slipped the
tissue from the half-carved wolf. Another glance
at his eyes and goose bumps riddled her arms.
He lifted the wood close to his face,
using both hands as if handling a delicate hummingbird. His thumb traced the
neck of the creature to the juncture of where it emerged from the wood. When he
brought the piece to his nose, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, Lacy
wanted to turn away from the oddly erotic gesture.
He swallowed, opened his eyes and set
the wolf back on the tissue. His attention shifted to the photograph of the
chest. He touched the photo, a smile on his lips. “Where is the chest?”
The chest. Like he knew it, had seen it
before. “I’m having it sent. You’ve seen it before?”
He didn’t move, stared out the window as
if deep in thought. “I’d like to show you something, Lacy.”
“All right.” She waited, watching his
profile.
He turned and stared into her face a
moment. “You’re so very lovely. A creation full of life and passion, surpassing
any art form.”
His hypnotic voice floated on the
classical strains drifting from the living room. She couldn’t speak. Didn’t
know what to say. She’d been lifted upon a pedestal of admiration. With any
other man, she might consider his words a means to a sexual end. The
professor’s intentions, however, were crystal. He admired her like a work of
art.
The Art of Love and Murder is available at:
TWRP
Amazon
Now for a special treat, Brenda has a giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance.
Thanks, Brenda, for visiting today. Wishing you much success with The Art of Love and Murder.
