As his wife Jennifer’s due date approaches, Detective Harvey Larson decides to invest in real estate, unaware of the terror this will cause his family. Before we meet today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the e-copy of Engaged: Surrendering the Future, by Julie Arduini, is:
tumcsec@...
Congratulations! We'll e-mail your book right out to you. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.
And now let's chat with novelist Susan Page Davis, author of the romantic suspense/mystery, The House Next Door (Tea Tin Press, September 2017).
Susan Page Davis is the author of more than 70 published novels and novellas. She writes in both the historical romance genre and contemporary mysteries and suspense.She’s won the Carol Award, two Will Rogers Medallions, two Inspirational Readers’ Choice Awards, and was a finalist in the WILLA Literary Awards.
A Maine native, Susan now lives in Kentucky with her husband, Jim. They have six children and ten grandchildren, and two cats that don’t get along.
Please tell us one random thing we might not know about you.
The closest I will probably ever get to a Pulitzer Prize is that many years ago, when I was a waitress, I once served Bob Dylan a cup of hot tea with lemon.
I don't think I would have remembered he had won the Pulitzer if you hadn't mentioned that! And I can guarantee that you have been closer to the Pulitzer than I have.
Please tell us a bit more about the plot of The House Next Door.
The charming stone house next door is for sale! How could there be a down side to that?
As his wife Jennifer’s due date approaches, Captain Harvey Larson decides to invest in real estate, unaware of the terror this will cause his family.The neighboring house seems ideal for Jennifer’s brother Jeff and his wife. A hidden cupboard isn’t so bad—in fact, it’s almost fun to try to solve the little mystery inside it. But the unexpected bonus some workmen find is an entirely different matter. Will any of Harvey and Jennifer’s loved ones want to live next door after they learn what’s in the basement?
At last Jennifer’s baby arrives, and Harvey takes a little time off as his squad keeps plugging away on the murder case. The men of the Priority Unit might be wasting their time, trying to prove one dead man killed another. Or is the murderer still alive and ready to strike again?
Yikes.
What is it about Jennifer that will make your readers care about her?
Jennifer’s life as a detective’s wife is anything but tranquil. She’s got cops planning strategy over her kitchen table, armed intruders in the neighborhood, and sisters whose romantic turmoil pulls in the whole family. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Have you attended any writers’ conferences in the past? What are your thoughts about their merits for up-and-coming, or even established, writers?
I just returned from Killer Nashville, for crime writers. I’ve attended the American Christian Fiction Writers’ conference several times. I think conferences are great places for writers to network and to hone their writing skills and knowledge of their genre. At Killer Nashville, I sat in on sessions by accomplished writers and law enforcement officers. I made some great new friends and learned some practical things I’ll use every day.
You make me want to attend a conference right now! I haven't been to one in several years, and I'm sorry I'll miss ACFW again this year. Thanks for your feedback!
What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?
Lynnette Eason’s Always Watching was an enjoyable read. It’s in the romantic suspense genre, and Eason knows how to keep things tense.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up a cozy mystery that will be the 25th and final book in the Tearoom Mysteries series from Guideposts. Several of us authors collaborated on this series, and I personally wrote five of the books.
I’m also getting book 6 in the Maine Justice series ready for a December 1 launch. In that book, The Labor Day Challenge, Harvey and his squad compete against another city’s detectives in a crime-solving challenge, only the dummy in their staged “crime scene” turns out to be a real body.
Where else can readers find you online?
www.susanpagedavis.com
Twitter: @SusanPageDavis
Newsletter
Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?
After we moved to Kentucky, I stepped on something in the shag carpet and pulled out a small item made of lead. At first I thought I’d found a bullet, but quickly realized it was a fishing sinker. Like Harvey and Jennifer, did you ever find something that a previous resident left behind in your house?
What a fun question!
Thanks, Susan, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Susan has offered to give away a signed copy of her book. To enter, leave a comment and your email below in answer to Susan's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Remember that subscribers are entered an additional time in each drawing. The drawing is done by email, so leave your email address, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com. Many commenters are left out of the drawing because they forget to include a way for me to notify them of their win (their email).
Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.
Remember, if you'd like information on additional new releases, check out Christian Book Heaven, a new email newsletter for Christian book deals in whatever genres you select. You can subscribe here: ChristianBookHeaven
Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer, as well as my Disclosure of Material Connection HERE
25 comments:
What an interesting book! I am intrigued and would love to read it! We bought an old house one time, over 100 years old, and I ran across some old books.
mauback55 at gmail dot com
Melanie, I grew up in an old house with a dirt-floor basement. Maybe that's what inspired this tale. Old books! My favorite thing. How wonderful for you to find!
Wow! This book looks great.
We have lived in many houses. What I remember is a few silver dimes in a house in Wisconsin and our house now was small toys and lots of odd things when hubby cleaned out the floor vents.
I grew up in a house that was built in 1836. It was cobblestone. We had a dirtt floor cellar in the 80 year old part of the house. When we got married 48 years ago my parents were in the middle of tearing down that part and building a new basement, kitchen bathroom and dining room. They found interesting small bottles in the oldest part of the house where it joined the other part. We used to find lots of things in the back yard because people used to throw stuff away there.
Back to Wisconsin. We had woods out back and I found an intact green depression glass plate just off the back yard. Must have been a dump site, too that was in the 80's.
In North Dakota, my girlfriend and I used to rummage through abandoned houses out in the country and found old books.
Wow, Paula! You've found a lot of neat stuff. Don't forget if you want to be entered in the drawing you have to leave your contact information. Thanks!
Sounds like an exciting story. I can't think of anything of significant value found in our house that the previous owners had left. There were various odds and ends, of which some still remain. The former owner had built furniture so he left a few flawed table tops behind - that kind of stuff.
grandaddya[at]Comcast[dot]net
Hmm, in that old house I grew up in, several trunks were left in the attic. I have one of them now. Sounds like you didn't get too many "bonuses," Edward. I'm sure you enjoy your home, though.
My husband and I bought the house we're living in new so the only thing we've found is scrap remnants in the ground left by workers. We've lived here thirty something years.
Reading about your comment on Bob Dylan reminded me of Saturday Night Fever. John Travolta was ordering coffee and "Stephanie" was ordering tea with lemon because "it's so much more refined". She also bragged about all the celebrities she had met at her work, most of which he'd never heard of....
tumcsec(at)gmail(dot)com
Funny, Gail! I figured he drank it for his throat, but maybe he just wanted to look refined.
The only thing I remember finding was a pair of gloves. They were very nice and were sure to be missed.
I love Susan's books. Am looking forward to reading this one.
happygrammaof3(at)Comcast(dot)net
Thanks for your kind words, Brenda. Gloves are good. In a couple of my cozy mysteries, people find things that are a lot nicer than what's found in this book. In Tearoom for Two, for instance, the cousins find a ring in the wall of their old house-turned-tearoom.
My favorite is a blue granite dishpan! jarning67(at)hotmail(dot)com
That sounds like a fun bonus, Joan!
I am looking forward to the next book about Harvey and Jennifer. Once you start reading them you can't stop!
The only stuff I think we've ever found of interest were a few oldish newspaper pages and a note that a disgruntled carpenter left on a board in the wall of the bathroom, "Worst hole I've ever tried to fit a bathroom into!" Ha!!!
bcrug(at)twc.com
LOL, Connie, and thanks! I'm so glad you're liking this series. The old newspapers could be interesting, I suppose.
Would love to win any of Susan books. I have moved a lot. Never found anything sarahmom335@yahoo.com Jane Squires
I haven't found anything interesting in the house we have moved into except some eclectic tastes in wallpaper :)
This book sounds really interesting and I'm adding it to my TBR list. Thanks for the giveaway!
momrain(AT)aol(DOT)com
Wow! What a great interview and intriguing book blurb! Susan, I believe you were faculty on the American Christian Writers' Caribbean Cruise Conference I went on in the fall of 2004. Is my memory correct? My, that was a long time ago.
When we retired and moved to a smaller house, I found a yellow, plastic banana slicer left in a cabinet. Ha! I'd love to find a secret room.
Opps, I forgot my contact info. vherlock at yahoo dot com
Actually, Vie, I have never been on a cruise in my life, but that sounds like great fun. Wish I'd been there! The banana slicer sounds like fun too. Ha! Thanks for weighing in and coming back to leave your contact.
I've never come across anything when moving in, but after my parents both passed away this year, we did leave behind several boxes in the attic of their home when we sold their house. We were just so burned out after going through all of their stuff. We thought we were done, until a home inspector found the boxes. None of us wanted to go back again. I have no idea what we left behind for the new home owners! After awhile, things simply become things, you know?
Susan, thanks for reminding commenters to leave their email address, in case their names are drawn in your drawing!
No, I've not found anything left by a previous home owner.
I'm looking forward to reading your Maine Justice series! Thank you for the opportunity.
psalm103and138 at gmail dot com
Trish, I feel your pain. I was my dad's executor and it was A CHORE. A lesson to me and my husband to simplify and downsize while we can. I am still chuckling over Vie's comment about old wallpaper. Caryl, nice to see you here.
Our house is new so the only thing(s) left behind are from our daughter when she was married almost 20 years ago.
Janet E.
von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com
Oops here it is : paulams49ATsbcglobalDOTnet. Thanks.
I have had such fun hearing all your moving stories and what treasures you found! Here's something funny: when we moved, we didn't sell our old house right away. We rented it out. Five years later, my husband went back there to work on it and prepare it for sale. In an upstairs closet, on the shelf, he found a mobile phone charger. He thought maybe the renters left it, but he brought it along to deal with later. Well, guess who had lost her in-the-car charger and didn't know where it disappeared to? It was nice for a little while, but I've changed phones now, and it doesn't work on my new phone. Makes me wonder what else I left in Maine when we moved to Kentucky.
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