Color Me Dead Interview & Review

I'm pleased to welcome Teresa Trent back to Cozy Up With Kathy with a new series. COLOR ME DEAD is the first book in the Henry Park Mystery series and was released earlier this month.

Kathy: You start a new series with COLOR ME DEAD. Was there a specific inspiration for this series?

TT: There were several. I lived in Colorado from the age of eleven until the year after I graduated from college. When I write my mysteries, I try to use places I am very familiar with. Once I figured out I wanted this one to be in Colorado, it just flowed. The element of art was important to me because I wanted my psychic to be able to express herself in a unique way. I have a son with Down Syndrome, and we are active in the disability community in Houston. The character of Gigi was inspired by a friend’s daughter and other young people I’ve met with cerebral palsy.


Kathy: Gabby Wolfe has a unique ability to see "the despair of the dead". Have you met people with similar abilities?

TT: Not really, but I’ve always been fascinated by them. I’ve long been a fan of the Long Island Medium, Dead Files, and other shows. I’m just like everybody else that watches these shows and find myself wondering whether or not I think the “reading” is for real. Even though I am interested in this process, I would never want to have those abilities. I’d be back to sleeping with the light on!


Kathy: We also meet a rambunctious beagle named Luigi who loves junk food. Is Luigi based on a real dog, or is he purely a work of fiction?

TT: Luigi is based on my beagle, Goliath. Goliath was the dog I had when I was a little girl, and I guess when I started writing about Colorado, a rascally beagle showed up in the manuscript! Luigi likes Cheetos, but if I remember right, Goliath was more into pork rinds.


Kathy: When it comes to writing, I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?

TT: I am a plotter and then a replotter. I could never write a story without a plan. I admire people who can do that! My process has evolved over the years and is a combination of computer files and handwritten pages. My husband told me I never write a book the same way twice. I think I have a bad case of “inventing a better mouse-trap.”


Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?

TT: I enjoy connecting with my readers and getting a chance to show my work to people who might not have known about it. It is a great opportunity for an author to do blog tours and interviews like this one. I am so happy I can offer COLOR ME DEAD for free on Amazon, January 23-27. I’ve used the free days on Kindle several times and have never been disappointed. As far as dislikes, times have changed and my readers are scattered all over the world. I don’t do many bookstore table displays anymore. Most people buy ebooks not paperbacks, and unless I’m someone like Nora Roberts, it’s not an effective marketing strategy.


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

TT: Later this spring, the seventh book in my Pecan Bayou Mystery Series, ’Til Dirt Do Us Part will be coming out. I hope I can come back to visit and tell you about Betsy’s latest brush with murder. You might have already figured out this one is a gardening mystery. If you would like to keep up on my new releases, here is where you can sign-up for my newsletter and get a free Pecan Bayou Novella, A Heart for Murder.


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Review

COLOR ME DEAD by Teresa Trent

The First Henry Park Mystery 

Gabby Wolfe returns to her childhood home of Henry Park, Colorado with two jobs, to start work as an illustrator for children's book author Clarence Bradford, and look after her younger brother, Mitch, a magnet for trouble. Gabby's always seen snippets of things to come, but now she starts to draw a disturbing image, and it's not from one of Clarence's stories. Reconnecting with old friends and making new enemies Gabby tries to make sense of what she sees, only to discover a talented young artist is seeing the same visions. It's too late to save the woman they're seeing, but will they be able to discover the killer?

Teresa Trent pens a winner with her first Henry Park Mystery. We're introduced to a reluctant psychic, her ne'er do well brother, a direct sales guru with cerebral palsy, and a lovable dog named Luigi. While the natural environment is pristine, the characters are a little rougher around the edges. With plenty of bad habits and foibles these characters provide a multitude of motives as well as the moxie to deal with adversity...and each other.

I appreciate so much about this book, especially the subtlety with which Trent writes about Gabby's psychic abilities; truly developing their importance and the way Gabby and others view this gift. In COLOR ME DEAD Teresa Trent takes a picturesque town adds interesting characters and a unique mystery to create a successful start to a new series.

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COLOR ME DEAD is currently free on Amazon, but the offer is only good through today, so take advantage while you can!