HH: I think they’re special because they just ooze charm. Every nook and cranny whispers, “Just look at me, would you? Aren’t I just the cat’s meow? Look at that woodwork! and the stained glass! And have you ever seen a staircase as special as mine?” I’ve only been inside one in my life and I couldn’t believe how unique it was, loaded with design, craftsmanship, and, of course, charm.
Kathy: The prime suspect happens to be Lee's friend, an internationally acclaimed actress. Said actress is also taking part in a new musical. Do you enjoy musicals? Do you have any favorites?
HH: I love musicals! My husband and I met during our youthful forays in the theater. He was (and is) a singer and worked on Broadway in the original Grease (Doody). I worked backstage on Broadway doing costumes on many musicals. Annie, A Chorus Line, just to name two of the more popular ones. Nowadays we see a lot of musicals, but it’s from the audience rather than the wings. I don’t know if I could pick a favorite, though. Maybe Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, Hamilton! Wait, wait! My Fair Lady. And of course, A Chorus Line. Wait, wait, wait! How could I forget Gypsy? Gypsy is supposed to be the most perfect musical ever written. I read that somewhere. When I was really young one of the first musicals I ever saw was Hello Dolly when Ethel Merman was filling in for Carol Channing. I saw the power of a dynamite actress in the lead role. I never forgot that night.
Kathy: An anniversary in Paris is calling Lee. If COVID-19 didn't exist, where would you like to have an anniversary trip?
HH: The fantasy I set up for the newly married couple isn’t so bad! A trip to Paris, dinner atop the Eiffel Tower, and being showered with sapphires by a handsome man wearing a tux. Works for me.
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
HH: I wanted to combine the ongoing characters from the series with a few characters from a play I penned some time ago. I also wanted to add a Scottish character in honor of my heart sister, who was adopted at birth and recently found her Scottish birth family. An homage, doncha know. Frankly, I wasn't sure I could make it work. Some nights I lost sleep over whether or not I could pull this into anything readable. But I managed to do it and some readers are saying it’s my best book. That makes me feel great.
Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Lee?
HH: Lee Alvarez has a blessed life. She’s funny, smart, and loves a good adventure. She’s surrounded by positive, loving people and manages to do the kind of work she’s good at and loves doing. She’s going to keep on falling into one adventure after another aided by hubby, Tugger the Cat, and family. And she’ll keep learning and growing as she goes along.
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
HH: I have just begun a book from one of my other series, The Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries. These mysteries take place during WWII and usually revolve around a holiday. This one, as yet unnamed, will take place around Mother’s Day. I haven’t written one of the books for awhile, but I polled some of my readers and that’s the book they’d like to see happen next. I have to say, I really have some marvelous readers, who – like Lee – are funny, smart, and love a good adventure. The 5th book of the Alvarez series, The CEO Came DOA, came about because readers wrote to me and said they’d like to see Lee have a Christmas wedding. It was such a fun idea, I had to write it. And what an adventure it turned out to be, too!
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Casting Call for a Corpse: A Fun Detective Cozy (The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries) by Heather Haven
About Casting Call for a Corpse
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Publisher: The Wives of Bath Press (August 1, 2020)
Print Length: 295 pages
A DETECTIVE AGENCY WITH HEART. AND A WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
Super sleuth, Lee Alvarez, finds a dead man wearing a tuxedo in a friend’s bathtub during a soiree for San Francisco’s VIPs. And not just any friend, but an internationally acclaimed actress who recently came to live in San Francisco. And not just any bathtub, but a bathtub residing inside one of Alamo Square’s famed Painted Ladies, recently bought by said actress.
The police believe it’s the actress friend who done the man in. After all, it’s her house and her tub. And another man died under suspicious circumstances around her recently. Both romantic encounters, doncha know. The actress must be guilty.
Or is she?
For ace detective Lee Alvarez, the timing couldn’t be worse. She is supposed to go off in celebration of her 6-month wedding anniversary with her hunky hubby. Paris is calling!
Or is it?
Her long-time friend, plus her mother – She Who Must Be Obeyed – thinks she should stick around and find out who the real killer is. So Lee, family, handsome hubby, and Tugger, the cat, are on the job. But Lee’s nose is itching. Which means not one of the suspects is telling the truth.
Or not all of it. Lee soon uncovers threatening letters, sullen playwrights, dead bodies, and a criminal web of jewel thieves, all treading the boards of her friend’s latest musical. This is showbiz?
Author Haven pulls out all the stops in a cozy fan’s delight about a charming, and unconventional Palo Alto detective family who get their man or woman, as the case may be. Book Seven follows its tradition of the Bay Area’s favorite PI, who rolls over with all four paw in the air when it comes to her darn near perfect mother. But with the help of her computer geek brother and handsome hubby, Lee works to solve the case in time to celebrate her own 6-month wedding anniversary.
About Heather Haven
Heather moved to the Bay Area and studied creative writing at Stanford University. Previously, several of her comedy acts and plays were performed in NYC. Her novels include the humorous Silicon Valley-based Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, Manhattan-based Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries, Love Can Be Murder Novellas, Snow Lake Romantic Suspense Series and standalone mystery noir, Murder under the Big Top, based upon her mother’s stint as a performer with Ringling Brothers’ Circus. There is also her anthology, Corliss and Other Award-Winning Stories. Her favorite protagonist is in Corliss, one of the featured short stories, but don’t tell anyone!
Author Links:
Website - http://heatherhavenstories.com/,
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HeatherHavenStories/,
Purchase Link - Amazon
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Thank you so very much for hosting me. This was a delightful visit and I loved chatting with you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stooping by. I enjoy our chats as well!
DeleteI love the book cover, title, and excerpt. Would I ever love to read and review the print format of this book and your other books. Book looks quite intriguing. Love books like this.
ReplyDeleteSure hope I win.
Crystal
Thank you so much for stopping by and showing off your new book. You are a new to me author and I think that the cover is very eyecatching. I would love to read and review a print copy of your book peggy clayton
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good. It's so cool that you and your husband actually worked on Broadway!
ReplyDelete