Thursday, October 26, 2017

Interview - Getting to know DeAnna Dodson

Whispers in Purple is pleased to bring you an interview with author DeAnna Dodson, aka Julianna Deering.

Hi, DeAnna, welcome. Let’s sit and chat a while.

That would be great. Thanks for having me!

First, and for fun, what five words best describe you?

Oooh, that’s a tough one. Um, Christian, ailurophile, bibliophile, quilter, and dreamer.

Second, tell us a bit about yourself, and your alter-ego, Julianna.  

Well, I’m a native Texan, a real homebody. I have three cats that I love tremendously, and I hate yardwork. I never had any plans to be published or even to write, but when I was in college and bored with my accounting classes, I started writing scenes just for me. Those scenes eventually became my first book, In Honor Bound. To my amazement, that book was published and I have not looked back since. These days, I write contemporary mystery and romance for Annie’s Fiction and for Guideposts.

Julianna always wanted to write mysteries like the ones she enjoyed from Agatha Christie, Marjory Allingham and Dorothy L. Sayers. She loved watching the wonderful BBC production of these authors’ books (and others) and movies from the great 1930s, like The Thin Man and its sequels. So there was nothing more natural for her to take a little bit of Nick and Nora and mix them with Tommy and Tuppence to get her British-American couple, Drew and Madeline. She has a tremendous amount of fun writing them.

Next, why did you choose to write under two different names?

The pen name was actually my publisher’s suggestion. They thought it would be a good way to let my earlier readers know that The Drew Farthering Mysteries were something completely different from what I had published before.

I have visited your website and books page, and I’m captivated. I want to read them all! Can you share a little bit about each series?

Oh, thank you! I’m so glad the website caught your interest. I just got through sprucing it up.

My first series, The Chastelayne Trilogy, is a romance-adventure trilogy set in medieval times. In college, I spent a lot of time studying medieval English history and Shakespeare, and I couldn’t resist putting a lot of that into a story about a young man who becomes king under what he considers less-than-honorable circumstances. And, of course, he is forced into an arranged marriage following the loss of the girl he truly loved. Could he learn to forgive and love again? That was the question I wanted to answer.

After my medieval books, I began to write contemporary mystery for Annie’s Fiction. I’ve worked on several series for them. I wrote four books for their Annie’s Attic series, one for their Secrets of the Quilt series, one for their Antique Shop Mysteries, and two for their Secrets of the Manor Library Series. They’ve all been fun to write, though I think my favorites are The Diary in the Attic, which is a contemporary mystery that has a few retrospective scenes from World War II, and Decadent Deceit, which splits time between present day and the court of Marie Antoinette. I always enjoy adding a historical aspect to my stories even if they are contemporary.

I have just started writing for Guideposts, too. My first book for them, Thicker Than Water, is due out on December 20th. It’s also a contemporary mystery, and it’s set on Martha’s Vineyard.

Last, but definitely not least, are my Drew Farthering Mysteries. As I mentioned, I love the classic mysteries and movies of the 1930s, so it was a natural for me to create a series based on that. English Drew and his American lady love, Madeline, always seem to find a crime to solve whether in their little Hampshire village of Farthering St. John or farther afield somewhere in Great Britain. Along with Drew’s best friend, Nick, they manage to get into and out of trouble with humor and style and God’s grace. I love writing about not only the mysteries themselves, but the cars and the clothes and the dialog of the time and, of course, Drew and Madeline’s romance. Who could ask for more?

Another question I have a lot of fun with: If you were an animal, what would you be? Why?

Oh, I’d definitely be a cat. They have no doubt that the world and everything in it is there for their amusement, and they always land on their feet. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be that cute?

Okay, about Death at Thorburn Hall. Give us an overview of the book (back cover blurb/short synopsis), publisher, release date, purchase link, etc, and share the opening paragraph or two. I love a good teaser.


Back Cover Blurb:  Drew Farthering arrives in idyllic Scotland for the 1935 British Open at Muirfield hoping for a relaxing holiday, but he soon finds a mystery on his hands. Lord Rainsby, his host at Thorburn Hall, fears his business partner may be embezzling and asks Drew to quietly investigate. Before Drew can uncover anything, Rainsby is killed in a suspicious riding accident.

Thorburn Hall is filled with guests, and as Drew continues to dig, he realizes that each might have had a motive to put Rainsby out of the way. Together with Madeline and Nick, he must sort through shady business dealings, international intrigue, and family tensions to find a killer who always seems to be one step ahead.

Publisher: Bethany House 
Release Date: November 7, 2017

Buy Links:


Excerpt:
Madeline Farthering gripped her husband’s arm a little more tightly as they made their way through the mass of people crowding Waverley Station, certain that if they were separated in this chaos she’d never be able to find him again. Drew said something to her, but she could only shake her head and shrug.
He repeated whatever it was he had said, but the crackling announcement of a delayed train arrival blaring through the station made it impossible to make out.
She pressed a little closer to his side. “What did you say?”
By then the announcement had ended, and her shouted question drew the attention of several passersby. A blush heated her cheeks.

Drew’s gray eyes were warm and laughing. “Having fun, darling?”

What’s next for you?

That’s a good question. I know I have at least two more Guideposts books to do, and I hope many more to follow. I also have tentative plans to do another Annie’s series, though this one is supposed to be romance/women’s fiction rather than mystery, which will be a lovely change. After that, I don’t know. I’d love to write more Drew books, but we’ll have to see how the ones I already have out do. The more readers clamor, the more likely it is that the publisher will want more. I also have a delicious idea for a Regency romance, but we’ll have to see what comes of that. At any rate, I’ll have plenty to do.

Where can readers find you on the internet/social media?

On the web:
On Goodreads: 


About DeAnna:
DeANNA JULIE DODSON has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with three spoiled cats and, when not writing, spends her free time quilting, cross stitching and watching NHL hockey. 

Her first novels were a trilogy of medieval romances (In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered) for Crossway Books, and she has since written a number of contemporary mysteries for Annie’s Fiction and Guideposts with more to come. 

Also, as JULIANNA DEERING, she writes the Drew Farthering mysteries set in 1930s England. The series debuted from Bethany House with Rules of Murder (2013) and is followed by Death by the Book and Murder at the Mikado (2014), Dressed for Death (2016), and Murder on the Moor and Death at Thorburn Hall (2017). 

She is represented by Wendy Lawton of the Books & Such Literary Agency (www.booksandsuch.biz).




2 comments:

  1. Thank you for letting me visit! Looking forward to the 7th. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Having you here was my pleasure, DeAnna. The upcoming release date is exciting, isn't it? Wishing you the best for its success.

    ReplyDelete