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).
I came across articles written by 20-somethings
complaining how today's movies misrepresent college. One young writer said
these films had her "stoked" that she was going to have the best time
ever in college. These films made it seem as if college was all about partying,
making lifelong BFFs, and once-in-a-while going to classes.
About Nike:
That can be somewhat tricky, I would think. 
