Jana DeLeon has kindly stopped by as guest today. If you haven't read any of her books, you're missing out. Louisiana Longshot is on my list of favorites for 2014:
Tell us a little about your
Miss Fortune series
The
Miss Fortune series was the series I always wanted to write but was told by
editors that it would never work with readers. I wanted a tough, no-nonsense
heroine and got her in CIA assassin Fortune Redding. But I didn’t want a
perfect woman. Fortune is beautiful, but has no idea. She also has no ability
to emotionally connect with others and zero normal living/social skills. With a
price on her head and a leak at the CIA, Fortune is forced to hide out in a
small bayou town, posing as a librarian, ex-beauty queen. Before she can even
unpack a bag, a dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Soon, she’s mixed up
with two seemingly harmless local seniors, trying to solve a murder…and learn
how to behave in normal society.
I
love a fish-out-of-water story, especially with strong women and a bayou
setting, so I wrapped it all up in one series.
Which authors inspire you?
Jennifer
Crusie is an absolute master at wit and dialogue, and I love her books. Janet
Evanovich is brilliant at creating absurd characters that do outlandish things,
and she makes it work. Agatha Christie is the queen of mysteries and my
all-time favorite author.
What are you working on next?
Right
now, I’m working on the fourth book in the Miss Fortune Series, entitled Swamp
Team 3.
Tell us a little about you.
I
was raised in southern Louisiana among the bayous and the gators, so I have
first-hand knowledge about some of the things I write – except the illegal ones
of course. (most of them anyway) J My
degree is in accounting and that’s what I did for 20 years. I was the CFO of a
real estate development corporation when I sold my first book. I jumped off the
corporate ladder and have never looked back.
What's one piece of advice
you would give aspiring authors?
Have
patience! Creating a solid readership takes time. Sure some people hit with
their first book, but some people get hit by lightning too. And the odds are
probably better to get hit by lightning. Learn craft. Write, write and write.
And the fiscal conservative in me says: Don’t quit your day job until you’ve
had a year of steady income that meets your bills and you’ve paid off all your
debt. Save a year of salary, then jump ship.
What's your favorite
season/weather?
Definitely
summer, but not August in Texas. It’s a little too hot. But I’m a beach/pool
person. When weather permits, I work outside on the deck next to the pool. If I
lived near the ocean, I’d walk there every day, probably first thing in the
morning with a huge cup of coffee. That sounds like heaven to me.
Who do you imagine is your
reader?
My
readers range in age, education and I’ve even got a decent male readership,
despite having mostly female leads. I think my readers are people who read for
escape and to laugh. My books will not ask you to question the world or
yourself. I intend for them to take you away from your life for a while and
transport you somewhere else.
Where is Louisiana Longshot
(the first book in the Miss Fortune series) available?
It’s
available at Amazon, BN, Kobo, iBooks and Google. The ebook version is
currently free at Amazon, Kobo and iBooks and only .99 at BN. You can also
order print copies through your local bookstore or at Amazon.
How can readers find out more
about you?
I
chat on Facebook with readers every day and post random things about my life
and my work. You can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JanaDeLeonAuthor.
To get notice when I have new books release, readers can sign up for my
newsletter on my website http://janadeleon.com/
About Louisiana
Longshot:
From NY Times and USA Today bestselling author,
Jana DeLeon, the first book in the Miss Fortune mystery series.
It was a hell of a longshot…
CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever – in Sinful, Louisiana.
With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world’s largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she’s determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she’s not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed.
Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder…before it’s too late.
Jana has kindly offered to send a blog reader an autographed copy of one of her books. To enter, send an e-mail to cozyintexas@yahoo.com with Win Jana DeLeon Book in the subject line. Don't forget to add your name and address and I'll pick one with Random Number Generator. Deadline March 15, 2014. Offer good for U.S. and internationally.
