Women’s Writes Interviews (#14 Robin Leeman Donovan)
She’s the author behind some of the most wildly creative, hysterical cozy mystery books… an award-winning blogger… and a highly successful advertising executive. She is Robin Leemann Donovan, and you need to check out her story of female empowerment.
Don’t say it, do it. If you don’t like it when you’re done, put it away and take it out again when you’re ready to rewrite it until you do like it -Robin Donovan
Today’s Author in the Spotlight is Robin Donovan. Author of the Donna Leigh Mystery Series, stories about an owner of an ad agency. Check out her interview below!
TW: What is your writing process?
RD: I break each novel into four parts. I do not allow myself to write anything directly connected to the ending until I begin writing the fourth segment. I keep a notebook of people and occurrences in each chapter to ensure that I don’t leave any gaping holes or red herrings in the plot. I allow myself some flexibility, e.g. I got halfway through my third book and put it aside to edit my second book. When I went back to it I realized it wasn’t good. As I was contemplating what to do, the perfect ending occurred to me, so I went ahead and wrote it. Once finished, I went back and edited the first half to make it fit and it all came together beautifully. I believe having the ending, in that case, made all the difference.
TW: How difficult was it to write your story?
RD: My first novel virtually wrote itself. It was as though someone said “go” and I did. Writing a series makes writing the rest of the books a bit more difficult. There have to be enough similarities in characters and occurrences to create a common thread without making the books seem formulaic, and in the case of comedy, without using the same comedic mechanisms over and over. Although Evanovich manages to make a car either blow up or catch fire in every Stephanie Plum novel – and she makes it work.
TW: What are your hopes for this project?
RD: My hope is that I will start seeing more regular sales so that I can focus less on promotion and write another in this series and possibly even start a different series. I spend an enormous amount of time promoting my three existing books and the fourth one is sitting in my head waiting to hit the pages. Just last week I received a wonderful compliment from a TV writer and author in LA. Up until that note, I was just enjoying the writing and the speaking engagements, not to mention the written interviews, blog posts, occasional TV and radio interviews… I was surprised at how much the validation from a bona fide celebrity writer would mean to me. I guess I was hoping for that without even realizing it.
TW: Do have plans of writing more books?
RD: My fourth book is starting to hatch without much prompting from me. I’m not really sure that I have a choice in this whole thing. I want to be careful to end this series before it does start to feel formulaic. If I feel that this series has reached its natural end I have no idea what my next series would be. Maybe when that time comes I will know.
TW: What is your favorite genre of books and do you plan on venturing in those areas?
RD: Any kind of mystery is fascinating to me. Scott Turow is one of my favorites. He creates a true mystery that holds together until the end and writes it beautifully. I’m less inclined to enjoy a mystery that involves gore and/or torment. For now, I’ll stick to cozy mysteries laced with humor. The comedic element seems to come naturally from me, although I take my cozies very seriously. I make sure they are edited extensively and that the focus is as much on the mystery as the humor. I try to avoid the clichés of “light” mysteries, i.e. someone constantly yelling at the amateur sleuth for sticking her nose into police business, having a protagonist who is willing to meet any stranger alone in an alley at midnight, etc.
TW: What do you want readers to know about you?
RD: I spent years wanting to write a book and making excuses for not getting started. I worked as an English teacher and then in advertising and never had time. A series of occurrences made me realize it was ‘now or never’ so I got started. I had no idea how much absolute fun I would have doing the actual writing. And the speaking engagements..are like catnip.
TW: Do you have a favorite author or book?
RD: Aside from Scott Turow, I have always loved Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier and I can’t get enough of Jane Austin’s humor. Charles Dickens is another favorite. But I tend to pattern my writing style after a combination of James Thurber and Cornelia Otis Skinner.
TW: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
RD: The fact that I have to put my whole heart and soul into it – and my work is not for everyone – so that comes with some rejection. In the beginning, a bad review was devastating. One reviewer actually commented that mine was the worst book he/she had ever read. That’s when it starts to become comical – but there is still that initial little arrow stab at every harsh comment. I do wonder why folks who clearly don’t like my genre still choose to read and review my book – but I guess that’s the age-old question for authors
TW: What does literary success look like to you?
RD: Apparently, getting a complimentary and encouraging note from a professional TV writer and author. While I’d like to see a lot more sales, I am grateful that my sales are considerably above average based on studies I’ve read – the average is surprisingly low. I am getting invited to speak at author and library fairs and book clubs, I wouldn’t mind more invitations of that nature. I think success is writing a book, and success is publishing a book, and success is getting opportunities to promote a book. I think success is tiered and there’s always the next level.
TW: How has this book changed your life?
RD: There are extremely high highs and some seriously low lows. One moment you feel as though you ARE a celebrity and at the next event no one shows up and you’re just sitting there among all the books you lugged in along with your posters, bookmarks, etc. all by yourself. I read a book by the author of a well-known book turned movie. She commented that at one of her book events so few people showed up that the bookstore owner made all of his employees stand on line and pretend to buy a book. She didn’t find that out for several years – and it was a blow when she did – but it made me feel as though I’m in good company.
TW: What advice do you have for an aspiring writer?
RD: Don’t say it, do it. If you don’t like it when you’re done, put it away and take it out again when you’re ready to rewrite it until you do like it. Some authors take months to write a masterpiece and some take decades – just get started and see where it takes you. And don’t expect overnight stardom – or most likely ANY stardom. Do it because you love it.
TW: Do you have any future events or updates we should know about?
RD: My focus recently has been on promotion in the form of interview and guest blog posts. I have some local author fairs and as many interviews and I can fit into my schedule – but nothing particularly noteworthy at the moment – except, of course, for this interview.
TW: How can we contact you and purchase your book?
RD: Web site:
https://rldonovan.com/
Books (Can all be found under Donna Leigh Mysteries on Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=donna+leigh+murders
Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch?
I Didn’t Kill Her But That May Have Been Short Sighted.
I Don’t Know Why They Killed Him He Wasn’t Really That Annoying.
Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmgkpYPi5q8
Best to message me on Facebook:
Author’s pages on Facebook:
Author’s Page:
https://www.facebook.com/rldonovanauthorpage/
Donna Leigh Mystery Series page:
https://www.facebook.com/Donna-Leigh-Mysteries-279477928760374/
Q. From teaching at high school, to moving into advertising and taking up senior roles in management, to finally purchasing Bozell. How has this contributed to your writing career? Whatever gene made me want to teach English also made me want to write a novel. Moving into advertising gave me fertile ground for humor. We are an emotive group in advertising – not behavior often seen in corporate America. In fact, one of the editors on my first book commented that two of my characters were “not believable.” Honey, they are real people – that shows you how much academia knows about real life.
Going from an entry level position in advertising to an owner level has challenged and shaped my thinking from a variety of different vantage points within agency life. It has also refined my sense of humor and my ability to laugh at myself. Without that, it would not be possible to write humor that still enables my protagonist to be likeable.
Q. Why did you chose to write murder mysteries? Tell us a bit about all three of your books. My Mom was addicted to anything Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. Gore-free murder was my early comfort zone – its where we all gathered to have fun. When my publisher asked about my passion – I said comedy. But then I had to decide the topic of the comedy – and murder just came naturally.
Donna Leigh is the protagonist of all three. She is a menopausal ad agency owner in Omaha, NE. Donna originated from New Jersey – so she has a healthy suspicion of pretty much everything. She lived in Connecticut from her teen years into her early 40’s when she was recruited out to Omaha.
In the first book, a former colleague, one Donna disliked immensely is murdered, and she fears being high up on the suspect list so is anxious to get this murder solved.
The second book is about a former colleague from Connecticut, who moved to Omaha and was telling people she did so in order to go into business with Donna. This makes Donna even more nervous than the first book’s victim. She knows her perceived close proximity to this victim could make things go horribly wrong.
And in the third book, her good friend and client, Ed the winemaker is killed. She is angry and wants justice for Ed’s wife and daughter so she proceeds to dive into conversations with winemakers who have possible nefarious dealings.
Q. How are your murder mysteries different from others? They are murder mysteries with a dose of both sophisticated and slapstick humor. My characters are either extremely relatable or extremely bizarre – all of whom exist in my world of advertising. The relatable ones carry the plot and the bizarre ones ad to the humor immensely, but they’re real bizarre people, not fabricated bizarre people. It’s easy to fabricate crazy, but trying to capture the real thing is a lot tougher to do.
A lot of cozies don’t focus on the mystery but mine do. It is always a disappointment to me when I read any murder and find that loose ends and red herrings are popping up everywhere.
Q. Tell us about the main protagonist Donna Leigh, her character and her life in general. People always ask me if I’m Donna Leigh. We are both menopausal women who own ad agencies in Omaha, so kind of. Donna is relatable. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and while she has an ego, it’s not quite as overblown as some of the other characters she depicts. Donna has an outrageously narcissistic former colleague, Clovis Cordoba Seville, who act as her alter ego and never misses an opportunity to point out that Donna is both inferior and egotistical. With friends like that…
Donna has a wonderful and supportive husband who is also a gourmet cook and can solve pretty much any mystery, and she has three darling bulldogs.
Q. Your book “Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch” revolves around the murder of Donna Leigh’s former colleague. Knowing that she might be put on the suspect list, she herself steps in investigation. What all does she do?
She sticks her nose into police business and tries to help them uncover clues that will definitively point toward other suspects because her knowledge of tv detectives tells her she’s likely to be high up on that list. She continues to worry about that even when the lead detective assures her she’s not on the list at all. That’s the New Jersey paranoia coming out in her – not overly trusting of pretty much anything.
Donna enlists her friends and colleagues to gather information that will help solve the murder. Their antics draw much unwanted attention and along the way the killer gets wind of her involvement which ratchets the paranoia up to a much higher level.
Q. In your second book, “I Didn’t Kill Her But That May Have Been Short Sighted”, another colleague of Donna Leigh gets murdered. How does she handle it this time and how is it different from book one? This time the murder victim has taken extreme action prior to her murder that could absolutely indict Donna, so the paranoia is warranted. It begins to appear as though Donna has been set up by the victim. This time, Donna even flies back to Connecticut where she worked with the victim years before and talks to a number of her former colleagues to try to build an accurate picture of the victim’s mindset. A picture emerges of a seriously disturbed individual. As we work our way through the book, we see that Donna’s nervousness is multi-layered. Naturally, she doesn’t want to go to jail for murder, but she is also concerned about lies spread by the victim and how they make her look to friends and colleagues in the Omaha and Connecticut advertising communities.
Q. In “I Don’t Know Why They Killed Him He Wasn’t Really That Annoying”, Donna’s close friend gets murdered. Tell us about the course of action she takes this time. This time Donna is genuinely upset about the victim, and not just about keeping herself off the suspect list. In fact, she is never even close to being on the suspect list in this third novel. Because the victim is immersed in the wine industry, and has something of a reputation for sleuthing within that industry – Donna suspects there is a connection between his sleuthing and his murder, so she must educate herself on the people in the world of wine making and selling, some of whom are darker and more sinister than anyone she’s known previously. Although in each book it is clear that Donna has some knowledge of wine – the internal workings of the wine industry itself is still a huge mystery for her. Be prepared for a bit of a twist at the end.
Q. Do you want to share a few of your favorite lines from any of your books or tell your readers about any memorable or peculiar events inside or related to them? There is a line from my first book that always makes me smile. It is a comment by Donna about the alarmingly narcissistic Clovis: “For the life of me I can’t imagine any way of getting more attention other than to be the actual murder victim. Sure, you’d have to be dead – small price to pay for that kind of attention in Clovis’ world.”
And another Clovis motivated comment “before she could answer I hopped back into my car and moved it to a proper parking spot. Then I jumped out to commit murder.” and slightly further on “As she watched my facial contortions it finally dawned on Clovis that she could potentially be in line for some grave bodily harm.”
Q. From all the books that you have written, which one is the closest to your heart? After my first book I would have said no other body of work could ever be that important to me. I was wrong. These three books are my babies, I adore different aspects of each, but I could not choose a favorite. Others try and it offends me just a bit as it would with any doting mama. What do you mean you like my second book better than my first? What’s wrong with my first?
Q. What are some of the challenges in writing a humorous murder mystery? The ability to balance humor with something as horrific as murder is a challenge. If you fall too far into the dark abyss there’s not enough humor to make it work, yet if you become too glib you risk making important characters unlikeable because they come across as unfeeling. You must show respect for the victim and their family, but find places where humor is not offensive. This was particularly challenging in my third book, where I killed a good friend. I wrote almost half of the book and let it sit untouched for over a year to edit and proof book 2. When I went back and read what I had written it was god awful. I wasn’t even sure I could save it. It was a boring and repetitive sequence of Donna’s sympathetic babble for the victim’s wife and daughter. So sappy. There was nothing funny about it and it droned on and on.
I pondered over this problem for weeks and suddenly an idea for an ending popped up in my head. It was not an ending that would have been applicable when the first half of the book was written At that point I actually sat down and wrote the ending. Then I went back and reworked and tightened the entire first half. After that the second half of the book virtually speed wrote itself. I had been worried about tying the first half with the ending – but it all just came together nicely.
One thing that is incredibly challenging in a comedy is to let the humor reveal itself – and not be too obvious about telling the reader what to look for, i.e. don’t over explain or you kill the humor.
Q. What makes you crazy about other murder mysteries that you would never do in yours? If you’ve ever seen the movie Murder By Death, you’ll have a good idea of the bulk of my pet peeves in regard to murder mysteries. Introducing characters in the last few chapters, not tying up loose ends, giving clues that are more red herrings than clues. But that’s not all, I am tired of reading about a protagonist who is: drop dead gorgeous, young, brilliant and the most successful person in her field, but is dumb enough to make an appointment with the killer in a back alley with no back up. Then there are the cozies where the sleuth is a woman and the male detective tells her 400 times that she is impeding the investigation and should back off. I often wonder if these authors get paid by the word.
For some reason, to a remarkably large percent in cozy mysteries, the protagonist is in a restaurant, orders a large meal and completely loses her appetite when someone makes a comment – so the whole meal goes to waste – why? I don’t understand this oft repeated occurrence – there must be something they know that I don’t – there’s that paranoia again. I work very hard to ensure that none of these annoyances occur in my mysteries.
Q. Did you incorporate any life messages? If so, what are they? Did you add them deliberately? When I started writing my first novel I had no conscious intention of incorporating any life messages into my work. As I began writing, I realized that a message about business ethics was emerging. In addition to that, there was a clear message that a woman who is not stick thin or 20-something can still be the most attractive, even the hottest woman in the room. I thought that was a much needed message, but in my very first speaking engagement, a woman with a long flowing skirt, a tie-dyed blouse and long flowing but completely gray/white hair wearing not a stitch of make-up lost no time in telling me how shallow and vain I must be. Touche. I thought I’d stuck up for those women who are born with imperfections yet make the most of their appearance and she taught me that caring at all about appearance is not cool.
I did tell her that I envied her ability to feel perfectly adequate with only the gifts given to her by Mother Nature. Clearly, I am more shallow than that.
Q. What were some of the difficulties you had to overcome in writing your mysteries? After beginning my first mystery I realized that without a process I would never be able to complete it. Once I developed that process, my first book practically wrote itself. It must have been in there waiting to come out. Because there are several comedic events throughout my books, the challenges came in keeping the rest of the series from becoming formulaic and avoiding copying prior comedic events too closely. That’s part of the reason why a part of book 2 takes place in Connecticut and not just Omaha, because it forced me to push out of the temptation to let formulaic writing make life so much easier. In my third book, the focus is on the wine industry more than the advertising industry – again breaking out of that formula. That book required a lot more research than the first two. Q. Did you outline the whole book before you began writing? Not at all. The writing took me on a journey and I had no idea where it would end. That was for the first two books. The third was very different. But still no outline. It is critical that I keep tight notes on what happens in each chapter as I progress through the book. I have to be able to go back and think “you can’t use the knife in Chapter 26 that was thrown into the ocean in Chapter 6.”
Q. You have been very active in working towards certain social causes. Tell us about them. My grandmother had dementia and she lived with us for six years. No one ever used the term Alzheimer’s back then. I learned that a completely different way of behaving was necessary for survival. Years later my mother-in-law was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. There was so little we could do to help her – helping the association was at least something. I had no idea how pervasive the disease was, and how underfunded, until I sat on their board. I was on that board for 6 years. During that time the funding for Alzheimer’s – and all dementia increased dramatically. Legislators are finally starting to release the danger it poses to society and to the healthcare industry. In addition my husband is a community educator for Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, he is able to draw from personal experience in his lectures. Br>I started my career as a high school English teacher – so I have always been drawn to helping children. Over the years, my husband and I have hosted a number of students from France who wanted to spend time in the U.S. to improve their English speaking skills.
Now I work on cancer, wellness and helping others get jobs. There are so many important causes that need champions.
Q. What makes them so close to your heart? Each cause, from the children’s museum to helping those in need of work is so critical and in desperate need of support. While Alzheimer’s is certainly personal for me, each and every one of these causes becomes personal when you start to hear the stories of the people involved. And the founders of my ad agency have always believed that “you must pay rent for the space you occupy on this earth.” We take that statement very seriously.
Q. When you sit to write a new book, what is the thought process that goes on in your mind and what motivates you to bring it out for the world to read? When I sit down to write a new book I usually just have some vague notions of what might be included. The writing process for me is like a magical journey, it just flows. If I sit and write for eight hours I am constantly amazed at how I am typing the end of a thought, and the next thought just pops into my head so I don’t even have to take a short break to think it through – my fingers fly over that keyboard. Naturally, there are times when I deliberately take a break to think through what I’ve just written and make sure it tracks with where I’ve been, i.e. not using the knife in one of the final chapters that you discarded in an earlier chapter. Or don’t call Bob, George. Sometimes I have to make minor tweaks, but not as often as you’d think.
Q. How did your writing journey begin? When I was a kid people still wrote letters. I probably wrote more than most kids. I was constantly getting feedback from friends and relatives that they loved my letters and I could always make them feel better; I could make them laugh. That was music to my ears. With a love of writing and a love of literature I became an English teacher. From early on I knew I wanted to write a book, but I kept putting it off because I didn’t have time – at least that was my excuse.
Years later, when I owned an ad agency and was doing a great deal of blogging (I wrote my blog Menologues for years and it had been picked up by Vibrant Nation and Alltop) and my ad agency picked up a publisher for a client – I knew it was the perfect storm. Now or never, I had the resources I needed to design, edit, maybe even publish. There was even a bit of a built-in audience, so I jumped in with both feet.
Q. Do you remember the first story or poem you ever wrote? Tell us about it. I was about 6 and the bible school I attended asked me to tell one of the renowned bible stories on stage on parents’ night. I wrote out my version and practiced and practiced. I was applauded generously after my recitation. To this day I am not sure if I actually told a cogent story or if I stood up there and said “blah, blah, blah.” I knew my knees were knocking like a jackhammer so maybe their accolades were over my ability to remain stranding. Sometimes stage fright takes over and gives you wings – and sometimes you just babble like an idiot.
Q. Tell us about some interesting or memorable incidents from your life. Buying my ad agency back from a publicly held parent company was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. In thinking back I would have to say there was more intrigue and covert behavior than an average James Bond movie. It was an exciting time, but it was more terrifying than exiting. A group of executives were individually brought into a room and coerced into signing nondisclosure papers for Operation Omega, without even knowing what was about to happen – that they were going to offer us the opportunity to buy one of their profit centers. We hired an industry consultant and spent about six months meeting and making offers that were refused one after the other, all the while still working our full time day jobs while the rest of our staff lived in ignorant fear of what would happen, I still think it would make a great movie.
Q. Talk to us about your growing years and your home. How did all this influence your writing? My family believed in enjoying life, fun. They taught me that working hard was your path to being able to play hard – and they did. That could be positively magical, but sometimes it went too far. My parents liked to party, so I grew up fast. I could see the value of working hard to play hard, but sometimes the responsibility of dealing with their afterparties was pretty sobering. I like to think I took the fun loving spirit and balanced it with a more responsible overall outlook. My husband has been extremely instrumental in helping me find that balance – he came from a family that espoused life as a series of responsibilities and obligations. Together I like to think we’ve merged the best of both of our backgrounds.
Every different behavior pattern that I observed has been fodder for the mill.
Q. What other books are you currently writing and what stage are they at? My fourth book in the Donna Leigh series is bouncing around in my head. I have a title and I know where in Donna’s life the victim comes from, but that’s about it. As eager as I am to start writing, I am trying to spend my spare time doing author interviews in order to help promote the existing series of three before committing to a fourth. As much as I enjoy the writing, the editing, proofing, cover design and formatting are a formidable amount of work. That’s the hard part. And then there’s the marketing – a ton more hard work – sometimes really fun – but always fairly grueling when you’re also trying to run a company.
I have had several folks suggest that I turn my blog, Menologues into a book. That could happen some day – it’s written – it just needs organizing and some editing.
Q. What is your writing process, a typical writing day routine? Most of my writing is done on Saturday and Sunday. I try to devote eight hours on each of those days. I pull out my laptop, find a comfortable spot and just go. In the winter I am usually on the couch surrounded by my dogs and in the summer I love writing on the deck. There’s nothing better than the five o’clock glass of wine while you’re wrapping up your day of writing. Eight hours goes by like 45 minutes.
Q. What book marketing techniques have been the most effective for you? None have been as effective as I’d like, but I’d have to say the personal appearances at libraries, book stores and launch parties, followed by book clubs (whether or not I’m there – sometimes I phone in if it’s a club too far in distance) and Amazon free copies (they provide these copies to their prime audience – but I still get paid a bit).
I once spoke at a tri-state library conference. I assumed some of the libraries might pick up my book, but I was shocked that so many of the librarians bought the book for themselves. That was a lovely surprise.
Q. What do you think makes a book sell, or makes a reader buy it? Unfortunately the biggest motivator is celebrity – and ironically they are often not the best written books. I know, in my case, a lot of folks like my titles and a lot are thrilled at getting to meet an author – even if it’s one they’ve never heard of before. That romance of being a “published author” will often make you appear to be a celebrity to some readers – no matter how humbly you deny it.
Q. What’s the most moving or affecting thing a reader has said to you? One of my editors is an extremely talented copywriter and is known for her smart-mouth and critical tongue. She stalled getting started on reading my book. I suspected she dreaded having to tell me it wasn’t great and I was tempted to take it back from her, but I waited impatiently. After finishing the book she wrote me a lovely note. She shared that she was stunned at how much she genuinely enjoyed reading it – and she was humbled by my ability to create something of this magnitude. That note is still sitting on my desk.
Another favorite comment was by a publishing agent after hearing me speak at a library. She commented that she had never laughed so hard at a book reading, and she had been to a million of them.
Q. What are your favourite three books, and why? Eloise at Christmastime. Kay Thompson’s poignant children’s story. Eloise came from a privileged background and had great “things” but didn’t have the loving care of her parents that every child craves. Eloise is a free spirit that turns a luxury hotel on its ear as she lunges forward creating her own adventures despite the lack of loving support she wants most of all.
Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen proves that women can be extremely intelligent and can, to a large extent, manipulate many life outcomes even living in a society where men prevail and women fall somewhere down on the list below favorite horse, favorite dog and favorite drinking buddy (not that there’s anything wrong with loving your pets). That was a long time ago – and Elisabeth is still a role model who would serve any girl well to emulate.
Rebecca. Daphne de Maurier shows that a huge lack of self-confidence can completely alter how a person views their own situation, which in turn, absolutely drives their behavior. The author shows a timid woman dealing with a woman she believes to be flawless and unassailable and who turned out to be evil incarnate. In an instant of understanding that, the protagonist’s entire world changes dramatically and she gains the strength she could not find earlier.
Q. Who are your favourite three authors and what do you like the most about them? Jane Austin and Charles Dickens, because they prove that sophisticated humor existed hundreds of years ago. James Thurber because of his elegance and ease in handling humor. From an early age I really enjoyed Cornelia Otis Skinner and her brand of humor.
Q. What all interests you apart from writing? My bulldogs, reading, skiing, dancing, wine tasting and watching murder mysteries.
Q. Tell us about your publishing journey and how easy (or difficult) was it to get all your books published? I was extremely fortunate. As an ad agency owner, I was lucky enough to get a publisher as a client. I approached them with the book I had written about buying my company. I was worried that it would get me sued. He didn’t think it would be an issue, but I demurred. He agreed to show his attorney and came back a week later to say “my attorney wants to know, are many of these people dead yet?” They weren’t – so that book was shelved. But this publisher told me to write my passion and then show it to him, I learned so much from them. They had just finished editing my second book when they were sold to a company down south. I tried the new owners with my first book for a year – but didn’t like their culture. With what I learned from my first publisher, I am able to publish and republish my books independently.
Q. What challenges do you think are faced by writers, what’s the worst thing about the book industry according to you? The worst thing about the book industry is that some of the most talented writers are some of the most ignored and some of the least talented writers are some of the most acclaimed. Popularity of an author’s work is first and foremost based on their celebrity, or their notoriety – and the actual work is somewhere down on the list of importance.
Q. What message do you want to share with budding writers? Manage your expectations. It is an awesome and rewarding journey if you don’t let your expectations of grandeur get in the way. Write because you enjoy the writing, not to achieve fame or wealth, because you can be absolutely gifted and still never achieve either. But you can derive enormous satisfaction from having someone tell you they read your book and enjoyed it.
Q. From teaching at high school, to moving into advertising and taking up senior roles in management, to finally purchasing Bozell. How has this contributed to your writing career? Whatever gene made me want to teach English also made me want to write a novel. Moving into advertising gave me fertile ground for humor. We are an emotive group in advertising – not behavior often seen in corporate America. In fact, one of the editors on my first book commented that two of my characters were “not believable.” Honey, they are real people – that shows you how much academia knows about real life.
When I first decided to write a book, I selected a painful topic, the story of how three colleagues and I bought an ad agency back from a major international holding company. It was a fascinating time. We were assaulted by all around us, the executives selling the company, the other potential buyers, the colleagues who opted not to be involved in the purchase and the staff who desperately wanted details we were not legally permitted to share.
I didn’t get very far in writing this book for two reasons, a nagging fear that I would get sued by one or more of these miscreants, and the fact that every sentence was painful to write – it was not a joyful time.
When I asked my future publisher if he thought I would get sued, he said probably not, but he agreed to show his attorney. About a week later he came to me with a question “My attorney wants to know, are many of these people dead yet?” Answer “Not enough!”
That publisher suggested I backburner the book, but he also asked me what was my passion. I told him comedy. He suggested I write my comedy and send it to him. In a blink, I had the first three chapters of Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? I forwarded it to him for an opinion, and the rest is history.
What took me completely by surprise was how much fun I had writing. After my first attempt at what would undoubtedly have been a drama I expected to be suffering and hating every session with my reward being the final result, assuming I made it to the finish line.
What I found instead was that the writing itself was a sheer delight. I would wake up on a Saturday and start writing at 8 a.m., working practically non-stop through the evening cocktail hour. Then I’d wake up Sunday and do the same all over again. I couldn’t wait for my fingers to hit the keyboard. And when the manuscript came back after each edit, I swore at one or two irritating comments and then I got down to business and happily wrote again. I loved comments like “you’re in a restaurant but I don’t know what it looks like,” because that gave me license to write some more. It was not only fun, it was improving my masterpiece.
After the pain of that first failed attempt I never expected that the writing could possibly be this much fun. Now, if I should ever get the guts to go back and finish that first book, I think it would make one hell of an action-packed movie.
I killed a woman in each of my first two books. They were intimate and personal murders and the details revealed themselves easily.
No women were killed in my third book, only men. I won’t mention the number (you know, spoiler alert), but suffice it to say that there has been nothing personal and/or intimate about how I have murdered men.
It’s not something I’d ever thought about before answering this question, but the facts are undeniable. I kill women more elegantly than I kill men.
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I’ve read about how men tend to murder in a more gruesome and personal way and women prefer a cleaner, poison-based crime. In examining my work, I would have to say that I’ve murdered women in a more gruesome, close up manner (none of which have not been graphically depicted because they are cozy mysteries) and the men in a more distant method with less explicit details that are abruptly glossed over.
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Why that is remains unclear to me, although as I unpeel the onion the women have been murdered for bad behavior in personal relationships, that caught up with them. My men, on the other hand, have been murdered for acts far more public than personal. This leads me to believe that I am may not be comfortable addressing men’s private feelings and related actions, so I build a layer of separation between their feelings and the motives for their murders.
Perhaps, it’s merely because my third book is my first experience with murdering a friend. Could it be as simple as that? Murdering a friend was definitely more difficult than murdering those hateful, shrewish women. It was a genuine challenge to find the right balance between expressions of grief and sadness without completely killing the humor.
When I review the question about the difficulties of writing for the opposite sex I have more questions than answers. Who would have guessed that with all my focus on writing mysteries, I am the real mystery?
My Donna Leigh Mystery series revolves around a menopausal ad agency owner in Omaha, Nebraska. Although each book encompasses the murder of someone known to the protagonist, the books are actually comedies. With three books in the series, the challenges have been in finding credible enough yet over-the-top comedic events, without an over-abundance of similarity, and in keeping the plot fresh enough overall that the books don’t start to feel formulaic.
Evanovich’s protagonist, Stephanie Plum, pretty much always sets a car on fire, it’s her signature comedic move. Perhaps I should have set a precedent like that, because creating new and outrageous scenarios is increasingly a challenge.
Each book requires approximately six comedic events to keep things moving at a fast pace. I realized this would be a daunting task as early as my second book, and the third book was that much more intimidating.
Along those same lines, it is a genuine challenge to keep my plots from becoming formulaic. The same characters want to say and do the same things. It is imperative to find ways to pull them out of their comfort zone without pulling them out of character.
Folks have suggested that I move on from Donna Leigh and start a whole new series, but my gut is telling me to stick with her for at least another book or two. And if I’ve learned one thing in this whole experience, it’s to trust my gut.
Robin Leemann Donovan
I’ve always been a control freak, working hard to maintain a tight reign on as many aspects of my life as possible. When I started writing my first novel, I designed a process and built a timeline, allowing myself little leeway. As the writing progressed it became evident that I was not controlling the process, rather the process was controlling me.
I would often find myself at points in the plot where I didn’t know what would happen next, yet I kept writing. I would often look back and be surprised at what had been written, sometimes an event that didn’t exist a few minutes earlier, and sometimes a memory from deep within my brain that found its way out and onto the page. That is probably why writing novels is one of the most relaxing things I do. I let myself go and let my subconscious take over – and I love the freedom it gives me.
Editing is always critical, no matter what you write. Editing a humorous murder mystery is considerably more critical than a non-humorous fictional murder because you can easily lose the empathy of your reader if the humor goes too far or becomes too macabre. Even if the victim was a vile person, there is still a line over which the protagonist dare not step. On the other hand, if you’re not into cozy mysteries, becoming too macabre may be your goal. Long live Stephen King!
The humorous murder mystery has to maintain something of a pathos throughout, while highlighting humorous components whenever possible. And there had better be enough tasteful humorous components or you will lose your audience to boredom.
While my protagonist in Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? can’t pretend to be sorry her horrible former colleague has been murdered, she does take the time to comment on her feelings of sadness for the widower and the now motherless child. In other parts of the story, through another character, we are informed that the clownishly large feet of the murdered woman were almost too big to fit in her coffin. Were these elements juxtaposed too closely and not timed perfectly, it might highlight the humor in a negative or cruel light, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the reader.
That sounds like an extremely delicate balance – and it is. But hitting that sweet spot, that perfect balance of humor and compassion, can be so rewarding.
When I first started writing cozy mysteries, I took my cue for humor from the extremely successful Janet Evanovich. She typically employs about 6 different comedic incidents in every book. That’s harder than it sounds. Not to mention that a humorous undertone must work right alongside pathos when murder is involved, so the author must carefully interweave these elements with masterful timing.
The husband of Is It Still has to make a somber decision to give up the woman he loves, his mistress, as it is in the best interest of his young son after his wife’s tragic death. At the same time, said mistress is having a laughable public meltdown as she decides that the dead woman’s mother is responsible for her being dumped. With these scenes, I hope to elicit respect for a man who is able to make a difficult decision to sacrifice his own needs for those of his son, and conversely, amusement over a woman who takes a completely self-centered viewpoint of a tragic event that does not directly involve her. If my timing misses, this whole scenario is likely to fall flatter than a pancake. But if it works, I will succeed in taking your emotions way down and then back up all the way to laughter. That’s a very heady feeling for an author.
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Robin Leemann Donovan is the author of the blog, Menologues, a humorous yet informative look at the trials and tribulations of menopause by someone who’s been there. Menologues has been republished on two commercial sites: Vibrant Nation and Alltop, and has won regional honors for social media at the AMA Pinnacles and PRSA Paper Anvil awards. Her first book in the Donna Leigh Mystery series: Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? won an AMA Pinnacle award. Her second book: I Didn’t Kill Her, But That May Have Been Shortsighted, was released in November, 2015. And her third book: I Don’t Know Why They Killed Him He Wasn’t Really That Annoying, came out early last year.
Donovan was born and raised in New Jersey but lived and worked in Connecticut for a number of years before moving to Nebraska in 1999. Starting her career as a high school English teacher, Donovan moved into advertising in the early 80’s and became a VP Media Director working on brands like Duracell, Stanley Tools, IBM, Visa and Merck Pharmaceutical. In 1999 she accepted a job offer from Bozell, an Omaha based ad agency. In late 2001, she and three colleagues purchased Bozell from its New York-based parent company, where she is currently the president.
She has served on the boards of the Omaha Children’s Museum, the Omaha YWCA, and she was chairman of the Alzheimer’s of the Midlands board for two years, serving a total of six years on the board. She is currently the membership director for Kick for the Cure, an organization that raises funds for breast cancer through soccer tournaments.
Donovan lives with her husband and three bulldogs; Roxi, Frank and Sadie (Sweet Pea).
Pulling the laces tight on his well-worn running shoes, he glanced out of the patio doors at the reddening sky. Another beautiful summer evening for a long training run. With a nod to his wife, who was curled up on the opposite couch engrossed in a trashy TV soap opera, he slipped out of the front door, closing it quietly behind him so as not to disturb their sleeping children. Nestling his earphones into place, he pressed play on his iPod and set off down the hill at a leisurely pace. No sense in heading off too fast too soon since he had his sights set on at least twelve miles. As the hill began to level off he had a choice – go straight through more houses or take the right fork down a narrow single track road. The sight of a group of kids playing football in the middle of the road ahead made the decision an easy one and he turned off to his right into the immediate shade of the overhanging trees and into a cloud of midgies.
In front of him an elderly woman was walking an equally elderly looking terrier. He regularly ran passed them on his evening training runs and knew the dog wouldn’t give him a second glance, unlike the dog at the house next to the church. It would dearly love to sink its teeth into his tattooed calf! The old woman gave him a smile and a nod as he loped passed her towards the cemetery. Surrounded by crumbling dry stone walls, the village’s crowded cemetery lay a few yards further down the road to his left. At the first sight of the walls, he picked up his pace. Something about that short stretch of road sent icy chills to his very core, despite the warmth of the summer evening.
On the aged stone steps opposite the graveyard, the fallen angel sat hidden by the long evening shadows. She had heard his footsteps the moment he turned down the narrow road and had slipped out from the cool sanctuary of the ruined mausoleum that lay forgotten far back in the trees, to watch for him. For weeks she had observed him as he ran up and down the hill. It was the rich metallic scent of his blood mingled with sweat that had first attracted her. Resisting was becoming more of a challenge each time he was within her range. Once she had followed him as he ran down through the village and along the coast road towards the next town. Soundlessly she had flown just above the tree line until his route had reached the lighthouse. With no trees to shelter her and the risk that the lighthouse’s lamp would expose her, she had reluctantly flown home, tasting his scent in air as she retraced her path.
Tonight the air was perfectly still, no wind to rustle the leaves, and his musk was strong. It had been three days since she had last fed and the mere sight of the ripe veins pulsing in his neck as he ran passed her was almost too much. Licking her lips, she slipped further back into the shadows, deciding to wait for his return journey. She was patient; she could wait….for now.
Two hours later in the last dusky light of the day, he turned off the main street to run back up the hill, safe in the knowledge that a hot shower and a clean bed were waiting at the top. His muscles were screaming at him as he dug deep into the last of his reserves and powered his way passed the church. Loud rock music filled his head, keeping his mind from lingering on the hot pain that had crept into his right foot. Another blister was not what he needed.
The turn off to the single track cemetery road was just up ahead. If he took it the route was shorter but steeper; if he took the longer route he had to make it safely passed that nippy dog. Short and steep won. He turned off and was level with the gates of the cemetery when he spotted the old woman’s little dog sitting at the side of the road. There was no sign of its mistress. He paused to rub its ears, glancing round trying to spot the old woman in the fading light. A rustling from behind the walls of the cemetery suggested to him, in his tired state, that she may be on the far side paying her respects to a long gone loved one. Without a backward glance he picked up his pace once more and headed home.
In the graveyard the angel stood up, spreading her magnificent black purple tinged wings out behind her. Carefully she dabbed at her mouth with her long pale fingers, removing the last traces of blood from her full red lips. She had resisted the temptation of him for now. At her feet lay the drained corpse of the old woman, eyes vacantly staring up into the night sky.
I live on the West Coast of Scotland and am married with two student age children and am the human slave of four cats. I still work full time for a retail bank as a manager and write in my spare time. It’s my escape and my “me time.”
I’ve been writing stories/poems for a long as I can remember but only sat down to attempt to write my first novel 5 years ago. I write my first drafts long hand then use typing them up as my first re-draft. My biggest fear as a writer is letting people read what I write so I started my blog at the tale end of 2013 to try to help me overcome that crippling fear. I set myself the challenge to post one “blog” a week for every week of 2014. I managed it and have been posting once a week ever since. I am still very nervous hitting “publish” on each blog though! I use my blog as a playground to try out short fiction pieces or to introduce characters that I am thinking of adding to my books. I’ve interviewed some of my characters to give insight into the books too. The blog is a good medium to connect with readers and give them an update on “book baby” progress.
Currently I am typing/editing/proofreading Book Baby 4 with the aim of publishing it in September. It is a standalone spin off from the Silver Lake seriesand features the band that appear as a “support act” for Silver Lake called After Life. I’ve also included a few cameo appearances from other characters in the Silver Lake series so my readers will meet a few “old friends” in the pages.
Silently Watching as a short fiction series has been ongoing for 4 years. I let my dark angel out to play a couple of times a year and hope to add another installment at the end of the summer. I try to tie them into Pagan festivals.
So apart from working full time, writing and blogging, I love my rock music and run two social media fanpages supporting Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge. I also write a music blog on occasion covering gig reviews and album releases – The 525 to Glasgow. I use my own photos in my concert reviews and am a keen amateur photographer.
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Interested in having your work featured on this blog? Contact me.
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Writing Exercise #2: Come up with as many titles as you can. You don’t have to know the story behind them (although that can be a fun extension of this idea), but just find some phrases that you think would make great book titles.
Not Here, Not Now
Like Falling Asleep
You Said You Would
Let Me Down (I like the duality here of disappointment and physically being put down…could be interesting.)
Vibrations of Panic (Poem or band name? You decide.)
Parts of Speech
Balance
Tuesday, 10 a.m.
Never Born, Simply Was
Do No Harm
Dark Threads (I really like this one.)
Aren’t You Glad You Let Me Go?
You, Too
Work that creativity muscle!
I think another aspect of this exercise could be to list titles of current works by other authors that you absolutely love. These could be book titles, but also the titles of chapters, albums, or poems. The point is to find phrases that you love and see where your creativity goes from there. You may end up with a new story idea, or you may find something that will help out with a piece you’re working on.
What are your favorite titles? Let me know in the comments!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keepingand The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s extremely vivid, and at time disturbing, imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
A Father
by Scono Sciuto
It is so close to the date, yet, your desire will not be denied. We make love, unbridled is our passion. To unimagined climax, we bring each other.
Behind closed lids, your beautiful eyes are now hidden. I lay next to you. My hand, upon the outline of our child. Eager to see the world, he presses against your belly. I kiss your cheek. My love, I proclaim. I am with my family.
We are not asleep long.
A contraction wakes you.
You feel a pop, then a trickle.
It is time. We rush to your house. When we are near, you phone your sister. Within the hour, she will be there.
I am like a kid on Christmas morning. I have never felt such joy. I have never been so happy. A life, one created by our love, will soon be here.
My breathing is rapid.
Our son is coming.
My heart races.
We near your home. Your contractions continue. Less than ten minutes after the last, arrives the next.
Your face turns sad. As you place the next call, you tell me you love me. My excitation dims. At his work, your husband’s phone rings.
Of paternity, he is unaware. I am the father. However, he remains, your husband. My joy is gone, in its place, despair.
It is he, who will witness the birth of my son.
It is he, who will hold him when our son breathes his first.
It is he, who will sit next to you, to share the advent of the life which we created.
I stop in front of your house. There is little time. You aren’t sure when next we will speak. I reassure you, all is fine. Before darting from the car, you tell me you love me and kiss me. As I pull away, the headlights of your sister’s car greet me.
To the hospital, I hurry. I observe you arrive, close behind, so does he. Blissfully blind to the truth, in he rushes.
I leave. For hours, I drive. I am not by your side. I am not there to hold your hand. I am not there to tell you to push. I am not there to wipe the sweat from your brow or tears from your cheek.
I don’t know how you are doing. I don’t know if you have yet given birth. I don’t know if our son has seen his first sight.
What I do know —
It is he, who our son will cry out for in the night.
It is he, who our son will consider his father.
It is he, who my son will call daddy.
Unexpected and unplanned, but not unwelcomed, was his conception. You attempted to leave, but each time you tried, unforeseen events prevented you. Tears fill my eyes.
I will never know my son.
It is that truth, which leads me to the revolver.
It is that truth, I mutter as I press the barrel to my head
It is that truth, I repeat over and over, as I cock the hammer.
It is that truth, the last words I speak, before the explosion echoes.
Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
Interested in having your flash fiction or poetry featured here? Contact me.
Starting a freelance business (or thinking about it) and wondering where to find clients? I found myself in that same situation when I decided to make the leap from a “real” job and pursue freelancing full time. I’d already been doing it part time for a few years before that, and even though I felt confident in my writing skills I wasn’t sure just where the money was going to come from. Here are a few tips for finding clients for your freelance writing business:
Freelance Platforms: I’ve had my best luck on Upwork. I started when it was still eLance.com, before it merged with oDesk. While some freelancers don’t like the fact that a fee is taken out of their pay, consider this: Those fees keep you from getting ripped off. Your client must have the money to pay you put into escrow, so they can’t skip out on the bill. And if there are any disputes, they all go through Upwork. I haven’t used any other freelance platforms, so I can’t attest to how good or bad they might be, but I’m an Upwork fan all the way.
Local Businesses: This is a great place to look for clients, especially if you’re working on building your CV. (There will be another post on this topic later.) Call up local businesses and ask to speak to the manager or the office manager. What you can do for them will depend on your specialty, but they may need help with social media posts, blogs, or editing their pamphlets. It may take quite a few phone calls (or in-person visits) to get a business on board, but I can honestly tell you that I have one local client who has been using me steadily for four years.
Little Gigs. Take something small, even if it’s not exactly what you want. Yes, I have taken an $8 job on Upwork before. It might not have been worth the time I put into it, but it gave me work history on that platform when I badly needed it. That job let others know that I did good work, so it was worth it in the long run.
Work for Free. I have seen so many arguments about this on writing forums, and people seem to be on one side or the other. Some believe that you should never write a single word without getting paid, while others believe that doing work for free is where you build your chops. Sure, we all want money, but you’ve got to be able to prove you’re worth being paid! Ask your local charities if they need help with their monthly newsletters or creating flyers. Small businesses who don’t feel they can actually afford to hire a writer might be willing to work out a trade deal. Either way, you’re getting credits on your CV!
Be Flexible. If someone offers you a job that isn’t entirely in your wheelhouse, take it! (Of course, my advice doesn’t stand if the job is something you can’t do.) When I was offered my first ghostwriting job, I really didn’t know what I was doing. But guess what? Almost all of my freelance work is now ghostwriting. That first job helped me find something that actually worked out better for me than I ever could have imagined! So even if you’re a little scared, go for it!
Follow Up. When you’ve finished a job for a client, let them know you’re available for more work. Tell them you’d be happy to work with them again if anything comes up. If they’re happy with the job you’ve done, they’ll come find you again! Sometimes, they’ll also refer to you to others in the industry who could use your help.
Remember that freelancing basically means you are constantly selling your skills. Don’t be afraid to get out there and tell someone what you can do or even point out how you can benefit them. When putting in a proposal, be sure to include your CV and any clips that might be applicable. Good luck!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
I’ve been wanting a snake for quite some time, but I’d never gotten around to getting one. Honestly, what stopped me the most was the idea of feeding mice (ew.) But my husband got a corn snake last fall, so I’m getting a little more used to the idea. I mean, I already feed big ugly bugs to my bearded dragon, so why not?
This guy showed up on a sale group on Facebook. We talked about it as a semi-joke for about a week until I finally decided I wanted him.
He’s a banana California king snake, and my immediate nickname for him was Bob Dole. (Cause, you know, Dole…bananas…). But I’d like a permanent name for him, so I’m asking for your help! Mr. Dole is about 2.5 – 3 feet long and just over a year old.
Not a good pic since I hadn’t put a light on top of his tank yet, but here he is showing off his length and his beautiful markings.
I’d love to have something literary, Star Trek related, artsy, or vintage-y. I’m considering Lore and Mr. Rogers. Flood me with your suggestions!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
Robin Leemann Donovan – Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch?
by Robin Leemann Donovan
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Humorous
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Alt=”Robin Leemann Donovan”Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? (The Donna Leigh Mysteries Book 1) by Robin Leemann Donovan
Synopsis:
How does one react to the shocking news that a former colleague has been brutally murdered? Worse yet, you realize that your vitriolic relationship with the victim could land you squarely on the suspect list. That’s exactly what happened to Donna Leigh, a menopausal ad exec, who jumps right into the investigation in order to keep the wolves away from her door. She manages to amuse, as well as impress with her effective but unorthodox sleuthing.
Review:
Witty, hilarious, mysterious.
Donna Leigh is the co-owner of the Marcel advertising agency in the Midwest. One day while at work, she is informed that her former colleague, Claire Dockens, has been brutally murdered while leaving a charity dinner. Donna and Claire have always had a caustic relationship, so Donna begins to think that she could become a suspect. And, she’s not the only one at the agency that fears being a suspect. There are others. Due to Claire’s insulting, rude behavior, she had many enemies. There could be several of Donna’s coworkers and friends that could be on the list of suspects. So they decide to take matters in their own hands and solve the murder themselves with Donna leading the investigation. With the menopausal unlikely sleuths on the case, things get crazy and out of control. But in the end, the women turn out to be better sleuths than the professional investigators themselves. Will they solve the case?
Is it Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch is a hilarious, engaging mystery story about a smart, witty, menopausal woman that gets pulled into investigating a murder in order to keep herself from becoming a suspect. Out of fear of being accused, Donna and her friends become amature sleuths. They decide to do the detective work themselves. They are rash and clumsy and fumble around while they are investigating. All kinds of things go hilariously wrong, but in the end they do a better job than the investigating officers. Meanwhile Donna is struggling with hot flashes, memory problems, clumsiness and all kinds of thoughts running rampant in her mind. But, even though she struggles, she is never without an entertaining response.
Author, Robin Leemann Donovan, has done a great job of writing a funny mystery filled with wit, humor and twists and turns. She takes readers on a roller coaster ride of clues, mishaps and triumphs. She writes comical dialog, engaging characters and amusing scenarios and scenes with precision and skill. There is a lot going on in this well written story. I loved that Donna and her friends are devoted followers of fashion but are always ready to get their hands dirty, they are bold, daring and impulsive.
I love cozy mysteries, and Is It Still Murder If She Was A Bitch is right up there with my favorites. It has all the components of a riveting perfect cozy mystery.
The descriptions are well composed, and a delight for the senses. I could picture everything vividly and felt like I was there. The characters are hilarious and well developed. One of the things that I liked about it, is that there are just the right amount of characters to keep track of. Especially since I am over 50 and menopausal myself. I could totally relate to the characters and scenarios as well.
I couldn’t put the book down. It kept me engaged and up late at night. It’s a quick, easy light hearted, yet mysterious, read. Robin Leemann Donovan is a fabulous writer, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in her series, The Donna Leigh Mysteries.
Reviewed by Chick Lit Cafe
Purchase Is It Still Murder Even if She Was a Bitch @Amazon Today
It was the first Author’s Fair for Book 2: I Didn’t Kill Her But That May Have Been Shortsighted – and it was fun to share the limelight with Cedric and his first novel – here we are at the Council Bluffs Author’s Fair:
Robin Leemann Donovan is the author of the blog, Menologues, a humorous yet informative look at the trials and tribulations of menopause by someone who’s been there. Menologues has been republished on two commercial sites: Vibrant Nation and Alltop, and has won regional honors for social media at the AMA Pinnacles and PRSA Paper Anvil awards. Her first book in the Donna Leigh Mystery series: Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? won an AMA Pinnacle award. Her second book: I Didn’t Kill Her, But That May Have Been Shortsighted, was released in November, 2015. And her third book: I Don’t Know Why They Killed Him He Wasn’t Really That Annoying, came out early last year.
I’ve been wanting a snake for quite some time, but I’d never gotten around to getting one. Honestly, what stopped me the most was the idea of feeding mice (ew.) But my husband got a corn snake last fall, so I’m getting a little more used to the idea. I mean, I already feed big ugly bugs to my bearded dragon, so why not?
Robin L Donovan on Facebook