Authorpreneur Dashboard – Teresa Trent
Overdue for Murder
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Writing Can Be Murder! Is there life on other planets? Does your love life need a boost? Do you believe in vampires? Don't you wish you were that stylish chick-lit kind of girl? All of these questions seem a little strange, but not if you are attending a book talk... When local writers present their books at the Pecan Bayou Library, one author gets a killer review. Betsy Livingston, there to talk about her own gripping book on helpful hints around the house, finds herself the prime suspect for the murder. Join Betsy in her second mystery as she tries to clear her own name in this hilarious tale of small town Texas life and murder.
Book Bubbles from Overdue for Murder
The Contest
I based this passage on a yearly contest I participated in when I was in 4-H. I was always amazed at the hard work and creativity of the other contestants. I never won anything, and like Betsy my exhibits were barely held together with toothpicks.
Rocky!
Rocky has always been one of my favorite characters. He shows up in every book pushing Betsy into awkward situations. Once I put Rocky into a scene, I can't stop him. He's all about selling those newspapers. Now he wants her to be creative in the kitchen? Betsy can bake but the creativity part could be a problem.
A Dash of Murder
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
When Betsy's Aunt Maggie wants to drag her along on a ghost hunting excursion at the local abandoned tuberculosis hospital she isn't sure if she quite believes in ghosts. When she comes upon a fresh spirit in the form of a body, she starts to rethink about what really is haunting the hospital. Betsy must solve the murder in spite of her father, who is a lieutenant on the Pecan Bayou Police Force, town citizens worried about the effect of the occult on their children, and handsome stranger from Dallas. How do you get blood out of a silk blouse? Betsy Livingston can tell you in her newspaper column, "The Happy Hinter". When she's not writing, or taking care of her young son, she's busy solving mysteries in the tiny Texas town of Pecan Bayou.
Book Bubbles from A Dash of Murder
What is coming down that tunnel?
This is Aunt Maggie at her finest. When a small woman about to be attacked by some sort of invisible force utters a phrase like "Hold your ground!"-- you have to know she's a fighter. I wanted this scene to showcase Maggie and her strength both as a paranormal investigator and as the parent of a son with Down Syndrome. Both situations take an extreme amount of bravery, and that is exactly what she exhibits.
Officer Dad
I loved this writing this character. Whenever I would write scenes, I would find Judd and Rocky, the newspaper editor, showing up over and over. If I had to cast this part, it would be played by the actor Tom Skerritt. Moustache and all.
An Ideal for Betsy
Benny and his family represent to Betsy what she thinks she's missing out on being a single parent. In this book and the books that follow, she proves over and over again she is highly capable of parenting without her absent husband Barry.
