Randy
Rawls lives in Delray Beach, Florida, slap-dab in the middle of paradise. Not
only is the weather perfect, but the writing environment is wonderful. In fact,
it's so good you can't cross the street without bumping into an author.
Before retiring in Florida, Randy
grew up in North Carolina, then spent a career in the Army. After retirement,
he went back to work with the Department of Defense as a civilian, the aspect
of his career that led him to South Florida. Somewhere along the way, he fell
in love with writing. The writing was a natural progression since he has always
been an avid reader.
Link to Amazon.
Website:
Interview:
Tell us about
your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
Beth Bowman, a transplanted Texan,
is a Private Investigator in South Florida. DATING DEATH is book three (3) in
her series. The first two were HOT ROCKS and BEST DEFENSE. I started the series
to spotlight a female protagonist and to spotlight some of the quirks of living
in South Florida. In book one, Beth meets a group of homeless who become her
allies. They are the invisible population and are still with her in DATING
DEATH.
My plots are taken from the
headlines, and DATING DEATH is no exception. It begins with Beth taking on the
task of protecting a dirty politician who is turning state's evidence to save
himself.
Tell us about
your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional
way?
The publishing process for DATING
DEATH was a bit different from my other books. Since HOT ROCKS and BEST DEFENSE
were published by a traditional publisher, I expected them to handle DATING
DEATH. It was not to be. That left me with an orphan book in a series. Several
publishers loved it, but balked because of its series status. One of those
things I'll never understand—why a publisher won't commit to a series book.
Anyway, I continued to shop DATING
DEATH and finally found White Bird Publications who agreed to publish it. White
Bird is a small, independent press in Austin, TX, just the kind of people I
enjoy working with.
How did you
choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you
started writing the story, or did it come later?
I haven't had an easy title since my
first book. For that one, the name, JAKE'S BURN, came to me before the story
line did. Since then, the idea forms somewhere during the writing. Many times,
the story will have several titles along the way before I decide on one. Of
course, with many traditional publishers, they select the title. Such was the
case with HOT ROCKS and BEST DEFENSE. But, for DATING DEATH, I was probably
about three-quarters of the way into it before the title appeared. Hope you
like it. I do.
Tell us about
the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover
would be like?
I like a cover filled with color. I
had the cover for DATING DEATH designed when I was considering self-publishing.
I asked Michael to come up with something that would fit with the previous two
in the series. He did a super job with it, and I filed it away. My publisher,
White Bird, had a nice idea for a cover and presented it to me, but I liked
Michaels's better and asked them to use it. They agreed, so here we are.
Who is your
cover designer and how did you find him/her?
My cover designer is Michael Canales
at mikejscan@aol.com. As you can see,
he does outstanding work. I don't remember how I found him. It was a referral,
but I don't remember from whom.
How was your
experience working with the designer?
Excellent. Michael was flexible
every step of the way. I still work with him.
What has been
the readers’ response to your cover?
Every comment I've had has been
complimentary. Please let me know what you think of it.
What tips would
you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?
1) Contact Michael or
2) Make sure you check out their
work before committing, and
3) Shop around. Prices are as
flexible as there are designers.
Anything else
you’d like to say about your book?
If you like a feisty female
protagonist who is very much a female, check out my Beth Bowman. You might say,
"Pooh. How would you know? You're a man." Simple. I'm in a critique
group with four women. When I started the Beth Bowman series, I asked them to
keep me on track. I told them to slap me hard anytime I wandered off track.
Trust me, they went overboard letting me know when my Beth did not behave like
a woman. So, I feel fairly confident that Beth is a female that you'll like. If
not, well, it's probably because of some nuance I missed.
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