Sunday, September 20, 2020

Q&A with Rachael Miles Author Reckless in Red #RecklessInRed


Rachael Miles writes ‘cozily scrumptious’ historical romances set in the British Regency. Her books have been positively reviewed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, which praised her ‘impeccably researched and beautifully crafted’ novels, comparing her works to those of Jo Beverly and Mary Jo Putney. Her novel, Reckless in Red, won first place in adult fiction: novels in the National Federation of Press Women’s writing contest. A native Texan, Miles is a former professor of book history and nineteenth-century literature. She lives in upstate New York with her indulgent husband, three rescued dogs, and all the squirrels, chipmunks, and deer who eat at her bird feeders.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: rachaelmiles.com

Twitter Address: http://www.twitter.com/rachael_miles1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rachaelmilesauthor






Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

 

Reckless in Red tells the story of Lena Frost, a woman artist who is about to make a big splash in the London art scene of 1820, when her partner runs off with the money she needs to open the exhibit. He leaves her a one-word note that says “run!”, and soon after a handsome stranger shows up, asking all sorts of questions that Lena can’t afford to answer.

 

I was fascinated by the nineteenth-century craze for panoramic paintings. The paintings were monumental, rising two or three stories high, typically hung in the round, and housed in buildings purpose-built for them. The experience was immersive--viewers were led into the exhibition room from a darkened corridor, so that when they entered the space, they would feel transported to another time and place. The most famous London panorama was actually housed off of Leicester Square, and I made Lena its proprietor.

 

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?

 

Reckless in Red—and all the other books in the Muses’ Salon series—are traditionally published with Kensington for their Zebra imprint. As for the process… can something be exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time?

 

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

 

My first three novels and two novellas were all ingsJilting the Duke, Chasing the Heiress, Tempting the Earl, Charming Ophelia…then I ran out of ings for the second Ophelia novella, which ended up dreadfully titled Enchanting Ophelia. So, I never wanted to see another ing verb again. But I needed a pattern to tie the books together, so I thought color! Then I added alliteration. And of course Lena Frost is both beautiful and reckless in red. 

 

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

 

My editor at Kensington, Esi Sogah, usually asks if I have any cover ideas, particularly if I have any images of the hero and heroine. For this book, along with some Thomas Lawrence portraits of nineteenth-century figures, I sent an image of a Victorian-era photograph of a woman standing before a low wall. 

 

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

 

At Kensington, my cover designer was Janice Rossi, with Anthony Russo as the illustrator. Kensington assigned them to my book, and I’m so grateful.

  

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

 

Readers usually tell me they love this cover, particularly the dress and the rose! And I agree with them: it’s really lovely.

 

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

 

Reckless in Red was a finalist for the Holt Medallion in historical romance and first place winner for novels from the National Federation of Press Women’s communication contest. You can read it — and any of my books or novellas — as stand-alone works.

 

And I hope you give the world of the Muses’ Salon a try.




Book Info:


Lena Frost is a force to be reckoned with. A woman who has made her way in society without family or fortune, she’s about to realize her first big success as an artist. . . . Until her business partner makes off with her money, leaving her with little more than her hopes—and a dead body in her studio. Now Lena is at the mercy of a strikingly handsome stranger demanding answers she dare not reveal . . .

Is it her seductive eyes, or his suspicion that she’s up to no good that have Clive Somerville shadowing Lena’s every move? Either way, his secret investigation for the Home Office has him determined to uncover Lena’s hidden agenda.  But the closer he gets to her, the more he longs to be her protector. Is she a victim of circumstance? Or a dark force in a conspiracy that could destroy everything Clive holds dear?  Discovering the truth could have dire consequences, not only for Lena, but for his heart . . .

Reckless in Red was a 2019 finalist for the Holt Medallion in Historical Fiction and a first-place winner in the 2020 National Federation of Press Women’s communications contests in the category Fiction for Adult Readers: Novels.

Praise for Reckless in Red

An artist preparing a huge exhibition is disheartened when her business partner absconds with her money, but the event introduces her to an aristocrat who ultimately becomes her greatest ally against a shadowy enemy.

Artist Lena Frost is a survivor. She’s survived a weak father and a difficult stepmother. She survived in France during Napoleon’s war. She’s even rebounded from her lost career when she finally had to flee France after having been betrayed. Now she’s spent three years preparing a huge exhibition, which is the talk of London. So when her trusted business partner disappears with all her funds just two weeks before the gala opening, she’s nearly defeated. Especially when he leaves her an enigmatic message implying she’s in danger. But she can’t give up: “She would have to reinvent herself again. The very thought of it made her almost weak with despair.” Fearing she’s being followed, she winds up at The African’s Daughter, a bookshop owned by her Anglo African friend Constance Equiano, who introduces her to the Muses, a group of aristocratic ladies who meet monthly at the shop. Through them, she meets Lord Clive Somerville, brother of the Duke of Forster and the Regency equivalent of a forensic pathologist. When it becomes clear that someone is trying to kill Lena and more than one of her exhibition artists has disappeared mysteriously, Clive vows to keep her safe, help her open the exhibition, and discover who’s behind the threats. Author Miles continues her smart, intriguing Muses Salon series (Jilting the Duke, 2016, etc.) with another bright, accomplished heroine who fights for her happiness with an unexpected perfect match.

A unique storyline, a dose of suspense, and a circle of intelligent female friends enhance a successful romance.

Kirkus Reviews

The suspenseful fourth in Miles’s Muses’ Salon series (after Tempting the Earl) captivates with clever prose and an unconventional heroine. In 1820 London, painter Lena Frost drifts on the fringes of society due to her checkered past, but she hopes that her upcoming exhibition will catapult her into artistic fame. Her hopes are dashed when her business partner disappears with all of their money. Then several people, all with some connection to Lena, are murdered. Enter Clive Somerville, who is the younger brother of a duke and is a surgeon who serves among the Home Office’s investigative ranks. His inquiries into the rash of killings lead him straight to Lena’s doorstep. His fascination with Lena blurs the lines between suspicion and desire, and his urge to question her quickly transforms into a need to protect her. The only flaw in this intricately crafted historical romance is the unbelievable speed at which the connection between the protagonists develops. Readers looking for a change from Regencies will find this witty Victorian tale refreshing.

Publishers Weekly

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3ftmvby

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/31cAnBO

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Book Spotlight: BRAZEN IN BLUE BY RACHAEL MILES






BRAZEN IN BLUE
Rachael Miles
Historical Romance

Lady Emmeline Hartley has overcome every obstacle life has thrown her way. A spinster, disappointed in love, Em is on the brink of a marriage of convenience, when the man who rejected her heart reappears in need of her help. It gives Em a chance to escape, put to use one of her most unusual talents–and perhaps convince him once and for all to risk his heart…

Adam Montclair–one of the most successful agents at the Home Office–rubs elbows with the highest levels of society. Even so, he wasn’t to the manor born. No matter how much he desires Em, as a match he is completely unsuitable. While it pains him to be near her, it’s a punishment he richly deserves. Now on a mission to uncover a plot against the government, Adam knows Em’s uncanny ability to recall voices will be essential. Yet as the two thwart the dangers in their path, it may become impossible to deny that Em is essential to happiness itself…

Book five in Miles’s The Muses’ Salon series (after Reckless in Red) delivers heady Regency romance featuring a refreshing heroine and a tantalizing mystery. Lady Emmeline Hartley permanently injured her legs at age six in the same accident that killed her mother and sisters. Her father abandoned her to be raised by servants, and Em has spent the intervening years caring for his estate with her faithful dog, Queen Bess, at her side. Now Em is on the brink of a marriage of convenience to longtime family friend Lord Colin Somerville—but she gets cold feet and flees on her wedding day, reluctantly accepting the aid of Adam Locksley, an agent of the Home Office and Em’s former lover, to get away. Though Em is angry at Adam over a perceived betrayal, Adam is determined to keep her safe. But in a delightful twist, the Home Office requests Em’s help to catch a burgeoning threat to England, and Adam and Em are quickly embroiled in a multitude of schemes. Em’s self-discovery is a delight to behold as she matures from impish child, to solemn bride-to-be, to fully self-actualized, independent woman working hand in hand with a partner. Series fans and new readers alike will be charmed.

— Publishers Weekly

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2XewVpd

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/3jHOiIs


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August 1819
The note was short. A time, a place, a handwriting she knew. But no apology.
Lady Emmeline Hartley read the note again.
I must see you. I wouldn’t ask, knowing how we parted. But I must say it: lives depend on it. Come to the great oak at midnight. The light of the moon will guide your way.
For months she’d imagined how she would respond if Adam Locksley ever sent her such a note. After long con- sideration, she’d determined she wouldn’t see him. She would let him and his rabble-rousing friends go; she would do good in her own way. She had her own funds. She didn’t need to overturn the aristocracy to feed those on her estate or in her shire.
She threw the note into the fire.
But she had no choice but to meet Adam. A week ago, Lord Colin Somerville had arrived, haggard and wounded both in body and soul. He was her childhood defender, her dear and constant friend. He’d asked for shelter and for secrecy. She’d promised him both. She wouldn’t let her indiscretions alter that.
If she didn’t meet Adam, he would come to the estate. He’d done it before, stood under her balcony with a hand- ful of pebbles and hit every window but her own. In the months since she’d seen him last, she’d moved her bedroom to another wing of the manor, so whatever window his pebbles struck, it couldn’t be hers. That made it more likely that Colin would hear him, and then she’d have to explain. The thought of her upstanding defender pacing off a duel with her criminal lover twisted her stomach.
No, she had to meet Adam. But she didn’t have to trust him.
She dressed quickly in a dark riding dress covered by her grandfather’s greatcoat, shortened to fit her height. Removing a muff pistol from her dressing table, she carefully loaded the chamber, then tucked it into an inner pocket she’d sewn for the purpose. When Em picked up her walking stick, her giant Newfoundland dog, Queen Bess, rose and joined her.
Taking a deep breath, Emmeline slipped into the hall, Bess padding quietly behind. She stole down the staircase and through the door leading into the kitchen garden. No one noticed.
At the garden, two paths led to the great oak. The smoother, wider, but more public, route took her toward the village, joining the forest where the bridge crossed the river. The longer, but more secluded, route led through the uneven ground of the churchyard. She chose the pri- vate cemetery path.
Since the moon was bright, she walked close to the chapel walls. Inside the churchyard, she passed the graves of her oldest ancestors. While she was within the view of the house, she forced herself to move slowly, stepping from the shadow of one tree to the next. If someone looked out a window, she wanted to appear no more than a trick of the moonlight, or, for the more superstitious, a ghost uneasy in the grave or one of the faerie folk come to dance among the oaks.
At the graves of her sisters, she quickened her pace. As a child, she had carried her bowl of porridge to their trim plots, believing they could know she was near them. But as she’d grown, she had set aside such fancies. Nursery rhymes and folk tales only cloud the judgment. Even so, she was grateful her sisters had been long silent: she would have hated for them to know what a fool she’d been.
Stepping into the forest, Emmeline quickened her step, but not because Adam waited. She could never make her way to the great oak’s clearing without thinking of her mother and sisters, lost in a carriage accident when Emmeline was just six. Her mother, Titania—named after Shakespeare’s Queen of the Faeries—had believed the clearing was one of the few remaining places where the human and faerie worlds overlapped. On picnics, Titania would enthrall her daughters with tales of magic and enchantment, her voice a lilting honey-gold. Sometimes Titania would sing them an eerie, tuneless song she claimed the Faerie Queen had taught her. On those days, Emmeline would dance around the great oak, believing that she could see shadowy figures melt out of and back into the trees.
Had Emmeline not grown up half in love with faeries, she wouldn’t have fallen so easily under Adam’s spell. When she’d first encountered him beneath the shadows of the giant oak, she would have known that, though he was playing a lyre, he was just another highwayman. Emme- line slowed, not wishing to tax her leg, as she navigated her way carefully across the raised tree roots that broke up the path. But even so, she reached the clearing long before the time he’d set.
He stood much as he had the first time she’d seen him. His long dark cloak was the color of shadows, and his doublet and trousers were a rich forest green. This time, however, he had no lyre, and, without his rich baritone, the clearing was oddly silent.
Even so, she wasn’t prepared for the visceral jolt of recognition when she saw him or the way she longed to feel the touch of his hands and lips. But she refused her desire. She couldn’t allow herself to trust him again.
“No song tonight?” She kept her distance, keeping her hand hidden inside her cloak.
“I feel little like singing.”
Even in the dark, her mind saw his words as texture and color.
He walked to the altar rock, gesturing for her to sit beside him as they used to do. His body appeared tense, his shoulders and neck held taut.
“What troubles you?” She leaned up against the giant oak instead. “Could you find no good and true English- men, to seduce with your words?”
“You’re still angry.” He stepped toward her.
“No, to feel angry, I’d have to feel something for you.” She held up her walking stick menacingly, and he stopped several feet away. “But you killed my good feelings when you let those men die. All that’s left is revulsion.”
“What if I told you that they weren’t dead? That they and their families are living well on their own plots of land, happy in the colonies?” He raised his hands in sup- plication.
“I’d ask what other fairy tales you wish for me to be- lieve. I saw the notice of execution. My only disappoint- ment was that your name wasn’t on it.” She knew the words weren’t true, but she wouldn’t let him see other- wise. Her life would be better without him.
“I knew this was a bad idea.” He raked his hand through his hair.
“After months of silence and last week’s massacre at Manchester, did you expect me to be grateful for your summons?”
“Then why did you come?” Adam held out his hand, but she ignored it.
“To warn you,” she said flatly.
“Of what?” He looked hopeful.
“Set foot upon my lands again or in the village or any where in this county, and I will have you hung. I will testify myself.”
“How can you testify without revealing your part in my crimes?” Adam’s tone sounded almost amused.
“I can’t. That’s your dilemma. You promised me once that you would never allow me to be harmed by riding with you. If you stay, I will have you jailed and tried, and I cannot help but be harmed if I testify.” She spoke slowly. She would not be misunderstood. “You have a choice. You may hold your meetings. Create your reform societies. Tempt the farmers and workmen to peaceful protests like the one at Peterloo, where they will be killed or maimed. But not here.”
“Em, I didn’t intend . . .” He stepped forward, but she held up the walking stick, stopping his progress.
“I don’t care what your intentions were. I thought you were a good man, that you hoped to ease the sufferings of your fellow men, that you wanted rational reform. You showed me those sufferings in ways that I’d never seen before.” She willed her voice to remain even. “But you betrayed the cottagers who believed in you, and you led them straight to their deaths. And I was beside you. Their blood is on my hands as surely as it is on yours. My only redemption will be to oppose you and men like you to my last breath.”
“I need your help.” He held out his palms in supplication, walking toward her.
“Never. I reserve my help for the families men like you destroy. Now leave my land before I set the magistrate on you.” She let her cloak fall open and lifted her hand, di- recting her pistol at his heart. “Or I will kill you myself.”
“Would you send me away if you knew it meant my death?”
She looked deep in his eyes and cocked the trigger. “Yes.”



 

Rachael Miles writes ‘cozily scrumptious’ historical romances set in the British Regency. Her books have been positively reviewed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, which praised her ‘impeccably researched and beautifully crafted’ novels, comparing her works to those of Jo Beverly and Mary Jo Putney. Her novel, Reckless in Red, won first place in adult fiction: novels in the National Federation of Press Women’s writing contest. A native Texan, Miles is a former professor of book history and nineteenth-century literature. She lives in upstate New York with her indulgent husband, three rescued dogs, and all the squirrels, chipmunks, and deer who eat at her bird feeders.






Monday, September 14, 2020

Book Spotlight: Surviving Hiroshima: A Young Woman's Story by Anthony Drago & Douglas Wellman






SURVIVING HIROSHIMA
Anthony Drago & Douglas Wellman
Biography

From Russian nobility, the Palchikoffs barely escaped death at the hands of Bolshevik revolutionaries until Kaleria’s father, a White Russian officer, hijacked a ship to take them to safety in Hiroshima. Safety was short lived. Her father, a talented musician, established a new life for the family, but the outbreak of World War II created a cloud of suspicion that led to his imprisonment and years of deprivation for his family.

Then, on August 6, 1945, 22-year-old Kaleria was doing pre-breakfast chores when a blinding flash lit the sky over Hiroshima, Japan. A moment later, everything went black as the house collapsed on her and her family. Their world, and everyone else’s changed as the first atomic bomb was detonated over a city.

After the bombing, trapped in the center of previously unimagined devastation, Kaleria summoned her strength to come to the aid of bomb victims, treating the never-before seen effects of radiation. Fluent in English, Kaleria was soon recruited to work with General Douglas MacArthur’s occupation forces.


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At 09 15:15am Tinian time - 08 15:15am Hiroshima time - the bomb drop sequence counts down to zero and Little Boy falls free from the bomb bay. Major Ferebee announces, “Bomb away,” but the everyone already knows that. Suddenly no longer struggling with its nearly 10,000 pound load, the Enola Gay has leaped upward, jolting the crew. Tibbetts immediately pulls the aircraft into a 155 degree right turn to put as much distance as possible between them and the blast site. They will have some time to make their escape. It will take Little Boy 44 seconds to fall to its designated detonation altitude of just under 2,000 feet.

In 44 seconds the future of warfare will be inalterably changed.

In 44 seconds tens of thousands of people will witness a horror never before seen.

In 44 seconds a 24-year-old Russian émigré, Kaleria Palchkoff, will be in the center of a horrendous conflagration never before unleashed in human history.


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________

 


Anthony “Tony” Drago was born in Camden, New Jersey and spent much of his early childhood at his paternal grandparents Italian grocery store. From a young age, his mother, Kaleria Palchikoff Drago, would tell him the captivating story of her journey from Russia to Japan and then to the United States. It created Tony’s foundation for his love of history—especially his family’s history—bringing him to write this book.

After retiring in 2006, Tony doubled down on his passions—flying his airplane, restoring his classic car, and traveling the world with his wife, Kathy. Tony and Kathy have been married for forty-five years. They have three adult children and enjoy spending their days on the beach in their hometown of Carmel, California with their eight grandchildren and dogs, Tug and Maggie. For more information about Kaleria and the book, visit http://www.survivinghiroshima.com.




Douglas Wellman was a television producer-director for 35 years, as well as dean of the film school at the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Southern Utah with his wife, Deborah, where he works as a chaplain at a local hospital when he isn’t busy writing books.
For more information on Doug and the books he has written, visit his website at http://www.douglaswellmanauthor.com.







Thursday, September 10, 2020

Book Spotlight: MY FATHER'S VOICE by Janice Elizabeth Duval




MY FATHER'S VOICE
Janice Elizabeth Duval
Devotional

Many years ago when I became a Christian, I was like many people who did not really know God as he is-a loving and gracious father. When my family and I moved to Kansas and then to Oklahoma, it was right in the midst of the Charismatic Renewal. It was at the point in my life I began to see God in a totally different way. I did not realize that he loved me, Jan Duval. I certainly did not know that he wanted to talk to me personally! As I studied the scriptures and learned more and more about Jesus and his relationship with his father and understood that the Father wanted a similar relationship with me, I was over the moon! Each morning, I could hardly wait for my family to leave for the day so that I could have my time of fellowship with God. It was during these times that I began to write the things I felt God was telling me. I love how tenderly and patiently Father God teaches profound, amusing, and down-to-earth life lessons from everyday events. God is amazing! I hope these writings will encourage, inspire, and add some humor to the reader.

PRAISE AND ACCOLADES:

“Every person I know is in need of encouragement. The problem is that our daily grind and the routine of life sometimes rob us of this precious commodity. Janice Duval has done us all a service by compiling her short stories, antidotes, and heart conversations with God.  I think you will be amazed at how God uses understandable stories to make a profound and lasting imprint on your heart.  No doubt, the encouragement that you receive from this book will cause you to share it with others.”
Bishop Michael Pitts, Bestselling Author

HIGGINS PUBLISHING https://smarturl.it/mfv



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I still stood dumbfounded as she began to attempt to behead this big white bird in the same manner; she had witnessed both Mr. Thomas and Ralph do in the past.  She tried to wring the bird’s neck by whirling him around and around and then snap ... the head was supposed to come off! But it didn’t!  The bird was staggering around, with its head cocked to one side, looking desperately for a way of escape.  She grabbed it the second time and began her whirling thing again, when Mr. Thomas came running, yelling, “Ruthie, Ruthie, no, that is Ralph’s prize rooster!” Oops! The rescued rooster staggered away, wandering in semicircles, wondering just what had happened!

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Janice Elizabeth Duval (Jan) is a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father changed careers and joined the Army when she was 2 years old, and so she was raised in a military environment.  She met her husband, Aaron, also a military man, at Fort Knox, KY and their marriage allowed her to travel to several countries, which broadened her life experiences. She and her husband of 58 years have a total of seven children, six sons, and one daughter. Growing up as an only child, and an Army Brat, Jan learned early on to be content without having a large group of people around her. She entertained herself with books, listening to the radio and making up plays for her parents. In High School, she excelled in History and Literature and Drama.






Thursday, September 3, 2020

Q&A with James S. Kelly Author I DIDN'T FORGET #IDidntForget

James S. (Jim) Kelly is a retired United States Air Force Colonel with over 100 combat missions in Vietnam. Prior to his retirement, Jim was Program Director for a Communication’s Program in Iran, working directly under the Shah. Jim and his wife, Patricia own and operate High Meadow’s Horse Ranch outside Solvang, California. All of his novels use Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley as a setting. Over the past 15 years, Jim and his wife have been active in a charity supporting our troops in forward operating locations, in hostile territory, overseas. To contact Jim, email him at jkelly2020@outlook.com.
Website: www.kellywritings.com




Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

I Didn’t Forget is a murder mystery. It combines two things that I like to write about. First, an event occurs that uncovers something that happened twenty plus years ago and has a definite impact on the solution of the crime. Second, I like to use my locale, ie, the Santa Ynez valley in California as the backdrop for my work of fiction. I’ve used this locale for six of my novels.

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way? 

I used Createspace and self published my novel

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later? 

It came later and basically is the theme of the novel.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like? 

I gave my cover designer an outline and he used his imagination to create the cover.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

Graphics Limited, they did the cover for my last three books.

How was your experience working with the designer?

Excellent

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

Everyone liked it

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

 Stand firm. Generally your idea is the best

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

This is the first in a trilogy, the second is titled INTERNED and the third, NOT IN MY BACKYARD

Book Info:

The double murder of two long time friends has caused hysteria in the small town of Solvang, Ca. Its up to Clay Wrens, the county’s premier detective to solve the murders and calm the townspeople.
Complicating the investigation is a local politician who’s afraid the Wrens will uncover his financial transgressions, while a female reporter, with her own agenda, is suggesting that Wrens be replaced
As the investigation moves to a climax, Wrens is drawn to a twenty five year old murder and the convicted murderer, who’s just been released from prison.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3cS2I4b



Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Q&A with David Myles Robinson Author Tropical Doubts @DNRobinsonWrite #TropicalDoubts

David Myles Robinson was a trial attorney in Honolulu, HI for 38 years before retiring to the mountains of New Mexico, where he lives with his wife, a former Honolulu trial judge. In the days of yore, before becoming a lawyer, he was a freelance journalist and a staff reporter for a minority newspaper in Pasadena, CA. He is an award-winning author of six novels, three of which are Pancho McMartin legal thrillers set in Honolulu.

Having traveled to all seven continents, he has also published a travel memoir entitled CONGA LINE ON THE AMAZON, which includes two Solas Traveler’s Tales award winners.

He says he includes his middle name, Myles, in his authorial appellation because there are far too many other David Robinson’s running around.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: davidmylesrobinson.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DNRobinsonWrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidMylesRobinson/



 

Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

Tropical Doubts is the third book in my Pancho McMartin legal thriller series. Like its predecessors it takes place in Honolulu, HI, which is where I worked as a trial attorney for 38 years. Pancho is the top criminal defense attorney in Honolulu, but he is pushed out of his comfort zone when he is cajoled into handling a medical malpractice case on behalf of an old family friend whose wife fell into a permanent vegetative state following what should have been a routine surgery. But not long after Pancho begins work on the med mal case, his client is arrested for the murder of one of the doctors, and now Pancho is handling both a medical malpractice case and a murder case. Stress and mystery ensue.

The medical malpractice case was inspired by a tragic real-life case I handled in Honolulu.

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?

My first novel, Unplayable Lie, was a golf-related suspense novel, and after being told by agents that the golf aspect was too limiting for a wide readership, I found a boutique traditional publishing house in Florida which loved the book and published it. Both of my first two Tropical legal thrillers were published by that house. When I again searched for an agent for one of my non-legal thrillers, The Pinochet Plot, I did secure an agent, but she was unable to sell it. She then referred me to my current publisher, Terra Nova Books, which is an indie publisher.

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

I got locked into using Tropical as part of my titles for my Honolulu based legal thrillers (Tropical Lies, Tropical Judgments, Tropical Doubts) and so it was only a matter of finding a good descriptive word for the rest of the title. I wait until the book is finished so I can find a word that best describes what is happening in the story.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

My publisher designed the cover. I am allowed approval and input after the initial mock-up, but in the case of Tropical Doubts I was very happy with what was presented to me.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

It is handled in-house by my publisher.

How was your experience working with the designer?

I didn’t have anything to do with the cover on this book. On two previous books published by Terra Nova Books (The Pinochet Plot and Son of Saigon), I did have input and it went well. My concepts for the covers were accepted and the publisher made it happen.

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

Very good on my latest books. I did have some negative reactions to the covers of my first two Tropical books. I think part of the problem with designing a cover for a book that takes place in the tropics is that it is difficult not to get too cliché while still conveying a sense of place.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

There are some good essays about cover design which would be helpful to read. Make sure the designer understands what the book is about and what you want the cover to convey to potential readers.

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

Although Tropical Doubts is the third in my legal thriller series, it is a stand-alone story, so there is no need to read Tropical Lies and Tropical Judgments first, although a reader would get a stronger sense of who Pancho McMartin is by doing so.

My hope is that not only will the readers enjoy the story, they will come away with a sense of what real world litigation is like.




 
 
About the Book:
 
 

When Honolulu’s flamboyant and quirky attorney, Pancho McMartin, agrees to step out of his normal role as a criminal defense lawyer, he thinks it will be a challenging but welcome change from his daily dose of criminal clients. His old friend and father-figure, Manny Delacruz, has beseeched Pancho to handle a medical malpractice claim against the physicians who botched what should have been a routine surgery, but which resulted in Manny’s beloved wife being in a permanent vegetative state. The case looks good, the damages enormous, but when Manny is arrested for the murder of one of the doctors, Pancho finds himself back in his old role. If Manny is convicted, it means he won’t be able to be at his wife’s bedside to hold her hand, caress her face, and read his poems to her. He will have lost his reason to live. The pressure on Pancho is enormous. While he and his team try to make sense out of one of the most sinister and complicated murder schemes he’s ever seen, the medical malpractice case chugs forward, in jeopardy of being worthless should Manny be convicted.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2WJQSnx

 Barnes & Noble → https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tropical-doubts-david-myles-robinson/1128284518?ean=9781948749015