*Author Interview & Giveaway!* OUT AND IN by Pat Dunlap Evans

OUT AND IN
a mystery-thriller

MARIE DONOVAN MYSTERIES, #1

by

PAT DUNLAP EVANS

  Genre: Fiction / Romantic Suspense

Publisher: A.M. Chai Literary

Date of Publication: April 27, 2016

Number of Pages: 316

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Stunning beauty and amateur cellist Marie Donovan finds herself in deep trouble after her pro-quarterback husband dives off a Dallas high rise—many say in shame after his shady investments go sour. Just months later, the grieving Marie faces capital murder charges for the death of a lecherous opera maestro. When hard evidence points squarely at her, only her best friend and defense lawyer believe her.

Marie is no stranger to struggle. During her six years as an NFL Football wife, she fends off groupies eager to take her man, all the while feeling lost in her husband’s macho culture. Studying the cello becomes Marie’s solace until her hard-drinking husband retires after an injury. Returning to Dallas, he plays with high society's money in an investment scheme until winning at all costs leaves Marie and her twin sons on the hook for millions.

Scorned by society friends, charged with murder, Marie pins her hopes on hunky defense lawyer Ryan Ingles, one of Cole's college football pals. After Ryan’s legal team discovers some of the maestro’s dark secrets, Marie and Ryan’s investigative troupe travel to exotic islands in search of clues Cole left behind. As the tropics weave a romantic spell, a corrupt offshore banker dashes Marie's hopes. She wonders if she’ll ever be free of blame...and able to claim her own place in this world.

PRAISE FOR OUT AND IN

"Out and In is the perfect mystery-thriller for the beach, a long flight, or to savor before bed...an exciting but heartfelt story about a beautiful woman who struggles to prove her innocence … As for the ending, I am still stunned.”

 — Lara Reznik, Amazon best-selling author of The Girl from Long Guyland and Bagels and Salsa.

"Could not put it down, once I started reading. Definitely a must-read. Look forward to reading more books from Pat Dunlap Evans. " 

-- five-star Amazon review by reader "Mimi"

"Awesome...flowed nicely ... definitely kept you on your toes to who actually committed the murder. The lead character was a perfect blend of hard and soft. A great read." 

-- five-star Amazon review by reader "Tiffany"

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Where did you get the idea for this novel?

After writing my very emotional debut novel, To Leave a Memory, I wanted to try my hand at a page-turner mystery with a female protagonist. I also wanted to use my long-ago experiences as an NFL wife as a backdrop for a novel. But let’s be clear. The Cole Donovan character in Out and In is not my ex-husband, and I am not at all Marie Donovan. However, many NFL wives I knew during our long-ago era had similar experiences with our marriages. We felt as though we didn’t count. Didn’t exist. We were insecure and lacked any identify beyond our husband’s fame. So that’s where Marie’s somewhat desperate neediness comes from. The rest is fictionalized.

Did you always want to become an author?

Not really, although they say you should do the first thing you try to do as a child. For me, that was writing a neighborhood newsletter. Other than that, I had few aspirations. Mother simply told me, “Get a teaching degree just in case.” Later on, I thought I might like to be a hair stylist. I was known for cutting a great bob in Virginia Hall at Southern Methodist University. But I always excelled in English classes. Writing came easily. I used to bang out college papers right before class and made good grades.

Did you major in creative writing?

My first interests at S.M.U. were Spanish and math. Years later, I majored in P.E. at University of Missouri, Kansas City. I thought I might coach high school swimming, but I kept taking English classes. One of my freshman comp teachers took me aside and convinced me to look at an English major, so I signed up for American Literature and Creative Writing. That’s where I met Professor James C. McKinley. He was bright, articulate and funny as hell. I was enthralled. I followed him like some sort of academic groupie from class to class, not for any romantic interest, but for his intellectual magnetism. The classes I took with Jim, and the friends I made in the English department, became my mainline escape from the win or lose world of football. So, I changed my major.

Was To Leave a Memory your first novel?

No. After I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I tried to publish a novel during the late 1980s, but it was an amateurish work based on my fifteen years as wife of an NFL quarterback. Probably due to the commercial aspect, it was almost published. “Almost” was the key word. After a divorce, I had three children to support and needed to make a living. So, I went into public relations and advertising for almost thirty years and sidelined the fiction writing until I had time to write.

What is To Leave a Memory about?

My debut novel is a poignant tale about a family struggling to move beyond grief. That sounds terribly sad, but there are many funny, joyous moments. In fact, there is more humor in To Leave a Memory than in Out and In. Young children added a lot of humor, and the main characters are intellectuals, so wit was easier to incorporate. It’s difficult to have a lot of humor in a mystery although I tried to give readers a smile in Out and In.

Will your next novel be a mystery?

The next novel is called Those Who Try. It’s high-concept women’s fiction with a thriller subplot. You might call it Bridget Jones Diary meets Adaptation. I don’t think I’m a pure mystery-thriller writer in that I included lots of character development in Out and In—some might say too much. However, my focus always has been “the human heart in conflict with itself,” the Faulknerian mantra. Because of this, I enjoy character development more than action-packed plotting. As for my next-two novels, the idea of having Marie Donovan return as a sleuth appeals to me. And I’m working on a cozy mystery set in a mythical town called “Greater Wrightway,” where several of the town’s clubwomen are murdered.

A.M. Chai Literary is your publisher, a small Indie house. Why not get a big New York publisher or make a movie?

Everybody and their brothers are authors these days, so it’s tough to get a break. But perhaps we’ll land a big house or movie deal. One can dream. Until then, I hope readers will enjoy my efforts.

For information about speaking engagements, book signings or readings, please contact AustinWriterGirl@Yahoo.com. Likewise, for screen rights.

Pat Dunlap Evans was born in Michigan but "got to Texas as soon as I could," she says. Her family lived in San Antonio and later Dallas, where she attended South Oak Cliff High School and Southern Methodist University. Pat eventually completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in English at University of Missouri, Kansas City, with emphasis on creative writing. She also taught freshman writing courses as a part-time lecturer. After a divorce, Pat stressed her way as a single mom through twenty-five years of high-stress advertising and marketing roles before retiring to write fiction and screenplays. She lives in the Lake Travis area with her second husband Dr. Bill Evans and enjoys travel, golf, volunteer work, sailing, and the chaos of the couple's combined five adult children, five grandchildren, and two cockalier dogs.

Pat has published two novels, To Leave a Memory and Out and In, with a third novel Those Who Try due out soon.

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*Book Blitz!* TANGIBLE SPIRITS by Becki Willis

TANGIBLE SPIRITS 

BOOK BLITZ 

by

BECKI WILLIS

Genre: Paranormal / Thriller / Suspense 
Publisher: Clear Creek Publishing
Date of Publication: May 13, 2017

Number of Pages: 316

Reporter Gera Stapleton has a difficult choice to make: write the story of a lifetime or save the legacy of a town—and a man—she has come to love. Assigned to a piece in Jerome, Arizona about a once-friendly ghost gone on a crime spree, Gera stumbles upon an amazing tale of greed, deception, and family honor—and murder. When the killer targets her as the next victim, an unlikely savior comes to her rescue. Smart dialogue, plenty of action, and a touch of the supernatural make this a must-read novel.

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AMAZON     SIGNED PAPERBACK 

2018 Best Paranormal Fiction

by The Association of Texas Authors 

2018 RONE Award Nominee for Paranormal Long

Crowned Heart Recipient from InD'Tale Magazine

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ABOUT THE RONE AWARDS:

Each year InD’tale Magazine honors the very best books in the Indie and Small publishing industry by awarding the prestigious RONE award (Reward of Novel Excellence). To achieve this award, a book must go through the most comprehensive process in the industry today, with three distinct areas of focus— highly rated and reviewed, loved by fans, and critiqued by qualified judges. No other award system today compares, making the RONE award the very highest of honors bestowed on a novel in the publishing industry.

 The first round of voting (happening May 7-13, 2018 for TANGIBLE SPIRITS) allows the reading public to choose their favorites. Books with the most votes proceed as finalists. The books chosen as finalists will then be read by a group of industry professionals and will be judged based on a specific list of requirements. Those scores will then be tallied by a professional company unrelated to InD’tale or its employees to determine the winner of the coveted RONE award.

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FOR TANGIBLE SPIRITS! 

Please register now at www.indtale.com and cast your vote for TANGIBLE SPIRITS by Becki Willis. http://indtale.com/2018-rone-awards-week-four *Please Note* To maintain honesty and fairness in the voting process, only registered InD’Tale website subscribers can vote. Registering is completely FREE and does not require any commitments whatsoever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

To the delight of readers around the world, Becki Willis writes memorable characters in believable situations. Best known for Forgotten Boxes and The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series, Becki has won numerous awards, but says her biggest achievement is her family and her loyal reader base.

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BONNIE AND CLYDE:

Resurrection Road
Book One in a New Trilogy

by

CLARK HAYS AND KATHLEEN McFALL

   Genre:  Alternative Historical Fiction / Thriller

Date of Publication: April 22, 2017
Pages: 308
Publisher: Pumpjack Press on Facebook

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In an alternate timeline, legendary lovers Bonnie and Clyde are given one last shot at redemption.

The story begins in 1984 when a reporter gets a tip to meet an old woman at a Texas cemetery. Cradling an antique rifle and standing over a freshly dug grave, the old woman claims to be Bonnie Parker. Turns out, she says, it wasn’t Bonnie and Clyde who were ambushed fifty years earlier. Instead, the outlaws were kidnapped, forced into a covert life and given a deadly mission—save President Roosevelt from an assassination plot financed by industrialists determined to sink the New Deal.

Thrust into a fight against greed they didn’t ask for, but now must win in order to save themselves and their families, will the notorious duo overcome their criminal pasts and put their “skills” to use fighting for justice for the working class?

Cutting back and forth between the modern era where the shocked reporter investigates the potential scoop-of-the-century, and the desperate undercover exploits of Bonnie and Clyde in 1934, Resurrection Road is a page-turning sleep-wrecker.

Bonnie and Clyde. Saving democracy, one bank robbery at a time. 

PRAISE FOR BONNIE AND CLYDE: RESURRECTION ROAD:

“Sex, danger and intrigue, coupled with just the right dose of cheeky humor,” -- East Oregonian 

“A Depression-era tale timely with reflections on fat cats and a rigged economic system that still ring true. More than that, the story is an exciting ride, with tight corners, narrow escapes, and real romantic heat between Bonnie and Clyde. Outlaws become patriots in this imaginative, suspenseful what-if story,” -- Kirkus Reviews 

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After hair cuts, dye jobs, new clothes and new identities, in this scene in 1934, Bonnie and Clyde learn about their first undercover assignment.

The room was dark save for a single light bulb hanging down over the table by a cord. Sal dropped a thick folder on the table for dramatic effect. “It’s showtime,” she said. She flipped it open and pulled out a black and white photo. It was a shot of Bonnie—a cigar between her teeth—leaning against the car with a pistol in her hand.

Clyde whistled. “I always loved that photo.”

“I hate it,” Bonnie said. “I look ridiculous, and it made half of America think I’m some sort of cigar-smoking, gun-toting she-devil.”

Sal dropped more photos onto the table: Clyde sitting on the front bumper of a car holding a rifle; Clyde picking Bonnie up with one arm, a white fedora in his free hand; Bonnie aiming a gun at Clyde.

They exchanged a quick glance, remembering that day and a rare moment of peace and happiness when they had some kicks goofing with the camera. All of that ended abruptly when the law caught up, and they bolted in a hail of gunfire, leaving the camera behind, loaded up with the exposed film. Within days, the photos were wired to newspapers around the nation, and the couple became instant celebrities.

“Call it what you want, but folks around this country sure thought they were seeing something special in those photos,” Clyde said.

“What they thought they were seeing was two not horribly unattractive youngsters having illicit sex, robbing banks, and breaking all the rules,” Sal said. “Every man wished he was Clyde, and every woman wanted to be Bonnie.”

Sal tossed a copy of a newspaper clipping on top of the pictures. “And then it all went to dirt because you started shooting cops and innocent people.”

More clippings about the exploits of the outlaw couple followed—car chases, shootouts, murders. The stories chronicling their descent from folk heroes to cold-blooded killers soon blotted out all traces of the smiling photographs from happier days.

“That’s the problem with public opinion,” Sal said. “It’s fickle. By the end, they were clamoring for your heads.”

Clyde shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the unforgiving metal hard against his thighs. “I ain’t lost a minute of sleep over what we done,” he said. “You starve and kick a dog long enough, someday that dog’s going to rise up and bite you.”

“Or at least give you fleas,” Sal said. She pulled up a chair to face them, a pistol on her lap.

“This moment is when you get one last chance to rise above your past, rise above the killing, rise above your roots and your mistakes,” she said. “Because when I look at all this murdering and thieving and daring escapes by the skin of your teeth, I see two people with the unique talents to do a job we need done.”

“You want us to rob and kill for you?” Bonnie asked.

“We want you to save President Roosevelt from an assassin.”

“What are you on about?” Clyde said.

Bonnie held her tongue, waiting for what was coming next.

Before Sal could continue, there was a knock from outside. She opened the door and took a paper bag and drink carrier from Carl, and then he closed the door and locked the bolt back into place. They watched as Sal unpacked two turkey sandwiches wrapped in wax paper and three cups of coffee. She put a sandwich and coffee on the table in front of Bonnie and Clyde and then took a coffee for herself.

“Eat. You’ll need your strength, and we have a lot to go over.”

Clyde tore into his sandwich with his free hand and started wolfing it down, but Bonnie—even though she was ravenous—ignored the food and watched Sal coolly.

“May I have a smoke?” Bonnie asked.

Sal pulled a pack from the bag and tossed it on the table, waiting until Bonnie shook a cigarette free and then struck a match. Bonnie contemplated catching her by the wrist and holding her while Clyde took her pistol, and she felt Clyde tense in mid-bite, anticipating her play.

Sal waited until the cigarette caught and then leaned back. “Don’t bother. He has orders to kill us all if need be,” she said.

Bonnie inhaled deeply and then puffed out a thin cloud of smoke.

“You think of almost everything, don’t you, honey,” Bonnie said, slowing down her words, stretching them out in a sugary drawl. “Except the right kind of cigarettes. I don’t care much for menthols.”

A native of Texas, Clark Hays spent his early childhood there and then moved for a decade with his family around the world following the job of his father, a legendary wildcat petroleum drilling engineer, before finally landing on a Montana ranch. Kathleen McFall was born and raised in Washington, D.C.

Between the two of them, the authors have worked in writing jobs ranging from cowboy-poet to energy journalist to restaurant reviewer to university press officer. After they met in the early 1990s, their writing career took center stage when they wrote the first book in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection as a test for marriage. They passed. Their debut novel was picked up by Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN) with a first edition published in 1999, making it among the earliest stories in the resurgence and reimagining of the undead myth for modern audiences.

Since then, Clark and Kathleen have published five novels together—the latest reimagines the life of the legendary outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.

Clark and Kathleen have won several writing awards, including a Pushcart Prize nomination (Clark) and a fiction fellowship from Oregon Literary Arts (Kathleen). Their books have been honored with a Best Books of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, Best Books of 2016 by IndieReader, and a 2017 Silver IPPY Medalist. 

Twitter ║ Facebook ║Instagram Clark on Goodreads

Kathleen on Goodreads Pumpjack Press

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