Friend of the Pens Annette Dashofy has a
new book out this week! If you’d like a chance to win an Advance Reader Copy of CIRCLE OF
INFLUENCE, leave a comment below.
My mother, God love her, has never understood my “writing
thing.” She watched me as I “penned” stories—in crayon. She worried over my
sanity when I told her tales of my “imaginary friends.” You see, Mom is of
hearty stock, born and bred a farm girl with little time for flights of fancy.
She’s an introvert with her feet planted firmly in the reality of hard work. I
would mention that she’s about to turn 94, but she would give me one of her
stern Mom looks if I gave away her age.
Oops.
Oh, well. Anyhow, she humored me over the years as I wrote
stories, even though she never understood why I wanted or needed to do such
things. Reading ,
in Mom’s view, involves the daily newspaper (print, not electronic). She
recently told me the last time she read a book
was probably back in high school.
So I guess all those books I’ve bought her for gifts over
the years were a waste.
Finally, last summer I signed a three-book contract with
Henery Press. Mom wasn’t impressed. She’s watched me face disappointment so
many times, I don’t think she believed it was going to happen. To be honest, I
kept waiting to wake up from the dream, too.
I didn’t wake up. The ARCs arrived. And I started planning
my dream book launch party at Mystery Lovers Bookshop, where I’ve been a loyal
customer, supporter, and—more recently, member of the staff—for the last ten
years. I’ve seen other authors do events there, so I had a pretty clear idea of
what I wanted.
I wanted my family there. Including my mom. I wanted her to
see this was the real deal. My writing pals weren’t more imaginary people in my
head. (She’s still concerned about my sanity, I think). But after she agreed to
come, I worried—what if no one else shows up? What if she gives me that sad
my-poor-child face?
My launch party was last Saturday. It was a smashing
success. Sales were incredible, and my signing line circled all around the
store—or so I’ve been told. I was too busy scrawling my illegible name inside
books to look around much.
Mom was impressed. She hugged me when we got home and told
me she was happy for me. Then she told me she was going to read my book, although
she admits it may take a year or two.
Now I’m remembering all the swear words in it. Here comes
the stern Mom look again.
Annette Dashofy, a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred, grew up with horses, cattle, and chickens. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service, giving her plenty of fodder for her Zoe Chambers mystery series including CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE (Henery Press, March 2014) and LOST LEGACY (Henery Press, September 2014) Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology, and Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales (December 2013).
CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE: Zoe
Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance
Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of
them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the
Township Board President’s abandoned car. As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and
Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it
means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also
those closest to them.
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entered for a chance to win an ARC of the book!
