I’m so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for author T. C. Wescott and her new release Running From Arrows. This is the second book in her A Running Store Mystery series.
Running from Arrows (A Running Store Mystery)
Cozy Mystery/Romance/Humor
2nd in Series
Better Mousetrap Books (January 7, 2019)
Print Length: 192 pages
Digital ASIN: B07KDYFYKB
Purchase Link – Amazon
One of Lacy’s beaus has a bow. Unlike Cupid, his arrows kill. There’s more than romance in the air this Valentine’s Day!
Running from Arrows is the fun, twist-filled, romantic cozy mystery romp you’ve been waiting for!
Valentine’s Day is coming up and Lacy is single. If that’s not bad enough, she has a secret admirer. Is it the compassionate, haunted detective, the ruggedly handsome businessman, the suave maître de, the guy in her running group who likes to stare, or maybe someone who’s not on her radar? She’ll find out soon enough because he’s invited her to dinner. Now the question isn’t how long Lacy will remain single but how long she’ll remain alive.
During the Sweetheart Run through the town of Cedar Mill a fellow runner is murdered and a notorious burglar called the Black Cat is found dead with an arrow sticking out of him. Somehow these strange murders are connected to the ladies of Run For It – Lacy the divorcee, Stax the quirky bookseller, and Ruby the old-time mystery novelist. They’re back in a race against time to catch an invisible killer and exonerate an innocent man!
If you love a delicious mystery dripping with romance, humor, and chills – and a Valentine’s Day dinner no reader will ever forget – then buy Running from Arrows now and run it right to the top of your TBR pile!
You’ll want to tell all your friends about Running from Arrows, but whatever you do, DON’T TELL THE SECRET OF THE SECRET ADMIRER.
Running from Arrows is part two in a series but can be read as a stand-alone.
T.C. Wescott was born in Missouri but has lived in Oklahoma most of his life. Like pretty much every author who has ever breathed, he is an avid reader. His favorites are classic mysteries from the Golden Age, as well as just before or just after that period (which is widely considered the period between the two World Wars). His first mystery novel, Running from Scissors
The Christmas Village Mystery series was launched in November with the debut title Slay Bells
Wescott is also (under another name) the author of two award-winning non-fiction books as well as a slew of essays and articles.
- BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/t-c-wescott
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BetterMousetrapBooks/
- Website: tcwescott.com
- Twitter: @MousetrapBooks
- GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18176277.T_C_Wescott
When did you know that you wanted to be an author? What things, if any, influenced that decision?
I’ve had an interest in writing since childhood. Early childhood, like four or five. In my late 20s I began writing non-fiction research essays for specialist crime journals and I enjoyed the process. I wrote some short fiction and realized I had at least two voices in me: fiction and non-fiction. After successfully publishing two true crime books I decided longform fiction would be my next challenge. I conceived my Christmas Village Mystery series but wanted to try something a little simpler first. This short, simple exercise turned out to be the full-length and not entirely simple Running from Scissors, the first in my Running Store Mystery series. It came out in July of 2018. I then wrote Slay Bells, the first Christmas Village book, which came out in November. I’m now unleashing the second Running Store book, Running from Arrows about which I am EXTREMELY excited!
With so many cozies being written today, what makes your books stand out from the crowd?
That’s a great question, because what you say is true. The cozy mystery market is glutted. I knew that when I dove in. But for my influence I draw a lot on the classic mysteries of the golden aged and, for better or worse, my books are as much in that vein, if not more, than they are in the modern cozy vein. I’ve received some negative feedback for taking this approach, but the feedback has mostly been positive. If nothing else, I hope my work doesn’t ‘sound’ like your typical, generic cozy.
Do you work from an outline or plot or do you just see where the characters take you?
Both. My murders are often intricate and complicated, so those have to be worked out in advance, as well as a basic plot. I outline for the first chapter or two, write those, and then outline the next three, write those, outline the next few, etc. This way I keep control of the narrative while still allowing the characters to find their own footing.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you do anything special to get those reviews?
Yes, I do read my reviews. Until you’re Gillian Flynn getting hundreds of reviews a day, you kind of need to. Also, being brand new in the cozy mystery market, I feel I should pay attention to what readers like and don’t like. A number of readers of Running from Scissors felt the end reveal ran on too long. I found I agreed with them and the end reveal in Running from Arrows is much shorter, tighter, while still maintaining the necessary impact. I NEVER respond to a review. That’s terrible form for an author and can only backfire. You’ve gotta learn to take your lumps even when they’re not deserved. As for getting reviews, I have been putting my books up on NetGalley where members can read them for free and many of them will then leave a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Start writing and publishing 20 years sooner than you did!
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in someone buying your book(s)? Who designs your book covers?
For generating initial sales, the cover might be the most significant element, or at least as significant as the book description. For the Running Store Mystery series I’ve relied upon Dane at ebooklaunch dot com for the covers.
Please give us an insight into your main characters. What do you think makes them special?
For the Running Store Mystery series I intentionally used a lot of tropes of the cozy genre so that I could make them my own and occasionally poke fun at the conventions of the genre. Lacy, the main character, is something of an everywoman, in her 40s, divorced, attractive but not beautiful, rather new in town, and owner of an adorable Russian Blue cat named Meatball. Her best friend is Stax, a short, mouthy bookseller with ‘little man syndrome’. Ruby is elderly, classy, a throwback to another time, and a former mystery author. They’re an odd mix but it works. Ruby is more the Sherlock and Lacy the Watson in that the stories are told through Lacy’s perspective but Ruby does most of the significant sleuthing. Another cliché I’ve embraced in this series is a budding romantic interest for Lacy in the person of hunky detective, Luke Bentley.
What have you learned about yourself since becoming an author?
That I’m willing to spend too much of my time in front of my laptop!
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part-time.
What do your plans for future projects include?
For 2019 I’d like to write the next two Christmas Village Mystery books and perhaps a non-cozy thriller to send out to make the agent rounds. In 2020 I’ll be revisiting Cedar Mill again for the third Running Store Mystery book.
What do you think the hardest part of writing is? What is the easiest?
The hardest part is the publishing and marketing. By a mile. Second to that would be thinking up the murders and the plots. The easiest part is definitely the writing itself.
What type of books do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?
I read a lot of classic mystery fiction: Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Charlotte McLeod, etc. I also enjoy new thriller fiction such as by authors A.J. Finn and Catherine McKenzie.
What is the one thing you would like your readers to know about you?
That I genuinely and sincerely appreciate their support, even when support comes in the form of constructive criticism. Let me know what you think!
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Website: http://www.tcwescott.com
Blog: Follow my blog at Goodreads!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BetterMousetrapBooks/
Twitter: @MousetrapBooks
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/T.C.-Wescott/e/B07DS7X74S/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1547002169&sr=8-2-ent
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18176277.T_C_Wescott
To enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway, Please click on the link below:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792843/?widget_template=56d5f80dbc544fb30fda66f0
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 6 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
February 6 – Mythical Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 7 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 8 – Readeropolis – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 9 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW
February 9 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
February 10 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 11 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 12 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – GUEST POST
February 13 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
February 13 – The Book Decoder – SPOTLIGHT
February 14 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
February 14 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
February 15 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
February 15 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
February 16 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 18 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW
February 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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