Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

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Creative Edge Author Interview – D.C. Gomez

April 20, 2023
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Where did the initial idea for the Cat Lady series originate?

The initial idea for Cat Lady actually came during a 5 hour-drive. I was coming home from a romance convention and somehow the idea that I needed a romance book hit me. Most of the books I had at the time were Urban Fantasy or Children’s books. As I drove back, I play with the tropes that I enjoy the most in romance, like second chances. The problem I found out was, I was not very good at writing romance. Instead, I ended up with a dark comedy- contemporary fiction story full of shenanigans and amazing quirky characters.

Was it always going to be a series?

At the beginning, I was just excited about The Cat Lady Special. It wasn’t until I published the book that the idea of a series came to mind. I enjoy writing series, so this wasn’t a hard choice for me.

Did you base the character of Angela on anyone you know or were you inspired by a movie/book character?

Angela is not based on one specific person. She is more of a collection of anecdotes from my friends and my life. Her story is all about sacrifices- what are you willing to do for the people you love?

Why Cat Lady?

I think there is a very negative perception of what a Cat Lady looks like or even acts like. One thing I wanted to do was challenge that idea and twisted around. What if our dear Cat Lady turns to be an Arms Dealer? That concept just made me smile and open the series to so much possibility.

With guns being a divisive subject, how do you balance your gun’s dealer character with societal views?

This is one of things Angela also battles in the series. She doesn’t want guns ending in the wrong hands and killing innocent people. She also understands that selling guns is a very lucrative business, that even Walmart has maximized. As much as possible, she works hard at vetting her clients to maintain the knowledge of where her guns are going.

Will there be other books in the series, if so, how many?

At this time I’m planning for at least one more book. Not sure how many more will happen afterwards. Normally, I’m pretty sure how many books there will be in every series. For this one, I’m letting the characters lead me and see where they want to go.

How much research did you need for the narrative background?

While I’m an Army Veteran, I do not have a strong background on the different weapons available. In order to give Angela a believable back story, I have to do tons of researching on weapons, ammunition’s and even distribution types.

Did you fall into any research black holes?

At the beginning I used to. One tip one of my writer friends gave me was to do just-in-time research. Which means, stop to do the research for the specific scene that I’m working on. If not, I will get nothing done.

What surprised you about Angela and her lifestyle as you wrote the two books?

My biggest surprised with Angela was seeing how happy she was with the simple things in life. She was not interested in a mansion, trips, or fancy clothes. Her primary goal was to take care of the people she loves. As I get older, I’m always blown away by how true that is for many of us.

Where can readers find you?

The easiest place would be on my website at dcgomez-author.com. You can find links to my books and social media.

SUMMARY:

Illegal guns. Dangerous old-ladies. Now a dead body. Angela’s life is getting more complicated by the minute.

A boring life is not in Angela’s future, with her being a black market guns dealer. Tripping over a dead-body is now bringing a lot more attention from law enforcement than she cares to have.

If only she could get control of the Silver Hair Gang, and their quest to find the killer themselves. Angela is running out of time to secure her next arms deal, and save her family from an unknown killer.

A Desperate Cat Lady : Gomez, D. C.: Amazon.ca: Books

A Desperate Cat Lady (The Cat Lady): Gomez, D. C.: 9798986537429: Amazon.com: Books

The Cat Lady (2 book series) Paperback Edition (amazon.com)

 The Cat Lady Special : Gomez, D. C.: Amazon.ca: Books

Bio:

D. C. Gomez is an award-winning USA Today Bestselling Author, podcaster, motivational speaker, and coach. Born in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. D. C. studied film and television at New York University. After college she joined the US Army, and proudly served for four years.

D. C. has a Master’s Degree in Science Administration from the Central Michigan University, as well as a Master in Adult Education from Texas A&M- Texarkana University.  She is a certified John Maxwell Team speaker and coach, and a certified meditation instructor from the Chopra Center.

One of D. C. passions is helping those around her overcome their self-limiting beliefs.  She writes both non-fiction and fiction books, ranging from Urban Fantasy to Children’s Books. To learn more about her books and her passion, you can find her at www.dcgomez-author.com.

Bibliophile Collective Tuesday – A New Free Library and a Bookstore Evening

November 15, 2022
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On Friday I discovered another free library. This one is dedicated to a school principal, which is a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, there was no protective door, even though there are hinges for one, so I’m hoping the books are taken inside soon. I gifted copies of Life in Slake Patch and The Rython Kingdom for it’s readers.

Four author friends and I went to Daisy Chain Book Co in Edmonton on Saturday night. Our gracious host and bookstore owner, Brandi, was very accommodating and had set out display tables and chairs. As you can imagine having access to a whole bookstore was too tempting. We may write books, but we are also voracious readers! Purchases were made.

I am continuing with the November writing challenge and as of November 12th my total was 22,531words. The third book in the crime series is, of course, the culmination of the trilogy series. It is exciting to create the investigation, the missteps and ultimately the resolution.

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Crime fiction and writing prompts

August 2, 2022
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August 1st is a holiday here in Alberta, so it was nice to have an extra long weekend. I’m please to day my ‘stalled’ situation in the completion of book two of The Delphic Murders – The Tainted Search – was overcome and I managed to finish the manuscript. It is now in the hands of a few beta-readers. It was such a relief to finally overcome the hurdle. I will let it ‘rest’ for a month and then go back to it for the next round of editing and revision. In the meantime, I have other dormant manuscripts I can return to, but as with all things it may not go to plan. I had a new idea for a contemporary novel and also have the idea for a prequel to the Rython saga. Never a dull moment in a writer’s mind!

As you know I enjoy sharing my responses to writing prompts, this is my latest:

Characters in a Crunch Write a scene or story that includes a character eating cereal. What does a character’s favourite cereal say about their personality?

Regimented Rosemary

Rosemary sat at the small round breakfast table, set for one with a place mat, napkin, silver cutlery and a pot of tea with a china cup and saucer to match. She set it every night before going to bed. Everything in its place and orderly. As she looked through the window at the garden, enjoying the fruits of her many hours of labour over several decades, she spooned mouthfuls of cereal into her mouth. As a child she always loved her grandmother’s English cottage garden. Hollyhocks, honeysuckle, roses, and all the colours of the rainbow all in perfect rows. Now, her garden was a joy to her grandchildren, she had come full circle.

With deliberate care she spooned around the bowl to make sure she had a good mixture of ingredients. She didn’t like overly sweet or one type cereal, she found it boring and the sugary treats stuck to her dentures. Over time she had created the perfect start to her day. Bran, fresh berries, oatmeal and a little honey. Her breakfast kept her regular, gave her a portion of fruit and filled her up.  When she stayed with family, she took her ingredients with her, just to ensure she didn’t have to suffer store bought cereal.

Rosemary enjoyed short stays with family but had to resist tidying and organizing when she did. People lived in such chaos! Her home was picture perfect and that is the way she liked it. Orderly contents in cupboards and closets and a check list for everything. With the last scoop of her cereal she patted her lips with the napkin, then took the crockery to the sink, washed and dried everything and put them away.

Let me know what you think of this little story.

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Model Making Update and Returning to a Manuscript

January 13, 2022
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I thought I would share a update on the model I am making. It is not going to be a quick project by any means! So far I have made all of the internal cabinets and shelves and a few of the tiny paper folded items. This project will probably take me more than a few months, in-between full time work, writing time and, you know – life! It is extremely fiddly and the air has been blue on occasion.

The handles for the cabinets have to be created with wire and the decorative parts. The suitcase and boxes are cut out of a template and folded and the fruit bowl was five separate pieces! This is the first model I have attempted, so it is a steep learning curve.

Apart from that, I have gotten back into my detective manuscript of book two in the trilogy, A Tainted Search. I had not visited it since the end of November, when I completed National Novel Writing Month. I let it percolate for a while. Leaving a manuscript after an intense month of writing, allows me to mull over its content and gather my thoughts on the continuing story.

Do you leave a manuscript to develop in your mind? If so for how long?

What are you working on?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Crime Fiction and A Sneak Peek

November 9, 2021
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As many of you know I am plunging into National Novel Writing Month* this month to begin the second book in my detective trilogy, The Delphic Murders. This second book is entitled The Tainted Search. My process is not that complicated -bum in seat – so to speak, and to avoid external distractions as much as possible. This, of course, isn’t always the case, take this past weekend for example. I had a board meeting to attend and a radio interview recording to participate in on Saturday and then Sunday was family time. And as I am working full time that has a major effect on my writing time.

*National Novel Writing Month – write 50,000 words in the month of November* As I write this blog post on Sunday morning my total is 11,748 words, which is on track, thankfully.

The crime fiction genre is a new genre for me to write and I have been enjoying the research process, as well as planning a three book series. There are many sub-genres to this type of fiction as you can see from this list.

  • Detective fiction
  • Cozy Mystery
  • Whodunit
  • Historical whodunit
  • Locked room whodunit
  • Locked room mystery
  • Police procedural
  • Forensic
  • Legal thriller
  • Spy novel
  • Caper story
  • Psychological thriller
  • Parody or spoof

The commonality of these sub-genres is a lot of suspense, hidden clues, a charismatic detective and an elusive criminal. I have added a ‘side-kick’ to my main protagonists, which is a fairly common duo seen in most detective TV shows and movies. The first book has a secondary romance, this second a professional conflict and the third? Well, that remains to be seen, I haven’t started writing it yet!

As a special treat, I am sharing the draft prologue from the first book. An Elusive Trail. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Prologue    

September 2005

Three vehicles converge at an abandoned farm, the sun-bleached buildings collapsing and twisting into the earth. Melted snow and slush is piled up against the dilapidated structures glistening in the only illumination for miles – headlights and a full moon. Three men exit their vehicles and stand facing each other. A red glow from a single cigarette gives one man a fragmented face, his eyes watching expectedly. The smoke joins the puffs of cold night air emitting from his companions mouths. A middle aged man with a slight paunch straining against his thick coat faces his colleagues as the smoker, Allan asks.

“What’s so important you drag us out at this time of night in the cold, Craig?”

“We have a problem, Allan, Travis and his name is Detective Daniel Markum.”

Allan stamps out his cigarette before asking.

“How much of a problem is he?”

“I’d say the biggest. He’s been reviewing some of our old cases.”

“Shit! How did you find out?”

“I’d set up an alert on our contrived cases and nine have popped up in the last three weeks. We have to eliminate this threat and real soon.”

“I can set up something with Raul. Can you make sure Markum is on scene first, Travis?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Craig, I can patch through to a false call. It’s not like I haven’t done it before, right?”

“You meet him there soon after and Allan and I will set up the ambush. It’ll be easy to make it look like an ‘in the line of duty’ incident. I have several unmarked, untraceable handguns stashed away.”

“How soon can this be set up, Travis?”

“Is next Tuesday soon enough, Craig?”

“Sure. Then we need to consider lateral transfers. We can’t all stay in Edmonton. Raul has been asking for assistance in Red Deer and Calgary to expand his drug operations. This might be the time to do it.”

The three detectives shook hands, returned to their vehicles, and drove away from the remote meeting place. Their plan set in motion, their victim unaware of his fate.

Do you read crime fiction? What do you like about the genre? Who are your favorite authors in the genre?

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