Say hello to author Sandra Bretting!

Meow!  My guest today is author Sandra Bretting!

Sandra Bretting writes The Missy DuBois Mystery Series for Kensington/Lyrical Underground. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she began her career writing for the Los Angeles Times, Orange Coast Magazine and other publications.  From 2006 until 2016, she wrote feature stories for the award-winning business section of the Houston Chronicle.

The Missy DuBois Mystery Series follows milliner and bona fide Southern belle Missy DuBois, who becomes entangled in several murders on the Great River Road in Louisiana.  The first book, Murder at Morningside, debuted in 2016, followed by Something Foul at Sweetwater in Spring 2017 and Someone’s Mad at the Hatter in Fall 2017. The fourth book, Death Comes to Dogwood Manor, releases this June. Readers can connect with Sandra at www.sandrabretting.com.

Welcome, Sandra!  Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello, there and thanks ROCCO! I’ve been spending the past few years writing about the good folks of Bleu Bayou, Louisiana, which is a picturesque town full of antebellum mansions, weeping willows and ample jugs of sweet tea. Some of my newfound friends include Missy DuBois, a bona fide Southern belle who makes wedding hats and veils for a living (she also has a knack for finding dead bodies); Ambrose Jackson, her beau; and Det. Lance LaPorte with the Louisiana State Police Department.  Before I dropped into their corner of the world, I spent more than a decade writing feature stories for the Houston Chronicle. My family and I live in Texas, where we’re controlled by a slaphappy rescue dog who’s convinced he owns us.

Do you have anything you’d like to say to your readers?

I wake up every day so grateful I can share Missy and her friends with other people. My goal is to make every book in the Missy DuBois Mystery Series better than the last, and to give readers every reason to follow along until the final “The End.”

Tell us about your latest release:

In the fourth book in the series, Death Comes to Dogwood Manor, Missy runs afoul of an eccentric billionaire who’s turning the historic mansion into a wedding venue. The irascible businessman has more enemies than a stray cat has fleas, so the suspects are limitless when he turns up dead. Missy helps ferret the clues, all the while scrambling to restore her flooded studio before a magazine crew descends on it for a fashion spread.

     What is the favorite trait of your main character?

Missy DuBois is a spunky Southern belle who learned how to make hats by dressing ladies for the Kentucky Derby. I especially like her gentle humor (she’s never mean-spirited, beyond a well-placed “bless your heart,” of course) and that humor sees her through her many misadventures.

Your character’s on a shopping spree. What does he/she buy?

If Missy could go on a shopping spree, she’d hit up the dreamy hat shop called Fleur de Paris in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Not to buy a hat, mind you, but to scoop up their over-the-top jewelry and embellishments for her own custom creations.

What tunes does your character like to listen to:

Missy invariably pops a Harry Connick, Jr. CD into the console of her VW convertible whenever she cruises around Bleu Bayou. He’s a New Orleans boy and soooo easy on the eyes.

I’ve invited your main character over for dinner. What should I cook?

If you’re going to invite Missy over for dinner, she’d prefer something Southern, like shrimp etouffee (shrimp over spicy rice), barbecued brisket or fried catfish. But she’ll let you choose, since good manners dictate the cook gets to decide the menu.

      Please share a few favorite lines from your book with us.

One of my favorite lines in the book occurs early on, when I describe an abandoned whiskey barrel like this:  “The barrel lay on its side and fingers of sunlight reached through the broken staves, like the dying whiskey maker’s outstretched hand.” Kinda moody, don’t you think?

      If your book were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see play the      main roles?

If Death Comes to Dogwood Manor (or any of the books in the series) was made into a movie, I’d like to see Amy Adams or Debra Messing play Missy, since she’s a spunky redhead. Chris Hemsworth would be perfect as Ambrose Jackson, her boyfriend, since he has the same dark hair and Tiffany-blue eyes. Yum!

Is there a particular book or author that has influenced your writing style?

 The book that influenced me the most as I was growing up was Jack London’s Call of the Wild. His way of describing characters and places still gives me chills.

      Where can we find out more about you and your books?

People may preorder Death Comes to Dogwood Manor through Amazon, or by accessing my website at www.sandrabretting.com. Thank you so much for inviting me here today!

Thank you for a great interview, Sandra!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!!

Sandra will give away two eBook copies of Death Comes to Dogwood Manor, which debuts June 12.

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

 * Follow my blog (+ 1 point)

* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Good luck!  Contest ends midnight, June 16!