Hi, everyone!
Today is my turn on the Virtual Author Book Tour for this new Amateur Sleuth Mystery. I am excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for MIRANDA AND THE D-DAY CAPER by Shelly Frome.
Below you will find an interview with the author, a book description, my book review and the author’s bio. Enjoy!
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Author Interview
Interview with Avonna Loves Genres
What would you say inspired you to write it?
At a certain point, given the partisan nature of today’s political scene and all the tribal bickering, I began to get deeply nostalgic for yesteryear and small town American when virtues like decency and honesty seemed to be shared by all and you could engage in a lost cause with all your heart.
What was the source of inspiration for your protagonist? What about your antagonist?
My protagonist Miranda was inspired by my realty broker down here in the Blue Ridge who seems to be both highly practical and, at times, tomboyish and adventuresome. I thought she’d make a compelling amateur small town detective.
As for my antagonist, the subject of one of my profiles for the local paper was a cool, boyish looking folksinger/songwriter. With a little stretch of the imagination I thought he’d make a great backwoods sociopath who found causing havoc a great deal of fun.
What’s the longest time you’ve spent working on a project?
My work on my book on The Actors Studio took a number of years. It first started out as a graduate thesis. Then a TV show called “Inside the Actors Studio” came along which took place nowhere near the iconic studio on West Forty-fourth Street. And so I went back and interviewed many prominent figures from the real Studio, organized my notes and photos and spent well over another year putting it all together.
Would you say becoming an author has changed you? In what way?
I no longer feel I have to perform or entertain people or hold their interest. I can take my time getting lost in my work and allow my characters to fully come to life without constantly having to live up to other people’s expectations.
How do you deal with bad reviews or acid criticism? What would you advise other authors to that effect?
Someone once told me that you really haven’t taken the plunge and risked everything until someone comes along and vilifies your published book. Which is fine as long as there are five star reviews to balance the picture. However, if there are only one and two star reviews, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and come to terms. If you had no editorial input in the first place, then the tale either wasn’t ready or hadn’t a chance to please anyone but yourself.
Is this title part of a series? Without giving us spoilers, of course, what can we expect from the next books in the series?
The previous book is called Moon Games, Miranda’s first adventure. At this point in time, I think she can rest on her laurels. I’d hate to put her through all this again unless some pressing need presents itself.
What do you have stored for us in the future? What are you working on/planning on next, aside this title/series?
I’m deep in the throes of a crime story with the working title Shadow of the Gypsy. It’s a much deeper venture, perhaps even partly highly personal and I have no idea of its commercial potential or marketability.
Full Disclosure
If you could choose to be someone else for just one day, it would be… ?
Robert Redford. I’d love to know what it feels like to have been so cool and handsome that everything comes easily to you and you can have the pick of projects, meet up with members of the industry you admire both here and abroad, and go anywhere and do anything your heart desires.
If a character from any book could become real and you could spend a day with them, it would be… from the book… ?
Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon, hanging around the streets of old San Francisco, meeting all kinds of colorful and shady characters, having the license to delve anywhere on the mean streets and fashionable enclaves.
The best thing in your life is… ?
No longer having anything I have to prove.
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Book Description
A modern day mystery with WWII tactics, old-time heroes and values, and the efforts of two amateur cousin sleuths from the Heartland.
On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip’s unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run and, in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina. His predicament stemmed from intercepting code messages like “Countdown to D-Day,” playfully broadcasting the messages on his radio show over the nation-wide network, and subsequently forced to flee.
At first, Miranda tried to limit her old childhood companion’s conundrum to the sudden abduction of Duffy the cat. But the forces that be were hell-bent on keeping Skip under wraps by any means after he now stumbled close to the site of their master plan. Miranda’s subsequent efforts to decipher the conspiracy and somehow intervene placed both herself and her old playmate on a collision course with a white-nationalist perpetrator and the continuing machinations of the right-wing enterprise, with the lives of all those gathered for a diversity celebration in nearby Asheville and a crucial senatorial vote on homeland security hanging in the balance.
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
MIRANDA AND THE D-DAY CAPER by Shelly Frome is a cozy mystery featuring amateur sleuth, Miranda Davis. This is the second book featuring this protagonist, but it can easily be read a standalone.
Miranda Davis is a small-town realtor in the Blue Ridge Mountains who received some notoriety when she helped solve a mystery. Now her cousin and childhood companion, Skip shows up on the run from New York City hoping for her help. He embellished some stories with items he saw in the station manager’s office harking back to WWII and D-Day on a nighttime radio talk show he was covering for a friend. All of a sudden, he is being threatened and his beloved tabby cat is stolen and held to control Skip.
Miranda thought Skip’s story was just another one of his whimsical stories, but she is willing to help find his cat. But as she gets more involved, she discovers that there is much more truth than fantasy in the story Skip told on air. They are suddenly entangled in a plot involving right-wing nationalists that leads all the way back to D.C.
Can Miranda, Skip and all Miranda’s friends figure out who all the players are and what they have planned before the clock runs out and many people are killed?
I enjoyed Miranda and all the characters in her town. It is small-town southern laid-back even as Miranda tries to hurry some along in their help. When Miranda and Skip come together, I had a hard time at first straightening out what was happening, but once everyone was sorted and the mystery plotline began to pick up in pace I was completely caught up in the story. I feel Mr. Frome did a good job of using a heavy political topic lightly, but not frivolously. It was done with both entertaining characters and an intricate plot. The mystery plot was believable and could come right out of the news today, even as the plot clues were out of WWII.
I recommend Miranda and all her friends for an intriguing and entertaining cozy mystery read.
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Author Bio
Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He is also a features columnist for Gannett Media. His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff, and Murder Run. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio and texts on the art and craft of screenwriting and writing for the stage. The Secluded Village Murders is his latest published foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
