Avenging Angel: A Shannon Wallace Mystery by Kim Smith

About the Author:

Kim Smith was born in Memphis Tennessee, the youngest of four children. After a short stint in a Northwest Mississippi junior college, during the era of John Grisham’s rise as a lawyer, she gave up educational pursuits to marry and begin family life.

She has worked in many fields in her life, from fast food waitress to telephone sales. “I always got the seniors on the phone who were lonely and wanted someone to talk to. My boss couldn’t understand why in the world I spent so much time talking to them and not enough time selling. That was when I realized I love people and care deeply about their lives.

"After the birth of her two children, she gave up working outside the home for the more important domestic duties of wife and mother. When her kids decided they wanted to pursue theater as an extracurricular activity, she gave up her free time to drive them to rehearsals, training classes, and plays. During those years, she found herself bored with nothing to do to while away the hours stuck in a car. She began thinking of stories to entertain herself and pass the time. Before long she started telling her husband about her stories and he assured her she could write a book if she really wanted to. She put the idea away once she landed a job as a network administrator for a small corporation, and together the Smith’s started their own video production company.

Writing was a dream, hidden but not forgotten, and soon Kim began to talk again of trying her hand at it. She played with words, and wrote several poems, one of which was picked up for an anthology.

One day in the early nineties her husband came home with a desktop computer and sat her in front of it. “Now you have no more excuses,” he said, and she realized the truth in his words. Procrastination, now no longer an option, she took off on the pursuit of penning her first book. Though that book, a young adult fantasy, was lost due to unforeseen circumstances, she kept going, writing a historical romance, and another YA.

When she decided to try out her hand at mystery writing, she discovered her true love and niche in the writing journey. She has since had four short stories, and her first mystery novel accepted for publication.

Kim is a member of Sisters in Crime, and EPIC. She still lives in the Mid South region of the United States and is currently working on her second book in the mystery series.

You can visit her website at http://www.mkimsmith.com/.

I had the opportunity to interview the author - this is what she had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

I would love to! My book, Avenging Angel, A Shannon Wallace Mystery is about a young woman’s search to regain lost DVDs of her and her boyfriend before a cop with a grudge can get his hands on them. Unfortunately, the boyfriend’s killer took them, and he’s been watching them. Now Shannon’s on the top of his most wanted list!

Who is your biggest supporter?

My biggest supporters have always been my family and friends. My kids and hubby have endured a lot of neglect through the years while I have pursued a writing career, and my friends have endured a lot of misfires in the writing department in the form of false starts, bad writing, and horrible grammar. Thank God they kept telling me to persevere.

Your biggest critic?

Probably my closest critiquers. They have seen my worst moments, my worst writing, and they probably wondered through it all if I was going to survive the journey to being published.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

Yes, as a matter of fact I have. I have improved my writing by doing more photography. It’s amazing what you can do with a piece of writing after seeing images through a viewfinder all day. You are limited to what you see in the screen, and you have to focus hard to compose the best shot. Likewise, writing needs the same focus and composition.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

My favorite authors are always my biggest influence. I want to be just like them when I grow up as a writer. If I could only obtain the status they hold in the industry, all my dreams will have been fulfilled.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

I have several important things. Getting my daughter through college, paying off my debts and becoming debt-free, and getting another book published are at the top of the list.

What are you currently working on?

I have recently begun edits on the second book in the Shannon Wallace Mystery series and have the third book about half-way finished. I am also writing a contemporary romance for inclusion in an anthology for my publisher and have a short story coming out in March.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

If you desire to write, then do it. No matter what you hear from me or anyone else, if you can string together sentences and paragraphs and page after page of a story, then you are a writer. If writing is a dream of yours, then let no man take that from you. Dreams are the stuff life is made from.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

I love writers. I think good writers are just fun to be around and I could spend hours talking to them. I think my biggest strength is being able to help them promote by getting them on my radio show, by doing interviews with them, and hosting them on my blogs. It’s never a bad idea to keep paying things forward when it is within your power to do so.

If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

August 20, 1999. My mother passed away early that morning and I would give anything if I could have spent more time with her. She would be so proud today to know that I got a book published.

What is your favorite past-time?

I would have to say traveling is my favorite past-time. I would rather sit on a mountaintop in Vermont and write than eat. I know if I were allowed to go to Scotland, I would never return to the States, because for some of us Outlanders, that place where our heart truly is, always calls us home. It’s in the blood, this love of the land. And love for the MOTHER land… well, that’s truly special.

About the Book:

Shannon Wallace is having a bad hair week.She’s been ditched by her job, dumped by her boyfriend, and implicated in his murder.

When she finds out her very private video collection is missing from the crime scene, it is all out war to find the disks before the cops do. The problem is, the killer has them.

And he’s watched them.

Now Shannon’s at the top of his most wanted list.

WIN PRIZES:

AVENGING ANGEL VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on February 2 and end on February 27. You can visit Kim's blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in February to find out more about this talented author!As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Steve Payette Book Spotlight and Author Interview

Book Synopsis:

Trevor Samuels is the main character in the novel "The Back of My Mind". He's investigating a series of arsons that have plagued Malone County over the past while. Trevor isn't the usual type of investigator, he dresses like a slob and relies on his sharp intellect and photographic memory to solve cases. Unfortunately for Trevor, he can't seem to crack the arsons. He can't figure out the motive, and he doesn't have any suspects. Enter Jesse, a fifteen-year-old Goth boy heavily involved in the underground cigarette market. At first Trevor pegs him as a freak, but the more he gets to know Jesse, the more he becomes convinced the arsons are related to contraband cigarette trafficking. Jesse leads Trevor through a seedy underworld, where he learns that the people he respects most may be involved. Join Trevor, Jesse and the seemingly unending array of unique characters they encounter while trying to solve a case that will either be the highlight of Trevor's career, or haunt him for the remainder of his days.

I was lucky enough to get Steven to answer a few questions for me. Here goes:

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

The author's whose books I never miss, being John Grisham, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Robin Cook, and Dan Brown.

Do you write every day?

No.

What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?

Completing the first novel!

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did you aspire to be something else growing up?

I had no interest in being a writer. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Tried 15 yrs ago and couldn't. Tried again this year and could.

How would you describe your writing?

Easy to read mysteries, easy for all age groups to relate too.

Are you currently working on anything?

Just finished third novel in the series.

What authors do you enjoy reading?

See answer to question 1.

Is there a particular author/s (yourself excluded) who you feel don't get the recognition they deserve?

Many, many unknown, self-published authors.

What is your favorite book?

Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz

What is a book that has been highly acclaimed but you haven't liked?

Michael Chabon.

Is there a word you feel is overused?

No.

For more information on this, and other books by Steven Payette, please visit:

www.geocities.com/samuelstrevor/index