Author Interview – Gale Martin + GIVEAWAY!

Well, aren’t you a lucky bunch? Not only do you get a fab’ review, but now you have an Author Interview with Gale Martin. After reading ‘Who killed Tom Jones?’ I was thrilled Gale accepted my offer for an interview.

Welcome, Gale to ‘A Book and Tea’ and thank you for participating with the interview!

For those who aren’t familiar with your work, what can they expect from your latest release?
You can expect to find quirky or funny characters, one or two mean girls, some unexpected plot twists, witty banter, a dramatic climax, and romantic underpinnings in each of my books. And Who Killed ‘Tom Jones’? incorporates all of those elements, too, but to a different degree than either of the other books.

‘Who Killed Tom Jones?’ is themed around the Welsh stallion. Is it safe to say you’re a big fan of Tom Jones?
Welsh stallion–I love that description. How apt. I was more a fan of Tom Jones when he was in his prime. He had an incredible range and beauty to his voice back then besides being oh-so-easy on the eyes. He seems to be a more interesting person now–in the fifth decade of his career and his seventh decade of life. But what a specimen of manhood he used to be. I’ll always be enamored of that iconic Tom Jones, more so than any other pop singer.

Click the continue reading tag for more questions and an EXCITING giveaway!

When writing the novel did you always know who the murderer was going to be?
I am not an outliner. Nor am I a pantser (one who makes everything up as she goes along.) I fall somewhere in between. I thought I knew who the murderer was going to be but then as I developed more suspects, I decided to have another character emerge as the murderer of the Tom Jones impersonator. I thought it was interesting that you commented in your review that you thought it was going to be someone else. I’ll bet it was the person I first pegged myself as having committed the murder. Sometimes characters talk to you. They camp out in your head and say things like, “You can’t make me do that” or “you haven’t given me enough good lines.” Mrs. Hand was one such character. She kept asking for a bigger part. And I gave it to her.

Your novels ‘Don Juan in Hankey, Grace Unexpected and Who Killed Tom Jones’ are all based in Pennsylvania, do you like using a place you know so well?

I guess since my novels are character- and setting-driven, I rely on what I know. It makes a very challenging process–that whole writing a novel thing–just a tad easier and more comfortable. I am lampooning some of the types of people from my corner of the planet, which I’m sure they realize. I’d like to try another location as the primary setting for a novel, but that means I’ll have to visit, take copious notes, and then do tons more research in order to pull it off.

Are you currently working on any other exciting projects?
I have another mystery that’s almost complete about the murder of charismatic young professor who is trying to help stem racial prejudice in the US. I’ve been working on this book since before Obama was first elected, and all the White Supremacist groups (and there are, sorry to say, many in Pennsylvania) were making so much noise about a Black man running for president. It’s not funny, but it does have some clever banter and (of course) quirky, flawed characters.

And finally, everyone who visits ‘A Book and Tea’ gets asked this question, how do you take your Tea? Mine is two sugars and a splash of milk.
Gosh, Earl Grey is my favorite, with English Breakfast a close second. And I have two Splendas and also, a splash of milk. My grandmother was Scottish and always drank milk in her tea. I guess I learned to take my tea like that from her.

You can purchase ‘Who Killed Tom Jones?’ on Amazon UK | Amazon US and also on Paperback.

Find out more about Gale Martin at www.galemartin.me and on Twitter at @Gale_Martin.

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A GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Gale’s kind generosity I am holding my first ever giveaway! The prize is a copy of ‘Who Killed Tom Jones?’ on Kindle or Nook!

Simply click the link below where it’ll all be explained – good luck!

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED