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Book of the Year Finals!

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Behind the Writing of A Fatal Fumble

Tell us about the background for the theme, what inspired it or why you wanted to write in this setting, or with play with these tropes?

I’ve always loved murder mysteries. I started with Encyclopedia Brown, then moved on to Nancy Drew, and then Agatha Christie. I always wanted to write a murder mystery, but when it came time to actually do it, I decided to set my story where I grew up in Hancock County, West Virginia. Although, I changed the name to River Sutton, but locals can recognize the high school, the casino, the hills, and fields in the book. Where I grew up is so special to me, I just had to make the scenery and the place an important part of the series.

Are any of your characters based on real people you know?

Some of the characters are based on people I know, but not the whole person. I took traits of real people and created new characters from those traits. I would never write about someone as themselves. That also wouldn’t serve the story very well. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t picture some people I know when I’m writing. I guess you could say some of the characters are inspired by real people.

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book?

There was no land developer in the first draft. But I realized I not only needed another suspect, I could address a thorny issue for West Virginians. Too often business or entrepreneurs will buy up land with no regard for the locals or the local economy. Then they pour money into lobby groups and the state government to protect their interests, even though they don’t live there. It hurts the people who live there and love their state. By adding a land developer, I was able to touch on that problem, as well as create an interesting story thread.

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Synopsis:

Only one thing would drag Robin Pearce home to River Sutton, West Virginia for the high school’s 100th homecoming celebration: seeing her sister in her old cheering uniform with a huge smile on her face at the halftime show.

Ogling Sheriff Chris Payne’s broad shoulders in his old quarterback’s jersey wouldn’t be a chore, either. So, make that two things.

But when Robin bumps into high school classmates at the football game, her homecoming turns into a nightmare. She literally stumbles over the dead body of her frenemy, River Sutton’s top trophy wife.

The whole town suspects Robin, and even Chris wants to lock her up for her safety. When she’s not guzzling coffee or forced to admire fall décor with her sister, Robin uses her cyber skills to uncover the River Sutton’s killer before they can end her time as an amateur sleuth. Permanently. Is it the desperate soon-to-be-ex-husband? Or the greedy land developer? Or someone else hidden in the shadows?

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