Interview with author Tammy Bird

I know you have a tale to tell about your twisty path to publication. Doesn’t everyone? 

I am certain everyone does! For me, my love for putting words together for the consumption of others didn’t start until I was in college, and I wasn’t in college until my thirties. I was a bit of a wild child and took some—well, let’s just say, less than stellar turns before I found my way back to school. I took a literature course in my second semester of community college. The instructor wore the craziest neon colors, and her hair was everywhere hair that she held semi in place with a bandana. She swept in and out like a psychedelic dream every day, and I wanted to be her. I hung on her every word. I read everything she gave us to read. I analyzed and wrote and studied like a fiend. And what I discovered was I loved every minute of it. From there, my love for words grew. By the time I was working on my next degree, I was also writing for academic anthologies and conferences. Then came short stories, and finally a novel.

 

The Book of Promises is your second thriller. Where did the idea for the book come from?

This idea stemmed from a conversation a group of students had in my class a couple of years ago. We were reading a piece of literature that was about coming out as a lesbian. An older woman commented about how good the younger generation has it now, how they just come out and, “POOF,” everyone is cool with it. A younger person countered, saying that she did not have that experience at all, and in fact she was still trying to rebuild some of her family relationships. Someone else said that her best friend’s mom kicked her out and some of their friends were bullying her. The conversation was intense. As an older lesbian, I am ashamed to say, I thought similarly to the woman who made the first comment. After that day, the ideas swirled in my head for some time. Eventually I started researching. And a year later I started writing The Book of Promises. 

 

What kind of research did you do for the novel?

I had to research The Choking Game, for one thing. That was tough. I talked to several teens who have either been involved with this or knew someone who had been. I also did a lot of research on young sociopaths. What I found would truly scare you. I barely touched the tip of the iceberg. We often think of men as sociopaths, but there are a lot of examples of women who fit under this umbrella, as well, and they were once manipulative teens and children. I did some fun research, too. I had to find out what young people on the LGBTQAI spectrum were reading and discussing and how they are treated in the worlds they inhabit. That was awesome. It was fun to compare my coming out to theirs. 

 

They say all writers should have an elevator pitch for their novels. What’s your elevator pitch for The Book of Promises?

This is a tough one. I am still trying to perfect this. I had a reader make a comment about the book that kind of stuck. I revised it a tiny bit. It goes like this: The Book of Promises is a YA coming out and coming of age novel about learning the difference between a caring friendship and manipulation, between a loving relationship and a toxic one, and about learning to hold one’s own self-worth above the noise of the world.

 

Were there any surprises for you as you wrote The Book of Promises? Character developments or plot twists that you didn’t expect?

Yes! I don’t want to say too much for fear of slipping in spoilers, but one person who I thought was going to be good, ended up not so good. I couldn’t help it. The character bucked at almost every one of my suggestions and attempts at control. LOL

 

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I went through the GCLS Writing Academy. I was leery about putting out that much money on a dream, but I was determined to give this writing gig a go. I have been living in this surreal dream-world ever since. I have met so many wonderful readers and writers from putting myself in a position to be surrounded by readers and writers! It is amazing. 

 

If I came to your home and looked in your refrigerator, what would I find?

Well, we are quarantined now, and we want to stay as well stocked as possible, so we just got a delivery. There is some fresh spinach, carrots, and bell peppers in the crisper, I know, and I think there is orange juice, skim milk, yogurt and picante sauce on the top shelf. My wife likely has a few beers in there, too, and we always have cheese—lots of cheese!  

 

Last question. What’s your favorite material object that you already own?

My Note 10 cell phone. It has a pen. I use it to take notes constantly. When I don’t have pen and paper, but I have an idea, there it is, attached to my hand. It doesn’t get any better than that!

 

Okay. One more. Where can readers find you and your books?

I would love to connect on any of the following platforms: https://www.Instagram.com/tammybirdauthor 

https://twitter.com/tammy_bird 

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tammy-bird 

https://www.facebook.com/tammybirdauthor/ 

https://pintrest.com/tammybirdauthor 

https://www.goodreads.com/tammybirdauthor 

https://tammybird.com

And both of my novels are on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07MFG1YP1 

And on Bella Books here: https://www.bellabooks.com/category/author-tammy-bird/

 

Review of Death by Desert by A.E. Radley

I’m a huge fan of cozy mysteries so when I saw that there was a new lesfic cozy by A.E. Radley I jumped at the chance to read it. You will not be disappointed by Death Before Desert.

 

Here is a short blurb about the book:

When she finds herself between jobs and out of her rented accommodation, Clara Harrington decides to take a break and stay with her beloved, yet eccentric aunt in the sleepy village of Picklemarsh, England.

 

Vanessa Harrington is an award-winning crime novelist with an impressive back catalogue. When it comes to crime, and murder, there’s not a lot that Vanessa doesn’t know.

 

Clara’s hope for peace and quiet is shattered when, on her first night at Chadwick Lodge, the local town councillor is murdered, falling face down into his dessert.

 

Finding herself in the middle of one of her books, Vanessa happily takes on the task of uncovering the murderer and drags Clara along with her.

 

Join the Harringtons as they investigate the murder, question suspects, and uncover that not all is as it seems in picturesque Picklemarsh.

 

This cozy mystery is brought to you by Lambda winning author A.E. Radley

 

Death by Desert is a cute cozy focusing on the sleuthing of Clara and her elderly aunt Vanessa. Vanessa is an amazing character. I love how nosey she is. Plus, she isn’t afraid of getting caught. I mean who would believe such a nice old lady would be doing anything illegal.

 

The romance aspect of Death by Desert was cute. I liked the buildup of their relationship with Clara not knowing if her love interest was a murder or not. I can’t wait to see how their relationship will grow in future books.

 

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I will just say that I enjoyed the twist and turns in this book. I suspected many people as the killer throughout the book and was truly surprised at the ending.

 

I’m looking forward to reading more books in the Vanessa Harrington mystery series.

 

I would recommend this book to anyone you loves cozy mysteries.

 

Death by Desert is available on Kindle Unlimited by clicking here.

Review of Mind Games by Cara Malone

As most of you know I’m a huge fan of true crime and murder mysteries. So when I found out about Cara Malones book Mind Games I knew it would be right up my ally. Mind Games is a mixture of murder mystery, forensic files, and romance that will knock your socks off.

 

Here is a short blurb about the book: 

A rookie forensic investigator, a seasoned patrol officer, and a crime scene that just might be the death of them both.

 

 Kelsey Granger is meticulous and careful, determined to turn her OCD into an advantage in her new job at the coroner’s office. There’s just one problem – her boss doesn’t think she’s ready. When Kelsey arrives at her first death scene to find the responding officer contaminating the evidence, she starts to wonder if her boss was right.

 

 Zara Hayes hates death scenes. She’s been on patrol five long years but her chief won’t promote her until she can overcome her fear. So here she is, just feet away from a dead body while a pretty young investigator reads her the riot act because she thinks Zara screwed up her scene.

 

 With a killer on the loose, there’s no time to argue so Zara and Kelsey team up to solve the case. As they get closer to the truth – and to each other – they must confront the mind games we play… in life, in love, and even in death.

 

Mind games is the type of books that you will want to read in one sitting. As I have said before I’m a huge fan of all things true crime and murder mystery when you combine that with romance I’m all in. While the book focuses on the suspicious death of April Messner it isn’t the sole focus of the story. The main focus is on the budding relationship of Zara Hayes and Kelsey Granger who meet at the scene of the crime as members of law enforcement and forensics. Kelsey is not your average forensic investigator. She has OCD which makes her overthink every aspect of her job, it also is what makes her so good at her job. I appreciated how the book didn’t gloss over Kelsey’s mental illness. The book discussed what having OCD meant to Kelsey and her relationship and her relationship with Zara. When boundaries were crossed, they were clearly explained and corrected. 

 

One of the best parts of this book is the inclusion of bigger girls as one of the main characters. It isn’t often in lesfic that there is a truer to life main character. Normally they are rail thin and perfect in every way. It is nice to see a character that breaks the mold. Because everyone deserves to see themselves in a story. 

 

What stood out to me about Mind Games is the sex scenes. While Cara Malone has always written amazing sex scenes this book blew me away. They were on a whole new level compared to her past books. Maybe it has something to do with the amazing chemistry between Zara and Kelsey. 

 

The only flaw this book had is that the romance seemed to develop too quickly. I wish Zara’s rakish ways would have been shown more throughout the book. It seemed to be glossed over. Overall the book was a little low on angst. But that wasn’t a huge deal-breaker for me. 

 

I can’t wait to read the upcoming books in this series which should be coming out early 2020. 

 

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a steamy workplace romance.

 

Mind Games is available on Kindle Unlimited by clicking here.

Review of Sandman by Tammy Bird

As most of you know I’m a huge fan of thrillers. When I was given the opportunity to read Sandman by Tammy Bird I jumped at the chance. I mean who doesn’t love a strong group of lesbians fighting against time to bring a serial killer to justice.

 

Here is a short blurb about the book:

Katia Billings, EMT with the Emergency Medical Services of Buxton Beach, NC, is one of the first to respond after a hurricane rips through the small island community. As she helps search for survivors, she and her fellow responders discover a secret that will haunt Katia the rest of her life.

 

Lurking beneath the sand dunes is an evil that no one suspected.

 

A sandy grave not connected to the storm leads investigators to uncover the tomb of a serial killer, literally beneath their feet, hidden for years from the residents of the tight community.

 

For Katia, it’s personal because she knows one of the killer’s victims. She enlists help from K-9 search expert Paige, and Katia’s on-and-off lover, Zahra, in her determination to find the killer, dubbed Sandman, and stop him from killing again.

 

What small-town secrets will they unearth in their pursuit of the truth? Will the three women survive the physical, emotional, and psychological attack being waged against their small slice of sand? Or will they become the next victims of Sandman?  

 

I was drawn into Sandman from the very start. Katia is everything I love in a main character. She is cool in the face of danger and willing to do anything to help protect the ones she loves. When a hurricane rips through the Outer Banks of North Carolina Katia’s life changes forever. The woman who was like a mother to her growing up was found dead in the dunes with her throat slashed. This gruesome discovery leads the team of investigators to find several more bodies and the discovery that there was a serial killer in their small town.

 

Zahra is an investigator on the case of the Sandman serial killer. She is also Katia love interest. Before the story starts, they had fooled around a little bit but nothing serious. The case brings them closer together. I liked that the romance element didn’t overpower the thriller aspects of the book.

 

The book uses points of view from all of the characters involved. For me, this really made the book interesting. It really transformed the story into something spectacular. Marco was one of my favorite points of view. Marco is Katia’s brother and is non-verbal autistic. Marco knows who the killer is, but he struggles to communicate who the killer is.

 

What really made this book standout is that you never truly know who the Sandman is until the very end of the book. When I found out who the Sandman truly was my jaw dropped. It was such an amazing twist. It is by far my favorite book of the year so far.

 

 

I would recommend Sandman to anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers.

 

You can purchase a copy of Sandman by clicking here.

Review of Under Parr by Andrea Bramhall

Mystery novels have always been a favorite of mine and I have never seen a lesfic mystery novel before. So, when I saw Under Parr by Andrea Bramhall listed on NetGalley it seemed like a perfect mixture of lesbian fiction and mystery. I couldn’t wait to get started.

 

Here is a short blurb about the book:

 

December 5th, 2013 left its mark on the North Norfolk Coast in more ways than one. A tidal surge and storm swept millennia-old cliff faces into the sea and flooded homes and businesses up and down the coast. It also buried a secret in the WWII bunker hiding under the golf course at Brancaster. A secret kept for years, until it falls squarely into the lap of Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and her fellow officers.

 

A skeleton, deep inside the bunker.

 

How did it get there? Who was he…or she? How did the stranger die—in a tragic accident or something more sinister?

 

Well, that’s Kate’s job to find out.

 

When I started reading this book I didn’t realize it was part of a series. It is a little hard to pick up on if you didn’t read the first book. But my terrible start aside I really enjoyed this book. I was sucked in during the prolog and knew that even though I didn’t read the first book I needed to know what happened to the man in the bunker.

 

The mystery aspect of the novel was great with two different mysteries happening at the same time. I also enjoyed the romance Between Detective Kate and Gina. I thought they relationship was sweet and understanding. Especially given everything that Gina has been through. I’m very curious to the cliff hanger at the end involving Gina. I’m really hoping there is going to be a third novel.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. It was the perfect mix of mystery and romance.

 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

 

If you would like to read this book if can be found at Amazon.