Welcome to the blog tour for Tall Willows, the new book from PC Feather. Today you are going to learn about the book and more about the author in this interview. Be sure to download your own copy of this romantic murder mystery!
For senior Ruth Willows, her last year at Golden Valley High School in Golden Valley, Colorado was to be the best year ever. That is until the drop-dead sexy cowboy love-of-her-life Ken Silver turns out to be the school’s new English teacher. When she sees him at school, she faints from the shock, crashes into a bookcase, and goes to the ER. Ken, realizing his terrible conflict of interest, goes to the ER and tells her he cannot see her anymore.
Ruth returns to school, injured, mortified, and heart broken only to discover the district accountant shot dead in the school darkroom. If that weren’t enough, she accidentally picks up a file that the late administrator left in the school office before his death. The file contains proof that someone was embezzling funds from the school.
Ruth finds herself in the middle of the mystery. Was the administrator killed by the embezzler? Does the embezzler know this file exists? Could the murder be a coincidence?
Tall Willows takes you to beautiful horse farms in the fictional small town of Golden Valley, Colorado, back to high school and first love, and into the mind of a crazed murderer. If you love a good mystery with a steamy side of forbidden romance, you’ll love Tall Willows.
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Describe your book in one sentence or fewer than 25 words.
Ruth Willows falls for a drop-dead gorgeous cowboy with a killer smile. She discovers a dead body and becomes entangled in a murderous plot.
What was the inspiration behind this book?
One morning, a song I hadn’t heard in years played on the radio. It had been one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite groups and propelled me back to high school. I started wondering what if things had been different? What if I had made other choices? Two ideas came to me: I realized I do not regret my choices; two, my story of Ruth and Tall Willows.
Which character was your favorite to write?
You’ve probably heard actors say this, but being bad is FUN!!! In my b.c. life (before children), I was a card-carrying member of the Actors’ Equity Association. I approach writing in a similar way as I approached a role. Thus, as I write, I try to embody the character for which I’m speaking. As I wrote The Murderess in Tall Willows, I had free rein to behave as horribly, as nastily, as corruptly as I could imagine. It was a great delight to be able to do things I would never dream of doing in real life.
To which character did you relate the most?
My favorite character is the one I’m currently writing. It goes back to acting and my love for all things theatrical. In real life, each person views the world through their eyes. Likewise, actors must view the play through their character’s eyes. As I write, I try to become each character; thus, there is a piece of me in each character, and each character is in part me.
Will we see these characters again?
Most definitely! Tall Willows is the first in a series of six books. Not every character will be in every book, but all the important ones will be there.
On what are you currently working?
Currently, I am finishing the first draft of book two, Deep Pines. I’ve had some colleagues read the first couple of chapters and have gotten great feedback, so I’m very excited about continuing the saga.
What is your writing routine?
I wish I could say I was very disciplined, and I sit down every day and wrote for X number of hours. Instead, I write whenever I have thirty or more minutes alone with my laptop.
Currently, my daily schedule is in a state of flux. My husband and I just became empty-nesters (sniff-sniff), and I’ve changed my schedule at work to allow for more writing time. One of my goals for the next year is to create a set schedule.
What is the best writing advice you ever received?
As I write, I try to give myself permission; permission to make mistakes, overwrite, go off-topic, and do whatever I need to do to get the ideas out. It’s okay to cut, change, et cetera, but if there’s nothing written down, there’s nothing to change. My first MS was over two-hundred-thousand words. It took me a long time to figure out how to cut it down to one-hundred-thousand. Then I found a wonderful editor who helped me even more. It was a great experience.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
My children tell me it’s a waste of a superpower, but I’d want telekinesis. I, on the other hand, think it’s the perfect superpower. I could correct situations and remain unnoticed by everyone. If you saw someone littering, I could make the trash fly back into their hand. If I saw an accident about to happen, I could prevent it. Plus, It would make the forty-four-pound bag of dog food I buy for my Great Dane much easier to get from the car into my house.
Let’s say I’m coming for a visit to your area. What are some must-see places?
Presently, I live in New Jersey, so there’s a lot to do here! Do you like the ocean? We got the Jersey Shore. Have you been to NYC? It’s only forty minutes by train. Don’t forget; North Jersey has mountains, hiking, and the Appalachian Trail.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
That’s easy; I’d buy a horse farm out west (New Mexico or Colorado). I don’t need a big house, but I’d like a barn for me, a greenhouse for my husband, a guest house for visitors. I’d also like enough land to build a nice cross-country course and dressage ring with all-weather footing.
What is something readers may be surprised to learn about you?
Before I went into acting, I was a classically trained ballerina. I also have worked for two zoos, San Francisco Zoo in their ARC (Animal Resource Center) and Staten Island Zoo in the education department as a docent and teacher.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’d like to thank you so much for interviewing me and allowing me to share a little bit about myself and my book, Tall Willows. I hope we can talk again soon.
PC Feather feels blessed. She has lived and traveled from Maine to California. She’s had the opportunity to work many many jobs from Actor to Zookeeper. Currently, PC Feather lives in Monmouth County, New Jersey where she cares for sport horses, shows horses in dressage, and is a certified equine massage therapist.
Links
Book Site https://www.tallwillows.com
Author Site https://www.pcfeather.com
FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/pcfeatherstories
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pcfeather/
