R. P. Dahlke Reveals Inspiration for A Dead Red Oleander




I asked Rebecca aka R.P. Dahlke to tell me why she wrote A Dead Red Oleander and here's her answer:

 This is the 3rd in the Lalla Bains mystery series, and though I've wrestled with continuing a series based on a woman cropduster since my son and muse for this series died, readers have made one thing I didn't see, very clear: It's never been about the flying. All they talk about are my characters. 

Well, gee, I can do that. So I decided that I could continue to create mischief with yet another gang of miscreants, the kind of people that readers learn to love, or hate, but they don't forget them, either. So I added some new characters, one or two who will continue into the next book, and a few who won't. 

Now a whole year ago, when I started working on the outline, nobody had any books out on the subject of Witness Protection… well, okay, not anybody who wrote humorous mysteries featuring the tenacious, exasperating, Lalla, and her taciturn, cranky ol' cropduster dad, Noah Bains. See how important she is?
So I had this idea that Lalla would be desperate for a late in the season replacement for a pilot, and this guy comes highly recommended, and besides with a name like Dewey Treat, what could go wrong? And, yes, that name alone conjures up all sorts of images, doesn't it?  But naturally, just to be perverse, I have this character look like Howdy Doody.

And then there's her gun-toting Texas relatives, who fly in for Lalla's and Caleb's wedding, much to her dad's distress. Second cousin, Pearlie, is enough to drive Lalla around the bend, but then that's what makes a book fun, isn't it? I hope you'll enjoy A Dead Red Oleander, and if you do, I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at my website: http://rpdahlke.com

One more thing I asked her was to share was her favroite writing tip and here it is:

Write the best book that you can, then use a read back program like Text-Aloud to read it aloud for you. I always load up a chapter at a time on text aloud document, then do a side-by-side with the original document so I can stop the reading and do corrections right then and there. There are other read aloud programs, but I think Text Aloud is just fine at $40.00

Author RP Dahlke 

Mystery/romance/humor on Kindle Amazon



Like Sue Grafton? Janet Evanovich? Then you'll love this series.

When a late in the season emergency forces Lalla Bains to accept a greenhorn ag pilot for her dad's cropdusting business, she sighs in relief . After all, he comes highly recommended, his physical is spotless, and with a name by Dewey Treat, what could possibly go wrong?
Then her quirky relatives arrive from Texas and things go south in a hurry: Dewey Treat drops dead, his tearful widow claims he was murdered, clobbers Sherriff Caleb Stone with his own gun, and makes a run for it. Lalla, convinced the widow is innocent, sets out to prove it—against the express wishes of fiancé Caleb Stone.
Feds, local law, suspicious ag-pilots, nutso relatives, and her daddy's new sidekick, Bruce the goat, make life a living hell for Lalla. Will her nosey nature solve the crime and save the day? Or put them all in mortal danger?

"I'm so happy that Lalla Bains is back! This is was my favorite book of the three and it's all there: crime, mystery, suspense and great characters! I really liked the glimpses into Lalla's thoughts as she goes back and forth with new theories. Her dad completely lost in a house full of women as Lalla's great-aunt and her cousin (Pearlie) come from Texas for her wedding is hilarious. I Matos, Amazon review

"This author is an exceptional talent bringing her characters to life--you feel like you've met them before! My only regret--I am finished reading and have to wait who knows how long for my next "fix" from this author! Read it and enjoy!" Tech Teacher, Amazon Review

Amazon/Kindle: $2.99


About Rebecca:



I sort of fell into the job of running a crop-dusting business when my dad decided he’d rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours.  After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.
 I write about a tall, blond and beautiful ex-model turned crop-duster who, to quote Lalla Bains, says: “I’ve been married so many times they oughta revoke my license.”  I wanted to give readers a peek at the not so-perfect -life of a beautiful blond. Lalla Bains is no Danielle Steele character, she’s not afraid of chipping her manicure. Scratch that, the girl doesn’t have time for a manicure what with herding a bunch of recalcitrant pilots and juggling work orders just to keep her father’s flagging business alive.
My blog link:
I got to thinking about my favorite quote about well-behaved women & why Lalla Bains tends to piss men off:  http://rpdahlke.com/?p=424
 GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4714290.R_P_Dahlke
Library thing: http://www.librarything.com/home/1vibrantwoman


Comments

Kathleen Kaska said…
Lalla Baines is a hoot! Rebecca has created a female protagonist who grabbed my attention in the very first book, Dead Red Cadillac. I'm happy to learn that Lalla is up to another adventure; one I will surely dive into.
Rebecca is a great gal and I'm so glad she came to visit today and tomorrow.

Marilyn
M.M. Gornell said…
So nice to hear from Rebecca! The "read aloud" program is a great tip I'm going to research--I'm guessing it sounds like the text to speech on the Kindle(?), which I have used. Wonderful interview.

Madeline
Lesley Diehl said…
Rebecca is one talented writer. All of her books are great especially if you like women with spirit.

Lesley

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