I'm here today with author Susie Black as she talks behind the scenes of her fun, quirky, mystery novel, Death By Sample Size. I laughed out loud numerous times and clung to the edge of my seat waiting to see who had offed the notoriously skeevy, Bunny Frank.
Check out the blurb here:
Everyone wanted her dead…but who actually killed her? The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover ruthless buying office big wig Bunny Frank's corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. When Holly's colleague is arrested for Bunny's murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. Nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she matches wits with a wily murderer hellbent for revenge.
Check out my review here: When head honcho in the buying business, Bunny Frank, is murdered, swimwear executive, Holly, is on the case. It could have been anyone as Bunny had a way of making enemies. A humorous female sleuth story filled with laughs, secrets, and nonstop intrigue. I enjoyed Susie Black’s fun, fresh voice. Definitely an author and book work checking out!! 5 Stars!
Let's hear what Susie has to say about her novel...
Author Questions:
How did you come up with the idea for Death By Sample Size?
SUSIE: Who could push a sales exec to dream of murder and mayhem? Who else but a buyer? After completing a rather challenging meeting with a powerful, but extremely difficult account, I silently wished her a slow and painful death and imagined how good it would feel with my hands around her scrawny neck, squeezing the life out of her. While the notion of knocking off my annoying customers was wildly appealing, a horizontally striped prison uniform making my four-foot, nine-inch body look like a barbershop pole and a fire hydrant had a child wasn’t a pretty sight. The viable alternative? Writing humorous murder mysteries set in the Los Angeles garment center. Brilliant and cathartic! In one fell swoop, eliminate a pain- in- the- patootie buyer, avoid life in prison and still get the order. It doesn’t get any better than that.
2. Bunny was a rotten, selfish person. Is she based off anyone you know in real life?
SUSIE: Yes, Bunny Frank is based on a real Los Angeles-based buying office executive who was universally despised by the swimwear industry. In fact, all my characters with the exception of law enforcement, are based on real people I know. From the start of my career, I have kept a daily journal that chronicles the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I’ve encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. The journal entries are the foundation of my research and all my writing.
3. I feel like I know everything about the swimwear business now lol. How are you so well versed in the industry?
SUSIE: Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit murder mystery series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. The main character is based on my career experiences.
4. What was your favorite thing about writing Death By Sample Size’s MC, Holly?
SUSIE: My favorite thing about writing Death by Sample Size’s main character, Holly, was creating her sarcastic, irreverent, wise-cracking personality and giving her a strong, independent voice.
5. Will there be a book 2?
SUSIE: Yes indeed. Book 2, Death by Pins & Needles, is written and with my beta readers now. Fingers crossed, it will be out in the world sometime next year.
Author Bio:
Born in the Big Apple, Susie Black now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries. She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
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