Please join me in welcoming Kimberly Rose Johnson to the blog today to chat about her new cozy mystery, The Sleuth’s Surprise!
Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing.
Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
You can sign up for Kimberly’s newsletter via her website at: https://kimberlyrjohnson.com/
You can also connect with Kimberly on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.
THE SLEUTH’S SURPRISE
SERIES: The Librarian Sleuth #4
GENRE: Inspirational Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Mountain Brook Ink
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2020
PAGES: 224
Mary Daley has been the sheriff of Tipton County for more than two decades, but someone wants her job. When it seems circumstances can’t get more complicated, a murder happens on her watch. Had she been the intended victim?
Deputy Chief Lyle Griffin only wants Mary to be happy, but when he asks her if she’d consider retiring, it sets off a string of events and emotions that muddy their friendship.
Nancy Daley-Malone can’t believe anyone would run for sheriff against her mom. She is onboard to help run the best campaign Tipton County has ever seen until the sheriff’s opponent is murdered and Nancy’s husband joins the race. On top of that, it appears someone is out to kill her mother as well.
Can Nancy, along with the sheriff’s department, find the murderer before it’s too late? Will Lyle and Mary be able to admit their feelings for one another or will the status quo remain?
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Hi Kimberly! Welcome back to the blog!
Kimberly: Apples. Oranges are risky because sometimes they are dried out or taste terrible. Most of the time apples are good. That being said, I love the smell of oranges.
Carrie: I totally agree with this!
Kimberly: Dogs. I’m very allergic to cats.
Carrie: So are my mom & husband – so we’ve always been a dog family 🙂
Kimberly: Over. I never used to care, and I don’t know when it happened but it drives me nuts if it’s under lol.
Carrie: haha! duly noted
Kimberly: Ocean. I love the sound of crashing waves.
Carrie: that’s such a great sound! so peaceful in its power…
Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?
Kimberly: Baking is my super power. I had stopped baking for several years after discovering I can’t have gluten, but during the pandemic I’ve been baking. It’s a dangerous superpower to have lol.
Carrie: but it’s marvelous to know someone with that superpower haha!
Q: If you knew you were only going to be allowed FIVE books for the rest of your life, besides the Bible, which five would make the cut?
Kimberly: The Princess and Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick, Edge of Truth (Even though I wrote this one it’s still one of my all-time favorite books), The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trotter, and That’s not the Way it Works by Bob Saenz. The last two books are non-fiction books on writing movies—my other passion.
Carrie: I’ve always thought writing movies would be lots of fun!
Q: If I sneaked a peek in your purse right now (which I would never do, I promise!), what would it tell me about you?
Kimberly: I’m a germaphobe, and I don’t like clutter. You’d find a bottle of sanitizer spray, my wallet, and a pen since I don’t like to touch pens other people have touched due to germs. I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember.
Carrie: You are well-prepared for this pandemic then! My father has a blood cancer (fortunately he is still doing pretty well) & we’ve been joking that he & my mom have been quarantining & sanitizing everything since before it was cool lol.
Q: If Hollywood wanted to produce The Sleuth’s Surprise as a movie, who would you want to be cast as the lead roles?
Kimberly: Anna Kendrick as Nancy Daley, Sela Ward or Lucy Lawless could play Sheriff Daley, and then Greg Kinnear could play Lyle.
Carrie: ooooo those are fabulous choices! I really want to watch that!
Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing, or did you let the characters dictate what came next?
Kimberly: I had a general idea about a story before I began writing. But the story was filled with surprises throughout since I go with the flow. I’m what is called a seat of the pants writer.
Carrie: “the story was filled with surprises throughout” – appropriate, given the title! 🙂
Q: What do you most want readers to take away from The Sleuth’s Surprise?
Kimberly: First and foremost I want readers to be entertained and enjoy the ride. Secondly I hope the book spoke to them in whatever way the Lord wanted. I don’t set out to write a message in my stories, yet there is always a takeaway that I hear about from readers. It’s fun to hear what readers took away from reading a story.
Carrie: I love how that works!
Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.
Kimberly: Thank so much for having me! I have another book releasing next month called Certain Threat. It’s the third book in my Protection Inc. series. This series is also a mystery and suspense series with a little romance.
I’m also working on an original screenplay. Beyond that I’m still deciding. I need to write the next book in my Law Enforcement Heroes series, but I also want to finish writing my Protection Inc. series. I anticipate writing two more books in that series.
Carrie: that all sounds very exciting!
Kimberly Rose Johnson is offering a Kindle copy of A Date With Danger – a collection which features the 1st novel in this series, The Sleuth’s Miscalculation – to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
What about you? What makes you want to read The Sleuth’s Surprise by Kimberly Rose Johnson?
I used to be allergic to cats, but I’m not allergic to ours. It’s weird. Great interview! Thank you!
that IS weird! how strange!
Melony, I’ve heard that some cats are better for people with allergies. I don’t recall what kind though.
Interesting plot!
i think so too!
Thanks! It was a fun book to write.
It sounds really good and I love to read mysteries!
This sounds like a good book. I enjoy reading mysteries so I think I would like this one too.
Because this is a mystery which is my favorite genre, I am interested in this book. The romantic subplot just makes it more interesting. Sounds good!
Yay! I hope you get a chance to read it. I love this series. 🙂