13. Add these books by local authors to your summer reading list:
Kill TV by Diane Dean-Epps, Tibetan Adventure by Jack L. Parker, The
Sacred Well by Antoinette May, How To Create and Maintain an Alien—An
Insider’s Look at Criminals and Their Culture by Arthur L. Mattocks,
Ph.D., and The Doomsday Key by James Rollins.
Leslie Lloyd has had a very trying day. It's April 15th,
tax day, and she is late getting her taxes filed. Besides
that she's having a marital crisis and is finding herself in
sticky situations. Leslie is KQPT-TV / Channel 8's News
Director. Her husband, Bob, left her to "find himself",
claiming he needed "room to grow" and "space to breathe".
When Leslie walks into Control Room A she finds her boss,
Lincoln Bradbury Delaware III, lifeless and staring at a
blank monitor screen. Suddenly Bob is the least of her
worries. Add tax evasion, insubordination and murder to the
list and Leslie finds herself facing some pretty
major issues.
No one
at the station liked Lincoln Bradbury Delaware III. He was a
pompous, arrogant, foul-tempered misogynist and that on his
good days, but no one was going to admit that now. It was
Leslie who had had a huge fight with Lincoln just hours
before his death in front of the entire staff of KQPT.
Little did she know her anger would set her up as the girl
most likely to kill and put her at number one on the suspect
list.
After
another co-worker and good friend dies suddenly and
suspiciously it's up to Leslie to do some investigative
snooping (reporting). Murder, mayhem, and fixing yet
another mess, all in a day's work. Dodging Copzilla,
Officer Bobbie Brooks, and enlisting the help of her new
love interest Police Officer Jared Stanford, Leslie turns up
the heat and begins cooking with gas.
K-I-L-L TV
is a wonderfully written and delightful mystery to read.
With charming, likable characters and a well-developed plot
Diane Dean-Epps is a killer of a writer in the
mystery genre. If you enjoy a good mystery—give K-I-L-L
TV a try. It is a fast-paced, fun mystery that at times
will have you laughing out loud.
Leslie
Lloyd has had a bad day. her boss is dead, it's tax day, she's missed
her hair appointment and she's the prime murder suspect. Her bad day
becomes a bad week as the rest of her news crew team start to become
the news. She tries to hold it all together with caffeine and a
possible new love interest while trying to solve a new and very
close to home string of deaths.
Kill-TV is written in the internal dialogue of Leslie, we follow
her most intimate thoughts as her mind wanders while her body
blunders through life. Leslie's voice is what truly carries this
book, every woman is a little like her, and we all have a friend she
will remind us of. Her honest voice makes reading this book similar
to listening to a hilarious and yet disturbing story being related
to you over coffee by one of your girlfriends. Leslie is constantly
having very entertaining mental battles with herself she has to come
to terms with disturbing event after disturbing event. Written much
like a murder mystery, the candid mind of Leslie never lets the
reader sink too deeply into the tension of the plot. We all know
she's innocent, but then who among
the lively crew of news people she works with - isn't so innocent?
Who is it with blood on their hands, and are they gunning for Leslie
next? The assembled cast of characters is for the most part very
believable and fairly well fleshed out. The dialogue is spot on,
even when Leslie places her foot in her mouth time and time again,
the reader cringes with her.
This is one of the most well written indy-authored books that I have
read, and with it being from a small press there are only minor
printing issues that may or may not annoy the reader. One is that
the font is small with wide spacing between the lines, I had no
problem with it, but I cannot see anyone in the 50 and up crew
reading it without the aid of a pair of readers. The second is
simply that the justification used makes the final sentences of some
of the paragraphs space way out. Nothing major, and if these are the
only complaints I
have about the book then you know the author is doing something
right.
Though I wouldn't say this book is for everyone, the audience it is
for has a lot to look forward to. This book is geared more toward
female readers, specifically those that like a little humor and a
little mystery and have had their fair share of ups and downs in
life. I can honestly say that I hope a large publishing house picks
this book up and gives it the physical polish that the tale
contained within deserves. So if you don't mind a few typesetting
issues, pick up a copy of this to read while relaxing and enjoying a
cappuccino.
Nevada County residents with a craving for tasty stories and
delectable desserts will be treated to both at a fund raising event
for the Nevada County Library entitled A Moveable Feast.
Hosted by the Friends of the Library, the benefit will feature six
local authors who will circulate among book lovers, sharing their
creative inspiration and tales found in the tomes they’ve penned.
While visiting with the writers, guests can sample a variety of
specialty desserts from the chefs at Paulette’s Country Kitchen,
Cane’s Restaurant, Dorado Chocolates and the Happy Apple Restaurant.
A few of the authors speaking at A Moveable Feast are David Comstock
(Brides of the Gold Rush, Gold Diggers & Camp Followers), Diana Dean
Epps (Maternal Meanderings, Last Call), Chris Enss (Gilded Girls:
Women Entertainers of the Old West & Frontier Teachers), and Peter
Collier (The Kennedys: An American Drama, The Roosevelts: An American
Saga).
The Friends of the Library’s A Moveable Feast will be held at the
Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City on Friday, October 24 at 7
p.m. Tickets are $25 per person and seating is limited. For more
information contact Debie Ogden at the Nevada County Library at
530/265-1407.
You are invited to a Benefit for the Nevada County
Library~
A MOVEABLE FEAST
Enjoy decadent desserts with renowned and local authors:
CHRIS ENSS
DIANE DEAN-EPPS
LOUIS B. JONES
CAROLE CARSON
DAVID COMSTOCK
KIM CULBERTSON
Friday, October 24 at 7:00 PM
Madelyn Helling Library Reading Room
$25 per person donation to the Libraries
DESSERTS KINDLY DONATED BY:
Dorado Chocolates
Ridge Stop Cafe
The Happy Apple Kitchen
Raley’s Bakery
Safeway Bakery
Sponsored by the Friends of Nevada County Libraries
LIMITED SEATING! To Reserve:
Make check payable to FOL and drop off at your library, or mail
to:
Friends of the Library
980 Helling Way
Nevada City, CA 95959
...a humorous mystery that takes deadly aim at your funny
bone...
Hope Springs Eternal Press
April 2008
Featuring: Leslie Lloyd; J.J." Juliana Jacobs; Jared Stanford
224 pages
ISBN: 0981482902
Paperback
$10.00
It's April Fifteenth. Tax Day. And while this is not,
traditionally, a source of merriment for any citizen, K-I-L- L TV
adds a new twist to Ben Franklin's axiom about "death and taxes" by
telling the humorously suspenseful tale of news director, Leslie
Lloyd. Fateful timing finds Leslie foraging around for a tape in the
television station control room when she notices something is off
besides the lights; station manager Lincoln Delaware Bradley III is
dead. Unfortunately, our alliterative heroine was known to disagree
with the head honcho publicly, loudly and frequently. The fact that
Leslie and Lincoln had one humdinger of an argument a mere day's
worth of hours before Lincoln's death doesn't escape anyone's
attention, least of all the police. As if that isn't enough,
Leslie's husband, that rat-bastard Bob, is leaving her, her income
taxes haven't been filed, and she's in desperate need of an
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or ten. An unexpected diversion in the
form of a love connection with policeman, Jared Stanford, provides a
welcome breather, even as a veritable Lombard Street of plot twists
threaten to send her careening into a metaphorical wall representing
her future. The song title chapter headings set the tone for the
intrigue as we get a closer look at Leslie's life, friends and
struggle to stay on top in the uncompromising world of broadcast
journalism, as her story plays non-stop on every station, including
K-I-L-L TV.
What
suspense/thriller authors do you usually Read?
I like Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Jane Clark, Janet
Evanovich, and Diane Dean-Epps, just to name a few.
From the first page, the author draws you into a murder mystery that
takes place in the most unlikely place, control room A at KQPT-TV/channel
8. The key character in this upbeat mystery is news director Leslie
Lloyd. She is assertive, can be bitchy and has definitely perfected
foot-in-the-mouth disease. She is also the key suspect in the murder of
the station manager, Lincoln Delaware Bradbury III.
Woven nicely into the mystery is a budding romantic relationship with
none other than a police officer she meets during the murder
investigation. Needless to say, this complicates her life and makes for
interesting, fun, and compelling reading. Leslie is surrounded by
a talented team of behind-the-scenes off- camera talent. During the
investigation, disaster looms as Leslie’s close friend, Rob, a member of
the KQPT-TV crew dies. Is his death of natural causes? It appears that
way. However, Rob’s father seeks out Leslie to investigate Rob’s death
as a murder. While Leslie is willing to help Rob’s father, she wonders
privately if this is a grieving father’s folly.
Does the romance between Leslie and her new squeeze escalate or fizzle?
You’ll wonder as she gives more attention to keeping herself free from
arrest as a suspect in Lincoln’s death and pursuing Rob’s fathers’ plea
to discover the cause of his son’s death. For the romantics in the
crowd, you’ll find the relationship gathers momentum as the two lovers
find their way.
In the midst of Leslie’s quest to establish her own alibi, and conduct
the investigation of Rob’s death, yet another high-level station
employee is murdered. The suspects are narrowed down and Leslie is
doggedly engaged in her investigation to ultimately solve the murder
mysteries.
The author’s ten-year career in television broadcasting adds
authenticity to her story, while she creates a fun, funny and fictional
storyline.
Don’t get left behind as Leslie finds who killed whom and why, and
discovers romance in the process.
When you have a major axe to grind with someone, it's never a good sign
when they mysteriously turn up dead – because suddenly you're the top
suspect. "Kill TV" follows Leslie Lloyd as she finds out her most hated
co-worker is dead and dealing with the police overflow from it. Her life
begins to fall apart all around her – all while the media frenzy wants
to follow a murder suspect around for ratings. A charming satire on
modern society and life itself, "Kill TV is highly recommended for
community library fiction collections and those who serve as its
patrons.”
Diane Dean-Epps, English instructor at Nevada Union
High School, shows her new novel, "K-I-L-L TV," which
draws upon her experiences as a former broadcast
journalist.
Writing is how Diane Dean-Epps makes sense of the world: She
writes all the time - in her head, on scraps of paper, when
she's at home, even while she's driving.
"My family comes from a tradition of hilarious story
tellers," she said. "We never inherited money, but we
inherited a lot of stories."
Dean-Epps, an English instructor at Nevada Union High
School, recently published her third novel titled "K-I-L-L
TV," which draws upon her experiences as a former broadcast
journalist.
The protagonist of the novel is a news director who's a
recovering alcoholic and whose husband is leaving her. To
add to her misery, her boss - with whom she disagreed in
public - is found murdered on April 15, which hindered her
from filing her taxes on time.
The 224-page "humorous mystery" took Dean-Epps about a year
to write. It's now available at The Book Seller in Grass
Valley and online at
www.dianedeanepps.com.
Dean-Epps' earlier novels, "Maternal Meanderings" and "Last
Call," are sold on amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble
Books.
"What feeds my creativity is nature and my family,"
Dean-Epps said. "My core values and my unconditional love
for my family sustain me because it allows a process that
can flow freely. I'm able to grow as a writer because I'm
right in the moment where I need to be. I'm not
concentrating on the unimportant."
Dean-Epps is inspired by Tibetan Buddhism. Her favorite
poets include Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop and Mary
Oliver. She's captivated by the works of William Faulkner
and Langston Hughes, she said.
"I really started taking writing seriously when my oldest
daughter was born in 1988," Dean-Epps said. "That's when I
realized I had this little girl, and I didn't want to tell
her I wanted to pursue this dream but never followed it."
Dean-Epps lives in Alta Sierra with her husband, Gary Epps.
They have two children - 14-year-old Kelsi and 19-year-old
Nicole.
Diane Dean-Epps
If Grass Valley author/mom/high school English teacher/speaker Diane Dean-Epps
can “make you forget that your shoes and your budget are too tight but your face
isn’t tight enough,” she figures she’s done her job.
From the funny bone of this Sacramento State graduate come Last Call, a
humorous mystery, and Maternal Meanderings, an Erma Bombeck-esque romp
through the family life of a baby boomer that’s earned the endorsement of Dr.
Laura. Next up: KILL-TV, a humorous mystery based on the author’s former career
in broadcast television, and I’ll Always Be There . . . Unless I’m
Somewhere Else?!, a rib-tickling riff on parenting adolescents.
Leslie
Lloyd has had a bad day. her boss is dead, it's tax day, she's missed
her hair appointment and she's the prime murder suspect. Her bad day
becomes a bad week as the rest of her news crew team start to become
the news. She tries to hold it all together with caffeine and a
possible new love interest while trying to solve a new and very
close to home string of deaths.
