Kat Henry Doran/Veronica Lynch: Death by Sample Size

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 killer hellbent for revenge.

Wild Women Authors features author Susie Black who is celebrating the recent release of Death by Sample Size, Book 1 in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery series. With her is Holly Schlivnik who will go first.

Thanks for taking time out of your schedule, Holly. Why don’t we start with you telling us a bit about Death by Sample Size. It is the story of how I, a Los Angeles-based ladies’ swimwear sales exec discover ruthless buying office big-wig Bunny Frank’s corpse in an elevator trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini shoved down her throat. When my colleague Sonia Wilson is wrongly accused of the murder, I put on my sleuthing hat and jump into action to find the real killer. Nothing turned out the way I thought it would as I matched wits with a wily killer hellbent on revenge.

What made you choose ladies’ apparel sales for a career? My author Susie Black kinda made that decision for me. Personally, if I had my choice I’d have been an either an astronaut or a standup comic. Okay, just yanking your chain. Truthfully, I had a career in journalism planned, but life had its own idea and took me down a different road. My sales rep dad asked me to help out at a trade show and I did so well, he offered me a job and the rest, as they say, is history.

Knowing what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with sales or do something different? I would stick with being a sales exec. It is an exciting and challenging career. The only limitations are the ones I put on myself.

What is your biggest fear? That my author will grow tired of me telling her how to write the story and she write me out.

Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Nancy Drew. I see a lot of myself in how Nancy gets herself into and out of trouble while sleuthing.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? To always believe in myself, trust my gut, and never let anyone crush my dreams.

Thanks for this, Holly. Now we’d like to chat with Susie.

Which writer or character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on your writing? The late, great cozy mystery author Joan Hess had a major impact on my writing. Her irreverence and wise-cracking way of commenting on society’s foibles via her characters is something I’ve emulated.

The irreverence and wise-cracks came through loud and clear. With regard to research, where did you start for this novel? People and life itself is where I started. Like the protagonist in Death by Sample Size, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. I have kept a daily journal throughout my career that documented the interesting, zany, sometimes challenging people I’ve met and the crazy situations I’ve gotten into and out of. The characters and plot are based on real people and an incident that I embellished on.

Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original concept? In a tangential way, yes as I added an additional motive for the murder that was not originally there.

Tell us a bit about your publisher. The Wild Rose Press is a fifteen-year-old small independent publisher.

How did you hear about them? Through an author colleague.

What influenced your decision to submit to them? They accepted submissions from un-agented authors and they are a female-owned company.

How is the submission process? I submitted a query and followed their requirements.

What is the turn-around time from date of query to date of release? The turnaround time was as they depicted it to be; within a year of signing the contract. I signed the contract last August and Death by Sample Size was released for publication June 9^th of this year.

What are you reading right now? I am doing something I would not recommend. I am reading two books at one time: Undercover in Venice Beach by Melody De Blois and Eat Your Heart Out by Shirley Goldberg.

What's next for you? I am in the process of editing book number two in the Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series and fingers crossed, hope it will be out sometime late next spring.

For more information about Susie Black, go to:

E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com

Facebook author page: https://facebook.com/TheHollySwimsuitMysterySeries

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/Susie-black

Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheHollySwimsuitMysterySeries

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57877534-death-by-sample-size

Instagram: Susie Black (@hollyswimsuit) • Instagram photos and videos

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorsusieblack-61941011

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hollysusie1_saved/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/@hollyswimsuit

To purchase Death by Sample Size, go to:

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/gp/productttt/BO93F24T3F