Character Interview –
1)Tell us a little bit about yourself--both something we learn from [the story] and something that readers might not guess?
Hi & thank you for having me! My name is Bee (Bryan) Maxwell, and I own Dreamweaver Designs, a designer dress shop down the boardwalk from Mystical Musings. Cass Donovan is one of my best friends.
My typical day doesn’t start until sometime around noon. That is, if Cass doesn’t wake me up earlier, for some reason, which has been happening all too often lately. But I can’t work on my designs during the day, too many distractions, so I often work until the wee hours of the morning, then have a bite to eat and go to bed as the sun is rising.
Anyway, I usually get up around noon, then head to the diner or the deli for breakfast and a good dose of my favorite pastime, gossip. I often stop in to visit with Cass and Stephanie, my other best friend, for a while afterward to share any good dirt I unearthed during my morning rounds.
Just between us, unless Stephanie’s husband, Tank, is around. Him, I try to avoid at all costs. Let’s just say, he and I don’t see the world the same way. He’s a big, tough detective, and I’m…well…not.
After a visit with my girls, I head in to the shop to work. I have a huge fashion show every year, and I’m expecting a number of buyers from New York City to attend the next one. Business has begun to pick up lately, especially with the introduction of my new beach wedding line. You just have to see it. It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself.
2)How did you first meet your writer?
I first met Lena before she even started writing Death at First Sight. I was actually the first character she dreamed up, even before the main character, Cass Donovan. I think it’s because of my aversion to anything paranormal. For some reason, she found that endearing and then went ahead and tossed me into the middle of one paranormal investigation after another. Go figure.
3)Want to dish about him/her?
Well, one thing I will say, Lena is a horrible procrastinator. Sometimes she makes me wait forever to find out what we’re going to do next. While that’s frustrating, my role usually ends up being worth the wait.
4)Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book?
I think if not for being besties with Cass Donovan, my life would have been too boring to be book-worthy. As it is, she manages to get into trouble every time I turn around, and since I’d never leave her side, I end up right there with her.
5)Who's your favorite character? Why?
Cass is my favorite character, because she is my absolute best friend. To this day I carry a piece of black tourmaline she gave me when I was going through a particularly rough time, not because I believe it can help me in any way, but because she cared enough to give it to me. Cass is an amazing woman and a wonderful friend who means the world to me.
6)Who's your least favorite character? Why?
Honestly, that changes from story to story. I tend not to warm up to people too quickly, so I’m suspicious when I first meet someone. I wasn’t fond of Tank when we first met, and he took some getting used to, but I have to say, I’ve never needed help and had him not be there. Then Simone was a little tough to get used to, especially since she connected with Cass on a level I can’t. But we have an understanding now, and she’s become a friend.
7)What's next for you?
Well, I’m pretty excited for Lena to get started on the seventh book in the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries. I figure after tossing me into an abandoned psychiatric center and expecting me to help Cass figure out who dun it, it can’t get much worse. Right?
About A Spirit Seeks Asylum
Cass Donovan is confronted by ghoulish crimes both old and new when a defunct asylum is the site of a fresh murder and a long-hidden injustice . . .
The old abandoned buildings of the Twin Forks Lunatic Asylum have always fascinated and frightened clairvoyant Cass Donovan, but she never dreamed her psychic abilities would be put to the test there. Then the new owner of the site tells her he plans to renovate it and turn it into a boarding school, and he’ll pay Cass handsomely to determine whether the place is haunted! Cass accepts his offer, but her search for hints of old ghosts soon has her looking for clues among the living when the man who hired her turns up dead.
Returning to the shuttered asylum looking for evidence of who may have wanted her client out of the way, Cass stumbles upon signs of yet another murder, even as she’s besieged by an onslaught of haunting voices from the past. When it comes to light that rival real estate developers have been hatching plans of their own for the property, Cass sees no shortage of motives for the murders, but she’ll have to find a way to quiet the disturbing voices from long ago and focus on the here and now, because whoever’s behind the killings has targeted Cass as their next victim . . .
About Lena Gregory
Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, and the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest.
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island. She recently relocated to Clermont, Florida with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, jigsaw puzzles, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
Thank you so much for having me and for such a wonderful review! I'm so happy you enjoyed the story!
ReplyDeleteOh Dear Bee!
ReplyDeleteWhy did you have to say things can't get much worse Now I am worried.