I'm an avid reader. I always have been. I attended Sunset Ridge Elementary School as a child. I remember a lot about that school...Mrs. Johnson, my beloved second grade teacher who called me Jemmy instead of Jenny because she said I was precious, breaking two fingers when I was flipped off the slide, and the wonderment of the music room and after school movies in the gym. What I remember most vividly, however, is the library. I can still recall exactly what it looked like and how I felt when I walked inside that enchanted room. Oh how I loved the library!
My love of books goes as far back as I can remember, and I still feel that way about them. Hardback, paperback, eBooks, PDF's...it doesn't matter. I'll take them in any form. I have an enormous collection of favorite authors, but since becoming an author myself, I'm happy to say that a lot of the writers that fall into my favorite category are actually people I know. How cool is that???? They are my friends. They are an email away when I have a question, (and believe me...I have had a lot of questions since I jumped into this big pool of self publishing...) and they are a never ending source of entertainment. They have been my beta readers, and I have been fortunate to read for them. They are sounding boards and inspiration. They are talented and imaginative. Oh, did I mention that these people are my friends?!?
I have never done an author spotlight before. I'm excited about this first one, and know there will be many more in the future. One of the things that excites me about this author is that I enjoyed her books long before I ever met her. I sent her a friend request on Goodreads thinking she'd never accept it, but that was just one of the many surprises she had in store for me. This author's name is RP Dahlke, and she's a mystery writer with several titles under her belt. She's also a wonderful person who not only accepted my friend request but wrote me a personal note telling me she noticed I'd just recently published myself. After that I received from her a collection of information she'd gathered and written up about marketing and being a self published author that has been indescribably useful to me. Another bonus for me is that, not only is RP a tremendously talented author, she's hilarious and giving, supportive and caring. She was the first author I formed personal ties with, and that makes her very, very special to me.
Enough of the gushy stuff already! Here is RP Dahlke's biography:
I sort of fell into the job of running a crop-dusting business when my dad decided he’d rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours. After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.
I write about a tall, blond and beautiful ex-model turned crop-duster who, to quote Lalla Bains, says: “I’ve been married so many times they oughta revoke my license.” I wanted to give readers a peek at the not so-perfect-life of a beautiful blond. Lalla Bains is no Danielle Steele character, she’s not afraid of chipping her manicure. Scratch that, the girl doesn’t have time for a manicure what with herding a bunch of recalcitrant pilots and juggling work orders just to keep her father’s flagging business alive.
RP Dahlke released the fourth book of her Dead Red Mystery Series in late August. It's called Dead Red Alibi, and it has already received more than 100 five star ratings on Amazon.
Here's a bit about this newest book from the author herself:
A successful, but reclusive young artist with a secret life.
A wannabe lawman and his dotty gun-toting granddad
An abandoned mine pit
A curious dad and a very dead police chief
When Lalla and her dad take a trip to Arizona to inspect her new property, Dad disappears. But when Lalla enlists the help of a local tracker she's relieved to find him unharmed, but in the bottom of a mine pit. Unfortunately, he's got company--a local police chief, and it looks like he's been murdered. Then too, a young woman artist living nearby has also been murdered. What're the chances that these two murders are going to be related? Well, if you're Lalla Bains, you don't guess, you start looking for the killer!
There are three more in the Dead Red Mystery Series, starting with:
And coming in 2015, A Dead Red Miracle.
Lalla Bains isn't RP Dahlke's only heroine. She's written another series, as well as a guide to help the self published author jump start their book promotions.
Other books on Kindle by RP Dahlke
A romantic sailing mystery trilogy:
Coming next in the trilogy – Dead Rise
and
Want to get in touch with RP Dahlke yourself? Here's where you can do that:
DIRT CHEAP MYSTERY READS
If you're looking for tightly constructed mysteries with interesting locales, colorful and vibrant characters and a lot of humor, you've just found your author. It's obvious that I am very fond of RP Dahlke and her talent for writing incredibly entertaining tales. I know you will be, too.
