Interview with Joan C. Curtis, author of A Painting to Die for

[Mandie]

Interview -

Tell us a little bit about your book. A Painting to Die For is the third in the Jenna Scali mystery series. Jenna and her friends have gotten a bit more mature in this book. When her cousins come to visit, Jenna learns that her father’s favorite painting was stolen. Later she learns there is much more going on than the stolen painting.

Have you published before? I’ve published 4 nonfiction, business books. In 2015 I published my first mystery, The Clock Strikes Midnight. It won 4 awards, including first place in the Royal Palm Literary Awards for mainstream/literary fiction. After that I started the Jenna Scali mystery series--first with e-Murderer, which won the Gold for mystery 2016 Global eBook Awards, and second with Murder on Moonshine Hill, which won the Silver 2017 Global eBook Awards.

Are you currently working on anything else? I’m currently working on a stand-alone mystery suspense novel told from the point of view of 4 women. The working title is Deception.

What is your favorite writing snack? Gee! I wish you hadn’t asked that question. Now, I have to disclose my little decadent secret. I love running to the kitchen and getting a piece of chocolate. Not so bad, you say? Well, it wouldn’t be except it do it several times a day. Thinking and writing in my head as I go…haha!

What gets you in the mood to write? Reading always inspires me to write. When I’m reading a good book, I will often put it down and go create something on my own. But, it has to be a good book. Bad writing discourages me.

Who is your favorite character and why? In my current work in progress I’ve created a character named Paige Roberts. I really like her energy. She’s ADD and can never sit still. She recognizes this problem but she still loves the rush she gets when she’s not on her meds. She’s a fun character to write because she’s always doing something.

Favorite book of all time? Really? I love so many books and so many authors. If I identified one as the favorite book of all time, I’d feel bad about the others that I have loved. Being such a passionate reader, I cannot answer this question. How about I name a few? Colette and the Colette Omnibus is one of my favorites. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is another (as well as his My Own Country). The Dovekeepers: A Novel by Alice Hoffman was a fantastic book and one I’d read over and over. Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. Recently I’ve devoured Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and Brett Marie Was Here. And there was Ordinary Grace by William Kent. My gosh, I can go on and on! 

I think breakfast says a lot about a person, what is your perfect breakfast? Italian coffee made in my little caffetteria along with homemade pumpkin bread. Yum!

Do you have a favorite period of time that you like to write about or would like to live? I like to write about the present because there is so much going on. But, as far as living, well… maybe I’d like to live in the 50’s when everything seemed so much simpler. Perhaps it wasn’t, but it seems that way.

Please tell us in one sentence why we should read your book! If you enjoy a fun mystery, one that is full of action and adventure and a touch of humor, then you’ll love A Painting to Die For.

A Painting to Die For

Book 3 Jenna Scali Mystery Series

Jenna’s quiet weekend turns upside down when her house is ransacked and a body is found with her name and number in its possession. Meanwhile her long-lost cousins show up with stories about international art theft dating back to World War II.

While Jenna questions the motives of her dead father in his connection to stolen art, the police find a second body with Jenna’s name in its possession and she becomes the primary link in two murder inquiries. Sidestepping the police and dodging the mob, she and her best friend, Quentin, embark on their own investigation to save themselves and Jenna’s cousins from untimely deaths.

 

Offset by the quiet university town where faculty and students mill about, minding their own business, Jenna is kidnapped and held at gunpoint while her double-crossing, lying cousins chase after the missing painting worth millions.

 

A Painting to Die For forms a web of deceit that leaves Jenna doubting everything she believes about her father and his Italian heritage.

Buy on Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Muse it Up Publishing

Dr. Joan Curtis is an award winning writer who has published 8 books and numerous stories.

The e-Murderer: Book 1 Jenna Scali mystery series won the GOLD in the Global eBook Awards for 2016 for Mystery.

The Clock Strikes Midnight has won three major awards. FINALIST in the prestigious Eric Hoffer Book Awards 2016, FIRST PLACE Royal Palm Literary Award for mainstream/literary 2015 and the Silver in the Global eBook Awards for 2015 for Fiction/Suspense

Murder on Moonshine Hill won the SILVER in the Global eBook Awards for 2017 Mystery and the BRONZE 2017 for Southern fiction Reader's Favorite.

[Joan Curtis]

Hi Mandie,

Thank you for organizing a great tour. I appreciate the opportunity to meet your bloggers and to showcase my latest release.

All the best!

Joan