WIDOW'S RUN: AUTHOR Q&A with TG Wolff @tg_wolff #blogtour

Today's guest is thriller author TG Wolff. Her new book is Widow's Run and she is on a virtual book tour this month with Pump Up Your Book! We're very glad to have her here today to talk about her book, writing and what surprised her about getting her book published.

Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

The idea began as I was driving across Indiana, listening to NPR—sadly I do not remember which program. The host and the guest were having a conversation about detectives and how one common characteristic of the hard-boiled detectives of old was…they had nothing to lose. No wife. No kids. No house. No career. Nada. It got me thinking: how freeing would it be to have no responsibilities, nothing to force you to “stay honest.” I wanted to write a character like that. And thus, Diamond was born.

I had my detective, now I needed a case. I dove into her backstory. She was a CIA agent, specializing in chemical weapons. She left the agency to marry a scientist she had run into (literally). A short two years later, he died, the victim of a hit-and-run accident…or was it?

I had my detective and my case, now it was time to have fun. A faked death. Quinoa. A sophisticated slut. A foot chase through Rome. A British agent. A jackass named Buttercup. An ending that is a coup de grâce with a side of fries.

That’s how you build a Widow’s Run.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

My publisher is Down&Out Books. I published my first mystery with them in 2018 Exacting Justice. I met with my publisher, Eric Campbell, at Bouchercon and told him what I was working on. I think I laughed through the conversation; Diamond is that kind of lead character. Think Deadpool, in a corset. Eric bought into the concept and backed me.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

I know I, as a reader, use the cover as an instantaneous summary of the book. I can get rather perturbed when the cover and story turn out to be unrelated. For Widow’s Run, cover designer JT Lindroos and I had a conversation about the places Diamond goes to in the story, where she starts, where she finishes, how she’s stalked by robins who keep messing with her karma. The book opens in a cemetery. JT went out to a cemetery in his hometown to capture an image of classic strength that is a little wild and overgrown. It is a perfect visual metaphor for Diamond.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

Widow’s Run was hard to write because I made it hard…that is, I made it fun. Each chapter had to be about 5,000 words. Each chapter had to contain a complete story arc while moving the main story along. Once set, I cut 10% of the words from each chapter. The entire book couldn’t be more than 13 chapters. Lengthy descriptions of spaces were replaced with sharp, concise detailing of only relevant places. Side characters played their part and then moved on. Widow’s Run was fun to write because it wasn’t easy.

Advice to other writers? Writing is fun. If it’s not, shake it up, turn it around, tear it up until you find the fun again.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

The sequel to Exacting Justice, Driving Reign, is in Down&Out’s capable hands. Look for it April/May 2020. Currently, I’m deep into Diamond’s next adventure, which will take her to the Highlands of Scotland.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

Widow’s Run is high octane. I expect it would surprise readers to know how much work it was to juggle the pace, the humor, and all the elements that made the mystery hold water. Reading it should be fast and easy. Writing it wasn’t. #NoRegrets.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

Widow’s Run isn’t a book heavy on messages. Sure, you learn that quinoa isn’t just for breakfast, but it isn’t meant to be poignant. If there is a lesson to be learned from Diamond, it is if you think you are all alone, you aren’t looking around. Love and support can come in lots of different shapes and sizes.

Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

Write. Enjoy. Learn. Grow. Repeat.

Meet the Author

TG Wolff writes thrillers and mysteries that play within the gray area between good and bad, right and wrong. Cause and effect drive the stories, drawing from 20+ years’ experience in Civil Engineering, where “cause” is more often a symptom of a bigger, more challenging problem. Diverse characters mirror the complexities of real life and real people, balanced with a healthy dose of entertainment. TG Wolff holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

★ WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS: ★

Website → www.tgwolff.com

Twitter → @tg_wolff

Facebook → www.Facebook.com/tina.wolff.125

Inside the Book

Title: WIDOW’S RUN
Author: TG Wolff
Publisher: Down & Out Books
Pages: 236
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

One night in Rome. One car. One dead scientist. Italian police investigate, but in the end, all they have are kind words for the new widow. Months later, a video emerges challenging the facts. Had he stepped into traffic, or was he pushed? The widow returns to the police, where there are more kind words but no answers. Exit the widow.

Enter Diamond. One name for a woman with one purpose. Resurrecting her CIA cover, she follows the shaky video down the rabbit hole. Her widow’s run unearths a plethora of suspects: the small-time crook, the mule-loving rancher, the lady in waiting, the Russian bookseller, the soon-to-be priest. Following the stink greed leaves in its wake reveals big lies and ugly truths. Murder is filthy business. Good thing Diamond likes playing dirty.

“TG Wolff’s novel is for crime-fiction fans who like it action-packed and hard-edged. Written with feisty panache, it introduces Diamond, one of the most aggressive, ill-tempered, and wholly irresistible heroines to ever swagger across the page.” –David Housewright, Edgar Award-winning author of Dead Man’s Mistress