Friday Five with Stacy Verdick Case

Fridays may be murder for many of us, but for today's guest on Friday Frive...Three...One... it's just another day in front of the computer. Stacy Verdick Case is here to talk about herself, her underwear and her new book, A Grand Murder. 

Five Fun Facts:

1. Favorite word: Integrity--it applies to so many aspects of life
2. First thing you do in the morning: Make coffee--without it, I'm not human
3. Favorite song to dance to: Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce--can't resist it
4. What constitutes a crime against nature: Skinny jeans
5. Favorite destination: Home--cheesy but true. No matter where I go, I can't wait to get home.

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What book is on your nightstand? Web Thinking by Dr. Linda Seger. I've read it before but it's worth reading more than once.
2. What would your mother say about today's underwear choice? She wouldn't say a thing.
3. What scares you most? Spiders and zombies are equal in my scary world.

ONE SENTENCE

Using these four words, write a sentence: Mummy. Lights. Cold. Rain. 

"The lights sparked out from the cold rain, obscuring my view of the mummy."

YOUR TURN:

Feel free to give us a teaser about your new book and information where to find you online.

You can find me at:

• www.StacyVerdickCase.com, 
• sostacythought.wordpress.com
• twitter @SVerdickCase.

A Grand Murder is the first book in Catherine O’Brien mystery series. Catherine is a St. Paul, MN homicide detective, who has a monster coffee habit, frequent bad hair days, and an irreverent outlook on life. She is partnered with Louise Montgomery who is her exact opposite in every way.

Here’s a little something to tease you with: 

Once again, we were in attendance at Stanley and Forster. After all the time we’d spent here in the last couple days, I was as comfortable in this office as I was in my own. 

Even the ghost—pallid receptionist began to warm up a little. She greeted us with a smile.

"Who do you need this time?”

“Philip Carter,” I said.

“You got it.” 

She punched some keys, and then said into her headset. “Mr. Carter, the cops are here for you.”

By how fast the call ended, Philip Carter didn’t seem particularly surprised to hear that there were police waiting to see him. I think I might have asked what they wanted.

“Have a seat,” she said. “He’ll be down to see you in just a minute.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” 

She retrieved a tube of lipstick from her purse and made fish faces in a compact mirror as she applied the diva—pink lipstick. Part of me wanted to know how much she got paid.

The waiting room was full of people who were now watching Louise and me like we’d just dropped our pants and peed on the floor.  Cops are nobody’s friends until you need one.

Friday Five...Three...One... is an opportunity for guest bloggers to share a bit about themselves in a fun format of Five Facts, Three Questions and One Sentence. If you'd like to be a guest on Friday Five, Three, One drop me an email.

Friday Five hiatus....

Sorry, folks, but there's no Friday Five this week. Blame the weather that delayed flights, followed by mechanical problems that delayed them even further. But Friday Five...Three...One will return Jan. 27. My guest will be Stacy Verdick Case, who'll be talking about her book, A Grand Murder.

Friday Five...Three...One... is a chance for guest bloggers to share a bit about themselves in a fun format of Five Facts, Three Questions and One Sentence. If you'd like to be a guest on Friday Five, Three, One drop me an email. In February, there will be all new questions, facts and guests.

How many writers does it take to create a villain

My story Something Special hits the shelves in a few weeks,  figuratively speaking. (It's an ebook). It wraps up The Wild Rose Press series "The Class of '85," which tells how classmates of Summerville High find love and new beginnings 25 years after graduation day.

Throughout  the series, the high school bully looms in the background--only now he's got a badge and a drug addiction--Dickhead, a.k.a. Chief of Police Richard Heade.

The chief plays a prominent role in Something Special. My hero, Andrew Morgan, a detective with the Summerville Police, is running a side investigation into his boss's illegal activities. And when Richard learns of it, bullets fly.

But Richard's character arc--from drug-addled bully to potential murderer--happens over the 24-book series, with clues sprinkled in several books.

His first big appearance is in Bonded for Life by Sharon Buchbinder. We see how self-serving and self-centered the police chief is. He makes work miserable for Webster Bond, our hero. Web challenges the sheriff over proper use of SPD employees and realizes the extent of the chief's drug use. When he tries to talk to his wife about it, Richard overhears and assigns Web the "nightshift for life." 

A cameo in the next book, Transatlantic Loving by Rachel Brimble, shows us his priorities. When the town's soccer coach, Aaron Taylor, rallies for support at the public beach for a Summerville sports center, Heade tries to stop him. Aaron publicly reveals Heade's lack of belief in the talent of the Summerville kids and his disinterest in providing the town with more jobs.

Richard and his wife, Beth (formerly known as Ready Betty) play bigger roles in An Indecent Proposal also by Buchbinder. In this story, Richard has partnered with a New Jersey mobster to buy the inn and turn it into a casino. The deal is thwarted when the heroine and hero reluctantly band together to purchase the old Summerville Inn. The seriousness of Richard's drug addiction becomes clear, as is his willingness to sidestep the law for his own gain.

We get a peek of Dickhead and his wife, past and present in Embraceable You by Kat Henry Doran, and in The List by Veronica Lynch, Ready Betty rewrites the definition of the word bitch.

Beth is a mess in her own right and definitely deserves her own story arc blog here at Typos, but let's just say she hides her unhappiness behind bad dye jobs, too much plastic surgery and make-up better suited for a "working" girl. 

In Mad Dog and the Archangel by Doran, they play a big role in the beginning and briefly at the end, and the chief is pivotal to the plot and character arcs in Something Special. (We also see Web briefly when Andy comes in early and Web is finishing up paperwork from the nightshift.)

Writing the denouement of a character developing over the series was both a challenge and an honor. I had to make Richard's actions realistic in comparison to how others had portrayed him and to find a way to make Andy's investigation very personal.

By the time we reach their final confrontation, both have everything to lose.

Now it's your turn. If you've read the series--or written for it--stop in and share what you liked or disliked about Dickhead, the bully with a badge.