Please welcome Dixie Lyle to The Qwillery. To Die Fur, the 2nd novel in the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery series will be published on August 26th. Haven't started the series? You can get a digital copy of A Taste Fur Murder at a bargain price.
TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery! What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Dixie: Coming up with clever answers to interview questions. No, really. That, and trying to figure out something original to write in any book I’m autographing. I need lead time, dammit!
TQ: Are you a plotter or a panster?
Dixie: My DNA runs strongly to plotter, but as I age I’m leaning more towards pantser. The longer I do this the more comfortable I am trusting my instincts. Plus, the more experience I gain the more I have to draw on as far as plotting on the fly goes. Wait, is “plotting on the fly” plotting or pantsing? Actually, it sounds kind of obscene. Hey, this microphone isn’t still on, is it?
TQ: To Die Fur is your second Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery. What inspired you to write mysteries with paranormal/supernatural elements?
Dixie: I love all the possibilities that open up in a magical world. It’s also a challenge, to get a mystery to work when the rules aren’t as clear-cut.
TQ: Do you base your paranormal/supernatural elements on existing lore, make things up or both?
Dixie: Both. I do a lot of research on various mythologies, but then I put my own spin on things. The “Rainbow Bridge” mythology was one that struck me as ideal for exploring in a fictional way; it’s very much a modern story, but it has its roots in the past. Animal afterlives, and their accompanying gods, seemed like a natural—okay, a supernatural—fit for a paranormal cozy.
TQ: What sorts of research have you done for the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mysteries? What is the oddest bit of information that you’ve come across in your research?
Dixie: Lots of research on animals, of course. But no animal testing—unless you count the time I got drunk with that dog. But that was an accident.
Anyway, there are many, many weird facts to be gleaned about the animal kingdom, like there are wild dogs in Moscow that have learned to commute using the automated subway system; they live on the outskirts but travel downtown where the scavenging is better. The platypus has poisonous spurs on its hind legs. The oldest living animal was a clam four hundred and five years old.
TQ: Tell us something about To Die Fur that is not in the book description.
Dixie: You get to meet some of the gods of the animal afterlives. They are both scary and wacky.
TQ: In the series so far who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Dixie: The easiest to write tend to be Whisky and Tango, because they both have such strong personas and distinctive voices. I probably found Augustus, the white liger, the hardest to write in this book, because he starts out being one thing and then becomes another.
TQ: Which character in the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mysteries has surprised you the most?
Dixie: Oscar, I think. He started out being sort of a one-note and very quickly became a lot of fun. He’s shifty and conniving, but also has a great deal of style and his own code of honor. Plus, he never met a cocktail he didn’t like.
TQ: What's next?
Dixie: I’m hard at work developing a webcomic called CROSSOVER with comics legend Deni Loubert. Oh, and the kindle edition of the first book in the WTF series, A TASTE FUR MURDER, is on sale for a measly three bucks for the month of August: Here’s the link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Murder-Whiskey-Foxtrot-Mystery/dp/1250031079 and Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-taste-fur-murder-dixie-lyle/1116531726?ean=9781250031075
I should also mention something for all you DD Barant (another name I write under) fans who want more BLOODHOUND FILES: I have a project in the works. It’s not a novel, or a movie or a tv show. It will, however, need someone to play Jace. Anyone out there think they bear a resemblance to a certain snarky, coffee-loving, kickass FBI agent? Stay tuned to ddbarant.com for more details.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Dixie: Thank you for having me! Er, us.
Dixie: Coming up with clever answers to interview questions. No, really. That, and trying to figure out something original to write in any book I’m autographing. I need lead time, dammit!
TQ: Are you a plotter or a panster?
Dixie: My DNA runs strongly to plotter, but as I age I’m leaning more towards pantser. The longer I do this the more comfortable I am trusting my instincts. Plus, the more experience I gain the more I have to draw on as far as plotting on the fly goes. Wait, is “plotting on the fly” plotting or pantsing? Actually, it sounds kind of obscene. Hey, this microphone isn’t still on, is it?
TQ: To Die Fur is your second Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery. What inspired you to write mysteries with paranormal/supernatural elements?
Dixie: I love all the possibilities that open up in a magical world. It’s also a challenge, to get a mystery to work when the rules aren’t as clear-cut.
TQ: Do you base your paranormal/supernatural elements on existing lore, make things up or both?
Dixie: Both. I do a lot of research on various mythologies, but then I put my own spin on things. The “Rainbow Bridge” mythology was one that struck me as ideal for exploring in a fictional way; it’s very much a modern story, but it has its roots in the past. Animal afterlives, and their accompanying gods, seemed like a natural—okay, a supernatural—fit for a paranormal cozy.
TQ: What sorts of research have you done for the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mysteries? What is the oddest bit of information that you’ve come across in your research?
Dixie: Lots of research on animals, of course. But no animal testing—unless you count the time I got drunk with that dog. But that was an accident.
Anyway, there are many, many weird facts to be gleaned about the animal kingdom, like there are wild dogs in Moscow that have learned to commute using the automated subway system; they live on the outskirts but travel downtown where the scavenging is better. The platypus has poisonous spurs on its hind legs. The oldest living animal was a clam four hundred and five years old.
TQ: Tell us something about To Die Fur that is not in the book description.
Dixie: You get to meet some of the gods of the animal afterlives. They are both scary and wacky.
TQ: In the series so far who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Dixie: The easiest to write tend to be Whisky and Tango, because they both have such strong personas and distinctive voices. I probably found Augustus, the white liger, the hardest to write in this book, because he starts out being one thing and then becomes another.
TQ: Which character in the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mysteries has surprised you the most?
Dixie: Oscar, I think. He started out being sort of a one-note and very quickly became a lot of fun. He’s shifty and conniving, but also has a great deal of style and his own code of honor. Plus, he never met a cocktail he didn’t like.
TQ: What's next?
Dixie: I’m hard at work developing a webcomic called CROSSOVER with comics legend Deni Loubert. Oh, and the kindle edition of the first book in the WTF series, A TASTE FUR MURDER, is on sale for a measly three bucks for the month of August: Here’s the link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Murder-Whiskey-Foxtrot-Mystery/dp/1250031079 and Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-taste-fur-murder-dixie-lyle/1116531726?ean=9781250031075
I should also mention something for all you DD Barant (another name I write under) fans who want more BLOODHOUND FILES: I have a project in the works. It’s not a novel, or a movie or a tv show. It will, however, need someone to play Jace. Anyone out there think they bear a resemblance to a certain snarky, coffee-loving, kickass FBI agent? Stay tuned to ddbarant.com for more details.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Dixie: Thank you for having me! Er, us.
A Taste Fur Murder
A Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery 1
St. Martin's Paperbacks, February 25, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
A Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery 1
St. Martin's Paperbacks, February 25, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Introducing an animal-loving Gal Friday with a telepathic cat, a shapeshifting dog, and a ghost of a chance of solving supernatural crime…
Meet Deirdre “Foxtrot” Lancaster. Trusted employee of eccentric zillionairess Zelda Zoransky, Foxtrot manages a mansion, a private zoo, and anything else that strikes her boss’s fancy. Her job title is Administrative Assistant, but chaos handler would be more accurate. Especially after she glimpses a giant ghost-beast in Zelda’s pet cemetery. For some strange reason, Foxtrot is seeing animal spirits. And, ready or not, in this mystery from Dixie Lyle, the fur’s about to hit the fan…
A TASTE FUR MURDER
Still reeling, Foxtrot comes home to find her cat Tango—her dead cat Tango—alive and well and communicating telepathically. But that’s not all: There’s an ectoplasmic dog named Tiny who changes breeds with a shake of his tail…and can sniff out a clue like nobody’s business. So when a coworker drops dead while organizing closets, Tiny is on the case. Can Foxtrot and her new companions ferret out the killer among a menagerie of suspects—human and otherwise—before death takes another bite?
The eBook is $2.99 at these locations -
To Die Fur
A Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery 2
St. Martin's Paperbacks, August 26, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
A Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot Mystery 2
St. Martin's Paperbacks, August 26, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Deirdre "Foxtrot" Lancaster is back. With trusted companions Whiskey and Tango, she’s on the prowl for a brand-new predator…
Deirdre has her hands full, as usual. Working as a Jill-of-all-trades for a zany billionaire like Zelda Zoransky means the daily grind is closer to a juggling act, and this week is no exception—especially when her side job is directing spiritual traffic in Zelda’s pet cemetery. With ZZ hosting a party for some of the world’s wealthiest animal collectors and a rare albino liger named Augustus in residence at the private zoo, Foxtrot is ready for trouble to take a big bite out of her schedule…
TO DIE FUR
She doesn’t have to wait long. The half-ton big cat is dead, and there’s a houseful of colorful suspects, each one wackier than the next. But if they were all bidding to buy him, who would want Augustus dead? With the help of Tango’s feline telepathy and Whiskey the canine shapeshifter, Foxtrot learns that there’s much more to Augustus than meets the eye. Now they just have to sniff out a killer before any more fur flies…
The Blood Hound Files by DD Barant
(click the novels to go to DD Barant's site and learn more)
About Dixie
Dixie Lyle loves animals, mysteries, books, reading, words, bad puns (are there any other kind?) and once had a torrid summer romance with an entire library. Did I mention the books? Oh, and definitely doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Nope, not me. Hey, what was that sound? Where’s that spooky green glow coming from? Oh, hello, didn’t see you standing there in the corner, what with you being all see-through and everything. Want a cup of tea? Moan once for yes, twice for no.
Allegations that Dixie Lyle has a goofy sense of humor are entirely unfounded, and should be forwarded to the unfounded and unlost department.
Goodreads
Dixie Lyle loves animals, mysteries, books, reading, words, bad puns (are there any other kind?) and once had a torrid summer romance with an entire library. Did I mention the books? Oh, and definitely doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Nope, not me. Hey, what was that sound? Where’s that spooky green glow coming from? Oh, hello, didn’t see you standing there in the corner, what with you being all see-through and everything. Want a cup of tea? Moan once for yes, twice for no.
Allegations that Dixie Lyle has a goofy sense of humor are entirely unfounded, and should be forwarded to the unfounded and unlost department.
Goodreads
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