Hey y'all! I'm so excited to finally have Diane Majeske, author of Death on Deadline, with us this week! Today we have a wonderful guest post, and tomorrow, Diane is answering some of my crazy questions for your reading enjoyment :-)...
If you haven't read my review of Death on Deadline, you can check that out HERE.
Without further ado, a little "behind-the-scenes" of Death on Deadline....
The original starving artists
By: Diane Majeske
When I first wrote Death on Deadline, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, so I sent it off to a couple of my reporter friends.
It was, after all, a murder mystery that took place in a newsroom, and the main character was a reporter. I thought they might get a kick out of it. They did. In fact, most of them thought I’d based the main character – or at least one of the characters – on them.
Regrettably, I had to tell them I didn’t. I made everybody up. Oh, sure, I took a lot of the characters and much of the color from my own experiences as a reporter, but there is no real America Miles. And luckily, there is no dastardly Harrison Fielding, either.
Then how did I come up with the idea of a reporter getting involved in solving the murder of her editor, a killing that just might be pinned on her best friend and the paper’s food editor?
Here’s how:
It all started when I was a reporter and I came back from an assignment one afternoon. It had been a particularly busy day, and I hadn’t had time for lunch. That wasn’t unusual. Reporters and photographers at newspapers take interviews when they can get them – if you miss lunch, you miss lunch. But later, you’re starving.
That day, I noticed a gaggle of reporters around a side table, wolfing down slices of zucchini bread. I set down my notebook and ran over to grab a slice before it was gone. I was starving, and it was delicious. I had never been so happy to see zucchini bread in all my life.
“Who made this?” I said, delirious with delight. “It’s sooo good!!” I sliced myself another piece. Everyone shrugged. I stopped chewing.
“Nobody knows who made this?” I suddenly felt uneasy. But I was apparently the only one. My co-workers, their hunger appeased, were leaving the table. The bread was gone. And I suddenly realized that if somebody wanted to knock off a group of reporters or photographers, well, here was a possible avenue.
Reporters are the original starving artists. They’re on the go all day. They don’t make a lot of money. And sometimes, they uncover things that unscrupulous types would rather keep covered up. Now, luckily, today’s newsrooms have a lot more security. Unluckily, with all the job cuts lately, there are a lot fewer reporters in them.
But it gave me the seed of an idea that blossomed into my first novel. And hopefully, a follow-up, Dead Time, featuring the further adventures of America Miles, soon will be on its way.
I, personally, cannot wait for Dead Time! I love America and her adventures!
Be sure to come back tomorrow to check out my in-depth (haha) interview with Diane! See you there!
