We Found Surprising Similarities
A Lesson in Woo-Woo and Murder follows a professor/therapist who attends a Whole Life Expo and ends up in the middle of a murder mystery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
In the 80’s I attended some Whole Life Expositions and thought they would make a timely backdrop for a mystery since nowadays there’s more and more credibility given to unconventional beliefs and alternative medicine. It’s a world I knew little about. Populated with Tarot card readers, mediums, chakra balances, aura readers and other more fringe practitioners of the healing arts, I thought it would be fun to tap into their expertise to solve the mystery.
Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why
Since my main character shares my name, I do relate to him pretty well, although I do have my moments. I also enjoyed Madame Vadama who read Tarot cards and had an uncanny ability to see into the future – she intrigued me. As we got to know each other better we found surprising similarities in her work as a foreseer and mine as a therapist.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
I am a pantster, which means I write as I go along. I don’t plan ahead or work with an outline. Stephen King, Mark Twain and Raymond Chandler wrote some of their books by the seat of their pants as well. As a result, the books are as much a mystery to me as they are to the reader. I follow the characters and whatever shocking twist developments they run into are the next step in the mystery. I don’t pr-plan plot twists, but being a mystery writer, I know they will pop up and, lo and behold, they always do.
What is the next book in the Lesson’s series that you are working on, and when will it be available?
A Lesson in Dogs and Murder, which takes place at the Beverly Hills Kennel Club Dog Show, will be debuting at the end of the year. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but while the dogs all make it out alive not all the attendees do.
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David’s chakras are stimulated and he takes a skeptical step into the unknown when he’s asked for support at the Santa Monica Whole Life Expo – bad juju is coming, and positive therapeutic auras are required.
Murder soon spoils the cosmic karma, and with the posse on hand to spice up the mystic mix, David’s sleuthing leads him to places he’s never been before, and most likely won’t return to.
But David is distracted – Nova, the Love Doctor, puts the “oo” in his personal woo-woo, and when a psychic foretells of romance in his future, he all but enters a different dimension.
David’s special brand of voodoo-therapy-magic has never been more at home, but can he overcome his super Nova distraction for long enough to unmask the killer before anyone else gets hurt?
Posted on April 21, 2023, in Interviews and tagged A Lesson in Woo-Woo and Murder, author, author interview, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, crime fiction, crime thriller, David Unger PhD, ebook, fiction, goodreads, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, murder mystery, mystery, nook, novel, read, reader, reading, story, suspense, thriller, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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