Death By Association follows a woman living in a small resort village who tries to solve a murder mystery that all started with a scandal in the HOA. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Let’s be honest: HOA Boards tend to attract the power-hungry and bored, always a dangerous combination. HOAs also wield a surprising amount of genuine legal power. When you mix that power with a few individuals who have too much time, nothing better to do, and a taste for snooping on their neighbors, you get a hot mess. Hating the HOA is a universal, shared human experience, and it’s surprising more meetings don’t end in open murder! The inspiration for the book came directly from an internal fracas at the homeowners association in my own neighborhood, which was precipitated by a series of vicious letters and emails. Nobody died, of course, but it felt like it might easily have come to that.

Desert Pines seems like the perfect place to go when you want to just escape the fast-paced life. Was there a reason why you chose this location as the backdrop for your story?

The city of Desert Pines is based loosely on the small resort town of Sunriver, Oregon. I spent most of my summers there growing up and still try to get out there several times a year. The nice thing about a Resort setting is that there is great fuel for the imagination and even better sources of material. Some of the population is settled, but much of it is transient, providing a great opportunity for steady characters and new faces alike. I’m also fascinated by the idea that human drama will happen wherever there are humans. Crime and heartbreak aren’t confined to the big city, and the most interesting dramas can play out in the smallest of settings

Is there anything about Jane that came from yourself or your life experiences?

Jane often speaks with my voice, but I have also enjoyed giving her opinions and feelings that I don’t share as well. Writing is a very cathartic exercise, a perfect way to inhabit personalities, emotions, and thoughts that are much different from your own. Jane shares my sense of the ridiculous, for sure, but I’m much less reserved than she is.

What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?

The next book in the series, called Rapid Death, continues the adventures of Jane, Joe, and Howard and was released in July of 2023. The third book in the series, Death Benefit, will be released in early summer of 2024.

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