Meet Rebecca Grace, a.k.a. Becky Martinez.
She's a former broadcast journalist who has worked in TV newsrooms from San Diego to Seattle and from Denver to Los Angeles with a stop in Las Vegas for good measure. After 30 years she left the newsroom for five years in public relations before turning to the world of fiction writing full time. She also teaches writing classes online and has presented workshops at a number of writing conferences.
Her latest book, Blues at 11, is a humorous mystery, set in the world of a Los Angeles television journalist.
What happens when a well-known TV anchorwoman finds herself suspected of murder?
Her last book was Dead Man’s Rules, published by The Wild Rose Press and released in January 2014. It is the first of a three book series. She has also written three other romantic suspense novels, three romances and several short stories.
Take it away, Rebecca!
When I tell the story of working in television news my
stories always start with – “I had a lucky break because…” and end with “then everyone got fired, or at
least I did.”
Such can be the life when you work either as a reporter,
anchor or manager. Not everyone ends up in those circumstances—I’ve known quite
a few people who stayed in one place for decades, but it probably happens a lot
more than in other jobs. Many people move from job to job and from city to city
working in the fast paced world of television newsrooms.
Some of that quick changing mentality was what I used when I
wrote my new mystery, Blues at 11,
about my anchorwoman who is accused of being a murderer. I wanted to convey how quickly fortunes can
change in the news business. You’d think I wouldn’t have kept going back into
it, but I did, over four decades and at 7 different stations, two of which I
worked for twice.
Here’s a blurb for Blues
at 11:
Kimberly delaGarza is a familiar name and face to television
news viewers in Los Angeles. She anchors the 6 and 11pm news. But now she has
been accused of murder and everything is turning upside down. No one believes
she didn’t kill her cheating rat of an ex-boyfriend. Instead of wearing designer clothes, she may
end up wearing prison orange and her home may no longer be a beach front house,
but a cell in the Big House.
And the only person she can turn to for help is the man she
once dumped for the cheating rat.
Oops!
Here’s an excerpt:
“Someone needs
to find the killer,” I said. “What if he’s after me too? Think about
Hank waved an impatient hand. “From what I’ve
heard, she was driving too fast and may have been racing the other car.”
“She told me
she was careful.”
“You think
she’d tell the truth if she was racing? Look, I would appreciate it if you
hired a PI and left my dad out of this.”
“All you’re
worried about is looking bad for your mayor and rich people like the Brookings
family. I’m sure they’ll give you a nice contribution to your next campaign for
providing personal attention.”
“I am not
elected,” he said through gritted teeth.
“But you are
worried about your job and appearances. Isn’t that why you were making such a
big deal out of my ‘security arrangement’ with your dad?” It was my turn to
hold up the quote fingers.
The coldness
that grew in his eyes was like an approaching glacier. “Look, I know what's
happening. You’re doing your normal Kimberly crap.”
His harsh words
smacked into me like a slap of hard wind to my face. “My what?”
He unloaded on
me with the force of a blizzard. “You’re a pampered princess who is so damned
used to getting your own way that you can’t handle it when the real world
invades your private fantasy life! Well, it’s here, lady, and it’s real. But I
won’t stand by and let you hurt my father by getting him involved.”
Buy Links:
http://amzn.to/1G87Z5B Amazon
http://bit.ly/1yEZTMX BN.com
Find Rebecca on the Web
Twitter:
@RebeccaGrace55
Thanks for having me as a guest, Suz!
ReplyDeleteA Latino heroine!!! I'm so excited, I write Latino romance and am always happy to see more Latinos in fiction. Love your blurb, it's so snappy. Very nice, too, how you've used your background for the book.
ReplyDeleteWay to write what you know. Except the murder part. :) I never knew network news could be an up and down business. Best of luck with your latest release.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story! You've had an interesting life as well. Much luck to you.
ReplyDelete