Interview with mystery author Dan Padavona

Today’s special guest is mystery author Dan Padavona to chat with me about his new thriller, Grave Girl.

During his virtual book tour, Dan will be giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Dan Padavona is the author of The Wolf Lake series, The Logan and Scarlett series, Darkwater Cove, The Scarlett Bell thriller series, and The Thomas Shepherd Mysteries. Many of his novels rank in the top-10 in Amazon’s thriller and mystery categories. He is a husband, a parent, and proud member of the International Thriller Writers Organization.

When he’s not writing, Dan enjoys photography, biking, weightlifting, and storm chasing. Dan has videotaped tornadoes from New York to Oklahoma and Texas and was nearly swept up by a strong twister outside Sweetwater, Texas. A self-proclaimed ice cream and gelato lover, Dan admits to spending too much time in the gym, compensating for his questionable nutritional decisions.

Welcome, Dan. Please tell us about your current release.
Grave Girl is the first book in the new Thomas Shepherd mystery series, but truly it’s the continuation of the bestselling Wolf Lake thriller series. However, the series stands on its own. Reading Wolf Lake first is not required.

The story revolves around Thomas Shepherd, the sheriff of Nightshade County in the Finger Lakes of NY. Thomas overcame Asperger’s syndrome and rose to the highest level of law enforcement before he was shot in the line of duty with the LAPD.

In Grave Girl, a college girl vanishes, leading Thomas to believe her boyfriend, a star athlete with a future NFL career awaiting him, is responsible for her disappearance.

What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to bring the Wolf Lake characters and stories to more readers. While I could have continued the series, I believed it was time to begin a new series and give the characters a kickstart. The plot is loosely based on a true crime mystery I came across.

Excerpt from Grave Girl:
He waited until the woman’s Honda Civic rounded the bend and disappeared down the road. Behind a stand of trees, he remained hidden and formless, an invisible predator.

The day hadn’t gone as planned. McKenzie had torn up his note and slid it into the hallway. He needed that money. Without her username and password, his only choice was to put her up for ransom, and that would increase the risk of getting caught.

A downstairs light shone inside the sheriff’s A-frame, but nobody was home. Nobody except a cat and that damn beast of a dog. More lights illuminated the guest house along the lake. There was movement inside, though the drawn curtains made it difficult to tell who it was. He stepped toward the side window, crouching low so his shadow didn’t pass over the glass and forewarn the tiny house’s occupant. His hand moved to the gun in his pocket.

Without making a sound, he rose and stood beside the window, one eye peering through the opening between the curtain and the sill. Oh, how he hoped it was LeVar Hopkins, now a sheriff’s deputy. A bullet to the head would take LeVar out of this world.

A chair swung around, and the man edged away from the glass, hoping no one had spotted him. He slid along the wall and looked again through the opening. Right in front of him, a teenage girl with a brunette ponytail filled a glass at the sink. Where was LeVar, and why was this girl inside his house?

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m currently finishing edits on The Killer Inside, a tense serial killer thriller in the Logan and Scarlett FBI series. This book is scheduled for release on December 1, 2022.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
While I wrote short stories during high school and college, I didn’t consider myself a true writer until 2014, when I wrote my first novel.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I’m blessed to write full time. The Darkwater Cove and Wolf Lake thrillers brought me more success than I dreamed possible. I’m thankful to my readers for making my writing dreams come true.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Before I write, I set a 30-minute timer and race to get as much of the story out of me as possible, while keeping my prose intact. I repeat the process two more times for a total of 90 minutes. Most writers would continue this too hectic, but it works for me.

Also, I write and edit in the same day, which is unusual in this industry. I stole the technique from a Dean Koontz interview, and it has made writing so much more fun. When I put a chapter to rest at the end of the day, those words are in final manuscript form and ready for my editor. It’s liberating not needing to write multiple drafts afterward.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to chase tornadoes, and I did as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. I’ve since retired and decided that chasing tornadoes is a bit too dangerous, lol.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Thank you for taking the time to check out my books. Just a few years ago, I never would have believed so many people would read my stories.

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Buy Link

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