Title: Do Wah Diddy Die
Author: Pauline Baird Jones
Genre: Romantic Comedy Suspense
Book Blurb:
Romantic Comedy Suspense from USA Today Bestselling Author Pauline Baird Jones
Immerse yourself in the lively undercurrents of The Big Easy with Do Wah Diddy Die, a riveting romantic suspense novel filled with humor, mystery, and a vibrant ensemble of characters by acclaimed author Pauline Baird Jones.
Luci Seymour, a free spirit on a quest for answers, returns home to her unconventional family for a rare event - a wedding. But this isn't just a reunion; Luci hopes it's an opportunity to unravel her family's best-kept secret - the true identity of her father. But with her enigmatic aunts pledged to silence, the truth seems tantalizingly out of reach.
Enter Mickey Ross, a by-the-book New Orleans detective known for his predictability. Tasked with picking up his future in-law from the airport, he didn't anticipate the hailstorm of bullets targeting his intriguing passenger, Luci.
Suddenly, Mickey finds himself entwined in a race against time with Luci to trace the origin of the attack. As they delve deeper, they discover that Luci's concealed past may be the key to understanding why they're in the crosshairs. But the road to the truth is fraught with danger, and every revelation could lead to their undoing...
Do Wah Diddy Die is an exhilarating journey through the heart of New Orleans. If you're drawn to heart-stopping mysteries, colorful characters, and the pulsating rhythm of Louisiana's beloved city, then you'll be captivated by Pauline Baird Jones' tale of love, laughter, and lethal intrigue.
Purchase Do Wah Diddy Die today and get swept away by this fast-paced, fun-filled romp through The Big Easy!
Excerpt:
Luci studied the smile, recognized the confidence and the intent behind it. She’d met smiles like this one. Smiles that were confident of their charm. Smiles that expected weak knees and a cessation of rational thought. It was fortunate she had a built-in immune system to charming smiles and didn’t ever do rational thought. It went with being a Seymour, though her knees, just for a moment, signaled a willingness to depart from the norm. She reminded herself she was the result of a departure from the norm and said, “That’s my pig.”
This deviation from the opening pass widened his admittedly wonderful blue eyes and erased the smile. Luci took a moment to admire those eyes while the struggle to understand played in them.
“Your—pig?” he managed.
His voice was also wonderful, despite a certain strangled quality. Husky, it had a nice mix of bass and baritone. Confusion gave him a little boy aura to which even a Seymour couldn’t be immune. Perhaps it was a side effect of her non-Seymour parentage. According to her mother—when her mother could be persuaded to talk about Luci’s paternity—there were several annoying things she’d picked up from her father. It was, in fact, a moment of rare, though limited, openness about that paternity that had prompted her visit to New Orleans. The wedding was the perfect excuse, since she wasn’t ready to admit to her family that she was father hunting.
The telegram from Boudreaux, her aunts’ handyman, had provided assurance that they did understand she was coming, but no surprise it had been sparse on details, which explained the pig. Only her aunts would have kept it, remembered it and produced it in lieu of identification. She studied it with remembered fondness, noted the tightening ribbon, and looked up to tell him, “You’re choking it.”
Mickey gave this comment the lack of attention it deserved. “I don’t think—”
Her straight brows rose in surprise. “Then it’s time you started.”
“But—” He shook his head, trying to punch through tired to comprehension. “This can’t be your pig. You’re not a little girl!”
“I used to be. But I grew up.”
Her punctuating smile invited him to move on. The slow widening of her straight red mouth launched a feeling not unlike the plunge of a roller coaster. He wanted to move on. He did, but—
“Your aunts—” Mickey tried again, faint but pursuing.
“—probably liked the way the pig looked with your gun.”
He clapped his hand over his weapon. “I’m a cop.”
Luci had already figured that out, but she attempted to look enlightened. It wouldn’t do to drive him to violence when he had the hardware to do something about it. She smiled. “A cop. Who’s not afraid to pack a pig. I like that.” She held out her hand. “I promise I am Luci Seymour.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
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Author Store eBook: https://payhip.com/b/z1iv
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Retailers:
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/do-wah-diddy-die-pauline-baird-jones/1100389238?ean=9781942583226
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What’s your favorite thing about autumn:
I am not a person who likes the heat, so I feel like my spirit re-enters my body when the first crisp and cool air creeps in and makes me put on a sweater.
What inspired you to write this story:
A long time ago, in another century (no, really, it was another century), an author (me) finished a book called The Spy Who Kissed Me– though she called it PIG IN A PARK back then) and got an agent who wanted her to write something easier to sell to Big Publishing.
She asked me to write a book that was a) more commercial and b) had the potential to be a series.
Needless to say, I failed miserably.
But Do Wah Diddy Die was about me trying.
So I guess you could say I started the book for commercial gain. I set it in New Orleans because it was a fun location. It was a mystery/sort of romance. It had quirky characters and lots of potential for ongoing mayhem.
And the first draft read like a movie script and not a novel.
Yeah.
So, I learned how to write movie scripts and made it into an actual movie script. Back then it was called I LOVE LUCI – WHEN I DON’T WANT TO KILL HER. (The Desilu Corp made me stop using it, so I renamed it Do Wah Diddy Die.) It won some script awards, got optioned and almost became a real movie.
Life happens.
But a funny thing happened on the way to writing this novel.
I lost my agent. (It really is kind of a funny story—in a dark and twisted way.) So I didn’t have to write it for her.
I rediscovered the joy of not writing for the market. And, oddly enough, working on the script helped the book become an actual novel and not a sort of novelized movie script, trying-to-please-my-agent book.
It was very, um, Zen. Yeah, Zen. Like totally, man.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs September 1 – 30
Drawing will be held on October 2.
Author Biography:
USA Today Bestselling Author, Pauline never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://paulinebjones.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulinebjones
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/perilouspauline/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinebairdjones/