Character Interview: Nick Palzetti from The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé

I invited my friend Diane Burton back to Creative Hodgepodge. Unfortunately, Diane is busy promoting her newest release, The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé, so she sent Nick Palzetti to talk with us. He is Alex O’Hara’s main squeeze, so you’ll find him in all her stories.

Welcome, Nick. Please introduce yourself for those who haven’t met you in your author’s other books.

Nick Palzetti. I work in DC, but I came home to Far Haven, Michigan last fall when Lexie—I mean, Alex—got in over her head on a case. I’d never tell her that. She’s very capable, but she didn’t know what or who she was dealing with. My boss ordered me to mislead her.

How did that go over once she knew?

She threw me out. Can’t say I blame her. I never lied to her, just didn’t tell her the truth. She didn’t see it that way.

Tell us about your family. 

Typical Midwest, Italian. Only child. Mama doted, Pop kept me on the straight-and-narrow.

How did your upbringing influence who you are today?

Pop and Alex’s father—collectively known as The Pops—owned an investigation agency. Mama and Alex’s mother managed the business. They brought us to work from the time we were babies. I learned the ethics of hard work, fair play, and justice. And the importance of family.

What was your first thought when you met Alex? 

I never really “met” her. Since our families were so close, she was always around. She was my kid sister . . . until she grew up. I must have looked at her a certain way because The Pops sat me down and explained the facts of life. Not those facts. The ones that meant she was hands-off and the consequences (don’t ask) if I tried anything with her. See, I had this reputation back in high school of playing the field. Besides, she was jailbait.

Why did you fall for him/her?

She’s beautiful, even though she doesn’t think she is. Gorgeous red hair, eyes as blue as Lake Michigan, long legs. Well, at 5’10” what do you expect? That all sounds superficial, doesn’t it? She’s earnest, hard-working, and married to the agency. When The Pops retired, they turned the business over to her, and she’s been trying ever since to prove she’s worthy. Not that she needs to. She’s an excellent investigator. She just needs to take it easy, have fun once in a while.

Why did you choose your occupation?

*eyes harden* What do you know about my occupation? I’m a pencil-pusher (Alex’s words) for the State Department.

Hang on. I heard you worked for some super-secret government agency that doesn’t exist.

You heard wrong. Next question.

O-kay. *blows out a breath* What is the biggest hurdle you had to overcome?

Lexie taking me seriously. I hurt her once. When she was fifteen, she threw herself at me. Eighteen-year-old boys aren’t known for their tact. I’d only thought about what The Pops threatened to do to certain appendages that I wanted to keep. Turning her down wasn’t my finest hour. Unfortunately, she’s got a memory that doesn’t quit. I had to convince her that I wanted her, that I loved her. I succeeded until I disappeared for almost three months. I’m not sure she will ever trust me again.

How would you spend a free day?

With Alex. She works too hard so I want to get her to lighten up. In winter, we’d got to the park and build a snowman, make snow angels, and have a snowball fight. In the summer, we’d go sailing. That’s the one thing I miss about living in DC. If I’m going to stick around, I’ll have to get that sailboat I’ve always wanted.

Where do you think your relationship with Alex is going?

I wish I knew. I want to marry her and make babies. She’s not so sure. I’ll have to bide my time while she builds the agency and learns to trust me.

Thanks for your candor, Nick. I hope you and Alex find a way to stay together.

From your lips to God’s ear. Listen, I gotta go.

Blurb

She’s at it again. Alex O’Hara just can’t say no to a new investigation. What do a 45-year-old boyfriend, a deadbeat dad, and a teenage runaway have in common? All new cases. With no receptionist, phone and internet problems, and her own boyfriend in the wind, Alex has no idea how she’ll manage. But the question for the past three months is why did Nick disappear. Is this the end of O’Hara & Palzetti?

Excerpt

“Hello, gorgeous.”

My heart stopped. My lungs seized. My hand hovered over the yellow legal pad. Thank God, it didn’t shake. My hand, not the pad.

I wasn’t going to give Nick Palzetti the reaction he expected. I would be cool, confident, self-assured. As if his presence in my office were nothing unusual. As if he waltzed through locked doors every day to lounge casually against the mahogany door frame. As if he hadn’t strolled out of my life two months, two weeks, and one day ago. I wasn’t counting, mind you.

He’d called me ‘gorgeous’ in that husky baritone before he left, too. Hadn’t meant a thing then and didn’t mean a thing now. He probably expected me to yell at him. Wasn’t going to do it. Nope. Wasn’t going to ask him where he’d been. As if it didn’t matter to me. I would say ‘Hiya, Nick, How’s it hanging? C’mon in. Take a load off.’ As soon as I could speak again.

My brain finally told my lungs to breathe. Bad form to fall at his feet. With my luck, I’d slip off my chair and whack my chin on the desk, which would require twenty stitches and orthodontics. Been there, done that. Have the scar to prove it.

Be cool. Don’t show any emotion. Don’t let him know what his disappearance meant.

“How the hell did you get in?” someone yelled. I guess it was me since Nick’s mouth didn’t move, and the office was deserted. I slammed my fist on the desk. “Where the hell have you been?”

The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble.

Author Info:

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and The Case of the Bygone Brother, a PI mystery. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Connect with Diane Burton online on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Sign up for Diane’s new release alert HERE.

New Release and Review: Bringing in the Thieves by Lora Lee

I am so pleased to host my good friend Lora Lee, as she begins a blog tour for her latest book, a cozy mystery called Bringing in the Thieves. I had the pleasure of reading this book when it first released, and I’m so glad I did! I’ll let Lora tell you about how she came up with the story, and then I’ll share my thoughts.

         The truth is I never intended to write a cozy mystery. Honest! I had three contemporary romances published and figured I would stick with that genre. I loved writing romances. Loved reading them, too. But one day in a flurry of free-writing, trying to fill my creativity well when I’d hit a brick wall with a current romance project, a character developed along with a story that wasn’t a romance.  Where in the world did that come from? And what should I do with it? The story flowed easily from my imagination as I played with it. No pressure, no deadline – just writing for fun. I had no plans for the project because it didn’t fit the market I was targeting. But the characters stuck in my mind, so one day I showed it to my critique group. They agreed it wasn’t a romance but told me it sounded like a fit for the cozy mystery genre. That’s all it took to jump start the Joyful Noise Mysteries.

Next thing I knew, Frankie Lou Birmingham McMasters became a preacher’s daughter with a tarnished reputation. One mistake led her to the altar with Ruby Springs’ bad boy while her daddy kept one hand on the shotgun leaning against the pulpit and the other on his Bible as the bride and groom repeated their wedding vows. Protesting was never an option for the couple. Now, Ruby Springs, Texas, had a whole new topic of gossip. The story took off from there and well, it ended with a published cozy mystery, BRINGING IN THE THIEVES, and possible future books, thanks to Bell Bridge Books.

Now, here I am traveling the cyber-highway on a month-long blog tour. If you’d like to learn more about the characters in the Joyful Noise Mysteries—and believe me, there are some quirky ones in Ruby Springs—come along and follow the blog tour. Oh, there’s a nifty giveaway you’ll have the opportunity to win - a $25 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of BRINGING IN THE THIEVES. Don’t miss out on the fun! A little joyful reading will get you through the long winter days. 

Lora Lee

Blurb for Bringing in the Thieves:

Minister’s daughter Frankie Lou McMasters has come back to Ruby Springs, Texas with her daughter, Betsy, eleven years after running off to marry the town bad boy. Her mild notoriety as a bad girl is prime gossip for her childhood enemy, Poppy Fremont, now choir director of Faith Community Church–where Frankie Lou’s daddy, now retired to Florida, was the preacher.

When Frankie Lou comes to the deacons with a request to add a youth choir of at-risk teens she’s been coaching, Poppy throws a fit. A few hours later, Frankie Lou finds her dead in the baptistery pool. And Poppy’s not playing possum.

Frankie Lou sets out to clear her name as the main suspect, and tries to locate the real killer. Could he be sexy Joe Camps, the father of one of her teen singers? In the meantime, her momma shows up from Florida to take charge of Frankie Lou’s life. Bless her heart.

My Thoughts:

Frankie Lou is a struggling single mom, but she's got a truckload of Texas grit. In spite of her own challenges she plans to form a new chorus of young singers from the "wrong" side of town. Having worked with choirs, both at school and at church, I had to sympathize with her right there. But she's hindered by the big-haired, over-accessorized, Mary Kay pink- wearing choir director, who's been an adversary since Frankie's high school days. When the choir director turns up dead, Frankie's already chaotic life gets even more frenzied. Now she's got to prove her innocence. This is a great intro to the series, and I can't wait to read more. I loved reading about all the characters and their antics. The kids in the choir were especially endearing to me, and I hope to learn more about them in the next installment!

Lora Lee’s Bio:

Though author Lora Lee insists the series isn’t about her in any way, shape or form, she does admit to being a real-life P.K. (that’s preacher’s kid, in case you didn’t know.) She was born in Texas and her Southern blood runs deep. Her daddy told her any place below the Mason-Dixon line was part of the South, including the Lone Star State.

Since living in West Michigan most of her married life, she’s lost some of her Texas twang, but once in awhile, a might could and a y’all or two slips into her conversation with her critique partners. They love her, anyway. So does her husband of fifty-plus years and their children. With a current family count of twenty-three, get-togethers often resemble an old time revival when they all gather for fun and food.

Lora Lee is a member of Romance Writer’s of America, Mid-Michigan RWA, Sisters-in-Crime, RWA’s specialty chapter Kiss of Death and is currently published in contemporary romance. She is also a proud graduate of the Grand Rapids Citizens Police Academy.

When not writing or trying to keep up with her ever-growing family, she enjoys reading, music and travel.

Bringing in the Thieves is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other ebook outlets.

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