Diane combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and five grandchildren.
"Hi, Diana. Thanks for having me on your blog today. Finishing a new book is exciting. Finishing a book that started fifteen years ago is a wonder. LOL When you suggested a character interview, I thought about the ones I usually see on other blogs and wondered if I could do something different. My friends Nancy Gideon and Dana Nussio developed lists of rapid fire questions to get to know an author better. I thought it would be cool to ask Maggie, the main character in Numbers Never Lie those questions. I hope your readers get to know her better."
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About NUMBERS NEVER LIE
A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie.
As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack's an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Upon returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother Jack’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse.
Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that--an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong.
A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack do that puts Maggie in danger?
Excerpt
“What do you mean no toilets?” Drew Campbell stopped on the dusty forest path, hooked his sunglasses on the placket of his golf shirt, and stared at his daughter.
“Dad-dy.” Ellen groaned. Was she only fourteen? She did exasperation better than his administrative assistant. “I told you we were camping.”
Not for a moment would Drew reveal that camping was not what he remembered her saying a week ago. She said she wanted him to come along on an outing with her little group of friends. He figured a hike, picnic lunch, and then home in time for supper.
After taking a call on his cell in the parking lot near the trailhead, he’d gotten his first surprise. That’s when he found out about the “no electronics rule.” No cell phones, no iPods. All were locked in the vehicles. Only the leader carried a cell phone, for emergencies only.
His second surprise came when he opened the hatch of the Navigator. Five backpacks. Five backpacks with bedrolls. He’d transported four girls. It didn’t take a law degree to figure out who the fifth backpack was for. He was in deep shit. But what could he say in front of Ellen and her friends?
“Of course, sweetie. I knew we were camping.” A lie to save face wasn’t wrong. Right?
“Yeah, sure, Dad.”
She didn’t believe him? What happened to the adulation that used to be in her eyes? The “Dad is perfect” look.
He tried again. “Camping, like KOA. You know, kiddo, shower buildings, restrooms, flush toilets.
Right now, I’d settle for a port-a-potty.”
Ellen groaned again. “Da-ad.”
If he didn’t know better, he’d wonder if she had a stomach ache.
As he’d done several times in the past three hours, he took out his handkerchief, looked at it in disgust, and tried to find a clean spot. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was hot and sticky, more like August in Michigan than June. Drew intensely disliked sweating. Clean sweat—in a gym—was all right. Not this . . . dirt. More than sweaty, he hated being dirty.
Considering the rain in early spring, he was surprised at how dry the path was. And how much dust twenty feet could kick up on a forest path. That, however, was not his first concern. He needed a john. Bad.
“C’mon, Ellen. Isn’t there a restroom nearby?” he asked quietly. “Even an outhouse?”
“Dad, this is Prim.” Ellen had mastered the art of eye rolling. As he’d learned in the past few months, that innate skill emerged in girls during adolescence.
“Prim? What is that?” Drew gave her the self-mocking grin that always made her laugh. “A new all-girl rock group?
Ellen wasn’t smiling. She lowered her voice. “It means Primitive Camping. We go in the bushes.”
“What!” He looked around, realizing that the other girls were staring at him. He hadn’t meant to sound so loud.
“You are embarrassing me.” She stomped away, kicking up more dust. Before she got to her friends clustered nearby, she shot over her shoulder, “I wish you’d never come. I knew it was a dumb idea to ask you.”
“Hey, come back here, honey. I’m sure this is a little misunderstanding. C’mon, Ellen.” In the year since his wife died, he and Ellen had had a lot of misunderstandings.
“I think she’s mad at you.”
Drew turned toward the quiet voice behind him. There she was, leaning back against a tree, her knee bent and booted foot propped against the trunk. Maggie Sinclair, Director of Camp Hell. He knew Jack’s sister was an outdoor nut, but he didn’t think she was this bad. Pissing in the bushes, for God’s sake.
Maggie was a tall woman, only a few inches shorter than his own six feet. She had the tan of a person who spent time outdoors, not a sunbather, though, with laugh crinkles around her eyes. Still, the rough-neck tomboy he’d grown up with. Who else would want to spend a summer day backpacking on dusty trails through snagging underbrush instead of out on a perfectly manicured golf course where you only ventured into the rough to retrieve an errant ball?
Despite the heat and humidity, Maggie’s white T-shirt, with its pink ‘Race for the Cure’ logo, was still white and her jeans, though faded, remained clean. With her dark brown ponytail pulled through the back of a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, she looked as cool as when they started on this trek three hours ago. That almost irritated him more than her awareness of friction between him and his daughter.
“Ellen? Mad at me?” He affected mock surprise. “Your powers of observation are amazing. Are you ever wrong?”
She cupped her elbow in her hand and tapped a finger against her jaw. “Let me see now. I was wrong once—fourteen years ago. That’s when I married Roger Dodger.”
Roger Dodger. An appropriate name for the jerk. The guy got out of paying alimony, in part because of Maggie’s inept divorce lawyer. It still pissed him off that she hadn’t come to him. Never mind he specialized in criminal law. He would’ve made an exception for her.
“Let me think. Have I been wrong since?” She continued the damn tapping then snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it. I was wrong to let Ellen’s city-soft lawyer daddy help chaperone this trip.”
Drew gave her the smile that prosecutors knew better than to believe. “And here I thought it was because nobody else would.”
Meet Maggie, the main character in NUMBERS NEVER LIE
1. Spa day or gym workout?
Definitely a gym workout. I’d never waste time pampering myself.
2. Night owl or early bird?
Early bird. I have to get up at 6 am to get in a run before going to school. I teach high school English.
3. Broadway or museum?
Neither. Ballpark, either 5th/3rd Park (where the West Michigan Whitecaps play) or Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers).
4. Five words you use to describe yourself.
Athlete. Camper. Loyal. Elephant (never forget). Determined.
5. If I had a free afternoon, I’d ______
Go to a baseball game. If I had a free weekend, I’d go camping.
6. Favorite books from childhood
Choose Your Own Adventures. Where the Wild Things Are. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (because I’ve had days like that, especially with my ex). A Wrinkle in Time.
7. What music do you listen to?
Oldies Rock & Roll. My parents used to dance in the kitchen to R&R. They’re both gone now and the music reminds me of better times.
8. Your first kiss . . .
Ahh. I was fifteen and had the world’s biggest crush on Drew (Andy back then) Campbell, my brother’s best friend. He told me I kissed like a guppy.
9. Disney Princess you’re most like?
Mulan. She dressed like a boy and took her crippled father’s place to fight for the Emperor. Family was most important to her. My brother, Jack, is the only family I have left. I knew he wouldn’t endanger himself then accidentally drive off a bridge. I had to find out what happened.
10. Favorite genre to read?
Young Adult (since I teach that age), science fiction romance (because I like it), biographies of athletes.
11. Merry-Go-Round or Roller Coaster?
Roller Coaster. The biggest, fastest the better.
12. Fishing or Swimming?
Swimming. Fishing is boring.
13. Baseball or Football?
Baseball. I played in high school, MVP my senior year. I’ve coached girl’s baseball for the past ten years.
14. Favorite movie?
The Pride of the Yankees. The story of Lou Gehrig who played first base. I wish they’d make a movie out of Al Kaline’s life. He played outfield—my position.
15. Favorite type of hero: Bad Boy or Mr. Dependable?
How about a Bad Boy who becomes Mr. Dependable? That’s Drew Campbell. He’s my main squeeze. You’d think we wouldn’t have much in common, especially since he hates camping and I lead a group of 14-year-old girls who love to camp—the more primitive the better. Their goal is to camp on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. When no other parent would chaperone, he did. He’s tall, dark, and oh-so handsome with a tight butt.
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Diana, thanks so much for having me on your blog today. After I finished the 15 Questions for Maggie, I thought that might be a way to get to know new characters better. I'm going to try on my wip, a sci-fi romance.
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