BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR C.T. COLLIER'S AMATEUR SLEUTH LYSSA PENNINGTON

Today we wit down for a chat with Lyssa Pennington from author C.T. Collier’s The Penningtons Investigate Series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

When C.T. Collier came into my life, Kyle and I were splitting up, and I desperately missed my sister Manda Cushman. Moving from London to a little town called Tompkins Falls in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York looked like the perfect solution. Manda lived there with her hunky husband, and the lakes were absolutely gorgeous. So I accepted the job at Tompkins College and quickly discovered it has possibly the highest murder rate of any college in America. In fact, at the start of Kyle’s and my newest mystery, Vamoosed, my faculty friend, handsome bad-boy professor Rand Cunningham, is shot and left for dead. And it looks like I’m next on the shooter’s list.

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I can find the bright side in any situation and make you laugh when you’re at your lowest.

What do you like least about yourself?

Panic attacks. 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

It has to be the scene with the ghost. I’m serious. I had a soul-wrenching conversation with the ghost of the fabulously wealthy and beautiful grandmother of my sister’s hubby, Bridey Tompkins Cushman. Bridey really set me straight about myself and my taste in men, and at the end of our little chat, she showed me the emerald ring that would become my engagement ring. Of course, she didn’t tell me which man would propose with that ring. 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Oh, good grief, I get so annoyed with Collier about when Kyle and I can start our family. She’s forever throwing up obstacles.

What is your greatest fear? 

That Kyle and I will never have the six kids we want!

What makes you happy? 

Every unexpected and beautiful thing, most especially children’s laughter.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I’m tempted to say I’d never have gotten on that plane from London to Tompkins Falls, but really, all that has happened since has made me stronger. Maybe even better.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Hands down my college president, Justin Cushman. He makes me totally crazy with his special assignments “for the good of the college” and enticements “for the good of your career, Lyssa.”

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

That is a double-edged sword, because I greatly admire my AA sponsor, Gianessa. I’d love to have her serenity and power of gentle persuasion, but the rest of her life? Never! She’s married to Justin Cushman.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Like me, C. T. Collier was a tech savvy professor, but lately she spends her time writing The Penningtons Investigate. You can find teasers about all our adventures at her blog. And, of course, she lives in the Finger Lakes.

What's next for you?

Now that would be a spoiler, wouldn’t it!

Vamoosed

The Penningtons Investigate Series, Book 4

Professor Rand Cunningham is shot and left for dead on the Penningtons’ front lawn, and Lyssa Pennington could be next. Who’s behind the drive-by hit?

The husband of one of Rand’s conquests? 

The lawyer-brother of the student whose sexy video went viral on the Internet? 

The father of the actress passed over for a part in the movie of Rand’s bestseller? 

While Rand fights for his life, Detective Shaughnessy hunts for the badass truck seen speeding away from the scene. 

Lyssa and Kyle follow a lead to Norway, where villains, trolls, and other bombshells will change their lives forever.

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