What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?
Pretty normal, really. I was lucky to get the job as assistant to the director of the D.C. Market and Commerce Center just a year after I graduated college. At first, the job was mostly clerical, taking care of paperwork and fielding phone calls. But then my boss discovered my talent for dealing with disputes and fixing problems, and that the exhibitors in our shows liked me, so they cooperated with my requests. Taking care of problems on the exhibit hall floor became a bigger part of my job during trade shows and exhibitions.
What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?
I work well under pressure. I’m patient and keep a level head, even when people are yelling at me, trying to manipulate or intimidate me. I don’t do intimidated. (Although I’ve come close a couple of times when facing down desperate killers.)
What do you like least about yourself?
I’m very driven, some might say compulsive. At times I can’t let go of a problem, even when I should. And I suspect I’m more cynical than most people my age, too. Being in the company of so many high-powered sales people so much of the time requires a cautious and suspicious mind.
What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?
That’s hard because all sorts of wild and strange things happen at trade shows. I think probably the malfunctioning popcorn machine at the Gifts & Decorative Accessories Show was the craziest. Or maybe it was being on a telephone call with a man at the time he was murdered. But confronting a couple of homicidal people has to go in the category of well beyond usual!
Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?
Occasionally. Sometimes she asks me to do things that don’t really make sense and I have to set her straight.
What is your greatest fear?
A year or so ago I would’ve said losing my job. But having faced off with a couple of murderers, I’ve realized that there are worse things. My greatest dread right now is finding another dead body. I’ve already found more than my share and the trauma never goes away entirely.
What makes you happy?
Cool pens! I collect them. Companies frequently give away some interesting ones, and over the years I’ve acquired quite a few at various shows. Also solving problems and being with friends makes me happy.
If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?
I’d make it so the murders I’ve solved never happened. However much satisfaction there is in catching the person responsible, I would still preferred they never happened.
Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?
Some of the exhibitors at the trade shows and expositions we hold at the Commerce & Market Center can be a real pain. They’re so focused on their own business and promos they fail to take into account the effects on others! That lady who insisted on running the malfunctioning popcorn machine is a great example. Imagine having to smell burnt popcorn all the time! Then at the most recent show, a couple of guys were letting visitors to the show practice on their dart throwing game. Unfortunately, the darts kept straying out of their booth and into their neighbors’ spaces.
Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?
None of them. I like my job, and I’m really happy where I am, except for that problem with Scott Brandon, when I find out what he’s really doing while pretending to be a security officer for the Commerce and Market Center.
Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?
Karen McCullough is the author of almost two dozen published novels and novellas in the mystery, romance, suspense, and fantasy genres, including the Market Center Mysteries Series and three books in the No Brides Club series of romance novels. Karen has won numerous awards, including an Eppie Award for fantasy, and has also been a finalist in the Daphne, Prism, Dream Realm, Rising Star, Lories, and Vixen Award contests. Her short fiction has appeared in a wide variety of anthologies. You can learn more at her website.
What's next for you?
The end of the most recent book, Playing at Murder, left me in kind of an unhappy place, after learning some things I wish weren’t true, and with some major life decisions looming. Stay tuned to my website for more info on the next book.
Playing at Murder
A Market Center Mystery, Book 3
Dolls, constructions sets, stuffed animals, craft kits, and more are the featured displays in the annual Games and Playthings Trade Show at the Washington D.C. Commerce and Market Center, where vendors seek to convince retail buyers to stock their products. Murder and destruction aren’t supposed to be on the program.
The hit-and-run death of an exhibitor overshadows what should be a fun few days of giveaways, games, and demos. A gun hidden in a bin of stuffed animals, a damaged show car, and a drone knocking over the PlayBlox displays are the opening salvos of chaos created by a clever but unhinged vandal.
Settling disputes and fielding complaints are all in a day’s work for Heather McNeil, assistant to the director of the Market Center. Sussing out murder suspects to help the police is way beyond her job description, especially while trying to corner a vandal before the damage gets worse. Keeping the show running despite the mayhem will pit her and her allies, particularly Scott Brandon, the Center’s handsome but enigmatic security officer, against someone playing a deadly game.
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2 comments:
Thank you for inviting and Heather and I to visit you!
You’re very welcome, Karen!
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