Oct 08 2014

Fit To Be Dead by Nancy G. West – Review + Interview

Posted by Brooke in Book Review, Book Tour, Interview, Uncategorized / 1 Comment

I received this book for free from . This review is voluntary. My opinion is not influenced in any way.

Fit To Be Dead by Nancy G. West
An Aggie Mundeen Mystery Book 1

Aggie Mundeen, single and pushing forty, fears nothing but middle age. When she moves from Chicago to San Antonio, she decides she better shape up before anybody discovers she writes the column, “Stay Young with Aggie.” She takes Aspects of Aging at University of the Holy Trinity and plunges into exercise at Fit and Firm.

Rusty at flirting and mechanically inept, she irritates a slew of male exercisers, then stumbles into murder. She’d like to impress the attractive detective with her sleuthing skills. But when the killer comes after her, the health club evacuates semi-clad patrons, and the detective has to stall his investigation to save Aggie’s derriere.

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authorinterview
Fast Five Interview Questions:

1) What does your writing area look like? Do you write in the same place?
I’m sorry to admit it’s a disaster. The more I have going on, the messier my desk. For example, I’m having a ball talking with you about the first Aggie Mundeen Mystery, FIT TO BE DEAD. Book #2, DANG NEAR DEAR, has just been released. So we’re also focused on Aggie and Sam’s dicey relationship under strain at the dude ranch where Home on the Range means murder. On September 30, Aggie Mundeen Mystery #3 is due at the publisher, so I’m finishing that story.
It’s unusual to have all this going on at once, but it gives me a good excuse for a messy desk.
My husband and I share an office in one room of our house. I know … not a good plan. Anybody who comes in has strict instructions not to move any papers. It would be equivalent to rearranging my brain cells.

2) How much time do you spend writing each day?
I’d love to spend 4-5 hours daily writing. What actually happens is that I write from 8:30 to 5:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. With long, uninterrupted days, I’m able to stay in the story. I do sneak in a few writing hours on other days. Weekends are usually reserved for family and friends.

3) What does a day in the life of an author look like?
I try to exercise at the gym on M-W-F. (I feel the pain Aggie goes through in FIT TO BE DEAD.) By the time I finish rehabbing body-and-hair and warding off starvation, it’s noon before I approach the computer. So I look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays. I start by reading over what I wrote the previous writing day and make changes. Then I’m back into the story and ready to roll.

4) What would you be doing if you weren’t writing?
Taking guitar lessons, going to lunch with friends, and attending more musical performances, art shows and literary exhibits. But frankly, I can’t imagine not writing. I confess to those who’ve seen the faraway look in my eyes that I’m usually thinking about a story.

5) What are you working on now?
Book #3 in the Aggie Mundeen mystery series, SMART, BUT DEAD, coming spring 2015. Aggie and Sam grow closer with each book. Stay tuned.

Thank you, Brooke, for the great questions!! And to Dollycas Tours for getting us together!!

You’re welcome, Nancy! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my interview questions and share some information with my readers.

My Thoughts

Fit TO Be Dead by Nancy G. West is a fun first book in a great new cozy series. I absolutely loved Aggie – she is an awesome main character and I felt like she is someone I’d want to be friends with. The mystery kept me on my toes and I couldn’t wait to read what happened next. I look forward to reading other books in this series – and spending more time with Aggie!

About the Author

6442929 I’ve been writing since age seven: poems back and forth with my mom. I had a real poem published in the Library Journal, Pegasus, at age fifteen. At eighteen, I wanted to study journalism and English literature, but friends who chose that college route were making minimum wage or selling lingerie. Being practical, I earned a business degree. After marriage and two children, I decided I HAD to study literature and write. I wrote non-fiction articles, a biography, and a suspense novel in 2004. That’s when whimsical Aggie Mundeen cut through the suspense, popped into my head and demanded her own series. The Aggie Mundeen mystery capers were born. Aggie must have been right: FIT TO BE DEAD is a LEFTY FINALIST 2013 for best humorous mystery, nominated by Left Coast Crime.