I am so thrilled to reveal the cover for Cherry Tucker’s latest mystery, Death in Perspective, on dru’s book musings! Thank you so much for having me on, Dru Ann!
For Cherry’s fourth book, I wanted to write a poison pen mystery, but needed to make it work in a modern setting. Texting and social media seemed like the perfect medium, particularly since social bullying is such a horrific trend in schools. But how to keep such a serious topic light? And how to get the artist Cherry Tucker involved in a social media plot when she can’t even afford texting on her phone? As a long time theater fan and a former high school teacher, I took a look in my wheelhouse and found Cherry a job as a set designer in a high school theater. Not just any high school, a swanky private school with a famous theater department. The theater director and other faculty are being bullied by an anonymous texter. Cherry hates bullies. Throw in a mysterious suicide, an alien musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and an evil art teacher, and Cherry’s found a role typecast just for her.
So, what do you think of the cover? Can you tell it’s a Henery Press cover?
Here’s the preview to Death in Perspective, releasing June 24th, 2014!
In Cherry Tucker’s fourth mystery, the curtain rises on Cherry’s debut as a high school set designer at the posh, private Peerless Day Academy. Cherry’s been hired to design scenery for an avant garde adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but the theater teacher’s hoping Cherry can also turn the spotlight on a malicious bully who’s sending poisonous texts to the faculty. The director’s got his own drama to hide, and the phantom texter seems eager to spill school secrets. When a school secretary’s death is ruled a suicide, Cherry suspects foul play. The phantom bully may be using blackmail to rid the school of unwanted staff, urging a Montague-Capulet styled showdown.
With Deputy Luke Harper wanting to return as Cherry’s leading man, he’s eager to assist her efforts in fingering the phantom culprit, but Cherry fears family secrets may doom them to the role of star-crossed lovers. Offstage, Cherry’s searching for her missing brother who’s fixed on a vendetta against Luke’s stepfamily, so she instead turns to the local, foreign racketeer, Max Avtaikin, for assistance. With the bully waiting for a murderous encore and her own family skeletons to hide, Cherry scrambles to find her brother and the mysterious texter before the phantom decides its curtains for Cherry and forces her to take a final bow.
GIVEAWAY
For an e-book copy of a Cherry Tucker Mystery (your choice of numbers 1, 2, or 3), I’d love to hear your favorite theater experience. Is there a musical or play that you were in or love to watch? Did you see an adaptation that was so horrible it was funny? Did your preschooler star in a show and refuse to go on stage? I’d love to hear your stories! Contest ends at midnight on March 13, 2014.
About the author
After teaching in the US and Japan, Larissa enjoys writing, particularly sassy female characters with a penchant for trouble. She lives near Atlanta with her family and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website or find her chatting on Facebook. Death in Perspective is the fourth book in the best selling Cherry Tucker Mystery series. The first, Portrait of a Dead Guy (2012), is a Daphne du Maurier finalist, The Emily finalist, and Dixie Kane Memorial winner.
Follow dru’s book musing on Facebook for book giveaways, contests, posting about discounted books and some of my reading musings.
Beautiful cover. Love the purple. Go, Cherry, go!
Thanks Gretchen! I like the purple, too!
I love this cover. Purple is such a royal color. I can’t wait to read this one.
Thanks Dru! As soon as the ARCs are out, I’ll send one your way. I think you’ll especially like this one. 😉
SO many theater experiences to choose from. One of my favorites was opening night of Romeo and Juliet at my local community theater where I was the stage manager. During the all important sword fight one of the swords broke.We’re all back stage scrambling for an extra sword. Luckily one of the actors on stage graciously loaned Tybalt his sword. The next night I had extra swords all over the stage, just in case.
Mary Ann, love your R&J story. You have to be ready for anything on the stage! Too funny.
Larissa
Love the cover.
P.S. Do not want an ebook, but thanks.
Thanks for stopping by, Gram!
Larissa
Never involved in the theater. I’m always scared of peoples opinion.
I went to see the play “Mousetrap” at the Papermill Playhouse in New Jersey only because it starred David McCallum (many years ago!) and he was a favorite of mine. I was so disappointed with our seats because we were so far up that the actors were too tiny. But the play and he were great anyway.
Linda, that’s a play I’ve always wanted to see. I think it’s exciting you got to see it as tiny as everyone was!
Larissa
Not one of mine but my sister’s boys were in tap/ jazz dance from age 3. Her youngest Michael was on stage for the first time, for the spring recital. William, 2 years older, was an old pro by this time. So the 3-4 year olds come out and take their places. Just before the music starts; Mike walks over to the edge of the stage, looks out and yells, “Mom? Mom? Mom?” Shading his eyes and looking over the audience. We were laughing so hard, we had tears. The whole audience was laughing by then. The instructor finally got him back in place and the show went on but we sat there giggling the rest of the show.
I cannot wait to read this.
Thanks.
Risa, that is hilarious! I love seeing children perform just for that reason. You never know what they’re going to do!
Good morning everyone! Thanks so much for having me on, Dru Ann! I’m so excited about the new cover! I am loving your theater stories!
Thanks everyone for stopping by!
Larissa
AWESOME GIVEAWAY AND COVER REVEAL!! My fav theatre experience was my first. Phantom of the Opera was my first play and I cried pretty much through the entire thing. It was amazing. Anytime I hear music from it, I still get emotional. I love plays!! 🙂
Thanks Joelle! I’ve got some shout outs to Phantom in this book. I couldn’t resist!
I think some of my favorite plays to see are the Tuna Texas plays….they are so funny and if anyone has ever lived in a small town, the plays are right on the money.
Annette, I haven’t seen the Tuna Texas plays, but I have heard of them and heard they were really funny. Sounds like they are right up my alley. Thanks so much for stopping in!
A Henery Press cover is a great cover, Larissa. The colors are eye-catching that is for sure. And the cover makes you wonder even more what the story is about.
As to play incidents, I have many, but one more recent one was when we went to Rhode Island to the Newport Playhouse for dinner and the show. They announced that the show would be starting late which was fine, but then when they finally seated us, it was another hour long wait. Finally, the show began, and the actor who was one of the main characters began but you could tell he was “under the weather”. Shortly after that, we heard a crash when he went off stage and it was him collapsing. After medics arrived and said he couldn’t go back on stage, a stand in came on stage but he didn’t really know the lines, and so the other characters kept saying something like, Oh, did you mean…… (and filled in the lines for him) and then kept saying things like that until the act was over. It was supposed to be a comedy to begin with, but with all of this other stuff happening, we had surprises, some shock to hear the man fall, and then the hilarity of the stand in not knowing his lines and the other people picking up all the slack from his failure to say his lines properly. And his ad libs were hysterical. I still don’t know what the real play should have been like but we sure had a very entertaining evening.
Wow, Cynthia! What a crazy story! I guess the show must go on, but maybe it shouldn’t have? Just goes to show you how important an understudy is!
We saw Cats in London on our honeymoon. It was an established hit then, but still so new that it was in a teensy tiny theater. At one point during the song “Jellicle Cats”, the lights went dark and these… strings of Christmas -type lights that criss crossed the entire theater like a web flashed off and on. (If you were migraine prone, you would’ve suffered one then!)
Then the lights came up… and Right In Front Of Me… now, I’m talking standing in front of me very close, ok? not like to the side, or in the aisle- I’m talking In Front Of My Knees In Front Of Me!! — was an actor.
In a catsuit.
A tight catsuit.
Use your imagination.
P.S. Love the cover and love the series. Rock on Larissa!
Pamela, I’m using my imagination and probably shouldn’t! LOL! I think I would have died laughing! Or from shock!
I am so excited about this one! I LOVE Cherry and so identify with her being a southern starving artist. I even taught art in High School and did my share of set designing. (I am doing the set design for our church Vacation bible School now) What else makes Larissa’s books so great? I actually laugh out loud when I read it! My young boys just look at me strangely, and they know I can’t put her books down once I start them! When I get this book I won’t be reading their books to them until I finish MY book! =Mommy gets to pick the book when Larissa has a new one come out! I will be the first to buy a signed copy.
Tracy
Tracy, you are so sweet! Thank you for saying that. Glad to see hiring an artist do set design isn’t too far off the mark!
I soooo enjoy musicals, but I can’t get my husband to set foot in a theater and don’t want to go alone so I must settle for DVD’s and TV. My all time favorite is West Side Story.
suefarrell.farrell#@gmail.com
Sue, my husband has gradually gotten into musicals. When I met him, he had only seen Cats (with another girlfriend) and hated it. He’s a little too literal for Cats, I think. Good luck! My favorite movie musical is actually a stage production of Oklahoma done in London and starring Hugh Jackman. And he is delish as Curly!
I’m enjoying everyone’s theater experiences.
I love musicals but we rarely see them. The last one I saw was Les Mis. It was fantastic!
I love Les Mis!! Did you see the movie? I really liked it.
The cover is wonderful…can’t wait to read it! I just saw “Good Vibrations” at the Carolina Opry. It had music from the 60-80’s, a comedian, cloggers and dancers. Had a great time! Two years ago I was fortunate enough to see the San Francisco Theater group version of Les Mis. It was at the Orpheum, which is now considered a landmark. The play was absolutely wonderful and I was just fascinated with the ornate carvings on the ceiling and walls of the theater, so beautiful. However, a personal suggestion, never go to a play in a darkened theater, after flying across country for 9 hours catching a 6 am flight. The entire experience would have been much better had a been able to keep awake the whole time,,lol.
I love those old theaters. In Atlanta, we have the Fox. I love the theater as much as the shows!
Sounds like a good bit of advice! Jet lag is hard enough under the best circumstances!
Love your cover and can’t wait to read it! I, too, love Les Mis. My first experience with it could have been so much better had I been able to keep awake. 🙂 My sister, who lives in California, surprised us with tickets at the Orpheum Theater, in San Francisco. The theater is a historical landmark and absolutely beautiful. So many ornate carvings on the ceiling and walls, plush red velvet, and gold brocade, it was like stepping back in time. The San Francisco Theater group performed beautifully. However, since I had been up since 3 am my time, to catch a 6 am flight from Charlotte to San Fran…by 6pm their time, I was so wiped out, my eyes just couldn’t stay open for the whole play. Even with that, it made a great impression! I plan on seeing in again. 🙂
Cool cover. We recently went to “Medicare-fully Fabulous” which is the story of the playwright and main actor Sandy Westerwelle (local actor). It was hilarious, I don’t know when I’ve laughed so much.
kaye.illgore@comcast.net
That sounds like a lot of fun, Kaye! I love local theater.
Life as a touring performer is always varried, partially because our venues are always different.
In 1999 I worked for a West Coast touring theatre. Most days, our venues were beautiful. Unfortunately, one day we arrived at a venue with an incredibly damaged stage floor. This was quite unsettling since I was playing a character who was barefoot most of the show. Still, as they say “the show must go on.” We had a couple thousand audience members coming to see the two shows that day.
The show was very active. Not only was I barefoot, but we also did light tumbling and dance. We had already adapted movements because of the condition of the stage. For example, instead of sliding across the floor, I merely would sit down on the stage floor.
I got a few small splinters in my feet during the first show, but I maintained a positive attitude.
So the second show starts, and when the time comes for me to do the adapted part of me sitting instead of sliding, I sat on a jagged jutting out piece of wooden stage. I felt the shard stab me into my buttock cheek. As they say, “the show must go on,” so I stand up tearing the wood shard off the stage- because it was still attached to me.
Under my breath (without the audience knowing I am in distress) as the other actors were acting, I proceeded to let my acting partner (who happens to be my husband in real life) know that I have a massive splinter in my butt.
During a short offstage time, that large piece of wood was painfully ripped out of my buttock by my husband/acting partner. I quickly wiped my tears and headed back to the stage, because, yes, “the show must go on.”
After the show, I realized that it was not completely out of me. Long story short, I ended up spending time with a surgeon aptly named Doctor Buttner. I still have a turtle shaped scar on that cheek to always remind me…
The Show Must Go On!
Noel, I don’t know if I should laugh or cry! Good for you in carrying on. Seriously, Dr. Buttner? You can’t make that sort of thing up. 🙂
It is a really funny story and ALL true! When we were introduced to Doctor Buttner… It really was the icing on the cake!
Love the cover! The curtains are perfect!!!
My favorite theater moment was when a young audience member screamed “shoot him.” Even the performers had to smile.
I love that, Barbara! That’s one of the reasons I enjoy taking my daughters to the movies. I’m generally amused by the audience. Kids say the funniest things to the screen!
I love the new cover — it definitely looks like it came from Henery Press!
Thanks Michelle! Henery Press does have a signature look, doesn’t it?
Love the cover and can’t wait to read it!
Thanks Holly!
I worked a lot of Theater in College and my favorite Play was A Streetcar named Desire. Our Blanche fell off a designed porch and cut her forehead in the darkness and had to be patched up quickly. At the end of the Play in the green room people kept coming up to her saying oh your bruise and cut looks so real…lol…
That is funny, but I feel sorry for Blanche! She suffered for her art!
I love Dru’s blog because otherwise, how would I know about all these fabulous books?
My daughter was active in high school drama. Hmm, which story to tell? Probably the funniest was during Return to the Forbidden Planet (the show they took to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, but that’s a whole different set of stories!). During one performance, the programming on the robot went off-track and it roamed the stage, flailing its arms. The kids spun and danced out of its way as if it were all part of the plan. Great kids!
Your series sounds wonderful Larissa!
Thanks Cathy.
Thanks Cathy! Cute story. Hope she enjoyed the Fringe Festival! I heard that’s a lot of fun.
i don’t go to many Broadway plays, but when I do, I so enjoy then!! my most favorite has to be my 1st show, Phantom of the Opera….saw that one 3 times straight within a year!!! then my next favorite has to be The Lion King…I took my Goddaughter to that when she was young..sadly, she barely remembers that we went!!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!
Haven’t really seen any
My most treasured theater experience was seeing the initial play about Ann Richards as Holland Taylor performed the 1 woman show at the The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston Tx in 2010. It was titled Money, Marbles and Chalk and lasted 3 hours. I saw it again in 2011 at The Grand. This time titled ANN. Having seen Ann Richards as Governor and as a person who believed if she could you could, Ms. Taylor brought Ann’s spirit back to that theater. In 2013, ANN opened on Broadway. It gave me goosebumps watching. I wish I had seen it in San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and on Bradway.
I bet that play is chock full of great one-liners. She was so good at those!
We went to the Nutcracker. It was so bad it was marvelous!
The mouse king’s head piece was coming apart and you could see the chicken wire underneath. The one dance had a pair of dancers who did not seem to trust each other. As she would spin with him keeping her in place, she looked panicked. Then the moment the spin ended, a brilliant (fake) smile appeared on her face. When the bed moved around stage, it was obvious that it wasn’t going where it was supposed to and the young lady on it was calling out directions.
And, finally, in the big fight scene between the wooden soldiers and the mice, one of the adult mice fell into the orchestra pit. The kid (soldier) fighting him stood there at the edge of the stage, frozen, and then scuttled sideways offstage. At the next break, the mouse crept out of the orchestra pit.
Truly, a memorable theatre event.
Thanks again Dru Ann for having Death on your Book Musings!
I’ve never been to a Broadway play, but have been to several when a tour goes to Philadelphia. My very first was Annie when I was 15, but my favorite hands down was Phantom Of The Opera. I was inthralled the entire time! Of course, getting to see Richard Chamberlain in My Fair Lady was a treat too!
As a child my parents took me to a play called Gemini. It was about a large Italian family. In one scene they are stitting around a large table having dinner. One character says she is not hungry but picks food off everyone’s plate. They keep offering her food but she keeps saying I am not hungry I am just going to pick. By the end of the scene plates of spaghetti were flying around the stage and on the first few rows of the audience. As a kid I thought it was the funniest thng. If you pick food off another’s plate my familt still says. I’m not hungry I am just going pick.
contest is closed.
Thanks everyone for commenting. Loved reading about your theater experiences. Thanks Larissa for letting me present your new cover.