A Day in the Life of Mystery Author David Burnsworth
A Day in the Life is The Writer’s Life newest feature. Here we get a glimpse into our favorite author’s day-to-day life, but in today's post, we get a glimpse into Brack Pelton's life, the main character of David Burnsworth new mystery/southern noir, Southern Heat.
“What’s a glimpse of my day-to-day
life? Haven’t had that one before. Most of the time, all you media people care
about is why I allegedly blew up some car or shot a particular model citizen.
Forgive me
if I have to think about my answer before I give it.
“Mind
if I smoke?
“You
want a cigar? I burned through my Cubans. These are Dominican. Not bad, either.
“Here,
let me light it for you.
“Okay,
where were we? A day in the life of me. Well, I inherited a bar on the Isle of
Palms, an island just east of Charleston, S.C., so that keeps me pretty busy.
Lucky for me, I’ve got a great manager for the place. Her name’s Paige and she
is awesome. A very hard-working single mom. My role is what you’d call
marketing and advertising. My uncle owned the place. After he was killed, I got
it. Both he and I made the news about the whole thing. In one of those ‘guilt
by association’ type deals, so did the bar. It’s amazing what kind of free
press you get by shooting a few people. Seems like every time I get hauled in
by the police for questioning, the bar exceeds maximum occupancy. Sometimes I
wonder if it’s because the fans are afraid the best dive on the island will
close if I’m convicted of something. Well, I only pull the trigger in self-defense
type situations so I try to minimize the risk.
“When
I’m not selling Hurricanes and Margaritas to tourists, I like spending time
with my dog, Shelby. I got him from a shelter last year. He’s a mixed breed,
and can attract more women than anyone you can think of. When that happens, I
might as well not even be in the room. They all rush him at once, and he’s got
like four and five of them scratching his neck or, his favorite, rubbing his
belly. And I have to wait for him to decide he’s ready to move on, the mutt.
“When
it’s just Shelby and me, we like to play fetch on the beach. He’s got his
favorite tennis ball and he’ll chase it down a few times. And then we go swimming. There is no problem a dip in the Atlantic
Ocean won’t help.
“I
guess that about sums it up. The bar, the beach, and my dog. I like fast cars
too. Used to race them, but that was a long time ago and we’re not going there
today.
“Anything
else?
“No?
“How
do you like the smoke?”
About the Author:
David
Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young
age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen
years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. Southern
Heat is his first mystery. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s
Island for five
years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife along with their
dog call South Carolina home.
His
latest book is the southern noir/mystery, Southern
Heat.
Visit his website at www.davidburnsworthbooks.com.
About the Book:
Gunshots
echo down an antebellum Charleston alley. Brack
Pelton, an ex-racecar driver and Afghanistan War veteran, witnesses the murder
of his uncle, Reggie Sails. Darcy Wells, the pretty Palmetto Pulse reporter,
investigates Reggie's murder and targets Brack.
The
sole heir of his uncle's estate, Brack receives a rundown bar called the
Pirate's Cove, a rotting beach house, and one hundred acres of preserved and
valuable wetland along the Ashley River. A member of Charleston's wealthiest
and oldest families offers Brack four million dollars for the land. All Brack
wants is his uncle's killer.
From
the sandy beaches of Isle of Palms, through the nineteenth-century mansions
lining the historic Battery, to the
marshlands surrounding the county, Southern Heat is drenched in the humidity of
the lowcountry.
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