A WALK ON THE BEACH with Heather Weidner

Today we are strolling along the sandy shores with Heather Weidner. She is the author of "Strut Your Mutt", in our latest anthology, To Fetch a Villain. In her story, Sassy PI Delanie Fitzgerald attends the Strut Your Mutt festival, where her business partner’s English bulldog is a finalist in a pampered doggie pageant. The dog’s new-found fame leads to a client with a missing poodle. Delanie and her team put paws to the pavement, sniff out clues, and show the villain that when you lie with the dogs, you wake up with fleas. Enough about the story. Let's chat with Heather.

What’s your favorite beach to visit? I love all beaches. I have visited some awesome beaches in Florida, North Carolina, Hawaii, and Mexico. But being a native (“Local”), my heart will always be in Virginia Beach.

Is there an exotic beach vacay on your bucket list? If so, where is it? I would love to visit some of the Pacific islands.

What’s a must-have item to tuck in your beach bag? Books, books, and books. And I have to have my sunscreen.

What is the most irritating aspect of a trip to the beach? I like quiet beaches. I really don’t like to visit when it’s jammed packed with crowds.

Are you (or have you ever been) a bikini girl? Not really. I’m a redhead, so I can’t stay out in the sun too long. Most of my beach trips are in the early morning or late afternoon.

When it comes to beach movies, is there a particular scene that sticks in your head? TOP GUN’S volleyball scene. It reminded me of home.

What beach song are you most likely to sing along to? I love them all, but I’m partial to anything by the Beach Boys.

Do you prefer building a sand castle or strolling along the water’s edge? Both are fun. I think I’m in the strolling along the water’s edge demographic now.

Are you more likely to watch a sunrise over the water, or a sunset? I’m an east coast girl, so it was always sunrises. But the sunsets in Hawaii were the most beautiful that I’ve ever seen.

   What’s your favorite seaside meal? Fresh shrimp. I love the places where the catch is fresh that day.

  When it comes to quenching your thirst after a day at the beach, what beverage are you most likely to reach for?  Coke, Dr. Pepper, or Iced Tea

Can you recommend a good beach read? I love mysteries. Anything by Amy Reade, Lisa Scottoline, Sherry Harris, Maya Corrigan, Kate Young, Kellye Garrett, Debra Goldstein, and Cynthia Kuhn are some of my favorites.

Have you ever written a story with a coastal setting? I did. My very first short story that was published in Virginia is for Mysteries, “Washed up,” was set at Chick’s Beach. A suitcase with a rusty gun and shriveled hand appears on the beach outside of a struggling bar near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia Beach. A friend of the bar’s owner seems to know where it came from, and he gains instant celebrity with his story about a paranormal experience. The attention does wonders for the bar’s profits until something ordinary provides the missing piece of the puzzle.

Heather Weidner is the author of the three Delanie Fitzgerald Mystery novels (Secret Lives and Private Eyes, The Tulip Shirt Murders, and Glitter, Glam, and Contraband), and these characters appear in this novella, Strut Your Mutt. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her dog-themed novellas appear in the Mutt Mysteries series, and her new Jules Keene Glamping mysteries is slated for release in October 2021.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.  Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan University and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager.

 

Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner

Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-weidner-0064b233?trk=hp-identity-name

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner

AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/profile/heatherweidner/

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