Hi there and thanks so much for having me on this great blog!
I’ve been a writer for quite some time, published since 2004 or so when I won a contest with Harlequin when they used to run Writing Round Robins. I loved writing for years but reading even longer. Getting lost in a story is one of the greatest joys of life. I’d get in trouble for getting a little too lost in a story when I was supposed to be reading a textbook and instead had a mystery between the pages of the book. Funny enough, one of the classes I read the most in was English. I met my English teacher years later in an airport, totally random, and we laughed about the memory, though she did read my book and then critiqued and graded me shortly after. I got a 94%, not perfect, but in her class that was about the most you could get, so I took it and laughed and laughed.
But it’s not always all laughter with writing. Recently I was really struggling with a book concept. I’ve been trying to come up with a new series and wanted it to be different from the other three mystery series I have written. I kept running up against walls and being turned around by a tornado of doubt. I doubted my process, my ability, my smarts when it came to writing in general and especially when writing mysteries. But I was determined and nothing gets in my way when I dig in my claws. So I kept working with it, and after many twists and turns, going back to the writing books I’d read when I wrote my first mystery in 2004, and pacing so much the dogs were tired from following me, I did it! And a new series was born. I wrote the book and had an idea for another and they sold! And while I waited for Much Ado About Nauticaling to hit the shelves, I’ve been writing the next and the next with glee and with the absolute knowledge that no matter how far down the rabbit hole of doubt I get, I can always find my way out.
It’s not always easy and it’s certainly not always a pleasure, but being done and having that book, that both made me nervous and yet so excited to write, is one of the best things in the world. And it was totally worth it! So if you’re struggling to get your rear end in the chair, know that you are not alone. You are strong, you are ready, and quite frankly, I’m waiting breathlessly to see what you can do!
I hope you’ll consider taking a gander at my latest!
A Whit and Whiskers Mystery: Book 1
Publication Date: July 27, 2021
Whitney Dagner is your tour guide to a Pacific paradise that’s to die for—only to find it’s a place people are also willing to kill for—in Gabby Allan’s Much Ado About Nauticaling, first in the Whit and Whiskers Mystery series.
After far too many years in the Los Angeles corporate world, Whitney Dagner has come home to Santa Catalina Island off the California coast to help her brother Nick run Nautically Yours, the family tourism business. Between gift shop shifts selling all manner of T-shirts and tchotchkes and keeping her feline Whiskers in fine fettle, she pilots the Sea Bounder, a glass bottom boat showing tourists the underwater sights of aquatic plants, marine life—and a murder victim?
The self-proclaimed “Master of the Island,” Jules Tisdale was a wealthy man with business interests throughout Catalina who was about to be honored as Person of the Year before someone strangled him with his own tie and tossed his body into the water. That someone appears to be Nick, who had a raw deal from Jules and no alibi the night of his murder. To clear her brother’s name, Whit will have to investigate Jules’ shady associates and not exactly grief-stricken family members—with the unwelcome help of Felix Ramirez, police diver and Whit’s ex-boyfriend who’s looking to rekindle their relationship.
[rafflepress id=”48″]
If you’d like an ADORABLE free door hanger, just leave a comment with your email address and Gabby will send one to you for free!
After writing plays for her friends to act out as a kid, bad poetry in high school, and her high school Alma Mater song, GABBY ALLAN finally found her true passion—cozy mysteries. Being able to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time, and touch people’s hearts with her down-to-earth characters makes for the best job ever. This California girl now lives with her husband, daughter, and two insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel.
July 30 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
July 30 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
July 31 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
July 31 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
August 1 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
August 1 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT
August 2 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST
August 2 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 3 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
August 3 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 4 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
August 6 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
August 6 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 7 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
August 8 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
August 9 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, GUEST POST
August 10 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – GUEST POST
August 11 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
August 12 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT
Thanks so much!
You are most welcome, Gabby!
Love the cover. So clever. Will be looking for this one to hit the shelves (or my mailbox) lol Thank you for the opportunity to win your book. Congratulations on pushing through and starting your newest series.
I really like the story, and the cute cover.
[…] – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW August 1 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT August 2 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST August 2 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW August 3 – […]
What an interesting mystery! Cute cover too. Thanks for sharing.