Virtual Tour + #Giveaway: Murder In Rock and Roll Heaven by Robin Ray @GoddessFish

Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven

by Robin Ray

GENRE:   Mystery/Sci-Fi

BLURB:

No one ever "re-dies" in Heaven; unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to singer Amy Winehouse. Her death, an unprecedented event in Heaven's history, has thrown a once docile world into unfortunate chaos. Because of the new uneasy alliance between angels and citizens, a freshly-arrived detective in the rock & roll town has been tasked with investigating the prime suspects, the members of the 27 Club - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. To make matters worse, a powerful angel from one of the upper levels of Heaven will soon arrive to make her ten-year inspection, a task that fills the other angels with dread since she has the power to banish anyone of them to the underworld. So, with time running out, the PI and his newly acquired sidekick, both aided by rock legends such as Eddie Cochran, Mama Cass, Kurt Cobain, Karen Carpenter and others, must quickly uncover the mystery that threatens not only to close Heaven’s doors forever, but promises to send a ripple effect through the entire universe that can rip it apart.

Excerpt:

5:15 PM and still no Jim Douglas Morrison. The bearded singer of ‘Five to One’ was keeping his company of three waiting: Gregory pacing back and forth in front of the window, Tony spinning around on a padded, reclining office chair pretending to understand what he was reading from the law book opened in his hands, and the polygraph monitor, Eric Witherspoon, himself a past bassist in a bar band from Nebraska and former student of the angel D’Ariel. Eric, the recent consumer of four slices of 6-cheese pizzas, three stuffed cheesy breads, one piece of chocolate cake and a giant-sized cup of organic, craft brewed root beer, was comfortably sleeping with folded arms in his reclined chair. Completely forgetting he was with company, he twisted to one side, eased off his butt, and made a fart sound so loud and wet he’d better check his drawers, like, immediately. Gregory opened the window to spare himself the pleasure of the cheese-inspired wind. Just then, Jim came staggering into the office, his pants wet from who knows what, his shirt disheveled, and a road sign in his hand. Instinctively, the PI and Tony helped him sit in a chair before he collapsed on the floor.

“Before you fellas start lecturing me,” Jim managed to spit out, albeit slurred, “just know I have a history of being fashionably late.”

“What is this?” Gregory asked, pointing to the road sign as the examiner woke up.

“What?” the confused singer asked then look down and noticed the wooden item.

“Who gave this to me?” he asked, stunned. Nevertheless, he read the sign:

Jupiter Barbers – Luxury Styles

“Anybody want a haircut?” he laughed. Not amused, Gregory wrestled the sign from the singer and placed in on the desk. “Come here and give me some love,” Jim beckoned the small gathering, outstretching his arms for an embrace; when no one accepted his offer, crestfallen, he folded them across his chest. “You guys are chumps,” he groaned. “I want my money back.”

Guest Post:

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

With a few exceptions, my characters came to me at the same time. Some stories I’ve written were “closed” in nature, meaning, the characters were lost on an island somewhere (“Stranded in Paradise”), or caught in a mining accident (“Crystal Mine”) so they had to be chosen from the start. Since “no conflict equals no story,” I strive to make the characters as different from each other as possible without going too far and being unrealistic about it. In “Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven,” the detective and his assistant couldn’t be more different. The fact that they were of different race, age, sexuality and training could be the spark for conflict. Other stories such as “Stranded in Paradise,” “Crystal Mine,” “Diamondback,” “Strung Out” and “Rockaway Knights” are examples of ensemble writing. Since there was no lead, all the principal characters had to be chosen from the start.

In the past, I’ve experimented in gender replacement, too. The short story “The Summer of Rosie” had a male lead. I rewrote it a few months ago with the lead as a female. That was an interesting move since the story was told in the first person perspective to begin with. In summary, lead characters come to me at the same time; ancillary characters are chosen later, and given my propensity for giving as many ages, races, religions, sexualities, creeds, genders and nationalities representation in my works, I’m proud and aware I could make those choices. Thanks for reading. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Robin Ray emigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad & Tobago at the ripe old age of 12. Already steeped in the rich culture and mysteries of his native land, it would only be a matter of time before he, too, became a musician and storyteller. After a short stint at Iowa State University, he became a nurse for practical purposes but never abandoned his musical and literary aspirations. Eventually, he did play guitar in several bands, committing himself to localized tours and album releases. Leaving the music world behind, he delved headfirst back into his second love - writing. To date, he has authored six screenplays, two novels, seven novellas, around fifty short stories and many poems. Thus far, he’s published six books - five fiction and one non-fiction, all available in paperback and e-book formats. His latest novel, Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven, can be purchased from the following Amazon link.

Amazon

The book is on sale for only $0.99.

Blog ~ Goodreads

Giveaway:

$30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC

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