Interview With Jennifer Dornbush Author Of Frozen Lives @BlackstoneAudio @partnersincr1me

FROZEN LIVES

by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

October 7 – November 1, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Frozen Lives by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

A Coroner’s Daughter Mystery

Dr. Emily Hartford is back in Frozen Lives, the next thrilling mystery from Jennifer Graeser Dornbush.

Chicago surgeon Emily Hartford has never quite shaken off the dust of her hometown in Michigan. She may be a professional success and have a princely boyfriend in the Windy City, but she can’t seem to let go of being “the coroner’s daughter” from Freeport.

Once again, she finds herself pulled back upstate during a wintery late March when Jeremiah, the eleven year-old son of her best friend, Jo, goes missing on the frigid shores of Lake Michigan. Emily immediately joins the search for the boy.

To everyone’s relief, Jeremiah turns up days later, alive and unharmed. But tensions remain high, and suspicions of every sort continue to grow. Jeremiah’s account of his abduction doesn’t add up and Emily worries about Jo’s unraveling marriage. Jeremiah’s recovery, it turns out, is not the end of their terrifying tale. It’s only the beginning …

For moving among them is a devious, malevolent force. Sowing panic while seeking to fulfill his own twisted needs, this wolf in sheep’s clothing leaves a trail of rack and ruin, negligent to the damages in his wake … and the bodies he leaves behind.

Emily solidifies her role as coroner’s daughter when she puzzles out this madman’s chilling machinations. Risking everything dear to her, Emily goes the icy distance to end his killing spree.

Praise for Frozen Lives:

“Fast paced, engaging, evocative.”
~ J.A. Jance

“FROZEN LIVES is what a thriller should be—dark, twisty, and oh so scary. Lock your doors and enjoy.”
~ DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series and co-creator of the Outliers Writing University

“Jennifer Dornbush scares the living hell out of me. When I want to stay up all night, I just read one of her books, and Frozen Lives doesn’t disappoint. On par with Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, Frozen Lives weaves a terrifying tale of evil, paranoia and when you go to bed at night make sure your doors are locked tight. A terrific story.”
~ Don Bruns, USA Today Best Selling Author

“Chilling! Jennifer Dornbush has crafted a thriller that haunts the mind and can keep you deep in the pages into the wee hours! A not to miss psychological mystery with twists and turns throughout.”
~ Heather Graham

Book Details:

Genre: thriller, suspense, female detective
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: October 29, 2024
Number of Pages: 350
ISBN: 9798212638364
Series: The Coroner’s Daughter Mysteries, 4
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Blackstone Publishing

Read an excerpt:

Interview With Jennifer

What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?

The whole first draft! FAcing the blank page is the hardest for me. After that, description is tough for me because I was originally trained in screenwriting and you have to be very, very sparse when writing action and description lines. It goes against my training to write “long” description. But I’m learning. Dialogue comes most easily for me. I hear conversations unfold in my head and they spill onto the page.

If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your

plans for it?

Yes, I’m currently writing book 5 of the series! Title TBD! I’ve almost completed the initial draft for the publisher. Let’s just say this, Frozen Lives ends in a pretty tense cliff hanger that will be resolved in book 5, but not without quite a few obstacles. I’m hoping Team Nick fans will be pleased.

How important was professional editing to your book’s

Development?

SOOOOOOO important! I love my editors – all of them. Hands down, they help shape each book so that it becomes tons better than what I could do on my own. I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to do it without them.

Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?

I don’t know if I relate to her per se, but I have a lot of fun with Delia. She lives the kind of life I dream of living.

Would you and your main character get along?

Dr. Emily Hartford was created from an amalgamation of my two sisters and I. And I like myself and my sisters. Therefore, I think we would get along.

What is your schedule like when you’re writing a book?

Outlines takes a couple months and the pace is casual. First drafts are intense for me and I have to force myself into a very strict schedule to get them complete. For me, it’s a draining process. I’m always tired after a blank page writing session. This part of the process usually lasts from 4-6 months if I’m working on it full time. I find great joy in rewriting and it actually revives me. The length of this process varies. My personal rewrites may take 2-4 weeks. Then there are content editor rewrites which can take up to a month or so.

Author Bio:

The television or movie screen is the closest most people will ever come to witnessing the forensic world. But Jennifer Dornbush was raised in it. As the daughter of a small-town medical examiner whose office was in their home. There were body parts in the fridge. She investigated her first fatality, an airplane crash, when she was 8 years old. Picking up pieces of skull with her father who simply saw it as an anatomy lesson. The first of many coroner lessons she experienced over two decades.

After exploring journalism and high school teaching, Jennifer turned seriously to screenwriting where she began to connect her coroner world to her writing. She sought out a degree at the Forensic Science Academy in Los Angeles to gain more forensic training and earned a unique kinship with LA’s top CSIs, fingerprint specialists, DNA scientists, and detectives.

To share her love of forensics with the writing world, she authored the top selling non-fiction authoritative book, Forensic Speak, used by not only by show-runners and writers, but also crime investigators and law enforcement.

She created an Amazon top selling mystery novel series, The Coroner’s Daughter, which she is currently developing as a series for TV. Her crime thriller, Hole in the Woods, is currently optioned for screen. She is a contributor to mystery anthologies, Hotel California and Thriller. She has also penned two true crime books.

As a screenwriter Jennifer wrote the theatrically released film and novel, God Bless the Broken Road (2018), adapted a popular YA novel to script, and sold a children’s show. She is currently developing TV drama series and feature films with various productions companies.

As a forensic consultant, she is frequently asked to consult with TV writers on shows such as: Bull, Conviction, Hawaii Five-O, Leverage, Suits, and Rectify. She teaches screenwriting and mentors aspiring writers.

Jennifer is a member of the Writers’ Guild of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, & the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni.