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Silvermoon Retirement Village Mysteries - Book Tour and Giveaway

4/13/2021

70 Comments

 
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Poker Chips and Poison
Silvermoon Retirement Village Cozy Book 1
by Rodney Strong
Genre: Cozy Mystery 

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If old age doesn't get her..the murderer will.

97 year old Alice Atkinson should be comfortably living out her days at the Silvermoon Retirement Village. But she's bored. A lifetime of living in the grey area between right and wrong means that winning money off her friends at poker just isn't satisfying.
Then her friend is murdered, and she's the only one who thinks it's foul play. And even she has her doubts.
With the help of Vanessa her newly appointed and occasionally reluctant sidekick, Alice is determined to find out the truth. One thing is for sure, Alice is going to need to dust off some old skills to come through this in one piece.

Grab your copy of Poker Chips and Poison now to see how age means nothing when it comes to investigating murder.



**Only .99 cents!!**
Goodreads * Amazon


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Hip Flask and Hanging
Silvermoon Retirement Village Cozy Book 2 

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Beat your ghosts or become one yourself

97 year old Alice Atkinson has many ghosts in her past, but she never expected to see this one walk past her in the street. 
She doesn't have much time to think about the past though as her friend Teresa asks her for help. She thinks someone is breaking into her apartment and soon Alice and her trusty young companion Vanessa are on the case. 
Tracking down the culprit might be exactly what Alice needs to stop thinking about the events of London in 1969, but soon the two events overlap more than she would like, and once again she finds herself in danger. 
Alice hasn't made it this far in life by avoiding a fight. She's not about to start now.

Grab your copy of Hip- Flask and Hanging, the second book in the Silvermoon Retirement Village. This laugh out loud cozy mystery series will have you looking at your grandmother in an all new light. 


Goodreads * Amazon

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Knitting Needles and Knives
Silvermoon Retirement Village Cozy Book 3 

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Knitting needles and knives, both can kill you.

Alice Atkinson is laid up after an ill advised attempt to prove age is just a number. When her friend Owen asks for her help with his wayward granddaughter, Alice finds herself drawn into thievery and murder. Soon she's facing off with crooked cops and mobsters, but they pale in comparison to the teenager determined to lie to her at every chance.
Alice is going to need all her considerable wits to sift through the clues, find a murderer, and keep her loved ones safe.

Knitting Needles and Knives is the third book in the Silvermoon Retirement Village series of humorous cozies. Grab your copy now.




Goodreads * Amazon

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Rodney Strong quit a 9-5 job in 2016 to finally pursue his life long dream of becoming a writer (he still has the very first play he wrote at age 6). He lives in Porirua, New Zealand, with his wife, two children, and two cats (plus a 3rd cat that is trying desperately to be adopted). When he's not writing he attempts to stay away from chocolate, runs (sometimes), reads, and enjoys spending time with his young children (who contribute a lot to the running and craving for chocolate).

He always has a couple of projects on the go, but for now is focusing on his series of cozy mysteries.

One of his cats likes to help with the process by sitting on the laptop, while the other likes nesting on his shoulders (which was cute when he was a kitten, but now the cat is 9 years old, is less so).

Rodney is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors, and chairs his neighborhood residents group.




Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads


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Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Hi, I’m Rodney Strong, a 51 year old author from Wellington, New Zealand, where I live with my wife, two children and two cats. They’re a handful, the cats more often than the kids. I’ve always written, I still have the first plays I wrote when I was 7 or 8 years old. Over the years I drifted in and out of writing, before deciding in 2016 that I had done enough practice and needed to give it a proper go. My cats are very supportive of my writing, often sitting on my writing desk and preventing me from using the mouse.

Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you!
It didn’t happen as much as I did it, but when I was younger I travelled to London to work in the Regent’s Park zoo and got to see some amazing sights, like a baby giraffe just two hours old, and feed three baby chimpanzees. They were like little kids, if you told one of them off, the others would come running over and hug them. Sometimes if you weren’t careful when you walked into their room one of them would jump on you from above the door. They thought it was a great joke. It was tough being on the other side of the world, but I still have fond memories of that time.

What kind of world ruler would you be?
A terrible one.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
I read, or go for a walk, but mostly the read thing as when I walk I’m thinking about writing.

How to find time to write as a parent?
Luckily my two are 9 and about to turn 11, so they can get themselves ready in the morning. I’ll write for half an hour before getting them to school, then write until they come home from school, at which time I switch from writer to chauffer. During the Covid-19 lockdown last year they both made signs for my home office door saying if it was closed I wasn’t to be disturbed. It was super sweet, and would have been even more so if they actually paid any attention to their own words.

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
I can definitely imagine the Silvermoon Retirement Series being made into television movies. They’re set in a retirement home so all one location, and there are some really interesting, quirky type characters.

What inspired you to write this book?
The main character of Alice appeared in the first book of my paranormal cozy mystery series in a very brief cameo. A couple of books later when I was looking for someone to act as the foil to the main protagonist in that series, Alice came to mind and she had a bigger part. I enjoyed writing for her so much that I decided to give her, her own series.

What can we expect from you in the future?
I’ll keep writing Alice as long as possible, but I backed myself into a corner a little by making her 97 years old, so there’s a natural end at some point for the series. She’s a very popular character though so I’m going to have to try and work out a way to extend her life. Perhaps she’ll be the first 110 year old sleuth.

Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
I was really lucky to have both my grandmothers live to very old age, one even cracked the 100 mark. They were both independent, strong willed women, and were the basis for Alice. Alice spent a lifetime as a con artist with a strong code of ethics. She never took more than she needed and she always made sure she never left a victim penniless. Because of her experience she isn’t your normal retirement village resident and has a bit of superiority complex. It takes her a while to realise that just because her friends have different experiences it doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable ones.

Vanessa is a twenty two year old employee of the Silvermoon Retirement Village. Her job is as a concierge, to help residents get things, and be the face of the village for visitors. Alice sees a lot of potential in Vanessa and is determined to nudge her away from a desk job. It’s also useful for Alice to have a younger side kick who can do all the running around for her.


If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Maggie Smith would make a wonderful Alice. Tough but caring.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
My characters definitely hijack the story. In fact that’s how Alice got her own series, because she demanded to be written about more. I tend to start a book with a general idea of plot and then see where the characters take me. Often it’s in an unexpected direction but I like it that way, because it makes the characters more real. They’re reacting to a situation rather than me making then react to it.

Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?'-type tidbits about the author, the book or the writing process of the book.
My first book, published in 2016 is called Troy’s Possibilities. It’s a completely different genre to the cozy mysteries, but it’s also set in Wellington. The two main characters in that book were Troy and Elissa and they make a cameo in all of my other books, either as a re-occurring character or a one off. You’d have to read that book to understand the context but it’s like a little in-joke for me to have them pop up in different places.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I definitely have music playing in the background. It helps me get into a rhythm. Also because I work at home and am alone for most of the day it stops the silence from getting too oppressive. I find if I’m writing a sad scene then having sad music in the background helps me with the emotions of what I’m writing.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
I usually have two on the go at once. My goal is to write 1,000 words per day per manuscript, so as soon as I hit my target for one I’ll switch to the other. It helps keep my writing fresh by switching from one set of characters to another.

Pen or type writer or computer?
I tried early on writing in pen then transcribing it to the computer but, one my handwriting was way to slow and messy for my brain, and two I found the repetition annoying, so now I draft everything on the computer. My very first manuscript when I was a teenager was on the typewriter and I still remember using tipex to white out all the mistakes. It was such a painful process.

Describe your writing style.
I like to think I have an easily accessible writing style. I tend to insert humor into my writing which works nicely for the cozy mystery genre but also helps in my more serious work as it adds a touch of realism.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
My books tend to range between 50,000 to 80,000 words. The shorter books will take about two months to write a first draft and around three months for the longer books. Different times of the year are less productive than others though. The big school holidays in New Zealand are in January so that tends to be much slower in output.

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70 Comments
Bernie Wallace
4/13/2021 05:37:16 am

How long did it take you to write your book?

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:14:33 pm

Hi Bernie, the Silvermoon Retirement Village books are slightly shorter at around 50,000 words. To do a first draft usually takes about 6-7 weeks.

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Kari B
4/13/2021 08:51:04 am

What a fun sounding protagonist. Should makes for some entertaining reads.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:15:01 pm

Thanks Kari, Alice is certainly fun to write

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Mary Cloud
4/13/2021 10:05:45 am

Sounds very interesting - thanks for sharing

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Wendy Jensen
4/13/2021 10:17:53 am

The book details make this sound like a humorous read.

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Amy Jo
4/13/2021 10:58:50 am

I would ask how you handle writers block!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:16:29 pm

Hi Amy

I usually try and have 2 manuscripts on the go at once, in different genres, so if I'm struggling on one then I'll switch to the other. If I'm struggling for both and absolutely nothing is coming then I'll strategically withdraw to my couch and eat chocolate and watch Netflix and try again the next day.

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Rita Wray
4/13/2021 11:08:24 am

The books sound great.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:16:38 pm

Thanks Rita

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David Basile
4/13/2021 11:40:27 am

The book sounds interesting

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Ann Fantom
4/13/2021 01:36:25 pm

This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:17:33 pm

Thanks Ann

I love my covers as they're nice and colorful. The books are great fun to write.

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Ginger Hafer
4/13/2021 02:19:18 pm

Like the covers. Very colorful. Cozy mysteries are my favorite type of book to read so I'm sure I would enjoy reading these books.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:18:28 pm

Thanks Ginger, I love writing the lighter mysteries, with a bit of humor and some strong minded characters.

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Susan Smith
4/13/2021 02:29:31 pm

Sounds like a great book. I like the cover.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:18:57 pm

Thanks Susan, I really love the covers for this series as I think they convey the fun aspect of the stories.

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Sherry
4/13/2021 03:36:20 pm

The books sound really interesting.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:19:18 pm

Thanks Sherry, they are certainly fun to write.

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Beyond Comps
4/13/2021 03:42:05 pm

Great cover!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:19:55 pm

Thanks, I love the covers to this series

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beth shepherd
4/13/2021 03:50:03 pm

This looks like a great read!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:20:30 pm

Thanks Beth, they are certainly fun to write.

(Great name by the way, my mother was Beth)

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Francine Anchondo
4/13/2021 04:44:34 pm

The book sounds great

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:21:01 pm

Thanks Francine

People tell me they are fun to read and I certainly have fun writing them.

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wendy hutton
4/13/2021 05:26:25 pm

cute cover, congrats on the book

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:21:17 pm

Thanks Wendy, much appreciated.

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bn100
4/13/2021 06:46:35 pm

fun cover

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Debbie P
4/13/2021 07:14:40 pm

This sounds like a fun read. Cute cover!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:22:24 pm

Thanks Debbie, they're great fun to write that's for sure.

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Bea LaRocca
4/13/2021 09:05:17 pm

I like the book cover and synopsis, this sounds like a good read. Thank you for sharing your guest post and book details and for offering a giveaway

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:23:14 pm

Hi Bea

You are most welcome. The books are a great deal of fun to write. There's something liberating about a character who has so much life experience.

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Barbara Montag
4/13/2021 09:52:54 pm

This is a most interesting series with great covers.
Thank you for sharing the review.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:23:37 pm

Thanks Barbara, much appreciated.

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Thomas Gibson
4/13/2021 11:00:27 pm

Nice cover and excerpt!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:23:48 pm

Thanks Thomas

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Marcy Meyer
4/14/2021 11:59:48 am

The looks good. Thanks for sharing!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:24:00 pm

Thanks Marcy

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Debbi Wellenstein
4/14/2021 12:29:32 pm

I enjoyed the author interview. Thank you for the giveaway!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:24:32 pm

Thanks Debbi, much appreciated.

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Nancy
4/14/2021 08:56:05 pm

This sounds like a fun and entertaining series.

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:24:56 pm

Thanks Nancy, they are certainly a lot of fun to write.

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Robert Young
4/14/2021 09:39:26 pm

Thank you for sharing about the series of books!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:25:14 pm

You're welcome Robert, thanks for stopping by

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kelly tupick
4/15/2021 05:02:59 pm

The book sounds wonderful!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:25:30 pm

Thanks Kelly, I appreciate the comment.

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Amy F
4/16/2021 03:33:10 pm

Sounds like a great mystery read. Love the title!

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Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:25:53 pm

Thanks Amy

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Terri Quick
4/17/2021 02:48:10 pm

Nice cover

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Kay Garrett
4/18/2021 06:36:43 am

Love being introduced to a new to me author. Cozies are one of my favorite genre to read. The covers, titles and the description of each books had all of them on my TBR list. Can't wait for the opportunity to read and review this series.

Is part of the details - location, people and places, taken from real situations? Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you know from the beginning how many books will be in a series and what each book will be about or does the series evolve as you write?
2clowns at arkansas dot net

Reply
Rodney Strong
5/15/2021 09:29:07 pm

Thanks Kay, my apologies for not replying to your comment earlier. The main character of Alice is a combination of both my grandmothers, with some sass thrown into the mix. All the locations and places in Wellington are real apart from the Silvermoon Retirement Village which is fiction.

I don't plan series too far in advance so I don't know how many books are going to be in each. With this series however the main protagonist is 98 years old so there's going to be a limited number in the series. They do tend to evolve as they go, which I think is more exciting for the readers, and for me.

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Karin
4/20/2021 07:12:29 am

Very colorful covers. I like them

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Karen M
4/20/2021 12:53:15 pm

Your book sounds like a fun read. Love the cover.

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Lisa Ehrman link
4/20/2021 09:23:39 pm

I love cozy mysteries. This one with the retirement village is sure to be hilarious!

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Rodney Strong
5/16/2021 06:08:02 pm

Thanks Lisa, they certainly are fun to write.

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aaron r
4/21/2021 01:06:39 pm

97 years old and bored that's something that I hope to be and start a new life like that. I mean it would suck to have a friend be murdered but something interesting does sound exciting.

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Danielle Day
4/22/2021 06:00:14 am

Sounds good!

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LYNN CLAYTON
4/22/2021 04:39:13 pm

oh nice cover looks like a great read

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Heather Mahley
4/24/2021 02:06:30 am

Sounds like such a great book

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Laura Rubenstein
4/26/2021 08:24:16 pm

sounds real good

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Emily B.
4/27/2021 10:56:14 am

What a fun sounding series and cute covers!

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Angela Heerde
4/29/2021 05:11:00 am

I like book details

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Stephanie Liske
5/2/2021 06:56:17 pm

I like the book details.

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Daniel M
5/7/2021 04:35:34 pm

like the cover

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Jamie Martin link
5/9/2021 06:41:29 pm

Do you have any advice for new writers?

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Jen Reed
5/12/2021 01:44:17 pm

Fun book covers with lots of bright colors.

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Sand
5/12/2021 10:17:26 pm

Sounds like a good book!

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Buddy Garrett
5/13/2021 07:55:03 pm

It sounds like a great read.

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Renata
5/13/2021 09:18:50 pm

Nice cover

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Jerry Marquardt
5/13/2021 11:20:19 pm

I would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, including the Silvermoon Retirement Village mysteries, and wishing the best in keeping up the good work in the future.

Reply



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