The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery)
by S. K. Golden
I am happy to welcome S.K. Golden to Escape with Dollycas today!
Hi Sarah,
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Sarah Golden. I publish under SK Golden. I have been married for sixteen years to a commercial fisherman. We live in the Florida Keys with our five children. We have one son, our oldest, and the rest are girls, including our youngest, identical twin girls. We have two black cats, named Lady and Lion (I was going through a bit of a Game of Thrones thing when we adopted them) and one corgi named Goku (I am still going through a Dragon Ball thing now).
What are three things most people don’t know about you?
I am a descendant of Eric the Red. At least, according to my great uncle who got really into researching family lineage stuff. I’m a big fan of Bath and Body Works candles. Like, I am a member of the Bath and Body Works reddit. I desperately wish I was a musician. I tried over the years to learn how to play piano and the bass but, it just never took. My little brother got all those musical genes. Good news is that my two oldest kids are in their school band and are both quite good!
What books/authors have most inspired you?
There’s so many! Agatha Christie
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I’m a big fan of Newspapers.com. It costs money, but it’s so worth it. You can really get a feel for whatever specific region you’re researching during whatever specific time period by reading what they were printing in their papers. I do a lot of research online. Etymonline.comis a great resource for making sure modern phrases don’t sneak into historical books, though, sometimes they do get past me. I’ve read memoirs written by people who lived through the 50s and collect books that are all about the 1950s. What’s great about writing about the 50s is there are movies filmed and set in that time period, so, I classify watching How To Marry A Millionaire as research. And people post old videos of New York street corners onto YouTube as well. I tend to start writing pretty quickly once coming up with the murder/murderer and will research as needed and fact check as I go and again once I’m finished. I am on the third book set in 1950s New York, so, I’ve already got a lot of information in my head. Well. Some of it stays in my head. The rest of it is scribbled in notebooks somewhere.
Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block?
Oh, yes. Sometimes this is just me being tired and needing a day or two off. Most of the time this means that something is wrong. I’m trying to get a character to behave in a way that is out of character for them to simply move the plot along, and until I fix it, I’ll experience writer’s block.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Keep writing! Read widely. Don’t give up. Take breaks if needed, and those breaks can last for a few months, but keep writing. All you need is one yes to get the ball rolling.
When you are not writing what do you like to do?
Well, read. I like to bake. Specifically, cookies. I hang out with my kids. I like to get dressed up and go out on dates with my husband. I visit with friends. I take my dog on walks. I spend a lot of time with my dog. He’s great.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
New Zealand! I want to visit Hobbiton!
What is next on the horizon for you?
I’m working on the third book in the Pinnacle Hotel series 
Thank you Sarah for visiting today~!
Keep reading for info about Sarah’s new book.
About The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating
The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – 1958 New York City
Crooked Lane Books (October 10, 2023)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1639104852
ISBN-13 : 978-1639104857
Digital ASIN : B0BS2SG88V
Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver, the second Pinnacle Hotel mystery finds another murder that strikes too close to home, and hotel heiress Evelyn Murphy knows she’s the only one who can save the hotel before it’s lights out.
New York, 1958. Even though Evelyn Murphy has made progress conquering her agoraphobia by leaving the Pinnacle, she still feels most comfortable in her father’s hotel. With Malcolm Cooper, her new boyfriend and fellow employee at the hotel, Evelyn feels prepared for whatever happens next. In this case, it’s throwing a big fundraiser with the who’s who of New York City.
The night is a success, and Evelyn finally takes up Malcolm’s offer to finally visit his apartment in Yonkers. As the party ends, they sneak away to the garage to get Evelyn’s car. But Evelyn’s always been good at finding things, and she discovers the dead body of a guest, Judge Baker, in a car—with a needle in his arm.
Detective Hodgson and his new partner, Detective McJimsey, arrive on the scene, but before they can begin to question Evelyn, they are startled by another mysterious discovery: there’s a woman in the trunk of the car, and she screams as soon as she sees Evelyn’s face. Tangled up in the police investigation, Evelyn’s got another problem, too—her father insists she break off her relationship with Mac. The next day, her father is found attacked just like the judge, only this time the detectives find a dead woman nearby.
With Mac accused of the attacks and in police custody, Evelyn will have to find the killer on her own before she’s checked out of the hotel—this time, for good.
More About S. K. Golden
S. K. Golden is the author of the Pinnacle Hotel cozy mystery series. Born and raised in the Florida Keys, she married a commercial fisherman. The two of them still live on the islands with their five kids (one boy, four girls — including identical twins!), two cats, and a corgi named Goku. Sarah graduated from Saint Leo University with a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Administration and has put it to good use approximately zero times. She’s worked as a bank teller, a pharmacy technician, and an executive assistant at her father’s church. Sarah is delighted to be doing none of those things now. Follow her across all platforms @skgoldenwrites.
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Purchase Links –
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org
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You are a new author to me. Do you have to read this series in order?
No, I don’t think so. I tried to write this one so it would stand on its own. If you do read them in order, I think you’ll see more of how Evelyn changes overtime, and how her relationships develop, but you could certainly pick this book up first and dive right in.
What an interesting sounding book! Thanks for the article.
What an intriguing mystery! Great interview. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for having interviewing me! Really enjoyed the questions!
I really like the book cover.