What Grows From the Dead
by Dave Dobson

I am delighted to welcome Dave Dobson to Escape With Dollycas today!

Hi Dave,

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

What are three things most people don’t know about you?

1. I lived in Dublin for a year in 5th grade and attended public school in a two-room six-grade neighborhood elementary school. I learned a good bit of Gaelic, although I retain little of it now. In March of that year, we went to then-Soviet Russia for a week, because Russia in the winter was the only tour we could afford.
2. I have played the largest tuba in the world in concert back when I graduated college in 1991. I played Asleep in the Deep with backing from the Harvard Band. One of my favorite experiences. If you’re curious how it sounded, I have a recording here.
3. I have drunk a two-liter of Mountain Dew in under two minutes (1:54.84). That was a very stupid thing to do.  LOL – Mountain Dew is my drink of choice. 

What books/authors have most inspired you?

In mysteries and thrillers, I loved Dick Francis’ horseracing books. My wife shared them with me shortly after we met, and I just loved his dogged characters pursuing what’s right while often being beat up or pushed around. Learning more about horseracing was fascinating too. I also really like Harlan Coben’s early work and have tried to emulate that in what I do.

I am also a big fan of lots of fantasy and science fiction. As a younger reader, I loved Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Heinlein, Andre Norton, Ursula K. Leguin, Harry Harrison, and many others. More recently I’ve gotten into John Scalzi and Nnedi Okrafor.

I really love Barry Hughart’s Bridge of Birds and his other books, and William Goldman’s The Princess Bride (book and movie). Both of them are exciting adventures in their own right, mixed with humor and gentle observations about people.   

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I write in a very seat-of-the-pants style without a lot of outlining or plotting ahead of time, so most of my research comes up as I go, as I discover a need for it. When I’m working on a project, I actually post a thing I call “This week in author Googling” on Facebook with all the weird facts I’ve had to look up. For What Grows From the Dead, I spent a good bit of time researching complex bits like what happens when you’re arrested and taken to jail, how search warrants work and are executed, and how cell phone towers are identified.

I’ve also enjoyed consulting with friends about specific more detailed elements of books, like sailing and guns, neither of which I was very familiar with but wrote myself into. I’m lucky to have friends with a wide range of expertise, many of whom I’m in contact with through my college class of alums.

Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block?

Not usually when I’m in a groove, but sometimes after I pause a project (for a vacation, or because a big event comes up) I have trouble restarting. This has gotten better for me as I’ve written more books. I think I’m no longer daunted by the prospect of trying to finish something.

When you are not writing what do you like to do?

I play a lot of video games and watch a ton of movies. I have been performing improv comedy at my local comedy club for the past 18 years, which lets me enjoy wonderful and fun group of people doing something really silly. I love boardgames and play any chance I get, sometimes including D&D or other RPGs. I’ve designed a few boardgames also, and I’ve self-published a series of puzzle card games. I enjoy walking and going places with my wife and visiting my kids, who are grown and launched into interesting lives. I have been in a couple of community theater productions recently, too, and I’d love to do more of that. I also enjoy trying to conquer the universe on my Attack From Mars pinball machine (from 1996). I still play tuba sometimes with the oompah band at the college where I worked for 25 years.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

I have always wanted to see the pyramids and other sites from ancient Egypt. I love ancient places. My favorites in Europe were always the crumbling castles, and the ancestral Puebloan sites in the US like Chaco and Mesa Verde have a special magic for me. Figuring out how to get to Egypt, set up a tour, and avoid risks from regional conflicts is a little daunting, but I’ll get it done before long.

What is next on the horizon for you?

I just released a new fantasy novel, so I’ve been working a bit on promoting that and also reaching readers for What Grows From the Dead. I haven’t decided whether my next book will be another mystery or whether I’ll do sci-fi next. I do enjoy writing in multiple genres, although that can make it a bit tricky trying to establish myself in any of them.

Thank you, Dave, for visiting today!

Keep reading for more information about  David and What Grows From The Dead.

About What Grows From the Dead

What Grows From the Dead
Mystery
Stand-Alone
Setting – North Carolina
Independently Published (March 9, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 367 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8884545977
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CXN1KQ1B

Morris Drummond is not at his best. Well, he hasn’t been at his best for a while now. But having just suffered two crushing losses, he’s almost at rock bottom, which for him means driving ride-share in his mom’s beat up Chevy, drowning his sorrows in tacos and spray cheese, and avoiding anything related to ambition, self-care, or laundry.

Morris is about to learn that he didn’t even know what rock bottom looked like, and it’s all thanks to his mom. A secret she left behind comes to light, and that brings down a lot of unwanted attention on Morris, the kind that looks likely to send him either to prison or to the hereafter. Blood and treachery from long ago rise to the surface, and Morris has only his lawyer Annie, who’s an old high school friend, and a few unexpected allies to call on as he tries to figure out what his mom was up to and why so many people want him out of the picture.

A humorous mystery with elements of suspense and thrillers, What Grows From the Deadis set in present-day small-town North Carolina, not far from the mysterious Uwharrie Forest.

Content warnings: Coarse language throughout; some gun violence (not graphic).

Great Escapes Praise for What Grows From the Dead
by Dave Dobson

Warning: Choose carefully your location before beginning What Grows From the Dead. It is known to cause audible chuckling, chortling, guffawing, and even hooting on occasion. Highly recommended. Five Kitties!
~Jane Reads

About Dave Dobson 

A native of Ames, Iowa, Dave loves writing, reading, board games, computer games, improv comedy, pizza, barbarian movies, and the cheaper end of the Taco Bell menu. Also, his wife and kids.

Dave is the author of Snood, Snoodoku, Snood Towers, and other computer games. Dave first published Snood in 1996, and it became one of the most popular shareware games of the early Internet. He’s recently published some puzzle card games in the Doctor Esker’s Notebook series.

Dave taught geology, environmental studies, and computer programming at Guilford College for 24 years. He does improv comedy at the Idiot Box in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also played the world’s largest tuba in concert. Not that that is relevant, but it’s still kinda cool.

Flames Over Frosthelm was Dave’s first novel, released in 2019. He followed it a year later with Traitors Unseen and The Outcast Crown, then Daros in 2021, The Woeling Lass in 2022, and Got Trouble and Kenai in 2023. He released his first mystery novel, What Grows From the Dead, in 2024, and he’s currently at work on a humorous epic fantasy novel.

Author Links
Website   Facebook    Facebook Author Page    Instagram   Twitter/X    BlueSky    Mastodon     GoodReads Link    

Purchase Link

Also Written by Dave Dobson

TOUR PARTICIPANTS – Please visit all the stops.
June 18 – Jane Reads – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 19 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
June 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY 
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June 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
June 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 25 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
June 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
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June 27 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
June 28 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
June 28 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 29 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
June 29 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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