Ted Thompson from the West Yellowstone Daily interview Officer O'Malley

Welcome to the garden. It's starting to warm up, so much so that some of the tulips are starting to poke through, and I'm worried we'll have another freeze and they'll die. Anyway, you know what you need to do, grab some goodies and a beverage.

Today we have reporter, Ted Thompson from the West Yellowstone Daily, he'll be interviewing Officer O’Malley, one of Silverton, Montana’s finest.

Ted: Thank you for agreeing to talk to me today, Katie. Tell us a little about yourself and why you decided law enforcement was your calling.

O’Malley: My name is Scarlett. I don’t answer to Katie. Ever. Now, with that out of the way…I went into law enforcement because I love the challenge of solving problems. Plus, if I were stuck in an office somewhere or in a sales position, there would be mayhem. My dream is to become a detective someday.

Ted: Thank you for agreeing to talk to me today, Officer O’Malley. Tells us a little about yourself and why you decided law enforcement was your calling. And if you’d lived in a larger city, say Missoula, would you have still chosen your current career path?

O’Malley: I would have. There’s really nothing else I can think of I’d want to do for a living. Pop wasn’t too happy with my choice in the beginning, but he’s mostly okay with it now.

Ted: Officer O’Malley I understand you are the only woman on the police force. How do you deal with that? How hard does that make your career?

O’Malley: It can sometimes be a pain, especially with a couple of guys in the department, but I think I deal with it fairly well. I was raised by my dad around the bar he owns, though (The Happy Moose), so I’m used to holding my own with the guys. I actually get along with men better than women most of the time—at least I’m more comfortable with them. My mother deserted me when I was three, and I never spent much time around women. So if and when one of the guys in the department steps out of line, I handle it. I’m not afraid of confrontation.

Ted: Officer, Silverton is a small town where rumors and town gossip flow smooth as a rambling stream. How do you know what is truth and what is fabricated when you’re investigating a crime?

O’Malley: Folks in Silverton are like people everywhere. Everybody has secrets. One good thing about living in a small town is that you learn fairly quickly who makes a habit of taking liberties with the truth and who doesn’t. You can also tell a lot by people’s body language, and most everyone has physical reactions to lying they can’t control. It’s funny, but almost everyone seems to think they’re the first person to use a particular excuse when you start investigating a situation, so picking up lies in those circumstances is easy.

Ted: Which brings me to my next question, as any self respecting report would do, I have researched my subject. I heard your mother passed away, I’m sorry for your loss. It’s also said it may not have been an accident. Do you believe this to be true? Are you going to investigate?

O’Malley: She did pass away. Thanks for your condolences, but I never knew her when she was alive, so I’m doing all right with it. Her sister, my Aunt Lorraine, is suspicious about the way she died, so yeah, I’ve agreed to ask a few questions and see what I can find out.

Ted: Pardon me for chuckling but some of the residents of Silverton actually believe your mother’s spirit lingers. Some even say she’s haunting you. What do you believe?

O’Malley: I’d like to know who told you that. I’ll answer that question off the record, but this isn’t something I want fed into the rumor mill, so if I hear people talking, I’ll know where it came from. Yes, Kat’s ghost is hanging around and she’s a pain in the ass. She’s not much happier about the situation than I am. Having to put up with her 24/7 is the main reason I agreed to ask around about her accident. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her moving toward the light.

Ted: Describe to me your typical day as a law enforcement officer in Silverton, Montana.

O’Malley: That depends on the shift I’m working. I spend a lot of time walking or driving around town, keeping eyes on the area and responding to calls. The town is usually quiet, especially during the winter, but we do have our share of drunk drivers, drug use, and domestic violence cases. During the summer tourist season, my shifts are quite a bit busier dealing with minor altercations and taking care of the resulting paperwork, The thing I like best about being on the job is that no two days are exactly the same.

Ted: Tell me about your most humorous case?

O’Malley: I responded to a call from one of the local motels a year or so ago. A couple of masked men had come in and demanded access t the safe. They tried, and failed, to open it, realized it was taking a while and decided to tie the safe to the back of their pickup truck and take it with them. They destroyed the lobby of the motel in the process, but the safe left marks in the pavement as they drove, so Officer Peele and I just followed the tracks to their house and executed the arrest. Most criminals are not exactly overloaded with intelligence.

Ted: Is there anything you’d like to add to this interview?

O’Malley: Not really, except to remind you all that stuff about Kat’s ghost is strictly off the record. Seriously, I don’t need people thinking I’ve lost my mind, and if that rumor ever gets back to Pop…

Ted: Thank you for joining me today. I wish you all the best in your career.

Dead on Arrival
Katie Scarlett O’Malley (don’t call me Katie) was raised by her father after her mother walked out when Scarlett was just three. Now thirty years later, Scarlett learns that her mother was killed when she lost control of her car less than 50 miles from Scarlett’s home town. The news is unnerving, especially since Scarlett had no idea her mother was anywhere around.

Frankly, Scarlett doesn’t give a damn. She’d be happy to ignore her mother’s accident completely, but that proves to be impossible once her egg donor’s ghost shows up in Scarlett’s bedroom Not only has Kat failed to go toward the light, she’s become attached to Scarlett for some reason neither of them can understand. When Scarlett’s aunt asks her to prove that Kat’s death was no accident, Scarlett agrees, but only so she can send her ghostly visitor on to her great reward.

Together, Scarlett and her amnesiac ghost of a mother look into the accident that claimed Kat’s life. It doesn’t take long for things to get worse and soon they’re caught up in a web of secrets and lies that turn Scarlett’s whole world upside-down.
Available Feb. 15 Preorder NOW

About the author
Sherry Lewis
is an award-winning, national bestselling author who writes in several genres under
three pen names. Along with her writing career, she has been teaching writing workshops for more than two decades.

Sherry Lewis PromoSherry’s career path as an author didn’t exactly follow a straight line. Before becoming a full-time writer, Sherry worked such prestigious jobs as manager of a convenience store, Christmas tree decorator, poinsettia dresser, cashier, keyboard player/vocalist in a band, secretary in an insurance office, secretary in a bank, administrative assistant for an attorney who was also a trustee in bankruptcy, and, finally, a judicial assistant to a federal judge.

In 1993 Sherry launched her mystery-writing career with the sale of her first three books to Berkley Prime Crime. In early 1994 she sold her first contemporary romance to Harlequin Superromance, launching her career as a romance writer. Call Me Mom (Harlequin Superromance) was published in January 1995, with No Place for Secrets (Berkley Prime Crime) following in July.

Sherry left her career at the federal court to pursue a full-time writing career in 1996.Sherry is the author of the national bestselling Piece of Cake Mystery Series (as Jacklyn Brady), the popular Candy Shop Mystery Series (as Sammi Carter) and of the Fred Vickery Mystery Series, several contemporary and time-travel romances as Sherry Lewis. She’s currently at work on on a brand-new project which she is planning to indie publish.

She’s a long-time member of Romance Writers of America, where she served for four years on the Board of Directors, including one year as President.She has a deep and abiding love of the written word and has been an avid reader as long as she can remember. Though she still loves the feel of a book in her hands, Sherry freely admits to loving her e-reader, too. It’s much easier to move 3,000 books on her Kindle than it is in boxes.

Originally from Montana, Sherry spent several years living at the base of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and now lives a block from the beach along Florida’s Emerald Coast. She’s the mother of two daughters, the grandmother of two amazing little girls who are growing up way too fast, and the human for two cats who rule the roost at home.

Sherry can be found:
Follow Sherry on Twitter @SherryLewis and @DancingOnCoals
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherry.lewis.393

Thank you, Sherry, Ted, and Officer O'Malley for joining us in the garden today, please come back soon!

Comments

Sherry does a wonderful job with her characters, so real and vibrant.
She sucks me in and keeps me up way too late because I have to read just one more chapter.
Thanks for holding this interview, Mary. Another Sherry book for me to enjoy.
Melissa Keir said…
Fun interview! Congrats on your book! I wish you much success!
Sherry Lewis said…
Thanks, Sandy and Melissa! I appreciate you stopping by to check out Scarlett's interview. I had a lot of fun writing these characters. I'm hoping readers will enjoy them as much as I do.
Mary said…
Thanks for dropping by. I had fun with Sherry's character. I've already pre-ordered the book!
stanalei said…
Fun interview! Wishing you best on the release Sherry!

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