Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks: Blog Tour and Giveaway

 

We are excited to launch the Homecoming Chaos blog tour and giveaway today!

This romantic suspense by D.W. Brooks is perfect for readers who enjoy some witty dialogue and family issues mixed with a little romance and mystery. The blog tour starts today and lasts through December 17th.

Below, you'll have the chance to find out more about this book and the author D.W. Brooks.

Join us as we celebrate this book and this inspiring author.

First, here's more about the book...

A dead body in the parking lot of her family’s business, a killer on the loose, and a handsome detective asking a lot of questions…

Jamie Scott’s life fell apart four years ago when she broke off her engagement, turned down a dream job, and went overseas to run away from her life. Now she’s back, but the reunion is not without problems. She arrives home just in time to attend the soiree her mother planned, but she’s not prepared for what she finds—a dead employee in the parking lot.

Detective Nick Marshall is assigned to the murder case at the forensics lab owned by Jamie’s family. He meets the headstrong Jamie, but he has a job to do. And his attraction to her… well, he’s a professional.

Jamie knows the stakes are high. She has to face the past and save her parents’ business while dealing with her family drama and an uncertain future. She also has to deal with Nick, who wants her out of the way of his investigation. But fate keeps throwing them in one another’s paths… and into chaos that they both want to avoid, but neither can seem to escape.

Publisher: Life: The Reboot, LLC

ISBN-13: 979-8218150501
Print length: 449 pages

Purchase a copy of Homecoming Chaos by visiting Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo. Make sure you also add Homecoming Chaos to your Goodreads reading list.

About the Author, D.W. Brooks 

D.W. Brooks lives in Texas with her husband and children. She enjoys trying to stay in shape, sporadically cooking, reading (still), writing, and working on her blog. She is eternally grateful to the woman who donated a kidney to her over 5 years ago and continues to advocate for organ donation as much as she can.

Learn more at www.authordwbrooks.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordwbrooks/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordwbrooks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifethereboot

--- Interview by Michelle Cornish

WOW: Congratulations on the release of your book Homecoming Chaos! What was your primary inspiration behind the book? Did any personal experiences shape the narrative?

D.W.: My first ideas for Homecoming Chaos centered on writing a story about a female physician who had made the decision to leave the practice of medicine, like me. I thought it would be interesting to explore some contradictions surrounding that. When I decided to leave medical practice, it was not as common as it is now. Friends and family greeted me with many questions, recriminations, doubts—you name it. That was going to be a part of the story. But as I developed the idea in my head, I moved away from that component of the story—at least for now—but kept the part about a person named Jamison Jones Scott who completed her training and realized that for whatever reason she didn't want to do what she trained for at this time. 

I then had to create a compelling reason that she wanted to leave. To do this, I called on another personal experience: my sometimes challenging relationship with my mother. My mother and I didn't always see eye-to-eye. Jamie's relationship with her mother is 100X more challenging than my experience, but it gave me a solid foundation to create some of the issues that Jamie has. Beyond that, Jamie's character differs greatly from mine. It excites me to write about stuff I would never do.

WOW: I'd love to talk more about Jamison Jones Scott. She has undergone significant life changes prior to the events of the book. How do you think these past experiences influenced her actions and reactions throughout the story?

D.W.: Jamie's prior life experiences color most of her actions in the present. She returned hoping to improve her familial relationships since she burned a few bridges on her way out of town. After she spent decades not expressing herself and going along to get along, she finally reached her breaking point, which led to the crisis point and her escape from town and country. While she was away, she went to therapy and spent a lot of time in self-reflection, trying to learn how to better manage her relationships and her reactions to them. However, therapy can give you confidence in a vacuum, but when you enter the actual situation, using the strategies you practiced may not be as easy. She also had to learn how to better deal with her guilt about how she treated her family by leaving like she did, as well as the guilt from what happened when she was in New York. Finally, her family may not be completely on board with the more balanced Jamie and could expect the various relationships to return to the previous status quo.

It also appears that therapy did not affect her impulsiveness—which got her in trouble in the past. She will have to address that as well. For readers who want to know more about Jamie's backstory, I wrote a prequel novella—I DO CHAOS—that I am currently offering as a free download from AuthorDWBrooks.com. 

WOW: Detective Nick Marshall and Jamie Scott have a complex relationship, especially with Nick trying to keep Jamie away from the investigation. Without giving us any spoilers, can you discuss the dynamics of their relationship and what you aimed to convey through their interactions?

D.W.: Without the backdrop of the mystery at the lab, Jamie and Nick's meeting would probably be like any meeting between a man and a woman who are attracted to each other. But the murder changes the dynamics. Nick is very interested in Jamie. However, he is also very dedicated to his job. His nickname is "the Bulldog" after all. Jamie feels guilty about her previous actions, sees her family in danger, and plunges in to make it right. With her mother throwing bombs into the mix, it increases the romantic tension between Jamie and Nick.

I hoped to convey that the relationship between them was not just an attraction—that there was a potential for more. I think they are very similar in many ways with a strong sense of right and wrong and willingness to push a few boundaries to get the right answer. Their interactions have some edge because of the pressures related to the investigation, but it's obvious to others watching them that there's some sexual tension as well.

WOW: The title Homecoming Chaos suggests a return to one's roots and the upheaval that can ensue. How does the theme of 'homecoming' play out in your novel?

D.W.: The homecoming concept plays out in several ways in this story:

• Jamie was living with her fiancé before she left the country. It had been almost two decades since she had lived in her parents' home, having moved to New York as a teen while she was modeling. She had been on her own, so living at her parents' home was a shock.
• Her sister made a comment about Jamie's homecoming, comparing it to the return of the prodigal son. Jamie left while burning bridges and hurting her family but is being welcomed home by all, despite her behavior. 
• Her ex-fiancé and estranged best friend were both big parts of her life, but she ghosted them as well. Now, Jamie's homecoming also will involve meeting and addressing her behavior towards them too.
• This book briefly touches on her medical career, but when she left, she torched potential employers and bosses. Coming home to her career, uncertainty is another aspect of her homecoming.

WOW: The family drama element is a pivotal aspect of the story. How did you approach writing about family dynamics while intertwining it with a murder mystery?

D.W.: Some of the familial dynamics were straightforward to write about in this story. As I noted previously, I used some dynamics of my relationship with my mother as a baseline and then proactively ratcheted up the tension between Jamie and her mother. Writing a sibling relationship was a bit more challenging as I don't have any! I wanted to use the thought that Jamie was likely the "favored" child to build the relationship with the sister. But I wanted to help that relationship grow by having them team up to help the family. 

I didn't think it was difficult to intertwine the murder mystery because I planned for everyone to act in character. Everyone reacted to the scenario in character. The only wild card would have been Jon, but he had his own drama to deal with, so I kept him out of the main mystery story for the most part.

WOW: The importance of organ donation is a cause close to your heart. Do you incorporate personal advocacies or experiences, like this one, into your writing? If so, how?

D.W.: I am a fortunate recipient of a kidney which was donated by a living donor we located through Facebook. Because my kidney problems are genetic, I had been aware since I was a child that kidney failure was likely in my future. Because the entire experience of kidney failure, dialysis, and searching for a donor was so very stressful and scary, I have shied away from writing about it, although others have asked me to. Maybe I will incorporate organ donation into a future story; I feel as if I might be in the right headspace to do that now. I think there are several interesting and touching ways to incorporate the topic into one of my future Chaos novels in the series.

WOW: Can you share with WOW! readers what you are planning next?

D.W.: I am writing the next installment in the CHAOS series, and there may be another novella or two tucked in there. I also need to resurrect my activity on my blog and on my Etsy shop where I sell printable checklists, planners, calendars, and more. In addition, I am also looking forward to my kids' graduations this May (one from college and one from high school) and some trips that my husband and I are planning. It's going to be a busy time!

WOW: That's amazing, how wonderful! All the best to you with the release of Homecoming Chaos! Thank you so much for answering my questions. 

--- Blog Tour Calendar

November 20th @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate author D.W. Brooks and interview her about Homecoming Chaos. You'll also have the chance to win a copy for yourself.
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

November 22nd @ Author Michelle Cornish

Visit Michelle's blog to read her review of Homecoming Chaos.

https://www.michellecornishauthor.com/blog/book-reviews

November 25th @ The Faerie Review

Stop by to check out Lily's spotlight of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com

November 27th @ Michelle Cornish

Join Michelle to read an interview with D.W. Brooks.

https://www.michellecornish.com/blog

November 29th @ Pages & Paws

Join Kristine as she shares a guest post by D.W. Brooks about switching careers from medicine to writing. 

http://www.pagesandpaws.com/

November 29th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews blog

Join Lisa for an interview with D.W. Brooks.

https://lisahaselton.com/blog/

November 30th @ Life According to Jamie

Stop by Jamie's blog to read her review of Homecoming Chaos.

https://www.lifeaccordingtojamie.com

December 3rd @ Author Michelle Cornish
Visit Michelle's blog to read a guest post by D.W. Brooks writing as Jamison Scott about the wedding that wasn't.
https://www.michellecornishauthor.com/blog/bookish-bits

December 5th @ Reading Beyond the Book Cover

Join Jaleesa as she shares her review of Homecoming Chaos.

https://readingbeyondthebookcover.com/

December 6th @ A Storybook World

Stop by Deirdra's blog to read her spotlight of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

December 7th @ Nikki's Book Reviews

Check out Nikki's review of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.

https://nikkitsbookreviews.wordpress.com/

December 9th @ Helen Hollick Author

Visit Helen's blog to read a guest post from author D.W. Brooks.
https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

December 12th @ Bring On Lemons

Join Crystal as she shares her review of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.

http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

December 14th @ The Knotty Needle

Stop by to read Judy's review of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.

http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com

December 15th @ Sue Edwards’s blog

Stop by Sue’s blog to read a guest post by D.W. Brooks about literary beginnings.

https://suebe.wordpress.com/

December 17th @ World of My Imagination
Visit Nicole's blog to read her review of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks.
https://worldofmyimagination.com

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win a copy of Homecoming Chaos by D.W. Brooks! Fill out the Rafflecopter form for a chance to win. The giveaway ends December 3rd at 11:59 CT. We will choose a winner the next day and announce in the widget and follow up via email. Good luck!

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