Sunday Rewind - Marianne Delacourt, Author of Too Sharp

My third author interview was with Marianne Delacourt, author of the Tara Sharp series.  This was a fun interview for several reasons:  It was my first interview with a stranger (so I was a total nervous wreck).  Marianne lives in Brisbane Australia while her agent, who was the one who contacted me initially, lives somewhere in Scotland, so I had this crazy, three-way conversation where I was trying to figure out who was in what time zone.  Marianne is 17 hours ahead of me, so while it was afternoon for me during the interview, it was the following morning for her.  I got to talk to her in the future!  Finally, Marianne is lovely and I couldn't have asked for a nicer person for my first "non-friend" interview.  

But on to the series. 

When Marianne and I spoke it was to talk about the third book in the series, Too Sharp.  Below are links to the first 2 if you would like more information:

Click Here for Book 1

Click Here for Book 2

(Source)

Amateur sleuth and reluctant aura reader, Tara Sharp, returns in a new adventure. This time she’s looking after a difficult rock star in Bris-vegas and it’s not just him or his crazy fans she’s got to look out for – there’s danger and intrigue aplenty when you’re playing with the sharks of the music business.

Tara Sharp is back again in this frightening foray into the music industry. Things are a bit hot for Tara Sharp in Perth, so she jumps at the chance to leave town when a music promoter offers her a gig looking after a difficult rock star who’s performing in Brisbane. It’s not Tara’s usual line of work but the money is good and she’s a sucker for a backstage pass. Respite from her mother – with all her not-so-subtle hints about ‘eligible young men’ and ‘suitable jobs’ – is also a plus, as is the time and distance to resolve her mixed up feelings about the men in her life.

Arriving in ‘BrisVegas’, Tara finds her hands full dealing with the bizarre habits of the ‘artist’, not to mention his crazy fans. She soon discovers that the music industry is more cut-throat than she could possibly have imagined, and that the promoter who hired her is in over his head. In her quest to level the playing field, Tara discovers that it can get very dangerous messing with the big boys…

Tara Sharp has been compared to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.  There are definitely some similarities, but where Stephanie comes into her bounty hunter career almost by accident, Tara embarks on her investigative career as a way to learn about and utilize her ability to read auras.  Like Stephanie, though, Tara manages to find herself in some crazy situations that are both dangerous and often hilarious.  In addition, Tara finds herself attracted to and interested in 2 very different men, which adds to Tara's already stressful life.

Genres:

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Supernatural
• Comedy

What I loved:

• How Tara's reluctance to use her gift evolves to a point where she is able to use it to start a career, make new friends and acquaintances, and learn about herself.
• The cast of secondary characters who are hilarious, quirky, and supportive of Tara despite the strangeness her life sometimes gets them all into.
• The off-beat humor of the story.
• Learning new Australian words and slang!

Who should read Too Sharp:

• Fans of mysteries with heart and comedy.
• Fans of supernatural stories (with the bonus that they aren't creepy).
• Fans of romantic comedy.

Great quotes:

• "I nodded, trying hard to open my mind to the possibility.  I mean, hell, I saw auras around people!  Who was to say Inigo couldn't smell things?  It seemed ridiculous but, under Inigo's earnest scrutiny, I had to give her the benefit of the doubt, if only because it was rude not to" -Tara
• "The pastry was flaky and the mince soft, and for a moment I forgot everything except my carbo-gasm." - Tara

Where to find Marianne online:
Website: http://www.tarasharp.com.au/
Website http://www.mariannedepierres.com/ (Marianne DePierres is the name under which Marianne writes Science Fiction)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdepierres
Twitter: @mdepierres
Blog: http://www.mariannedepierres.com/blog/

To listen to my interview with Marianne please click here.