Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guests, writing team Elyse Douglas, authors of Daring Summer, The Christmas Eve Time Travel Series, and many others.  City of Deadly Dreams was just published in May and is their first foray into the noir-style private investigator novel.

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse grew up near the sea, roaming the beaches, reading and writing stories and poetry, receiving a master’s degree in English Literature.  She has enjoyed careers as an English teacher, an actress and a speech-language pathologist.

Douglas has worked as a graphic designer, a corporate manager and an equities trader.  He attended the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and played the piano professionally for many years.

Bee: Please tell us something about ‘City of Deadly Dreams’ that isn’t in the description.

Elyse Douglas:  When I was young, I used to watch old black-and-white mysteries and detective movies with my father, who loved the genre.  He often read three mystery/detective novels a week: John D. MacDonald, Jim Thompson, Tami Hoag and Raymond Chandler.  Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe was one of my father’s favorite detectives.  I soon read all twenty-one of the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald and moved on to Raymond Chandler and others.

So, I told Doug I wanted to write a detective novel—a noir-style private investigator story—that has the atmosphere of an old-style, gritty, P.I. mystery but is set in present-day New York City.  He said, “Go for it.”

It was a great challenge, but one I loved.

Bee: Where do you get the names for your characters?

Elyse Douglas:  Sometimes they drop in from thin air, but more often, I must search a list of names on the internet until the right one jumps out and says, “That’s my name!  Don’t pass me by.”

Bee: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing Dane and Darcy in the movie version of ‘City of Deadly Dreams’?  

Elyse Douglas: Chris Hemsworth as Dane Cooper and Zoey Deutch as Darcy.  I think they’d light up the screen and bring the story to life.

Bee: Tell us about your cover.  Did you design it yourself?  

Elyse Douglas: I made suggestions to the designer as to the look and feel, and I selected some photos.  I wanted New York City lit up at night with Darcy’s image fading in, and I was pleased with the result.

Bee: Elvis is such an interesting character yet he is not in the book himself much.  Can you tell us more about him and perhaps how his parents believed he was the real Elvis Presley, reincarnated?

Elyse Douglas: Elvis’ parents conceived their son, Elvis Lipps, in Graceland on their honeymoon twenty years before.  He was born on the same day as THE Elvis and only minutes from Elvis Presley’s birthtime.  Elvis Lipps also resembles THE Elvis, and he has a similar singing style.  Therefore, Elvis Lipps’ parents wanted to believe their son was THE reincarnated Elvis Presley. 

PI detective, Dane Cooper, wants no part of the reincarnation thing, nor of the case, but he takes it because he needs the money.  

Elvis Lipps is a 20-year-old young man who’s been spoiled and pampered.  He lacks life experience and runs away from home to break away from his controlling, fawning parents.  Unfortunately, he falls into bad company, makes bad choices, and soon finds himself in several dangerous situations that he’s unprepared for.  

Bee: How long did it take you to complete ‘City of Deadly Dreams’?

Elyse Douglas: It was worked on between other projects, while the plot distilled, and the characters ripened.  All total, it probably took nearly a year to complete.

Bee: What is your usual writing routine?

Elyse Doglas: I often edit in the morning for two hours and then write in the afternoon for four hours.  I work seven days a week, except for birthdays, holidays, and the occasional ‘I need-to-get-away-from-writing’ day.

Bee: Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?

Elyse Douglas: No, not really.  I’ve been doing them for so many years that I’ve learned how to budget time and resources.  

Bee: What do you do when you are not writing?

Elyse Douglas:  I love to read, swim, go to the theater, travel (I’m ready, after COVID) and have dinner with friends.  After this past year, it has been delightful to meet with old friends again and not have to look at each other over ZOOM.  And the wine just tastes better!

Thank you, Bee, for the questions, and for being a part of the book tour.  It’s very much appreciated!

Follow Here to Read Bee's Review of City Of Deadly Dreams