BooksChatter: ℚ Saving Grace

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author D.M. Barr to talk about her latest release, Saving Grace (29 July 2020, Black Rose Writing, 257 pages), a Psychological Thriller.

"A psychological thriller with more than enough twists, turns, and misdirection to keep even the most jaded reader turning pages all night long." –Lori Robbins, author of the Silver Falchion Award-winning novel, Lesson Plan for Murder

"A roller coaster ride of fun and frantic sleuthing." -Suzanne Trauth, author, Dodie O'Dell Mysteries

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome to D.M. Barr; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for Saving Grace?

"To be honest, my father is well off and living in Florida and my husband has asked me a few times about my inheritance. My mind took me to a dark place…what if he were staying married just until he could inherit my money?"

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I see Saving Grace as a feminist novel and I do believe that when wives and mothers (like me) cross over forty, they become invisible to society, especially advertisers. Their husbands and children can take them for granted. They cry out to be noticed. This book takes that concept and blows it out of the water."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Saving Grace - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I worked with Dave King, who is the design director at Black Rose Writing. That publisher gives you a lot of latitude when it comes to cover design and I chose the photo myself because I wanted to portray a feeling of desperation, claustrophobia and coming out of a fog, as my character does when she goes off her meds."

Why should we read Saving Grace and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"I don’t know of another book where the protagonist weaponizes a novel to save her life. Grace’s plan to save herself is to subtly expose her husband’s plot by fictionalizing her own situation, creating a literary insurance policy. The characters around her are also fighting discrimination and marginalization, and their struggles reflect Grace’s own."

Can you tell us something quirky about Saving Grace, its story and characters?

"I have this ex-Hasidic character named Zev who quotes obscure Yiddish expressions and is the comic relief in the book. He was my absolute favorite character and I hope to give him his own book one day."

Who would you recommend Saving Grace to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"If you love books like Gone Girl with unreliable narrators, I think you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re a woman of a certain age, or a member of a marginalized group, you may appreciate some of the novel’s insights. But, if you’re a little squeamish about murder or verbal abuse, you may want to prepare yourself before reading it."

If you could / wished to turn Saving Grace into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I think Sandra Bullock would make a good Grace. I modelled her father after Carter Pewterschmidt in Family Guy, but I don’t think a cartoon character would work 😀

Maybe Lucy Liu for Andrea Lin, someone like Justin Long (when he was younger) for Hack, and I had a younger version of Rachel Maddow in mind for Kenzie. Zev is the hard one…but if you could get Michael Aloni from Shtisel, I would be over the moon."


Sandra Bullock as Grace	Lucy Liu as Andrea Lin	Justin Long as Hack	Rachel Maddow as Kenzie	Michael Aloni as Zev

What do you like to write about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I love writing psychological thrillers and that’s what I write, but different varieties. My first book, Expired Listings was a mash-up of psychological thriller, satire, and kink; Slashing Mona Lisa was more romantic suspense/women’s fiction. Saving Grace is domestic suspense."

What is your writing process?

"I force myself to sit down every morning from 5:00 am to 7:00 am and write 1,000 words before work. If I don’t finish, I have to come back sometime during the day.

I vomit out the first draft and then the magic happens during revision. I have revised some books ten times before I was happy with them.

Great tip: have your computer read back your words to you when you’re on your final draft. You’d be surprised what you missed in your prior edits."

What is in store next?

"I am currently writing a romance, the first of a possible four-book series, that will deal with revisiting the regrets of our past. I hope to have it finished and edited by October so I can start pitching agents."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I rescue shelter dogs. The first picture is of senior rescues Phoebe and Doofus. The second picture is of my current rescue, Harley. Thanks for asking!"