Guest Author: Diana Orgain

Diana Orgain, author of Motherhood is Murder, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to tell us about her inspiration for the Maternal Instincts Mystery Series.

Thank you to Jennifer for her kind invitation for me to blog here at Reading with Tequila! She told me that she thought MOTHERHOOD IS MURDER, the second installment to my Maternal Instincts Mystery Series, was not only a fun mystery but a comfort new mothers who read it, letting them know they aren't alone in the insanity of those first few months.

I was so delighted to hear that because it was entirely the inspiration for my series. I wrote Bundle of Trouble, the first in the series, because when I was pregnant with my first child I was addicted to non-fiction baby developments books. I read nightly how my little sprout was progressing, week 14 fingernails are well formed, week 26 eyelashes are present. Eyelashes? Really? I was fascinated.

Around week 35 I ran out of material. I had read ahead in all the non-fiction books and had nothing new to read. I longed to escape into fiction. But every time I cracked open a mystery my mind drifted back to baby – how were the lungs doing? Kidneys, liver, what about those reflexes – were they present yet?

After my baby was born, my fascination with her development didn’t stop and neither did my love for a good mystery/thriller. I hated the idea of returning to the corporate world and leaving my baby for a minimum of 40 hours a week. I had to be a stay at home mom, but what could I do to earn a living?

The idea for Bundle of Trouble was formed: Woman on the verge of giving birth gets a disturbing call from the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office. She’s compelled to investigate, but oh…one thing she now has a newborn to care for. So, new mom turns PI in order to stay at home with her baby and solve the crime…only it’s not as easy as she thinks.

And then, why not juxtapose the baby development with the protagonist development as a PI? When the baby’s vision started to come into focus, the protagonist, Kate Connolly, finds a clue. When the baby is able to hold her head up, Kate has a moment of pride in the investigation and so forth.

I wrote Bundle of Trouble for all moms, grandmas and everyone who has a mom. I hope you laugh out loud when you read about Kate’s twists and turns as she grows into a PI and a mom, that the pace will keep you turner those pages and that the mystery will keep you guessing “who done it” until the end.

I’d love to hear from you. You can find my website at: www.dianaorgain.com Or email me at: diana@dianaorgain.com

About the Author

Diana Orgain holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University with a minor in acting. Diana’s plays have been produced at San Francisco State University, at GreenHouse Productions, and PlayGround in San Francisco. She is the author of BUNDLE OF TROUBLE and MOTHERHOOD IS MURDER. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their children.

About the Book

Nights out are hard to come by for new parents. So when Kate’s new- mommy club, Roo & You, holds a dinner cruise, she and her husband leave baby Laurie with Kate’s mom and join the grown-ups for some fine dining on the San Francisco Bay.

But when one of the cofounders of Roo & You takes a fatal spill down a staircase, the police department crashes the party.

Suddenly every mom and her man has a motive. Kate’s on deck to solve the mystery- but a killer’s determined to make her rue the day she joined the first-time-mom’s club…

Reading with Tequila's review of Motherhood is Murder