What Grows From the Dead by Dave Dobson | Character Guest Post

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for What Grows From the Dead by Dave Dobson. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

What Grows From the Dead by Dave Dobson

What Grows From the Dead
Mystery
Stand-Alone
Setting – North Carolina
Independently Published (March 9, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 367 pages

Morris Drummond is not at his best. Well, he hasn’t been at his best for a while now. But having just suffered two crushing losses, he’s almost at rock bottom, which for him means driving ride-share in his mom’s beat up Chevy, drowning his sorrows in tacos and spray cheese, and avoiding anything related to ambition, self-care, or laundry.

Morris is about to learn that he didn’t even know what rock bottom looked like, and it’s all thanks to his mom. A secret she left behind comes to light, and that brings down a lot of unwanted attention on Morris, the kind that looks likely to send him either to prison or to the hereafter. Blood and treachery from long ago rise to the surface, and Morris has only his lawyer Annie, who’s an old high school friend, and a few unexpected allies to call on as he tries to figure out what his mom was up to and why so many people want him out of the picture.

A humorous mystery with elements of suspense and thrillers, What Grows From the Deadis set in present-day small-town North Carolina, not far from the mysterious Uwharrie Forest.

Content warnings: Coarse language throughout; some gun violence (not graphic).

Character Guest Post

[This character guest post is from the perspective of Vampire Steve, an eccentric friend of Morris Drummond, the main character of What Grows From the Dead. Steve runs a comics and game shop in Fairwater, the small town where most of the book takes place, and he is Morris’ only customer for the rideshare work Morris does. Steve’s not a huge part of the book, but he’s somebody Morris likes and trusts.]

Transcript of Taped Interview: Stephen Janewicz, session #2

Date: November 3, 10:45am

Background on the Drummond case

 

Interviewer: Det. Gerald Palmer, NCSBI

Palmer:  Mr. Janewicz–

Janewicz: You may call me Steve, mortal.

Palmer: Sorry, Steve. We’ve covered the facts of the case in our conversation earlier this morning, so now I want to turn to what you know about Morris Drummond. I’m trying to get a sense of who the guy is.

Janewicz: To what end?

Palmer: [breath noises] He’s not in trouble. At least, not yet. I’m just trying to corroborate the things he’s said while we unwind what’s going on in Baxter County.

Janewicz: Very well. You may continue.

Palmer: So, you’ve known him a while?

Janewicz: The fleeting lives of your kind do not always impinge upon my memory.

Palmer: Right. But you know Morris better than that?

Janewicz: He has served as my chariot-master these past six moons.

Palmer: The chariot in question being his mom’s Chevy?

Janewicz: [no reply]

Palmer: How often did he drive you?

Janewicz: When the sun was at its height, and at its most dangerous to me, and again when the gloom of night reigned.

Palmer: Can you put that in, er, mortal terms? With hours?

Janewicz: My shop opens at noon and closes at midnight.

Palmer: So he drove you there and back?

Janewicz: And sometimes other places, when I was in need of sustenance.

Palmer: What’s a guy like you eat?

Janewicz: I favor pork rinds. And other foods darker and more mysterious.

Palmer: Right. So, you and Morris are friends?

Janewicz: I sensed there were none closer to him than I during his time of darkness, though others became entangled. I hope his curtain of shadow may yet lift.

Palmer: That was kind of a yes or no question, you know.

Janewicz: [no reply]

Palmer: This curtain of shadow thing. You mean the business with the Baxter County sheriff’s department?

Janewicz: In part. But the pall cast over Morris began well before that. He dwelt in shadow, sucked dry by his employer and then by the loss of one he loved.

Palmer: Who’s that? That he loved?

Janewicz: The one who cast him forth into this sorry world.

Palmer: His mom, you mean?

Janewicz: [no reply]

Palmer: So, he was, what, depressed?

Janewicz: His soul shed tears of blood from a wound that would not close.

Palmer: Right. [Breath noises. Papers shuffling.] Do I have this right that you were in the military?

Janewicz: I served in the ranks of blood and strife, once. It was a time long ago, before I became as I am now. I almost feel that was a different man.

Palmer: [chuckling] I bet. Can’t see you pulling off this, uh, whatever this is, in basic training.

Janewicz: [no reply]

Palmer: Did you ever know Morris to be violent? Use guns?

Janewicz: Morris is a man of peace. Weapons of war and violence were alien to him.

Palmer: How do you know this? Did you talk about it?

Janewicz: He told me he had to watch YouTube videos to even figure out if a gun was loaded.

Palmer: Right.

Janewicz: I must needs depart? My place of business opens anon.

Palmer: Sure, just one more question. When did Morris get agitated about all this… this situation he found himself in?

Janewicz: I think it grew with each new insult to his honor, each new threat to his life and safety.

Palmer: Right. Can you maybe put a date on that?

Janewicz: It was when he found that which his mother preferred buried.

About Dave Dobson

A native of Ames, Iowa, Dave loves writing, reading, boardgames, computer games, improv comedy, pizza, barbarian movies, and the cheaper end of the Taco Bell menu. Also, his wife and kids.

Dave is the author of Snood, Snoodoku, Snood Towers, and other computer games. Dave first published Snood in 1996, and it became one of the most popular shareware games of the early Internet. He’s recently published some puzzle card games in the Doctor Esker’s Notebook series.

Dave taught geology, environmental studies, and computer programming at Guilford College for 24 years. He does improv comedy at  the Idiot Box in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also played the world’s largest tuba in concert. Not that that is relevant, but it’s still kinda cool.

Flames Over Frosthelm was Dave’s first novel, released in 2019. He followed it a year later with Traitors Unseen and The Outcast Crown, then Daros in 2021, The Woeling Lass in 2022, and Got Trouble and Kenai in 2023. He released his first mystery novel, What Grows From the Dead, in 2024, and he’s currently at work on a humorous epic fantasy novel.

Author Links

Website:   https://davedobsonbooks.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DaveDobson    https://www.facebook.com/frosthelmbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davedobsonfromiowa/

Twitter/X:  https://twitter.com/GCDaveDobson

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/davedobson.bsky.social

Mastodon:  https://mas.to/@davedobson

GoodReads Link:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209690880-what-grows-from-the-dead

Purchase Links – Amazon 

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What Grows from the Dead TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 18 – Jane Reads – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 19 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

June 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY 

June 22 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

June 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 25 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

June 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 27 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 27 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 29 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

June 29 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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