Guest Post by Debbie Dyke

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to share my writing background with you and your interest in The Bloody Mary Club! I appreciate the support and hope that you will come away jazzed about financial chick lit!  The time has come for smart girl money fiction!

The Bloody Mary Club most definitely has elements of my real life experiences.  My novel is a financial thriller about an all women investment club that meets in historic Old Town, Alexandria, Va. The friends, caught up in a ruthless bank takeover, uncover accounting fraud and trading irregularities. When the tight circle faces off against greedy executives sitting on millions of dollars worth of stock options their financial security blanket is ripped away. The ladies become the target of a predatory national bank. As the intrigue and violence escalates so does the vodka in their namesake drink, Bloody Marys.

There are many details in the novel that came from my life. First and foremost, I’m a military brat, I grew up overseas.  The main characters are also military brats that met overseas while in college. Some are based on friends that I met overseas while attending the University of Maryland Munich Campus, others from my time in Naples, Italy.  In the novel, these lifelong friends are so different that they probably wouldn’t be friends if they met in the present time. I on the other hand, have a tight circle of friends that I met while overseas and we are all enjoying growing old together. I draw upon this overseas experience to create many of my memorable characters and scenes in The Bloody Mary Club.  One of my favorite scenes I had to cut which goes into goes back in time to when the women were living in Munich in college and meet up in the Hofbrauhaus for a night of beer drinking. They end up dancing in a fountain square then one of the ladies empties a box of Tide detergent into the fountain turning the square into a bubbly mess. The police are called and they barely escape arrest as they flee heading down the winding streets of Munich. This scene ‘might’ be based on a true experience but this author will never tell. It will show up in another novel I am certain of this.

 I shared many of the same traits as my lead character Gina Van Story.  Since I am a former stock broker, I was able to give her that experience dealing with investment advisors and clients of all stripes.  I could relate to her daily grind and make it more realistic. The scenes of Gina at her desk working her book of clients are from my days as a stockbroker. I worked for Dean Witter Reynolds as an investment advisor so much of the detail is  true to life. It was very rewarding when a fixed income trader in NYC contacted me to tell me how much he enjoyed my novel because it was so true to the way things are done. The stock brokerage pecking order is still going strong; those with the most assets under management get the choice office, assistants and the goodies. The local bank in the novel is based on my dealings with a similar bank and the way their private stock is handled with a market maker.

Gina is a savvy stockbroker on the hunt for a big score that will land her in the top 1% income bracket.  Here’s where we differ, she will do anything to get there, even moonlight as a venture capitalist and doing deals off the books. The proceeds are wired into a sheltered off shore retirement account away from the IRS’s prying eyes. Illegal? She’s not worried, money solves any problem. Although I’d never do anything like this, it’s interesting to see how it plays out in the story.

From the onset, you think Gina has it all. As you get to know her, you find out that she has a tight circle of friends, but no husband, no children, not even a pet and a dysfunctional relationship with her widowed mother. Her greed and love of money-making has exacted a toll. She needs to come down a peg and find her humanity and look beyond the closing bell of NYSE.  As for me, I’m long time married, with two children, and have a great relationship with my mother. I love to watch the ticker zip by on the stock exchange and love all things money, but I’m not greedy and am happy with the way my life has turned out. As for the belly dancing, it’s all Gina. I don’t belly dance at all.

The novel is set in Old Town Alexandria which is where I happen to live. Many of the scenes are locations that I pass by on a daily basis. And like Gina, I live in an historic house built in the 1850’s  and  we have similar taste  in decorating. One of the most interesting questions I’ve gotten from a reader is where is 606 S. Fairfax Street? This is Gina’s address in my novel. It’s an inside joke, because it’s the address of a lot that I own here in town that is hidden behind  a big red gate.

The financial quotes at the beginning of each of my chapters are from a Wall Street 365 day calendar that I wrote. The Wall Street Calendar was my first venture into financial writing. I received a 365 day calendar for Christmas several years ago; it was called “money saving tips.” It was awful! Each time I tore off the page for the next day I’d cringe with the new tidbit of information. Example:  to save on toilet paper step on the roll. By flattening, you will save on paper use! At some point I said, “this is so bad, I could write a better one.” And sure enough, the idea stuck.  I started working on a smart Wall Street Calendar which if you are paying attention is now put to good use at the beginning of each chapter.  My Wall Street 365 day calendar garnered the attention of the publisher of the most the most well regarded financial commentator at the time Lou Rukeyser.

As you can tell,  I am very passionate about the stock market and investments.  I’m fascinated by the recent Ponzi schemes that have been reported in the front page news. I’ve watched the bank meltdowns with great interest. As a former stockbroker, I’ve met a few embezzlers and worked with several bad brokers who’ve run away with client’s money. It always amazes me that even the rich and mighty get taken in by complicated financial schemes and are so trusting of their financial advisors. I think the time is right for smart, funny, readable financial fiction.  Let’s pump up the interest in Financial Thrillers!

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss my journey with you.  I hope you enjoy reading The Bloody Mary Club and come away with an appreciation of all things financial!

You can keep up with me by visiting my website:  www.DebbieDyke.com, or dropping in on my blog: http://debbiedykebooks.blogspot.com/  and find me on Facebook at: DebbieDykeBooks.

Cheers! Debbie Dyke, Author, The Bloody Mary Club!

 **Giveaway!**

**Everyone who leaves a comment on Debbie’s tour page will be entered in the giveaway! Anyone who purchases their copy of The Bloody Mary Club before November 26 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five entries in a drawing to win the following prizes!

1. $10 Amazon gift card
2. Bloody Mary Gift Basket (US only) OR
3. Three winners will receive a copy of The Bloody Mary Club**