Author Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway ~ HOMECOMING CHAOS (Model MD, #1) by D.W. Brooks

Homecoming Chaos (Model MD, #1)
by: D.W. Brooks
Series: Model MD
Genre: African American Romantic Suspense/Mystery Romance
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Publisher: Life: The Reboot LLC

A dead body in the parking lot of her family’s business, a killer on the loose, and a handsome detective asking a lot of questions…

Jamie Scott’s life fell apart four years ago when she broke off her engagement, turned down a dream job, and went overseas to run away from her life. Now she’s back, but the reunion is not without problems. She arrives home just in time to attend the soiree her mother planned, but she’s not prepared for what she finds—a dead employee in the parking lot.

Detective Nick Marshall is assigned to the murder case at the forensics lab owned by Jamie’s family. He meets the headstrong Jamie, but he has a job to do. And his attraction to her… well, he’s a professional.

Jamie knows the stakes are high. She has to face the past and save her parents’ business while dealing with her family drama and an uncertain future. She also has to deal with Nick, who wants her out of the way of his investigation. But fate keeps throwing them in one another’s paths… and into chaos that they both want to avoid, but neither can seem to escape.

Hi D.W. Welcome to Read Your Writes Book Reviews. Please introduce yourself to readers and myself.
My name is Dominique W. Brooks (Penname: D. W. Brooks). I am originally from Alabama, but I have lived in Texas for the past twenty years. My first career choice was to become a writer, but my efforts as an eight-year-old were less than successful! I became a physician, but after completing my residency, I got my MBA, and left practice to work for WebMD in medical education. By the mid-2010s, because of a hereditary kidney condition, I developed kidney failure, and my activities were severely limited. I started writing Homecoming Chaos then. After my transplant, I finally got it published.

Congratulations on being a debut author. This question has absolutely nothing to do with reading or books. You’re a physician, and also a kidney transplant survivor. Is it true physicians are the worst patients?
As a general rule, I agree that doctors are typically the worst patients. Even if the health issue at hand is not the physician's specialty, he/she probably knows just enough about the condition to be dangerous. Physicians can advocate for themselves with their colleagues, so that's a plus.

I was a relatively obedient patient for two reasons. One: I hated nephrology as a medical student and spent a lot of time trying to avoid the topic. That stemmed from knowing that kidney problems were likely in my future (I have a genetic condition) and not wanting to think about it before I had to. Two: I was scared into being obedient. Being on dialysis is difficult, and I didn't want to do anything that might ruin my chances to get a transplant and get off of dialysis.

Now that we have that out of the way…. Please tell me about Homecoming Chaos.
My FMC Jamison Jones Scott is a former successful teen model who made a foolish mistake which her mother won't let her live down. Several years later, Jamie broke off her engagement, turned down a lucrative job opportunity, and left the country without goodbyes or warnings. After four years overseas, she decided to come home and fix some of the mess that she made by leaving the way she did. She expects pushback from many in her family, with most coming from her mother, who she has a complicated relationship with. And she was right, but before they can really hash anything out, one of Jamie's parents' employees was killed in the parking lot of their business. The family had been considering a business expansion, but this event puts a wrench in their plans. Two detectives were called in to handle the case. Jamie develops an instant attraction to one of them, Nick. He's attracted too, but he wants her to stay out of their way while they work on the case. But she's not going to do that…

Jamie has to manage her family drama, her growing attraction to the detective, and trying to solve the murder case to protect her parents. There's a lot going on.

Tell us about some of the characters readers will meet in the story.
In some of my characters and their relationships, there is a kernel of reality.

My main female character, Jamison (Jamie) is roughly based on me—she is a tall physician who decided to leave the practice of medicine. I created her based on some experiences and conversations that I had when I left the practice of medicine. Of course, I had to add much more drama to her back story to make it interesting. She is very smart and compassionate but doesn't always look before she leaps. It gets her into trouble.

Margaret Scott is the matriarch of the family. She comes from a wealthy family but gave it all up because they did not approve of her chosen mate Gregory. Ironically, she wants to have the same type of control over her children's love lives, similar to what her parents did to her. She wants respectability and is often hypercritical. She loves her kids very much, but she can be overbearing.

Gregory Scott met Margaret when he was a scholarship student at Morehouse, and she was at Spelman. He had big plans and ideas as a researcher, and Margaret had complete faith in him to make his and her dreams come true. The tradeoff for that was that he was working really hard while the children were younger, leaving a lot of the childcare to Margaret. Her helicopter tendencies often made things more difficult than they needed to be. As an older man, he regrets his relative absence during their childhoods and is a lot more present now–for both his adult kids and his grandkids.

Jon Scott is the middle child and the only surviving son. He's an architect and single. He has horrible dating habits, often dating young, immature, hot women. When he realizes that they have nothing in common, the breakup is usually a horror show. He and Jamie are very close—he was the only person who she communicated with while she was out of the country.

Jillian Scott (Bradshaw) is the youngest Scott sibling. She is also married to an older attorney who she met when she was interning in his office as a senior in college. She put off law school for herself, got married, and now has four sons. But now she is questioning her next steps and is looking to go back to law school, which her husband is not happy about.

Nick Marshall is the detective assigned to the murder case at the Scott business. He's an excellent detective who has a thing for tall women. When he's on the job, he is about getting the job done with emotions under control. He doesn't want to break protocol but wants to be around Jamie—and she's bringing information. It's a challenge.

What drew you to writing mystery romance?
I have been a mystery fan since I was a child. Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, and more. I actually planned to write a straight mystery. That's what we were trying to write as children when my cousins and I tried to write mystery books when we were eight years old. However, I have been recently reading more Janet Evanovich novels; she incorporates romance in her mystery books. When I looked at my FMC and her back story, I thought that adding an element of romance would add some tension/complications to Jamie's homecoming.

When it comes to the romance of the story. What kind of romance are we talking about? Do you feel that it’s equally as important as the mystery/suspense aspect of the story? Or do you feel it serves as an extra layer to the story?
The romance between Jamie and Nick adds an additional layer to the mystery and the family drama from her return. The romance itself in this debut novel is essentially clean except for one scene where passions start to flare. However, they were interrupted, so they didn't fully give in to their feelings then. Given Jamie's difficult history with romance and relationships, she tries to play it cool. Plus, Nick is poking around the family business; he doesn't want to be attracted to a suspect/person of interest. There is a bit of falling for the enemy here!

Homecoming Chaos is the first book in your Model MD series. How many books are you anticipating being in the series?
I plan to write six or seven novels and multiple novellas—at least one between novels. I am working on 2 novellas and one novel for this year. Let's see how that goes!

D.W. Thank you so much for your time.

“Wait, wait. Hold on. Do you have a warrant? Do we need an attorney?” Jamison stood up, too. She was almost as tall as the detective and incredibly pretty up close, which caught him off guard. “Aren’t there proprietary issues at the lab?”

Nick paused and deferred to Ronald. Ronald chimed in. “We’re just trying to get information about this woman’s death. You can call a lawyer if you wish but retaining one may slow things down.”

“Hmmm.” Jamie stared at both detectives. She couldn’t read either of them, but the situation gave her pause. She recognized the importance of finding out what had happened to their employee. However, the family business needed to be shielded as much as possible. Jamie hadn’t been back long, and her brain was still cloudy and jet-lagged, but she recognized the potential perils in just letting the police roam free in the lab. “Dad, Mother, someone should call Richard,” she said, scrutinizing both parents.

Margaret said, “Good idea. I’ll call while I change. He can meet us there.” She gave the detective and the other officers a superior glance. “Richard Bradshaw, he’s a partner at Bradshaw, Taylor, and Kline, and he is our son-in-law.” She turned to walk into the master suite, with Gregory following.

Nick shook his head, and Ronald was less subtle with a steady scowl. Both had heard about Richard’s firm and peripherally knew Richard. This situation just got a lot more difficult. Nick didn’t suspect the family, but involving a lawyer usually complicated their police work. He turned back to Jamie, who was studying his reaction. He adjusted his face so she couldn’t sense his annoyance.

Jamie noted the subtle change and smiled to herself. She could tell she had annoyed him. Even annoyed, he’s pretty cute. “I need to get my coat. If you will excuse me,” she said, heading back to her bedroom.

Upstairs, Jamie changed clothes, retrieving a pair of skinny black jeans from her bag. As she slid into her jeans, her mind wandered to the detective. She typically dated guys that were taller than her—with her ex-fiancé being the lone exception—Eddie had been the same height. A strong jaw, wavy-ish hair, nice lips, and a commanding presence—which Jamie suspected the detective had in spades—didn’t hurt either. Just the type of guy she would typically go for if the circumstances were different. Rifling through the dresser, she found a white Henley shirt she’d left on a previous visit. She had gained almost fifteen pounds since then, and the shirt fit snugly. She now had boobs! Placing the hat back on her head, she was glad she had an appointment at the hair salon later in the day.

Yikes, she thought after catching herself primping in the mirror. Am I trying to impress the detective who’s investigating us? Girl, it has been a long time. Although he is hot. She shook her head exasperatedly.

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The author is a doctor and editor who lives in Texas with her husband and children. She enjoys trying to stay in shape, sporadically cooking, reading (still), writing, and working on her blog. She is eternally grateful to the woman who donated a kidney to her over 5 years ago and continues to advocate for organ donation as much as she can.

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