Tempeste Blake's Blog

Author Interview: Debut Mystery Author Samantha Goodwin

Recently, Samantha Goodwin, author of Murder at Macbeth, and I sat down over tea and had a chat about ... okay, really we talked via email and messenger, but I'm painting a picture so play along ... we sat and drank tea and chatted about writing and books, especially those of the mystery variety, and here's how some of the conversation went. T: Do you have any writing habits or superstitions?S: I handwrite everything as I find my ideas flow better! It’s great because it means I can write anyw...

March 2019 Update

Well, my friends, I’m woefully behind on updating you on what’s going on at my little writing desk. I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath! I published my novella, Behind the Mask, at the end of 2018. It’s a companion story to the Riley’s Peak series, with a throwback look at some characters from the Chasing Symmetry and Chasing Gravity novels, Mack and Rose. As I was getting to know them in the Chasing books, I became intrigued, and decided I needed to spend a little more time with t...

Some People Swear the House is Haunted

Some people swear the house is haunted. It hadn’t always been. What had once been a decent three-bedroom bungalow now slanted under the weight of neglect. A low hum howled from cracked windows framed in crooked shutters. Shrieks. Groans. Growls. An occasional disturbed giggle, interrupted the humming. An awful smell assaulted those who dared to walk by. A combination of odors, a comingling of burnt popcorn and smoking wires reminiscent of scorched regret mixed with singed frustration.A man, l...

Falling for Tea

Confession time: I’m one of those “crazies” who drinks hot coffee year-round. But with fall upon us here in my little corner of the globe, I'm even more likely than not to have a hot mug warming my hands. Lately, my preference is turning to tea. The options seem endless. Have we always had so many choices, or like in everything else, are entrepreneurs stepping up their game? Chocolate Pu-erh had me at choco. And Raspberry Mojito? Yes, please!Some interesting tidbits about the magical leaves:A...

Through An Open Window

Last week I blogged about my characters’ heroes. This week, one of my characters takes it a step further. In Bianca’s surreal encounter with her hero, Frida Kahlo, fact and fiction intersect; Frida’s lines are her own words.A large palette splotched with color encircled Frida like a giant hoop skirt.Bianca was at her desk, dipping an old-fashioned quill pen into an ink well and drawing lines across a scroll of parchment.Grasping a stiff-bristled detail brush, Frida made hatching motions near...

Who's Coming To Dinner?

We’ve all been there, in that group where the question comes up: “If you could have a meal with someone living or dead, who would it be?”The idea is so thought provoking, I couldn’t resist putting it to some of my characters to see how they’d respond.Art professor, Bianca James would love to break bread with Frida Kahlo. A Mexican artist best known for her soul-baring self-portraits, Frida faced the obstacles in her life—childhood polio, a horrific bus accident, and a tumultuous marriage—as B...

The Bridge Between

I have always been fascinated with bridges, their size, shape, and structure, and especially what lies between point A and point B. In my first novel, Chasing Symmetry, there’s a brief exchange about London Bridge between Bianca and Maris, and yes, the well-known children’s song comes into play. In Chasing Gravity, an important scene takes place at the pinnacle of the town’s tallest bridge where Dylan is forced to face his fear of heights while fighting sweaty palms, racing heart, and images...

Crushing

I wouldn’t want to slight the other seasons, because I find something wonderful in each, but I have areallybig crush on spring. As soon as I toss last year’s calendar, my fingers start itching to flip ahead to March.Spring. Something fresh bounces to mind at the very name. A season filled with promise—flowers budding, birds warbling, runners, walkers, and bikers coming out in force. Life hums again.If I had a time machine, I’d set the dial for 1948, the sunniest spring on record. Oh how I’d l...

Hyperarousal

Now that I have your attention, the definition of hyperarousal may not be what you think. It refers to the acute stress response in the face of anything threatening. Imagine fight or flight on steroids. Most of us don’t have to deal with this kind of stress, but every one of us will at some point in our lives encounter the day-to-day variety.When you find yourself in times of trouble,do you flee, throw back a chablis, orlet it be?Stress has no plans for moving on, so we might as well learn to...

Ghost Whispers

For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued and terrified in equal measure at the idea of ghosts. There’s something magical and even romantic about a spirit staying on this earthly plane long after their body has stopped serving its purpose. What keeps them here? Love, fear, a delight in frightening the pants off the living?In my latest novel,Chasing Gravity, one of the main characters, Tish Duchene, is from Savannah, GA, reportedly one of the most haunted cities in the country. Sava...