Toni Anderson's Blog: Toni Anderson, page 83

Some picture locations for STORM WARNING.

[image error] This is the rock pool where Sorcha finds the body...and these are the rocks she has to clamber across to try to rescue him.
[image error] [image error] Here's the award-winning, world famous chippy that features in the story. See all those people digging into their chips!

[image error] This is Anstruther harbor where Sorcha moors her boat and Ben gets a nasty surprise.
[image error] The Isle of May where Sorcha studies her puffins...and Ben battles his hydrophobia.
[image error] This was our house in Anstruther, where in STORM WARNING Sorcha's aunt, uncle and cousin now live.

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Below is the cool tranquil harbor of Cellardyke--one of the most gorgeous spots on earth.
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Widget

I have two books on the Carina Widget :)  Yes, I have a small and easily pleased little mind.

Release Day is here!!!

And finally...today's the day!

STORM WARNING is released from Carina Press and all ebook stores.

[image error] Sorcha Logan is looking for peace.

Recently returned to her hometown on Scotland's craggy coast, Sorcha wants to tame the spirits that made her flee. When she finds a corpse in the surf, however, she can't suppress the memory of discovering her father's body. Nor can she suppress the ghosts that haunt her—or the town's conviction that she's dangerous, and a witch.

Ben Foley is looking for a killer.

An American DEA agent, Ben is in town to investigate the suspicious death of his partner. He's sure that Sorcha knows more than she's letting on—but the more time he spends with the sexy suspect, the less he can fight their illicit attraction. And the less certain he is she's involved with a drug cartel.

But can Ben protect Sorcha from being set up? Or worse—killed?

[image error] [image error] [image error]   [image error] Why all the Eric Bana pictures?  Well (why not?), I based my character Ben Foley on Eric Bana and it might be my last chance to admire Eric without DH getting suspicious :)

The story is essentially a romance and an old-fashioned ghost story, entwined with modern-day drug running along the misty shores of Anstruther, Fife, Scotland.

I hope you like it :)


STORM WARNING available today from Carina Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and all good ebook stores.

Sharing the most amazing photograph...

[image error] Here is my brother-in-law, Ian Anderson, at the base of Victoria Falls in his kayak.  Isn't this beautiful?

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

[image error] I'm thankful for my husband, my son, my daughter, my huge and wonderful extended family, my friends, our health, my life experiences, my memory, my sense of humor and humanity, my integrity, my joy in the world and my sad days. My education. My countries (Britain and Canada). My husband's job, my book releases, my editor, my publishers, my home, my worldly possessions, my down jacket and snow boots in winter, my bank manager who loves to lend me money.  I'm thankful for the memories of the best dog ever and all the other animal companions who've graced my life.

Lots to be thankful for--how about you?

OUT OF GRIEF--SINGING by Charlene Diehl

[image error] I went to a book signing tonight by a longtime friend.

The first time I met Charlene she was the Head of the English Department at the University of Waterloo and I was a post-doc in Biology. I happened to work with her then-husband, Bill.  My hubby and Bill bonded and became fast friends and we began invading their lives for dinner and BBQs. When Charlene's third pregnancy ended happily with the birth of a beautiful, healthy son, we were at the hospital with flowers and cards wishing them well. 

I knew Charlene had suffered a miscarriage and then lost a newborn baby following pre-eclampsia. She almost died too. And I knew it must have been a terrible experience--a heart battering experience--but I never really knew. Charlene put a brave face on her desolation. It's been 15 years since Charlene suffered that tragedy and it's taken most of that time for her to come to terms with the grief and guilt and joy of that stolen miracle. And this book, written with a poet's love of language, a writer's eye for detail and a mother's passion, is the story of that journey. With so many pregnancies ending in sadness rather than joy this is a story for all those who've lost someone they love.  But knowing the vibrant and sparkling personality that Charlene Diehl is I have a hard time believing you would read this book and come away feeling miserable. Charlene is life and true happiness--perhaps as only someone who has experienced real tragedy can be. 

In another twist of fate we all ended up living in Winnipeg. Not only that, but our daughters are best friends. Life is full of circles. This one is beautiful.

Out of Grief, Singing is an achingly beautiful account of how a woman comes to terms with the loss of her newborn. After a bewildering series of rapid diagnoses and emergency interventions, Charlene's daughter Chloe is born. But her too-brief life is spent in the neonatal intensive care unit, and her mother, leveled by an epidural anaesthetic procedure gone wrong, can barely make it to her daughter's side. In the months following Chloe's death, more medical crises make it nearly impossible to even begin the grieving process, let alone return to any semblance of a normal life. But return she does, along a path that is both arduous and rich. With a poet's ear for language, Charlene Diehl shares her discovery of joy amidst a devastating loss.

The Writers' Police Academy

[image error] So what else did I do at Writers Police Academy?

 I went to a seminars--lots of them.

Why People Kill by Bill Lanning.  First off they totally underestimated how many writers would be attending this one and we had to switch locations to a bigger lecture theatre. Human beings are fascinated by murder and death. I was expecting a talk about the motives--gain, revenge, elimination, jealousy, conviction, lust for killing. Instead we got an insight into the belief that under the right circumstances everyone is capable of murder--something I believe--and to some people it is just a job.  We saw a series of photographs of the Mexican drug cartels getting rid of a body.  The guy doing the deed was smiling for the camera over the most gruesome scene imaginable--truth is much scarier than fiction.

That afternoon we went to an Autopsy seminar by Jonathon Hayes, a Senior Medical Examiner in the Manhattan office, an author, food and music critic.
Selfishly, I was pleased not to be the only Brit in the room.  In Canada my accent blends in, but in North Carolina it stuck out like the proverbial sore digit. Jonathon was an excellent speaker though he refused to tell a room of 100 writers how to commit the perfect murder.  I guess we'll just have to read his books :)  I was impressed by Dr. Hayes's respect for the people who come into his office, both the living and the dead. 

That evening Lee Lofland gave a presentation called A Wilted Rose: The Tina Mott Story.  A heartbreaking true story about the murder of a young woman who never caught a break, who seemed to attract bad luck no matter how hard she tried to do the right thing.  Moving and sad.

On Saturday I went to:
Crash Investigation, by Eric Holloman--OMG the training involved, the physics!!
Tools of the Trade, Susan Powell--a talk about firearms identification by this tiny woman with a big gun.
Profiling Serial Offenders, Richard Helms (another author)--who gave an interesting talk on the differences between Inductive versus Deductive criminal profiling.
Police Equipment, Richard Brewer.  We basically went through the 500kg of kit police 'ossifers' wear on their belt.  I loved this guy :)

After that we had another lecture by Jonathon Hayes on how they identify victims. Later we had the banquet where I sat next to the nicest people, and Jeffery Deaver gave a self-depreciating and inspiring speech with his 3 rules for writers...
Write what you love to read
Never give up--rejection goes with the territory
and something else...LOL--I've forgotten the third.  Shoot me now.
I bought his newest book and Jeff (Jeff--like I know the man :) wrote a humorous inscription for DH who's a big fan.  Oh, how we laughed :)

So that's a quick overview of how I spent most of my time and I'll write one more post about FATS training. TBA.

SEA OF SUSPICION is going audio

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I heard last week that audible.com chose SEA OF SUSPICION for production as an audiobook.  I'm so excited but know nothing else yet.  I haven't heard it and I'm very curious as to how they handle multiple accents etc. 

My weekend was annoying and frustrating (on top of being glorious and productive).  I've been trying to make a photobook of our 6 month sabbatical and noticed Clarke Color (recommended by my friend Meretta) had a 50% of offer that ends tomorrow. I must have put in 10 hours trying to squeeze 6 months of adventure into those pages.  And it looks fabulous but I'm still only on the Normandy Beaches and haven't touched England, Scotland or Canada's west coast yet.  Sigh.  So tonnes done but really irritated I'm not going to get it done in time for the 50% off.  However, maybe it'll be done in time for the next 50% offer. LOL. 

Apart from that I wrote, weeded the garden, sanded and painted window frames, did the laundry and ate.  We watched THE GOONIES with daughter's sleepover friends, DH & I watched the original CAPE FEAR with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum (both actors are brilliant) and caught our family favourite THE AMAZING RACE last night. 

Should have been blogging about the Writers' Police Academy and setting up promo for STORM WARNING which is released next week but I spent the time uploading photographs.  I messed up my 'realistic expectation mindset' and ended up frustrated.  You'd think by now I'd know better, huh?

How was your weekend?

The Writers' Police Academy

 The second day at the Writers' Police Academy started with a bang.  The Sheriff's Office and Guilford Technical Community College And Public Safety Training Academy, in Jamestown, N.C. staged a mock shooting and hostage situation where they deployed a tactical response team while we looked on. This bad guy (really a good guy) shot someone and then went into a classroom and took a hostage.  It happened scary fast.

[image error]  Kind of intimidating having all those guns pointed at you. And the baddy does a great dive when 'shot'.
[image error] Before the police check his health they cuff him and keep their guns on him. A police officer goes into the classroom makes everyone put their hands on their heads and wait.

The officer looking in our direction has a twinkle in his eye :)  He's the same officer who locked me in the back of the squad car the day before--with great enthusiasm I may add :D
[image error] [image error]  A quick pulse check and then (very handsome) EMTs come in to test for a heart beat on the monitor.  
[image error]  The pretend bad guy is pretend dead. They put paper cups over shell casings and evidence.
[image error] The police don't take their guns off the gunman the whole time and the victims have to keep their hands on their heads and are not assumed to be innocent.  I'd pee my pants.
[image error] These are all the photos I could get from my view from the floor.  The adrenaline was flowing and it was all very intense.  This was a great experience and as close to a hostage situation as I ever want to get.

The Writers' Police Academy

[image error] I'm not sure what it says about me that I'm grinning so hugely at being stuffed in the back of a police car.  I did moan loadly when they shut the doors though because it was HOT!!  Apparently all the scumbags say the say thing :D

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[image error] The Sheriff's Office has its own Mobile Crime Lab, Underwater Recovery Team, S.E.R.T., Hazardous Devices Team (which made me think of my brother-in-law who clears landmines in the Congo and Sudan for a living), and a really fancy bus which forms a communications hub...