Cate Masters's Blog, page 6

Goodreads Book Giveaway: A Thousand Yesteryears by Mae Clair #mystery #suspense #Mothman

A huge THANK YOU to Cate for allowing me blog space to share some exciting news. Kensington Publishing is doing a Goodreads Giveaway for a paperback copy of my upcoming release, A THOUSAND YESTERYEARS. There will be two—count ‘em two—winners. The giveaway is open now through February 29th(how cool, a leap year). If you’re interested, you can enter here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/172145-a-thousand-yesteryears
A THOUSAND YESTERYEARS is a tale of mystery and suspense centered around events that took place in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. You’ll discover a small river town plagued by tragic history and rumored sightings of the Mothman—a terrifying creature said to haunt an abandoned WWII munitions site.
The characters are everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances—secrets, betrayal, murder. I hope you find the blurb intriguing:
Behind a legend lies the truth…
As a child, Eve Parrish lost her father and her best friend, Maggie Flynn, in a tragic bridge collapse. Fifteen years later, she returns to Point Pleasant to settle her deceased aunt’s estate. Though much has changed about the once thriving river community, the ghost of tragedy still weighs heavily on the town, as do rumors and sightings of the Mothman, a local legend. When Eve uncovers startling information about her aunt’s death, that legend is in danger of becoming all too real…
Caden Flynn is one of the few lucky survivors of the bridge collapse, but blames himself for coercing his younger sister out that night. He’s carried that guilt for fifteen years, unaware of darker currents haunting the town. It isn’t long before Eve’s arrival unravels an old secret—one that places her and Caden in the crosshairs of a deadly killer…
~ooOOoo~
A THOUSAND YESTERYEARS releases on April 26th, but the ebook version is already available from Amazonand all other major book sellers. If you’d like to pre-order you can find a complete list of links here.
In the meantime, I invite you sign up for the paperback giveaway at Goodreadsand tell your friends! The Mothman Cometh! 
Author bio
Mae Clair has been chasing myth, monsters and folklore through research and reading since she was a kid. In 2013 and 2015, she journeyed to West Virginia to learn more about the legendary Mothman, a creature who factors into her latest release.
Mae pens tales of mystery and suspense with a touch of romance. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and numbers cats, history and exploring old graveyards among her passions. 
Look for Mae Clair at the following haunts: Website Blog Twitter(@MaeClair1)
Google+ Sign up for Mae’s newsletter: Newsletter Sign-Up
Congrats to Mae on her upcoming release!  I am a huge fan, and can highly recommend her books.  So don't hesitate to enter the Goodreads giveaway! Good luck!  

We can be heroes

This year's gotten off to a rough start in the arts world! It was horrible to lose both David Bowie and Alan Rickman so close together, then Glenn Frey... hopefully Heaven won't need any more for awhile. But sad as it is to lose them, the beauty of creating art is that we can enjoy the amazing work they left us as their legacies.

I'm grateful for the inspiration of these talented artists! Each heroes in their own right.



News and other nonsense
I don't think I mentioned before, at least not formally, that I finally received the rights back to my Native American historical novel, Follow The Stars Home.
The publisher, Eternal Press, had gone through some transitions. The old, non-responsive publisher is gone, long live the king. 
And I have my rights back, and have re-published the novel on Smashwords.
The story's very special to me, as it has local ties to Carlisle, Pa., and is based on the launch of the ill-fated Carlisle Indian Industrial School. It broke my heart to read some of the actual accounts of students who were forced to abandon their families and attend this boarding school. I began researching it before I'd planned to write about it, but when a story took shape in my head, I had to follow wherever it led.
If you'd like to read the opening chapters, I've posted them on Wattpad. I hope you enjoy Quiet Thunder and Black Bear's story!

Upcoming events
On Feb. 13, I'm joining local romance authors for a signing once again at Ashcombe's Greenhouse. It's always a fun event, and it's set in the nice, warm greenhouse where we're surrounded by plants and actual blooming flowers - such a lovely change from the polar vortex we've experienced of late. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come in from the cold and join us that afternoon.
And on April 2nd, I'm taking part in a local author event at the Hershey Public Library in Hershey, Pa. It's always the sweetest place on earth, but that day will be even sweeter!


Wands up!

Lisa Lawmaster Hess spills the beans... and has a giveaway!

Hi, Lisa! Happy 2016! So glad to have you as my first Spilling the Beans guest for the new year, where we can learn a little bit about you, and your book. Grab a cappuccino and let’s chat. Unless you have another favorite drink? I grabbed an iced chai tea latte from Starbucks on my way over, so I’m all set :-)
Yum, I’m a chai lover too. Fur or feathers, pet-wise? I prefer furry beasts, but I’m allergic, so no pets here.
Aw, sorry to hear it. How about pet peeves? One thing that really burns your biscuits? Mean people.
Ugh, yes. Tell us something about yourself that’s not in your bio. My first ever job (though it was actually a volunteer position) was as a page in the children’s room of the Haddonfield (NJ) Public Library when I was in eighth grade. I went on to work in three bookstores over the years: a used bookstore (also in Haddonfield), my college (Bucknell) bookstore, back when it was still on campus and the now-defunct Encore Books in York, PA. Bookstores and libraries are still some of my favorite places to be.
Another Jersey girl, yay! What do you like to do when you’re not writing?Teaching and writing take up so much of my time that reading just for the fun of it often gets squeezed out, so I love when I can make time to read a novel or non-fiction book just because I want to. And if I can do it on the beach, that’s even better.
I so agree! If you had to choose another profession besides writer, what would it be and why? I’d love to be an actress. I did shows in high school and at the community theatre level, but it’s hard to find time to do them these days. I think my theatre experience is actually at the root of my writing process: I always start with the characters when I write my books. There’s a great deal of similarity between creating a character for the stage and creating one for the page.
What fun, and it’s another way of telling stories. Are you a night owl or early bird? Night owl, absolutely.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Oh, my. When I was younger, I wanted to be able to read minds, especially as it pertained to people’s opinions of me. Now I don’t think I really want to know — LOL! I think I’d have to go with magical healing powers. Restoring people to health, regardless of their ailment, would be a pretty good gig.
Reading minds would be tricky, lol. How would your muse describe you? Hard to pin down. And a procrastinator.
If you could live out any fantasy, what would you do? No idea. I had the opportunity to retire early a few years ago, and I took it. I am constantly aware of how blessed I am to be living a life I love. I write, I teach and I have a family who loves me. It might be fun to take the whole existence to a house at the beach and make sure my daughter graduates from college debt-free...but now I’m just being greedy.
No such thing as greed in fantasies. :) If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why? A friend who passed away three years ago. I miss her so much and have so much more I want to talk with her about.
So sorry to hear. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Dressed up as Janet for a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Beethoven, Beatles, Foo Fighters or Keith Urban (what type(s) of music makes you rock out)? It varies. I was a music minor in college, so I still have a soft spot for classical music, especially Mozart, and I love to listen to music from Broadway shows when no one else is around and I can sing along. I realized a teenage dream last year when we took my daughter to see Billy Joel in concert at Madison Square Garden — for her birthday, she got what I wanted when I was 17! Luckily, she had the good taste to appreciate it.
Very cool. I can’t live without my dose of music. Does music influence your writing?Do you have a music playlist for your book? For one of them, yes. Specific songs have actually snuck into the story — so much so that I might have to do some copyright research.
While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned? That my characters are actually in charge, and that readers can get invested in them almost as much as I do.
Ha, yes. But it’s usually a good thing when characters hijack a story. Where can readers find out more about you? I blog at The Porch Swing Chronicles (www.l2hess.blogspot.com) and that functions as my website as well. I also write a blog about organization (Organizing By STYLE: www.orgbystyle.blogspot.com) where readers can find out way more than they ever wanted to know about the state of my house and office.
Please tell us a bit about your latest book. Thanks for asking! Chasing a Second Chance just came out last November. It’s the sequel to my first novel, Casting the First Stone, which opens with a custody battle, but quickly becomes the story of the three ladies: the mom, the stepmom and the preteen daughter caught in the middle. Between the end of the first book and the beginning of the second one, Charli (the daughter) turns thirteen. In Chasing a Second Chance, we hear from Charli, her mother, Marita (who got pregnant with Charli at 16) and Charli’s stepmother, Angel as they tackle all the fun surrounding Christmas in a home with a new living situation. It’s actually a much lighter read than it sounds like it would be — many readers tell me they’ve finished it in less than two days.
Congrats on the release! What inspired you to write it? When I was an elementary school counselor, I often worked with children of divorce. In fact, my small groups with these kiddos were some of my favorite groups to run. The kids were constantly surprised by the fact that they all shared so many of the same feelings, and they became wonderfully supportive of one another. Most of their parents did the best they could to make things work out for their kids, but that didn’t mean there was no drama! Writing stories surrounding this topic creates the potential to write about love, loss and resilience, and often, the development of unlikely alliances as well. What more could I want?
Sounds wonderful. And readers, you're in luck. Lisa has a giveaway for you!I'll give away one Kindle copy of Chasing a Second Chance. Leave a comment along with your email address, and I'll announce a winner next Sunday, January 17.

Good luck, readeres! Thanks for spilling the beans today, Lisa! Thanks for having me!
Lisa Lawmaster Hess The Porch Swing Chronicles Organizing By STYLE
Author of: Casting the First Stone   Chasing a Second Chance Diverse Divorce Acting Assertively

Promises, and miles and miles

I generally don't set goals for New Year's. That seems a setup for failure, so instead, I simply try to do my best every day.

This year is no different, in practical terms, except that I want to do MORE. More of everything I didn't do in 2015. Somehow, I came off track last year, and was somewhat adrift. I was holding myself back for years, but now I want to break through the barriers I'd set up. Years ago, when my daughter was riding horses, there was one thoroughbred gelding named Scooter who was a bit high strung. One day, the trainer was laying out a riding course with string. Scooter walked up to it, snorted at it, and danced his hooves along the edge. But he wouldn't cross it. The trainer laughed, and said, "He's easy to contain."

Sometimes, we all are. We imagine we can't cross even the smallest bit of string. But there's always a way.

In 2015, my life had actually loosened its hold on me. As of August, the grandboys were finally all in preschool, kindergarten and first grade. I hunted for part-time jobs, but I had writing time, for the first time in about five years. It was amazing. It was great. It was... squandered.

Not this year.

I'm very close to finishing my 91k futuristic novel. That's going out to agents. I'm going to take my time finishing the novel I began for NaNoWriMo because it evolved into more than I'd imagined, and I want to get it right. And I'm going to expand on the steampunk novella I'd written last year, and get that subbed, too.

This year, I'm breaking out of that flimsy string boundary I'd constructed around myself. Wherever it takes me, I'm going to enjoy it because I'll be satisfied that I put forth my best effort.

I hope that in the coming year, you break loose of whatever barriers you might have, real or imagined.

What Neil said

May 2016 bring you everything you've wished for, and then some!

Sale! Love, Lattes, and Mutants by Sandra Cox

LOVE, LATTES. AND MUTANTS is currently on sale for ninety-nine cents. 
Blurb: Finding love is hard, even when you aren’t a mutant.
Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her, ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper, understands why...
Then Piper is captured on one of her secret missions rescuing endangered sea creatures and ends up in the same test center where her mother was engineered. There she discovers she isn’t the only one of her kind. Joel is someone she doesn’t have to hide from, and she finds herself drawn to the dolph-boy who shares her secrets. Talking to him is almost as easy as escaping from the lab. Deciding which boy has captured her heart is another story...
Warning: Mutants, dolphins and hottie boys
Bio Multi-published author Sandra Cox writes YA Fantasy, Paranormal and Historical Romance, and Metaphysical Nonfiction. She lives in sunny North Carolina with her husband, a brood of critters and an occasional foster cat. Although shopping is high on the list, her greatest pleasure is sitting on her screened in porch, listening to the birds, sipping coffee and enjoying a good book. She's a vegetarian and a Muay Thai enthusiast.
Links EKensington: http://www.ekensingtonbooks.com/author.aspx/31643 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lattes-Mutants-Sandra-Cox-ebook/dp/B00PP2ZXBE/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420399004&sr=1-7&keywords=sandra+cox Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-lattes-and-mutants-sandra-cox/1120791624?ean=9781616506063 Kobo:http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/love-lattes-and-mutants Blog: www.sandracox.blogspot.com Twitter:  http://twitter.com/sandra_cox Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/SandraCox.Author

Happy holidays!

Wishing you and your family a joyous holiday!

What's that sound?

Ahhh, there is none. The house is quiet (except for the occasional gunshot outdoors, as hunting season began yesterday with many bangs). The grandboys are FINALLY back in school today, and it's a lovely cold, rainy day.

Why is that lovely? Because it's the perfect day to write.

As of Nov. 30, I'd barely reached 38k on my new story, so no NaNoWriMo badge for me. But on Nov. 20, we left for New York City for a weekend anniversary celebration that was long overdue (we were supposed to go last year, in fact). And I knew if I hadn't written 45k by then, my chances of hitting 50k by month's end was small. And after returning home from that weekend, I lost momentum in writing it because I'd added some new elements that threw off the timeline, then I realized it would be so much better in first person, so started rewriting that tedious rewrite. And the grandboys were home for Thanksgiving break, which sapped me. But I'm going to keep writing until it's done. I don't consider it a NaNoWriMo fail, because I love the story so much.

And we had a wonderful time in New York City. Hubs had been wanting to see the play Jersey Boys since last year, and we both loved it. Having Jersey roots ourselves helped, but it's gotten great reviews too, lol.

So now it's back to work for me!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Going for 50k

I wasn't going to do NaNoWriMo this year, but writing's been a bit slow recently. Over the summer, I completed a 90k futuristic novel (under a different pen name) and revising it and shopping it around has taken up some time.

But I've been itching to write again. My WIP list is more than a dozen stories long, and a few of them have been niggling at my brain. All at the same time. Like a school of fish in a feeding frenzy! I don't know how many times I started to write one, and then moved to another. I couldn't seem to quite dig in, with too many wanting attention at once.

So I wrote a couple of short stories. And then started yet another new story.

I knew I needed to commit to just one, so I signed up for NaNo with the tentative title of Bad Moon on the Rise. Then, the next day, I changed the story to An Ill Wind.

Yes, I was having a commitment problem. But I spent last week in prep mode, focusing on An Ill Wind. After sharing the story idea with a crit partner years ago, she urged me to write this story. We were out for dinner one night, and she even chose a man at a nearby table for one of the characters for the story, lol. I kept her email encouraging me to write it. And now it's time. The story's lolly-gagged in my head long enough, taking up room that I need for new stories.

I'm waiting on word for five different submissions (three are under other pen names, all three different!) so if I get good news for the two Cate Masters stories, I'll be sharing that here. :)

Otherwise, it will be a quiet month. I'm always open to guests, though, so if you have news you want to share on my blog - new or old news, either is fine - shoot me an email and we can set up a date.

Wish me luck!

Hauntings in central Pennsylvania

It's well known that a visit to Gettysburg might be your best chance of bumping into a spirit in Pennsylvania, but not all ghosts haunt the Civil War town. In central Pennsylvania, some are closer than you think!

Several sites in Carlisle have fairly active ghosts. On the Army War College campus sits the Hessian Powder Magazine, the guard house built in 1777 by captured Hessian, who were then imprisoned inside it.

Since 9/11, you must go through inspection at the outside gate to gain access to the campus - sad, because I used to freely ride my bike through there.

But the guards were very nice, and gave me a map to find the building.

I didn't realize it was a museum that you could go inside. This door marked "Open" doesn't look creepy, does it?

Once you're inside, there are displays such as this one.

I was the only person visiting the museum that day, so being inside alone made these statues a little creepy, too!

Farther back sits this creepy, narrow hallway.

And that's when your neck hairs start to tingle. Because down that hallway are the prison cells where Hessians were locked up.

And that's where the sounds come from at night. Moaning, groaning and clanging echo across the War College grounds.

Some claim to have seen a soldier outside.

But one man got an unexpected shock when he went down that hallway to investigate, and looked through the window of the door. Looking back at him were the Hessian prisoners from 1777.

I have to admit, I'd read this story before, and jumped when I looked inside the last cell and saw this.

Don't laugh - you'd have been startled too! lol

On the way out, there was a locked door with an opening high in the door, so I raised my camera and shot inside.

Nothing there but a few stored items, but it gives you an idea of how small those cells are.

I was hoping to capture an orb, too, but no luck.
On the square in Carlisle, the old Cumberland County Courthouse is a pretty sight.

Those who work inside have some scary stories to tell.

One woman says she'll never work late by herself again after hearing slamming doors up and down the hallway.

You can hear other stories about this building on the Nov. 4 episode of SyFy's "Ghost Hunters."

That same "Ghost Hunters" episode will also feature stories about the old Cumberland County Prison.

The grandboys like the place because it resembles a castle. But the prisoners who were locked up there didn't like it much, but apparently some still hang around.

One worker reports seeing a pair of boots walk down the hall, with no body attached.

There are many more such spine-tingling tales in the midstate, so if you're up for a ghost hunt, come and visit!

For now, that wraps up this year's Halloween party. Thanks to all the authors who've shared their spooky tales, tasty treat recipes and their own books! I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Happy Halloween!