Samantha March's Blog, page 11
April 2, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Dangled Carat by Hilary Grossman
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
For as far back as I can remember I always wanted to write a book, probably because I was always a huge reader. Over the years, I would dabble in writing, but I never stuck to it. Then, about four years ago, I decided to start my blog, Feeling Beachie (http://www.feelingbeachie), as practice. I wanted to see if I had the wherewithal to write regularly as well as see if anyone would be interested in what I had to say. I loved every second of blogging, especially the friendships that I developed. Then, about two years ago, I attended a BlogHer conference about turning a blog into a book. The conference was amazing and it gave me the motivation I needed to transform my dream into a reality! I started writing Dangled Carat the very next day!
How would you describe your book?
Dangled Carat is a memoir about my attempt to convert a commitment-phobic man into a doting husband with a lot of help from his family and friends. But I think, and others agree, it reads more like women’s fiction or chick lit. It is a funny yet tender and emotional coming of age story. It will make you laugh and cry…..
Why was Dangled Carat a book you wanted to write?
While many of the things that happened to me (two faux engagement parties, for example) were very unique being involved in a relationship with a commitment-phobe is a very common situation. I felt that my story was something that so many women could relate to.
But more than that, I wanted to share my story in the hopes that I could help someone else who was in the same situation. It is a very difficult position to be in. Everyone in your life has an opinion and “advice”. You always seem to be second guessing yourself and your actions. My desire to help has been accomplished! I recently received an email from a self described commitment-phobic male reader who shared that after reading the book he realized some of the ways that he has sabotaged his relationships in the past. He completely related to Marc. He also told me how he learned that he has to go at his own pace regardless of what the other person seems to want – it will either work or not. He also learned that he has to communicate his feelings and just relax – enjoy the moment and let nature take it’s course – rather than worry about what tomorrow will bring. This new attitude has kept him in a relationship that he would have already ended in the past!
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
This is such a hard question! It seems that every step along the way there is a different challenge. When I was writing Dangled Carat, the hardest part for me was the s-e-x scene. In my first draft I didn’t include any s-e-x. My editor told me that I couldn’t write such a personal dating memoir without any sex. I knew that she was right, yet I had such a difficult time writing that scene! I must have stared at my blank screen for hours before I worked up the nerve to start typing…
Now that the book is published, the hardest part is marketing it. I always say it is easier to write a book than try promote it!
What are your favorite genres to read?
I love memoirs, chick lit, and women’s fiction. But I am a very eclectic reader. I also enjoy suspense, murder mysteries and true crime books. I also can devour cookbooks – pun intended 
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
I want readers to feel that they can defy conventional dating wisdom, and their friend’s and families well meant advice, and instead follow their own hearts. It is a hard thing to do, and the results may not be what you are hoping for, but in the end, hopefully you will be pleased with your decisions and not have regrets…
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
I think that social media is essential for authors these days. We are so fortunate to have this tool available to us. Not only is social media a great way to get your book “out there” it is also a wonderful way to connect readers and authors. I love having the ability to “chat” with someone who has read my book, just as I love to be able to “speak” to the author of a book that I read. Also, social media allows authors to meet and connect with fellow authors. I have met so many amazing people online, and the support I receive from everyone has been astonishing!
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Just write. Don’t worry about anything besides telling your story. The next steps – looking for an agent, publication, cover design, sales, etc – they will all work out… There are so many options available to authors now! Also, I would advise to develop a thick skin and don’t take rejection personally. If possible, gear yourself up for rejection, almost expect it. The vast majority of first time authors will not be able to secure an agent. Don’t let it discourage you…. Instead embrace the small victories along the way…..and enjoy the moments and remember, you are doing something that most people only dream of….
**Excerpt**
I never intended for it to happen. The words just came tumbling out without warning….
“It’s New Year’s Eve, and you know what that means, Marc. Time is up… I told you that you had until New Years’ to propose, and, well, here we are. It’s New Year’s Eve. So, what will it be?”
Despite the deep tan that he was sporting just moments before, suddenly Marc, my long term boyfriend, turned a ghostly shade of pale. He took a deep breath, and it was clear by the expression on his face that he was confused as well as slightly angry. But could you blame him? Why shouldn’t he be upset? Who wants to be faced with an ultimatum? Especially, when the demand it is being delivered by someone other than your girlfriend!
You see, Marc and I weren’t alone. We had escaped the frigid New York temperatures and pending snow storms to spend some time in Fort Lauderdale with our close friends from Utah, Eric and his wife, Jaye. It was Jaye who questioned Marc while Eric and I busied ourselves making grapefruit martinis.
I wasn’t surprised by Jaye’s question though how she delivered it did shock me. Jaye, like all of Marc’s friends and family, had been pestering him for quite a while about when he was going to marry me. Unlike most long-term relationships with commitment phobic men, I had never pressured Marc about marriage. If our relationship was going to move to the next level, I wanted it to be his choice. I didn’t want to live my life wondering if he married me because he really loved me and wanted to spent his life with me, or if he married me because I threatened to leave him if he didn’t. But despite my resolve not to pressure him, I encouraged others to do my dirty work. And no one let me down. Everyone important in his life took on the role with gusto. But of all the people closest to Marc, Jaye has been my staunchest ally.
When Marc didn’t reply, Jaye continued, “So, I guess the silence means you are okay with this. I guess you are engaged!”
Eric didn’t wait for Marc to regain his senses. He followed his wife’s lead. Jumping on the bandwagon, drink in his hand; he patted Marc on the back, “Congratulations, buddy! You are a lucky man!” Then Eric turned and kissed me. “You will be a beautiful bride!” Raising his martini into the air, Eric toasted, “To the happy couple! I hope your marriage is a long and happy one!”
“Woo hoo!” Jaye cheered, “Kiss the bride!”
Marc didn’t move a muscle. It was as if Jaye had rendered him cationic.
Author Bio:
Hilary Grossman dated a guy so commitment-phobic that she was able to write a book about their relationship. She is currently the CFO of a beverage alcohol importer and lives on Long Island.
Connect with Hilary!
blog = http://www.feelingbeachie.com
Facebook – author page = https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hilary-Grossman-Author/490726971020296
Facebook blog page = https://www.facebook.com/pages/Feeling-Beachie/303122723070159
twitter = @feelingbeachie
Buy the Book!
Amazon = http://www.amazon.com/Dangled-Carat-Hilary-Grossman-ebook/dp/B00F55HITQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394374641&sr=8-1&keywords=dangled+carat
Barnes & Noble (print) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangled-carat-hilary-grossman/1117017818?ean=9780615860350
April 1, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: The Seduction of Miriam Cross by WA Tyson
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
That’s a great question, and I’m not sure I can give you a specific answer. Since I can remember, I’ve expressed myself best through writing. As a kid, I was pretty shy, and I kept diaries in which I shared everything from my crushes to my hopes and insecurities. As I got older, I turned more and more to creative writing. I wrote my first short story at age eight, and around the same time, I started a family newsletter (I told all of our family’s “secrets”–my parents were thrilled!). Later, I wrote for my high school yearbook. I guess it wasn’t until college–when I minored in English and took an advanced fiction writing class–that I really knew I wanted to write fiction for a living. I wasn’t ready at that point (although I didn’t realize it at the time). Fiction writing takes not only skill, but discipline, a thick skin, and life experience. Those are things I developed later.
How would you describe your books?
I’m in the process of writing two mystery series. This one, the Delilah Percy Powers series, I would describe as traditional mystery with thriller pacing. My other series, the Allison Campbell series, is also traditional mystery, although I have had quite a few readers and reviewers describe the first in that series, Killer Image (Henery Press, October 2013), as a psychological thriller.
I also write contemporary women’s fiction. I’m finishing one novel now and am part way through another.
Why was The Seduction of Miriam Cross a book you wanted to write?
I read a lot of mysteries, and I’ve always loved mysteries and thrillers that use a team approach. Elizabeth George’s Detective Lynley series, Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series. Jonathan Kellerman, with Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. Those are just a few examples. So I knew I wanted to write a series with a team focus. I come from a family of strong women, and by strong I mean mentally sharp and emotionally resilient. Women who are independent, but who cultivate relationships and who aren’t afraid to work together to tackle big problems. I had a vision of a team of female detectives with very different backgrounds and in very different places in their lives, but who, together, could solve any issue thrown their way. Delilah, a displaced cowgirl and my lead detective, was born during a family trip to the Grand Tetons. After that, the rest of her team fell into place.
That theme of the strength and resiliency of women was reflected in the plot of TSOMC, too. I knew Miriam even before I knew Delilah. A feminist author and philanthropist, herself a strong woman, Miriam had a flaw that became her undoing. But before she died, she also accomplished great things–with the help of others.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Letting go when the novel is finished. In her wonderful book Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, Natalie Goldberg says, “After you have finished a piece of work, the work is then none of your business. Go on and do something else.” Great advice but, for me, so hard to do.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Mysteries and thrillers. They’re my first love. I adore the right-brain, left-brain nature of mysteries. A good mystery is creative and well written, but it also introduces a puzzle, and the lawyer in me loves the puzzle. I read many genres, though. Literary, contemporary women’s fiction, science fiction, horror and historical fiction. Whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
First and foremost, I want them to be entertained. I want them to accompany Delilah, Barb, Margot and Natasha on the team’s adventure and be able to leave their lives and worries behind for a little while. TSOMC deals with some heavy social issues, including human trafficking. If readers also learn something new along the way, or are somehow inspired, well, that would be wonderful, too.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Very. It’s really become a wonderful (albeit time consuming) way of connecting with readers and networking with other authors and industry professionals.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Keep going! Writing is hard work. Not only is it a craft you must develop and hone (we should always be learning!), but it is a discipline. You must practice it daily. And while there are those writers who find immediate success, for many of us it takes years to learn to write, and then to learn to write well while having something interesting to say. On top of that, rejection is a part of the writer’s life. But if you love your craft, if you’re driven to put words to paper, be grateful for that passion and keep going, whatever the obstacles.
**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases a copy of The Seduction of Miriam Cross by April 7 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus.com will receive 10 bonus entries!**
**Excerpt**
PROLOGUE
The sound, a subtle scrape of metal against metal, drilled through her subconscious, jarring her awake. She picked her head up off her desk, rubbed her eyes, and looked around the dim room, telling herself to focus. Outside, the wind howled. The branches of the big pine hit her window in a rhythmic tap, tap, tap. She tried to listen beyond the wind, beyond the falling rain, beyond the pounding of her own heart. She heard only silence.
Quickly, fervently, she organized the materials she’d been working on into a pile and fastened them with a binder clip. She shoved everything into a desk drawer and locked the drawer with a small silver key. Her computer screen was black, so she tapped the mouse and waited impatiently for the screen to come alive. Just to be safe, she hit the save button, exited the document and shut down her computer. All of this took her a minute, tops. It felt like forever.
She stole a glance at the clock on her desk. 2:48. Had she bolted the doors and windows before she’d gone into her study? It’d been around nine, so no, probably not. She cursed herself for falling asleep.
She made her way through the study and out into the hallway that divided her one-story house. The darkness felt thick and viscous, enveloping her in dread. Try as she might, she still heard nothing beyond the storm. Perhaps it had been a dream. But her gut said that wasn’t the case–and once upon a time she’d been a woman who trusted her gut.
She didn’t dare turn on a light. Feeling her way along the walls, she passed the open doors to her bedroom and bath, each room a dark abyss in the early morning hour. She held her breath. A few more feet and she would be in the living room. Beyond that, the kitchen and the back door. She needed to check the locks. Then she could return to her study and finish what she’d needed to finish in the first place.
A table lamp in the living room cast shadows across the small, carpeted space. Her gaze flew from one end of the room to the other, pausing in the darkened corners. Nothing looked disturbed. Relieved, she crept to the front door and fastened the bolts, stopping only to take a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm her jittery nerves. A year of running had made her paranoid. A year of relative anonymity had, perhaps, made her careless.
Paranoia was fine. But she could ill afford to be careless.
She turned, pulling her cardigan closer against a sudden chill. For the briefest of moments, her mind flitted to another time, to feelings of warmth and contentment. But some things were bigger than one person’s feelings and she forced herself back to the present. To her own safety. To the safety of others.
The kitchen was dark.
Her pulse raced. She could have sworn she’d put the light on over the stove. Yes, she was certain. She’d retired to her study after a dinner of bread and soup and had left the dishes out to be cleaned later. The light had been her reminder.
But the light was off.
That meant . . .
“Hello, Emily.”
She jumped. While her eyes scanned the darkened kitchen for the person associated with the disembodied voice, her mind spun with more practical matters. What had she left out? What would they find?
He said, “This place is very . . . quaint.”
She spotted him in the shadows. He sat sprawled on a chair by the back door, his legs out in front of him, something long and metal on the table by his side. In the dark, his face was hidden. But she recognized the voice.
“How did you find me?”
“Does it matter?”
She ironed the shakiness from her voice. “It does to me.”
“We have our sources.”
“We,” she repeated.
“Does that bother you, Emily?”
She remained silent, her eyes on the back door, which, she noticed now, stood slightly ajar. How long would it take her to reach it–could she get there before he did? Even if she did, what then? A run to the neighbor’s house? To what end? So that she could knock loudly on the locked door and wait until the frightened woman finally agreed to open up? By then he’d have caught her. Perhaps her bolted front door? But her car keys were in her purse . . . and what if he wasn’t alone?
“What do you want?” she said.
“You know what we want.”
“No.”
He smiled. It was a shark’s grin, full of cold-blooded malice, a reminder of who he was and all that he stood for. She knew then that she could tell herself whatever lies gave her momentary comfort, but the truth was, she was going to die in this house, far from everything she held so dear.
Oddly, this sudden understanding gave her strength. She forced herself to meet his gaze. She smiled. “Killing me will do you absolutely no good.”
He raised his arm. In his hand was a needle. Another icy smile. “I beg to differ.”
She shook her head, thankful for her forethought. He–they, she reminded herself–could take what they could from her. But it wouldn’t be everything.
He rose and took two steps in her direction. She saw now that the glistening metal object on the table was a knife. An impossibly long knife. She swallowed, again measuring the distance between her and a door.
In a burst of desperation, she stepped toward the back door, then quickly turned and ran toward the living room. She fumbled with the bolts, forcing jittery hands to steady as she jammed the locks away from their resting places.
The last bolt in her hand, she felt him behind her. Strong fingers clasped over her mouth, hot breath on her neck. She struggled against him, but it was no use. He was too big, too powerful. Her only weapon was retreat.
“Oh, Emily,” he said. A hand slipped down her side, cupped her breast, continued down to her waist. There it stopped. “What were you thinking?”
She remained quiet and closed her eyes. He tugged at her sweater, pulling it off. Her bare arms prickled in the chilly air. He grabbed her forearm. She felt the sting of the needle and waited for the haze that would no doubt descend. He picked her up, carried her to the back of the house. Toward her study.
She knew what he wanted. What they wanted.
She wouldn’t give it to him. That much she could do.
Author Bio:
Wendy Tyson’s background in law and psychology has provided inspiration for her mysteries and thrillers. The Seduction of Miriam Cross, published by E-Lit Books in November 2013, is the first novel in the Delilah Percy Powers mystery series. She has also authored Killer Image, published by Henery Press, the first in the Allison Campbell mystery series. Her second Allison Campbell mystery is due out this summer. Find Wendy at www.WATyson.com.
Find her at:
www.WATyson.com and on twitter (www.twitter.com/wendytyson) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/wendytysonauthor).
Buy the Book!
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Seduction-Miriam-Delilah-Powers-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00G9GPGZ8/ref=pd_sim_kstore_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GZTQCD3ZRFSHE7PY3AG
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-seduction-of-miriam-cross-wa-tyson/1117268022?ean=2940148986256
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-seduction-of-miriam-cross
IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780615920450
March 28, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Limoncello Yellow by Traci Andrighetti
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
This is going to sound really crazy, but I discovered that I liked to write during my PhD program. The telling sign was that I found myself starting papers early so that I could polish them to perfection, but it wasn’t because I was trying to get a better grade. LOL!
How would you describe your books?
Well, my author branding statement is “Cocktails, color, and crime. Italian style.” But essentially, I see my books in terms of color, as in personality. Everything from the title to the characters, setting and crime are colorful. And I work in a fresh take on Italianness with some Italian and Sicilian language mixed in.
Why was Limoncello Yellow a book you wanted to write?
There were so many reasons! But it all started with a book I read in Italian by Gabriella Genisi. She created this spunky, sexy police inspector named Lolita Lobosco, and all the novels in the series have a colorful fruit-themed title with the fruit playing some part in the mystery. As I was reading her first book, I became really jealous of her (which is totally weird for me). Then I interviewed her for my Italian book blog, italicissima, and found out we were born in the same month and year. As soon as I heard that, I had one of those “if-she-can-do-it-so-can-I” moments. And I started creating Limoncello Yellow.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Honestly, it’s finding the time to write. And then when I do, it’s focusing. I know everyone can relate when I say that the demands on our lives these days are overwhelming, particularly when you work full time.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Light women’s fiction, a.k.a. chick lit, cozy mystery and mystery. I really like to laugh, so I’m always looking for the humorous ones.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
I want them to relax, laugh and fall in love with New Orleans like I have. And maybe learn some Italian.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Unfortunately, it’s only becoming more important. I recently read that 3,500 books are published every day in the United States. So, authors have to use every means at their disposal to get the word out about their books.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Take a class on writing the specific genre you’re interested in writing. When I decided to write Limoncello Yellow, I enrolled in an online chick lit class to make sure that I understood the big pieces that readers and publishers of the genre would expect to see. And obviously, it worked!
**Excerpt**
I parked in front of my new home. Before I could get out of the car, Veronica was already walking out her front door, smiling and waving with Hercules in tow in a turquoise fuzzy sweater that matched hers perfectly. Despite her Sicilian father, Veronica looked Swedish like her ex-ballerina mother, with long blonde hair, cornflower blue eyes, and pale skin. 
“Franki!” Veronica yelled.
I bent over—at the waist—to hug her. I’d forgotten how tiny she was, and I wondered for at least the hundredth time how her internal organs could function in such a small frame.
She looked up at me and smiled. “How does it feel to be in New Orleans?”
I glanced over at the cemetery and then back at her. “At the moment, it feels fairly morbid.”
“Oh, come on! You don’t still have that weird cemetery issue, do you?”
“Yes, Veronica. And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that there’s one right across the street! You know, lots of people would find it disturbing to go to sleep at night with a cemetery basically in their front yard, especially a New Orleans cemetery.”
Veronica shook her head in mock disgust as she grabbed a box from my back seat.
“Thank God there’s a bar right next to it,” I continued. “In case I need to drink myself to death from despair.”
She smiled. “Well, if you do drink yourself to death, I wouldn’t have to carry you very far for your burial.”
I quickly made the customary scongiuri gesture that my nonna had taught me to do to ward off the threat of death, which Veronica had just so carelessly cast upon me. It looks like the University of Texas’s hook ‘em horns sign with the index and pinky fingers pointed up like horns, only you point the horns downward.
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Do you still do that silly scongiuri thing too? God, Franki, you make me so glad my nonna stayed in Sicily. You’re so superstitious!”
“I do it just in case,” I snapped. “I mean, you never know…”
Veronica walked up to my new front door, which was right next to hers, and pulled a key from the front right pocket of her AG jeans. “Glenda—our landlady—told me to let you in. She’ll come downstairs to meet you in a few minutes.”
With the box balanced on her left hip, Veronica unlocked my front door with her right hand. She gave the door a shove with her shoulder, and it swung open. She turned to me and bowed. “Welcome to your humble abode.”
I excitedly entered the apartment with Napoleon at my heels. As I surveyed the living room, a number of adjectives came to mind, but humble was not one of them. The room could only be described as the home decor equivalent of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. The walls were covered in fuzzy, blood-red wallpaper with shiny gold fleurs-de-lis, and hanging from the ceiling was a baroque red-and-black crystal chandelier. The couch was a rococo chaise lounge in velvet zebra print, and next to it was a lilac velour armchair with gold fringe that matched the drapery to perfection. On the opposite wall there was a mahogany wood fireplace with a hearth covered in white candles of various sizes and shapes. In front of the fireplace, a bearskin rug replete with a bear head covered the hardwood floors. The only thing that was missing was the red fluorescent light in the living room window announcing my availability for prospective clients.
I realized that my mouth was hanging open. “Wow. So…this Glenda…is she a prostitute?” I joked.
“Former stripper, actually,” Veronica replied. “And she’s really touchy about the difference, so don’t use the word prostitute in front of her.”
I gaped at my best friend. “You’re serious?”
Veronica just blinked innocently, as if renting me an apartment from a former stripper across from a cemetery were perfectly normal. “You know, I was reading that the brothel look is really in right now. I believe it’s called ‘bordello chic.’” She began to pace back and forth as she tried to reconcile her unusually conflicted sense of fashion. “But now that I think about it, Lenny Kravitz redecorated his house here in New Orleans, and designers call his style ‘bordello modern.’”
“Something tells me that Lenny didn’t decorate this place. And I wouldn’t exactly call this ‘bordello modern.’ It’s more like ‘bordello seventies.’”
“Well, at least you won’t have to add any touches of color,” Veronica said.
Traci’s bio:
Traci Andrighetti is the author of the Franki Amato Mystery series. In her previous life, she was an award-winning literary translator and a Lecturer of Italian at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a PhD in Applied Linguistics. But then she got wise and ditched that academic stuff for a life of crime—writing, that is.
If she’s not hard at work on her next novel, Traci is probably watching her favorite Italian soap opera, eating Tex Mex or sampling fruity cocktails, and maybe all at the same time. She lives in Austin with her husband, young son (who desperately wants to be in one of her books) and three treat-addicted dogs.
Traci’s Links:
Website: http://traciandrighetti.com
Blog: http://traciandrighetti.com/blo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/traciandrigh...
Twitter: @TAndrighetti
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Limoncello Yellow Purchase Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Traci-Andrighetti/e/B00GL3SN3G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/limoncello-yellow?store=allproducts&keyword=limoncello+yellow
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/limoncello-yellow/id790891917?mt=11
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/limoncello-yellow
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/401318
March 26, 2014
Spring Giveaway with Chick Lit Plus and Toploft Clothing
Spring is here, and we want to celebrate! Chick Lit Plus is teaming up with Toploft Clothing, a new online clothing boutique, to bring you a few of our favorite things – books and fashion! Now through Friday March 28, enter to win a signed copy of A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March, plus an orange chevron infinity scarf and $15 gift certificate from Toploft Clothing! To enter, just use the form below. A winner will be drawn and contacted by March 31. Please note this is open to US residents only. Happy Spring!
A Questionable FriendshipBrynne Ropert and Portland Dolish have been best friends since being paired as roommates in college. Seven years later they are now twenty-five, married, and living in Maine–– but the two women couldn’t be more different. Brynne finds fulfillment in her life as a wife, mother and owner of a small café and bookshop, but is struggling to expand her family. Portland is still coping with her mother’s death during her childhood, and her marriage is unraveling before her eyes. Portland envies her friend’s seemingly stable and easy life while Brynne doesn’t understand the growing distance between them and cannot begin to guess what secret Portland is hiding about her husband and crumbling marriage. While one woman feels shut out, the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself.
A Questionable Friendship explores what really makes someone a true friend, a support system, a sister. How much trust goes into a friendship and when is being a friend not enough? Brynne and Portland’s story will attempt to answer those questions, and show that happily ever after isn’t in the cards for everyone.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
March 24, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Bloodgifted by Tima Maria Lacoba
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
I didn’t, really. I’m a voracious reader and only began writing five years ago simply by chance. I discovered that it was more fun writing my MPhil thesis (which I was working on at the time) as a story than as a serious academic piece. That’s how it began.
How would you describe your books? Gothic romantic suspense/thrillers. It has all my favourite elements; the things I look for when I’m searching for a book to read.
Why was Bloodgifted a book you wanted to write?
Many vampire stories are set in places such as New York, London, Paris, New Orleans or some remote place in the US Pacific Northwest – but what about Australia? I felt we were being neglected, so I decided it was time the Land Down Under had its own set of vampires! That’s how, Bloodgifted was born. And, being a historian, it was too irresistible not to include an ancient legend/curse that would be the catalyst for the events described in the book.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Sitting down and writing it! It’s easy to create a story, but it takes me ages to type it out. I can’t touch type – it’s the only class I ever failed. So, it’s torture to thrash out a 110,000 word story using only two fingers!
What are your favorite genres to read?
PNR (paranormal romance) of course as it provides so much more scope for action and mystery, followed by crime-thrillers. I’ve always been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and by the time I finished high school, I’d read the complete series by Arthur Conan Doyle.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
That they’ve had a wonderful time being part of Laura and Alec’s world and they want to know more.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
It’s essential. We’re in a social media age and that’s how people connect nowadays – especially readers. How else would anyone learn of new books? But, there is a limit as to how much time authors can spend on Facebook, twitter, linked in, pinterest, their websites or blog… etc. and not let it eat into their writing time. Social media can be draining. I limit myself to Facebook, my website and the occasional tweet.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Write! Keep writing and don’t give up, and most importantly, write what you love. Don’t stop at one book either; get the second book out there and the third, and build your fan base. It may take 2-5 years, but hang in there.
**Excerpt**
Chapter 4
Meeting a Vampire
LAURA
Christmas was only two weeks away and the streets thronged with eager shoppers. My
aunt dropped me off in the large open court in front of St Andrews Cathedral, a popular
meeting point in the city.
‘Aren’t you coming in with me?’
‘No dear,’ she hesitated. ‘I can’t. This is now between you and Alec. It might be
awkward my sitting there and listening.’
‘For you or for him?’
‘For you, dear. There are some personal details the two of you will be discussing. You
wouldn’t want me there.’ Aunt Judy patted my hand. ‘Go in, dear. He’s waiting.’
I took a deep breath and opened the car door.
‘Laura dear,’ she said just before I stepped out. ‘You have absolutely nothing to fear.
Alec is here to protect you.’
A vampire is going to protect me from other vampires. Great!
I made my way through the crowds to the main entrance of the cathedral. Before
leaving I’d asked Matt if he could pick me up after the Cricket. I’d told him Aunt Judy
wanted me to meet an old friend, saying she was happy to brave the traffic.
It was the least she could do, I thought.
Matt was fine with that arrangement. Besides, he didn’t want to miss the match.
Apparently, he and Dad had a bet going. But really, how could I possibly repeat what I’d
just learnt from my aunt? I was still grappling with it all myself.
I pushed open the heavy glass doors and stepped into the cool, dark recess. The scent
of old polished wood rose from the rows of pews stretching the length of the nave. To
my left, a well-worn stone-paved path led past them and through the length of the
interior, while a shallow ramp on my right disappeared into a semi-concealed alcove
ringed with high-backed wooden chairs.
Which way? If in doubt, follow the yellow-brick road, I thought. Turning left I followed the
stone-path down the aisle. What on earth am I doing here? I asked myself. Meeting a vampire,
came the daft answer.
‘He will find you,’ my aunt had said. Right now, I didn’t know if I wanted to be
found! The truth is, I was nervous and even a little afraid searching for an unnatural
creature in a gothic building. How appropriate. All I need is for the cathedral organ to start playing creepy music!
At least I wasn’t totally alone. Here and there a few people milled around, even
though most were outside grabbing that last minute Christmas bargain as shopping hours
had been extended. It was only about nine p.m. In the balcony at the end of the nave a
choir was rehearsing The Messiah. I’m sure they’d hear me scream if this Alec Munro
proved less benign than the impression my aunt gave. Why didn’t I bring Matt? I should
have simply ignored her warning and dragged him along anyway.
I followed the stone-path to the back entrance, around the massive sandstone
baptismal font and up the other side. Every now and then the Choir Master stopped the
singers mid-note for a correction before continuing their rehearsal. Three Christmas
trees, bedecked with massive gold bows, had been positioned on either side of the
communion table, while an impressive green wreath hung from the edge of the elevated
pulpit.
I realized that the stone path I’d followed led to the small chair-lined alcove I’d
originally noticed on entering. It was separated from the aisle by an ornately carved
wooden partition, and there, leaning nonchalantly against the narrow opening, arms
crossed over his chest stood a tall, broad-shouldered, impossibly good-looking man with
hair the colour of a raven’s wing.
My feet stopped mid-stride as my eyes drank in this strikingly imposing figure who so
dominated the space around him, that I wondered how I could not have seen him
earlier? Nor the way his piercing lavender eyes gazed back at me, demanding my
attention.
I sucked in a breath, not just for the affect he had on me, but that he was the visual
confirmation of my aunt’s words even if he didn’t fit my image of a vampire. But then I
really didn’t know what to expect – black cape, nasty protruding fangs, glowing red eyes
and as pale as death perhaps? The man before me belied those preconceptions, and no
vampire I saw in the movies ever looked that good in cream silk business shirt and slate
grey trousers, which hung seductively low on his lean hips. His sleeves were rolled up at
the elbows and the top button of his shirt left undone allowing his tie to hang loose.
I swallowed. Was this the blood-sucking creature whose bite left those marks on my
aunt’s wrist? No wonder she’d said I wouldn’t mind!
He smiled and softly called my name. ‘Laura.’
Author Bio:
Hi, I’m Tima Maria, and I write vampire books, but not just any vamp books – mine are Roman soldiers cursed by a Pictish witch in the 3rd century.
So, how did I start this series? In a previous life (before I started writing) I was a practicing archaeologist and historian, specializing in Roman Britain. Later, I took up high school teaching, as It gave me the opportunity to take my students on overseas excursions to visit the amazing archaeological sites they’d only seen in books.
Then one day, I surrendered to the itch of writing. After many years reading and correcting my students’ creative writing tasks and essays, I decided it was time to write my own. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Bloodgifted is the result.
In 2011, it was shortlisted in the Atlas Award – sponsored by a boutique Brisbane publisher – and eventually came fourth.
In 2012, it was listed among the top ten in the Choclit, Search for an Aussie Star Competition.
In 2013, I was offered a publishing contract, but declined in favour of going indie. I liked the idea of being in charge of my own creation.
Bloodgifted is just the start of a three part series I’ve entitled, The Dantonville Legacy. Later, I intend writing individual books on the other characters in the series, for they all have their own story.
Currently, I live on the Central Coast, an hour’s drive north of Sydney, surrounded by wooded hills, possums and seed-dropping rosellas. Between bouts of writing, I teach English and History, enjoy long walks while dodging the nesting magpies and plot the next series of books I’d like to write.
Connect with Tima!
Twitter – @TimaMariaLacoba
Facebook – http://www.facebook/TimaMariaLacoba
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads/TimaMariaLacoba
My website – http://timamarialacoba.blogspot.com
March 21, 2014
Travel Review: Sandals Resort – St Lucia
I recently stayed at Sandals Regency La Toc in St Lucia for my honeymoon, and I’ve been getting asked a lot of questions about the resort and if I would recommend it, etc. I thought writing a blog post might be fun – and we all know I love writing 
My review is a bit mixed. When I hear about the Sandals Resorts, it’s all about luxury, high-end, all inclusive, romantic, over the top. I chose a Sandals for our honeymoon because I thought we would get the most value than any other resort. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I really wasn’t that impressed. Their websites boasts, “All-inclusive, All the Time.” Um, not really. We had to pay $50 for the WiFi for the week (that I can get at a McDonalds or Super 8 for free) and it worked about half the time. We had to pay for a boat cruise that was through Sandals, we paid for jet-skiing. If you wanted to eat at their highly hyped restaurant on the pier but aren’t in a butler suite category room (which we weren’t) you had to pay $200 for dinner. So even after you shell out thousands of dollars to stay with a Sandals, be prepared to keep pulling your wallet out. And then upon check out our bill had a “Travel enhancement fee” on there – because apparently they just aren’t charging enough up front, they have to sneak in an extra charge at the end.
Our room was very small and quite outdated. The entire resort seemed very old and run down to me, not anything like their pictures or what you would expect from a “luxury” resort. We had no balcony, and our bathroom could only fit one person at a time. When I was going to the bathroom, I could wash my hands and turn the shower on at the same time. When I asked my “honeymoon specialist” over the phone (who assured me she was all about making my stay a good one) about room upgrades, she stuttered and said she had no idea about that. Besides getting breakfast in bed one day and one bottle of champagne to our room, our “honeymoon” experience was nonexistent.
If you are going to travel to St Lucia, I cannot advise staying at La Toc. Not only because of the outdated look, but because you can’t use the beach. There were red flags every day because the ocean was unsafe, so the last three days my husband and I took the shuttle to the St Lucia Grande so we could enjoy the water. If you think because you are staying somewhere “luxurious” you won’t get hassled by locals selling you trinkets and drugs, you are wrong. Each beach was swarming with them, and they are quite forceful. Along those lines, the Sandals employees themselves are worse than telemarketers. Upon check in while you sit in a lobby for thirty minutes, the spa employees come around to each one of you and thrust an appointment paper in your hand trying to get you to book. When we walked by the spa to get to the water activities, an employee literally walked after us shouting about getting a couples massage. One day when my husband and I were lounging by the pool a spa employee came up to us to try to force us into booking an appointment. I wanted to do a couples massage, but after so much harassment (and $300 for a massage) I just didn’t want any part of it.
So those are my complaints. It might sound like we had a horrible time, but honestly we didn’t. There are good and bad to every trip, and it was no different with this one. My husband and I made friends with other couples our first day there, we enjoyed our snorkeling trip, and we had fun together. Sandals caters to couples, and we enjoyed that it didn’t feel like we were on spring break and that they really did try for the romance factor. One night there was a chocolate bar (um, yeah!), and there was a terrific street party on our last night that we had a blast at. There were a variety of restaurants, from bar food to seafood to Italian to sushi, which was nice because after a week eating at the same restaurants can become boring like I’ve experienced on other all-inclusive trips, so that was nice. The conditions were nowhere near what we expected or worth the value that we paid, and that is what is so upsetting and why most of my post is negative. If I stayed somewhere that didn’t hype themselves up and cost a lot less, I probably would say that I had the most amazing trip ever. Upon talking to other couples, it sounds like St Lucia is the stepchild so to say of Sandals Resorts. We had other couples talk up Bahamas and we made the decision to give Sandals one more chance. I am extremely brand loyal, from my credit cards to my shopping stores, and I want to be loyal to a travel brand. We have 11 months – well, 10 months without penalty- to decide if we will take this vacation, and I’m going to think pretty hard about it. If anyone else has good resorts they can recommend, I am all ears. I love travel and I love that I’ve gotten my husband to see the beauty in traveling (this was his first time out of the US) and I want nothing more than to keep traveling and hopefully find a company that is reputable and really cares about their customers – not just money hungry. I’m open to suggestions, from resorts or travel vendors such as Apple Vacations. No matter where my next trip takes me ( a little birdie thinks it will be New York for BookBuzz) I’ll be sure to blog about it!
March 18, 2014
Release Day: Pulled Beneath by Marni Mann
Today is the release of Pulled Beneath by Marni Mann. Since starting as a book marketing manager with BookTrope Publishing, I have been given the chance to work with some amazing authors and read some equally fabulous novels. I adored Pulled Beneath right from the beginning, and getting to work with someone as sweet as Marni makes “work” feel like the exact the opposite. This book is the first in the Bar Harbor series, and I can’t wait to read the next two novels that Marni has in the works. Please head over to my book blog Chick Lit Plus for my 5 star review of Pulled Beneath – and then run (or click really fast) to get your copy!
About Pulled Beneath:
What happens when you uncover years of secrets and find out everything you thought to be true was a lie?
Drew Stevens finds her world turned upside down when her parents are brutally murdered. Soon after, she learns she inherited a property in Bar Harbor, Maine from recently deceased grandparents that she believed had died when she was a baby.
Drew travels north to settle her grandparents’ estate, but finds more questions than answers as the truth starts unraveling. What she didn’t expect to find was Saint, whose reputation was as tumultuous as his past. But the very thing that brought them together was the same thing that kept them emotionally caged.
With Saint’s scars so deep and Drew’s so fresh, can the pair heal from their painful wounds or will they be pulled beneath the darkness of their pasts?
About Marni Mann
A New Englander at heart, Marni Mann is now a Floridian inspired by the sandy beaches and hot pink sunsets of
Sarasota. She taps mainstream appeal and shakes worldwide taboos, taking her readers on a dark and breathtaking
journey.
When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, she’s scouring for chocolate, traveling, reading, or walking her four-legged
children. Visit her at www.marnismann.com.
Buy the Book!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1nNJgFa
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pulled-beneath-marni-mann/1118927292?ean=2940149337309
Find Marni on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarniMannAuthor
Twitter: @MarniMann
March 4, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Omni by Andrea Murray
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
My brother-in-law died in a hunting accident. Terry was a young man, a year younger than me, and he left behind a wife and a baby. His death made me realize I had to do something, something more, something to remind me I was still alive. When I had the idea for my first novel, I knew it was time. My first novel, Vivid, was born because from this need and from one of my classes.
Several years ago, I was teaching a class made up almost exclusively of eighth grade girls. These young ladies were voracious readers, and I was reading one to two books a week just to keep up with them so that I would be able to recommend novels. Predominately, these girls preferred paranormal romance, which is also one of my favorites, so reading for them was no great hardship. However, as I book talked these novels, I noticed one similarity–female dependency. In nearly all of these books, the female protagonist relied upon the male character (endowed with some supernatural ability, of course) to rescue her. Though the POV was female, the true hero was not. That really bothered me. How could I recommend these novels where women were often victims while telling these girls that they could be anything and do anything they set their minds to? Why couldn’t a female character tell the story AND save the day? Thus, Vivian was born. I wanted a strong, quirky girl with real-world problems, like bullying and self-esteem issues, who could finish her English homework and rescue the love of her life all in one night. Two more novels completed that trilogy then I began Omni.
How would you describe your books?
I love sci/fi and paranormal. Those are the books toward which I gravitate for my personal reading, but I grew up sneaking a peak at my mom’s cheesy romance novels, so I like those, too. I would say my own writing is a combination of those two. After all, love is the ultimate conflict, and giving the characters supernatural gifts or setting the story in a dystopian world just makes it that much better.
Why was Omni a book you wanted to write?
I wrote Omni for my nephew. I’ve been a teacher for seventeen years, and many years ago, I taught seventh grade language arts. As part of that curriculum, we completed a large unit on Greek and Roman mythology. I was fortunate enough to have my nephew in one of those classes. He developed an appreciation for all those great old stories, and every time a new mythology movie comes out, he calls me for confirmation that the story is accurate or to tell me whether it’s worth watching. He inspired the use of the story.
Omni is a retelling of the ancient story of Paris and Helen. Nearly all of the characters were created from one of the original characters. I attempted to give the characters names that begin with the same letter as their namesakes as well as making those names words which denote character traits. For example, Pierce, an orphan like Paris, is a Drudge. As a Drudge, he’s the lowest member of the Omni society, yet he doesn’t let that limit him. Instead, he manages to “pierce” through those restrictions and gain the attention of important members of society.
The society, Omni, came from my classroom. Each week, we study Greek and Latin root words. One of those a couple of years ago was “omni,” which means “all.” While discussing the word, the idea of a society completely controlled by the government came to me. I created the society, in part, from our own society, where entertainers like sports heroes and film stars make unfathomable amounts of money while many families can’t even pay their utilities. It’s truly the direction I see for our own world.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Time! Finding the time to write is often the most difficult part for me. I’m a full-time English teacher in a junior high school, and I have two children of my own. I usually drag myself up at 4 AM to do my writing (and reading as well). I try not to take too much time away from either my family or my occupation in order to write, but when the writing fairy gifts me with a great idea, I sometimes manage to send the kids to my mother and just spend the afternoon writing.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Sci/fi and paranormal fiction are my favorites. I LOVE seeing the world in a different light, seeing characters with special abilities that both cause adversities and help them overcome those problems. We all have gifts—maybe we can’t fly or shoot electricity from our hands, but we all have some kind of gift. Some people are smart; some people are super-caring. I like to see those gifts enhanced then turned loose on society to wreak havoc. Plus, it’s an escape from reality, and who doesn’t need that once in a while?
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
I hope readers will see that Omni is about integrity and hope. Pierce doesn’t settle for what society has dealt him; he has dreams of a better life, maybe a better world, where class lines don’t hold citizens back. However, he’s also learned to work within those constraints without compromising himself. While a part of the story is from Harmony’s point of view, the story really belongs to Pierce, and I want readers to understand that he isn’t defined by the stratum to which he belongs. He’s a person, not a title.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Oh my! Social media is very important to authors, especially indie authors. We couldn’t survive without it. The publishing world is changing. It doesn’t have to be about rejection letters and dashed hopes any more. Social networking has breathed life into careers that would be nonexistent ten years ago. However, that’s a double-edged sword as well. We live and die by reviews, and most authors can identify with that bad-review-knot-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling of a poor review. It’s difficult to be blasted by reviews, but the benefits far outweigh the cost. I love when I hear from fans around the world. Knowing I’ve made a tiny dent in their lives is really cool, and I’ll take that any day.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Don’t do it! I’m just kidding although I’ve definitely had those days when it feels less than wonderful. Actually, I’d say those are exactly the days you need as a writer because it just accentuates the positive moments. Don’t give up, and don’t think the you are defined by all the “no’s”. Keep tapping away even if you don’t have great success. If it makes you happy, it is worth it.
**Excerpt*
PrologueFlames licked dangerously close to Pierce’s shoulder as he dragged an overturned chair into the fire’s path. Behind him, the steel safety door slid closed, blocking his only escape. He kicked at the chair, hoping the blaze would choose leather and wood over flesh and bone as he crawled to the window overlooking the courtyard. Alarms screamed, and neon-green liquid squirted from hidden ceiling sprinklers. His bloody hand slipped the first time he tried to pull himself up to bang against the tempered glass he didn’t stand a chance of breaking.
Swiping at the liquid and sweat stinging his eyes as much as the smoke, he screamed, lifting his hand and slamming it down even though the street was empty of citizens at this hour. Leaning heavily against the unyielding glass while coughs wracked him, he tried to call out again, but the heat seared his lungs from the inside out.
In another fit of coughing, he slid back to the floor and glanced down at his bare, alcohol-soaked chest. It was pointless, all of it, the fame, the credits, Hale’s sacrifice.
Harmony’s face flashed into his mind. He had never told her he loved her. He’d tried to show her, but he should’ve said the words he’d thought nearly from the first moment, should’ve shouted them from the roof of this damn building. He loved her silky curls against his cheek and the way her blue eyes had stolen his soul that afternoon in the park. He loved the way she tried to protect her sister and how she’d fidget with her shirt when she was nervous. He loved every part of her. She had been his for a little while, and her face would be his last thought.
He smiled, closed his eyes, and waited for death.
.
Author Bio:
Andrea Murray has been teaching English for longer than most of her students have been alive. She has taught everything from elementary reading groups to concurrent credit classes. She is currently teaching junior high language arts. She has a BSE and an MA in English. She lives in a very small town in Arkansas with her husband of nineteen years and their two children. In addition to teaching, she also blogs on Chick Lit Plus, writes young adult fiction, and recently completed her fourth novel, Omni, a YA dystopian based on the story of Paris and Helen. Andrea has also written The Vivid Trilogy, a YA paranormal romance. When she isn’t doing that, she’s probably reading or watching bad B movies.
Buy the Book!
http://www.amazon.com/Omni-Andrea-Murray-ebook/dp/B00GBZCGKU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1393366595&sr=1-1&keywords=omni+andrea+murray
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/omni-andrea-murray/1117236902?ean=2940148846673
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/369148
March 3, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh by Timothe Davis
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
I’ve always enjoyed writing, as far back as I can remember. When I was eight, I wanted to write comic books. I guess I’ve always been a little obsessed with words!
How would you describe your books?
This is my first book. I’ve completed my second and hope that it will be available by early spring. Here’s what you’ll always find in my books – a celebration of diversity. Real people of different races, gender, age, sexual orientation working together. I believe that there’s beauty in diversity, and so I try to show that in my books (even if it’s subtly).
You will also always find a flawed “hero.” My hero doesn’t always save the day, although he may give it his best shot. He’s going to be an imperfect guy trying to make sense of what’s going on around him. And by the end of the book, he will have had one or two “a-ha!” moments.
Why was Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh a book you wanted to write?
I travel a lot with my job, and sometimes I find myself stuck in an airport (or some other place) wanting something to read. I wanted to write a book that was an “easy read.” The kind of book that you would take on vacation, buy at the airport, read in a doctor’s office – where the pace moved quickly but the characters were engaging. People have told me that they’ve read the book in 1 and 2 days. And the book is 300 pages! The chapters are short and each ends with a sense of “what’s going to happen next?”
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
The editing process is the most cumbersome for me. I’ve done a first draft and I now have to go back and challenge myself around word count, and plot holes, and character authenticity, and story arc, and so much more. It leads to multiple but necessary rewrites. I also have to let stories sit. (Or is that set? Ah, you know what I mean!) I have to put a story down and come back to it (sometimes 2/3 months later). It gives me a fresh eye. And then … the “editor” comes along. And that’s when the fight begins … LOL
What are your favorite genres to read?
My favorite is probably mystery/suspense.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
Ultimately, the book is about taking a look about what makes us tick. Realizing that we all have shit and that it stinks sometimes. Trying to figure out how we become better people, better friends, better lovers. And being willing to accept others for who they are.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Great question! I think it’s a vehicle to connect with others who enjoy your work or, as importantly, help new people discover your work. What a writer needs to bear in mind is that 100 FB likes doesn’t translate into 100 sales and 5K twitter followers doesn’t mean 5K people are buying your book. It doesn’t even guarantee that 5K people are seeing your book. I’m speaking specifically to authors who choose to self-publish. Social media is a great way for writers to stay connected and engaged. But it can’t be one’s sole marketing/promotional plan.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
(I’ll try not to get on a soapbox! LOL)
Every writer should know “why” he or she is writing. Do I want to have the next “Ten Shades of Grey?” Do I just want to put my words into the universe? Is this my way of purging onto paper? There are a multitude of reasons people pick up pen and paper. Knowing “why” you’re writing will help as you navigate the editing process, the critiques, the pricing, the countless rewrites, and the hurt feelings (because you’re feelings will get hurt from time to time).
**Excerpt**
“She spent the night,” Christopher Beauchamp asked, more intrigued by the three SMU females that had just walked into the bar than any comment I might be making. Blue eyes, blond hair, cleft chin, he claimed he was part Norwegian, which was fitting as he deemed himself a Nordic god. In truth, his ancestry was rooted somewhere in the backwoods of Baton Rouge. While he would want to deny it, his thick gumbo accent would betray him every time. He removed his tie, unbuttoned the first three buttons of his Geoffrey Beene, and put his suit coat on the chair beside him. When he did so, his concealed weapon flashed unconcealed.
“Seriously,” I asked, “do you think you really need that?” nodding toward the gun.
“Absolutely,” Gabby said, sarcasm dripping from her every word. “With all the gang violence in the West Village, I’m sure he’ll need it to defend us.”
“It’s my constitutional right,” Chris replied simply. I shook my head, Gabby rolled her eyes.
Over the years, we had had the gun conversation too many times to count. By the end of every debate, Gabby was the liberal undermining the country, I was the know-it-all-New Yorker, and Chris was the gun-toting-what-our-forefathers-died-for Republican.
Nowadays debates on the subject amounted to well placed sarcasm and smug retorts – none of which phased Chris. “You were saying,” he said.
“I was saying, she spent the night.”
“She spent the night,” Gabrielle’s emerald eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I repeated my words for the third time. “She spent the night. And for God’s sake, would you button your shirt, Chris?”
Chris winked at me and grinned.
We sat at Cosmo, a sushi bar in uptown Dallas, just on the edge of “the gayborhood”. Gabby had been invited to a business lunch at the restaurant about eighteen months ago and had introduced Chris and I to it the following week. It wasn’t nearly as popular as the other sushi places in Dallas – Sushi Zushi or Steele – but Cosmo had a Temptation roll that was out of this world. The three of us were weekly happy hour guests.
Great sushi and great location didn’t give Cosmo a great deal of other customers, though. It wasn’t the place to be “seen”. To the contrary, if there was a spot that was off-the-beaten-path in the most popular area of the city, then Cosmo was it. The sparseness of the crowd all but guaranteed the bar a short lifespan.
“No big deal,” Chris said. “I have girls stay overnight all the time.”
“That’s cause you’re a man whore,” Gabby, which she prefers to Gabrielle, offered as she waved a waitress over for another round. Chris believed every woman who he was reasonably attracted to deserved a roll in the hay. Gabrielle was totally and completely a one-man kinda woman.
“What the? I am not a whore.” His look of offense read almost sincere.
“Dude,” I interrupted. “You had more sex last year than Gabby, myself, and,” I scanned the room, “the ten other people sitting in here have had in the last three years. You’re like a fuckin’ John Holmes.”
“Hey, I’m single,” he grinned.
“Dude,” Gabby said flatly, “you’re almost forty.”
Chris is thirty-six and sensitive about his age.
Tension at the table. I took a swig of my martini.
Sometimes the tension between Chris and Gabby was palpable. Chris would say the tension was lust inspired. Gabby would say it was disgust inspired. If I was a better poet, I would write a limerick about the two.
There once was a boy full of lust …
Instead I waited it out. These moments only lasted a second or two, coming to a conclusion when one of them said “whatever.”
Chris said, “Whatever,” and clumsily picked up a piece of the Temptation roll with his chopsticks. When half the roll fell back to his plate, he opted for a fork.
“I’m just saying.” Gabby wasn’t letting him off the hook. “You guys act like you can’t get any satisfaction. Isn’t there a time when a man stops chasing ass?”
“No.” Chris nudged me and laughed. I took another swig of my drink.
“I’m being serious. How fulfilling can it be, chasing ass all day and night?”
“Very,” Chris answered.
Gabby rolled her eyes and turned to me. “What do you think?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“He’s a man. He thinks …” Chris began.
Gabby threw him daggers. “I’m asking him. What do you think? Isn’t there a time when a man needs to stop chasing ass all day?”
“Gabby, baby,” Chris interrupted again. “It’s how we are wired.”
She did one of those talk-to-the-hand moves and continued to stare at me.
“Great question,” I began. “I think everyone has to decide what’s right for them. It’s not up to me to make that judgment call for anyone else.”
Chris slapped me on the back with a smile. “Bravo!”
“Tell me,” Gabby asked. “Does your ass hurt? Because it should, sitting on the fuckin’ fence all the time.”
I flipped her off and she returned the favor. “Anyway,” she said with exaggerated frustration, “back to the original topic. So how did you feel about this overnight stay?”
“Ah … I’m not sure. Conflicted, I guess.”
.
Author Bio:
Timothe Davis is a music-loving, martini-drinking, night owl. He spends his days confined within the walls of corporate America but (not so) secretly harbors dreams of writing best-sellers and getting books adapted to movies. Thank God he’s wise enough to have a 401K plan.
You can find him wandering around his loft most times of the night. His friends say his sarcasm belies a warm heart and he’s tried MATCH.com not once but twice.
“Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh” is his first novel. It’s a fictional story of love, friendship, acceptance, and the journey we take to make ourselves better each day. He hopes that those who purchase it will enjoy reading it as much as he enjoyed writing it.
Connect with Timothe:
Twitter: @timothedavis
(Follow for updates not just of my books but books I’ve read and music I’m playing on my iTunes.)
Website: TimotheDavis.com
(Interviews of independent authors, musicians, and other artists.)
FB: Facebook.com/SometimesYaGottaLaugh
(Occasionally updated with thoughts and insights.)
The book can be purchased via most online vendors including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books A Million or through: http://timothedavis.com/my-books/sometimes-you-gotta-laugh
February 26, 2014
CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Tea and Primroses by Tess Thompson
I am happy to welcome Tess Thompson to the blog today! She is answering a few of my questions plus sharing an excerpt from her latest release Tea and Primroses
**Interview**
Can you describe Tea and Primroses in a tweet (140 characters or less)?
When famous author Constance Mansfield is murdered, she leaves behind
devastating secrets that threaten daughter, Sutton’s, life.
What are you currently reading?
Wally Lamb’s, “We Are Water.”
Do you experience writers block? Any tips on overcoming it?
The only time I do is when I don’t have the plot of whatever I’m working on
completely worked out. For example, the current manuscript is taking a bit longer
than I’d like because I don’t have all the puzzles put together. What I do in that
case is rewrite what I have because the better you know your characters and the
stronger the first chapters are (if you’re stuck, for example) the more likely you
are to figure out your missing plot points. If you’re without any ideas for your next
novel or short story, pick up a newspaper or a magazine (Vanity Fair is a good
one for this) and see what stories interest you. Might there be something you
could use for a story? Or, you can look through your notebooks or journals and
see if you have anything jotted down that you could use. Sometimes I’ll wake up
with a line in my head and I’ll jot it down in a notebook and come back to it later.
It can be the beginning of a novel or a chapter or an idea for a character. Also, I
find that doing something brainless, like taking a walk or a shower and purposely
not thinking about anything will allow a plot idea or character to enter your mind.
Where do you complete most of your writing? Any certain time of day that you
prefer?
I always work at my desk in my home office. I have to be careful of carpel tunnel
issues because I work a lot so, unfortunately, I have to be disciplined about
sitting at my desk and typing on my ergonomic keyboard. I used to wander
around the house writing on the couch or in bed but those days are over.
Are you currently working on another novel?
Yes, I’m working on a novel called, “Blue Midnight”, about a recent divorcee who
decides to search for a long lost love.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
The first draft, no question. Once I have the main story on paper, then the fun
begins. I love to rewrite, fiddling with sentences or certain details to make it come
alive.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Literary fiction, mysteries, romance, suspense.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
I want them to turn the last page and feel hopeful about their own circumstances.
My novels are meant to inspire the reader to live their lives with purpose and
courage, to live fully awake.
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Social media is extremely important, especially for new authors trying to establish
a fan base. It is a way to reach readers without having to invest a lot of money in
a publicist or other traditional marketing venues.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Write as much you can. Read as much as you can. Invest in every book on
writing fiction you can find and devour them like your life depends on it. Write
what you love about what you love. Write the book you want to read. Don’t worry
about the odds or if you have talent or not. Find your own voice because it is like
no one else’s and you can write the stories no one else can. Write like you have
something to say that matters.
**Excerpt**
Chapter One
June 2013
Dear Sutton,
I guess I’m gone if you’re reading this. I write one of these letters every June just in case something unexpected happens and I die. I’ve been doing this for six years now, ever since Roma died and I realized you and Declan would be orphans once I go.
I know I won’t need to remind you how much I love you since I’ve said it to you every day of your life. I hope, despite my lifelong love affair with words and my unquenched ambition, my actions left no doubt in your mind that you were everything to me. I’m prouder of you than anything I ever did, professionally or personally. I was humbled and honored to be your mother. Thank you for being my lottery. That said, in mother fashion, I must leave a small list of instructions.
1. I would like to be cremated and my ashes spread in the sea foam on our beach—just you and Declan.
2. I want a huge party thrown in my honor and for everyone to make nice speeches about me. I’m just kidding about the speeches part. No one is left that really knew me except for you and Declan, Louise and Aggie. Regardless, I would like a party where you invite all the townspeople who have wished to see inside the house for twenty years now. Please ask Louise to help you, because you’ll probably be sad and not thinking as clearly as you normally do. But, Love, make it a really good party, the kind most of the people of Legley Bay wouldn’t normally be invited to. Spend gobs of money. Over-serve them top shelf alcohol and provide buses back to town so nobody drives drunk and hurts anyone. And hire a good caterer from Cannon Beach, for God’s sake,
and not Myrnas (no apostrophe—never ceases to amuse me) Fish House. Make sure there’s some kind of potato dish—the kind I never ate and which I’m probably regretting now wherever I am. Hire servers in crisp white aprons that carry around trays and offer delectable little treats like shrimp and those bacon-wrapped dates you’re so fond of. Gosh, it sounds lovely and so civilized! My mother would have hated it. But she’s dead too so we don’t have to worry about her. Anyway, the party is a way for me to say I’m sorry to all the good people of Legley Bay for never hosting any parties at the house—completely selfish of me, I know, but I hate all the mess and fuss and the small talk—please, kill me now. Ha! I’m already dead, so that’s really not so funny. Clearly I don’t really think there’s any chance I’m dying this year since I make such light of it in this letter. Remember, I’ve been doing this for six years and I haven’t died yet. After the party, invite the gang over and play darts and dance in the basement like you all used to in high school. Sometimes at night when I’m here alone I think I can hear you all down there but then I realize it’s just the wind.
3. Don’t marry Roger. You don’t love him. He’s weird. I never understood one thing he’s ever said.
4. Call Declan. Get him to come home. You love him and always have. For Heaven’s sake, this whole nonsense between the two of you has gone on too long.
5. Invest some of the money I left you. I was surprised how it grew over the years and you will be too. That said, please don’t hesitate to spend a small amount frivolously, like on lovely clothes or a trip somewhere or even a ridiculous little sports car. I want you to have whatever you want. I did it all for you anyway.
I know you won’t mind how much I left for Declan. He was like a son to me, as you know. But, as it turns out, there was so much to go around. We have the thirteen bad movies to thank for that.
Okay, I must close. I have to get my word count in before 4 or I don’t get to have a glass of wine. Love you, always, Mommy
Author Bio:
Tess Thompson is a novelist and playwright with a BFA in Drama from the University of Southern California. In 2011 she released her first novel, Riversong, which subsequently became a best seller.
Like her main character in the River Valley collection, Tess is from a small town in Oregon. She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her two young daughters, Emerson and Ella, and their puppy Patches. She is inspired daily by the view of the Cascade Mountains from her home office window.
Tess is working on her next novel and regularly blogs about her journey as a mother, author and friend at www.tesswrites.com.
Connect with Tess!
http://tesswrites.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTessThompson
https://twitter.com/TessWrites
Buy the Book!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1bTdhBt
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tea-and-primroses-tess-thompson/1118622407?ean=9781620152096
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tea-and-primroses/id814544996?ls=1&mt=11
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Tea-and-Primroses/vPRyj0FM30i1NXt81gGUeA?MixID=vPRyj0FM30i1NXt81gGUeA&PageNumber=1
