Melissa Snark's Blog: The Snarkology, page 15
January 20, 2016
Copper Lake by Ann Swann #Romantic #Suspense #Goddessfish
They call him the Killer Cartographer because he carves the map coordinates of each victim on the femur of the one before. Then he tattoos the information on his skin. Can Detective Kendra Dean bring him in, or will she become his next tattoo?
EXCERPT:
Girl in Clover
Kendra’s mouth fell open, and her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when she realized she was looking into the empty black eye sockets of a skull. Oddly, though, this skull was not half-buried in the earth the way one would think it should be. Nor was it scattered in pieces as if it had been dug up and deposited there by wild animals. No, indeed, this skull appeared to be right where it belonged, sitting at the top of a fully formed skeleton reclining on a bed of clover, hands clasped on what would have been its chest.
The detective’s headache was forgotten. Her dizziness was also forgotten, washed away by a wave of adrenaline. She didn’t scramble backward in an attempt to put distance between herself and the remains the way most people would have done. Instead, she pulled out her iPhone and began to snap picture after picture from every angle. Then she realized she had a signal, so she immediately dialed nine one one and told them who she was and what she had found.
In less than a minute, Sheriff Gray Puckett called her back. He was already on his way. Kendra could hear the ding-ding-ding of the seatbelt alarm as he climbed into his cruiser.
When he asked her why she was in that particular area—on a workday—she told him everything about being on paid leave. Kendra had nothing to hide. She also told him about going fishing and getting the feeling that someone was watching her. When they hung up, she immediately called Woody and told him what was going on.
“I was going to call you about those case files,” she said. “But I may not have too much time after all.” And then she told him what she’d found. She thought about sending him the pictures she had taken but was afraid Sheriff Puckett might not appreciate her sharing evidence before he’d had a chance to see it.
“Wow,” Woody exclaimed. “What’d you do, get so bored you just searched until you found a case right there in your own backyard? I mean if you wanted to work I would’ve driven the files over myself—”
“That’s quite enough,” she said, stemming the flow of sarcasm. “I was just out fishing when I felt this sudden certainty I was being watched.”
“Are you there alone, now?” Woody interrupted.
Kendra immediately grasped his fear. “Yes,” she said, “but I’ve got my weapon, and I’ve scanned the area, no one is around. No one alive that is.” She glanced down at what she was fairly sure would turn out to be a woman. No one ever arranges men’s remains this carefully, she thought. Men’s remains almost always show evidence of sudden violence, gunshot wounds, bashed in skulls, shattered bones. These remains appeared to be posed, right down to the odd placement of the thigh bone on top of the victim’s ribs. Other than that, there were surprisingly few signs of violence about the remains at all.
“I’ll be right there,” Woody said.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Ann will be awarding a character named after the winner in her next book to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Ann Swann was born in the small West Texas town of Lamesa. She grew up much like Stevie-girl in The Phantom Pilot series, though she never got up the nerve to enter the haunted house. Ann has done everything from answering 911 Emergency calls to teaching elementary school. She lives in Texas with her husband, Dude, one rescue dog, two rescue cats, and a part-time box turtle named Piggy. When she’s not writing, Ann is reading. Her to-be-read list has grown so large it has taken on a life of its own. She calls it Herman.
Book Links and Public Contact Information:
Amazon: http://www.tinyurl.com/bmrsong
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/cfakkue
Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/8besl3w
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/hx72y82
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/hlflu9k
Blog: www.annswann.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/annswann.books
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/6vuw7vl
Twitter: @ann_swann
Books by Ann Swann
2011 Stevie-girl and The Phantom Pilot – Cool Well Press
2012 Stevie-girl and The Phantom Student – Cool Well Press
2013 Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge – Createspace
2012 All For Love – 5 Prince Publishing
2013 Stutter Creek (Book One) – 5 Prince Publishing
2015 Lilac Lane (Book Two) – 5 Prince Publishing
2016 Copper Lake (Book Three) – 5 Prince Publishing
2016 Takers: Apocalypse in Eden – coming soon
Short Fiction
“Bamboozled” Alfred Hitchcock Magazine
“Aftermath” Binnacle Magazine
“The Gap” and “In Search of Water” The Rusty Nail (previously published in The Sandstorm)
“Soul Gardener” Timeless: Cool Well Press, Anthology
“The Fee” A World of Terror: Grey Mouse Publishing, (formerly titled The Warning)
“SleepAway Pounds” Seasonal, Sweet, and Suspenseful, Anthology
“Chems” Createspace
January 19, 2016
Playing House by Tammy J. Palmer #Contemporary #Romance @Goddessfish
Ginny Cotton, bike riding, chess playing, loan processor, has set a new goal: find someone to have sex with. Soon. As in tonight. It’s the only way to finally get over Jason, her best friend, the guy she’s been waiting for since high school— the guy who is now engaged to her sister. She’s saved her virginity for him since he doesn’t believe in premarital sex. What better way to get over Jason than to have sex with someone else? The hot guy Ginny meets through a dating site seems like the perfect choice. There’s only one problem. To achieve her goal, Ginny must first overcome the anxiety that has been holding her back her whole life.
EXCERPT:
The movie was a romantic comedy. It was one that Ginny had never seen before, but she felt as if she had. It was that kind of movie.
He smelled of spearmint and something else, something pleasant, possibly cologne or maybe aftershave or maybe just soap. It wasn’t a strong scent, just enough to make her want to bury her face in his neck in search of more. She resisted the urge. It occurred to her that she’d spent most of her life resisting urges. It was the reason she was in this situation.
His hand came to rest on hers. She jumped at the contact.
“Is it okay if I hold your hand?”
“Sure. I’m not going to faint from holding hands.”
His fingers entwined with hers. “What do you think made it happen in the bathroom?”
“The bed,” she whispered, keeping her eyes forward rather than meeting his. And the condoms. And the lubricant. Would lubricant be necessary?
“We’ll watch the movie. We don’t have to do anything else, not unless you want to.”
“Okay.”
It was such a small thing, holding hands, and yet it felt intimate. Steele shifted slightly, turning toward her. He was close enough to kiss. She wanted to know what it would be like, but kissing posed a dilemma. She quickly turned back to the movie.
A little while later he released her hand, leaned over, and undid the laces on his motorcycle boots. He took them off. Ginny liked the boots. She’d never thought that a man’s footwear could be considered sexy, but that was the word that came to mind. Her gray flats had a little black bow on top. No one would consider them sexy. Ginny slipped them off.
“What do you say we lie down and get comfortable?”
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Tammy will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Tammy J. Palmer lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband of twenty-five years and a spoiled cat named Betty Boop. She has two children who turned into pretty darned awesome adults. You can visit her website at: www.tammyjpalmer.com
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003659273448
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13507458.Tammy_J_Palmer
https://twitter.com/tammyjpalmer
January 17, 2016
The Measure of Love by Saundra MacKay #Contemporary #Romance @Goddessfish
The Measure of Love is unique in that it is an authentic modern-day love story that captures the mystique and splendor of large size women of today. It will captivate the hearts of the readers as they walks through Vanessa’s everyday life as she confronts the realistic obstacles from being a woman of size. The story addresses size in a kinder, gentler way about full figured women beyond the realm of society’s idea of what is physically beautiful
Excerpt:
Good fortune spared her from becoming further unnerved by allowing her to get to the airport without much delay, and to find a parking spot, with a few minutes left before his flight was to arrive. Vanessa felt as if she couldn’t make time move fast enough. With each passing minute, she couldn’t deny her mounting eagerness to see his handsome face come through the exit doorway. While the passengers were disembarking, Vanessa positioned herself in a place where she could easily see him come through the door, yet far enough away from the crowd of onlookers waiting for the same reason. As the doors opened and each unfamiliar face passed through the doorway, she felt as if her inflated heart was going to burst onto the carpet. She felt sure she would stop breathing if she didn’t see his face in the next few seconds.
Vanessa stood very still, watching the stream of emerging passengers. And then, suddenly, there he was, looking like the million dollars he was worth in her shining eyes. Unbeknownst to her, Jon had been anticipating seeing her just as much once the plane had landed, and the need had only increased as the plane, much too slowly, had taxied up the runway. His feet had wanted to run down the long walkway, making him impatient with the necessary procedures and the lingering passengers who, to his increasing anxiety, were taking their time walking down it. He didn’t know why, but he was nervous and very anxious, even though he’d been looking forward to this day since it had been arranged.
By the time Jon reached the exit, he was so wired it took everything he had not to push the people ahead of him out of his way to run the extra steps. Then, at the exact same moment, their eyes locked. Vanessa stood there, so statuesque, and wearing the biggest smile. It took all the remaining restraint he had not to drop his bag where he stood, run to her, and grab her up in his hungry arms to consume every inch of her big, beautiful body. She was one fine female, and he could see she had no idea of the enormous impression she made as she stood looking like a vision to all who had an eye for real beauty.
Never taking his eyes off hers, Jon walked toward her, lowered his bag, and forced himself to slowly pull her into his impatient arms. The feel of her softness revived the many feelings that had possessed him since he last left her, and gave him a new wish to hold on to her for a lifetime, just as he was at that very moment. For someone of such a large frame, she was so small in so
He had missed her. For someone of such a large frame, she was so small in so many ways not obvious to those who couldn’t see past the image taken in by the discriminating eye. Jon just wanted to hold her and protect her forever from all the ugliness around her and within her own insecure reflection. Vanessa wrapped her large arms around his neck, nestled her face deep into his shoulder beneath his scented square chin, and whispered, “I’ve missed you so much. Welcome, my love.”
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Saundra will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I was a large-sized child shaped by the view of those expecting me to act a certain way because of my size and their narrow views. As a “fat” child I was treated just how they thought I would act, as if I was so sensitive I were incapable of doing most things thin children could do. It was around the age of twelve I started to gain weight, changing my physical image of my body. It was a slow, steady process, but the ramifications were not.
As I grew older and the pounds followed, the images changed dramatically and I wasn’t capable of fighting the effects from it. As a young girl of size, trying to keep some semblance of positive image was an uphill battle. It was the start of feeling isolated and unsure as an introverted child growing up and into most of my teen years. I didn’t feel I could trust anyone enough to talk to about personal issues, especially anything to do with my weight.
As a teen and into adulthood the meaning of unrequired love was lost to me. As I explored the world around me, I unknowingly learned how to trust many of the voices of the people I was blessed to have had walk through my life. In time, it showed me my innate trust in something bigger than society’s issues and helped me to listen to my own voice to hear the messages I tell myself.
Now, the image of my body is one of kindness, caring, and love. In light of realizing its society’s image of body that is distorted and do not accept the difference in every individual, I have come a long way to appreciate the uniqueness of my body. Today love means so many things to me, and is felt in defining ways that have helped shape me into the person I am today. I believe I have always reflexively felt a connection to my innate love for myself and on so many amazing levels love have helped me to understand and value the real me.
As a young adult, I started to read every opportunity I had. Then my love of words was found, allowing me to create a world in which I could express myself comfortably. I now have the pleasure of embracing the feelings of joy and excitement that come with being a writer of truth and a romance novelist. It’s possible because I evaluate myself and my growth with honesty in hopes of being capable of writing true-to-life love stories. Love stories about large-size women who are seen for more than their innate beauty and are worthy to be the heroine who gets the man
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Saundra-MacKay/e/B017JA3WIU/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Website: http://www.saundramackay.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saundra.mackay
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Measure-Love-Saundra-MacKay/dp/0996825401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451756244&sr=8-1&keywords=the+measure+of+love
January 11, 2016
Naked Choke by Vanessa Dare (Contest) #Contemporary #Romance @Goddessfish
Trapped at the bar during her best friend’s engagement party, Emory finds herself with Mr. Dud and his obnoxious pick-up lines. That is, until sexy Grayson Green steps in to rescue her. She’s been out of the game so long that she’s practically a dating virgin. With her son off to college and her husband now an ex, Emory is learning how to be not a wife, not a mom, but a single woman. What she doesn’t anticipate is falling—hard and fast—for a dominate, alpha male.
Grayson Green’s an MMA champion, used to working hard and playing harder. He spent years in the limelight where fast times and fast women were easy to come by. Women just want to screw him and men want to be friends with the infamous Green Machine. The appeal is gone and he steps out of the ring to make some changes and get control of his life. He runs his own gym and is a trainer for the next champ. All the training in the world can’t save him from the one-two punch of meeting Emory. She’s different. She has no idea who he is…and she wants him anyway. She’s everything he never knew he ever wanted and he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep her.
Gray convinces Emory that there are no games with him, that he wants to take care of her, protect her, and pleasure her until she can’t see straight. But not everything from his past are championship belts and sponsorship deals. He’ll have to protect her from the one thing he can’t control. Gray will do anything to keep Emory because he knows that winning in the cage is nothing compared to winning her heart.
Excerpt:
“Sorry I’m late, baby. This place is so crowded, Paul pointed me in your direction.” I felt a hand on my shoulder before I realized the voice was talking to me. The surprise contact made me jump, but it didn’t feel creepy and gross like Bob/Bill’s hand had. It felt like…electricity crackling in the air before a thunderstorm. Glancing back, it was Mr. Bond’s brother—that would make him Mr. Bond as well, then?—smiling at me. At me! His brown eyes weren’t just dark, they were almost black and they were focused directly, completely, utterly on me.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Vanessa will be awarding a ebook copy of Naked Choke to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a ebook copy of any Vanessa Vale/Vanessa Dare book to a randomly drawn host.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Vanessa Dare does it all: Urban contemporary to time traveling to Scotland and everything in between. Her bestselling alter ego, Vanessa Vale, sticks with steamy Wild West romps.
Vanessa loves to hear from fans. She is on:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008430166353
https://www.facebook.com/vanessavaleauthor/
@iamvanessavale
Join my mailing list: http://vanessavaleauthor.com/v/y
Romancing the Fox by Marissa Dobson #Paranormal #Romance @melissasnark
No matter how far up the rungs of corporate success Sinopa Locklear climbs, her family will never be satisfied. To them, she’s worthless because she refused to live out her destiny among the tribe and produce cubs. Her decision left an impassable bridge between her and those she loved.
When an offer to wipe the slate clean comes up, Garret Fox can’t pass up the chance. All he has to do is spend a week with Sinopa, and pretend to be her fiancé. Seven days and they could go their separate ways. How hard could it be?
Both are running from something, afraid of getting too close and too intimate—until they are forced to behave as a couple for her family.
Who’d have thought a fox would chase after a wolf of her own?
Or is she his prey?
Romancing the Fox
by Marissa Dobson
Series
A Crimson Hollow Novella
Genre
Paranormal Romance
Publisher
Independent
Publication Date
January 12, 2016
About Marissa Dobson
Born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Marissa Dobson now resides about an hour from Washington, D.C. She’s a lady who likes to keep busy, and is always busy doing something. With two different college degrees, she believes you are never done learning.
Being the first daughter to an avid reader, this gave her the advantage of learning to read at a young age. Since learning to read she has always had her nose in a book. It wasn’t until she was a teenager that she started writing down the stories she came up with.
Marissa is blessed with a wonderful supportive husband, Thomas. He’s her other half and allows her to stay home and pursue her writing. He puts up with all her quirks and listens to her brainstorm in the middle of the night.
Her writing buddy Cameron (a cocker spaniel) is always around to listen to her bounce ideas off him. He might not be able to answer, but he’s helpful in his own ways.
She love to hear from readers, send her an email at marissa@marissadobson.com or visit her online at http://www.marissadobson.com.
Author Links
January 8, 2016
A hot little quickie–A CAT’S TALE #Free until 1/20 #PNR #amreading
Alpha werewolf, Jared Kohl, wakes up in a vampire’s dungeon, swearing revenge upon the wily Siamese werecat who lured him there with her sultry lips and the sweetest tail. To escape his undead captor, all he has to do is seduce the skittish puss and show her that trust is often a hot and hard lesson to learn.
Enslaved feline shifter, Josephine Young, has learned the hard way not to believe in anything or anyone—not men, not love, and certainly not the blood-sucking mistress who tossed her into the cage with the hungry beast she’d betrayed. But Josephine does what she must to survive, including tempting the dominant werewolf to give her more than promises.
Imprisoned for their blood, Jared and Josephine fight for survival and discover a passion that neither can walk away from. Can these two predators survive long enough to prove that cats and dogs can be more than enemies?
Amazon US
iBooks
Kobo
Google Play
January 6, 2016
When A Taker Dreams by J. A. Jackson (Contest) #Romance @Goddessfish
Cierra Cantrell has had little experience with men after a painful experience in her life left 
her too insecure to discover and free the passionate woman within.
After following the advice of her mother, Cierra agrees to accept family friend Isabella Duvall’s offer for help in obtaining a marriage of convenience.
When Isabella’s gorgeous brother—shows up, Cierra can’t stop dreaming about him.
Lust is a powerful emotion!
The eBook can be purchased for $0.99 during the tour
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01288VA7I
Excerpt:
That Monday evening Cierra arrived home at just after seven thirty and pulled into the driveway.
Enzo Rawlins was rolling his garbage can to the curb.
Cierra got out of her car and walked up to him. “Hey Enzo, thanks for leaving me stranded that night at The San Jose Gladiator’s Foundation Annual Dinner. I always knew you weren’t a gentleman, you jerk,” she yelled.
Enzo gazed up and gave her a weak smile. “Didn’t you get my messages?” he asked but didn’t wait for a response. “Anyway, I felt pretty bad about leaving you like that. Look I’m sorry. And I wanted to make it up to you. That is why I rolled your garbage can to the curb so you didn’t have to.”
“Wow thanks. I guess I can’t stay mad at you for doing me that favor.”
“You know I would only abandon you Cierra if I got really distracted. You know me…”
“Whatever,” Cierra demurred.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
J. A. Jackson will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
J.A. Jackson is the pseudonym for an author, who loves to write deliciously sultry adult romantic, suspenseful, entertaining novels with a unique twist. She lives in an enchanted little house she calls home in the Northern California foothills.
She spent over ten years working in the non-profit sector where she wrote grants, press releases and contributed many stories to their newsletter. She was their Newsletter editor for over ten years. She loves growing roses, a good pot of hot tea, chocolate, magical stories, suspense stories, ghost stories, and reading Jane Austen again and again in her past time.
https://www.amazon.com/author/jajackson
http://jerreeceannjackson.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Jerreece-Ann-Jackson/204377496289139?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/jerreece
January 5, 2016
Jump Cut by Libby Fischer Hellmann #mystery @Goddessfish
Hired to produce a candyfloss profile of Chicago-based aviation giant, Delcroft, Ellie is dismayed when company VP Charlotte Hollander, the architect of a new anti-drone system for Delcroft, trashes the production and cancels the project. Ellie believes Hollander was spooked by shots of a specific man in the video footage. But when Ellie arranges to meet the man to find out why, he’s killed by a subway train.In the confusion, she finds a seemingly abandoned pack of cigarettes with a flash drive inside that belonged to the now dead man.
Ellie has the drive’s contents decrypted, but before long she discovers she’s under surveillance and thrown into the middle of a situation filled with drones, hacking, and Chinese spies that put her life and those she loves in mortal danger.
BUY LINK:
Excerpt:
The sun winked off the frozen surface of Lake Michigan the next morning as I drove south to McCormick Place. During one of the most brutal Chicago winters in decades, the smudge of purple clouds tinged with pink and gold hinted that the fury of winter might—just might—have peaked. I parked in the overpriced lot, bought half a dozen cups of overpriced coffee, and carried them into the massive exhibit hall.
The crew was setting up lights and shades, and Mac was behind the camera framing shots. MacArthur J. Kendall III owns a production studio in Northbrook. He started out shooting sweet sixteens, bar mitzvahs, and weddings, but parlayed that into corporate videos. We’ve worked together for nearly twenty years, from the days of two-inch video, to one-inch, three-quarter, and now digital.
Mac’s name, salt-and-pepper hair, button-down shirts, and penny loafers scream WASP, but the nasty scar running down his left cheek saves him from total Episcopalian infamy. He tells people he was attacked by a Mexican drug lord and made me swear never to reveal it was from a car accident.
I went up to him. “What do you need me to do?”
“You have the shot list?”
I nodded and pulled it out of the canvas bag that doubles as my purse. We went over it. He gestured to the main area of the Delcroft booth, which featured a large projection screen with the company logo on both sides, and about twenty chairs arranged theater-style.
“What time’s the first presentation?”
Teresa Basso Gold, our client contact, had told us to be prepared for a series of short remarks by Delcroft executives touting the company’s latest innovations.
I checked my watch. Barely six thirty. “The doors don’t open until nine, and Teresa said not to expect anyone until ten. But you can get some establishing shots, if you want.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Mac said and strolled over to confer with the crew.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Twelve novels and twenty short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. *
With the addition of Jump Cut in 2016, her novels include the now five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24;” the hard-boiled 4-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and three stand-alone historical thrillers that Libby calls her “Revolution Trilogy.” Her latest release, The Incidental Spy, is a historical novella set during the early years of the Manhattan Project at the U of Chicago. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman’s “25 Criminally Good Short Stories” collection.
More at http://libbyhellmann.com.
* She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony, twice for Foreword Magazines Book of the Year, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne and has won the Lovey multiple times.
Author of Compulsively Readable Thrillers
The Incidental Spy, Sept. 2015: http://www.amazon.com/Incidental-Spy-...
Facebook: facebook.com:authorlibbyfischerhellmann
Twitter: http://twitter.com/libbyhellmann
January 4, 2016
Real locations in storytelling by Laura Wharton #Mystery @Goddessfish
Thank you for having me on your blog!
Today I’d like to talk about using real locations in a story, or what I like to call writing a location-centric tale. I’ve done this for all my novels, covering locations such as New Bern, Oriental, Carolina Beach, Wilmington, and other coastal towns in North Carolina, where I live.
In my new mystery, IN JULIA’S GARDEN, the story is set in contemporary Winston-Salem. The mystery, though, is set in the run-down garden of a historic home located in South Carolina. Why choose different time periods and locations to tell this particular story? I wanted to try something different from all my other books, and this book is the result.
IN JULIA’S GARDEN is the first in the Lily McGuire Mystery series. My lead character, Lily McGuire, is a landscape architect specializing in historic garden restoration. In each of the subsequent stories, a garden will be involved.
Image hosted on Wikipedia
I could have stayed right in Winston-Salem, which is a lovely and old medium-sized city whose history was based on a footing of tobacco. At the turn of the last century, the Reynolds family had tobacco warehouses all over the city. Many of these have been converted over the years into eateries, offices, and condo buildings. Local readers will recognize the coffee shop where Lily heads for her daily brew, or to the Arts District for an evening out. There are some truly marvelous gardens here, too, along with mansions of various descriptions from exciting time periods. When I was thinking about story development though, I knew I wanted for Lily to have to take a road trip: she needed time in the car to think about the mystery before her—and she needed time to better understand a male character who could potentially be a love interest for her in subsequent books in this series.
The other reason I chose an out-of-state property for the mystery is that of the historic gardens I’ve seen in the Winston-Salem area, none of them are as neglected as I needed this first one to be. The neglected garden where the mystery is also provided me with a great deal of research material because it’s attached to a historic mansion that has undergone restoration. This particular site had a masterplan of its garden restoration, a plan which was helpful to my research. When I visited the gardens, the property didn’t resemble the plans for its future nor its historic self, which made it all the more fun for me. In a sense, I took the place’s reality and altered it for my purposes, adding various structures to the setting that were needed to move the plot along from the past to the present. There were, however, several striking features of the garden which were very much intact: a fountain, a wall topped with wrought-iron, and a clear view from the back of the property to the mansion’s upper-story windows where part of the storyline comes into play.
I used these features in the plot, offering a description of the property from several viewpoints for readers to “see” what the main characters (both past and present) were able to see. The description of the garden is a key clue for Lily to sort out along with the readers, and I think readers will have fun learning about the garden and the clues as Lily does.
Thank you for having me here today!
Other Information about the book you may want to include (though not original):
“In Julia’s Garden: A Lily McGuire Mystery” Now Available
Laura S. Wharton’s Eighth Novel Marries Contemporary Setting with Mystery Set in History
Lily McGuire has her plants and her work as a landscape architect in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. What she doesn’t have (a man to date or an adventure to have) is just fine with her, thank you very much. Yet her whole world turns as chaotic as the grand old mansion’s garden she’s restoring when a stranger presents her with the gardening journal of a 1940s socialite-gone-missing. Snarky and somewhat misanthropic Lily must search its pages for clues to the young beauty’s disappearance and a potentially deadly mystery despite the warning that she should tread carefully: the journal was the cause of Lily’s best friend’s death, assures the stranger. Appearances aside, the old man doesn’t seem trustworthy. But then again, Lily doesn’t trust anyone, so why should he be any different?
The book will be .99 during the tour.
http://www.laurawhartonbooks.com/
In Julia’s Garden: A Lily McGuire Mystery is a contemporary mystery set in Winston-Salem with roots firmly planted in a historic southern garden in Columbia, South Carolina. Readers will recognize many of the places mentioned in the book (Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Krankie’s Coffee, Sweet Potatoes, 6th and Vine, etc.), so they can stroll along with Lily as she hunts for clues.
In the first of a series, Lily McGuire pieces together clues she finds in the missing socialite’s journal to discover what happened to Julia and to find closure on the death of her best friend who ran the small landscape architectural firm where Lily works. Lily also must tend to her own past, a landscape riddled with an emotionally draining failed marriage to a two- (or is it five, now?) timer who will be at their son’s upcoming college graduation, and attractive—but pesky—coworker Jack Chapman who is definitely not her type. Maybe.
Wharton’s other award-winning titles for adults and mysteries for children written with children, include Deceived: A Sam McClellan Tale, Leaving Lukens, The Pirate’s Bastard, Monsters Below, The Mermaid’s Tale, Mystery at the Phoenix Festival, and The Wizard’s Quest. Deceived is the first in a series. In Julia’s Garden is available through Wharton’s website, www.LauraWhartonBooks.com, independent bookstores and online booksellers (Amazon.com, B&N.com). It is also available online for e-book fans.
EXCERPT:
“Why did you use the word, ‘kill’?”
“Huh?” Jack leaned forward and put his arms on my desk.
“You said you didn’t think there was anything in here worth killing for. Macy wasn’t killed, Jack. She died of a heart attack, according to Dr. Tesh. Mr. Evans used the word, ‘die’…you are the only one who used the word, ‘kill.’ Why?”
“Didn’t you know? Julia Norton vanished. Her disappearance was never solved, and she was presumed dead. I got curious and perhaps a little nervous for you when I thought you might have something that could have led to Julia’s disappearance and possibly to Macy’s death. As I said, though, I didn’t find anything mysterious or titillating in there.” Jack pushed himself out of the chair and walked to the door.
“Jack, how do you know Julia Norton went missing?”
“I researched it online,” he responded, pointing at my computer. “It’s all there: archived newspaper stories and a page or two from a magazine featuring a socialite’s column about her. That’s what I was doing this morning. I was researching. Seems Julia was a popular young lady. Very popular. She came from a good family whose fortunes dwindled during the Great Depression. When the war began, her family did what it could for the war effort, and her father was rewarded handsomely by the city of Columbia for his ability to put people back to work making parts for airplanes. As the war came to a close, the family’s finances stabilized, but Julia went into a tailspin over something. One article said she began turning down invitations to big parties after the boys came home. Another reported that rumors about a secret marriage made her go into hiding. Anyway, there wasn’t anything about that in the journal. Just notes about parties when she was young, plants she liked…stuff like that was in the pages that I did manage to get through. Like I said, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the whole thing.” Jack stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, Lily. Anyway, I’ve got your back, just in case.”
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Laura Wharton will be awarding a copy of In Julia’s Garden (U.S.) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
About the Author:
North Carolina author Laura S. Wharton writes sea adventure/ suspense/mystery novels for adults and mysteries for children. Her love of history, gardening, and mystery often collide in her tales of adventurous people who rise above challenges in stories that twist and turn along the way toward satisfying—though not expected—endings. A technical writer by trade, Wharton has held every conceivable position in the communications and journalism fields. Wharton lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband, teenaged son, three cats and one extremely tolerant dog. She is a recovering sailor who could backslide at any moment.
Email: Laura@LauraWhartonBooks.com
Website: www.LauraWhartonBooks.com
Books are available through independent bookstores and online at http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Spanton-Wharton/e/B008NA0O8W/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I love to hear from readers, too! I’m on Facebook, GoodReads, and LinkedIn.
Quick Book Facts
Title: In Julia’s Garden: A Lily McGuire Mystery
Author: Laura S. Wharton
Distributor: Ingram
Publishing Date: December 2015
ISBN (Print): 978-0-9904662-9-1
Library of Congress Number: 2015913704
Paperback (available in ebook, too)
Pages: 244 (including cover)
Genre: Adult Mystery
Cover Art: Canadian artist Francois Thisdale
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Laura S. Wharton
336-326-7256 www.LauraWhartonBooks.com
January 3, 2016
When is it okay to leave your reader behind? by Gerhard Gehrke #SciFi @Goddessfish
I’ve read science fiction novels for most of my reading years. It started with Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. This book is both deep and accessible for a younger reader. The same cannot be said about all science fiction.
When I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968), the novel by Arthur C Clarke came next. Hopefully some clarity would come, as the film and its enigmatic ending can defy explanation or understanding. What comes through on the page, though, is that Mr. Clarke knew his science, and I (both today and as a youth) don’t know it as well as he did. Arthur C. Clarke held degrees in math and physics, and has written on both subjects. This means that when he touches on orbital mechanics and thrust maneuvers, I have to take his word that he is correct in his details. The end portion of the book is both different and clearer than the film.
Yet both 2001 the film and the book are classics and are not diminished by their advanced storytelling that leave some wondering what, exactly, they are watching or reading. There are many examples of novels where the writer knows more than the reader and is flexing her mental muscles. It’s up to us as readers to decide if we mind going along for the ride. The caution for a writer seeking an audience is that sometimes the reader might give up. The counterpoint is that a dumbing down of an idea for the sake of simplicity can rob a work of its character.
A more recent example of a novel with portions that confound is Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, which has sections on Sumerian mythology and linguistics that can be a challenge to read. Yet it’s because the author has such big ideas and is trying to explain his unique universe that these sections are endurable and worth struggling through to understand the entire story.
So as either writers or readers, we seek a level of clarity that doesn’t come at the cost of a story’s substance. Literature needs texture much as certain foods do. A term used by chefs is “toothsome,” which is when something has a chew but can’t be critiqued for being chewy. Language and information that make it to the page can’t be so sanded down that it becomes beige prose, yet it needs to not present an obstacle that cannot be cleared.
Yet no two readers are exactly alike. Some will persevere in the face of a challenge while others will give up. One point I keep in mind when reading is that some writers don’t care if their plot suffers for the sake of the rest of the narrative.
Consider the novelist Raymond Chandler. When the film adaptation of The Big Sleep was being filmed by Howard Hawks, it was discovered that one of the murders in the book was never explained and perhaps didn’t even make sense. Chandler’s response is classic. He didn’t know who the murderer was, and it didn’t matter to him. The characters and the overall situation came first in his story, and he felt confident that the screen version could survive with this unanswered element.
It would never be a good idea for a writer to set out writing with this attitude. But patient readers will make it through a vague or missing plot point or a section that goes above their heads because they value the rest of the work. Sometimes the understanding comes later upon reflection or research. Sometimes it means we go online to find out what, exactly, we just read and if we’re the only one who had a hard time puzzling through a book.
What would you do if you found a dead alien on a lonely highway?
Was it an accident, sabotage, or murder? And why is everyone blaming Jeff?
The extraterrestrials aren’t waiting for answers. They want revenge. And Jeff isn’t ready for company.
His only hope is an outcast mechanic from another world and a woman who might do anything to get off planet, including selling out her own kind. Jeff has to get to the bottom of why there are so many alien bodies piling up and who is really responsible.
A science fiction adventure novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth tells the story of a reclusive ex-computer programmer who is the unwitting central figure of a plot to keep humanity from ever making first contact.
Also available on iBooks
Excerpt:
Jeff fought to breathe as he spun about in Whistleʹ s tightening grasp. He saw the Grey standing calmly by, an odd smile on its tiny, noseless face. It was transfixed by the action and violence. As Whistleʹ s swathe through the ranks of the Clyptus grew, the Grey tittered.
“Hi,” Jordan said to the Grey.
It hadn’t seen her approach. It was too focused on the brawl. Jordan punched the short alien. The Greyʹ s head snapped back, and its big eyes fluttered. The Grey crumpled, its weapon flying out of its hand. Before it lost consciousness, it released the scent of rotten eggs.
“And here I thought you liked me,” Jordan said.
Meanwhile, Oliop jumped on Whistle and latched onto her head with arms and legs and tail, blinding her. She grabbed at him. When she did, the remaining Clyptus struck at her. They moved over their stomped, battered, and torn companions and stabbed away at the rocky creature. Their darts and stickers poked uselessly at her hardened exterior. Some shot her with their energy weapons, but the yellow beams did nothing. All the while, Jeff wrestled and clawed at Whistleʹ s thick arm, but he couldʹ t break free.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Gerhard Gehrke will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gerhard Gehrke studied film at San Francisco State University. He wrote and produced several shows for community television. His Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror short stories have appeared in several publications, including an Editor’s Choice-winning short story at AnotheRealm.com. A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth is his first novel.
You can connect with him at Gerhardgehrke.com.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gerhardgehrke
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gerhardgehrkeauthor
Blog: www.capriciousnarrator.wordpress.com/
Link to YouTube Trailer:
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