P.D. Workman's Blog, page 129
November 10, 2015
Excerpt from The Bedlam Detective
Am I still working on my Nanowrimo novel? You bet! 48,212 words in. While the official goal of Nano is 50,000 words, my goal is 125,000 words, so I’m not as close as you may think.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
I have just finished The Bedlam Detective by Stephen Gallagher. A fascinating psychological thriller revolving around madness. Right up my alley.
“Two children are missing,” the cook said.
Sebastian abruptly laid down his pen.
“Tell me more,” he said.
“Oh, it’s probably something and nothing,” she said.
Stephen Gallagher, The Bedlam Detective
From a basement office in London’s notorious Bethlehem Hospital, Sebastian Becker investigates wealthy eccentrics whose dubious mental health may render them unable to manage their own affairs. His interview with rich landowner Sir Owain Lancaster, whose sanity has been in question since a disastrous scientific adventure in the Amazon killed his family and colleagues, coincides with the disappearance of two young local girls. When the children are found slain, Lancaster claims that the same dark forces that devastated his family have followed him home. It is not the first time that children have come to harm in his rural countryside town, though few are willing to speak of incidents from the past. Becker must determine whether this mad nobleman is insane and a murderer, or if some even more sinister agency is at work.
Struggling on his small salary, and with unexpected help from a son who needs special care, Becker and his wife make sacrifices so Becker can stay on the case after an innocent man is convicted of the crime. The answers he seeks may be found with the assistance of the local investigator and a young suffragette who fled Arnmouth, but couldn’t flee the horrors she encountered there.
From dank asylums to the lush and treacherous Amazon, through the makeshift studios of the early film industry and a traveling fair of freaks and illusions, Sebastian Becker’s search for answers brings him face to face with madmen and monsters, both imagined and real. Confronting immense danger in his hunt for the truth, he will explore murder, tragedy, and the tempestuous depths of his own mind.
November 3, 2015
Excerpt from Sycamore Row by John Grisham
Nanowrimo is on! I am 9,009 words in and motoring away.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
If you love a good courtroom thriller, John Grisham is your man. I am currently reading Sycamore Row: A Novel (Jake Brigance Book 2). I have not read the first Jake Brigance novel, I don’t think, but Sycamore Row works as a stand alone novel. I am well into it, and enjoying John Grisham’s signature style.
His most glorious moment had come and gone. The acquittal of Carl Lee Hailey was three years ago, and Jake sometimes feared he was now beyond his pinnacle. As always, though, he brushed those doubts aside and reminded himself that he was only thirty-five. He was a gladiator with many great courtroom victories before him.
John Grisham, Sycamore Row
Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County’s most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises many more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row?
October 30, 2015
Reading List: Young Adult Fiction About Abuse
I can hardly wait for Nanowrimo to start! And be sure to check out my promos for translations that are on sale over Halloween/Day of the Dead.
It has been a while since I posted a reading list! Abuse is one of the topics that I write a lot about. Looking over my list and some other young adult novels, I think I am going to break it down into three separate lists.
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Neglect
Mental/Psychological Abuse
I will start today with physical abuse. There are lot of memoirs about physical abuse, but there are not a lot of popular young adult books that revolve primarily around physical abuse.
My books that include main characters who are (primarily) physically abused:
Deviation“You’re a good kid, Henry.”
Everyone knew that he was a good guy; geeky, responsible, hard-working. Henry has had a lot to deal with in the past. Now, as he should be focusing on his schooling and preparing himself for the future, he is hindered by abuse, the challenge of raising his baby brother while dealing with his mother’s deep depressions, and the return of a ghost from the past Henry has tried his best to forget.
But it seems that Henry can’t avoid the nastiness of life. As hard as he tries, it’s one more disaster after another as his life spirals out of control.
Can Henry escape the darkness, or is he doomed to be consumed by it?
He never told what went on behind closed doors. But this time, he can’t remember.
Things never have been easy for Steven. He accepts that, and just makes the best of things. He might not have parents or a happy home. Or enough to eat most days. But at least he has a couple of loyal friends who stand by him and help out when they can. At least he has school, someplace he can go to escape the abuse.
But just when he thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did.
Steven is accused of murder. But that isn’t the worst part. The really bad part is not even knowing if he did it.
“I don’t plan on getting in any trouble.”
Tamara had thought that when she got out of juvie, things would be easier. But before long, it seems like her life is spiraling into chaos.
If she can’t prove to her probation officer that she is innocent of the allegations against her, she’s going back to prison, and Tamara just can’t let that happen.
(Note this one is not a young adult book and is pretty graphic.)
Leo is a troubled young man, constantly on the brink of disaster. In the midst of his own emotional turmoil, Leo meets Elizabeth, single mom of a newborn, with a lot on her plate and a past that she won’t acknowledge.
Leo has always been driven to rescue others, and Elizabeth becomes the newest project to help him forget his own troubles.
Can Leo reach Elizabeth, and at the same time, come to terms with his own past? Or is he messing around with something beyond his ability to manage?
The other books that I have picked out are:
Holes, by Louis Sachar
My son loves the movie version of Holes.
“If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.” Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be “the largest lake in Texas” is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!”
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
I have featured The Book Thief once before on Teaser Tuesday.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
A different kind of physical abuse, but Hunger Games is so popular, I thought I would include it.
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.
October 27, 2015
Excerpt from Green eyes in Las Vegas
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
Not my first excerpt from a cozy mystery with a cupcake on the cover! I am currently reading Green eyes in Las Vegas by A.R. Winters. It is the second book in the Tiffany Black Mystery series. I have not read the first, but I am enjoying the sassy, humorous tone.
I was walking down the street, minding my own business, when the man fell out of the sky.
A.R. Winters, Green eyes in Las Vegas
Tiffany flits between her two new cases: investigating the missing Van Gogh, and the murder of a Hollywood starlet with a secret life. When her investigation takes an intriguing turn and a man with mesmerizing green eyes comes into her life, Tiffany starts to wonder if this man might be the missing link between both crimes…
When her octogenarian friend Glenn starts dating a very inappropriate woman, and Nanna starts calling a twenty-something-year-old her “boyfriend”, Tiffany wonders if being attracted to a potential criminal might not be so crazy after all.
As she follows the investigation from movie sets to museums, danger strikes a little too close to home when Tiffany discovers that not only was the dead girl being stalked, someone with a deadly motive appears to be watching her too…
October 21, 2015
Promos! Free books for all!
Over the next couple of weeks, in conjunction with Halloween and the Day of the Dead, I have gone crazy with Kindle promos!
I have already posted about the Halloween Book Blast, a multiauthor event that I am participating in on October 24. Multiauthor event means there are 30 or so authors offering free books! Don’t miss it! Follow the link for author interviews. I have two books participating in the book blast. Questing for a Dream and Pursued by the Past.
Questing for a Dream is free October 21-25.
Pursued by the Past is free October 24-28. 
But wait, that’s not all!
We wouldn’t want to leave out foreign language translations, would we?
El Mal Camino de Ruby is free October 30-Nov 6
Por Conta Própria is free Oct 28-Nov 
October 20, 2015
Excerpt from The Finisher by David Baldacci
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
Don’t forget to put this huge Halloween promotion on your calendar. Fill your Kindle with free books!
This one has been a fun read so far: The Finisher by David Baldacci is sort of a Harry Potter meets Katniss Everdeen, with a great sarcastic sense of humor thrown in. The recommended reading ages for this book are all over the places. We can find age 10-14, grade 9, grade 6-9, grade 7-10, grade 5-9, and ‘middle grade’ all in different places on the Amazon page. I would absolutely recommend it for younger readers. More of a Harry Potter vibe than Divergent, even though the cover gives the impression it is for older kids. That’s not to say that older readers won’t enjoy it!
Being fourteen and female was frowned on here in Wormwood, the village where we both lived. It’s never been clear to me why. But I liked being young. And I liked being female.
David Baldacci, The Finisher
Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. And she always believed it — until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away.
Vega knows Quentin didn’t just leave — he was chased. And he left behind a trail of clues that point to a dark conspiracy at the heart of Wormwood. To follow the clues will attract the attention of influential people willing to kill to keep their secrets. If Vega wants to stay safe, she just needs to keep her head down and her mouth shut. There’s only one problem — Vega Jane never walks away from a fight.
October 18, 2015
Get Your Treats at Night of the Living Book Blast!
Once again, it’s time for a #SupportIndieAuthors sponsored Book Blast event!
This time around, your spook-tacular event coordinators bring you:
Adorable illustrations brought to you by SIA’s very own Featured Author of the Month, Melissa Jensen.
Although the name is spooky, there’s going to be something for everyone. On Saturday, October 24th, we will have dozens of authors offering scores of free books! As usual, in the week leading up to the event, we’d like to tell you a little about our participants, so we’ve devised this holiday themed mini-interview. Since there are so gosh darned many of us, we’re going to do things a little differently this time around. Instead of one very long list of authors, several bloggers will each post a handful of interviews. Below you will find not only the talented authors who I am hosting, but links all of the other blogs, so make sure to click through and meet all of our authors!
And of course, all of our books will be listed on the official Book Blast website:
So don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, October 24th, and spread the word about this exciting trick-free treat!
What is your name?
P.D. Workman
What are the names and genres of the books you are offering?
Questing for a Dream – Young Adult Contemporary
Pursued by the Past – Suspense
Who will enjoy the books you are offering, spooky fiends or fraidy cats?
Good for fraidy cats. I don’t think either will keep you up all night (at least not in fear!)
Tell us about your favorite, worst, most unique, or most embarrassing Halloween costume. Got a picture you can share with us?
My favorite was a veterinarian. I love animals and was part of “Future Vets of America” at my junior high school, which meant I spent lots of time cleaning out rodent cages and got to take home classroom pets over holidays. I borrowed a lab coat from the science teacher and had a Fisher Price stethoscope. And a rubber rat in my pocket.
Life is like a bag of Halloween candy. Which seasonal treat are you?
Hmmm… some kind of nut clusters. Sweet and a little nutty. Maybe with some crystallized ginger that surprises you and adds a little spice!
Where can readers find out more about you?
Website: http://pdworkman.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pdworkmanauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7350384.P_D_Workman
What is your name?
Susan Stafford
What is the name and genre of the book you are offering?
My book on sale is Spirits in the Keys
This is a mystery that takes place in Key West, FL
Who will enjoy the book you are offering, spooky fiends or fraidy cats?
Those who like a little dabble in the spirit world while a hurricane is swirling outside will enjoy this read
Tell us about your favorite, worst, most unique, or most embarrassing Halloween costume. Got a picture you can share with us?
One Halloween a couple friends and I dressed up as nuns and went on a midnight cruise, had a blast dancing with the Blues Brothers and won 2nd prize! We changed clothes before morning and the breakfast conversation was entertaining listening to people discussing the dancing nuns and Blues Brothers as no one knew who was who in the morning 
Life is like a bag of Halloween candy. Which seasonal treat are you?
Friends would probably suggest I was more like a Smartass Smarties candy
Where can readers find out more about you?
Sorry, no twitter or blog page…… I do have an author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Stafford/e/B00IU1NMGU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1444790194&sr=8-1
What is your name?
Amanda Siegrist
Hi, my name is Amanda Siegrist and I write romance novels. Some are contemporary, some are suspense, and I just might dabble into fantasy at some point.
What is the name and genre of the book you are offering?
Sunset Darkening is the third book I’ve published and is a romantic suspense novel.
Who will enjoy the book you are offering, spooky fiends or fraidy cats?
Sunset Darkening is not a novel in a Halloween-filled sense, but it will keep you guessing who is murdering the women around the small-town. If you have an aversion to whistling, you just might find yourself dreading when the serial killer strikes next…he gets a perverse enjoyment out of torturing his victims with a sweet whistling tune before he makes his move.
Tell us about your favorite, worst, most unique, or most embarrassing Halloween costume.
Gosh, it’s been so many years since I’ve truly dressed up, but the one that springs to mind as my favorite costume was when I was younger, maybe ten years old or so, and dressed up like Pippy Longstocking. I just loved her and her awesome pigtails. I remember using a wire coat hanger to get my pigtails to look just like hers. So much fun!
Life is like a bag of Halloween candy. Which seasonal treat are you?
Mmm…candy corn! Love candy corn. I am already on my second bag this year. I guess you could say I am sweet with a few layers to my personality. All good of course:
Where can readers find out more about you?
Website: http://www.amandasiegrist.weebly.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/amanda_siegrist
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authoramandasiegrist
What is your name?
Amanda Witt
What is the name and genre of the book you are offering?
The Watch (Book One in THE RED SERIES), psychological thriller/dystopian
Who will enjoy the book you are offering, spooky fiends or fraidy cats?
…for spooky fiends
Tell us about your favorite, worst, most unique, or most embarrassing Halloween costume. Got a picture you can share with us?
Best Halloween costume was when I went as Little Miss Muffet, and my date as the spider. I was seventeen and he was nineteen, and our mothers made our costumes. It was a more innocent time!
Life is like a bag of Halloween candy. Which seasonal treat are you?
What candy am I? Hot Tamales–sweet enough, but with a kick.
Where can readers find out more about you?
Website: www.amandawitt.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003YIG676
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AmandaWitt
What is your name?
M. Ray Holloway, Jr.
or Ray to my friends and family.
What is/are the name(s) and genre(s) of the book(s) you are offering?
“The Picture of the Ghost” is what I would call paranormal with sci-fi leanings due to the technology in the story.
Who will enjoy the book(s) you are offering, spooky fiends or fraidy cats?
Probably Fraidy-cats. I bill this novelette as my “non-scary ghost story”. If you’re looking for blood and guts, it’s not here.
Tell us about your favorite, worst, most unique, or most embarrassing Halloween costume. Got a picture you can share with us?
I wish I had a picture, but I usually don’t photograph my failures. I wanted to go as a werewolf, and I found a werewolf prosthetic that I could glue on my face. Trouble was, it was for a teen face. I needed longer hair for the costume, but the only wig I could find was a black mullet, so between my prosthetic popping off and my black mullet, I was a pretty funny looking werewolf.
Life is like a bag of Halloween candy. Which seasonal treat are you?
Candy corn. Sweet, colorful, and corny.
Where can readers find out more about you? (Up to three social media, blog, or sales page links)
www.facebook.com/ray.holloway.77
http://mrayhollowayjr.blogspot.com/
Links to the other interviews:
Host Ann:
http:// www.annliviandrews.com /ramblings/2015/10/17/ night-of-the-living-bookblast
Host Shari:
https :// sharisakurai.wordpress.com /2015/19/10/ night-of-the-living-book-blast /
Host Ellison:
http:// ellisonblackburn.com /calendar/ night-of-the-living- book-blast /
Host Rian:
Host Riley:
https :// rileyamoswestbrook.wordpress.com /2015/10/18/ halloween-book-blast-siahbb-come-get-free-books-from-up-to-30-authors-ian1-iartg-bookboost-supportindieauthors
Host Christina:
http:// mcmullenwrites.blogspot.com /2015/10/ support-for-indie-authors- presents.html
October 13, 2015
Excerpt from Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
I am reading another book by Orson Scott Card, but this one is not a science fiction like Enders Game. I am reading Enchantment, a fantasy time travel fairy tale retelling of Sleeping Beauty (sort of “the rest of the story” or “after the happily ever after.”) Several places had me laughing out loud on my morning run (as I listened to the audiobook)
“How do you know?” he demanded once.
“Your face is an open book to me.”
“No, really.”
“I’m a witch, I know these things.”
Orson Scott Card, Enchantment
The moment young Ivan stumbled upon a clearing in the dense Carpathian forest, his life was forever changed. Atop a pedestal encircled by fallen leaves, the beautiful princess Katerina lay as still as death–while a malevolent presence stirred in the hidden depths below.
Now, years later, Ivan is compelled to return. He finds the clearing just as he left it. This time he does not run . . .
October 6, 2015
Excerpt from When we were Dragons and Feature by Goodlife Fitness
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, read the rules at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along!
If you missed my release of Questing for a Dream, take a quick minute to check it out! I have been getting some great reviews (like this one by Christian Rebel).
What else has been happening? Of course I am getting reading for NaNoWriMo, trying to decide right now between the two books I may write next.
Ruby Between the Cracks has been featured on the “Stories about Making it Happen” by Goodlife Fitness on Wattpad. Wattpad is a free reading platform, a risk-free way to check out some of my writing and make new discoveries!
And on to the teaser! I have just started reading When We Were Dragons by Brandon Berntson, an interesting fantasy based on the collision between earth and a magical world inhabited by… surprise… dragons. I couldn’t help but be attracted by the gorgeous cover and intriguing title of this book.
“These mortals are a surprising people,” Karen said next to me.
I nodded. I didn’t want to mention my cynicism as to how half of them were just as willing to lynch us an hour ago.
Brandon Berntson, When We Were Dragons
Justin Silas is a dragon who can change into mortal form at will. When his world, Paramis, collides with Earth with the aid of powerful magic, destruction ensues. Cerras, a giant god made of amber quartz, stirs, restless in his century-long slumber, and dragons are now living side by side with mankind on New Earth and Paramis Altered.
But all is not well.
Lane, a traitorous dragon to her own kind, is turning dragons against mankind and mankind against dragons. She longs to usurp the throne of Cerras, hoping to destroy the Giant God with his own power. Yet fate lies with Charlie Underhill, a small boy from Earth, who – since the collision – harbors a special kind of magic all his own.
October 1, 2015
Launch Day: Questing for a Dream
It really surprises me how I can feel so differently from one book release to another. Some of them I am pretty ‘chill’ about or am just happy to finally get done.
Then there are others that I anticipate with real excitement, and can’t wait to share with the world! Sometimes I am so in love with a cover that I just can’t wait to hold the paperback in my hands.
In case you haven’t already guessed, I am really excited to announce the release of Questing for a Dream to the world!
A teacher-librarian that I know (hi Dale!) suggested that there was a dearth of books on the marginalization of Canadian Aboriginal teens and perhaps I could do something about that… I already had several ideas in my Story Clip File that were appropriate, so I started to pull them together and brainstorm about a plot. I did a ton of research to become familiar with my subject matter and a couple of months later, wrote out my first draft. I also produced this infographic (please give it a few minutes to load.)
While asking an author to pick which one of her books is her best is sort of like asking a mother to pick which of her children she loves the most, I have to say that Questing for a Dream is certainly one of my favourites!
The cover was a challenge! I went through roughly 15 designs before I finally found this photograph and negotiated a license with the photographer. It is so gorgeous! I’m so glad I persisted until I found just the right picture.
Readers of my Advance Reader Copies blew me away with their praise. They really are loving this book! So now it’s your turn! Hop on over to Amazon to one-click your way to a Kindle copy or order the paperback (or if you are local, drop me a line to get an autographed copy and save yourself some shipping.)
Read more about Questing for a Dream below
Nadie is a bright but rebellious teen growing up Manitoba Cree. Living in abject poverty, she tries to help care for the younger children in the band. Devastated by the drowning death of her little cousin and unable to overcome her grief, Nadie leaves the band.
How can she find her own place in a foreign world where she is abused and discriminated against, and for the first time in her life, completely alone?
By the author of the award-winning Ruby, Between the Cracks, this engaging and unforgettable story of Nadie’s journey to find a place in the world amidst heartache and hopelessness will inspire you to face your challenges with courage and become a happier and stronger person.
Praise for Questing for a Dream
“Brilliant masterpiece.”
“P.D. Workman’s skilled narrative of Nadie and her poignant journey to wholeness is a thoughtful exposé of shattered dreams and tragic youth sure to resonate with every reader.”
“An inspiring book which can encourage the reader to face the challenges in life’s journey and to accept the lessons that come as a result.”
Praise for P.D. Workman
“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me in ways no one or almost anything else has. And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”
“The way that P.D. Workman writes just flows amazingly and allows the reader to get really invested in a book.”
