Devika Fernando's Blog, page 82

Featured - Defining Moments by Dori Lavelle

I'm very happy to spotlight the latest release of my author friend Dori Lavelle today. I read and loved "Entangled Moments", the first book of the same series, and this one looks and sounds like a gem too.
[image error] Defining Moments by Dori Lavelle About the Book
Blurb

Secrets. Lies. Betrayal.
How much heartbreak can one heart take?

Melisa Dane has made it through the worst. Her heart was broken, but Florian Dane, better known as “Heat”—and the man of her dreams—returned to mend it. Now, with her family almost complete, Melisa is ready to sit back and enjoy life.

But fate isn't done with her yet. The perpetual smile on her face freezes when the second man to steal her heart shows up in her life once again. Scott Bergfeld, the husband she buried and grieved for years ago, is not dead, and he comes back bearing secrets.

Heartbroken and confused, Melisa tries to find answers to questions she never thought she'd ask, but what she learns throws her life into turmoil. Soon, cracks start to form in her marriage with Heat. As her heart is torn into two halves—between the man she loved first and the man she married first—she comes dangerously close to having her whole life destroyed again. How many people will end up getting hurt? This time, does she have the strength to make it through?


Buy Link
http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Moments-Time-Novel-ebook/dp/B00MRHFZXQ/ref=la_B00H9B81F4_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411972174&sr=1-3


The MOMENTS IN TIME series:

Entangled Moments (Book 1)
Rekindled Moments (Book 2)
Bittersweet Moments (Book 3)
Defining Moments (Book 4)
Moments in Time (Complete Novella Collection, 1-3)

Moments in Time series: http://amzn.to/ZWHSeJ About the Author
Dori Lavelle, is a mother, wife, and a sucker for happy-ever-afters and mint chocolate. Give her a great romance novel and a mug of hot chocolate and she'd be one happy woman.

Growing up, Dori read a lot, and when she wasn't happy with a particular ending, she wrote a different one, just for herself. Before long, she was writing stories when she should have been doing homework. The time has come for her to share the stories she cooks up in her head.


Contact Links:

 Website : http://www.dorilavelle.com/

Newsletter : http://eepurl.com/Ycsu5

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dori-Lavelle/1423314904547560

Goodreads Book page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22430619-defining-moments

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7348559.Dori_Lavelle

Blog: http://dori-lavelle.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoriLavelle

Email: Dori_lavelle@yahoo.com

Ask the Author - Interview with Alisha Guenzel

I never tire of hearing the story of another author, so I love doing these interviews. Today, I'm presenting a good friend of mine, Alisha Guenzel. Read on to find out more about her journey in life and writing!
10 Questions with Alisha Guenzel
What do you like most about being a writer? What do you like least?
My favorite thing I like about writing is seeing where the story takes me. In the beginning it’s my thoughts and ideas. But by draft three it’s my character’s story not mine.
My least favorite part is waiting and editing. Don’t get me wrong editing is a must for a great story to sell, but during that two weeks to a month period I’m anxious to see what the editor thinks and it’s the hardest part for me.

As you write Western romance, can you describe what Cowboys mean to you in three words?
Wholesome, loving, loyal

The brothers of the “McGregor Saga” are called Jason, Jesse and Jude. Any special reason for choosing such great names?
To be honest they just came to me. You see The McGregor Saga is based on a short story I wrote as a kid and the main character’s name indeed was Jason. Jesse and Jude came to me after I made it into the saga. But they mean a lot to me because they are biblical. All the McGregor’s names are biblical even their father’s name “Jonas”.

What was the hardest and easiest part of writing your debut novel “Unspoken Dreams”?
Wow, what a question Devika. Hmm I would say the hardest part of writing Unspoken Dreams was letting it go. When the story is finished and all the problems were resolved to say the end. I put a lot of myself as you know I based the story off of my own personal experiences with having a child on the spectrum. So letting it go, meant letting go a part of me.
There really isn’t anything that is easy about writing, I’ve come to learn. But the part I found fun of Unspoken Dreams was seeing the changes in Jaime. Just writing his story to let parents know that having a child with Autism isn’t the end of the world.

Use these 5 words to write a mini-story: luck, destiny, love, family, money.
It was my destiny to be a writer. But luck that I found so many great people to help me along the way. It was the love of my family that has gotten me this far as well as my friends, but I’m not an author for the money I’m in it to give life to my characters.

What is your favourite genre to write and / or read?
I would have to say romance. Although becoming a published author I open my reading material to review others work. I have actually expanded my reading list to paranormal and thrillers. But personally if I’m in Walmart I would pick up a romance to read. As far as writing I would say family drama/romance. You will find a lot of both in my newest project The McGregor Saga.

Is there a question you have always hoped somebody would ask you? (Feel free to answer it, too.) 
Would you change anything you have gone through to get to where you are today?
I would reply no. Because of all the things I have done I have learned how to perfect my craft.

Do you have any writing rituals?
Not really rituals per say. But I do have a process. I write an outline of my story and do a lot of prewriting in between drafts. I find it really messy and I’m working on making the way I do things more organized. I actually have this big 2in notebook that holds all my ideas and rough drafts so I can go back and look at them to see what needs to be changed. LOL…Again it’s messy.

Can you offer some words of advice to (aspiring) authors?
Never give up. Your first draft will not be your last. To be patient and heed the advice given to you, because the authors you consult with have been in your shoes and they know what you are going through. Lastly, if someone comes up to you and says you need to rewrite your story, don’t take offense but see why that person said it in the first place and fix it. That’s the only way we learn. I’ve been in this business over a year and I’m still learning from my mentors. :-)

Please tell us more about your latest book(s) and plans for the future.
The McGregor Saga is my first serial. It consist of three brothers, Jason, Jesse, and Jude. Although each brother has his own obstacles to overcome there is one thing that stays the same. Family values. Jonas McGregor is the head of the household and he tries to hold on to each of his sons with an iron fist. Jonas thinks in terms tradition and obligation and when the boys start to stray from that he lets them know it.

Jason’s Duty, book 1, which is coming out this winter you get to meet the eldest Jason Jameson McGregor. He’s his father’s left hand man and a cowboy to the core. It takes the love of a city slicker named Haley Sheridan to show Jason there’s more to life than work.

I bring in a bit of comedy as well into my Saga, which is different from Unspoken Dreams that was very intense on emotions because of the back story. But in The McGregor Saga there is trails and obstacles but there is also laughter and heart felt love.

I’m working on rewrites for Book 2 Jesse’s Choice and hoping to get it to an editor for a summer release in 2015. It’s very different from Book 1 or Book 3 because Jesse although he’s a McGregor is not a cowboy. He’s a business man and although he loves his family he wants nothing of their life. It’s really a coming of age story for Jesse but when meeting two beautiful women he must make a choice of who he really loves. Charlotte, a punk from New Jersey who has many secrets or Mona a beautiful red head from his home town that constantly throwing herself at him.

Although Book 3 Jude’s Dream is resting now before I look at it again. I will tell you it’s the conclusion of what happens to the McGregor’s. I don’t want to put any spoilers out there but I will say. Jude who in book one was just a snotty little teenager turns into the man his father has raised and has dreams of his own. But it’s not until he meet Isabelle Tares an RN who is strong in her faith in God does he start to wonder if his dreams were changing. My goal for book three is to release it Winter of 2015.

About the Author
Alisha Guenzel
She is a native to New England although she was raised on the plains of West Texas. She has always loved to write stories. But it wasn't until she married her husband did she take a chance on her dream to become a published author. Although writing is her passion, she also loves to spend time with her kids and husband on their five acre mini-horse ranch. Right now Alisha is working on a three book saga that was inspired by her own horses.


Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alguenzel
Website: http://alishaguenzel.wix.com/authorwebpage
Twitter: @alguenzel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/author-alisha-guenzel/95/7a0/925

Find out more about The McGregor Saga!
https://www.facebook.com/TheMcGregorSaga

Click below to watch the trailers for the three books!

Ask the Author - Interview with Gracie Wilson

I finally got the chance to bug a fellow writer with questions again. This time, I interviewed an author who loves nature and animals as much as I do. Read what makes Gracie Wilson's world spin and her writing successful.
10 Questions with Gracie Wilson
What do you like most and least about being a writer?
What I love most about being a writer is where the story can take me, meeting and talking with readers, and all the authors I’ve met.
What I like least about it is the negativity that has been going around. Sometimes this industry can be hateful and that is like most industries. The few ruin it for the many. I found keeping a close group of author friends who understand the ways of this industry to be helpful.

Would you call yourself more Canadian or more Scottish?
Well that’s a hard question. I feel like Scotland is my home. Why? Most likely because my grandparents and my mother were born there and call it home. I’ve visited many times. When I am there I think that it’s the nature and ruins I visit that call to me. Canada, well I am a first generation Canadian, I’ve lived here my whole life. When people ask my background I say I’m Scottish, when they ask where I live I say Canada. I know that doesn’t answer much, but it explains my thoughts. I’m happy being both, the same amount :-)

What was the hardest part about writing “The Lonely Girl” series?
The Lonely Girl was hard to write because I wrote the character after me. Of course adding some dramatic. I took my personal loss and brought it to life. The book allowed me to talk about the feelings I had and the dealings of moving on without someone who had been so present in my life. Writing it was hard, but the nerves that came when it was published was harder. I wanted people to see my story and let it become their story. Those who have had loss can see I write from experience, I’ve had readers tell me this. People asking if ‘Michael’ was real, that was difficult. Seeing that people could see through the words, but I found in time that it was an overall helpful experience for me. Now I have no issues talking to any reader that contacts me. I had an eighteen-year-old contact me saying she lost her boyfriend too and that the book spoke to her. That was hard. She said she could see through each feeling and knew they had to be real. I spoke with her at length and felt it freeing for both of us.

Any hidden talents or crazy facts about you?
Crazy fact…. I still can’t colour in the lines very well.  Hidden talents, well until my book was published no one, not even my family, knew I could write.

What inspires your stories?
Life experience for some books and pure imagination for others, it really depends on the story.  I can write about love of all kinds because I’ve lived it. I find things I’ve seen or felt come to me easier. The other parts I have to imagine, those stories can be harder to write but not impossible as Storm Corp has shown. I enjoy writing and use it as an outlet.

What is your favourite genre (to read and / or write)?
I love New Adult, I write and I read it. I love Young Adult too, that’s where I started reading and eventually moved to New Adult.

Tell us about the one thing you can’t live without.
Easy, my family, but with my Mac making a close second :-)

Do you have any advice for (aspiring) authors?
Write for you, not for others. If you are happy with your story keep to it. Don’t let others persuade you to change it so drastically. When the day is over you have to live with your novel, no one else.

As a lover of animals and nature, do you incorporate both into your books?
I’d love to write a book about a crazy fish girl falling for the crazy boy next door.
In Lonely Girl Becca was based on myself. So she finds nature to be helpful and like home to her. She has a special place she goes to just to sit and marvel at nature’s wonders. I love nature, I love animals, so when I’m struggling I go outside, I sit with my pets. I will watch documentaries while I’m writing.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on book three (The Missing Girl) in my Lonely Girl Series. I’m also working on book two in the Storm Corp Series. I have another book I’ve been working on during edits and such for the other books, it’s calling Finding Darby. About the Author & Her Books
Gracie Wilson
Look for her in the trees enjoying nature’s wonders, traveling to see the latest animal conservations, or at aquariums all around the world. This girl loves nature and all animals. She has many pets and is always adding new additions. The more the merrier in her mind. Sitting under the shade reading a book, letting the world around her pass by, while she is safe in her bubble of imagination. Well that is where she’d love to stay. She is a softball player, can be talked into the occasional Karaoke and loves going out to dance. She is a first generation Canadian living in Ontario. Her family is from Scotland, so finding her in the hot sun for very long is unlikely, but give her rain and thunderstorms and she’s golden.         
 
http://www.amazon.com/Gracie-Wilson/e/B00IIDMDNS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1


The Lonely Girl book one is free right now!

“What about you, Jake? Why can’t you take a step back and let me take care of my girlfriend?”
Oh no, Keegan, don’t. As much as I love you I’d be lost without Jake. He’s the whole reason I survived last summer.
“I’m not going anywhere, no matter how much our friendship might make you insecure. She’s my best friend and I won’t live my life without her,” Jake answers.
“I’m tired of being punished for Michael and Dillon’s mistakes. Clearly, I didn’t realize what I signed up for but it sure as hell wasn’t playing second fiddle to a dead guy and her best friend,” Keegan snaps back.

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Girl-Gracie-Wilson-ebook/dp/B00KEYA4DK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400603530&sr=8-1&keywords=Gracie+Wilson
$3.99 or AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

The Broken Girl 

All Becca Potts seems to know is darkness, pain and loss.
Every time she gets ahead another secret or event sends her spiraling back.
Dillon's attack has left her fighting for all she holds dear.
Now she has to be brave and pick up the pieces. Hearts will be shattered and love will be rewritten. Becca has to navigate through the chaos that is
plaguing her life and figure out what she wants. Nothing is going as planned but it never has.
Everything she thought she knew is about to be challenged.
Truths will be exposed.
New threats will be revealed. Promises will be destroyed and life as Becca
knows it is about to be broken.

http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Girl-Lonely-Book-ebook/dp/B00MTBGQ8I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408477432&sr=8-2&keywords=Broken+Girl

$3.99 or Available on Kindle Unlimited.

Determined & Derailed: Storm Corp Series
By Gracie Wilson

What happens when you stumble upon something you can’t turn a blind eye to? In one blinding instant my life is turned upside down.
During all the chaos that has become my life, I find friendships are tested, loyalties are betrayed and those left whom I love are put in danger or killed.
I can only count on me. Three men are in my life, but they each have their own motives. My only motive is to make it out of this alive. I don’t even know if that is possible
My name is Alexis Storm and my answer to the storm which my life has become is to fight back at all costs – to survive.

http://amzn.to/UZTkD9

FIRE Friday

Felicia reminded me--rather insistently--that it's Fire Friday again today. So I'm sharing another excerpt from my paranormal romance novel "Playing with Fire". Beware, I'm letting a dragon loose!
Beginnings by Ironshod on deviantart.com (Art by Anne Stokes)
Inside her, a dragon raised its head and looked back at her through glowing eyes, the tip of its tail twitching with interest like a kitten’s. It looked small, like a baby dragon, but already beautiful and wonderfully magical. As if it had sensed her admiration, the fire shaped like a dragon grew and shone brighter, uncurling its long tail and unfurling a pair of wings previously tucked against its body. What now? Would it get up, flap its wings and soar out of her body?

On cue, the dragon did exactly that. She could feel the heat inside her shift and expand and travel up from her belly to her heart and beyond. It was aiming for her left hand like a vehicle shooting toward the only available exit. Automatically, her arm lifted and her hand opened because she couldn’t contain the flames lapping at the confines of her skin. Her eyes flew open in time to see a flame burst from her hand, looking remarkably like a pocket-sized dragon.

She gasped and shot to her feet, the sensation of the fire out instead of inside her indescribable, tip-toeing the fine line between ecstasy and pain, between power and fear, gain and loss.

“Felicia!”

Joshua’s voice, barely penetrating the haze, sounded oddly on edge.

She only had eyes for the fire dragon zooming around so fast her head spun when she followed it with her gaze, like a bird on steroids.

Cartwheeling in the air, obviously happy to be let out and unwilling to ever be caged again, the dragon zoomed here and there. It kept its distance from the still figure of a ghostly white statue-like man watching it with wary eyes, and from the rushing, cold water whispering fatal invitations. When it hit a branch and almost lost its balance in its burst of energy and merry, the baby fire dragon stopped in mid-movement. It stared at the branch before drawing itself to its full—not exactly intimidating—size and spitting a flame at it. It was so comical that a giggle threatened to spill out of her mouth. Despite the smallness of the flame, however, like a match aimed properly, the dragon managed to set the branch ablaze. The first timid lick of flame brought hungry, bigger flames in its wake. They ran their tongues toward the other branches of the tree threateningly.

“No! Do something!”


To read more, buy my book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LYMQ9NK

Throwback Thursday - Poem

For this week's #ThrowbackThursday I'm sharing a poem I wrote roughly two years ago. I think it reads almost like a mini-story...
A misty morning in Kandy Shrouded in fog

The city is shrouded in fog
A mysterious form of natural smog
Turning the urban mire into a treacherous bog
Swarming with lethal life underneath a suspiciously calm blanket
In off-white that seems tainted and ghostly, not innocent

The city hides behind a misty veil
Holding her breath forever polluted and stale
Stalling like a coy bride in a long forgotten romantic tale
As if biding her time to face the inevitable evil of the outside world
Curling in on herself, drawing in a shaky breath before the scream

The city is all decked out in white
If not for the silhouetted beauty a real fright
Trying to cleanse and reinvent itself in vain but with all might
For the fog rises, settles and is stirred up again like a cloud of dust
Like the smoky swirls over a cauldron full of hellish ingredients

The city is covered in eerie mist
Reminds of a nightmare with a twist
Not an open hand inviting but a hard closed fist
Keeping the good, the bad and the grey middle under an invisibility cloak
That is new to its job and jerks random items into shocking visibility

The city is enveloped in its own wings
Like a fallen angel or a bird that haltingly sings
A broken, silent, heartbreaking song of unspoken, unspeakable things
What can't be obliterated is tolerated, blunt edges softened by a silk cloth
Of a fog so dense that it shrouds even itself, and seems endless

The city boasts a misty cloud
Whose silence seems almost loud
The suspense before the renewed cacophony of the crowd
That views the fog as temporary hibernation, man-made, a favour
Though the mist has its own will and belongs to nature

© Devika Fernando

Who or what is lurking in the fog?

Featured - Whirlwind Romance by M.S. Spencer

Whirlwind Romance by M.S. Spencer About the Book
Blurb:

In the aftermath of a hurricane, Lacey Delahaye finds herself marooned on the Gulf coast of Florida with a mysterious man. They are immediately drawn to each other, but before Armand can confess his identity, they are kidnapped and taken far from civilization to a tiny, remarkable island in the western Caribbean. With the help of her son Crispin, a small, but proud young boy named Inigo, and a cadre of extraordinary characters, Lacey and Armand must confront pirates, power-mad ideologues, and palace intrigue if they are to restore the once idyllic tropical paradise to its former serenity and find lasting happiness.


Excerpt:

She climbed quietly, hand over hand. As she reached the last board, a soft, but menacing voice purred, “Well, my sweet, you’ve found me.”
Okay, here’s where we find out if he’s a bad guy. “Give me a hand up, will you?”
Other than a slight intake of breath, he complied without a word. Lacey’s head rose up over the floor to find a cubicle lit by a small pencil torch and cluttered with toy guns, candy bar wrappers, and crushed Dr. Pepper cans. And Armand. Who took up most of the rest of the space. He still held her hand, but he had stopped pulling her. “Where did you plan to sit, on my lap?”
At least he’s toned down the threat level. “Or you could come down. I don’t think Tommy Forster allows uninvited guests in his palace.”
His jaw dropped. “Palace?” After a brief interval, he said, “Oh. I see. I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“Come down.”
“Why not?”
“I…I…think I reinjured the ankle. I can’t put any weight on it.”
Lacey toyed with the idea of leaving him there for little Tommy, but his mother would have been appalled. “All right, just a minute.” She climbed down and went back to her house, grabbed a coil of rope from the shed and sprinted back up the street. “Armand?”
“At your service.”
“I’m bringing up a rope. I want you to tie it to something, then you can shimmy down without using your feet.”
“Um, what about when I get to the ground?”
How much did he say he weighed? Twelve stone? Lacey calculated swiftly. Must be over a hundred sixty pounds. “I’ll try to ease you down.” She threw the coil into the darkness and backed down the tree.
A few minutes later the rope tumbled down and Armand emerged. “For the record, this was my worst event in public school.” He held on for dear life and inched down the rope.
Five minutes later he’d descended a foot. “Come on Armand—hurry it up.”
“I’m doing my best.” By dint of a lot of swearing and some wild swinging, Armand made it into Lacey’s waiting arms. He sat on the ground, legs splayed out in front, panting. “Now what?”
Lacey hadn’t really thought that far. If he’s a fugitive, I can’t trust him. And I have no way of contacting the police. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. “Er, I guess we’d better get you back home. Then you can tell me what this is all about.” He didn’t argue, but when he tried to stand, he fell over. She considered the situation. “What we need is some kind of transport. What was that thing the Indians used?” Lacey cast about for the word.
“Travois?”
“That’s it—aren’t you clever. A sort of triangular thingy to carry a wounded man. Made of logs and deerskins.” She stopped, not, as one might assume, due to the lack of readily available logs and skins, but because of the picture in her mind of an injured warrior lying spread-eagled—bare-chested, sexy, bravely enduring the pain. Wow.
Armand didn’t seem to notice her heightened color and pointed at the carport across the street. “Could we use that little red wagon?”
She followed his gaze. Story of my life—instead of Geronimo I get Ralphie. “That’ll do. Wait here.”
“Yes, I think I shall.” Armand kept a straight face. Lacey brought the little wagon to him, and he lay down in it, arms and legs hanging over the sides.
“You’ll have to lift up your extremities if this is going to work.”
And so, with Armand looking like an upside down turtle and Lacey with tears of laughter streaming down her face, they staggered along the road to her house.


Buy Links:

Secret Cravings:
http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=934

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Whirlwind-Romance-M-S-Spencer-ebook/dp/B00N105I4E/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-whirlwindromance-1605591-153.html

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/whirlwind-romance

Guest Post
Lacey, who makes jelly from wild plants, finds unexpected fruit in her mangroves after a storm and is swept into a morass of palace intrigue along with Armand, a mysterious castaway in my new romantic suspense Whirlwind Romance

Up until my thirties, I traveled a great deal, living in many countries with amenities that many would consider below standard. So it wasn't until I married and settled down in an old farmhouse with an acre of land that I could indulge my fantasy growing my own food. We planted apple, plum, peach, fig, hazelnut, and cherry trees; gooseberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries; all kinds of vegetables, including an ill-fated attempt to grow artichokes; and finally, lots and lots of herbs. I built a formal herb garden and planted thyme, lovage, rosemary, chives, tarragon, sage, and lemon balm. The one thing I couldn't get to grow was mint. Yes, the gardeners among you will scoff, but it took me years to get a plot to flourish. When it did, I had to do something or it would take over the entire acre.

So I called upon my sister-in-law, to whom Whirlwind Romance is dedicated. She directed me to an old recipe for mint jelly. Once the mint invasion was under control and I'd mastered the technique, I spent whole summers working up recipes for herb jellies. It was great fun. Despite the fact that I'm not really fond of jelly, they made excellent Christmas gifts.

As I started Whirlwind Romance, I thought about what my heroine, Lacey Delahaye, would do for a living. She lives alone in Florida, her one son grown. What could she do? I thought of the innumerable ecosystems in Florida, from pine uplands, to coastal plains, to palm hammocks—all of which are host to many wild fruits, most of which can be made into jelly. Ah hah! She'd be a jelly maker.

For fun, I added the recipes to each chapter. I hope you enjoy them as much as you do Lacey and Armand's love story.

About the Author
Although she has lived or traveled in every continent except Antarctica and Australia (bucket list), M. S. Spencer has spent the last thirty years mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. She has two fabulous grown children, and currently divides her time between the Gulf coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.

Ms. Spencer has published nine romance novels. The first two, Lost in His Arms and Lost and Found, were published by Red Rose Publishing. The other six—Losers Keepers, Triptych, Artful Dodging: The Torpedo Factory Murders, Mai Tais and Mayhem: Murder at Mote Marine (a Sarasota Romance, Lapses of Memory, and the Mason's Mark —were published by Secret Cravings. Whirlwind Romance, her ninth, was released September 2014.


Contacts:

Blog: http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com OR http://bit.ly/1aBzraT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msspencertalespinner
Twitter: www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/

Featured - A Good Girl by Mary Anne Edwards

A Good Girl by Mary Anne Edwards Series: The Charlie McClung Mysteries, #2 Genre: Mystery Cover Designer: Jasmin Woodworth Release Date: September 23, 2014


For Charlie McClung, going home to Virginia with Marian was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but upon arrival at his childhood home, he’s met with a note instead of his family.

 “Don’t worry, Love, we’re all okay. Come to the shop. A dead girl was found in an armoire delivered just now. Huggies, Ma”

Charlie is quickly recruited to help solve the murder of a young girl who was on the path to become a nun. The suspects begin to mount as Charlie delves deep into the girl’s life, revealing a sordid and ugly side of the town’s good girl.



Luke pointed to a man sitting at the end of the counter chatting up a giggling blonde girl. “That’s Scottie the Hottie. Looks like he does like them young.”

Charlie eyed the dark-haired man. He didn't see anything special about him. Looked like someone who could play the part of a pirate in a movie. But there must be something about him women liked. Even old Dora, who was old enough to be his mother, seemed be drawn to Scottie. Since they walked in, she’d wiped the same spot on the counter over and over with her eyes glued on Scottie. Charlie smirked. He’d never understand what women found attractive in a man.

Luke sat to the left of Scottie and Charlie sandwiched him in by sitting at the end of the counter to the right. “Say, Scottie, do you know who we are?” Luke asked.

The giggling girl rolled her eyes. “Can I get you two anything?”

“Two large Dr Peppers to go,” replied Luke without looking at her.

Scottie rolled a toothpick between his teeth. “I've seen you around town. You’re a cop,” he said to Luke then turned to Charlie and pointed the toothpick. “Hmm, you must be that big shot detective everyone is talkin’ about. Am I right?” Scottie chuckled, “What can I do for you gentleman today? Need a ride somewhere?”

Charlie was not amused. “Yeah, you can come with us to the police station.”

Scottie’s smile froze. “What? Why? I mean are you joking me?”

Charlie’s face hardened. “No. We have some questions concerning the murder of Darla Jean Rogers. You can answer them here or in the privacy of the station. Your choice.”



Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU
Book 1: Brilliant Disguise Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU

Although I was born in Mercedes, Texas, I have lived in Georgia most of my life which has been filled with a variety of experiences. Some were great and some, well let's just say I have learned many lessons the hard way.

I have been married for 33 years to the most practically perfect man, Jeff. We enjoy traveling and watching mysteries on TV. We are also a part of the drama team at our church. Funny thing, he writes all the skits, I just act. I am active in Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter and sit on the advisory board of Rockdale Cares, Inc., a non-profit advocacy group for the developmentally challenged.

I began writing in high school but not seriously until 1999. I write traditional mysteries and my biggest influences are Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Caroline Graham, Elizabeth Peters, and my family. I have had short stories published in Evangel and The Associate Reformed Presbyterian magazines. I have published a collection of eclectic short stories titled, My Favorite Work of Art.

My first manuscript, Useless Beauty, is waiting for me to breathe life into it. It was put on hold because my second manuscript, Brilliant Disguise, was begging to be written. It is the first in the Detective Charlie McClung mysteries. “Brilliant Disguise” was released on January 21, 2014. The second book, “A Good Girl”, was released on September 23, 2014, and the third book, “Criminal Kind”, will be released in April, 2015. There are seven more to follow in the series.


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eMail: maedwards58@gmail.com

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Sneak Peek Sunday - Kaleidoscope of Hopes

I've already shared some visual inspiration for my upcoming romance novel "Kaleidoscope of Hopes". You can find the Tuesday Teasers here. For this Sneak Peek Sunday, I'm presenting you with one of the settings. Ladies and Gents, here's White Rose Manor.
Visual inspiration for my book 'Kaleidoscope of Hopes'
Shying away from painful thoughts, Nadia focused hard on the way White Rose Manor would always be remembered by her.
Like a visitor, she mentally approached it from afar, gliding in a car along the white-graveled road leading from the village straight up to the courtyard.
The access road branched out in looping bends that came together in a full circle in front of the manor house’s grand five steps. In the middle of the ring road bloomed neatly trimmed rose bushes laden with saucer-sized, white flowers. They were what gave the magnificent, three-storied building its name, and had been a constant joy to her grandmother. In the backyard, more rose bushes—ranging in color from deep crimson over fiery orange to pale yellow—mingled with perfectly-formed hedges and a lilac tree with a bench beneath it.
If you got out of the car, the grandeur of White Rose Manor took your breath away.
It dated from the 18th century and sat on 20 acres of land which included a pond with fish as well as a pavilion for high tea in the afternoon.
The main part of the building was shaped like a rectangle, its four lean, high columns, many white-grilled windows and embellished wall decorations making it look like a white wedding cake.
To the left and to the right, the manor’s hard lines were softened by two hexagonal additions, each two stories high and adorned with a roof-top terrace with an intricately designed balustrade. The same balustrade ran the length of the middle part, backed by the smaller third story with its gabled roof.
Part of the façade pulled your eyes to it because strikingly green ivy climbed and crept all over it, arching over the corners of the right hexagon and stretching toward the conservatory that squatted low and light-filled next to the house and was connected to a verandah with white wrought-iron garden furniture.
On the left, the house was framed by an ancient weeping willow bowing respectfully to its grandness.

Visual inspiration for my book 'Kaleidoscope of Hopes' Will Nadia be able to save White Rose Manor? What role does Lucas play in all this? You'll have to wait for the release next month to find out!

FIRE Friday

For this week's Fire Friday, I'm sharing a poem and some little insights on the protagonists of my paranormal romance novel "Playing with Fire".
Poem
There is a poem by my favourite poet Robert Frost that fits the theme of my book perfectly. Here it is. It's just wonderful, and very famous, but it wasn't an inspiration for writing the novel because I only remembered it recently.
Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Two Sides of the Same Coin
In my novel, I wanted to make sure that no matter how contrary Felicia with her fire magic and Joshua with his ice magic are, they also share some similarities.
As the poem above hints at, although heat and cold couldn't be more different, they also have some things in common. Both can be destructive forces, both are associated with various emotions, and both are part of the natural circle of life.
While writing, I tried portraying the two protagonists with traits and thoughts that matched their element, but I also had them meet in the middle. While Felicia is passionate and hot-tempered, Joshua is detached and cool and calm - and yet, both strive for the same goals, and both learn to work together.
They fall in love because the other promises and encompasses what they are not and can never have. They complement each other like yin and yang even though they also fight and use different approaches.
You can find out more about how different the heroine and hero are in my character profile post - or by reading the ebook!

Blog Tour - Drumbeats by Julia Ibbotson

About the Book
Drumbeats: Can you ever escape your past?

Drumbeats is the first novel in a trilogy and follows 18 year old English student Jess through her gap year in West Africa. It's a rite of passage novel set in the mid-1960s when Jess flees her stifling home background for freedom to become a volunteer teacher and nurse in the Ghanaian bush. Apprehensively, she leaves her first real romantic love behind in the UK, but will she be able to sustain the bond while she is away? With the idealism of youth, she hopes to find out who she really is and do some good in the world, but little does she realize what, in reality, she will find that year: joys, horrors, and tragedy. She must find her way on her own and learn what fate has in store for her, as she becomes embroiled in the poverty and turmoil of a small war-torn African nation under a controversial dictatorship. Jess must face the dangers of both civil war and unexpected romance. Can she escape her past? And why do the drumbeats haunt her dreams?

Drumbeats Trilogy:

Drumbeats
Can you ever escape your past?

Walking in the Rain
How do you cope when your worst nightmare comes true?

Before I Die
Can Jess’s bucket list bring resolution to her life?


BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK
AMAZON US

Drumbeats by Julia Ibbotson Excerpt

August 1965, Ghana

It was hotter than Jess had ever imagined in her eighteen years. Flying in from the UK bound for Accra, she had left the late August skies of the dull wet dreariness of an English summer. But as she stepped off the Ghana Airways VC10, she felt the heavy all-encompassing heat which shocked her system. Although it was only six o’clock in the evening, it was already dark and close.
The flight from London Heathrow had been a long and tiresome six hours and she had felt drained as she pulled down her cabin bag from the overhead and shuffled along the aisle behind the other travellers, nodding and swaying to the strains of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” on the VC10’s tannoy system. Her mother would have a fit: her Rulebook said no pop music; it’s the work of the devil, and no dancing:  Jessamy, anyone would think you were a slut. So in the holidays, when she was home from boarding school, she’d listened to Pick of the Pops furtively in her bedroom, ear pressed to the radio.
Now, as she climbed down the steps in the heat-stifling darkness to take her first stride on African soil, she was recharged with excitement.
            She was aware of the male flight attendant standing at the foot of the aircraft’s steps, watching her with undisguised admiration as she climbed down. She navigated the steps as gracefully as she could in her tan wedge-heeled sandals. In the heat, she was glad that she had thought to scoop up her auburn-gold hair loosely into a ponytail.  She let go of the rail with her left hand for a moment to smooth her pale pink cotton mini dress over her slim figure. At least she wasn’t irritable and demanding like the other passengers who pushed behind her as if they were in a great hurry.
            The flight attendant watched her all the way down the steps and then wiped his palm on his trousers, and held it out courteously to steady her from the last step. She took it in her own cool soft hand for a brief moment.
            “Thank you so much, John. Bye now,” she smiled as she passed him and headed for the small wooden shack that served as an airport building.
            “No problem, miss. Welcome to Ghana.”
            “How did you know his name?” hissed Sandra, from behind her. Jess turned. She noticed that John did not take Sandra’s hand. His eyes and grin were still focused on her.
            “It’s on his name label,” whispered Jess. They walked together across to the arrivals building. “OK?”
            “OK. Long flight. Tired,” answered Sandra curtly. She had been unusually quiet during the flight and, it seemed, almost close to tears on occasion. Jess put her free hand on Sandra’s arm.
            “It’ll be fine. Honestly. I know you’re missing Colin.” In the short time Jess had with Sandra after they were teamed up to travel to the same school in Ghana for their gap years, she had learned all about the chap Sandra was leaving behind for a year. Sandra showed her a photograph. Oh dear, he looked a lot like Maurie. Not fanciable. AT. ALL! She herself had said little about her own personal life, and the guy she had left behind. She wanted to keep him to herself. Her first real grown-up relationship. Simon. His name still tasted so new on her lips and in her head. Had she done the right thing in dutifully fulfilling the contract to come out here, even though they had only just got together? Would he wait for her? They were an item, weren’t they? She frowned and bit her lip.


Author Julia Ibbotson About the Author
Julia Ibbotson lives in a renovated Victorian rectory in the English countryside with her husband (four children, now grown up, having fled the nest), along with lots of apple trees, a kitchen garden and far too many moles. She is an author and academic, and loves choral singing, walking, swimming, gardening and cooking (not necessarily at the same time). She started writing as soon as she could hold a pencil in her tiny fist and has not stopped since, much to the bemusement of her long-suffering husband who brings her endless cups of coffee and sometimes even makes the dinner when she is distracted and frowning at her laptop.

She wrote her first novel when she was 10 years old, sadly never published and long since consigned to the manuscript graveyard. She loves writing novels with a strong sense of time and place and that is the basis of her latest, Drumbeats, the first of a trilogy which follows Jess through the trials and tribulations of her life. It starts with Jess on her gap year in Ghana in the 1960s.

She has also written the story of the restoration of her rectory in The Old Rectory: Escape to a Country  Kitchen, which also interweaves recipes from her farmhouse kitchen and which has won a number of international awards.

Recently she found an old manuscript gathering dust in her drawer, one she had originally scribbled when she was still at school, many years ago. It was a children’s story about a boy who slips through a tear in the fabric of the universe to find himself in a fantasy medieval world. She is currently blowing off the dust and redrafting it for her publishers to let it loose on the world in the autumn. It’s called S.C.A.R.S.

She loves to hear from readers (it’s a pleasant distraction from her steaming keyboard), so do get in touch via the links.


Author Links

Author page on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Julia-Ibbotson/e/B0095XG11U/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1377188346&sr=1-2-ent

Author email:
juliaibbotson@btinternet.com

Author Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julia-Ibbotson-author/163085897119236

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JuliaIbbotson

Author website:
http://www.juliaibbotsonauthor.com

Pinterest page:
http://pinterest.com/juliai1/

Goodreads author page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6017965.Julia_Ibbotson

Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OYlEXhHvsc&list=UUP3hKZjeUBuTMoyvZmBXbow

Guest Post - 5 Tips on how to Write a Book Series
My current WIP is a trilogy of novels following my new character, Jess, from her gap year as an 18 year old in Ghana, West Africa (Drumbeats), through her fated marriage (Walking in the Rain), to her bucket list post-divorce (Before I Die). The first, Drumbeats, is out now, and I’m currently working on the second novel of the series. For me there are 5 crucial things involved in writing a series:

1.    Think ahead! Plan and prepare the outlines of all the books in advance: there has to be a development, of character and of plot, so you need to know how this will work before you start the first novel in the series. I write them one by one (I can only keep one book in my mind at once!) but I know what the others will focus on and the threads that will emerge and develop.

2.    Be organised! Keep notes or a file of data that you may need to refer back to: you have to keep track of the facts about all the characters who recur and all the events you want to be significant in the character’s life. Don’t suddenly call the character’s mother Bess in the second book, when she’s called Betty in the first! Don’t suddenly invent a lifelong friend who has never been mentioned before! I don’t know how Charles Dickens managed to write Bleak House without a computer to track things!

3.    Research! Locations and time periods need to be authentic and if your series will be set in specific places or times you’ve just got to do your research on them. You don’t want canny readers pointing out that (in Drumbeats) Burkina Faso was called Upper Volta/Haute Volta in 1966 or that The Things we do for Love wasn’t written until the 1970s. For drumbeats, I had to research what was happening in 1965-6, in England and in Ghana, West Africa. I researched the music, the books, the important events. I listened to a lot of music (Ghanaian highlife, classical and 60s pop) because there’s a lot of music involved in the story. And because Jess goes on a trek to Timbuktu in Mali and to what was then called Upper Volta I had to research those places too. It was a time of a number of coups d’états in the area so I needed to get a real feel for what might have happened in that time and place.

4.    Live and love your characters! They’re going to be part of your life for a long time so you’ve got to live their lives with them, rather like actors live their characters, and you’ve also got to love them. If you don’t you’ll tire of them. And certainly the readers won’t empathise with them if you don’t. I really got to know Jess and how she would react to events, dangers, romance, uncertainties.

5.    Cliffhangers! You want your readers to feel satisfied at the end of a book but you also want them to buy the next one to see what happens next. It’s a fine line to tread. Tie up most of the loose ends but leave something that needs to be resolved next time. For the Drumbeats trilogy the story of Jess couldn’t all be written into one novel as I wanted to focus on certain places, times and stages in her life, so I had to focus on one aspect in each book. So that’s where I come full circle – back to #1: thinking ahead!

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