Very Merry

FEATURED AUTHORS: BRENT PARROTT & BRYAN RENFRO

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1960, on the front lawn of an elementary school in North East Dallas, a tradition was born. A group of seventh-grade boys captured the free time before Thanksgiving dinner to engage in a game of touch football. It was a good day to play. So good, in fact, that the game would resume each year at the same time in the same place.


The last game was held on November 26, 2009, marking 50 years of the Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational. You are invited to celebrate the RTI’s 60-year mark with us on Thanksgiving 2019 as we release our book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story.


Book Details:

Title: The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story


Authors: Brent Parrott, Bryan Renfro


Genre: non-fiction, memoir 


Published: November 14, 2019


Print length: 410 pages

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH BRENT PARROTT & BRYAN RENFRO

A few of your favorite things:

Brent: spending time with my grandkids, traveling, my work, working out, being with friends and family.
Bryan: building relationships, weekend getaways, Bible study, sports.

Things you need to throw out:

Brent: not sure of the question, but I pretty much throw out things I don’t need.
Bryan: too many tools!


Things you need in order to write:

Brent: comfort and silence and the internet and my PC.
Bryan: time only.

Things that hamper your writing:

Brent: work, not enough hours in the day, normal distractions.
Bryan: forcing it into a time slot; an impending appointment
.

Things you love about writing:

Brent: the creative process, the rush when your on a role, a finished perfection
Bryan: getting it right the first draft

Things you hate about writing:

Brent: writer’s paralysis, brain fog, loss for the right word or sentence.
Bryan: getting it wrong the first time, second, third, fourth…..

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Brent: again, getting on a roll and it just flows.
Bryan: getting the ideas out and on the page
.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Brent: not sure but critiques can be hell.
Bryan: self expectations, discouragement; using the proper words, creating metaphor
.

Things you love about where you live:

Brent: born and raised in Dallas, close to family and lots of friends.
Bryan: I live in the house I grew up in, so little change.

Things that make you want to move:

Brent : weather, traffic.
Bryan: August and September.


Things you never want to run out of:

Brent: family, friends, toilet paper.
Bryan: relationships, health, faith, golf balls.

Things you wish you’d never bought:

Brent: couple of timeshares, a 1972 Audi.
Bryan: a swimming pool installation, a motorcycle.


Words that describe you:

Brent: my wife says I’m sarcastic, but I claim I’m creatively sharp and witty; a devoted husband, father and friend; competitive but fair.
Bryan: loyal, diligent, creative, sensitive.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:

Brent: always having to be right; sarcastic; argumentative.
Bryan: too competitive, poor storyteller, poor listener.

Favorite foods:

Brent: a good steak; Mexican food; breakfast food.
Bryan: Pad Tai, enchiladas, cheeseburgers, salad.

Things that make you want to throw up: 

Brent: politics; all the hate; beets.
Bryan: politics, financial advisors, afternoon television.

Favorite music or song:

Brent: love my music which is immense.
Bryan: “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.”

Music that make your ears bleed:

Brent: most rap and most heavy metal.
Bryan: rap, warbly vocals, Christmas music after the second week.

Favorite beverage:

Brent: iced tea and beer.
Bryan: Dr Pepper, iced tea, water.


Something that gives you a pickle face:

Brent: my wife’s comments sometimes; political analysts.

Favorite smell:

Brent: my wife’s aroma; fresh baked bread.
Bryan: mown grass on the golf course.


Something that makes you hold your nose:

Brent: some bathroom smells; brussels sprouts.

Something you’re really good at:

Brent: I think I’m good at making my point; swimming; being creative; my work whatever it is.
Bryan: maintaining relationships; Bible study; furniture building and repair.


Something you’re really bad at:

Brent: skiing, drawing, showing my feelings.
Bryan: coming prepared, research, remembering.

Something you wish you could do:

Brent: travel more, fly a plane, turn back time.
Bryan: write books that challenge and inspire; run as fast and as far as I used to; plumbing and electrical repairs.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Brent: not sure of this question; I love to learn.
Bryan: say, “Yes, of course I will help you with that.”

Something you like to do:

Brent: workout, time with family and friends, work, get a good night’s sleep.
Bryan: church, relationships, garage sales, wood working projects.


Something you wish you’d never done:

Brent: married my first wife; not taking early school years more serious.
Bryan: I still wince at actions or words I did or said many years ago.



Last best thing you ate:

Brent: a protein shake.
Bryan: a bowl of my wife’s chili on a cold grey day.


Last thing you regret eating:

Brent: old enough to know what not to eat.
Bryan: my promise to help.


Things you’d walk a mile for:

Brent: glad I can walk a mile, so I’d walk a mile to anything I needed to walk a mile to.
Bryan: a two-hour travel time for an important fifteen minute conversation.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:

Brent: never would go screaming from the room I’d just leave before it got that bad.
Bryan: my dog threw-up on the sofa.

Things you always put in your books:

Brent: another question not sure what to say, I guess my name and a title.
Bryan: attempts at wisdom, humor, and truth but they never make the conversation.


Things you never put in your books:

Brent: not sure, how bout self-promotion
Bryan: though I try yet always fail, I never achieve wisdom, humor, and truth.


Things to say to an author:

Brent: a successful author or a struggling author? What’s the secret to your success; don’t give up, keep writing if you love it.
Bryan: “How do you write dialogue?”


Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

Brent: Brent Parrott would be a great name for your next victim you kill off in your next book.
Bryan: in no manner worthy of Lonesome Dove.

Favorite places you’ve been:

Brent: Carmel, California; Italy; Costa Rica.
Bryan: a remote cabin in Montana on honeymoon. “Let’s go again, Babes!” 


Places you never want to go to again:

Brent: India.
Bryan: U. S. Army.

People you’d like to invite to dinner:

Brent: any of my good friends; Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi – I could make it work.
Bryan: my house, my table could not accommodate all the deceased friends and family members that I wish I could enjoy one last time.


People you’d cancel dinner on:

Brent: Trump and Pelosi if they did not agree with the agenda.

Favorite things to do:

Brent: watch a great movie, a great sporting event; exercise; and time with the grandkids.
Bryan: working wood in my shop; watching my wife at an antique mall; hearing my daughter and granddaughters laugh till it hurts; hearing my wife pray; having lunch with old friends; a DYI project that went well; bringing a good bible study lesson on Sunday mornings;  a good day on the golf course; reading.


Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing:

Brent: literally I’d never do that, figuratively getting my hands dirty; doing this questionnaire again. Editor’s note: the instructions advised not to answer every question!
Bryan: a Christmas party.


Things that make you happy:

Brent: life.
Bryan: getting out of running through a fire wearing gasoline pants; old cars, old airplanes, old friends; a good morning devotional time; a weekend getaway with surprisingly good food, accommodations, and activities; coffee in the den with my wife.


Things that drive you crazy:

Brent: life and sometimes my wife.
Bryan: being no longer able to make simple repairs on an automobile.


Proudest moment:

Brent: when my daughter and when my grandkids were born.
Bryan: watching my children achieve what they perceive as goals.


Most embarrassing moment:

Brent: really don’t get embarrassed, I just roll with it; although I was really embarrassed at my first date when my dad had to tell me to walk her to the door.

Biggest lie you’ve ever told:

Brent: not answering for self-incrimination reasons
Bryan: that I am intelligent, honest, and fearless.


A lie you wish you’d told:

Brent: that I couldn’t afford those timeshares.
Bryan: “I wish I could help you with that but . . .”

Best thing you’ve ever done:

Bryan: respond to God’s calling in my life to trust/receive/believe in Jesus Christ.  


Biggest mistake:

Brent: I’ve learned from my mistakes, so no regrets.
Bryan: Going my own way instead of following God’s leading.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:

Brent: too many to tell.
Bryan: embraced Brent Parrott as a friend.


Something you chickened out from doing:

Brent: riding out a hurricane in Miami.
Bryan: at one time in my life I thought there was no dare I wouldn’t own but then I sat in the first row at a rodeo and watched bull riding.


The last thing you did for the first time:

Brent: write this book with Bryan.


Something you’ll never do again:

Brent: buy a timeshare; get married.
Bryan: spend so much time answering a questionnaire.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brent Parrott is a writer, former technology executive and teacher, and currently serves as Board Chairman for the charter schools of Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy. With his life-long friend, Bryan Renfro, he is co-author of The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, a memoir about a group of friends who kept an annual touch football game going for 50 straight years.



He is also the author of two new books scheduled for publication in 2020, Jackpot: The Summer of ’69 and What Would You Do? What Would You Not Do? Brent and his wife Robyn (that’s right, two bird names) spend as much time as possible with their daughter Brynn, son-in-law Jacob, and two amazing grandsons. He has always lived, worked, and played in Dallas, Texas.



Bryan Renfro graduated in 1970 from the University of Texas at Arlington and was drafted into the Army the following year during the Vietnam war. He was the editor and sports writer for Sound Off, the base’s newspaper in Fort Meade, Maryland. His work life followed an untraditional path for the times as he experienced a mix of endeavors through the years, including the furniture importing business.



For five decades, he served as the organizer and “Commissioner” of an annual Thanksgiving touch football game in Dallas, Texas. Known locally as the Turkey Bowl, Bryan chronicled his experiences in the book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, with co-author Brent Parrott. The 400-page memoir was published for the game’s 60th anniversary in 2019. Today, Bryan lives in Dallas with his wife LaDonna and enjoys bible study, photography, his woodshop, and nurturing long-time friendships.



Connect with the authors:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  


Buy the book:


Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: KATHY HOLMES

ABOUT THE BOOK

Nikki Durrance escaped the worst nightmare of her life when she fled Las Vegas for San Francisco, leaving her abusive husband Jeff behind at the Blue Diamond Saloon. Rebuilding her life in San Francisco with the help of her closest friend Sally, Nikki draws the line with one thing: men. But when she accompanies Sally on a business trip back in Las Vegas, Nikki meets Dr. Mike Fischer, a sexy and desirable pediatrician also from San Francisco.

After a whirlwind courtship followed by a proposal, Nikki panics and jumps on the nearest cruise ship to Mexico. Realizing she must face her fears rather than run from them, she returns home and accepts Mike’s proposal. Life picks up even more speed with Mike’s plans and Nikki panics once again, imagining that everything Mike does mirrors her ex-husband Jeff. Attempting to sort out what’s real and what’s not, Nikki begins to question everything, including her sanity when everything with Mike feels like déjà vu.

Book Details:


Title: Déjà Vu at the Blue Diamond Saloon

Author: Kathy Holmes


Genre: psychological suspense


Published: Screamie Birds Studios 2017 (Kindle) 2019 (Paperback)


Print length: 241 pages


On tour with: Pump Up Your Book


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH KATHY HOLMES


Things you love about writing: Spending time with people who don’t exist, going along for the ride, experiencing things I in my daily routine I wouldn’t otherwise
.
Things you hate about writing: I’m not sure I hate it, but anything outside of the writing process feels like work.

Easiest thing about being a writer: so many stories waiting to be told.

Hardest thing about being a writer: waiting for readers to discover what I hold so dear.

Things you love about where you live: I love living in Las Vegas because it’s home and only a 4-hour drive to where I grew up in Southern California, close to Disneyland and the beach.

Things that make you want to move: I’ve left Las Vegas twice to live in Florida to have closer access to Disney and the beach, but Las Vegas keeps calling me home.

Things you never want to run out of: bottled water, coffee, and wine.

Things you wish you’d never bought: tickets to concerts I never made it to.

Words that describe you: strong, feisty.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: feisty.

Favorite foods: ice cream, anything Mexican, Noodles/pasta.

Things that make you want to throw up: cooked oatmeal.

Favorite music: as a music producer, I love almost all music.

Music that make your ears bleed: this current trend of long/awkward phrasing hitting both pop and country.

Things you always put in your books: a character who was adopted or raised by a single mother or step parent.

Things you never put in your books: a character from a place or culture I didn’t know personally.

Favorite places you’ve been: a cruise anywhere and maybe why many of my books are set totally/partially on a cruise.

Places you never want to go to again: probably Asia because it’s such a long flight and I’ve been there and done that, although I might consider cruising there.

Favorite books: I read in many genres, but one book that made a big impression on me was Oriental Hotel and the motivation for the trip to Asia.

Books you would ban: I don’t believe in banning books.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: meeting my father for the first time.

Something you chickened out from doing: pursuing music as a career when I was younger.

The last thing you did for the first time: participated in Rocktober, a music challenge where you post rock song covers in your own style.

Something you’ll never do again: move to Florida (did it three times, loved it, but it’s not home).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Kathy grew up in Southern California near Disneyland and the beach with a book in one hand and a transistor radio in the other. She began writing stories about family and wrote her first song with a childhood friend. They called themselves the “Screamie Birds.”

When she met her father later in life, she discovered a musical and poetic family and started writing poems, much to her surprise.

After an exciting career in Silicon Valley, she is now combining her love for both books and music at Screamie Birds Studios.


Connect with Kathy:

Website  |  Blog  |  Twitter  |  Youtube  |   Amazon

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

FEATURED AUTHOR: ANNABELLE HUNTER

Too many suspects can be as bad as no suspects at all . . .

Lark Davis, horse trainer and reluctant amateur sleuth, is sure that her crime-solving days are behind her. At least that’s what she told her grandmother. However, when her Homeowners Association President and owner of the local hardware store is found dead the day after she had a public fight with him, Lark is back in the last place she wants to be — the middle of a murder case.

But this is Barrow Bay, and things are never as they seem. Gerald Pratchett had a list of enemies a mile long, and each one had a very real reason for wanting to see him gone. When the police get overwhelmed with too many suspects, including herself, Lark realizes that it is up to her to bring his killer to justice.
Nothing can stop Lark from finding out the truth — and getting her man.

Book Details:


Title: Load Up


Author: Annabelle Hunter


Genre: cozy mystery


Series: Lark Davis Mysteries, book 3


Publish date: October 29, 2019


Print length: 200 pages

 

A few of your favorite things: my family, my animals, my books.
Things you need to throw out: catalogs. I keep too many catalogs.


Things you need in order to write: people not bothering me and an electronic devise that’s connected to the internet. Everything else is optional.
Things that hamper your writing: children; husbands, my need for sleep. 


Things you love about writing: creating a story, meeting the new characters.
Things you hate about writing: editing. Nothing like thinking it’s great and then paying for someone to tell you it’s not. And then realizing that they’re right and you need to change it. Then you get to rinse and repeat until you publish.

Easiest thing about being a writer: writing. I love to write. Too much. 

Hardest thing about being a writer: editing and taking other people’s advice.


Things you love about where you live: sunshine.
Things that make you want to move: sunshine.


Things you never want to run out of: chocolate.
Things you wish you’d never bought: chocolate.


Words that describe you: awkward.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: awkward.

Favorite foods: bread pudding.
Things that make you want to throw up: broccoli.

Favorite music: I like too much! Umm… anything popular is a good bet.
Music that make your ears bleed: I’m not a huge fan of mariachi, but I can enjoy it. I like music.

Favorite beverage: coffee
.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Lemons. Lemons in water.

Favorite smell: orange blossoms.

Something that makes you hold your nose: broccoli.

Something you’re really good at: reading. 

Something you’re really bad at: riding horses. Doesn’t stop me though. 


Something you like to do: go to Ireland.
Something you wish you’d never done: I don’t regret much, mostly because that would be too much. 

Last best thing you ate: sushi

Last thing you regret eating: hamburger, but mostly because it was fattening, and I should have made a better life choice.

Things you’d walk a mile for: books, author signings, comic con, my horse.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: politics.

Things to say to an author: I loved your books.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: traditionally published authors are better and have less typos. It’s not true. Typos are amazing. They are persistent. They plague us all. It’s just trying to put people down.

Favorite places you’ve been: London.

Places you never want to go to again: the grocery store.

People you’d like to invite to dinner: everyone. Then panic, freak out, hide in my room, and not want to talk to anyone. 

People you’d cancel dinner on: see answer above.

Favorite things to do: read, write, ride. 

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: cleaning.

Things that make you happy: my children, my husband and my animals. 
Things that drive you crazy: see the above.
Most embarrassing moment: too many to come up with only one.
Proudest moment: publishing my fourth book

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: I’m going to sleep after this chapter (reading and writing)

A lie you wish you’d told: no, that dress looks great. I’ve learned it’s better to say the truth, and help them find an actually good dress.

Best thing you’ve ever done: had children.
Biggest mistake: had children.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: publish a book.
Something you chickened out from doing: showing my horse. I have the worst show anxiety.

The last thing you did for the first time: ate crawfish. 

Something you’ll never do again: try and watch a live action movie with a two toddlers. 













Annabelle Hunter is a stay-a-home mother of two precious little girls and too many animals. She had written four books, three in the Lark Davis Mysteries series. She reads too many books, writes any second her daughters let her, and rides in her spare time. 



Connect with Annabelle:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Bookbub

Buy the book:
Amazon

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2019 CHRISTMAS CHARITY APPEAL

The 2019 Christmas Charity Appeal – Help Raise £250 For Battersea Dogs & Cats Home By Leaving Links To Your Blogs and Books

For this year’s Christmas charity appeal, Hugh Roberts is asking for help raising money for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Since 1860, Battersea has been there for every dog and cat that finds themselves homeless. From the moment they welcomed their first stray dog, they have been placing animals at the centre of everything they do.

More than three million animals later, they’re still working hard to achieve the vision that every dog and cat should live in a home where they are treated with love, care and respect.

They believe that every dog and cat deserves the best. That’s why Battersea Dogs and Cats home have always helped every dog and cat in need.

Click here for information on Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Website.

Want to get involved? Here’s what you need to do.

   
    1.    Go to Hugh’s website and scroll down to the comments section.

    2.    Leave your name, the name of your blog, and a link to your blog. This can be a link to your ‘about me’ page, a favourite blog post you’ve published, or the home page of your blog.

    3.    If you’re an author, you’re also welcome to leave a link to any books you have published. So, for example, leave a link to your author or Goodreads page so that people visiting this post can view your books.

    4.    Please consider donating to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by visiting their website and clicking on the ‘Donate’ button.

For every link left under the Christmas tree, Hugh will donate £1 until he reaches a target of 200 links.

To help him achieve his target, if you reblog or share this post via ‘Press This,’ he will donate an extra £1 to the total (up to another £50).

If you do share this post via a reblog or ‘Press This,’ he should receive a pingback to your post. However, he recommends that you also leave a link to the reblog in the comments section.

This charity appeal will run until 23:59 on Saturday, January 4th, 2020 when the Christmas tree will be taken down. Hugh hopes this will give everyone plenty of time to leave a link to their blog and/or books over the busy Christmas and New Year period.

At the end of the appeal, Hugh will create a heading entitled ‘Blogs To Follow in 2020‘ on the menu bar of his blog. Anyone clicking on the link will be taken to a page where they can view all the links left to the blogs in this post. The link will remain on his blog until the end of 2020.

FEATURED AUTHOR: STEVE GROGAN

He was lost, directionless, unable to find his identity. He thought he found it in her, which was good because he was teetering on the edge of madness. She had no way of knowing her actions would push him over it.

This novella is part splatterpunk, part erotica, part psychological study of an unstable mind, told in Steve's highly visual and deeply emotional prose. 

Some stories have protagonists/narrators for which you can feel empathy, or at the very least you can feel sorry for them.

This isn't one of those tales.

This is a story about a young man who makes the mistake of depending on others for a sense of self-worth. It is a dark, disturbing story not meant for the faint of heart. The graphic content makes up only 15% of the prose, but it is some of the most harrowing writing ever committed to page.

Book Details:

Title: Maybe the Dream Knows What is Real


Author: Steve Grogan


Genre: Horror


Published: June 24, 2018


Print length: 150 pages

Things you need in order to write: pen and paper, or my computer, enough time to let ideas flow (because sometimes they are slow to move), a steady background noise like a fan, a humidifier, or classical music (music with singing and lyrics distracts me).
Things that hamper your writing: time constraints, if there is anything stressful on my mind, noisy or overly stimulating environments
.

Things you love about writing: creating believable worlds and characters, using stories to explore issues that bother me in my life, writing passages that people can visualize
Things you hate about writing: having to stop writing to do research, writer’s block, not having the knowledge or skill to describe what I want to write.


Easiest thing about being a writer: the writing itself
.
Hardest thing about being a writer: balancing time between writing and doing things to get the word out about my stories…like interviews!

Things you love about where you live: I live in my childhood home so there are a lot of memories. I know how to get wherever I need to go. I know the people around me.
Things that make you want to move: it’s not very culturally diverse, no thriving music scene, also very hard to get things off the ground if you want to make films.

Favorite music: Smashing Pumpkins, Jayhawks, Tragically Hip, Beatles, Queen.
Music that make your ears bleed: Nikki Minaj, Outkast, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Eve.

Something you’re really good at: writing, martial arts, guitar
.
Something you’re really bad at: any sports.

Something you like to do: play video games!

Something you wish you’d never done: moved to Denver, Colorado.

People you consider as heroes: Bruce Lee, Phillip K. Dick, Billy Corgan.

People with a big L on their foreheads: Non-celebrity celebrities like the Kardashians, cute actresses who turned into trainwrecks like Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: stood up to my ex-wife’s violent ex-con boyfriend
.
Something you chickened out from doing: asking a beautiful Brazilian exchange student to my senior prom just because I was scared she would say no, so instead I didn’t bother trying and regret it to this day.

OTHER BOOKS BY STEVE GROGAN

The Size Curse

The Lone Warrior: A Guide to Home-Based Wing Chun Training

How to Teach Wing Chun

The Search for the Warrior’s Path

Steve Grogan was born in the often-filmed city of Troy, New York. He started writing as far back as second grade. He has written in a variety of formats (novels, short stories, poems, screen and stage plays, blogs/articles) and genres (horror, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, drama). He has had several stories, articles, and poems published in print and online.

Steve is also a father, a boyfriend, a musician, a fitness fanatic, and a martial artist. He has been studying Wing Chun Kung Fu since 1995, and he maintains a blog/YouTube channel that describe his training habits, epiphanies, and advancement. It also candidly discusses his stumbling blocks, such as his struggle with nutrition and mental health issues.

He is no relation to the New England Patriots quarterback from the 1980’s.


Connect with Steve:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: S.R. MALLERY

“TEA, ANYONE?”

How do two modern, quirky, twenty-something gals solve murders in a small, cozy USA town?
Easy. With a little time travel, some humor, and a lot of hard work. When the skeptical Brooke first meets the psychic Abby, she’s not impressed. But with the help of her comfort cat, her middle-aged roomie, her childhood friend, and a hunky detective hinting at a sweet romance, Brooke not only accepts that Abby has real gifts, it’s clear that these five people and one cat make up a crack team.

Got tea, anyone? In 1773, the Boston Tea Party sure did. Find out why going back in time helps break the case!

Book Details:

Title: Tea, Anyone?

Author: S. R. Mallery

Genre: cozy mystery

Series: A Brooke & Abby Cozy Mystery series, book 1


Published: November 19, 2019


Print length: 190 pages

Ifs


Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: I would definitely go back in time to my great aunt’s house in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. A simple clapboard New England hide-away, it didn’t have much property surrounding it and when you took the rickety, weather-beaten, wooden steps down to her little piece of private beach, you weren’t met with pristine white sand, just big bulky looking rocks, which made it impossible to move, much less swim or sun-bathe. But her screened-in porch overlooking the Menemsha Bay had a peaceful magic for me. With nearby buoys clanging, seagulls gently squawking as they swooped down and around in beautiful patterns, my frail, musicologist of a relative, always gave me wise, supportive counsel––and much love.

Q: If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
A: Before I became a writer at fifty, amongst a whole host of other careers, I was a quilt designer and lastly, an English As A Second Language teacher. I truly loved my students. Still do. They were wonderful examples of not only how hard it is to leave one’s own country and family to start a new life here, but also how they manage to do it with grace and humor. But I left teaching because preparing lessons and writing were basically sabotaging my brain. It’s not fun to alternate from a new lesson plan details to the inevitable, “What’s my latest character thinking as she’s doing this?” Particularly when you’re driving to work! Yikes!

Q: If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
A: A long time ago, I worked on the phones of a battered women’s shelter. I was glad to do it, but it sure wasn’t easy hearing all the horror stories of abuse. So this time, I think I’d rather volunteer to help veterans in some way. Their stories are more than sad as well, but the older I get, the more I feel badly about all the sacrifices they have made for our country. After all, these men and women deserve the very best, no?

Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: That’s an easy one. Mark Twain. Boy, what a kick that would be! Imagine the breadth and scope of his insightful humor. Quotes such as, “Politicians are like diapers, they need to be changed often, and for the same reasons,”  “If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it,” and, “We have the best government money can buy,” says it all.LOL. I think I may be one of the few people who has a little Mark Twain quotations booklet in our bathroom.  Does that make me weird?

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: I would probably like living in one of those charming little British villages that figure so prominently in the “Midsomer Mystery” series. Of course, if I did live in such a small and quaint town, I would not want to be a murder suspect… or a victim.


Ands


5 things you need in order to write:  

    •    my laptop
    •    a pencil & pad
    •    my Merriam Webster Thesaurus
    •     Google Search
   and
    •     my imagination!

5 things you love about writing: 

I’ll mention four things first then relate a little story, if you don’t mind.
    •    I like thinking about scenes, motivations, and plots. My overactive OCD brain seems to thrive on being involved with anything creative.
    •    I absolutely love editing. I know, I know, most authors don’t, but for some reason, after I sling my words down, I enjoy going back to “attack” them until they make sense.
    •    I enjoy jotting down ideas onto little papers or 3 x 5 cards, then put them away for later. Probably comes from sewing all those pesky little quilt blocks together in my former career.
    •    I love doing research, be it from the internet, TV, movies, or books.
   and
    •    here’s the main reason: My very first short story was written just outside of a Macy’s Foundations department, where I waited for my then teenage daughter to select a few bras. She was taking her sweet time, so, as I sat on a leather couch nearby, I got out a little pad and pencil and started scribbling a short story. Forty-five minutes later, my daughter appeared, apologizing heartily for taking so long. I looked up at her, dazed, my mind exploding with inspired thoughts and images. “It’s okay, honey,” I told her. “Why don’t you go back and check out some panties?”
    Twenty years later, I feel the same way. Once I start writing, time stops for me.

5 things you always put in your books:  

    •    Because characters are so important to me, I always do research about their characteristics. For example, in my Genteel Secrets, an evil cousin blackmails the female lead into spying. I started out by making the cousin just plain mean. Then I thought about it. That was too simplistic. Why would she be that way? So I took out my book, The Writers Guide to Character Traits, by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D. According to her, sometimes a severe accident can change one’s brain enough to create character flaws. Bingo. Problem solved. She was thrown from a horse as a child––and was changed forever.
    •    I also work hard––along with my editor’s gentle reminders––to “Show Not Tell” my characters’ emotions. I first learned about that from the wonderful Harper Lee, who demonstrated all that so beautifully her To Kill A Mockingbird. Actions and little personal gestures speak volumes.
    •    Plots are important for me as well. Sure, I’d love to write the most glorious prose on the planet. Long, detailed and gorgeous paragraphs that make you swoon with admiration. But you know what? After a page or two of that, I’m usually bored enough to start flipping those pages to get to the ‘good stuff,’ the stuff I care about––plots, characters, and motivations. 
    •    Most of my books have been historical fiction, and even my new cozy mystery has some time travel in it. I work very hard to create the past as authentically as I can. That means learning about what went on at that particular time, both in film, TV series, books, and articles.
   and
    •    I like to create vocabulary and phrase sheets of the era I’m portraying, so when you see my dialogues you’re never going to read someone say, “Sure thing, Babe,” when a man is talking to his mistress during the 1700s. My brain has closed for the night. Sorry . . .

5 favorite things to do:  

    •    Sometimes, to de-stress, I just go onto my Youtube app and watch all kinds of videos. Puppies, kittens, parrots, toddlers dancing to music, funny Late Night opening monologues, scenes from comical movies––whatever does the trick. Forget meditation. For me, letting those laughing endorphins loose hits the spot! 
   
   •    I also like to water my plants because I listen to music while I’m doing it and I’m outside (negative ions, negative ions). 
   
   •    I like to have family and friends over (once I’ve cleaned up the house, that is!). 
   
   •    I like my Senior and Fit exercise class. Not only is it helping me physically, as someone who is past thirty (WAY past), before class and after, it is like walking into a cocktail party, everyone is so chatty and friendly. 
   
and 
  
   •    lastly, I LOVE to cuddle with my cat, Junebug. She’s actually featured in my Tea, Anyone? So now, I actually write notes on what cute things she does for future books in the series. Does she realize why I’m taking out a pad and pencil as I coo at her? Maybe. But chances are, she’s just wondering when I’m going to feed her next.


5 people you consider as heroes:  

I’m going to just name some groups of people.
    •    fire fighters who deal with such danger all the time. We owe them so much!
    •    people who stand up against injustices in the world, no matter their jobs or politics.
    •    scientists who work tirelessly to discover cures for horrendous diseases.
    •    people with crippling conditions who fight every day just to survive.
and
    •    people who quietly donate great sums of money to charities without any fanfare.

Whats

Q: What’s your all-time favorite place?
A: On the upper East Side of New York City, there is an old building that used to be someone’s mansion. It’s called the New York Society Library, and is actually the city’s oldest institution. Established in 1754, early on, it even served as the Library of Congress. I loved the fact that my voraciously well-read mother faithfully went there once a week. Inside, there was a main reading room, where huge armchairs and sofas surrounded a giant stone fireplace and nearby little brass lamps sat atop of a wide mahogany table. I marveled at the complete peacefulness and comfort it gave me as I sat with my own little pile of young girlie books, as my brother sat across the way, devouring scientific encyclopedias and our mother blissfully turned pages from one of the seven or eight books she had chosen for the week.

Q: What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
A: Having graduated with a Bachelor of Music as a voice major, I soon faced a dilemma. Although I was told my voice was pretty enough, when it came to performing, I froze. I had gotten several church soloist jobs, always with so much nervousness it wasn’t fun. But then it hit me. I simply needed to loosen up more. It was 1979 and disco was coming in big time. So I tried out in front of a small band as their female singer. I got the job and we played at various inconsequential places here and there. But one place was a college type bar, much like the one in Cheers. Little did I know that singing there was about to change my life.
In the audience was a really good looking man who, after talking to me on a couple of my breaks, finally asked for my phone number. I insisted on taking his, calling him two days later. And the rest, as they say, is history. I had met my hubby of forty years.


Q: What’s your favorite time of day?   
A: Mornings . . . definitely! Even if I don’t get a ton of sleep the night before, just give me a couple of cups of half caffeine, half decaf, poured into my thermos with some Almond milk, and I’m a happy camper. While hubby watches some morning news, I’m off to our bedroom with my laptop, with whatever I’m working on, along with my pencil and eraser, my thermos, and my cellphone. Soon, our kitty, Junebug, jumps up to join me, with her usual squoosh-one-side-of-her-face-against-my-fingers before she circles around once or twice, then flops down close to me to make sure she’ll get more pets and rubs as I work. And we’re off and running. I do take breaks to exercise and clean up a bit. And sometimes, if sleep deprived, by afternoon, I’m ready for a nap. By night, as far as ideas coming into my head, the right side of my brain doesn’t work that well. Remember, I’m an established morning gal. However, my left side works just fine.  So sometimes, I design my promos then.

Q: What’s your favorite dessert?
A: Ice cream. Ice Cream. Ice Cream. And then, of course––there’s always ice cream.

Q: What’s your favorite color?

A: Mauve or Periwinkle blue. My hubby says I obviously got to play with a much bigger crayon set than he did, so I learned early about extensive color pallets).

Q: What book are you currently working on?
A: Brooke & Abby Cozy Mystery Book 2, When In Rome. This time, the clairvoyant, Abby, goes back to Ancient Rome and finds out about poisons . . . and how they were used. Oooooh.


Q: All-time favorites with pictures:
A: This first one is me at four years old, with my brother. I have NO idea why I was wearing that crazy space outfit. I looked ridiculous! And talk about being a major blockhead. Twenty-six later, I was thirty and looked a bit more normal. That’s just after I had married my husband (I checked the wedding ring in the picture).

The other photo is of Venice, Italy. I was just shy of twelve and that summer my family went to England and Italy. So many good memories, but I remember how much I loved Venice. So beautiful, and the sounds of the water lapping, the gondoliers . . . back then, it was heaven. I hear now they have far too many tourists around with huge cruise ships barging in.

Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food: I’ve discovered PB2 Chocolate powder. I use it to make up mug cakes, freeze into little cookies, and turn into popsicles. Recently, I’ve also blended two tablespoons of it with a frozen banana, a little almond milk, and a splash of vanilla, then poured it into a small tub to freeze. Talk about Yummmm. Excuse me while I go make up some more for tonight . . .
Music: Frankly, I am completely eclectic when it comes to music, no matter the genre. If it’s good, I like/love it. But recently, I’ve been appreciating some movie music scores, particularly when they help to create a dramatic mood or tell a story. For example, in The Firm, the constant banging of an old piano really creates tension throughout. In Vertigo, those haunting sounds are perfect. And let’s face it, Jaws is amazing, and The Godfather theme captures that old Sicilian feeling like nobody’s business!
Movie: Green Book. Loved it for its touching appeal and great character personality arcs.
Book: I recently read a sci-fi A.I. book, which completely surprised me how much I got into it. I mean usually anything that says A.I., I’m already tuning out. But this one was very well done. It was written by Inge-loss Goss, called, No Freedom.
Audiobook: Pride and Prejudice. Now I have to say, I love all the movies made from Jane Austen’s books, but, reading her has always been a problem for me. She’s a bit too clause-oriented. I mean, those commas keep coming and coming. However, when I got a free copy of Pride and Prejudice, narrated by the fine actress, Rosamund Pike, I couldn't believe how much she made Austen’s work come alive. Bravo to her!
TV: Mysteries of the Museum and Lucky Dog.
Netflix/Amazon Prime: Recently, I’ve watched Succession and Peaky Blinders.
Miscellaneous: I enjoy putting my once-a-month Newsletter together, not just for promoting my own books, but also to give back to authors—like you do so well, Amy! I may start releasing it twice a month, starting next year. We’ll see . . .

Q: What books do you currently have published?
A: The Dolan Girls
In 1800s Nebraska, where ladies of the night, brutal outlaws, colorful land rushes, and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows are the norm, can a whorehouse madam and her schoolmarm daughter both find true love?
Ellie & The War on Powder Creek 
It’s 1891 and The Dolan Girls western romance saga continues. It stars the feisty Ellie Dolan Parker, who finds herself caught up in the middle of the Wyoming Cattle Wars. Filled with Rich, greedy cattle barons, crooked politicians, a major kidnapping, local ranchers in life-threatening danger, and a troubled marriage, this story is a colorful portrayal of a forgotten time. A time when these events and people filled the newspapers.
Unexpected Gifts 
Can we learn from our ancestors? In this 2017 Readers’ Favorite Gold medal winner, a confused college student learns about life from her ancestors’ journals, as she reads of their time during Vietnam, Woodstock, McCarthyism, the Great Depression, their arrival on Ellis Island, and fighting as Suffragists.
Trouble in Glamour Town
Murder. Corruption. Romance. Movie Stars. A modern-day TV shoot ‘em up? No. It’s 1926 Old Hollywood, and a film producer is gunned down in cold blood. In comes Rosie, a pretty bit-player, who, in spite of her stage-mother’s expectations, just longs to be happy. Silent screen idols Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Lon Chaney, and Rudolph Valentino float in and out, as Los Angeles’ corruption is exposed, the era described, and a chase to find the killer revs up before there’s another hit.
Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads
History, mystery, action, and romance are all rolled into one book in this 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal winner. These short stories follow drug traffickers using hand-woven wallets; a U. S. slave sewing freedom codes into quilts; a cruise ship murder mystery; hiding Christian passports in Nazi Germany; Salem Witchcraft quilt curse; the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and a 1967 Haight-Ashbury love affair gone horribly wrong, just to name a few.
Tender Enemies  
It’s 1941 in New York City, a time before Pearl harbor, when Nazi spies are everywhere in the U. S. and no one knows who’s working for whom. In comes beautiful Lily, paid to gather intelligence by setting up a “honey trap” for Joe Stiles, a supposed German infiltrator. Problem is, she soon faces a danger she isn’t prepared for––falling in love.
Tales To Count On 
Whether it’s 500 words or 5,000, these stories, where sad meets bizarre and deception meets humor; where history meets revenge and magic collides with gothic, will remind you in the end, nothing is ever what it seems.
Genteel Secrets 
What do a well-bred Southern Belle and a Northern working-class Pinkerton detective have in common? Espionage…and romance. At the start of the U.S. Civil War, while young men begin dying on American battlefields and slavery is headed toward its end, behind the scenes, female undercover work and Pinkerton intelligence are alive and well. But in the end, can this unlikely Romeo and Juliet couple’s love survive, or will they be just another casualty of war?
Snippets In Time 
Drift back in time with award winning S. R. Mallery, as she presents some excerpts––or “snippets”––from her different books. They range from an American family saga to full, historical adventures involving sewing; from a U.S. Civil War Romeo and Juliet couple defying all odds to a 1926 Old Hollywood romantic murder mystery; from both a colorful Western romance and a Nazi spy romance thriller to short stories that keep you guessing.



A USA Today Best Selling author and two-time Readers' Favorite Gold Medal winner, S. R. Mallery—as her fans say—"brings history to life."

They say she's as eclectic as her characters. She's been a singer, a composer, a calligrapher, a quilt artist, and an ESL/Reading teacher. But it is the world of writing historical fiction where she feels she's come "home." It's where she's received various awards and in addition, get to do her second love: Research.
When people talk about the news of the day, or when she listens to music, her overactive imagination likens the story to a similar kind of news in the past, which helps her conjure up scenes between characters she's yet to meet.

Connect with Sarah:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram  |  Newsletter  |  Amazon  |   Audible  |  BookBub 

Buy the book:
Amazon 

FEATURED AUTHOR: RICHARD AUDRY

It’s September 1902, and Mary MacDougall has fulfilled her greatest dream—opening her own detective agency. But the achievement doesn’t come without complication.

Mary’s father insists that an older cousin come to work with her—as both secretary and minder. Jeanette Harrison pledges to keep the plucky sleuth away from danger, as well as from her unsuitable suitor Edmond Roy.

The new agency’s first cases hardly seem to portend danger or significance. There’s the affair of the nicked napkin rings…the problem of the purloined pocket watch...and the matter of the four filched felines.

Mary and Jeanette have not the slightest notion that one of these modest matters will blow up into something consequential and perilous. What begins in triviality mushrooms into disappearance, betrayal, international intrigue, and murder. As she learns more and more, Mary’s prospects for making the acquaintance of an assassin’s blade improve dramatically.

Witty, fast-paced, and enthralling, A Fatal Fondness delves deeply into Mary’s world and paints the portrait of an unconventional young woman ever ready to defy propriety for the sake of justice.

Book Details:

Title: A Fatal Fondness

Author: Richard Audry

Genre: historical mystery


Series: The Mary MacDougall Mysteries, book 4


Publisher: Conger Road Press


Date Published: November 15, 2019


Print length: 260 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours


Ifs

Q: If you could talk to someone (dead), who would it be and what would you ask them?
A: I was a bit under three months old when my mother died. So, of course, I have zero memories of her. I’d like to meet her when she was in her late twenties and get to know her. I’d ask her about her childhood (I have a cool picture of her with her tricycle), her career in nursing, and her dreams and aspirations.

Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: Another sentimental journey, I’m afraid. I’d love to go back to when I was, say, nine years old, and be with my dad and mom at one of the supper clubs we’d go to on the weekend. (My dad remarried and my step-mom became my adoptive mom.) And we would talk and talk and talk. I’d love to recapture that feeling and see my folks—both long gone—again, when they were young.

Q: If you could time travel for an infinite period of time, where would you go?
A: I’m a classical music fan and I’ve had this longtime fantasy of time-traveling back to Vienna c. 1790, with an ample purse of gold coins. I’d go find Herr Mozart and hire him to write me some music. Cello concertos and viola concertos. Operas based on Shakespeare and Cervantes. More string quartets. Solo guitar music. And then I’d stick around long enough to meet Beethoven and Schubert.

Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: An author whom I’ve already met, though he died many years ago. Back in the day I worked at a weekly newspaper, and books and authors were one of my beats. Frank Herbert was in town on a book tour and I spent the better part of day hanging out with him. I’d love to have his perspective on the state of American democracy (he was there in person at the McCarthy hearings in the early ’50s) and on what kind of chance we might have in the face of climate change. One of the great science fiction innovators—there was never a bigger sci-fi blockbuster than Dune—he was a fun, gregarious guy, with an incredible laugh. But he saw things painfully clearly. He would pull no punches.

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?

A: In a small, modernist house just off the beach, somewhere in the Florida Keys. A rental or lease. I wouldn’t want to own beachside property, what with climate change.



Ands


5 favorite possessions:

    •    my car
    •    my Olympus DSLR camera
    •    my Larrivée guitar
    •    my movie collection
and
    •    my street photography archive

5 things you love about writing:

    •    creating credible worlds and vivid characters
    •    entertaining readers
    •    that feeling of finishing a book and knowing it’s good
    •    holding your book in your own hands
and
    •    the excitement of embarking on a new book

5 favorite foods:

    •    salmon
    •    buttered bread warm out of the oven
    •    a great sharp cheddar
    •    turkey sloppy joes
and
    •    blueberry pie à la mode

5 favorite books: 


    •    The Wind in the Willows
    •    The Great Gatsby
    •    Gaudy Night
    •    The Lonely Silver Rain
and
    •    any Agatha Raisin mystery

5 living people you’d like to invite to dinner:

    •    Michael Palin
    •    Joni Mitchell
    •    Michelle Obama
    •    Stephen Colbert
and
    •    Bob Dylan

Whats

Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie?
A: I love a great romantic comedy more than almost anything. And my ideal rom-com, which I watch every November, is Moonstruck. Cher was never more gorgeous and feisty and magical. And the young, scintillating Nicholas Cage stays with her every step of the way, chewing scenery like mad. No film better captured the jaw-dropping irrationality of infatuation and lust—under a moon that makes everyone loony.

Q: What’s your favorite meal?
A: My wife and I used to go to place called Palomino that served a wonderful salmon with polenta. Just heavenly. We occasionally make it ourselves, though it never quite recaptures that old magic.

Q: What’s your favorite vacation spot?
A: The North Shore of Lake Superior, near where I grew up. Sue and I love to hike the wonderful state parks up there.

Q: What’s your favorite beverage?
A: A gin martini on the rocks that I make myself, using a quality gin like Bombay or Plymouth. I quit ordering them in restaurants because they’re never as good as my own and cost too much. A close second would be a well-made latté.

Q: What’s your favorite hobby or past-time?
A: I’ve been a photographer since I was a kid. My main photo genres have been street photography, landscapes, unusual botanicals, and travel. I’ve had five exhibits of the street photos and they’ve been in several national magazines, here and in the UK.

Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food: Chicken wrap using collard greens for the wrap
Music: Mongolian rock band The Hu
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Book: Any of the Slough House Series by Mick Herron
Podcast: Breakfast All Day (movie reviews)
TV: The Good Place
Netflix/Amazon Prime: Stranger Things
Miscellaneous: You Tube travel vlogs The Endless Adventure, Daneger & Stacey, and Travel Man









Richard Audry is the pen name of D. R. Martin. As Richard Audry, he is the author of four Mary MacDougall historical mysteries and three King Harald Canine Cozy mysteries. Under his own name, he has written the rip-roaring Johnny Graphic ghost adventure trilogy. He’s also the author of the hardboiled PI mystery Smoking Ruin and two books of literary commentary: Travis McGee & Me and Four Science Fiction Masters.


Connect with Richard:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

Buythe book:
Amazon

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