#SampleSunday

People have mixed opinions on whether Twitter is a successful way to market your book. Some authors swear by it, some despise it, and others are indifferent. The other day, I saw a post on Facebook suggesting authors post excerpts of their books and use the Twitter hashtag #samplesunday to promote the post. Readers can search #samplesunday on Twitter to find new books to read. And of course, they can tweet and retweet about your #samplesunday too. So I thought I'd try it. I'm starting #samplesunday on A Blue Million Books with some shameless self-promotion--an excerpt from my book, Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction. If you're an author and would like to post an excerpt here for #samplesunday, just email me at amy@amymetz.com. I think #samplesundays could be a lot of fun.

About the book:

When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle.

A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready.

A Sample of Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction

Present day

Tess froze when she saw two huge dogs bolting toward them.  Then she screamed.  "JAAAACK!"

"Car, Mary T, CAR!"

Tess turned too fast and her right foot bobbled on her sandal. Only I could fall off a one-inch heel. She wobbled and then righted herself, and the heavy purse fell off her shoulder. Jack came up behind her, grabbing her purse and her arm. "Come on, Grace." He pushed her into the car. She scrambled over the console and into the passenger seat, and he followed, practically sitting on top of her so he could close the door tightly. With both of them safely in the car, the dogs stood barking ferociously just a foot away, as Tess and Jack cowered inside.

The front door opened, and a huge man stepped out onto the porch, pushing mirrored sunglasses over his eyes. He had a confederate flag do-rag on his head, and a cigarette poking out of his lips underneath a pencil-thin mustache.  A gray wife beater shirt revealed tattoos on each bulging bicep, and his torn denim jeans were tucked into black biker boots. He stood with his hands on his hips and a menacing look on his face.

"Good gravy, he could be the Mr. July for a biker dude calendar," Tess said, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

The dogs continued their protective stance and enthusiastic greeting.

The man took the cigarette from his lips and hollered, "Cain't you folks read?  Sign says no trespassin'." He paused for a beat, then added, "That means you."

Tess opened the car window two inches, and called out, "Are you Crate Marshall?"

"Folks call me Tank." He took a deep drag of his cigarette. "State your bidness."

"My name's Tess Tremaine, and this is Jackson Wright. We'd like to talk to you for a few minutes about your family history, if that's all right."

"What fer?" he called out guardedly, over the barking dogs.

Jack opened his door and stood with it as a shield.  The dogs moved forward slightly, but kept their distance, emitting a low growl. "I'm writing a book on some events in Goose Pimple Junction's history.  I'd like to talk to you about your grandfather; hear his side of the story on the bank robbery of '32."

Tank stood on the bottom step of the porch, staring at them for a full minute, smoking his cigarette.  He finished it, dropped it to the ground, and stomped it out with his booted foot. Jack turned to get back in the car.

"Foghorn! Leghorn! Freeze!" The dogs stopped growling and sat down, tongues hanging out as they panted.

Tess and Jack weren't sure what to do.  Finally, Tank said, "Well come on, if you're comin'. I ain't got all day."

They got out of the car and slowly walked past the dogs, with Tess saying, "Nice doggies."  The dogs didn't move an inch. Once Tess and Jack reached the porch, Tank held the door open for them. As they went into the house, he called to the dogs.

"Thaw!" The dogs ran back to the barn.

The inside of Tank's house was not what Tess expected. The furniture and décor suggested a 1950's housewife lived here. The sofa was pea green under a plastic couch cover. A worn out but clean brown recliner with a doily draped at the top sat between the couch and the fireplace. An antique oak rocking chair with a cane seat sat opposite the recliner. A framed rose painting hung over the fireplace, and old family pictures decorated the walls. It looked like Tank had literally moved in and not changed a thing. The only signs of Tank's presence in the house were the smell of cigarettes, the haze of smoke hanging in the air, and the gun magazines sitting on a long pine coffee table in front of the couch.
Tess had second thoughts about going in as she looked through the cloud of smoke, which hung thick in the room. Jack pushed gently on the small of her back, and she reluctantly moved forward. She resisted the urge to wave her hand in front of her face to dispel the cigarette smoke.

Tess and Jack sat on the couch, and Tank took the recliner. Now that they were up close, Tess could see the tattoos more clearly. His right arm featured a Goth chick, with long, flowing hair and voluptuous breasts spilling out of a skin-tight leather vest; she was wielding a large sword. The left side displayed a tattoo of, aptly enough, a tank.

"What's this 'bout a book?"  Tank pulled out another cigarette from the pack.

"I write mystery novels, and I'm interested in writing about the bank robbery, for which I believe your grandfather was pardoned." 

Tank put the cigarette between his lips, and Jack added, "I'm interested in learning more about the death of John Hobb, too."

Tank lit his cigarette with his Zippo lighter, then snapped the lid shut with the flip of his wrist.  "Zat right?" He removed his sunglasses, placed them on the coffee table, and rubbed one eye.  "Sounds like you already know a good deal about it."

"We were wondering if your grandfather ever talked about the robbery or Mr. Hobb's murder," Tess explained.

"Huh. Yeah, he talked about the robbery. Felt real bad about it, matter a fact. He'd get drunk and start moanin' and groanin' 'bout how he'd brought shame to the family, and so on and so forth. And Grandma would always say the same thing ever time. I can hear her now sayin', 'Jest cut your shamer off and feed it to the chickens.'"

"Your shamer off?"  Tess echoed.

"You ain't from round here, are ya?  Basically, she meant that guilt isn't helpful. What's done is done and ya have to move on."

"What about the money?"  Jack asked.

"What about it?"

"What happened to it?"

"He never came out and said as much, but I kinda think he had to use most of it to grease the governor's palms. Whatever else was left, he probably spent over at Humdinger's."

"Any idea how much his cut was?"

"Negative."

"Do you know what happened to the other men who were involved in the bank robbery?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, I think Rod Pierce died about five years later. And Junior ended up gettin' caught for another job he pulled. I think he spent most a his life rottin' in a cell."

"What about a fourth man?"

"What about him?" 

"Did your grandfather ever talk about a fourth man being involved? John Hobb or someone else?"

"Negative. I wouldn't know anything about that."

Jack cleared his throat and asked the sixty-four thousand dollar question. "What about John Hobb's murder?"

"Sounds like you know more 'n me."

"Who do you think killed him? Did your grandfather ever talk about that?"

Tank ran his hand over his stubbly cheeks and wide nose. His eyes grew dark. "Can't hep ya."

Cautiously, Jack said, "Is that...because you don't want to...or because you don't know?"

"What difference does it make? I ain't answerin'."

Jack got his wallet from his back pocket, pulled a hundred dollar bill out, and placed it on the coffee table.

Tank stared at it for a few silent moments. Tess couldn't tell what he was thinking. His eyes went coldly from the bill to Jack. Jack reached out to take it back, but Tank gave in.

"Shoot. Hold on a damn minute." He took several drags from his cigarette, then put it out in a bean bag ashtray on a small table to his left. "I heard my granddaddy talk about it once.  He was there, but another man did it. I ain't sayin' who the other man was. I ain't no rat. Any other questions?"

"Do you know why he was killed?"

"Negative."

Tess looked at Jack, and he raised his eyebrows, as if to say, 'It's up to you.'

"Would you mind telling us where you were last night around eleven o'clock?" she asked.

"Why?" 

"Just humor me. Please." She flashed a sweet smile at him.

"Didja hear the one 'bout the duck who went into a bar?"

"I'm not talking about that kind of humor...Mr...Tank."

"Tell me what you're accusin' me of first."

"I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just asking."

"I was home," he answered reluctantly.

"Anyone with you?" Jack asked.

"Negative."

"Okay, Tank. We'll be on our way. Thank you for your time. If anything should come to mind, will you give me a call?" Jack handed him his card.

"Will do. But it won't."

They walked to the door, and Tess turned around to look at Tank. "Do you by any chance know Willy Clayton?"

"Dudn't everbody?" he snorted.

"Have you seen him lately?"

"Seen him. Ain't talked to him. He was over to Humdinger's the other night."

"Was he with anybody?"

Tank snorted. "Yeah, he was with Peaches McGee." He chuckled and scratched his head. "She's what you might call a loose woman. She--"

"Okay, thank you again, Tank," Tess said quickly, opening the door. It's definitely time to go.

They headed for the car, with chickens squawking and scurrying out of their way. Just as they reached the car, Tank called out from the porch steps. "Watch out or you'll plow up snakes."

They got in the car, and Tess started the ignition. "Any idea what he meant by that?"

"Yeah, I've heard that expression a time or two. He means to be careful what you do or you'll stir up trouble for yourself."

"Do you think it was a veiled threat?"

"I don't know. He didn't really strike me as an evil person. Tough as nails, rough as a corn cob, and he's got about as much class as a guest on the Jerry Springer Show, but I don't peg him as violent."

"Why do you suppose he didn't want to say where he was last night?"

"Pride.  You put him on the defensive, and he didn't want to be there."

"Well, thanks for going with me. It wasn't a complete waste of time, was it?"

"Not at all. We learned Brick Lynch was definitely one of the bank robbers, as well as, at the very least, a participant in the murder, and we learned this state has had some very crooked politicians once or twice. Not that it's any surprise."

"Do you think he was telling the truth about the money? That his grandfather spent it on hush money and booze?"

"Assuming he had to bribe a governor to beat the robbery sentence and a judge to beat the murder charge, yeah, I think it's possible."

"But you don't think he's to blame for the break-ins or for hanging around my house last night?"

"Nope. I think his hesitancy to talk is out of loyalty to his grandfather, plus his natural surly nature."

"Well, if he's not the perp, then who is? Who else would care about some stupid old key that goes to a stupid old trunk that has nothing in it but stupid old keepsakes?"

"Tess, I wish I knew. But whoever it is, he's getting bolder."

She glanced over at him and saw him smiling at her. "What? Why are you smiling?"

"Did you just say 'perp'?"

About the author

Amy Metz is the author of Murder & Mayhem In Goose Pimple Junction. She is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or working on her blog, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky and is currently working on the second and third books in her mystery series.

Connect with Amy:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Featured Author: David Brady

Four years ago, David Brady was viciously assaulted by a twenty-one-year-old man with severe mental illness, resulting in traumatic brain damage. He lost eighty percent of his memory and was forced to put his successful TV production company on hiatus while he sought out a solution to this horrific situation.

That got him wondering, "how many other middle aged, or 'baby boomers,' get blindsided
by a life altering event like this?"

Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace will tell you how David was able to turn his life around, overcome adversity, find peace of mind and prosperity in this book.

I'm happy to have David here today to tell us more about it.

About the book:

On January 4th 2010, I had stopped by a woman's home to speak to her twenty-one-year-old son, at her request. It turns out he was suffering from severe mental illness. Without warning, he punched me so hard I flew through the air, landed on my back and then found him on top of me with my arms pinned under his legs while he drove about six or seven rage filled punches into my head sending my skull smashing into the solid hard-wood kitchen floor. The result of that incident: I have brain damage that has dramatically impacted every aspect of my life; impaired my ability to do the work I've done all of my career as a writer/producer/director on 130 prime time television episodes and 4 feature films and left me wondering, how do I overcome these challenges? As a result, I got to thinking, "how many other people, especially those who are either middle aged, or those of us who are 'baby boomers,' get blindsided by some event that they didn't see coming?" In this book, I tell you how I was able to overcome this adversity, find peace of mind and prosperity as a mature person.

Interview with David Brady

David, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I have been a film and television writer for over twenty-five years with over sixty award-winning scripts produced. I wrote my first non-fiction book three years ago.

In 1979, I was in graduate school and made my first film, Alcohol, Drugs and the Young. I was originally going to be an Alcohol and Drug Counselor.  Then I met a young man in Vancouver, and we became business partners, and the first film that he directed after I became a shareholder in his company was nominated for an Academy Award in 1980. 

What inspired you to write this book?

Four years ago January 4, 2010 a mother asked me to speak to her twenty-one-year-old son.  She believed he had a “small” alcohol or drug problem. It turned out he was severely mentally ill. When I sat down to talk to him, he proceeded to punch me so hard I flew through the air and landed on the floor on my back where he managed to pin me down and drive seven rage-filled blows into my skull on a hardwood floor with my arms pinned under his legs. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and worked out two to three hours a day trying to control the voices in his head according to a letter he wrote me after the assault. I was diagnosed with a concussion and ended up in a very dark place after the assault and found myself in dire need of medical and spiritual help. 

Wow. That's horrendous. How long did it take you to write this book?

Six months.

What do you hope readers will get from Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace?

That regardless of what happens to us in life, whether you are middle-aged or a Baby Boomer, you are not alone. There is help out there, and in my case it was based on both traditional medicine and spiritual principles. The spiritual principles will apply whether you are a Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or a Muslim or any other faith, for that matter.  They are based on the same principles that the late great Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich created in his concept of the Master Mind or Divine Mind of Intelligence Behind the Universe, or God for those who are inclined to that belief. When two or more are gathered and we ask for help we can get it. I used the 8 Steps of the Master Mind created by the late Jack Boland, a Unity Minister.

How did you come up with the title of your book?

I was meditating. 

Do you have another job outside of writing?

Writer/Producer/Director/key note speaker and currently on the faculty of Capilano University in North Vancouver, British Columbia, teaching introductory screenwriting. 

How would you tweet about this book?

Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace is a compelling, dramatic story of one man’s journey reclaiming his life after a brutal assault and near death experience.

Why did you decide to write this book?

After the assault, and after I started to work on myself, I was sitting in my writing office at my country home in Ontario when, in a moment of clarity, I thought, “How many other people get blind-sided by some life altering event they didn’t see coming?” 

I started to look and ask, “Is there a manual or guide book to help you survive the loss of business, a spouse or life partner? Ironically, at the same time the woman I’d been seeing also informed me she didn’t want to get married or live with me – and that just devastated me. I kept thinking, “It’s always darkest before the bottom really falls out.”  I have a twisted sense of humor.

I started to broaden my search to see what is out there to help one deal with the loss of your occupation, financial crisis or the fall-out of a family or life long friendship? 
I couldn’t find anything specifically dealing with middle-aged people (I had lost $5.2 million dollars at age 35 and came back from that – and that was what the genesis of my first book, Get Me To The Temple of Serenity … And Step On It!  There was absolutely nothing out there for Baby Boomers of this nature.  

How did you come up with your cover art?

My good friend Dennis Kastner, who is himself retired, took up photography and took a picture of me at his home, which was near my house in Eastern Ontario near Prince Edward County. And young Anthony Wallace, who worked for me, created the layout with my corporate colors for my production company.

Tell us about your favorite scene or chapter in the book.

Chapter One: I had some tremendous feedback from some friends, and to establish who I was I took a trip back in time and found a picture of myself on my first motorcycle, a BSA 650 which I had as a 16-year-old. I reflected on my teenage years and how when I would pull up to a young lady's house in the very nice neighborhoods I grew up in Toronto and their mother would come out and say, “David, my daughter is not going out with you on that motorcycle.” As a teenager I was a tad wild and when I “drank” I was filled with false courage and I’d say to the mother, “What are you doing, want to come for a ride?” It worked once. Hello Mrs. Robinson. I am very grateful to say I stopped drinking when I was 22 years old and have never touched a drop since, which is why my life did go so well in so many ways. But I hadn’t revisited those days in a very long time. Too long. 

What song would you pick to go with your book?

"Sultans of Swing."

I was a drummer and producer of Rock & Roll when I was young, and I would like to give you the links to a series that I wrote and produced just before we needed to shut the company down. But I so respect what Mark Knopfler has done, and it is the “essence of his music and energy” that inspire me.

I knew most of the people in this series who you will be shocked to see came out of Toronto. 

Yonge Street - Toronto Rock & Roll Stories
Password for all the videos is: yonge
Episode #1
Episode #2
Episode #3

Fantastic! Who are your favorite authors?

Ernest Hemmingway, Wayne Dyer, Arthur Koestler, Catherine Ponder, Joseph Campbell, Thomas Merton, Thomas Cahill, Pierre Tiehard de Chardin, and Gregory Bateson.

What was your favorite childhood book?

Tom Sawyer. 

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?

Ancient Secrets of Success, Tulshi Sen, Maximum Bob, Elmore Leonard, John Barleycorn, Jack London, all paperbacks.


Do you have a routine for writing? Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?

I write every morning and have for 30 years.

Where do you prefer to do your writing?

I’m now in Vancouver, and I sit in my apartment looking over the Pacific Ocean, Stanley Park, and the mountains on Vancouver Island.



Sounds wonderful. Name one thing you couldn’t live without. (It can’t be your phone!)

My sense of humour. (I keep correcting my Canadian spelling, but I’m not going to on this one as it is very different than American humour.)

If you could only keep one book, what would it be?

The Dictionary.

Neil Gaiman said, “Picking five favorite books is like picking five body parts you'd most like not to lose.” So…what are your five favorite books and your five body parts you’d most like not to lose?

Catcher in The Rye
The Sun Also Rises
Ghosts in the Machine
Man and His Symbols
Life After Death
My Brain
My Eyes
My Ears
My Mouth
My Penis (as it’s what I use all my other body parts for, to have some fun with – or at least I still hope I will someday). 

Now, for the record, you cannot ask the above question of any thinking man and not have him revert to some form of chronic infantile omnipotence – especially with my track record of always wanting to have fun and watch folks get a tad uncomfortable. I hope you take it in the spirit it was written.

Of course! What meal or particular food would you want if you were leaving the country for an extended period of time?

Prime Rib.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

Bookstore.

You won the lottery. What’s the first thing you would buy?

Another ticket.
 
Name five people with whom you would pick to be stranded in a bookstore.

Daniel Day Lewis, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Hillary Clinton, and Meg Whitman.

Where would your dream office be?

Arcata, California.

Where’s home for you?

I have two at the moment. Sandhurst, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

A paraphrase of Hunter S Thompson:
"The film and television business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

Excellent. What three books have you read recently and would recommend?

The Success Principles, Jack Canfield
What was I Thinking, Pamela Bendall
Mystics and Zen Masters, Thomas Merton

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love going to movies. I love sailing. I love walking on the sea wall in West Vancouver, I love live music, reading, watching Netflix, road trips, riding motorcycles, speaking, teaching.

Do you ever sleep? Kidding. What are you working on now?

I am at page 36 of a treatment for a theatrical documentary titled Children First – which will be a film to help bring about an end to child abuse in North America. 

We are actually in the process of working on converting Yonge Street, which I’ve sent you, into a new theatrical documentary, as we only used about 40% of what we shot. We are going to re-title it (tentative and not signed so it can’t be published) Robbie Robertson’s Rock & Roll Stories. 

I am really focusing on keynote speaking. 

About the author:

Award-winning film and television writer, producer and director David Brady’s work is best known in Canada, but no stranger to U.S. and European audiences. He was also an award-winning professor at Ryerson University in Toronto and is currently on the Faculty of Motion Picture Arts at Capilano University in North Vancouver British Columbia. David holds an MFA from York University in Toronto. He did his original undergraduate and work at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Colombia. Brady also taught film production and screen writing at York University in Toronto and is an acclaimed and powerful public speaker and lecturer.

In his new dramatic and compelling book, Aging With Dignity, Living with Grace he chronicles his life-altering and potential near-death experience of being viciously assaulted by a young man with mental illness. David had gone to talk to this bright and highly educated young man at the request of his mother. The result was a traumatic brain injury that would have left others permanently incapacitated and disabled. However, Brady is no quitter, and in this gripping and honest account of his harrowing experience, he will take you, the reader, through the stages and the steps he had to take to overcome his serious handicap and find peace of mind, prosperity and real happiness.

Brady’s film and television projects have won numerous Canadian, American and International awards including One Academy Award Nomination for his late business partner's production of Nails, as Best Theatrical Documentary, seven Genie Awards (Canadian Academy Awards) and two Golden Globe nominations, including Best Foreign Film and Best Actor for The Grey Fox, starring Richard Farnsworth and presented by Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios and released through United Artists Classics. His recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation production of Yellowstone Super Volcano, which will air on Smithsonian Channel in the USA in 2014 and was the CBC’s highest-rated Doc Zone for 2013. He also had two recent productions in Canada that were in the top three rated for the network and will soon be available in the US. His Yonge Street, Toronto Rock & Roll Stories just won a Gemini Award, and he also produced one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s 2011 highest rated “Doc Zones,” The Gangster Next Door. In addition to these award-winning and critically-acclaimed shows, he has produced over 130 prime time comedies, dramas, and documentaries, including The Pagan Christ and The Gangster Next Door, which both aired in the United States recently. His Discovery Channel Production of Around The World with Tippi was nominated at the prestigious Banff Television Festival as the Best Family Series in the world. He was also one of the executive producers of his good friend Alan Sack's Disney Channel Production of You Wish, which was nominated for the Humanitis Award in Los Angeles.

Connect with David:

Website | Author website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes &amp Noble 

Featured Author: Reba White Williams

The Story Plant brings Reba White Williams here on her tour for Fatal Impressions, the second book in her Coleman and Dinah Greene mystery series. Check out Reba's tour page to find out about her other stops in the tour and to read an excerpt from the book.

About the book

Coleman and Dinah Greene are making names for themselves in the art world. Coleman's magazine publishing empire is growing and Dinah`s print gallery is gaining traction. In fact, Dinah has just won the contract to select, buy, and hang art in the New York office of the management consultants Davidson, Douglas, Danbury & Weeks – a major coup that will generate The Greene Gallery's first big profits. However, when Dinah goes to DDD&W to begin work, she discovers a corporate culture unlike anything she`s ever encountered before. There are suggestions of improprieties everywhere, including missing art worth a fortune. And when two DDD&W staff members are discovered murdered, Dinah and Coleman find themselves swept into the heart of another mystery. Revealing the murderer will be no easy task...but first Dinah needs to clear her own name from the suspect list.

Interview with Reba White Williams

Reba, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I started telling myself mystery stories when I was a toddler. When I learned how to read and write, I began to put them on paper. By junior high school, I was writing a little column for the local newspaper. I got a medal for writing my senior year in high school, and took my first writing class in college.

What’s the story behind the title Fatal Impressions?

An “impression” is what we call one of a batch of prints. If an artist makes prints, he might make five impressions, or ten, or 100. The most important art in Fatal Impressions are the Stubbs, but the prints Dinah hangs are all impressions. People die by “impressions,” in a different sense of the word. They make wrong judgments about other people—-false impressions. The story is the summary of all these impressions encountered in the book.

How did you create the plot for this book?

When Dinah competes for the contract with a corporation, she enters a new world. The plot grows out of the corruption of that corporation.

How do you get to know your characters?

I got to know my characters, Coleman and Dinah, by writing about them as children in Angels.

What’s your favorite line from a book?

From Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

Simon in Restrike—-he was such a creep—-and Moose in Fatal Impressions. He was my “Wolf of Wall Street”—-over the top.

What would Coleman, your main character, say about you?

She wouldn’t think I’m nearly as daring as I should be. (Coleman is more reckless than I am.)

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

The girls’ aunt and grandmother in Angels were like my grandmother and aunt in some ways. Dinah’s a lot like girls I knew in high school and college.

Is your book based on real events?

There are always real events in every book. For example, in Fatal Impressions, there are rather shocking, pretty horrific events that the Dinah finds herself seeing in the corporation—-those are taken from real life.

Are you like any of your characters?

I’d like to think I’m a loyal friend like Coleman. I think I’m as hardworking and determined as she is.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?

I hope she would do it with drugs that put me to sleep.

If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?

I’d like to be a different character in each of my books. In Fatal Impressions, I’d have enjoyed being Loretta Byrd-—she was a good detective. If I was a married character in one of my books, it would be Bethany, not Dinah.

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?

Dinah and Coleman are both readers, but Coleman prefers to read in the bathtub, so I choose Dinah.

With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?

Sue Grafton, Dan Henninger, Dave Williams, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

My favorite scene in Fatal Impressions is when Moose first appears and introduces himself. Again, he’s my “Wolf of Wall Street,” a caricature of an investment banker.

What song would you pick to go with your book?

“Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah” and “Doing it my Way” for Coleman.

You get to decide who would read your audiobook. Who would you choose?

At one time I’d have said Joanne Woodward. I’d want someone with a good Southern accent.

Do you have a routine for writing?

No, I write whenever and wherever I can.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

Early a.m. in Connecticut or Palm Springs.

Where’s home for you?

Connecticut, New York City, Palm Springs, and London.

If you could only keep one book, what would it be?

Pride & Prejudice.

You’re leaving your country for a year. What’s the last meal (or food) you would want to have before leaving?

Pasta with pesto or pasta primavera.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

Library.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?

My favorite library is the Center for Fiction, known when I first encountered it as the Mercantile Library. Why? Open stacks, great card catalogue, and can check out all the books you can carry for a small fee.

You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?

Read, go to a film, go someplace nice for lunch.

What would your dream office look like?

Small, cozy, no distractions.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

“If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you...” by Rudyard Kipling from "If."

What’s your favorite candy bar? And don’t tell me you don’t have one!

Snickers.

What three books have you read recently and would recommend?

•    Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen—a marvelous book. It’s a great story, and I learned a lot about photography, seeing photographs through Rebecca’s eyes.
•    A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy—a truly delightful book, heartwarming, charming, cozy. I enjoyed every minute of it.
•    The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd—a fascinating book that is beautifully written, with fascinating female protagonists, both white and black.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read, travel, garden, visit gardens.

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

As I live now, in New York City, Connecticut, Palm Springs, and London.

What are you working on now?

Book 4 in my series, with book 5 beginning to move around in my head.

About the author

Reba White Williams worked for more than thirty years in business and finance—-in research at McKinsey & Co., as a securities analyst on Wall Street, and as a senior executive at an investment management firm. 


Williams graduated from Duke with a BA in English, earned an MBA at Harvard, a PhD in Art History at CUNY, and an MA in Writing at Antioch. She has written numerous articles for art and financial journals. She is a past president of the New York City Art Commission and served on the New York State Council for the Arts.



She and her husband built what was thought to be the largest private collection of fine art prints by American artists. They created seventeen exhibitions from their collection that circulated to more than one hundred museums worldwide, Williams writing most of the exhibition catalogues. She has been a member of the print committees of several leading museums. 



Williams grew up in North Carolina and lives in New York, Connecticut, and Southern California with her husband and Maltese, Muffin. She is the author of two novels featuring Coleman and Dinah Greene, Restrike and Fatal Impressions, along with the story of Coleman and Dinah when they were children, Angels. She is currently working on her third Coleman and Dinah mystery. 


Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Indigo

Featured Author: Leti Del Mar

Leti Del Mar's fourth book, Secrets of the Unaltered, a young adult dystopian romance, has just been released, and she's here today to talk about the book, herself, and writing. This week, Leti is celebrating release week, and the book is available for $0.99.

About the book:

The fate of the entire Confederation rests on their shoulders.

Only they have what it takes to uncover the secrets that have imprisoned their land, but can they survive a truth more disturbing than they ever imagined?

Rose and Flynn have left the Land of the Unaltered on a mission to discover the truth behind who created the genetically engineered super army and stop it before the Rebellion is doomed. Time is ticking, but soon capital life begins to pull them in different directions. Flynn struggles to fit in with the self-indulgent and fashion obsessed populous while the expectations of Rose’s influential family tests their fragile and newly formed relationship. Will they let the capital pull them apart?

Everyone is counting on them, but in this time of discord, can they count on each other?

Secrets of the Unaltered is a Young Adult Dystopian Romance and is the second installment of The Confederation Chronicles.

Interview with Leti Del Mar

Leti, welcome back to A Blue Million Books. Your bio says you teach math and life science to teenagers. That's like a foreign language to me. Do you like the work?

I love it (most of the time), and I think it gives me an edge on the inner workings of the teenage mind. I also love to include a wee bit of science in all of my works.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

I love Flynn.  He is so socially awkward, but smart and hardworking and unselfish. I just want to tell him to shut up and then give him a big hug.

That's probably a familiar sentiment with teenagers! Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

I love when Flynn gets a makeover after getting to the capital. There is nothing like a Pretty Woman scene mixed in with a budding “Bromance” to put a smile on my face.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

Whenever my toddler is asleep and wherever she is not sleeping!

Where’s home for you?

Southern California. It is almost always sunny, close to everything I love; be it shopping, museums, or mountain trails and beaches. I love it here!

Let's pretend you’re leaving the country for a year. What’s the last meal (or food) you would want to have before leaving?

I’ve put some serious thought to this one and I’d have to say Baja Style Fish Tacos. They are beer battered, have lots of lime, are fried, and have this special Baja California sauce that is a mystery and a delight. I don’t think I can go too long without them.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

“A life lived in fear is a life half lived.” Although it sounds better in Spanish.

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

I could see myself in the UK. I already watch way too much BBC America. I just need to figure out how to import Baja Sauce.

What are you working on now? 

I am working on three projects at once. I am outlining the sequel in my Romantic Suspense series called The Inexperianced Thief, and I’m outlining the final installment in the Confederation Chronicles, a YA Dystopian Romance called The Rise of the Unaltered.  Also, I am in the very beginnings of planning a YA Sci-Fi trilogy about a summer camp for kids with superpowers.

Wow. And you teach, and you have a toddler! Please come back and tell us more about these projects and how you do it all!

About the author:

Leti Del Mar lives in sunny Southern California with her husband, daughter and abnormally large cat. When she isn’t writing, reading or blogging, she is teaching Biology and Algebra to teenagers. Leti is also a classic film buff, passionate about Art History and loves to travel.

Connect with Leti:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |Mailing List

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Featured Author: Melissa Bourbon

Great Escapes Book Tours brings Melissa Bourbon here today with her cozy mystery, A Killing Notion. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post to win a Nook or a Kindle, value approximately $100, a Sewing Gift Basket, value approximately $75, or The Lola Cruz mystery series in print or digital, winner's choice. She is also offering gift digital copies of book 1 in the Magical Dressmaking mystery series, Pleating for Mercy, or book 1 in the Lola Cruz series, Living the Vida Lola, winner's choice. Want a chance to win? Just leave a comment!

!

About the book:

Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms...Harlow is doing everything she can to expand her dressmaking business, Buttons & Bows—-without letting clients know about her secret charm. When she has a chance to create homecoming dresses with a local charity and handmade mums for several high school girls—-including Gracie, whose father, Will, has mended Harlow’s heart—-she is ready to use her magical talents for a great cause.
 
But when Gracie’s date for the dance is accused of murder, Harlow knows things won’t be back on course until she helps Gracie clear the football player’s name. If Harlow can’t patch up this mess before the big game, her business and her love life might be permanently benched.
INCLUDES SEWING TIPS


Other books by Melissa

Magical Dressmaking Mysteries

Pleating for Mercy

A Fitting End

Deadly Patterns

A Custom-Fit Crime


Lola Cruz Mysteries

Living the Vida Lola

Hasta la Vista, Lola!

Bare-Naked Lola

Interview with Melissa Bourbon

How did you create the plot for this book?

Our family moved from California to Texas almost six years ago. My older boys were in high school and one of the first things we experienced was homecoming...and the homecoming mum. I knew I wanted to write a book that incorporated these elaborate concoctions, but I needed time to understand the culture behind them. The Magical Dressmaking series began, and when I was several books into it, I knew I had the background to bring in mums, and they were the perfect backdrop for the mystery.

What’s your favorite line from a book?

I don’t really have many that I remember, but one of my favorites is and will always be, “After all, tomorrow is another day.”  --Gone with the Wind

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

A lot of my characters are conglomerations of people I either know or have met in passing. Interesting qualities stick with me, and they mix and match in my mind as new characters are born. No one character is based on any one person, though I’ve actually tried that. They end up taking on a life of their own and become who they want to be!

Are you like any of your characters?

I do believe that both Harlow and Lola (from the Lola Cruz mystery series) have qualities that I possess (or vice versa). They are both strong women, determined, committed, family-oriented, and they have strong female relationships. However, they also have qualities that are uniquely their own and that I wish I had--crime-solving and a whole lot of gumption being two of them!

I like writing characters who do and say things I never would, as well as characters who do and say things I wish I could. Do you have characters who fit into one of those categories? Who, and in what category do they fall?

I think both Harlow and Lola, as detectives (amateur and professional) do things I never would, but wish I could. Being bold enough to investigate a murder (not that I want murder in my world, or a murderer in my path!) takes courage and cleverness, as well as logic. It takes me time to create the situations and responses to situations, but of course Harlow and Lola work through it all in the blink of an eye.

If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?

I suppose Harlow Cassidy is the closest fit, and I’d love to:

a)    have Meemaw as a ghost in my life
b)    be a descendant of Butch Cassidy
c)    have a magical charm

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

I don’t know if it’s my favorite scene, but the first one that comes to mind is Harlow’s battle with Thelma Louise, the grand dam of Nana’s goatherd. Thelma Louise gets hold of one of the homecoming mums, there’s a tug of war, and Will Flores is there to help. It’s a fun scene!

And what are you working on now?

I’m currently working on revising book 6 in A Magical Dressmaking mystery series (A Seamless Murder). After that, I’ll be completing the proposal for the next few books in the series, planning a proposal for another series, plotting a women’s fiction novel, and maybe delving into Lola’s world again. I have no shortage of projects!

You certainly don't! Good luck with them, and please come back and tell us more!

About the author:

Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas.  She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.

She is the Executive Publicity Director with Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, and A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL. She also has written two romantic suspense novels, a light paranormal romance, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox, a practical marketing and publicity guide for authors.



Connect with Melissa:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Featured Author: Savannah Page

Savannah Page is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and she's stopping here today to talk about her chick lit novel, When Girlfriends Take Chances. Don't miss the Rafflecopter at the end of the post--enter for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

About the book


A novel about exploring love and life's path, and taking chances along the way.

Emily Saunders has never thought twice about grabbing her passport, rucksack, and camera and trekking across the globe. If there's an NGO, a study abroad program, or simply the travel itch, Emily's on the first plane out. Free-spirited, open-minded, and eager to explore, it's no wonder Emily's hardly in one spot (or relationship) for long.



For the past year and a half, though, Emily's found herself planted in her college hometown of Seattle. She's surrounded by her best friends, has steady work as a photographer and at her friend Sophie's café, and is certainly kept busy by the wild antics of her BFF Jackie. Life's enjoyable, but Emily's looking for something more. She's ready for a change, for adventure!



But when Emily tells her girlfriends she's ready for something new she does not expect Operation Blind Date!



Sure, Emily's single. Sure, she hopes to some day find true love. But being thrown into an insane challenge like this is not exactly the adventure she had in mind! Couldn't she just travel and focus on her photography? Or volunteer in Africa? Will a string of eligible bachelors lined up by her friends--a shot at finding a real and lasting love--really be that change she's searching for?



This is a spirited story about seeking adventure while being true to yourself, wherever you are in life. It's a story about love, risk, and self-discovery. About what happens when girlfriends take chances.

Other Books by Savannah Page

When Girlfriends Let Go
When Girlfriends Chase Dreams
When Girlfriends Make Choices
When Girlfriends Step Up (On SALE 99 cents!)
When Girlfriends Break Hearts
When Girlfriends Collection, Books 1-3 (On SALE 99 cents!)

Interview with Savannah Page

Savannah, you have a long list of books to your credit. How long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I started filling up notebooks with shorts stories at the age of six, and I haven’t stopped writing since.

Do you have another job outside of writing?

I consider writing to be my full-time profession. In addition to being an author, I blog and manage the social media marketing for a wedding and event florist back in my college hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. So when I’m not writing novels I’m writing about wedding flowers and trends and design. I can’t think of two better gigs!

Pretty sweet gigs. How did you create the plot for this book?

Emily is my most whimsical and well-traveled character so there were a lot of directions I could have taken her story. I knew right away that I wanted to keep her in Seattle longer than she had planned, thereby making her antsy and unable to avoid some fun plot twists and episodes that I had in mind for her. Her story is about taking chances...and that doesn’t just mean strapping on a backpack, grabbing a passport, and heading overseas for an adventure. Sometimes grand adventures are right in your own backyard (and can involve the heart).

Tell us a book by an indie author for which you’re an evangelist.

I really enjoy Rachel Schurig’s chick lits. She’s a great author, her stories are fun and entertaining, and on top of that she’s a real sweetheart. She helped me out quite a bit in the early stages of my self-publishing journey, encouraging me to start my When Girlfriends series and crank out one novel after another. She’s one of my biggest inspirations as a fellow chick lit indie author.

How do you get to know your characters?

I spend a lot of time acting out scenes in my apartment. To the outsider (and probably neighbors when the windows are open), I look like a crazy person. Or perhaps a practicing actress. I have to really act as my characters, say their lines, make their gestures, and even figure out how they’d react to a particular issue in the news to understand who they are. My editor has a great and easy tip for helping define characters’ voices: Ask, Who would they vote for/how would they vote on an issue, and why.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

She’s my damaged and most controversial character, Jackie. She has a very strong voice and personality and writing her is a blast. Sometimes she does things that shock me and give me a headache, but that’s one of the reasons I love her. She’s alive! She elicits emotion.

Sophie holds a special place in my heart with her OCDness and controlling personality, plus she was the girlfriend who got the first book (When Girlfriends Break Hearts) and will also get the last (her second book, When Girlfriends Find Love, out May 2014). But Emily, the protagonist of When Girlfriends Take Chances, is caring, daring, open-minded, and fun. I really enjoyed getting to write her story and voice.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

As I move on from my seven-book When Girlfriends collection and on to a new series, I’ve learned that I always write a novel with some real personal or life event in mind. I need that tangible inspiration and experience to really feel a work. For WG I took my own group of college girlfriends into account, thinking about the fascinating idea that an eclectic group of women could be such great friends, and that time and distance could wedge their ways in, but our friendship remains strong. From there the entire WG collection took off.

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?


Emily. She belongs to a book club, like myself, and has a similar taste in reads. We both love travel narratives, memoirs, and a good adventure story. Although, she’s not much a fan of Jane Austen so we could have a bit of a bickering session there.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

Writing the scenes with Emily and Ben were fun because Ben’s attractive, a little mysterious, a bit of trouble. Those kinds of emotional or edge-of-the-seat scenes with such characters are fun to write and read. But the last chapter is one of my favorites!

What book are you currently reading and in what format (ebook/paperback/hardcover)?

I always have a number of books I’m reading at one time, and in different formats. Right now my paperbacks are Candace Bushnell’s Trading Up and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In ebook format I recently finished Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette and loved it!

Where’s home for you?

I may enjoy travel like Emily, but home is not wherever I hang my hat. Home is Berlin in our cozy apartment in the centre of the city. I love long getaways, but luckily home is an adopted city I absolutely love, so I never feel like, “Drats! Vacation’s over and we’re back home.” Of course, as soon as I step foot in California or get some tasty Mexican food or go to a Target, I’m also home!

Neil Gaiman said, “Picking five favorite books is like picking five body parts you'd most like not to lose.” So…what are your five favorite books and your five body parts you’d most like not to lose?

Haha! Books: 1) My entire Emily Giffin collection. She gets her own shelf and I’d die without her books. 2) My Gossip Girl collection. 3) My Harry Potter collection. 4) My Sophie Kinsella collection. 5) And since I’ve so been cheating with these collections, I’d like to say my F. Scott Fitzgerald collection as number five, but if just one, it’d be the one and only The Great Gatsby

Body Parts: 1) Eyes. I had a serious vision scare and surgery a few years ago. My eyes are my most prized possession! 2) Hands. (Because writing—and doing just about anything else—without them would be a major challenge.) 3) I suppose all of my vital organs. 4) And my brain. 5) And feet come in handy when wanting to run around...

You’re leaving your country for a year. What’s the last meal (or food) you would want to have before leaving?

I left the US for a permanent move to Germany in 2010 and had both In-N-Out and a feast of Mexican food that week before I left.

Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?

I loved my university’s library (The University of Tulsa), McFarlin Library. It’s large and beautiful and has so many little alcoves where you can read and study in peace. It holds a lot of college memories for me, too.

You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?

Read, shop, and go for a drive.

What would your dream office look like?

Just as it is! I have a lovely little office in my apartment with everything I need, including a nice, big window that lets in a lot of natural light.

Are you happy with your decision to self-publish?

Absolutely! In addition to becoming self-employed with my blogging business, choosing to self-publish my first book and not look back has been the best career move I could imagine!

What steps to self-publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?

Every writer needs an editor. You can be the best speller, the know-it-all grammarian, or the top of your English graduating class at university, but you’ll still benefit from an editor’s extra set of eyes and skills. I use Invisible Ink Editing and am so happy with the work they do. They practice attention-to-detail while maintaining my voice with all of their edits.

I also recommend indie authors hire someone to do their cover art. Unless you’re a graphic artist, I would outsource this. As I tell my husband (my cover artist), “I’m an author. Give me a pencil and I’ll write you a story. Don’t ask for me to draw you anything.” Many people judge books by their covers, period, and while a book’s content may be the next best thing since sliced bread, if it has a very amateur cover on it, unfortunately many readers may pass it by, thinking the content will also lack in professionalism and promise. Don’t let your cover turn potential readers away! There are plenty of indie book cover artists, like indie editors, formatters, and proofreaders, who are affordable and produce fabulous work. Your novel is an investment and your baby, so give it some love!

As for formatting, that can be tricky work. But if you’re patient and learn the steps, you can save some cash and do this yourself. (Again, there are others in the indie community, such as editors who offer this as an extra service, who can be an affordable and easy option.) I choose to do this myself. I invested a good 15+ hours to learn the ins and outs of Scrivener (only the best writing software that I’d be lost without) and in a flash can format any ebook and paperback.

I love Scrivener too! What’s your favorite candy bar? And don’t tell me you don’t have one!

Spiced jelly beans and circus peanuts. Yes, two very weird but delicious candies.
 
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I can’t read enough books or watch enough television. I enjoy Pilates, crocheting, gardening, shopping (from groceries to shoes), listening to Rick Steves podcasts, pinning wedding flowers on Pinterest, and café-frequenting.

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

Right now I love living in Berlin, but NYC, or on a sailboat in Florida, or Santa Barbara, California would be nice, too.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on releasing the seventh and final When Girlfriends novel. I’m also working on two new series, both chick lit and women’s fiction, which I plan on publishing this year.

Excerpt from When Girlfriends Take Chances

“That’s a fantastic idea!” Jackie blurts out.

“How come I didn’t think of that?” Sophie says.

“That’s not a bad idea, Claire,” Robin says with a nod.

“Perrrrrfect,” Claire sings, returning to her position on the floor by the coffee table. “Such a superbly perfect idea.” She claps her hands together several times. “What do you think, Emily? Brilliant idea, right?”

There are two words that incite major worry and panic, even in someone like me who’s as open to dating, well, just about anyone. One is “blind” and the other is—you guessed it—“date.” God help me.

We’re not just talking a blind date, but several—hear me, plural—blind dates.

“Think about it,” Sophie says, abandoning her wine, her eyes going all star-gazey. “You could meet all sorts of guys. You could dispense with the annoying and time-wasting ‘nice to meet you’ stuff.”

“Yeah!” Jackie cuts in. “Like you wouldn’t have to waste your time on meeting someone and striking up that first conversation that would lead to a date. It’s just, BAM, a date!”
BAM is right.

All right, I’m single, and I have been for a while. And, sure, it’d be nice to find someone I could really connect with and, yeah, fall in love with. But easier said than done. I mean, if I’m going to find someone I can be really and truly serious with then they’ll have to keep up with me, so to speak. I’m not a let’s-get-a-mortgage or even a let’s-have-a-career kind of woman. My lifestyle isn’t exactly what men who are looking for a serious and lasting relationship go for.

Besides, I’m not so hard-up for a date or budding romance that I need to sign on for a round of blind dates—a series of awkward meet-and-greets, an exchange of interests and goals and accomplishments, that unavoidable question about a second date, that unavoidable expectation come the third or fourth date. My mouth suddenly feels dry. I reach for my wine and take a heavy slog.

“I think this is brilliant,” Claire says. She crosses her arms, looking extremely pleased with herself. “This is revolutionary!”

“No,” Lara finally pipes in.

Oh, thank you for coming to my rescue, finally, Lara! I think, still draining my wine.
“It’s not quite revolutionary…yet.” A sly smirk is playing Lara’s lips. “We’re missing something that’ll revolutionize the blind dating experience.”

“I know!” I toss out. All eyes simultaneously turn to me. “I know what would revolutionize this experience.”

“Yeah?” Jackie asks eagerly.

“Totally...” I drag out. “...not...doing...it!” I smile brightly. “Brilliant way to revolutionize blind dating, right? Do away with the whole buggy thing.”

“Oh, whatever,” Claire scoffs. “Don’t be a sourpuss. We’re doing this, Emily. It will be amazing, just you wait.”

About the author:

Savannah Page is the author of the continuing When Girlfriends collection, heartfelt women's fiction that celebrates friendship, love, and life sprinkled with drama and humor. When she isn’t writing, Savannah enjoys a good book with a latte and jazz tunes, Pilates, and exploring her home of Berlin as an American expat. Currently she's working on the seventh and final When Girlfriends novel, and is cooking up something delicious for her next series.




Connect with Savannah:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo 

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Book Blast: Double Alchemy

 Title: Double Alchemy
 Author: Susan Mac Nicol
 Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
 Release Date: 25th March, 2014
    
As well as attending all tour stops, Susan will be doing a one-hour Tweetup with Virtual Writers, where she will share some of her writing secrets and publishing tips on Twitter on Sunday, May 4th at 6pm (UK time).

Susan and her publisher (Boroughs Publishing Group) will be awarding a copy of Stripped Bare and a copy of Cassandra by Starlight to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  To increase your chances of winning, stop by each of the scheduled stops and leave a comment.

In addition to the tour stops, they have created a party page on Facebook where they will be setting some fun challenges and games. Log on and you may even catch Susan chatting with her fans. For more details and the full schedule & giveaway entry form, check out Susan’s official tour page.
      

Praise for Double Alchemy

“I love Paranormal stories & I'm a huge fan of Susan Mac Nicol's M/M books. In this book, she brings both genres together & gives us this amazing story. With her master storytelling, she takes us into the mystical & magical world of Witches, Warlocks, Withinners & Feys. A world where danger lurks in the shadows.” - Maria Recchia

“I stayed up all night reading this story. Susan has a way of writing that is different than anyone else. She's uniquely brilliant at weaving a tale that brings out my emotions. I have laughed in every one of her stories. That's incredible for me. Not just a smile, but a laugh. I love that. This book needs to be read. You won’t be disappointed.” - Author Kindle Alexander

About the book

Powerful yet tormented modern warlock Quinn Fairmont must initiate the silver-eyed Cade Mairston into the world of witchfinders, Withinners, and what can happen when two men fall truly, madly, deeply in love.

THE WORLD IN SHADOW

In modern London there lurks a warlock, Quinn Fairmont. Dangerous, powerful, tortured, sharing his body with the soul of an ancient Welsh sorcerer, Quinn is never alone—and never wholly himself. He fights against all those who would exploit his kind. He takes pleasure where he can find it.

In the forest of Hampstead Heath, Quinn’s hometown, Cade Mairston appears to him like a waking dream. Lithe, lean and silver-eyed, he evokes feelings in Quinn unlike any other: lust with true affection, immediate and shocking. Cade is clearly more than he seems. And yet, if a man of the world, Cade is innocent. He knows nothing of warlocks, witchfinders or Withinners. He knows nothing of what he is, what he might be, or what he might feel. For him, the story is just beginning. Magyck, peril and passion await. More awaits in book two…

Praise for Susan Mac Nicol

"We have to re-iterate that this Author will always be an automatic one-click for us. Her writing is flawless and her flawed characters are completely lovable. There’s always something quirky and fun in her stories as well as drama, angst and heaps of passion! We can highly recommend!!" - Gitte & Jenny - Totally Booked Blog

"Susan has been hailed as a genius writer of male/male literature. Her Saving Alexander has been nominated for several awards and has been reviewed widely. Congrats on all your success, Susan. You have earned it." - Gay Lit Authors

About Susan Mac Nicol

Susan Mac Nicol was born in Leeds, UK, and left for South Africa when she was eight. She returned to the UK thirty years later and now lives in Essex. Her debut novel Cassandra by Starlight, the first in a trilogy, was published last year by Boroughs Publishing Group in the US. Sue’s latest story, Double Alchemy is her fifth m/m romance.

Sue has written since she was very young, and never thought she would see herself becoming a Romance writer, being a horror/psychological thriller reader all her life. But the Romance genre is now something very close to her heart and she intends continuing the trend.

Sue is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Romantic Novelists Association here in the UK.

Susan Mac Nicol is also author of The Magick of Christmas, Confounding Cupid, Cassandra by Starlight, Together in Starlight, Stripped Bare, Saving Alexander, Worth Keeping and Waiting for Rain.

Connect with Susan
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

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Buy the book
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Buroughs Publishing | Smashwords | All Romance

Book Trailer

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