Spunky crime-lite and the glitterati detail of a society
column combine to shake up the Florida in Killer Getaway, from former
Philadelphia Magazine senior editor Amy Korman.
With a storm brewing
in Bryn Mawr, PA, the Killer WASPs head south to Palm Beach, FL. And
what could be better than fabulous friends, Lilly Pulitzer beachwear,
frozen cocktails, and high society drama?
Kristin Clark, and her
basset hound, Waffles, are ready to escape the doldrums of winter to
bask in the warm Florida sun and dine at her friends’ new restaurant,
Vicino. But when a rival restaurant undergoes a HGTV makeover and
attempts to steal Vicinio’s spotlight and their patrons, the town is
abuzz with gossip and Kristin and her friends–Bootsie, a nosy reporter,
Holly, a chicken nugget heiress, and Sophie, the soon-to-be ex-wife of a
mobster-have parties to attend.
Everything is going swimmingly in
the glitz and glamour of Palm Beach until a bad batch of clams threatens
to shut down the Vicino and their vacation for good. When it becomes
clear that the clams may be more than an innocent mishap, the ladies
must unravel the mystery before there are deadly consequences.
Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series!
Tour Page Here: http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-tours/killer-getaway-by-amy-korman/
Six Fun Facts about Killer Getaway character Sophie Shields
1. Sophie was once married to the Mob (well, an ex-Mafia guy named Barclay Shields). So, she’s seen it all, and not much surprises Sophie!
2. She’s loyal. Sophie will do anything for a friend, which is why her Pilates instructor Gerda moved in for two years. When her friends Channing and Jessica open the restaurant Vicino in Killer Getaway, Sophie invests in the new place, and waits tables when all their staff quit.
3. She’s in love with her decorator Joe, and can’t wait to get divorced so she and Joe can get hitched! (That might take some time, since her almost-ex-hubby’s hiding his assets, and Joe isn’t sure he’s ready to get married.)
4. Sophie’s up for anything. Sneaking around Magnolia Beach to eavesdrop on a lawyer-turned-condo developer who’s about to ruin a pristine stretch of beachfront land is a fun night out for her. Her other passions include miniature golf, pizza, kale smoothies, shopping, and giving fashion advice.
5. Sophie loves outfits designed by Versace. And in Killer Getaway, she also becomes a big fan of Lilly Pulitzer dresses, which are a favorite in Magnolia Beach.
6. Life doesn’t get Sophie down. So what if her soon-to-be-ex-husband is sneaking around and possibly trying to poison the customers in the restaurant Sophie co-owns? Sure, Joe thinks he’s not ready to get married, but Sophie is sure she’ll convince him eventually. She may be tiny, but Sophie has a core of pure steel!
About the author
Amy Korman is a former senior editor and staff writer for Philadelphia Magazine, and author of Frommer’s Guide to Philadelphia. She has written for Town & Country, House Beautiful, Men’s Health, and Cosmopolitan. Killer Getaway is her second novel.
Jessica Long has the voice of an angel. But Jesse's cold beauty masks a brutal past filled with privation and cruelty. As the talented soprano approaches her final year at New England Conservatory, she is faced with a choice: stay with her striking young lover or accept the offer of a successful Broadway producer. She chooses the latter only to discover that fame can exact a cruel price. After years of yearning, the lovers meet again - at Jesse's ragged homestead on the Maine Coast. Matt will reveal the benefactor who's followed and protected Jesse as the lovers face a confrontation with the jealous pursuer who's tried to destroy her. One final choice awaits that may cost Jesse both Matt and her life. The Broadway impresario, a mysterious crime lord, and Matt's stunning literary agent head a cast of absorbing secondary characters. Filled with unexpected plot twists, Solo is a classic, leading the reader over a bittersweet tapestry spanning fifteen years.
Interview with Kevin V. Symmons
How long have you been writing, and how did you start?
Since college, but my career as a novelist began about ten years ago.
What’s the story behind the title Solo?
As a former serious music student and published author, I wanted to synthesize those art forms and create a serious novel that dealt with them and also included a segue into the sad world of domestic violence, for which I have raised funds and been a spokesman. Solo is the result. Do you have another job outside of writing?
No. I am a full time author.
Who are you?
I am a renaissance man. I have been a classically trained musician (studied at New England Conservatory and have a minor in music at the undergrad level), a businessman (#1 in my MBA class), an Army officer, a consultant, an athlete, a Coast Guard certified operator in both seamanship and navigation, and of course a best-selling author of commercial fiction. How did you create the plot for Solo?
There are those who spend months outlining and those of us who write using what Stephen King characterizes as “Organic writers . . .” I’m one of those, meaning I developed an idea . . . two ambitious and successful young people who are instantly attracted to each other and then I let my characters and imagination run with it. I could never have imagined what I emerged with as the final product!
What’s your favorite line from a book?
The tag line . . . borrowed from Oscar Wilde, BTW . . . “When the gods want to punish us they let our dreams come true.” IT is the best example of summarizing a novel’s plot in a single line I have ever seen (and my publisher agreed). How do you get to know your characters?
It took me seven years to write Solo. I wrote two other novels for my publisher while working on it, so I got to know every character very well. And as you may expect, several did major changes over the evolution of the novel.
Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Jesse . . . Jessica Long, my heroine. I believe in vibrant, dynamic heroines and Jesse may be my most. She is so driven and yet so vulnerable and so sensitive. I love her!
What would your main character say about you?
My desire to create complex and vivid characters who both engage and challenge the reader. I want them wondering, guessing what and how she’ll handle the next crisis in her life . . . perhaps supposing what they’d do in her place!
Is your book based on real events?
Yes and no. As a former musician and student of music, I based it roughly on the evolution of musical theater during the mid to late 1980s. Think of the relationship between Sarah Brightman and Andrew Lloyd Weber.
With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
My hero . . . he is a mega best-selling author of historical fiction!
What song would you pick to go with your book?
“I Dreamt a Dream.” It is the song that my heroine, Jessica Long, sings at her watershed recital — the one that propels her to stardom — and so appropriate for her life. Who are your favorite authors?
So many. Cormac McCarthy, Dan Brown. John Grisham . . . Nicolas Sparks (every other novel . . . ha ha!) and several friends.
Do you have a routine for writing?
No. It depends on my schedule! Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
Late into the evening. My favorite time is between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. in the morning!
Where’s home for you?
I live south of Boston . . . Plymouth (America’s Home Town!) and Cape Cod in the summer.
Where did you grow up?
Boston’s South Shore . . . born in Quincy, Massachusetts and grew up in several local locations.
What dumb things did you do during your college years?
Too many to numerate. Once kicked a fire hydrant and broke my ankle!
Ouch! I love Boston and New England in general. What do you love about where you live?
The history and the people.
Have you been in any natural disasters?
Many hurricanes, if that qualifies.
It does. What are you working on now?
I began edits with my editor on February 1st on Chrysalis, my new novel. It’s a YA/NA romantic thriller. I expect it to be released late spring/early summer of 2015.
C
About the author:
Kevin Symmons has a BS and an MBA. He has attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and studied in France. After a successful career in business management and consulting, he returned to his first love: writing. His first novel, a spell-binding paranormal romance titled Rite of Passage is set in the chaotic period after World War II. It's received dozens of great reviews and was a RomCon Reader's Crown Finalist for 2013. His second effort is a contemporary romantic thriller set near his Cape Cod home, titled Out of the Storm. Like his first novel, it is an Amazon Best-Seller and received many 5-star reviews. Solo, an intense and ambitious women's fiction work, has been released from The Wild Rose Press, his award-winning publisher. It explores the devastating effects of privation and domestic violence on the beautiful and extraordinarily talented young heroine.
A funeral, a ghost, a murder . . . it’s all in a day’s work for Emma Lee Raines.
Bopped on the head from a falling plastic Santa, local undertaker Emma Lee Raines is told she’s suffering from “funeral trauma.” It’s trauma all right, because the not so dearly departed keep talking to her. Take Ruthie Sue Payne--innkeeper, gossip queen, and arch-nemesis of Emma Lee’s granny-she’s adamant that she didn’t just fall down those stairs. She was pushed.
Ruthie has no idea who wanted her pushing up daisies. All she knows is that she can’t cross over until the matter is laid to eternal rest. In the land of the living, Emma Lee’s high-school crush, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, isn’t ready to rule out foul play. Granny Raines, the widow of Ruthie’s ex-husband and co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, is the prime suspect. Now Emma Lee is stuck playing detective or risk being haunted forever.
Interview with Tonya Kappes
Tonya, what’s the story behind the title A Ghostly Undertaking?
About five years ago I toyed with a paranormal young adult where the girl is growing up in a funeral home. Over time, the plot turned into an adult being the undertaker. At that point, I play the “what if” game. The crazier the situations, the better for me since I write humor.
Undertaker is pretty morbid, but what if one of the clients really didn’t die of natural causes like the coroner thought. What if they were murdered and can’t cross over to the other side until their killer is brought to justice? What if the undertaker is the only one who can see the ghost? How did the undertaker get the ability to see the ghost? What if the ghost gets in the way? What if the ghost is lazy? What if the ghost decides to haunt people of the town while the undertaker is trying to figure out the murder? What if the . . .and it just keeps going.
Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order? A Ghostly Southern Mystery series is in the mystery genre with an amateur sleuth, so reading the first book in the series first really sets up the sleuth’s background and why she is thrown into solving the mystery. Since it’s a series, the characters of the small town develop over time and different things happen to them in each book that will have repercussions for the next book. I’m sure you could read them as stand alones, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Where’s home for you?
I live in Northern Kentucky. The very tippy top from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cool! I live just a little over an hour away in Louisville. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small central Kentucky town, Nicholasville. It was great and happened to give me a good backdrop for all of my fiction small towns in my novels.
What’s your favorite memory?
Growing up in a small town.
What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
You have to hustle in life to get what you want. You can’t write a story and hope for the best. Hustle.
Who would you pick to write your biography?
My husband. He knows me better than I know myself.
What dumb things did you do during your college years?
That is under lock and key!
What do you love about where you live?
I love my neighborhood. We have a few lakes that make a great backdrop for my daily walk with my dogs. We also live a street over from my kids' high school, so no more car pooling!!!!
Have you been in any natural disasters?
I have. I was in a tornado while driving. My dog was in the car with me, and it took everything I had to grab my dog and push the car door open so we could get out. I jumped out and into a truck with a stranger. I told the guy that if we were going to die, we were dying together. Yeah . . . he probably thought I was nuts.
What is the most daring thing you've done?
Be a mother.
What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
I have four boys (21, 17, 17, and 15). When I was a teenager, a boy I was crushing on would look at me or talk to me and I’d obsess over it for days, even weeks. Now that I have boys . . . I totally understand the teenage boy mind. Now I know the boy I crushed on was just looking and just talking. Nothing more. If I only knew . . . it would have saved me a whole lot of heartache as a teenage girl. What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
None. I have no regrets.
What makes you nervous?
Release day.
What makes you happy?
Release day.
What makes you scared?
Release day.
What makes you excited?
Release day.
Do you have another job outside of writing?
I do not. I did. In fact I have two college bachelors. Yeah . . . not in English either!
Who are you?
I’m simple. I’m straightforward. I don’t play games, and I don’t believe in being mean. I believe there is room for everyone in the world and KINDNESS goes a long way. I don’t believe in jealousy. I believe we are on our own path and you control your destiny.
How did you meet your husband?
I love my story! I was the director of a private school and his children were in my son’s class. He became a very good friend before we dated.
What are your most cherished mementoes?
My kiddos made me a bracelet out of old scrabble tiles. I love it!
If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
My laptop!
I hear you! What brings you sheer delight?
Coffee. Coffee. And coffee.
Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
Sociable idiot! What good is being a genius if you are lonely?
What’s one of your favorite quotes?
"Thoughts become things, choose the good ones." -Mike Dooley
If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
Somewhere hot and tropical! Anywhere hot and tropical!
What would you like people to say about you after you die?
The end.
What would your main character say about you?
Tonya will take a normal situation and twist it. Then twist it some more. Adding a little more twist. And a few more twists to make sure it’s all messed up.
Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
My small town of Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky is definitely a character. It is inspired from my growing up in a small town. I also can’t help but take a name or two and tweak it a bit. A lot of fun names hail from the South and are too good not to use. I can not name them . . . I might get burned at the stake and I’m not fond of fire.
I agree--Southern names are the best. Do you have a routine for writing?
I do. I get up at 5:30 am and begin. I would rather get up in the morning and get my word count. I’m big on routines, and if I get off of my routine, my day is going up in flames!
Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
I like to write by my pool during the warm months. When it’s winter, I follow the sunspot through my windows in my house. It starts out in my kitchen, then my sitting room, finishing off in the family room. I know . . . weird! It’s kinda comical because my dogs and I fight for the sunspot.
Not weird at all. I need sunlight too. What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing?
I don’t know. I do not read reviews.
What would your dream office look like?
A hot tropical beach! Why did you decide to publish with HarperCollins?
I self-published first. I had a job as a child therapist and loved it. I was not a writer. When I went through a divorce with my first marriage, I found comfort in books. When I got remarried, my husband encouraged me to write my first novel. In short, I asked him if he thought I could help someone escape from his or her everyday life with my stories, he encouraged me more. My goal to publishing was that. HELP ONE READER MAKE THEIR DAY BETTER. That is still my goal today.
I self-published over 15 novels, but A Ghostly Undertaking and the rest of the series is published with HarperCollins Publisher. I’m hybrid. I believe in all roads to publishing, and I’m fortunate that HarperCollins has really embraced my self publishing side. They even have my self published titles printed in the front of my traditionally published novels.
Are you happy with your decision to publish with a publisher vs. self-publish?
I will always self-publish. I love that I have toes in both worlds of publishing. It’s a perfect situation. How did you find HarperCollins, and how long did your query process take? A Ghostly Undertaking was originally self-published and sold well over 80,000 copies in a couple of months. It was pretty successful with readers. My agent asked me if he could shop it around to traditional publishers, which was a big step for me since I really didn’t need a traditional publisher. I had my agent for foreign rights and other contractual things. I gave him the green light on Ghostly and he sold it to HarperCollins right off the bat. In a couple weeks we had a four book deal.
I was pretty lucky. I’m very grateful for my agent. He rocks!
What does HarperCollins do for you that you couldn't do as a self-publisher? There comes a time in self publishing where the author just can't reach as many readers as a large publisher. Bookstores are not dead, and while they are still up and running, readers are going there to buy books. If only ONE reader buys my book from a store, it was worth it. HarperCollins and traditional publishers in general have gotten a lot smarter! They are pricing ebooks comparable to the self-published books, they are starting their own advertising platforms like Bookbub, they are holding Facebook parties for their authors to connect with their readers, and hosting reader oriented events. I'm fortunate enough that I will be doing self-publishing and traditional publishing in my career. I have the best of both worlds, and it's exactly where I want to be.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a new series for the traditional world and the third novel in my self published Laurel London Mystery series. I’m always working, and I love it!
About the author
Tonya Kappes has written more than fifteen novels and four novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers, and one ex-stray cat in northern Kentucky. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full-time but can be found at all of her guys’ high school games with a pencil and paper in hand. More than anything, Tonya loves to connect with readers, with a loyal ‘street team’ of fans and followers on social media. Be sure to check out her Facebook, Twitter, blog and newsletter!
Madeline Cain knows that after six chaotic months, the rest of her time in New York City will be smooth sailing with Kevin -- her new squeeze -- by her side. That is, until Madeline's idols drop a bombshell - she needs to pick a specialisation before the year is out or risk losing the career of her dreams. The problem? She's about as sure of her photographic passion as a hiker is of outrunning a bear.
Thus Madeline begins her search for her one true path with student-arranged assignments featuring certifiably insane children, lip-synching rockers, a dog whisperer, and . . . zombies? But it’s not until Madeline secures a 'life-debt' by saving a potential mobster from a gun-wielding cross-dresser that she sets her sights on an amazing internship opportunity.
Is her new patron really part of the mob? Can she nail this internship when all her experiments are going to hell? And how does she deal with Kevin's obsession over her escapades?
Written as though you’re reading Madeline's Facebook page, Adventures in Fashion will leave you giggling on the floor as Maddie posts about the second half of her Big Apple adventure.
Interview with Emily Craven
Emily, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?
I’d like to say I’ve been a writer since I was old enough to tell the difference between dirt and food but that would be a lie. I originally started writing when I was twelve, after I learnt one of my favourite authors, Isobelle Carmody, started her first book at 14. I worked on that book throughout high school and over the years have refined (though never released) it. I’m all for experimentation in my work (which may confuse a few first time readers of the Madeline Cain series), so I’ve decided to turn this book into a serial podcast and see what happens. Most writers move on from their first manuscripts, but I just can’t leave the disabled darlings alone. The constant tinkering has shown me how to get things right in the first place, with each of my successive books getting better as a result. It took me a good decade to realize the key to writing is planting your butt in a seat and just seeing where those dancing fingers will take you. Generally mine take me to the land of truly horrible drafts.
Do you have another job outside of writing?
Much to my disgust, yes. But then again, the ‘day’ job isn’t all that bad, at least it allows me to speak to someone other than my inner editor. I run real life choose-your-own-adventures around various cities and towns in Australia. I pull together writers, artists, and musicians to create stories where participants will find themselves trying to bring down an alien invasion in Adelaide, or trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in Brisbane, as they run about the city. Last year, I turned this project (originally known as Street Reads) into a GPS app called Story City and hope to start doing adventures for cities in other countries sometime soon. Who hasn’t read a book where they actually wanted to be part of it?!
How did you create the plot for this book?
The Madeline Cain series came about when I was in a writing rut. I normally write fantasy but found the creative juices just weren't enough to fill a glass. So I decided to challenge myself to write a novel in a month and it was going to be FUN! This ended up being the first book in a series – after two years of frequent beatings with a red pen. Originally, I started sourcing ideas from friends on Facebook and I thought, why stop at brain storming? This is how I communicate with my friends, particularly when I travel overseas, and the most entertaining parts of my day are via posts on the social media site. We were telling each other our life stories, and I didn’t see why it couldn’t work as a narrative. And, frankly, my friends are nuts, they bring the funnies like a troop of clowns from a clown car.
In this particular book in the series, I wanted to explore the multitude of options available to Madeline and the painful process of elimination. The plotting process involved a lot of out-of-the-blue conversations with writing friends asking them things like: “How would you feel about your boyfriend recording all of your conversations for a TV show?” “If you got locked in an elevator with your ex-best friend who was wearing nothing but a bright pink bra, would you get revenge on him? Or just threaten to?”
I think my friends worry about leaving me alone for too long ...
Tell us a book by an indie author for which you’re an evangelist.
Hands down I am evangelistic for Hugh Howey and his Wool series. An awesome dystopian/thriller with wonderful writing, prickly characters and a super detailed world. Plus Hugh is a champion of indie authors in general which just endears him to me even more.
Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Oh my favourite characters were by far my most eccentric, and they weren’t even human! My sister said she wanted an umbrella called Laani (her name) as part of my story. I thought to myself, ‘you wouldn’t name an umbrella unless it could talk.’ And what would be the point of making an umbrella talk unless it caused chaos? If I was an umbrella and was only brought out to be rained on, I’d have a few things to say about that. As this wasn’t a fantasy novel, I had to fall back on the age old excuse of ‘mechanics’ to make the umbrella talk, but it was worth it! Laani became one of the major features of the novels. I even got my sister to record some of the sayings of Laani, the abusive umbrella,so I could give them away as freebies to my readers. There’s nothing like making your sister pretend to be a grouchy old umbrella for your own amusement.
My other favourite character to write was a chameleon called Duncan who could move from one side of the room to the other in a blink of an eye and scare the living daylights out of you. Another friend had requested that there be a chameleon somewhere within the plot, back in the days when I was writing the first novel of the series. I asked myself what I knew about chameleons. It wasn’t much. I thought they were Mexican (turns out no), and I knew they could camouflage themselves. So I turned to a more interesting question, what would be more terrifying than something you can’t see scaring the living daylights out of you? I decided it was something you can’t see AND that can move faster than you. Hence Duncan’s super hero speedy powers coming into play. My characters kind of ran away from me after that, I think that’s why they’re so vivid. They are the entirety of my crazy, shoved into two tiny and deliciously wacky characters.
What would your main character say about you?
She’d tell me I spend too much time inside and I should be having my own adventures rather than writing hers.
With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
Easy, some of my favourite authors! Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, Tamora Pierce, Meg Cabot, and Cecelia Ahern.
One of them is dead, but what’s a party without a ghost?
Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
My favourite scene in the book is when Madeline decides on her future path after she saves a man from a gun-wielding cross-dresser. Full of innuendo, pros and cons lists, and a little divine intervention, it was by far the most ludicrous and the most utterly perfect scene of the whole book. It sets off a chain of madness Madeline couldn’t hope to stop. It is, of course, blowing everything out of proportion that causes the problems in the first place.
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?
In no particular order: A Sudden Wild Magic: Diana Wynne Jones A Place Called Here: Cecelia Ahern Boy Meets Girl: Meg Cabot Mediator series (Yes I know it’s a series is not a book. But you can’t make me choose between them!): Meg Cabot Alanna The Lionessseries (*pokes out tongue*): Tamora Pierce.
And body parts:
Fingers, hands, feet, eyes, tongue: all the things I need to write books, see new places, and have interesting and silly conversations.
Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?
Hands down a library; not only could you recommend books to people (and actually have them follow through with the read by borrowing them) but you also get to borrow all the new books first! If I worked in a bookstore I would have to worry about sales numbers, and rude customers, and shoplifting, and sending books to be destroyed because they didn’t sell. Much too depressing, give me those big vaulted archives any day!
You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?
Anything hey ... Well as long as you’re offering to pay, I’m going to take a first class flight to somewhere new, set up in the fanciest restaurant I can find, and people watch while sipping very expensive wine. Thanks for shouting, you’re the best.
What’s that? I have to find my own way home? Bugger.
What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Einstein.
What’s your favorite candy bar?
Whittakers milk chocolate coconut slab. Heaven in a bar straight from New Zealand.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a short novella in the Madeline Cain series that happens before the two books. I wanted to give readers a taste of the Madeline Cain world before her New York trip. When it is finally ready, it will be available for free.
And speaking of free, if you grab a copy of ‘Madeline Cain: Adventures In Fashion’ before the end of this virtual blog tour (4th of March) and email me your receipt at ebookrevolution@yahoo.com, I will send you the first book in the Madeline Cain series, The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain, for free!
About the author:
Emily Craven was first inspired to place pen to paper when she was 12,
after she learnt her favourite author, Isobelle Carmody, began her first
novel at 14. Emily finished two manuscripts while completing a Bachelor
of Science (Space Science and Astrophysics and Geophysics) at the
University of Adelaide. So technically, she can claim to be an
astrophysicist (stars), geophysicist (rocks), and writer (crazy). She
writes YA fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction. Emily lives in Australia, and
yes, back when she was a teenager her high school had its own herd of
Kangaroos. She's been to almost every continent (Africa being her
weakness in continent-domination) and has the pretty photographs to
prove it (though probably less professional than Madeline
Cain...) Unusual talents and hobbies include: Getting excited at the
thought of sky diving (though if you try to attach her to the end of a
bungee cord she will take you down with her). She loves belly dancing,
singing, is a self-confessed Trekkie, and will never pass up a good bar
of chocolate. If you put her anywhere in the vicinity of snow, she turns
into a five year old. Connect with Emily: Website | Blog (writing) | Blog (publishing) | Story City | Facebook | Twitter
Lev Baronovsky, a soulless creature of the night, has a
problem. Carly, the love of his life has just died in an accident and in three
days will pass to the other side. Without a soul, he cannot cross over with her
and the thought of spending eternity without his beloved is unbearable. Is
seventy-two hours enough time to find a way?
With the help of his brother, Alexei, they must face the
vilest creature of all, Boris, an ancient one with selfish motivations of his
own.
CHAPTER
ONE
Lev moved swiftly through the hallways, darting
in and out and around what, to him, were slowly moving nurses and
orderlies—those unfortunates working the midnight shift. Faster than any human
eye was capable of detecting, he made it to Carly’s room in a flash. In fact,
he made it there just in time, nostrils plucking the acrid scents from the air
better than any dog’s.
He sat on the bed beside her in the dimly lit
room and noticed, thankfully, she had no roommate. The bed beside Carly was
recently vacated. The scent of death still lingered heavily and sadly.
Taking her delicate hand in his, Lev noticed a monitor
clipped on an index finger. It seemed it measured her pulse and heartbeat. He
noticed too that her heart was beating slowly, though he didn’t need a monitor
for that. He heard its throb, and it made him think of a dying battery.
However, relief settled on him as he realized
he was the first to arrive after the accident that had left her comatose.
Carly’s family was nowhere near yet. It would take hours for them to get here
from the other coast. He had time, plenty of it. Stealthily, Lev glanced into
the hallway from his perch in the darkened hospital room. The occasional nurse
strode past, but it was late, or perhaps the better term was early. In the wee
hours of the morning, there would be fewer staff than during the day.
With a sigh, he took Carly in. Her blonde hair
was matted and dirty, even though it looked as if someone had tried to clean
her up, perhaps finger combing her thick mane and tucking it behind her head.
Her face was still perfect. Not a single scratch had sullied her beauty.
A knot twisted in his belly. Why hadn’t he
known? He could have saved her if only he’d known. But even Lev couldn’t know
everything. It was his brother, Alexei, who’d given him the news moments ago.
“Brother,” he’d said, “there’s been an
accident. Go now to the hospital or you’ll never see your precious Carly
again.”
He hadn’t asked the how, the why, the when.
Alexei had dropped his mental barriers. Lev felt them fall like a drawbridge.
His brother had let him in. It was easier than speaking—Lev was able to glean whatever
information he needed in an instant. But with the simple facts of Carly’s
accident came the realization his brother was happy for the turmoil. A hint of
a smile had curled Alexei’s full lips, and his eyes were bright. Lev was not
surprised.
He pulled his thoughts from Alexei and looked
down at his beloved’s hand in his. The pallor of it matched his own. He
listened to the slow rush of blood through her veins, willing it to grow
stronger.
Moving close, he whispered, “I can save you.”
He brought her dainty wrist to his lips. She smelled like death already—like
the musk of freshly turned earth. It was now or never. His fangs pricked at her
delicate skin, drawing a bead of crimson. It tasted of iron and copper and of
her. Carly’s very essence was in that droplet.
He stopped himself, knowing she wouldn’t want
him to go through with it. They’d talked about it many times, about the
possibility of him turning her, so they could be together, not for just the
blink of an eye that was a human lifetime but for eternity. She would be
furious if he turned her, and he wouldn’t blame her. Lev knew the pain and sorrow
of being changed into a monster against one’s will.
But at least she would still exist. We could still be together. He shook off that small, but oh so inviting
thought. No, he would not make a monster of her.
With a flick of his tongue, he licked the
droplet away. A shudder of pleasure shot through him, and as he pushed her
wrist to his mouth, like a child ready to bite into a ripe peach, the monitor
blared a warning. He dropped her arm. Panic filled him. Carly’s pulse rose and
fell suddenly. The stagnant tone of a heart that was no longer beating blared
from the machine, stabbing sharply in his ears, but the growing silence of
blood no longer pulsing through veins and arteries seemed louder. Hesitation
had cost him. His compassion, as his brother would say, was his one true
downfall.
Two nurses and a doctor were in the room now,
buzzing frantically around Carly. Lev had disappeared through the pane of the window
unseen and watched from outside where the moonless sky hid him. His jacket
flapped in a breeze that also tousled his long black hair. It whipped and
slapped against his cheeks.
It was said creatures like him could feel no
pain. That they existed only as predators—takers of life—but Lev’s world had
just crumbled. If he had a beating heart, it would be broken in two. Tears
welled in his eyes, and he longed to let them fall. No, more than that, he
wanted to scream, wanted to rip his cold dead heart from his chest and stomp on
it.
Lev gathered himself as best he could, pinching
the tears from his eyes and staring up to the heavens, but there would be no
help for him there. For Lev Baranovsky, there was no God, only this perpetual
hell he lived in. Love may come for him again in time, though he wasn’t sure he
wanted it to. Would he ever get over losing his precious Carly? The vicious
cycle of love and heartbreak was enough to drive him mad.
He should go now. Carly was gone. There was
nothing he could do. Even though his brother would be at home, he needed the
comfort of his own space to grieve.
He looked down at the ground two stories below,
and when he peered back up for one last glimpse of his beloved, his brows
lifted and his dark eyes grew to the size of poker chips.
Carly was dead, but she wasn’t gone.
About the author
Jeanne Bannon has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years,
first as a freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor for LexisNexis
Canada. She currently works as a freelance editor and writer and is represented
by Karen Thomas of the Serendipity Literary Agency.
Jeanne's debut novel, Invisible, a young adult paranormal romance, has
recently been optioned for film. Invisible
is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally and continues to
receive wonderful reviews.
Another of her novels, Nowhere to Run, tells the story of Lily
Valier, a woman of substance and beauty, and her dilemma when she falls in love
with a man whose mission it is to bring her down.
Currently, she's finishing up work on Dark Angel, a paranormal thriller.
Aggie vacations with Sam and Meredith at a Texas Hill Country dude ranch with plans to advise her column readers how to stay young and fresh in summer. Except for wranglers, dudes, heat, snakes and poison ivy, what could go wrong?
When an expert rider is thrown from a horse and lies in a coma, Aggie is convinced somebody caused the fall. Despite Sam’s warnings, Aggie is determined to expose the assailant. She concocts ingenious sleuthing methods that strain their dicey relationship as she probes secrets of the ranch and its inhabitants. After she scatters a hornet’s nest of cowboys, she discovers more than one hombre in the bunch would like to slit her throat.
"Aggie Mundeen, Detective Sam (incognito) and friend Meredith confront mischief and mayhem while on vacation at a ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Except for wranglers, dudes, heat, snakes and poison ivy, what could go wrong? Murder?
'Must Read'" - Southern Writers Magazine
Interview with Nancy G. West
Nancy, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?
Many moons have passed since my mother and I wrote poems to each other on special occasions when I was seven. About a year after college, I started writing non-fiction articles and later wrote an artist's biography. I returned to college to read and study good literature. About ten years ago, I started writing and publishing fiction.
How would you describe your book in five words?
Funny. Serious. Romantic. Idyllic setting.
How did you create the plot for Dang Near Dead?By the way--I love that title!
I wanted to put my main characters, Aggie, Detective Sam, and friend Meredith in a place that would accentuate their personalities, where Aggie could exhibit her outlandish crime-solving techniques, and where I could find a slew of quirky supporting characters. A dude ranch sounded perfect. I decided how a murder could be committed, and who the victim and killer might be. I'd been on several ranches, but I researched the pleasures and problems specific to Texas Hill Country ranching. I thought about people who live there and accentuated their characteristics.
When Aggie confronts them during her quest to oust the killer, the combination of characters and setting produces chaos and humor. What could be more fun?
What are your ten favorite lines from a book?
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” - Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities
“At some point, the same thought hits everybody over age thirty: I might actually get old. Since I was pushing forty, single, and attracted to a reluctant San Antonio detective, that nasty thought frequently blasted its way to the front of my brain. I wrote the column, “Stay Young with Aggie,” and answered readers’ questions about how to stay youthful. For me, it was the ideal job since my greatest fear was catapulting headlong into middle-age decrepitude.
I made a decision: 1997 was the year I would learn how to avoid aging.” - Nancy G. West. Smart, But Dead 2015
Tell us about books you’re an evangelist for.
Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle for suspense;
William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace for crime permeating the cocoon of family dynamics.
Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch for a teenager's reaction to the sudden tragedy of losing a parent.
Malcolm Gladwells' Outliers for new perspectives.
Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Aggie Mundeen. She's winsome because she's trying to get over a past hurt, and she passionately believes in justice. Her curiosity and determination make her meddlesome. Her outrageous investigative tactics make me chuckle.
What would your main character say about you?
She'd say I should back off. She'll do whatever she wants, anyway.
With what real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
Elizabeth George, William Kent Krueger, Ken Follett, Jodie Picoult, Donna Tartt, Harper Lee, Oliver Sacks, Robert Crais.
Can they be revived? William Shakespeare; Winston Churchill.
How big is the store? Can they be in TV, films? (The list would be longer.)
Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
While Sam is busy meeting with the sheriff's deputy, Aggie sneaks back to the corral to look for clues, where she has to deal with a horse determined to chomp her backside. She escapes the corral. Then she spots a suspect and follows him. She can't make noise snapping twigs on the ground, so she follows the culprit on all fours. Like a Neanderthal . . .Then . . .
Later, on the trail ride, she spooks the suspects' horses (along with horses ridden by other dudes and wranglers), and Hell breaks loose.
What song would you pick to go with your book?
“Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.”
Love it! How long is your to-be-read pile?
Book by nominees for Left Coast Crime Awards and for Malice Domestic's Agatha Awards. I guess that's about 15-20 books, plus James Lee Burke's Wayfaring Stranger, Ken Follett's Edge of Eternity, and John Grisham's Gray Mountain.
You get to decide who would read your audiobook. Who would you choose?
Sandra Bullock, Tina Fey, or a professional reader with a talent for pacing humor.
What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
I'm reading Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch (hardcover) and loving it. In the daytime, I use an iPad and read faster because of the double columns. At night before bed, I read hard covers or paperbacks. I like to feel the book and savor the words.
Where’s home for you? Tell us one weird thing, one nice thing, and one fact about where you live.
San Antonio, Texas. It's friendly and touristy with brutally hot summers and delightfully crisp short winters. The Texas mind set, “I can do anything,” is helpful when you're struggling through a book.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Hawaii or the Monterey Peninsula in California. Southern France might be okay.
If you could only keep one book, what would it be?
The Bible. What other book could sustain you no matter the circumstance?
Your last meal would be . . .
Steak. Salad. Wine. Chocolate.
You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?
Sit lakeside with family and friends, play or listen to music, nibble, and enjoy the breeze. What’s one of your favorite quotes?
"Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you and before you realize what's wrong with it." -Author unknown
What are you working on now?
I'm polishing the story of Aggie Mundeen's third fiasco, Smart, But Dead. I'm mulling over scenes from Aggie's next mystery caper that keep popping into my brain.
About the author:
Nancy wrote poems to her mom and later had a poem published in the
Library Journal Pegasus. When she was about to attend college, she heard
that journalists were underpaid and English majors sold lingerie. So
she studied General Business at the University of Texas, Austin and
Houston, and earned a BBA.
A few years later, married, with two
daughters, she realized she had to study English literature and write.
She wrote articles, poetry, and the biography of artist Jose
Vives-Atsara. Her poem, "Time to Lie," was featured by "Theme and
Variations” and broadcast on NPR.
Back at school, studying English
literature, she wrote Nine Days to Evil, Meredith Laughlin's story of
psychological suspense, Shakespeare, and nonstop-action---winner of the
Blether Gold Award. As Nancy finished the book, a funny thing happened.
Meredith's graduate school friend, Aggie Mundeen, with her wry sense of
humor, demanded that Nancy write a book about her. Or maybe a series.
In Fit to be Dead, #1, Aggie Mundeen, single, way past thirty and afraid of
nothing but middle-age decrepitude, joins a health club to shape up
before anybody discovers she writes an anti-aging column. She irritates
male club members and stumbles into murder. When the killer comes after
her, Detective Sam struggles to solve the crime despite Aggie’s
interference, while he simultaneously tries to save her
derriere.
Lefty Award Finalist for Best Humorous Mystery.
In Dang Near Dead,
#2, Aggie, Sam and Meredith confront mischief and mayhem on vacation at a
ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
In Smart, But Dead, #3, Aggie, still single, pushing forty
and getting desperate, returns to the university to study how genes
affect aging. Can scientists change her genes to keep her young? She
gets a professor who dislikes her, stumbles on a campus corpse and lands
in jail. Detective Sam is not pleased. 2015
release.
Anyone who has tried to start over, get in shape, stumbled into trouble or loved the wrong man will appreciate Aggie Mundeen.
When a local woman is poisoned at a pagan ritual in the woods, Lucky Jamieson’s grandfather, Jack, who provided the herbs for the gathering, is suspected of making a terrible mistake. The following day, a dead man is found floating in a creek just outside of town, his face unrecognizable. Is he a stranger or Lucky’s best friend’s estranged brother? Lucky is certain both deaths are murder but can she find the connection and clear her grandfather’s name before more victims fall prey to a killer?
Connie, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?
I actually haven’t been writing all that long, at least not compared to others who have been writing all their lives. I’ve always been a mystery and thriller lover, and for several years I toyed with the idea of writing a mystery, not at all sure if I would or could ever do it, but I did think about it. My first (as yet unpublished) book took a long time, a few years I think. Of course, I wasn’t in any hurry and was under no pressure, so I could take my time. Then I was very fortunate to find an agent who had faith in me. That was about eight years ago. I wrote two more books in that series because I still felt very strongly about it. I still do and hope those will find a good home in the near future. When I first started writing, my goal was to finish and publish one mystery book. Little did I ever think it would lead to writing a series. I started this series, the Soup Lover’s Mysteries, at the end of 2011. The first book, A Spoonful of Murder, was released in August, 2012. Since then I’ve written four more in this series, the fifth, A Clue in the Stew, will be released next spring, March 2016. I still pinch myself!
How did you come up with the title Ladle to the Grave?
Choosing titles has been a collaborative effort with my publisher, and I think they’ve come up with some amazing titles. They chose the first one – A Spoonful of Murder, and, following the same format, I chose the next two: A Broth of Betrayal and A Roux of Revenge. My working title for this fourth book was actually A Corpse in the Cauldron, but my publisher opted for Ladle to the Grave which everyone seems to love, and I think it’s probably a much better choice.
How would you describe your book in five words?
A suspenseful village mystery. Oops, that’s four.
How did you create the plot for this book?
The basis of this plot came from a news article I had read several weeks before I started working on Ladle. I like to peruse crime stories and look for the ones with a weird twist, the type of story that leaves you wanting more, although often there’s no way to find out more. This was a cold case about a missing child with a very unusual ending. That really piqued my interest and started the wheels turning. It wasn’t possible to use the actual story, but it gave me a jumping off spot that helped form the plot. I can’t really say much more because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
How do you get to know your characters?
They seem to just pop into my head when needed. And this series has been a wonderful arena for introducing quirky residents of the village, some nice, some not so nice. They have sometimes arrived fully formed without my having to struggle to create them. Once they’re on the page, they have a mind of their own and I’m not really sure I’m in control of their thoughts and words.
Which character did you most enjoy writing?
Well, I’m very partial to all of them, but one of my favorites is my protagonist Lucky’s grandfather, Jack. Jack is elderly and a World War II veteran and struggles with PTSD. He spent most of his life in the Navy and always tells time by the bells. Only Lucky can translate. Jack calls the walls the bulkhead and the floors the deck. He’s a bit eccentric but a very loving grandfather. He’s an amalgam of my dad who had Jack’s disposition and my father-in-law who really was in the Navy and did tell time by the bells.
What would your main character say about you?
First of all, I think she’d be upset and very hurt to learn she doesn’t exist in the real world. I can just imagine her shock now. I don’t know what she’d say or think about me. Probably ask me why I gave her so many problems to deal with.
Speaking of characters, there was a television show several years ago in which a cartoonist, a writer of a very popular comic strip, feels his bed and house shaking. He’s terrified and wakes thinking it’s an earthquake. It isn’t, it’s the shock wave of his character breaking through to his world. Unfortunately his super hero character can’t quite understand that he has no super powers in our universe and constantly gets hurt when he’s chasing bad guys. I thought it was a brilliant comment on the reality of characters that come alive and leap off the page.
Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
In Ladle to the Grave, Lucky is very busy helping her best friend Sophie plan her wedding to the chef of the By the Spoonful Soup Shop. Partly because of the circumstances of the crime and mostly because Sophie is going through a major life change she discovers some aspects of her family history that she never suspected. There is a scene that I felt was essential to exploring Sophie’s past and was very much tied in to the larger crimes, but I was afraid my editor would think it was inappropriate for a cozy mystery. As it turned out, she was very happy with that scene. I was relieved because I wouldn’t have wanted to go back and delete all references to it because it has so much to offer in developing the character of Sophie.
What song would you pick to go with your book?
Vermont has inspired some amazing songs, even Revolutionary War battle songs. The state song is “These Green Mountains” which is lovely, but I think “Moonlight in Vermont,” reprised by many artists over the years would be the one I’d pick.
How long is your to-be-read pile?
Very. Piles of books next to the bed and all over the house, not to mention my Amazon Wish List. I try to be economical and not get carried away ordering more books when I have so many to read.
You get to decide who would read your audiobook. Who would you choose?
The first name that pops into my head is Maria Bello, an actress I admire. She was never a typical vapid Hollywood starlet, but I see great character in her face and hidden depths. I’ve always found her both real and intriguing.
What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
Right now, I’m reading Tana French’s The Secret Place. I usually don’t buy hardbound books but this one was a Christmas gift I was thrilled to get. I’ve read all of her books so far and loved them all. She’s an absolutely poetic writer.
Where’s home for you?
I live in Los Angeles. It’s sort of a long story how that happened, but years have gone by and here I am. It was culture shock at first, but I guess we all adjust.
Tell us one weird thing, one nice thing, and one fact about where you live.
Los Angeles has lots of weird! I’m not so sure if this counts as weird because I actually think it’s quite interesting. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is very old (for Los Angeles), and situated on a beautiful parcel of land bordering the north side of Paramount Studios. It numbers among its residents many famous stars of the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and on, including Tyrone Power, Rudolph Valentino, Darren McGavin and many others. Until it was taken over several years ago by a family in the cemetery business, it had fallen into a sad state of disrepair and neglect. Now, revitalized, with a welcome center, it’s a great place to visit. You can find a festival with food and music on November 1st, the Day of the Dead. And in August, a Rudolph Valentino celebration offers his silent films and the mysterious “Lady in Black” lays one red rose on Valentino’s crypt.
One very nice thing about Los Angeles is that we’re not suffering through a brutal winter. I grew up on the east coast and I do remember them! Now I can wax poetic about snow in Vermont because I don’t have to shovel any sidewalks or driveways and chip ice off a windshield.
One fact: Not sure if this is fact, or maybe it is, but there was a phrase that made the rounds and everyone would have a good laugh. It was: “We have four seasons -- fire, floods, riots and earthquakes.
You won the lottery. What’s the first thing you would buy?
That’s a fun question! After I paid every bill that I, my family and my friends owe, I think I would buy a house on a cliff overlooking the ocean – the Pacific Ocean.
You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?
I’ve been under a tight schedule for a long time. I think I might clean my house, then go through my file cabinets and do the same.
What would your dream office look like?
It would be a small, dark and cozy space, perhaps six feet by six feet, a magical Oriental rug on the floor to take me on strange journeys, lined with bookshelves floor to ceiling, filled with mysteries, thrillers and forensic reference books, a desk, a chair, a computer for writing and a locking door so nothing could interrupt me.
What three books have you read recently and would recommend? Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kreuger Deep Into Dusk by Laurie Stevens
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I think Venice – there’s the ocean again. In an elegant palazzo with my own gondola. Perhaps I could sip a cappucino with Commissario Brunetti. Of course, I hear it’s not so lovely when the water’s high. Maybe San Francisco would be a better choice. I lived there for years and still miss it. It’s the most beautiful city in the U.S.
About the author:
Connie Archer is the national bestselling author of
the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. A Spoonful of
Murder, A Broth of Betrayal and A Roux of Revenge are set in the
imaginary village of Snowflake, Vermont. The fourth book in the series,
Ladle to the Grave, will be released on March 3, 2015.
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