The Importance of a Good Editor - Guest Post by Carl Schmidt

Book: Dead Down East

Author: Carl Schmidt

Genre: Mystery, Humor

Release dates:  Kindle: 25 May, 2016; Paperback: 26 June, 2016

Length: 241 pages

ISBN:  9781533502186

ASIN:  ISBN-10: 1533502188

Synopsis:

Dead Down East, a fictional murder mystery, is both detective noir and smart screwball comedy rolled into one. Jesse Thorpe, a young private investigator operating out of Augusta, Maine, receives a mysterious phone call from a former client, Cynthia Dumais.  She begs to be rescued from an island south of Brunswick, within a mile of where William Lavoilette, the governor of Maine, was assassinated the night before. She insists that her life is in danger, but is unwilling to provide any further information. Reluctantly, Jesse goes to fetch her.

Within a week, Jesse has three separate clients, each with his, or her, own desperate need to have the murder solved. He assembles a motley team of compadres, including rock band members, a tie-dye psychic and his rousing girlfriend, Angele Boucher, to help him with the case. While the FBI and the Maine State Police investigate political motives, Jesse looks for the woman—Cherchez la Femme—as the trail draws him through the lives, and DNA, of the governor’s former mistresses.

Fresh, witty and loaded with eccentric characters, this first novel in the Jesse Thorpe Mystery Series is both clever and stylish. It’s an old-school private eye tale with inventive twists and local charm. If you enjoy a well-crafted and zesty narrative, lively banter, or take pleasure in the company of Mainers, you’ll love Dead Down East. 

The Importance of a Good Editor

Guest post by Carl Schmidt

Every seasoned novelist will tell you that there is absolutely no substitute for a good editor.

An editor doesn’t just alert you to mistakes in spelling, grammar, sentence structure and punctuation; editing goes way beyond that. Your story needs to be consistent, factually correct, clear, and succinct. This might sound obvious, but when you are dealing with a 90,000-word novel, there are plenty of ways to muck it up on every single page.

So. You’ve written your first novel, or maybe you’ve just completed a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Chances are you’ve read it several times, and it looks good to you. You’re excited about it. You’ve created a likable story or perhaps you’ve made some kind of definitive statement. Now you want to have it published.

Hold your horses, Kemosabe.

This last sentence is a perfect example of why you need an editor. I know what “Kemosabe” means, but do you? I was raised on The Lone Ranger and Tonto, but if you are considerably younger than I, you might not have a clue. And if you don’t, I may have just lost you as a reader. A good editor will bring this to your attention and make sure you use references that will be familiar to your target audience.

Every chapter in your novel needs to have a fresh beginning and a logical conclusion. The fresh beginning will keep your reader awake, and will revitalize his/her interest in your story. The logical conclusion will wrap up that particular scene and give the reader a breather. It may have taken you a week to write the chapter, and in that time you have been so wrapped up in the content of the storyline that you may have lost sight of what your reader knows at this point, and the pace of his reading experience. If your editor suggests that the chapter rambles, then clean it up and shorten it. If your editor says that something is missing or unclear, then you probably have left too much to the reader’s imagination.

Another important purpose of editing is to broaden your vocabulary so that highly descriptive words or phrases are not overused. A Thesaurus can help with this, but every author has a tendency to repeat himself in some way, either with specific words or sentence patterns. Repetition will blemish your story, and a good editor can spot it.

JanMarie Moullen edited my first three novels. She has an uncanny ability for recalling my use of unique adjectives and adverbs, and letting me know when they appear too often throughout the book. There were instances where she went back 50 pages or more in the text to find that I had used an unusually graphic word, and when it appeared for just a second time, much later in the book, it stood out to her as tiresome. And…she was right.

Overall, I took her advice about 95% of the time. I learned to trust her judgment, and it paid dividends. Several reviewers have commented on how crisp the editing is in my first novel. She deserves most of that credit.

Purchase Dead Down East via Amazon.

About the Author:

Carl Schmidt graduated from Denver University with a degree in mathematics and physics. As a Woodrow Wilson Fellow he studied mathematics at Brown University.

Carl lived and traveled widely throughout Asia for seven years, including two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines and five years in Japan, where he taught English.

Carl has spent dozens of summers in Maine, on lakes and in the woods. He chose it as the setting for this novel because he loves its rugged natural beauty and the charming idiosyncrasies of Mainers. He has also written and recorded three musical albums. This, along with his formal education, proved invaluable when molding the persona and voice of Jesse Thorpe, the narrator of Dead Down East, and endowing him with both a creative eye for detail and a sense of humor.

Dead Down East is the first novel in the Jesse Thorpe Mystery Series, which includes A Priestly Affair and Redbone.  In 2001, New Falcon Press published his non-fictional book, A Recipe for Bliss: Kriya Yoga for a New Millennium.

Currently, he is a freelance writer living in Sedona, Arizona with his lovely wife, Holly, and their faithful German shorthaired pointer, Alize.

Connect with the Author via Facebook, Goodreads, Smashwords and his Website. 

Researching for historical fiction novels & Yellow Hair - Guest Post

Today, I'm featuring a guest post by author Andre Joyce on the research of its historical fiction epic adventure Yellow Hair.

Enjoy!

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. I would like to thank Nada for allowing me to be here today to promote my latest, Yellow Hair, which documents the injustices done to the Sioux Nation from their first treaty with the United States in 1805 through Wounded Knee in 1890. Every death, murder, battle, and outrage I write about actually took place. The historical figures that play a role in my fact-based tale of fiction were real people and I use their real names. Yellow Hair is an epic tale of adventure, family, love, and hate that spans most of the 19^th century.

Through no fault of his own, a young man is thrust into a new culture just at the time that culture is undergoing massive changes. It is losing its identity, its lands, and its dignity. He not only adapts, he perseveres and, over time, becomes a leader—and on occasion, the hand of vengeance against those who would destroy his adopted people.

Now that the commercial is out of the way, we can get down to what I really came here to talk about: the research that goes into writing an historical novel or an action/adventure novel that uses an historical event as a backdrop.

I want to say that I learned the hard way how important proper research is. But it wasn’t really that hard of a lesson. In my first book, which takes place in the last half of the 19^th century, I made two mistakes. I had the date of an event off by one year and I had my hero loading the wrong caliber cartridge into his Winchester rifle. I would have gone blissfully throughout life not knowing how I had erred if not for my astute fans. Both mistakes were quickly pointed out to me in reviews of the book. One guy said he would have given me five stars if not for the wrong caliber bullet mistake. I had to settle for only four stars. Lesson learned!

Before I get into telling you about the year-long research I did for Yellow Hair, I’d like to tell you how I researched my second and third books and describe what that research entailed.

My second book was a western and the protagonist was a woman. The research took about three months. I had to know everything from women’s undergarments of the late 19^th century to prison conditions for women in those days. (I sent my heroine to jail.) That kind of research was easy. Thank God for the internet. But then I had to do some real research. Molly (my protagonist) built up her cattle ranch to one of the largest in Montana, but she and her neighbors had nowhere to sell their beef. So Molly decided to drive her and her neighbors’ cattle to Abilene where she could get a good price. She put together the second largest herd on record (12,000 heads) and took off for Abilene.

That’s when I had to really go to work. I wanted my readers to taste the dust on the trail. I wanted them to feel the cold water at river crossing. I wanted them to know about the dangers of the trail, from rustlers to Indians to cattle stampedes.

This is how I learned about all those things and more. First of all, I found old movies that were authentic in nature. I watched them to get a feel for the trail. Then I read books by great authors who had written about cattle drives to soak up even more of the atmosphere of a cattle drive. That was all well and good, but it still did not put me in the long days of breathing dust and being always fearful of a stampede.

That’s when I went looking for diaries written by real cowboys while they were on the trail. After that, I found obscure self-published books written by those cowboys. Then it was onto newspaper articles written at the time about large cattle drives. That’s how I had Molly herd the second largest cattle drive. I discovered that the largest was 15,000 head, driven from Texas to California in 1882.

My next book took place in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Here new elements were added such as wolves and the extreme weather as adversaries. Dogsledding was also involved. I have seen snow only three times in my life and I have never dogsledded. I knew even less about wolves. I had to learn about those things. I had no idea what it was like to travel across a wilderness on a dogsled at seventy degrees below zero. I also had to acquire knowledge about the dogs themselves, especially the lead dog. I learned about all that by doing the same things I did for my second book. The old diaries were the most helpful. As to the gold rush, there was plenty of material in the form of self-published books by some of the participants. Some were never even published, but I found copies of them in the archives of universities and historical societies. Again, newspaper stories printed at the time were very useful. Concerning wolves . . . I read everything I could get my hands on about wolves—their habits, the pack hierarchy, the alpha male, and the different jobs or tasks the males and females have while hunting.

Now we come to Yellow Hair. As I mentioned above, the book is about the Sioux Nation from 1805 to 1890. I had to know both points of view, the white man’s and the Sioux’s. Getting to know the whites’ take on things was easy. There are many, many books (non-fiction) that were written at the time. I even found a book written by Custer detailing his strategy for wiping out the Sioux entirely. That was hard reading. And, again, there were universities and historical societies whose archives were a great help.

As to the Sioux’s point of view, there are a few books that were dictated to newspapermen years later by the Indians that took part in the various battles that I weave into my story. I found a lot of material from Native American participants of the Little Big Horn, written twenty to thirty years after the fact.

But I wanted to immerse myself in the Sioux culture and I wanted to give them dignity by using their language wherever possible. I also wanted to introduce them by their Sioux names. So, I had to learn the Lakota language. And that wasn’t easy. There is a consortium that will teach you, but they wanted only serious students. You have to know a smattering of the language before they will even deign to let you in. I had to take a test to prove that I knew some Lakota. I failed the first time and had to go back to my Lakota dictionary and do some more studying. I got in on my second try.

It took six years from the start of Yellow Hair until it was published. But I wrote three books in between. All boiled down, the research took a year and the writing and editing took two years.

I’m running out of space, so I reckon I’ll wrap it up. I hope I’ve given you a little insight into the research process. It’s time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. But it is also a blast. Every new discovery is like finding the mother load.

I’d like to sign off with another commercial. The three books I alluded to above are:

·        Redemption: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

·        Molly Lee

·        Resolution: Huck Finn’s Greatest Adventure

I would like to thank Nada once again for having me over and you good folks for tuning in.

Andrew Joyce

Connect with Andrew via Facebook and his website.

Purchase links for Yellow Hair: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords.

About the Author:

Andrew Joyce left high school at seventeen to hitchhike throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. He wouldn’t return from his journey until decades later when he decided to become a writer. Joyce has written five books, including a two-volume collection of one hundred and fifty short stories comprised of his hitching adventures called BEDTIME STORIES FOR GROWN-UPS (as yet unpublished), and his latest novel, YELLOW HAIR. He now lives aboard a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his dog, Danny, where he is busy working on his next book, tentatively entitled, MICK REILLY.

The Charming Life of Izzy Malone by Jenny Lundquist - Excerpt & Giveaway

The Charming Life of Izzy Malone 

Izzy Malone isn’t your typical sixth grader. She wears camouflage combat boots and tie dye skirts; the Big Dipper and Orion are her two best friends; and she’d rather climb trees or shoot hoops than talk about boys and makeup. And after only a month of middle school she’s already set the record for the most trips to the Principal’s office.

The only time Izzy feels at peace is when she’s on the open water, and more than anything else, she wants to become a member of the Dandelion Paddlers, her school’s competitive rowing club. But thanks to those multiple trips to the Principal’s office, Izzy’s parents force her to enroll in Mrs. Whippie’s Charm School, a home-study course in manners and etiquette, or they won’t let her race in Dandelion Hollow's annual pumpkin regatta—where Izzy hopes to prove to the Dandelion Paddlers she is more than qualified to be on their team.

When Mrs. Whippie’s first letter arrives it’s way different from what Izzy was expecting. Tucked inside the letter is a shiny gold bracelet and an envelope charm. Izzy must earn her first charm by writing someone a nice note, and once she does more tasks will be assigned.

Izzy manages to complete some of the tasks—and to her surprise, she actually finds herself enjoying the course. But when one of her attempts at doing something good is misinterpreted, she fears her chances at passing the course—and becoming a Paddler—are slipping away. With some unexpected friends there to support her, can Izzy manage to earn her charms and stay true to herself?

Excerpt

Coco grunted and stuck a pumpkin on her bookcase. “Consider yourself lucky. The only reason you’re not in Principal Chilton’s office right now is because Ms. Harmer decided stealing keys is a bigger offense than climbing trees…And how many more times am I going to have to tell you not to put your feet up on my desk?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “How many more times do you think I’ll get sent to your office?”

“That’s a mystery to me. You’ve only been here a month and I think you already hold the school record. It’s been—What?—two days since I last saw you? When you kicked Tyler Jones in the shin.”

“That was totally not my fault. Tyler called me a weirdo and a waste of space.”

“‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me.’ It’s a saying,” Coco said. “Ever heard of it?”

“You know what? Now that you mention it, I think I have!” I nearly sprained my eyeballs; I was trying so hard not to roll them. Words are a weapon, and rotten kids like Tyler Jones get a free pass when it comes to using them, because the marks they leave are invisible. Why don’t more adults realize that?

Praise for the Book:

“Izzy’s frank, vulnerable, sassy first-person narration reveals her surprising journey from a solitary girl talking to the stars to a girl with friends to light her way…This story of an atypical girl, her family, and friends, laced with middle school drama, is indeed a charming one.” –Kirkus Reviews

“A heartwarming coming-of-age journey…Lundquist deftly portrays the pain of being odd girl out, both at school and at home.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Author Jenny Lundquist

Jenny Lundquist was born and raised in Huntington Beach, CA, where she spent her time unsuccessfully learning how to surf. When she was younger, she wanted to be either a rock star or a published author. After she taped herself singing and listened to it on playback she decided she'd better opt for the writing route. Jenny is the author of Seeing Cinderella and Plastic Polly as well as the young adult titles The Princess in the Opal Mask and The Opal Crown.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway

Ends 12/12/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Key to a Murder – Book Review

Book: Key to a Murder
(Antique Hunters Mystery book 4)
Author: Vicki Vass
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Synopsis:

A mysterious woman appears on the doorstep of Great Aunt Sybil's Attic in the middle of the night. Owner Anne Hillstrom lets her in, only to have the woman die in her arms.

With no final words, and only an old lantern clutched to her chest, the dead woman provides Anne and her partner CC precious few clues to discover her murderer or why she spent her last moments in their antique store. The two Antique Hunters search for clues, finding themselves entangled in a centuries-old mystery leading them to a cemetery in Ireland where a ghost from the past has left them a cryptic message, and a killer has left them no choice but to discover his identity before he kills again.

On their journey, the two best friends encounter antiques, romance and the key to a murder. Key to a Murder is the fourth book in the Antique Hunters Mystery series.

Book Review

Key to a Murder by Vicki Vass is a cozy mystery – well sort of. It does have almost all the criteria of a cozy, but the mystery is aspect is significantly lacking in the novel. In fact, at some point – almost towards the third of the book – I had to go back and reread the synopsis to remember why I picked up the book in the first place.

The mystery is about the lantern, but until almost half the novel, there are only a few mentions of it and it is thrown to the background and is not considered a pressing matter.

The novel has a very strong opening with the possible ghost of Anne's late Aunt Sybil, the introduction of the mystery woman who dies in Anne's arms and the old Irish lantern.

While I liked that the mystery was not about a person specifically, but rather about an object, I didn't like that I had to read chapters on food, antiques, buying and selling that didn't pertain to the mystery itself. There were many chapters that I could have easily cut out because, for me, they neither moved the story nor helped the mystery.

There was also something in the narration. Sometimes the sentences were too short; it felt like I was hitting walls rather than full-stops. At other times, the narration felt like it was a story told to a five-year-old. So it felt out of place and irritating – throughout.

I did like how we got know more about Anne through her actions. She is carefree, spontaneous, and disillusioned.

In terms of characterisation, I couldn't stand Anne. I tried, I really did. But I couldn't. She's a quirky character, an aspect for a cozy; however, the quirkiness makes the 40-something antique shop-owner act like a five-year-old ALL THE TIME! She's immature, and impulsive. Yes, she's kind. But, unbearable.

I did, however, like her friend CC, who I might add was the one who pretty much did all the research and 'cracked the case'. Still, CC, who has a few quirks of her own, was sometimes irritating. She is a know-it-all kind of character and likes to narrate history to anyone who'd listen. Like Anne, I got bored of her rambles and sometimes wanted to skip some parts.

In a guest post by the author, published here on the blog, I discovered that Vass has a different and more enjoyable writing style. She also mentions that she lets her characters take her wherever they want – hence I would presume the chapters that for me weren't needed.

Of the quotes and lines I liked were: "Old farmhouses in the middle of nowhere on rainy nights were better left to cozy mysteries than real life."

"CC half expected to see a hobbit answer the door when she knocked. The woman who answered was a bit taller than a hobbit but not by much."

One of the reasons I finished the book was to see if the unraveling of the mystery would WOW me or not. It ended up being a bit complex but the mystery-solving came in the last third of the novel. It was also rather rushed, like "oh my the novel is about to end and I haven't solved the mystery yet!"

By p. 159 (that's 75% through), there was at last some development! I thought the novel would end while the mystery remained in the trunk of the car.

The conversations between the characters were mostly basic, bits that can be skipped. Some were too long and useless.

I liked that there was a good bit of a historical background, making the novel a historical fiction cozy.

Of all the notes I kept writing throughout Key to a Murder, was pointing out how immature Anne was and how many of the events don't lead to anything.

The good side about reading this novel was learning a few tricks for my own writing.

My overall rating for Key to a Murder is 1.5-2 stars.

I had high hopes for this novella, most of which didn't come through.

Note: I received a free copy of Key to a Murder by Vicki Vass in exchange for an honest review with Lori Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. But since my review is less than 3 stars, I opted to keep it till after the tour was over.

I'm honest and I don't hold back on what I like or dislike about a book. But it wouldn't have been fair to post this review as part of a promotional tour. 

I would, however, recommend you read the guest post by Vicki Vass, titled "Blurring the Lines between Reality and Fiction".

Takhayyal Writing Prompt no. 49: Mystery?

It's here!

Are you ready to be inspired?


Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, Artists, Poets, Writers, Authors, Dreamers, Friends and Family; Welcome EVERYONE to Nadaness In Motion's bi-weekly picture-prompt writing challenge Takhayyal.

(Seems I had mis-scheduled this) 


What does the picture speak to you?

Arabic for Imagine, Takhayyal is a means to get inspired and spark our writing once more.

Your post can be in English or Arabic, prose, poetry, short story, flash fiction; you name it and write it.

General rules:

·        No nudity, violence, and/or abuse.

·    Leave the link to your post in comments below OR post your piece as REPLY to this post

·        Your piece MUST be inspired in some way or other by the above picture

·        Multiple entries allowed

·     It is not required but it is a nice and encouraging gesture to comment on others' pieces.

·        Feel free to add your Twitter handle (@....) so I can tag you in my tweets!

Let's IMAGINE! 

The Crush Saga Box Set by Chrissy Peebles

The Crush Saga Box Set by Chrissy Peebles

I was born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own destiny.

Moving to Big Bear Lake was supposed to be a fresh start, but when Taylor Sparks is thrown into a supernatural world, her reality comes crashing down around her when she finds out she’s a KEY player in a dangerous game created 1,000 years ago that will give the witches and werewolves the upper hand against the vampires. Blood will be spilled and secrets will be revealed in this action-packed thrill ride and paranormal romance.

Will Taylor dive into a paranormal world she knows nothing about to be with the one her heart can’t live without?

Or will her life spiral out of control when she learns her blood is needed, just the serum necessary to lift an ancient curse from a group of supernatural beings and give the witches back their magic?

Werewolves will serve as her guardians and protect her until the first full moon of the new year, the night of her sacrifice…

Will she accept her destiny?

Or will she refuse to let evil swallow her up?

Excerpt

Grabbing my purse, I hurried out of the car and locked the doors. Just as I started to walk up the driveway, I felt the cold steel of a muzzle against my neck. My heart hammered against my ribs.

“One sound, and you’re dead,” a harsh, male voice said.

I froze in panic as somebody slipped a black blindfold over my eyes, then gagged me. A man duct-taped my mouth, while another tied my ankles, legs, and wrists with rope. He hoisted me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and horror ripped through me. Help! I’m being kidnapped! my brain yelled, but I dare not cry out for fear of what they would do to me. I did try to fight back, at least to some degree, but I was tied and gagged and could do little about being manhandled.

“Put her in the trunk!” a man yelled.

As I fought, I was thrown, neck-first, into the trunk of a car, and my mind began to race. This can’t be happening! I tried to call out for my parents. If only they could hear me. If only I could scream, maybe Max would bark, and Mom or Dad would come to the door. If only…

Tires screeched, and the vehicle took off down the street. The smell of gasoline made me gag. I tried to kick and scream, but it was tight quarters, and I was still all tied up. I cringed at their muffled voices, wondering what they wanted from me.

“I’m tellin’ ya,” one of the guys said, “we oughtta just kill her now.”

My skin crawled at his nonchalance.

“He’s right,” the other said. “Just do it, right here, right now. We’ve outsmarted her protectors, but for how long? We need to do it swiftly and quickly, before they return.”

“You know the rules,” a low voice hissed. “If we just kill her, they’ll have the legal right to choose another, and we’ll be right back at square one again. We’ve gotta do this by the book.”

“I agree,” a woman said. “We need to stop the Millennium ceremony from happening.”

“I don’t want to kill her,” another woman said. “She’s just…an innocent victim in all this. It isn’t right.”

“If we don’t kill her, they’ll win,” another said. “They’ll gain the upper hand when she gives them what they need.”

“Our enemy will stop at nothing to destroy us,” another said tensely. “Killing her will keep them from becoming more powerful than they already are.”

“It will bring them to their knees!” another shouted.

Great, I thought. A case of mistaken identity is the last thing I need. By their talk, I assumed that killing me was some way to get back at their rivals, though I had no idea who those rivals were. The mafia? Some kind of…street gang? I had absolutely no idea, but I desperately wanted to tell them who I really was, to let them know they obviously had me confused me with somebody else. Maybe if I explain that, they’ll let me go. After all, I hadn’t seen their faces, so I wasn’t a threat. Then it dawned on me: Jesse had just revealed his identity to me. Maybe his clan wants to kill me because I know too much. I wanted to scream at them and tell them, to assure them that I’d never reveal Jesse’s identity, that I’d take his deep, dark secret to the grave with me. Jesse meant everything to me, and I would never betray his trust like that; unfortunately, my captors didn’t give me a chance to explain that to them. I wasn’t completely sure if it was vampires that had me. But they had heard me messing with my ropes and that took Immortal hearing. No human could hear that over the sound of the engine, the radio, and voices talking.

We drove down the lonely stretch of road, and I didn’t hear one car pass by. I considered trying to pop the trunk open so I could jump for freedom. I figured the car was going about eighty, but I figured it’d be easier to heal from a broken neck than a bullet to the head. The rope bindings cut into my skin and began to sting and burn. I wiggled my numbing hands, trying to find some relief, when a man yelled back at me.

“Stop it!” he said. “Or else I’ll kill you right here.”

I shivered at his voice, then obeyed his commands. There was no way he could have seen me no way he could have heard me picking at the ropes. I contemplated how they were going to kill me. It had to be a contract hit, but I wondered why there were so many of them there just to take out a defenseless woman. I also wondered how they could be so heartless.

The vehicle stopped, and my stomach dropped when I heard the doors swing open. This is it, I thought. My time has come. When footsteps approached, I held my breath. The trunk popped open, and strong arms lifted me out and set me down on a hard surface, maybe concrete or asphalt. My legs were wobbly, but one of the men steadied me and untied my ankles. Jerk, I sarcastically seethed. The cold night air hit and my hair blew around. I tried to see through the blindfold, but all I could see was darkness.

A man shoved me forward. “Walk!”

I let out a trembling breath and stumbled to the edge of the hard surface, then felt my shoes sink in grass and damp earth. As I carefully walked forward, a towering fern brushed softly across my face. I took tiny steps because my imagination was in overdrive; I couldn’t help picturing all those pirate films I’d seen of people walking off the plank, and I knew there were a lot of cliffs around. The man behind me kept pushing and shoving, making me go faster than my hesitant feet wanted to carry me, forcing me to trip over what I assumed to be a very long log. Twigs snapped and crunched underfoot. An owl hooted, and crickets chirped. The smell of wet moss, damp dirt, and decaying leaves mingled with the scent of pines, wafting up my nostrils; any other time, the aroma would have been beautiful. My heart lurched. I was sure they were leading me to some isolated location for my execution, a place where no one would ever find me, and that thought sent droplets of nervous perspiration rolling down my face, perhaps mingled with tears.

I refused, however, to go quietly. I couldn’t do much to fight them off, but I wanted to make it harder on them. They’ll have to carry my corpse, because I’m not gonna walk out to the middle of nowhere and shovel my own grave. I’m not doing their dirty work for them! I took a huge step to the left, and then bolted.

Strong arms caught me within seconds, and I flailed and thrashed like a gazelle in a lion’s grasp.

“If we don’t keep movin’, we’re not gonna make it to the designated spot on time,” a man said.

“Maybe I oughtta just snap her like a twig, right here, right now,” said a deep-voiced man.

I screamed through my gag at the thought that the guy wanted to rush my demise.

“No!” another said. “She must be sacrificed at midnight.”

Sacrificed?

Trembling with fear, I thrashed even harder in the guy’s grasp. I suddenly realized that my abduction had nothing to do with a mafia hit, vampires, or a street gang initiation; rather, I was in the hands of some strange cult. I could barely breath, terrorized by fear.

“How much farther?” a man asked.

“We’re here,” another answered.

At that point, I was gasping for breath at the thought of being sacrificed in some weird ritual. I recalled what Fred had said about witches and realized it wasn’t so farfetched of a theory. My heart had never raced so hard. The man held me tight in his grasp, and I tried to fight, but he was so strong, and I was no match for him. My feet suddenly left the ground as he picked me up and carried me. I turned and twisted in his grasp, to no avail. He gently set me down on a cold slab of concrete and forced me to lie down, and I’d never been so terrified in my entire life.

Fingers gripped my ankles and wrists as the rope was tightened around me, securing me to a cold slab. It didn’t make sense to me that they left my blindfold on and my gag in, since they were clearly going to kill me anyway. For all I knew, maybe they thought it was more humane to kill me that way. Perhaps they want to spare me the misery of watching the dagger pierce my heart. I listened intently as they shuffled around, and then I struggled in my bindings.

Get the entire boxed set for just 99 cents this week! Ends 11/19/16

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Praise for the Series

This was a fantastic box set with magic, action, mystery, twists and turns, vampires, werewolves, witches, and gargoyles. Each book gets better and better and takes you deeper into the mystery!

Book 1 is about Taylor moving to Big Bear Lake and learning it's a supernatural place and that her crush is something more. Book 2 gets deep! And this is when all hell breaks loose! Taylor is tossed into the supernatural world. She thought she was observing it from the outside, but little does she know that she's a major player! And she didn't even know it!

She comes from an ancient line of witches and is supposed to be sacrificed in The Millennium Ceremony. She's stubborn and fights her supernatural enemy with everything she has. I loved how tough she becomes. There's a paranormal battle raging and I loved every page. This is one of my favorite paranormal romances ever!

Author Chrissy Peebles

Chrissy Peebles has always loved reading and writing fantasy from the earliest age she can remember. She lives in a busy city with her husband, two children, and one cat (Shadow) and three dogs. (Sparkles, Rosie, and Jack) Chrissy also loves to snap photos as her favorite hobby.

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Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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The Corpse with the Ruby Lips by Cathy Ace - Book Review

The Corpse with the Ruby Lips

(A Cait Morgan Mystery)

Author: Cathy Ace

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: TouchWood Editions

Date of publication: 1 November, 2016)

Paperback: 240 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1771511957

Synopsis:

A gig as guest lecturer at the university in Budapest should have been a dream job for a travelling criminologist and food lover. But wherever Cait Morgan goes, murder seems to follow. One of Cait’s new students pleads with her to solve the mystery of her grandmother’s brutal slaying. She agrees, but when she is repeatedly hassled by a weird colleague, and as bizarre details about the student’s family members come to light, Cait is beset by uncertainty.

As she gets closer to the truth, Cait's investigation puts the powers-that-be on high alert, and her instincts tell her she's in grave danger. Bud races to Budapest to come to Cait's aid, but will it be too late?

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

Didn't see this one coming!

The Corpse with the Ruby Lips by Cathy Ace is a new installment in the Cait Morgan Mystery Series, and a different mystery by all means.

In her books, Ace often takes the reader to a foreign country. In The Corpse with the Garnet Face, the country of choice was Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In this instalment, the novel is set in Budapest, Hungary.

Cait goes to Budapest to teach for a month; there one of her students, Zsofia, asks that she look into her grandmother's death which occurred almost 40 years prior on Cait's university campus at UVAN (University of Vancouver).

As Cait begins to meet other family members, exercising her psychology tactics and having her husband Bud, who had to remain in Canada, dig into the unclosed mystery, things begin to spiral in a new direction, as the case opens fresh wounds for many.

One of the things I liked about this instalment was Ace's use of books, a saga to be exact, that might mirror what has happened to the family. The author also handles a variety of themes and problems such as Alzheimer's and alcoholism, to keep Cait – and the reader – away from finding the truth.

Regarding alcoholism, Ace carefully utilises the problems accompanied with it in the book and characters.

Having lived with a person whose memory was often ravaged by too much liquor, I recognised the expression that flashed across Alexa's face; she couldn't recall exactly what she'd said to her daughter the night before, and experience was telling her she'd never be able to retrieve the lost words from the black hole where they'd sunk without trace.

The Corpse with the Ruby Lips is quite realistic; I particularly liked how the renowned psychologist Cait isn't perfect and despite her intelligence can be gullible at times.

I was speechless. She'd used me! She'd researched me, found my weaknesses, and just plain used me. And I'd fallen for it. I'd actually liked her.

As always, Cait's little insights never fail to impress me. I particularly liked this part where she describes a music manager who had come to look at new artists and sign them up. Cait's emotions are clear and easily transferred to the reader.

He handed out cards, his fingers lingering on Zsofia's as she took one. I felt everything in me clench – not just because of the way his eyes were sliding across Zsofia's bosom, but because the way he presented himself wasn't endearing at all; there's only so much bling a person can wear before you begin to wonder why they need to have that much gold about their person at all times.

The book is not devoid of humour and bit of sarcasm.

"'Careful' is my middle name," I mugged.
"Not it's not, and it never will be. Your middle name's much more likely to be 'catastrophe.'"

Narrated in the first person, The Corpse with the Ruby Lips has many beautiful lines, imagery and quotes. The overall narration is exciting, even when events don't seem to be moving forward.

"Words can never be unsaid. They ring in our ears forever - sometimes when we least want them to."

Overall rating: 5 stars.

Check out my book reviews of previous books in the series: The Corpse with the Diamond Hand, The Corpse with the Garnet Face and The Corpse with the Crystal Skull.

Note: This review was originally part of a blog tour with Lori Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, but due to commitments I was only able to publish the guest post titled "The Effect of Words" by Cathy Ace on my scheduled date. Check out the post highlighting the theme of 'words' in The Corpse with the Ruby Lips.

About the Author:

Cathy Ace loves crime! It’s true – she discovered Nancy Drew in her local library, then found Agatha Christie on her Mum’s bookshelves, and she never looked back. Cathy happily admits that the characters she met between the book-covers as a child have influenced her writing. 

“Nancy Drew was plucky, strong and independent, and Agatha Christie’s puzzles engaged me every time. I love the sort of book that mixes intricate plotting with a dash of danger, and that’s what I’ve tried to create with my Cait Morgan Mystery Series. Beginning my new series, featuring the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency, I have been able to indulge my love of stately homes, village life and the interplay between characters that can take place in that sort of setting.”

Born and raised in Swansea, South Wales, Cathy is, like her heroine Cait Morgan, now a Canadian citizen. “Cait’s Welsh Canadian, as am I. They say ‘write what you know’, so a short, plus-sized Welsh woman, who’s quite bossy, fits the bill! But Cait and I are not one and the same: she’s got skills and talents I don’t possess, and I’m delighted to say that I don’t usually encounter corpses wherever I go! I’ve also chosen to burrow even deeper into my roots by creating a new cast of characters in the WISE women who come from all four corners of the United Kingdom and work in a uniquely British setting – a ducal estate set in the rolling Welsh countryside of the Wye Valley in Powys, where I spent a good deal of time when I was young.”

With a successful career in marketing having given her the chance to write training courses and textbooks, Cathy has now finally turned her attention to her real passion: crime fiction. Her short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies. Two of her works, “Dear George” and “Domestic Violence”, have also been produced by Jarvis & Ayres Productions as “Afternoon Reading” broadcasts for BBC Radio 4.

Cathy now writes two series of traditional mysteries: The Cait Morgan Mysteries (TouchWood Editions) and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (Severn House Publishers).

Cathy is proud to be Chair of Crime Writers of Canada, a member of Sisters in Crime, the Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America.

Author Links:

Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.