Happy Holidays!!!  Today we are having a party at CMash Reads!!  Grab a beverage and some Christmas cookies because Jihan, from GCP/Forever, is stopping by with not one author but TWO!!!  AND, I had the opportunity to ask these lovely ladies some Holiday questions!!!!!    Let’s get this party started!!  Please help me in welcoming Ms. Katie Lane and Ms. Hope Ramsey!!!!!!

          

                   KATIE LANE                                           HOPE RAMSAY

About Katie Lane:
So here’s the thing. I love to write about fictional people, but I feel very uncomfortable writing about myself. So let’s dispense with the biography and I’ll tell you a story. And everyone knows that all the best stories start with . . .
Once upon a time there was a little girl who walked around with her head in the clouds. While the other kids paid attention to the world around them, this little girl (For clarity’s sake, let’s just call her Katie.) spent her days dreaming. The dreams varied. One day Katie might be a princess who was rescued by a prince on a three-legged horse (Perfection can be so boring.), and the next day she might find herself as an overworked mother of ten. (Mothers are wonderful heroines, don’t you agree?) This playacting was acceptable when Katie was little, but as she grew older, people started to take notice and think her a little odd. (Odd? What’s odd about a tall, skinny seventh grader pushing an overfilled doll stroller down the street?)

Luckily for her social standing, Katie gave up the play-stage for the written-page, spending hours writing down her daydreams in a spiral notebook. But over the years, her storytelling took a backseat to hormones and high school, and it wasn’t until her two exceptional daughters were grown (Ten seemed a little redundant after the first labor pain) that she returned to writing.

Now Katie spends her days at a computer daydreaming, while the rest of the time she enjoys hanging with her family, reading, going to the gym, playing golf, motorcycle riding, traveling, or just snuggling next to her snoring prince. (Snoring might seem like a minor imperfection when compared to a three-legged horse, but believe me it’s not) Because if the little girl of the clouds learned anything over the years, it was that every moment in life is a happily-ever-after just waiting to be fulfilled.
Visit Ms. Lane at her website here.

About Hope Ramsay:
Hope Ramsay was born in New York and grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you’ll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. Hope earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Buffalo, and has had various jobs working as a Congressional aide, a lobbyist, a public relations consultant, and a meeting planner. She’s a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart, and is married to a good ol’ Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She has two grown children and a couple of demanding lap cats. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar.
Visit Ms. Ramsay at her website here.

HOLIDAY QUESTIONS

KATIE LANE: 
Any special Holiday traditions? Every year, my family draws names and does a gift exchange. One year, it will be pajamas. The next year, DVDs. This year, it’s crazy ski hats. I’m already scouring websites for the most embarrassing hat I can find for my son-in-law. We’re going to Colorado to ski and I’ll get a big kick out of him racing down the mountain in a purple Mohawk hat…or maybe the one with all the yarn braids. Lol!

How do you celebrate the Holidays? I celebrate with family and friends. I bake cookies and make gingerbread (graham cracker) houses with my granddaughters. I do white elephant gift exchanges with my book and writing clubs. And Christmas Eve and Day is spent with my husband and two daughters and their families. We go to church, look at lights, eat, and unwrap presents.

What makes Christmas special for you? People are so giving during the holidays. They offer up smiles, volunteer to serve food to the homeless, or give to their favorite charities. At Christmas, we stop long enough to realize that we’re all part of God’s great big family.

Holiday shopping–online or malls? Both. I like the no hassle of buying things online, but I love to go to the malls when they’re packed. I like watching the kids sit on Santa’s lap and just being in the bustle of the holiday.

I’d like to wish everyone at CMASH Reads the happiest of holidays!
Love, Katie Lane

HOPE RAMSAY
Any special Holiday traditions? Oh this question makes me want to tell a family story. My father, much like Abe Chaikin, a character in Last Chance Christmas, was a non-practicing Jew. My mother was an Episcopalian. When they got married my mother insisted that we kids would be celebrating Christmas, even if we also celebrated other holidays. Pop agreed. But every Christmas my father would complain because Mom would do the same things over and over again. She insisted that she was creating traditions. Pop would roll his eyes and ask, “Can we do it different this year?” When it finally got to be my turn to make Christmas for the family, I decided to adopt just a little bit of my father’s attitude. So some years we go out to Christmas Eve dinner. Some years we stay in. Some years we dress up. Some years we don’t. Some years we put up an artificial tree, some years we go cut our own. Some years we go to the movies on Christmas day, and some years we stay home and play games. When we stay in on Christmas eve, the dinner menu is never the same because my husband likes to let his mad chef persona out every year and he makes a big gourmet meal for the family and any guests we’ve invited. He never makes the same thing twice.

This year our granddaughter is 18 months old. And we’ll be doing Christmas morning at my son’s house. As our family grows and includes new people, our “traditions” are changing. And I’m learning that holding on to traditions isn’t so easy, when the family is growing and changing. It’s much better to be flexible. So I would like to think that Pop ultimately won that argument he used to have with Mom every year. Traditions are nice, but it’s also nice to do something new and different for a change.

How do you celebrate the Holidays? Wow, that’s a big question, and kind of hard to answer since we don’t always do the same thing every year. But I guess there are a couple of things we sort of do every year. We always do a big dinner on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. Lots of eating and alcoholic beverages are involved. We also put up stockings on Christmas Eve, and somehow Santa always arrives and stuffs them. Everyone gets to open a present on Christmas Eve from Elmer the Elf, who is my husband’s personal elf from the time he was quite little. Elmer always gives people PJs. The stockings and PJs are not something anyone is ever allowed to outgrow. When our children were little (and not so little), my husband always read the Polar Express to them right before sending them off to bed.

What makes Christmas special for you? Family, family, family.

Holiday shopping–online or malls? Neither. (Okay I do some shopping at malls.) But I much prefer to go shopping on Main Street – or in my case on King Street in downtown Alexandria, Virginia. I’m a huge fan of Small Business Saturday (and I avoid the malls on Black Friday). I really like supporting local small merchants, if I can. Those merchants are the lifeblood of small towns. And even though Alexandria is right across the Potomac from the Nation’s Capital, it’s still a small town.

          

HUNK FOR THE HOLIDAYS by Katie Lane
Always putting business before pleasure, Cassie McPherson works hard for her family’s construction business. That might explain why she doesn’t have a date for the company Christmas party. But it doesn’t quite explain why she’s crazy enough to hire an escort for the event or – crazier still – why she’s dying to unwrap him like a present . . .
With whiskey-colored eyes and a killer smile, James is one gorgeous hunk who really knows how to fill out a tuxedo. He charms everyone, including Cassie. And when the night ends, the party doesn’t stop. As Cassie falls, literally, into his bed, James falls head over heels in love. Now he has to figure out a way to tell her the truth: he’s not an escort. He’s her family’s fiercest business rival. But all he wants for Christmas is her.
Book Details:
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Price: $7.99 US/$8.99 CAN
ISBN-13: 9781455522361
On Sale Date: 09/25/2012

LAST CHANCE CHRISTMAS by Hope Ramsay
Dear Reader,
I’ve been wishing for a miracle for my oldest boy, Stone, and this Christmas my prayers might just be answered!

Her name is Lark, and she’s here in Last Chance, looking into her father’s past-and stirring up a whole mess of trouble without meaning to. As the chief of police, Stone sure has his hands full trying to keep up with her. Ever since his wife died, Stone’s put everything into raising his daughters and dodging the Christ Church Ladies’ Auxiliary matchmakers. And it’s clear Lark has been through some trouble and could use a place to finally call home. I only hope Stone can let go of the past soon enough to keep her .

Goodness, I need to stop talking and finish up Jane’s highlights so we can make the town tree-lighting. You come back by because the Cut ‘n’ Curl’s got hot rollers, free coffee, fresh-baked Christmas cookies-and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes
Book Details:
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Price: $7.99 US/$8.99 CAN
ISBN-13: 9780446576079
On Sale Date: 09/25/2012

THANKS TO JIHAN, FROM GCP/FOREVER, TWO (2) LUCKY
WINNERS WILL WIN A HOLIDAY PACKAGE, BOTH BOOKS
U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of each book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

I have my mug of coffee in hand, please help yourself to one, as we visit with an old friend of CMah Reads.  Today’s guest visited back in 2011, so when she contacted me, asking if she could come back and visit, I put the coffee on!!  I ask, if you could help me give a warm welcome back to Madeline Sharples!!

MADELINE SHARPLES

Madeline Sharples studied journalism in high school and college and wrote for the high school newspaper, but only started to fulfill her dream to work as a creative writer and journalist late in life. Her memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother’s Memoir of Living with Her Son’s Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide, was released in a hardback edition in 2011 and has just been released in paperback and eBook editions by Dream of Things. It tells the steps she took in living with the loss of her oldest son, first and foremost that she chose to live and take care of herself as a woman, wife, mother, and writer. She hopes that her story will inspire others to find ways to survive their own tragic experiences.

She also co-authored Blue-Collar Women: Trailblazing Women Take on Men-Only Jobs (New Horizon Press, 1994), co-edited the poetry anthology, The Great American Poetry Show, Volumes 1 and 2, and wrote the poems for two photography books, The Emerging Goddess and Intimacy (Paul Blieden, photographer). Her poems have also appeared online and in print magazines.

Madeline’s articles appear regularly in the Naturally Savvy, PsychAlive, Aging Bodies, and Open to Hope. She also posts at her blogs, Choices and at Red Room and is currently writing a novel.  Madeline’s mission since the death of her son is to raise awareness, educate, and erase the stigma of mental illness and suicide in hopes of saving lives.

Madeline and her husband of forty plus years live in Manhattan Beach, California, a small beach community south of Los Angeles. Her younger son Ben lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife Marissa.
You can connect with Madeline at her blog, Facebook and Twitter.

GUEST POST

My Recipe for Survival

When my older son Paul took his life in our home – ending his seven year struggle with bipolar disorder, my first thoughts were: I cannot go on. I want to get into the same bathtub where he died and put myself out of my pain and misery. At first I didn’t know how I could continue to live without him.

Instead of getting into that bathtub, I chose to live and take care of myself as a woman, wife, mother, writer. Here’s how I did it.

I Wrote. Even before Paul died, I started writing about him and his bipolar disorder. Journaling got out the frustrations of dealing with his episodes, hospitalizations, and erratic behavior. After he died I continued journaling. I also took classes through UCLA Extension’s writing program, a private writing instructor in Los Angeles, and at workshops at my healing place, Esalen in Big Sur, California. It was there that poems started flowing from my pen.

 I Worked. At the time Paul died, I was working at home writing grant proposals. I soon realized that I needed to find a job outside, and luckily I got rehired into the company I had retired from a few years earlier. My job as a proposal manager was challenging, meaningful, and very stressful. Having to meet stringent deadlines kept my mind on the job rather than on my feelings. The work and the socialization at work helped get me through the first few years after Paul died.

I Sought Out Diversions. And through all these years I’ve learned to fill up my time with diversions. I read. I watch movies. My husband and I go to the theater and opera. We travel. And I pamper myself – working out at the gym, taking long walks on the beach near our home, eating healthy, and caring for my hair and nails. It feels good, helps me look good, and boosts my mood. Taking care of myself and staying healthy have become tantamount to my survival.

I chose to stay alive because I know what suicide does to a family. I couldn’t put my loving and caring husband and surviving son Ben through that kind of pain again. Besides I wanted to experience life’s next adventures. As bad as it was after Paul died, and as much as I continue to miss him, I still had things to do with my life.

Also, with such a tragedy came some unexpected gifts. Paul’s death has made me a stronger person, physically and emotionally. I have reinvented myself into a poet and creative writer. My husband and I have a stronger marriage because we gave each other the space to grieve in our own way, and I have a terrific bond with Ben and his new wife. Yes, I’m proud to say I’m a new mother-in-law. And, I’ve embarked on a new mission in life – to erase the stigma of mental illness and prevent suicide, in hopes of saving lives through my writing and volunteer work.

Staying alive has also helped me keep my son Paul’s memory alive.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Leaving the Hall Light On is about living after loss: first and foremost how author Madeline Sharples chose to live and go on with life and take care of herself as a woman, wife, mother, writer. It is about the steps Sharples took in living with the loss of her son, including making use of diversions to help ease her grief and the milestones she met toward living a full life without him. She says, “to let ourselves grieve is to feel the depth of our love. For those whose children have died, that may take the rest of our lives, but we will discover the gifts of our loss in the process.”
Read my review here.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, MADELINE SHARPLES AND DREAM OF THINGS,
PUBLISHER, I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS MEMOIR TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT- U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS OR EBOOK-OPEN TO ALL.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

I was so excited when Tracy from Media Muscle/The Book Trib contacted me about today’s guest.  It has been a while since he was last here, but today, he is back to tell us about his latest novel.  So I ask, as only you can do, to give a warm welcome to an old friend, Allan Topol!!

ALLAN TOPOL

 Allan Topol is the national bestselling author of seven novels of international intrigue. He is a graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology who majored in chemistry, abandoned science, and obtained a law degree from Yale University. A partner in a major Washington law firm, and an avid wine collector, Topol has traveled extensively, researching dramatic locations for his novels. He is a contributor to the Yale Law Report, Glenn Beck’s online magazine, and Military.com. You can visit him at www.AllanTopol.com for more information.

ABOUT THE BOOK

National bestselling author, Allan Topol, returns to the scene of the crime with his second Craig Page Thriller and sequel to The China Gambit, THE SPANISH REVENGE (Vantage Point; $14.95; September 2012). This time around, Craig Page, the bold and daring EU Director of Counterterrorism, must once again team up with the resourceful Elizabeth Crowder, a newspaper reporter, to stop a feared terrorist, Ahmed Sadi, whose goal is to provoke a Muslim uprising in Western Europe.

With help from The China Gambit villain, Chinese General Zhou, Ahmed plans to launch an attack against Christianity and retake militarily, a portion of Southern Spain, for Islam. Relying on a medieval parchment claiming that Queen Isabella ceded a portion of Southern Spain to the Muslims, Ahmed has one major problem: Craig Page is hot on his trail and determined as ever to save the world.

THANKS TO TRACY FROM MEDIA MUSCLE, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Many, many years ago, while in training to become an RN, I remember all of the brave patients that allowed me to take care of them as a student nurse.  They gave me the opportunity to reach my dreams and goals.  And now, eons later, I feel that I am paying it forward, to give indie authors a platform to reach their dreams.  So when Kate from Page Turner Book Tours contacted me, it was a yes.  So without further ado,

SONYA WATSON

Sonya was born in Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica but moved to Canada eleven years ago. She discovered writing when she was eleven. However, was unable to pursue it since she lived in a country where writing was impractical. She rediscovered the art during third year at York University. Kinesiology, the program she was enrolled in, was no longer simulating and found herself questioning her purpose in life. This led her to poetry and poetry led her to writing novels.
Connect with Sonya on Goodreads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Once upon a time, there was a sixteen year-old girl that lost both her parents under unusual circumstances. Abrianna was lonely and found some comfort in the arms of her boyfriend, Michael. Life turned grim when she realizes that a man, who was once the enforcer of fate, wanted her to die. The disgraced enforcer had taken great steps to ensure Abrianna’s death and planned to do this by enlisting the help of humans and creatures without their knowledge. Evil had washed over the land the humans named Dainesville. Abrianna had the power to heal the land and when she did she would return prosperity to the lives of the townspeople. When the time came for Abrianna to stand alongside her half-brother, Stephen, to fight the coming evil she did so without hesitation. Life ended. Darkness fell. Love faded. The End?

Purchase Links:  Amazon UK,  Amazon USA,  Smashwords, Barnes And Noble

Visit Page Turners Book Tours to for a chance to win a copy of this book.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

I don’t know about you, but I am already tired of the cold here in New England.  So when Rebecca from The Cadence Group contacted me about this book, it was a yes.  Just imagine being transported to the Caribbean.  That’s what today’s guest will do.  So please help me welcome Richard Meibers!!

RICHARD MEIBERS

Richard Meibers is a professional writer living in central Massachusetts. He is the author of two previous novels, STEAL AWAY HOME and TREE RINGS. He has also written two non-fiction books, one on dealing with anger and aggression in psychotherapy, and another on the history of watch-making in the 19^th century.

GUEST POST 

Guest Post for FALLING OFF THE WIND.

BOAT BUMS

Twenty years ago, the eye of Hurricane Hugo smashed into the tiny Puerto Rican island of Culebra. It ruined a lot of boats that had sailed in there purposefully to avoid the big wind. The deep bay in the center of the island surrounded by low hills had the reputation of being a “hurricane hole,” a place of relative safety. A number of the boats that either sank in the bay or were blown onto shore were not insured and became a total loss.

Why not have insurance on an expensive and vulnerable piece of property? I wondered about this until I talked with several of these owners. My first introduction to a widespread, loose kind of community known as boat bums, people, unplugged from what we think of as normal society, who spend their lives roaming the seas in sail boats.

Some very few of these boat bums have money of their own, but most scratch out a living wherever and however they can, performing menial jobs, crewing on other boats, or doing what in our normal society would not be considered exactly legal. They are not pirates but they might, for example, smuggle computer parts into Cuba. Their preferred choice of boat style is the sailboat because they usually cannot afford the fuel for a motorized vessel.

Boat bums can still be found all over the Caribbean, as well as the islands of the South Pacific, the Mediterranean. Though they range far and wide, they never leave home. The boat is their home. And their community is mainly one of sharing information on subjects like where to find work, where to find an inexpensive shipwright to fix something, where to find a cheap mooring, where to hide from a hurricane, or who might be having a party on some other island.

Getting to know so many boat bums has been fun. They all have their reasons for “dropping out” as they used to say in the Sixties. One woman told me that after her first trip on a sailboat she stopped biting her nails. Another, from Minnesota, said she had gotten sick of snow. A army veteran who acquired a boat after his tour of duty inViet Namsaid the life on a sailboat helped him forget; and it must be working, he said, because after twenty years at sea he did feel a little better. An older man came to theCaribbeanafter selling his small Midwestern electronics firm when his wife died.

The boat bum has a lot in common with the ski bum. Their lifestyles both revolve around an intense and addictive pleasure. But the boat bum, living in a warm climate is not slave to the weather, but merely to his or her own whims, which breeds an independence as intense as the pleasure.

My novel FALLING OFF THE WIND is about a boat bum in the Caribbean..

ABOUT THE BOOK

 Falling off the Wind by Richard Meibers.  This enjoyable adventure novel delves into the lifestyle of a Caribbean sailor and explores the realities of life lived on a boat.  Filled with hurricanes, smugglers, hardship and love, this story will reel you in and keep you hooked to the very end.
Purchase link:  Amazon

THANKS TO REBECCA FROM THE CADENCE GROUP, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Back in April of 2011, Dr. O’Grady visited with his debut novel, Hybrid.   Unfortunately, at the time, I was very behind in my reading and didn’t get a chance to review it.  Today, he is back to tell us about his latest novel, Amanda’s Story, published by The Story Plant   And this time I did read his novel, and let me tell you, I have put him on my “authors to read” list.  So please, help me in giving Dr. O’Grady a warm welcome back, to CMash Reads as he tours with Partners In Crime Tours!

DR. BRIAN O’GRADYAMANDA’S STORY is Brian O’Grady’s second novel after his best-selling debut with Hybrid. He is a practicing neurologic surgeon and, when he is not writing or performing brain surgery, he struggles with Ironman triath- lons. He lives with his wife in Washington state.
Connect with Dr. O’Grady at The Story Plant.

 

ABOUT THE BOOKIn his national bestseller HYBRID, Brian O’Grady created a bracing and vividly realized tale of a virus gone out of control. At the center of that story was Amanda Flynn, a woman not killed by the EDH1 virus, but changed in frightening ways. HYBRID only hinted at the story of Amanda’s work in Honduras that led to her exposure and the ramifications when the American government sought to contain the damage. Now, that story can be told.

AMANDA’S STORY is the heart-stopping tale of a woman caught up in a storm she wanted no part of, and what happens when she refuses to be collateral damage. It is the story that readers of HYBRID have been waiting for and that new readers will find impossible to put down.
Read my review here.

Read an excerpt:

Book Details:
PUBLISHED BY: The Story Plant
PUBLICATION DATE: November 13th, 2012
ISBN:
Print ISBN-13: 978-1-61188-047-2
E-book ISBN-13: 978-1-61188-048-9
GENRE: Suspense
# OF PAGES: 304

Purchase links:   AMAZON link    B&N link  

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an  IndieBound affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Do I have a treat for you!!!  Grab your coffee and get comfy because you will want to stick around for today’s guest.  Jessica from Grand Central Publishing is stopping by with author, Kate Brady to tell us about her latest novel, as she tours the blogosphere.  So without further ado, Ms. Kate Brady!!!!

KATE BRADY

Kate Brady is a RITA Award winning author, choral director, university professor, wife, mother, and caretaker of a variety of furry, feathered, and scaly pets. She lives with her family in Georgia, where she is currently at work on her next novel.
Visit Ms. Brady at her website and Facebook.

GUEST POST

It took me a long time to decide on a topic for this post.  Why?  Because I’d already done several others, and felt I’d written or spoken about everything that could possibly be of any interest to readers.  Ad nauseum, even.  I was plumb out of ideas.

I lamented that fact to my daughter while waiting for her orthodontist.  And without missing a beat, she said, “Tell them about the dedication.”

Whoa—that stopped me.  Dedications can be pretty personal and the dedication for WHERE ANGELS REST is extremely so.  It reads: This one’s for Alta.  She and the angels know why.

So I tried to explain to my daughter why that wouldn’t make a good blog topic.  Too intimate.  Too abstruse.  Too…well, sad.  And, laughing at me, she pleaded: “Mom, come on.   It would show the readers a spark of humanity in your sick, twisted soul!”

Huh.  Out of the mouths of babes.  Or, rather, teenagers.  Sick, twisted soul?  In need of proving the existence of a spark of humanity?  I mean, I’ve sort of gotten used to the fact that my children won’t bother bragging that their mom has a doctorate and successful career as a music professor, but will crow to complete strangers, “My mom’s a psycho who kills people for a living.”  But no one really believes it, right?  Then again—come to think of it—the most common questions I get about writing suspense run along the lines of, “How can such a nice person come up with such creepy killers?” and “Are you always plotting murders?” and “Just what kind of research did you do to learn how long it takes to burn a body at 1850 degrees Fahrenheit?”

Hmm.

Well, then.  Let me tell you about Alta.

Alta was my mother-in-law.  She was one of a precious few people who knew I spent my spare time writing novels and who always wanted to read them.  She loved hearing about ideas.  She sent me ideas—a box now and then of newspaper articles or thrift shop books—anything that struck her as potential inspiration for a villain or hero or heroine.  She was delighted—I mean, tickled pink—when I got published.

Alta passed away while I was finishing WHERE ANGELS REST, only seven weeks after my father-in-law had passed away.  Needless to say, it was a very bad time for our family.  I was struggling with the villain in WHERE ANGELS REST—a villain called The Angelmaker—but while cleaning out my in-laws’ house, I came across a notebook of Al’s.  It was full of inspiration for The Angelmaker.  And it seemed perfectly natural that even in death, she would be providing ideas, offering support, and encouraging me to write.

So that’s what the dedication is about.  Proof that there really is a bit of humanity in my sick, twisted soul.  And a lot of it came from my mother-in-law.

Happy reading.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tight plotting and larger-than-life villains will keep readers on the edge of their seats in Kate Brady’s third pulse-pounding romantic suspense novel WHERE ANGELS REST.

For the past decade, psychologist Erin Sims has been helping victims of violent crimes move on with life…but the one person she can’t save is the one who matters most. In only seven days, her brother will be executed for a murder he didn’t commit. Convinced she knows the identity of the real killer, Erin is determined to find the man and bring him to justice.

Sheriff Nick Mann moved to rural Ohio hoping to forget the tragedies of his past. When Erin shows up in town, bringing scandal and unwanted media attention with her, Nick knows she’s trouble. No one believes sleepy Hopewell could harbor a serial killer…until residents begin to disappear. Now as Nick untangles the dark secrets plaguing his town, he can’t help falling for the beautiful woman with the warm heart and iron will. And, as the days tick by, the truth becomes clear: Erin is hunting a vicious murderer—one whose only escape is to silence her forever.

THANKS TO JESSICA, FROM GCP/FOREVER, I HAVE
ONE (1) BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

If you follow my blog, then you know, I enjoy a good mystery and/or suspense.  So when Kim of Sparkpoint Studio contacted me, I wanted to know more about today’s guest and her book.  Please help me give a warm welcome to Fleur Philips!

FLEUR PHILIPS

Fleur Philips is a graduate student at Antioch University in Los Angeles, pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing. She attended the University of Oregon in Eugene where she was awarded placement in the Kidd Tutorial Creative Writing Program. After a short-lived acting career (she was a “featured extra” on Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can), she completed three manuscripts. I Am Lucky Bird is her first novel and was selected as a general fiction finalist for the 2011 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord Reviews. She’s currently working on her second novel which will be released in the summer 2013. She lives in Upland, California, and when she’s not writing, she’s cheering for her son in his athletic endeavors.
Visit Fleur Phillips at her website, Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When her mother mysteriously vanishes from the small town of Plains, Montana, 12-year-old Lucky Bird’s childhood comes to an abrupt end. Left to defend herself against her suddenly abusive grandmother, Marian, and forced to endure the twisted predatory games played out by Marian’s lover, Lucky soon finds herself trapped in a nightmare.

Even when she manages to escape, the outside world can’t take away the brutal images of her past. Still haunted by her mother’s disappearance and the trauma that followed, Lucky is easily led down a path of self-destruction—a path that only the intervention of a young stranger and his family can guide her away from. But first, Lucky will have to confront her demons, and the dark truths kept hidden.
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THANKS TO KIM AT SPARKPOINT STUDIO, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY TO GIVE AWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

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