Authorsday: Kelly Jameson

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I’ve always known. I think sometimes people are born with callings and dreams; they just need to figure out how to use the calling or the dream to fulfill themselves. 2. How did you pick the genre you write in? I write in different genres to keep from getting bored. As an author, I’ve never understood why this is a problem fo

r an agent or an editor. I believe an author can be successful in different genres. I write mostly dark suspense. But I recently published a historical romance I wrote 9 years ago. It sat in a drawer. Now it’s outselling my other books. 3. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants? I write by the seat of my pants, or my pajamas, whatever I’m wearing. I start with a main character and a “what if” situation and plot flows from there. That’s what works for me. It may not work for other more linear writers, who prefer to work from outlines. I don’t like to know everything that’s going to happen before I write a book. I mean, why write the book then? 4. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it? My first suspense novel is called DEAD ON. It’s about a medical examiner being stalked through time by the same killer. I got a few early rejections and published it in 2005 independently because I didn’t want to wait until I was 80 to ‘get published’. I don’t write books so they can sit in drawers. I actually got a film option on the book for 2 years from Gold Circle Films. It’s set in Doylestown, PA, with real landmarks and fictional characters, and it’s quite a ride. 5. How many rejections have you received? I don’t think it’s a productive use of time to count rejections.  6. What was the best writing advice someone gave you? To rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Back off your draft for a little while, come back, and things will smack you in the face that you didn’t see the last time you looked it over. 7. What was the worst? Did you know it at the time? An agent told me that zombies weren’t popular and that humor doesn’t sell. 8. Tell me one thing about yourself that very few people know? Some people may not know that I have short stories published in the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica volumes 8 and 9, and also in Sex in the City, Paris. 9. Describe your book. Kat Martin, New York Times Best-selling author with over 11 million books in print, says this about Kelly Jameson's To Tame a Rogue: "Sizzling with sexual tension, filled with passion, an old-fashioned romance. Fast-paced and fun to read." TO TAME A ROGUE is currently my most popular book. It’s set in Louisiana in 1816. The dying wish of a cruel father tricks Nicholas Branton into marrying a woman he's never met to ensure his inheritance. But Nicholas vows that it will always be a marriage in name only. __________ Camille Hardison dreams of escaping the life she's living as a lowly tavern maid in a gambling establishment in New Orleans but mostly she dreams of true love. When she's foisted off in marriage to a wealthy, arrogant, handsome rogue and womanizer to settle a mysterious gambling debt, she disguises herself as a street urchin' in the hopes that Nicholas will call off the betrothal. In fact, they are wed that very eve in a heartless, loveless ceremony. What they don't bet on is the raw, awakening passion they both feel for each other...or the sensual touches and aching love that will bind their hearts and souls forever in To Tame a Rogue. 10. What do you consider your strengths in terms of your writing? I don’t pull any punches. I like to read raw writing with sensitivity and that’s what I try to write. Author Bio

Kelly Jameson is the author of DEAD ON, which Kat Martin, NYT best-selling author, calls "Brilliant." It's the story of a medical examiner being chased through time by the same killer. Kat Martin also has this to say about Kelly Jameson's historical romance TO TAME A ROGUE: "Sizzling with sexual tension, filled with passion, an old-fashioned romance. Fast-paced and fun to read." Best-selling crime noir author Ken Bruen calls Kelly Jameson's psychological suspense SHARDS OF SUMMER, "The Great Gatsby for the beach generation." WHAT REMAINED OF KATRINA: A NOVEL OF NEW ORLEANS, Kelly Jameson's novella, was a Leapfrog Press Honorable Mention in fiction. "What Remained of Katrina becomes a powerful story of the city's underclass, the one seldom reported by the media, the one seldom visited by tourists. This is Jameson's third novel, and may be the best one yet." Walter Brasch, Journalist/Author Z=mc2: TIME-TRAVELIN' ZOMBIES VS THE GARDEN STATE. "Z=mc2 is a wacky and hilarious slice of zombie goodness. Wicked and deranged, it's TIME BANDITS meets SHAUN OF THE DEAD with a big dose of just-plain-nuts. Highly recommended" - Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of DEAD OF NIGHT and PATIENT ZERO. Horrorphilia reviewer Gabino Iglesias says: "'Z=mc2: Time-Travellin' Zombies vs. the Garden State'" starts weird and finishes strong. The prose is packed with humor and there's an underlying message about what it means to be human that readers should discover by themselves. Pick up a copy today." Her published short stories are collected in an anthology called DESPERATE, DISTURBED, DERANGED, AND DOUBLE-LATTED. MY BOOKS CAN BE ORDERED AT: http://www.amazon.com/To-Tame-a-Rogue-ebook/dp/B006BI1IME/ref=la_B002BLQBTK_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1338058524&sr=1-9 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-tame-a-rogue-kelly-jameson/1107587397?ean=2940013535985&itm=1&usri=kelly+jameson Book Blurb: The dying wish of a cruel father tricks Nicholas Branton into marrying a woman he's never met to ensure his inheritance. But Nicholas vows that it will always be a marriage in name only. Camille Hardison dreams of escaping the life she's living as a lowly tavern maid in a gambling establishment in New Orleans but mostly she dreams of true love. When she's foisted off in marriage to a wealthy, arrogant, handsome rogue and womanizer to settle a mysterious gambling debt, she disguises herself as a street urchin' in the hopes that Nicholas will call off the betrothal. In fact, they are wed that very eve in a heartless, loveless ceremony. What they don't bet on is the raw, awakening passion they both feel for each other...or the sensual touches and aching love that will bind their hearts and souls forever in To Tame a Rogue.

Behind the Walls

BEHIND THE WALLS, excerpt Merry Jones October 1989

The crate was small, simply marked, “Utah.” No dates, like the others. No specific dig sites either. Odd; Professor Langston was obsessive about labeling his collection. Maybe the labels were inside, taped to the lid? Or maybe they’d been lost. Clara Prentiss sighed, glanced at her watch. Almost four. Without a list, there probably wouldn’t be time to identify and catalogue the contents before sunset, and she didn’t want to be caught there after dark. The professor’s rambling old Victorian mansion was spooky enough in daylight. The place had been built in the early twentieth century by some hermetic silent movie star whose name she couldn’t remember but who, in his paranoia, had designed the place with secret passages and hidden vaults, setting it deep in the woods outside Ithaca where, even now, it had no near neighbors. When he’d offered her the assistantship, Professor Langston had told her with some pride that his house was probably haunted. “Haunted?” she’d parroted. “Its inhabitants have led, shall we say…uncommon lives,” he’d smiled, wheezing heavily as air forced its way through his dense nose hairs. “In the Twenties, a young woman—a starlet named Chloe Manning simply disappeared during a visit. Some say she’s still in the house, wandering the passages in the walls.” Carla had blinked at the walls of the study. Wondered if the bookshelves concealed secret doors. And bodies. Under his white, unruly brows, Langston’s eyes had twinkled, amused. He’d lowered his voice to a gravelly whisper. “Some years later, a maid suddenly fell or jumped—or was pushed over the balcony. Broke her neck. And then, in the Fifties, well…” His eyes had narrowed, drifted across his study. “What?” she’d pressed him. “What happened in the Fifties?” He’d drawn a dramatic breath. “Well, these things happen, even today.” What things? She’d waited for him to explain. “Sometimes men run amok. They snap and release pent up aggressions onto their family members.” “Professor, what happened?” He’d cleared his throat, reached for a pipe. “The man of the house—Fredericks. One night, he simply hacked his wife and three children to death. Damaged the walls a bit, too.” Carla had felt a chill, held her breath. “But it worked out well for me; I was able to acquire the place for a very reasonable price afterwards.” Professor Langston had smiled slyly. Pleased with himself.

Merry Jones is the author of the Harper Jennings thrillers, SUMMER SESSION and BEHIND THE WALLS. She has also written the Zoe Hayes mysteries (THE NANNY MURDERS, THE RIVER KILLINGS, THE DEADLY NEIGHBORS, THE BORROWED AND BLUE MURDERS), humor (including I LOVE HIM, BUT…) and non-fiction (including BIRTHMOTHERS, WOMEN WHO RELINQUISED BABIES FOR ADOPTION TELL THEIR STORIES.) Visit her at MerryJones.com In this second Harper Jennings thriller, Iraq war veteran and archeology graduate student Harper Jennings takes over the job of cataloging a valuable collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. Zina Salim, who'd previously had the job, has been murdered; in fact, Harper found Zina with her heart cut out the day after she'd insisted to Harper than she'd been chased by a Nahual, a pre-Columbian shape-shifter. Believing that Zina was spooked by the creepy old house where the collection is stored and that her murder was an honor killing committed by Zina's own family, Harper goes to work. Soon afterward, members of her old army team start dying. Her husband grows withdrawn and depressed. Her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder returns with a vengeance. And Harper is sure she's being stalked. The more involved she gets with the artifacts, the more danger she and those close to her face. Harper refuses to give up; she knows the artifacts can't be cursed. Or can they? In this second Harper Jennings thriller, Iraq war veteran and archeology graduate student Harper Jennings takes over the job of cataloging a valuable collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. Zina Salim, who'd previously had the job, has been murdered; in fact, Harper found Zina with her heart cut out the day after she'd insisted to Harper than she'd been chased by a Nahual, a pre-Columbian shape-shifter. Believing that Zina was spooked by the creepy old house where the collection is stored and that her murder was an honor killing committed by Zina's own family, Harper goes to work. Soon afterward, members of her old army team start dying. Her husband grows withdrawn and depressed. Her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder returns with a vengeance. And Harper is sure she's being stalked. The more involved she gets with the artifacts, the more danger she and those close to her face. Harper refuses to give up; she knows the artifacts can't be cursed. Or can they?

ExcerpTuesday: Marilyn Levinson

Excerpt of GIVING UP THE GHOST by Marilyn Levinson: “Trust me, Darren was never a slouch in that department. But he used to be smart enough to separate business from pleasure.” Cam’s face tightened. “For once our police chief wasn’t as thorough as he should have been.” “What do you mean?” It felt surreal, talking to a ghost about his murder. Cam pointed toward the beach. “Darren knows better than anyone how many times I scrambled down that cliff when we were young. Hell, we both did. We had some great contests, which is how one Saturday night in our senior year I broke my leg and he sprained his wrist. Pissed off our coach for keeping our basketball team out of the finals. “And that ancient has-been who examined me afterward missed every sign that I was struck down, right here in this room.” “Darren said they found you down at the beach.”

“Yes, but it happened here. In this room.” Gabbie opened her mouth to argue, until she remembered the den’s piercing coldness the night before when Cam first appeared. Just now, he hadn’t followed her into the kitchen because he couldn’t. The den was the only room in the cottage where he could appear. “I understand,” she said slowly, marveling at her use of logic to support what a ghost was telling her about his death. “What isn’t clear is, since you know it happened here in this room, why don’t you know who did it?” “Because,” he said slowly, as though he were speaking to an idiot, “I was struck from behind.” “Oh.” Gabbie sank onto the couch to absorb this information. She was vaguely aware that Cam had started pacing. He seemed to be waiting for her to speak. “Who do you think did it?” Cam scratched his forehead. He looked embarrassed. “It could be any one of a handful of people.” Gabbie gulped. “A handful? You mean like more than one?” He cleared his throat. “More like four. Six on the outside.” “Six! Six mortal enemies? You must have been a real upstanding citizen.” “I was what you’d call an entrepreneur.” Gabbie tossed back her head and let out a guffaw. “A wheeler-dealer, was what I was told.” “That’s a bit harsh.” “But accurate, I bet. I know your type. I just divorced the king of connivers.” “And how is he managing without you?” Cam said. “He’s in jail where he belongs. I helped put him there.” “Oh.” Cam fell silent. Gabbie was pleased to hear a note of respect in his voice when he said, “You’re one formidable woman.” “I certainly hope so,” she said, with more confidence than she felt. Paul’s arrest, trial, and the subsequent divorce had knocked the stuffing out of her, and she was just beginning to feel like herself again.

Blurb for GIVING UP THE GHOST: Gabbie Meyerson moves to a village on Long Island in midwinter to teach English at the local high school. She discovers she’s sharing her cottage with the ghost of Cameron Leeds, the previous owner who, erroneously, is thought to have fallen to his death. Cam convinces Gabbie to investigate his murder. Though she’s not interested in romance, she finds herself attracted to the village lawman. In school, Gabbie must deal with the local bullies who torment one of her students. When one of them is killed, Gabbie wonders if his murder and Cam’s are connected. Bio: A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romance, and novels for children. Her mystery, A MURDERER AMONG US, was a Suspense Magazine Best Indie of 2011. She is co-founder and president of Long Island Sisters in Crime. The mother of two grown sons, she lives on Long Island with her husband and their red cat, Sammy.

Authorsday: Jacqueline Corcoran

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? At seven years old, my mother tells me that I announced I wanted to be a writer.

2. How long have you been writing? I started a novel when I was 17 but didn’t finish it. I finished my first novel when I was 20 and have written about 15 novels since then, but didn’t get published in fiction for 28 years after I started. That’s persistence! 3. How did you pick the genre you write in? When I started out, I was still a teenager, so I wrote YA and middle-grade fantasy, but I turned to mysteries when I started reading mysteries – in my mid 20’s. 4. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants? I try to plot, but end up writing a lot by the seat of my pants. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, but it’s hard not knowing what to write next. 5. What drew you to the subject of Backlit? I’ve been around for awhile now and have had many adventures. This describes one part of my life when I was a lot younger. 6. Did you encounter any obstacles in researching it? I always have some difficulties with the legal aspects of my stories. Luckily, my husband is a lawyer, so he referred me to a friend who could answer some of my questions. 7. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it? My first novel was called A First and Last Choosing, and I did try to publish it in the days when you sent everything by post with self-addressed, stamped envelopes. It was never published. 8. What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew? There is a lot more writer support now than there used to be. Critique groups and online support abounds, but those were the days before personal computers. I typed my first manuscripts on a regular, old typewriter. If the support had been available, I would have had more eyes on my work earlier. 9. How many rejections have you received? Hundreds probably since they spanned over 28 years, and I still get rejected! 10. What was the best writing advice someone gave you? I don’t know if I have a single best piece of writing advice. I learn all the time from writing itself, from reading craft books, and taking online classes.

Author Bio: I was born to Irish and Welsh parents in England, but I’ve lived in the U.S. for most of my life – in California, Michigan, Texas, and now in Alexandria, Virginia with my family. In addition to my non-fiction, I’ve published Time Witch (middle grade fantasy, Solstice Publishing), A Month of Sundays (mystery, Whimsical Publications), and Backlit (mystery, Etopia Press). I have a YA mystery Memoir of Death coming out in May 2012. I am a blogger on Downtown YA, and my website is http://www.jacquelinecorcoran.com/. Book Blurb: When photographer and Miami topless bar waitress, Liz Volpe, believes she has found the love of her life in federal public defender, Jules McAdams, she is shocked to wake up on his lawn one morning to find that he is dead and that she has been accused of his murder. Even as she doubts her own innocence, Liz must find the real killer or face life in prison.

ExcerpTuesday: Kellyann Zuzulo

Kellyann Zuzulo www.kfzuzulo.com Excerpt Tuesday THE GENIE IGNITES from Boroughs Publishing Group http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/genie-ignites EXCERPT A sucking sound like a jar of sauce being twisted open snapped Bethany to attention. She spun around to face the front of the stall. Wiping at the steam fogging the door, she saw the gray silhouette of someone standing outside the shower. Derek must have come in. He stood still, arms slightly raised from the sides of his body. If this were one of Bethany’s yoga classes, she could say he executed a classic mountain pose.

“Son of a …” Working up to a flurry of curses she grabbed for the stall door. The handle slipped from her grip as he pulled the door open. The chrome trim rattled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Irritation spat out her words. “If you think …” The mist swirled around his body and against his neck. Despite the dense steam, Bethany felt a chill of recognition and froze. He was naked, his chest broad and hairless. His eyes, barely visible through the vapor, were golden. Eyes she’d imagined just now when looking at Derek, but not like Derek’s eyes at all. He lifted a foot over the lip of the shower door, his motion pushing her back into the stall. The door snapped shut behind him. Moving with quick grace, he cupped the full weight of one of her breasts. His touch was exhilarating, the movement familiar. For reasons that seemed idiotic - her body telling her she knew him, had enjoyed the caress of his hands before - she didn’t scream, but flattened her palm on his chest and pushed. Firm, pliant skin coursed beneath her fingers, feeling real and solid. “Hold on.” She brought her gaze up to his eyes and her heart flipped in her chest. An urge to run - to push past him and flee out of the room and out of all knowledge of who this man was and why she felt that he had a right to be standing before her, imposing and expectant - flashed and faded. Anticipation held her immobile. From the moment she had seen Minister Zubis at the embassy, she knew it would come to this. Maybe not a rusty shower stall in Italy, but a face-to-face liaison that may or may not include clothes. BLURB Bethany O'Brien is like any 21st-century woman with ambition, aspirations, and barely time for romance. When the man of her dreams steps out of her past and into her real world, danger follows. An exotic stranger with eyes like a sandstorm, Zubis is the jinni who can never forget her. He calls her beloved. Others call him evil and seek to destroy him. Bethany must find out for herself. Her quest for truth leads across three continents to a world of magic and mystery. Their story paused three thousand years before, in the Temple of Solomon. Now it must resume. Zubis alone can grant her heart’s truest wish.

BI0 A former journalist, Kellyann Zuzulo is a published author, freelance editor, and a Curator for Daily eReads. Her most recent novel is The Genie Ignites from Boroughs Publishing Group. As a curator, she identifies titles in the thriller and crime fiction genres for promotion on the Daily eReads site. Kellyann lives in Pennsylvania and is currently working on the next book in The Zubis Chronicles series. Visit her website at www.kfzuzulo.com. ####

Authorsday: Kat Flannery

1. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants? I generally start writing with no plot. It usually isn’t until the first few chapters are done that I write out a chapter outline and discover plots and subplots. However, the first idea usually doesn’t become my story. While writing the story, one of the characters is stronger than all the others, and I soon realize it is his/her story I am supposed to write. Thus the whole process starts all over again, and I create a new story.

2. What was the best writing advice someone gave you? Write what you know and if you don’t research the heck out of it. 3. If you have a day job, what is it? I do. I work from home as a freelance writer/designer. 4. Describe your book. Chasing Clovers is a story of hope, faith and love. It is set in the west where Mail Order Bride, Livy Green is grieving the loss of her only child while running from an elusive past. I chose to write this story from an emotional perspective. I placed myself in Livy’s shoes. How I would deal with losing a child? How I would react to other children? And how I would treat a man I’ve never met who I agreed to marry? The subjects in this book are deep and real; death, guilt, resentment, denial, betrayal, and anger. But the path John and Livy chose lead them to each other, and they discover the forgiveness they both need. Chasing Clovers is a tender tale woven solely for you, the reader, to enjoy and fall in love with. 5. What’s your writing schedule? I try to write every day. If I am not writing I am editing, or researching. 6. What’s your favorite quote? “The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe” –David Hare. I have this tattooed on my arms. This quote rings true for me, as a writer and a reader. I want to be taken away to another place when I read a book, just as I want my reader to while reading mine. 7. What authors do you admire? There are so many that I love. Off the top of my head, Stephen King, Linda Lael Miller, Jane Austin, Ernest Hemmingway, and Jodi Thomas. 8. What would you like to learn to do that you haven’t? I’d love to learn how to play the guitar and write music. I cannot sing at all, but I love music. I grew up with it. The songs I listen to also tell a story only much shorter than the one’s I write. I depend on music when I am writing. 9. What did you enjoy most about writing this book? I loved that I was a part of John and Livy’s story. As I wrote this book, I felt for my characters. I strived to fix their problems and give them the happiness they deserved. In doing so, I learned that even though life may deal you a bad card, it’s what’s in the rest of the hand that matters. 10. What do you do when you are not writing? I have an awesome husband who I love spending time with, and three boys who keep me very busy running to hockey and lacrosse all year. On days when I don’t have to throw on the taxi sign, I love to read a good book and relax. Author Bio

Kat Flannery has had her writing published in numerous periodicals. She’s received her diploma for Creative, Freelance, and Business Writing. Kat writes Historical Romance, and on most days you can find her at the library doing research. An avid reader, Kat loves a good book that can take her away from the busy life of a mother to three boys. CHASING CLOVERS is Kat’s first novel, published by Imajin Books. She is currently putting the final touches on her next book. Book Blurb Kat Flannery is the perfect mix of sweet romance and Wild West adventure, with a generous dash of emotion in her tale CHASING CLOVERS. Mail order bride, Livy Green, is desperate to escape the memories of her past. John Taylor will never love another woman again, but his children need a mother. Will they learn to trust each other, or will their pasts interfere?

The Wonder of What-If: An Author’s Joy in Writing

By Danielle Ackley-McPhail I have and always will be a dreamer. Unabashedly, unashamedly, delightfully a dreamer. Realism has its place, but I revel in the possibilities. Were I more analytical I would have been a scientist, but with my fanciful bend and my love of books there is no perplexity in how I ended up a writer. It’s more than telling a story, for me at least. It’s building worlds and creating people out of no more than words. No matter what I write there is a magic to the very exercise. There is no better question than “What if…” While from the very beginning I showed an interest in telling stories (or is that tales…) I did not become serious about writing them down until I discovered mythology, which consequently corresponded with high school English and regular writing assignments. I had an English teacher who focused on mythology one year. My report was on centaurs and I was fascinated by the legends…the history. The magic. It made me wonder, if myth is man’s attempt to explain the unexplainable surrounding him then what did he see that would explain a centaur? Thus began my interest in mythology. First rationalizing it, just to see if I could; then using my knowledge to extrapolate from it and even create my own myths and legends. It is such a complex process, but so exciting I have been blissfully “lost” ever since, my mind constantly running away with me asking what if. What if vampires were born? What if elves were real, and they lived in NY city? Okay….so that last was a leader. One of the things that has always enthralled me was Irish…well…anything. The music, the culture, the legends and myths…. When I became serious about writing it was because I found myself writing a novel based on the Irish myths. A simple idea (a girl going to a pawnshop) transformed over ten years into a girl saving the world (after having been to a pawnshop.) The journey was amazing. Some say that Irish myth is one of those overdone in genre literature, but being a voracious reader I found in many instances the Celtic-flavored fiction had very little to do with the rich legacy of the Irish. It was window dressing that gave the authors a romantic identity for their creation, which was mostly fanciful. I wanted more than that for my work. I wanted to explore. I wanted What if… See, everyone “knows” all about the Sidhe—the Celtic elves—but how much of that knowledge is substantiated by the actual myths and legends? In the Eternal Cycle trilogy (Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, and Today’s Promise) I made a concerted effort to take the popular beliefs (elves are allergic to iron, elves rarely have children, etc.) and tried to find their roots in the real world. Not always easy, particularly give that the Irish elves have a blacksmith god. (Hard to be a blacksmith if you can’t handle iron.) This is where my earlier experience with the centaurs came into hand. If I couldn’t substantiate the popular belief I extrapolated how the men of that time could have come to the conclusions that lead us to this perception For instance, did you know that the ancient Irish believed in reincarnation? In their version you come back as your descendents. So, what can be extrapolated from that? For me, it was the fact that someone had to die for someone to be born. That would make it kind of unlikely then for a near-immortal race to have bushels of kids, wouldn’t it? See what wonderful places What if… can take you? My series originally (when I finally realized it was a novel) was intended to be a single book. Thanks to the joy of research, and my discovery of the legend of the goddess Carman and her three sons—one of whom just happened to have the same name as my antagonist—I just had to keep playing with all the lovely pieces of the myth and culture that just kept dovetailing with my plot.

If you want to know more about what fun I had with Irish myth I invite you to check out the Eternal Cycle trilogy. Free excerpts of each book can be found on my website: http://www.sidhenadaire.com/books/YesterdaysDreams-EX.pdf http://www.sidhenadaire.com/books/TomorrowsMemories-EX.pdf http://www.sidhenadaire.com/books/Today’sPromise-EX.pdf All three books are releasing from Dark Quest Books in Spring 2012. Website and/or blog www.sidhenadaire.com, http://lit_handyman.livejournal.com, http://damcphail.livejournal.com Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/DMcPhail Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1331314265&sr=8-1 Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail Danielle Ackley-McPhail’s novels include Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, the upcoming Today’s Promise, and The Halfling’s Court, and the writers guide, The Literary Handyman. She edits the Bad-Ass Faeries anthologies and Dragon’s Lure, and has contributed to numerous other anthologies. Learn more at www.sidhenadaire.com. Yesterday's Dreams - 9781937051075 A powerful, poignant tale...a writer of talent, imagination, and superb storytelling ability. —The Midwest Book Review

Standing at the Crossroads

“What are four walls, anyway? They are what they contain. The house protects the dreamer. Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game. It’s such a surprise.” – Frances Mayes Tonight I watched one of my favorite movies: Under The Tuscan Sun. As always, I found myself immersed in emotion soup … laughter, tears, goosebumps and aha moments. Diane Lane plays a newly divorced writer named Frances Mayes who goes to Italy on vacation, sent there by her pregnant lesbian friend and her friend’s partner. A series of cosmically coincidental meetings and celestial signs sprinkle throughout, and Frances buys a crumbling villa in Tuscany. She wistfully casts her desires for someone to cook for, a wedding to take place in the home, and a family to live there. Those wishes come to pass in profound and unexpected ways.

The most poignant part of the movie occurs when Frances is in conversation with Martini, the realtor she befriended who helped negotiate the purchase of the villa. She bemoans her circumstances, wondering if her life will ever turn around and allow her to feel a sense of home. He says to her: Signora, between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come. Someday the train will come. Each day I awaken and, like Frances, find myself ‘standing at the crossroads’, wondering which way to turn. I question why my life circumstances appear as they do at the moment and what steps to take to have them blossom more fully into what I desire. I gaze backward and see when and where I have laid the train tracks in impossibly steep mountainous terrain. I notice, with gratitude, who it is that has worked on the railroad with me, swinging the hammers and pounding steel into rocky ground. I question what it is that has me knowing eventually Vienna and Venice will connect and that the train will arrive, carrying on it the work I was born to do and the partner with whom to share my villa. Each day, like Frances, I celebrate the family of choice that embraces me and the beauty and magic that I encounter. Each day, like Frances, I notice the messages that arrive ushering me into “the four walls,” in which, “unmistakably good things can happen, even late in the game.” Ciao, Bella. Bliss Kisses Do you feel as if you are standing at a crossroads in your life? What wishes have you scattered out into the Universe? In what ways have they come to pass? Are you willing to get on the train and see where it takes you? See bio info below: I am the author of a book called The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary that I call 'my first best seller'. I invite you into a world in which 'impossible dreams' become 'I'm possible realities' in which readers learn to live rich, fully juicy lives, moving through life change with greater grace and ease than they thought imaginable. Enter The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary -by Edie Weinstein, published by Balboa Press, a subsidiary of Hay House. http://t.co/CCSI8O3c Do you long for a life that sings and soars? Do you have dreams and desires that light you up from the inside? What what it would be like to be a human sparkler?

This book beckons you to take a step into the life you have always wanted-filled with love, abundance, adventure, success, healing, joy, healthy relationships, self exploration and fun. Come along on a journey with the Bliss Mistress and learn to become Mistress or Master of your own bliss. The book also features an interview with His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Edie Weinstein is a work in progress, like everyone else on the planet; the artist of her own design and the mistress of her own bliss. She is a career journalist with 23 years experience interviewing some of the most amazing movers and shakers on the planet, including Ben & Jerry,Shirley MacLaine, Ram Dass, Michael Beckwith, Jack Canfield, Alan Cohen, Karen Drucker, Judith Orloff, Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Dan Millman, Wayne Dyer, Elizabeth Lesser, Arielle Ford, Debbie Ford, SARK, Bernie Siegel and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In addition, she is an interfaith minister, dynamic motivational speaker, opti-mystic, (seeing the world through the eyes of possibility), transformational coach, social worker and PR Goddess. Edie was co-founder and co-publisher of Visions Magazine (1988-1998) She writes a regular column for Wisdom Magazine called The Bliss Mistress Guide www.wisdom-magazine.com, a daily blog for the interfaith website Beliefnet, called the Bliss Blog http://features.beliefnet.com/blissblog and a weekly blog for VividLife www.vividlife.me, as well as a growing number of other venues. She speaks on subjects such as spirituality, transformation, recovery, weathering the winds of change, relationships, love, communication, co-dependence, stress management, time management, manna-festation, loss and grief, sexuality, re-creating your life. Her presentations/workshops are experiential, interactive and lively. The style is conversational and dynamic. People laugh and cry. The workshops include music, movement, meditation, art, writing, small and large group interaction. Here are a few recent radio interviews, for your listening pleasure http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realriches/2011/12/06/real-riches-with-tanna-corona http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2012/02/26/world-of-writing-with-edie-weinstein A fun interview with Bryan-Carlton Flournoy Making It All Click (http://the-metatelepathic-clinic.com/test_podcast2.pl?idnumber=325Edi&genderx=2) Listen in and feel free to share <3 Here is a youtube video for The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1zzoV923uw

Review: Swift Edge

Swift Edge by Laura DiSilverio ISBN: 978-0-312-62444-6 2011 release from St. Martins/ Minotaur, 291 pages. Judicious blending of two quite different characters as private investigators carries this story of murder and identity theft on a roller coaster of humor and tension. Gigi Goldman, one half of the investigator team of Swift Investigations is inept at best. I mean how about trying a surveillance gig from a yellow Hummer? Charlie Swift is the more competent partner with background and experience and she carries the bulk of the serious investigation that is at the core of this slickly written, well-laid out story. A world class figure skater disappears on the eve of national trials. Charlie Swift is up for the challenge of finding the guy but she keeps stumbling over her partner Gigi and Gigi’s petulant teen-aged daughter. Then the client, another figure skater, disappears, a world-renowned coach is attacked and almost everywhere she goes, somebody is shooting at Charlie. If that isn’t enough trouble, almost every male she encounters seems to be after Charlie’s body in a less destructive way. But maybe that’s just Charlie Swift’s take on the situations. The action is constant, often funny and requires the occasional suspension of disbelief. The characters are well-drawn and consistent. This is a sometimes zany, very enjoyable addition to what appears to be a swiftly growing series of light to medium crime novels. -- Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com, Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky