Deborah Coonts Visits our Haven this week!

Trouble always comes in threes.  At least that’s what Lucky O’Toole, the VP of Customer Relations for Las Vegas’ primo Strip casino/hotel, the Babylon, has heard for years from her mother.  So, tonight, when Teddie, her former lover shows up at her office unannounced and very unexpected, her father offers Teddie a job at the Babylon, she is called to deal with a pig in residence at one of the hotels most exclusive and opulent suites, and Lucky’s current lover, Jean-Charles Bouclet stops answering his phone leaving Lucky to handle his five-year-old son, Lucky figures she has tonight’s compliment of chaos covered.

Stranger at Sunset.....Eden Baylee stops by to say Hello

An Amazing Interview with Eden Baylee!

 
 

We're sitting in lounge chairs, sipping afternoon cocktails while overlooking the Caribbean Sea at our Sunset Villa in Jamaica, the tropical resort where Eden's latest book, Stranger at Sunset takes place.

 

 

Avid Readers: Tell us a bit about yourself that our readers might not know.

Eden: Firstly, thank you for hosting my interview, so lovely of you! The first time we spoke, your readers knew me as an author of erotica who wrote novellas and short stories. My current book, Stranger at Sunset is different in two respects. It’s a departure in genre -- a psychological mystery/thriller, and it’s also a full-length novel.

Avid Readers: As authors, we’re sometimes accused of being several people. How many personalities live in your mind?

Eden: Ha Ha! Touche! Too many to count some days. I talk to each of my characters, and I’m a silent observer when they talk amongst themselves. I make up conversations in my head all the time. It’s how I come up with most of my dialogue.

 
Avid Readers: How many plots do you include in one of your books?

Eden: That really depends and is based on the complexity of the story. With Stranger at Sunset, there

is one over-riding plotline, which is: How will the owners of a resort in Jamaica save their business after a scathing review? In addition to this are secondary plots, which have more to do with how characters will resolve their differences.

In my short stories, there were not enough words to cover more than one central plot, with a minor sub-plot.

 

Avid Readers:  Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Eden: In a word—Quiet. I usually get up between 7 and 9, take care of social media/networking/reading blogs/emails before noon. After that, I write, and that can be writing for guest blogs, my blog, and my upcoming book. Somewhere in between all this, I find time to eat, meditate, and exercise. I usually go to bed between midnight and two in the morning.

If I end the day with at least 2000 good words toward my book, I’m happy. Not very exciting, but I love it.

Avid Readers: What do you do to relax?

Eden: I love water. In the summer, I have access to a lake and water sports – swimming, kayaking, canoeing. I also have a boating license, but I prefer non-motorized vehicles. I  enjoy being alone in the middle of a still lake. It’s the perfect place to dream

Paranormal lighthouse mystery - Whispers at Ghost Point

Deanna Jewel

Romance Author

Enjoy this week's excerpt from Whispers at Ghost Point:

Goosebumps covered Dana’s arms just thinking of the ghosts. Had her interest stirred up more than she ever dreamed of? Had Sarah just been in contact with it? Dana glanced toward the tower, then pulled one knee up to her chest, resting her foot on the edge of her chair. She looked into Sarah’s eyes in search of answers and gripped Sarah’s hand. “What kind of message did you just receive from over there? Your color is gone so...I know you got something!”

Taking another swallow of wine, Sarah gazed back toward the tower and stared for a long time, as though she could see someone in the light tower. Sarah squeezed Dana’s hand. “Can you feel him pull on you at night when you’re here alone?” She turned back and met Dana’s gaze. “Because he does, you know.”

Again, goose bumps covered Dana’s arms even though the warm breeze surrounded them. Dare she tell Sarah about the cold air that envelopes her when she stands in the dark, alone at her window?
She changed her mind and sipped her wine, then attempted to change the subject. “How do you know it’s a ‘he’?”

“Are you serious? You know I can do that. I can sense both male and female spirits. It might take me a bit of time to figure out what they want and why, but I know what I know. For some reason, he’s picked you.”

 Website

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Travel back in time and meet her blue eyed warrior, by @DeannaJewel

 

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     If you love the romances with Native American heroes, you won't wan to miss this story that takes you back to 1835 where two soul mates don't understand their connection. They fight the attraction, thinking the other too stubborn to care and what they find between them will melt your heart. We hope you decide to grab YOUR copy of this love story that transcends time and will make you want to know about them.

Love contests? Here's a great one! TRR!

Sizzling Summer Reads

Contest All Month!

     There's something for everyone over there so click and start winning! The contest runs the entire month of June with daily contests, prizes and a great grand prize. You do have to register to participate but you'll keep going back to check out all that TRR offers to readers. Find new authors and new books, book reviews, newest releases, author interviews, newsletters and more!

Meet Deanna Jewel, author of Whispers at Ghost Point!

Whispers at Ghost Point

by Deanna Jewel

     Thank you for stopping in to chat with us this week about our own Deanna Jewel as she tells us more about this ghostly story of the abandoned lighthouse in her book. How would YOU react if you saw this written in blood on your bathroom mirror by a ghost who followed you home? Is it possible for ghosts to attach themselves to you when you visit places said to be haunted? Deanna can tell us first hand about that since she visited Savannah GA, St Augustine FL, and Wilmington NC where her story takes place.

Deanna:  Thank you all for being here to learn more about my newest release. This book took me way too long to write but the deeper I got into the story, the more fun it was to make it as real as I could. Many of the places my characters visit I've actually had the opportunity to stand when I visited Savannah this past October and...Louise actually went with me to the Bohemian Hotel where we took the elevator up to the restaurant on the roof. Being able to stand where I knew my characters would be gave me such a sense of knowing what it felt like for them!

Louise: I'm glad I talked you into going in to ask if we could go up to the restaurant!

Deanna:  I know! I was content with standing out front of the hotel yet you pulled me inside to talk to the staff and they were so helpful. That's where we met Wallace, who I had to include in the story as well! He was helpful in answering my questions and gave us permission to head up to the roof! I'll have to be sure to send him a copy of the book and mark the page where he appears.

Louise: The fire pit was a great area for lovers to sit on the roof and look out across the river at night after they finished dinner. It was easy to imagine Dana right there with us!

Deanna:  And being able to walk the cobblestone streets, exploring the back alleys and steep streets that led up to the main streets had my mind reeling with more ideas for future books. There's so much history there. I loved how the old warehouses there had been remodeled into store fronts and condos. Their candy stores were to die for! I didn't want to leave and nearly bought the place out of their chocolate and caramel covered pralines! Those things are addicting. LOL

Louise: I was so excited when you two came to visit Savannah so we could finally meet. We've been talking online daily for two years so to be able to meet face to face was great.

Deanna: I knoooow! We loved sitting out back around your fire pit, thank you! The history of Savannah still has me amazed and to know that I could include that in a book for our readers makes me happy. There's a lot we didn't get to so I know a trip back there is in our future.

Louise:  The characters in Whispers have lived before through one of your other books, correct?

Deanna: Yes, it is, although Whispers can stand alone, if they read No Turning Back, the readers will bond a bit more with Dana and her ghost. I still have to laugh at the way the ghost turned my story around because I envisioned a different character for the ghost until one day as I wrote, the other character kept tapping my shoulder, telling me HE would make a much better ghost for my story. So I gave him a chance and wrote him in instead and I couldn't believe how correct he was. It worked so much better! Authors, if your characters bug you to change something in your writing, make sure you listen to them; sometimes they're right! LOL

Louise:  Many readers love lighthouses and you made this one so much a part of the story, complete with its own ghost.

Deanna: I've visited many, many lighthouses and being from Michigan, I visited nearly every single one of them on the shorelines of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, the UP to fellow wolverines out there. In some of the old ones you can just feel the spirits who still hang around to protect the place and enjoying being there to watch over THEIR place!

Louise: Thank you for hanging out all week to chat with our readers. You have a page on your website where readers can visit many of the places in your book, right?

Deanna:  I do. Readers can visit my webpage for Whispers and also read an excerpt HERE. I've just approved the PRINT version of Whispers and to celebrate that, I'm giving away a necklace that is a replica of the one in the books. Readers can click HERE to get in on that contest.

     This week I'll do another contest and the info is listed below. I want to thank all the readers who stopped by to read and to those who read but didn't enter the contest. My buy links for Whispers are on my webpage so I hope you help me make this a great release. You can do that buy downloading your own copy, clicking 'Like' on Amazon, clicking on the 'tags' you agree with in the write up on Amazon and by sharing my links as well as the 'share' buttons at the bottom of this post. I thank you in advance!

      My question to readers: Do you enjoy links that take you to places described in the books you read?

Ways to help get the

word out about Whispers

'Like' her Whispers Page on FB

'Like' and 'Tag' Whispers at Amazon

'Share' the post on Blogger

Buy your e-copy at 

your favorite online store

CONTEST:  I will give away a $10 gift card plus... FIVE e-copies of No Turning Back! Via Rafflecopter, you can enter and earn even more entries! I'll pick winners on Feb 9th.

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Meet Adult Paranormal Fantasy Author Regina M. Geither!

     Welcome to our Haven this week where we are on location with Regina to chat about her books and learn more about her. If you don't have your coat and scarf, grab it and let's get bundled up before we head out to sit among the ruins to get a feel for this wonderful story! We've set up our coffee stand to keep us warm...complete with Bailey's for your coffee or latte!

Reader’s Haven:  Regina, thank you for inviting us to the island! Wow. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Regina:  I’m a mother, teacher, writer, and self-proclaimed authority on the teenage psyche.  Along with being an intermediate school teacher, I also teach adult novel writing. 

     I grew up in the Midwest and was raised on stories of legends, curses, and all things paranormal.  I started my writing career at the age of twelve when I spent my summer vacation typing my first novel on a manual typewriter. 

     I love writing teen paranormal fantasy.  I guess it’s due to the fact that I’d rather put myself in the shoes of a sixteen year old girl than those of a forty-something year old mom.  And the paranormal is so much more fun to write about than the “normal.”  I admit it…I don’t want to grow up.

Reader’s Haven:  That's a busy schedule! Congrats on making it work for you. What made you want to become a writer?

Regina:  I attribute my talent for and love of storytelling to my grandfather who entertained all of his grandchildren with his tales of the Great Depression, World War II, Big Foot, and the creepy monster living in his basement coal bin.

Reader’s Haven:  Please share a bit about your new release ISLAND OF TORY without giving away any spoilers.

Regina:  Island of Tory is the story of a boy, a girl, and an Irish curse.  The novel begins with sixteen year old Arella Cline en route with her parents to Tory Island, Ireland for summer vacation.  Along the way, the family is involved in a tragic car accident.  As the sole survivor, Arella is sent to live with her aunt on Tory and soon discovers that something is not right with the island and its inhabitants. 

     Plagued by shadow figures, mysterious auras, and the haunting sound of her deceased parents’ voices, Arella doesn’t know where to turn.  Declan McQuilan, a handsome, dark-haired local tries to comfort her.  While Cannon Fidelous, a mysterious outcast, warns her that the island and its inhabitants are hiding a dark secret.  To survive, Arella must unravel the island’s ancient magic before her lifeline runs out.

Readers can read Chapter One HERE.

Reader’s Haven:  Do you write under a pen name?

Regina:  No, I wouldn’t want a pen name to receive credit for my writing.  It’s just too thrilling to see my own name printed on the cover of a book I created.
 
Reader’s Haven:  What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Regina:  I’m partial to unlikely heroes and heroines.  I love it when a geeky, cowardly, plain, shy, or just plain average protagonist is forced to do remarkable things.  I think all of us have greatness hidden within.  Unlikely heroes give us hope and inspire us to greatness.

Reader’s Haven:  Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Regina:  I try to write every day, but I’m not always successful at keeping the faith. I’m a full time teacher, mother, and wife, so writing time is a coveted commodity. But when I am able to steal a few precious hours to indulge my obsession, my routine can best be described as painstakingly productive. I’m very careful about what I put down on paper, and this can be both bad and good. It’s bad because I can spend hours toiling over just a few paragraphs. But it’s good because the end product does not need much editing. My prime writing time is 7-9 pm, but on a day I’m not teaching I’ll write all day.  Summer is major writing season for me.

Reader’s Haven:  Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Regina:  Most of my books deal with the universal theme of good versus evil. And I love using the play of opposing forces in my characters and the situations they face. Everything in life is dichotomous, and good fiction reflects reality. We’ve all encountered sinners who do good as well as virtuous people who stray from the straight and narrow. Life is a constant struggle between the forces of light and dark. Incorporating both yin and yang in my characters and plot makes my writing authentic and true to life. 

Reader’s Haven:  How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Regina:  My writing time various. I’ve taken as long as two years to write one book in an Arthurian legend and as little as eleven months to write my current novel, ISLAND OF TORY. I can usually keep to a schedule of one year to write and edit a book, if I keep to a plan of writing at least two hours a night.

Reader’s Haven:  We do have to write every day and that also helps keep out the mistakes in plots too! Do you have to be alone to write?

Regina:  Yes, unfortunately I have to be in a quiet room by myself to concentrate. Thankfully, I’ve carved out a corner of my living room as my office. There’s no television in there, so my family usually shuns that part of the house. My productivity has increased significantly since my computer no longer shares space at the dining room table with the heaps of unfinished homework, piles of loose family photos, and stacks of unpaid bills that normally accumulate there.

Reader’s Haven:  How do you go about naming characters?

Regina:  Character names are a pet peeve of mine.  I’m very picky about the names I choose. To fit my characters with meaningful and unusual names, I use online baby name sites. The origin and meaning of the names I use normally reflect the personality or hidden essence of my characters. 

     In ISLAND OF TORY, for example, one of my characters is a kindly Irish priest named Father Cillian.  Cillian comes from the Gaelic word ceall which means church. Another of my characters is Declan McQuilan.  Declan means full of goodness, and on the surface, that’s just what Declan seems to be. My protagonist is named Arella Cline.  Arella is Hebrew for angel or messenger which fits because Arella uncovers the knowledge needed to break Tory Island’s curse.

     Using interesting and meaningful names adds another dimension to my writing. And I’d much rather write about a mysterious dark stranger named Cannon Fidelous than a guy named Joe Smith from down the street.

Reader’s Haven:  Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Regina:  I’m a very visual person and therefore a big fan of collaging. When I’m trying to get ideas for a new story, I peruse the internet for interesting and unusual images to inspire me. So for me, it is much easier to start with a picture and build my character from there. I do the same for my setting and plot as well. Once I have enough images, I paste all of them on a background. A tri-fold board is a great tool for displaying and organizing story ideas. For me, collaging solves a lot of the basic physical description problems like a character’s eye color or hairstyle mysteriously changing mid-story. 
 
Reader’s Haven:  What a great idea to keep your story flowing! How do you pick locations for your stories?

Regina:  I like to pick real settings that are naturally spooky and a little mysterious and then fictionalize them to fit my needs. And because I write paranormal fantasy, I look for locations where there is a lot of local lore which I can incorporate into my stories. Tory Island is a perfect example. When looking for a setting for my book, I searched the internet for an Irish island that had a lot of local myths and legends. Tory, as small as it is, is hugely abundant in folklore. There is lore about a wishing stone, a cursing stone, a shipwreck, a Cyclops, ancient ruins, and even magical mud. Yes, I said magical mud. You can’t make this stuff up. Well, you could. But why bother when it’s already part of real island superstition?

Reader’s Haven:  Wow! We love when stories come together like that. What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

Regina:  My latest book is the sequel to ISLAND OF TORY. CURSING STONE is slotted for release in March 2013 and continues with Arella’s story a year after her escape from Tory Island. In this book, Arella is plagued by dreams and visions of returning to Tory. She comes to realize that the ritual she and Cannon performed to break the curse has gone terribly awry. The invisible barrier separating the human realm from the Fae domain is threatened. And if Arella does not find the Cursing Stone before her enemies do, the terrible creatures chronicled in Irish legends will enter the human realm and destroy it. There are plans for a third book, also.

Reader’s Haven:  Congrats and good luck with the sequel. Readers do love when they can follow characters into another book! Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Regina:  You can find out more about me and my writing at the following:

My website

Facebook

Twitter

My email:  ggeither@hotmail.com

Buy Links:

Loconeal Publishing  

Amazon 

Amazon UK 

 

Barnes and Noble 

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Author Nancy S. Thompson - The Mistaken, Psychological Thriller with a dash of Romance

Meet Nancy S. Thompson, Writer of Psychological Thrillers! 

We join Nancy in the Golden Gate Park located in San Francisco. She is promoting her latest release and shares why she loves to to write.

After you've read her interview and commented for a chance to win her book, head over to her blog - it's a great blog; loaded with very interesting posts! 

Reader’s Haven: Hi Nancy, thanks for chatting with us this week. Tell us a bit about yourself  that our readers might not know.

Nancy:  I’ve been an interior designer with my own business for about 15 years now, but when the economy took a turn and business dried up, I turned first to cooking and baking, then to writing to satisfy my need to be creative.

Reader’s Haven: What made you want to become a writer?

Nancy:  It was never a conscious decision to become a writer.  I was simply motivated to write this particular book after listening to a new song.  Then the muse within me wouldn’t leave me alone, whispering in my ear everyday for three months until it was complete.  After that, the desire to seek publication took over.

Reader’s Haven: Please share a bit about your new release, The Mistaken, without giving away any spoilers.

Nancy: It’s about a man who’s spent his entire life following every rule, who grows frustrated when he’s unable to disentangle his younger brother from the grip of San Francisco’s Russian Mafia.  Yet when his pregnant wife is killed as a result of a reckless woman’s greed, he uses his brother’s connection to the Russians to both exact revenge and free his brother from their clutches. But in his grief and rage, he mistakes the wrong woman for his intended victim and must find a way to protect her from the very enemy he’s unleashed even as they use his brother as leverage to force him to complete their deal.    

Reader’s Haven: Do you write under a pen name?

Nancy: No, I never even thought of using a pseudonym.  Instead, I use my legal married name.

Reader’s Haven: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Nancy: I love a flawed protagonist, one who’s been beaten down but refuses to give up, who sometimes makes awful choices, yet strives to set things right and maybe find redemption in the end.

Reader’s Haven: Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Nancy: Well, that depends on the phase of writing I’m in.  Right now, I’m outlining my second book, a sequel.  I prefer to brainstorm and scribble out handwritten notes in the evening, so during the day, I’m working on maintaining my platform and performing my job as an editor for Sapphire Star Publishing.  But when I’m in full writing mode, you can find me at my desk and computer for eighteen hours a day, seven days a week.    

Reader’s Haven: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Nancy: I’ve only fully written the one for now, but I’ve outlined another and have copious notes for a third, and I can tell you, they all deal with vengeance and forgiveness in one form or another, and usually deep but difficult family relationships. 

Reader’s Haven: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Nancy: The Mistaken took me three months to complete, from the handwritten outline to the first draft.  After that, I spent well over eighteen months working with critique partners, then revising and polishing, but though the story became fuller, the plot never changed. 

Reader’s Haven: Do you have to be alone to write?

Nancy: No, I don’t have to be alone, but I prefer it.  I don’t want anyone reading over my shoulder and wondering why I’m so dark and twisted.  Besides, when my husband is in my office, he’s usually listening to music or watching music videos on YouTube, which can be very distracting.

Reader’s Haven: How do you go about naming characters?

Nancy: I actually have a master list of character names.  It’s important that the first and last names work together lyrically and have some strong ethnic element or identification.  But even then, the names don’t always stick.  The male protagonist in The Mistaken was named Skylar until about two months before I signed my book deal, when a well-known agent told me she hated it and thought it was a girls’ name and recommended I change it.  So Skylar became Tyler, and though I still prefer Skylar, Tyler has grown on me. 

Reader’s Haven: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Nancy: No, I never ever use pictures.  Even now, when people ask who I would cast as my characters, I have a hard time picturing anyone, because they are unique in my mind. 

Reader’s Haven: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Nancy: My stories are always based in the locations in which I’ve lived.  The Mistaken takes place primarily in San Francisco, my previous home town, though there are quite a few scenes in the town I live now, Sammamish, Washington, on Seattle’s Eastside.  But the sequel, titled Leverage, takes place almost entirely in Seattle. 

Reader’s Haven: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

Nancy: Like I said, I’m working on a sequel to The Mistaken.  It is also a revenge story, but this time, but the tables are reversed. 

Reader’s Haven: Where can readers find out more about you and your books? 

Nancy: See my links below:

Find Nancy here:

Blog  /  Amazon  /  Goodreads /  Sapphire Star Publishing  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

Find The Mistaken here:
Goodreads / AmazonKindle  / Barnes & Noble  / Nook  / Amazon paperback  / Kobo  / iBooks  / Sapphire Star Publishing

Find The Mistaken book trailer here:

On YouTube  /  On my blog

****CONTEST****

Give away - an ebook copy of The Mistaken to one lucky commenter! Drawing held Sunday, Dec 16. Good luck!

Synopsis for The Mistaken:  

All Tyler Karras wants is to enjoy life with his expectant bride.  What he gets instead is a graveside seat at her funeral.  With the woman who killed her uncharged and still free, all Ty wants now is revenge.

His brother, Nick, has dangerous connections and suggests a sadistic plan: grab the woman responsible and hand her over to his associates—sex-traffickers in San Francisco’s Russian Mafia.  They offer Ty more than he dreamed possible.  In exchange for the woman, they’ll finally let his brother leave the business for good—with his debt wiped clean and his heart still beating.

There’s just one problem: Ty kidnaps the wrong woman.

Now he must protect Hannah Maguire from the very enemy he's unleashed, but the Russians are holding Nick as leverage to force Ty to complete their deal.  Caught in a no-win situation, Ty must find a way to save himself, his brother, and the woman, but with the Russian Mafia, even two out of three makes for very long odds .