Behind the Scenes: Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover (A Paranormal Romance) By Kelli A. Wilkins!

 

Behind the Scenes: Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover (A Paranormal Romance)

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

This “Behind the Scenes” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each blog, I’ll talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the book. Warning: Blogs may contain spoilers.

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is a unique end-of-summer romance. The story is told in first person by Brian, the hero. Why? It just came out that way. As I was writing, it felt more believable to have Brian tell the story of how he met and fell in love with a vampire. Readers meet Brian and are swept into the story as it unfolds for him, so they’re more personally involved. 

Most romances are told in third person and alternate between the hero and heroine’s points-of view. This story is different in that we don’t hear from Anya (the heroine) at all, other than in dialogue, and we only get to know her through Brian. 

The setting also makes it a bit unusual. Most readers don’t think of the beach as a place to find a vampire. When Brian first sees Anya, she is sitting on the beach at night reading a book by moonlight. I wanted to contrast the differences between Brian and Anya from the start. He’s a sun-worshipping surfer who is outside all day, and she’s a nocturnal loner, happy to lose herself in a romance novel when nobody else is around. 

The idea for the story came to me as I was sitting on the beach one afternoon in late October. It was cool and windy, and I had on a light jacket and sunglasses. Nobody else was on the beach (except for my surfer husband) and I liked the desolate surroundings. 

I started thinking… what if a vampire went to the beach at night to do all the things regular people did during the day? What if the vampire fell in love with a surfer? It would be like night and day. Would he give up his life in the sunlight to be with the woman he loves? That’s the main question of the story, and Brian’s ultimate dilemma.

As I was writing, I wanted to capture the essence of what Brian was experiencing when he was with Anya. So I gave the book a surreal, almost Gothic, dreamlike feel. I also knew that a vampire romance could easily become too gory or too realistic when it came to feeding and turn into a horror story. 

When I’m writing a paranormal romance, I have to be careful I don’t cross the line from paranormal romance into horror. The “monster” character must retain human traits and remain a sympathetic character the reader can identify with and like. 

If your paranormal creature is too scary or the story gets too gory it will turn off romance readers and cross over into the horror genre. I liked creating Anya. And I deliberately kept a lot of her background a mystery. Anya is a gentle, sensitive vampire… up to a point. We do get to see a more violent and assertive part of her vampire nature—but she has a good reason.

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is also a very explicit erotic romance. Anya is a sensual woman with needs that must be satisfied, and Brian is all for helping sate her desires. (Believe it or not, some e-book sales channels won’t carry the book because it’s erotica). 

But this isn’t just an erotic love story; there’s plenty of plot and drama for all romance lovers. It’s a unique blend of vampires, romance, and the beach. Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover makes a great summer read and I’m proud to say it got several excellent reviews. 

Confessions of A Vampire’s Lover

The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was hooked. Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t mind that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the sun set, he belonged to her—all night long!

Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he loves?

Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover.

Order Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IBYWYCI 

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/49xp1J

Read reviews & more here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/confessions-of-a-vampire-s-lover

 

Want more? Follow my Facebook Contemporary Romances page: https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/

I hope you enjoyed this “Behind the Scenes” look at the making of this hot summer romance. I welcome questions and comments from readers and other authors. Contact me via the form on my site or on social media.

Happy Reading,

Kelli A. Wilkins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories. 

She released Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing in early 2021. This fun and innovative guide to journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get you writing about your feelings and emotions. 

In 2020 Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877 Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.

Kelli posts on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor. 

Visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media links.

The Cottonwoods by Lyn Farrell Book Tour and Giveaway!

 

The Cottonwoods by Lyn Farrell

About The Cottonwoods

 

The Cottonwoods 

Women's Fiction/Romance 

Camel/Coffeetown/Epicenter Press 

Pages 238

When Amber Bradshaw was twelve, her dying mother made her promise that someday she would find the family treasure brought to the U.S. by her great grandparents during WWI. She’s been left the farmhouse they built but the farm on which it stands is to be sold. If Amber is ever to find the treasure, it has to be soon. She locates her great Grandmother Ina’s journal which speaks of shimmering golden coins, but also tells of her bitterness with her husband who stole her dowry and ripped her from her homeland. It’s an all-too-familiar concept to Amber who struggles with her own resentment about having to become a “mother” to her little sister, Claire, after her mother died. With two men interested in her, a heavy decision to make about Claire’s baby, and an agro-company trying to buy the farm, Amber has big decisions to make. Will she choose the right man? Will she keep Claire’s baby? Will she find the treasure? It’s a landscape strewn with snares and Amber is determined not to put a foot wrong.

Read an Excerpt!

She knew what was happening. She was being drawn back into the role of the “big sister,” the one who always took care of others. Except for the day I went to the lake, her conscience reminded her and the memory flared again like a brush fire.

When she reached the little lake near their house—just a pond really—the area was deserted. She stripped off her clothes, dove in the water and then popped to the surface, exhilarated and laughing. The water had been stingingly cold on her bare skin.

Pushing her dripping hair off her face, she thought she heard a boy’s taunting laughter. She waited as long as she could, not wanting him to see her naked, but in just moments, desperate to escape the cold, she scrambled up the bank. She waited there for several minutes, hunkered down, but hearing nothing more, dashed to the place she had left her clothes.

They weren’t there.

About Lyn Farrell

Lyn Farquhar – author name Lyn Farrell – has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University where she worked for the medical school until her retirement. Subsequently, she published a 7 book series of mysteries with her daughter (pen name Lia Farrell) entitled the “Mae December mysteries”. She then initiated a second mystery series starting with “The Blind Switch.” The second in that series, “The Blind Split” will be released in 2022. Lyn is a master gardener, a “dog mom” to her Cavalier Spaniel, Dezi, and the granddaughter of noted artist Eugene Iverd. She is the mother of two bio daughters, six step-kids, and twelve grandchildren. When she isn’t gardening, writing, spending time with family or playing with Dezi, she searches for the original art by her grandfather.

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Meet the Character Day: Chatting with Brian from Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover by Kelli A Wilkins!

 

Meet the Character Day: Chatting with Brian from Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

This “Meet the Character Day” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each “Behind the Scenes” blog, I talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the book. The “Meet the Character Day” blogs are fun chats with the heroes and heroines from my romances. Warning: blogs may contain spoilers.

Hello romance lovers! Today we’re chatting with Brian, the hero from Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover by Kelli A. Wilkins. Let’s see what’s on his mind…

Greetings, Brian. Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is a contemporary paranormal summer romance. Can you tell us more about the book?

Hi! Well, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is what the title says, confessions of a vampire’s lover. It’s the story of how I met and fell in love with a woman named Anya, who turns out to be a vampire.

The story is told entirely in first person from my point-of-view. That’s unusual for a romance, because most of them are third-person stories and you get a variety of different characters’ points-of-view. Or, if it is a first-person romance, it’s usually told by the heroine, not the hero. But this is my story and I tell it the way it happened. 

Readers should know that the story is an erotic romance. I don’t shy away from sharing explicit details about our sexual encounters. Some people might be turned off by the high heat level (3), but they would still enjoy the story. They can skip over any scenes that are too “hot!” 

What drew you to Anya?

I was on the beach at night, toward the end of the summer season, and I saw her reading a book (it was a romance novel, of course). It was strange because she was reading by moonlight. Anya was alone, but something about her seemed lonely, and kind of aloof. I thought she was cute, and I wanted to talk to her, but when I looked back, she was gone. The book was lying there in the sand, but she had vanished. Needless to say, that got me very curious. The next time I saw her (at a party) I made a point of talking to her and getting to know her.

When did you find out Anya is a vampire and how did you take it?

How do you think I took it? I thought she was nuts! (Laughs). Who wouldn’t? I mean, really, if someone told you they are a vampire, would you believe them? And besides, I first saw Anya on the beach. Most people don’t think of the beach as a place to find a vampire. 

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but I knew Anya had peculiar habits (she never came to see me during the day, left my place before dawn, she never let me see where she lived), but, being a guy, I thought she was being secretive and seeing someone else on the side. When I confronted her about cheating on me, she confessed that she was a vampire. I didn’t believe her at first, but then I started piecing other things together, and it made sense. (Plus, she showed me her fangs!)

What’s Anya’s personality like? Are you very compatible?

Yes, we get along great and are still in love. Of course, I had to make certain ”adjustments” to be with Anya, but it was certainly worth it. I’ve always been a bit of a loner and so had Anya. Now we can be “alone together” so to speak. I wasn’t close to my family, and her family has been gone for a few hundred years. 

Anya has a great sense of humor when you get to know her. She loves watching movies, listening to music, going to concerts, and traveling. Even after all these years, there’s so much to do and see in the world. She told me it’s much more fun to do things as a couple. Anya has her serious side and can get a little moody, but so do most people.

Okay, we need to ask… Feeding is mentioned in the story… how does that work exactly?

Kelli decided to keep Anya’s feeding “off-page” in the book. After all, this is a romance. Readers might be turned off by the bloodier, or more violent, aspects of Anya’s life. I’d like to say that we’re not how vampires are portrayed in the movies and tv shows. We’re not lurking in graveyards or castles, wearing capes or filly dresses, and attacking people in their beds. 

We basically live like any normal couple (except we’re nocturnal and have special dietary needs). Anya has asked that I don’t go into too many specific details (for obvious reasons), but I can say we don’t harm anyone or “feed” from anyone without consent, and we don’t need to feed as often as people think. 

Do you have other vampires in your life? Human friends?

Sort of. Anya knows where there are one or two other vampires nearby (they have a psychic connection), but we don’t socialize. We do have mortal friends and coworkers (yes, we have jobs), but we’re not incredibly close and they don’t know our secret. Vampires have been living alongside mortals for thousands of years. We live in the background (or the shadows!) and tend to mind our own business.

A big part of the story is how much you love surfing and going to the beach. Do you still surf?

Yes, I’m still surfing. Of course, I can’t go to the beach during the day, but I surf at night. I still love being near the ocean, and I’ve starting deep-sea diving. It’s amazing what treasures you can find underwater!

Anything else you want to add?

I hope readers like Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover. It’s a quick summer read (maybe even a beach read!) that blends a dreamlike romance with sizzling love scenes. Kelli says it’s gotten several great reviews, too.  

Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone! If you missed any blog in this series, you can catch up here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/blog

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover

The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was hooked. Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t mind that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the sun set, he belonged to her—all night long!

Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he loves?

Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover.

Order Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IBYWYCI 

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/49xp1J

Read reviews & more here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/confessions-of-a-vampire-s-lover

 

Want more? Follow Kelli’s Facebook Contemporary Romances page: https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories. 

She released Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing in early 2021. This fun and innovative guide to journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get you writing about your feelings and emotions. 

In 2020 Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877 Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.

Kelli posts on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor. 

Visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media links.

A Scone of Contention: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette Book Tour and Giveaway!

A Scone of Contention: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette

About A Scone of Contention

A Scone of Contention: A Key West Food Critic Mystery 

Cozy Mystery 11th in the Series 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (August 10, 2021) 

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1643856243 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643856247 

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08N6SCZRC 

A murderer's out to spoil Hayley's honeymoon in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette's eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery.

 

Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow and her groom, police detective Nathan Bransford, chose Scotland for their long-delayed honeymoon, hoping to sightsee and enjoy some prize-winning scones. But their romantic duo swells to a crowd when they're joined by Nathan's family as well as octogenarian Miss Gloria.

 

Nathan's sister Vera takes the women on a whirlwind tour of some of Scotland's iconic mystic places as research for a looming book project. But the trip takes a deadly tartan turn when a dinner party guest falls ill and claims she was poisoned. And then the group watches in horror as a mysterious tourist tumbles to his death from the famous Falkirk Wheel, high above the Forth & Clyde canal.

 

Vera and her friends deny knowing the dead man, but after observing their reactions to the fall, Hayley is not convinced. With one person dead, a second possibly poisoned, and the tension among Vera's friends as thick as farmhouse cheese, Hayley fears her long-awaited honeymoon might end with another murder.

 

Far away from home, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, eccentric characters, and a forbiddingly gorgeous setting, Hayley must call on all her savvy to keep a killer from striking again and then escaping Scot free.

About Lucy Burdette

 

Courtesy Carol Tedesco

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) is the author of 19 mysteries, including A SCONE OF CONTENTION, the eleventh book in the Key West series featuring food critic Hayley Snow. 

THE KEY LIME CRIME won the bronze medal for popular fiction in the Florida Book Awards. Lucy’s books and stories have also been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She's a past president of Sisters in Crime, and currently serving as president of the Friends of the Key West Library.

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  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/robertaisleib 

  Blogs: http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com http://www.jungleredwriters.com 

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The Journalist A Paranormal Thriller by David Gardner Book Tour and Giveaway!

The Journalist

A Paranormal Thriller

by David Gardner

August 1-31, 2021 Tour

Synopsis:

If Jeff can't save his ghostly ancestors from disappearing, so will he.

Writing for a cheesy Boston tabloid, Jeff Beekle fabricates a whimsical tale about a mob-built CIA prison for ghosts.

Which turns out to be true.

Now both the mob and the CIA have Jeff in their sights.

Even worse, Jeff discovers that his great-grandmother is an inmate and that she and the other spectral residents are being groomed as CIA spies. (And why not? They're invisible, draw no salary, and won't hop into bed with enemy agents.)

To his horror, Jeff learns that ancestors held too long in earthly captivity will vanish as if never born, taking with them all their descendants, which includes him.

Can Jeff outwit the mob and the CIA, free his ghostly ancestors, destroy the prison and save himself?

Book Details:

Genre: Humorous Paranormal Thriller
Published by: Encircle Publications, LLC
Publication Date: February 10th 2021
Number of Pages: 322
ISBN: 164599144X (ISBN13: 9781645991441)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Book Trailer of The Journalist:

Read an excerpt:

Chapter 1

SCORPIO Oct. 23 – Nov. 21
Your ancestors are the raw material of your being, but who you become is your responsibility alone. Learn to turn your troubles into opportunities. Today is a good day to defrag your hard drive.

He hovers in the doorway at the far end of the newsroom, his feet not touching the floor. When he spots me, he glides forward, trailing diaphanous versions of himself that become smaller and smaller until they disappear. He wears leather chaps, an oversized black cowboy hat and high-heeled boots that almost bring him up to five feet. He has leathery skin and a drooping gray mustache.

It’s my great-great-grandfather Hiram Beekle, back for another ghostly visit.

He first showed up when I was six years old, right after I shot and killed my stepfather.

I’m the only one who can see him, hear him, talk to him.

As a kid, I would wet my pants and run away whenever Hiram showed up. Now he’s just a pain in the ass.

I turn back to my keyboard, hoping he’ll go away. I’m not in the mood for advice, taunts, prods, complaints, boasts.

He showed up last week to tell me to quit my job and find something better. Same thing the week before and the week before that. Probably why he’s back today.

I have to admit he’s right, but I’m sure as hell not going to tell him that.

Just four months ago I was a hot-shot investigative reporter for the Boston Globe. Now I write for a tacky supermarket tabloid, the Boston Tattler. Its newsroom is an open bay on the second floor of a ratty building that once served as a cheese warehouse that on humid days still smells of camembert. Out front are the marketing and distribution people, along with the office of the publisher, my Uncle Sid. Only he would hire a disgraced journalist like me.

I churn out fanciful tales about creatures from outer space, Elvis sightings and remedies for double chins. Some readers believe my stuff and some don’t. Those in between ride the wave of the fun and nonsensical and don’t care whether the stuff they’re reading is true or not.

Our larger rivals concentrate on noisy Hollywood breakups and soap-opera stars with gambling addictions. The worst of our competitors traffic in fake political conspiracies. But Uncle Sid stays with alien visitors, kitten pictures and herbal cures for chin wattles. He likes to point out that kittens and spacemen don’t sue. He’s been sued too often.

I type:

Although local sportswriters puzzle over the inconsistencies of Red Sox hurlers, the shocking truth is that—

“That’s crap, Jeff.”

Hiram has drifted around behind me to peer over my shoulder.

“Try ‘terrifying’,” he adds. “‘Shocking’ is overused.”

Hiram pretends he’d been a cowpoke, but in fact made a living writing pulp westerns.

I look around to see if anyone is watching, then turn back to Hiram and whisper, “Is that why you’re here, to dispense advice on adjectives?”

“That and to let you know I sense danger.”

“You’re always sensing danger. Just last week, you told me than an earthquake was…”

I stop whispering when Sherwood shuffles over, coffee cup in hand. He’s a doughy, middle-aged man who reads the dictionary for pleasure. “Another tale about space critters, Jeff?”

“A follow-up to last week’s. It’s Uncle Sid’s idea. He loved the national exposure.”

Sherwood nods. “You knocked that one out of the ballpark.”

Sherwood loves sports metaphors but hates sports.

One of my stories from the week before somehow got into the hands of a particularly dim U.S. Congressman who scrambled onto the floor of the House of Representatives to fume against the government agency for hiring a mob-controlled construction company to build a prison for creatures from the planet Ook-239c.

I kick off my sneakers, tilt back my chair and put my bare feet up on my desk. “What’re you working on today?”

“I’ve got a TV chef who’s gone on a hunger strike, identical twin sisters in Chattanooga who’ve been secretly exchanging husbands for fourteen years, and an eight-year-old boy in Brisbane who can predict the future by licking truck tires—the usual stuff.” Sherwood takes a gulp of coffee, shrugs, sighs. “Do you ever wonder what you’re doing with your life?”

“Sometimes. But who doesn’t?”

Again Sherwood sighs. I’ve never known anyone to sigh so often. His wife ran off with a termite inspector a few years back, and soon afterward he lost his professorship and his house. Sherwood was put on the earth as an example of what I don’t want to become.

“You should look for another job,” I say.

Sherwood shrugs, then ambles back to his desk. He doesn’t want another job because it would make him feel better.

But I want a better job so badly that I dream I’ve found one, then wake up to reality.

Hiram floats around front and shakes his head. “The little guy’s right—you should get a better job. And for that, you need to get that darn Pulitzer back.”

I delete ‘shocking’ and type ‘terrifying.’ “Think I’m not trying?”

“Try harder. Young people these days—”

“…don’t know the meaning of hard work,” I contribute. “Yeah, I know. Now go away.”

“No, you go away. You’re in deep trouble, young man. Two black-hearted sidewinders have ridden into town to—”

“That’s the ridiculous opening line from Rise From Ashes. A dreadful novel.”

“Dreadful? Do you know how many copies I sold?” Hiram says.

“The protagonist was an idiot who shot his own big toe off.”

“That had a solid plot purpose. And at least he shot himself, not a member of his own family.”

Whenever I piss Hiram off, he brings up the shooting.

“Screw you!” I whisper and turn back to my keyboard.

Green Monsters on the Green Monster!
Late last night, a sharp-eyed Boston Red Sox guard spotted a pack of green, three-eyed space monsters in Fenway Park. Authorities believe them to be the aliens who escaped from the secret government prison first brought to the public’s attention in last week’s Boston Tattler. The guard reported seeing the creatures scrambling up the wall that Red Sox fans have lovingly dubbed ‘The Green Monster.’
Green monsters attracted to a green wall? A coincidence? Unlikely. In fact, experts on the subject of aliens from outer…

“This little piggy—”

“Hey!” I jerk my foot back.

Melody has sneaked up on me. She likes to do that.

She wiggles my little toe again. “This little piggy went to market, this little piggy—well, you know the rest of the narrative.” She lets go of my toe.

“Actually, that felt good. Don’t stop.”

“That’s as much wiggling as you get, Jeff. You’re married.”

I pull my feet off my desk and rest them on the floor. “Separated.”

“That’s still married.”

Melody is my editor. She’s thirty-seven—three years older than I am. Her face is narrow and pretty, her hair red and wavy. She likes hoop earrings and has long feet.

She shuffles through the printout in her hands. “You sent me eight stories this week but promised me nine.”

“I’m still working on the last one. Did you know that a space creature has replaced the Red Sox mascot and has put a hex on the top of the batting order?”

“They’re already hexed,” Melody says. She eyes me for a long moment, then screws up her mouth. “I’m concerned.”

Here it comes again. “About my articles? About my bare toes? Or my collection of metal toys?” I reach across my desk, pick up the Spirit of St. Louis and fly it back and forth overhead.

Melody puts her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes. “Yes, all those things, Jeffrey, but in this instance, what I meant was I hate to see you wasting your talent writing this garbage. You’re the best writer I’ve ever edited. You deserved that Pulitzer.”

“Which they took back twenty-seven days later.”

“Most journalists would kill to have one for even twenty-seven days.”

Melody said that with a smile. She says most everything with a smile. It’s a pretty smile, but sometimes forced, as if she were trying to make herself happier than she feels. She’s the opposite of Sherwood, who wallows in gloom and wants to pull everyone down with him.

I say, “You always see the best in every situation.”

“Thanks.”

“It drives me batshit.”

Melody raps her knuckles on my desk. “I need the copy by two o’clock.” She raps her knuckles on the top of my head. “At the latest.”

I watch her go. I shouldn’t tease her the way I do. Melody’s not the hard-ass editor she pretends to be. She’s in fact a softy, smart and thoughtful. Also curvy.

Hiram says, “That young lady has a fine carriage.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” I say and pick up my typing where I left off:

Space lizards have the ability to slow down fast balls, strip the spin from curves and send knuckleballs off in…

Hiram says, “‘slow down fast balls’ is flabby and clumsy because ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ interfere with each other.”

“Un huh.” I keep on typing.

“Clementine’s coming to visit.”

“Oh?”

“She’s worried about Ebenezer.”

I look up from my keyboard. “What is it this time?”

“He’s missing.”

“Grandpa Ebenezer is always missing,” I say.

“Clementine thinks he’s in trouble.”

I delete ‘slow down fast balls’ and type ‘retard fast balls. “How can Ebenezer be in trouble? He’s dead.”

“I don’t like that word—and now you’re the one in trouble.”

I look up to see Uncle Sid coming toward me. Two burly guys walk with him, one on each side, clutching his arms.

My uncle looks scared. I hate to see that. I love the guy.

“Jeff,” he says with a quiver, “these two gentlemen want a word with you.”

I’ve watched enough local news to recognize the Ramsey twins—Hank and Freddie. Not gentlemen. Mobsters.

I get to my feet, pull Sid free from the pair’s grasp and wrap my arm around his shoulders. They’re trembling. “What in hell do you two want?

Hank steps closer and blows his cigar breath in my face. He has big ears and black hair combed straight back. At six feet three, he stands eye-to-eye with me, but he’s half again as wide. He says, “Did you write that idiotic story?”

“Which idiotic story? I write lots of idiotic stories.”

Freddie says, “Asshole!” and steps forward.

Hank reaches out to hold him back. “Easy.”

Although the two were born identical, no one has trouble telling them apart because Freddie had the front half of his nose lobbed off in a knife fight. This gives him a piggy look.

Hank says, “You know what I’m talking about, wiseass. Who told you about that government prison for space monsters?”

“Who? No one. I made it up.”

“You made it up?”

“I make up everything I write.”

Hank tilts his head back and half closes his eyes. “You made the story up?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

Hank pokes me in the chest. “Then how come it’s true?”

***

Excerpt from The Journalist by David Gardener. Copyright 2021 by David Gardener. Reproduced with permission from David Gardener. All rights reserved.

 Author Bio:

David Gardner grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, served in Army Special Forces and earned a Ph.D. in French from the University of Wisconsin. He has taught college, worked as a reporter and sold women’s shoes.

He coauthored three programming books for Prentice Hall, wrote dozens of travel articles as well as too many mind-numbing computer manuals before happily turning to fiction.

He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Nancy, also a writer. He hikes, bikes, messes with astrophotography and plays the keyboard with no discernible talent whatsoever.

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Ghost Daughter (The Alice MacDonald Greer Mysteries) by Helen Currie Foster Book Tour and Giveaway!

Ghost Daughter (The Alice MacDonald Greer Mysteries) by Helen Currie Foster

About Ghost Daughter

 

Ghost Daughter (The Alice MacDonald Greer Mysteries) 

Cozy Mystery 7th in Series 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stuart's Creek Press, LLC (June 15, 2021)

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 342 pages 

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1732722919 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1732722910

Coffee Creek lawyer Alice MacDonald Greer knows a dangerous client secret when she hears one—especially when it disappoints impatient heirs.

 

Wealthy widow Ellie Windom asks Alice to help change her will, revealing she’s found her long-lost daughter, and hinting at valuable hidden art in Santa Fe. But there’s trouble with Ellie’s warring sons.

 

When Ellie is found dead at her ranch, her skull cracked—and a horse in the house—police can’t find a murder weapon and the obvious suspects all have alibis.

 

Determined to carry out Ellie’s final wishes, Alice races to find the hidden art, eluding intruders and carjackers. But who are the thieves trying to beat her to the hidden art? Is the art a treasure or a clever forgery? Is Ellie’s death connected to the murderous attacks on a lover from long ago?

 

The search sends Alice and her companions road-racing up Santa Fe mountains, fending off attackers in Austin, and escaping across the Texas Hill Country…rewarded occasionally with some delicious barbecue.

About Helen Currie Foster

Helen Currie Foster lives and writes north of Dripping Springs, Texas, in Texas Hill Country, supervised by three burros. She's deeply curious, more every day, about human history and prehistory and how, uninvited, the past keeps crashing the party. In each of her Ghost mystery novels, small town lawyer Alice Macdonald Greer must unravel a murder with its roots in the past...long ago.

[If more is needed] Foster earned her BA from Wellesley College, MA from the University of Texas, and JD from the University of Michigan where she grew fascinated with dirt and water law. After practicing environmental law and regulatory litigation for thirty years, she found the character Alice had suddenly appeared in her life. She's active with Austin Shakespeare and Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime.

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  Website www.helencurriefoster.com 

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  Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Currie-Foster/ 

  GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13556923.Helen_Currie_Foster 

  Twitter https://twitter.com/foster_currie 

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