Devil's Brae- New Release by Faith Mortimer

Synopsis for Devil’s Brae

Imagine a warm autumn afternoon in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands. Cassandra  Potter, fleeing from the memories of two traumatic deaths, goes walking alone on Devil’s Brae.

The wild country is empty, stretching for miles in every direction, it is then she sees him. A dark brooding figure, standing and watching as Cassandra climbs the brae. Apart from a lingering uneasy feeling she ignores the watcher, until the next time and it is then she realises her mistake. Someone wishes her gone from the village – at all costs.

Cassandra’s life is plunged into danger. Who is threatening her existence and her sanity? Who is the mysterious stranger? An inhabitant of the village of Inverdarroch? Or a person from her clouded past?

Above all, why is this happening to her?

Author Q&A

What attracted you to writing in the first place?

Loving literature as I do, I’d always wanted to write – whether it was novels, plays or poetry. As a child I used to write stories for my sisters and then as I grew older, my short stories became much longer until they resembled novellas. But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that I started writing my first full-length novel 

What genre are you most comfortable writing?

There’s more than one and I like to switch from one to another making sure I don’t become stale with my writing. I love crime writing; murder mystery suspense, but I don’t do real hard core violence – I prefer to let the reader’s imagination take over after I’ve laid down some hints. I love writing adventure and action mixed in with romantic suspense. Finally I’ve recently begun writing pure romance and I’m enjoying writing in an entirely different vein.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?

I’ve lived an amazing life – and God willing I’ve got a lot of living still to do!  Since the age of five I’ve been fortunate in visiting many countries and six of my tender years I spent living in Malaya and Singapore. I think living abroad and mixing with different cultures and class has enriched my life and hopefully my writing.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from?

From all sorts of places. It could be a simple snippet from an overheard conversation, talking with friends, reading an article in a magazine or something from the television. I have an antenna that turns towards interesting themes and I log on – especially if the subject is unusual!

Do you have any writing rituals or listen to “mood music” when you write? Where is your favorite place to write?

I try and write in the morning for a few hours, then break and do something else. If I have time and the inspiration I’ll pick up and carry on. The next day I go over the previous day’s work and edit it. I rarely listen to music – I need quiet and I write in our ‘snug’.

What’s your favorite place in the entire world?

Being with my husband and family.

Fame or fortune, which would you prefer?

Can I have both please?!!

If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

Either a surgeon or an actor/singer

Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?

Chocolate! Every time. Even when I diet I save room for a tiny piece as a reward!

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?

Unlimited supply of water and food. My reading glasses and books. My mate.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

My editor is pretty excited about this book – she says I improve with each one! This is the first of a new ‘Dark Minds’ series and I enjoyed writing it - I’d love you to share the experience with me.

So what’s next for you as an author? Any last words?

I’ve finished writing a new romance this one is set around Christmas so aptly names, On Christmas Hill. I love it and made my husband cry when he first read it! On the thriller side of things, fans are demanding another Diana Rivers Mystery…so I’ve already started a new novel and this is set in Portugal.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Now let’s talk a little about, ‘Devil’s Brae’.

When asked about the inspiration for, ‘Devil’s Brae, I immediately think of my fans and followers. ‘Devil’s Brae is the first in a new psychological thriller series – the Dark Mind series.

My first series, the Diana Rivers series, currently has five books with a sixth planned. The books are:  The Assassins’ Village, Children of the Plantation, The Surgeon’s Blade, and Camera Action…Murder! and Childhunt– My followers keep asking when the next book is coming out and I’m doing my best to keep up! So either last in 2013 or early 2014 there will be a sixth added to the collection!

Mystery suspense thrillers are fun to write, perhaps because there are so many little threads which need to be absolutely correct. I enjoy thinking up little clues to keep the reader guessing and a few red herring to throw them off the track. As well as pitting my wits in writing the story I have to remember that my audience is often very skilled in working through the mystery, so there has to be lots to keep everyone interested right through to the final page.

I’m so lucky in that I love what I’m doing and feel privileged because I have some amazing followers. I sincerely hope I never forget that it is my readers who have helped get me where I am today. Thank you.

Get it Here:

Link to Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/15We7wG

Link to Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEVILS-BRAE-Dark-Minds-ebook/dp/B00F0MRYWA/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378539779&sr=1-12&keywords=Faith+Mortimer

Link to B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/devils-brae-faith-mortimer/1116851743?ean=2940148564621

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaithMortimer.Author

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaithMortimer

Author Website/blog: http://www.faithmortimerauthor.com/

Goodreads author/book page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2967303.Faith_Mortimer

Link to Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/faithmortimer/boards/

Link to Awesome Indies: http://awesomeindies.net/

AUTHOR BIO

Faith Mortimer is a wife & mother, dividing her time between Hampshire, UK & Cyprus. Since childhood, she dreamt of writing novels which readers would love, & spent many hours writing short stories which she read to her sisters.
Later her dreams were put on hold while she focused upon her family & careers as a nurse & later overseeing a string of travel & sport related companies.
Born in Manchester & educated in Singapore, Malaya & Hampshire, England. A Registered nurse & in later years changed careers to oversee a number of travel & sport related companies.

Crime Novelist, Mitchell Nevin

Mitchell Nevin is visiting to share his new book 

Psychic Reprieve: Deception& Reality

So Mitchell, why don’t we start by learning a bit about yourself.

When did you decide to become a writer?

After serving over three-decades in law enforcement, I had seen and heard many things I felt that I should pass along.  Law enforcement is full of colorful characters—from the cops who work the streets to some of those involved in criminal activity. 

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Tom Clancy is my favorite writer.  I really enjoy the way he researches material.  He also uses a lot of dialog, as do I.  Fredrick Forsyth’s “The Day of the Jackal,” is one of the first books that I read from cover-to-cover while serving a tour overseas in the military.  Like Clancy, he diligently researched his facts, which is why “Jackal” is a classic novel.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

My faith is very important to me.   Like many Americans, sometimes family events, work, and personal matters can take their toll.   I believe that, whether I was a police officer or a father, God gave me the ability to shrug my shoulders and recognize that, like the Biblical figure Job, we are often tested.  I thank the good Lord that I have, for the most part, succeeded.  I am grateful and very content with the life I have lived and thankful for what I have.  

For your own reading, do you prefer e-books or traditional paper/hard back books?

It depends.  I really like my Kindle.  I can download so many newspapers and books, even while I’m vacationing in remote areas, such as northern Wisconsin.  On the other hand, on a warm sunny day at the beach, noting beats a traditional book.  I also like passing my dead tree books to others.  I think hardcover books are valuable from the perspective of obtaining an autograph or establishing a family library.  They are very durable and last for generations. 

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

King David would be one.  A young man with so many difficult challenges, who, like so many of our leaders today, succumbed to an extra-marital relationship (with Bathsheba), but prayed for and received forgiveness.  St. Peter, the man who betrayed Christ, but was later crucified himself, is very inspirational.  Nelson Mandela is a leader who, although I disagree with his political philosophy, has Gandhi-like attributes that enabled him to reconcile the past by forgiving those who imprisoned and tortured him.  He is a much bigger man than most, who would have sought vengeance over the good of their nation.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

I generally develop a list of ideas and seek to incorporate these concepts into compelling characters.  I also try to provide readers with stories within the plotline itself.  The mini-stories, or sub-plots, feed into the overall plot, but, more importantly, define the characters.

What are the titles & Genres of your books?

“The Cozen Protocol,” my first novel, was an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel of the Year Award nominee.  It is fictional, but incorporates actual offenses into the overall gang/police corruption plot.   In “Psychic Reprieve,” the characters, while all flawed in the face of the justice system, are, at heart, good human beings seeking to thrive and redeem themselves once released from prison.  The genre is fiction, but also makes use of actual offenses, criminal profiling, interrogations, and high-tech government surveillance.

What inspired you to write your first book, The Cozen Protocol?

During my career with the Milwaukee Police Department, I felt that many officers were unjustifiably thrown under the bus for political purposes.  These were rank-and-file officers caught in the midst of political power plays.   But instead of folding their tents and laying low, many of these officers, despite being victims of departmental politics, forged ahead to serve those that they took an oath to protect.  To good officers, police work is a calling.   These are the cops who toil in unbelievable conditions night-after-night and make a difference.

How did you come up with the title?

“Cozen” is a word that means “snake like” and/or deceptive.  The characters who sought to undermine the cops that patrol the street initiated an unofficial “cozen protocol” in attempt to derail the careers of a handful of officers who had the goods on a high-ranking police official who wanted to become the Milwaukee PD’s chief-of-police.

Who is your favorite character from your books and why?

In “The Cozen Protocol” it was, no doubt, Detective Gavin Fitzgerald.  As retired Milwaukee PD Captain Glenn Frankovis noted, Fitzgerald knew how to work around bureaucratic obstacles; he was dedicated but not obsessed; and viewed his profession as a calling.  In “Psychic Reprieve,” I liked all three major characters—an African-American baseball pitcher, a disgraced Chicago PD sergeant, and the Italian-American identity thief—because they understood each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

In “The Cozen Protocol” and “Psychic Reprieve,” the personalities of the main characters are drawn out by their use of humor and/or one-liners.  Granted, sometimes this humor is politically incorrect, as are the beliefs and personalities of many of us.  How Americans perceive societal trends is often times based on geography, race, age, political beliefs and religious perspectives.  These are the hallmarks of living in America that I sought to highlight.

Is there a message in your new novel, Psychic Reprieve, that you want readers to grasp? 

Yes, while there are several things that divide Americans, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, political beliefs, and geography, when thrown together by circumstances outside one’s control, Americans tend to overcome and appreciate these differences. 
How much of the book is realistic?  

Several of the crimes mentioned in both “The Cozen Protocol” and “Psychic Reprieve” are take offs of actual events.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? 

I try to create unique circumstances that keep the characters interesting.   This is always a challenge when evaluating solid character development.  I want to give each character a certain personality.  In “Psychic Reprieve,” the fact that each character, to a certain extent, is a fish out of water gives the plot its uniqueness.  
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? 

I try to travel to many locales in the Midwest to promote my books.  In the future, I would like to visit places in the south and southwest to promote each novel at shows and fairs.   My marketing company is in the process of offering a program where groups can sponsor visits by yours truly to college campus, community group meetings, or book club events. 
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? 

I learned that writing a book is much more difficult than I ever imagined.  In a sense, it is like aspiring to run a marathon—many people seek to do so but very few ever cross the finish line.  During my life, I have been fortunate to have run a marathon and have written books.  In that sense, God has blessed me.

What are your future projects?  

I have conceptualized at least two potential novels involving organized crime, cops gone bad, and steadfast investigators.  Now I just need to work on the characters and it’s off to the races.
Do you have any advice for other writers? 

Yes. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Recognize your limitations; set reasonable expectations, and realize that, when you are an upstart writer, it is difficult to get recognized.

Thanks Mitchell!

Psychic Reprieve: Deception & Reality

R.C. is a rising star in baseball, until his world comes crashing down. Raised by his grandparents, Raunold Choquet has one dream in life, to play ball. When a hazing incident goes astray, he finds out that justice is not always blind. Reality sets in when he is attacked in prison.

Awakening from a coma with piercing headaches and vivid dreams, he is left to sort out what is real, and what is not. Psychic Reprieve: Deception & Reality introduces us to a group of unlikely friends: a well-liked college baseball player, a disgraced Chicago police sergeant, and a folksy identify thief, as they seek to cash in on one of the trio's clairvoyant abilities. As their plan unfolds, the lines between deception and reality blur as the motivation for financial gain clashes with conscience, patriotism, and personal responsibility.

Purported psychics use their talents - real or perceived - to provide a service and earn an income. In this particular line of work, scammers and snake oil salesmen sometimes move about like thieves in the night. Realists see psychic readings as a pricy form of entertainment. To those in search of inner peace, however, the hopes of bringing a loved one's killer to justice or communicating with a relative on 'the other side' can make them an easy mark for brazen charlatans.

 Mitchell Nevin's latest novel searches the shadowy expanses occupied by serial killers, cold-blooded terrorists, challenged detectives, troubled loved ones, and a gifted young man on a quest to mend his tattered reputation.

The Cozen Protocol

Mitchell Nevin is a master at developing characters readers will empathize with, even the bad guys. Nothing is as it seems-flip the pages to find out, who’s good, who’s bad, who’s dead, and who survives.
The Cozen Protocol is an intricately woven story, perfect for any crime lover. Take a ride in the front seat with Milwaukee’s finest and view the world as you have never seen it before; by walking-a-mile in the shoes of everyday street cops as they carefully balance the ebb-and-flow of justice and politics. 
Faced with inept leadership, outlaw bikers, gangs, and crooked cops, each day is another unique challenge. Down, but not out, the fine men and women of law enforcement combine their talents and work together to “foil” the bad guys and live to fight crime for another day. 

WWW.MITCHELLNEVIN.COM

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp2Fr8K5FPw

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mitchellnevin

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/mitchell-nevin

Barnes and Who

I recently met with my editor for coffee. What better place to go than Cool Beans, on the Marietta Square. It was my first visit to the quant shop, so I sipped on my freshly brewed latte as we settled in. We exchanged thoughts and ideas then, the topic switched to ebooks. I was enlightening her, on how my heart had grown to cover ebooks, as well as print.

She leaned in and whispered, apologetically, that she owned a nook. Has our world come to this? Nookies have to hide in secret? I reassured her that it was okay, that I owned a nook as well. And I love my nook, however, with Amazon dominating the field it has made conversations with nook owners….um…a bit awkward. Like perhaps, we did something wrong.

With Barnes & Noble thinking of throwing Nook out into the cold, what are nook owners to do? Do they put on blinders and keep reading? Do they avoid social media? I’m not sure what other nookies are doing, but I am downloading all of my nook books to my computer for safe keeping.*  

With Borders gone, B&N is throwing rocks at Amazon. They recently released a statement that newly published Amazon Titles will not be sold in B&N stores. Perhaps this is to get back at Amazon for indie authors flocking to them, and exclusively, enrolling their books, in the Amazon Lending Library.

Of course, if B&N were more indie friendly, the stampede wouldn’t be quite as large.

*To download ebooks, just pull up your Nook Library page on the computer and click the big Blue download button next to the Cover Pic. An epub copy will be downloaded on your computer. You can read it on your computer with Adobe Digital, a free Download.

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Lynn Hubbard is a local author Follow her Blog at: http://authorlynnhubbard.blogspot.com/

Take a peek at her books at: www.lynnhubbard.com

Guest Blogger: Romance Author Sarah Woodbury

Historical Romance Author Sarah Woodbury stopped into day with a wonderful History lesson!

 As you know, I love history and am tickled to death to have her visit!

Sarah has several wonderful titles. Today she is sharing Daughter of time, only .99, just in time for Cyber Monday!

Women in Celtic Society

It is a stereotype that women in the Middle Ages had two career options:  mother or holy woman, with prostitute or chattel filling in the gaps between those two.  Whether we like it or not, for the most part this stereotype is accurate and the status and role of women in that era revolved around these categories.

This is one reason that when an author sets fiction in this time, it is difficult to write a self-actualized female character who has any kind of autonomy or authority over her own life.  Thus, it is common practice to make fictional characters either healers of some sort (thus opening up a whole array of narrative possibilities for travel and interaction with interesting people) or to focus on high status women.  Such women may or may not actually have had more autonomy, but their lives didn’t consist of drudgery and child care from morning until night.

This is not to say that men in the Middle Ages weren’t equally restricted in their ‘careers’.  A serf is a serf after all, of whatever gender.  Men as a whole, however, did have control of women, of finances, of government, and of the Church, and thus organized and ruled the world.  Literally.

There are obvious exceptions—Eleanor of Aquitaine, anyone—but women such as she were one out of thousands upon thousands who were born, worked, and died within five miles of their home.

At the same time, within Celtic cultures, women at least had the possibility of greater personal autonomy.  In Ireland, where the Roman Church had less influence, women had a viable place both within the Druid religion and within the Celtic/Irish Church.  Wales too was less subject to the restrictions of the Church.  There, women had a higher status than in Christendom as a whole, including the right to divorce her husband and societal acceptance of illegitimate children. 

The Laws of Women (part of the Laws of Hywel Dda) included rules that governed marriage and the division of property if a married couple should separate. Women usually married through contract, but elopement was allowed, with the provision that if the relationship lasted seven years, a woman had the same entitlements as if she’d been given to her husband by her kin.

My book, Daughter of Time, tells the story a young widow, Meg, who falls through time into the Middle Ages—and into the arms of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales.  One aspect of the book that I found very interesting to write was her reaction to the status and role of women in medieval Wales, and how a modern woman might deal with it.  

Links:

My web page:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/

My Twitter code is:  http://twitter.com/#!/SarahWoodbury

On Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sarahwoodburybooks

Links to my books: 

Amazon and Amazon UK
Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Contest! Enter to Win A Signed Print Copy of Chase the Moon

Contest! Enter to Win A Signed Print Copy of 

Chase the Moon by Lynn Hubbard

You will receive 1 entry for each activity you complete. Winner will be notified by email. 

Some entries are daily so check back for more chances! 

Click Here to Enter!

Chase the Moon is the latest Historical Romance from Lynn Hubbard, 

Best Selling Author of Run into the Wind

Amelia is enraptured by Chase’s charm and his touch. 

Will she fit into his world? Or, will Chase give up everything 

to fit into hers? 

Set in Mississippi 1886 

Meet Chase Stafford. Chase inherited his mother’s Comanche blood and his father’s sense of humor. After receiving a wedding invitation from his brother Brock, he heads off on a train to Mississippi. Along the way, he runs into Amelia. Half asleep, he mistakes her flowing alabaster hair for that of a banshee. After starting off on the wrong foot can Chase’s charm persuade her to give him another chance? 

Amelia’s initial encounter with Chase was unsettling to say the least. The glamorous city girl was taken aback by Chase’s forwardness. Nevertheless, she is bound and determined to awaken the sensations that only he can unleash. 

www.lynnhubbard.com

                                       

                                               Click Here to Enter!

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Black Friday-Free ebook

Let the shopping begin!

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year!  I love the blue tint my nose turns while waiting outside for the stores to open. 

Need something to warm you up? 

How about a free romance ebook? 

Desperado is sure to get the blood pumping!

Just visit smashwords.com

and enter the code below!

Desperado by Lynn Hubbard

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29316

Promotional price: $0.00

Coupon Code: RD46Y

Expires: November 30, 2011

Sign up for updates below and get entered for a chance to win a signed copy of my latest book Chase the Moon 

Contest ends 12/15/2011

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Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Laura Yirak's thoughts on Thanksgiving!

Counting down the days! 

Thanksgiving is upon us and Author Laura Yirak 

is here to Share her thoughts.  

The Yirak Turkey!

 

I always get a fresh turkey for thanksgiving---this year I'm doing it up early, so I bought a FROZEN turkey.  That was all they had---OMG, a FROZEN turkey you say.  Yes, I do say!

Yesterday I put the solid sucker in the fridge.

Neurotically, I wonder, how long will it take to defrost?  Will it defrost in time?  Should I put it in water, leave it on the counter?  I have been checking and poking and examining it every few hours---yes, I'm crazy.  Though I check and though I peak, it's still as hard as a poultry brick.

A table full of starved guests, I open up my fridge and pull out my FROZEN solid turkey and place it on my table, "I thought this year that we would celebrate Thanksgiving symbolically."  I could put a bow on top for added decor.

And as I light some candles, I will pull my plate of chicken nuggets from the microwave and serve them up steaming HOT, with some chilled cranberry sauce.  "Thank you all for coming and traveling so far to be here with us on this day.  I hope that you will all enjoy the meal."  And I will warmly smile.

I still have two days left :)

 

Happy turkey day!!!

Visit Laura's Blog at: http://dreamsofdiamondsauthor.blogspot.com/

Get Laura's Book at Amazon

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Christmas is Coming! Are you Naughty or Nice?

NICE

Christmas is just around the corner. 

One of my favorite times of the year, I am getting into the Christmas Spirit early!  

I wrote a short Christmas story to share with you. If you love Americana, history or me, you will enjoy this book. 

I was inspired to write A Christmas Crossing after visiting Yorktown, VA. I have always been enamored by the Revolutionary War and wanted to share my love for history with my love for Christmas. The ebook is .99 on Amazon, or if you need  a good gift get the full color print version. Take a peek below! I hope you enjoy it.

Amazon Kindle Version

Free Preview

Special Edition Gift Copy 

Feeling a bit Naughty this year?

Then pick up a free copy of my twisted Fairy Tale. Download Free!

NAUGHTY

The Gingerbread Man 

A Scrumptious Erotic Fairy Tale

Need a quickie? 

This is an adult fairy tale. Some, sugar, some spice,

 and a pinch of lust. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Leave a comment below (Naughty or Nice) so Santa knows what to bring you!