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.

Interview Author Cindy Smith

Today I’m interviewing our local gal, Cindy Smith. 

Not sure how to introduce her because she does everything!

She is an author, a singer, a song writer, an artist and much, much, more!

Welcome Cindy, tell us a about your books, The Time in Contention Trilogy:

 I was fascinated with Contention City from the first time I heard it mentioned in (the original) "3:10 to Yuma" movie back in the 1960's.  I knew then that one day I would write a book about Contention. I began writing a few years back and sent what I had to my gun coach, T. B. Burton. He read it, answered me back that I had told the story one sided. And since he was a man, he wrote what a man would have seen and felt standing on the sidewalk (from the first chapter) in the book.  I immediately thought, this is what I want! A book telling both sides of the story from the prospective of a (fictional) man and woman.  Overall, I did about 2 years of research on the history and T.B. and I filled it in with fictional characters to tell the events leading up to the gunfight at the OK Coral.  We wanted to give life to Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp and the women you rarely hear about. The Earp wives and Big Nose Kate have an important role in TIME IN CONTENTION.  It's written with the backdrop of a romance novel (for all the female readers!) but with all the action and gunfighting drama of a western (for all the males!).  The books are available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, both as paperbacks and e-books. They can also be purchased locally or via our websites. 

Now tell us about your music, what inspired you to start singing?

I started singing late in life! I saw someone playing a mandolin in church a few years ago and said to myself.... I want one! I found a great music teacher, Gerry Hall. I would not be singing today if it was not for him. He literally 'made me sing' while I learned to play guitar and mandolin. From then on, he encouraged me. Once I started singing.... I never looked back! 

Congratulations on winning the GCGMA 2011 Songwriter of the year award. What is your favorite song you have written?

Thank you!  It's hard for me to choose my favorite song that I've written. I'd probably say that my favorite was the one I had just finished most recently. It's the one you're excited about writing music for, arranging where all the instruments will go, or going into the studio to record it.  I just finished a western song called "The Bar Maid and the Dealer". So, right now, it's probably my favorite song. But this will change as soon as I write something else! 

What do you like doing the best?

Writing in general. Whether it be books, stories, lyrics or music. I remember back in grade school and high school, my favorite subject was literature. I worked for a Houston, Texas area newspaper for 2 years and wrote a quarter page column every week. I met entertainers, politicians, local celebrities, sports heros and loved talking and writing about them all. But of course, there are times when you would ask me this same questions and I may answer I like doing "art" best.  I love oil painting and drawing charcoal portraits.  I am very honored to have had two pieces of my artwork displayed (for special events) in the Booth Western Art Museum! I have a theory, if you love to write, you probably love art as well. 

What or who inspires you?

Many of the songs I have written were inspired by "Time In Contention". I grew up listening to all kinds of music from Dean Martin to Ernest Tubb, from Burt Bacharach to The Louvin Brothers. But I loved Marty Robbins! There was just something about him dressed in his black cowboy clothes playing that western music that never left me. I think most of my songs sound like a female version of Marty Robbins songs. I am inspired by everyday occurrences, something I might hear my friends or family say, or something I see on a billboard sign. Inspiration can come from anywhere! And one song, Lynn, was inspired by your novel, "RUN INTO THE WIND".  I was honored that you asked me to write a song (by the same title). After reading the book, I wrote what I thought your character, Sabrina, would say if she wrote the song herself. I have received many compliments on the song, with some saying it is their favorite! 

What are you currently working on?

I always have a song in the back of my mind! I will soon be recording "The Bar Maid and the Dealer" and "Bring Back Hopalong".  "Bring Back Hopalong" is a song I wrote to sing at the Hopalong Cassidy festival in May this year. I have always been a fan of western stars, such as Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Hopalong Cassidy. TV heros that taught values and morals to kids have long passed away, but fans continue to attend festivals each year in their honor. I am privileged to attend a few of these festivals each year and sing about their heros.  I also have a children's book I want to write. It will be about my grandson, Gabe and his ghost friend Herman and their adventures in the haunted club house. I will do all the artwork of Herman and Gabe dressed as cowboys and pirates and anything else his imagination will come up with! 

Any upcoming Events you would like to share with us?

Yes. March 10th, I will be at the Bartow County Library doing a book event. I will be at the World Congress Center (in Atlanta) on March 17th and 18th during the Atlanta Auto Show. There is Wild West section and I will be singing and doing a book signing as well.  You will also meet my good friend "Fuzzy Q. Jones", side kick to western heros. Robert Brooks portrays "Fuzzy" and he's always a "hoot' to be around! T.B. Burton will be there, besides being my co-writer for "Time In Contention" he is also the 2005 World Champion Fast Draw. Then the following weekend, March 24, I will be at the Jim R Miller Park (Cobb) Fairgrounds in Marietta for the 2nd Annual Wild West Festival. This promises to be a wagon load of family fun with shoot-outs, cowboy music, kids coral, roping demonstrations and so much more! All my cowboy and cowgirl friends will be there with something special to offer in entertainment. 

How can we contact you?

You can email me at: txredmollie@mac.com  

You can also visit my websites for more information and listen to my music. 

Music on Amazon

CindySmithWesternMusic.com

Reverbnation-Cindy Smith Music

A Peek into Hell - These Hellish Happenings by Jennifer Rainey

I had scheduled an interview with author Jennifer Rainey but she had to cancel at the last minute. The bearded lady needed more shaving cream so off she went to assist. In her stead we have Jack Bentley from the book These Hellish Happenings. Good thing a copy fell from Jennifer’s purse as she ran out the door!

With much ado I give you Jack.

So Jack, it seems like you have lived a charmed life for a while. When did it all go wrong?

There’s not really one moment where it all went wrong. I mean, there are at least fifty. Thousand. Fifty-thousand is probably a little closer. Making a deal with the Devil tends to mess up one’s existence. Any charmed aspects of my life come in waves, I’ve found. I’ve had my fair share of time on the top of the world, but I’ve also spent a lot of time in the mire, to put it politely.

Being a Vampire sounds cool. What are some of the pros and cons?

It’s rubbish! I can’t actually think of any pros. Living forever is not all it’s cracked up to be, the blood-sucking process is time-consuming and after a few centuries, you get bored with it.  Not only that, living without a pulse makes certain sexual acts incredibly difficult. It’s really not that great. I don’t have any special powers, either. I’m just a guy… who happens to need human blood to live.

Do you ever regret your pact with the devil?

I used to. That was before I actually settled down in Hell. It’s really not that bad, and I can’t believe I’m saying that. Think about your worst day on Earth. Multiply it by no more than three and a half. That’s living on The Administrative Level of Hell. It could certainly be worse. I could be on one of the lower levels cleaning up after Cerberus.

I’ve read about your plight in hell. Sounds a lot like my last job but more colorful. Tell us about your day.

I wake up, go to The Registration Office here in Hell, register the incoming dead and send them to wherever in Hell they’re going to spend eternity. Think St. Peter but with fangs (and, I imagine, better looking).  And I work nine to five, Monday through Friday. The weekend is when I tend to get in trouble, usually with Alex. He tends to gravitate towards trouble.

So Alexander huh? I see you blushing, do tell!

He’s a demon who stalked me for fifty years. Perfect way to start a relationship, wouldn’t you say? Alex, despite the fact that he has terrible taste in music (The Doors? Really?), makes Hell very unhellish for me. And don’t tell him I said that. He’s got an ego through the bloody roof already. I’d never hear the end of it.

Well thanks for stopping in today if you see Jennifer tell her she should be very proud.

No, thank you for getting me out of twenty minutes of my shift!

LINKS:

These Hellish Happenings on Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/These-Hellish-Happenings-ebook/dp/B004K1F8KM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1295619680&sr=8-2

These Hellish Happenings on B&N (Nook): http://search.barnesandnoble.com/These-Hellish-Happenings/Jennifer-Rainey/e/2940012372154?r=1&itm=1&usri=these+hellish+happenings&if=N&cm_mmc=VigLink-_-k244266-_-j12871747k244266-_-Primary

Website: http://www.jenniferrainey.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/THH_series

Blog: http://independentparanormal.blogspot.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

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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Interview with Author Melissa Smith

Visit: www.lynnhubbard.com & www.lemonpresspublishing.com

Hello, I’m hosting a Blog Tour for Indie Writers Unite! A new up and coming author will be featured weekly. Thanks for tuning in!



Interview with Author Melissa Smith

What inspires you?
My imagination. My dreams. My kids. I am a wife and mother that simply loves the written word. All the places you get to visit by simply separating some pages. The people you get to live through and love. All the adventures you get to have. The worlds you get to visit and travel.

How long have you been writing?
I've been writing off and on since I was in High school but started writing professionally a little over a year ago.

How many books have you written?
I have three that are currently available with a short story in an anthology that should be out by October 2011. Then I'm working on a novella and another paranormal romance that should be ready to go by late November!


What are the names of your books?
Cloud Nine and Thunderhead are a part of the Guardians of Man series; The Heir Apparent is from the Waiting Throne series




I was looking through Heir Apparent and I love the maps. How difficult was it to create a map from your fantasies?
It was really easy! I could see what the land looked like in my mind so drawing it out was just putting pencil to paper.

Who is your favorite character and why?
So far, I would have to say its Ariana from Cloud Nine. She's just so much fun. The kind of friend you want to have, always.

Who is your target audience?
Everybody who loves a good love story!
I'm teen friendly so everyone can read it.

Is there anything else you want people to know about you or your books?
I just want people to take the chance and open one of my books. I know they'll end up loving them just as much as I loved creating them!

How can your fans contact you?
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/Melissa.Smith.Books

Twitter
https://twitter.com/Melissa__Smith_

My blog
http://melissasmithbooks.wordpress.com

My website
http://melissasmithbooks.zoomshare.com/

Thank you for your time Melissa and I wish you the best of luck!