The New Yorker

Before we grab our coffee's and visit with my guest today, I want to mention that my young adult novel, Friends Forever, is free for the next three days. This is what one reviewer had to say about the story, "Ms. Miller captures the trails and tribulations of 13 year-olds very easily. She talks their lingo and keeps the book interesting with enough twists and surprises to keep younger readers turning the pages to the very end."

Now, help me welcome Elaine Walsh as today's Wednesday's Guest, as she shares some amusing thoughts on the difference between etiquette in the North and in the South. Enjoy....

My daughter shudders when we pass a certain McDonald’s in town.  “I can never go back in there,” she laments, remembering the trauma she suffered there when she was ten after a visit with her New Yorker aunt.

 “New Yorkers are so misunderstood,” I’ve told her many times, not wanting her to overlook the content of their character since she can’t get past the directness of their approach.

I’ve been a stealth New Yorker, living undercover in Florida’s Tampa Bay area for over half my life. Because I grew up north of the five boroughs, I didn’t pick of the Bronx accent that gives away the origin of the upbringing of my father and his siblings whenever they open their mouths. A co-worker once told me, surprised to learn about my northern background, “You don’t seem like you’re from New York.”

It was his nice way of saying, “You’re not loud and obnoxious.” Sorry my fellow New Yorkers but that is how many in the south see us.

Southerners say things that at first glance seem more socially acceptable. Think about it. Doesn’t "hush" sound nicer than “shut up” or even better than the cleaned up version, “be quiet”. But is it effective? Can you imagine saying “hush” in New York? How long could you survive in New York on southern charm?  Maybe a nanosecond? Just  turn around in your seat in Yankee Stadium and say that to the loud-mouth from Boston who just yelled “you can’t hit what you can’t see Jeter.”. Hush? Really? The people around you would think you were throwing up a hair ball. Hush. Hush. Hush. They might even level a Heimlich maneuver on you to help you extricate it.

I’m an ambassador of sorts for my southern and mid-western raised friends. I have to translate at times.  I tell them, don’t confuse  a New Yorker’s directness with manners. While the southerner might have developed the ancient Irish trait of telling someone to go to the devil in such a way that they look forward to the trip, the New Yorker isn’t going to mince words. You know where you stand with them. There’s no confusing the point of what they’re trying to say.

So back to the calamity that unfolded at McDonald’s. My Bronx-born aunt relocated south a few years ago and now lives near me. She took my daughter out for a Happy Meal one afternoon. My daughter waited in the dining room while her aunt ordered their food. She heard a commotion coming from the front of the restaurant. A few minutes later her aunt showed up and plunked down in the seat across from her. Moments later a man walked up to her aunt and told her, “They don’t make enough money to put up with people like you.”

Her aunt turned in her seat, mouth gaping open, and flung her hands and arms open as if she was just shot in chest. “What,” she bellowed back at him, dropping her ‘r’ in typical New York fashion, “I’m the custa-mah.”

And the customer is always right.

My daughter wanted to crawl under the table. Instead, she vowed never to show her face in that McDonald’s again.

Fast forward to this summer where I’m with my daughter on a tour boat taking us around the New York City skyline. The guide narrating the tour had my aunt’s familiar accent. As he educated us on the history of New York and pointed out various sites, tourists on the boat would rush the rails to snap their pictures. Many lingered too long. Our guide minced no words telling them to take their picture and sit down so others could partake in the photo op. I didn’t know how my daughter would react to his direct approach. After one sharp scolding, I glanced at her and she said “What? He’s being nice. He wants everyone to have the same chance to get pictures.”

And I thought, ahhh, she finally understands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elaine's novel, Restoration, chronicles Tess Olsen’s challenge to restore her life, relationships, and dreams back to the promise they held before her mother abandoned the family to marry a convict, Randall Wright.

Elaine grew up in upstate New York against the backdrop of the flowering women’s rights movement with different ideas from her mother as to what life as a woman should be.  In college, she majored in psychology with the intent of being a “death & dying” counselor. Instead, she moved to Florida and became a  successful business executive by day and women’s fiction writer by night. She says, "Being a daughter, mother, friend, and soul mate is the most powerful influence in my life and my stories."
  
Visit Elaine at Goodreads, or her website. And you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter. 

Wednesday's Guest - James R. Callan

Please help me welcome James R. Callan to It's Not all Gravy. I first met Jim at the Art Center in Winnsboro Texas, then soon found out that he was the head of the Northeast Texas Writers Organization, NETWO, and was a driving force behind their annual spring conference. Check out the website for information about the organization and the conference, and in the meantime, meet Jim Callan.

We're glad to have you here Jim. Tell me, have you always wanted to be a writer, or have you come to writing after another career? 
I intended to write when I graduated from college, but couldn’t support a family writing.  So, I took a 35 year detour in mathematics and computer science.  When I no longer needed to support a family, I returned to my first love – writing.  For two years, I wrote a monthly column for a national magazine.  And for six months, I wrote a weekly newspaper column that appears in four states.  I’ve had three non-fiction books published.  But my real interest is in mystery/suspense novels and I have four published so far.

I know that your success with fiction has been long coming. What was the first thing you ever had published?
The first thing I ever had published was a mathematical paper on finding extreme points on an ill-defined surface.  The second was on low energy electron defraction.

Oh, that must have been fascinating. (smile) I'm glad you switched to fiction. I know there is a lot of research involved in writing fiction, as well as nonfiction.What is the most interesting research you have done for your books?
In a book as yet unpublished, I had to research the jungle around San Sebastian, Mexico.  A very interesting place, and one that I’ll visit again.

Tell  us what gives you the most pleasure in writing?
Writing a scene that brings tears to my eyes.  Or writing a paragraph that flows so smoothly it makes me smile to read it, even for the tenth time.

That process is exciting for most writers.  If we are not emotionally invested in our stories, the reader won't be, but we also need to take a break now and then. What do you do for fun when you need a break?
I read (as all writers should) and I travel.  We’ve visited all fifty states, and five continents.  I expect to add the sixth continent this year.  (Antarctica will have to wait a bit.)

I'm sure you have picked up many story ideas in your travels. Where do your stories begin? With character or plot?
Sometimes with plot and sometimes character.  Often, it is from some snippet I read or hear.  A three paragraph story in the L.A. Times led to a 95,000 word novel. My latest book, A Ton of Gold, came about when I read an old folk's tale and wondered how that could affect the lives of someone today.

When you are not traveling extensively, where do you live?
We split our time between the middle of a forest in east Texas and a beachside condo in Mexico.  When we are in Texas and the peaceful, quiet house on a hillside overlooking a small lake, we are very happy.  But when we are in Puerto Vallarta, in the middle of constant activity, music, and people, we love that.  We have two very interesting groups of friends and are perfectly happy in either group.  Perhaps having the one makes the other more interesting.

That sounds like a terrific way to split your time, and what a wonderful contrast. I'm sure that feeds your creativity. Now share with us what has been your most interesting job, besides writing.
I’ve been blessed to have a variety of interesting jobs.  Coaching girls’ basketball was a delight.  I worked at a research center where money was no object.  My wife and I ran our own company and expanded a field of advertising research into areas never done before and back in a time when you had to create whatever computer programs you needed.  And certainly writing is at the top of interesting jobs.  As I said, I’ve been blessed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim's books are Cleansed by Fire, a mystery prompted by the church fires in east Texas a couple of years back; Murder a Cappella, an interesting mystery that is set in the international finals of the Sweet Adelines singing contest, and the soon to be released A Ton of Gold.






You can also meet Jim on his Website, blog, connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

Wednesday's Guest - Nancy Madore

Please help me welcome Nancy Madore today. Pull up a chair and get acquainted. Virtual coffee and cookies available.While Nancy is entertaining you here, I'm over at Dru's Book Musings where Angel, one of the characters in the Seasons Mystery Series, is sharing what it is like to be a homicide detective.

 Hello everyone  and thank you, Maryann, for having me. 

I just released The Hidden Ones, the first in my new series, Legacy of the Watchers, which digs up the past (ancient Mesopotamia) in search of answers to a modern day mystery. It is historical fiction with paranormal elements.

How did you come to write in the genre you chose?

I didn’t really choose the genre; the story did. It’s a story I wanted to write my entire life. Ever since childhood (and my religious upbringing) I’ve been fascinated with ancient Mesopotamia and its many mysteries which remain unsolved to this day. The timing couldn’t be better for exploring the possibilities, as science fiction has never been more versatile, blending with other genres and even luring women readers like never before.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or have you come to writing after another career?

I always wanted to write. The question was never ‘if.’ It was ‘when.’ But I married and started a family while I was still quite young. This consumed my life to the point where I put off writing, promising myself I would begin the minute the kids left home. Strangely enough, this is exactly what I did.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

I feel like I should have some monumental moment to share, but the truth is my childhood was unremarkable. I was a loner, awkward and shy, with my head constantly buried in a book. I was always being reprimanded for ‘daydreaming.’  And I suppose it must have been true because my childhood did sort of pass in a haze. But I distinctly remember one autumn day, walking home from school, alone, my feet crunching on the fallen leaves, the sky a brilliant blue, the sun glimmering through the leaves in that way that blinds you a little, with nowhere to be, just experiencing the utter pleasure of being happy and free. Life seemed full of possibilities! I think of that day every year when the leaves start to turn, and sometimes I’ll even venture out for a long walk to try and recapture that wonderful feeling.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

Every day is more or less the same for me. I wake up, read something literary for a half an hour, then I get my coffee, situate myself in front of my computer and write. I’ll write until I have a minimum of a thousand words.  My writing takes precedence over everything (literally, a hurricane could be coming and I wouldn’t evacuate until my thousand words were in). Then I’ll start my day. Depending on the kind of writing day I’m having, this could be anywhere from noon to 3:00 in the afternoon.  Normally, I could now be persuaded to stop working, but since I have a new book out, I still have another three or four hours of promoting. On a bad day, I’m still working late into the night.

What is the most unusual or interesting research you have done for your books?

I’ve done a lot of interesting research over the years. When I was writing erotica for Harlequin, I did a lot of research on women’s sexuality. I had originally planned to write strong female characters in dominant positions, but I was surprised to learn that the dominant female is more of a man’s fantasy than a woman’s (in the bedroom, at least). I was even more surprised to learn that one of women’s most popular fantasies during sex is to imagine themselves different, better, “perfect.” This led to more research, which seemed to indicate that the media is not only having a negative effect on women’s self-esteem, but their sexuality as well. It is an interesting topic I would like to see authors explore more.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

Being consistent. That’s why I do it every day, even on weekends. Like anything else, it’s the accumulation of little efforts that brings about success. If you think in terms of the finished product, it can be very intimidating. I always focus on what I’m going to write that day.

Where do your stories begin? With character or plot?

The Legacy of the Watchers series is really about the characters I grew up with—the angels who ‘fell’ to earth, their giant offspring who would later become the ancient ‘gods,’ Solomon,  and his djinn—all of these had been simmering in my consciousness for decades, just waiting to be brought back to life.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy Madore achieved enormous critical acclaim writing ‘female friendly’ erotica in her Enchanted series. Now, following her life-long interest in history and mythology, Nancy Madore is making her debut into the historical and science fiction genres with her new series, Legacy of the Watchers, beginning with The Hidden Ones.

THE HIDDEN ONES on AMAZON   ** NANCY MADORE’S WEBSITE 

Thanks for coming by. Have a cookie.

The Best Thing About June

Thanks again to Slim Randles for sharing some of the fun down at the Mule Barn Truck Stop with us today.....

“It’s June, by golly!” said Doc. “Isn’t it great? I mean, all the summer to look forward to. Fishing, swimming, camping, heat stroke, dehydration, skateboard accidents and the occasional case of appendicitis.”

“That’s what we like about you, Doc,” Steve said, “always looking on the bright side of things.”

“You know what June is, don’t you?” said Bert. Bert is usually quiet, so when he does speak up, we tend to listen. We were listening. He started off kinda low and slow, like a revival preacher just getting warmed up on sin by starting with jaywalking.

“June is the annual man trap,” he said quietly. He looked at each of us in turn. “How many of us wouldn’t like to relive a particular June in our lives when we were led to the slaughter, er, the altar, that is? To have that chance once again, before the organist even warmed up … to survey life in the past and prognosticate life in the future and to perhaps amend a decision? Oh yes. Many of us.

“MULTITUDES of us.” He stood and waved his coffee spoon as we in the orchestra sat in awe.

“Was man created just to live in bondage? Does free will mean NOTHING? Were we designed to wear SHACKLES?”

It was Doc who finally caught Bert’s eye, flat in the middle of his best sermon ever. It was Doc who flipped his eyes to Bert’s left and gave a quick shake of his head. Bert glanced that way in mid speech and saw his wife, Maizie, standing with her hands on her hips.

“What man among us,” Bert said, “would consider the holy sacrament of marriage to be shackles? Not a real man, I say. Not a man who is a real American. Not a man who understands the precious relationship between a man and that certain special woman. Do I get an amen on that?”

“Amen!” we all chimed in.

“Well,” Bert said, sitting again, “that’s all I have to say about June.”

~~~~~~~~~~~
  Check out Slim's books at  www.slimrandles.com

Author Interview - J.H. Bogran

Today I am over at The Blood Red Pencil with some writing tips from the comic strips. Come on over and join the fun, but first say hello to mystery author, J.H. Bogran, today's Wednesday Guest at It's Not All Gravy. He's here today as part of his blog tour to celebrate the release of his latest story, The Assassin’s Mistress

Welcome to this little corner of cyberspace, Jose. Please tell folks a bit about yourself and what you write.

I’m J. H. Bográn, well, José for friends. I was born, and still live, in Honduras; a five-star country right in the center of the American continent. I grew up reading Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle among others. Then the works of Clive Cussler, Ken Follett, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum and many other consummate professionals made be believe writing would be easy. Yeah, right. Anyway, it was too late to go back since I found the love talking—and paying attention—to my muse. My preferred genres are suspense and thrillers; however, I can’t help myself and always tinge my stories with a measure of romance.

1. If you could go back in time, what one thing would you change about yourself?

“If I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I’d take back those words that hurt you, and you’d stay.” I know it’s a song performed by Cher. The tune stuck in my head since I read the question so now I just passed the curse to you. Ha! 

Although I feel sorry for some of the mistakes I’ve made, I think I’ve learned from every single one of them. Yes, I’d like to go back and correct a few things, but I’m afraid those decisions would affect me and then I’d be someone entirely different and I guess I would still have regrets—albeit different ones—but regrets nonetheless. So, you know what? I just realized this is a trick question!

For the sake of argument, I’d go back and work harder to improve my school grades.

2. What was the first thing you ever had published?

The very first was a lame poetry dedicated to mothers for a newspaper contest. I was around eight years old at the time. At least I think the stuff was lame now, however, it won the third place. Go figure! My prize consisted of gifts from the sponsors, including a couple of 45 rpm vinyl records. Now go do the math on my age! : - )

3. What is the most unusual or interesting research you have done for your books?

I just came from a visit to The Big Easy. A cousin of mine lives in New Orleans, and he arranged a grand tour of the city, the night life, the wild life (I mean the swamps, of course). It was the first time I willingly walked into a police station to search for a cop. I met with the Sergeant in charge of the homicide division. With the help of some contacts, I was let in to a guided tour of the city morgue. Yes, this new novel has plenty of dead bodies.

4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I’d love to go backpacking through Europe. Why? Well, like most people, I have my bucket list.

5. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Besides finding an agent and publisher? The initial rejection letters. They are form letters, but they hurt like hell. When I was starting, as a naïve and insecure amateur, I invariably tried to read between the lines and find codes or hidden insults. This was a mistake, of course (Can we go back to the time travel question). 

Now I understand the letters just meant I wasn’t ready. Once that settled in, I took the time to read and learn, hone the craft. Eventually, some of the form rejections changed or came with feedback. Then, when I least expected, a couple of “yeses.”

6.  What do you do for fun?

I’m a huge movie fan. Particularly "Star Wars", any movie with superheroes, "Star Trek",  the James Bond movies, and "Indiana Jones". Some of the dialogue I know by heart, and sometimes I catch myself quoting from them. 

Once I began a family, playing with my kids became a fun endeavor. One that has morphed from playing on the floor with cars and castles to going outside to play ball. They are also good at kicking my butt   in video games.

Music is the other companion in my life. I enjoy good performers: Frank Sinatra, Adele, Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz, Eminem, and even some new stuff I got exposed to through my kids.

7. Where do your stories begin? With character or plot?

It depends. Sometimes I’d think of a plot, then I develop the idea and create the characters that would serve the story best.In other instances, I’d think of a character, a fully formed and defined character, then I’d agonize to find a story that would fit.

~~~~~~~~~

Author Bio: 

J. H. Bográn, born and raised in Honduras, is the son of a journalist. He ironically prefers to write fiction rather than fact. José’s genre of choice is thrillers, but he likes to throw in a twist of romance into the mix. His works include novels and short stories in both English and Spanish. He’s a member of the International Thriller Writers where he also serves as the Thriller Roundtable Coordinator.

Website  ** Blog ** Facebook **Twitter: @JHBogran

The Assassin’s Mistress

A random encounter leads to deception, love and murder. While vacationing at a ski resort, professional hitman Robert Prescott meets a strange and beautiful woman. They discover passion and embark into a dangerous game hiding their relationship from her powerful husband. Then a further twist of fate makes Robert’s occupation collide with his new found love.  

“He enjoyed his Gold Label scotch served neat ... and his victims dead. "Take my hand if you want to live!" J. H. Bográn’s well-crafted crime thriller takes you where you'd never want to go. Highly recommended for a chilling few moments of your reading life.”

~ Bonnie Turner, author of Face the Winter Naked

“José Bográn’s short story THE ASSASSIN'S MISTRESS is an unusual, gripping and surprisingly fun ride on a killer roller coaster.”

~ Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of The Bro-Magnet

Wednesday's Guest - Cat Connor

Cat Connor is a thriller/suspense writer and the author of the _byte series - a series of FBI thrillers starring SSA Ellie Conway. Ellie shares various cases and escapades that make her life a little more interesting and a lot more difficult than she would like.

 

Cat with her dog, Romeo

1. How did you come to write in the genre you chose?

        I didn’t make a conscious decision to write thrillers or suspense, it just happens to be what falls out of my fingers as I type. It’s been noted that I have a fairly scary mind with lots of dark corners. Fabulously scary thoughts hide in dark corners. I guess you could say it’s a natural genre for me.

 

2. What is your family's favorite story to tell on you?

       The day I licked Jon Bon Jovi. Yes, that sounds bad. It sounds a whole helluva lot worse when it comes out of the mouth of a 3 year old, and it’s a story she loved to tell, even though it really was totally innocent. We were eating dinner, I think it may have been lasagna (if not it was something else with red sauce). I was wearing my favorite Bon Jovi tee shirt. Sauce cascaded from my fork and down Jon’s face. Without thinking, I grabbed the front of my shirt and licked the sauce off. (Why I didn’t go get a cloth I do not know!) Everyone at the table erupted in howls of laughter.

        Later, while I was having a coffee with our neighbor, my daughter, Miss Breezy, (who was then 3) piped up, “Mummy licked Jon Bon Jovi.”

        There is no way back from a statement like that.

3. What was the first thing you ever had published?

        A short story in an anthology back in 2002 that I hope, I really hope, no one ever sees. It was borderline fan-fiction and makes me cringe just thinking about it. My husband also had a story published in the same anthology. So did a friend and fellow Rebel. It happened way before we were Rebels and is probably best forgotten. And no, I’m not telling you the name of the anthology!

4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

        Back to northern Virginia. I love it there. It feels like home but flatter. Also, having access to so many amazing museums in one place is like heaven - not to mention gorgeous cops with guns. Really, what’s not to love? So, given the opportunity I would go back to Virginia and happily live in Fairfax. It’s close enough to Washington for my liking, and I’d get to ride the Metro. I really miss the Metro. It’s how trains should be. Reliable, clean, and comfortable. (Not at all like trains here in Wellington!)

5. What gives you the most pleasure in writing?

       The final two words - The End. I love writing, or I wouldn’t be doing it. But I especially love finishing a book.

      Well, actually, what gives me the most pleasure is hearing from readers. Listening to their views on my characters and their insights. Such a thrill for me and so very interesting to hear how other people view Ellie and the rest of Delta.

       I tweet a lot, and so does my main character. So I get to talk to readers as Ellie, which is so much fun. (And really helpful to my writing, because she gets asked all sorts of questions and I need to provide the answers.)

6. Where do your stories begin? With character or plot?

      My stories begin with a character who then tells me the story. I find it works better if I just let the characters take over. In the past I have tried to manipulate the story to where I wanted it to go, and I now know that doesn’t work. I am being held hostage by my main character!

7. What is the most unusual or interesting research you have done for your books?

      I spent a month in the US, last year which was mostly a research trip. It was a lot of fun. I was with my Admins. We took well over 5000 photographs as we walked all over Washington DC. We found ourselves in some places we shouldn’t have been - the less said about that the better. Also, turns out, carrying a hidden camera is a pretty good idea. I have a pen that (is very similar to one my main character uses in flashbyte) records video, audio, and still photos.

       Very handy thing to have!

       In New York we had dinner with the very talented Lorenza Ponce who had helped me round out my rock star character in exacerbyte and flashbyte. I had no clue about the life of a touring rocker, so her insight was incredibly valuable and much appreciated.

       Earlier this year, with a new character just emerging, I needed to find an actor - not just any actor - I needed someone who’d been around a while and who had a diverse career, preferably on TV. After much thought and utilizing some skills I'd acquired while doing private investigation papers I found the perfect actor. Much to my surprise and delight Mark Valley said he’d help, and he was fantastic at answering my questions.

       So, I now know something about life as an actor and how Mark does what he does which will help round out my new character. (This character appears in as yet unnamed-byte.)

       Without the help of various experts I wouldn’t have the confidence in my characters to let them evolve the way they need too.

       I don’t sit down and spend weeks/months researching for a book because I don’t know how the story will unfold until I write it, so, it’s a research as I go deal.

~~~~~~~

New Zealander Cat Connor is the author of The_byte series of FBI thrillers published by Rebel ePublishers. So far the series contains killerbyte, terrorbyte, exacerbyte, and flashbyte - her latest thriller about the life of SSA Ellie Conway. killerbyte, was a finalist in the 2010 EPIC awards.

Cat spends her days writing with her rescue greyhound - Romeo, keeping her company.

Buy links for flashbyte: Amazon kindle  -- Smashwords: 

Visit Cat on her Website or her blog and find her on Twitter and Facebook 

Wednesday's Guest - Morgan Mandel

Please welcome Morgan Mandel to the blog today as she shares an excerpt from her latest book, as well as some background on the Fountain of Youth.Today is my day to post on The Blood Red Pencil, where I blogged about mystery book awards.

This excerpt is from Chapter Five – From the heroine, Dorrie Donato’s point of view, as she listens to Roman Remington’s spiel. 

“This time, ladies and gentlemen, I’ve discovered something far more valuable than anything I’ve offered in the past. What I have in my possession, which I’m willing to share, will make every health aid obsolete. Forget about growing old, with all its debilitations. From now on, you can possess the power to regain your lost youth and become whatever age you desire. Not only that, you’ll retain that age and never grow old.  

“You may ask, ‘How is that possible?”

He paused for effect, then whispered, “Because I’ve discovered an age-reversing drug, a veritable Fountain of Youth.”

As his words sank in, whispers began. Did the audience believe him or doubt his sanity? She’d not thought such a miracle possible either, but her own body proved otherwise. 

The Fountain of Youth Myth

The Fountain of Youth is such a popular concept I couldn’t help including it in my thriller, FOREVER YOUNG: Blessing or Curse. Although Wikipedia says such a fountain had been popular for thousands of years, I’d only heard of it in history class years ago, not quite a thousand, though sometimes it feels like it could have been.

It’s said that the Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon went in search of the fabled Fountain of Youth to partake of its restorative powers. In his travels, he ended up in St. Augustine, Florida, where now the Fountain of Youth National Archeological Park commemorates his landing. The park actually contains a fountain and tourists actually drink from it. Apparently nothing magical has happened there so far by way of turning back the participants’ aging clocks. Otherwise, I’d surmise bottles of such miracle water would have been on the market by now, selling for more than the highest priced prescription.    

Although my story takes place in Arizona and not Florida, the concept is the same: using a magical means to regain lost youth. The older I get, the more I wonder what it would be like to be young again, yet benefit from my past experience. Aging is such a universal dilemma, I can’t be the only one who envisions turning back the clock. My imagination has taken me far afield, so far I had to write a book about it.

I invite you to follow along with my heroine, Dorrie Donato, and see how she adjusts to life again at twenty-four, instead of her actual age of fifty-five.

We all know life isn’t perfect, even in the best of circumstances. Though Dorrie may have gotten her wish to be young again, she’s still haunted by past happenings, along with threats to her present survival.

If you’re curious about Dorrie’s adventures, FOREVER YOUNG: Blessing or Curse is available on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and other electronic venues. 

To see them all, visit http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com, where you can find every known link to this book, as well as those of my other three novels.

Look for print versions of all four books on Amazon soon.

Thanks for hosting me at your blog, Maryann.

Morgan Mandel

http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel - Twitter: http://twitter.com/morganmandel

 

Wednesday's Guest - Chris Redding

Please welcome Chris Redding as she shares some advice to make this a kinder world.... She also has a gift for one lucky visitor, so please leave a comment.

Son #2 has a shirt from his cross country coach that has a message I think is great: Train Hard, Run Fast, Be Nice.

Just Be Nice

That’s all I ask of life. Okay, maybe not all. The Eagles to win the Superbowl. Penn State to be National Champions again.

But what can you do? Be nice.

I deal with lots of people in my day job. Sometimes they follow the rules. Sometimes they don’t. And sometimes they have a true emergency. Or something got lost in the mail.

Just be nice.

If you are nice to me I will go to the ends of the Earth to help you. If you are not nice to me, you are so out of luck.

The other day a co-worker needed something that I could not give her per my boss. She yelled at me in an e-mail that we should make an exception for her because she hasn’t done anything wrong. Mind you, in all my dealings with her, I’ve had to make exceptions. Every dang time.

I think authors forget to do this.

We get so wrapped up in our promotion and selling books, we forget to just be nice. We would probably sell more books. People would think, “What a nice author. I can give this book as a Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa gift.”

So the next time you are tempted to not, remember, just be nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two sons, one dog, three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. When she isn’t writing she works part time for her local hospital.

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Blonde Demolition Blurb
You just can't hide from the past...

Mallory Sage lives in a small, idyllic town where nothing ever happens. Just the kind of life she has always wanted. No one, not even her fellow volunteer firefighters, knows about her past life as an agent for Homeland Security.

Former partner and lover, Trey McCrane, comes back into Mallory's life. He believes they made a great team once, and that they can do so again. Besides, they don't have much choice. Paul Stanley, a twisted killer and their old nemesis, is back.

Framed for a bombing and drawn together by necessity, Mallory and Trey go on the run and must learn to trust each other again―if they hope to survive. But Mallory has been hiding another secret, one that could destroy their relationship. And time is running out.

Links:

www.chrisreddingauthor.com
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor
www.twitter.com/chrisredding

For one lucky commenter I have a Yankee Candle Goody Bag. Commenter just has to be in the United States.

Wednesday's Guest

As you might have guessed from the title of this blog piece, I will be devoting Wednesday's to guest blogs. If you would like to be my guest, send me a message at maryann@maryannwrites.com with a proposed topic. I prefer shorter blogs - around 500 to 700 words - and that they not be just a book promo. They don't have to be writing related, either. On some Wednesdays, I will continue to offer essays from my friend, Slim Randles, and hope you enjoy his offering today.

I just heard from Slim and two of his books are finalists in the New Mexico Book Awards competition.   According to his publisher, Rio Grande Books, both Sweetgrass Mornings, an outdoor memoir, and A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right, advice for young people, were named. The winners will be named in November.  

A huge congratulations to Slim.

I am over at Venture Galleries with a new weekly blog, so I hope you will go over and check it out, along with the other wonderful blogs there.

I would also like to announce that another of my publishers is having a terrific contest. Win a Kindle for Christmas contest started at Books We Love this week. They are giving away two ebooks a week, a Spa Basket, a Sweets Basket, ebook sets, and a Kindle before Christmas. 
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If they ever give a Nobel Prize for reading about science, our guy Bert Underwood would be a shoo-in. His own career had been strictly non-scientific, but his retirement absolutely reeked of cutting-edge discoveries, which he read about and tried to pronounce.

It was like that the other night when the Mule Barn closed. We had taken our wives down to split either a chicken-fried steak the size of a saddle blanket, or a fish and chips large enough to feed a cavalry regiment.  We stepped out into the chill of the night and looked up at the many stars.

“Nice night for neutrinos,” Bert said. His wife, Maizie, groaned quietly and looked for something in her purse.

“Neutrinos, Bert?” Doc said.

“You know what neutrinos are, of course, Doc,” Bert said.

“I think that’s the chess team in Fairweather, Doc,” Steve threw in.

“You’re wrong, Steve,” said Mrs. Doc. “Those are the Machismos.”

“So the neutrinos … aren’t they dogs that have been fixed?”

Bert was ready to bust a gut. “Are you kidding? You don’t know what neutrinos are? You don’t study astronomy?”

“Well, no, actually…”

Bert smiled in the darkness. “A neutrino,” he pronounced, “is a sub-atomic particle. It doesn’t have an electrical charge, and it flies around at the speed of light going through things. The word neutrino means ‘small, neutral one’.”

“Just like Gilbert’s Chihuahua. He charges around going through things… and I’m pretty sure he’s been neutralled.”

“I don’t know why I even bother bringing up these scientific things,” Bert said, in despair.

“Me neither,” said Dud.

“You probably don’t know about charmed quarks, either, I’ll bet.”

“Charmed, I’m sure,” said Steve.

Doc made wing-flapping gestures. “Quark, quark … QUARK!”

Bert got in the car and drove off.

Sometimes drive-by knowledge can hurt innocent bystanders.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Brought to you by Slim’s new book and great stocking stuffer “A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right.” Learn more at http://www.nmsantos.com/Slim/Slim.html

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Just a reminder about the contest my publisher for Play it Again, Sam is holding to celebrate its fifth year in operation. To join in the fun with a scavenger hunt and daily prizes, click on the birthday banner on the right panel of the blog or CLICK HERE  The major prizes are a Kindle and a KOBO e-reader, and every day an e-book will be given away free.

Simple Joys of Summer

This is an essay from my friend, Slim Randles, that seemed to fit on these sweltering days of July. I would love a creek to play in.I'm posting this Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday because I hit the publish button before I meant to. LOL Chalk it up to me being a bit brain dead after a day of the drama camp. It is fun, but it is also very tiring. Not to mention getting in a car that has sat in the sun all day in temps above 100. Ouch! But you didn't come here to hear me whine, you came to be entertained, so without further delays.....

There is in the splashing of the creek a great spray of diamonds. As each youngster sails like an  astronaut out on the tire swing, then releases the hold on the earth to flail, suspended in time and space for that brief second or two, there is a timelessness, a postponement of all things evil and destructive, an affirmation of joy.

The swimming hole in Lewis Creek has been there since Indian times, of course, and the tire swing was probably preceded by simply a rope with knots in it.

It is one of the summer lodestones of our existence.  Each summer we have to make our pilgrimage in the hot sun to the hole below the little waterfall, to the place were Lewis Creek widens and deepens for the benefit of hot, dry people before becoming just a creek again. And in this widening of the creek, this sacred place in our summer lives, we also play witness to the passage of years.

Across the creek from the tree with the tire swing, the gravelly bottom extends gently with almost no current for ten feet or so. This is the baby beach, where squealing tots are allowed to cool off without benefit (or hindrance) of any more covering than the smiles of their parents. As the children grow, they venture farther out into the current of the creek and test their strength against the forces of nature.

By the time a youngster is eight or ten, the seduction of the tire swing becomes overwhelming and the flailing of the arms and legs against the blue of the sky begin. Later still, when gangly becomes fluidity and sleekness, and we want to make catlike moves to attract the opposite sex, the tire is used as a swinging platform for exquisite dives into the deep part of the creek where the big trout lie in cold holes.

And as we age, and we watch our children come to love the hole in Lewis Creek, and as we sip lemonade in the shade as our grandchildren work their ways up the swimming hole chain of life, we can look at the splashing of the creek and see, with each sleek dive,
with each laughing bellyflop, the diamonds of the creek sent skyward, and the laughter stays with us and keeps us strong and makes us feel rich, and fortunate.

It is unnecessary to say Lewis Creek is an important part of our lives, because it, along with so many other treasures of the years, really is our lives.
   
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Sponsored by: www.pearsonranch.com.  Farm direct, delicious, California navel & Valencia oranges.

Slim's Web site  And check out Slim's books: Sun Dog Days, Raven's Prey, and The Long Dark.

Doug Corleone - On Writer's Block

 First, I want to thank Maryann for hosting me here today. I appreciate the opportunity to be a guest and share some thoughts on writer's block.

As an author I’m often asked: Is there such thing as writer’s block? There are two schools of thought on this. The more popular among published authors seems to be “no.” Authors frequently reply to this common question by saying, “Writing is a job, just like any other. A plumber doesn’t wake up one morning and decide he has a case of plumber’s block.”

I disagree. In addition to being a writer, I am a lawyer, and I do indeed occasionally wake up with a case of lawyer’s block (a term I first read in a David Rosenfelt novel). It’s not as though I’ve suddenly forgotten the law or how to argue. Lawyer’s block, like writer’s block, is a simple lack of confidence. It happens to all of us at some point in our careers, I believe, whether we argue motions, write novels, teach young children, or fix pipes.

Confidence is key to my own writing. On days I receive glowing reviews, I typically write until I fall asleep at the computer. Conversely, when my work is panned, I’m sometimes frozen for days or weeks. Maybe I’m hypersensitive; maybe in time, that will change. But when I lose my confidence – at the computer or in the courtroom – I tend to think of it as being blocked.

How to overcome writer’s block? That’s the question. More pointedly, how to regain your confidence once a critic or agent or editor has done some serious damage to it? I’ve tried a number of things, with varying degrees of success. First, you might try taking some time away from your current project. Not too long, or else you may never return to it. When I step away, I try to work on something fun, something that requires less concentration. I find that when I return to my former project days or weeks later I feel refreshed. Unblocked. 

Read. When I’m blocked I often read books in the genre in which I’m working. That often gets the creative juices flowing. I also go back and read my own work, published novels and short stories, articles and editorials. Reading work others have praised provides a shot of affirmation just when you need it most. 

Of course, you could also do what many writers do. Pretend that writer’s block doesn’t exist. Sit down at your computer, stare down that glowing white page, eye that blinking cursor, and simply start typing. Of course, when your confidence is down, you may not write your best material. Which may lead to further panning and rejection. Which may lead to even lower levels of confidence. Or writer’s block. If it exists, that is.    

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Douglas Corleone is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series published by St. Martin's Minotaur. His debut novel ONE MAN'S PARADISE won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. A practicing attorney, Douglas divides his time between New York and Hawaii. NIGHT ON FIRE is his second novel. 
    

Guest author tomorrow- Peg Herring

I am pleased to announce that mystery author, Peg Herring, will be my guest tomorrow. She has been doing a blog crawl for the month of February, guesting on a different blog each day with new content. Wow, what an amazing endeavor. I am hard pressed to keep up with this blog and the three others that I regularly contribute to.

Topics have varied along the crawl, but Peg seems to enjoy "playing with words." She has done some fun posts pointing out the idiosyncrasies of the English language.

Tomorrow, Peg will share Eccentric Phrases, and I hope you will come back to read her post. It is a lot of fun. Plus, Peg is giving away weekly prizes, as well as a grand prize at the end of the blog crawl.

Her schedule for the rest of this month is:

Feb. 21 Jeff Marks-And What About Contractions? http://www.thelittleblogofmurder.com 

Feb 22 Geraldine Evans-Idioms  http://geralineevanscom.blogspot.com
Feb. 23 Maryann Miller-Eccentric Phrases  http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.com 
Feb. 24 Peg Herring Being Precise http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=pegfish 
Feb. 25 –Peg Herring Open Topic http://criminalmindsatwork.blogspot.com/

Feb. 26 Weekend-Draw for Prizes from Week 4

Feb. 27 Weekend

Feb. 29 Stacy Juba-Why Do We Say That? Part III  http://stacyjuba.com/blog

March 1-Final Drawing for Prizes from All Entries

The Evolution of a Writer

Please help me welcome Robert Bennett to It's Not All Gravy. 

How does someone go from being a social worker to writing mystery fiction full time?  In my case it was an accident, literally.

In 1988 I was working as a social worker in a group home for mentally challenged men in the Bronx, NY. It was my first job out of grad school and I really enjoyed it.  I was making decent money.  My boss liked me and thought I was doing a good job.  My guys and I had a great relationship. Most importantly, I felt like I was making a real difference in their lives.  I was helping them learn daily living skills.  I was helping them to get an education.  For someone who’d always wanted to improve the lives of the disenfranchised masses of our society this was the perfect job.  But, in July, it all came crashing down.

Despite what you may have heard, car accidents are no fun.  In fact mine was the least fun thirty seconds I’d ever spent in my life.  Yup, that’s all it took to change my life completely…one half of a minute.

I was coming home from a girlfriend’s home in Pennsylvania, driving on a highway I’d driven on a couple of dozen times, when I heard tires screeching behind me. I remember looking in the rearview mirror and seeing a car stopped on the road to the left of me.  A few seconds later a vehicle crashed into me from behind.  My metal chariot spun around and boom, I was hit again. This second attack pushed me against the guard rail facing oncoming traffic. Fortunately the guy who hit me, not the one who caused the accident (he was long gone and probably oblivious to what he’d caused), was an off-duty EMT driver. He orchestrated everything post-accident. The hospital released me after a cursory exam, and I went home to bed.

Skip ahead a few months, during which time I’d left my job, lost my girlfriend, and had several surgeries on my spine. I had no idea what the rest of my life would be like. One night my mother brought home a notice for classes at a place called The New York Studio for Writers. I made a phone call.

Since then I’ve written magazine articles about what I call “issues of disability,” everything from sports to politics.  I write about people who challenge societal views of what we commonly, and mistakenly, call ‘disabilities’ and ‘handicaps.’  I write about technology that helps people with disabilities lead better, easier, more productive lives.  I write about social and physical barriers, and how to circumnavigate them.

One of my articles for a magazine called Virtual Reality Special Report, was about a device that combined GPS and virtual reality technologies to allow blind people to navigate through their world.  That sparked my creative interests like no other topic previously had. What, I wondered, would happen if that device malfunctioned so that the user would not “see” the world immediately around him but, instead, would throw him off by a few blocks?  What would happen if what he “saw” was a murder taking place?  How would he deal with this information?  How would the police react if he decided to inform them?  You’re blind, they’d say.  How can you see anything?  You were a few blocks away from this alleged incident, they’d continue.  How could you know anything about it?

Welcome to the travails of Douglas Abledan and his adventures in my Blind Traveler mystery series. This was the setup for my first novel, Blind Traveler Down a Dark River (pub’d 2004).  Book two, Blind Traveler’s Blues, was just accepted as an ebook to be published by Echelon Press.

And that is how a social worker can become a writer of mystery fiction.  Sometimes accidents happen for a reason!

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For more information about Robert and his work, visit his Web site  You can also meet him on his BLOG

Friday's Odds and Ends

Today's Odds and Ends are going to be a little different. I'm going to have a couple of guests on my blog this coming week and I wanted to give a little introduction today.

Monday, Linda Faulkner will be here to offer some tips on the business side of writing. As much as we hate to admit it, this is a business, and the more informed we are about how to work in that arena, the better. We can all wish for the return of the day when writers wrote and someone else did the marketing and promoting, but that day will never come back.

Linda is a prolific writer who has published fiction, non-fiction, and technical writing in a number of genres and formats.  In addition to spending over 30 years in the insurance industry as an education provider, insurance agency owner, insurance consultant, and founder/owner of three insurance businesses, Linda has been writing since childhood. Her mystery, Second Time Around, was released in January 2009 and was nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award.  Her non-fiction book titled, Taking the Mystery Out of Business: 9 Fundamentals for Professional Success was released earlier this month.

I'm sure Linda will be happy to answer questions, so check back on Monday if you want help with a marketing issue.

On Wednesday, Evelyn David will be my guest to share their experience at collaborating. Yes, Evelyn David is really two people. The authors of The Brianna Sullivan Mysteries, Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, and the short story Riley Come Home, Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Marian lives in New York and is the author of 11 nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers! For more information on Marian's books, please visit her Web site at http://www.marianedelmanborden.com 

Rhonda lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state, and in her spare time enjoys imagining and writing funny, scary mysteries. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the Internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person. 



This is going to be another very helpful post for any writers who are considering collaborating. There are a lot of benefits to a collaboration. I know, I have collaborated with several other writers, but there are some pitfalls to avoid. This should prove to be a lively discussion, so plan to stop by if you have a question or two.

Trading Places

L.J. Sellers is my guest today. We decided to do something fun and trade places for a day, so I am guesting on her BLOG today. I hope you enjoy what she has to say today, and please do check out her books. She writes some terrific mystery/suspense.

What Makes Me Keep Reading
I recently posted on my own blog about what makes me put down a novel, so to be fair, I thought I’d post about what makes me keep reading.

1. A great opening in which something unusual, unexpected, contradictory, or violent happens. For example, in Secret Dead Men by Duane Swierczynski, the third sentence caught my attention. “..but a couple of kids organized an impromptu club with a mandate to experiment on her corpse.”

2. Intriguing characters who are unusual, unexpected, contradictory, complex, or compelling. From the first page of the same story: “Then again, what do I know? I was a dead man impersonating an FBI agent.”

3. Characters who don’t fit the current clichés. I like cops who aren’t cynical, FBI agents who aren’t workaholics that can’t handle relationships, private investigators who aren’t alcoholic loners, and women who are soft on the outside and tough on the inside.

4. Complexity! I like parallel plots, interwoven stories, and multiple points of view. And if it all comes together in a way that surprises me and makes perfect sense, I pick up the next book by that author.

5. Passion about a subject. I like politics, religion, and social issues in novels as long as it works for the story and doesn’t overwhelm it.

6. Multiple plot points and plots twists that leave me thinking: Wow! Stunning, but believable.

7. Moderate levels of crime and violence written with sensitivity to the subject, the victim, and the reader.

8. Just enough detail (setting and character) to make the story real. I like Elmore Leonard’s approach: Only write the parts that people will read.

9. Believable relationships of any and all kinds.

10. Fast-paced narrative with a great balance of dialogue and action, in which the surprises just keep coming.

Of course, these are the kind of stories Maryann and I write. (smile)  What makes you keep reading a novel?

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L.J. will give one lucky person an electronic copy of Passions Of the Dead. Leave your e-mail address in the comment box and we will draw the winner at the end of the week.
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L.J. Sellers is an award-winning journalist and the author of the Detective Jackson mystery/suspense series. The Sex Club, Secrets to Die For, and Thrilled to Death have been highly praised by Mystery Scene and Spinetingler magazines. Her fourth Jackson story, Passions of the Dead, has just been released. All four novels are on Amazon Kindle’s bestselling police procedural list. L.J. also has two standalone thrillers, The Baby Thief and The Suicide Effect. When not plotting murders, she enjoys performing standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes.

About Passions of the Dead -- A working-class family is brutally attacked in their home and only one survives. Detective Jackson is assigned to investigate and soon uncovers a blackmail scheme. But the forensic evidence is confusing, and the girl who survives has no memory of the horrific event.
When another home invasion occurs, Jackson is confident they’ve nailed the perpetrators. Yet the case grows even more entangled. When the survivor disappears, Jackson fears for her life—but can he find her in time to save her?


Read an excerpt  HERE  http://ljsellers.com/wordpress/jackson/passions-of-the-dead

Guest Post

Felicity Howard,
American Heroine Abroad

Maryann:  Felicity, welcome to It's Not All Gravy

Felicity:  Thank you, Maryann.  I’m delighted to be here for my very first interview. I don’t know why people always interview that Donna Fletcher Crow woman when I’m more than capable of speaking for myself.

Maryann:  The circumstances that led you to become the heroine of A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE are unique.  Can you tell us about your journey?

Felicity: I suppose my life as a heroine all started when I grew to be over 5 foot, 10 inches tall and my adored Miss Lisa broke it to me that attempting a career as a ballerina was an impractical aspiration. My next love was Latin.  I was incredibly fortunate to have a really inspiring Latin teacher in high school.  So I majored in Classics in college, went on to study at Keble College, Oxford and spent a year teaching Latin in a school in London.

Maryann:  That sounds like a wonderful experience.

Felicity:  Well, define “wonderful.”  I suppose it was more my fault than my students’, but let’s just cut to the chase and say I hated it. So much so that one day I just didn’t show up— spent the time reading in a coffee shop instead.  That told me I had to find some other way to use my Latin. I had heard that the church is the only place Latin is still actually used today, so I thought I might fit in there. My landlady in London was actually a Church of England priest (her church sponsored the school I was supposed to be teaching in), and she told me about this really intriguing-sounding theological college run by monks in a monastery in Yorkshire. So I applied and was accepted.

Maryann:  You must have had a strong church background to want to study to become a priest yourself.

Felicity:  (laughs)  My family never missed a service at our local cathedral.

Maryann:  That’s quite a record.

Felicity:  Yep.  Every Christmas and Easter. Just like clockwork.

Maryann:  Oh, you’re teasing me.

Felicity:  Well, yes. But the important point is that I really did love those services and I saw women participating in them and I thought, “I could do that.” And I loved the smoke and the candles and the elegant vestments. Oh, and the music— a really wonderful pipe organ and choir.

Maryann:  That sounds lovely.  But doesn’t it take a little more than that to be a priest or minister?

Felicity:  Oh, you sound just like Fr. Antony. He’s my church history professor. Not a monk, just a regular priest who lectures at the college. He’s always on about daily prayer and holy living and that sort of thing. But, then, he can be really interesting and a lot of fun sometimes, too. And he’s really incredibly handsome in his cassock.

Maryann:  So what’s it like for a young America woman, living in a monastery?

Felicity:  The rigid schedule of prayers and practices like fasting can be a bit much, but I’ll have to admit that it gets hold of you. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it and I’ve decided it’s like living on a parallel universe. There are all these everyday people out there going about their normal, everyday lives, and they have no idea places like this exist all over England— all over the world, really. It’s a very Harry Potter experience.

Maryann:  I’ve read about female clergy being a very controversial thing in some parts of the church.  Have you experienced any discrimination?

Felicity:  A few days ago I would have said hardly any. I know a few of the older monks don’t really approve, but most people have been very welcoming. But then on Ash Wednesday my room  was completely turned over. They made a terrible mess, but nothing was stolen. So I have to think it was an anti-women clergy thing. Or maybe an anti-American thing. I was absolutely furious and ready to tell off the whole college, but then I discovered my favorite monk, dear old Father Dominic brutally murdered. And Father Antony standing over him with blood all over his hands—

Donna:  That’s quite enough, Felicity. You mustn’t tell any more of your adventure. Let them read the book.

Felicity:  Excuse me! This is my story and I think I know quite enough to tell it in my own way.

Donna:  Well, Maryann, you see what I’m up against, working with this young woman. No matter how difficult she can be, though, I’ll have to admit she’s never boring. And I will tell you a secret, I foresee that a great part of the fun of my Monastery Murders series is going to be growing Felicity up. At the moment she thinks she knows everything— which just tells you how much she has to learn.

Maryann:  Thank you so much Felicity, and Donna, for sharing with us today. And let me invite my readers to go to Donna's Web site where they can read more about the Monastery Murders, see a book video about Felicity and Antony and even buy the book.

Felicity:  Yes, do visit us there, and on the Research Albums page you can see a slide show of the garden from my monastery. And I really don’t know what that woman is on about— just because I know my own mind and I’m not afraid to act on my convictions. . .

Maryann and Donna:  Thank you, Felicity!