Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Visit From Lizzie Borden






Lizzie Borden. Probable murderess. Definitely a celebrated and infamous character. This paper doll by the wonderful and creative Rhonda's Originals designs is a festive addition to any Halloween party. For sure a conversation piece. When I saw the design on her site, I knew I had to have it! My paper doll collection is growing. Yes, I like to play. Especially with homicidal paper dolls. Note the ax. Just sayin! It is perfect for this time of year. 

The coolest thing about these dolls is that you take part in their construction. It is paper art, people. Fun, and inspiring, the dolls that you find at Rhonda's Originals are just that. Original. The digital file is sent to you, complete with all the how to's and if you have a problem, you have support through her site. Very cool. There is every kind of witchy and spooky wonder you could ever want. If Christmas is your thing, she has that too...

So check it out and let her know you saw Lizzie hanging out at Bookgirl Knitting...Got to keep track of those ax wielding homicidal chicks.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Not Long Ago Virtual Book Tour and Guest Post



Not Long Ago
By Susan A. Royal

Genre:  Time travel adventure/romance

Publisher: Museitup

ISBN: 978-1-77127-076-2
ASIN: B008E5Y4M8

Number of pages: 227
Word Count: 89333

Cover Artist:   Suzannah Safi


Book Description: 
Erin has met the man of her dreams, but as usual there are complications. It’s one of those long distance relationships, and Griffin is a little behind the times-- somewhere around 600 years. 
Erin and her employer, March, are transported to a time where chivalry and religion exist alongside brutality and superstition. Something’s not quite right at the castle, and Erin and March feel sure mysterious Lady Isobeil is involved. But Erin must cope with crop circles, ghosts, a kidnapping and death before the truth of her journey is revealed.
Forced to pose as March’s nephew, Erin finds employment as handsome Sir Griffin’s squire.  She’s immediately attracted to him and grows to admire his courage, quiet nobility and devotion to duty.  Yet, she must deny her feelings.  Her world is centuries away, and she wants to go home.  But, Erin can’t stop thinking about her knight in shining armor.   




Guest Post:

I’ve chosen this passage to post because I wanted everyone to see Not Long Ago is not just about time travel, nor is it just a love story between two very different people.  I tried to make it an adventure that will take the reader to another time and allow them to experience life there as seen through the main character’s eyes.  This part was an especially emotional scene for me to write.  I attempted to portray some of the emotions each of us experience when we’re faced with losing someone we care about, whether it be father, mentor or friend.  

--Excerpt--

     Late the next day, everyone gathered on the banks of the river under a clear sky. On a hill
above us, archers waited. Beside them men-at-arms from the castle stood at attention. Clustered
below were the castle servants and townspeople. Lady Isobeil, Lady Gwyneth and Kat positioned
mselves on opposite sides of Lord John, as far away from each other as possible. He stood at
one end of a long, shallow wooden boat filled with brush. Sir Maldwyn’s body had been
wrapped in linen and placed inside, his belongings next to him. Water lapped against the boat, a
strangely calming sound.
     The pain on Sir Griffin’s face was almost more than I could bear. He clenched his jaw and
gripped the hilt of his sword until I thought it would break. Faces stoic, the other knights huddled
together with their squires. No doubt each of them remembered Sir Maldwyn in his own way.
After all, he’d been in service at the castle long enough to train most of the knights when they
were still squires. I thought of my parent’s death and the emptiness I felt knowing I’d never see
them again. People everywhere stared at the ground, trying to hold back tears.
     All except for Deroc. I can think of nothing more poignant than the sight of him standing
over his father’s body while tears ran down his face. Over and over, the boy repeated the same
words. “I am sorry Father, I am so sorry.” The overbearing bully who confronted me in the
paddock had vanished. All that remained was a pitiful little boy, one who mourned a relationship
with his father he’d never had, and now, one he would never experience.
     Sir Maldwyn’s body lay on the funeral pyre, in the custom of the Vikings, while Father
Alford conducted the service in Latin in a calm and soothing monotone, appearing completely
undisturbed by all the pagan customs surrounding him. When he said his last amen, Lord John
nodded at Sir Griffin. He began to ease the boat into the water. When it resisted, first Sir
Edevane and then the other knights joined him. Together, they gave one last push, and the boat
floated free.
     Sir Sion remained on the bank, alone in his guilt. He didn’t join the rest, likely because he
knew they held him responsible for Sir Maldwyn’s death. Sir Sion’s decision made in haste and
in anger had ended someone’s life. No wonder he couldn’t bear to meet anyone’s eyes.
     When the boat reached the middle of the river, each archer touched his arrow to flame,
notched and loosed it. Their arrows arched upwards in perfect unison, only losing sight of them
when they passed between us and the setting sun, briefly dazzling our eyes. In the fading light of
day, they struck the raft holding Sir Maldwyn’s body like driving rain. Flames shot high into the
air and swallowed up everything. Sir Maldwyn was making his journey home to Valhalla in the
manner he had wanted. Not a sound could be heard among those of us watching from the banks,
except for Deroc’s quiet sobbing. A north wind began to blow, and I thought I heard a faint
noise. Somehow, the wind seemed to bring with it the echo of horns in the far distance. I know it
couldn’t have been so, but it sounded as though those ancestors who’d gone before him were
welcoming a fellow warrior home.







About the Author:
Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes with a ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son whenever he plays guitar.  She’s married, with three children and four grandchildren.
She comes from a family rich with characters, both past and present. She spent her childhood listening to her grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century.  Her father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio during the depression, and through her mother’s eyes she experienced how it felt to be a teenager during WWII.
Yesterday, the first piece she ever submitted, won author Cody James Wolfe’s Flash Fiction Newsletter Contest and that started it all. Her entry, Lost Souls, won 2nd place in the 2009 short story contest of the Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization and My Father’s House won 3rd place in the 2010 competition.  Not Long Ago is a time travel adventure/romance, available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N.  She is currently working on a sequel, because the Erin and Griffin’s story wasn’t finished.  In My Own Shadow is a Fantasy adventure/romance, due out May, 2013.


Friday, October 19, 2012

To Catch A Bad Guy Excerpt Tour



To Catch a Bad Guy
by Marie Astor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Janet Maple is convinced that her life could not get any worse: her stellar career at the DA’s office ended with a lay off and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?



On Monday morning Janet sat in her office, tallying up the results of the weekend, which even taking her most humiliating adolescent memories into account had been the most embarrassing weekend of her life. Blankly staring into her computer screen, Janet compiled a mental list of all the indignities she had endured in the past two days: attending an engagement party as the only single guest under the age of fifty – check, being harassed by your friend’s mother regarding your appearance – check, being badgered by the same friend’s relatives about your personal life – check, and last, but by far not the least, becoming an unwitting object of lust of a formerly puny, sex-obsessed teenage pest, who had turned into a much better looking, but still equally sex-obsessed man.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Lisa sauntered into Janet’s office.
“Oh, no, I was just looking through some regulatory updates.” Janet mastered a vague enough excuse.
Lisa rolled her eyes, indicating that such a subject was not worthy of her interest. “Janie, I’m so sorry about the party. What a jerk Andrew turned out to be! I meant to call you on Sunday, but Paul and I were busy looking at catering venues.”
“How did you hear about what happened with Andrew?”
“The prick had the nerve to complain to me about it. He got all upset about me dragging him out for nothing. Apparently, my engagement is not worthy of his attention; he also had to score with you.”
Janet’s irritation spiked. Lisa’s narcissism was unending. Never mind that courtesy of Lisa, Janet had been pawed by Lisa’s sleazoid cousin in the middle of nowhere; in the end, Lisa was still the victim.
“What exactly did you tell Andrew about me, Lisa?”
Lisa fiddled with her blazer. “Oh, nothing much. That you were going to be at my party…”
“Are you sure? Then how come he knew about me being single? He also used the word ‘desperate.’”
“Oh, I might have mentioned that you were single, but I never said a word about desperation. Clearly, you have no reason to be desperate.”
There it was again: Lisa’s old trick of switching the tables on you, but this time Janet was not budging. “Do me a favor, Lisa, stop setting me up on dates.”
“Not to worry. Your personal life is now solely in your capable hands. Rest assured, there will be no interference from poor, sloppy me.” Lisa cocked her head as she began to slowly exit Janet’s office.
Janet guessed from Lisa’s measured walk that she was awaiting an apology, but remained silent. Her boss or not, there was a limit as to how much humiliation one person was allowed to inflict upon another.
Lisa stopped short before exiting through the door, and Janet’s heart lurched. Could it be that Lisa was going to apologize? That would be an unprecedented occurrence worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records.
“Oh, and I almost forgot, I’m going to look at wedding dresses next weekend. I expect you to be there.”



AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, This Tangled Thing Called Love, romantic suspense novel, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window.

If you would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at her website: www.marieastor.com.





Books by Marie Astor:










Marie will be giving away five prizes of custom made jewelry to randomly drawn commenters during the tour(Continental US only):

Prize 1: Agate and labradorite necklace with sterling silver accents
Prize 2: Smoky Quartz sterling silver plated necklace
Prize 3: Multi-quartz sterling silver plated necklace
Prize 4: Gray quartz, carnelian and onyx sterling silver plated necklace
Prize 5: Aventurine necklace with sterling silver plated accents