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Buy Murder on the Last Frontier–Charlotte Brody Mystery #1
Buy Borrowing Death–Charlotte Brody Mystery #2
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The Origin of Murder on Location
Writers are often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” For the Charlotte Brody Mystery series, my answer has been, “Local history.” For each book, I gleaned some bit of Cordova’s past and worked it into the story, with literary and artistic license, of course.
I used a local’s tale about the death of a “sporting woman” in Murder on the Last Frontier. In Borrowing Death, the cover up of a local businessman’s murder with a purposely set fire was an actual news item I read while perusing old editions of the Cordova Times.
The influence for Murder on Location, and its film-within-a-book North to Fortune, was a 1924 silent movie called The Cheechakos. This was the first full-length movie filmed entirely in Alaska. The man responsible for it, Austin “Cap” Lathrop, had hoped his film company, Alaska Moving Pictures, would produce more, but The Cheechakos was its only distributed work.
My Kid and I had the pleasure of attending a local screening of The Cheechakos while I was contemplating a premise for Charlotte’s third story. Kid suggested I have someone die during the filming of a similar movie, and Murder on Location was born. The idea of a Hollywoodland, California, crew experiencing Alaska sounds like a fun way to stage a murder, don’t you think?
In the Alaska Territory, suffragette Charlotte Brody is a newspaper reporter in the frontier town of Cordova. She’s a woman ahead of her time living on the rugged edge of civilization—but right now the most dangerous element she faces may come from sunny California . . .
An expedition has arrived in the frigid wilderness to shoot North to Fortune—an epic motion picture featuring authentic footage of majestic peaks, vast glaciers, homesteaders, and Alaska Natives. But the film’s fortunes begin to go south as a local Native group grows angry at how they’re portrayed in the movie, fights break out, and cast and crew are beset by accidents and assaults. Finally, production is halted when the inebriated director falls into a crevasse—and dies of exposure.
Soon Michael Brody—the town coroner and Charlotte’s brother—starts to suspect that Mother Nature was not responsible for Stanley Welsh’s death. Charlotte, who’s been writing about all the Hollywood glamor, is suddenly covering a cold-blooded crime story—and as springtime storms keep the suspects snowed in, she has to make sure the truth doesn’t get buried . . .
Pick up Murder on Location just about anywhere!
And other fine retailers!
Posted in Alaska, book coming out, books out, Borrowing Death, Kensington, Murder on Location, Murder on the Last Frontier
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November?!? How Did THAT Happen???
Crikey Mikey! It’s November! Wasn’t it August just a week ago? Okay, three months ago, but who’s counting?
Live is good here in the Semi-Frozen North. In fact, it truly is semi-frozen now–We got our first snowfall! It’s very pretty and the roads aren’t hellish, so that helps. I prefer easing into winter than getting slammed by it.
So what’s been happening? We got DD1 off to school back east. She’s loving it. It’s odd to have your kid talk about all the adulting they’re doing when you have a tough time getting up the enthusiasm to wear pants on a daily basis. Kid2 is finding life as the only child in the house both rewarding and burdensome. Lots of great attention, but more chores. Hey, someone has to help me find my pants. DH got his moose, so we have meat in the freezer! Always a good thing. Berry picking went well this year too. Looking forward to local cranberries for cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving.
On the authorly front…OMG!!!! Murder on the Last Frontier comes out it two weeks!!!!!
Why yes, I’m a little excited : ) There have been some very lovely reviews at Amazon and GoodReads and such, which I will share soon. I’m grateful to all who have reviewed and will review MotLF, and to those who have pre-ordered and will (hopefully!) pick up a copy.
Please, let me know what you think of the book! Ask me questions about it or Alaska or whatever. Chatting with readers is my favorite part of being an author : )
Posted in Alaska, book coming out, Cathy Pegau, Kensington, Murder on the Last Frontier, writing
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Jill Sorenson’s AFTERSHOCK
[singlepic id=10 w=320 h=240 float=left]Looking for an adrenaline rush along with your romance? Jill Sorenson has a new romantic suspense release coming from Harlequin HQN, Aftershock. Take a look…
THERE’S A FINE LINE
As an emergency paramedic, Lauren Boyer is dedicated and highly capable. Until an earthquake strikes, trapping her beneath the freeway with a group of strangers-including Iraq war veteran Garrett Wright…
BETWEEN PERIL AND PASSION
Handsome and take-charge Garrett aids Lauren in her rescue efforts, even as the steely look in his eyes seems to hide dark secrets. When a gang of escaped convicts goes on the attack, Garrett’s bravery makes him more than a courageous bystander to Lauren. If they can save the others before time runs out, maybe, just maybe, they can explore the fire igniting between them-if the truth about who he really is doesn’t pull them apart forever…
Sounds like an intense, action-packed read, doesn’t it? Aftershock will be available soon, but if it’s not soon enough, drop a comment here and you may win a copy! A winner will be chosen Sunday, December 16th.
Find Jill at her website , on Twitter, or on her Facebook page
Find Aftershock at
*****Comments are closed, folks! I’ll pick a winner and announce Monday! Thank you!!!*****
The Next Big Thing! Deep Deception
The lovely and talented Amber Kallyn tagged me last week for The Next Big Thing blog meme (her post is here) where writers can connect with readers to reveal a little something about their works in progress.
I’m cheating a tad, since the book I’m showcasing is almost done being a WIP and on its way back to my editor : ) Still, it and the connected books are fantastic and you should totally check them out!
What is the working title of your book?
DEEP DECEPTION is the only title it’s been known as, really. During the writing, it was “Book Three” or “Natalia and Gennie’s Story.” Neither terribly creative : ) So I challenged my family to come up with a title. After giving them the premise of two women digging for secrets in a mine while trying to keep their own secrets, my husband suggested DEEP DECEPTION.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
While writing the first book in the series, RULEBREAKER, I thought some of the secondary characters were too dang interesting just to leave alone. Nathan Sterling gets his story in CAUGHT IN AMBER (Jan 2013). Natalia had small roles in both RULEBREAKER and CAUGHT IN AMBER, and Gennie is in CAUGHT IN AMBER. Now both are in DEEP DECEPTION, which is a kicking ride ; )
Though the books are connected by being set on the same planet and some overlapping characters, I’ve tried to write them so you don’t have to read them in a particular order to understand the current story. But read them all! ; )
What genre does your book fall under?
Science fiction or futuristic romance. It’s not hard SF. And if you read lesbian or f/f or want to give it a go, this would fit the bill. There are a couple of love scenes that are more sensual than erotic. I’m not one to write graphic sex.
Which Actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I have always seen Tricia Helfer as Natalia, especially during her Battlestar Galactica years. When she first shows up in RULEBREAKER, she is platinum blonde, like Caprica 6. In CAUGHT IN AMBER and DEEP DECEPTION, her hair is a slightly darker shade. She definitely has the tall, cool blonde vibe going. Well, cool until she meets Gennie ; )
Anna Torv would be perfect as Gennie, with darker hair and eye color. Her mannerisms and intonations when she plays Olivia Dunham on Fringe are spot-on Gennie in my head. Like Olivia, Gennie plays things close to her chest, but there’s an underlying passion that erupts as violence or actual passion, depending on circumstances.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A Colonial Mining Authority agent and a former drug dealer’s assistant join forces to learn what a corporation is really shipping out of one of its mines, but while mutual attraction flares both have their secrets to keep.
That’s not the official one-line synopsis, but you get the gist of it.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It will be out in May 2013 from Carina Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Several months. I started it pretty much as soon as I was done with CAUGHT IN AMBER. Then both books got contracted (yay!) and I suddenly had a real deadline : ) That’ll move things along.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Wow, I stink at this part. Um, books with a good amount of action, smoldering looks between characters, shooting and sex? (Not sex while shooting people though. That would be tricky.)
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Since this book is the third in the series, the characters did. I don’t necessarily think characters speak to me, but they sure as heck stand around in my head, tapping their toes and looking very impatient. Then they poke my brain until a plot oozes out and off we go!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The characters are very real and down to earth. They are far from perfect, and often far from law-abiding. The setting is on another planet in a far-off future, but the problems my heroines face both personally and professionally are relatable.
For next week (#19) check out who I tagged in The Next Big Thing:
Randomness
*School has begun here in the soggy, semi-far north. Actually, it started on Aug. 23. It’s nice to get back into routine, but I keep waiting for the phone to ring to be called in to sub. I have been subbing, but it’s pre-arranged for the most part. Always a chance of a surprise at 7AM.
*Waiting on the cover for Caught in Amber, my science fiction romance coming out from Carina Press in January. Got the copy blurb, which is fantastic. Still, seeing a cover for the first time is a particular thrill. Can’t wait. And yes, I will share once I get the okey-dokey from TPTB.
*The third book, Deep Deception, will be out in May. Woo hoo! Just finished the art fact sheet on that one. Another cover to giddily await.
*Meanwhile, I’m working on two other books. One is about shape shifters in Alaska. The other is a paranormal western, sort of, about two female demon hunters. Love them both, but struggles with plot and pacing on one are making me a tad twitchy. Hopefully my lovely crit partners/beta readers will see where I’m going astray.
*After a harsh winter, we were hoping for a nice summer but no. I can count on one and a half hands how many actually sunny days we had. Not all were rainy, but there was lot of cool, gray weather. *sigh* Here’s hoping for a better winter this time.
*I’ll have a few friends with books doing promo stuff here in the months to come. Can’t wait to share!
*I want a cookie (Hey, the title of the post is random. I wasn’t kidding ; )
*We have to REALLY start thinking about colleges and college prep for DD1. So much more competition out there for spots in schools and for financial aid.
*Any randomness you’d like to add?
Cover Reveal and Giveaway for Colonization by Aubrie Dionne
I’m honored to be part of Aubrie Dionne’s cover reveal tour for her release Colonization: Paradise 21, a sci fi YA book coming from Inkspell Publishing as an ebook and in print this October. Isn’t it lovely!
Finding a new home has never been so dangerous.
Andromeda has spent all seventeen years of her life aboard a deep space transport vessel destined for a paradise planet. Her safe cocoon is about to break open as Paradise 21 looms only one month away, and she must take the aptitude tests to determine her role on the new world and her computer assigned lifemate. As a great-granddaughter of the Commander of the ship, she wants to live up to her family name. But, her forbidden love for her childhood friend, Sirius, distracts her and she fails the tests. The results place her in a menial role in the new colony and pair her with Corvus, “the oaf”.
But when Andromeda steps foot on Paradise 21, her predestined future is the least of her worries. Alien ghosts from a failed colonization warn her of a deadly threat to her colony. And when Sirius’s ship crashes on the far ridge in an attempt to investigate, she journeys to rescue him with Corvus.
Andromeda now must convince the authorities of the imminent danger to protect her new home. What she didn’t expect was a battle of her own feelings for Sirius and Corvus.
Can she save the colony and discover her true love?
Author Bio:Aubrie Dionne writes science fiction fantasy with romantic elements. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Inkspell Publishing, Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She’s also a professional flutist in New England.
Please visit her website: www.authoraubrie.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057.Aubrie_Dionne
Twitter: @authoraubrie
Blog: http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com
Giveaway! – Open for US and UK only.
We have a very cool keyring as a giveaway.
Go here to find out how to win!
Congratulations, Aubrie! I can’t wait to read Colonization!
Since It’s Posted in PM, It Must Be True
From Publishers Marketplace: Cathy Pegau’s CAUGHT IN AMBER, sci-fi suspense about a former drug addict enlisted to get close to her ex-lover and drug dealer to help save a federal agent’s addicted sister, who finds herself falling in love with the sexy agent, and BREATHLESS, to Angela James at Carina Press, for publication in 2013, by Natalie Fischer Lakosil at Bradford Literary Agency (World).
(Thanks for the head’s up, Loreth ; )
Yes, I’ve know about the deal for a while now, but hadn’t said anything official until I okayed it with my lovely agent, Natalie. So now we all know.
I’m super excited to be working with Rhonda Helms on these books. She was fantastic with RULEBREAKER, and I know AMBER and BREATHLESS will be in good hands with her whipping guiding things.I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the input of my crit partners Jody Wallace and Sharron McClellan Camaratta and beta readers Melanie and Bella (did I miss anyone?). I thought AMBER would never get good enough to submit, but with patience and excellent revision notes, Natalie made it happen.
Okay! Back to work on BREATHLESS so Rhonda doesn’t hurt me.
Thanks, everyone!
Cover Reveal: Fortune’s Hero
Coming in August from Entangled Publishing: Fortune’s Hero, a science fiction romance by Jenna Bennett.
Isn’t it gorgeous? Heather Howland is the artist.
And the story sound amazing too. Check it out:
Last year, space smuggler Quinn Conlan was on top of the world. He had everything a man could want: a fast ship, a great crew, a gorgeous girlfriend, lots of money, and adventure and excitement around every corner.
That all changed when he agreed to ferry a shipload of weapons to the beleaguered planet Marica, currently under siege by Rhenian forces. Now he’s stuck in a prison camp on the moon Marica-3, subjected to weekly sessions with the camp’s “medical team,” and praying for a quick death before he breaks under the torture and spills everything he knows about the Marican resistance.
When the opportunity presents itself, Quinn takes a Rhenian med tech hostage and heads into the inhospitable interior of the small moon. There, he has to keep himself and Doctor Elsa Brandeis safe from the deadly flora and fauna, as well as hidden from the prison guards searching for them, all while formulating a plan for getting his crew out of prison, his ship out of impound, and everyone out of orbit.
But when Elsa professes her love, can Quinn take the beautiful doctor at her word, or will trusting her—and his heart—condemn him and his crew to an eternity on Marica-3?
Cool, huh? I can’t wait to read it! : )
Congratulations on the great cover and the upcoming release, Jenna!
Claustrophobic Christmas by Jody Wallace writing as Ellie Marvel
Grab a blanket and snuggle with this new novella coming from Samhain Publishing November 29. But be warned! You’ll warm up soon enough. While the story starts off with a snowstorm and a great sense of the cold–and I know cold!–it quickly heats up when travel writer Darcy Burkell gets stuck in a snowy traffic jam with photographer James Jones.
When Jody was writing Claustrophobic Christmas, she asked me, her official snow consultant, if I’d ever experienced a snowy traffic jam. In a town that has only two main streets, it isn’t snow that gums up traffic, it’s two cars meeting and stopping in the middle of the road to chat. That’s a traffic jam in my corner of Alaska.
Here’s a little taste of Jody’s latest:
The bleak, grey sunset was swallowed by the ticking clock, and the snow grew heavier. Thirty minutes. She could no longer see asphalt. She twitched through the stations on the AM band again and again, hoping for better news. The more the snow coated her vehicle, the more it felt like a suffocating, metal coffin. An inch of white mounded on the car’s hood, but she kept those wipers going, those windows clear.
The cabin shrank smaller the longer she sat. Was it safe to get out? Where was her jacket? In back. She’d need it. The sweat suit was cozy but no protection against a…blizzard. Wind gusted the snow half down, half sideways.
Oh dear. She’d read about wilderness survival in her books, but that wasn’t the same as interstate survival. It wasn’t the same as being stuck in her car for hours.
No, she couldn’t think about hours, only minutes. In five minutes, if she was still here, which she wouldn’t be, she’d open the door and put her feet on the ground. Her butt grew numb as Novocain, and her nerves started twanging like bowstrings.
God, she hated small spaces. Cars, mostly. Other small spaces were easier to avoid. The AM station fuzzed on and off.
Darcy switched to holiday music, hoping the cheery bells would gird her loins to warn her family about her delay. She could hardly admit to herself she might be stuck here, in this itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow, candy-smelling car, because she’d ignored the Weather Channel, so how could she admit it to Pop?
The truck in front of her groaned and cranked. Its taillights and brakes flickered off with a long, exhausted hiss. All around her, vehicles followed his example, headlights disappearing from her rearview mirrors.
They were giving up? But they’d only been here a few minutes! They could break free any second. Darcy tap-tap-tapped the steering wheel, faster and faster, until she caved to peer pressure and flicked off her headlamps. It was probably a mistake. She needed to be ready. If they idled much longer, it could get nasty. It was cold out there, and getting colder. Snow covered the cars, the road, the fields. Was James stuck? She reached for her phone, charging in the console, to text him, but he might not welcome any personal back and forth.
When she heard a door slam, just as he’d predicted, she twisted around to see what was going on.
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There were still enough headlights for her to make out the man from the SUV tugging a large, shaggy dog on a leash. They cut in front of her to the roadside. The human hunched miserably against the wind as the dog cavorted in the possibly record snowfall.
So many tires to pee on, so little time.
************
How fun is that? As always, Jody delivers a great story with charming characters, and she never fails to make me laugh.
So off you go! Preorder Claustrophobic Christmas or put it on your wishlist.
“It’s Time, Not Age” with Guest Natalie Damschroder
The other day, Cathy mentioned being 3F (female, fertile, and forty). Well, I’m 3F too, and the last F is really annoying me.
When I was younger, I used to get really annoyed by my “elders” (like my mother) blaming age on everything. Their minds were going because they left the coffee in the microwave after heating it. Three times. Short-term memory lapses, putting things where they weren’t supposed to be, and a million other details of daily living were blamed on getting old. It always sounded like a cop-out to me.
I didn’t want to be that way. And I’m fighting it, believe me! In fact, I think the problem is really a convergence of two things. Yes, we’re older, and maybe our brains are aging like our bodies. Or maybe, aging just happens to coincide with the busiest time of our lives. We have way too many things to think about, too much on our to-do lists and filling our schedule books.
Of course, I don’t like to blame my body breakdown on age, either. I’m not full of aches and pains because I’m 40, I’m full of aches and pains because I have three completely sedentary jobs that take too many hours a day and leave me behind and feeling guilty if I take time to exercise. I feel like I’m approaching a point of no return, though. I’m going to have to find a way to compromise.
One specific thing I used to make fun of my mother for, I now completely understand, though. It’s a function of time, though not of age. She used to have this super-old, super-stuffed address book. I’d look for something in it, and 20-year-old pieces of paper would fall out. Sections would be so full stuff was written in the margins. I picked on her for not cleaning it out, at least, and really thought she should have gotten a new one, transferred over the relevant, current dates.
Yeah. *snort* I so get it now.
My address book? I bought it my freshman year of college. Some of the people in it, I haven’t talked to since I graduated from high school. In 1988. I’m proud to say I only have four pieces of paper stuck in the front… You know what? Forget it. At least here, I can be self-righteous. My brother came home from Afghanistan months ago. *recycle* That business card can go in my business card file. *set aside* Those directions to Number One’s best friend’s house when she was 5? I used it once. And she’s 16 now. *recycle* And that username and password are for a credit card I haven’t used in a decade. *shred*
Where was I?
Oh, yeah! Call me a hypocrite, because I’m not giving up this book. Yes, the binding dried out and separated years ago. And the Js (my maiden name is Jacobus) and Rs (the Raffenetti branch moved a lot) are full and encroaching on nearby sections. But this is living history! I can’t remember Mark-from-Ichabod’s last name? I just flip through the first pages of each letter until I find him. (Daley!) It amuses me that in 23 years, I’ve never picked up a friend with a last name starting with E or I (Q, V, etc., are expected).
And you know what else? It will take too damned long to copy the current stuff over. And that’s what really matters.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The heroines in Natalie J. Damschroder’s upcoming releases may not be 3F quite yet, but they’re not ingenues, either. And they totally kick ass, literally as well as figuratively (which is the only way Natalie can manage it, herself).
Behind the Scenes October 31, 2011
A romantic adventure about a security expert who refuses to let her attraction to the movie star under her protection be a distraction…especially when it makes him a direct target.
Carina Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible coming soon.
Under the Moon November 1, 2011
A paranormal romance about a modern-day goddess who teams up with her protector—and forbidden soulmate—to track down the leech who’s been stealing power from other goddesses.
Entangled Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
You can learn more about Natalie and her books at her website, eHarlequin, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook. She blogs with four other obsessed passionate Supernatural fans at Supernatural Sisters, with a number of fantastic romance authors at Everybody Needs a Little Romance, and just to hear herself talk at Indulge Yourself.