Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Kari Lee Townsend

August 29, 2011

Today I would like to introduce you to Kari Lee Townsend, author of Tempest in the Tea Leaves. I will be reviewing Tempest soon, and I’m very excited about it – I’ve heard it’s quite good. Ms. Townsend has written a guest post for you all to enjoy. But first, here’s the synopsis of the book:

In the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal—and her predictions can be lethally accurate…

Sunny is a big city psychic who moves to the quaint town of Divinity, NY to open her fortune-telling business in an ancient Victorian house, inheriting the strange cat residing within. Sunny gives her first reading to the frazzled librarian and discovers the woman is going to die. When the woman flees in terror, Sunny calls the police, only she’s too late. The ruggedly handsome, hard-nosed detective is a ”non-believer.” He finds the librarian dead, and Sunny becomes his number one suspect, forcing her to prove her innocence before the real killer can put an end to the psychic’s future.

I really enjoy a good mystery, and can’t wait to get into it. And now for the guest post.

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Who is Morty?

If Morty could talk, what would he say? Morty is a big, beautiful cat with jet black eyes and pristine white fur that looks like it’s glowing at times. He was in the ancient Victorian house that had been locked up tight for months when Sunny moved in, but no one in town knows anything about him. Sunny tries to take care of him, but he never eats or sleeps (that she knows of). And he’s so fast. One minute he’s in one place, and then he’s suddenly someplace else, almost as if he magically vanishes and reappears at will. Or he travels at supersonic speed. She’s not really sure. But she is sure that he’s very smart and full of attitude and has a haughty, regal quality about him. He has a way of looking down his nose at people like he’s entitled, and making it clear he is the ruler of the house. Let’s just say he doesn’t warm up to many people. If he really could talk, there’s no telling what he’d say.

Who says I can’t talk? I’m not saying that I can. I’m just saying people don’t know much about me, and I like it that way. I’ve been called mysterious, among other things I won’t dignify with a response. They don’t know who…or what…I really am. I have no intention of telling anyone, but I’m confident Sunny will figure it out someday. I like her. She has sass and spunk and she’s got gumption. That’s why I decided to let her stay. She makes a fine pet when she behaves, though she doesn’t always listen. She has a knack for landing herself in trouble. I’m constantly having to save her, most times from herself.

Then there’s Detective Mitch Stone. She calls him Grumpy Pants. I can think of a few other choice words I’d rather call him, but I’m too dignified for that. I don’t much care for the detective. I can tell he’s hiding something. I’m extremely loyal and very protective of what’s mine. I won’t allow him to hurt Sunny. She might act like she’s indifferent toward the detective, but I can tell she’s falling hard. If I’m being honest, I can tell the stubborn oaf is falling just as hard for her as well, but he’d never admit it. Part of my problem is I’m jealous. Like I said…Sunny is mine.

Maybe someday I’ll reveal who and what I really am, but right now I’m having way too much fun “playing” with people. They actually think Vicky, the ancient Victorian house that is our home, is haunted. These towns people are a simple lot. I have to chuckle. If they only knew what I am capable of, they wouldn’t fear the house…they’d fear me. Sunny’s smart. She suspects what’s really going on and I can tell she gets upset with me when I won’t stop “playing.” What can I say? It’s her fault for inviting strangers into my home to give them a reading. I don’t share easily, and I’ve never played nice in the sandbox. But I suppose I could be a bit better about trying to behave. I might not like Sunny’s business, but I don’t want to see her fail. I know it would crush her, and thrill her parents to pieces. Speaking of which, they are nothing like her, and I won’t give them the satisfaction of telling her, “I told you so!”

Anyway, as I was saying, maybe someday I’ll shed some light on who and what I am. In the meantime, you’ll just have to keep reading Kari Lee Townsend’s Fortune Teller Mystery Series to find out.

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Kari Lee Townsend lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramatic daughter, who keep her grounded and make everything she does worthwhile…not to mention provide her with loads of material for her books. Kari is a longtime lover of reading and writing, with a masters in English education, who spends her days trying to figure out whodunit. Funny how no one at home will confess any more than the characters in her mysteries!

Kari writes fun and exciting stories for any age, set in small towns, with mystical elements and quirky characters. You can find out more about her on her website www.karileetownsend.com and also on the group mystery blog she cohosts, called Mysteries and Margaritas, at www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com. You can also follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/karileetownsend and like her Facebook Author Page at www.facebook.com/karileetownsendAUTHOR.

♥

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2 Comments Filed Under: Author Spotlight Tagged With: Fortune Teller Mystery Series, guest post, Kari Lee Townsend

Author Spotlight: Vincent Zandri

July 29, 2010

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Vincent Zandri, author of The Remains, which I will be reviewing in the fall. Until then, here is the synopsis (from Goodreads.com):

Thirty years ago, teenager Rebecca Underhill and her twin sister Molly were abducted by a man who lived in a house in the woods behind their upstate New York farm. They were held inside that house for three horrifying hours, until making their daring escape. Vowing to keep their terrifying experience a secret in order to protect their mother and father, the girls tried to put the past behind them. And when their attacker was hunted down by police and sent to prison, they believed he was as good as dead. Now, it s 30 years later, and with Molly having passed away from cancer, Rebecca, a painter and art teacher, is left alone to bear the burden of a secret that has only gotten heavier and more painful with each passing year. But when Rebecca begins receiving some strange anonymous text messages, she begins to realize that the monster who attacked her all those years ago is not dead after all. He s back, and this time, he wants to do more than just haunt her. He wants her dead.

And finally, a treat! Mr. Zandri has written an article for me to share with you:

The Birth of the Mighty Digital Short

By Vincent Zandri

The new digital publishing age has brought a lot of great things to both readers and writers. Affordable books, Kindle downloads, E-Reader downloads, virtual tours, book trailers, mommy blogs, and most of all, a new selection of brand new writers who, had they been left to suck up to the mighty New York big six, might wallow in obscurity and rejection for the rest of their productive lives.

The new digital publishing model has changed all that. It’s allowed writers who have been constantly rejected from New York as being “unmarketable” to now earn an audience. A global audience. It’s also helped writers like me who have previously been published by major New York publishers but who didn’t earn our a mid-six-figure advance, to once again enter into the game, but this time with books that will remain in print and in electronic form, forever and ever.

But the digital age has also offered us something more. Something very mighty, yet at the same time, very small in length. I’m talking about the Digital Short. Known to most of us as the plain old short story, the Digital Short is more than that. Written to read like a short novel or novelette, the DS is published by your traditional book publisher with its own striking cover, and alluring product description. When you go to Amazon.com to checkout a new DS for the first time, you feel like you’re looking at brand new, novel- length book. But in reality, the story might comprise 5000 words or even less.

Unlike traditional short stories, the Digital Short, as it’s name implies, will never see print. It will however be made available to legions of fans who either already by that author’s books or who are curious about that author and want to get a taste of his or her work without spending too much money. Speaking of money, the beauty of the DS is that it costs less than a buck. For less than a small, rancid cup of coffee at your average roadside gas station you can enjoy a lifetime of reading and viewing pleasure from a Digital Short. All you get from the pricier cup of coffee is heartburn.

My new Digital Short, Pathological, published by Stone House Ink, is actually adopted from a crime short that was previously published it two literary journals. It’s not only mean to keep my faithful readers happy but it’s also used as a marketing tool to lure more readers to my full-length fiction. And the story seems to be popular. After only one day on Amazon and Smashwords, Pathological, is already approaching bestselling numbers. It is solidly propping up my brand new bestselling thriller, The Remains, and will continue to do so for months, up until and including the novel’s Trade Paperback publication and audio publication come this November.

So, what are the four main ingredients to a successful Digital Short?

Just like a full-length novel it requires:

A striking cover
A great price
A catchy but brief product description
A great, great, great story

Both me and my publisher plan on digitizing more of my short fiction and creating a series of Digital Shorts. When we have published ten of them, we’ll put them together in a full-length publication that will be as striking as the original, individual stories themselves.

The price will be right, the cover will rock, and the product description will make you want to die before not buying the book.

And of course, the stories will be great!

The Remains author, Vincent Zandri, is an award-winning novelist, essayist and freelance photojournalist. His novel As Catch Can (Delacorte) was touted in two pre-publication articles by Publishers Weekly and was called “Brilliant” upon its publication by The New York Post. The Boston Herald attributed it as “The most arresting first crime novel to break into print this season.” Other novels include the bestselling, Moonlight Falls,Godchild (Bantam/Dell) and Permanence (NPI). Translated into several languages including Japanese and the Dutch, Zandri’s novels have also been sought out by numerous major movie producers, including Heyday Productions and DreamWorks. Presently he is the author of the blogs, Dangerous Dispatches and Embedded in Africa for Russia Today TV (RT). He also writes for other global publications, including Culture 11, Globalia and Globalspec. Zandri’s nonfiction has appeared in New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, Game and Fish Magazine and others, while his essays and short fiction have been featured in many journals including Fugue, Maryland Review and Orange Coast Magazine. He holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2010 International Thriller Writer’s Awards panel judge. Zandri currently divides his time between New York and Europe. He is the drummer for the Albany-based punk band to Blisterz.

You can visit his Web site at www.vincentzandri.com or his blog at www.vincentzandri.blogspot.com.

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Author Spotlight: Cynthia Roberts ~ Wind Warrior GIVEAWAY

April 29, 2010

I am very excited to introduce you to Cynthia Roberts, romance author of the new book Wind Warrior. Let me tell you, this book sounds GOOD! Oh, and one of YOU will have a chance to win a SIGNED copy! But, first, let me introduce you to Cynthia!

Hello everyone. Like all of you, I lived and breathed reading … it filled many long, lonely evenings when my husband worked nights in law enforcement and I was raising our children, Jason and Alyssa (now 31 and 29). It proved my constant companion later, when my “Cinderella” marriage of twenty-five years came to an unexpected end. There is a quote I heard once, I can’t remember verbatim but goes somewhat like … “There is no greater loss than a love once known.”

I’m a true believer that when tragedy strikes and you’re standing at the edge of a fathomless abyss and all you see is darkness looking back at you, faith lies in knowing one of two things will happen. You can either let fear consume you, roll up into a ball and waste away, or,you can take a leap of faith and learn how to soar like an eagle.

I’ve always had a passion for writing from that very moment a Crayola was placed in my hand, and throughout my career in marketing, public relations and sales, writing creatively came easy. When my marriage ended at the age of 45, life as I knew it was never the same. It was a time of unrest, uncertainty, losing friends and family and financial ruin because I also found myself jobless, which continued nearly two years.

Wind Warrior became my salvation. One evening I sat in front of the computer and decided to write instead of read. I loved Cassie Edwards’ Savage Series and read every one of her books and figured all I could do was fail. It proved my therapy back then, but not quite up to par to win the favor of publishers. I received so many rejections I could have wallpapered a small room in my house, and almost gave up on my dream. That is, until I realized it just wasn’t my time. I needed to live through and get beyond the pain in my own life, before I could transform that experience into the kind of passion and emotion I wanted my readers to feel personally through my writing.

Wind Warrior is book one of five of my Iroquois Series, and will officially be released by Tate Publishing June 15th. It is, however, available now for purchase through Tate’s Web site, and it is my heartfelt hope readers will find it as enthralling to read as it was for me to research and bring to life. Book #2, Captive Heart, is finished and expected to be released the end of this year.

Now that the writer in me has been unleashed … look out world! If I can leave my beautiful five grandchildren any legacy, it will be the strength, conviction and passion put into every story I bring to life. Please stay tuned for future projects, which will include a series-introducing contemporary shape shifters and two mainstream romance thrillers entitled Pawn For Malice and The Keeper’s Watch.

Thank you, Cynthia, for that lovely introduction! And now for the blurb from the back cover:

Leslie Michaels is a visionary, and only those close to her know of her special gift and the visions that come when her mind and body surrender to sleep. Fate has a way of righting many wrongs, and for Leslie it is a destiny that changes her life dramatically. But not before she is forced to flee into the wilderness to escape a murderous trapper bent on claiming her for his very own. Faith and a strong will to survive are her only companions, until she encounters Winnokin, the handsome Seneca war chief who first came to her in her dreams. Not only does he prove to be her rescuer and protector, he teaches her that tragedy can breed happiness and the passion to live and love deeply once again.

Wind Warrior plunges readers into the intimate depths of a relationship that unfolds like a live drama before their eyes while painting an insightful and intriguing portrait of Native Indian life in the 1800s. It is a story of longing, of a wanton need to survive all odds, and a love so strong it conquers human evil. Wind Warrior expresses with cunning words the simple, raw human emotions that hold readers spellbound and captivates their hearts.

And, finally, an excerpt from the book:

Leslie Michaels detected the immediate transformation in the stranger’s eyes after she reached out and stroked the tips of her fingers slowly along the strong, angular curves of his chin and jaw. She looked for a change, some kind of reaction that told her he found her to be too bold or forward. However, his calm reserve gave away no emotion at all. She was pleased that he did not draw away from her touch or display any signs of displeasure. More than anything, she wanted to know what was going on in his mind.

Did he find her attractive? Would he want to know her more intimately? She could not believe that those thoughts were even running through her mind. By God, she thought, I’m thinking just like one of those dance hall girls always standing outside the saloon at the settlement.

She certainly was not the kind of woman to just throw herself at a man. She was generally shy and reserved, and it normally took a while before she warmed up to someone, especially a man like the one right there in front of her.

And to think, she sighed, that his lips may just taste sweeter than sugar. She could feel her cheeks flush and patted them with her palms. This man certainly made her feel brazen. She wondered if he found her touch as pleasing as it was for her. When the moments passed with words unspoken between them, Leslie was afraid she truly overstepped her bounds.

There must be someone else in his life, a wife or betrothed, she thought. She searched his eyes to see if disinterest reflected in their depths, but he was too difficult to read. Leslie leaned back slightly and pondered if his lack of response was more out of duty or respect and not wanting to offend her.

I am such a––a fool––a stupid, crazy ninny, she chastised silently and lowered her head to hide her embarrassment. Just because I am drawn to him like a bee to honey does not mean he feels the same about me, she argued with herself. After all, we are from different cultures. Those in my world would never approve of such a union.

Leslie’s heart began to pound rapidly in her chest when he moved slightly and reached out for her. She gasped faintly when he tenderly clasped her chin to raise it and gazed into her eyes. A lump caught in her throat, and she knew she could not swallow even if she tried. Joy filled her heart when she watched as his beautiful, full lips began to slowly curve into a smile.

The pleasure she felt overwhelmed her and she pressed her fingers to her lips and sighed softly. She did not know his name, where he came from, or what kind of person he was. What she did know was that she felt no fear, no apprehension, in his presence. She did not hold back and drew herself up from her squatting position to kneel before him.

His beautiful, amber eyes were captivating, and Leslie knew at that very moment that she could get lost in their depths for an eternity. She wanted nothing else. He clasped a hold of her tiny wrists and placed her right hand upon his shoulder.

She reacted instantly and did not hold back. She needed, wanted, to touch more of him and slowly ran the flat of her palm down the length of his naked chest, feeling the strength of hard muscle beneath his light copper skin. It amazed her how such a masculine man could feel as soft as a rabbit’s pelt. Her eyes drifted again to the fullness of his lips, and she craved to have her own held captive by them.

He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and even though he was Indian, it did not sway her from wanting to share something more with him. The comfort and safety she felt was far from odd, even knowing it would prove disturbing to others. Leslie dismissed all doubt and worry from her mind. She never was a person to be affected by what others thought. And she was not about to start now.

If he was an admirable man with a kind and compassionate heart, that was all she needed to know. She felt an immediate connection and shivered slightly when he reached forward to tenderly move a tendril of her hair away from her face. It seemed natural and right to rest her cheek against the palm of his hand.

His thumb glided softly against her skin, and she shivered slightly as she tilted her body to nuzzle the side of her face against the warmth of his touch. He reached his other hand to cup her face and draw her nearer.

Leslie could feel his breath caressing her skin, and she knew he was going to kiss her.

“Come. Let us ride the wind together,” he whispered softly in her ear. Slowly his lips brushed across her cheek, barely touching skin, causing her body to tremble in response.

This was the moment she hoped for, and she leaned her body closer and raised her chin to meet the pressure of his lips. His powerful arms were tender as they softly folded about her until their bodies were pressed together in a heated embrace.

The loud, shrilling chatter of gray squirrels playing outside her bedroom loft window jolted Leslie from her sleep as though cold water had just been thrown upon her face, and she bolted upright, into a sitting position.

“No!” she cried softly.

She realized it was just a dream as she ran her palm softly across the spot where she could swear she still felt the warmth of the stranger’s touch. Her eyes scanned every corner of her room, and her heart sank from the disappointing realization that she did indeed dream of the beautiful stranger once again. She turned and watched the humorous antics that continued outside her window.

“Shoo––shoo, you two,” she scolded. “Did you have to choose this very moment to wake me?” she continued as she shook her head and stretched her limbs like a contented feline.

For a moment she played back the memory of the dream that had haunted her over and over again for the past two months. When is this going to end? She wondered. What does it all mean?

It was not just this particular incident that bewildered her. For as long as she could remember, Leslie had always been taunted by such riddles. Early in her childhood, she had learned not to question her special ability to see what would happen in the very near future through her dreams.

She never feared them, because they were so very much a part of her life, and she naturally assumed every one had the same experiences in their life. That is, until she was old enough to speak and express what she saw with her parents.

Leslie was nearly seven when she finally began to understand what was happening to her, what she was born with. Her mother, Olivia, had sat her down and carefully told her of the special gift they both shared. It was a guarded secret that had been passed down for five generations by the feminine line on her mother’s side.

Still, the dream she had just experienced was so different and more personal than any she had before. This dream involved her emotions. She knew this particular stranger would play a major role in her future. She just did not know what, or when, or where. Each time he entered her sleep, it became more real, and her attraction for him grew stronger. She was becoming drawn to his long, dark hair and a physique, which looked as though it had been chiseled from stone. He was a mystery for now, and she was certain it was one that would be solved sooner rather than later.

For more information on Cynthia and her books, check out her site. This book is currently available only through the publisher’s site. It will be available through Amazon.com on June 15.

Oh, wait! There’s more …

Cynthia has graciously agreed to offer one free signed copy to one of my lucky readers! All you have to do is fill out the Linky Tools form below to be entered. All e-mail addresses will be shared with Cynthia so that she can add you to her mailing list.

Rules: Submit your entry using the form below. (Under “contest entry” please put your name and/or screen name.) Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Thursday, May 20. (One entry per person. Duplicate entries will disqualify you.) A winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from proudbooknerd(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn’t get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S. No P.O. boxes.

Good luck!