Art, Word, #Wine Cape Cod ~ #Book Signing #Dennis #Barnstable #Brewster

It’s almost here ~ the most exciting book signing I’ve ever done.  Over the years, I have participated in some great events, but this Tuesday night will be more like something out of my wildest dreams: I’ll be part of a nine-author panel which includes some very well-known authors such as Mary Higgins Clark, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Sally Gunning, and Jacquelyn Mitchard.  To say I’m honored to be in such company is an understatement!  We’ll all be there for a fantastic cause: to help raise money for Dream Day on Cape Cod, a wonderful charity that brings children with life-threatening illnesses to the Cape.  I eagerly agreed to do the event with no knowledge of who else would be participating; to combine an opportunity to help children with a chance to share my novels is something I would gladly do any day.  But oh, how I wish I had video of my reaction when I first saw the promotional flyer and understood I’d be sitting at a table with Mary Higgins Clark!  I can still remember discovering her books as a preteen and sharing them with my best friend, a fellow reader.  Clark is an author whose books I read and re-read dozens of times, and the idea of not only meeting her, but signing books alongside her, literally takes my breath away! 

Art, Word, and Wine will be held at the Cape Cod Museum of Art on Tuesday, August 30^th, from 4 pm to 7 pm.  There is a $20 admission at the door, which goes to Dream Day on Cape Cod, and the authors are all donating profits from books toward the fundraising as well.  So if you’re in the area, come meet some famous authors, find some new reads, and enjoy wine, cheese and crackers, and artwork in a beautiful setting, all while helping Dream Day on Cape Cod achieve its mission.

Signing Books with Mary Higgins Clark! #CapeCod Art, Word + #Wine Event

In one week, I’ll get to meet one of my idols—Mary Higgins Clark, the “Queen of Suspense”—and, in a dream come true, I’ll actually be sitting on an author panel with her!  The two of us are part of the nine-author panel at Art, Word, and Wine, a charity event to raise money for Dream Day on Cape Cod.  The panel includes other well-known authors such as Hank Phillipi Ryan, Sally Gunning, and Jacquelyn Mitchard, so to say I’m honored to be in such company is an understatement. 

I’ve always been a voracious reader, and throughout my childhood, my father would bring home stacks of library books each week, selected with the help of the local librarian.  That’s how I discovered a ghost story/sweet romance entitled Jane-Emily, a novel which inspired my own books many years later.  But when I would inevitably finish all the library books in a few days, I’d turn to raiding my mother’s bookcase.  And that’s how I first discovered Mary Higgins Clark’s debut novel, Where Are The Children?

I can still remember my pulse racing as I tore through the pages.  I quickly hunted down the two other paperbacks we owned, A Stranger is Watching and The Cradle Will Fall.  Over the years, I read all three over many times in between waiting for new releases.  And before I began writing my debut novel, Silver Lake, I re-read Where Are The Children? as a lesson on building tension and suspense.  I was surprised to discover the book was set on Cape Cod, a place which meant little to me as a child, but has now become my home for the last 18 years and serves as a setting for Gull Harbor and Haunted Souls.

And now I’m one of the “great Cape Cod authors” who will be signing books at Art, Word, and Wine!  The event will be held at the Cape Cod Museum of Art on Tuesday, August 30^th, from 4 pm to 7 pm.  The $20 admission goes to a fantastic charity that brings children with life-threatening illness to the Cape.  So if you’re in the area, come meet some famous authors, find some new reads, and enjoy wine, cheese and crackers, and artwork in a beautiful setting, all while helping Dream Day on Cape Cod achieve its mission.

Steamy #Romance + a #Haunting Mystery! #99c #Sale on #Kindle ~ final days!

For a very limited time, my new release, HAUNTED SOULS, is on sale!  Both Kindle and Nook formats are priced at 99 cents until Friday, which is a huge drop from the regular $5.99 price.  Hurry and grab this steamy military romance mixed with haunting mystery while it’s less than a buck!  Blurb and links can be found below:

Four years ago, Emily Shea and Staff Sergeant Brett Leeds agreed to part with no strings attached. Sparks flew during their brief affair, but fate intervened, sending Brett overseas. When an unexpected pregnancy derailed Emily’s own plans, her attempts to locate Brett were soon overwhelmed by the challenges of single motherhood. Now, Brett has returned home, and Emily is forced to share her secret.

Despite feeling betrayed, Brett is determined to forge a relationship with their son, Tyler. As the former lovers battle both their inner demons and their mutual desire, another presence enters their lives—Tyler’s imaginary friend.

Soon, however, the chilling evidence points to a different conclusion: a ghost has formed a dangerous connection with their son. Emily’s attempts to help both a lost soul and a friend in need spiral toward a deadly confrontation, and Brett must race to save Emily before he loses her again—forever.

Kindle

Nook

Celebrating #blackcatappreciationday + Researching #Superstition about Black #Cats

Max and Jinx - 1 yr. old brothers

It’s black cat appreciation day!  I absolutely love black cats…I have had many in the past, and I have two right now.  Most people ask if this is due to my fascination with the paranormal, as most of my novels involve spooky ghost mysteries.  And that’s probably part of it—but a few other things weigh in.  For one thing, I think black cats are beautiful.  But I also am a strong supporter of pet rescue and adoption, and black cats are over-represented at shelters, which could be in part because many people are consciously or even subconsciously affected by the superstition surrounding black cats.  So, today’s post is dedicated to how this idea that black cats are unlucky came about.

The ancient Egyptians believed cats had magical powers, and regarded them as sacred.  In fact, they worshiped a feline goddess known as Bastet.  On the other hand, Druids feared cats.  All cats are nocturnal and appear dark as they creep through the night, sure-footed and stealthy even with no light to see by.  This gave all cats a mystical aura, but the color black has often been associated with sinister forces.

Black cats, along with bats and spiders, have long been considered by some to be bad omens.  Some cultures believed witches could turn into cats in order to avoid capture.  Black cats were also thought to be familiars—low ranking demons tasked with serving and protecting a witch.

Even with a limited understanding of diseases, societies throughout history were also able to see the connection between cats and outbreaks of plague.  Cats control rodent populations, and rats are carriers of many diseases deadly to humans.  This added to the idea that cats had powers beyond human comprehension.

Thus, an association with witchcraft and the occult, superstition, fear, and awe combined to make black cats a symbol of Halloween, the night when the barrier between the paranormal and physical worlds grows thin.

So, there you have it…a few reasons black cats are considered unlucky by some.  Personally, I cross paths with my Max and Jinx dozens of times each day, and so far I’m no worse for the wear.  So celebrate your beautiful black cats!  And, if you enjoy a little spooky suspense like me, try one of my books…there’s some steamy romance in their as well, so something for everyone!

HAUNTED SOULS

GULL HARBOR

SILVER LAKE

DIVINE FALL

#99c Sale on #HAUNTED SOULS! #ghosts #romance #99cents #Kindle

For a very limited time, my new release, HAUNTED SOULS, is on sale!  Both Kindle and Nook formats are priced at 99 cents this week, which is a huge drop from the regular $5.99 price.  Hurry and grab this steamy military romance mixed with haunting mystery while it’s less than a buck!  Blurb and links can be found below:

Four years ago, Emily Shea and Staff Sergeant Brett Leeds agreed to part with no strings attached. Sparks flew during their brief affair, but fate intervened, sending Brett overseas. When an unexpected pregnancy derailed Emily’s own plans, her attempts to locate Brett were soon overwhelmed by the challenges of single motherhood. Now, Brett has returned home, and Emily is forced to share her secret.

Despite feeling betrayed, Brett is determined to forge a relationship with their son, Tyler. As the former lovers battle both their inner demons and their mutual desire, another presence enters their lives—Tyler’s imaginary friend.

Soon, however, the chilling evidence points to a different conclusion: a ghost has formed a dangerous connection with their son. Emily’s attempts to help both a lost soul and a friend in need spiral toward a deadly confrontation, and Brett must race to save Emily before he loses her again—forever.

Kindle

Nook

Signing Books at #Mashpee Commons! #haunting #romance Cape Cod #CapeCod

Market Street Bookshop in
Mashpee Commons

Another event in my busy and exciting summer—I’ll be signing copies of my new release, HAUNTED SOULS, at Market Street Bookshop in Mashpee Commons on Saturday, August 13^th, from 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.  All my older titles will be available for sale and signing as well…SILVER LAKE and GULL HARBOR, both #1 Kindle Bestsellers, and DIVINE FALL, an award-winning Young Adult novel.  If you’re on Cape Cod for the weekend, or the summer, or year-round, come by and get some new beach reads!  And signed books make both great gifts and great souvenirs of your time on the Cape.  You can find the book store on, you guessed it…Market Street…right next to Trevi Restaurant and the big fountain.  More info can be found at this link for Mashpee Commons.  If you've never visited the Commons, you're in for a treat, it's a beautiful and quaint spot right in the heart of Mashpee.

Front page of the Arts section
of the Mashpee Enterprise!

I’m thrilled that our local newspaper published an article on the new release and my writing career recently, mentioning the book signing event as well as some upcoming classes I’ll be teaching.  The article discusses the initial inspiration for this story: a ghost tour I went on with my sister in Cape Cod’s Barnstable Village, which started and ended at the Old Jail.

I’d never even heard of the Old Jail, and it’s truly a historic gem.  It’s the oldest wooden jail house in the entire country, actually, and is thought to have been built in 1690, on orders from the Plymouth and MA Bay Colony Courts.  The structure itself is quite small, containing three cells which held large numbers of people sometimes.  According to our guide, conditions were rough and people had to take turns lying down to sleep when cells were crowded.  As you can imagine, many people died, and the site is considered actively haunted. 

On our tour, we were shown photographs with shadowy figures taken by volunteers who work in the jail house.  A few of the volunteers shared their stories as well, and one claimed that a ghost had followed them home and engaged in some poltergeist-like activities.  Well, that got my attention right way, and my imagination started churning.  My sister had her little daughter with her, and I started to wonder what would happen if a young child with sensitive abilities took pity on a lost soul, and actually invited a ghost to come home with them.  The initial idea was born.

Of course, my stories also have a romantic element, and that aspect turned out perfectly suited for Cape Cod as well, since it soon became clear to me that the male main character in my story was in the military—and Joint Base Cape Cod hosts a number of branches.  There are some pretty steamy scenes as Brett, an EOD tech, reunites with the one woman he could never forget.  But can they overcome their past?

You can find the blurb to the book here and the full news article online at this link.  Hope to see you at the signing…and stay tuned, I have more big news ahead!  A teaser: I’ll be signing books with my childhood idol and the queen of suspense…Mary Higgins Clark!  Check back for more info!

Speaking at Cape Cod Writers Center Conference! #amwriting #CapeCod #Author Panel

The Cape Cod Writers Conference is “one of the oldest broad-based writer’s conferences in the country” (source), and it is returning to Hyannis for the 54^th year this August.  Last year, I was unable to participate in the conference, but the President and Editor-in-Chief of my publishing house attended as one of the presenters.  Later in the week, I was able to meet with her and other local (or at least within driving distance) authors who write for The Wild Rose Press, and we had a wonderful lunch together on the Cape.

This year, three of us will be speaking as an author panel during the lunchtime discussions on the first day of the conference—Friday, August 5^th—from 11:45 to 1:00 p.m.  Below is the summary of our session…I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to share my experience with other writers, and I hope if you’re attending the conference, you’ll come join us for an informative chat during the lunch hour!

The Writer’s Journey: Come hear three traditionally published Cape Cod authors discuss their long, interesting, and often circuitous paths to publication and beyond. Former CCWC President Kevin Symmons, Kathryn Knight, and Katie O'Sullivan, authors of 14 successful novels in various genres, offer insights, tell stories, and answer your questions.

For more information, here is the link to the homepage of Cape Cod Writers Center: 

Cape Cod Writers Center.  And don't forget to look for the book store at the conference for offerings from Cape authors!