Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The Seraphim's Song by Barbara Casey. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a guest post about the research for the series. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!
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Series: The F.I.G. Mysteries #5
Author: Barbara Casey
Publisher: Hungry Goat Press
Publication Date: April 19th 2022
Print Length: 196 pages
Genre: Supernatural Mystery
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Many changes have taken place at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women while Carolina and Larry were on their honeymoon in Frascati, Italy, on the Granchelli farm. The newlyweds have been given a larger bungalow; Ms. Alcott, niece of the founder of Wood Rose, and Mrs. Ball, assistant to the headmaster, have moved into a bungalow together; and Jimmy Bob, caretaker and night watchman at Wood Rose has moved from his family home down the road a bit into a small bungalow on the orphanage property with his hound dog Tick, as well as his new cat and her litter of kittens. Most important, thanks to the persuasive powers of Ms. Alcott and Mrs. Ball, the F.I.G.s have been given a forever home at Wood Rose.
Summer is coming to an end and the F.I.G.s will soon return to the universities to complete their special projects. They are starting to feel anxious, and the coping mechanisms they have used their entire lives are starting to work overtime. Dara’s thoughts turn to an unknown language, possibly from another world; Mackenzie focuses on the relationship of math to music; and Jennifer keeps hearing the note of B flat minor and is drawing dark swirls on her canvas board.
Deadly forces and natural disasters are unleashed into the world when Milosh, the evil young man who placed a curse on Carolina when she searched for her mother, steals an ancient artifact—a “key”—from an archaeological site near Puli, China on the Yellow Sea where he is working. This artifact, when paired with a certain note—B flat minor known as the Seraphim’s song—opens a portal that enables man to communicate with the gods.
When the key gets lost in a storm, Carolina comes into possession of it through Jimmy Bob’s dog, Tick, and when she does, she hears Lyuba, her gypsy mother, tell her that time is running out. The F.I.G.s and Carolina must go to the forbidden cave on the Yellow Sea, the place where the early gypsies are believed to have settled before travelling into Europe. For it is there where the key must be returned before all is destroyed.
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EXCERPT:
Dara, being the tallest of the F.I.G.s and the most aggressive, spoke first. “O.K., let’s think about what Lyuba said—exactly.”
Carolina repeated the message just as Mrs. Ball and Miss Alcott had relayed it: They must seek safe shelter. When the leaves twist on their stems away from the heavens to face the earth, they must hide. You must hide. Everyone is in danger.
When the seraphim sings, a key will be given to her; she needs to listen for the seraphim’s song. She needs to watch for the key and protect it from evil. She must return it to where it belongs.
“The storm must be the danger,” said Jennifer, “but what key?”
“I have a key to my bungalow and my car key,” said Carolina. “I don’t think that is what Lyuba means though.”
“A seraphim is an angel referenced in the book of the Prophet Isaiah in the Bible,” offered Mackenzie, picking up on the words seraphim’s song. “It is the angel that allows people on earth and the gods in the heavens to communicate, and it is a copper color.”
“In Hebrew the word seraphim means burning or fiery,” added Dara.
“That must refer to its color,” said Jennifer.
“How can I protect it and return it to where it belongs if I don’t even know what it is?” Carolina was still thinking about a key.
“And what does Milosh have to do with it?” Dara looked at the others. They had no answers, only questions.
Outside the storm continued to rage. Wind battered the three-storied stone building; beyond the stone walls, trees toppled and structures collapsed; and streets flooded from the relentless down-pouring of rain. But Carolina and the females of intellectual genius, deep in thought, no longer noticed.
Suddenly Jennifer jumped up and grabbed the canvas board she had been drawing on with her charcoals. The last image that had come to her was an object of some sort, cylinder in shape, and an unusual shade of yellow. She showed it to the others. “This is what I am working on now. These are the images I have been seeing.” She pointed to the dark swirls and the yellow cylinder. “What if it isn’t a regular key as we think of it—like a door key—but something else, like a metaphor?”
Dara immediately began thinking of phrases where the word “key” could be used. “Like keyed up, minor and major key, key out, key to happiness, key to success…”
“Or, key to information,” said Jennifer looking at her charcoal images. “What if it is some sort of object like an ancient artifact that deciphers information?” She cocked her head, listening. “And I keep hearing the key of B flat minor. At least that is what I think it is because it is slightly off tune.”
“Yeah,” said Mackenzie. “Maybe it is something that connects language, math, and music,” which might explain why her thoughts lately had focused on the relationship between musical scales and mathematical equations. “The ancient Chinese, Indians, Egyptians and even Mesopotamians were known to have studied the mathematical principles of sound, and the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece were the first researchers known to have investigated the expression of musical scales in terms of numerical ratios. They believed that all nature consists of harmony arising out of numbers.”
“Lyuba said I must watch for the key, so that means I must not have it yet.” Carolina looked at Jennifer. “I have been hearing that musical note as well. It is the same sound as ‘aum’ that is used in meditation and religious practices all over the world. Maybe that is the seraphim’s song.”
“And the vibrations… Have any of you been feeling the vibrations?” asked Dara.
Carolina, Mackenzie, and Jennifer all nodded.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Originally from Carrollton, Illinois, author/agent/publisher, Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history. In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service. In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day operations, and book production.
Barbara has written over a dozen award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction for both young adults and adults. The awards include the National Association of University Women Literary Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel, the IP Best Book for Regional Fiction, among others. Several of her books have been optioned for major films and television.
Her award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in both national and international publications including the North Carolina Christian Advocate Magazine, The New East Magazine, the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Sunday Telegram, Dog Fancy, ByLine, The Christian Record, Skirt! Magazine, and True Story. A thirty-minute television special which Barbara wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also received special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of Albanian children’s stories. Her award-winning science fiction short stories for adults are featured in The Cosmic Unicorn and CrossTime science fiction anthologies. Barbara’s essays and other works appear in The Chrysalis Reader, the international literary journal of the Swedenborg Foundation, 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature (Smith and Kraus Publishers), and A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation).
Barbara is a former director of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida, where she served as guest author and panelist. She has served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003. In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas. She makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with three cats who adopted her, Homer – a Southern coon cat, Reese – a black cat, and Earl Gray – a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.
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GUEST POST:
RESEARCHING THE F.I.G. MYSTERIES
by Barbara Casey
by Barbara Casey
In all of the books I write, whether fiction or nonfiction, I do a great deal of research. This provides credibility to the stories I am telling, but it also creates added interest to the themes I write. This is especially true in the F.I.G. Mysteries.
In The Cadence of Gypsies, the first book in the series, Dara, Mackenzie, and Jennifer – the three females of intellectual genius – are introduced along with their mentor Carolina Lovel and several other characters who provide insight and background throughout the series. In this story, it is Carolina who searches for her biological parents with the help of the F.I.G.s. In that search they discover Carolina’s connection to the most mysterious manuscript in the world: the Voynich Manuscript. They also learn that Carolina is a gypsy.
In order to make this story plausible, I spent a great deal of time researching the Voynich as well as the culture of gypsies. This wasn’t easy. As far as the Voynich, it still remains a mystery although there are some new theories explaining it. And gypsies are by nature private and a closed society, but I was able to find some old, out-of-print books, however, that had information on their practices, their herbal medications, and other things.
BLURB
The gypsy—not old, but beyond her birthing years—spent the early, pre-dawn hours digging roots, in the dark of the crescent moon, and every so often replanting a good piece of a root to grow next year. The day before she had picked herbs, during that time when the essential oils are at their strongest, before they could get evaporated by the midday sun. She had her favorite place where she searched, the place where the energies were strongest. Surprisingly, it was the old church graveyard built on a slight mound just outside of the rural Italian village. A creek ran nearby, and a tall, unkempt yew tree grew near the entrance to the graveyard, poisonous, but giving off positive energies. It was a place she knew well, having discovered it from a previous time the travelers came this way.
Other gypsy women picked their herbs carelessly anywhere, or they would buy them dried from a shop, claiming good results. But the Kaulo Camio, a black gypsy who went by the name of Lyuba, knew better. She treated all plants kindly and with respect in order to capture their full spiritual healing essence. For she believed as good gypsies did that everything has a spirit, even the stones on the ground; and everything could bring good luck or bad.
Once she had gathered what she needed, she returned to camp just beyond the village to prepare her potions. From the roots, bark and hard seeds she would make decoctions by soaking them overnight and boiling them the next day. Some of the decoctions she would add honey or sugar to; others she would thicken into syrup or add lard to make ointments and salves. She saved the freshest herbs for her oils.
Soon her potions would be ready, and she would take them into the village to sell. Coughs or colds, rheumatism, cuts and bruises, burns—it didn't matter. She knew what remedy was necessary to relieve pain, create lustrous hair, revive the impotent, whiten teeth, cure constipation, or simply heal the broken spirit. Unlike others who only pretended, she had the gift.
But that would be tomorrow. Today, after her work was complete, she would teach the children. Lyuba was a choovihni—a wisewoman, an exalted and envied position among gypsy women. As her birthright, she and she alone had been given the responsibility to pass on the knowledge of the travelers to the ones who would follow. Today she would teach the older children about spells, making the duk rak and duk koor for protection, as well as the talisman. This particular group of children was bright and eager, but she was yet to find a child born with the natural gift. Those children were rare. In all her years as a choovihni, she had only known one—the beautiful one that was taken from her so long ago. And all of the magic she knew had not been able to heal her pain from that loss.
The Voynich Manuscript is a fascinating subject, and I made it an integral part of Carolina’s background.
BLURB
Carolina smiled at the FIGs, knowing each of them had buried deep within them their own dreams and fantasies of what their parents were like had they known them, or, in Jennifer's case, if they had lived. She did the same thing. It was a way of coping with knowing you were alone in the world; it was a way of making something wrong right. "Naturally I cherished these things simply because they were things my real parents wanted me to have; but then, a short time later, just a week before I was to attend orientation at the university, I stumbled across something that has completely changed my life."
By this time all three girls were sitting on the edge of the sofa.
"I had been given a list of books to read over the summer prior to starting my freshman year by my academic advisor, and on that list was a book about the Voynich Manuscript that also had several photographs of some of the actual manuscript pages."
"Wait a minute," said Jennifer. "What's the Voynich Manuscript?"
"The Voynich Manuscript is the most mysterious of all the texts in the world," answered Carolina.
"Didn't some top military code-breakers try to decipher it during World War II, but failed?" asked Dara.
"Yeah, and then some professor at the University of Pennsylvania went insane trying to figure it out," added Mackenzie.
"So why haven't I heard of it?"
"A lot of people have never heard of the Voynich Manuscript." Carolina opened one of her notebooks on the table and pulled out a sheaf of papers. "This is a copy of it." She handed it to Jennifer. "The original is seven by ten inches, about 235 pages long, and it's made of soft, light-brown vellum. Small, but thick."
"Where is the original?" asked Jennifer.
"Now it is in the Beinecke Library at Yale University. A rare book expert in New York named H.P. Kraus donated it when he couldn't find a buyer for it. Before that, in 1912, a book collector by the name of Wilfrid M. Voynich discovered the manuscript in a chest with some other ancient manuscripts kept in the Jesuit College at the Villa Mondragone in Frascati, near Rome."
Carolina had the girls' full attention. "There was a piece of paper attached to the Voynich Manuscript when Wilfrid Voynich found it which revealed that the manuscript was once part of the private library of Petrus Beckx S.J., 22nd general of the Society of Jesus. There are a lot of theories as to the origins of it, but other notable people who seem to have been involved with the manuscript at various times are Rudolph II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-1500s and early 1600s, Athanasius Kircher in the 1600s, who was considered one of the most learned men of his day, and Roger Bacon in the 1200s who was a Franciscan friar."
Jennifer had moved onto the floor with several sheets of the manuscript spread out in front of her. "There are a lot of drawings," she commented, immediately drawn to the artwork in colors of red, blue, brown, yellow, and green since one of her specialties was art.
"The contents of the manuscript appear to be divided up into five categories. What you are looking at, Jennifer, is called the botanical section—plant drawings. There is also the astrological or astronomical section, the biological section, the pharmaceutical section, and then the last section which is 23 pages of text arranged in short paragraphs, each beginning with a star. The last page in this section appears to be a Key of some sort."
Dara and Mackenzie picked out more pages of the manuscript and joined Jennifer on the floor.
"There seem to be word repetitions—like a code," said Mackenzie, who specialized in computers, math, and calculus—and problem-solving.
"Maybe even two different languages," added Dara, whose knowledge of foreign languages included the ancient language of Sanskrit.
Not surprising, the girls had immediately picked up on some of the crucial findings about the manuscript. "No one knows what it means. It is written from left to right, and the lines—they scan from the top of the page to the bottom. The style is a flowing cursive script in an alphabet that has never been seen elsewhere…" Carolina hesitated…"until now."
The Wish Rider, which is the second book in the F.I.G. Mysteries, continues to follow the lives of three orphaned teenagers, each girl from a different part of the country, and each girl a genius with a special talent. Dara is inspired when Carolina discovers her mother, and decides to find her birth mother – or at least find out why she was abandoned. I continue with the gypsy theme in The Wish Rider, along with some other things that take them to New York City where Dara believes her mother might be. And in New York City, I researched the Grand Central Terminal that also plays a big part in the story.
BLURB
“This might not make any sense—nothing about this does anyway—but… Through the decades of construction and renovation of Grand Central Terminal, one track remains a mystery. It is a secret track, Track 61, and it links Grand Central to the nearby Park Avenue Waldorf-Astoria, a hotel just five blocks away.”
Carolina gasped.
“A publicly known connection between Track 61 and the Waldorf existed as early as 1929, but the rails never received much use. Track 61's first official use came in the transportation of General John J. Pershing in 1938, who, after a near-fatal heart attack, traveled cross-country in a weakened state to attend his son's wedding.
“After that, Grand Central Terminal authorities often kept a train car on Track 61 to handle emergency situations. FDR made use of the track at least once while in office. During this use, the train car on Track 61 held FDR’s favorite automobile, and it could be opened to allow for the car to be driven directly onto the Waldorf-Astoria’s freight elevator. In more recent times, security workers have found a lot of the homeless living on the train car and around the platform.”
“How can we get to it?” asked Carolina.
“It isn’t safe, Carolina. It has become a shadow world,” Grai said, but even as he said the words, he knew they must go there if they were to have any hope of finding Dara.
Each book introduces a theme that I have researched. The Clock Flower, Book 3, explores Chinese culture and ancient beliefs, as well as research that is going on today involving the dandelion and immortality. Book 4, The Nightjar’s Promise, reveals the theft of artwork by the Nazis during World War II and its recovery that continues even now.
In my latest book in the series, The Seraphim’s Song, the reasons for why the F.I.G.s are different becomes more evident when they return to the region in China where Mackenzie learned who her mother was in Book 3, The Clock Flower. Archaeological digs and ancient artifacts play an important part in the story, along with Chinese culture and beliefs.
BLURB
The cave, one of many created over time within the steep, rocky outcrop overlooking the Yellow Sea, was unremarkable. From all appearances, it had been naturally carved into the cliff face by the dust storms that frequented this western coastal area of China and the ebb and flow of tides. The singular thing that set it apart from all of the other caves, though, was that its entrance, rather than facing the sea, opened to the north, perpendicular to the shore. Through the centuries, its entrance had shrunk and grown less noticeable as shrubs, wild grasses, and small trees native to the area—Viburnum davidii, dawn redwood, dallisgrass, and the small dove tree—took root in the yellow clay soil. The cave became more hidden and more forbidden.
People visiting the area took no notice. But those who lived there, and the generations who had come before them, knew of the dark secrets held within the cave. They had heard the frightening, eerie sounds coming from the jagged mouth of the misplaced opening, and some had even claimed to have seen the monster living within.
The fire-breathing pig dragon.
These are some of the subjects of interest that provide texture and dimension to The F.I.G. Mysteries, along with three females of intellectual genius – the F.I.G.s – who are searching for answers as to why they were placed in an orphanage and why they are so different.
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GIVEAWAY:
Barbara Casey will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!
(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)
Heather, thank you so much for your interest in The F.I.G. Mysteries and for showcasing Book 5 - The Seraphim's Song. I look forward to spending time with you and your bloggers. I wish you my best. ~Barbara
ReplyDeleteThanks! And thank you for stopping by =)
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for following my tour, Sherry.
DeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita. The Song of the Seraphim takes the F.I.G.s to another level of understanding who they are and why.
Deletethis sounds like an awesome book
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteI don't think I've ever heard of a dog named Tick before. Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Tick was rescued as a puppy by the night watchman at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women where the F.I.G.s live. He is a hound dog, and is much smarter than most give him credit for. Thank you for your comment.
Deleteenjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim. I am glad you did.
DeleteGreat excerpt, and I enjoyed the excerpt, The Seraphim's Song sounds like an excellent mystery and I love the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a splendid day!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you stopped by and commented. Thank you.
DeleteMost positive thing about writing and most negative thing about writing -- what are they?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really stylish book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking it out, David.
DeleteMy daughter would enjoy this book
ReplyDeleteI hope she gets a chance to read the series. Thank you for your comment.
DeleteLooks like a great book!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you stopped by. Thank you.
DeleteThank you for sharing your guest post and book details, The Seraphim's Song sounds like an excellent read and I am looking forward to it
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you are following my tour. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteThe book sounds very intriguing. Great cover!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover too. Thank you for checking it out.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
ReplyDeleteabfantom at yahoo dot com
Thank you, Ann. I am glad you stopped by.
DeleteNice looking cover. Happy writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting.
DeleteSupernatural Mystery- love this genre!
ReplyDeleteAlong with the title and cover.
Thank you for sharing this.
You are so welcome. Much of what appears to be supernatural is actually based on fact. I appreciate your stopping by.
DeleteBarbara, you also asked what part of the book was the most fun to write. I love this question. The F.I.G.s deal with so much because they are so different. There are a lot of emotional scenes that are upsetting even to me as the writer. One of the things the F.I.G.s do in order to relieve anxiety and stress when life gets a little too difficult is something they call "expressions of creativity." It is pure mischief, and Headmaster Harcourt usually gets the brunt of these expressions. I really enjoy writing these scenes. They are light, funny, and a relief from some of the more darker experiences they face.
DeleteThank you so much for your interest.
Sounds like a great read. Looking forward to reading the book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dianne. I am glad you stopped by and commented.
DeleteThe excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteIt is my pleasure. I hope it entices you to read The Seraphim's Song. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteYou are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Abbie. And thank you for stopping by.
DeleteHappy Friday!
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific weekend! Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteThe book sounds really great.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you stopped by and commented. Thank you.
DeleteWhat part of the book was the most fun to write?
ReplyDeleteWhat is your inspiration for book plots?
ReplyDeleteI have always been interested in things that can't be explained. When I started developing the characters of the three females of intellectual genius - the F.I.G.s - it was only right that they would be involved in things that were extremely unusual and not easily explained. In each book in the series, I introduce topics that I have researched that often have no rational explanation, but they are things that involve the F.I.G.s.
DeleteThank you for your interesting question.
How long was the writing process?
ReplyDeleteEach book I write varies, depending on the amount of research involved. The Song of the Seraphim took about 8 months.
DeleteYou rock!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Abbie!
DeleteThe book sounds interesting.. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteHAPPY WEEKEND!
ReplyDeleteSame to you. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteYou seem like a great writer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David. I have had close to two dozen books published by traditional publishers, but it is more than that. For me, as trite as it sounds, writing really is a passion. It is something I must do. I would like to think that what I write is of interest to readers, and that they get pleasure from reading my books.
DeleteHappy writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
DeleteEnjoy your Sunday!
ReplyDeleteSame to you.
DeleteHope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteI wish you the same. Thank you.
DeleteThank you
DeleteHave a great week!
ReplyDeleteDo you do anything special to treat yourself after finishing a book?
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting.
DeleteI enjoyed the excerpt. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbi. Good luck with the giveaway!
DeleteHappy Monday!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Mondays are another animal. Thank you!
DeleteWhere do you live, and what's something fun to do there?
ReplyDeleteI live on top of a mountain in Georgia - all rural. I really enjoy playing in my flower gardens when I have time. It gives me instant gratification. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteI so enjoyed reading the excerpt- well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara. That is the scene when Carolina and the F.I.G.s start to realize that something terrible is taking place in the universe in which they are somehow involved. And it has to do with some sort of "key."
DeleteHave a great day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Abbie. You do as well.
DeleteHow do you handle writing slumps?
ReplyDeleteI usually don't have that problem. I do so much research in advance and plan the key things that will take place with my characters, that the writing just comes. If I do feel the scene just isn't "up to snuff," I will piddle in the flower gardens. That usually makes everything right again.
DeleteHappy Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteThe Seraphim's Song by author Barbara Casey sounds like an exciting book that many readers will enjoy.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
I hope so, Nancy. The F.I.G.s have been a part of my life for several years now and I love sharing them with readers.
DeleteWhen you go to your happy place, where is it?
ReplyDeleteIf going in my thoughts, I am sitting under a huge old cottonwood tree on my grandparents' farm. The roots are gnarled and whenever it rains, water collects in between them.
DeleteIf I am actually going to my happy place, I go down to the river that borders my property. There is one place there where the river is shallow and rocky, the I love listening to the sound of the water rushing over the rocks.
What an interesting question! Thank you for asking.
Do you have a favorite author and/or genre?
ReplyDeleteI tend to drift toward mysteries or general contemporary fiction. I enjoy many of the British authors, but I don't have one favorite author.
DeleteI loved the synopsis and excerpt
ReplyDeleteThank you. That makes me happy. I hope you get a chance to read it.
DeleteThank you for sharing your research process with us. That's always interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Thank you, Nancy. I feel that by weaving elements of true facts - especially if they can't be fully explained and are mysterious - just makes the story that much more interesting.
DeleteHave a great night!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a favorite place to write?
ReplyDeleteI have a home office where I do all of my writing. Of course, I keep a notepad and pen by my bed and in my purse just in case I get some brilliant stroke of genius.
Delete
ReplyDeleteHow do you "flesh out" your characters?
In the case of the F.I.G.s, I know them so well - their idiosyncracies, mannerisms, fears and so forth. The things they face as they try to find the answers as to why they are so different brings out those traits. Thank you for your question.
DeleteHow do you unwind after a long day?
ReplyDeleteI record my favorite television shows so I can watch them in the evening. I also read in the evening - either research I am doing or just for pleasure.
DeleteExcited to read this
ReplyDeleteI am so glad. Enjoy!
DeleteSo excited to read this on my upcoming beach trip!
ReplyDeleteRelax, don't get too much sun, have fun, and enjoy reading about the F.I.G.s!
ReplyDeleteDo your three cats co-exist peacefully together - are they friendly with each other?
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
They really are. The first two came to me as very young kittens and they had been abandoned. They were probably from the same litter, and they wouldn't let each other out of site. Then, about six months later a large Southern coon cat showed up needing a home. I worried that it would disrupt the harmony, but the two young cats - Reese and Earl Gray - immediately accepted Homer. It really is amazing to watch them. You must be an animal lover too. All I know is, I think I am a better person because of the rescue animals I have taken care of over the years.
Deletesounds like a fun one
ReplyDeleteIt is a fun read with strong emotion, interesting research, and the promise of more to come.
DeleteDo you have any tattoos or piercings?
ReplyDeleteNo - I pretty much am non-experimental.
DeleteLove the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deborah.
DeleteI love the cover!
ReplyDeleteI really love all of the covers in this series. The colors are beautiful, yet subtle, aren't they?
DeleteSounds like a great read and love the cover!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you stopped by and left a comment.
DeleteDid you have any writing schooling?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would enjoy this book
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hope she gets a chance to read the series.
DeleteI like the artwork on the cover. Best of luck with the publication of the book, and thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Christy. Good luck with the giveaway.
DeleteHappy Friday!
ReplyDeleteSame to you. Enjoy your weekend.
Deletethank you again for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Glad you stopped by.
DeleteGreat cover.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting.
DeleteI think that the cover of your new book is very attractive.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Thank you, Nancy. It is the perfect representation for what the book is all about.
DeleteThis is on my Summer reading list
ReplyDeleteI am so glad. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteThis sounds like a good mystery. I like the cover.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. I am glad you stopped by.
DeleteVery intriguing cover.
ReplyDeleteIt is, isn't it!? It really touches on the heart of the story.
DeleteI hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired you to start writing?
ReplyDeleteI think it was something that just came naturally, even as a young child. My father was an officer in the Marine Corps, so we moved around a lot. I was constantly adjusting to new places, new friends, new schools, and new homes. All of that stayed with me and I am certain in some way shaped my writing.
Delete