For those of you not familiar with a blog hop . . . it’s a bit of a treasure hunt. After reading a blog, look for a link to another author’s blog, for another treasure between the pages. Some books are still in in progress, as mine is, so names may change and plots may twist. Some books are being released while you read this blog. So exciting! My friend Christine London, who tagged me to participate in this tour, has many such published treasures. I have so much to thank her for it won’t fit in a blog; hardly fits in my heart. She is a writer of great emotion, and her characters travel to places I want to live. I’m sure you will find you need her books on your bedside table as much as I do. Visit her at www.christinelondon.com and continue to enjoy the work of our fellow authors on the tour.
What is the working title of your book?
A Spirited Wine.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Growing up in England, my family lived in a three-hundred year old farmhouse, and while the images that may conjure seem bizarre, let me assure you I was not raised in a barn : ) Rather it was a two-story, perfectly normal house with a few ghosts. You read that right; ghosts. Auditory, dream-state and olfactory-based ghosts. Just so you don’t think me mad (yeah, I know… too late) I was not alone.
We first heard about the ‘guests’ from the house keeper and gardener, her husband who ‘came with the house’. They do things like that in the ‘old country’. Mr. and Mrs. Elder told us multiple stories, with plenty of details for us to poo-poo. My parents checked with the previous owners to be certain we didn’t have a couple of loonies in our home; same thing – ghosts.
Every one of us had very similar dreams about places in the house that might be lived in by beings able to pass through walls.
Many years later, I was offered a glass of exceptional pinot noir. I can’t explain it logically, but it changed my life. The magic of it stirred my imagination, and I realized I had to find a way to share my revelation.
Ah ha; fiction! I could combine the magic of wine and the mysteries of the supernatural. That way, no one will ever think me mad, just creative!What genre does your book fall under?
Supernatural Suspense with a touch of romance.Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Jude Law as ghost, Jessica Alba as Alexandra, Marion Cotillard as Monique, Javier Bardem as the police detective, Beyoncé as the detectives secret girlfriend (they work together *gasp*), Olivia Wilde as Alexandra’s mother (make-up to age her 10-15 years), and Robert Downy Jr. (playing a slightly more serious role than his Sherlock Holmes) as Alexandra’s older brother.What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A Greek vineyard ghost helps solve a mystery with Alexandra Rives, who has recently sustained a head injury.Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m on the fence about this one, though will eventually self-publish, even if I go with a publisher first. Hold on to your rights!How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I love National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and often take the opportunity to weave a weird one for their challenge to write 50,000 words in a month, so about two to three months. (One must have something to start with before beginning the word count frenzy.)What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Buffy, the Vampire slayer for the supernatural / human connection, and anything by Martin Walker for the journey through to solving a crime-mystery, while eating fabulous food, and drinking wine.Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Remember that pinot noir I mentioned earlier? It was from the vineyards of the Nuit-Saint-George in the Côte de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy, France. I also spent a summer in Europe recently, and was so partial to France, I want to haunt the place for an eternity : )What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Creepy villain, er villains. Really creepy villain…s.Who else should you visit?
I’m going to leave the links to a few friends’ blogs who may not have had time to join the tour (because of my lateness to get on the blog-tour), but deserve to be included.
1. Rochelle Staab, author of Who Do? Voodoo (supernatural suspense)
2. Nico Rosso, author of Night’s of Steel (romantic science fiction)
3. Veronica Blade, author of My Wolf’s Bane (young adult paranormal)
4. Brenda Scott Royce, author of Monkey Love (romantic comedy)
5. And, of course, my dear friend Christine London, author of Soul in His Eyes (contemporary romance). Enjoy!
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Thanks for the fun blog and your kind words. Your cast of characters and their corresponding actors sound great. Love that the ghost helps solve the murder. It rings back to an old television show based on a novel: The Ghost and Mrs Muir. I do long for those simpler days when a good mystery did not have to include gallons of blood and autopsies. lol.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the bookcover for this one!
Gallons of blood, autopsies, LOL! I guess you could say my story is a cozy, as it's missing the blood, too. That doesn't mean the villain(s) are wimps, though.
ReplyDeleteI recently got a Mrs. Muir and friend video tape from the library. I liked a lot about it, but thought it needed a more sustained spookiness. Hmmm... maybe somebody should rewrite it.