January 13th, 2010 — Book Intro, Contests, G-I, Guest Blogger
by Annemarie Hartnett, guest blogger and author of The Company of Fools
I have zero musical talent. I never played piano. I only ever mastered Madonna’s “True Blue
” on the keyboard. When I was a kid I took ukulele lessons at school and dropped out before the big Christmas concert. I was in the choir but stopped going at thirteen because, well, I was thirteen and it was a choice between singing the score from Oliver over and over or watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer with my best friend. Rodgers and Hammerstein didn’t stand a chance against Luke Perry on a motorbike.
Regardless, like most people, wherever I go there’s music. When reading a book that I’m really enjoying I get so wrapped up in it I start associating it with music. For example, late last year I read Paul Burke’s fantastic romantic comedy, Father Frank, and when Frank & Sarah finally shared a kiss I thought of David Gray’s “Be Mine
.” I think this happens because you don’t so much read a book as experience it. Hours of your life is spent inside this imaginary world, and by reading you’re making a memory and in order for that memory to be whole your mind takes in everything it can – the scent of the candles you were burning while you were reading, the toasty-warm feel of the blanket you had wrapped around you, and a song that started playing in your head that says everything that the characters can’t – or won’t – say to one another.
My first release from Loose Id is called The Company of Fools and follows bar-owner Mike MacNab and waitress Kate Doucette as their relationship goes from friends to lovers. Mike’s foot-in-mouth disease coupled with Kate’s knack for going off the deep end when she’s not happy makes the road a bumpy one. Set in a bar? You bet I had a soundtrack going on in my head for this. Even the title leapt out at me as I was driving a long stretch of road outside of the city with my music pumped up.
Synopsis:
Kate Doucette’s trying to get her life together. She’s working full time at Mike MacNab’s bar, going to school, and she just kicked out her Do-Nothing boyfriend. Things are looking up but with the construction going on in the bar, her money trouble's looming over her, and her personal life in the toilet, Kate’s on a ledge and Mike is there to talk her down. One night she wants more than a pep talk; Kate asks her charming and handsome boss to spend a weekend in bed with her.
What could be a bigger stress-reliever than two days of bedroom Olympics with a guy who’s as hot for her as she is for him? The only problem is that he wants more than a weekend and it seems like he wants to fix her life for her. She adores Mike, but the last thing she needs is another headache in the form of Mr. Fixit.
Excerpt:
She loved working for him. It was only because she liked him that she was putting in so much extra these past few months while he was preoccupied with getting his latest project off the ground: the soon-to-be Wit Cracker, a pub with live music and dancing.
She shrugged. “When I'm driving your nice car around town, you'll see what a great bullshitter I am. I'll be sure to wave to you while you're waiting for the bus.”
He scrunched up his face. “Do you make happy sounds while you're gnawing on a man's balls?”
“I would never gnaw on your balls, Mike. I prefer to squish them like cherry tomatoes.”
“Yeesh.” He winced and then winced again as the buzz saw started up. “Ah Christ! I was hoping they'd give it a rest so I could have an hour to myself before the supper crowd comes in and I have to get behind the bar. It's bad enough this place is dead all afternoon.”
Kate rubbed her temples. “When all this is over, you owe your entire staff a big bonus for having to listen to this all day. I personally deserve something special for sitting down there for four hours with my finger jammed in my ear.”
“It'll be worth it. The place is going to look great, and you're going to get rich on tips.”
“Uh-huh.” She placed a polished fingernail at the corner of her eye. “This is the eyeball that has been twitching for three weeks. Behind this eyeball is a tumour that gets a little bigger every day. When it finally pushes my eyeball out of my head, I hope you're there and you get my brain juice all over you.”
“That hurts, Katie.”
She poured fresh coffee into a tall MacNab's mug and added a splash of cream before filling two paper cups for the workmen. She slid the mug towards Mike. “Trust me. When I finally snap, I'm taking you with me.”
She left him chuckling and marched over to the workmen. She stood with a cup in each hand and stared them down until they stood up. “Remember what I said. The coffee is free if you stay out of the bar.”
“Fair enough, love.”
“And don't call me love, you old fart.”
“Fair enough, Miss.”
She eyed the twin butt-prints of dust left behind. “I hate those guys.”
Mike appeared at her side and held out a wet rag. “On days like this, I feel sorry for Joe. It must keep him up all hours of the night knowing that at any moment you could wake up and snap his neck.”
She gritted her teeth at the mention of her boyfriend and slapped the rag down on the tabletop. “I'm starting to talk to myself, Mike. All day I'm cleaning up after men, and this voice starts in my head. That voice sounds just like my mother right after my father started to go deaf in one ear and she would walk around muttering to herself. I'm twenty-five years old, and I'm turning into my mother.”
She leaned down and began wiping the chairs. A prickle started at the back of her neck and zipped between her toes. She peeked over her shoulder and found him ogling her backside.
She gave a little wiggle.
He grinned, tucked his phone into its holster, grabbed his coffee, and headed for the double doors leading to the basement. “Thanks. That'll get me through the next hour without killing myself.”
“It's a shame you can't see my ass-floss in these shorts.”
“No offense, Katie, but when you call it ass-floss, it becomes the last thing I want to see.”
Read more of this excerpt and buy the book.
Annemarie’s Website
To celebrate the release of the book, you can win one copy of The Company of Fools and what I like to call Mike’s swag bag:
Want it? All you have to do is leave a comment. Tell me about that song and book that are forever tied in your mind or just pop in and say hi.
Additional giveaway details: Open to all readers local and international! Ends January 20, 2010. Good luck!
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November 18th, 2009 — Author Interviews, Dark Ages, G-I
Hello readers! I'm delighted to announce that Hellen Hollick has agreed to answer a few questions.
Keira: What inspired you to tell Arthur's legendary tale?
Hellen: I have never been very keen on the Medieval tales of Arthur which are set in the 12th - 13th Century, but when I discovered that if Arthur had existed he would have lived circa 450 - 500 AD I became interested. I researched the "facts" and the early legends of Arthur - and became hooked!
Keira: What is your favorite scene in the Kingmaking?
Hellen: Where Gwenhwyfar pledges her future unborn sons to the young Arthur when he is declared the next Pendragon.
Keira: What are some challenges in writing the Banner Trilogy?
Hellen: I wrote what turned out to be The Kingmaking and half of Pendragon's Banner before I was accepted by a mainstream publisher - before I knew I was any good as an author, so the hardest part was keeping going during those times when I wondered if I was wasting my time. I also found writing the third part, Shadow of the King, hard as I knew Arthur had to die at the end. It had taken about ten years to write the first two books, so Arthur was a very close friend by then. I felt like I was breaking off a long-term relationship!
Keira: How would Arthur define love? Gwenhwyfar? You?
Hellen:
Arthur: As honour and loyalty - though not fidelity. He was not faithful to Gwenhwyfar physically - but he never loved anyone else.
Gwenhwyfar: she was faithful but Arthur made her so angry at times - and tragic events sometimes overtook her feelings. Both of them would die for each other though.
Me? Love is without condition. Love is being loyal and understanding. Love is getting angry - but always forgiving.
I heard a wonderful quote once: Love is what is in the room at Christmas when everyone stops talking and you sit and listen.
Keira: Arthur has a bunch of affairs in the Kingmaking; what do you think makes a great (written) bedroom scene?
Hellen: Not going over the top. By all means be explicit where necessary - but not in every scene and not for pages and pages, a paragraph - or even a sentence is sometimes enough. My personal rule is: would I feel comfortable reading this aloud before a group of strangers? If the answer is no, it doesn't go in.
Keira: Outside of Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, who is your favorite character to write?
Hellen: Do you mean in the Trilogy? Oh Bedwyr without a doubt.
Outside the Trilogy - my pirate, Jesamiah Acorne (who funnily enough is very like Arthur!)
Keira: What is the worst character flaw in Arthur and Gwenhwyfar?
Hellen: Arthur's bloody-minded stubbornness - and Gwenhwyfar's hot temper.
Keira: What can we look forward to in Pendragon's Banner?
Hellen: The deepening of their relationship - and more tempestuous quarrels. Arthur is now King - and has his work cut out to stay King. I suggest you have a box of tissues (Kleenex? Is that the US term?) handy though!
Keira: What do you hope your readers will gain from your books?
Hellen: An insight into what life was like in the Dark Ages - and that there is much, much more to the story of Arthur than the Medieval made-up tales of non-existant round tables, Holy Grails and knights in armour.
Keira: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
Hellen: Only that I hope your readers enjoy my books - and perhaps fall in love with Arthur like I did, despite him being the rogue he is.
Keira: Thank you Hellen! You can learn more about Hellen and her writing at http://www.helenhollick.net/
Originally posted 2009-03-03 05:20:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 19th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Children, Farming, Foster/Orphan, Historic America, M-O, Slow, United States of America, Virgin Hero, Widow or Widower, Working with Land
After reading Courting Miss Hattie, A.M. Hartnett recommended I try Pamela Morsi’s Simple Jess
. I really like Pamela as an author. She writes historical American romance in a similar vein as LaVryle Spencer who’s one of my favorite authors. I will definitely read more of Morsi’s writings. Any suggestions on which one I should grab next?
Apparently not remarrying is a crime in Marrying Stone. The whole town is determined to see Althea Winsloe wed by Christmas but she won’t have it. Althea is determined to remain as a widow so that her child will never feel as she did when her father remarried and moved on with his new wife leaving her behind. Baby-Paisley will never be unwanted or considered a burden.
To make matters worse the men who wanted to marry her wanted not her, but her farm land or her late husband’s dogs. She could do nothing about the first but she would do something about the second. She hires Jesse Best to help her get ready for winter in exchange for the whole set of hunting dogs.
Jesse Best is known as Simple Jess because his mind is slow. It takes him a very long time to learn something but when he does it stays with him forever because he memorized it. One of the hardest things for him to do is articulate his thoughts. When a lot of people start talking he can’t follow their conversation and can’t remember what he meant to say. The same goes when people put him on the spot or pressure him to get to the point. But Jesse Best’s heart is true and his wants very simple. He wants those dogs, he wants to own a gun, and he wants Ms. Althea for himself.
I had a hard time with the grammar. I know Pamela Morsi wrote it as the people probably spoke it back then, but country or backwater hick is not something I particularly take to. Most of the time what I wanted to do involved red ink and editing. I also didn’t particularly like the thoughts about Jesse’s simplemindedness and its genetic implications. There was too much of that.
Also I wanted more kissing – peaches or something! It’s very cute when Althea takes charge and initiates Jesse in the ways of man and woman but I was hoping for lessons! The peaches spoiled me.
Rating: 3 Stars
Find and Buy Pamela Morsi Books.
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