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Thursday, November 8, 2012

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY GUEST AUTHOR - ELAINE JOYCE


Our Book Club Friday guest today is Elaine Charton who writes under her own name and as Elaine Joyce. For as long as she can remember Elaine has had a book in her hands. She should have realized it would only be a matter of time before she began writing her own stories. Elaine is married to a writer who will be our guest next week.  To read more about her, visit her Elaine Joyce blog or her Elaine Charton blog.

Elaine is offering a free download of
The Pink Lady to one of our readers who posts a comment. -- AP

When I started writing, I decided I want to write romances, the sweet kind
with a happily-ever-after where the strong man and the strong woman meet, fall in love, and live happily-ever-after. Just one thing, dead bodies kept showing up.  I may be a little slow sometimes, but eventually I figured out the universe was trying to tell me something.

All authors have stories about where they get their ideas. My current book, The Pink Lady has one of the most unusual ones, in my opinion. The Pink Lady is written by my evil twin, Eaine Joyce. It started on a Saturday afternoon shopping with my sister-in-law. We were browsing in a department store and came upon what had to be one of the most gorgeous beds ever created. It was large and hand-carved out of what could have been oak. My fingers itch to touch the intricate carvings all over the bed. The headboard showed small drawers perfect for hiding things. Then I saw the price tag, and the two of us almost fainted dead away.

There was no way I could afford that bed, then or now. However, I could not get it out of my mind. I knew it would end up in a book; I just didn't realize it would be so soon.

A few days later, I was sitting at work, and I hear this voice. You know the one. Every writer has one. This one kept saying, "She's in my bed!" and showing me a picture of a ghost dressed like a flapper, floating in the air over the bed.

Okay, Mr. Charton didn't marry a dummy. I grabbed some paper and wrote some notes. Good thing I was at lunch. That weekend my critique group and I did some brainstorming and The Pink Lady was born.

I am hoping this is the first of many in a series. If any of you are old enough to remember the movie Topper, you'll get an idea of my ghosts Reggie and Leticia Farnsworth.

Here's the blurb:

“Old Ghosts are good for business but dead bodies are not. “

The Pink Lady is a venerable Victorian home located near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It is the first in a series of mysteries set in and around the house and its residents.

Anna Murray inherits the home from her uncle and decides to turn it into a bed and breakfast with the help of the two resident ghosts, Reggie and Leticia Farnsworth, and BJ Kent, a contractor who specializes in Victorian restorations.
As Anna and BJ peel back the layers of grime, the layers of time reveal the truth behind Reggie and Leticia’s gruesome murder. Anna and BJ’s situation parallels the Farnsworth's, and they rush to solve the mystery before it reaches the same sinister conclusions.

The Pink Lady is available for download on your Kindle right now. Soon it will be available in other formats as well as POD.


Thanks for joining us today, Elaine. Readers, if you’d like a chance to win a copy of The Pink Lady, post a comment. Don’t forget to either include your email address or check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won. We can’t get your book to you if we have no way of contacting you. -- AP

17 comments:

Kath said...

Love it!!! Love ghosts, love that voice that pops up and starts a book. I'm hooked. Have to 'see' the bed in the Pink Lady!

kathbmarsh@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Great blog post. I loved the story about seeing the beautiful bed and then almost fainting at seeing the price. :-)
Topper was one of my favorite series of movies when I was a child.
Congrats on the book. No need to enter me into the drawing, I've already bought and downloaded the Pink Lady.

Shannon

Kelly Boyer Sagert said...

Looks like a great book! I love mystery novels and I'd love to win a copy. My email address is kbsagert@aol.com.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful read! I enjoyed Topper so much that after I saw the movie, many times, I found the author and enjoyed the books as much! Thanks for wonderful opportunity!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

As always Elaine you've got some awesome ideas and I can't wait to read "The Pink Lady" and add it to my growing collection of your books. :)Looking forward to more!!

Anonymous said...

I love ghost stories. I have heard of a bed that is haunted.

The maker of the bed craved the image of his deceased daughter. I don't recall what she did.

Amazing how the mind will take a simple item and make into wonderful story. Keep writing so I can keep reading.

roya-clan@sbcglobal.net

Ruby Johnson said...

I love the idea of that bed with all the compartments. It must have been quite the thing. I'd be interested in how you brainstormed this idea into a book with your critique group.How did the process work?

ElaineCharton said...

First, let me apologize for being so late getting over here to read our comments. Had to do my twice monthly shopping today. For some reason Hubby and cats think I should feed them. :)

ElaineCharton said...

Kath- I wish I had taken a picture of it.
Elaine Charton

ElaineCharton said...

Shannon-
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Elaine

ElaineCharton said...

Kelley-
Thank you for dropping by!

Elaine Charton

ElaineCharton said...

Hey D!
Thanks for dropping by. I think you will really like this one.

Elaine

ElaineCharton said...

Mary Frances-
Thank you so much!It's amazing how much energy can be left behind in one item. Have you ever watched Haunted Collector on Sci fi!

Elaine Charton

ElaineCharton said...

Ruby-
Sure. As I said it started with seeing that bed. We talked on the phone until our next meeting. At that meeting, we spent some time plotting and playing what if. I've made several changes and rewrites since then until what is there now.

Elaine Charton

Anonymous said...

I love this type of story! Sounds like a wonderful read!

Terri P

ElaineCharton said...

Thanks Terri!

Elaine Charton