#TRAVEL--GET TO KNOW PRAGUE WITH INTERNATIONAL THRILLER AUTHOR KATHRYN ORZECH

Prague city map

Author Kathryn Orzech writes mystery, suspense, and thrillers set in New England “and other exotic locations” where everyday women face chilling situations, flirt with romance, and brush with the supernatural. An avid film fan, news nerd and traveler, Kathy’s other interests include history and geopolitics, archaeology and psychology, earth science, and parapsychology, leaving few subjects off her literary table. Her real-life website, DreamWatch.com, true paranormal experiences of everyday people, has been online since the late 1990s and was the inspiration for Premonition of Terror when she wondered, What if…?  Learn more about her and her books at her website.

“Exotic Location” Prague, Czech Republic

After character development and plot, setting is next important to me. My world travels (30-plus countries) offer readers a glimpse of another place and culture. Most of Premonition of Terror, a psychic thriller with a global terrorism threat, is set in the northeast USA, with key scenes set in Prague.

A hoard of international souvenirs is stored in my basement, stacked in plastic bins labeled by country. When drafting Premonition, I was torn between an overseas setting in Budapest or Prague. I reviewed my stash of brochures, receipts and mementos including the street maps I used while there. Prague emerged the clear winner.

Prague overview

At first glance, districts on a city map can be confusing with the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town, and more. I needed the big picture so my first stop was the elevated location of Prague Castle for a confusion-clearing overview. Prague’s most striking feature is the Vltava River that runs through the city, thus easing navigation to at least determine which side you were on.

Said to be one of Europe’s most haunted cities, I found Prague to be fascinating, vibrant, and affordable, an easy walking city with deep-rooted culture. From historical castles, palaces and cathedrals to underground cave restaurants with delicious food and “outstanding” beer (so I was told); from concerts and galleries to river cruises and ghost walking tours, it’s no surprise that Prague attracts visitors from around the world.

Protagonist as innocent tourist

I have no qualms about writing what I don’t know as long as my point of view remains that of a stranger, a visitor, a tourist. In Premonition of Terror, protagonist Kate Kasabian explores popular attractions including Old Town Square with the 600-year-old Astronomical Clock, the Charles Bridge, Powder Tower, Peace Wall, and Prague Castle.

Old Town Square. The Old Town looked to me like a fairy village with Romanesque and Gothic architecture in a labyrinth of cobblestone lanes, and there was always something interesting happening at the square. I especially enjoyed evenings with new friends at favorite sidewalk cafés to people-watch and listen to conversations at nearby tables in a medley of languages, background I used in the book.

The Charles Bridge (aka: Karluv most). An icon bridge and one of many river crossings. Completed in 1390 (30 mostly Baroque statues were added later), it connects Old Town with Lesser Town. More than 500 yards across, by 9:00 AM it is a gauntlet of hawkers, tourists, and an occasional pickpocket. I relished the incessant activity.

Lesser Town (aka: Mala Strana). A lovely area in which to walk, home to Prague Castle and foreign embassies. As my steps crushed fallen leaves against worn sidewalks, I felt I was back home in the Northeast.

John Lennon’s Peace Wall. Let me explain. Sometimes called Prague’s answer to the Berlin Wall, this graffiti-covered wall is often credited for having inspired the Velvet Revolution, a non-violent youth rebellion against Communism. The Peace Wall began with an image of Lennon, a remembrance following his murder. Lyrics from his songs and messages of peace, love and freedom soon followed. Located near the French Embassy, an impulse to find the Peace Wall draws protagonist Kate to Mala Strana where not all is as peaceful as it appears.

Writing this post stirred memories of the sights and sounds of Prague, so thank you all for that.

Premonition of Terror

DreamWatch.com, true paranormal experiences, began as a hobby. It was supposed to be fun—until premonitions from around the world predict the same catastrophic attack.

The last time reluctant psychic Kate Kasabian revealed a prediction, people close to her were hurt. But with thousands of lives at risk, she has no choice but to badger her FBI brother to investigate. He refuses to help. When she sets off to prove her suspicions, he thinks he’s heard the last of her supernatural silliness—until the legendary Matt Chase from Counterterrorism alerts agents to a credible threat eerily similar to Kate’s warnings.

Tracking clues from Prague to New England, Kate trusts dreams and premonitions while Chase relies on technology and global intelligence, but can their unlikely alliance stop the U.S. plot?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR CLAUDIA LEFEVE

My inexpensive Brother sewing machine is a champ.
There is nothing it can’t do!

Claudia Lefeve was born and raised so far down the Texas Gulf Coast she has to pull out a map to show people it's nowhere near Houston. Now living in Northern Virginia, she’s taking a hiatus from a civilian career in law enforcement to write full-time. Learn more about Claudia and her books at her website. 

One of the best things about being a writer full-time (and a part-time professor,) is getting to wear whatever I want. Granted, most of the time I live in my pajamas, but on the days when I actually venture out of my cave to write at the local coffee shop or attend my local writer’s group, I can choose what I please.

The only downside to writing full-time, however, is my checking account! Book royalties aren’t as stable, as let’s say, a salaried bi-monthly paycheck. In other words, when I ditched my job with the police department, I gave up my steady income.

I’m such a sucker for vintage shifts,
I buy most of my 1960’s patterns from eBay and Etsy.

So this year I decided I could still be fashionable on a budget. My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was younger, but I hadn’t used a sewing machine in over 20 years, though I still felt compelled to purchase my very first sewing machine. Instincts kicked in, and within a few weeks, I had a whole new summer wardrobe.

I usually reserve my sewing projects for the mornings and use the time to think about whatever I’m currently writing as I sit in front of the machine. And by early afternoon, I’m chock full of ideas ready to be written!

Fall is around the corner, so I have already started picking out my fall fabrics!

Next up on my quest to style myself up, is learning how to use an embroidery machine (which arrives this week) because growing up and living below the Mason-Dixon line, I have a strong desire to have everything monogrammed.

Destined for Trouble

A Jules Cannon Mystery, book 1

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, FBI crime analyst Jules Cannon flees to her hometown of Trouble Island, Texas, to nurse her wounds. All she wants to do is unwind, forget about her failed relationship, and work on her tan.

But when the owner of the local crab shack is murdered at Jules’s welcome-home party, she is forced to scrap her rest-and-relaxation plans. Now her best friend, Abby Lee, is the prime suspect, and her high school sweetheart, Deputy Chief Justin Harper, is working the case. Even though Jules knows she shouldn’t, she just can’t keep herself from getting involved in the investigation—and entangled with handsome Assistant District Attorney Hartley Crawford. While an old flame threatens to rekindle and a new one sparks, Jules must find a killer and prove her friend’s innocence. But will she put two and two together before trouble catches up with her?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR NINA PIERCE

USA Today bestselling author Nina Pierce spends her days at the keyboard writing romance stories, blissfully creating chaos for her characters by throwing in a villain or two, a little murder and a whole lot of mayhem as they struggle toward their happy-ever-afters. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Reality Becomes Fiction

A warm thank you to Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers for letting me hang out with them today. I love checking out other corners of the internet and talking books … especially romantic suspense books!

One of the first questions people ask me when they find out I’m a writer is where do I get the inspiration for my stories. The answer is … everywhere. I came at writing sort of sideways. I have a degree in Marine Biology and spent many years teaching science. During that time, everything I saw or interesting places I visited were catalogued as possible information for lesson plans.

Eight years ago, the multiple sclerosis that had been percolating in the back of my life reared its ugly head and forced me to leave teaching. Enter writing. I’m an avid reader from childhood and decided that I should try my hand writing the romantic suspense stories I’ve always loved to read. And of course I could do it from the comfort of a computer chair. It took a couple of years to re-wire my thinking, but now every snippet of conversation, every story my friends share and sometimes the news programs I see … become possible fodder for a new story.

My newest release, In His Eyes, is set on the Maine coast, a place that is intimately familiar to me. Before I was a twinkle in my mother’s eye, my parents bought a small cottage on a private beach community. They rented it out for most of the summer, but every year my family spent two or three weeks there at the end of August, lounging in the warm sand and playing in the surf. The cottage has since been winterized and my parents now rent it out in the winter months. The premise of my story actually came about when a couple rented the cottage a few years back and actually switched off weeks while they decided if they wanted to separate permanently.

Of course, there was no FBI agent on the hunt hoping to bring down a villain murdering prostitutes. And definitely no serial killer wandering the beach looking for a woman to make his “own”. But you’ll find all that and more in In His Eyes. I hope you’ll check it out.

Do you have something interesting that’s happened to you that might make a good story? Curious minds (and nosy writers) want to know. And just to give you all the information, I have no idea what happened to the couple when the lease was finished that winter, but the romantic in me would like to think they got back together and mended their marriage.

In His Eyes

It’s always wonderful to be noticed … or is it?

To those around her, Maggie Callaghan appears to have the perfect life…a handsome husband, three beautiful children, and her own business. But beneath her thin veneer lies a dark past and self-doubts. When evidence of her husband’s infidelity surfaces, Maggie leases a cottage on the Maine coast and prepares for her inevitable divorce. But a serial killer is on the hunt—and he’s marked Maggie as his next victim. Now her beachside retreat is the focus of an undercover FBI investigation targeting the murderer who’s left a trail of bodies across two states. As lies and secrets are revealed, Maggie realizes her life depends on knowing who’s protecting her—and who’s got her in his sights.

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