What inspired you to write Iain’s Plaid?

My first historical romance is a time travel set during the beginnings of the American War for Independence, and several people along the way to getting it published have asked me what inspired me to write this particular book. So here’s the answer to that query.

Back when I lived on the Maine coast, I came across a book by Bill Caldwell, The Islands of Maine, Where America Really Began. It was a fascinating book about the earliest European settlers in New England. From my front yard I could one of those islands mentioned in Mr. Caldwell’s book. Historian Charles K. Bolton also mentioned this island called Damariscove in his book, The Real Founders of New England, noting that four hundred years ago, “Here was the chief maritime port of New England. Here was the rendezvous for English, French and Dutch ships crossing the Atlantic. Here men bartered with one another and with Indians, drank, gambled, quarreled and sold indentured servants.” Four hundred of years ago, two hundred years before the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower, there were “wharves, salting houses (for fish) sheds, boatyards, taverns and perhaps a bawdy house or two for sailors coming ashore after a long Atlantic Crossing” clustered on this tiny island.

Edward Winslow, the Pilgrim representative who came begging for food and supplies in 1622, wrote in his journal that he and his group were graciously welcomed with “Kind entertainment and good respect and a willingness to supply our needs . . . and that there were 30 ships of sail anchored in the harbor.”

Damariscove Island is only two miles long and not more than a quarter mile wide, yet, in 1675 three hundred refugees fleeing Indian wrath sheltered here. A century later, just before the start of the Revolutionary War, a British Naval captain put ashore here and stole 75 sheep to feed his sailors before turning south to burn present day Portland to the ground. During the war of 1812 (the Second War of Independence) the HMS Boxer and the USS Enterprise fought a famous sea battle so close to the island that the inhabitants of Damariscove watched the fight from their own shore. (Just another bit of interesting history, the captain of HMS Boxer, Samuel Blyth, who was just 29 years old, and the American Lieutenant William Burrows, age 28, who captained the USS Enterprise, were both killed in the battle and were buried side by side in a cemetery in Portland, Maine with full military honors.)

Is it any wonder that I was fascinated with this scrap of land I could see from my front yard? So, one glorious summer day, my dad, my daughter, and I sailed out to Damariscove to explore this scrap of an island with so much history. As I stood gazing down at the narrow harbor, Winslow’s words came back to me, and I marveled that 30 sailing ships big enough to cross the Atlantic could have fit in that long gut of bright blue water. There were, just as Bill Caldwell had described, many old granite foundations scattered on the high ground above the harbor and as I stood on the cornerstone of one of the largest foundations, I tried to imagine this island full of people and what life might have been like here in an era when brave young captains ventured forth to harass the British Navy or carry ships filled with salted cod and furs across the Atlantic to Europe. There were tales of a ghost who roamed the island with his faithful dog, but I saw no sign of him. Or any of the other souls who had called this place home for hundreds of years.

Then the rock beneath my feet wobbled. I jumped back alarmed, not wanting to tumble into the long abandoned cellar hole. But as I watched a small shower of loose gravel and dirt tumble into the daisy-lined hole the seemingly random thought came to me, “What if I fell in, hit my head, and was knocked unconscious. And what if when I came to my senses again there were sturdy floor joists over my head and a door enclosing me in a basement filled with the sorts of things kept in basements a long time ago?” As we climbed back in our dinghy and headed back to the sailboat, that question continued to rattle around in my head and that was inspiration for my story, Iain’s Plaid. My heroine, Dani Amico. did just as I had done. With a fascination in American History, she sailed out to explore and she really did fall into that hole and woke up over 200 years in the past, shut up in a cellar belonging to a reluctant patriot. I hope you enjoy reading Dani and Iain’s story as much as I enjoyed imagining and writing it.

Iain’s Plaid is on sale – just 99¢ until April 15^th.

Was she sent back in time to change Iain’s fate . . . or share it?

Caught between a job offer she should take and a marriage proposal she doesn’t want, Dani Amico is dying for some adventure. So she takes off to visit some of the places on her bucket list. The first – an abandoned island she read about while researching her American History thesis. While there, she tumbles into an abandoned cellar hole . . . and wakes up more than two centuries in the past.

It’s 1775 and Iain MacKail’s ship is loaded with contraband he is smuggling into Boston. This unknown Dani, the “boy” he found in his cellar, could be a spy for the British customs agents, so Iain is forced to take the boy with him to insure that he and his mission are not compromised. Only he soon finds out that this ”boy” is so much more.

As they travel through pre-revolutionary New England, Dani realizes she’s falling for the rugged Scotsman. But she can’t forget something she came across in her studies—the fate of Iain MacKail. He would be betrayed by someone close to him and suddenly disappear from history. Could this be the reason Dani fell through time—to save Iain? Could they live and love together in this war-torn time?

Then again, if she tries—and fails—to change his fate . . . will she end up sharing it?

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2q3TI3C

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Meet the Author

It’s release week for our newest author, Paula Millhouse, so we wanted to know more about her and her book, Hunters’ Watch Brigade: Initiation. (Publishing Friday, March 9th!)

Who are you and what do you write?
I’m Paula Millhouse, and I write stories where fantasy, romance, and suspense collide. My latest series, the Hunters’ Watch Brigade, tells the stories of monster-hunters who police the universe for bad supernaturals.

Tell us what you love about your story?
In the first book of the series, HWB: Initiation, I love how my heroine Samantha digs deep to rescue her mother from a witch with a vendetta. The action was fun to write, but the family elements I wove through each of the stories stole the show. Yes, it’s urban fantasy with tons of amazing magic and a heavy dose of paranormal romance on the side, but my characters struggle with family issues like we all do. My characters prove the theme, love is worth fighting for.

Describe your antagonist.
Francesca Rosencratz, a very powerful witch, wants Sam’s head on a spike. Francesca’s a scorned woman who wants revenge. She’s not above commiserating with vampires to make Sam’s life a living hell.

Why does your heroine have to deal with your antagonist?
When Francesca kidnaps Sam’s mother Helmina, Sam will stop at nothing to get her back. From the shores of Key West, to Poseidon’s undersea palace, all the way to the streets of Manhattan, Sam and her familiar, Max, are in a race against time to stop Francesca and her henchmen from destroying the Hunters’ Watch Brigade.

What’s the black moment in your story?
For Sam, it’s when she realizes she’ll have to give up on her romance with Max, the love of her life, in order to protect him from Francesca and her allies.

What specifically does your heroine learn from your antagonist?
The value of family, and the power of collaboration. Sam learns justice does exist, love is worth fighting for, and happy ever afters are possible, even for supernaturals.

Want to know more?

Hunters’ Watch Brigade: Initiation is available now for preorder!

Hunters’ Watch Brigade, Book 1

It’s never just another day at the office . . .

Demigod Samantha Silverton, a full-time monster hunter in the Hunters’ Watch Brigade, is on a mission with her familiar, Max, to hunt down a scorned mermaid when she finds out she has bigger fish to fry. Her mother—a powerful witch—has been abducted. And the most likely villain is her mother’s enemy, Francesca Rosencratz.

Being a familiar to a sexy monster hunter has its perks, but Max wants more. He might look like a cat, but he’s also Sam’s best friend . . . and the man who loves her. But in order to defeat Francesca, he’ll have to shift into his human form, something he’s avoided. Because once he’s officially a shifter, he’ll have to join the Brigade. And that could take him away from Sam for good.

But Francesca’s becoming increasingly dangerous. She and a mysterious ally are working to take down the Brigade, and take over the paranormal community. Sam will have to dig deep if she’s going to save her mom. But Max will have to risk even more . . . to save Sam.

When supernatural creatures go rogue, who are you going to call?

The Hunters’ Watch Brigade!

Paula Millhouse was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, where Spanish moss whispers tales in breezes from the Atlantic Ocean to her soul. As a child, she soaked in the sunshine and heritage of cobblestones, pirate lore, and stories steeped in savory mysteries of the South.

She lives in the mountains now, but honors her Southern heritage as a story teller by sharing high-heat adventures with her readers. Escape your daily routine with books where justice does exist, true love is worth fighting for, and happily ever afters are expected. paulamillhouse.com

A quick insight into Rob Sangster’s process for writing Ground Truth!

I met the (future) love of my life at a party in an elegant home on the bank of the Mississippi River.  She was a novelist, a mystery writer. My professions were real estate development and practicing law, but I’d written an award-winning book on international travel, so I said, “What a coincidence. I’m a writer, too. May I offer you a glass of wine?”

Before long, to maintain a shred of credibility in this blossoming relationship, I felt compelled to figure out how to write a novel. My insatiable curiosity required me to write Ground Truth. When I discover something intriguing, I feel driven to explore it. If the topic turns out to be on the breaking wave of reality and is likely to come true in the foreseeable future, I make it the center of a suspenseful corkscrew of a plot. Then I populate the story with complex characters pursuing goals that inevitably bring them into conflict.

In Ground Truth, the action takes place in a corrupt law firm in San Francisco, a sacred cave in a Mexican mountain (where the sacred cave is crammed full of unstable nuclear material), and the Oval Office.

Ground Truth reached #1 on Amazon Kindle and is receiving very favorable reviews. My second novel, Deep Time, won the EPIC Award as Best Suspense/ Thriller novel of 2017.

The relationship that started all this is going strong and my curiosity remains unquenched, so my third suspense/thriller will be published this year.

Ground Truth by Rob Sangster is on sale for $1.99 until the 28th!

“A masterful, high-stakes thriller.”

—Lisa Turner, bestselling author of A Little Death in Dixie

Practicing law has never been so deadly.

Hotshot Stanford law professor Jack Strider is on the fast track to serve on the Supreme Court until a bullet and a nasty, front-page family scandal shatter that ambition.

After he’s unjustly fired from the law school faculty, a powerhouse law firm run by a former Secretary of State offers Jack a job and a chance for redemption. His first assignment: do whatever it takes to defend a sleazy corporate client in Juarez, Mexico, the Murder Capital of the World. Soon, Jack realizes that if he can’t stop his client, millions of people on both sides of the border will be poisoned.

Plunged into the violence of the Texas-Mexican borderlands, Jack discovers that he can trust no one, not even the law firm he works for, so when attorney Debra Vanderberg is sent to assist Jack, he doesn’t know whether she’s an ally or a spy. He has no choice but to trust her and pray he isn’t wrong.

Racing against the clock and dodging bullets, Jack and Debra uncover corporate greed and political corruption that lead all the way from a sacred cave in the Mexican mountains to the Oval Office. When the President of the United States refuses to stop the impending catastrophes, Jack risks everything, including his life. But can he learn the “ground truth” fast enough to save the millions destined to die?

Happy Reading!

Meet one of our newest authors, Tracie Provost!

Her first book, Under the Blood Moon, is available now!

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. As a little kid I would write stories when I wasn’t devouring every book I could get my hands on. I started my first novel, a pirate romance, when I was in high school. I wrote around 250 pages in it. It was horrible. I still have it, but it will never see the light of day.

Sometime in high school, somebody told me that I couldn’t make a living as a writer and I foolishly believed him. I decided that I would become a professor instead. Luckily, no one told me how hard it was to get an academic job until it was too late and I was committed to getting my PhD in history.

I managed to get a tenure-track position and have been at the same small Southern University for about 15 years. For the most part it is been great – except for the year and a half I spent in administration. I was miserable. I missed my students and I spent a lot of time crying in my office. But it was out of this that Under the Blood Moon was born.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of a vampire novel in my head for a number of years. I had even written a little bit, but it was during my administrative stint that the bulk of the book was created. I wrote through much of my frustration and anxiety. I typed “The End” on the first draft and returned to the classroom at about the same time and I felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

I’m currently working on the second book in the series Under the Harvest Moon and hope to have it done by late summer.

Learn more about Tracie here: http://www.tracieprovost.com/

Under the Blood Moon by Tracie Provost

A supernatural war is brewing in New Orleans, threatening to expose the existence of vampires, werewolves, and Gatekeepers to the wider world . . .

Ritually staked and hidden for two hundred years, Juliette de Grammont, voodoo priestess and vampire, is found and revived. Just days after she is freed, still coping with a world she could never have imagined, she loses her sire and vampire coven in a fire. Confused and alone, Juliette seeks the help of the city’s powerful Grand Master, but dark elements within the city are conspiring to topple that regime. Soon Juliette’s struggle for survival places her in the middle of a supernatural war for control of the city.

Josh Bouchard, former Texas Ranger now vampire and coven lieutenant, is drawn into the conflict and appoints himself Juliette’s protector over her objections. They must enlist the help of both the city’s werewolf pack and the Gatekeepers—a shadowy group dedicated to keeping the paranormal world secret from humans—to forge a coalition to save New Orleans from the powers that seek to destroy it.

The Evil that is Apple, Massachusetts

by Howard Odentz

I’ve come up in the shadow of the orchards, the gnarled roots of fruit trees twisting and turning into the ground.

I’ve seen brick buildings grow where there were once fields, and I’ve gazed with a lizard brain as factories bloom by the reservoir, only to wither and die in great heaps of red-clay rubble.

I’ve witnessed Apple’s children, innocent and pure, turn from adolescence to adulthood, go off to war, and come home with missing parts—or never come home at all.

I’ve watched the very seeds of this town bear corrupted fruit along a backdrop that has morphed from soda fountains and penny candy stores to tattoo parlors and bars.

And amidst all the never ending change, as the darkness slowly engulfs everyone and everything in its cold embrace, I now stare with a psychotic detachment as the very flesh of Apple is drawn and quartered—literally.

Murder happens here, in lonely tobacco barns along the edge of town, or in the dense forests where the screams of the mutilated are muffled by a thick blanket of autumn rot.

Murder happens here every year.

I am not to blame.

Does one blame God for allowing a husband to strike his wife? Does one blame The Lord for allowing alcohol and drugs and the poor choices of pitiful minds to ruin lives?

Does one blame Him for murder?

I can assure you He took his leave of Apple, Massachusetts long before the first tree was ever planted and long before the first suspicious death ever occurred.

He doesn’t tarry here anymore.

All that remains is me and I’m just fine.

Right as rain.

Ducky, in fact.

For I am the Evil that is Apple, Massachusetts, and boy oh boy…

It is good.

Curious about the evil that’s taken root in Apple? Pick up BLOODY BLOODY APPLE for just $1.99 and find out who’s behind the body count…

Val Shapiro’s 10 tips for living as a part succubus (lust demon)

 by Parker Blue

1. Never tell full humans about the demon part of you—unless you want to be treated like a monster.

2. Find the closest Demon Underground to meet other demons. They’ll understand what you’re going through and help keep you sane.

3. Don’t use your powers too much or they’ll become addictive. Unless you want to go around hoovering up lustful energy from every guy you meet. And don’t let men get too close—they can’t control their urges around you.

4. On the other hand, don’t suppress your demon side too much or it could burst free at the worst possible time, like when you’re with a guy you really, really want to impress.

5. Find a healthy, safe way to express your lust . . . like slaying vampires.

6. Remember, not all vampires are evil. Some are even rather sexy. Slay the bad ones. Leave the members of the New Blood Movement alone.

7. Don’t date full humans. They don’t understand your need for sucking up lustful energy and it’s too easy to drain them by accident. It’s not a good idea to leave mindless husks in your wake.

8. Never forget that while you can force men to do whatever you want, women are immune to your powers. Well, your lustful ones anyway. You can still use your strength and speed against them. Unless they’re female vampires. Then use male vampires against them.

9. Don’t cash your V-card too early—unless you want to lose your powers.

10. Find a hellhound to partner with. They can be a pain, but they’re great at watching your back and providing a furry shoulder to cuddle with when you need it.

BITE ME is free to buy til January! Pick it up quick!

And don’t forget to finish off the rest of the Demon Underground Series! Just click the links below! 

An interview with Ben Cameron

by Skye Taylor

Today we are pleased to have Ben Cameron visiting with us at Blogging on the Beach. He is the hero of Skye Taylor’s latest book, Loving Meg and the third son (by mere minutes) of Sandy and Nathan Cameron of Tide’s Way. The baby of the family, Jake Cameron, was with us earlier when his book, Falling for Zoe, came out in April, and Will, Ben’s identical twin, will hopefully come for a visit next year when Trusting Will comes out.

Skye: So – Welcome, Ben. We know you grew up in Tides’s Way and come from a big family, that you’re married, to Meg, of course, and have two sons, Rick and Evan.  But who is Ben Cameron? Tell us about yourself.

Ben: You know, my wife and I had a discussion about that not so long ago. She seemed to think that my job was who I was, but I think I got her turned around.  At least I hope I have. Meg is the light of my life. She has been since I first met her. She was my best friend’s kid sister, and I had to pretend we were just friends for the first few years because I was way too old for her. But it was worth the wait. We’ve been married for ten years come next May and I can’t imagine life without her. Being a dad is another big part of who I am. Until Rick was born I never had a clue how terrific fatherhood could be. I have a fantastic dad of my own, but being a dad is even better.

Skye: What do you do for a living?

Ben: I raise and train German Shepherds for police work. It does keep me pretty busy, but I love working with the dogs, and I love seeing them succeed. I’ve got a new project in mind, too. It’s a long story how I got involved, and I’m sure that’s not what you’re interested in here so I’ll skip to the punch line. I want to enlarge my operation to include training dogs to work with returned veterans who are struggling with PTSD and other disabilities brought on in their service to our country. It’s be awhile before I can get it up and running, but eventually I want to have a home where the veterans will come to be paired with their dogs and training can happen. From what I’ve discovered having a service dog often can make the difference that all the drugs and psychiatric work can’t in helping these guys get their lives back, and I can’t think of anything more rewarding that making that happen.

Skye: Didn’t Meg just return from Iraq. She’s been in the Marines for most of your married life, but this was her first overseas deployment. That must have been difficult for you and the boys. What was the hardest part for you?

Ben: All of it. (Ben shakes his head and a cloud passes over his face.) I hated watching the news. It just made me more afraid than I already was. I knew she was out there, accompanying conveys along roads that those bas— sorry, terrorists love to booby trap with IEDs. So, I didn’t watch the news, and I tried to stay busy and not worry. But the hardest part was probably the nights. She tried to call as often as she could,and she’d time it when she knew I was climbing into bed. I’d lay there in the dark, clutching the phone to my ear, listening to her voice and wishing desperately that she was laying next to me instead, and that the nightmare of her being gone and in danger was over.

Skye: Have you ever told Meg that?

Ben: Yeah. I’ve told her, but I’m not sure she understood how really hard it was for me being left behind while she went off to conquer her world.  I told Will, too. He’s my twin you know. He’s the other half of me. I told him everything. Or most everything.

Skye: What’s it like being an identical twin?

Ben: You mean being the other half of me? (Ben chuckles) Will says the same thing. He thinks I’m the better half and if only he could be a little more like me, he’d be a better man. But I think it’s the other way around. Will is a lot like Meg and I admire that – that ability to strike out into the unknown – to take on a task that seems far bigger than it might have seemed at the start. Something bigger than just themselves, but they stick it out. They put themselves out there and do jobs others can’t. Me? I’ve been on the same path all my life. Everyone, including me, knew where I was going with my life since I was just a kid. And there wasn’t anything dangerous or adventurous about it.

Skye: What started you on your path in life so early?

Ben: You sure you want to hear this? It’s not all that exciting. Not when compared to the places Meg’s been.

Skye: We’re sure.

Ben: Well, when I was maybe nine or ten someone gave my dad this dog, Taffy. We’d always had dogs as long as I could remember, usually more than one at a time, and Dad was always the one who trained them. But Taffy just seemed like she was going to break him. I think she was a golden retriever, but so inbred there’s no doubt where her less than stellar brain capacity came from. She had one ear that popped up and flopped over half way up – the other hung down like a retriever’s is supposed to. It gave her this really silly goober look. Very fitting, considering.

Anyway, one day Dad was trying to teach her to stay. He’d take her out to this spot about 20 feet from the front steps and tell her to sit. She was great at sit. Then he’d give her the signal and verbal command to stay and he’d turn his back on her and come over to the steps. By the time he got there and turned around she was right behind him grinning up at him as if he’d told her to follow instead of stay. Finally, I asked Dad if I could try. He handed me the leash and said go to it. Neither of us really expected much. But I walked out to the magic spot and told her to sit, put my hand in front of her nose and said stay as sternly as I could with my little kid’s voice and headed back to the porch. Dad was sitting with his elbows resting on the step behind him watching, but even before I got to him, he sat up and looked from me to somewhere behind me. I turned around expecting to see Taffy right on my heels like she’d been on dad’s every time. But I was gobsmacked. She was still sitting where I’d left her. I called her and she dashed toward me so fast she ran me down. And that was when me and everyone else knew I’d end up training dogs for a living.

Marrying Meg was another thing everyone knew long before it happened. Long before Meg knew it anyway. I grew up in my parents house by the sea and I told them I was always going to live there too. I saw this spot of land when I was still in college. I didn’t have scratch for money, but I begged my dad to give me the down payment and I worked two jobs all through college to make the mortgage payments. So, you see, Will and I are like the other half of each other. He’s Alpha. I’m Beta. He’s the adventurous one. He’s impatient to see new things, go new places, meet new people all the while I’m living the life I planned out years ago. I’m so settled down I can’t imagine life any other way. Will’s still trying out every new extreme sport that catches his fancy and dating lots of really nice ladies but not settling for just one. Although I really hope he finds his Miss Right. I’d like him to have what I have with Meg.

Skye: I know you’re a busy man with things to do and places to go, even if they aren’t far from home or dangerous, so I’ll let you go. But we’ve enjoyed having you. Thanks for coming.

Ben: Thanks for having me.