Character Interview and Giveaway

Today I'm a guest at SG Rogers' blog, Child of Yden. SG is a fellow Astraea Press author and she is a whiz at promoting herself as well as the rest of us. So I jumped at the chance to promote Aegean Intrigue with her. She interviewed Francie, the main character in Aegean Intrigue. She also asked about my trip to Greece, so I sent her a few pictures, which she also posted. So if you want to find out more about Greece and Francie, come and visit. If you leave a comment, you'll have a chance to win a copy of the book!


Find the interview by clicking HERE:

Sweet Saturday

Welcome back! February was a fabulous month for me with the release of Aegean Intrigue on February 2. The time since then has been a whirlwind of promotion, and I've been so pleased the novella has received positive reviews. In the story, Alex has been hired to find the thief of several priceless Greek artifacts. In this scene, Alex is expressing his doubts about Francie's involvement in the thefts to Zotis, his employer:

Later that night, Alex's phone chirped as he wrote his report. Glancing at the caller ID, he frowned and answered. His employer was nothing if not persistent.

“What have you found?”

“Nothing new. Francie is meticulous at her recordkeeping. I haven't seen any suspicious behavior. It seems she's doing everything she can to make sure nothing is missing.”

“It's a cover. She's guilty.”

“Why are you so convinced of that?”

“She has that innocent face. Nobody can be as innocent as that.”

“So it's just a hunch?”

“Call it what you will. I know it in my heart.”

“What about the professor?”

“He's not cunning enough. He's solidly entrenched in the past. Half the time, he doesn't know where he is, or who he's talking to. There's no way he'd be able to pull it off.”

“Francie is his protégé. She could be doing working for him without knowing it.”

“I don't believe it. She's used to the finer things in life, what with her famous parents. She's probably looking for a way to increase her income while she's studying.”

“But if she made extra money from previous heists, wouldn't she be living in more luxury? Her apartment is in a run-down part of Athens, she dresses simply, and she wears no jewelry. She brought only a small duffle bag with her for the trip. That is not the usual way of a materialistic woman.”

“It's a façade. She's trying to fool you.”

“Why would she need to do that? She doesn't know about the investigation.”

“She's cunning enough to know that people will be watching her even after she's been officially cleared. Keep digging. It's her. Or someone she's feeding information to. She's got to be the link.”

Alex wasn't convinced, but he gave his verbal agreement. Zotis was paying the bills.

****

Thanks for stopping by! If you like this sample, the novella is available at Astraea Press by clicking on the book cover above, or by going to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Be sure to check out excerpts from other great authors by going to Sweet Saturday Samples and clicking on their links!

Sweet Saturday

            Welcome back! I'm having so much fun with all the promotional events this month at Astraea Press. Today I'm the guest blogger at Seriously Reviewed. If you get a moment, please check it out and leave a comment!

            Here at Sweet Saturday Samples, I've got another scene from Aegean Intrigue. Here, the group is setting up for their archaeological dig, and Francie makes observations about some of the crew:

After the screens were assembled, Dimitri went to the food tent to prepare dinner. Soon, the scent of beef, onions, and tomatoes spiced with cumin, cinnamon, and garlic filled the air. Dimitri was evidently preparing stifado, a traditional Greek stew. Francie's stomach growled, and she remembered she hadn't eaten all day. She had been too excited about the trip to eat that morning, and lack of funds had prevented her from buying food on the ferry.

When Alex called a halt to the day's work, she was more than ready to eat. The dig site was set up, and they would be ready to begin work in earnest the next day.

Before heading to the dining cabin, the crew cleaned up. Tools were wiped off and put away. Francie noted that Yannis, again, stood off to the side, his ever-present Blackberry his only concern. She frowned.

“Something wrong?”

The man seems to be everywhere. She nodded toward the preoccupied crew member. “Yannis spends a lot of time on that Blackberry. For a graduate archaeology student, he doesn'ʹt seem to know what he's doing. And he doesn't seem willing to pull his weight in the work and cleanup.”

“Perhaps he's preoccupied with a girlfriend he left behind. But you'ʹre right. He should be helping. I'll talk to him.” Alex loped over to the other man, his long legs covering the distance in no time.

Francie scolded herself for noticing the man's legs and turned her attention back to her own work. She cleaned off her trowel, wrapped it carefully, and stowed it in her backpack. Focus, she reminded herself.

****

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Sweet Saturday

            Welcome back! Here's another scene from my new release, Aegean Intrigue. Francie and the crew have arrived at the dig site and are ready to work:

After stowing their belongings, the crew quickly got to work. The dig area was marked with ropes, and the surface dirt had been removed. Professor Theo took charge of explaining the routine and job expectations to the newer members while Francie,

Dimitri, and Yannis built two table screens to be used for sifting the dirt and sorting their finds. Dimitri was a quick learner. Once Francie explained what was needed, he simply nodded and went to work. Yannis, however, was content to stand back and wait to be

told what to do every step of the way. Francie hoped he wouldn't continue this behavior throughout the dig.

Someone was staring at her again. She looked around her, but Alex was busy with the professor. Who else could it be? She turned her gaze up the hill, toward the mansion.

A tall lean man stood at the top of the hill, watching them work. His salt-and-pepper hair was trimmed in a professional style and his gray suit slacks fit him well. He held his jacket, his tie was loosened, and his white shirt was open at the neck. Though he was far away, Francie felt his gaze boring into her. This must be Zotis, the owner of the estate. She bent again to her task, though she found it difficult to concentrate with the man on the hill staring down. Silly, she told herself. He's not looking at you. He's just

watching over the entire crew.

But another glance upward confirmed his gaze still pointed her way. Alex ended his conversation with Professor Theo and climbed up the hill to meet with the newcomer. Their discussion was brief, and when Zotis turned away, Francie felt a sense of relief, as if a dark cloud had been lifted.

****

            Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out free excerpts from other fine authors at Sweet Saturday Samples. And if you've enjoyed my excerpts, click on the book cover at the top of this page to buy the story at Astraea Press - it's only $1.99!

Sweet Saturday

Welcome back! This week I'm continuing the scene from Aegean Intrigue in which Francie has boarded the ferry from Athens to Paros. She finds herself seated next to Alex, the Project Director of the archaeological dig she is working on:

Taking the packet from Alex, she began to read. Thankfully, he allowed her to read on her own rather than pointing things out to her. It was unnerving enough to have to sit next to the man. It would be worse to have those dark brown eyes focused on her, his melodic voice sounding in her ear…

She blinked and brought her mind back to the page in front of her. When she got to the page describing the sleeping accommodations, Francie frowned. “You’re staying with us the entire time?” she asked.

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never known a Project Director to stay on site. You’ve probably got a half dozen other projects you’re working on, don’t you? I expected you would just take care of the planning, the designating, and then leave.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t operate that way.”

The sudden coldness in his expression unnerved her. She merely nodded and looked back at the page, but the symbols made no sense to her. She could read English, Greek, and French, but in her agitation she couldn’t decipher anything on the page. Why had he become so angry?

He cleared his throat and his tone gentled. “Our sponsor is an exacting man. He expects detailed reports each evening. I don’t have any other projects going in Athens at the moment, so…” He paused and shrugged before continuing, “I decided to take a working vacation.”

Francie felt her tensions drain away. Maybe she had misread his facial expression. At least he wasn't angry with her. She looked at the document again, and this time the words made sense.

****

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment, or better yet, check out Aegean Intrigue by clicking on the book cover at the top right of the page. It's available at Astraea Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

More samples are offered from other authors at Sweet Saturday Samples.

Sweet Saturday Sample

Welcome back! I'm jumping back into the present with an excerpt from my newly released Greek island novella, Aegean Intrigue. Here, Francie is boarding the ferry to travel from Athens to the island of Paros:

Stepping off the escalator, she made her way past the café and gift shop to the reserved seats. Whoever is funding this dig certainly has deep pockets, she thought. The heavily padded “airplane-style seats” would be a special treat. She could snuggle in and close her eyes.

“Good morning.”

Turning toward the voice, her gaze met that of the very man who had haunted her dreams the last few weeks. As usual, Alex looked crisp and well rested, unlike the majority of the passengers on the early morning shuttle. A light blue polo shirt fit snugly over

his muscled shoulders and arms, and crisp khaki pants completed his outfit. He looked as if he had stepped from a gentleman's magazine. The battered brown satchel lay across his lap, a sheaf of papers lying on top of it.

“Good morning,” she managed. Breaking eye contact, she glanced down at her ticket to check her seat number and nearly groaned. Her seat was right next to his.

So much for the relaxing trip, she thought. What had she done to deserve four full hours seated next to this disturbing man?

Her face must have reflected her dismay. “I apologize if my presence distresses you. I had hoped to go over some of the details of the dig while we had time before our arrival.”

“Why would you want to go over them with me? Professor Theo is in charge of the dig.”

“On paper, yes. But you are his assistant. Has he shared the details with you?”

She frowned. “No, he hasn’t.”

“I thought not. He is known for his forgetfulness. I have made an extra copy of his materials for you, including a dossier on each of the other participants.”

She made no move to sit, and he sighed. “I can move to another seat once we have gone through the details.”

She unlooped the straps of her backpack and sat, chiding herself for appearing so childish.

****

Thanks for stopping by! Aegean Intrigue can be purchased online at Astraea Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble (click on the company names to go to their websites).

Continue reading excerpts from other authors by going to Sweet Saturday Samples.  Have a great weekend!

Introducing...

 

I am so pleased to announce the release of my third novella, Aegean Intrigue! This story is also published by Astraea Press, but it's a bit different from the other stories in several ways. Unlike The Legacy and The Christmas Phoenix, Aegean Intrigue takes place in Greece. I had the pleasure of visiting that country almost four years ago when my daughter did a semester abroad on the island of Paros. I talked a friend into going with me to "check out" the school she attended and see that she was safe. We spent a week on the island, and then two days in Athens before flying home. It had to be one of the most fascinating times in my life. If you ever have the opportunity to go, take it! There is so much to see and do. Of course I'm a history buff so I had a wonderful time checking out the ruins and reading about the places we visited.

I had to do quite a bit of research for this book, because the story line takes the characters on an archaeological dig. Since I don't know too much about archaeology, I had to read about how a dig was set up, who the major characters are, and how they do their jobs. I hope I represented the job accurately. And then I threw in a romance - because I love a happy ending!

So I would be ever so grateful if you would do a few things for me:

1. Go to Amazon and "like" my book. Click on the work LINK (you can buy it there, too!)

2. Buy the book (you can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or from Astraea Press if you want a different format) and read it!

3. Tell me what you think by giving it a rating (at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads - or all three!

Actually, I would be happy if you would do ANY of the above - but if you could do two, or three, I would be ecstatic! If you click on the picture above it should take you to the page where you can purchase it from Astraea Press. Later on today (or maybe tomorrow), it will be available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You can actually have a chance to win a free copy. I've been participating in blog hops, and almost each time I give away a free book. The next one is the Valentine's Day Hop. Watch my facebook page for details. Oh, you haven't seen my facebook page? Well, there's a facebook "badge" here on this page that you can click and "like" and then you'll see news about my writing life as soon as it happens. Isn't technology cool? Well, most of the time it is. When it works. But that's another story.

Sweet Saturday Sample

Trowel image from About.com

Welcome to my first Saturday Sample of the new year! I've been hard at work revising Aegean Intrigue, which will hopefully be released soon. Here is a short sample from that novella. Francie, a doctoral student in archaeology, is preparing to participate in a dig on the beautiful Greek island of Paros:

A few days before departure, a courier arrived with a packet of final instructions. She was told to ride the early ferry to the island of Paros, and Dimitri would meet the crew at the dock and take them to the dig site. Her ferry ticket was included in the packet, and she danced for joy at another expense she didn’t have to bear.

Carefully, she packed for the trip. She wouldn’t need much in the way of clothing: sturdy work boots, heavy socks, shorts, light tops, a hat, underwear, and sunscreen. Then she packed her tools: her notebook, a camera, and her trowel. The last was polished and wrapped in an old T-shirt. It had been a gift from her father, one of the few items she had ever received from him. He had given it to her after they’d gone on their last dig together. Nothing could have been more precious to her than this verification of his approval of her as an archaeologist. Since then, the beloved trowel had accompanied her on every dig, been cleaned every night, and stored safely in her knapsack.

Maybe someday, her father would ask her to go on another dig with him.

****

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out samples from other great authors. You can find their links at Sweet Saturday Samples.

Sweet Saturday Sample

Welcome! Here's a view of Mount Olympus in Athens, from world-work.net. Today I have another scene from my novella, Aegean Intrigue:

"I’m grateful for the dig opportunity. It’s the perfect excuse for leaving Athens." She frowned. "Of course, I will need to replace the income from the restaurant, unless you need another cook besides Dimitri." She turned her beautiful brown eyes toward him, and his heart melted at the hopefulness in them.

Alex cleared his throat, forcing himself to concentrate on the conversation. "With such a small crew, he shouldn't need an assistant," he explained.

Her face fell and the first seeds of doubt took root in Alex’s mind. If she was as guilty as Zotis claimed, why would she be so anxious for menial work? Wouldn’t she have been compensated for prior heists? Besides, she was the daughter of a world-famous scientist and a Hollywood actress. Surely she didn’t have to provide for herself? Something wasn’t right.

"Perhaps I can suggest something for now." Glancing to confirm he had her attention, he continued. "I'm sure the professor knows what he's doing as far as the actual dig, but he seems to be a bit unsure about electronic communication. Several of his reports need to be turned in online, and I know he would appreciate your help. There has also been interest in keeping a blog, so students elsewhere can see what we’re doing. You would, of course, be compensated for your time."

The glow lighting her face made Alex’s heart soar. He would have promised her anything to keep it there. But he quickly dampened his eagerness. He could not, would not, take on the responsibility for someone else’s happiness. It led only to heartbreak. He forced himself to remember the pain of that last betrayal. He looked away, only half-listening to Francie express her gratitude and promise to do her best.

It was going to be a long summer. If he had any sense at all, he would leave her now and go back to his office. Instead he heard himself ask, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out excerpts from other great authors at Sweet Saturday Samples.

Sweet Saturday Sample

Welcome! If you've been here before, you might have read previous selections from my recently accepted novella Aegean Intrigue. The story will be available sometime from Astraea Press. Here's another sample:

"The Project Director is coming today to give us more specific information. He is in contact with the major investors—oh, here he is, Mr. Alexandros Leonidis."

Francie turned her expectant gaze toward the door and felt her blood freeze. There had to be a mistake. The mystery man from the restaurant, the man who had rescued her from Kostos’ advances, was the Project Director? Maybe she should rethink joining this dig. There was really no question she would go, of course. It would be good for her resume. She needed the work, and she needed to get away from Kostos.

But would she be trading one problem for another?

Against her better judgement, her gaze traveled down the length of the man. A battered brown satchel hung from his left shoulder, conflicting with the polished, yet casual appearance of his clothing. Perhaps the satchel had sentimental value. Or perhaps he was a practical man, not requiring new things simply because what he had was worn.

Her father had had a similar leather satchel for his digging tools. He had used it long after it showed signs of wear, repairing the rips and tears. One Christmas, she had given him a new one, hoping to please him. He had thanked her, but continued to use his old one. During her last visit to his home, she found her gift stuffed in the bottom drawer of a cabinet, unused.

She forced her mind back to the present. The stranger from the previous night was definitely not Georges Vasileiou. Unlike her father, this man moved with purpose. His eyes were clear and focused. And right now they were focused on her.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out more excerpts at Sweets Saturday Samples. Happy reading!