Trial By Fire

Trial by Fire/Anne Ireland/Eternal Press

This is a historical time slip. The story alternates between Ally, a modern woman who needs to rest and recover from an accident and Isolde, a woman in the fourteenth century who was condemned as a witch. Ally needs to rest but the whispers have started. Is she going mad or is she being haunted - and why.

Out with Eternal Press on 7th September

As she went down to the hall, Ally heard someone laugh. It was a pleasant sound, youthful and joyous. Where had it come from? The door to the sitting room was open. She walked in, half expecting to see a child at play, because it had surely been a child's laughter. The room was unoccupied, but the tiny, latticed window had been left open a little at the top. Of course, that was why she had heard the laughter. Sound carried a long way at night. Her neighbour probably had children.

Ally smiled, picked up another suitcase, and carried it upstairs.

"Why do you always smell so sweet? Why does your skin have the perfume of flowers?"

Ally froze as she heard the whisper. The voice was a man's―a man talking to his lover.

Laughter and now, whispers! Ally's skin prickled as she stood on the threshold to her bedroom. The voice had seemed to come from this room. But, it couldn't have. She had been into the room; she knew it was empty. Perhaps one of the other rooms? Was it possible that someone had been squatting here?

Putting down her case, she walked along the hall and looked inside the other bedrooms. They were both neat and clean, as pristine as when the agent had showed her the cottage. No one was in the house. It was her imagination.

Ally went back to the bedroom. It was quite empty. She was alone in the house. She hadn't heard that whisper. It was all in her mind.

Perhaps it was the book beginning to take shape at last. The explanation was one she could live with, because it had happened occasionally in the past. Not whispers exactly, but thoughts that came out of the blue and were so insistent, so loud in her head that they might have been spoken.

Trial by Fire © 2008 by Anne Ireland

Hope you enjoy the excerpts. To read more bits of my work visit my website and click on the story blog.

www.lindasole.co.uk

Collecting Stuff

Do you collect stuff--stupid, useless stuff? Apparently, I do. Last Monday when I was writing about every day heroes, I came across this picture of PEZ heroes and the first thing I thought about was, how come I don't have those? I never even saw them. How could I have missed them? I have 2 boxes full of PEZ containers that I haven't even opened in 4 years--not that that stopped me from collecting more. It's always an excuse like, but these have fuzzy coats. When am I going to see an Elvis one again? And so on and so on and so on. I even know the best but hardest to find flavor of PEZ--Cola. Truth is, they all taste a little like chalk. They have peppermint, too but it's also hard to find.
What do you do with this stuff? It's not like there is a cool display case for them though, believe me, I've tried to come up with something. If I did display them, they would fill up all the walls in my study. There would be no room for books.
Speaking of books, I collected those, too. I finally realized that. with a few exceptions, I only read a novel once. Reference books are another matter. I believe one should have plenty of those--and I do--of course. I finally took a car load of novels to The Salvation Army and the Commonwealth Second Hand Book Store (a snooty bunch of people there, by the by who only want certain books. They turned down a complete set of Sherlock Holmes and a bunch of classics--but hey, no problem. I took them right back home.)
So any way, I just wondered if anyone else had this collecting thingy going on. Is there a cure? Meanwhile, I'm looking for a bigger box for these dang PEZ containers. With all the rain we've had maybe I could string them in bundles and use them as floats.
Have a great weekend.
Sarah McNeal
http://www.sarahmcneal.com/

In Audio

I now have a couple of copies of my book Love Is Not enough in audio. This is an Anne Herries book published by Severn House and now in audio by soundings. It took me ages to find a pic of this, but last night I got lucky so here it is. I am also putting up the cover for the hardback. I'm not sure which I like the best, but they both have merits! Love, Linda/Anne.

I am really pleased because soundings have also taken the second book in the trilogy and this doesn't always happen.

Twilight's Kiss Receives Five Hearts from The Romance Studio!

Dee Dailey from The Romance Studio gave Twilight's Kiss a FIVE HEART REVIEW! I'm over the moon about this fantastic review! Here's a few snippets of what she had to say about Twilight's Kiss,
Marly Mathews has written a humorous, suspenseful tale of villagers turned vampire slayers. They all know of Lord Sean’s affliction, love him still. Ms. Mathews does a great job building her characters. Bridget, Sean, Grace, Father Clancy, Mary, Rupert, Iris all come alive under her pen.

and...

This is a fun tale with some suspenseful twists from beginning to end. Ms. Mathews writes some of the best dialogue and scenarios around. Sean is such a powerful but loveable guy I just couldn’t help hoping with the rest of the village that Bridget would just say the words and save them both from heartache. It’s a great book with a nice little twist at the end to make it even better.

Thank you so much Dee for your kind words! I'm always happy when a reviewer loves my writing!

If you all are interested you can read the full review by following this link,
Twilight's Kiss reviewed by The Romance Studio!

~Marly

Inspiration and Detractions

There's nothing I love more than getting "in the grove." The muse is singing like a canary in my head and the prose is coming together, that little counter in Microsoft Word clicks up at a steady pace...it's great!

But why is it that I tend to be most inspired when I have the least time to dedicate to writing? I just had a month off from school, with nothing to do but nothing, and while I managed to get some writing done (the start of a new short Regency for an as yet secret project and the beginnings of A Compromising Evening, the second book in the Cade family series), it wasn't nearly as much as you'd think I would have accomplished (and indeed, should have) during my vacation.

Today marked the beginning of a new semester, and the first day of my last year of law school (yay!). I'm sitting here staring down 200 pages of Federal Indian Law text, 100 pages of Bankruptcy, 50 pages of Intellectual Property, 100 pages of International Human Rights, and 45 pages of Maritime Law, all needing to be finished by Wednesday/Thursday of this week. And of course it's now - now - that the muse decides to beat me over the head with the inspiration stick, running sentences through my brain faster than I can type them out.

It might have something to do with being in work mode versus vacation mode. When I have down time, I want down time, my brain shuts off. When I need to fire up the ol' noggin again, it immediately zeros in on the one thing I'd most like to be doing: writing. I tell myself, just one more year of academia, but come May, the real fun begins. I get to study for the bar, I get to start a job...I'm not convinced I'll have more time then for writing than I do now. I'm afraid I'll have even less. It's frustrating going from completing a novel every few months to spending nearly a year on one book, as I did with Reckless Liaisons.

I hate having to find that balance. Believe you me, as soon as I reach the point where I can afford to write full time, I'm there. I've wanted to be an attorney since I was 13, but I've been a writer since I was 7. Books are my first love, and first love wins.

Losses

Last week I faced losses, unexpected and painful.

A friend and coworker I have known for over 20 years died at age 55. She had planned on retiring to her 10 acre plot of land in Florida, build a sweet little house and spend her days boating on the lake, hiking and exploring nature. Her dream never happened.

Those of us who remain have reconsidered our lives and where we're headed. Will we get the chance to see our dreams come true or will we keep putting them off worrying ourselves over all the what ifs? It was so disturbing to meet up with so many old friends at a funeral--for one of our own. Realizing how fragile life is, we renewed our commitment to see each other more often and enjoy whatever life we have left spending time with one another.

I've had a dream of going to Australia all my life. I've put off going for one reason and then another. After experiencing the gut wrenching loss of one of my comrades who didn't get to live her dream, I've made a decision to go to Australia as soon as I retire. I think it's time to enjoy some of the money I've worked so hard to save and have an adventure.

And now a word about Grandfather Tree. I bought my house about 15 years ago and I selected it mostly because of the giant white oak in the back yard. I don't know what it was about the ancient oak that made me feel safe and protected, but I got positive vibes about his old spirit. A year and a half ago he was struck by lightning. I hired an arbourist to try to save him. Half of Grandfather Tree had to be cut away in the hopes that he would rejuvenate. Spring came and it looked like he was going to make it. Then the draught came. He just wasn't strong enough to overcome the effects of the draught and, limb by limb, he succumbed. He died last week and I feel that the spirit of my house went with him. Who would have thought a tree could mean so much, but he did.

I mourn the loss of Grandfather Tree and my friend. It is my hope that all living spirits continue in the universe in some way if only by remembering them. And so I keep the spirits of Grandfather Tree and my friend here in my heart.

Farewell my old friends. I hope we meet again.

Sarah McNeal

Author of

THE VIOLIN

THE DARK ISLE

LAKE OF SORROWS

http://www.sarahmcneal.com/

Trial By Fire /excerpt

Trial By Fire/ Anne Ireland / Eternal Press

Coming in September in ebook

Ally is recovering from an accident and illness. she has come to the cottage for some peace to write her new book but now the voices have started. She is being haunted by a witch from the fourteenthe century. Isolde needs her story to be told. Will Ally break the curse and set her free?

Enjoy!

As she went down to the hall, Ally heard someone laugh. It was a pleasant sound, youthful and joyous. Where had it come from? The door to the sitting room was open. She walked in, half expecting to see a child at play, because it had surely been a child's laughter. The room was unoccupied, but the tiny, latticed window had been left open a little at the top. Of course, that was why she had heard the laughter. Sound carried a long way at night. Her neighbour probably had children.

Ally smiled, picked up another suitcase, and carried it upstairs.

"Why do you always smell so sweet? Why does your skin have the perfume of flowers?"

Ally froze as she heard the whisper. The voice was a man's―a man talking to his lover.
Laughter and now, whispers! Ally's skin prickled as she stood on the threshold to her bedroom. The voice had seemed to come from this room. But, it couldn't have. She had been into the room; she knew it was empty. Perhaps one of the other rooms? Was it possible that someone had been squatting here?

Putting down her case, she walked along the hall and looked inside the other bedrooms. They were both neat and clean, as pristine as when the agent had showed her the cottage. No one was in the house. It was her imagination.

Ally went back to the bedroom. It was quite empty. She was alone in the house. She hadn't heard that whisper. It was all in her mind.

Perhaps it was the book beginning to take shape at last. The explanation was one she could live with, because it had happened occasionally in the past. Not whispers exactly, but thoughts that came out of the blue and were so insistent, so loud in her head that they might have been spoken.

Trial by Fire © 2008 by Anne Ireland