Quintessentially Me: Katherine Fleet

Hi everyone! I am Katherine Fleet, debut author of The Secret to Letting Go, releasing from Entangled Teen on Feb 1, 2016. For this guest post, I was asked to pick one thing in my house and talk about its history and what it means to me. There are so many things in my house that I love and have meaning to me, but I’ve decided to pick something a little quirky – my fridge magnets!

 

I’ve always loved to travel, but for many years, my husband and I weren’t in a position to get very far. Then we moved to the Caribbean eight years ago and found ourselves able to really travel. Since we’ve lived here, we’ve been to many parts of the US, as well as Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. When we started travelling, I knew I needed to collect something from each of our trips. Of course there are pictures, but I wanted something that I could see every day. So I picked fridge magnets!

 

Here is why they are “quintessentially me”:

 

  • I love to bake, so I see them everyday when I am in the kitchen.
  • I try to pick pretty designs, but in reality they are just a little bit tacky (yes, I bought the celebrity homes guide map when we were in Beverly Hills and drove around in a minivan full of kids to stop in front of the gates of all the star’s homes and gawk).
  • They’re small and economical to buy, so in other words, a very practical souvenir. This is very much me – a very practical person.
  • My husband and three children have started to bring them home to me from their travels. So, when I see them, I think of my family, which is the most important thing in the world to

katherine-fleetAuthor Bio:

Originally from Newfoundland, Katherine Fleet gave up the cold winters of Eastern Canada for the year round warmth of the Caribbean. The slower pace of island life has given her time to pursue a long-time goal—becoming an author. When she’s not writing, she spends her time baking, chauffeuring her three amazing, talented kids around, and having sun-filled adventures with her husband and wonderful friends in Curaçao. She is also a very thankful breast cancer survivor. In 2007, she joined RWA and has enjoyed the support and camaraderie of the YARWA and OIRWA writing communities. She’s participated in NaNoWriMo since 2012 and is an active supporter of the associated Young Writers Program. She is represented by super-agent Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency. The Secret to Letting Go is her debut novel. You can connect with her at www.KatherineFleet.com.

 

 

The Secret to Letting Go: TSTLG-cover

One summer can change everything…

Haunted with guilt after his girlfriend’s death, Daniel Hudson has no interest in committing to anyone. At the end of the summer, he’ll be leaving Florida for a new start in college. If only he could avoid the mysterious new girl in town, who seems every bit as naive and eccentric as she looks. Trouble is, she’s hard to ignore, with her beautiful piercing eyes, pitiful-looking dog, and unsettling tendency of finding trouble. Clover Scott lived her whole life off the grid and arrives on the Gulf coast in search of her grandparents. She never expected to nearly drown, or get caught in a hurricane, or fall in love with the boy who rescues her. Now, she has a chance to rewrite her life’s story, to finally fit in somewhere, but Daniel wants answers about her past. When the police start asking questions about the disappearance of her parents, she must make a choice: go to jail or confess her secrets—even if they might destroy her chance at a happily-ever-after.

Goodreads

 

Quintessentially Me: Pat Esden

Today, I am thrilled to welcome debut author and good friend, Pat Esden, to the pond. Her wonderful NA, A HOLD ON ME, which I had the distinct honor of reading releases into the world on February 23.
In the meantime, Pat is joining us to answer our mermaid prompt of the month:

Pick one thing in your house/apartment/writing space and discuss its history and what it means to you and how it is “Quintessentially You”?

Take it away, Pat!

I’m a collector and antique dealer and my house is filled with keepsakes, so picking one thing that quintessentially represents me wasn’t easy. I decided on a dollhouse that my oldest sister’s first husband built for me. It was made it: the likeness of my family’s camp where I spent a large part of my childhood.

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Camp was a place where I daydreamed and playacted, heard stories around campfires, and discovered creepy old fairytales in tattered schoolbooks. The dollhouse itself also played a role in my imaginings—as did the troll who’s looking out the window.

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This photo is of five-year-old me standing in the doorway of the camp.

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This is my dad and I carrying supplies into the camp.

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BLURB for A HOLD ON ME:

She never wanted to return.
He wants nothing more than for her to leave.
But the fire between them is as strong as the past that haunts them.A hold on me

Annie Freemont grew up on the road, immersed in the romance of rare things, cultivating an eye for artifacts and a spirit for bargaining. It’s a freewheeling life she loves and plans to continue—until her dad is diagnosed with dementia. His illness forces them to return to Moonhill, their ancestral home on the coast of Maine—and to the family they left behind fifteen years ago, after Annie’s mother died in a suspicious accident.

Once at Moonhill, Annie is shocked when her aunt separates her from her father. The next time Annie sees him, he’s a bizarre, violent shadow of his former self. Confused, she turns to an unlikely ally for support—Chase, the dangerously seductive young groundskeeper. With his dark good looks and powerful presence, Chase has an air of mystery that Annie is irresistibly drawn to. But she also senses that behind his penetrating eyes are secrets she can’t even begin to imagine. Secrets that hold the key to the past, to Annie’s own longings—and to all of their futures. Now, to unlock them, she’ll have to face her greatest fears and embrace her legacy…

Pre-order Today!

Indiebound  Amazon  B&N   Books-A-Million

 

 

PAT ESDEN is an antique-dealing florist by trade. She’s also a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the League of Vermont Writers. Her short stories have appeared in a number of publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, the Mythopoeic Society’s Mythic Circle literary magazine, and George H. Scither’s anthology Cat Tales.

 

Her new adult paranormal novel, A HOLD ON ME (book #1 in the Dark Heart series) is coming February 23 from Kensington Books and BEYOND YOUR TOUCH (book #2 Dark Heart series) will be released August 30th.

 

Author Links

 

WEBSITE |GOODREADS |FACEBOOK|TWITTER | BLOG |PINTEREST|

 

Quintessentially Me: Stacy Wise

Friends, I am thrilled to welcome debut author Stacy Wise to the pond today. Her NA, BEYOND THE STARS, released on Feb. 8, 2016, and it sounds like so much fun!

Here is Stacy, to answer our question of the month:

What is something in my life that’s quintessentially me?

Gah! One thing? What on earth could it be?

I strolled though my house, pausing by shelves, lingering by the console table as though I was admiring relics at a museum. Could I be somewhere in the lovely ceramic turtle I bought in Hawaii? The one whose head broke off in an unfortunate accident with a ball and my youngest child? (I glued it back on. Looks great.) Perhaps it’s my shell collection? Or my children’s art table with the crayons organized by color? No…Maybe it’s the Legos that seem to magically appear underfoot when I’m barefoot? Hell no.

And then it hit me. It’s the piece of wall art I had to buy because it got me all choked up at the local Aaron Brothers Art Mart. I felt like Oprah having an A-ha! moment.

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Here’s what it says:

Be bold enough to use your voice

Brave enough to listen to your heart

And strong enough to live the life you’ve always imagined.

“What if I fall?”

Oh, but my darling…what if you fly?

Kind heart fierce mind brave spirit

–E.H.

E.H., I discovered, is Erin Hanson, a young Australian poet. The plaque hangs in my kitchen nook where I can read it every day. Because those words? They keep the fire lit in me. I hope they inspire you too.

Xo,
Stacy

BEYOND THE STARS 500x700BEYOND THE STARS: Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood’s hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she’s reluctantly working as Jack’s personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.

Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she’s not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she’d be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.

But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss’s easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.

BIO:stacy small

Stacy Wise is the author of BEYOND THE STARS (Entangled Embrace, 2016).

She has a B.A. in Communications Studies from UCLA and a Masters in Teaching from Chapman University. She lives in California with her husband and four children.

 

When she’s not dreaming up stories, you can find her beating up the bag at a kickboxing gym, cheering for her kids at their numerous sporting events, or walking her dogs, Bailey and Rex.

Emma Adams Swims with the Mermaids: INDESTRUCTIBLE

It’s release week for Indestructible, the first in an exciting new YA post-apocalyptic trilogy.


Two years ago, the fiends invaded, with a devastating explosion that split the world in two. Even now, energy blasts strike without warning, destroying everything in their paths. The fiends hunt anyone unlucky enough to escape.

My name is Leah. An energy blast killed my group. It should have killed me, too. Instead, I woke up alone in the wilderness, stalked by the fiends.

My only hope is the red-cloaked strangers who call themselves the Pyros. They can do the impossible and make flames shoot from their hands. Right now, my one chance for safety — and revenge — is with them.

But they’re keeping secrets from me. Like those skeletons hidden under their base. And the reasons I developed a psychic link with someone who can’t stand the sight of me — after he saved my life.

If I don’t uncover the truth about why the world ended the first time, my new safe haven might go up in smoke…

Indestructible is the first in a YA post-apocalyptic superhero-fantasy trilogy.

Amazon   Add on Goodreads

Emma is the author of various fantasy novels, including the universe-hopping urban fantasy Alliance series and the YA paranormal Darkworld series.

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing speculative fiction with magic and monsters. She lives in the middle of England, but dreams of exploring the Multiverse. When she’s not immersed in her own fictional worlds, Emma works as a freelance editor and proofreader and reads an improbable number of books.

Visit www.emmaladams.com to find out more about Emma’s books, or subscribe to her newsletter (smarturl.it/ELAnewsletter) to get a free Alliance short story and monthly updates on upcoming releases.

Website  Blog  Facebook  Twitter  Newsletter

Quintessentially Me: Carlene

Mermaid-Carlene-300x225Happy 2016, fishy friends! Welcome to the New Year, the lagoon and to this month’s blog theme: Find something of meaning with history that describes/embodies/personifies you to a tee.

(Thank you, Alethea Mermaid, for the thought-provoking prompt!)

So… Here I’ve been searching my house the past two days for something that fits the bill. It’s not been easy! Simply put, I’m a girl of few possessions.

The things I treasure, I often pack up and stick in my car. Her name is Fancy, my car, because she was the most stripped down model of Honda I could afford but she may as well be a billion dollar spaceship to me and I’d never want her to feel anything less than that. The places we have gone, the things we have seen…

At any given moment, Fancy’s trunk might be carrying around such precious cargo as my telescope whose name is Vera. Vera because in Spanish, it means “he or she will see”. I earned Vera by helping a writing friend of mine with their book and I’m very proud of that. Bonus points for how cool it was that my friend happened to have read my bio and noted my affinity for stargazing. Surprise!

Let’s see, there’s also a box of my published books. With it being the New Year and all, I’d like to speak it into existence that someday soon, those books will go from Fancy’s fabulous trunk and into the hands of readers.

Like flesh and bone girls, Fancy isn’t just about the fun in her trunk…

There are the scratch marks covering the front interior from where I stuffed chain-link building materials inside her, convinced I was going to erect my own fence. Hey, in my defense, I’d just repaired a big hole in one of the house walls and was feeling pretty ambitious.

There’s this man-boy I transport around. The orange, melted-crayon stains on the backseat are his work of art but lately, he graces Fancy withFancyandCarlene Nay-Nay whipping, a smelly singlet and a very heavy backpack. For the record, he’s responsible for my most favorite stains.

Sand. There will always be sand. Everywhere.

Um, and air fresheners because I might have a very sensitive tummy. Yes, I just said that. Oh my goodness … and I totally could have blamed it all on man-boy’s smelly singlet! Zoinks. (Mermaid blushing…)

Essentially, that’s us. Fancy and me. Partners for as long as she’ll have me. Ready to hit the road, see new places and experience new adventures.

Maybe one of these days, she’ll lead me on a road to you, fishy friends.

I wish you all a wonderful 2016 and encourage you to take some time to enjoy being outside. Who knows what you might find out there. And I’d love to hear something you hold dear that simply says, “You”.

Xoxo,

Carlene Mermaid

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quintessentially Me: Alethea Kontis

Alethea MermaidHappy New Year, everyone! It’s so lovely to see you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with all of your hopes and dreams intact and goals still in sight.

Wanna know what I have in sight? A giant mess.

This Giant Mess is actually a step up. This time last year, Dad and I were rushing to install the floor in my bedroom. Dad thought it was because I wanted it done before my birthday (Jan 11)–in reality, I wanted it done before the mini-family reunion we were about to have for HIS birthday (Jan 8). We finished enough of the  floor to throw a mattress down and sleep a few people. Only one bathroom worked, but we made do. There was no kitchen, and the living room and garage were packed with boxes.

Needless to say, there wasn’t much done at my house besides sleeping that weekend.

This Halloween–after the last major overhaul of the master bathroom was completed–Dad and I finally finished the floor. My house instantly went from “Partially Rebuilt Renovation” to “Disgustingly Messy Home.”

The whole problem with level of anxiety is all the suddenly wanting to put everything away. It’s a lovely compulsion, except for that I DON’T KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING GOES YET. I literally have to make it up as I go along. And then if something isn’t quite right, I have to change it midstream. Or start all over.

People tell me, “Oh, don’t worry. It took me a year to really move into my house.” Well…I’ve had this place 18 months already. My subconscious is constantly trying to remind me that I’m woefully behind. I pour another cup of chamomile tea and try to ignore it.

I had one of those moments today, actually. I found myself sitting on the trunk of memories that’s taken up residence behind my couch–mostly because I don’t have another place in mind and mostly so the couch won’t slide all over the floor. Across from the trunk is my display case–solid dark wood with leaves carved into the top and a sliding glass door. I love that thing. I got it at Costco or Sam’s half a billion years ago for dirt cheap. Somehow it survived moving from TN to DC to FL without breaking into a million pieces, and for that I will be forever grateful to the universe.

I don’t remember exactly how I had it set up six years ago, but I think I’ve just about unpacked all the pieces at this point. There are six shelves in the case (if you count the bottom of the case as a shelf–I have stuff down there, so I do).

Three of the shelves are full of Fantasy and Fairy Tales. There are faeries and gnomes and wizards and elves and dragons and unicorns. Beauty and the Beast and their Castle. The porcelain roses that were given away at my baptism. Aladdin and Lady and the Tramp. I even have a small glass award from a school I visited…and the wisteria crown I wore for all eight episodes of Pass It Along when I was eight.

One shelf is all about Greece. Some of the little statues I collected when I went there with my family as a teen, and some were given to me by other friends and family. There’s an angel holding a shell with some pretty stones inside, and my grandmother’s infamous “That Will Never Do” engagement ring. There’s a shot glass with the flag on it and a komboloi inside. I have Apollo and Daphne, Nike, and my statue of Athena is surrounded by an army of little pewter owls of all shapes and sizes.

One shelf is all about comics. When I worked as the buyer for DC, my annual gift was usually some fabulous statue from their collection, like my Wonder Woman fighting the hydra. Of course, once the rep found out I was a Sandman fan, I received two Sandmans (Sandmen?) and a Death before I moved on to greener pastures.

The bottom shelf actually *is* about Death. The dark wood bottom of the display case is the perfect backdrop for my voodoo dolls and porcelain Mardi Gras masks from New Orleans, and my little stone skull.

So there I was…staring at my display case in admiration and distraction, and it occurred to me: The entirety of that case, top to bottom, is quintessentially me.

Alethea Kontis could easily be described as 3 parts Fairy Tale, 1 part Greek, 1 part Comics, and 1 part Death. A lot of fantasy, a little bit of horror, and everything in between. Magic, Myths, and Misery.

Which led me to suggest the writing prompt for the Mermaids this month! All of us–and a few special guests–will jump into our blog posts this year by talking about something in our lives that we can describe as “quintessentially us.”

So now I’m curious. What is something in YOUR life that is quintessentially YOU?

The Beast’s Castle is from the WDCC “Enchanted Places” line. And yes, roses really were given out at my christening. I am so Belle, it’s not even funny. ~Alethea

Cannot Write Without: Adam Ezra

The question in the lagoon this month has been: What’s the one thing you cannot write without?

We’ve had a plethora of fabulous answers from writers all over the world. Today’s answer comes from Alethea’s favorite Troubadorious Noise Maker: Adam Ezra

The Adam Ezra Group released TWO live CDs this month. You can get both albums, signed by the band, by clicking this link right here. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

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Alethea & Adam (2011)

Alethea and Adam, 2011

My answer is “honesty.”

This answer may seem ironic, because simply put, it’s not true.

I can write a good lie as well as the next guy…

But for me…in order to be the kind of writer I want to be, I think it requires me to be brutally honest in the words I share with the people who receive the art I create.  I want to write from the place that is embarrassed by the way I look, and smell, and act sometimes.  I want to write from the place that is so very proud of the person I’m trying to be.  I want to write from the place in me that continues to fail.

I believe that all people are connected through the things we want, and need, and feel, and are ashamed of.  Whether I’m writing from first-person, or through another character’s eyes, I want to know them honestly.  I want to connect to some place of depth and determination inside of them, even when the story is light…even when I hate the person I’m writing about….especially when the person I’m writing about and hating is me…

I think it’s this process that pushes me to really understand my own struggles and helps me connect as powerfully as I can with my audience.

It is a process that can be both brutal and inspiring to me everyday.

Hells yeah…bring it on.

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The Adam Ezra Group (AEG) is not just a band; they are a force to be reckoned with musically, personally and socially. Selling records and tickets is important to AEG, but they are committed to changing the world with their songs and their actions along the way. Ezra and his band are activists and community leaders as much as they are musicians and songwriters. Ezra has spent time living out of a van, farming in Canada, volunteering for the relief effort in Kosovo, and practicing environmental geography in South Africa. Whether as a kitchen hand or carpenter, teacher, athlete, or traveler, Ezra crams it all into the music, always challenging our perspective and often teetering somewhere between the ballsy rocker and sensitive poet. Through their non profit organization, RallySound, AEG helps people organize live music events that inspire communities and encourage grassroots activism.

And Alethea loves every single one of them.

Cannot Write Without: Lea Bronsen

The question in the lagoon this month has been: What’s the one thing you cannot write without?

We’ve had a plethora of fabulous answers from writers all over the world. Today’s answer comes from Carlene’s music nut rock sister, LeaLea Bronsen Bronsen!

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Thank you so much for inviting me today! What a lovely blog this is, and I’m really pleased to visit.

What is the one thing I cannot write without, you ask? Let me think… I don’t necessarily need my laptop—I’ll type or scribble on anything I happen to have at hand: my smartphone, a doodled-on page in my Filofax, the tiniest post-it note, a folded magazine someone left on my commute, a napkin some gorgeous café waiter handed me with a white-toothed smile…

Hmm, I don’t need to be at any particular place either—I’ll write on the bus with strangers staring from the corner of their eye, in bed propped up against my favorite pillows, elbowing for space at the dinner table, lying on the grass while kiddos play soccer around me, and even in the bathtub savoring a hot— (ahem… TMI perhaps, lol).

This is how my latest book Mine to Love, which I’ll talk about in a bit, came to life. Little by little, with a variety of means and at the weirdest of places.

See, as long as my imagination is at the rendez-vous, I have everything I need to write, except… time.

Yep. The biggest hindrance getting any words onto paper is everything else I do in life: having a full-time job and devoting my days and nights to three beautiful daughters and a husband. Would you believe I considered doing NaNoWriMo this year? Ha ha, what a face-slap moment it was when it hit me that I simply don’t have the time 😀

XX Lea

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A Bit About Lea: I like my reads hot, fast, and edgy, and strive to give my own stories the same intensity. After venturing into dirty inner-city crime drama with my debut novel Wild Hearted, I divide my writing time between psychological thriller, suspense romance, and erotic contemporary romance.

I love to hear from my readers! Write to [email protected] or meet me on:

Website | Lea’s Crazy Nights Blog | Facebook profile | Facebook page | Twitter | Amazon

minetoloveA Bit About Lea’s Latest Release, Mine to Love

The writing conference in sunny Cannes was fantastical, a dream. Back at home, reality catches up with author Andrea Johnson and the sexy cover model of her book, Yushka. With tough working schedules, challenging family relations, and seductive temptation from all sides, the couple’s explosive romance is put to the test.

Will their love be strong enough to have a future?

 

Cannot Write Without by Pintip Dunn

The question in the lagoon this month has been: What’s the one thing you cannot write without?

We’ve had a plethora of fabulous answers from writers all over the world. Today’s answer comes from: me!!!!

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This answer will not surprise any of the mermaids or anyone who knows me… Can you guess? FINAL COVER

My answer is: I cannot write without my iPhone.

I have long-standing fibromyalgia/RSI, which means I can’t type on a keyboard without debilitating pain.

Before smart phones, I coped by having a typist, taking exams orally (even the bar exam!), and using a voice-activation program such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. I made it work for about ten years, but I hated every minute of it. For whatever reason, I just don’t enjoy dictating my words.

And then, I got my first iPhone, and my life changed. I discovered I could type on the screen’s keyboard with minimal pain, so long as it was locked in “portrait” position. (Even the keys in “landscape” position are too far apart for me.) I was so happy to be “typing” or at least “tapping out” my words again.

FORGET TOMORROW was the first novel I wrote on my iPhone. Since then I have written three more.  Just finished the first draft of that third one today, in fact.

 

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FORGET TOMORROW Synopsis:

Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self.

It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision-a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.

Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.

In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo-a hellish prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes.

But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all-Callie, herself.

Pintip croppedPintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis,”

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She is a member of Romance Writers of AmericaWashington Romance WritersYARWA, and The Golden Network.

To learn more about FORGET TOMORROW, click here.

 

Cannot Write Without: C.E. Murphy

The question in the lagoon this month: What’s the one thing you cannot write without?

Today’s answer comes from fantasy author superhero: C.E. “Catie” Murphy.

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“My computer,” although that’s not actually true, as I have been known to use pen and paper when necessary.

“Peace of mind” is right up there too, if I want to be writing anything productive

There’s really very little I can’t live without for writing, if I’m determined to write!

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Bestselling author C. E. Murphy was born and raised in Alaska. She now lives in her ancestral homeland of Ireland, which is a magical land where it rains a lot but winter never actually arrives.

Find out more about Catie and her complete body of work at: http://mizkit.com/cemurphy

Books by CE Murphy