3 of 7 not 7 of 9*

Sometimes the stars* do align and you get to meet the most interesting people. Some of whom you recognize instantly as a potential friend. A person you can relate to or be silly with. Someone who will hold their own in a debate and help you solve the problems of the world. Someone with whom you can share your obsessions and rely upon to be discrete.

 Anais Nin said, "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." This quote is never truer than for the friendships among writers. Often our fictional worlds develop within the nurturing circle of authors we trust.

I have been extremely fortunate to develop close friendships with two of my Crime Writers of Canada colleagues, Alison Bruce and Melodie Campbell. In fact, they are responsible for leading me to Imajin Books and all the great things that have evolved since. We're in a writers' critique group together in addition to being Imajineers.

And now - we're all FREE together. I should say, our books are FREE. Naturally, this is a ploy to get you hooked on our books, but either way, you get a terrific read for no dinero = 0 dollars = 0 out of 0.

Alison Bruce

 http://www.amazon.com/Under-Texas-Star-Alison-Bruce-ebook/dp/B00501H6YM

"Everyone has to start somewhere.

I start with coffee."













Under A Texas Star

Disguised as a boy, Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to their passion.

When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.

Texas Ranger Jase Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the cost.

Under the Texas stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control, yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?

Melodie Campbell

Click here: http://tinyurl.com/6p2vhgr

ROWENA THROUGH THE WALL

(Book 1 in the bestselling Land’s End Time Travel trilogy)

“Outlander meets Sex and the City” Vine Review

“Hot and Hilarious!”  Midwest Book Review

“A cross between Diana Gabaldon and Janet Evanovich”

“Is that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”
 

When Rowena falls through her classroom wall into a medieval world, she doesn't count on being kidnapped - not once, but twice, dammit. Unwanted husbands keep piling up; not only that, she has eighteen year old Kendra to look out for and a war to prevent.

Good thing she can go back through the wall when she needs to...or can she?

 

Catherine Astolfo (aka Me)
http://www.amazon.com/Bridgeman-Emily-Taylor-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005Z5IM28  

The Bridgeman is a story of masks, of people who don the cloak of the ordinary to commit extraordinarily evil acts. 

It's also a story of a love so strong it has survived its own tragedy. The Bridgeman is the tale of a community that must join together to defeat the horror of its underside.  

Research: Guest Blogger: Author Gloria Ferris

 

Gloria Ferris is one of those naturally witty people who make you feel comfortable and happy in her presence at hello. She adds that intelligent humor to her books, along with well-researched, exciting plots and hilarious characters who  ought to be real so we could follow them around and have fun with them.

Here's Gloria's treatise on research for your enlightenment and entertainment!

 

For my first four books, I’ve researched spirit guides, guns, antiques, architecture, Honduran laws and policing, gangs, jungle plants, motorcycles, body putrefaction, WWII weapons, greenhouse construction, poisons, witchcraft, abandoned cemeteries...

The list goes on. And I loved the time I spent on every subject.

 I think the most challenging research came about because my publisher added the sub-title “A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery” to the cover of my second novel, CORPSE FLOWER. 

Bliss Cornwall was my protagonist and Neil Redfern was the Chief of Police. I hadn’t intended that Neil become a co-protagonist, but now I had to ramp up his role in the second book, SHROUD OF ROSES. I knew nada about small town policing so reached out to the police chief of the small town on Lake Huron where I lived for over 20 years and which is the inspiration for my fictional town of Lockport.

We corresponded for over a year, and he answered my most inane questions with patience and good humour. Each summer I rent a cottage for a week in my former hometown and last year I asked if we could meet. He offered to give me a personal tour of the station. Heck ya! Here was my chance to see how a real, small town police service operated. Keep in mind I was a law abiding citizen while I lived there so I had no personal experience with the police. (Okay, once I had to bail my dog out, but that wasn’t my fault. Oh, yeah, and the time I backed out of my driveway into the car parked in the suicide spot. Again, not my fault.)

I presented myself at the station on time and was asked by the teenage receptionist to have a seat in the conference room. I was a bit nervous. With my notebook and pen ready, I waited a couple of minutes. And then the door opened.

Holy mama! May I be struck dead by a Taser jolt if the guy in uniform standing in the doorway wasn’t the living embodiment of my hot fictional Chief Neil Redfern. Right down to the spiky blond hair. How could this be? Could I have channelled him into my fiction?

He showed me the cells (really clean), interrogation room, state-of-the-art fingerprinting machine, weapons room, evidence storage (eau de pot!) but I neglected to jot down a single note. I tried not to stare, but subtlety isn’t one of my several virtues. It’s all a bit of a blur.

Next month when I have my lakeside holiday, I’ll drop off a copy of SHROUD OF ROSES at the station, to thank Neil … I mean, the chief, for all his help. I believe I should also give him a copy of CORPSE FLOWER, the first Cornwall & Redfern mystery written before I met the real deal. Just to prove I didn’t use him as the model for Neil Redfern. However, I must not simper. I must not giggle…

SHROUD OF ROSES comes out TODAY, July 18, 2015! 

http://www.amazon.com/Shroud-Roses-Cornwall-Redfern-Mystery/dp/1459730607

Gloria Ferris is the award-winning author of humorous mysteries Cheat the Hangman, Corpse Flower and Shroud of Roses. Her first co-written suspense venture with author Donna Warner, Targeted, will be released in the fall of 2015. When not writing, Gloria works on character profiles, researches plot lines, reads continuously, and is often heard to mutter, “I wish I’d written that!”. She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada, the Crime Writers’ Association (UK), and the International Thriller Writers. She lives in southwestern Ontario.

Oh Jesse...

...I would cut fresh flowers for you; oh Jesse, I would make the wine cold for you... (unlike Carly Simon, who sang that she would not).

 I have never actually met Jesse Giles Christiansen, but I would certainly put out the welcome mat if he ever came to visit. As an author, his lyrical writing and his fantastical, whimsical imagination are very much admired (especially by me). As a friend, albeit a virtual one, he is unwaveringly supportive and enthusiastic. 

I do love Jesse's books and here's one for the Christmas season. As of this writing, I haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet, but I will soon. 

My advice: go get this novella, see how great the writing is, and then hop on over to his other books. Buy a few of the novellas as unique Christmas gifts!

 Here is the formal introduction to Jesse:

 Jesse Giles Christiansen is an American author who writes compelling literary fiction that weaves the real with the surreal. He attended Florida State University where he received his B.A. in English literature. He is the author of Pelican Bay, an Amazon #1 list bestseller, outselling Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. He'll be releasing what is expected to be one of the most unique Christmas stories in years, Goth Town, on November 6th, 2014. One of Christiansen's literary goals is to write at least fifty novels, and he always reminds himself of something that Ray Bradbury once said: "You fail only if you stop writing."

You can also visit this author at www.jessegileschristiansen.com.

The Kindle version is only 99¢ http://ow.ly/DRY48

Paperbacks make great gifts! https://www.createspace.com/4898369

Watch the trailer too! http://youtu.be/QVWYlXL5mEA 

PROLOGUE FOR GOTH TOWN,

A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA

JAKE RAYNER is the only one, other than Samantha Bryant, who had the vision.

He’ll never forget the first time it happened. He was out for a walk in the woods by himself, a practice highly discouraged by the Overseers.

He was always surprised at how little everyone questioned the rules of the Overseers. Many of them seemed so ridiculous. Then again, they owed everything to them. There would have been no life here at all, if not for them.

That afternoon the hazy air was happy and it seemed to seep into everything. Jake was reckless to allow it to seep into him. His feet, his legs, his fingers, even his thoughts, were reckless.

I know they’re going to find me. I just know it. Then they’re going to hook me up to the Recalibration Machine again.

But that day he didn’t care about a single thing. He was mad with life. Life was mad in his veins. Life was livid in his veins. 

Everything spoke to him. The birds’ songs were like shrilly operas stuck in fortissimo. The creek sneaking along by his side crackled and popped the way a long-asleep radio wakes up hungry and eager to play. The wind in the pines moaned softly like a lonely lover. 

Then it happened.

He felt dizzy at first, his head so light he thought it might float away. Something surged inside him that could have been swallowed lightning, rising, writhing, and climbing up to his head.

The memory came.

Memories were demons; they were even more forbidden than being all alone; they were not allowed to even start. When they went in for their weekly screening, any evidence of memories prior to the Anti-Emotion Movement was immediately erased. It was for their own good. Really. They had to believe in the Overseers. They gave them everything, and asked for so little in return. The Overseers picked them up after the Great Fog.

He just stood there and could not stop the memory. Oh, it was so warm. That swallowed lightning curled up, balled up in his head and took to nuclear fusion, forming a miniature sun to melt all the work of the entire Overseers’ brilliant technology.

But what an afternoon it was.

The first flash was of shiny boxes wrapped in fancy bows under a tree that someone had stuck in a living room. What a bizarre image. Why would someone put a perfectly good tree in a living room? Perfect madness. Perfect madness, indeed. And the poor, poor tree.

The tree was wrapped with winking lights, and as he stood there, letting this memory take root, he could see the pines around him dressed the same. They were beautiful, and he overflowed with the urge to take all the pines in the forest, shrink them down, and put them into everyone’s homes.

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

He heard footsteps, and the beautiful, horrible, absurd memory vanished. The memory vanished like the scent of a woman riding with you on a train—a woman you know you will never see again.

He waited for the Goth Town Police to arrest him. And he cherished those seconds as the taste of a curious and wild memory remained for a few seconds on his lips. Those few seconds were more blissful than the rambunctious air that crept all through the forest that afternoon and shot rays of perilous hope into everything. In those few seconds, he tried to chase the echo that was home to that taste. That scent of a woman on a train. He tried to return to it with the desperation of a legless man waking from a Boston Marathon dream.

But at least the taste was there when they handcuffed him.

At least the flicker.

A gray haunt … at least …

Genre-ish

http://tinyurl.com/7rjkpbl

Whenever I try to slot my books into categories, I realize that I am an unapologetic rule breaker. Unapologetic because I can't seem to write any differently, so it's either quit or plow ahead. Being a rule breaker is not always a good idea. Publishers and agents and bookstores and librarians can't slot you onto a particular shelf or sell you as easily.

Luckily for me, I have the most wonderful, risk-taking, supportive publisher - Imajin Books.

My novels might be literary, if I were not too embarrassed to say so. Embarrassed because it sounds pretentious, but also seems to imply that my novels are "about nothing". 

http://tinyurl.com/7vf42lz

My books do appear to fit within literary agent Nathan Bransford's definition. "In literary fiction the plot usually happens beneath the surface, in the minds and hearts of the characters. Things may happen on the surface, but what is really important are the thoughts, desires, and motivations of the characters as well as the underlying social and cultural threads that act upon them." I do have plots, some pretty complex ones, but I'd have to agree that the characters rule.

http://tinyurl.com/7m7hx2j

According to author Anita Mason, the difference between genre and literary fiction is best described by comparing fiction to a wheel. "We can call the spokes crime fiction, science fiction, horror, what you will. The hub holds the spokes together, but their strength is in their separateness. And in the fact that they do what they do, and not something else.
What is in the hub? Clearly, because the spokes connect with it, it has to be a bit of everything...[or]...the possibility of everything. This is why the literary novel cannot be governed by rules. ... And it isn't easier to write something that doesn't have rules; it's harder. There's nothing to start from."

http://tinyurl.com/73gpasl

It's even more difficult to have anyone label your books literary, especially if the novels straddle the line the way mine do. Plus most readers want more direction than that. They need cues so they can decide whether or not this is a book for them. For instance, they want to know if there is a puzzle to solve. In my books, there are definitely puzzles. Thus they are mostly classed as mysteries. Readers like to know if there is romance. There are love stories, though perhaps not always classic style. There is an element of the psychological thriller (emphasizing the psychology of the characters and their emotional states) in most of them.


 So I do like to warn readers. Or entice them, maybe. Personally I like reading books that don't follow the rules. I don't like the predictable. Which is probably part of the reason I write like that. I want my readers to know that they are in for a roller coaster ride that will sometimes go off the rails or take them into unknown, frightening territory. My endings are usually filled with hope and justice and love—but not always. However, if you like thoughtful writing, deep characters, and twists and spills, my books are for you.


Now you are prepared! My novels are included in both a Mystery/Crime anthology and a Romance anthology. The Deadly Dozen has all kinds of crime sub-genres included, while Sweet & Sensual has romance and its sub-genres. 

http://bookShow.me/B00DUIDMKO

The Bridgeman (the Emily Taylor novel in DD) is a dark tale about the masks some people wear and the evil that lurks in the mundane. Psychological thriller literary mystery might be its reader cues. 

Sweet Karoline is not really sweet, but it does have some heart-warming elements. Not to mention sensual, both in the standard way and in its setting. Romance? Definitely there, but I'd have to qualify it as a non-traditional, doesn't-follow-all-the-rules kind. Sweet Karoline might be classed as a psychological thriller historical romance literary mystery.

I may not be able to promise to follow the rules. But I do promise a compelling, challenging, mesmerizing read. 


 
http://getBook.at/deadlydozen


http://getbook.at/sweetsensual

 

Vermont Visit: Serendipity Comes Along

      As we pull into the little town, a wall of heat and sun falls like a weighty blanket on our heads. We’re in Middlebury, Vermont, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the town green. Vince and I sit in a band shell and wait, gulping the breeze gratefully, though it’s pretty capricious. 

     We’ve just spent a lovely, interesting evening at our friends’ country home, along with a scrumptious meal, and now we’re on a research adventure together. Usually it’s only Vince and I, but we’re thrilled to add the other four. Our conversations are always challenging, invigorating and original. Thus having them on a research jaunt is a real bonus.

     At lunch, Frances and Marty mention that they’ve seen a few covered bridges in Vermont and want to go back to a couple they found especially interesting. I’d never thought of covered bridges as part of my research, but I begin to realize that they are part of the landscape. They might not be part of the story, but any good description of Vermont will likely have to mention them, so we decide to join the hunt.

When we arrive in Brandon, only a few miles south of Middlebury, I am thrilled. I knew it would be the right size (thanks, Google Earth), but I’d only hoped it would have the look and feel that I wanted.

To qualify: the new novel doesn’t take place in Brandon, but in a little community to the west of it, closer to Lake Champlain. However, this village doesn’t really exist. It’s called Salmon Creek. As the days of research march ahead, SC takes shape. The Lilac Inn gets enlarged and moved. Parts of Orwell stand in for my village, as does an empty field overlooking the lake. 

     Brandon can be herself. She’s the closest (and largest) town to Salmon Creek.

     As for the Lilac Inn, it turns out that this place was once a private retirement residence. I am shocked by the serendipity of it all! With its arched porch, gardens, banquet rooms, grand staircase, old-fashioned lift, and bar, it’s utterly perfect.

     We hunt through the Brandon Cemetery, stroll through two covered bridges. One is a railroad bridge. The train tracks are now ripped up and replaced with gravel and wood, but the covered bridge still looks magnificently ineffectual. 

     Nearby, I find my sunflower garden, a critical part of the novel’s opening. Just as I’d hoped, the sunflowers are enormous, with fat green leaves and huge brown faces and yellow bonnets.  We spend an afternoon under the arches while rain pours onto the fat leaves and clatters on the roof. Thunder echoes in the distance. This is exactly what I came here to do: experience life in Salmon Creek. Later, as I synthesize everything, I begin to hear Rosie’s voice. To understand her better. To be able to write her story. 

      They really do have salmon in Vermont, along with moose and maple syrup. We traverse the rolling hills in sunshine, gaze into small town life, spend hours talking on the Lilac porch. I have only enough time to make short notes, but I am content and happy.

     Both evenings, we have sumptuous meals at the Café Provence, somehow appropriate that Mary Jo and Ken, who went to the south of France with us years ago, are here too. We listen and talk to the locals, with their very indistinct accent – almost Southern Ontarian, we joke.
I drink in the scents, ask Vince to photograph plants, trees, flowers and rooms.

And then I find the book on a shelf in the common room. The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene. A Nancy Drew Mystery. Serendipity flies again!

On Marketing

Last night, I had one of those epiphanies that seem to be self-evident, but sometimes are not. I went out for dinner with a group of lively, amazing female friends. 

That was excitement enough, but most of them had recently read my new book, SweetKaroline, and they actually wanted to talk about it! They didn’t have to. We could’ve mentioned the book, perhaps, and moved on. They were genuinely excited about Sweet Karoline. I believe they honestly liked it and think it’s my best work.

Our discussions ranged from “who wrote the diary?” to debates about race and bigotry and child abuse to questions about how a book or its author becomes well known.

As to the latter, I have often slipped into pity mode on this score. I tweet, do paid advertising, plaster myself all over the free sites, and generally try every trick I can think of to promote my books. My novels aren’t easy reads, I have to admit. But I know there are people out there (like me) who love to read challenging books. So I keep slogging and trust me, sometimes I am quite dispirited.

Then along comes that group of intelligent, spirited, interested women (whom I call the Bosco Bunch). They are genuinely excited for me. They get the messages in the book. One of them told me she identified with a huge number of passages. Another said she had garnered a new interest in the life of black and native Canadians. Those moments made every single second of cyber-selling worthwhile. Every doubt that I had about being an author was instantly dispelled. It didn’t matter that most of the world is sailing along without knowing my name or Sweet Karoline or the Emily Taylor mysteries. The readers who have ventured into my novels and are happy that they got their money’s worth are the reasons for publishing. 

Meeting with my readers face-to-face is the best possible scenario. Unfortunately, I can’t always do that. Thus I reach out to them through cyberspace.

As for the marketing grind, which I usually despise,   thanks to http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.ca/2013/07/do-you-promote-books-like-dexter.html

I at last have a mantra. Here’s what they say about book marketing:

“…accept your uniqueness. You are a writer and a publicist, with your own voice, style, ideas, and experiences.  Be who you are meant to be.”

So I will pursue more face-to-face marketing opportunities, because, although they may be fewer and won’t bring me fame and fortune, they are the kind I love. They are “me”.

At the same time, I vow to embrace the tweeting and good-reading and shelfari-ing and facebooking and googling and well, you know the drill. As a writer I don’t love them, but as a publicist I shall!

 

Go here for my books: www.catherineastolfo.com

The Sweet Karoline launch dinner was

held at our favourite restaurant, Fanzorelli's.

If you live near Brampton, ON, go get some great food!

www.fanzorellis.ca 

Great Openings

What do you think makes a great opening for a book? For instance, was that a great blog beginning, a question for you to contemplate? Does that compel you to read on, or annoy you and make you stop?

When I searched “best opening lines in literature”, a string of traditional novels leapt out. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” An amazing opening that goes on forever —a full paragraph, in fact—breaking all the rules of repetition and succinct attention grabbing. 

But is that rambling opening wonderful only because we know what comes after it? We are familiar now with the rich, complicated, character-driven, historical masterpiece behind that run-on sentence (either from the book or the movie). When A Tale of Two Cities was first released, I wonder if the opening served to pique the readers’ interest. Perhaps people thought the rambling was a bit much. Is the beautiful language in the opening responsible for the novel’s subsequent popularity? Or maybe we’ve paid attention to the beginning after the study of the incredible book.

Or, after looking at Charlie's picture, I'm wondering if the hair did it. Maybe I should get a different hair style?

Maybe this is a chicken and egg kind of debate. Maybe it doesn’t really matter.

For me, though, it’s interesting because of how my fifth novel developed. I got the opening sentence first. Although it went through a few permutations, it was a great line and I knew it. 

“I met Ethan on the day that I killed Karoline.” 

Such an admission, such a taunt, deserves follow-up, I think. It might not be filled with wisdom or historical significance, but it’s certainly a huge statement about what’s happening in the narrator’s life. My next challenge was to make Anne, the main protagonist, likeable. Once she admitted to being a murderer, where could I go from there? Is she a Dexter? Or is she suffering from guilt because of her best friend’s suicide and therefore feels responsible? 

Those are all the questions I hoped that first sentence would imply, lead to, or open up. Tell me if you think I nailed it - or not.

 Oh, and don't forget, we've got a party going on at my publisher's place, with tons of giveaways. Come on over and set a spell.

 Buy Sweet Karoline HERE.

Join the Summer Sizzle Party here.

Canadians Aren't So Nice and Other Serious Topics

Virtual blog and book touring is perhaps not as fun as being there, but at least you as a reader don't have to invest a lot of money in following me around. Which I know you would, but I'm happy you don't have to.

When you have a moment to yourself at work, or want to duck in out of the heat, point your iPad or tablet or smart phone to one of these articles. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter contest so you can win something for your trouble.

Canadians Aren't So Nice is the title of the blog I wrote for my friend Jill Edmondson, author of the Sasha Jackson Mysteries. She's kindly hosting me today at Jill's place. If you have some time, drop in and say hi. Argue my premise if you dare!

Guest Post at Straight from the Author's Mouth: This is a group of Ladies Who Blog. They invite authors to give our esteemed opinion on anything about the writing process. I chose review writing, one of my favorite peeves.

Interview on Goodreads: On this venerable site where you can find hundreds of authors and books, Mayra Calvani asks me five questions, including, "What does on in the mind of a mystery writer?" I mean, she asked!

Interview on Blogger News: These questions centered on Sweet Karoline, my inspirations and motivations behind writing it and so on. Really tested my brain, I must say.

Sweet Karoline hit #40 on the Canadian Amazon Bestseller list on its first day. Still at the introductory price of 99¢ US! 

Book Touring

Having a new release is such a roller coaster ride! So many things going on. My google alert is pinging constantly. I am tweeting until I've turned into Big Bird. Sweet Karoline leapt onto the top 100 Bestsellers (Kindle Paid) on Amazon.ca and I turned into a mush ball. For sure, some of that is residue from my Mom's recent passing, especially since I dedicated this book to her. Some of it is simply the down slope of the roller coaster: an old broad like me gets a little overtired.

I am all over the place this week. From Guelph, ON, to Seattle, Washington and so on. No wonder I'm overtired LOL.

Some of my amazing followers, friends and fans have asked what they can do. Pick one of these blogs or interviews, read, and comment. That's all. Oh, and tell your friends to order Sweet Karoline (the ebook) while it's still at the introductory price of 99¢ US.

Don't forget the rafflecopter contest, too. I really would like to give away those books and that Amazon gift certificate.

First up, today, with Alison Bruce and Nighthawk in Guelph.
I was honored to be called a "Master Story Teller" at the Kindle Review
I was interviewed at Blog Critics.
And in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
You can read a chapter of Sweet Karoline on As the Pages Turn
I have a guest post on Guest post on The Writer's Life
There's another interview on The Examiner
You can even enjoy an interview with Anne Williams, the main character of Sweet Karoline! on Beyond the Books

A whole bunch of thanks and hugs from me to you.
Cathy

Good Times!

Sweet Karoline, good times never seemed so good, so good, so good! Isn't it nice of Neil Diamond to stop by and serenade? And change the C to K?

As of late last night (in southern Ontario anyway), Sweet Karoline hit #40 on Amazon.ca. What a thrill!

(Before I forget, you can click on the book cover and go to Amazon and download it for a mere 99¢ US. Intro price so hurry.)

This week I am on a virtual book tour. It's soooo exciting. Almost as good as being there. Come with me!

Oh, and don't forget the Rafflecopter Contest. Lots of great prizes.

You can stop by the Author Island Party on Facebook today or tomorrow, too: Cyber Party. 

Here's my hectic tour schedule for today. Please drop in.
Tomorrow, I'm off to other exotic lands!!

See why I LOVE being an author? Thanks to my publisher, Imajin Books, I get to travel all over the world and take Sweet Karoline with me.

July 15:
Joyce Strand in California
The Dark Phantom
The Story Behind the Book

See you tomorrow - and thanks, always. I never take you for granted.

Win Prizes! Read a great book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway ENTER the RAFFLECOPTER Contest TODAY! In order to celebrate SWEET KAROLINE's birth, we're not only offering a ridiculously low introductory price (99¢ US) but we're holding a contest, having a party, and generally having a great time. It's CRAZY! But who cares, you get to be the big winners? Click on the book for the purchase link. Let me know how you like it! Authors LOVE reviews. You just might get another prize if you write one.

UNDER THE COVER!

Well, not really under the cover, but here IS the cover you've all been waiting for. Jefferson Airplane serenades Karoline into the world....When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies, don't you want somebody to love, don't you need somebody to love...?

And here's a snippet of my wonderful Kirkus Review:

  "In her latest novel, Astolfo (Legacy, 2012, etc.) takes what at first glance appears to be a straightforward story of murder and guilt to an unexpected place ... where love is discovered.  -->

A deliciously vibrant portrait that realistically muddles good and evil."—Kirkus Reviews

Judge a Book by Its Cover! And - off to Guelp today.

Come over to see me at Alison Bruce's blog, Summer Shorts, since I am in Guelph with her today!

Also thinking about Sweet Karoline's cover. If Mel Bradshaw is right about the explosive nature of this book - maybe there should be a bomb on the cover?? What do you think??

Here's a trivia question for you: what singer do I see every time he comes to Toronto and what does he have to do with Sweet Karoline?

Where Am I?

This past March, I went to Los Angeles to refresh my memory (hadn't been here in a couple of years) and to scout out a certain location for book five. Quite a lot of the action of Sweet Karoline takes place in L.A., but the first scene rolls out in a certain apartment complex.

I'm not going to tell you where the building is located - but LA County is a HUGE hint. If you can guess where I am, you could win a free ebook copy of one of my books - your choice of 5!!

Anyway, a friend of ours chose an Italian restaurant in which to meet in the very town in which I'd placed my main protagonists.

I hadn't much time in between tours, meetings and dressing for dinner, so I was a little flustered. This had nothing to do with the wine consumed at lunch, I am sure, but I forgot the address of the location in my suitcase at the hotel.

Luckily, one of the waiters lived in town. He immediately recognized said spot from my description. As serendipity would have it, the place was about two minutes down the same street as the restaurant! Now that's when you believe there's a guiding hand above.


As soon as I saw the park that spreads out next to the building, I recognized it. Why? Because my hubby and I had been there on Google Earth!

However, there was nothing like actually standing in front of the place that I'd imagined, manipulated and dreamed about for months. My characters had lived here. Despite the fact that I'd changed a few things to suit my purposes, the apartment complex was alive and spooky and perfect in the California dusk.

 Surrounded by wrought iron, gothic, its lights mesmerizing in the darkness, it looked just right for filming a psychological suspense.

Here's how I describe it in the book:
 

"Our apartment is part of a Moorish-Spanish designed collection of buildings that boast a beautiful stone façade, light brown stucco walls and rounded bay windows. Every balcony is bounded by gorgeous wrought iron, except for ours, which has rather high stone walls instead. The only drawback is that we have to stand up to see any view.

 "I used to shiver with delight and pride every time I entered the stone archway that graces the front entrance. Now I shiver for a wholly different reason."

That night, I was beside myself with excitement. Turns out this building has been the site of films before; most recently, an episode of True Blood, Season 5. I couldn't believe I had randomly picked this building to be Karoline and Anne's apartment! Again, there was serendipity at work.

Once my amazing producer/casting director Rep gets a certain Hollywood actress to read the book, we can start filming right away.

Where Am I?

 This is what they say on the location's website:  
"It has been used as a site for many motion pictures, music videos, reality shows, TV shows, and commercials for the past 40-odd years."

Holy coincidence, Bat Girl!

Have you figured out where I am? What town I'm standing in? What the building's called?

Leave me a message at cathy@catherinastolfo.com with your guess and you just might be chosen to receive a free book.

But you only have until July 14 to guess.

That's when Sweet Karoline comes to a book site near you!