April in the Back of Beyond

April in the Back of Beyond

by p.m.terrell

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense/Ghost Story

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BOOK TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7TpMk4StYI

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BLURB:

Writer Hayley Hunter has arrived in Ireland to complete a book on Irish history. When she discovers the old carriage house she is renting is haunted, she is determined to uncover the truth behind the burned ruins of a nearby manor house and the abandoned British barracks it overlooks. With the assistance of Shay Macgregor, an Irish historian, her quest will take her to 1919 and the Irish War for Independence, exposing the murders of two young men and why their mother, April Crutchley, refuses to leave the back of beyond even in death. With a budding romance and the opportunity to begin life anew, Hayley finds her own life is now in jeopardy as she gets closer to a truth the villagers have long sought to bury.

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EXCERPT:

When I heard the soft sobs, I realized I had drifted off once more and in my half-awakened state, I thought the cries were connected to my discordant dreams. I lay there with a groan on my lips not quite ready to spill out and wishing I could simply sleep peacefully before it was too late and I would be forced to arise for the long day ahead. I felt the bedcovers slip away from my bare shoulders and I fought to open my eyes.

When they finally did open, I discovered that I was completely uncovered. The bedcovers had been pulled to the foot of the bed and were shivering inches from my feet as they lay heaped into an unkempt triangle about three feet in height. I blinked once and then twice, my mind not grasping what my eyes were witnessing, for surely it must be a trick of the eyes to think the covers were still moving.

It was then that I realized the soft sobs had continued even after I had fully awakened and they were not part and parcel of my overactive dream state but they were real and they were coming from the direction of the blanket.

“You don’t understand,” came the sound of a woman’s voice, wracked with anguished sobs. “They are still here.”

“No, sweet darling,” returned a weary man’s voice that sounded so close I nearly jumped out of my skin. “They are with God now.”

“I’m telling you they are not,” the woman answered, her weeping growing more tormented. “They’ve never left. They’re still here.”

Within the space of a single heartbeat, I saw myself just a few nights ago, convinced the voices came from outside my window. Then I was pulled into the present to fight the horrifying realization that I was sharing my bed with two apparitions.

I slid my feet away from the covers in excruciatingly slow progress, afraid at any moment my movements would alert the phantoms of my presence. I tucked my feet and knees close to my torso as I came to an uneasy seated position, almost fetal in an attempt to occupy as little space as possible. 

The room had become an icebox despite the radiators and I found myself shivering almost in tandem with the blanket. I had no idea how long I sat there, curled against the headboard and pillows, watching the foot of the bed and listening to the disembodied voices that filled the air. But then something seemed to snap inside me, fully awakening me to the present time and despite my fear, despite my trepidation, I grew impatient with myself. I reached a trembling hand toward the bedcovers, intent on pulling them over me to fight the chill as well as reassure me that they were not wet.

But at the precise moment I felt the dampness under my fingers, the sobbing stopped, replaced by a gasp that was not my own. I yanked the covers to the side, determined to discover what mechanical device lay beneath. The material jerked away from me as though I was engaged in a tug-of-war and the gasp was replaced with a woman’s blood-curdling scream and a man’s shouts.

Author Interview

1.Did you always want to be an author?

I’ve wanted to be an author ever since I was in the 4^thgrade and I won a poetry contest. As I walked across the stage to accept my prize—a book—I knew that I wanted to write. I wanted to impact readers with the words I wrote. I began writing short stories that same year, but it would be almost twenty years before my first book was published—a computer textbook—and almost twenty years after that before my first fiction was published.

2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.

The publication of my first fiction took much longer than writing and editing it. I gave myself two years to find a mainstream publisher. I began with purchasing Writer’s Market, which is now available online with lots of great features to track queries. I started with the largest publishers and worked my way down the list, carefully selecting each editor and tailoring the query.

At one point, my book was accepted but only if I changed the main character’s love interest to another female and had a lesbian relationship between them. I carefully considered their offer and then declined it. The reason: I knew nothing about lesbian relationships, and I’d always been taught to ‘write what you know’. Another publisher accepted it only if I worked with their editors, for which I’d have to pay. I declined them as well. A short time later I was accepted by a boutique publisher. The book did well enough to justify a career, and I’ve been writing ever since. April in the Back of Beyondis my 24^thpublished work.

3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

I will read absolutely anything written by Kathleen McGurl. Her books are dual timelines and set in Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales, all places I have always been very interested in reading about. Her writing reminds me how I fell in love with reading as a young girl, when I devoured books by Daphne du Maurier.

4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is having the ability to create entire worlds; choosing the people, the backdrop, the historical events, the settings and the situations where I will live in my head for months at a time. I love creativity.

The worst part is the marketing. It requires a completely different set of skills and requires an introvert to become an extravert. I went back to college to study digital marketing and have a complete plan now for marketing each book, but I would much prefer it if someone else took on that job and left me free to write.

5.What are you working on now?

The working title of my next book is The Struggle for Independence, about a woman named Independence Mather who comes to the realization that she has created the perfect life with the wrong man. It is 1916 Ireland and the country is on the eve of a revolution, which will pit her between her British loyalist husband and the Irish rebel she truly loves. It will be released in the spring of 2020.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 23 books in multiple genres, including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional, non-fiction and children’s books.

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).

She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com.

Website: https://pmterrell.com/

Twitter: @pmterrell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pmterrell.author/

Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/pmterrell/

https://www.amazon.com/April-Back-Beyond-p-m-terrell/dp/1935970461

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

p.m.terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.m. terrell: The Tempest Murders

 If you came for Fashionista Friday, scroll on down, but why not enjoy this post first?

I think it's interesting to know what other authors read, so I asked p.m. terrell who her favorite authors are. And this is what she said.

The Tempest Murders

by p.m. Terrell

 



I am often asked who my favorite authors are, and I find that I have favorite books and favorite series, but not favorite authors. I attribute this to the versatility of authors who write in more than one genre; some of their work appeals to me, while other genres in which they write do not.

 

I love romantic suspense, especially when it takes me to another place and another time. My favorite series is the Haunting series by Erin Quinn. It begins with Haunting Beauty, and it involves time travel from present-day Arizona to twenty years earlier in Ireland. The author makes the Irish landscape come alive, and I can picture the Irish village, the island off the mainland, and I loved following the characters through all four books.

 

I am currently reading a romantic suspense series by L.L.Muir that involves time travel from the present day to 15^th century Scotland. The series began with Going Back for Romeo and continues with Not Without Juliet, the book I’m reading now. There are more in the series as well, which I am anxious to read. I am enjoying the political intrigue of the 15^th century, the lairds and the villages, and the romantic suspense is top-notch.

 

I also love Terri Brisbin’s MacKendimen Clan series. I am definitely noticing a pattern here with time travel, Ireland and Scotland!

 

I’ve also had a wonderful opportunity to work with authors whose books will be released in the near future. One I am absolutely in love with is Aedan Byrnes. Aedan is from the United Kingdom, and his first novel in the Vengelys Series will be released in the next few weeks. Entitled Through the Oracle’s Mist, it is about soul mates who meet in multiple lifetimes; it reminds me of a Greek tragedy but it is also a classic love story that stretches across hundreds of years. I will definitely be reading all the books in that new series! Aedan has an amazing way of telling a beautiful story.

 

 

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BLURB:

 

A provocative story of a love that spans centuries, of soul mates found, lost and reunited… and the lengths to which one man will go to change their destiny.

 

Irish Detective Ryan O’Clery is working a series of homicides in America when he discovers a journal written by an uncle, Constable Rian Kelly, five generations earlier. The journal detailed the same type of murders as the worst storm in Ireland’s history slammed into the island in 1839.

 

As Hurricane Irene barrels toward the North Carolina coastline, Ryan discovers even the killer’s description matches his cases exactly. And as he falls in love with television reporter Cathleen Reilly, he begins to wonder if she is the reincarnation of Caitlin O’Conor, Rian Kelly’s lover—the woman who was lost to the killer as the storm raged in Ireland—and if he is the reincarnation of Constable Rian Kelly.

 

Now he’s in a race to rescue Cathleen before the killer finds her—or is history destined to repeat itself?

Excerpt:

They were bites away from finishing their meal when the sky opened up. There might have been a warning, had he been by himself and able to observe his surroundings; but by the time he noticed the trees bending deeply and the gray clouds roiling, the rain had descended on them in a torrent. Within seconds, their food was floating.

 

A tiny shriek escaped Cathleen’s lips as she vainly tried to keep the rain off her head.

 

Ryan jumped up, grabbed her wrist and in one fluid movement, had her on her feet. They raced for the back door, managing to rush inside just as a wicked clap of thunder sounded, followed almost instantly by a white streak of lightning.

 

Once inside, he closed the door, plunging them both into relative silence. He turned around, an offer to get her a towel on his lips. But when he laid eyes on her, the words froze. She was completely drenched. Her hair was hanging in folds from which water streamed until it formed a puddle on the hardwood floor. Her thin blouse was plastered to her body and seemed to highlight the black lace bra beneath. It further accentuated a slender waist before giving way to jeans that she now appeared to have been poured into. Her feet were soaked and as he took in the petite toes peeking out, he found himself staring at the pink polish and a Celtic toe ring before his eyes moved back up her body.

 

By the time they reached her eyes, he felt as if he was on automatic pilot. His mind was completely blank, his emotions swept away. He stepped toward her at the exact moment he reached out and pulled her to him, the wet blouse teasing his chest. He didn’t look in her eyes but closed his as his lips locked onto hers.

 

They were everything he’d dreamed about; full and moist and soft. But she wasn’t kissing him.

 

He stopped and took a step backward, separating them. She stood perfectly still and stared at him with eyes that had grown round and huge. Her face had lost its color and as she continued staring at him, he realized she was in shock.

 

Horrified with his own boorish behavior, he stumbled over his words. “I am so sorry. I’ve never done anything like that in my life—”

 

She rushed at him and for the briefest of moments, he didn’t know if she planned to slap him or pummel him or push him to the side to rush out the door. He staggered backward to get out of her way but when she descended on him her arms encircled his neck, pulling his head down to hers. When their lips met again, hers were slightly open and she met his mouth with a passion he had only dreamed about but had never fully experienced.

 

Ryan’s arms wrapped around her; pulling her to him so tightly he had to contain himself to keep from bruising her. She tasted sweet and fresh, the raindrops mingling with perspiration and a fragrance that was both soothing and wild and which seemed to envelop them both in a sensual cocoon.

 

His large hand found her face, the palm cupping her chin while his fingers stroked her jaw. Her skin was as soft as silk and moist from the rain; and as her lips parted further to allow him in, he thought he could never get enough of her. As one hand wandered to her hair, weaving his fingers through the long tresses, a mingled scent of citrus and florals wafted upward, growing in intensity as he fondled her locks.

 

He pressed his body against her, tightening his hold on her as his other hand explored her back, kneading her skin through the thin, wet blouse. Her breath was coming in short shallow bursts now and he could feel her heart quickening as he pressed ever closer. When she sighed softly, he opened his eyes and when she moaned, he reluctantly drew back from her, his muscled chest rising and falling and yearning.

 

Her face was flushed, the heat rising in her cheeks in a way that tantalized him. Her plump lips remained slightly parted and as he gazed at them, he realized he might have bruised them despite his efforts to control his passion. As his eyes found hers, he discovered them staring at him in a way that disarmed him. The gold flecks he had seen earlier appeared to have grown and now they nearly glowed as she looked at him. They were tumultuous, the colors dancing under her long, curved black lashes. But it was the raw emotion in them that gripped his soul; he’d seen desire before and had witnessed passion but there was something more—something deeper. It was trust, he realized with a start. As if she was standing before him, naked to the soul and she was entrusting herself to his care.

 

In his peripheral vision, he could see her chest rising and falling with her jagged breath and each rise threatened to take him closer to the peak of desire.

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than eighteen books in four genres: contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer how-to and non-fiction.

 

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

 

Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee and her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

She is also the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She is the organizer of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. 

 

She sits on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library and the Robeson County Arts Council. She has also served on the boards of Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

 

For more information visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com, follow her on Twitter at @pmterrell, her blog at www.pmterrell.blogspot.com, and on Facebook under author.p.m.terrell.

 

Buy Links:

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Murders-ebook/dp/B00EOAFTYY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377895714&sr=1-2&keywords=the+tempest+murders

 

The author is giving away the celtic bracelet pictured below, so follow her tour and comment often. You can find her schedule here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-book-tour-tempest-murders-by-pm.html

 

p.m. terrell: Dylan's Song

Welcome to p.m. terrel's book tour. p.m., thank you so much for including us in your tour.  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I knew I wanted to be a writer in the fourth grade when my school principal encouraged me to write. My writing, like my reading, took me into other worlds that have remained with me throughout my life.

 

How long did you write before you got published?

I began writing suspense in 1973 but my first published book was actually a computer how-to book that was released in 1984. It would take another 18 years for my first suspense to be published. I look back now at my earliest attempts and know I wasn’t ready – and they weren’t ready – for prime time. But having been in this industry for so many years, I now feel like I’ve witnessed a publishing revolution. The future looks very exciting.

 

I totally agree.  We have seen a publishing revolution.  What is your favorite scene from your book?

It would have to be The Pond Scene. Dylan and Vicki are in Ireland on a CIA mission when he awakens her in the middle of the night and carries her outside their rented cottage to a pond where they go skinny-dipping… and a whole lot more.

 

He stepped toward her as a lock of water-soaked hair fell across his forehead. His eyes had turned to vivid green in the light of the moon. With the initial shock wearing off and her body warming under the surface of the water, she pressed herself against his chest. As his arms wrapped around her gently, she tilted her head back and draped her arms around his neck.

His lips were full and soft as they brushed against hers. He looked into her eyes and smiled, causing his laugh lines to crinkle and his irises to sparkle. He had an uncanny ability to live in the moment, she thought as she parted her lips. This gift was infectious, and as his lips found hers once more, she felt her heart grow lighter. She felt weightless as he held her, his strong hands rubbing against her back and through her hair while his chest pressed against hers. She didn’t ever want this moment to end.

His kisses grew more passionate and his arms tightened around her until she had to pull back slightly to catch her breath. Her heartbeat had quickened and now as she remained pressed against Dylan, she could feel his heart beating faster as well. He looked down at her, his long lashes shading his eyes. His lips were slightly parted and he was breathing more heavily, his lips slightly upturned in a sly smile.

They stood in the center of the pond for a long time, simply holding each other and feeling the water lap against them in the gentle breeze.

“Lean back,” he said in a soothing voice. “And I’ll catch you in me arms.”

She couldn’t imagine trusting anyone as much as she trusted him. She turned perpendicular to him and started to lean back. True to his word, he caught her in one muscular arm and helped her float along the water’s surface as her long strands billowed out across the water’s surface, glowing almost golden in the moonlight.

 

That's a lovely scene.  What are you working on now?

 

I am working on After the Tempest, the second book in a new Ryan O’Clery suspense series. Ryan is an Irishman working as a homicide detective in North Carolina. In the first book of the series, The Tempest Murders, he finds out a serial killer he is tracking has set his sights on the woman Ryan is falling in love with. In After the Tempest, the killer is back—and more dangerous than ever.

That book is due on my agent’s desk this spring. Then I’ll turn my attention to the fifth book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, The Pendulum Files. In this book Dylan and Vicki join forces again to find out who is behind the bombing of foreign products making their way to America—and the surprising reason why. This book is scheduled for release in the spring of 2014.

 

Do you have any advice for new authors?

 Three pieces of advice:

 Disconnect your ego from your writing;

 Hone your skills and always seek to improve;

And learn as much as you can about the publishing industry before signing your first contract.


That's excellent advice.  Now for a blurb and an excerpt!

BLURB:  

 

Dylan Maguire returns to his native Ireland with psychic spy Vicki Boyd. Their mission: to locate and extract a CIA Agent who disappeared in Dublin while on the trail of a known terrorist. But when Dylan receives word that his grandmother is dying, he is plunged into a past he thought he’d left behind forever. His mission and the dark secrets he’d sought to keep hidden begin to merge into an underworld that could cost him his life. He must now confront his past demons and the real reason he left Ireland—while Vicki harbors a secret of her own.

 

Suspense Magazine says, “p.m.terrell’s writing is powerfully written and masterfully suspenseful; you have to hang on for the ride of your life.” Midwest Book Review says the Black Swamp Mysteries series is “page-turning action, unforgettable characters, breathtaking descriptions and unexpected plot twists.” And syndicated reviewer Marcia Freespirit says the series is “riveting, spell-binding, sexy and intense!”

 

Excerpt

Brenda motioned for her to stand to the side. Then she parted the curtains.

 

Dylan had come around the back of the house while three men tumbled out of the pickup. They immediately converged at the truck bed, where they picked up pipes and headed toward the front door.

 

“So, Eoghan,” Dylan called. His voice was loud and heavy as he moved further from the house, drawing the largest man’s attention to him. “What’re wantin’ with me now?”

 

“What have they got in their hands?” Vicki whispered hoarsely.

 

“Lead pipes.” Brenda’s voice was husky and strong.

 

“You know what we be wantin’,” the largest one shouted. “We’re here to finish your sorry arse off; what we should’a done a long time ago.”

 

The men began to separate. They looked like a pack of wolves, Vicki thought, as one moved to Dylan’s left while the other moved to his right. The ringleader, Eoghan, stood his ground directly in front of him.

 

“He doesn’t stand a chance with the three of them,” Vicki gasped. “Not spread out like they are, not even with the gun.”

 

“Killin’ me won’t bring ‘er back,” Dylan called. He continued backing away from the house.

 

“No, but it’ll put you in ’ail that much sooner,” one of the others shouted.

 

“Kill me and you’ll spend your life in a prison cell, Aidan,” Dylan said to him. “I’m not worth your freedom.”

 

“Why should we spend our lives in prison for killin’ a man?” the third shouted. “You didn’t spend a day in the clink for killin’ our sister!”

 

Vicki gasped. “My God!”

 

Brenda grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to look her in the face. She hadn’t realized that her sister had disappeared from the window. But now as she stared at her amber eyes burning hot, she began to take in the pistols in each hand. “Slip on a coat and your shoes,” she hissed. “Fast.”

 

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

 

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books. Vicki's Key, one of the first books in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, was one of five finalists in the 2012 International Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense) and 2012 USA Best Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense.) River Passage, an historical work based on her ancestor's migration to Fort Nashborough in 1779-1780, won the 2010 Best Fiction & Drama Award. The Nashville (TN) Metropolitan Government Archives determined it to be so historically accurate that they entered the original manuscript into their Archives for future researchers and historians.

 

Prior to becoming a full-time author in 2002, terrell founded and operated two computer companies in the Washington, DC area. Her clients included the United States Secret Service, CIA, Department of Defense and federal and local law enforcement. Her specialty is in the areas of computer crime and computer intelligence. Her experience in these areas have greatly influenced her books' plots.

 

She is the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation, whose slogan is "Buy a Book and Stop a Crook" and whose mission is to raise awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She founded Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, an annual event to raise money to increase literacy and reduce crime.

 

For more information on Book 'Em North Carolina, visit www.bookemnc.org and www.bookemnc.blogspot.com.

 

p.m.terrell's website is www.pmterrell.com and her blog is www.pmterrell.blogspot.com.

 

She can be found on Twitter @pmterrell

 

On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/author.p.m.terrell and https://www.facebook.com/pages/pmterrell/129318810431554.

Don't forget to follow p.m.'s tour.  She's giving away a celtic knot necklace to one lucky commenter. To follow her tour go to this link. http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-book-tour-dylans-song-by-pm.html