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SMOKE AND MIRRORS By Casey Daniels The first of a new series set in New York City at the turned of the century.

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Música monótona para pasar el rato...

[Archive] Guest Web Appearance with Casey Daniels_9.5.12

9/5/12 FEATURE EVENT Guest Web Appearance with... Casey Daniels Hello everyone! LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are very happy to welcome author Casey Daniels to our sites today! Casey Daniels is a pseudonym used by Connie Laux, A.K.A Miranda Bliss and Kylie Logan. She has a great biography online, so we thought we’d borrow it for today’s Event… “A couple years ago I applied for a part-time job as a tour guide at a historic cemetery not far from where I live. Why? Well, aside from the fact that the job would force me to step away from my computer and remind me that there was a life beyond writing (even in a place where just about everybody was dead), I love cemeteries. No, really. I mean it. I really love cemeteries. Think about it. A cemetery--I mean a really good old cemetery, not these new “memorial parks” where every headstone is flat to the ground and every one of them looks the same--is really a museum without walls. Take a peek into any cemetery that’s more than sixty or so years old and you’re bound to see interesting architecture, sculpture and art. There are stories, too, everywhere you look. One memorial can give you a glimpse into generations of a family’s history. Another might suggest tragedy. Still others speak of undying love and precious memories. Is it any wonder that a writer’s imagination is bound to take flight in a cemetery? That’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t get the job, by the way, but as I drove home from the interview, I did get the idea for Pepper Martin, a cemetery tour guide whose enthusiasm for cemeteries does not rival my own. After all, what could be more perfect that an amateur sleuth surrounded by dead people? And if she just so happened to be able and see and talk to some of them, all the better! I learned to love mysteries early thanks to my dad, a Cleveland Police detective who enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories and spent his days off searching for stolen cars. Often on those trips, I was in the back seat and to this day, I have Dad to thank for my knowledge of some less-than-savory parts of the city. Later, I read my way through every mystery story I could get my hands on. Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle are still among my favorites. I have a degree in English, experience as a journalist and writing teacher, and lots of ideas for more Pepper Martin mysteries. When I’m not writing, I’m usually with my family and our two dogs, Ernie, an adorable Airedale pup, and Oscar, a rescued Jack Russell who spends far too much time watching TV. I enjoy knitting, gardening and of course, stomping through cemeteries in search of history, stories and inspiration.” As Casey Daniels she is the proud creator of the urban fantasy series, PEPPER MARTIN, which currently has 9 books – “Don of the Dead”, “The Chick and the Dead”, “Tombs of Endearment”, “Night of the Loving Dead”, “Dead Man Talking”, “Tomb with a View”, “A Hard Day’s Fright”, “Wild, Wild, Death”, and “Supernatural Born Killers”, which was just released yesterday, 9/4/12. As Connie Laux she created the YA Paranormal series, BLOOD MOON, as Miranda Bliss she brought us the COOKING CLASS MYSTERY series, and as Kylie Logan she gives us the BUTTON BOX MYSTERY series. We highly suggest you check out all of her work, but for today, we’re going to concentrate on her library of literary excellence as Casey Daniels. For those of you new to the PEPPER MARTIN series, we thought we’d give you a handful of the synopses to whet your appetites… “Don of the Dead”, PEPPER MARTIN #1:

She sees dead people, Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life — until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry. Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwanted ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased . . . and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers — and threatening to haunt her until she does. “Tombs of Endearment”, Book #3:

Cemetery tour guide Pepper Martin never imagined she’d get to meet rock legend Damon Curtis, the bad boy poet who made millions of teenage girls scream. After all, he kicked the bucket years before she was born. But thanks to her newfound ability to chat up the dead, Pepper’s got a front row seat perfect for swooning over the still-sexy Damon’s latest lyrics. He’s convinced that his former bandmate Vinnie Pallucci murdered him back in ‘71, and he’s promised Pepper she won’t get any rest or peace until she helps him prove it. But when Pepper goes behind the music, she finds Vinnie with a knife in his heart and the rest of the band members running for their lives. And if Pepper doesn’t snare the killer soon, Damon’s next hit from the great beyond might be her swan song. “Dead Man Talking”, Book #5:

Heiress-turned-cemetery-tour-guide Pepper Martin is not happy to discover that a local reality TV show, Cemetery Survivor, will be filmed at Cleveland’s Monroe Street Cemetery-and she has to be a part of it. To make matters worse, the ghost of a wrongly convicted killer needs Pepper’s help to clear his name. But digging for the truth could put her in grave danger. “A Hard Day’s Fright”, Book #7:

What happened to a teenager named Lucy one night in 1966 after a Beatles concert? She rushed the stage, kissed Paul, started home with her friends, and was never seen again-until cemetery guide and unintentional PI to the dead Pepper Martin sees her as a ghost. Lucy’s spirit can’t rest in peace until her body is found and buried. But how will Pepper track down a missing corpse after forty-five years? Supernatural Born Killers”, Book #9: JUST RELEASED 9/4/12!

As Garden View Cemetery's new community relations manager, Pepper is feeling overwhelmed with planning the annual party to attract new sponsors, especially when a murdered ghost starts leaving puddles all over the place. The dead man is her skeptical ex-boyfriend Quinn's former partner Jack Haggarty—and he isn't going away until Pepper figures out the real reason behind his murder. Now, Pepper has to convince Quinn he's the real deal and investigate Jack's death—before someone else meets an end in a watery grave... They sound fabulous right!? Make sure to add them to your TBR and stake them out from your favorite bookseller. For now though, how about we get to the interview to learn a bit more about Casey, shall we!? CONTEST: Casey is graciously offering up winner's choice of 2 prizes - a copy of "Don of the Dead", the first book in the series for those who haven't read the books yet, or a copy of "Supernatural Born Killers", for those that have read the series and need to catch up. To Enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for Casey’s Event on our Author’s Corner page 9/5 - 9/9, read the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’. Make sure that your Rafflecopter email address is correct! Good Luck! *************************** LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: Hi Casey! We’re very happy to have you here today. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. CASEY: It's always fun to be here. Thanks for inviting me, and for helping me get the word out about “Supernatural Born Killers,” the newest Pepper Martin mystery. LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: We always start by getting to know our guest author a little bit better. Q1): Can you tell us 3 things about yourself – no matter how random - that we couldn’t find out easily on the Internet? CASEY: Hmmm. . . #1, I’m a beekeeper (and so far this year, I’ve harvested 8 gallons of honey!). #2, I once attended school at Queen’s College, Oxford University, England. I will always have a place in my heart for Oxford and I tell myself I watch “Inspector Lewis” on PBS simply for that reason. Honest! It has nothing to do with the delicious Sergeant Hathaway. #3, As you may have guessed from #2, I am something of an Anglophile. In fact, I began my career writing historical romance and all but one of them was set in England. I love the Victorian period and am a sucker for a man in a top hat! Q2): What are 2 things that always make you smile, and 2 things that never fail to piss you off? CASEY: Smile: My Airedale, Ernie. My children when they’re actually getting along. Piss me off: people who are stupid, inconsiderate, righteous, self-centered . . . oh, you asked for two! Q3): If you could have a superpower, what would you want it to be and why? CASEY: Wow! Not sure I’d want one. I used to think mind reading would be fun until I got FaceBook. Actually, it’s not so great knowing what drivel occupies so many minds! Invisibility would come in handy, but only if I could decide when and where. Flying . . .well, it would be a great way to travel but I bet my hair would be a mess by the time I got wherever I was going! Q4): What are some of your hobbies and/or things that you enjoy doing when you’re not writing or taking care of other author business? CASEY: I am an avid knitter and weaver. I find both to be very relaxing and meditative. I also read Tarot, belong to an Airedale club, work with the bees (see above) and I like to walk. Unfortunately, we live where there are no sidewalks so the walking doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. Q5): Who were some of the authors or titles that inspired you and perhaps helped to mold you into the writer you are today? CASEY: All the mystery classics, of course, like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Aside from children’s books, the first books I remember reading were the Sherlock Holmes stories. (OMG, and should we talk about Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman?) I love the mysteries of Elizabeth Peters for their wit and intelligence, and of course, there’s Dorothy Dunnett and her magnificent “Game of Kings.” Lymond is my all-time favorite hero. Q6): What are some of your favorite TV Shows and Movies? CASEY: You know, I don’t watch a whole lot of TV, but I do enjoy “Bones.” I also like some of the reality/ghost shows like “Ghost Adventures” and “Haunted Collector.” As far as movies, I haven’t been to the movies in years! Really! Just not something I find time to do. That being said, I’m looking forward to seeing “The Hobbit” later this year. Q7): What are your favorite types of scenes to write (i.e dialogue, action, sex, etc) and why? CASEY: Dialogue scenes seem to be the easiest so that makes them a favorite! I think they’re easier than other scenes because when our characters are speaking, they are out there, center stage, controlling the action and making the plot move along. Q8): What is a typical writing day like for you - Do you have a routine that you follow? Are there specific things that you have to have with you to get the creative juices flowing, etc? Do you have any unique writing quirks? Etc. CASEY: To me, writing is very much a business and as such, it is my fulltime job. I write all day, 5 days a week (sometimes 7/week if there is a deadline breathing down my neck). My only “quirk” is that I set a clock for 45 minutes. In that time, I write. Then I have 15 minutes to do all the goofing around I want! Q9): What are the best and worst parts of writing for you? CASEY: The best part is coming up with ideas. The worst part is the business side of writing. There’s always more publicity that needs to be taken care of, more correspondence to catch up with, more galleys to edit, etc. This is a huge part of the business and not something I ever imagined when I began my career. Q10): Was there any specific inspiration behind the creation of the PEPPER MARTIN series? CASEY: Well, I love cemeteries and that certainly entered into my thinking. Pepper gives me an excuse to hang around cemeteries and do research. Originally when I thought of a cemetery tour guide as a heroine, I thought of someone who would be interested in history and love cemeteries, but I decided early on that would be no fun. Q11): How many books do you have planned for the series? Is Supernatural Born Killers the final installment? CASEY: Supernatural Born Killers is book #9 in the series. At this moment, can’t say if there might be more because this is the end of my contract. Q12): What were some of the challenges in bringing the PEPPER MARTIN series to life? CASEY: The series premiered six years ago—before paranormal was popular--and Pepper was a little ahead of her time. I think it was hard for publishers to get their heads around woo-woo elements in mysteries. Not so now! That Pepper, what a trailblazer! Q13): What about the books are you the most proud of so far? CASEY: I love Pepper, and I love that readers love Pepper. In fact, my fictional cemetery in the books (Garden View) is based on a real historic cemetery here in Cleveland. I met a woman recently who volunteers there and she says that lately, every tour group that comes through has at least one person in it who asks, “Is this the cemetery Pepper works in?” How cool is that! Q14): What’s next for Casey Daniels? What do you have going on in the immediate future that your readers and fans should know about? CASEY: Oh, I’ve got plenty going on! Book #3 in the Button Box mystery series (I write it as Kylie Logan) is called “Panic Button” and comes out on December 31 (Happy New Year!). I’ve also got two new mystery series starting next year. One is called the League of Literary Ladies and that one will be under the Kylie Logan name. First one is “Mayhem at the Orient Express” and it will be out in June. The other series is “The Chili Chick.” Not sure what name I’ll be using for that one, but the first book, “Chili Con Carnage” (gads, I crack me up!) should be out next fall. Q15): Is there anything special that you’d like to say to your readers while we have you here today? CASEY: Thank you, readers, for indulging me and enjoying Pepper’s adventures and contacting me to tell me how much the books mean to you. Writing is a solitary profession and it’s great to get feedback. Pepper and I wouldn’t be here without you, and we appreciate it! LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: Thank you so much again for being with us today. We’re very happy to help you promote the release of “Supernatural Born Killers” and the entire PEPPER MARTIN series. We really hope we turn some new readers on to your work & we’d LOVE to have you back for your next big release if you’re interested. CASEY: I’d love to be here again! Thanks! If you want to keep up with Casey, you can find her here: Website: http://www.caseydaniels.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casey-Daniels/301875189839933 GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/217944.Casey_Daniels

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