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Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature Blair McDowell and Sonata.
I started to write soon after I found my
first pencil. But I began to write for publication about 30 years ago --
professional books. I wrote six of them, all still in print and still in use.
Only lately have I turned to fiction. I'd have done it a lot sooner if I'd had
any idea how much fun it was!
I’ve lived in many different places. The US -- Certain
cities call to me. I love San Francisco and Seattle and the wonderful Oregon Coast.
Australia
-- among the most open welcoming people in the world, and a wide open young
country with incredible land and sea scapes, with amazing animal and bird life
right out of science fiction. Canada
-- HOME. The place where I belong.
I travel a lot. I usually spend the month
of October in Europe, Greece
or Italy, and the winter in
a little house I built many years ago on a small non-touristy Caribbean Island.
I have worked and studied in many places -- Hungary,
Australia the US and Canada,
and have spoken in most of the States and Provinces as well as Taiwan and various cities in Europe. I enjoy being surrounded by cultures other
than my own. I enjoy my own as well -- but variety is indeed the spice of my
life.
I keep busy -- and I love my life. I love
meeting the people who come here to the west coast of Canada and stay
in my B&B. I love traveling after the tourist season is over. And I love
writing. My interests?? Music, especially opera, reading everything in print,
and Writing. And walking on the beach
and swimming. At one point I had hoped to swim in every major sea and ocean.
I've realized that may not be possible in one lifetime -- but trying has been
fun!
Blair has joined us today for an interview:
? When did you
first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’m not sure I
ever made any conscious decision. I’ve just always written. I’m one of the few
who actually enjoyed writing term papers in college. I’ve always written
voluminous letters to friends. And I started writing fiction and even poetry as
a child.
? How many jobs
did you have before you became a writer?
Writing was
always a part of every job I’ve ever had. I was a teacher and involved at the
district level in writing curriculum, then as a university professor I was
expected to write and I did—six books. Now I’m writing fiction and have just
finished the first draft of my fourth novel. Fiction is by far my favorite
writing.
? How long does
it take you to write a book?
My first draft—maybe six months. But what happens
after that can take another six. The revising and rethinking are very important
to me. I don’t usually consider a book “finished” until the third draft.
? What would you
say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I really can’t
think of any. Of course, my friends all make fun of the way I sit at the
computer with my left hand holding up my head and my right hand doing all the
typing.
? Do you have a
routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
None at all.
I’m always ready to write. I get really snarly when things keep me from
writing.
? Where do you
get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I’ve lived a
long time and known MANY interesting people. I never just reproduce anyone I’ve
known, but I have a sort of mental file of character traits and behaviors to
draw from.
? How do you
decide what you want to write about?
It usually
comes to me rather spontaneously. And it’s most often a particular setting that
engages me. In Sonata it was Canada’s Sunshine Coast, where I’m fortunate
enough to live.
? What books
have most influenced your life?
I can never
answer this question. I read voraciously and many books have touched me.
? What is the
first book you remember reading by yourself?
Millions and
Billions and Trillions of Cats. I have no idea who the author was. I was about
five years old.
? What are you
reading right now?
Odd you should
ask. I’m re-reading Daphne Du Maurier, Frenchman’s Creek, a book that
originally came out in 1941. It’s just
been re-released on Amazon. It’s quite dated, but her writing is still
beautiful and the story is lovely.
? What do you
like to do when you are not writing?
Read, swim,
cook. In that order.
? What is your
favorite comfort food?
Gnocchi ai
Quarto Formaggio. Little potato dumplings in a four cheese sauce. Sheer heaven.
? What do you
think makes a good story?
First of all,
interesting characters. Second an interesting setting. Plot matters, but for me
it’s only a distant third place.
? Who would you
consider your favorite author and why?
I simply can’t
answer that question, there are so many good ones. But I buy every Nora
Roberts, every Donna Leon and every Andrea Camillieri.
? What book, if
any, do you read over and over again?
I have reread
many books at a distance of a few years—but no one in particular.
Fun random questions:
·
dogs or cats? DOGS
·
Coffee or tea? Coffee
·
Dark or milk chocolate?
Dark
·
Rocks or flowers? Flowers
·
Night or day? Day
·
Favorite color? Red
·
Crayons or markers? Crayons
·
Pens or pencils? Pens
Sonata by Blair
McDowell
Genre: Romantic mystery
Publisher: Rebel Ink Press
Number of pages: 130 ~ Word Count: 56,500
Book
Description:
A jewel heist…
When renowned concert artist, Sayuri
McAllister, returns to the west coast of Canada after an absence of five years,
she discovers her family home has been a broken into and jewelry worth two
million dollars is missing. Michael Donovan, Sayuri’s old high school flame,
now a detective with the Vancouver Police Department, is the officer in charge
of the case.
What chance can he have…
Michael takes one look at Sayuri and
falls in love with her all over again. But they parted in anger years ago and
Sayuri is no longer the innocent girl he once knew. What chance can there be
for a Vancouver
cop with someone as famous as Sayuri McAllister? Especially when that cop is investigating her
family and friends?
An unexpected marriage…
Then Sayuri’s widowed father, Sean,
marries Alyssa James, a woman Sayuri has never even met. The three live
uneasily together in the Point Grey mansion until the unexpected arrival of
Alyssa’s brother, Hugh James, a devastatingly handsome, charming Irishman who
immediately begins a campaign to bed and wed the delicious and wealthy Sayuri.
Things take a dangerous turn…
Accidents begin to happen. Or are they
accidents? Nothing is as it seems.
Michael distrusts Hugh James and fears that Sayuri’s life may be in danger.
Short
Excerpt:
The following excerpt takes place the
first time that Sayuri goes to Michael’s apartment.
As they went down in the
elevator and across to the park, Michael spoke to the dog, “So far so good.
We’ve got her in my apartment. I expect your full cooperation tonight. Whatever
happens you are not to climb on the bed, should I get so lucky, or slobber all
over Sayuri. If there’s any slobbering to be done, I’ll do it. Got it, buddy?”
Buttercup wagged her tail furiously, nearly
knocking over a passing pedestrian.
“Sorry, mam.”
Michael thought about
how Sayuri had looked when she answered the door. So cool and composed.
Delectable. Good enough to eat. Down boy, he reminded himself. Don’t blow it
now. You’ve got her this far.
Taking a deep breath he
muttered, “Keep it cool.” Then he looked at his dog. “Okay, Buttercup, do your
thing so we can get back up there.”
****
She heard the key in the
lock and a moment later man and dog were back in the room. Buttercup trotted
over to Sayuri and leaned against her, looking up at her adoringly with one
blue and one brown eye.
“That was quick,” Sayuri
commented as she scratched the dog behind her ears.
“She was anxious to get
back to you. We don’t often have visitors. Actually, I’m surprised at her
reaction to you. She usually hides under the bed when there’s anyone she
doesn’t know in the apartment.”
“Under the bed? I can’t
believe she can get all that bulk under a bed. Just what kind of dog is she?
I’ve never seen anything like her. She’s huge. And those eyes are amazing.”
Sayuri moved to the
armchair and sat down. Buttercup followed her and put her massive head in
Sayuri’s lap.
“Clearly she’s fallen in
love with you. The vet thought she was probably half Malamute and half Newfoundland, but I’m
pretty sure there’s some wolf in the mixture. And the two different color eyes
are unusual, but they do happen, particularly in those breeds.”
“Did you say wolf?”
“Watch.” Michael came
over to the dog, knelt down beside her and put his arm around her. He lifted
his head back and started to howl. The dog threw her head straight back and
joined him. The sound was at one and the same time musical and eerie.
“Wow.” Sayuri stared at
the dog. “I haven’t heard anything like that since I was twelve years old and
went on a canoeing trip up Desolation Sound with my father. We could hear the
wolves from our campsite every night. I loved the sound.”
“Don’t let her howl give
you any ideas about Buttercup’s personality. Her wolf genes begin and end with
her howl. She’s a complete wimp.”
“She’s a big dog for an
apartment dweller.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t
exactly choose her. She just sort of happened.” Michael paused. You see, I’m in
the R.A.A. Unit.”
“R.A.A.?”
“Robbery, Assault,
Arson. We got an anonymous call that there was a break and enter in progress at
an apartment house on the east side. When my partner and I answered the call,
we didn’t find a robbery in progress. What we found was found a room full of
people cutting and bagging cocaine. We called immediately for backup, but
before it could come, gun fire was exchanged and people got hurt. It wasn’t
supposed to have happened that way.”
Michael paused and frowned.
Sayuri wondered if he was going to say anything more.
Then he sighed. “When it
was all sorted out, as we were to leaving the scene I heard whimpering. I
pulled this small scrawny shivering mass of matted fur out from under the bed.
I was supposed to take her to the SPCA, but I didn’t. I took her home with me.
She couldn’t have been more than two months old and she was half starved and
filthy. I fed her and bathed her and the next day I took her to the vet for a
checkup. He said there was nothing wrong with her that food and love wouldn’t
cure.”
“So you had a dog.”
“I had a dog. I had no
idea at the time she was going to grow into a giant hairy mammoth.” This was
spoken with obvious affection as he ruffled the dog’s head.
“But her name?”
“Just look at her.”
Sayuri studied the dog.
She had fur as thick as a bear’s, only longer. Her underbelly was white and
everywhere else she was brown and black and white in large splotches. “I don’t
get it.”
“Look under her chin.”
Sayuri laughed. “Of
course.” There was a large spot of bright yellow there.
The dog, tired of being
the object of so much attention, moved to the fireplace, circled three times
and plopped down in front of it.
Giveaway:
Tour wide give away 5 pdf copies of Sonata
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.
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