Karen McCullough

I have guest blogs posted at Sandy Cody’s blog talking about that old chestnut, where the ideas come from:

http://www.birthofanovel.wordpress.com

Sandy was also kind enough to post an excerpt of my new release, The Detective’s Dilemma here:

http://www.sandracareycody.com/guestexcerpt.html

Lucy Woodhull posted a really fun and off-the-wall interview with me at her blog, Stupid Questions with Lucy:

http://www.misswordedthewriter.blogspot.com/2014/11/stupid-questions-with-lucy-wedding-pie.html

The Detective’s Dilemma releases today!  This book has had a long road behind it. I wrote it about five years ago, with a particular publisher in mind. That publisher requested the full from a query, but before they could contract it, the line’s guidelines changed and the book no longer fit them.

I then queried a number of other publishers and one indicated interest in it, but they wanted changes that would have made it a different book – not the one I’d written, so I walked away from it.

When I heard that Kensington’s Lyrical Press was looking to broaden their list, I submitted this book and got a contract offer less than a month later. They were willing to negotiate a couple of contract terms I wasn’t happy with, so we had a deal.

Last spring I was assigned an editor and we began the back and forth of three rounds of edits. It was a pretty grueling process and there were changes I wasn’t entirely happy with. But I’ve learned that editing is a give and take process that involves lots of compromises. I lean toward accepting an editor’s opinion. An outside perspective on the book sees things the author doesn’t.

Finally, a few months ago, I got the galleys for the book, which meant another check. By this time I’ve read through this book at least a dozen times and I’m excruciatingly tired of it. And even with all that I know that at least one error slipped through the cracks.

I hope many, many readers will enjoy it.

The Detective’s Dilemma is a short romantic suspense novel published in paperback and ebook by Kensington’s Lyrical Press imprint.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Detectives-Dilemma-Karen-McCullough-ebook/dp/B00OA9WFQY/

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-detectives-dilemma-karen-mccullough/1120500707?ean=9781616506520

Kensington: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/31106

Blurb: Although Sarah Anne Martin admits to pulling the trigger, she swears someone forced her to kill her lover. Homicide detective Jay Christianson is skeptical, but enough ambiguous evidence exists to make her story plausible. If he gives her enough freedom, she’ll either incriminate herself or draw out the real killers. But, having been burned before, Jay doesn’t trust his own protective instincts…and his growing attraction to Sarah only complicates matters.

This post is part of the paranormal romance blog hop, sponsored by Hops With Heart.  Read down to the end to find out how you can win prizes.

I should start by saying I’m not a party animal. I’m a long time removed from my college days, and in truth even then I was only a moderate party girl. Like many authors, I’m an introvert, which means I’m usually happier staying home with a book than going out on the town. Which isn’t to say I spent all of my college years closeted in my dorm room or apartment.

Halloween is a favorite holiday and there’s something particularly fun about parties with costumes. It’s kind of freeing to hide behind a mask and become someone else (or something else) entirely. It’s a great opportunity to experiment with different personalities. I’ve experimented with being witchy in black clothes and green face paint and a cowgirl with boots and ten-gallon hat.

I had that in mind when I wrote the Halloween short story, Unmasking. My main character is at a party, accompanied by a ghost – a real one, not a friend wearing a white sheet – and she has a definite purpose for being there.

At one time the story was titled The Thirteenth Hour, but no one quite understood what that meant. Including me. I just thought it sounded kind of cool and mysterious and wonky.

But Unmasking is a better title. The heroine’s main purpose in being there is to unmask a murderer. But in the process, she also helps a wrongly accused man come out of hiding and possibly begins to shed the mask of her own armor as well.

And, hey, it’s free at Smashwords, 99 cents on Amazon. What are you waiting for?

The Blurb for Unmasking: Trace Handley hates social events of any kind, but she has reluctantly agreed to go to a Halloween party to deliver an important message. Before she can accomplish the mission, though, she has to identify the intended recipient despite costumes, her own shyness, and the dubious assistance of the source of the instruction – a ghost who wants her to deliver his message to the man accused of his murder.

Prizes: Comment on this post to enter for a chance to win an ebook copy of the book of mine of your choice. Enter your name into the Rafflecopter for the grand prize.

 
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Looking for a great,spooky but not too long read for Halloween?  And better yet, not break the bank?

Guardian of the Grimoire is a novella, longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel. You can read it in an hour or so, but you might want to keep the lights on if it’s late at night. The ebook is just 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Magic, mystery and romance combine in a gothic story that sees a peaceful, small-town  library turned into a supernatural battleground. In the library’s basement a  dangerous book lies hidden somewhere in stacks of old crates, and librarian  Jess O’Rourke is caught in the middle of a battle between a demon and the  book’s mysterious guardian for possession of it…

A few quick excerpts:

The gargoyle over the library’s main entrance twitched its wings and leaned down to look at her as she rushed up the steps.

Jess O’Rourke stopped and blinked at it. She shook her head, staring upward. No movement now. Of course not. It was a stone statue.  It must have been a pigeon or a crow flitting around that fooled her into thinking the gargoyle had moved.

* * * * *

That evening, as Jess returned from her dinner break, Carrie looked up from the computer at the main desk and said, “Your boyfriend just came in.”

Jess turned to where the man sat in the corner.

“Boyfriend” was Carrie’s teasing nickname for him. The man was a complete stranger. She knew absolutely nothing about him except that he’d started showing up regularly each evening a few weeks ago. He always sat quietly in the same corner, reading and occasionally glancing up at her. And every night he left on his own just before closing time. So far, he hadn’t attempted to check out a book or say more than “hello” and “good night” to her.

* * * * *

As usual, he held a book open in front of him, but he looked up frequently to stare at her in a way that suggested both hunger and sadness. He had dark hair streaked with silver, though his otherwise youthful features said he couldn’t be more than thirty. His gray eyes seemed permanently lost in shadows. Not quite handsome. The face was too angular, drawn too tight for that, but it was compelling, nonetheless. His demeanor was tense, wary, constantly on alert.

* * * * *

“What is he doing here?” the Reverend asked in his most theatrical and self-righteous tone, pointing to the man who still sat in the shadows. “This is a creature who has done wicked things beyond your comprehension. How can you allow this walking evil to sit here among the good and decent people of this town?” His stare sharpened as he challenged the other man, “Do you deny it?”

They all turned to watch the stranger’s reaction, waiting for his denial. He stood, unwinding his long, lean length with deliberate care.  He glanced at Jess for a moment before returning his stare to the Reverend. “I deny nothing. Whatever else I’ve done, I’m not a liar.”

Jess sucked in a harsh breath. What the hell was going on here? Whatever it was, she wasn’t about to have it escalate into anything more in her library.

The ebook is just 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

View of the streets of Oxford from the top of the Saxon Tower of St. Michael at the Gate

Our last day in England. We were all pretty tired from the adventures of the previous days and ready to take it easier. A final trip into Oxford started with some of us climbing the four flights of stairs to the top of the Saxon Tower of St. Michael at the Gate, the oldest building in Oxford. The top is open and you can get a marvelous view of the city of Oxford in all four directions.

Having gotten our exercise, the day culminated with us in a small, atmospheric café, The Grand Cafe, on the High Street.

From its website: “The site of the first coffee house in England (according to Samuel Pepy’s Diary, 1650): The Grand Café has now become an Oxford institution. During the day serving lunch, cream teas and high teas all perfectly at home in the opulence of the marble-pillared, gold-leafed building. At night The Grand Café is buzzing with locals, visitors and Oxford University students, taking advantage of the half price cocktails on offer.” More information is available on their website: http://www.thegrandcafe.co.uk/

Tea at The Grand Café.

The place is quite small and the tables crowded close together. We weren’t sure we could get Freya’s pram in, but the staff helped move a few tables and chairs to make space.

Other than my son, Joe, we all got the High Tea, which featured finger sandwiches (salmon and mayo and cream cheese), scones (with clotted cream and jam), hand-made chocolates, and of course, tea. This was a much more substantial meal than it sounds. The “finger sandwiches” were large enough that just a couple of them were quite filling, especially when paired with a pair of generously sized scones. Scones slathered equally generously with clotted cream. I’ve become a huge fan of clotted cream. The real thing has the taste of butter with the consistency of whipped cream. The Brits generally pair it with strawberry jam, but I prefer to enjoy the scone and cream unadulterated. The chocolates looked wonderful, but since they couldn’t assure me they were nut-free, I had to leave them to my daughter-in-law. I have the kind of nut allergy you don’t mess with. It might’ve been heartbreaking under other circumstances, but by that point I was so full, I really wasn’t at all concerned.

The chocolates aside, the meal was satisfying and a real treat. A good way to finish out our trip to Oxford.

I spent a lot of time in the afternoon and evening cuddling the new granddaughter, knowing it would be the last time for a while. Then we had an early night, knowing we’d have to be up early to get a cab into Oxford Center to catch the airline bus back to Heathrow and then the flight to Raleigh. All of that proved mercifully uneventful.

We bid goodbye to Oxford and England reluctantly, but with a sense that of satisfaction that we’d had a great visit with our son, daughter-in-law, and brand new grand-daughter, and a number of interesting adventures to various landmarks. Considering that we were working around the schedule of a two-month-old baby, we’d packed a lot into the trip.

I’m already looking forward to the English branch visiting here at Christmas and then seeing them again next summer – I hope!