Bugs Bunny

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for animals. My downfall has always been letting strays into my house. Once they’re inside, I can’t bear forcing them out into the cold, cruel world. Over the years, this has been true with dogs… cats…and now bunnies! Two days ago, my son found a baby bunny who’d wandered too far from its nest on my front walk. He, of course, brought it inside!

BUT…this time I was smarter! My granddaughter, Kassidy (who happens to be the daughter of the son responsible for me acquiring the rabbit in the first place), is as big of sucker as I am, so I gave the rabbit to her. She cabbaged right on to it, named it Bugs Bunny, and he now resides in a little cardboard box out at their house.

At this point, I don’t know what the chances of Bugs surviving are. From what I’ve read on the Internet and heard from others…not so good. You’re not to handle them a lot, and with two younger brothers and two little cousins around, Bugs is getting a little too much loving at this point. However, he is drinking milk made for kittens from a syringe and has managed to survive the first 48 hours, so we’ll see how it goes.

Below is a picture of Kassidy and her two cousins feeding Bugs.

Mayhem!

Who doesn’t love a good mystery?

And what mystery writer could possibly compete with Agatha Christie, la grande dame of the genre?

Naturally, Christie was my choice when I was writing “Mayhem at the Orient Express,” the first book in the League of Literary Ladies series. The women in my book (a court-ordered book discussion group) need a book to read, and they choose the Christie classic, “Murder on the Orient Express.”

So what could possibly go wrong?

I guess the first clue our heroines should have had was that there was a new Asian restaurant on South Bass Island where they live. You guessed it, it’s called the Orient Express. Best orange/peanut chicken in the world, and the owner, Peter Chan, was the nicest, most ordinary guy you could imagine.

At least that’s what the ladies think.

Until that day Bea Cartwright (protagonist and amateur sleuth) goes to pick up a take-away order of orange/peanut chicken and finds Peter arguing with a stranger.

And finds a note threatening Peter.

And finds Peter dead with a knife through his heart.

Suddenly, Christie isn’t the only one on the island with a mind on mystery! And now, the League of Literary Ladies has to investigate, using Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot, for inspiration.

A house full of suspects, a murder mystery dinner party and a snow storm that has trapped a killer on the island, just like Christie’s killer was trapped on the Orient Express. The book will hit store shelves on June 4, a little less than a month from now. So come on, join the League or Literary Ladies as they use their little gray cells to uncover the secrets behind “Mayhem at the Orient Express.”





RT Convention or Bust

Happy Monday, all! It's a gorgeous day here in St. Louis!

First of all, my next novella for the Coveted series is available today! I had a blast writing Aggie's story and I can't wait for everyone to get into Aggie's head! So what's the book about you ask?

Werewolf Natalya Stravinsky’s outspoken sidekick, Aggie McClure, is featured in this prequel novella. Before Agatha set foot in South Toms River, New Jersey, she had the fight of her life to face. Destined to be the alpha female over her Manhattan pack, Aggie was fully prepared to take on her role until her father arranges a marriage without her consent. She wants out–but the only way is with money–something her new controlling husband won’t give her to escape. But such odds never kept a wolf like Aggie down. To sever the twisted tie, she finds herself pitted against raging wood nymphs and backstabbing brownies in an underground supernatural fighting ring. With every victory, the sweet taste of freedom is closer, but her husband isn’t willing to let her go that easily. Until the very end, Aggie must fight for the one thing she’s never had: a choice.

BONUS SHORT STORY on eBook: NEVER BET ON A SUCCUBUS

Follow Heidi the mermaid and Abby the Muse as they try to help Lilith, a soul-sucking succubus and fellow supernatural therapy group member, find a date.

Yep, I'm including a free short story for those who purchase the eBook. It asks the question, what would happen if a mermaid tries to get a succubus, who is bad at being a succubus, a date. Naturally, craziness ensues!   

All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Second thing I'm excited about today is the Romantic Times Convention coming up this week in Kansas City, MO. I will be there signing for the Expo and the big signing on Saturday! And check out the basket I'm contributing to for the Magic & Mayhem Writers! If you're coming stop by and say hi! Of course, if you can't make it, I will be more than glad to bring something back for the Wicked Author readers. ;)

Angie Fox and I are driving there Thelma and Louis style! Stay tuned next week to learn about my antics!

Never Too Early!

It’s never too early to get the word out, especially for an event where seating is limited! That’s why I wanted to start spreading the word about a very special tour scheduled for Saturday, October 26.

It’s called Cleveland: Mayhem, Murder and Mystery! and is sponsored by Ohioana, the state library of Ohio.

I’ll be leading the merry band, and will take tourists to some of my favorite haunts, including historic Cleveland cemeteries and many of the sites I use in my Pepper Martin mysteries. We’ll check out the oldest cemetery in the city and find out why the Cleveland Indians are cursed. We’ll visit gypsy graves, tell ghost stories and see where a president of the United Stated is . . . well, I was going to say buried, but that’s not exactly true as his casket is on display in his memorial. In addition, we’ll check out the amazing art, architecture and sculpture in cemeteries, play trivia games and see photos taken from my last paranormal investigation.

Sound like fun? If you’re interested, check out www.Ohioana.org. The tour will leave from downtown Cleveland and we’ll be on a trolley so space is limited to 38 riders.

Hope to see you there!

Oh, baby.

Have I told you that Christe Craig amuses me? Well, she does. All the time. And she's done it again. Right now, over on her blog, she's giving away a Nook or a Kindle (winner's choice) to a person who can match up authors with their baby photos. It's hard!

I'm not up there, but you can try to match Christie, Gemma Halliday, Robin Kaye and more. Can't wait to see how many I get right...

And the winner is...

It’s short and sweet today—I have been struck low by a nasty spring cold. Right now I’m swilling green tea and am surrounded by the distinct scent of eau de Vick’s Vapor Rub, but it’s working! I’m feeling much better today than yesterday!

However, I wanted to make sure to announce the winner of last week’s drawing...BW!! (drop me an email at shirley@shirleydamsgaard.com and include your mailing address, BW, and I’ll get your signed arc off to you!) Thanks to everyone who left a comment and congratulations BW!!

Btw—we’re still running the contest for a WIDOWS OF BRAXTON COUNTY messenger bag on Facebook at my “Jess McConkey—Author” page. It will be given away once we hit 200 “likes” (so close…only 18 more to go!) To enter just visit the page and hit “like!”

 That’s it for this week—have a good one!

 

Best,

Shirley

Spring is in the air!

Happy Monday, all!

I had a nice relaxing weekend. Well, the relaxing part where I wasn't proofreading BITTER DISENCHANTMENT. Aggie's book is coming along great. Of course I'm at the stressful part, I'm going over everything with a fine tooth comb. (This part of the process involves a lot of ice cream!) Naturally, while  I was working it was gorgous outside. The weather lately in St. Louis has warmed. I've been able to open the windows in the house and let in the warmer air. The spring cleaning bug has hit and now I'm purging all the stuff we collected over the winter. (Including broken toys...They will be disappearing soon while the kids are in school. Muhahaha!)

On Saturday, I headed over to Rose's Bookhouse in O'Fallon, MO for their booksigning featuring Angie Fox, Shiloh Walker, Eliza Lloyd, and Shannon K. Butcher. I had a blast. It was great to see these ladies again.

I love to share the books I get from a signing so I'm sharing the books and swag below with three fabulous Wicked Author readers!

I got Angie's book signed with some swag for my street team and the rest of the goodies is for everyone else. Just use the Rafflecopter form and you're entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway