Monday, November 7, 2011

An interview with the Whitton twins...

Today Emma and Isabel are being interviewed over at Lilia Birney's blog.

Stop by and comment or ask questions as the Whitton twins will be there all day. Comments or questions with email addresses will enter you into the drawing for the Regency Christmas Summons Prize Extravaganza. Winners will be drawn December 15th at LadyScribes.blogspot.com during the live chat.


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

An Interview With Lydia Dare... or is it?

In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d take this opportunity to interview our very own Lydia Dare. Now everyone knows that Lydia is the pseudonym of the writing team of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson. And today we are lucky to have the Jodie ½ talking with us.

Lydia/Jodie - Thank you so much for having me here today.

Jerrica – Anytime. Anytime. So I’ve lost count, how many books do you have on the shelves these days, Lydia?

Lydia/Jodie – Our seventh book, NEVER BEEN BIT, was released this September. It finished up our Gentlemen Vampyre trilogy and was the last book featuring a Còig witch.

Jerrica – Seven? Just seven?

Lydia/Jodie – Umm. Yes. Just seven. Of course, we have three more books contracted. These will feature Dash’s three half-brothers. The first THE WOLF WHO LOVED ME will be released April 2012.

Jerrica – Uh, huh. THAT’s all you have going on, Ms. Dare? Or should I call you, Ms. Stone?

Lydia/Jodie – (spews tea across the room) Uh, I’m sorr—I beg your—What did you call me?

Jerrica – Stone – Ava Stone, isn’t it?

Lydia/Jodie – Uh…

Jerrica – Speechless? A little birdie told me you’ve been moonlighting under a different name. Is there any truth to that?

Lydia/Jodie – How in the world do you know that?

Jerrica – A good reporter never reveals her sources.

Lydia/Jodie – You’re not a reporter. You’re a Regency Romance author.

Jerrica – Maybe you’re not the only one moonlighting. So, anywhoo, Ms. Stone – anything you want to say? Perhaps you could take the opportunity to come clean… publicly.

Jodie/Ava – Well, I guess, under the circumstance I’d better. Yes, over the last year I’ve also had four books and one novella (Scandalous Series) released under the name Ava Stone. And tomorrow an anthology collection I have a short story in will be released.

Jerrica – Really? Anything I’ve heard of?

Ava – (rolls her eyes) Uh, yeah, since you’re in one of the books, AND since my heroine and your heroine are twins I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of the collection.

Check out the release of Ava and Jerrica’s short stories as well as those of ten other wonderful authors in the REGENCY CHRISTMAS SUMMONS ANTHOLOGY COLLECTION, featuring:

A SUMMONS FROM YORKSHIRE

A SUMMONS FROM THE DUKE

A SUMMONS FROM THE CASTLE
&
A SUMMONS FROM HIS GRACE

All four books will be available tomorrow at Amazon and B&N. Over the next 6 weeks, there will be opportunities to win all sorts of prizes. Visit Ava Stone's website for all the details - www.avastoneauthor.com

Since the Jodie 1/2 of Lydia has clearly been moonlighting as Ava Stone - have you ever worked more than one job?

Originally posted at LadyScribes October 31, 2011

Contact WIth the Other Side...?

Thanks to Jerrica Knight-Catania’s earlier blog this month about ghost stories and the mention of a Ouija board session she and a friend had years ago, one of my friends (who will remain nameless to protect the innocent) decided it was something we should do. However, neither of us really wanted to do so in our own homes. Yes, we’re chickens (or I’ve watched one too many “haunted” themed shows on A&E, Discovery and the Travel Channel over the years). Luckily, we were both headed to Washington DC last weekend and agreed that having a “session” at the hotel was preferable to having one where either of us live.

So we rounded up a couple friends who were also going to be in DC at the same time and planned our secret rendezvous. None of us owned a Ouija board. So the first thing we had to do was purchase one, which is easier said than done living in the Bible belt; but we persevered (even if the friend who made the purchase did get a lecture from the woman behind her in line and a dismissive once-over from the employee at the check-out register.)

I’m still a little bit of a chicken and even though I had a fairly good sized suite with a sitting room adjacent to my bedroom at the hotel, I wasn’t all that keen at having the “session” where I was going to sleep. Luckily, I had access to one of the meeting rooms at the hotel, so the six of us planned to meet there around midnight last Friday.

Yes, six women – all in our thirties. But things soon went awry. Two of our friends went to Georgetown for drinks and sent a text saying they “hoped” to make it back in time. And two of the others got in spat with each other and weren’t speaking. So we were down to only two of us who met at the appointed time and place. The meeting room we borrowed was dimly light with dark walls. Ambiance was certainly not a problem.

No. The problem was us. We’re completely silly with no idea what we’re doing. All of this was a lark more than anything else. So we unwrapped the “glow in the dark” Parker Bros. Ouija board and put the black rubber feet on the little plastic thingy. (Yes, thingy – we’re not terribly technical and I have no idea what to call the little device you put your fingers on. So “thingy” will have to suffice.)

And while we’re doing all of this… a hotel employee jiggled the handle to our borrowed space, nearly making us jump out of our skin. My friend managed to toss the box, board and thingy under the long tablecloth before the door was thrown open and exterior light poured inside the room. I made up some lame excuse for why we were sitting in the dark (I actually don’t remember what I said, but I remember my adrenaline racing). And the hotel staff shut the door to the room, leaving us alone.

Of course my friend and I then broke out in a peel of laughter and she said, “You know he thinks we’re in here making out.” And that only made us laugh harder. Finally, after bringing our levity back under control (somewhat), we actually started trying to use the board.

We were not terribly successful. It was either user error, it’s all bunk, or some other weirdness. We made contact with some entity. Maybe. Who knows? I mean what kind of name is Zazos?

Just as we were wrapping up and had decided we’d given it our best shot, our two friends who’d gone to Georgetown showed up. And we tried one more time. One of those girls made “contact” with her deceased aunt and had a very moving moment.

I don’t think anyone there moved the thingy on purpose, I truly don’t. If I was laying odds, I think it was a combination of a collective subconscious and tired arms that weren’t allowed to rest on the table that was responsible for making the thingy move across the board.

Still, my friend who had the “moment” with her aunt seemed very moved by the whole event; and if that brought her some peace, I’m glad she was able to experience it – even if she only has her own subconscious to thank/blame.

What do you think? Do you think making contact with “the other side” is bunk or reality? Have you ever experienced something other worldly that couldn’t be explained?

Originally posted at LadyScribes October 28, 2011