Good morning, everyone! I hope you've recovered from Valentine's Day appropriately and that you enjoyed it to the fullest.
Welcome to today's Fantasy Friday. I have Murder on Mars to share with you today, written by the wonderful M.M. Shelley. She's going to tell us a little about why she chose New Orleans as the setting for this series today too. Let's jump right in, shall we?
Murder on Mars
A New Orleans Mystery book 1
Genre: Fantasy and Suspense
ISBN: 13: 978-1480250062
ASIN: B00AF2MXCG
Amazon / Sony e-reader / Smashwords
A paranormal force has lured Ava to New Orleans, where shadows lurk behind every corner and an unknown power has yet to be unleashed.
There is darkness in New Orleans, one that has brought sixteen year old Ava Lopez to the city in search of her best friend, Dyson. A dark crime has been committed, and there are supernatural forces involved. Three sisters who whisper "fate" are awaiting the arrival of the Guardian.
Shadow People fiercely haunt the city, unchallenged, but Ava senses that Dyson may be involved with their crimes. She must discover the secret that the Shadows are so determined to keep hidden.
Ava will have to risk everything, because where the Fates are concerned there are no second chances.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/4hOL-Xt1kR0
Thank you Claire for having me over today, when I began work on my YA fantasy/suspense I knew the setting would be in New Orleans, LA as I had spent some time there and found it to be an incredible place. There are many layers to New Orleans with much depth and I knew this would be the perfect setting for Murder on Mars (A New Orleans Mystery).
Ava, an heiress who also happens to be an orphan, has arrived in New Orleans in search of her childhood friend, Dyson. They both attend school in New York City. New Orleans is seen through Ava’s eyes and her experiences, some of which were my own, but I won’t disclose which ones those were.
Dyson, who is Ava’s childhood friend and who has gone missing, has always lived the life of privilege. He has the tendency to gamble and the risks are always big, but he enjoys the rush and finds it additive. Dyson’s family has multiple properties and homes in New Orleans, one of which is located in the Garden District.
While I was in New Orleans I took a walking tour of the Garden District, it was a lovely tour and along the way I spoke to the other tourist. Since this was a ghost tour we talked about all the scary stories we had heard in town regarding the tour. As we walked up and down the fabulously beautiful streets with perfectly manicured lawns and gardens I knew without a doubt that I would love to visit the Garden District again and preferably spend more time there. Each house that we came to had its own gothic story, a tale of injustice or an unhappy tale. These houses all had an eerie story attached to them, beautiful on the outside but with hidden secrets on the inside.
One of the first places I visited while in New Orleans was St. Louis Cathedral located in Jackson Square. There was a feeling of peace and calmness to the Cathedral, as it towered above Jackson Square almost like a fierce armored warrior ready for any challenge. As I sat in a pew, I couldn’t help but to think of the images of hurricane Katrina that had been flashed by the media during that horrific storm. The images of a broken city, that seemed nearly lost.
[Claire visited this place at the Fantasy On the Bayou Conference in 2011 -- AWESOME!]
Yet, the Cathedral had remained strong and untouched by the chaos, almost like a guardian. It’s how I envisioned my protagonist, Ava Lopez, she inhabited a world where shadow people were wrestling away control and amassing power. And in a city she knew nothing about she would have to find a way to rescue her childhood friend.
Thank you, M.M. for stopping in and sharing these details. The Cathedral is truly very inspiring, and I absolutely have to agree New Orleans makes for an ideal setting!
About the Author:
M.M. Shelley is a storyteller, word smith and dreamer. She has traveled the world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in every day life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.
Visit M.M. Shelley:
 |
| A Bewitching Book Tours Guest |
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
Posts
0 Responses so far.
Post a Comment