Good morning, everyone! Please take a few minutes to welcome Award-Winning Author, p.m. terrell, who is sharing her new book with us, Dylan's Song, and going to talk to us a little bit about my favorite place--Ireland!
by: p.m. terrell
Dylan
Maguire returns to his native Ireland Dublin Ireland
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Suspense Magazine says, “p.m.terrell’s writing is powerfully written and
masterfully suspenseful; you have to hang on for the ride of your life.”
Midwest Book Review says the Black Swamp Mysteries series is “page-turning
action, unforgettable characters, breathtaking descriptions and unexpected plot
twists.” And syndicated reviewer Marcia Freespirit says the series is
“riveting, spell-binding, sexy and intense!”
* * *
So tell us, p. m., Why Ireland?
WHY IRELAND?
My father was always deeply involved in our genealogy so I learned from an early age that my ancestors had immigrated to America from Ireland and Scotland. When my mother’s brother journeyed to Ireland and found that their roots also originated in Ireland, it cemented my affinity for the Emerald Isle.
But a few years ago, I began to plunge into my Irish heritage in more detail while writing Songbirds are Free, the true story of my ancestor, Mary Neely, who had been captured by Shawnee warriors in 1780 near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN) and held in captivity for three years as a slave before she was able to escape and find her way home. She was Scot-Irish, one of my father’s ancestors, who had made the difficult journey from Ireland to make a new way of life in America. The result for Mary Neely and her immediate family was disastrous: both her parents, William and Margaret, were killed by Indians in separate raids, as well as her youngest brother. Only two out of ten children survived past the age of 35.
It captivated me how they could have left the only home they’d ever known to move to a country they had never seen before. Their descendants now number in the hundreds if not thousands, many of whom contacted me after the publication of Songbirds are Free and the subsequent book, River Passage.
When I began researching the plot for Vicki’s Key, the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, it was important for Vicki to fall in love fast and hard for what she thought was “the perfect man.” Of course, no one and nothing is perfect, which added to the plot in that suspense/thriller. I researched what women thought of as the perfect man and discovered the number one most loved accent in the world is the Scottish; the second is the Irish and the third is Australian. I decided on an Irishman because the cadence is softer and more melodic than the Scots and they have a reputation for being good-natured, happy and humorous. I also knew very little about Australia to fill in the backstory of the character.
Dylan Maguire was supposed to make an appearance in only one book but I must have been a bit too good at making him “the perfect man” because the editors said he HAD to remain as a main character throughout the entire series. He’s by far the most beloved character I’ve created to date. He had come to America to care for an aging Laurel Maguire in Vicki’s Key and his background had remained mysterious through the first few books. I knew at some point I would have to take the reader to his homeland to discover the real mystery behind his desire to leave all he’d ever known to come to America.
I fell in love with the Irish backdrop so of course there will be more mysteries set there in future books.
See -- I'm not the only author who is enchanted with Ireland. And I have to agree with p.m. on the Irish accent. Mmm!
Let's take a peek, shall we?
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EXCERPT
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“Why are you so adamant about not going back?” Vicki said. “I don’t understand.”
He strode to the back door. With his hand almost on the knob, he stopped abruptly and turned around to face them. “The flight is a hundred hours long.”
“It’s six hours,” Sam said.
“I’ll have jet lag for weeks!”
“Two days, tops.” Sam’s voice was becoming quizzical.
“Are you afraid of flying?” Vicki asked.
“No!” he bellowed. He opened the kitchen door. “The weather there is atrocious!”
“I can’t believe you’re acting like this is such an inconvenience for you!” Vicki shouted.
“In me whole life,” he said as if he hadn’t heard her, “it’s rained once.” He held up his finger. “One time!”
“Really?” Vicki said. “Once?”
“And it’s lasted for thirty years!” With that, he marched outside and slammed the door behind him.
Vicki and Sam stared at the door for a long moment without speaking. Then she turned to him. “I’m at a loss here.”
He continued staring at the kitchen door as if he hadn’t heard her.
“Do you know why he doesn’t want to see Ireland again?” Vicki asked.
“He can’t refuse a mission,” Sam said quietly. “You can’t pick and choose your missions in this line of work.”
Vicki turned to stand directly in front of him.
“Do you know,” she said in a stronger voice, “why he doesn’t want to see Ireland again?”
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“You know, don’t you?”
He looked away from her. His eyes roamed the kitchen as though he was searching for something. Vicki stood her ground until he said, “No. I have my suspicions; that’s all.”
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YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM DYLAN'S SONG
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GIVEAWAY - p.m. also has a fabulous giveaway today. She will be awarding a Celtic Knot Necklace to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Look at this pretty trinket!
To be entered to win this prize, leave a comment below, and follow the tour, commenting as you go. The more you enter, the better your chances of winning! Complete tour schedule can be found here.
About the Author:
p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books. Vicki's Key, one of the first books in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, was one of five finalists in the 2012 International Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense) and 2012 USA Best Book Awards (Mystery/Suspense.) River Passage, an historical work based on her ancestor's migration to Fort Nashborough in 1779-1780, won the 2010 Best Fiction & Drama Award. The Nashville (TN) Metropolitan Government Archives determined it to be so historically accurate that they entered the original manuscript into their Archives for future researchers and historians.
Prior to becoming a full-time author in 2002, terrell founded and operated two computer companies in the Washington, DC area. Her clients included the United States Secret Service, CIA, Department of Defense and federal and local law enforcement. Her specialty is in the areas of computer crime and computer intelligence. Her experience in these areas have greatly influenced her books' plots.
She is the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation, whose slogan is "Buy a Book and Stop a Crook" and whose mission is to raise awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She founded Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, an annual event to raise money to increase literacy and reduce crime.
p.m.terrell's website is www.pmterrell.com and her blog is www.pmterrell.blogspot.com.
She can be found on Twitter @pmterrell, and on Facebook here and on her author page.
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| A Goddess Fish Promotions Tour Guest |
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
Posts
Thank you for hosting
Thank you for hosting me today, Claire! I'll be dropping in throughout the day and answering any questions anyone might have for me.
I'm looking forward to reading Dylan's Song.
Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you for following my book tour, Ingeborg! I appreciate you dropping by and leaving a comment!
The book sounds wonderful. Do the books need to be read in order? I would love to add them to my to read list.
I enjoyed the excerpt
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
I'll have to imagine the accents as I read. Great post thank you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com