MUSE MONDAY
I'm happy to have M. S. Spencer as my guest today.
Thank you so much for having me, Gideon,
and Claire at your lovely site today. A little background to my new romantic
suspense might be in order.
When my son was in the fifth grade the teacher asked him to write a
book report on a local landmark. We lived in Arlington, Virginia at the time—literally
a hop, skip and jump from Washington, DC—so we were certainly not starved for
landmarks. However, instead of the obvious Lincoln or Jefferson memorials, or
the Library of Congress, my son chose the George Washington National Masonic
Memorial. We took a tour of this fascinating building and the place struck me
immediately as the perfect setting for a delightful murder mystery. It took me a
few years, but eventually the victim—a mysterious Italian mason—found his way
to the ninth floor observation deck of the Memorial. Thus was born The
Mason's Mark: Love and Death in the Tower, my latest mystery/romantic
suspense.
Wild Rose Press,
May 6,2016 (Crimson Rose imprint)
Mystery/Cozy Mystery, Romantic suspense
ebook 79,000 words; print 322 pp.
Mystery/Cozy Mystery, Romantic suspense
ebook 79,000 words; print 322 pp.
M/F; 3 flames
Claire Wilding is a newly minted docent for the George Washington National Masonic Memorial and a recent widow. On her first day she meets the handsome, if mysterious Gideon Bliss, newly minted U. S. Senator. They do not hit it off.
Thrown together due to the unexpected appearance of a corpse in the Memorial, any possibility of romance is thwarted by assorted villains and intrusive friends and relatives.
Blurb:
In
both the best and worst first day at work ever, docent Claire Wilding meets the
man of her dreams, but her carefully rehearsed guided tour of the George
Washington National Masonic Memorial collapses when she discovers a body and is
drawn into a dark world of black ops and Italian renegade masons, of secret
cabals and hidden treasure. Also cloaked in mystery is handsome Gideon Bliss, a
George Washington expert who haunts the Memorial, his manner evasive. What is
his secret? Claire fears she'll fall in love with him only to learn he's a
thief or even a murderer. Juggling two eccentric mothers, an inquisitive
sister, and an increasingly smitten detective, Claire must find answers to a
complex web of intrigue, including who to trust and who to love.
In this excerpt it seems their future is close to hopeless.
Excerpt (PG): The Breakup
“Gideon, I…I think you
should clear this matter up before we see each other again.”
The phone went dead. Hmm, he took that surprisingly well. She
resisted the urge to cry and went into the kitchen. When she came out carrying
a glass filled with ice and a bottle of vodka, she found Gideon sitting on the
packing crate. His eyebrows bristled. Claire didn’t think she’d ever seen
eyebrows actually bristle. It made him look like an angry centipede.
“Claire, you can’t dump
me over the phone. I forbid it.”
She poured a large tot
into her glass. “I see.”
He stood and paced, not
an easy thing to do in a room the size of a refrigerator box. Watching him, it
occurred to Claire that she should decorate her house in the Shaker style—have
all the furniture hang on pegs, up and out of the way of large trampling feet.
She forced herself to focus on the words spilling out of the side of his mouth.
“I never hid my predicament from you. It’s unfair to let me fall head over
heels for you and then suddenly go all ethical on me.” He stopped and peered
down at her. His face drooped. “Claire, I need you to help me through this.”
Buy Links:
(pre-order): ARe
I’d love to hear
from your readers:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor
Linked in: www.linkedin.com/in/msspencerauthor
Author Pages:
Romance Books 4 Us: http://romancebooks4us.com/Romance%20Author%20M.%20S.%20Spencer.html
OR
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Thanks for having me Brenda! M. S.
ReplyDeleteI love when we can weave real life into our books! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Melissa. I suppose we always do, though it's not always this obvious! Thanks for reading. M. S.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your explanation as to how your story came about. Isn't it interesting how we consciously or unconsciously weave parts of our world in our stories? Loved your blurb and excerpt. Good luck with The Mason's Mark!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tena--I so appreciate your coming by and reading! M. S.
Delete