This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. p.m.terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
What will inspire you to recommend a book?
I recommend books that are well-written and edited. I want the action to begin in the first chapter with minimal backstory. They need to have characters I would love to know or with whom I can identify. The era or setting should be compelling, providing a glimpse into a bygone era or a country or locale I have not yet visited. The story also must touch me in some way, moving beyond the intellectual to something felt in the heart.
Favorite reading snack?
Chocolate. I have two addictions: chocolate and sugar. I feel better when I limit the amount of sugar I consume, but I’m happy to report chocolate is here to stay. It makes life a bit sweeter.
How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I read more bad books than good because I am willing to take a chance on authors I have not yet read. I find a large number of books are inadequately edited, and my eyes tend to go straight to the errors. I can detect a novice writer and the mistakes they make. If a story doesn’t grab me by the second chapter, it’s difficult for me to plow through it because I have a limited amount of free time, and I don’t want to spend it on a bad book.
Having said all that, I will rarely give a bad review; if the book is terrible, I won’t review it at all. There are several reasons for that. I do not want to affect someone else’s finances adversely, and I know one bad review can turn away a reader that might enjoy it. I also do not wish to spend my time writing a review that is meant to deter someone from reading a specific book; I would much rather spend my time writing one to encourage someone else to purchase or read it.
The exception is when I encounter animal or child abuse in a book. Then I will write a review that mentions those themes because I find them highly disturbing, and I want to warn others.
If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I think I would enjoy reading in one of the romance languages. They tend to be wordier, the phrases more flowery, but they grab me in much the same way that classic literature does. I find that Americans require everything to be far more concise, which eliminates much of the scene setting and emotional impact.
Do you like to keep your books organized?
I do. I organize my books first by non-fiction and fiction, and within each of those, by subject matter. I have bookshelves filled with reference guides for writing, another regarding health, another about Irish history, and so on.
When I decided to downsize, I went through my entire collection and decided which books I would be likely to read again. I determined the vast majority would never be reopened, so I donated those to various libraries and schools so that others might enjoy them. Then I began to purchase the ones I wanted to keep for my Kindle app on my iPad. I’m told I can get roughly 50,000 books on my iPad, and I will definitely test that. The result is I have far fewer print books, keeping only those autographed to me or which provide reference material that is no longer available.
I did the same thing with my CD collection.
Now I have a question for you: what is a book you’d read over and over and why?
It is 1916 Ireland, and Independence Mather has settled into a tedious routine in an arranged marriage when she meets an architect hired to add a wing onto her husband’s vast estate. She soon falls in love with the charming, attentive Nicky Bowers, but he has secrets to hide. When she discovers he is an Irish rebel, events propel her into the middle of the Easter Rising. Now she must decide whether to remain the wife of a British loyalist or risk everything to join the rebellion and be with the man she loves.
As the raindrops fell upon the gatehouse roof, they created a musical melody that was enough to lull me into blissful complacency. The outside world could not reach me here, and I could no longer remember what life had been like before Nicky.
He laid beside me now, his arm pulling me close. His eyes were closed, his breathing regular, the cool air from fresh rain wafting through the open windows to brush away perspiration that had formed on us both. Only his fingers lightly rubbing my shoulder told me he was not asleep but only resting, a brief respite before we made love all over again.
My existence had been permanently altered. I knew that now, and I also knew I was barreling toward a reckoning of which the details were hidden from me, and I could only have faith that this was where I needed to be… and who I was meant to be with.
I did not see Stratford in the mornings as he departed each day at the break of dawn. When he arrived home, I was no more than the candlesticks on the table, a tiny ray of light he would never acknowledge but expected to remain in a given place. One evening I simply did not stand in the hallway when he arrived home, having given Johanna the excuse that I was under the weather should he inquire. But when she reported back to me later, she said he did not ask for me, and from the reports of the others, he went about his dinner as he always did, as though I was seated at the far end of the table.
It was not a relationship; I understood that now. It was a business arrangement; it had always been a business arrangement and nothing more. I had been naïve to believe it might ever turn into something else. Nor did I want anything else with him, I realized. The mere thought of him touching me was enough to turn my stomach. I was thankful for his inability to consummate the marriage.
Nicky squeezed my shoulder and pulled me ever closer to him. My days were completely different from my evenings; I lived for the hours between dawn and sunset. I still took the path along the meadow each morning but an hour or so earlier than I had in the past, and it was not long before Nicky arrived to whisk me away. Sometimes we strolled along the water at the rear of the estate, far from prying eyes. Other times we picnicked beneath the ancient oak, discussing all manner of things. Sometimes we rode our horses to the far corners of Matherscourt. And always, always, we ended up at the old gatehouse. It had become our haven.
The gatehouse was diminutive, but I was serenely comfortable here. The rushing waters under the structure sounded like a constant lullaby, and on days like this with a steady rain tapping against the roof, I felt wrapped in its cocoon. The makeshift bed had been made plumper over time thanks to Nicky overstuffing it, and my contribution had been some bed linens from the house, enough to cushion the top so we could no longer feel pricks from the straw. Someday I planned to stuff it with eiderdown; I simply hadn’t figured out the logistics of that as yet.
Meals, wine, and ale were all brought in a basket, and Léana never once gave me any indication that she was puzzled by my sudden voracious appetite, though she must suspect I was not eating it all by myself. Still, I had grown a bit plumper. I had even managed to move in some old chairs and a table with Nicky’s help, and a few peat bricks kept the fire going.
Yes, we had set up our own little home here, and while I knew we could not expect to live out our lives in a gatehouse on Stratford’s estate, I was content to let the days slip by.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.
A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).
She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website.
Website: https://pmterrell.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pmterrell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pmterrell.author/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pmterrell/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Struggle-Independence-p-m-terrell-ebook/dp/B085Q9CRR2
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on this tour and thank for the opportunity to read about another great book out there to read. It helps out so I can find books I know my family will enjoy reading. Thanks as well for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteHave you read any good books while in quarantine?
ReplyDeleteGreat question, Bernie. I am currently reading Sleeper's Castle by Barbara Erskine. It's intriguing. I enjoy books with dual timelines. What are you reading?
DeleteI enjoyed the interview and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me here today. James, Rita and Victoria, thank you for following so many of the tour stops!
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