Precipice by M.Pax, moving the Gay Head Lighthouse, & the real ghost of Aquinnah

I never intended to drop out of the blogosphere after May's IWSG meeting but, as seems to be the norm for me lately, I got distracted by some unexpected issues and next thing I knew May was almost at an end. The good news is the issues are behind me and were nothing serious, but the bad news is I am very late to the launch party for the latest book in M. Pax's amazing Backworlds series, Precipice.

Still, I am thrilled to be able to share another great installment in this series and help spread the word about all of M. Pax's brilliant books. If you are reading this and haven't checked her work out yet, do so right away! You won't regret it. :)

Before I get to Precipice though I just wanted to share a few things that relate to my book The Ghosts of Aquinnah and the island on which it is set, Martha's Vineyard.

I wrote this post in the summer of 2013 about the need to move the Gay Head lighthouse, which is featured on the book cover, due to erosion of the Aquinnah cliffs. After two years of planning and fundraising, the move is underway now.

Source: http://www.mvtimes.com/

While I can't begin to understand the engineering behind the move, the lighthouse will somehow be transferred to the track shown in the above photo and moved 130 feet back from its current location.

The lighthouse has been on the cliffs since 1856 and it is still a guiding light for those navigating the waters of Vineyard Sound. It will be strange to see it in a different place when I return to the island, but I'm so glad that it has been saved.

In another interesting tidbit related to my Aquinnah book, I learned that there is actually a real legend of a female ghost haunting the beach that is eerily close to my own story.

In the book Martha's Vineyard: Quiet Pleasures, author Phyllis Meras writes about a local legend which states that a young woman wearing a long cape can be found prowling the Aquinnah shoreline on the night of the full moon. While my ghost Stella didn't only appear during a full moon, she did wear a cape, she was very young, and the Aquinnah cliffs were her haunting grounds. It was bizarre and kind of surreal to come upon this story in Ms. Meras' book. Now I can't help but hope I get to see this ghost sometime! :D

Now on to Precipice!

Blurb:

In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendants to survive in a harsh universe. This is the sixth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.

The Backworlds hang by a Quantum string, a thread about to snap. Annihilation is coming if Craze can’t stop it.

The genocidal alien he had trapped breaks free, destroying a ship belonging to the Backworlds’ oldest enemy, the Fo’wo’s. The murderous alien wants to overtake the galaxy. The Fo’wo’s want another war.

The Backworlds’ best chance to survive is to overcome a century of hate and forge an alliance with the Fo’wo’s. Because of his history with the alien, Craze is recruited to represent his people. Now he’s the most hated man in the galaxy.

The looming war will be a holocaust unless Craze can stop it, knowing salvation comes at a price.

Excerpt: 

Commander Hunninger tapped an icon on her tab and jabbed it in Craze’s face. “You really want to say no to this?”

The screen was too close. He grabbed the device from her manly fingers and brought the image into focus. A brand new, state-of-the-art, mini city docking facility. Pardeep Station had never seen finer and probably never would. Better protection from the dust storms was a necessity, and folks had to get out of the cold. Craze tired of the stench of the sick. “How much is it goin’ to cost? Everyone on this moon barely has three chips to jangle in their holey pockets.”

“No chips.” She smiled. Her wide mouth contained a lot of very white teeth.

Three good sucks on his air hose and Craze knew he wasn’t dreaming. He narrowed his eyes. “There’s still a price.”

Buy links: Amazon / B&N / iBook / Googleplay / Smashwords / Kobo / Other

About M. Pax:

Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers, and one of her cats has a crush on Mr. Spock. You can find out more by visiting her website: mpaxauthor.com

IWSG and a visit from Chrys Fey

Happy IWSG day, all! As usual it's hard to believe another month has come and gone and it's time for another meeting. Even harder to believe is that we're getting close to the halfway point of 2015!

Thanks as always to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the founder of our group and host of our meetings. If you're not already part of the group and would like to join, visit the IWSG site here and add your name to our list of neurotic and insecure writers.

Strangely enough this is another month when I'm not feeling insecure and in fact I'm really just excited and enthusiastic about the rest of the year. I had a fantastic time at the Ohioana Book Festival last month and also had another great experience doing a presentation for a class at the university where I work. I know I'll always have some public speaking anxiety, but overall I've managed to kick that fear to the curb. I'm looking forward to being part of Book Con in New York at the end of May and two more book events in the fall.

I'm also thrilled that my ideas for another Danny Fitzpatrick story have fallen into place and I've actually started writing it. I know I have a long way to go but I'm feeling great about it so far. I'm hoping for a writing filled summer!

That's where I'm at this month. How is everyone else doing?

In addition to participating in the IWSG I'm hosting Chrys Fey today. If you don't already follow this super-helpful and sweet blogger and writer, go visit her at Write with Fey.

Chrys is sharing an interview she conducted with her character Avrianna Heavenborn from her new release Ghost of Death. Welcome Chrys and Avrianna!

Hi everyone. I’m Chrys Fey and I am here to interview Avrianna Heavenborn, the detective from Ghost of Death. I hope you enjoy it. :)

***

Thanks for clearing some time out of your busy schedule to talk to me, Avrianna.

You’re welcome, Chrys. Sorry you had to come all the way out to my office.

That was no problem. Your office is...*looks around*...clean and sparse. *smiles*

I know, it sucks. I have a case to solve, though, so let’s get this show on the road.

Sure.

1. How did you become a detective?

It wasn’t easy. A lot of people wanted to see me fail, but I didn’t quit. The moment I graduated high school, I enrolled in the police academy. I was the youngest one in my class, and there was only a few other females in the academy. I worked as a beat cop for a while until I could get the title I coveted...detective. I did it fast and I did it good.

2. What’s the worst murder case you had to solve?

There’s been a lot of bloody crime scenes that I’ve seen and countless gruesome murders. After a while, they all start to blend together into one long gory blur. There was one where twin teenage girls were raped and murdered. Another where a mother of five was found beaten to death in a Dumpster. Right now, there’s so many images flashing in my mind that I can’t pick just one. Sorry.

3. That’s understandable. What have you learned over the years?

That anyone can be a killer. Anyone.

4. That’s very true and very scary. What went through your mind when you saw Jolie Montgomery’s crime scene?

Well, I was doing what any good detective would do. I was scrutinizing the area and body for clues about the murder, the victim, and the murderer. But...there was a moment when I had a temporary weakness. You see, Jolie was found in an alley. I once lived in an alley after I ran away from foster care. And for a second, I pictured myself as Jolie.

5. How do you plan on finding Jolie’s killer?

Oh, I have my ways. And I’m good. I’ll interview the people closest to her, find common threads, look for lies, apply pressure, eliminate suspects, collect evidence, and then make the arrest.

6. Do you have any leads?

Not yet, but I will and you can count on that!

7. If you could tell all the criminals out there something, what would it be?

To watch out, because I’m coming for each and every one of them.

They’d be smart not to mess with you. And I should know...I created you.

Thanks, Chrys. Now I really need to get back to work.

Say no more. I’ll show myself out.

Title: Ghost of Death

Author: Chrys Fey

Genre: Supernatural/Suspense

Format: eBook Only
Page Count: 41 (short story)

Release Date: April 22nd, 2015

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Blurb:

Jolie Montgomery, a twenty-one-year-old woman, wakes up in an alley next to her corpse. She has no memories of her murder or the night she died. She didn’t even see the killer’s face before he or she took her life. Wanting justice, Jolie seeks answers in the only way a ghost can...by stalking the lead detective on the case.

Avrianna Heavenborn is determined to find the person responsible for a young woman’s death. She gets closer to the killer’s identity with every clue she uncovers, and Jolie is with her every step of the way.

But if they don’t solve her murder soon, Jolie will be an earth-bound spirit forever.

Book Links:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / The Wild Rose Press / NOOK / KOBO

Excerpt:

            With the sound of her mom’s grief wafting up to her, Jolie came to terms with her present state. I’m dead and now my mom knows it. She eyed the door in front of her. She hadn’t yet walked through a door, but if her hand could pass through metal then she knew she could move

through wood.

If I have to be a ghost then I’ll be a damn good one. All across the afterlife I’ll be known as the Ghost of Death! And I’m going to start by walking through this damn door!

            She would’ve taken a deep breath to brace herself if she could have, so she mentally pumped herself up instead. You can do it! Easy-peasy. Nothing to it. And she took a step forward. Solid matter slipped around and through her form. On the other side, a familiar site confronted her: a black and white bed, the bright green shag carpet in the middle of the room, and a white desk.

            Stepping up to her desk, Jolie eyed her ancient desktop computer, the one she used before her dad gifted her with a laptop when she announced she was accepted to the local university. Wanting to send out the first ever tweet from the afterlife, she pushed the button to bring the device to life, but her finger poker straight through it. Resigning to her Twitter-less fate, she moved toward the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. She saw nothing. Not even a shimmer in the air hinted at her presence.

            Being a ghost sucks!

Available for PRE-ORDER:

Blurb:

Detective Reid Sanders doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but when he’s faced with a crime scene that defies the laws of nature, he has no other choice but to start believing. And solving a magical murder involves working with a witch.

Liberty Sawyer embodies the look of your classic evil witch, so, it’s no surprise when she uncovers the murderer is a witch that she becomes Reid’s number one suspect. If she can’t convince him otherwise, more people could lose their lives to dark magic, including her.

Book Links:

Amazon US / Amazon UK

BIO:

Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes and 30 Seconds. She is currently working on the sequel to Hurricane Crimes that’ll serve as book two in the Disaster Crimes series.

When Fey was six years old, she realized her dream of being a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen. Fey lives in Florida where she is waiting for the next hurricane to come her way.

You can connect with her on Facebook and her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers! 

Author Links: 

Facebook / Blog / Website / Goodreads 

Thank you all for visiting and hopefully commenting. ;)