Pick up your copy of the 5th book in the Farrell Family Saga. Click Here! 

Touring New Orleans

“Don’t go in there.”  Lacy pleaded.

“It’ll be fun. It’s Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Halloween.”

“Please, don’t.”

Ken entered Madam Marrie’s Voodoo Wonderland.

A black woman flashed a toothless smile.  “Com’on in chillen.”

Lacy shivered and took Ken’s hand.  They wandered though candles, incense and miniatures statues.

After a wistful glance back at the entrance, Lacy turned and ran into a hairy, scary shrunken head.  She shrieked.

“Honey, it’s rubber.”

“Looks real!”

At that moment, a headless hunchback emerged through beaded curtains. “Marrie, where’s ma andouille sandwich. Ya done said ya’d bring me one.”

Lacy fainted!

She woke to the black woman crooning, “chile, whaz a matta?  You done scared us.”

“Honey!”  Ken patted her cheek.  “You fainted.”

Lacy grabbed Ken’s arm and stood up.  “I saw a headless creature!”

“Cherie?”  A dwarfish man leaned close, his open cape revealing his head.  “Jus’ tryin’ ta get Marrie ta feed me now, so’s we won’t be late ta da masked ball.”  His eyes widened.  “Ya thinkin’ I’m really headless?”  He howled.

Lacy glared.  “I didn’t want to come in here in the first place.”  Turning, she ran into the shrunken head.  Giving it a swift whack, she trounced away.

Ken turned to Marrie.  “Sorry.  My wife …”

“Don’ worry.  We’ll laugh ‘bout this Halloween for years.”  Giggling, she disappeared through the beaded curtains.

Ken caught Lacy at the corner with hope that someday they’d laugh about this Halloween.  Lacy’s expression assured him that it would be in the far distant future.

The End

Join Sharon Poppen Saturday, May 9th, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hastings Entertainment, 321 Lake Havasu Avenue North, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. She will be signing her newest novel, “Deborah’s Story” which is the third book in the Farrell Family Saga.

Stop by and say “Hi!”

Sharon Poppen will be at KABAM — the Kingman Area Books Are Magic event on May 2, 2015.

Located at 315 W Beale at Grandview, in Kingman, Arizona, the 4 acre Metcalfe Park will be home to the Eleventh Annual book festival. Come join in the fun!

Authors…Books…Live Entertainment…FREE Family Fun…and a chance to meet and greet Sharon Poppen and many other local authors.

Author Sharon Poppen has put together a collection of her short stories Just For You, her readers. Some are funny, some are sad, some are sweet, some feature the dark side of human nature and some are just plain eerie. While most are pure fiction created from Poppen’s imagination, some are fiction based on fact. Several of the stories have won writing awards for the author. For the most part, they are quick reads for the busy reader during a work break, commuting or while sitting in a waiting room or for the reader that enjoys a late night read before slipping off into the land of Nod. So sit back, relax and treat yourself to the variety of people, places and things in this book of many stories.

For information on how you can order your copy please Click Here.

Welcome to my new website at www.sharonpoppen.com . It’s all new thanks to the great creative work of Paul at Easytime Services at www.easytimeservices.com.

Been a little lax in my postings lately. I could blame the holidays and they did take up some of my time. However, been working on my book of short stories and at getting the sequels to ‘After the War, Before the Peace’ edited and ready for publication.

Remember, I certainly try to, “Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young, ‘Night Thoughts’

What is the working title of your book?

‘The Band’ is the sixth in a series of books about the Farrell Family which started with my novel ‘After the War, Before the Peace’ which takes place shortly after the end of the U.S. Civil War.  The time frame for ”The Band’ is the 1950s and 1960s.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

At the end of book 5, titled ‘Stephen’s Boys’, the main character is a wounded WWII vet who is trying to raise four sons on a ranch in Maui, Hawaii. When I ended book 5, J.J., the oldest son, stayed in my mind. Being a child of the early rock and roll era, I decided to take the Farrell family into the wild and crazy world of teen idols and how they approached being teen idols, touring, fame and drugs.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s Contemporary/Romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Channing Tatum could be J.J., Justin Bartha could be Johnny, Bradley Cooper could be Steve and Justin Timberlake could be Mikey.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A genuinely good man copes with the challenges of fame and fortune.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I have self-published one of my four novels and will not self-publish again. I have two potential publishers that are interested in the Farrell family series.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About one year. I would have liked to spend more time on it. In fact, if a missed a few days, my characters would invade my thoughts and lure me back into their realm. I was working on marketing my third novel ‘Abby-Finding More Than Gold’ and doing the final edits and prep for the release of my fourth novel ‘Regardless’ which was published in September of this year.

What other books would you compare to this story within your genre?

None come to mind at the moment. I started with a character who was a genuinely, dependable young man and took his character on a descent into wine, women and drugs, then tried to make my readers like him again. It will be interesting to see if this will pass the believable test with my editor.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Like I said earlier, the Farrell Family have always been almost ‘real’ people to me. In fact, one readers told me that he feels that the characters are so multi-dimensional real that he thinks I may have actually been a part of this family in a previous life. So, when book five ended, the oldest son basically said ‘My turn. Now tell my story.’

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The background story of the life, times and culture of the 1950s-60s as to interests, morals, locations and attitudes of the Baby Boom Generation.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog! Your interest in most appreciated.

Now, if you’re still reading, I have two requests to make:

1. Drop by the blogs I’ve listed below to discover some really good and interesting writers.
2. Leave me a comment about my Next Big Thing post and on Nov. 22nd, I’ll put the names of all commenters in a hat and draw out one to win the $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Blogs to Visit:

www.regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com

www.christinelondon.blogspot.com

www.reginaandrews.wordpress.com

http://www.books-writing.com/interview-with-author-sharon-poppen

www.tracyriva.com

Welcome to week two of the Winter Blog Tour. My guest today is Kelley Heckart. Kelley and I belong to the Lake Havasu City Writers Group so I’ve know Kelley for a few years. What I’ve pleasantly learned is that although Kelley resides on the earthly realm with her husband and two dogs, she always has one foot firmly planted in the otherworldly realm of mystical creatures, fierce warriors and magic. A psychic once told her she has an old soul and this comes across in her tales of long ago places. An avid reader, she turned her lifelong passion for Celtic Mythology into a way to express herself through writing. In her free time, she enjoys playing her bass guitar, writing poetry/lyrics, hiking, watching sunsets/sunrises and horseback riding.

Now, lets turn this over to Kelly –

 Hi Sharon! Thanks for having me on your blog.

What is your favorite holiday food and why?

Pumpkin rolls. They are yummy!

You can have any person in history over for your holiday dinner. Who do you invite and what do you talk about?

I would invite W.B. Yeats. I love his writings on faeries, especially Celtic Twilight. I would want to hear his stories of how he gathered all of his information on faeries.

***

 Kelley Heckart writes historical fantasy romances set in ancient on up to early medieval time periods. Her stories reflect her passion for history, storytelling and the supernatural. Inspired by the ancient Celts, her tales are filled with fierce warriors, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic, conflict and romance. Kelley can be found online at http://www.kelleyheckart.com/.

Her latest release, Daughter of Night, is set in ancient Greece where two mortals are caught in the midst of the battle between the Titans and Olympian gods. Also, all three books in her Dark Goddess trilogy are now available in print, Kindle & Nook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, an Irish clan is tormented by a vengeful goddess and their only escape is to break an ancient faery curse. Buy links for all of Kelley’s books can be found here: http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Please visit all our wonderful blog hop authors. Leave a comment and be entered to win a fifty dollar gift certificate!

Ann Tracy Marr – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Tracy-Marr/114711658247?ref=tsKelley

Heckart – http://www.kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

Christine London – http://www.christinelondon.com

Regan Taylor – http://regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com

Regina Andrews – http://worldofgood-gina.blogspot.com

Angie Dobson – http://loveromancesandmore.com