Meet Elizabeth Delisi!

Today starts a four day blog hop introducing you to fellow Tirgearr authors and their inspirations for the stories they have on sale! Meet, Elizabeth Delisi. 

From today through Monday, February 26-29, Tirgearr Publishing is celebrating its 4th anniversary with a special 99-cent sale. Included in this sale are the first three books in my Lottie Baldwin Mystery series: FATAL FORTUNE, OBSERVANT ORACLE, and MISTLETOE MEDIUM.


To celebrate this sale, three Tirgearr authors and I are trading guest blogs for the length of the sale. Today is my day to tell you a little about Lottie, and about me. For more info on these or any of my books, please visit my Tirgearr page:http://tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Delisi_Elizabeth/index.htm Here's my answer to a few questions.


Tell us a little about yourself, and what inspired you to become a writer.

I’ve always enjoyed reading, and have wanted to be a writer since I was in first grade. After many years of expressing my quirky imagination and being told I was eccentric at the least, it was a natural step to become a writer. I love having the opportunity to share the stories in my head with others. There’s not much better in life than a good read! And there’s no thrill like someone saying, “I loved your book.”


Tell us what FATAL FORTUNE is about.


FATAL FORTUNE, the first book in the Lottie Baldwin mystery series, is a mystery with a touch of the paranormal. No one in Cheyenne, ND believes in Lottie Baldwin’s psychic abilities; especially not Harlan Erikson, Lottie’s boyfriend, and Chief Deputy in the Sheriff’s Office. When a friend’s husband disappears, Lottie can’t leave it to Harlan. Armed with her courage and her tarot cards, she tries to solve the mystery herself, regardless of who attempts to stop her: Harlan, her friend—or the criminal.


If you were casting the movie version of FATAL FORTUNE, who would you choose for the leading roles?


Lottie would be played by a young Joan Blondell. She looks the part, and would be a perfect fit for sassy, independent Lottie.

Harlan would be played by a young Robert Redford. He’s got a great sense of humor, and has no trouble being strong when it counts.

Tell us about a hidden talent you have that most people don’t know about.


I know how to tat, which seems to be—alas—a lost art. I also know how to do card-weaving (another nearly lost art), and my husband and I built an inkle loom for weaving.


What’s your favorite comfort food?


Chocolate anything, of course! No contest. Current favorite: Almond Roca. Yum! I also have a fondness for Sky Bars, which I remember from my childhood. Hard to find now. They’re like a Whitman’s Sampler in a candy bar, with four different flavors.


Are you an outliner or do you write by the seat of your pants?


I outline before I write. I’ve tried just winging it, but I feel too uneasy if I have no idea where I’m going. Outlines don’t constrict me, as I feel free to change and adapt them as I write. If I come up with a better idea for a particular scene, I change the outline to match. That allows me to keep track of all the loose threads, and make sure everything still works.


What’s your favorite season and why?


I love all the seasons, and am happy to live in a state with four distinct seasons. Here in beautiful New Hampshire, I’d have to choose fall as my favorite—early fall. With all the gorgeous leaves in shades of red, scarlet, orange and gold, apple picking and cider everywhere, crisp nights and mild days, I’m in a constant state of wonder.


If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?


Tough question. I think I’d probably own a combination book store/yarn store/coffee shop. Just the kind of store where I’d like to shop myself! Anyone know of one for sale in New Hampshire?


Tell us about anyone famous you’ve met.


Ooh, let’s see. I met Captain Seawhiskers when I was five years old and got to be on the show. I’ve met Jim Nabors, Gary Puckett, Kathleen Sibelius and Bill Graves (both Kansas governors), and Peter Noone. My most recent meet: Steve Smith, a.k.a. Red Green, from the hilarious PBS show, “The Red Green Show.”


What’s your favorite non-writing-related website?


Definitely Ravelry, for yarn lovers: www.ravelry.com and Aeclectic Tarot for all things tarot:http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/

Trivia Monday!

Sorry I took a break from this last week. I was enjoying the long weekend. But I'm back for trivia Monday with some fun facts for you!


1. In the UK it's impossible to be more than 70 miles away from the ocean
2. The first President born in the U.S., Martin Van Buren, spoke Dutch as his first language.
3. Bolivia has 37 official languages
4. When Columbus "discovered" the Americas, the continent was already inhabited by 90 million people. In fact, the "new world" he discovered, it housed over a third of the world's population
5. Somehow, dogs tend to poop in alignment with the earth's magnetic field.
6. Pandas can poop up to 40 times a day
7. There's a pill that can actually make your farts smell like chocolate
8. In the 1600s, men wore high heels. The only reason women started wearing them was to look more like men.
9. "Friendstalker" was one of the early names considered for Twitter.

Exciting Things Ahead!

It's our Birthday, but you get the gift!

I'm super excited to announce that in the coming days I'll be blogging with several different Tigearr Author's as we celebrate this great houses 5th Birthday! Stop by here to follow links to other authors, be introduced to some new books and characters and enjoy the discounted prices of our titles over the weekend.

Check back tomorrow for the start of a fun blog hop and discounted reads!

Trivia Monday

Well somehow or another we find ourselves starting a new Monday. Is it just me or does this day just rush right up on you? Hope everyone enjoyed the game last night. I for one didn't really much care as my beloved NOLA Saints weren't playing...and to be fair I'm over football and totally ready for baseball. GO SF GIANTS!

With that said...here are some fun historic trivia facts for this Monday.



1. Jimmy Carter was the first US President born in a hospital.
2. Britain's present royal family was originally named Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The name was changed in 1917, during WW1 because of German connotations. The name Windsor was suggested by one of the staff. At the same time the Battenberg family name of the cousins to the Windsors was changed into Mountbatten.
3. During the US Civil war, 200,000 blacks served in the Union Army; 38,000 gave their lives; 22 won the Medal of Honor.
4. Christmas became a national holiday in the US in 1890.
5. In England and the American colonies they year 1752 only had 354 days. In that year, the type of calendar was changed, and 11 days were lost.

Looking for a fun historic romance? Check out book 1 in my Clan Ross Series!

http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Desire-Clan-Ross-Book-ebook/

Catrìona MacDougall has dreamed of a highland warrior for years and over the course of her life she’s fallen irretrievably in love with a man she can’t have. This won’t do and she vows it’s time to put the dream man on the shelf and find a real man who can make her melt. What should seem like a very uncomplicated plan soon proves to be anything but. Catrìona is about to get way more than she ever bargained on. Maybe dreams really can become reality.

Laird Braden Ross, once a brave warrior for his clan was to marry Catrìona MacDougall and what started as a marriage to solidify clan relations turns into a love match. But, when Braden leaves MacDougall land with his bride to be, they are ambushed by banished members of the Comyn clan under the direction of Morgana a druid priestess who has long held deep feelings for Braden and when those feelings weren’t returned she vowed to make him pay. She attacks Catrìona and leaves her to die in Braden’s arms after cursing him into a loveless existence until his soulmate releases him.

Braden has been trying to reach out to Catrìona but she is convinced he’s nothing but a dream. He needs to prove to her they are meant to be, before she banishes him to the afterlife.

Trivia Monday

Welcome back to another Trivia Monday! Here are some fun facts you can wow your family and friends with.

1. Bubble wrap was originally invented as 3D wallpaper
2. The last movie ever rented at a Blockbuster was THIS IS THE END and it was rented in Hawaii
3.Glitter is so unique it can be used as forensic evidence if found in a murder case
4. Movie popcorn costs more per ounce then filet mignon
5. You speak about 4,800 words a day
6. There is no word that rhymes with purple
7. Honey bees have hair on their eyes.
8. Mosquitos flap their wings 500 times in a second
9. Dragonflies can fly up to 50 mph
10. The earliest fossil cockroach is about 280 million years old-80 million years older than the first dinosaurs!

TRIVIA MONDAY

I love trivia. Random and oftentimes useless bits of facts that aren't going to serve you much in the grand scheme of things but are fun just the same. So I comprised a list I'll share with you...you just never know when someone is going to ask you a random question. And this is going to be the first post in what will become TRIVIA MONDAY!



DID YOU KNOW?

1. When the Cornhuskers play in Nebraska the stadium becomes the third largest city in the state.
2. The life span of a dragonfly is just a day.
3. A flamingo can only eat when it's head is upside down.
4. Antartica is the only continent that doesn't have reptiles or snakes.
5. Its possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.
6. The GOLF stands for Gentleman Only Ladies Forbidden and that was the name the Scots came up with for their invention of putting balls into holes.
7. The first CD pressed in the USA was Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA
8. 315 entries in the Webster dictionary in 1996 were misspelled.
9. Elephants are the only land mammal that can't jump.
10. During WWII the Oscar statue was made of wood as metal was scarce.

Never Fear Christmas Terror...He sees you while you're sleeping!

He sees you while you're sleeping!
Twenty-Two Tales of Christmas Terror ranging from ancient Iceland to modern-day Iraq by New York Times Bestselling and award-winning authors, including: a new ghost story by Heather Graham, a Repairman Jack Christmas adventure by F. Paul Wilson, a spine tingling tale by master of horror Thomas F. Monteleone, and a special tale of Christmas wonder by Jon Land. In a unique experience—a story within a story—you will follow along when the MacDonald family discovers an unidentified present under their Christmas tree. Who gave it to them? Where did it come from? No one seems to know. And when they open the mysterious gift, it sets them on a course to a Christmas of terror they could never have expected.

Hey, thanks for stopping by! Today I'm a part of a blog hop with other authors from my new release Never Fear Christmas Terrors. 19 novellas about the holidays and horror! On this tour you're going to be able to learn a little about the authors, get a nibble on the different stories offered and be able to enter to win a copy of the book!


For those of you new to me...here is a little info about me!


Kristi Ahlers is a California girl! She grew up in Northern California in a small city called Yuba City. Since then she's lived in Brussels, Belgium, and England along with a myriad of other locations. A former flight attendant, she was able to continue to feed her love of travel. This has greatly influenced her writing, allowing her to pen stories about places she's managed to visit and things she's experienced.


What inspired my story?

I have long been fascinated by lighthouses. There is a lighthouse at Point Arena in California, it was really the first lighthouse I remember seeing. It’s not grand like the east coast lights, but still, it called to me. I now live in North Carolina and I love spending time on the outer banks. There are five iconic lights located here and each time I’ve visited one, I’ve “felt” the spirits of those from the past. Well, if you know me I’m big on “what if?” as a writer. One of my last trips out there was a storm coming in, I’d never seen an actual Atlantic storm blow up, it’s rather impressive if I do say so myself. I was on the island of Ocracoke, you need to take a ferry to this island in order to see the light there…It’s a forty-five minute crossing and when I watched us race the storm back to Hatteras I began to do my “what if” thing. It’s what I do to entertain myself when bored. I tucked the idea away until this project came up. It was perfect. Haunted light, Christmas, vengeful ghosts…what more could you ask for?


Do I have any experience with the supernatural?

When my family moved back to the USA after 7 years living abroad, I was ready to park it, let me tell you! We’d been living out of suitcases (a natural occurrence in the military when doing large moves) for over two months. I can promise you this wears thin after a few days at best. We came back to the states, being reassigned to Scott AFB in Illinois. Before we left Brussels, I’d done my research and was intent on living in a small little village of Lebanon. We came and drove through the town, it was just as I pictured it. Main street is bricked and full of restaurants, antique stores and sweet Victorian homes lines by large shady oaks. We looked at the rental listings and picked on. It was perfect…it was on the corner, in shades of green, Victorian (I’d always wanted to live in a Victorian) complete with a porch swing and all. Picking a house is a family affair (at the time my two sons were still with us) and we all went to look at this house. We wandered the place, small, three bedroom, two stories…nice small kitchen, hardwood floors, well…you get the picture. It was Victorian perfect. What wasn’t perfect was the “sense” of something not being right. But I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t a fan of the dining room despite the bowed windows and fireplace. But again I kept my mouth shut. My husband and both boys kept their mouths shut too. No one talked to anyone. Everyone wanted to park ourselves, unpack and start life.

Well long story short. This place was evil. Haunted by a spirit of a man who we found out later killed his wife and then himself, not long after the house had been built. The dogs, and cat refused to be in the dining room, no one would walk through this space even though it was the shorter way to the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Final straw, I was in the bathroom in the antique claw foot tub ( another bonus that made it easy to ignore things at first) when my cocker spaniel and yorkie came tearing into the bathroom, hackles raised making noises I’d never heard them make before. I called out to my husband who I thought had just walked past to our room (saw a dark shadow out of the corner of my eye) and I was getting frustrated that he wasn’t responding to me. Before I could fuss more the hot water came on, to the point of boiling, scalding my ankle. I have never moved so fast in my life. That night we talked, we had all experienced something on our own. For the first time ever we broke the lease and moved. Lesson learned here? Always go with your gut. If a space feels evil, it probably is.


What coming next for me?

Well, I’m a published romance writer along with this new genre that I am embracing wholeheartedly. I’m currently working on my next full length horror, and I’m putting the finishing touches on a suspense novel. I find 2016 is going to be an amazing year for me.

Where can you find me?

www.kristiahlers.com

https://www.facebook.com/Kristi-Ahlers-Author-327686303909139/

http://kristiahlers.blogspot.com/



Excerpt of “I’ll be Dead by Christmas”

It’s happening again.

Fear left a knot in her throat, as she retraced her steps back to the hall. The sensation of being watched overwhelmed her. Ainsley stopped, as an icy breath ticked the back of her neck. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.

“Ainsley.”

The whisper of her name A tremble jolted through her entire body, propelling her towards the staircase. Gripping the wooden railing, Ainsley ran down the stairs.

It was happening again. Fear and panic lashed at Ainsley’s heels. She had to find her grandmother.

Logically, Ainsley knew her grandmother hadn’t been in the house for quite sometime. She wouldn’t have let the fire burn low. Never on a stormy Atlantic night like tonight. And especially not when she knew to expect Ainsley.

The lighthouse.

Her grandmother couldn’t be out there. Not in this storm.

But it was Christmas Eve. When things that went bump in the night came alive. When the sound reverberating through the house wasn’t that of Santa and his reindeer on the roof.


For more information about this awesome collaboration follow the links below, learn how to win a free copy of the title and enjoy the sneak peek from the other authors I'm proud to be working with!

Rich Devin: https://www.facebook.com/rich.devin
Mat Kafuman: www.facebook.com/mathewkaufmanauthor
Crystal Perkins: https://www.facebook.com/crystalperkinsauthor?hc_location=ufi
Debbie Grahl: https://www.facebook.com/debbygrahlauthor/posts/555183617980788:0?hc_location=ufi