D

D
As many of you may know, our beloved sister hostess SHARON DONOVAN, tragically passed away on 11th April 2012. We who knew her, loved her, and were inspired by her courage and determination to face head on whatever life threw at her. When she could no longer see to paint she turned to writing and showed her amazing talent in the Inspirational Romance and Romantic Suspense genres, and her story 'Charade Of Hearts' was awarded the coveted Predators and Editors Award in January 2011.

This Blog was a source of great delight to her, she was one of the founder hostesses and she contributed to the fun and silliness in her own original way, and was kind enough to let her unique creation, the hunky butler 'Oliver' join us for our Friday romp and prepare 'virtual breakfast' for the guests on the following morning. It's beyond hard to have to go on without her, but we know that she would have been the first to insist that 'the show must go on.' She is, and will always be with us in spirit.
Sharon, dear friend, we will never forget you.
The Author Roast and Toast is part of the legacy you left us. Let's raise a Toast to you as well as all our guests.
***********************************************************

Friday, October 31, 2014

A Halloween Celebration for Beyond The Fortune Teller's Tent and The Witching Well



Cinnamon wafts through the air, the comforting smell in sharp contrast to the room full of spirits, ghouls and terrifying beasts.


“Wow, Lyn. The decorators have done a great job getting this place ready.” Mac runs a hand over the mock stone walls and grins. “It’s like a real castle!”

“Isn’t it just? I thought it fitting since our author, Kristy Tate’s stories are set in historic England.” Lyn’s gaze sharpens on Mac and she grimaces. “That makeup is hideous. Don’t grin so wide, it does weird things to your face.”

Mac grins wider, the zombie makeup making her mouth seem to stretch grotesquely. “Aww…don’t you think I look bee-oo-ti-ful? Give me a kiss.”

Lyn shrieks and dodges behind Mary and Lilly who’ve just joined them. Oliver approaches with a tray of sparkling apple cider and the hostesses all sigh in unison. Even with makeup turning his skin pallid and blood dribbling down his chin from glistening fangs, he was a gorgeous creature.

“Thank you, Oliver.” Lilly takes a glass and flutters her lashes up at him. His brow creases momentarily before he recovers himself, smiles and glides away towards the kitchen.

Mary turns to a confused Lilly and bursts out laughing. “You’re a pirate remember?” She covers an eye with her hand and blinks furiously in demonstration. “You looked like you had an eye condition.” Her glance moves past Lilly’s shoulder and her large bosom suddenly quivers with suppressed laughter.

Lilly turns from the arresting sight to see Oliver returning, a damp cloth in his hand and a sympathetic smile on his beautiful mouth. “Thanks,” she mutters and ducks her head, dabbing at the supposedly affected eye.

“Hi, girls! Sorry I’m late. Story of my life. How’s the party going?” LaVerne snags a couple of cinnamon spice cookies from a nearby table. “It looks so good! Exactly how I’d imagine a haunted castle – right down to the cobwebs.” The hand holding the biscuit freezes midway to her lips and her eyes widen. “They are fake, right?”
“Of course they are.” Lyn offers her the plate of pumpkin, chocolate chip muffins. “And speaking of fake, your makeup looks fabulous. So ghostly.”
LaVerne raises a brow. “Uh, thanks, I think. But this is how I always look. It makes dressing as Morticia Addams that much quicker, that’s for sure.”
Lyn groans. “These darn feet. They’re always finding their way into my mouth.”
“I find that impossible to believe.” Mac pats Lyn on the arm in a kindly gesture then winks at LaVerne and continues. “They’re huge. You surely couldn’t get more than your big toe in there.”

Lyn lets out an indignant squeak and goes to shove Mac with her shoulder, but she’s already scooted away with a giggle.

“Oh, look.” Lilly lowers her cloth and gestures towards the entrance. “It looks like the party can officially start. Kristy is here!”

Kristy glides in, waves at the hostesses and makes her way over. When she reaches them, Lilly hands her a glass of Apple cider and raises her glass.

“Welcome to your Roast party, Kristy and Happy Halloween! Let’s party loud enough to raise the dead!
 BLURB


PURCHASE LINK
When Petra Baron goes into the fortuneteller’s tent at a Renaissance fair, she expects to leave with a date to prom. Instead, she walks out into Elizabethan England, where she meets gypsies, a demon dog and a kindred spirit in Emory Ravenswood. 

Emory must thwart the plans of religious zealots. His mission is dangerous, his enemies are fanatical, and Petra Baron is a complication that Heaven only knows he does not need. Or does he? Although Emory is on Heaven’s errand, he learned long ago that Heaven does not always play fair. 


As Petra slowly falls for Emory, she wonders if he really is who he seems, or if he is just as lost as she is. How can they have a future while trapped in the past? Or is anything possible Beyond the Fortuneteller’s Tent?


EXCERPT

Fester, who had been sitting in the corner, somehow suddenly flashed to Petra’s side. She flinched from the strong, garlicky smell and the warmth of his body. Petra held her breath and took a step closer to the curtains that led outside.
He followed. “If you think your life is here and now, you are mistaken. Indeed, there is no time or space.”

“My only mistake was putting twenty dollars in your jar.”  Petra’s voice sounded screechy in her ears.
“Harbingers of ill will do not always mean you harm.”  Fester laid his fingers on Petra’s arm and sent a jolt of electricity that lifted her off her feet.

Petra watched the crystal ball sail through the air and the strings of hanging beads swayed, sounding like a rush of wind chimes. Potion jars spun in the air, tarot cards floated around her like large, one-dimensional snowflakes. The ball connected with a flying jar and shattered into thousands of pieces, crystal and potion glinting midair as the  poles supporting the draped damask groaned and teetered.

Earthquake, the rational part of Petra’s mind told her, but Petra was listening to another voice, one that said, run. Amidst the fluttering curtains Petra flew, whirling her arms and feet, a mid-air mime pantomiming running.

When the earth settled, Petra found herself buried beneath a pile of fabric and pillows. She sat up, dazed. Other than the drapes of cloth and the swaying crystal beads, the tent looked about the same, give or take the tarot cards scattered about. She pushed them away so she wouldn’t step on them.

Looking around, she didn’t see the fortuneteller. She wondered where he was and if he was hurt. Dazed, she tried looking for him, but the incense stung the back of her throat and filled her head. Needing air, she pushed through the curtains, brushed off her dress and straightened her tiara. Taking a few faltering steps, she stopped.


PURCHASE LINK
Blurb for Autumn's Kiss--the anthology where you can read The Witching Well.

Ten sweet stories of love. Ten great authors. Ten ways to celebrate Autumn. 
Falling in love is timeless. From a sexy medieval stonemason to a small town shopkeeper - Regency England to Napa Vineyards, this selection of Historical, Contemporary, Paranormal and Time-Travel short romance stories is sure to capture your heart.  


Featuring THE WITCHING WELL. KristyTate. Time Travel 
Celia Quinn holds Jason West responsible for the demise of her grandmother's dress shop, so when she takes a sip of water from the Witching Well and is transported back to Regency England, Jason West is the last person she wants to see--or kiss.
BIO
Kristy Tate writes Women's Fiction with a dash romance, mystery and humor. Her debut novel, Stealing Mercy, was on Amazon's top 100 list of historical romance for more than fifteen weeks and spent two weeks as number one. Her participation in the Christmas on Main Street Anthology, an Amazon #1 bestseller, inspirational romance, made her an Amazon top 100 author for more than a month. Her novel, The Rhyme's Library, was a 2013 Kindle Book Review semi-finalist, and Hailey's Comments was 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel quarterfinalist.

Stealing Mercy
A Ghost of a Second Chance
The Rhyme's Library
Hailey's Comments
Losing Penny 
A Light in the Christmas Cafe 
Beyond the Fortuneteller's Tent 
Beyond the Hollow
kristystories.blogspot.com



***GIVEAWAY***
To win a copy of Kristy's book, all you have to do is just leave a comment and your e-mail address.
Contest ends on Sunday and everyone who comments is eligible.
(We reserve the right to waive the prize in any week when there are not enough contestants for a draw to be deemed fair and unbiased)

13 comments:

  1. Welcome to your Roast, Kristy, your Blurbs and excerpts sound absolutely enthralling!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the invite! I'm so happy to be spending Halloween with you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Everything looks spooktacular! And what great books to be celebrating on Halloween. Fortune tellers and wells that can transport you through time? Yep, that sounds right up my alley.This is going to be a fun party, now that I've wiped my "twitty" eye. lol! I have got to remember not to bat my lashes when one of my eyes is covered. Stupid eye patch!

    ReplyDelete
  4. morning chickies! I'm in the mountains so I thought I'd comment while I had service. Congrats Kristy. This story sounds awesome! and I love the cover. TBR for sure, as soon as I'm home and can download.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just got back from the mountains and I had no internet or TV. It was like LOST without the hot guys. This sounds like a great read. Yippie!!! Nibby had the time of her life with BoBo. Missed you all and welcome to our party place Kristy!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Kristy! So lovely to sharing the Halloween celebrations with you and my fellow hostesses. We don't really celebrate it here in New Zealand, sadly. I had lollies (candy) all ready to go for anyone who happened to be trick or treating, but no one turned up! Oh well, all the more for me :)

    I love time-travel books! I've added your books to my TBR pile and I've got serious dress-envy going on after viewing that cover! Wow. Isn't it gorgeous?!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi sister hostesses! Lyn waves to Lilly, Mac, Mary and LaVerne.

    What about an excerpt from 'The Witching Well', LaVerne?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey everyone,
    You can read 3 excerpts from the Witching Well here:
    http://kristystories.blogspot.com/2014/10/excerpt-three-of-what-used-to-be.html
    I hope if you take the time to read it that you'll let me know what you think.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I do love time travel too LaVerne! Kristy you're a hit!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a fun post! Great excerpt, really hooked me! Thank you for the chance.

    brookeb811 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the food, fun & books.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. So glad you stopped by the party, Mary. Be sure to snag a drink from Oliver!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Mary and Brook, thanks so much for stopping by and glad you enjoyed the post!

    ReplyDelete

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST
authorroast@btinternet.com
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE OUR GUEST? DO YOU WANT TO PROMOTE YOUR NEW RELEASE OR EVEN AN OLDER ONE?IF YOU FANCY BEING GUEST OF HONOUR AT ONE OF OUR PARTIES JUST EMAIL US AT THE ADDRESS in 'OLIVER'S RULES'!(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 'G' RATED BLOG SO NOTHING HIGHER THAN THIS RATING, PLEASE.)