THE DEVIL'S FLOOD
by Pearl R. Meaker
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GENRE: Cozy Mystery
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BLURB:
Can a house vanish without a trace? What is the "super booze" that's available at clandestine drinking parties in Golden County? When mummified bodies show up at an archeological dig and a young man gets shot in a duel at a party, can Emory and Madison find the answers in the midst of a flood year?
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Excerpt Two:
“Okay.” Kate said, pulling her phone out of a pocket as Jairus and the crew gathered around me where I stood watching the rescue team go in after my husband. “Here’s a shot of Dr. Crawford.” She held the phone in front of me. “He’s still conscious and managed a little wave, but I’m glad the rescue team is heading in.”
I glanced at the photo. Jebbin lay in a pool of light on what looked like a pile of bedding heaped on a rough wooden floor. His glasses had fallen off. He never looks quite right without them, and
I could tell he was hurting. Probably feeling a bit nauseous as well. In spite of it all he wore a wan grin and had lifted a hand in greeting.
Kate swiped the screen.
In the sharp glare of her phone’s flash a mummified man sat on the floor, his back against a wall. There was a dark stain spilling down his chest from a hole near where his heart would be.
“There’s one part of the company Dr. Crawford mentioned he had.”
She swiped again. “Here’s the other.”
This mummy lay on its back. The flash showed a stain that flowed from his chest and down his side to form a hardened puddle on the floor.
“Which one’s my Grandpa?” Melva gasped.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Slightly quirky, always creative, Pearl R. Meaker has been an artist, singer and craftsperson her whole life. Although she's always had stories in her head, they didn't come out to play with others until the advent of home computers with their ease of making corrections and moving bits around.
After several years of writing fanfiction in the world of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, she took a couple of writing courses and dove into writing original works of fiction, and The Emory Crawford Mysteries were born.
When not playing with story ideas you can find Pearl playing with yarn either knitting or crocheting, doing other arts and crafts, bird watching and photographing nature, playing bluegrass fiddle (her husband plays banjo) or relaxing with her hubby on the sofa watching mystery shows on Netflix.
Oh - and reading all sorts of books, but especially cozy and other types of mysteries!
The books in The Emory Crawford Mysteries Series are reminiscent of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries, which is why Pearl has chosen to characterize her stories as "murder genteel."
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Interview with Pear R. Meaker
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
All sorts of places. My first two books, The Devil’s Music and The Devil’s Hook, we’re both inspired by a song – “Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby” from “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” The movie version is eerie, with a musical saw playing in the background.
My new book, The Devil’s Flood was inspired by my husband suggesting I write a story that involved a flood in the spring of 2015 because we were having a flood year that year.
How did you do research for your book?
I talked to local people about flood years that they remembered. I went to the library and found out about the history of flooding in this area, about the watershed in the surrounding part of the state and how that related to the creeks in our area.
One man told me how the house he grew up in and all their farm buildings had been where the lake west of our town is now. The land was sold for gravel quarrying. The idea of a house having been somewhere where there was now a lake became part of the story too.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I’m a homemaker, which should be considered a career even though you don’t get paid for it. It’s a full time job.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
My own childhood. I had a fairly pleasant one and the freedom of being a child is something that would be nice to revisit.
What is your next project?
My fourth book isn’t titled yet but is set at a music festival and involves a southern style rock band that’s led by Emory’s older brother. I’m going to be getting busy on it when all the business of The Devil’s Flood’s launch is over.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Pearl R. Meaker will award a randomly drawn commenter a $25 Amazon/BN GC.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa, for hosting me and The Devil's Flood today. :-)
ReplyDeletecongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa 😊 Thank you and you're welcome! 😊
DeleteI like your inspirations.
ReplyDeleteHi Kim 😊 Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed them.
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ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the interview and excerpt, sounds like a great book!
ReplyDeleteReally great post, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat tactics do you have when writing? (For example: outline or just write)
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I'm so glad I dropped by today and learned about your research into the flood. There are a couple of examples around where people moved houses, or entire villages to higher ground because of flooding. To have your homestead under water, that would be a tad freaky at times. Looking forward to reading The Flood.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your favorite part of the book?
ReplyDeleteHave you written any other books that are not published?
ReplyDeleteStopped by and shared the post
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