It's PRISONERS IN THE PALACE week on the blog! (Giveaway)

It is my pleasure to have a week of Prisoners in the Palace on the blog. I really enjoyed Michaela's story of Liza, a maid to Princess Victoria in London, 1838 especially since I have recently been sucked into the world of historical fiction. Each day this week we will have something devoted to the book: character interviews, an author interview and more!

About the book:

London, 1836. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery and treason above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Meticulously based on new interpretations of history, this riveting novel is as rich in historical detail as Catherine, Called Birdy, and as sizzling with intrigue as The Luxe.

Interested in reading the first chapter? That's easy, click here!

About the author:

Michaela attended Vassar College and Yale University. She earned degrees in multi-disciplinary history. Unfortunately, it took her 20 years before she realized she was learning how to write historical fiction. Her favorite stories are the ones she finds about the childhood experiences of famous people. What happened that helped them to be great? Michaela has two daughters so she's hoping to identify those moments firsthand. She and her family live in Connecticut, but she will travel at the drop of hat to do local research. So far her travels have taken her to London and Florence and Amherst, Massachussetts. A trip to Shanghai, China is in the works. Prisoners in the Palace (Chronicle, October 2010) is her first book.

You can find out more about Michaela on her: website, blog, Facebook, Twitter

...and thanks to Michaela & her publisher, Chronicle, you have a chance to win a copy of Prisoners in the Palace or one of 5 bookmarks:) Please leave a comment and fill out the form below!


Cross-posted at: He Followed Me Home...Can I Keep Him? on 25 October 2010.

The Witchy Worries #2 Deleted Scene and Giveaway Winner!

I hope you have enjoyed the week of The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams! To end the week here is a deleted scene from Rhonda's work on book two. Thanks to Rhonda for the fun week, I look forward to sharing many more adventures with Abbie. And thanks to all those who entered the contest, the winner is announced below!

This is actually a deleted scene from Abbie 2, in which Abbie’s parents and Mrs. Drake are removing a spell from Abbie that prevents her from sharing the secret of magic with anyone. I can’t tell you why they’re doing it though...because it will ruin a big surprise.


“Okay, Abs,” said my dad, snapping open his medical bag. “I wish we could say we knew exactly how removing this spell will affect you, but since none of us, even Mrs. Drake, has ever seen it done before, we can’t really tell for sure. Don’t worry though, honey. Mrs. Drake and I went into the time warp together and did a lot of research. So, we figure we’re as up to speed as we can get, on the correct removal technique. Your old dad’s on the case here, don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried, Daddy,” I said.

But I was.

Munch’s eyes were big and round and he wiggled behind the cushion in the easy chair.

“Good job, buddy,” said my dad, stepping over to ruffle his curls. “You stay right there till this is all over.”

“Now Abbie. We’ll need you to close your eyes and empty your mind as much as possible,” said Mrs. Drake in a soft, soothing voice.

I closed my eyes but it was hard to clear my mind because way too many things were rushing through it right then, like worrying whether it was going to hurt… and...and worrying whether it was going to hurt!!…. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly like I do in drama club when we’re doing our relaxation exercises.

“That’s good sweetheart,” whispered my mom, still stroking my hand. “Just take another deep breath like that and on the exhale, let your whole body sink into the couch.”

My dad and Mrs. Drake started to mutter then, quiet words that I couldn’t make out. It sounded like they had a lot of syllables in them. The air thickened up around me, as it if were a muggy, summer night, just before a big thunderstorm. From somewhere in the walls, a deep hum began to throb. It got louder and louder and I felt myself start to shake. A lot.

“Marley?” my mom asked worriedly, her voice trembling.

It’s okay, Tildy,” answered my dad. “We expected some physical reaction. I’ve got my eye on it.”

I shook harder and harder and then…WHAM…my head slammed back… my eyes shot open….And I discovered that I wasn’t in my own homey living room, surrounded by people who loved me.

Uh uh.

I was somewhere dark, and cold, and SCARY!!!

There were huge, creepy shadows moving toward me, and the ground where I was lying was full of jagged, sharp edges and points.

Fear shot through me.

I pushed myself up with my hands, jumped to my feet, and screamed, “Daddy!!!??”

There was a terrible, shrieking ROAR behind me, and I screamed again and leapt forward… into the arms of my dad, who came slamming out of nowhere, right in front of me. He snatched me up and swung me around the other way. A storm of blue sparkles eddied around us.

And there I was… back in our living room, standing in front of the easy chair, with a white-faced Munch staring at me, clutching his pillow to his chest.

....and the winner is......
Jennifer G.!!!!

Congrats Jen, I'm sending you an email now :)

Cross-posted at: He Followed Me Home...Can I Keep Him? on 16 April 2010.