Finding Inspiration in Weather

The past two weeks have felt surreal with the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, the resulting storm surge and subsequent flooding in Lumberton, North Carolina. For those who have read The Tempest Murders, you'll recall that it takes place as Hurricane Irene is barreling toward the North Carolina coast. Lumberton was in its crosshairs and though we received a lot of rain, Hurricane Matthew was far more destructive to the Carolinas.

In the beginning chapters of The Tempest Murders, Detective Ryan O'Clery is investigating the murder of a young woman found along the banks of the Lumber River in clear view of the Robeson County Courthouse. In the picture here, the courthouse is the light tan building near the upper left, and the river is just one block away. It is normally the width of a few cars, but you can see from the picture how it flowed well beyond its banks to flood businesses, homes, streets - and anything in its path.


I was originally inspired to write The Tempest Murders when I came across information regarding one of the most massive storms in Ireland's history, called The Night of the Big Wind. It took place on the day of Epiphany (January 6, 1839), a date that some in the religious community had forecasted the world would end. And the residents of Ireland must have thought the world was ending, because the winds came in at 115mph, literally blowing the Atlantic Ocean across the island as it tracked from west to east. The book actually begins as Ryan O'Clery's uncle several generations back was returning to his home after a trip to Dublin, only to find that the water had washed away whole villages - and his lover.



I was further inspired by Hurricane Isabel. In September, 2003 I was living in Chesterfield, Virginia, a county that lies between Richmond and Petersburg. At 3:00 in the afternoon, the skies became pitch black, the electricity and water abruptly stopped, and I retreated to a room of the house with my dogs. For more than twelve hours, I could hear the sound of 100+ foot tall oak trees hitting the ground and could only pray that none hit the house. It wasn't until the next morning when the sun rose that I was able to look outside. Giant trees had fallen like matchsticks, one hitting the house next door to mine and more than two dozen falling in my yard - but thankfully, none hitting the house. They came down with such force that when one tree with a diameter of several feet was being removed from the front yard, they found another tree the same size embedded in the ground under it.


Then as luck would have it, I was living in Lumberton, North Carolina as Hurricane Irene came ashore. I have been extremely fortunate not to have suffered the devastation that many have, having lived through three hurricanes.


I've chosen to add extreme weather to my books because the weather can be a formidable opponent, one that is impossible to fight - and yet many must make life or death decisions in the blink of an eye. Weather can also place a critical time element on unfolding events, such as Ryan O'Clery discovering that his lover is a serial killer's next target and history is poised to repeat itself.

I find books that pit ordinary people against extraordinary events impossible to put down, like The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, regarding the true story of "the storm of the century", the meteorological events that created it, and the crew of the Andrea Gail that was caught in its crosshairs. I knew as I was reading it that they could not fight an opponent with hurricane force winds and a sea bent on tossing the ship like a paper model, and yet I was riveted by the courage of the men who fought to keep their vessel afloat against all odds. (Shown here, actors portraying the crew of the Andrea Gail in The Perfect Storm, which also starred George Clooney.)


Hurricane damage may get a lot of publicity in the days after it occurs, but in reality it may take years to recover from loss and sometimes the losses are irrecoverable, leaving an imprint on people for the rest of their lives. The waters are receding in Lumberton. The town is filled with the friendliest people I've ever known, and during this time of need, I have seen ordinary people perform extraordinary feats. Will this experience inspire me to write Hurricane Matthew into a future book? Once the pain subsides, yes, I think so. After all, pitting man against the weather is as old a story as man himself.


p.m.terrell is the internationally acclaimed author of more than 20 books, including two award-winning series set in Lumberton: Black Swamp Mysteries and the Ryan O'Clery Mystery Series. Visit her website for additional information on these books and others.

Hurricane Matthew and North Carolina Storm Surge

Only one week ago I wrote an article about evacuating pets and emergency supplies. Little did I know the drama that would engulf my region when I wrote it.

 

I live in Lumberton, nestled in the southeast corner of North Carolina about one hour from North Myrtle Beach, SC and one hour due west from Wilmington, NC. Hurricane Matthew’s path came closer to shore than expected. Power went out last Saturday and during the height of the storm, countless trees came down on power lines and blocking roads.

 

During the night—after the storm had passed—people all over this region were awakened by the sound of water rushing into their homes. The storm surge—water pushed in from the ocean by the strong hurricane-force winds—was pushed upstream into rivers that were already swollen from record rainfall the month before.

If you've read my Black Swamp Mysteries series or Ryan O'Clery Mysteries, you know the Lumber River cuts right through the heart of town. The flood has completely submerged the water treatment facility so residents are without water for the foreseeable future (possibly four more weeks), but more importantly, it became a life or death situation for thousands of people here.

One of the most compelling stories I've heard is about a woman whose son drove all the way from Texas to rescue her. He found her in a flooded home surrounded by alligator-infested water. 

(http://myfox8.com/2016/10/11/lumberton-woman-barely-escapes-flooded-home-home-car-destroyed-horses-missing/ or https://www.facebook.com/chadtucker/videos/10153837893100896/ ) She was able to get one of her dogs out; the ASPCA, hearing of her story, went back after the second dog (see below).

Here are some news reports with video that can more adequately describe the situation here, pictures and video from Lumberton about halfway down:

 

https://www.rt.com/usa/362709-nc-hurricane-matthew-flooding-rivers/

 

And:

 

http://abc11.com/weather/11-deaths-in-north-carolina-blamed-on-matthew/1535987/

(Lumberton about halfway down with video with the caption “Lumberton Flooding” in which the Governor said that Lumberton and Robeson County are “the greatest challenge to this state”)

 

The interstate was washed out here. (Picture at right taken from the service road at Exit 22.) 

 

If you want to help, here is information from our state representative Jane Smith: Supplies can be sent to Robeson Emergency Operations Center at 38 Legend Road, Lumberton, North Carolina 28358. Monetary donations can go to United Way of Robeson County at PO Box 2652, Lumberton, NC 28360.

 

p.m.terrell is the internationally acclaimed author of more than 20 books, including two award-winning series set in Lumberton: Black Swamp Mysteries and the Ryan O'Clery Mystery Series.

Moving to Audio Books

I have some very exciting news to share. This summer, two of my books have been made into audio books - The Tempest Murders and The White Devil of Dublin. This is particularly exciting for me because both books are written from the point of view of Detective Ryan O'Clery, an Irishman who has moved to North Carolina and works for the Lumberton Police Department.

The audio books are narrated by actor Jack Nolan. An Irish descendant himself, he truly brings Ryan O'Clery to life.

In The Tempest Murders, Detective Ryan O'Clery is working a series of homicides when he discovers a journal kept by an uncle five generations earlier. The journal details the same type of murders - only these took place nearly two hundred years earlier, as the Night of the Big Wind swept the Atlantic Ocean across all of Ireland.

As Hurricane Irene barrels toward the North Carolina coastline, Ryan discovers even the killer's description matches exactly. And as he falls in love with television reporter Cathleen Reilly, he begins to wonder if she is the reincarnation of Caitlin O'Conor, the woman lost to the killer as the storm raged in Ireland - and if he is the reincarnation of Constable Rian Kelly. Now he's in a race to rescue Cathleen before the killer finds her - or is history destined to repeat itself?

Visit amazon.com to listen to the first chapter. The audio book is unabridged, so you get all the excitement of the printed and eBook editions. It is also available on iTunes and at ACX (Audible).


To celebrate this new phase of my career, my website has also been completely redesigned. I hope you'll check it out, as more than 3,000 pages and images were painstakingly upgraded to the new look and interface. Let me know what you think of it! The URL is www.pmterrell.com. You'll find all of my books (except my computer books), my background information, links to all my social media, and links to my blogs and Book 'Em North Carolina.

And I'm curious: how do you like your books? As audio books, printed books or eBooks?

Join Me in a Worldwide Blog Hop

I'm excited to be participating in this worldwide blog hop. I always enjoy meeting other authors and readers and discovering new books. I was nominated for this blog hop by fellow author Susan Whitfield. I've come to know Susan through our involvement in Book 'Em North Carolina; she has participated each year and earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with her through Studebaker Press.

Among her works, Susan has written a wonderful series called the Logan Hunter Series, featuring an SBI investigator. For those of you who don't live in North Carolina, the SBI is a state version of the FBI - it is North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation. Logan Hunter, the main character, becomes involved in murder investigations around the state. Susan's writing sucks me in with the very first chapter and keeps me riveted through to the last page.

ABOUT MYSELF

For visitors new to me and my writing, my pen name is p.m.terrell, which stands for Patricia McClelland Terrell. My first book was published in 1984 and since then, I've had 18 books released with more in various stages of the production cycle.

I've written in several genres, including how-to computer books and a how-to marketing book for authors. But my greatest success has come from two historical adventures based on an ancestor, Mary Neely, and my contemporary suspense. River Passage, the true story of the Donelson Party journey west in 1779, won the 2010 Best Book Award. Vicki's Key, a contemporary suspense featuring a CIA psychic spy, was a 2012 International Book Award Finalist and a 2012 USA Best Book Award Finalist. And The Tempest Murders was a 2013 USA Best Book Award Finalist and a 2014 International Book Awards nominee.


ABOUT MY WRITING

The next book that will be released is The White Devil of Dublin, and here for the first time is the cover revealed.

It is the sequel to The Tempest Murders. Detective Ryan O'Clery is an Irishman living in North Carolina when an historian contacts him with information about his ancestors. Convinced she has him mistaken for someone else, he agrees to meet with her - but finds her murdered, her throat slit from ear to ear, and her computer missing. To solve the case, he must find the missing computer and piece together the information she was working on, which takes him back to 12th century Dublin, to a secret his family had harbored for over eight hundred years, and to an albino called the White Devil of Dublin. It will also bring him face to face with a current-day albino serial killer who is intent on destroying everyone Ryan loves.

Below is an excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

1169, The Approach to Duiblinn

The mists swirled about the Viking ship, shrouding their approach in an ashen veil. It seemed as though the clouds themselves were reaching toward the waters, parting momentarily to reveal their advance, silent and evil, an apparition on the deadly sea.

He moved as one with the great ship, his feet spread wide and firmly planted behind the dragon’s head that graced the bow. Atop a platform, he had an unencumbered view of the gray waters; though they roiled and tumbled, the waves crashing against the sides of the vessel, he remained unyielding, secure in his position. He towered above those behind him who worked the sail or labored in the rowing stations. He could feel their eyes upon him.

Though he was a young man, his hair was white and reached nearly to his waist. It was wild at the moment, swirling about his body wherever the wind took it. His eyebrows and his lashes were pale against alabaster skin that stretched over taut muscles. His shoulders were broad and his arms powerful, though he now rested them idly behind his back, his fingers entwined. His thighs were strapping and fought at the fabric that dared encase them, moving effortlessly with the sway and tug of the vessel that was more a home to him than any bed and table.

His eyes were the color of blue ice. The pupils were not black but appeared to lack any color at all. He had been told by his men that when he stood at the bow of the ship as he did now, his eyes appeared nearly completely white and otherworldly, a characteristic that unnerved his enemies.

His name was Baldr but he was known simply as Hvitr Bard, The White Devil.

He preferred the saffron tunic and slightly darker cloak that he currently wore, though he’d discovered years earlier that his wine-colored clothing was best in battle, as it hid blood splatters. He had never been injured himself; his arms were uncommonly long, his frame inches taller than his Norse counterparts; a giant among giants. And among the Celtic people he now approached, he was indeed a goliath. No swing of an arm, even extended with a sword, could reach his torso.

As the mists parted with the first peek of the rising sun, he spotted fishermen along the shorelines and sheep farmers on the hills. As they readied for their day, they stopped to watch the tall, sleek ship slide silently past them.

Gone were the days when necessity dictated a stealthy approach. The Ostmen had ruled Duflin—what the Gaelic people called Duiblinn, or Black Pool—for three hundred years. It was their village now, even if the Celts resented their presence; a bustling, thriving spot along the water that beckoned with good food, strong spirits, and an abundance of women to be had for the taking.

In the distance, he spotted an outcropping of buildings. He forced himself to remain perfectly still, completely rigid. His expression would remain chiseled still as stone. It was an integral part of what made him The White Devil.

The docks were alive with fishermen departing for a day at sea; a cacophony of voices reached his ears as they drew closer still. Women hawked pieces of bread and meat for men who would grow hungry before they would again see these shores. Men shouted to one another, inspecting the nets and tossing them onto the decks, gathering their supplies for the hard hours ahead. In the distance, bells rang, their vibrations echoing in the mists of Eire.

Young boys rushed to greet the Viking ship, eager to assist for a coin, while the Celtic men eyed them suspiciously, warily.

Only then did Hvitr Bard remove his hands from behind his back. He raised one hand, and the rowing behind him stopped. With a gesture only his men recognized, they rose as one and prepared to come ashore.

The sail unfurled behind him as they pulled alongside the docks. Under the expert hands of his men, it would be folded and readied for the next voyage, whenever that should be. At a moment’s notice, they could be called to the north or the south to quell some uprising against them or to settle an old score with either the Celts or the Normans, or simply to raid another monastery or castle.

Standing near the dragonhead at the bow, he loomed above the men on shore, but when he leapt to the dock below, it was with the fluid grace and agility of a smaller, more slender man. He landed on his feet, his knees only slightly bending, before rising to his full height. The crowds parted as The White Devil stepped among them, their eyes wide, unblinking, frightened. The women clasped their hands to their chests, backing away, while the men avoided his path and averted their eyes. Many of them had seen him countless times before and yet each time it was the same: he was feared. And he was reviled.

The White Devil of Dublin is unique because it combines a present-day police investigation with events that transpired in Dublin during the time of the Viking conquest and the Norman invasion. The action moves back and forth between the two periods, unfolding as Ryan puts the pieces together. The reader discovers the secret as Ryan does; a secret his family kept hidden for more than eight hundred years, and which led a present-day albino killer to seek Ryan out from halfway around the world, intent on destroying him.

I enjoy writing contemporary suspense because I love the action and adventure, of propelling a story forward with breakneck speed, and of keeping readers turning the pages as they hurtle toward the final climactic scene. The White Devil of Dublin, like many of my other works, is also considered a romantic suspense and I was as surprised as anyone when I fell in love with the original albino that crossed Ryan's ancestors' paths in the 12th century.

I wrote the story of The White Devil in Ireland first and then went back to the beginning and interspersed it with Ryan's present-day investigation, polishing and blending as both stories come together. Layers of each character are unveiled as their stories intertwine, and I have to admit that I cried some and felt happiness and romance and joy right along with my characters. When I wrote the climactic scene, I knew I had to make it big and I also knew I had to make Ryan face one of his worst fears - that of heights. So the final scene takes place atop a water tower during a storm in which the clouds almost seem to reach to the top of the structure.


NEXT BLOGGERS

Three bloggers will pick up with this worldwide blog tour from here, posting next week, July 21. I hope you'll visit each of them. I'm sure you'll enjoy their books. I highly recommend following them!

Carol Dean Jones: http://caroldeanjones.wordpress.com

Maggie Thom: http://maggiethom.wordpress.com/the-write-to-read/

Bonnie Watson:  https://wisdomnovels.wordpress.com/

Made in the USA - Do You Care?

Last week, I mentioned the athletic shoes I recently purchased were made in the USA. It opened a flood of emails from folks asking about other products made in the United States, and how imports from other countries have negatively impacted jobs here in the USA. It's a theme I used in my recent political thriller, The Pendulum Files.

Over the past ten years, I've looked for furniture made in the USA. It tends to be better made, lasts longer and looks better than some of the furniture made overseas.

And it has the added benefit of putting our neighbors and friends to work right here in our country.

North Carolina was once known for their quality furniture. Many manufacturers moved their factories to Mexico, Central or South America, or to Asian countries. But a few have remained here, and some are coming back. One owner said when he looked at the demise of his town here in North Carolina, he realized he was partially to blame for it; he'd put around 400 Americans out of work so he could pocket more money himself. But his furniture sales declined because the quality was no longer there, and out-of-work Americans could no longer afford to buy it - or anything other than the basic necessities.

Does Made in the USA matter to you?

Or if you're not an American and you're reading this from elsewhere in the world, does it matter that you purchase goods made in your own country? Or do you believe that globalization benefits us all?

I was curious about furniture still made in North Carolina, and found this link with a list of companies: http://www.manufacturednc.com/directory/NC-Furniture-Related-Wood-Product-Manufacturing.cfm

What is your opinion about importing goods that could be made in your own region?

WIP Wednesday - Setting

I am currently finishing up the fifth book in my Black Swamp Mysteries series, which takes place in Lumberton, North Carolina. This is a real town that straddles Interstate 95 in North Carolina from Exits 14 through 22.

My latest release, The Tempest Murders, contains completely different characters and plots, but it also takes place in Lumberton.

There are some places that stand out, and Lumberton is one of them. When you venture to the historic downtown area, it feels as if you're stepping into yesteryear. The Carolina Civic Center Historic Theatre, for example, was recently completed renovated in a style reminiscent of the days in which people dressed up to go to the movies... And a piano was played before every performance. The theatre is featured in Vicki's Key, the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, when psychic spy Vicki Boyd encounters a ghost walking across the theatre balcony.

In The Tempest Murders, it is featured again when Detective Ryan O'Clery investigates the killing of a young woman who had come to town with a theatre group.

The Robeson County Courthouse straddles two blocks. When you're driving across the Lumber River bridge into the historic downtown area, you are facing the courthouse steps. In The Tempest Murders, Ryan investigates another homicide along those river banks - and turns around to find people gathered on the courthouse steps, watching him.

I like writing about small towns. Readers can become familiar with them and the people who live there... And in a series, they can feel as if they're coming home when they open a book and remember the streets, the houses, and the descriptions of landmarks from past books.

I was recently reminded of this when I was reading a series that took place in a Scottish village during the 1500's. I began to feel as if I'd been to the village and visited the people there; they'd become that familiar.

If you have the chance, please join me in Lumberton, North Carolina next February 22, 2014. I'll be there with more than 75 authors, publishers and literary agents for the Third Annual Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair. It's free and it's open to the public. For more information, visit www.bookemnc.org.

WIP Wednesday

This is Work-in-Progress Wednesday and in honor of Halloween, I'd like to tell you about the ghost stories that have made their way into my books.

Black Swamp Mysteries features a psychic spy who sees ghosts. In Vicki's Key (released early 2012) she sees a ghost in the home she is staying in, as well as a ghost at the Carolina Civic Center's Historic Theatre and at Luther Britt Park.

Vicki's home was inspired by real ghosts sighted in real homes in Lumberton, North Carolina.

Like the ghost that walks in front of the windows in an abandoned home, shining a lantern to light the way... but to where?

Or the real Lady in White, who roams the Historic Theatre. She is often seen walking across the balcony. She looks as real as a live person but when she reaches the opposite side, she disappears.

I am currently working on Dylan's Song, which is set in Ireland. When Vicki ventures to Ireland with Dylan, she meets his grandmother Bonnie O'Sullivan. Bonnie warns her that the "veil is thin in Ireland", something I've heard from many, many who were born and raised there.

What does that mean? It means it is easy to cross into another dimension... Or communicate with those in other dimensions...

And Vicki sees ghosts while she's in Ireland. Several of them.

Unfortunately, Dylan's grandmother passes away while they are in Ireland (which is part of the reason for their trip) ... But if she's gone, why does Vicki continue to see her?

Tonight's the Night

Tonight is the official launch of my 14th suspense/thriller, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman. Just ten years ago if someone had told me I would have 14 books published and four more in various stages of production, I don't know if I would have believed them. Add to that the fact that I've started two series and at least two books a year will be published, and I know I wouldn't have believed them.

If you're in the Lumberton area, please drop by and see me at the Carolina Civic Center's Historic Theatre in beautiful downtown Lumberton. I'll be speaking there at 7:00 pm and selling and signing books afterward. The event is FREE and open to the public.

Since moving to Lumberton, North Carolina about 7 years ago, I've been writing full-time. I truly began enjoying it when I began using Lumberton as the backdrop. Lumberton is like a step into yesteryear; the historic downtown area is lined with giant trees that seem to shake hands above the road; the black waters of the Lumber River meander through town; the shops downtown are quaint, unique and friendly.

Yet just below the surface of the black waters that snake their way through town are secrets long hid... Secrets that begin to form and grow and undulate with each book I write.

Black Swamp Mysteries has an ensemble cast. I wanted to constantly surprise the reader and keep each book fresh - while, as book reviewer Donna Coomer put it, "feeling like you're reuniting with old friends."

The series' plots revolve around international crime, which will have the characters moving around the world in clandestine operations. Vicki's Key took place partially in Afghanistan in the remote regions of the Hindu Kush along the border of Pakistan. Secrets of a Dangerous Woman includes scenes in Argentina, where Brenda Carnegie was snatched up by CIA operatives and taken back to the United States in the darkness of night. Dylan's Song, which will be released in 2013, takes place in Ireland as Dylan and Vicki work to locate and extract a missing CIA operative.

Where do I find my ideas? I often find them right in the CIA's own declassified records. Truth is always stranger than fiction, isn't it?

Art Galleries and Murder

In just two more weeks, my 14th book will be released. Secrets of a Dangerous Woman takes place, like all of the Black Swamp Mysteries series, in Lumberton, North Carolina. And like the other books, I use real places.

The climactic scene in Secrets of a Dangerous Woman have Dylan Maguire (now working for the CIA), his boss Sam and Christopher Sandige, a political operative, surrounded by enemies at an old water filtration facility that is under renovation as an art gallery.

The Southeastern Waterworks Regional Art Center is a real project in Lumberton, North Carolina. The Water Street Water Filtration Plant was designed in 1946 and constructed on the Lumber River in the downtown commercial district. An addition was constructed several years later to meet increased demand. The property was abandoned in 1990 when a larger treatment facility was built less than a mile upriver.

It's this abandoned facility where Dylan, Sam and Chris must fight for their lives.

The community’s vision is to transform this abandoned though light-filled industrial building into a central gathering place with open artist studios, event space for up to 1,000 people, galleries, workshops, outdoor amphitheater, gardens and dining on the river.

The advantages of having a gallery space on the river are coveted in small rural communities like Lumberton. It is through the foresight and innovative commitment of the City of Lumberton that Southeastern Waterworks Regional Art Center received the 6,000 square foot building on the Natural and Historic Lumber River, to become a centerpiece of a new Downtown Riverwalk, also in the works.

For this purpose, the generous citizens of Lumberton, North Carolina are marshaling all their resources, including building a solar farm to provide ongoing funding for the center through the sale of sustainable energy.

This groundbreaking collaboration connects municipal government, the private arts sector and renewable energy. The strong commitment of the City of Lumberton is evidence that both her leadership and her public understands the great value of moving energy back into our historic downtown.

In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, the facility is immortalized in the condition it now stands - under renovation. I hope someday soon you'll be able to visit Lumberton and tour the facility in its incarnation as a Regional Art Center.

To stay abreast of the progress of the Southeastern Waterworks Regional Art Center, visit www.waterworksart.org.

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman is currently available for Kindle, Nook, iPad and other eBook formats. The printed edition will be released in September and will be available at all fine stores and online. You can order a copy now through www.pmterrell.com and it will ship on September 1.

Kala Ambrose - Ghosthunting North Carolina

One of the pleasures in working with Book 'Em North Carolina is meeting new authors and discovering new books. We have a wide variety of authors represented at each Book 'Em event, from non-fiction (inspirational, how-to, biographical, autobiographical) to the fiction world: mysteries, romance, horror, paranormal, drama, suspense, comedy... And I always enjoy discovering the areas in which various authors are inspired to write about.

This week, I profiled one gem in The Robesonian newspaper. Kala Ambrose is a talk show host, inspirational speaker, and a columnist for various publications, including The Huffington Post and The Examiner. She has also appeared on every major network TV: ABC, NBC and CBS and is an award-winning author.

Follow this link to read the full article as it appeared in The Robesonian on Sunday, June 17 about Ambrose's book, Ghosthunting in North Carolina. Of particular interest to me was the story about the Lost Colony of Roanoke because the Lumbee Indians in Robeson County claim their ancestors were from the Lost Colony. There are more than two dozen wonderful ghost stories in Ambrose's book. I highly recommend it.

Please make plans now to attend Book 'Em North Carolina on Saturday, February 23, 2013. Join more than 75 authors, publishers, literary agents and book promoters. Our headliners are New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe and Hollywood producer Chuck Williams! Admission is free and open to the public.

Angel Breeding

At a recent book talk, I was asked how I knew so much about breeding freshwater angelfish. In my latest book, Vicki's Key, Vicki Boyd takes a summer job helping an elderly woman with her angelfish breeding business. She arrives to find the woman has suffered a stroke and her Irish nephew is there to train Vicki how to care for and breed the angelfish.

The information on fish breeding comes from experience.

I love freshwater angelfish. Contrary to what some books and pet store owners will tell you, they are very difficult to keep, primarily because they need special vitamins and they have a high mortality rate when they are young. But apparently conditions in my home are just right for them because every two weeks, I tend to get about 300 angelfish eggs laid.

Angels mate for life and they often live for ten years. In the video below, I have two pair of angels in one 70-gallon tank, along with some tetra to help provide them with a calm environment. The marble angel is a male named Lindsay Buckingfish. (I know. I name my angels. It's quirky.) The platinum angel in the right background is Stevie Fishnick. Stevie has just laid eggs on the filter and Lindsay is helping her guard them. The problem occurs when Pipsqueak Littlefish, the Band Manager (koi angel) wants to sample the sushi bar.



A close inspection of the fish afterward showed no damage to either of them. And today they are the best of friends, hanging out like guys do. The silver angelfish in the left side of the video, by the way, recently lost his mate, Christy McFish, a smoky leopard. I have a few more angels coming in this week so hopefully John McFish will find a new mate he can love and have eggs with.

In Vicki's Key, Vicki is a CIA operative who decides she wants to leave the agency and start anew. But after she moves Lumberton, North Carolina, her CIA boss finds her and convinces her to come back. Through the rest of the series, she will remain an angelfish breeder as a front for her real job as a CIA operative.

Why is she a fish breeder, you might ask? Because I needed to give her a job that sounds boring. It had to be something solitary; she couldn't work in a cubicle and leave in front of coworkers who might question her absences as she's pulled into missions. She works out of her home with a building in the back of the property that serves as the "fish house". As she's pulled into social settings, she can numb them quickly with talk of water parameters, which makes it unlikely for her vocation to be of much interest to anyone else.

So while the neighbors think she's living a totally boring life, she's actually experiencing quite a bit of drama, including murders, espionage and international intrigue.

p.m.terrell is an internationally acclaimed, award winning author. Her 13th book, Vicki's Key, was released in the spring of 2012 and is a nominee for both the 2012 International Book Awards and the 2012 USA Best Book Awards. Her 14th book, the sequel to Vicki's Key, will be released this fall. For more information, visit www.pmterrell.com.

The House That Inspired a Ghost

Readers outside of Lumberton, North Carolina might think that Aunt Laurel's aging, rambling home in Vicki's Key was entirely the stuff of fiction. But those who live here in the town where Vicki's Key is set know it was inspired by a real home... and real ghosts.

The Caldwell House was built at the turn of the 20th century and remained in the Caldwell family for three generations. It fell into disrepair when the last resident passed away and was eventually sold to a family in California. Unfortunately, it continued to deteriorate and remained vacant for several years.

The lady who moved into the home for a short time reported hearing children's laughter on the second floor, even though no one was there in the house with her. She also reported taking her shoes off beside the bed each night, only to find they had been moved while she slept.

A local resident remembered driving past the house one dark and stormy night to see a person standing at the third floor window, watching him, although the house was empty at the time.

Others reported seeing a figure walk past the windows carrying an old-fashioned lantern that lit up the windows during the blackest of nights...

In Vicki's Key, when Vicki Boyd pulls up in front of the house to start her new job assisting the elderly woman who lives there, she is tempted to keep on driving - until the woman's charming Irish nephew, Dylan Maguire, talks her into staying.

But Vicki soon discovers Aunt Laurel has suffered a stroke and is confined to the third floor bedroom... And when the house starts to come alive with secrets long thought buried, Vicki questions her sanity - or is it something more that lurks there in the old, rambling home?

Vicki's Key is p.m.terrell's 13th published book. Released earlier this year, it is a nominee for the 2012 International Book Awards and the 2012 USA Best Book Award. It is the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series. The third, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2012.

Entertaining, Engaging... and Surprising at Every Turn!

I could never be one of those authors who writes by a formula. My fans deserve better. And I have the kind of mind that fast-forwards a hundred steps and needs a lot to keep me engaged and interested. So I am constantly on the lookout for new ideas, different characters, detailed, engaging plots with twists and turns at every angle...

So when I decided to write a series, it was a huge step for me. Write about the same characters? In the same town? Me?

So, what makes Vicki's Key different from all my other books? And why was I confident this IS the series to write?

Vicki's Key is a cross-over genre. It's the mystery and suspense my fans have come to love. But unlike my other books, it starts off more slowly. Then like a ball rolling downhill, it gathers momentum until it has you by the throat, hurling you along at roller coaster speeds. Everything means something. EVERYTHING. Every piece of information comes together as you head toward the climactic scene.

It is also a ghost story. And Vicki Boyd, one of the main characters, is a psychic spy for the CIA. This crosses into the paranormal realm, but it's done so seamlessly that you'll feel like you are traveling from Lumberton, North Carolina to Afghanistan and back as Vicki unravels a plot against the United States Government.

Vicki saw her parents' deaths before it occurred. She was only 12 years old at the time and the adults around her either ignored her, chalked it up to an overactive imagination, or thought she might be losing her mind. But within weeks, her parents were dead and Vicki, along with her sister and two brothers, were placed into foster homes, scattered and separated for the rest of their childhoods. The incident attracted the CIA's attention and Vicki became the ward of the U.S.Government and trained as a psychic spy.

But when a mission known as the Amazon Incident goes horribly wrong, she decides to leave the CIA and start over in a small town, working for an elderly woman. It's only a summer job but it takes her out of Washington to a small town in southeastern North Carolina, where she can emotionally recover and decide what she wants to do for the rest of her life.

But when she arrives, she finds that Laurel Maguire has suffered a stroke and remains isolated on the third floor of a rambling mansion. And her nephew Dylan has arrived from Ireland to care for her.

The house comes alive with ghostly sightings - ice cold spots, icy hands at her back, visions of blood in the bathtub, a woman screaming at her to run... And Vicki begins to wonder whether she is losing her mind.

But she is also falling in love with the handsome and charming Dylan Maguire. He seems to be everything she is not: outgoing, unafraid, eager to experience life... seductive, protective... and mysterious. Vicki's Key is also a romance, filling requests from my fans to show more..

Vicki soon begins to realize that all is not what it seems at Aunt Laurel's home. And when the CIA comes calling with one more mission for her, she soon finds the haunted house with its deep, foreboding secrets is about to collide with her CIA assignment... in murder.

In coming weeks, find out who inspired the characters of Vicki Boyd, Dylan Maguire, and others...

What are you reading these days? What genre is it, and how it is attracting and keeping your attention?

Vicki's Key debuts as an eBook on February 1, 2012 and in trade paperback in March 2012. Advance orders for the printed edition are now being taken at www.pmterrell.com.

Standing Alone - a Thing of the Past?

For years, people have asked me to write a series. But I'm one of those people who needs to envision things 100 steps ahead of where I am now before I make a move in that direction.

When Kickback came out, people clamored for more of Sheila Carpenter, so I wrote Ricochet and she made a "guest appearance" in Exit 22 ... But no real series.

When I wrote Songbirds are Free, I had enough material to write a prequel, which turned out to be my award-winning book, River Passage. But still no real series.

So, why now?

First, I did not want to become a "formula" writer. You know the type. The entire series is the same story, just different people murdered. You know what's going to happen and when. I needed a series that could take you, the reader, around the world and through time so you'd never know what's about to happen or which path I'll be leading you down. I wanted to surprise you, enlighten you, engage you.

Second, I needed multi-faceted characters. I needed main characters who were polar opposites but who were tied together through fate or blood. I needed people who could grow and change and be fleshed out over a dozen or more books. People whose pasts rose to haunt them, whose futures were uncertain, and whose presents were totally engaging.

Third, I needed a location that you could feel. One that you could become intimately familiar with, one that would draw you in so you'd feel as if you lived in that house, on that street, in that town.

How did I accomplish this?

Black Swamp Mysteries was inspired by my suspense/thriller, Exit 22, which is my most popular suspense. But it goes far beyond the plot in that book while bringing back the characters we loved, hated and feared.

Vicki's Key will be released in February in eBook format and in March in trade paperback.

It features Vicki Boyd, a CIA psychic spy. Her character is based on a real CIA program and real psychic spies. The side effects she suffers while remote viewing are based on those actually experienced. The detail she is able to describe and sketch is the same level of detail as the best of the best in the psychic program today.

By having a psychic spy as a main character, it allows me to take you around the world - even to remote regions inaccessible by any other means. It will also allow me to take you back in time, as Vicki pieces together events that have occurred in the past but are threatening the world - or her personally - in the present. It allows limitless plots, limitless locales, limitless characters.

But I chose not to have one main character. Brenda Carnegie, Christopher Sandige, and Alec Brodie - all from Exit 22 - have main roles in the Black Swamp Mysteries series also. If you've read Exit 22, you'll remember Brenda as a beautiful but mysterious woman who operates on the wrong side of the law--and who will come toe to toe with Vicki. Chris is a political operative who helps to provide funding for the controversial program - but who also will be involved in some of Vicki's assignments. Alec is Vicki's next door neighbor. Even Joseph Gabucci, the feared assassin, will come face to face with Vicki.

And a new character has emerged as one that reviewers and advance readers alike can't seem to get enough of - Dylan Maguire, an Irishman with a mysterious past whose fate is intertwined in Vicki's.

The locale - the launching point for Vicki's missions - is Lumberton, North Carolina, a real town in the southeastern part of the state. It provides the same level of mystery as the moors of England and the mists of Ireland. The Lumber River winds its way through the county and right through the heart of town. It often overflows its banks, and when the waters recede, it leaves swampland that is almost impenetrable. It's the perfect spot to hide a body... or two.

Stay tuned to future blogs while I tell you more about the main characters and about Lumberton and the mysterious home in which Vicki lives...

And about the murders there.

I hope you'll enjoy Black Swamp Mysteries...

Exit 22 is now on sale on amazon for just 99 cents! Watch the trailer in the upper right corner of this screen.

Marching to a Different Drummer Boy

I'm probably a week early with this post. After all, the rest of the world seems to be focused on Christmas, gift-giving, and Santa Claus. Don't get me wrong: I like the holidays. I enjoy going to parties and seeing people I haven't seen since... the last party. I enjoy my grandchildren's excitement about Santa Claus. I like Christmas lights (the tackier, the better), the smell of cut trees and getting food in the mail from all my relatives.

But I've never been one to march to the same drummer.

My favorite time of year is just one week behind Christmas. It's the start of the New Year. It's that last week of special television shows about the biggest stories of the year, the most-watched celebrities, those who sadly passed away in 2011, and how our lives have changed since 2010.

But it's more than that. It's laying the past to rest and turning toward the future. It's planning 2012 and all the exciting things I want to happen. And who I want to be.

This blogspot is usually about writing, because I picked writing as my career and I love it. But I don't write for any public recognition. If I did, I'd probably be in therapy right now. I don't write for the money. If I did, I might feel like a failure. I don't write to be social, because writing is a solitary pursuit.

I write for the pleasure. My pleasure in writing it. And the readers' pleasure in reading it.

I have always felt that for the short time I will be on this planet, using up oxygen, water and resources, I should be prepared to give something back. And my small gift to mankind is a few hours of pleasure, of escape from everyday problems, a journey into worlds and times far removed from our own, a time when the rest of the world stands still and all that matters are the moments getting lost in a good story.

In early 2012, my 13th book will be released - first on Kindle and then in trade paperback. It's the first book I've written purely for myself. It's also the most personal story I've told to date.

Vicki's Key is the story of a young woman trying to leave the CIA and start over. Of a woman trying to find herself, looking for love, searching for a future, trying to find her place in the world. It's also the story of a man who leaves all he's ever known to travel halfway around the world to find his future, his place, his destiny. And the story of a remote village locked away from the rest of the world, who suddenly gets the attention of the CIA, and pulls Vicki from the brink of a new life back into the fold...

It's the story of journeys; life's journeys, and how even the smallest decision can place us on paths we never thought possible.

And in 2012, it's my hope that those who read it finds it broadens their horizons, provides pleasure and interest, takes them out of whatever challenges they might face in their own lives, even for a short time... And leaves them feeling just a little better than before they read it.

If you are a writer, why do you write? Why do you choose the books you read, and what do you hope to get out of them?