I'm so thrilled to have my good friend, Beth Trissel over for a visit today. Not only is she a multi-published, award-winning author - but she bakes a delicious cookie too. Yum!
So, don't be shy. There's plenty of refreshments for everyone. And guess what? After you finish hearing about Beth's wonderful new release, Somewhere the Bells Ring, be sure and leave a comment along with your email because one lucky commenter is going to receive a copy of Beth's new read.
So, it's not only a great Release Day party - it's a chance to win a lovely escape from the "Oh my gosh - it's already the holidays" syndrome. Happy release day, Beth!
Thanks Maeve for having me on your lovely blog to celebrate my holiday release. Come one, come all. Kick back, enjoy mugs of hot chocolate and let’s break out the eggnog and the sugar cookies as we reminisce about those ghosts of Christmas past.
Nostalgia about the late 1960’s inspired the time period for my vintage American ghost story Christmas romance, Somewhere the Bells Ring. An adolescent in 1968, I remember it well. Think hippies, the Cultural Revolution, and Americans divided into two diametrically opposed camps, those who were freaky and those who were square. I’m glad to say I ranked among the former, eventually. The song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” came out in ”67 but exemplified the hippie movement still going strong in ”68. Fashion was all over the place and fishnet hose all the rage. I gloried in my first pair while wearing my Bonnie Bell lip gloss. Anything more than that makeup wise and my disapproving father said I resembled a lady of the night, and he wasn’t thinking vampire.
The maxi dress followed on the heels of the maxi skirt, which I was all about. Mom sewed several for me and I floated around like a princess. The music of the late 60’s was awesome. What a thrill when I first heard Innagadadavida by Iron Butterfly. Stunned might be a better word, but it definitely impressed me as did many other songs of that era. How about Aquarius!
Not to overlook the less positive elements of “68, like Vietnam and the tragic assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I was deeply sorry, but as a kid didn’t overly dwell on those. One of the top films of 1968 was Romeo and Juliette which stamped me as a romantic forever and brings me back to my release.
In addition to nostalgia about 1968 is my draw to an earlier time, 1918 and the end of WW1, the war to end all wars it was called and the one my Marine grandfather served in with distinction. In Somewhere the Bells Ring, Eric Burke and his predecessor Edward Burke returned home with injuries, both physical and psychological, from these two very different wars. Bailey, a hippie wannabe, seeks answers not only to where she belongs but to the mystery that spans generations in the old house where the story unfolds. Maple Hill is based on the gracious plantation home in my family that I grew up visiting over the holidays. And did I mention the ghost?
Blurb:
Caught with pot in her dorm room, Bailey Randolph is exiled to a relative's ancestral home in Virginia to straighten herself out. Banishment to Maple Hill is dismal, until a ghost appears requesting her help. Bailey is frightened but intrigued. Then her girlhood crush, Eric Burke, arrives and suddenly Maple Hill isn't so bad.
To Eric, wounded in Vietnam, his military career shattered, this homecoming feels no less like exile. But when he finds Bailey at Maple Hill, her fairy-like beauty gives him reason to hope--until she tells him about the ghost haunting the house. Then he wonders if her one experiment with pot has made her crazy.
As Bailey and Eric draw closer, he agrees to help her find a long-forgotten Christmas gift the ghost wants. But will the magic of Christmas be enough to make Eric believe--in Bailey and the ghost--before the Christmas bells ring?
Excerpt:
“Bailey.” He spoke softly, so as not to startle her.
She turned toward him. In her long, white nightgown, hair tumbled down around her, wearing that lost look, she bore an unnerving resemblance to the mysterious woman in Wilkie Collins’ classic mystery, The Woman in White. Eric fervently hoped the similarity ended there. As he recalled from the novel, that unfortunate lady had been unhinged.
Leaving the door ajar, he stepped inside. “We missed you at breakfast.”
She answered distractedly. “I wasn’t hungry.”
He limped to where she stood, the hitch in his leg a little less pronounced today. Maybe he was getting stronger. “Why are you here, looking for ghosts?”
“Or a door to the past.”
He tried to coax a smile to her trembling lips. “Did you check inside the wardrobe?”
“Eric, I’m being serious.”
“That’s what worries me.” Leaning on his cane with one arm, he closed his other around her shoulders and drew her against him. Such a natural act, and she accepted his embrace without pulling back. She smelled of flowers from her perfume and wood smoke. “Mercy, child,” he said in his best imitation of Ella, “it’s as cold as a tomb in here.”
“It wasn’t last night.”~
Somewhere the Bells Ring is available in various eBook formats at The Wild Rose Press and will travel onto Amazon kindle, Barnes & Noble’s nookbook and other online booksellers. For more on me and my work please visit:
My website: www.bethtrissel.com
My blog: http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BethTrissel
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bctrissel
Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win! Doesn't Beth's newest read sound like a great escape from holiday stress?
Posts
Happy release day, Beth, and best wishes for Somewhere the Bells Ring.
ReplyDeleteHi ladies. I look forward to reading this one, Beth. The house above looks very inviting to me, all crisp and clean and....inviting... with all those cosy lights on.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on release day! Can't wait to read this, and I adore the house!!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cover and a gorgeous sounding book! I love your way with words Beth. You always manage to draw me into your story and make me care for your characters. Looking forward to reading this one too. Happy release day!
ReplyDeletePlease pass that hot chocolate, Maeve. Beth, I enjoyed your nostalgic tour through the late sixties. Sad and happy memories. Enjoyed the blurb and excerpt too. Congratulations on the release of Somewhere the Bells Ring!
ReplyDeletepat@patmcdermott.net
What an interesting setting for a Christmas ghost story. I had to laugh about your father's comment. I have one very similar memory and I never made it out of the house! Best wishes with this book.
ReplyDelete*waves at Maeve* Hello my friend!
Thanks all and especially Maeve for hosting me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea, Beth, to set a romance in the distinctive sixties era. I remember it well, with its political turbulence, long hair and bell bottoms! Congratulations on the new book release--Bells sounds like a best seller.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! It sounds like a great read. Congratulations on the new release!
ReplyDeleteHot chocolate and sugar cookies (with sprinkles!) on this cold morning sounds yummy. Hi Maeve!
ReplyDeleteBeth, I cannot wait to read this book. For one- it's set in one of my favorite time periods. Born in the early sixties I don't remember a lot but it draws me in just the same. Two- it's a ghost story which I love! and last but not least- it's a Christmas story; my favorite holiday! Congrats on the release and many happy sales, sweetie!
cmselfridge@gmail.com
So glad there are fellow 60's lovers out there. I suspected I wasn't alone in my sentiment. And who can resist a good ghost story? Of course Christmas is an ideal time for all of the above. :) Although when I first pondered this story setting/theme I wondered if some might think it an odd choice.
ReplyDeleteHappy release day! Great excerpt. Love reading about the sixties.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! *waving madly* Thanks so much for stopping by. And thanks to Beth for coming for a visit. I know everyone is anxious to read your latest story. :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy release day, Beth. Ghost stories are always great for Christmastime. I remember the 60s well, and early 70s too.
ReplyDeleteOMG Beth! I am reliving my late teen years! I had hair long enough that I could sit on, wore a band around my forehead. I thought I looked like Cher! What a great post and the book sounds soooo good!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS, BETH! Whoo Wee! I am soooo excited for you! This story sounds absolutely fantastic! All the elements I love. Oh, and while reading your post, I suddenly starting humming "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Hmmm...where DID I put that Bonnie Bell lip gloss?
ReplyDeleteHappy release day, Beth! Somewhere the Bells Ring sounds fantastic! Of course, now I've got Innagadadavida playing endlessly in my head...
ReplyDelete;) You guys crack me up. Thanks for sharing those memories and for all the enthusiasm. I had long hair too back then, but not as long as P.L. And now I'm gonna be singing Dancing Queen. What say we all join hands and belt out Aquarius? "When the moon is in the seventh house
ReplyDeleteAnd Jupiter aligns with Mars, Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars!"
If we're gonna do Innagadadavida we'll need a kewl rocker dude on a guitar.
ReplyDeleteHmm...why do I have this sudden urge to fire up a lava lamp and a cone of incense? And yes...I SWEAR it was incense! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI remember incense well, it comes up in the story. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd lava lamps were awesome.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lovely and enchanting book, Beth!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new release, from a former hip-hugger, bell bottom wearing baby-boomer.
Happy release day, Beth! I was a baby in the 60s myself, but boy it sounds like it was a right trip to be in the middle of. Have a good one, enjoy the hot chocolate, and congrats on your new release!
ReplyDeleteJulianne
Thanks. Yes, quite the time period.
ReplyDeleteHappy release day, Beth! This sounds like another winner! You took me down memory lane with your post. I was thirteen in 1968, still in grade school and getting ready to start high school. And I did love wearing fish net stockings and mini skirts. Switched to maxis, too, about halfway through high school.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your newest story! Sounds like another 'must read' for me.
Hm-m...actually, I graduated from high school in 1966. It really doesn't seem like such a very long time ago. Yes, I too, loved the glorious clothes of that period, but my tastes ran more toward those darling little dresses out of Paris and London! Still does--and still wishing my body looked like it did back then. Sigh... The music was fabulous--there's never been anything like it.
ReplyDeleteOh, Maeve, I'll have whipped cream on my cup, thanks.
I'm so glad to visit this beautiful blog site of one friend to wish another one a wonderful, wonderful release day! BEST wishes, Beth. I can't wait to head over to get my copy of your latest release.
~Donna
Thanks Susan (we're the same age, I suspect) and Donna lovely to have you pop in and celebrate with us. I'm awash in nostalgia now.
ReplyDeleteCate, I mean.
ReplyDeleteBrrr...it's gotten cold today in Kentucky. I hope everyone is enjoying the refreshments and there's plenty of room...so pull up a chair beside the fire. It's the perfect time of year to get out those snuggly blankets and curl up with an awesome read like SOMEWHERE THE BELLS RING! *happy sigh*
ReplyDeleteHappy release day, Beth. Remembering my first pair of bell bottoms. I'm sure I was the hottest eight year-old on the block! Love the cover. Somewhere The Bell Rings just made my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteOh I loved my bell bottoms, and thanks Mackenzie. I couldn't agree with you more, Maeve. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy release day, Beth, and best wishes for Somewhere the Bells Ring!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maeve for hosting!
Congrats on your new release, Beth, & thanks for a fun post. I love that Romeo & Juliet movie!!
ReplyDeleteMargaret
Love the cover, the plot, and the characters. BUT...I refuse to think about the Christmas holidays until my birthday passes by (Sunday). Then...bring on the bells and mistletoe! Good luck with the book release.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the enthusiasm and journeying down memory lane with me!
ReplyDeleteHi Beth,
ReplyDeleteHappy release day. thanks for the tirp down memory lane. I can remember the sixties too, an exciting time for a teenager.
Somewhere The Bell Rings sounds like a great read.
Regards
Margaret
Oh, my...I love your title. And the excerpt. And the sixties (though more in retrospect, I think, than while I was there.) Happy release day.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all, and Liz, that is probably true. :)
ReplyDeleteThe winner of Somewhere the Bells Ring is Ange.
Oh my gosh, I'd forgotten about Bonnie Blue lip gloss! What memories! :-) Sounds like a wonderful story. Wishing you much success!
ReplyDeletePeace!
ReplyDeleteI loved my Bonnie Bell lip gloss, felt so grown up. Oh right, Peace. V
ReplyDeleteBeth this sounds wonderful. It would be great to see more 1960's romances :-) I bet it was fun throwing all the details around this era. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release day! I love the time period and I remember Bonnie Bell lip gloss too. What a great memory! It sounds like a great book. Can't wait to read it! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember my first pair of bell bottoms. I loved them. Heck I still do!
ReplyDeleteI remember it all well, and now that I think back, I wish I had done even more! It was a rare time in history when you were free to be who you wanted to be!
Great post Beth-
Maeve-you always...