How about a little mystery and dark humor with your romance? Meet bestselling author MISTY SIMON...
For Tallulah Graver, marrying wealthy Waldo Phillips seemed like the best way out of the family business, the Graver Funeral Home. But when her marriage falls apart and Tallie is left with next to nothing, she turns to cleaning houses to make ends meet. As humbling as it is to tidy the mansions of the snobby socialites she used to call friends, at least she doesn't have to be around dead bodies. Until . . .
She discovers one of her employers lying in a closet with a knife sticking out of her chest. This unpleasant shock seems to be part of a web of weird experiences: Tallie's friend Gina's shop is broken into, her ex is stun-gunned where it hurts the most, and now she's receiving flowers from the dead woman. Granted the deliveryman is handsome, but seriously, that's enough to cast a pall over anyone’s day. Now Tallie needs to dig deep to clean up this mess—before she finds herself in a grave situation.
Here's an excerpt:
Raised voices, and something shattering halfway down the hall, sped up my steps. Setting down the bucket, I hustled along the antique runner done in reds and golds to match the wainscoting. When I reached the door to Darla’s private office, it was closed and locked. Tugging on the door did nothing, but I still tried. The yelling escalated and I was able to distinguish only that there were two voices, nothing more. The words from the male voice were harsh, but in an accent or dialect I couldn’t understand. For all I knew it might have been a different language.It was so garbled, it was hard to tell. What I did know was that Darren, Darla’s husband, only spoke perfect Yankee English. I put my shoulder to the door and my mind to the task of breaking the sucker down if I had to.
Unfortunately, just as I was about to give it my all, the door opened in my hand, sending me face-first into the Aubusson rug that covered the gleaming wood floors. Rug burns were the least of my worries when a highly polished black and white shoe came straight at my face. Scrambling out of the way as quickly as I could, I narrowly missed being trampled as the shoe and its match went strolling out the door. Where was Darla?
Of course, I shouldn’t have worried. The socialite was sitting as prim and proper as could be, writing out a check, which she then ripped out of the book. I, on the other hand, was fighting hard to not shake on the soft carpet. “Thank you for taking care of the house today, Tallulah. This is payment in full. Now, if you’ll make sure to move your car, I really should go up and get dressed. I want to be ready when my guests arrive. Janet and Bob will probably be here first, and you know how they like to catch you off guard if they can. It’s like a game to her, one I’m going to make sure I beat her at this time.”
Placing the check on the floor next to my burning cheek, Darla strolled out of the room as if nothing had happened. How could she be so calm after that storm of yelling? I wasn’t and the yelling hadn’t even been directed at me. She left the door open behind her, a blatant invitation to leave.
I’m not ashamed to admit I took the invitation.
Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day that she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. There’s nothing better in the world than making someone laugh, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband, daughter and three insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at misty@mistysimon.com.
Twitter: @MistySimon
E.E. How often do you get lost in a story?
Misty: As often as possible. Stories were often my escape and I loved being taken to new worlds or introduced to parts of this world that I wasn’t able to physically be in. I loved running through the library (quietly of course) and finding all the treasures it held in its depths. That is still true today though I don’t really run anymore, maybe skip every once in a while, but I don’t run. Unless a T-Rex is behind me, then all bets are off.
E.E.: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Misty: Princess Bride! I love the settings, the corniness, Andre the Giant, Wesley, all of them. There is something so satisfying and truthful about the story for all those characters and seeing a boy who doesn’t want to be read to then get eager to hear the rest of the story touches my heart every single time.
E.E.: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
Misty: Find your tribe. Find your tribe and then love them for all you’re worth. The will be there for your ups and your downs and you’ll be there for theirs also. If your tribe is two or three people that is as good if not better than a tribe of hundreds. You need those people who get you and who lift you up, the ones who believe in you on those days where you don’t believe in yourself. I like to think I create those kinds of friendships in my books and hope that they are an inspiration and a model for finding your own people who just “get” you.
E.E.: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?
Misty: Yes, absolutely! Normally it’s Celtic music without words or electronic J
E.E.: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
Misty: Jump around the house shouting “Woohoo!" and then I usually take myself out to dinner to savor the moment. Because the next day I’m going to be back in it editing, but I deserve at least one night off.
E.E.: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
Misty: Being able to touch readers’ lives, ones I might never meet. The most wonderful thing happens when someone gets lost in a story and if it’s mine then I feel honored that they spent that time with me and my characters.
E.E.: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?
Misty: Oh I don’t think you have enough room on this blog to discuss my quirks. One that interests the most people is my inability to handle untreated wood, like Dixie cup ice cream paddles. It makes me gag to the point where I will have the waiter pull those toothpicks out of my sandwich if I’m eating by myself.
E.E.: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?
Misty: Anything at all. I have a mantra – There will be a silver lining even if I have to draw it with my own crayon. I live by that. Some days it is painful to find that silver lining and feels impossible but I will find it if it’s the last thing I do before sinking into my pillow. I start every day with the phrase “Something amazing is going to happen today.” Sometimes that amazing is a small thing like not spilling my blond tea when I trip over the invisible wrinkle in the carpet and sometimes it’s getting an email from a fan or a new contract. Big or small they always mean so much to me.
Today, Misty is giving away two copies of CREMAINS OF THE DAY. Just enter the raffle and answer the question.
What is your favorite movie, and why?
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