Showing posts with label Ashantay Peters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashantay Peters. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Do you believe in ghosts? Pipe Dreams by Ashantay Peters #fantasy @TWRP

I'm thrilled to have the lovely Ashantay Peters here today to share what inspired her newest release, Pipe Dreams!

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Thanks for inviting me to your blog today, Terri. I appreciate the opportunity to visit with another Wild Rose author and to meet some new folks!

You asked me to write about my inspiration for Pipe Dreams, my book releasing tomorrow through The Wild Rose Press. I’ll state a disclaimer first – if you don’t believe in ghosts, you likely won’t believe my next words, either. You see, Pipe Dreams was inspired in part by a ghost who visited me many years ago.

My then husband and I moved to Florida and purchased an older home. The house had been built and owned by one set of owners, one of whom died there, though we didn’t know that last until later.

The landscaping had been allowed to grow long, and the interior held decades of tobacco smoke coating every surface, but the bones of the house were excellent. Not being strangers to hard work, the low purchase price made this an attractive deal.

After we completed the work and moved in, I began noticing what smelled like fresh tobacco smoke at odd times. We didn’t smoke and had cleaned, primed, and sealed every surface, so I had no clue where the odor originated.

One quiet morning, I finally understood that the house held a ghost. Our neighbors had told us the older man had died at home, and that he smoked heavily. I figured he was the ghost and addressed him by name. We came to a consensus, he left, and the tobacco odors stopped, though every now and again, I sensed a wisp of smoke.

So there you have it—my inspiration for Pipe Dreams.   I hope you enjoyed my little story, and that you will also consider reading the fictional account. The book’s coffee house owner is much sexier than my former husband ever was!

No I’d love to hear from you, readers—have you had a ghost experience? Did it work out well?




Pipe Dreams

by Ashantay Peters

Publisher – The Wild Rose Press

Genre – Fantasy

Words – 55,630

Release Date – March 27, 2015 

Abigail Stephens left her past behind or did she? When she moved to Blue Peak, she expected to find sanctuary and a new start. Instead, her new home includes a hippie, a ghost with a mission, and a sexy coffee house owner who undermines her plans.

Carlos Young quit teaching when his fiancée left him for another professor. He’s avoided dating, but his mother’s demand for grandchildren is unceasing and more attractive once he meets Abby.

She resists his overtures...for now. Can an intrusive mother, a reticent ghost, and a run-down house bring Abby and Carlos together or will they continue to live pipe dreams?


Buy Links

The Wild Rose Press – http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6139

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Pipe-Dreams-Ashantay-Peters-ebook/dp/B00U00CT4K/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426516733&sr=1-8&keywords=pipe+dreams 

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Excerpt


         “So are you the new owner of this wreck?”
         Her hands clenched, along with her jaw. “I’m the proud owner of what will soon be a lovely home.”
         He snorted. “You planning to have this in shape any time before winter? Because from where I’m standing, you’ll need more than a mop.”
         Abigail’s ears heard echoes of Rich. “I have power tools, and I know how to use them. You have an issue with that?”
         “No, I don’t have an issue. You’ve got work ahead of you. Just sayin’. I guess you’ll be hiring a crew for the big stuff, right?”
         Abigail threw her shoulders back. This guy sounded exactly like Rich. Bossy. “I can handle it.” She’d already sub-contracted the larger jobs, but that wasn’t his business.
         His mouth drew into a tight line, his hands fisted on his hips. “Sorry to bother you. I stopped because it looked like you might need a hand. Guess I misunderstood.”
         Dropping his hands, Carlos turned to leave, looking back with a frown. “Good luck with this place. Come on, Henry, we’re not needed here.”
         Henry paused, allowing her to ruffle his fur. He broke into a run, following the pissed-off man. An imp on her shoulder prodded her to call after him, “Bye, Henry. You can come visit anytime.” Sotto voce she added, “But leave your human home.”
         The dog’s owner kept walking with his shoulders up around his chin.
“Men,” she huffed under her breath. “Just a bunch of know-it-all jackasses. And the good-looking ones are the worst.” 


About the Author

Ashantay Peters lives in the North Carolina mountains, where she loves escaping into a well-written book. Her reading addiction also has her perusing magazines, newspapers, Internet articles and even food labels. The last is often feebly excused as an attempt to maintain health, but her friends know the truth.

Ashantay has four romantic-suspense/mystery releases with The Wild Rose Press: Death Stretch, Death Under the Mistletoe, Death Rub, and Dickens of a Death.  She is at work on a sequel to Pipe Dreams entitled Déjà vu All Over Again.

She loves to hear from readers and promises not to stalk anyone who contacts her.


Contact Links

Web site -www.ashantay.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com.ashantay.peters

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Social Lubrication? Ashantay Peters, #Romance Author #WritersLife

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Today, I have fellow TWRP author, Ashantay Peters here to tell us a bit about her New Year's resolutions & her latest release, Death Under the Mistletoe.

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Happy New Year!  What a delightful phrase, a harbinger of opportunity, hopes and burgeoning intentions.  A chance to write resolutions I really have no plan to pursue.  Like losing that pesky ten pounds that continues to stalk me, jumping me in the alley when I venture out at night. 

Oh, sure, I’ll pad my list.  For example, one of my goals for 2014 is to finish the two books I’ve started.  I’m already well on the way with both, so that’s not a stretch.  Hey, I’m setting goals, not impossible standards. Although, I do have a goal that I know will be difficult to reach. 

I want to write funny. Better.

Stories featuring witty and quick dialogue are fun and somewhat hard to find.  Too bad, because humor is the social lubrication that allows people to coexist. Well, humor along with flirting, which is a skill that rarely appears anywhere outside the big screen or really great books. 

Unfortunately, comedic writers are not always given their due, because, well, many people think writing funny is simple.  But laughing at yourself is not always easy, is it?  So here I am, about to get serious about being funny.

Humor is individual.  And as with all writing, humor draws on the author’s experiences.  Humorous dialogue (or asides) can be used to reveal, mask or define a character’s emotional response to whatever conflict they face.

Sometimes I’m not sure about a character’s motivation until I grasp their comedic response to a situation.  Is the heroine attempting to cover her nerves about standing beside that sexy guy, or is she confident in her sexuality?  The smarter humorist digs deeper, because comedy has its roots in misfortune.  Writing a better funny means that instead of going for a superficial laugh, the author shows the heroine coming to terms with a difficult situation and growing through her weaknesses.

Writing humor well means exposing a character’s vulnerability in a way that makes them look strong rather than weak.  That also goes for the protagonists and secondary characters.  I believe a key to humor is finding the common bond that ties women (or men) together through similar or shared experiences.  The connection often has its roots in disaster, but the character’s—and (hopefully) reader’s--reaction is funny rather than reflective. 

Though, let’s face it, you often have to reflect on something before seeing the light side.  In that way, I believe the humorist faces conflict, reflects on it and blows raspberries in response.  And in the writing, takes us on the same journey, but with a smile on our face and the knowing that sometimes we can overcome conflict with laughter.

I hope I’ve shown you through these few paragraphs that comedic writing is harder than it looks, and no less challenging than writing drama.  Perhaps humor is not a genre you prefer.  No problem.  Just, please, don’t discount the work.


Besides writing funny better, my other real New Year wish is for you to achieve whatever writing goals you set for yourself.  No joke!

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Here comes the bride--there hangs the groom. 
Hoping to reconcile with her best friend, Lily Carlson agrees to maid of honor duties at a Christmas wedding.  Holidays are already difficult, but this event promises emotional hell before the tree drops its first needles. The groom is Lily's last lover, a man who dumped her in public.  When he's found hanging at the altar--under the mistletoe and without pants--Lily is the main suspect.  
Gray Bronson left town five years earlier.  Now he's back to act as best man even though he hates the groom.  Years ago, Gray revoked Lily's virgin club membership and he's determined to win her back.  But Lily is being framed, and her own actions make her look guilty. 
A trail of broken hearts leads to the murderer, but Lily's celebration may be fatally delayed.  Will the hapless lovers find a happily ever after gift wrapped under the Christmas tree?
 Purchase Link:


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About Ashantay Peters
Ashantay Peters loves escaping into a well-written book. Her reading addiction also has her perusing magazines, newspapers, Internet articles and even food labels. The last is often feebly excused as an attempt to maintain health, but her friends know the truth.
She lives in the mountains of western North Carolina, a happy transplant from the much colder (and flatter) midwest.  She loves to hear from readers!  Give her a holler via this website and she’ll get back with you as soon as she comes in from gardening or takes a break from writing her next book, Death Rub.