A Tenth Anniversary Post by Cathy Ace

 RHYS BOWEN: Cathy Ace is one of the most huggable people you'll ever meet. Of course as a fellow Welshwoman I have to think she's special but a lot of other people do too. So today I'm happy to host her on a momentous occasion:  I'll let her tell you about it.

CATHY ACE: 

Hello folks! Thanks for inviting me along today to invite all your lovely followers – and the Reds too, of course – to help me celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first Cait Morgan Mystery being published…just days before the 12th book in the series finds its way into the world. I’m feeling very grateful at the moment.

I truly cannot believe that an entire decade has whizzed by since I was launching my debut novel. Back then, I couldn’t have foreseen how the world would react to a small Canadian publisher putting out the first in a “planned” series of books featuring an older, definitely overweight, absolutely bossy, Welsh Canadian, globe-trotting professor of criminal psychology…so I’m delighted that it’s all gone so well in so many ways…though it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride at times. However, they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so here I still am – and I’m a LOT stronger!

During ten years of ups and downs, I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled to various conventions, where I believe I’m correct in saying I’ve met all the Reds. I’ll never forget the warmth shown to me by Rhys when we sat beside each other for a signing session at my very first convention (Bouchercon, in Albany): I signed none, because there weren’t any of my books there (long story, no need to whine here!) whereas she had a queue…and she was LOVELY. As was Hallie at the Surrey International Writers Conference, where we first shared a signing table (same thing as above, though maybe I signed one book?) and she was so kind to this new author. Hank, Rhys, and Hallie have all very kindly blurbed books for me over the years, too – thank you, ladies. (I don’t mean to leave out the other Reds, but will focus on what’s happened “so far”, LOL!)

I’ll be celebrating this week with pink champagne and chocolate cake (baked by my Paul Hollywood-inspired husband – thank you Mr. Hollywood!). If you fancy raising a glass, or a forkful of something indulgent, let me provide you with this excuse! Oh, and the other thing I’m celebrating? The script for the pilot of the Cait Morgan TV series has turned out brilliantly! Originally planned as a 90-minute format, it’s been bumped up to two hours, which is fantastic. I’m not allowed to say much more, but can tell you it’s fascinating to see how a seasoned screenwriter is able to distill the essence of a novel’s story into a much shorter format – and they’ve done so without losing any of Cait’s personality, for which I’m most grateful. The casting is “in hand” (but I’m absolutely sworn to secrecy on that front) and I can confirm the settings will be authentic (Nice, France and Vancouver, Canada). It’s all so thrilling…and I’m making the most of every new experience.

When my debut novel was published, I didn’t realize it would be just as nerve-wracking every time a new book comes out, but it turns out it is…and I’m currently in knots about The Corpse with the Turquoise Toes. I plan to continue writing about Cait’s adventures; I really think there’s a place in the world for true closed circle mysteries being untangled by a not-so-amateur sleuth, and hope folks continue to enjoy reading them…and watching them, when they finally reach the screen.

Thanks for having me drop by today. I’m off to pop a cork now, and will invite you all to join me in a virtual toast: here’s to communities like JRW where – in a world that sometimes defies comprehension – we’re all able to celebrate the fact we know there are people out there like us…who enjoy a good murder mystery with clues, red herrings, denouements, and appropriate comeuppances! Cheers, Folks!

What will you be celebrating this week? And how will you do it?

 

About the book:

THE CORPSE WITH THE TURQUOISE TOES

Guests of honor at the opening of a swish new restaurant in Arizona, Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist sleuth Cait Morgan, and her retired-cop husband Bud Anderson, are looking forward to living in the lap of luxury for a week.

But an unexpected death at the desert retreat puts more than a wrinkle in their plans. Is the Faceting for Life movement, of which their host is a devotee, just a harmless framework for life-affirming activities, or a façade for a cult where no one is quite who they appear to be?

In the twelfth Cait Morgan Mystery, Cait and Bud arrive at their remote destination keen to relax and indulge, only to discover that Cait might have – for the first time in her life – truly met her match. And her adversary’s agenda? Well, it’s anything but restful…indeed, it’s both wicked, and deadly.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RH4ZYNP

 

About Cathy Ace: Cathy Ace’s Cait Morgan Mysteries feature a criminal psychologist sleuth encountering traditional whodunits around the world; her WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries feature a quartet of soft-boiled female PIs solving cozy cases from a Welsh stately home. Her Welsh suspense novel, The Wrong Boy, has also been optioned for TV. Shortlisted for Canada’s Bony Blithe Award three times, winning once, she’s also won IPPY and IBA Awards; her work’s also been shortlisted for a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, and the Crime Fiction Lover Best Indie Novel. She migrated from Wales aged 40, and now lives in Canada.

http://www.cathyace.com/

 

RHYS: We are raising a glass, dear Cathy. Long may you and Cait Morgan thrive!

A Taste of Travel by Cathy Ace

RHYS BOWEN:  Today it's my great pleasure to host fellow Welsh-woman Cathy Ace (well, she has a better claim to Welshness than I as only my mother's side of the family comes from Wales but we Welsh have to stick together). Cathy and I have a lot in common: we both left Britain for a new life in the New World and both love to travel (and eat exotic foods too!) And since she is not good at tooting her own horn, I'm going to do it for her: her series and her stand alone have both been optioned for TV! Yay, Cathy! Dancing up and down wildly.
And I'm going to let her tell you about her heroine's latest adventure that has just come out:

CATHY ACE: 
Bore da, Rhys!

When I created my Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology, Cait Morgan, I gifted her with several of my own characteristics – a love of travel being one, and a love of food being another. Luckily for Cait she inhabits a world different than our reality, and in her most recent adventure she’s enjoying Jamaica in May (so let’s assume the May in the book isn’t May 2020!). I’m delighted I sent Cait to Jamaica when I did – because she had a wonderful time indulging in many local delicacies and solved a truly puzzling locked room mystery.

I’ve always believed you can learn a lot about a culture through its food and drink; the nature and seasonality of locally available ingredients; the impact of incomers with their own favourite flavours, and even utensils, which they bring with them; the type of fuel available for cooking – all these elements play their part in creating “local specialities”. Sometimes I look at an ingredient and wonder who on earth was brave enough to try eating it in the first place – especially when said ingredient turns out to be, essentially, poisonous. 

One such item plays a significant role in THE CORPSE WITH THE CRYSTAL SKULL – ackee. Ackee is a fruit grown in Jamaica which can be highly toxic; only one small part of the fruit is safe to be eaten during one short period of its life-span. (I hate to think how many people fell ill and even died before this was realized – but it does come in handy if you write murder mysteries!) Bammy is another Jamaican speciality that has its challenges – it has to be cooked in just the right way so that it’s not toxic. As for saltfish – well, that might not be toxic, but it needs the correct preparation to be enjoyably edible. And then there are the local Jamaican drinks: rum, of course (though that’s not to my, nor Cait’s, taste) as well as the uniquely-spiced Jamaican ginger beers, and a soda called Ting, which is really only available in Jamaica and has a special grapefruit taste (beware – it’s addictive!).

Cait’s always been a globetrotting sleuth, and, as such, she’s done her fair share of “eating her way around the world”. I’ll happily admit I’ve eaten and drunk everything Cait has (trust me when I say I feel the weight of my responsibility to carry out exhaustive research!) so in each Cait Morgan Mystery, therefore, you don’t just get to travel to a different country, you also get to experience the food and drink of that country alongside Cait (and me). Cait’s most memorable flavours have been the escargots in Nice (The Corpse with the Silver Tongue), the sparkling rose wines of British Columbia (The Corpse with the Golden Nose), sizzling Mexican fajitas (The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb), the indulgence of caviar in Vegas (The Corpse with the Platinum Hair), the satisfaction of Welsh cawl [NOTE: it’s a lamb stew] (The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes), the dislike of Hawaiian poi (The Corpse with the Diamond Hand), the delight of Dutch fries with mayonnaise (The Corpse with the Garnet Face), and the richness of meat roasted with paprika in a Hungarian butcher’s shop (The Corpse with the Ruby Lips).

Since we can’t travel at this time, I know a lot of folks are recalling past trips of their own, and I wonder what it is that you’ve eaten or drunk in a certain country that – for you – will always be the taste of the place you were visiting. Want to share?

About THE CORPSE WITH THE CRYSTAL SKULL

Welsh Canadian globetrotting sleuth, and professor of criminal psychology, Cait Morgan, is supposed to be “celebrating” her fiftieth birthday in Jamaica with her ex-cop husband Bud Anderson. But when the body of the luxury estate’s owner is discovered locked inside an inaccessible tower, Cait and her fellow guests must work out who might have killed him – even if his murder seems impossible. Could the death of the man who hosted parties in the 1960s attended by Ian Fleming and Noël Coward be somehow linked to treasure the legendary Captain Henry Morgan might have buried at the estate? Or to the mission Bud and his secret service colleagues have been sent to the island to undertake?

Connect with Cathy Ace:

Website: http://www.cathyace.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661/

Twitter: @AceCathy

 RHYS:  Here are the details of Cathy's exciting TV deal :

Free@LastTV is the UK production company that makes the hit Agatha Raisin series. They've optioned the Cait Morgan Mysteries to become a series of 90 minute TV movies. The unique atmosphere of each country Cait visits will be brought to the screen. Free@LastTV has also acquired the rights to The Wrong Boy, to be broadcast as a three-part mini-series, in English and Welsh. 

Cathy Ace: Steps away from the light and comes up aces...

HALLIE EPHRON: I recently had the great pleasure of reading an advance copy of Cathy Ace's THE WRONG BOY. I was bowled over. Engrossing characters, perfectly rendered Welsh setting, a stunning ending, and as with the best books, the title takes on a new meaning when you're done reading.

Today we welcome Cathy today to talk about her amazing new book.

CATHY ACE: A recent review of my latest book The Wrong Boy (by the well-respected Kristopher Zgorski at BOLO Books) began thus:

“With two successful series and a few collections of novellas, some may view Cathy Ace’s decision to release a stand-alone psychological suspense novel as a strange – and potentially risky – move…”

Kristopher was right – I was leaping into the unknown, stepping into the dark…
My Cait Morgan Mysteries have their place firmly in the “traditional” camp; they are contemporary, closed-circle whodunits, with a not-so-amateur professor of criminal psychology as a sleuth. I have never viewed them as “cozy” though they were marketed as such by the publisher, there being “no distinctive way to market them as traditional”; each is set in a different country, with an ever-changing cast of characters save the two main protagonists. My other series, the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, is truly “cozy”, featuring a recurring cast, a Welsh village and stately home, and several quirky, and quintessentially British, cases for my four female professional PIs to investigate in each book.

Then along came 2017, when I was faced with two publishers who no longer wanted to do business with me the way they had (a new direction for one, a new owner for the other) so it was clear I had a Big Decision to make – what to write next. Oh, and I should probably mention I also fired my agent. So, I completed my contractual obligations, then plotted my next move…

As a psychology graduate I have always been drawn to the “why” more than merely the “who” or the “how”; Cait Morgan is a professor of criminal psychology who applies her significant understanding of the human condition to the cases she encounters on her travels, and while the four women of the WISE Enquiries Agency aren’t psychologists, they always use their breadth of life-experience and insights to interpret the information they gather through their professional investigating.

So why not run with that? The “why” as the driver for an entire book. But how, exactly?

I began where I always tell those wanting to write to begin – by reading. I read dozens of psychological suspense novels, from the bestsellers to those by authors I’d never heard of before. I met flocks of unreliable narrators (often “girls”!), and became wary of anyone who’d ever sipped so much as a small glass of sherry or sustained even the slightest bump on the head at any point in their life because – you know…blackouts and amnesia, right? I suspect I over-read, because I ended up convinced the “shape” of these books wasn’t right for me as an author.

You see, I had a plot, with the key twists all lined up, but it didn’t feel right; the three main female characters in my head lived their worrying lives in a Welsh location I knew well, but still I couldn’t orchestrate the right rhythm for the tale.

Then I got it!

I’d written a collection of short, and long, stories, as well as a collection of novellas; three of those novellas featured characters from the original collection of short stories, and two of those sets of characters had grown to live their lives in their own series of books. Yes, Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson as well as the four women of the Wise Enquiries Agency were all “born” in the same collection

The real location of THE WRONG BOY: Rhossili, South Wales

of short stories. The only character who’d recurred in my novellas who hadn’t been featured in a novel was a lovely chap by the name of Detective Inspector Evan Glover of the West Glamorgan Police Service in South Wales, who lived an unremarkable, but hard-working and happily-settled life with his psychotherapist wife Betty.

I decided to introduce a police detective element into the shape of the new book to be able to change the rhythm – without allowing it to become a police procedural, which I knew I didn’t want to write. I’d left DI Glover pondering his future as a policeman at the end of the novella I’d written about him in Murder Knows No Season – so decided to give his wife a significant financial windfall, which would allow him to take early retirement.

That meant was I was then able to tell my dark, twisting tale not through the eyes of one unreliable narrator, but through several – each of whom knew a part of what was going on, but none of whom could see the whole picture. I gave each their own point of view, each their own voice – and allowed the reader to see the world in which they lived through their individual lenses, never certain about what was true, or what was assumed or imagined.

Now that the book is written, the characters’ voices aren’t talking in my head anymore – which I’m sure is a good thing. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of revealing more and more layers of the psyches of the characters – from Evan and Betty Glover struggling

Village of Rhossili, South Wales

as a couple to come to terms with his retirement, to the many ways in which secrets kept within and between families can be psychologically destructive, and even deadly.

It’s been a journey down a darker, twisting path for me. A risk? Certainly, but the review I mentioned earlier concluded with “The Wrong Boy is a first-class narrative journey and readers should seek it out immediately” which is uplifting, and the book recently hit #1 on the amazon psychological suspense best seller list, which tells me readers like the sound of it enough to take that journey with me. And – especially when we leave our usual paths and take a chance – I believe that’s the best an author can hope for.

Do you choose to follow authors whose work you enjoy when they take a different path?
Does it always work for you? Or them?

Find Cathy at:
http://www.cathyace.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cathy.ace.author
Twitter: @AceCathy

Cathy Ace's Welsh traditions

HALLIE EPHRON: Today it gives me great pleasure to welcome Cathy Ace, Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries & The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, and chair of Crime Writers of Canada. Cathy and I cross paths at the wonderful Surrey Writers Conference.

Talk to Cathy and you hear pure Wales. And yet, she's living in Canada... and sometimes writes about Las Vegas. But she'll always have Wales in her bones...

CATHY ACE: I’m a transplant; born and raised in Wales, I didn’t migrate to Canada until I was forty years old. I will always be Welsh (as will my accent), while my new growth will be here, in my new home. I’ve chosen, within my two series of books, to use the fact I’m Welsh to write about Wales and being Welsh with a veracity I hope is clear on the page. What I’ve learned from readers is they like to find out about old Welsh traditions, and that’s made me look at traditions I miss, and try to continue, with fresh eyes.

I feel terribly “homesick” for Wales; I don’t mean the sort of “homesick” a person feels (as discussed here a few weeks ago) when on an extended trip, but the sort of “homesick” one feels for a place and culture that’s “you” - with which you are totally connected, but which isn’t a part of your daily reality anymore - that makes you feel physically and emotionally bereft. The Welsh even have a word for this feeling; hiraeth doesn’t have a direct translation into English (or any other language, as far as I know) but it’s used to refer to the longing for your homeland and culture that screams within every fiber of your body all the time, even though you, yourself, are a representation of the very culture you’re missing. And it’s so tempting to think the grass really was greener there, back then.

The Welsh have a host of “traditions”, many of which have become arcane within even my own lifetime: about fifty years ago at New Year’s Eve parties, in order to ensure good luck for the year ahead, a young, dark-haired men was sought out, handed a lump of coal – which everyone had handy for their coal fires – and shut out on the street, having to knock to gain entry and thus become the first person to enter the house in the year…“first-footing” as it was known; chimney sweeps (necessary due to the aforementioned coal fires) were invited to many weddings at which I sang in the church choir, to ensure good fortune for the couple…and so on.


The coal fires have gone now, as have the lumps of readily-available coal, and the idea of becoming a chimney sweep doesn’t occur to any pimply youths considering a career plan…but some traditions continue, and are even seeing a revival. Many of these are connected with romance and weddings, a subject at the center of The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer, the second in my WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.


For example, living myrtle is still a part of many Welsh bridal bouquets and is planted in the garden of the couple’s new home for good fortune and fertility, and many Welsh engagements take place on January 25th, St Dynwyn’s Day…a tragic female saint whose story makes her the patron saint of lovers in Wales, in place of St Valentine.

Fortunately, the tradition of the bride being chased around the village by the groom, who then has the right to enter the house where she’s being “hidden” and take her off to be married has gone by the wayside…though even this tradition is discussed as a “possibility” in my book.

All cultures have ancient traditions, such as those listed above, that have passed into lore maybe over the past few decades, or during the centuries before. I’ll be honest, I don’t miss those traditions very much – though I do write about them – and I haven’t brought them with me to my new country.

No, what makes me feel hiraeth are the traditions I developed for myself, with my family, over decades of my life, and are not things I can possibly bring with me.

I miss being able to walk through Swansea market and smell the Welshcakes baking, see the glistening mounds of stewed seaweed known as laverbread, or treating myself to a little cup of pepper and vinegar-seasoned cockles.

I long for the wind that whips across the magnificent rock formation known as Worm’s Head in Rhossili, the smell of the sea in the air as I walk out of Swansea’s main library which is all but on the beach, or the chance to indulge in a chocolate sundae at Joe’s ice cream parlor in The Mumbles – a small “village” on the coast – whenever I want.

I miss the people; the conversations overheard in the bus, on the street, in the pub. The pulse of Welsh life.
Nowadays I bake Welshcakes for the grandchildren, and, when they’re old enough, I’ll get them to read the Welsh mythological Mabinogion tales and the English-language poetry of Dylan Thomas. I’ll show them photos of stone circles that have been in place for thousands of years in Welsh meadows, and the more recent ones erected wherever a National Eisteddfod is held. I’ll tell them about naughty sprites called bwcas, that Roald Dahl was born in Wales, and that no parent ever wanted their child to work in a coal mine. Traditions can be ancient, or those we make for ourselves…

You can find out more about Cathy Ace and both her Cait Morgan Mysteries and WISE Enquiries here: http://cathyace.com/

HALLIE:  So here's Cathy question to you: whether you’re a transplanted person or not, what will you pass to the next generations from your own cultural heritage…and why? Seems particularly appropriate as we head into the holidays.

Cathy Ace on Vegas: Where it's all right to fake it

HALLIE EPHRON: Our guest Cathy Ace hails from Wales, which you know the minute she opens her mouth and you hear her wonderful accent. Irrepressibly warm and funny, she now lives in more buttoned-down Canada. Where else would she set her latest Cait Morgan mystery novel but Las Vegas!

She explains why.

CATHY ACE: Las Vegas is what many would call the world capital of fakery. And I’m okay with that. In fact, I adore it. I embrace the falseness of it all, and thrown myself into its rhinestone encrusted arms as often as I can.

I know that Vegas is one of those places that has the ability to polarize opinion, but, ever since I first visited it about a dozen years ago, I have always felt “at home” there. I’ve been thinking about why that might be.

I was a pretty solitary child, not one to have friends come to the house to play with me, I was just as happy to live in my own little world with my imaginary friend and pretend. I would put on plays and recite poems for my toys, I’d involve the grown-ups as stage hands. My world was populated by fictional characters from books, (Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven, or Nancy Drew, of course) and my own invention.

As the years passed I spent a good deal of my time performing in choirs (being Welsh means that’s pretty much a given) or on stage in amateur dramatic or operatic productions. Both my mum and dad performed too, and even my little sister was involved. I was always surrounded by costumes, scenery, props, scripts, librettos, and rehearsal schedules. Pretending and dressing up was the norm for our whole family, and for those we mixed with.

Maybe that’s why I feel so comfortable in Vegas. It’s one huge piece of theater. Every casino is a stage setting, every server wears a costume, and each visitor arrives ready to be swept up in the performance art of the place. 

Having visited on dozens of occasions over the years, I have come to know some of the folks who live and work there. It’s that idea, sharing the drama and the normalcy of the place, that I tried to convey in this latest book. It’s something that visitors to Vegas often miss—the human stories behind the costumes, and the make-up. 

 
Set in an invented casino themed on Tsarist Russia, with an opera diva, a dead casino owner with a Rat Pack background, and a collection of the sort of people one frequently meets in Vegas—so, eclectic—I wanted to bring some of the tales from “backstage” to the audience’s attention. You see, the place might be fake, but the people aren’t—they are real people, living what they view as normal lives. 

Growing up in a world where dress-up and pretend was just fine, and where I was happy to perform in front of the scenery, or stand in the wings and watch, means I’m right at home in Vegas.

What about you? Is Vegas just too much for you to take? Are you uncomfortable at the thought of being pulled onstage to become a part of the performance, or would you be one of those throwing their hand into the air to volunteer to “help with the trick”?

If you’re reading this I am guessing you’re a fan of fiction. So how far does that love of make-believe go? Happy to have it between the pages, but not to participate when it’s “real”? Or is the “faking it” of Vegas just fine by you?

HALLIE: Great questions! So, does spending time in Las Vegas feel like submersing yourself in a great fiction? Or not...

About Cathy Ace's latest Cait Morgan mystery, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair: Welsh Canadian foodie and criminologist Cait Morgan takes off on a short break to the fabulous Tsar! Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas with her significant other, retired cop Bud Anderson. But before they can start celebrating Bud’s birthday in style at the casino owners’ exclusive private dining room, the death of Miss Shirley — a woman with a colorful background and the acknowledged Queen of the Strip — results in a security lockdown. Cait, Bud, a corpse, and ten possible murderers are trapped in the luxurious restaurant for twelve deadly hours. The bodies pile up, the tension mounts, the list of suspects dwindles — and Cait knows she has to work out who within the group is an audacious killer because there’s no telling who might be next to die.

Rhys writes dreams and dragons

RHYS: I always find it fun to read the other 'what we are writing' posts. Mine could be about any number of things: I sent off my latest Royal Spyness book to my editor at Berkley a couple of weeks ago. it's called MALICE AT THE PALACE and is focused on a real royal scandal in the 1930s.

I'm currently working on a Molly Murphy Christmas book, due out next Christmas. It's about two street children in New York, and my working title is NO CRIB FOR A BED.  My editor isn't so sure she loves the title. What do you think? Any other suggestions?

But I'm not going to share that with you today, because I have yet another project that is about to come to fruition. I have written a children's book with my daughter Clare and it's about to make its debut on Amazon, every other e-format, and also as a paperback. It's called DREAMWALKER, and is the first book in the Red Dragon Academy mini-series.

It's a middle-grade fantasy in which California girl Addy finds herself enrolled at a strange boarding school in an old castle in the mountains of Wales where one corridor leads not to another wing of the school but to a mirror world with an evil ruler who can control minds. Addy has always had vivid dreams but now this power makes her a target for the ruler who calls himself The One.

Here is the opening scene:

            I’ve never been so cold in my life! It's freezing up in this tower. The cold from the massive stone walls bites into my back as I sit here hugging my knees to myself. The turret room is pitch black except for a sliver of moonlight coming in through the slits in the wall. Raj would probably tell me their name and that that they are where archers shoot their arrows, but Raj isn’t here. I wish he was. The windows are overgrown with vines and they cast creepy shadows like long tentacles on the round tower wall. I can make out the shape of other kids sleeping on the floor. They are lying as far away as possible from Pippa and me because they’re afraid of us.

A bone-chilling howl comes from the forest. I know what animal made that howl and wish I didn’t. So a Rancur is close by and that must mean that the Fallon Gywn are with it. They’ve come for us. I huddle closer to Pippa. She seems to be sleeping, in spite of the cold. I prod her and whisper, “Are you asleep?” and she only grunts. A boy is whimpering and moaning in his sleep. How can they sleep at a time like this? There is no way I’d allow myself to fall asleep tonight, even if I wasn’t afraid of dreaming. I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow and what horrible thing is going to happen to us. No one will say exactly what it is, but I can tell it’s pretty bad. For once I wish this was a dream, but I know it’s very real.

Was it really only a month ago that I was an ordinary seventh grader in California, surfing and going to the mall with friends? I had nothing more to worry about than getting my homework done. Then my mom died. That messed me up so badly I don't know if I'll ever be OK again, but that wasn't when the danger started. The danger started when I first walked down that dark hallway and found myself in this world that I don't understand. Or maybe earlier. Maybe it started when I arrived at crazy Red Dragon Academy. No -- even that wasn't right. The danger started in my own living room when I saw the two old ladies. The danger started when I climbed onto the back of the red dragon.

So if you have a child who loved Harry Potter, this might make a good holiday gift. (Or if you loved Harry Potter and want to read something with the same feel). Anyway, it should be up and available on Amazon and other sites both as an e-book and a paperback by November 15. Let me know how you like it!

Breaking News:  Since I posted this my design guru has given me the links. You can read a bigger sample and decide if you want to buy the e-book right now. The paperback is available right now on Createspace but will be up in 3 drays on Amazon. Go forth and buy, my children!
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/dreamwalker-14

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreamwalker-rhys-bowen/1120727006?ean=2940150558113

http://www.amazon.com/Dreamwalker-Red-Dragon-Academy-Book-ebook/dp/B00PHEBLDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415805799&sr=8-1&keywords=dreamwalker+rhys+bowen

Confession: I have always adored fantasy and still re-read Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings and even the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. How about you? Do you read children's books?

The Other Oymmpics

RHYS BOWEN :In a month's time I'm going to the Olympics. A giant feast celebrating the best in English sports.. or is it? One of the sports that won't be appearing is Bog Snorkelling. Neither will Toe Wrestling, nor cheese rolling. I'm not making these up. They are real British sports. They have just held the World Bog Snorkelling Championship in Wales. The contestants swim through thick filthy water of a flooded peak bog breathing through a snorkel. It attracts over 200 competitors each year.

Actually sports like this will have a chance to shine on the world stage. They will be featured at the World Alternative Games, taking place at the same time as the Olympics in Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. I bet it's easier to get tickets there.

Britain must have more silly sports than any other country I know. Where else would you find a pancake race, or a race carrying barrels of molten tar that would fry you to a crisp if they spilled over you?  Or the famous Gloucestershire cheese roll, where contestants roll an 8 lb wheel of Double Gloucester Cheese down a hill and attempt to catch it. This event has been going on for 200 years.

In fact most regions of Britain can claim their own "alternative" (and for alternative read silly) sports and games. Hedge jumping is one of my favorites. People find a wicked looking hedge and then attempt to throw themselves over it in a sort of Fosbury Flop. One contestant claimed he did better in "your basic crucifixion position."  Keen hedge jumpers have been known to skid to a halt, leap out of cars and hurls themselves over a nearby hedge. My friend Hannah Dennison wrote about this in one of her Vicky Hill novels. Great fun.

In the flatter parts of the East Coast there is dyke vaulting. Do not comment. Contestants run at the waterway with a pole, plant it and attempt to jump across, like a pole vault but horizontal. Most end up stuck in the mud with no dry way of escape.

My next Lady Georgie novel, The Twelve Clues of Christmas (due out in November) features a made up event called "The Lovey Chase." What is it? You'll have to read the book to find out.