It's often quite difficult to juggle writing, work, and three crazy kids. As such, it's things like this blog that tend to suffer. But here I am, still slogging away, even if it's not as often as I'd like to.

I do have some news, The Dybbuk's Revenge has an official release date! What will be the final instalment in Carrie's story will be available September 30, 2015 from Prizm Books! Now, while I say that this will be the final instalment in Carrie's story, I don't feel as if I'm done with Hadariah. There are still places there to explore, stories to tell, and once I get inspired to do so, I will definitely be writing more.

In other news, I have finished the substantive edits with Pandamoon Publishing on The Kingdom Thief, and I'm waiting to receive my copy edits to continue on that one. I've finished editing the first draft of The City of Arches, and I'm waiting to hear back on that from my tried and true reader.

March 20-22 will be seeing me as a guest at Toronto Comic Con, and I am so excited for that! It will be my first Comic Con, and if it's anything like FanExpo, it will definitely be a blast. An will be with me, as always, and we are definitely looking forward to it. 

In personal news, Thursday sees the stet of Birthdaypalooza in our house. The kids are turning 4 on Thursday. (Can't believe they're that big already!) My birthday is on Sunday, and I'm sharing my day with the kids and their friends as that's when we're having their birthday party. Brian's birthday is the Wednesday after that. Busy busy times! I hope to update here more often.

I had planned this whole post about New Year's and how Channukah was this year. But life can throw one hell of a curve ball, and today, I'm feeling utterly heartbroken.

When I was much younger, my siblings and I used to beg and plead with my parents for a dog. They would always give the standard parental answer of "We'll think about it." or "We'll see." Year after year passed, and it never happened.

When I was fourteen years old, I went through a year of hell. I was in and out of the hospital with unexplained pain and sickness. I was scared, and I was frustrated that no one could figure out what was happening to me. I went back to the emergency room one last time that winter. My appendix had ruptured and I was sent in for emergency surgery. In recovery, my dad asked me if there was anything he could get me. My response was to ask him one last time for a dog. He couldn't say no.

That summer, I picked out an adorable little brown and white shipoo. She was running around, wrestling all the larger puppies to the ground. It was love at first sight. Even my timid six year old brother felt confident holding this little ball of fur. I named her Buffy, after the vampire slayer. She slept at the foot of my bed for years until I got married and moved out. I missed her, and I missed the way that my bubbie would feed her mashed potatoes every night at supper. How we had to be careful as to where she was groomed due to the fact that she knew exactly where she lived and had actually escaped the groomer and run home across four lanes of traffic just to get back to us. I missed the way she rarely kissed people, but always had one for me. 

Now that I have kids of my own, I looked forward to them getting to know her, even though she was a lot older, a lot crankier, and had a lot less patience for children. I willfully ignored the fact that she was seventeen years old, had cataracts, arthritis, bad teeth, and a whole host of other issues. To me, she was eternally a puppy and would always be there. She was a direct link to my childhood, and I had so many memories of my bubbie petting her, caring for her, and speaking to her when she thought no one was looking.

This morning, I got word that she was at the vet's office and I had until noon to get there if I wanted to say goodbye. All the issues I was pretending didn't exist had caught up to her. She was in pain, and there was nothing they could do. I drove down there, and held her with my brother as she peacefully passed away. I will always love her, and I will miss her terribly. She was an amazing dog. Stubborn, some said untrainable (refused to sit, lie down, stay, or anything), loved to sit quietly and get pet, loved us all, and was loved in return. 

Goodbye Buffy.

Trail of Hope, the second book in Merry Farmer’s “Hot on the Trail” historical romance series, is coming November 24! The Oregon Trail has never been as sexy as it is in Merry Farmer’s upcoming historical romance! Available RIGHT NOW for preorder:

 

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeAmazon

iBooks: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeiBooks

Smashwords: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeSW

 

About TRAIL OF HOPE:

Callie Lewis is alone on the Oregon Trail. After her brother’s death, she has been left to fend for herself on a journey she never wanted to take. Her only hope for safety and a life at the end of the road is to become a trail bride and wed grieving widower John Rye. But John is harboring secrets that could end their hasty marriage before it has a chance to begin.

When a vicious tornado wakes John from the stupor the death of his wife left him in, he is ready to embrace Callie and the new life they could have together. But John is not the only one with designs on his new wife. Miles away from civilization, in a wagon train bristling with secrets and suspicion, John must catch a thief, fend off his rival, and reclaim his life to build the future Callie deserves.

In their darkest moments will they bring each other hope or misery?

PLEASE BE ADVISED – Steam Level: Hot

**COMING NOVEMBER 24**

 

Preorder on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeAmazon, iBooks: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeiBooks, and Smashwords:http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeSW

 

Add Trail of Hope to your Goodreads “Want to Read” list: http://smarturl.it/TrailofHopeGoodreads

I had the good luck to be able to interview author M.C.V. Egan about her novel The Bridge of Deaths. Based on the real-life crash of the G-AESY, her novel interweaves historical fact, romance, and strives to solve the mystery around the crash that claimed her grandfather. We are approaching the 75th anniversary of the crash, and The Bridge of Deaths is being re-released!

It is coming up on the 75th anniversary of the crash of the G-AESY. Your novel: The Bridge of Deaths deals with this historical event. How hard was it to weave fiction and fact when crafting your story?

 To me the entire story is very real. My personal experiences witnessing the actual past life regressions and my experiences with the psychics holding the watches and psychometry were very real and impacted me tremendously. That being said when I created Maggie the fictional aspect became great fun.

 

Tell me a bit about your creative process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Especially when writing a mystery, do you begin with the ending in mind?

 I am a combination of both. I am more likely to make a list than a precise and concise outline but I do make outlines. I am flexible and sometimes I just sit down and write like a pantser which is fun and liberating.

 

The story in The Bridge of Deaths is a very personal one. Your grandfather was aboard that plane. Was it difficult for you to put a piece of your history out there for the world to read?

Not at all, not for me as an individual, what was hard was the reaction of some of my relatives and especially my mom. She is of a generation that was strongly encouraged to keep all family skeletons tight stored in closets and never to be dealt with.

I think we are in an era where that is not only impossible but ill-advised.  As we become more open and people tell stories of what once was taboo, we open the possibility of preventing things from happening again.

 

I always like to know: what music do you like to listen to while writing?

I like classical music when writing or super mellow like Enya, but as I am the mom of a 16 year old I find I can write and concentrate to the Rolling Stones, Metallica and some other sounds I would have never expected could be stimulating!

Don’t get me wrong with a beer and having fun… but the surprising bit was that loud music I never expected to has at times helped me write.




If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be, and why?

Any fictional character in any novel I have ever read? That is really tough, maybe the confused guy in Nick Hornby’s HIGH FIDELITY?  I would love to see if he found himself and is happily married raising kids and enjoying life or divorced and disillusioned!

 

What advice do you have for any aspiring authors out there?

Be true to yourself and use your own unique voice.






Is The Bridge of Deaths really a culmination of 2 decades of research? Why are you so interested in WW II History?

Yes, at least a good eighteen years of research. I was so clueless when I began to dig around the plane crash that killed my grandfather in 1939 so I guess someone with a better historical background would have never taken that long.

I am embarrassed to admit that I had to look up almost every incident I came across even something as common knowledge as The Munich Pact.

I know I had to have studied it at some point in school or university but to be honest I know I did fail history at least once.

 

Why are you releasing a revised edition and what is different from the original?

When I released the original in 2011 I was so afraid that people would dispute some of the files I used that I carefully and meticulously added footnotes for EVERYTHING, over 200.

To my surprise some people loved that, mainly lawyers! But it felt like awkward reading for some, and it was understandable, especially in the e-book format as the footnotes can be distracting. In the revised version I added the necessary footnotes to the narrative and got rid of all of them. I also summarized two parts that were loaded with information and detail and added them to the back as appendices for the more curious readers.

The book is formatted in a very user friendly way so the reader can go from one chapter to the other or to the appendices.

To give it a more up to date touch, as the book takes place in 2010. I added an epilogue in the summer of 2012.

The new cover has the image of my grandfather’s watch which is part of the story.




Over 200 footnotes? So this is not a novel, or is it?

Oh yes it is a novel. It has fictional elements so it must be categorized as such. The characters that sift through the data are fictional even if two are strongly based on real people; one of whom is me!

I also used very “unorthodox” ways to research such as psychics and past life regressions; not my own, and that to many is fiction.




How did you use psychics and past lives?

I have two watches, one that was my grandfather’s and another sent to us by British Airways LTD. The use of psychometry is not that scoffed at, I mean the FBI has used it, so I thought, Why not? It was just amazing, with no photos or previous knowledge a psychic started describing the bridge and another the lettering on the wing of the plane.

The most shocking was that all described to a T another of the men who died for the second watch, no spoiler! I won’t tell you which but it was uncanny. There were five people gifted in psychometry who did this for me.

The individual who had the long past life regressions, five in total has asked to remain anonymous, but I was allowed to sit in and take notes, they were also recorded but the quality is horrible which is a shame because just like Maggie in the book, I did ‘go under’ and slept through one of them!


About The Bridge of Deaths

"M.C.V. Egan twists truth and fiction until you question your perceptions...it is a story of real love, triumph and search for self." - Beckah Boyd @ The Truthful Tarot

5 out of 5 stars:  "An unusual yet much recommended read." - Midwest Book Review 

On August 15th, 1939, an English passenger plane from British Airways Ltd. crashed in Danish waters between the towns of Nykøbing Falster and Vordingborg. There were five casualties reported and one survivor. Just two weeks before, Hitler invaded Poland.

With the world at the brink of war, the manner in which this incident was investigated left much open to doubt. The jurisdiction battle between the two towns and the newly formed Danish secret police created an atmosphere of intrigue and distrust.

The Bridge of Deaths is a love story and a mystery. Fictional characters travel through the world of past life regressions and information acquired from psychics as well as archives and historical sources to solve "one of those mysteries that never get solved." Based on true events and real people, The Bridge of Deaths is the culmination of 18 years of sifting through conventional and unconventional sources in Denmark, England, Mexico and the United States. The story finds a way to help the reader feel that s/he is also sifting through data and forming their own conclusions.

Cross The Bridge of Deaths into 1939, and dive into cold Danish waters to uncover the secrets of the G-AESY.

Get the revised 75th anniversary of The Bridge of Deaths on Amazon in ebook and paperback.




About the author

M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family.

From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo--mostly the story of how he died.

She spent her childhood in Mexico. When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class.

In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977. She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople. She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.

Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother. Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject.

The celebrated her 52nd birthday on July 2nd, 2011, and gave herself self-publishing The Bridge of Deaths as a gift.




Find M.C.V. Egan and The Bridge of Deaths on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and online.

Once again, FanExpo has come and gone, and I am utterly exhausted! It is a four day whirlwind of craziness! But don't get me wrong, it is definitely a good kind of crazy, and I look forward to it every year. It is a chance to connect to readers and to fellow fans of fantasy and science fiction, Hello fellow Whovians! and I have a blast. I love the energy, the cosplays, the dealers floor, and the chance to meet people who I have looked up to for ages, and this year proved to be awesome.

An and I were there with our "minions" all four days. I can not thank these people enough. Emilie, Jeff, Katrina, Leah, you guys were amazing. Each day, you were beyond helpful. Without you, I don't think we could have eaten, let alone experience the con as we did, so thank you.

Another thing that happened was that Brian showed up on Friday with Joseph, 
Phillip, and Hailey! They went to their first FanExpo! They did it in full costume, and Joseph was the Hulk, Phillip was Iron Man, and Hailey was a Pirate Princess. Now, Joseph went all out. He was roaring at people, and smashing the ground, he was the Hulk. He even smashed a guy dressed as Spiderman who had asked him for a high five. He was a total hit with the grownup cosplayers. The funny thing was that the kids didn't realize that the people around them were fans like them. They thought they actually met the real superheroes! It was too cute!

Now that evening, I had planned a special treat for the kids. I had planned to take them for a photo op with Stan Lee. Phillip knew exactly who Stan Lee was. He knew that this was the man responsible for the heroes that he knows and loves, and is the hot dog vendor from the Phineas and Ferb special episode Mission Marvel. He had a special plan of what he was going to say, and how he was going to smile, and what he wanted to do. He had even planned on giving him a drawing of the hero he had invented: Captain Iron Man. We got to the photo op and waited for him to arrive. When he did, Phillip just stared. I think he was in shock. Joseph whispered to me that he "looked like a zaidy". Hailey got nervous, as she sometimes does around strangers. We went up to him, said hello, and took the picture. Phillip did not smile. But after the picture when he realized that we were just going to walk away, Phillip turned to him and said "Hi". Stan Lee responded with a smile, and Phillip went on to say "Thank you Stan Lee for all the superheroes." I swear, he looked like he melted. Later on, I discovered that upon forgetting his drawing, Phillip took it upon himself to sketch one into one of the copies of The Strings of the Violin that I intended to sell. Well Phillip, Mommy found a way. That book is now in Stan Lee's possession. You're welcome. Please do not deface anymore of my property in the future.

Oh! Before I forget, The Dybbuk's Mirror is out in two days! My ARC's are looked over, as are my galley proofs, and now I wait and panic!

Now, pictures! (and THE picture is at the end)