Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Heather Blake’s The Goodbye Witch {+Giveaway}


The Goodbye Witch coverIt’s with great pleasure that I welcome my friend, fellow blogger and author Heather Blake to Thoughts in Progress today. Heather stops by on her virtual book tour for THE GOODBYE WITCH, the latest and fourth installment in her Witchcraft Mystery series.

Heather will be talking about ‘Blind Faith’ concerning where her ideas come from. In addition, thanks to Heather and the delightful Danielle at Penguin Group, I have a print copy of THE GOODBYE WITCH to give away. Please see the end of the post for the details.

First, here’s a brief synopsis of THE GOODBYE WITCH

As Enchanted Village’s resident Wishcrafter, Darcy Merriweather has the power to make other people’s wishes come true, but what she really wishes is that she had the power to uncloak the invisible man who’s stalking her best friend....
        Darcy’s closest friend and fellow witch, Starla Sullivan, hoped she’d never see her ex-husband, Kyle, again. Two years ago he tried to kill her, and he has been a fugitive ever since. Now Starla claims to have seen him back in Enchanted Village, but it seems she’s the only one who can see him. To everyone else, her ex is invisible.
        Darcy only wishes his motives were as transparent as the rest of him. Since the police can’t arrest someone they can’t see, it’s up to Darcy to find the secret behind Kyle’s latest disappearing act—before he does something they can’t see coming.... 

Please join me in welcoming Heather as she talks about ‘Blind Faith.’

One of the most-asked questions I receive from readers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” 

Honestly, some of the time I have no idea where they come from. The ideas are just there. Most of the time, however, an idea comes from a situation I see or hear. It sets off a spark that I then flame into a full-blown plot by playing the “what if” game. What if that happened to one of my characters? Then what if my character did this, did that?

For THE GOODBYE WITCH, it was a magazine article I read that created the spark. A human-interest piece about a young woman who’d been murdered. Nineteen years old. A high-achieving college student. The whole world ahead of her. There was a preponderance of
evidence against the woman’s boyfriend that he’d committed the crime. DNA. Witnesses. A confession (though later retracted). Yet…his parents steadfastly refused to believe their son, their pride and joy who was also a college student on the fast-track to greatness, could have had anything to do with this heinous crime. No way. Not their boy. They proclaimed his innocence to any and all who would listen (and still do, despite his conviction).

The behavior, the blind faith, of those parents struck me hard. What if that was one of my sons? What would I do in that situation? How would I react? Better yet…what if it happened to one of my characters?

What if?

In THE GOODBYE WITCH, Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s best friend, Starla, is living her worst nightmare. Her fugitive ex-husband, Kyle, has returned to the Enchanted Village. Years ago, he escaped jail after being arrested for Starla’s attempted murder. His family – his parents and two brothers – and most of the village took Kyle’s side after the arrest. As the village’s golden child, Kyle could do no wrong in their eyes. 

Darcy, of course, is livid at the absolute allegiance to Kyle. How could everyone simply ignore all the evidence against him?

What if?

It’s not until Kyle’s found dead, and Starla becomes the number one suspect in his death, that Darcy learns how easily someone can put blind faith behind a loved one accused of a horrible crime. She’ll do anything and everything to clear her friend’s name.

Because nothing is ever what it seems in the Enchanted Village, it takes all Darcy has learned about the Craft and help from her family and friends (mortal and Crafters alike) to discover the true motive for Kyle’s death. And when she does, she’s completely unprepared for the consequences of those actions and how they affect her own life…

Heather, thanks for stopping by today. You bring up a good point with ‘blind faith.’ Do we ever really believe in it until we are tested by someone we love?

For those who aren’t familiar with Heather, here’s a bit of background.

Heather Blake grew up in a suburb of Boston, and enjoys going “home” in her novels. As a young mother, she tried her hand at writing novels and hasn’t looked back. Currently, Heather lives in the Cincinnati area with her family, and is presently hard at work on her next novel. 

Heather also writes under the name Heather Webber. So far, she has 11 published novels, one eBook, and several short stories in print under her alter ego.
For more on Heather and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

THE GOODBYE WITCH is available at the following locations:

bnlogo
penguin
amazon

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This giveaway is for one print copy of THE GOODBYE WITCH. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end Wednesday, May 21. When notified, the winner will have 72 hours to respond to the email or another winner will be selected. 

To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few minutes to load, please be patient.

Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Has this post made you think about what you would do in similar circumstances? Do you believe in blind faith?

*This post contains affiliate links. a Rafflecopter giveaway

33 comments:

  1. That is an interesting premise. How far would one go in their belief and devotion to another? Brings new meaning to the phrase love is blind.

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  2. Heather, thanks again for stopping by. Your 'what ifs' are very thought provoking, especially if we place ourselves in the situation. Wishing you much success.

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  3. Mason - Thanks for hosting Heather.

    Heather - This book really does have an interesting premise. And I respect it when authors can create whole new worlds as they tell their stories. I wish you much success.

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  4. Thanks for having me, MC! Always love stopping by. And best of luck to all the entrants for the giveaway.

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  5. Darcy, Starla, Kyle.... teens will love such names....

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  6. Yes I think I do believe in blind faith. I can't imagine what I'd really do in real life if I was put in that situation though. Book sounds fantastic and I like how you came up with the story line, very interesting.

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  7. Yes, I believe in blind faith. There are just people you know that would or wouldn't do something, although I do have to admit way in the back of my mind somewhere there might be a little "what If'.

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  8. Yes, I believe in blind faith.
    CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

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  9. I don't believe in blind faith. I have to have a reason to believe in something.

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  10. Yes, I do believe in blind faith. You just never know what is around the corner, but if you believe, all will be well.
    stardustindy@yahoo.com

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  11. Thanks so much, Karen. I hope you enjoy them.

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  12. I don't believe in blind faith

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  13. I completely believe in blind faith. I believe that we attract what we think about and whenever I'm negative, negative things come into my world and vice versa. When I have blind faith that all will be well, I'm happy and all is well.

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  14. I, too, believe in blind faith. In fact, my favorite quote in by Edward Teller and it is;
    "When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”

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  15. Sounds interesting. I love both mysteries and witch stories.

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  16. Blind faith can be viewed as denial/delusion or simply as a profound sense of faith/believing in something or someone.

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  17. Yes, I believe in blind faith. The book looks like a great read.

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  18. There was a time where I could, without a seconds hesitation, say yes, I believe in blind faith. That has gotten harder as I have gotten older. That being said, I DO still believe and have blind faith in my husband as well as my father.

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  19. It depends on what the blind faith is for!
    Thanks for the chance!

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  20. I love the Nina Quinn mysteries and would love to try the Wishcraft Mysteries! Thank you for the chance!

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  21. The Goodbye Witch looks cute.

    I get a lot of my ideas, too, from life. Something just ignites a spark, and then it becomes a fire!

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  22. I haven't really thought about blind faith, but anyone might be able to commit a murder even if their relatives want to believe that they're innocent. I love cozy mysteries.

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  23. I'm not sure I understand the question. Blind faith clearly exists, as there are certainly those who cling to a belief in a person or ide despite contradictory evidence. So it's not a question of whether I believe in blind faith. Do I think that I would have that kind of faith? Quite possibly, but it's hard to know unless you're in the situation. And blind faith can be a positive or a negative force, depending on whether you are right or wrong in your belief.

    Heather, I always enjoy your books because even while they're fun, they make me think.

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  24. I need facts to form options. I believe it is dangerous to give blind faith freely. You need to analyze if its right to you and not blindly go forward on a "feeling" that can be manipulated by someone else. ie: Cults.

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  25. Don't enter me, but I'm looking forward to reading this one.

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  26. Blind Faith is trusting but it is new for me. Thanks for this giveaway and the delightful post. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  27. I definitely believe in blind faith. So much of all our lives are based on it whether we realize it or not.

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  28. I do believe in blind faith, especially as in this story when it's someone you know and trust. Blind faith is about trusting your instincts in spite of what you hear and see, and my instincts usually prove me right!

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  29. I do believe in blind faith, and even though some say they don't believe they do have it everyday. When you wake up you have faith that it will be a good and hope so. You don't know what's going to happen, every morning you wake up with it.

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  30. I never thought about blind faith, therefore, for now, I don't have an opinion, either way............

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  31. I definitely believe in blind faith.

    lag110 at mchsi dot com

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's post. Thanks for dropping by.