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I'm thrilled to have a chance to introduce you to multi-genre author Lorrie Unites-Struiff. She tells her clever stories with so much humor that you just have to smile after reading her work. She'll put a spring in your step once you experience her writing.
Let me tell you more about her. Lorrie Unites-Struiff is a native of West Mifflin, twenty minutes from downtown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She writes in different genres for the pure enjoyment of entertaining readers. When she is not sitting in front of her computer, she’s often found checking out bookstores, leading her writing workshops, or having lunch with local authors.
Today Lorrie shares her inspiration for writing the paranormal romance and mystery, Gypsy Blood.
Welcome readers and authors,
Thank you for being here with me today.
Let me tell you how I got my
inspiration for Gypsy Blood.
Once upon a
time, a good friend, an author in her own right, insisted she treat me for my
birthday.
I won’t tell you
which birthday, so don’t ask.
My friend took
me to a quaint little restaurant where the food was scrumptious. Lo and behold,
they had a gypsy fortuneteller seated at a table in the corner. Of course we
indulged in both the food and having our fortunes told. The gypsy fascinated me
and most of her predictions have come true. She nailed my lifestyle and my
hopes.
It was an
interesting and fun birthday celebration.
When
I returned home, my thoughts stayed with the gypsy. Being an author, I love to
take interesting characters, mix in a few troublemakers and plot storylines for
them. This gypsy impressed me with her intelligence and her thoughtfully chosen
words, so I researched the gypsies of yore and found some very interesting
reading. Their mysticism and beliefs held me captive. I admit, I am often
carried away with research. The Romani have rich, colorful traditions, which I
included in the book.
Isn’t every
writer a research hound?
Hence,
Rita Muldova came to life, a homicide detective of pure Roma blood, her mother
a gypsy seer with great mystic powers and her uncle, a great baker and
violinist.
Following
today’s popular trend of many readers, I decided to use, and yes, add a little…
well…okay, a lot of mysticism.
What
is a story without a love interest? I gave her a handsome hunk of a FBI agent
from Voodoo City. Yum. My kind of guy.
Her best friend on the force, Della,
is a character unto herself. She has Rita’s back.
When I threw in an odd serial killer,
it turned into a heck of a wild ride. A fast paced read for all you
paranormal/romance/thriller readers out there.
Try it, I think
you’ll enjoy the ride.
Lorrie.
# # # #
EXCERPT
Detective Rita Moldova peeked around the
corner to make sure the hallway was empty. Making a quick right turn, she
slipped into the autopsy lab to have a few minutes alone with the body. She
tucked her white shirt tighter into her jeans and zipped her windbreaker to
stay warm in the chilly room. The harsh odor of formaldehyde hit her nostrils
and stung her throat.
Her heart twisted at the sight of the young,
auburn-haired woman lying on the stainless steel table. A white sheet covered
her to the navel; bruises blemished the once pretty face. Contusions marred the
pallid skin from elbow to shoulder. The gash on the front of her neck gaped,
exposing open veins and torn tissue.
Rita
flipped her thick, dark braid back over her shoulder, snapped on one latex
glove, leaned over the corpse, and peeled back an eyelid. In her bare hand, she
clasped a star-shaped crystal hanging from the gold chain around her neck, an
endowment from her maternal Roma bloodline. The crystal heated in her palm, warm
energy pulsing up her arm to her shoulder. The face captured in the victim’s
eye coalesced and stared back. Rita drew in a sharp breath. Bobby Driscoll! She had known him since
high school, and now he worked as a uniform in her precinct.
Check Lorrie's website or write her for more info and the reviews.
Gypsy Blood is now available in
e-book format at Amazon
Other links:
Thank you, Lorrie for visiting today. Love your excerpt!
Today is the final day for the Coda to Murder tour. Race on over to Gail Roughton's Flowers on the Fence where we are discussing conflict in stories (and life.) Leave a comment to win prizes. They will be awarded after 9 pm tonight (Friday, March 22) Hope to see you there!!
36 comments:
Hi Lorrie, Looking forward to a fun visit with you and the readers!
I'm so far behind on my reading but yours Lorrie is in my pile. I'm hoping before April ends to read this book. Good Luck.
Hi JQ, it's so nice to be here with a good friend. Love your site. Thank you for inviting me.
Marian, you are not the only one far behind on your reading. My E-reader is packed with books I'm dying to read. Your's included.
One of these days, I swear I am going to take a months vacation from writing and just enjoy the pleasure of reading. Oh, that sounds heavenly. Thanks for stopping by today.
This is on my list too, and the COD books. I love research too, you never know where it will lead! Especially if you don't overthink things at the beginning, and just let it flow. The journey is the fun, the discovery!
I did a lot of research for Do Not Go Gentle, because one of the characters was driving a wagon, and while it wasn't a major plot point, it was important to me to get it right, and I learned so much in doing it!
Have a great day!
Jules
Dang, Lorrie - this sounds like a good one. Great idea and the excerpt sound great also, NOT TO MENTION, the cover is fabulous. Can hardly wait to read this one
Penny
Lorrie, I read and loved this book so I can recommend it with some authority. Ha...that's a laugh. No one takes me serious when I bark orders at home, so why now? Great post, and JQ is a friend of mine, too. I look forward to the opportunity to meeting both of you one day. Let's make it soon, I'm not getting any younger.
Hi Julie, I got so wrapped up in the research, it was so intriquing, I didn't come up for air for a few days. A wonderful people. Thanks for commenting.
Oh, Penny. Thank you. I had a great time writing this book. *Gulp* my first written sex scene.
*Blush* But, I think I may write more of them in the future. They do say the first one is the hardest. lol.
Lorrie, I see your comments on my email, but they don't show up here on this page. I hope the other commenters are receiving them on the email.
Marian, this book does sound like a great read..anothe good story from Lorrie.
Julie, I love research too. I get so wound up in the research I forget to write the story!
Hey Penny, I agree with you and the cover is striking.
Hi Ginger, looks like you must have seen Lorrie's comments. It's fun having friends visit. I did some extra cleaning and straightening too! LOL... Glad you're here. We'll have to find a central point to gather in the real world some day!
Gypsy is a very entertaining paranormal police procedural. I enjoyed it (along with Lorrie's other books).
Great excerpt from one of my favorite books....You always entertain, Miss Lorrie....Good luck with all your wonderful books....Tabs
Gypsy is one of my favorites that you've written, Lorrie. I just wish that the restaurant we visited was still open so we could celebrate all of your publishing success and find out what else the future holds. Great blog post!
The excerpt is such a tease! I could definitely read more. Love a good mystery with a twist. Good luck with your book, Lorrie. I think the premise sounds great.
Hi, Janet!
This story sounds great! Good luck with it, Lorrie.
Hi Lorrie-
Sounds like a very interesting book. Do you have gypsy blood? Did the fortune teller tell you anything that came true afterward? I can't wait to read the book. Its an interesting subject plus a killer thrown in the mix!
I'm trying to answer all comments, but they are not showing on the blog. JQ is trying to fix the situation. So sorry. If it's fixed now, I will try again. Such fantastic comments too. Love ya all.
I think it's fixed now, so let's take it from the top and hope this shows up too, or I'll cry.
Thanks for inviting me today, JQ, I always have a good time with friends like you.
Marian, I am so far behind on my reading, this summer I'm going to take a whole month off and just read. Doesn't that sound like heaven? Glad you dropped by.
Julie, I got so immersed in the research for this book, I don't think I came up for air for two days. The Roma are a fascinating people. And including some of the lore was great fun. Thanks.
Hi Penny,thanks for the compliment. I hope you enjoy the book.
Oh yes, Ginger. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all meet in person. What a ball we would have. I do remember the great review you gave me on this story. So glad to hear from you.
Marva, always so good to hear from my good buddy. I don't know where I would be without all your computer help. Yep, I'm still a dunce. Thanks for hanging in with me.
Hello Tabs, so happy you're here. You always say the nicest things. Thank you.
Oh, fantastic Marcy that you are here. Yep, Marcy is the gal that took me to the restaurant. So I have to blame her for Gypsy Blood.
That was a great day, Marcy. See what you started? And it was a good thing too. Thank you so much my friend.
Hi Joylene and Marie. So nice of you both to drop in. Thank you for the kind words and the good wishes.
And here is Lo, my crit buddy from group. *waves* Hi there. See you Wednesday so you can give it to me straight again. I'm glad your back from vacation. I missed you.
Not a paranormal fan but I loved reading Gypsy Blood. It had it all, so much so that I would very much like to see a sequel.
Maybe in that one, Lorrie, you could convince that viokin-playing uncle of Rita's to share his recipe for those dynamite brownies.
Bet they would give Alice B. Toklas a run for her money.
Hi Maria, right now I'd settle for Uncle Dragus's goulash and top it off with the brownies. Yum.
Thanks for commenting.
Yay, Lorrie, I see your comments!!
So happy so many folks have come to visit.
'Gypsy' is a seat of your pants read. I really enjoyed it . Lorrie all the best!
Mmm..did you say goulash? yum And brownies? Double yum. This book may add some calories to the menu.
I have to laugh. Yeah, from such stray encounters are novels born....and that's why writers write!
I'm always intrigued by the background behind a story. Thank you for sharing. This sounds like an exciting, hold-on-to-your seat read. Great excerpt!
Oh, Frankie, you came to the fun party. I miss you gal. You don't know how much since you don't have time to write.
Howdy Gail, yep we writers can find ideas and inspiration every where. Isn't it fun?
Hi Verna, glad you dropped in.
Now, I will admit I'm a bit whacky, but I think it helps with the writing, folks, don't you?
If any of you read some of my COD series, you would reach this conclusion by yourself. lol.
Okay, I'm just having a good time here. Who is whacky with me?
You want wacky? Here's wacky for ya! I was at the doctors with my mom. After her appointment, we had to wait int he lobby for the ride home. Now, I have to add this first, I love plants. I have several at home on my very large window sills. So, as we're sitting there, I see this beautiful spider plant sitting on a table. There are several baby sprouts and, me being the plant lover I am, I decide to snip a couple of the babies. So I very slyly walk over to the table and sift through the magazines. While I'm there, nail clippers in hand, I quickly cut off three of the sprouts. I return to my seat and I can barely contain my laughter. My mom asks me if I got them. I said yes and, mind you, I'm still hysterical. When I fianlly calm down, I show her the babies I clipped...from the artificial plant!!!!
Is that whacky enough for you? I know we're talkking about Gypsy Blood but that was more like a Winnie-ism from your COD Club series. LOL
I read and loved this book also. A little bit of everythig in here. Congrats again on all of your releases.
Oh, Darla. That is too funny. You aborted those artificial babies. Shame on you. Now I won't stop laughing the rest of the night. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Lorrie's comments disappeared again from this page, but she is commenting on emails. Having a wacky time here. Darla, you definitely could fit into a Winnie story. Watch out for the next COD book...you may recognize a scalped artificial spider plant!!
I love it when the universe throws just the right thing in our paths to spark a story. I might be able to make a case for my hubby to take me out to eat more often, lol. Great post, ladies!
I apologize too. I am trying to answer your comments, but JQ's site must be having a PMS day.
First it lets me, then in kicks my comments off.
So just let me give everyone wno commented a great big hug and a thank you.
Hope to catch you on another blog down the line, my friends.
Have a great weekend.
And I hope this one posts.
Thanks, Cate. Hmm...I think I may try that reasoning with my hubby too!! Good idea!!
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