Debby Grahl lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with her husband, David, and their cat, Tigger. Besides writing, she enjoys biking, walking on the beach and a glass of wine at sunset. Her favorite places to visit are New Orleans, New York City, Captiva Island in Florida, the Cotswolds of England, and her home state of Michigan. She is a history buff who also enjoys reading murder mysteries, time travel, and, of course, romance. Visually impaired since childhood by Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), she uses screen-reading software to research and write her books.
Her first published romance, The Silver Crescent, was released by The Writer’s Coffee Shop in January. Her next release will be Rue Toulouse, a romance set in New Orleans, due out January, 2015. Debby belongs to RWA, Florida Romance Writers, Hearts Across History, and Lowcountry Romance Writers.
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Betrayal, murder and a stolen fortune bring Elise Baxter to Cedar Bend, Michigan, on a quest to solve a family mystery—and recover the missing treasure.
Max Holt impulsively buys a crumbling Victorian mansion and fulfills his dream of restoring it as a restaurant and inn. Aware of its reputation for being haunted, he adds to the mystique by building a garden path of old tombstones, one of which belongs to the original owner of the house, Cyrus Mosby—the man whose legacy Elise has traced, and who allegedly stole her ancestral share of a Colorado silver mine over a century ago.
Following clues gleaned from old diaries and a visit from the spirit of her great-great-grandmother, Elise seeks out Max and his inn. Not knowing if she can trust Max with her family secret, Elise pretends her interest is in researching Cyrus, whose own violent death remains a mystery.
An intense attraction between Max and Elise leads him to believe she may be the girl of his dreams. But when he discovers her true interest in him and his inn, memories of a past betrayal threaten to end their passionate relationship. Elise, finding herself falling in love with Max, fears her deception may cost her more than she is willing to lose.
Once persuaded the stolen silver is hidden somewhere in the inn, and captivated by the idea of a treasure hunt, Max and Elise begin the search together, aided by the resident ghosts, Cyrus and Virginia.
The treasure hunt seems like a harmless adventure until someone tries to steal the diaries. Unknown to Max and Elise, there are others—including an evil presence—who are driven by greed and will stop at nothing to unlock the mystery of the Silver Crescent.
Available at Amazon and BN
First, I’d like to thank my host, Pembroke Sinclair, for having me today.
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
The Silver Crescent had a rather bizarre beginning. We had friends visiting and they were telling me about going on a garden tour of historic homes. The owners of one of the houses had taken old tombstones and made their patio out of them. I thought this interesting but a bit creepy. My imagination and my fascination with ghosts had us bouncing around ideas of a haunted house, a path made out of tombstones, and hidden treasure. I have to say, the more wine we drank the better the story got. The next day I began the outline for the book. The original title was Tombstones and Treasure. After the first set of changes were made, we settled on the new title.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
Initially this book took me around seven months to write, but there are sections which have been rewritten a few times. My editing team thought I needed to add another ghost who wasn’t so friendly, so I wrote an additional twenty thousand words.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
I hope my books allow people to escape into a world of romance and mystery. I can’t express the thrill I felt when I held The Silver Crescent in my hands for the first time. I was laughing and crying. There were my words, my story, in an actual paperback book for others to read.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
This question is easy. I’d rather have spiders crawling on me than have to write the blurb for the back cover. I can write eighty thousand words with no problem, but tell me to break down the story and tell it in three hundred and fifty words, and I go blank.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
I enjoy British mysteries. Especially the ones set in the early part of the twentieth century. If I could be anyone, I’d love to have the creative mind of Agatha Christie. I can never get enough of Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
I have to admit I’m a neat freak. I’m constantly going through the refrigerator throwing things out. But I did find a jar of jelly shoved to the back that was definitely past its expiration date. I make my husband crazy by lining up all the condiments on the shelves according to height so I can find them.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
My contemporary romance, Rue Toulouse, which takes place in New Orleans, will be released next January. It has a bit of mystery and suspense in it. I also have a completed manuscript, a paranormal romance, with witches, titled His Magic Touch, also set in the French Quarter. I have two more books in the works: Destined To Die, a historical romance set in England in nineteen twenty-three, and Island Heat, a contemporary romance set here on Hilton Head Island.
All my best, Debby
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