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Abandoned
By Mary Martinez

About the Book: 

Glenna Beckett loves her family dearly, but being the youngest of six can be overwhelming. Moving across country helped her learn who she was outside the family. She’s built a successful business in the form of a quaint shop on Main Street of Calistoga, that sells a bit of everything vintage, the new age term for antique. What more does she need?Then he walked into her shop. International playboy, Lance Gordon. After a whirlwind courtship he asks her to marry him. Burying a niggle of doubt in the pit of her tummy, she says yes. He’s even agreed to have the wedding in Brooklyn so her family can attend. But he never arrives.

Glenna refused to believe she’d been abandoned at the altar and asks her brother, Tyler, to contact an agent friend on the West Coast to search for Lance.

Patrick McGinnis can’t believe he’s walking into a prissy shop in the high end of the Napa Valley searching for a missing groom. The bride, Glenna Beckett, is everything he feared, drop dead gorgeous, and a spoiled brat. Not that he’d ever tell her brother that. He hates wild goose chases, and this mission is exactly that. Patrick’s certain the playboy fiancé is off wooing some other delectable creature.

Unfortunately, once Patrick started to dig, he finds there’s more to the tale and it will take all his skills as an agent to keep Glenna safe. Especially when the case takes a turn and threatens the safety of his son, Finn.

Patrick McGinnis thumbed his phone off and dropped the thing on the table with a thud. What had he just agreed to? He held in a groan, barely.

“What’s up dad? You look like you just ate a sour grape.”

Finnegan, his sixteen-year old son, and the joy of his life, walked to the cupboard and pulled out a bowl. He filled it with cereal and added milk and then joined Patrick at the table. He dipped his spoon for a large scoop, and as he brought it to his mouth, Finn gave him the I’m waiting look.

“I just received a call from an old friend,” he said in way of explanation, he really didn’t like talking work with his son.

“It must not have been a good conversation.”

“It was good to catch up. He was with me at Quantico.” Best to focus on the old acquaintance part.

“Dad, I’m in high school. You can stop sheltering me now. He must have called for a reason. One you’re not too thrilled about. What’s up?” He repeated his earlier question.

Damn, Finn was growing up to fast. And the kid was right. He had a tendency to shield him from his work. Something he’d always tried to do, but more since Finn was three and the worst thing that could ever happened to a child had happened.

“Tyler is an agent in New York, however, he has a sister in Calistoga.”

His son let out a hoot of laughter. “Match-making from the east coast.”

“Ha, ha. No, his sister seems to have lost her fiancé and her assistant.”

“What they elope and left her behind? Why’d he call you?”

“The fiancé never arrived at the wedding. And then when his sister went to open her shop she found the assistant had been shot.”

“Oh.” Finn ate for a few minutes in silence. “Does the lost fiancé and the dead assistant have something to do with each other?”

“That’s one of the things Ty wants me to find out.”

Finn suspended his spoon half way to his mouth. “What is the other?”

“He wants me to find the missing fiancé for his sister.” He pulled his fingers through his hair. “It’s a wild goose chase if you ask me. If the guy had wanted to get married he’d have been at the wedding.”

“You’d think, unless he couldn’t.”

Patrick contemplated his son. He would make a good detective. He’d already helped solve a few of his cases, by just listening and making comments that brought other solutions to mind. Patrick wasn’t sure he wanted that for his son. He loved being a federal agent. For a while, after the incident with his son, he’d tried something else. However, his true passion was law enforcement and he’d been placed back on duty within the year.

You couldn’t help where your heart led you. No matter the consequences. 

“That is what I need to find out.” He stood and poured more coffee into his cup to warm up the cooling liquid. He leaned a hip on the counter while he sipped. “What’s going on at school today?”

Finn finished his cereal and stood to wash his bowl out. He appeared to be thinking as he put his dishes in the dishwasher.

“I have an algebra test. Just a fair warning, Dad, it’s kicking my ass.”

“Language son.” But he smiled, he’d heard a lot worse. “I have a few minutes do you need my help?”

His son gave him a skeptical look, which was well warranted. Algebra had thoroughly kicked his ass in high school, too, to the point he’d needed Saturday morning classes to pass the damn class.

After a moment he answered. “No, Mrs. Stewart said she’d meet me before school.”

“Old Mrs. Stewart is still there? I had her for Algebra.” He smiled and resisted the urge to ruffle his son’s hair. Since the boy was almost as tall as he was, it’d be a little awkward anyway. “You’re in good hands then. Do you want me to drop you on my way to Calistoga?”

Mary lives in Magna, a little town west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Together with her husband, she has six grown children, and six wonderful grandsons and five beautiful granddaughters. She loves to spend time with family and friends–she includes good books as friends!
Mary and her husband love to travel, especially to the Caribbean for relaxing, and Italy for the wine. And most recently she discovered she was Irish and Scottish, of course they had to visit Ireland and Scotland. Mary fell in love with both, but the green hills of Ireland felt like home. With the experience from the exotic places she has visited, she is able to fill her books with colorful descriptions of cities, painting a colorful backdrop for her characters. One of her favorite US destinations is New York/Brooklyn, where her beloved Beckett’s live. When she visits, she can wander their neighborhoods, favorite parks, and visit their favorite pub, Putnum’s.

They are avid concert ‘Ho’s’! Yes, they pretty much want to do them all. They love outdoor amphitheaters the best and attend as many during the warmer months as possible.

Mary writes mostly romantic suspense, romance, women’s fiction, and she has just begun to dabble in young adult mystery. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). During her writing career she has been a conference coordinator, workshop presenter, and chapter president for the Utah Chapter of RWA. In 2007 she was presented with the Utah RWA service award in acknowledgment and appreciation for outstanding service. Mary has also participated in numerous library panels on writing and co-presented a workshop on writing a series at the League of Utah Writers conference.
Mary and her husband are also enthusiastic college football fans. They have season tickets to the UTES, University of Utah Football and they tailgate every game. They love tailgating so much, that they were married at a tailgating in 1999.
GO UTES!Website and social media links:
Buy Link Amazon:

www.amazon.com/Mary-Martinez/e/B006MWJ1T6

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Please help me welcome today’s guest, Jess Thomas…

Hello Jess, happy to have you today!

Where did you get the title for Memory of Me?

Usually I get the title from the content of the book.

Why did you choose this genre?

I believe love is love, and I get frustrated with people who can’t see that. Many of my friends are gay and I wanted to support them. The character of Trend was fashioned after a dear friend who passed away last year.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?

Part of the book I was having trouble with my boyfriend you can tell how close it came to breaking up. The character of Trend was a dear friend who spent nights with me and watched old movies. He’s a lot like the character of Trend right down to the makeup on the eyes.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?

That’s easy it’s editing.

What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?

In one chapter the clan places two objects at the table to remember them by until they get them back. I just lost my mother this year and my father last year it made me cry when I was writing it. I think it hit a little close to home.

Are there any tricks or habits you use when creating a story?

Good question but no, I write in the stream of consciousness. I do usually have a glass of water by my side though.

What book have you read that you wish you would have written?

The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and how do you like it?

I was an art teacher for 20 years I got trigeminal neuralgia and had to go on disability because of the pain. I liked it although the stress of the job caused neuralgia to flare up and then I couldn’t talk.

What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do?

I like to feed all the little wild animals including possums and skunks. They are cute in their own way.

What do you dislike that most people wouldn’t understand?

I don’t like bell peppers.

What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?

I write most of the time.

What is one word you would use to describe yourself? The one word I would use to describe myself is Artsy.What is one word you think others might use to describe you?  I’m sorry to say Flaky.

What’s your favorite book of all time and why?  

The Three Musketeers. I liked this book because of the adventure and the closeness of the friends.

What do you want readers to come away with after they read Memory of Me?

A range of feeling in emotions from laughing to crying. I want it to feel like life even though it’s words away. I want the reader to really understand the characters and their lives.

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

I have a lot of characters in my books, Liam Hemsworth for Finnal, Chase Crawford for Darius and Adam lambert for Trend

Would you rather have a bad review or no review?

That’s a hard one because I worry when I get a bad review that I should have changed something or made it better I guess no review.

If you could change something about one of your books that’s already released, what would it be?

I’m not sure about this question, I really haven’t wanted to change any part of my books.

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?

Mystery

What is your favorite quote?

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”

– Napoleon Bonaparte

If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?

A ham radio, Knife, Sunscreen

What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?

Lol well that would be Thor.

Your most prized material possession? Why?

My great grandmothers Brooch. Because it’s a little bit of family and times long gone.

Your favorite…

Movie Prince of Persia

Music Pop

Place you’ve visited Europe, Mexico, Canada, most of the United States.

Place you’d like to visit Scotland and Ireland.

TV show from childhood Andy Griffith

TV show from adulthood The Good Doctor

Food Cheese and Onion enchiladas.

Sports team KU Football

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? Card games

Thank you…it was great getting to know you! Now, Jess has a question for readers…

What Character do you like the best and why?

Darius thought he could make it through anything, he was strong and had an inner strength that could pull him through the various trials of his life. However, his strength is going to be put to the ultimate test. Will he be able to cope when he realizes the weapon of destruction could actually be the one thing he lives for? Sometimes the greatest love is the greatest pain.
For the first time, everyone understands the prophecy told so long ago that Darius would be the end of the everything. The loss of white energy would destroy not only him but those he loved and the places he protected.
An ominous journey to beyond the here and now with two of the greatest powers of the universe is the only way to begin to right what has gone so sorely wrong.

Join Darius in his latest and most important adventure. The fate of so many not only depends on righting so many wrongs, but on understanding and forgiveness.

Memory of Me will thrill and excite you with its heart-rending story.

Source: Guest Author: Alicia Dean and the Escape to Africa Anthology

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