In This Life, Book 1 in the Past Life Series by Terri Herman-Ponce Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway

In This Life, Book 1 in the Past Life Series

by Terri Herman-Ponce

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BLURB:

   

Hidden memories. Buried secrets. Resurrected revenge.

   

Psychologist Lottie Morgan knows something is wrong when she relives memories of a lover she's never had. At first she attributes them to fever-induced dreams. But when the fever disappears and the visions don’t, Lottie realizes something else is going on.

   

Then she meets Galen. Their first encounter is as intense as it is eye-opening, and his revelation that they shared a passionate relationship thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt entices Lottie into wanting to learn more about her past. Her decision, however, comes at a price. Galen may hold the answers but he could destroy the devoted, lifelong relationship Lottie has with her current lover, David.

It also could mean her death—again.

   

Someone is protecting millennia-old secrets, determined to keep them buried while exacting a revenge on Lottie for a mistake made a very long time ago. A mistake she could be destined to repeat.

   

Take a trip to mysterious ancient Egypt, where Lottie becomes caught between two lifetimes, two men, and long-buried deceptions. Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity-winning author, calls this paranormal suspense "Inventive, original and thought-provoking; this mystically romantic mystery will instantly intrigue."

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Excerpt 

The restlessness I’d been feeling surged through me again, stronger this time, and I didn’t like the way it felt. Something seemed off, and I wasn’t sure if it was with David or with me. Remnants of last night’s sleep started trickling in, and then a connection clicked into place.

“I had a dream last night and I started remembering it in the bathroom.” I closed my eyes, trying to remember more. “I was in a room with a servant who was waiting on me. She was preparing me to meet someone. A boyfriend.” No, that wasn’t quite right. “A lover.”

I felt a tingling uneasiness as I said the word.

“A lover?” David asked.

I opened my eyes, saw David’s grin and recognized the bait for what it was.

I grinned back. “The lover wasn’t you.”

His grin widened and then faded away. “That still doesn’t explain your behavior in the bathroom. You looked like a statue.”

“I’m tired, David,” I said, sliding down under the covers. “ The human mind is capable of doing unusual things when a person is under stress, like when they’re sick, and the gods only know I’ve been feeling a lot of that these past few days. Forget about it. It’s not a worry.”

David paused. “Is that your professional assessment?”

“Yes.”

It looked like David wanted to say more but he got up and walked to the windows that overlooked the backyard instead. I wasn’t sure what was going through his mind but I knew him well enough to know not to pry. It always backfired whenever I did. So I let him have his moment, toyed with the toast, and then passed on it in favor of some tea. My cell phone rang as soon as I put the mug on the nightstand, and I answered it on the second ring.

“Tough night’s sleep, Lottie?” The voice on the other end was male and one I didn’t recognize. “You shouldn’t tell your boyfriend about your other lovers. Especially those you dream about.”

“Who is this?” I asked.

“I’m disappointed you don’t recognize me.” He laughed, the sound crawling over my skin like a snake over sand. “I’m the man you dreamed about last night.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Terri looks for any opportunity to make stuff up. She thinks anything that can’t so easily be explained is worth an extra look and often makes a great story. She loves red wine, scotch, sunrises, Ancient Egypt, the beach—and a host of other stuff that would take too much real estate to talk about. The youngest of five children, Terri lives with her husband and son on Long Island. And, in her next life, if she hasn’t moved on to somewhere else, she wants to be an astronomer. Terri’s fascinated with the night skies almost as much as she’s fascinated with ancient Egypt.

Terri is a member of member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and you can read about her at http://terriponce.com/.

Interview:

Where are you from?

I’m a New York City girl at heart! I was born and raised in Queens and now live on Long Island, and work in NYC. It’s the best of both worlds. I get to enjoy the lushness the Island has to offer (not to mention the vineyards and the East End and the beaches!) but also take advantage of what the City has to offer. Broadway. Amazing restaurants. Hustle and bustle. I love it!

Tell us your latest news?

I’m so very, very excited to re-release In This Life. It’s the first book of the Past Life Series, and it’s about second chances, past lives, and murder. It’s about finding your soul mate, temptation, and redemption. I think many of us face these questions in life, too: If I could do it over again, would I? Could I right a wrong? Could I change a decision I made a long time ago and what would happen if I did? Is this person I’m with The One? So many possibilities, and I played with them all in the book. It was a blast.

When and why did you begin writing?

I started writing—and you’re going to think this geeky—Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfiction about 17 or 18 years ago. Yep. You read that right. That’s how and when I got into storytelling. I loved the characters (well, one in particular) so much, that I wanted to do what *I* wanted with them. During that time, I met my now-best friend (who also became my beta reader), and one day she told me that I should spread my wings and write mainstream. That was all I needed to hear, and I did it. J

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Oh man. That’s a tough question. I think I’ve always considered myself a writer. But over the past year or so, I’ve started referring to myself as a storyteller. I like the sound of that better.

What inspired you to write your first book?

You know, I was going to say “see the question about why I began writing” and thought, nope. That’s not right. There’s “first book” and then there’s “first book”. The former is what gets published for the first time. The latter is the first novel you’ve ever written. So I could tell you that In This Life was my first published book, or that my novel-length ST:TNG stories were my first attempts at writing something long and with a bigger feel, but my first book fell in between those two events. It was…geez, I can’t remember all the details about it. But I can tell you my first attempt at a mainstream novel was b-a-d. And it’ll forever sit on my computer. I’m afraid to look at it now. Hmm…I wonder if I could even find it if I searched for it?

What would you like my readers to know?

Yikes. That’s a good but difficult question. So I’m going to think on this for a bit…thinking…thinking…I’ve got it! I want your readers to know that I take great pains to write the best story I can. I want to entertain, to the point that I can agonize over a word or phrase for hours, sometimes days. I’ll sweat over my characters, trying to make them believable and interesting. I’ll stop editing only when the stickler in me is ready to let go (and my beta reader has given me her stamp of approval). I’ll curse at the screen, and I’ll bang on the keyboard, and I’ll go outside for a run to blow off writing steam and find inspiration to craft even better scenes. I live and breathe my writing. But in the end, it’s all worth it when someone tells me, “That was the best novel I’ve read in a long time. When’s the next book coming out?” And then I go back and do it all over again.

If you love social media, you can also find Terri on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Terri.Ponce.Author and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TerriPonce. Come visit. She’d love to hear from you!

Links:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Terri-Herman-Ponc%C3%A9/e/B009FMZV3K/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1394838446&sr=1-1

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/terri-herman-ponc%C3%A9

Giveaway

Terri will be awarding a digital copy of IN THIS LIFE (Book 1 of the Past Life Series) to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop during the tour, and a Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-book-tour-in-this-life-by-terri.html