Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder - An Interview

I'm pleased to welcome Brandi Bradley to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is Brandi's most recent book and it was released last week.

Kathy: Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is a noir novel set in an outwardly charming Southern town. What makes discovering dark secrets so intriguing?

BB: I don’t know the psychology of it, but I do know it’s why Dateline is still so popular. Around the time that the Murdough case was on everyone’s feed – like everyone I knew sent me an article about it – I remember going to my whiteboard and slapping a post-it on it that read, “The myth of the good Southern family.” Everything looks so pretty on the outside, but the inside is gross and sometimes rotten. And there is a sense of glee when powerful people fall or witnessing the process of taking down people who get too big. I think it affirms those suspicions that all those images of perfection were just a performance.


Kathy: In the book a young entrepreneur is killed and everyone points the finger at his ex-girlfriend Gabbi, a "New Age, neo-hippie, miracle-manifesting, smokeshow". That's quite a description! As someone who could also be branded as New Age and woo woo, I wonder why do these terms raise ire and cause people to assume the worst?

BB: I am also a little woo woo and I think it works on both levels. I think some people are going to be annoyed and roll their eyes, while others are going to be intrigued. Living in the south is interesting because the same people who might refer to someone as being a New Age neo-hippie with ire, are also collecting crystals or visiting a psychic once a week.


Kathy: The book is told through the shifting perspectives of three women, Lindy, Gabbi, and Jenna. Why choose to do this instead of focusing on one point of view?

BB: I always knew I wanted to write from multiple viewpoints because I wanted to show how alike and different all these women were. And I liked being able to write from a biased perspective – their idea of what they witnessed and how it’s different from what another person witnessed. Years ago when I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, I loved how she had each chapter a different perspective and knew I wanted to try that.


Kathy: What first drew you to noir?

BB: I like noir because there is an inability to trust anyone, and yet, the detective is almost always foiled because they trusted the wrong person or because of assumptions they made. I like noir because women are both sexy and smart– even if they are inclined to stab you in the back when they pull you in for a kiss. I like that mysteries are solved even if there is no justice. I don’t love the cynicism, but you can’t have it all.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

BB: I’ve written a few memoir pieces that I am proud of. And I have written a ghost story once, although I would never call myself a paranormal writer. When I first started to get a handle on the kind of writer I wanted to be, I was always drawn to stories that people would gossip about from the viewpoint of the people dealing with the fall out. And often, that’s what mysteries and noirs are. People dealing with the fall out of someone else’s choices. And now I realize how much I love working in the mystery genre. There are so many different approaches to mystery that I am excited to explore.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why? 

BB: At some point, all the characters were my favorite, especially the more shady ones. I had a lot of fun writing Ned Rockford, this charming guy who’s been propped up by the Good Old Boy System for a long time. These guys always have a plan – either coordinating their legacy or digging themselves out of a hole they got themselves into, but they’re almost always forgiven because they are charming and entertaining. And everyone knows they can’t trust them. Writing that character was a lot of fun.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your book? 

BB: Often I will have these little inspirational triggers where I will read or watch a story and I’ll think, I want to write that, but not that. So I’ll make a note on my whiteboard that will say something cryptic like “Woman on Woman stalking with a witchy vibe”. When I started Pretty Girls, I was reading a lot of stories about women who were being labelled “crazy” by ex-boyfriends and families of ex-boyfriends. And it grew from there.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

BB: I got tired of waiting to be “discovered”. I’m not a 20-year-old literary ingénue with a patience problem. I am a 40+ woman who has written novels before, gone to school for an MFA, a Ph.D., and yet could not get the literary world to pay attention.

I traditionally published some short pieces, but when it came to getting an agent for my novels, I kept coming up against road blocks.

For decades I had been walking around waiting to be seen as a novelist, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be chosen and eventually I was like, “This is exhausting. I’m choosing myself!”

I sat down and made a list of what I would need to make it happen for myself. I started an LLC, I bought ISBNs, and I contacted editors and designers. I set a launch date and spread the word.

And now, this is the second book I have published myself, and the best part was I didn’t have to ask permission or run my ideas through a committee.

It’s the hardest job I have ever had, but it’s also all mine, every good decision and bad decision. And that’s so liberating.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

BB: Megan Abbott, Joyce Carol Oates, Donna Tartt, Charlotte Bronte.

But I am too much of a fan girl to be expected to act like a reasonable human being around writers I admire. More than once, I have made an ass out of myself at a conference for rambling or spontaneously crying, so I have resigned myself from appreciating them from afar.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

BB: I just downloaded The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano because I want to read it before I watch Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix. Right now I’m consuming a lot of stories about medical fraud and factitious disorder.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

BB: Lately I’ve been baking a lot of bread. I love to be in my kitchen, and I’ve been watching short videos on no knead bread.

I like to crochet blankets and knit scarves as gifts. Many people who saw me at book festivals this year probably saw me knitting or crocheting.

I’m a planner person, so I adorn my Filofax with stickers and washi tape. It keeps me organized and decorating it gets me excited to review a to do list.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

BB: Chalula hot sauce, Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, Junior Mints, Seltzer, Topo Chico when I splurge, but more likely Kroger brand for everyday


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books?

BB: I want to write something in the same universe as Pretty Girls, but not the same characters. It’s another Southern small town noir, but with an amateur detective/writer who chooses to help a local high schooler search for a missing man. It’s my loving tribute to Murder She Wrote, but darker.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

BB: I’m never bored. When I run out of content to consume, I can always make my own. And all that content I’d been consuming is research for future projects. So it feels very cyclical. I read things and then turn them into new things.

I have always taken the advice from Toni Morrison that if no one is writing the book you want to read, you should write it yourself. And lately I have been burned out by all my content – books, podcasts, TV shows – and it’s not because there isn’t anything good out there. I mean Yellowjackets just dropped a new season. I just know it’s time for me to write a new book.

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 Blurb:

When a young entrepreneur is killed, everyone in town points fingers at his New Age, neo-hippie, miracle-manifesting, smokeshow of an ex-girlfriend, Gabbi – including the victim’s best friend, Jenna. As detective Lindy D’Arnaud and her partner Boggs search for a motive, they begin to wonder if this is a case of jealous violence or shady business dealings gone sour.

In Lindy’s personal life, things aren’t much clearer. When Lindy’s wife’s ex-boyfriend–and sperm donor to their baby–decides to move back to town, she finds herself competing for her wife’s affection. Can they be postmodern in Western Kentucky where living as a queer person is tenuous enough already?

Told through the shifting perspectives of Lindy, Gabbi, and Jenna, “Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder” is a twisty page-turner for fans of Southern noir and NBC’s “Dateline.” 

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Brandi Bradley is an indie author and educator who lives in the great city of Atlanta, Georgia. She writes short stories and novels about crime, family drama, flea markets, cowboys, rowdy girls, and gossip. She has had short stories and essays published in Juked, Louisiana Literature, Carve, and Nashville Review. She teaches writing at Kennesaw State University. Mothers of the Missing Mermaid (2023) is her debut novel of secrets by the sea in Destin, Florida. Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is her second book. Learn more at: www.brandibradley.com

How Does Writing Fantasy Prepare You to Write Spy Thrillers? - A Guest Post

I'm happy to welcome Jason Maurer to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Jason is working to introduce Danish author Tobias Bukkehave to the English-speaking world. Tobias's first novel, FOR KING AND COUNTRY, has just been translated into English.

How does writing fantasy prepare you to write spy thrillers?
By Jason Maurer

How does writing fantasy prepare you to write spy thrillers?

It’s an odd question, I know, but bear with me. I ask it because it’s the path that an author I’m working with—Tobias Bukkehave, a Danish author and screenwriter—has followed in his writing career. He wrote two fantasy books for children about a boy named Elmer Balthazar and then abruptly changed tack with the gritty but relatable espionage novel FOR KING AND COUNTRY (Kongetro), released earlier this year in Danish and forthcoming (with your help) in English.

I’m a fantasy writer myself—though I’m far from a stranger of the cozy village mysteries of G. K. Chesterton and Agatha Christie—but Bukkehave has converted me to the shadowy hygge of Scandinavian thrillers, where as much time is spent relishing characters’ consumption of coffee and pastries as laying out the insidious plots and personal betrayals so intrinsic to the genre. His cinematic yet distinctly Danish approach to thrillers, coupled with his career, got me thinking—does writing fantasy prepare you for writing about spies?

I’d say so. The twists and hidden connections that wend their way through spy thrillers, which show us that we can’t trust anything or anybody, aren’t so different from the more overt twists to the nature of reality in fantasy. Those are about hidden connections, too. Embodying the corrupting force of power in a golden ring, say, or the melting pot of the United States in a clash between new and old gods. They’re about showing that we can’t trust our perceptions of how things are either.

Characters are another (albeit more obvious) connection. What turns people onto fantasy, in my experience, isn’t the presence of dragons, magic, and the like, but rather having that one character who worms his/her way into their heart, who opens the floodgates of possibilities. Bukkehave’s Tom Cortzen did that for me, made me care about the rules of the game. But with genre fiction, it’s a balancing act, too. You want them to feel real but larger than life, empathetic but odd, familiar but exciting.

That brings me to my final point: escapism. Both fantasy and espionage are about at once taking you away from the familiar and about telling you what that familiar is. By subverting the commonplace—whether it’s by showing us the hidden powers governing our societies or the hidden worlds in our wardrobes—both genres help us dive into somewhere new but familiar, somewhere from which we can safely withdraw anytime but also somewhere that teaches us a little about the place we’re returning to.

Bukkehave’s approach to the spy thriller feels exciting and new, perhaps because he brings to it what I love about fantasy. But it also feels like a world that even veteran thriller lovers would get swept into, one that pushes the hard truths about living in our world even as it teaches us not to trust everything we see…

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Blurb

First Lieutenant Tom Cortzen is back in Denmark, even though he swore he’d never return—not after what happened in Iraq. Even worse, it’s to attend the funeral of his father, Rear Admiral Richard Cortzen, for whom everything began and ended with God, king, and country. But even as he says his goodbyes, Tom receives a tap on the shoulder from an old soldier friend: Denmark needs him. A top Iranian programmer has been murdered and his Danish girlfriend has disappeared. While such a case wouldn’t normally impinge on Denmark’s security, the military intelligence envoy to the Middle East seems to have been murdered by the same shadowy mercenary group—and he just so happened to have been Tom’s old friend. Divided between serving a country that betrayed him and honoring his friend, Tom begins a pulse-pounding adventure that will lead him from the rich sprawl of Dubai back to the regal stonework of Copenhagen. With unmistakable inspiration from writers such as John le Carré, Jan Guillou, and Jens Henrik Jensen, and from TV and film series like Homeland and Jason Bourne, Tobias Bukkehave débuts as a writer for adults with FOR KING AND COUNTRY, a high-octane spy thriller on the abuse of power, international conspiracy, and nationalism in a world where borders are increasingly being tightened.

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Buy Link

We're working hard to get FOR KING AND COUNTRY sold to an English publisher. If you're interested in the book, please let us know by sending an email to forkingandcountrybook@gmail.com, as every little bit helps!
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Tobias Bio

Tobias Bukkehave was born in Svendborg, Denmark, in 1980. He débuted in 2018 with the children’s novels The Journey to Arkadia and The Threat from Kragoria, both about a young boy called Elmer Baltazar. The Journey to Arkadia was nominated for the Orla Children’s Book Prize. Bukkehave also works as a screenwriter for film and television. He lives in Copenhagen with his partner and two children.

 

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Jason Maurer Bio

Jason Maurer was born in New Hampshire, raised in Vermont, educated in Scotland, found love in Finland, and found a life in Sweden. He’s currently completing an MA in media and communications at Malmö University and interning at the Danish marketing company Onlinestrategen.dk. He’s written two short stories and is finishing a novel.

Silent Meridian - A Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

Review

SILENT MERIDIAN by Elizabeth Crowens

The Time Travel Professor Book 1

John Patrick Scott is studying to be a musician in Victorian Scotland, but music is just one part of his life. John has invented a time machine in which he travels back to an unremembered childhood and into the future where he sees himself as a young woman enrolled in a mystical school. In addition to his time travel experiments he has developed a friendship with noted Spiritualist and Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The two devotees of psychic phenomena practice telepathy and perform other psychic experiments, but does Doyle have a less friendly agenda? With an impish spirit guide and some ne’er do well friends John meets noted luminaries of the time including J. M. Barrie, H. G. Wells, and George Bernard Shaw. He even runs into a young Houdini in his travels. Will his experiments lead him to find the connection between his past, present, future and a mysterious red book?

SILENT MERIDIAN is the story of John Patrick Scott. Kind of. It's also a story about arcane knowledge and the ramifications for those that study esoteric mystical things. It's a story of time travel, astral projection, past lives, Spiritualism, and more. It's a story about a mysterious red book. A variety of famous people make appearances, some brief, some an intrinsic part of the story. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a good friend and psychical partner to our main character and a major player in his own right. There are so many famous people thrown in, it's almost a who's who of every literary notable who was alive at the time. While I know that many of them were acquainted with each other and belonged to the same societies, there were so many found in this book that it seemed the author was merely name dropping! Some seemed to have a greater purpose and I thought would play a vital part of the storyline (Erik Weisz and Aleister Crowley), but their importance was never fully actualized.

The first Time Travel Professor book is extraordinarily well researched and I did enjoy reading about the famous Victorians mentioned. As John traveled in time we read very interesting stories about his younger self in the magical school, the adventures of the woman whose eyes he saw things through in the future, and and intriguing Japanese storyline.  However, there is such a hodge podge of subplots I continually wondered what was the actual point of the book. Yet, there a mystical theme that ties things together.

Ultimately, SILENT MERIDIAN is a look at self discovery, the importance of life lessons, and what one must give up in order to pursue one's dreams. It looks at morality, appearances, and the risks inherent in pursuing a metaphysical life.

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The Time Traveler Professor, Book One:

Silent Meridian

by Elizabeth Crowens

on Tour August 18 - September 21, 2019

Synopsis:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is obsessed with a legendary red book. Its peculiar stories have come to life, and rumors claim that it has rewritten its own endings. Convinced that possessing this book will help him write his ever-popular Sherlock Holmes stories, he takes on an unlikely partner, John Patrick Scott, known to most as a concert pianist, but a paranormal investigator and a time traveler professor to a select few.

Like Holmes and Watson trying to solve a mystery, together they explore lost worlds and their friendship is tested to the limits when they go back in time to find it. Both discover that karmic ties and unconscionable crimes have followed them like ghosts from the past, wreaking havoc on the present and possibly the future.

The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: SILENT MERIDIAN reveals the alternate histories of Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Houdini, Jung and other luminaries in the secret diaries of John Patrick Scott, in an X Files for the 19th century. First Prize winner of Chanticleer Review's Goethe Award for Turn-of-the-Century Historical Fiction and First Prize for Steampunk in the Independent Press Awards. Stay tuned for A POCKETFUL OF LODESTONES; Book Two in the Time Traveler Professor series by Elizabeth Crowens.

Book Details:

Genre: Alternate History, Mystery, Fantasy Noir
Published by: Atomic Alchemist Productions LLC
Publication Date: June 12th 2019
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781950384 (ISBN13: 9781950384044)
Series: The Time Traveler Professor #1
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

Edinburgh, 1898

Scotland was just barely crawling its way out of the nineteenth century. I was a naïve, but ambitious student studying music at the University of Edinburgh hurrying over to meet Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who would change my life forever.
“John Patrick Scott, sir,” I said and approached Mr. Doyle, who was already seated at a back corner table of the Deacon Brodie, the pub that inspired the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I extended my hand to greet him and removed my rain-soaked hat, while my overcoat slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor by accident. It was still hard to believe that good fortune finally brought us together, but we were both nervous. “Mr. Conan Doyle, or should I call you Doctor Doyle?” I was unsure how to address him.
Doyle scrutinized me from top to bottom as he signaled the waiter. “John, call me Arthur.”
“Sir, I’m so honored that you agreed to discuss this matter. Perhaps you can enlighten me in a way that I’ve failed to comprehend.”
I wanted to ask him about my unusual turn of events straight away but he caught me off guard and was dead set on pulling me into the swift current of an unexpected conversation.
“Can I assume you believe in the transmigration of souls?” he asked.
“Until now, I haven’t given it a lot of thought,” I said, unsure as to which direction he was leading.
“Did you ever read those books about that Swiss doctor who felt his body and soul had been taken over by a Benedictine monk? That presented a curious case. He claims that he was approached by the spirit of an elderly monk before he died, and that the monk needed to rent his body to continue his spiritual mission.”
“Rent?” I choked in disbelief.
“We truly don’t take anything with us when we pass on, do we? This monk knew he was dying and therefore needed to replace his physical body with something more youthful and vital.”
“That’s incredible. It debunks the theory that you need to die and be reborn as an infant to carry on your spirit.”
Mr. Doyle had the tinge of excitement in his voice.
“John, here’s another instance. I’ve had my suspicions about a famous musician who had an obsession about a notorious and controversial mystic. You’d surmise by his overwhelming attraction to that person he might’ve been him in a previous lifetime, but facts were clear he was born three years before the mystic died. My understanding is the mystic was aware he didn’t have long in his present incarnation. Therefore he made plans for some sort of partial soul transference while he was still alive to imprint his essence upon the child. That would’ve allowed him to carry on and accomplish unfinished business, which couldn’t have been executed otherwise. Essentially he had the ability of being two places at once.”
“Sounds more like Spiritualism,” I replied.
“Honestly, John, I don’t think there are any steadfast rules when it comes to this matter. That’s what makes it so intriguing.”
I sensed he had a secret agenda.
Doyle reloaded his churchwarden pipe with fresh tobacco and continued, “This is not at all like anything you’ve ever read from H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. We’re poking holes in every treatise written on the subject — the idea of being able to reincarnate a part of yourself while you are still alive into another soul.”
Our conversation was quickly becoming like a speeding train ready to jump the tracks. Realizing this, Doyle slowed down the pace and took a deep breath. He carefully composed his next statement.
“Fiction it may seem to be but it’s not hocus pocus. Don’t you also find it strange that you somehow found yourself initiated into a mystical order on a commuter train bound from London to Edinburgh when the instigators kept on mistaking you for me? There are no accidents.”
I became silent for a moment, stalling for time as I slowly raised my glass of ale to my lips. As soon as I fished a small red book out of my coat pocket and placed it on the table in front of us Arthur eyed it intently. It had been the source of intrigue, which led me to Doyle in the first place and piqued his curiosity as much as it did mine.
“Could I have done something terrible in my youth that caused this to happen?”
“You have no recollections, John?”
“I remember so little of my childhood. I wish I could.”
“You’re a smart young man. I’m sure you’ll come up with a clever deduction.”
Mr. Doyle paused to relight his pipe. He had an unnerving look in his eye, which I vainly tried to read into, but he took me for a spin when he brought up the next topic.
“On another note, John, have you ever considered that people are capable of communicating without speech, and I’m not talking about writing letters?”
“Pardon me?”
“Imagine communicating by mere thoughts. I’ve always wanted to experiment with someone open to these concepts. God knows — my brothers at the Society for Psychical Research certainly talk enough about it. My wife, Touie, has been an unwilling subject and is not the most objective choice.”
I looked at him, somewhat perplexed. “Are you asking me to accurately guess what you’re thinking?”
“Come now. We’ll play a game. I’ll form an image in my mind, and for the next minute I will try to project it into yours. Clear your thoughts of any distractions and be as receptive as possible,” he explained.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t have been more preoccupied. Images of that fateful event flashed through my brain. My recollections revealed my rain-soaked train ticket. I kept arguing with the steward about putting me in the wrong cabin. An erroneous judgment had been made when three strangers insisted I was Arthur. We were so different in physical appearance. He was a large, athletic man with a distinguished moustache. On the other hand, I had baby smooth skin and couldn’t grow facial hair to save my life. I was nearly twenty years younger and much shorter with wild auburn hair that resembled Maestro Beethoven’s with the exception of premature strands of gray.
So why was I singled out? Was there laudanum in my brandy? Details spun like a whirlwind. I must’ve been in a drug-induced stupor but I was initiated into some secret Masonic-like society, and when it was all over those mysterious men were gone. What remained were an engraved silver ring on my finger and an ominous red book on the seat beside me.
“Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.” Arthur broke my trance and realized my thoughts had been elsewhere.
“I felt like I had.” Barely able to articulate, I tried to tame my wild mane in place. Visions faded in and out. Timelines jumped. So I gulped down another swig of ale to focus on the present.
Arthur leaned in closer. “I can see you’re still worried about that event on the train. Those men have been after me for some time. Why? It’s hard to fathom. I’ll dilly dally with notions here and there about Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Watson, who fancy themselves as detectives. Me? I’m just a simple doctor and writer with interests in Spiritualism trying to find scientific explanations for the unknown.”
“Arthur, what would anyone want with an unassuming music student like me?”
“Personally, I don’t think this was A Case of Identity,” Arthur replied with a smile.
Obviously he meant to say my dilemma was not a case of mistaken identity, not the name of one of his famous Sherlock stories. He was pleased I caught the humor of his play on words.
“Perhaps it has something to do with that book,” he said pointing to the one I brought.
“I’m concerned it’s dangerous, that it’s a curse. I wish I had never found it.” I shoved it back into my pocket and drained my glass.
* * *
One week later as I was returning home from school, my landlady, Lydia Campbell, yelled from the kitchen as I trudged my muddied shoes through the front door of her boarding house. “John, a letter from Undershaw arrived for you today! I wonder whom it could be from? You don’t know anyone from Undershaw, do you?”
Oh, yes I did. I grabbed the letter and ran upstairs so fast I nearly tripped on my muffler and fell on my face. I poured myself a glass of port to calm my nerves, doffed my wet garments and sank into my most comfortable brass-studded leather chair I affectionately named my thinking chair, where I created many a melody in my head, could think deep thoughts, and drift off to dreamland.
* * *
Dear John,
I wholeheartedly enjoyed our conversation at the Deacon Brodie and kept my promise of a prompt reply. By now, you are well aware of my passion to explore the realms of Spiritualism and related paranormal phenomena far surpasses any personal interests involved with Sherlock Holmes. Public demand for my writing, however, exerts a strain on how much I can overtly reveal to even my most trusted colleagues. Whenever I indulge in any activity, be it a simple séance, investigating a revered medium or attending a meeting of the British Society for Psychical Research, it never fails to raise the eyebrows of my wary publishers and critics. It’s God’s honest truth that I believe in many of these inexplicable accounts. Even my father painted beautiful renditions of fairies, which I trust he witnessed with his own eyes. The betterment of mankind rests on embracing such theories once they are proven to exist by the scientific community. Thus, I’ll have to continue more controversial and debatable endeavors in utmost secrecy, or at least for the time being until more evidence can be brought to light.
Since you seem to be an open-minded young man who has already experienced some effects of the preternatural, this is my proposal: At midnight every night, we should conduct a variety of remote operations with the primary purpose of communicating through means of telepathy. Since I have a tendency to travel, we’ll have to make some sort of adjustment to take into account the different time zones. Of course, you must share this secret with nobody. Besides us, only my wife will know, although she will not participate.
When you shared the account of the strange commuter train incident that was enough to convince me that you would be the perfect partner for this private undertaking. Most assuredly, there was something you did in the past in the realm of the arcane to warrant such a chain of events. That was not mere happenstance, and now since you possess that enigmatic red book, I’m sure it will affect your life in ways you’ve never imagined.
My intentions have been to perform similar trial and error enterprises with Harry Houdini, a rising star whose stage performances have been astounding audiences, but his busy schedule has made it nearly impossible to coordinate such engagements with any sort of regularity. One of these days we’ll catch up. Meanwhile, I collect whatever news comes from across the herring-pond. At one point, he and I will develop a special relationship based on mutual interests.
Regarding the two of us, however, we’ll back up our observations with letters or telegrams as often as possible as proof of results, but those must be destroyed as soon as they are read. Once again, I cannot over emphasize the importance of confidentiality. Regardless, we must keep a faithful agreement, as skill will come with practice.
If you are willing to put aside any apprehensions regarding trains, I’ll pay for you to travel down to Undershaw and visit me on weekends whenever possible. My driver can meet you in London at a pre-arranged time. You’ll stay in one of our guest bedrooms, and as long as you don’t mind the children and can tolerate what our kitchen staff provides, you’ll be well taken care of. That’ll give us the opportunity to expand our repertoire and commence further psychical experimentation with ectoplasm, spirit photography and astral projection. And bring the red book. I’d like a chance to look at it.
I’ve also desired a partner to accompany me for ghost sightings and occult investigations. For all we know with the knowledge gained, we might even break through the barriers of time. That would certainly give Bertie (H.G. Wells) a shock to the senses, proving his imagination does not merely dwell in the realm of fiction. We’ve been at odds on this topic for years.
Regarding telepathic technique, I can only suggest you conduct yourself in a way as you see fit. Personally, I don’t give credence to things like magical amulets, but if it helps to have an etheric link, use this letter you hold in your hand, as it contains my heart, soul and signature with a drop of blood, which I added to the ink. You might wish to reciprocate.
Let’s raise our glasses to honor the quest of conquering the unknown.
Arthur Conan Doyle
* * *
So, Arthur was serious when he first brought up the subject. When he and I left the pub, I really didn’t know what to think. After all, he was a famous author, and I was merely a student. What possessed him to choose me for such an engagement?
I shuffled through my schoolwork to find my pen and ink and a fresh sheet of paper. Blood, I needed blood. Ah, my razor! That would work. I fetched my shaving kit and winced as I drew a few drops. I scribbled a swift, affirmative reply with the blood-tainted ink, mailed the letter the following day and looked forward to our first otherworldly encounter.
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Excerpt from The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens. Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Crowens. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Crowens. All rights reserved.

Author Bio:

Crowens has worked in the film and television for over twenty years and as a journalist and a photographer. She’s a regular contributor of author interviews to an award-winning online speculative fiction magazine, Black Gate. Short stories of hers have been published in the Bram Stoker Awards nominated anthology, A New York State of Fright and Hell’s Heart. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, The Horror Writers Association, the Authors Guild, Broad Universe, Sisters in Crime and a member of several Sherlockian societies. She is also writing a Hollywood suspense series.

Catch Up With Our Author On:
elizabethcrowens.com, Goodreads, Bookbub, Twitter, & Facebook!

Tour Participants:

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Giveaway!!!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elizabeth Crowens. There will be eight(8) winners. One (1) winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card and seven (7) winners will each receive Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens (eBook). The giveaway begins on August 18, 2019 and runs through September 23, 2019. Void where prohibited.

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Currently Reading...

I’m currently reading Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens. Silent Meridian is the first Time Traveler Professor Book and was re-released this past June.

John Patrick Scott is studying to be a musician in Victorian Scotland, but music is just one part of his life. John has invented a time machine in which he travels back to an unremembered childhood and into the future where he sees himself as a young woman enrolled in a mystical school. In addition to his time travel experiments he has developed a friendship with noted Spiritualist and Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The two devotees of psychic phenomena practice telepathy and perform other psychic experiments, but does Doyle have a less friendly agenda? With an impish spirit guide and some ne’er do well friends John meets noted luminaries of the time including J. M. Barrie, H. G. Wells, and George Bernard Shaw. He even runs into a young Houdini in his travels. Will his experiments lead him to find the connection between his past, present, future and a mysterious red book?

Silent Meridian - An Interview, Excerpt, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Elizabeth Crowens to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Elizabeth pens the Time Traveler Professor Mystery series. Book One, Silent Meridian is the first book in the series and was released in June.

Kathy: Silent Meridian brings together Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and John Patrick Scott, a concert pianist who also happens to be a paranormal investigator and time travel professor. Have you ever gone on any paranormal investigations?

EC: Not like the ones you see on television. In fact, I can’t stand watching those shows. They’re so staged. Probably got popular after the film, The Blair Witch Project. However, I’ve experienced paranormal incidents by accident. Years ago when I was in college some friends played around with a Ouija board in the basement below my apartment. Whatever they summoned decided to visit my place afterward. It was a horrible, oppressive feeling. My friends rushed over with sage and a bunch of other stuff and were ready to perform an exorcism!

However, the most important incident was when I purchased an antique that embodied some kind of spirit of its former owner which inspired me to write this book.


Kathy: In the first Time Traveler Professor Mystery we discover an alternate history for several famous people including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Harry Houdini, and Carl Jung. How did you decide these powerhouse men would be perfect for your story?

EC: My protagonist was actually based on a real, but largely unknown person who was indirectly tied into this “antique” I discovered that I mentioned in the previous question. When I was bitten by that bug of inspiration that spurred me on to write the Time Traveler Professor series, I wanted to pick famous Victorian contemporaries that John Patrick Scott could’ve known and associated with. Jung was a no-brainer. At one point, I wanted to study to be a Jungian psychotherapist, but it wasn’t in the cards. Jung always appealed to me over Freud, because of his focus on dreams and archetypes which tie into mythology. It’s well documented that Houdini and Doyle had a fascinating relationship regarding the supernatural, and since my protagonist kept having bizarre dreams and strange things happening to him, plus the fact that he also attended the University of Edinburgh, it only made sense to have him befriend Doyle.


Kathy: Were you already quite knowledgeable about these men before you began writing?

EC: Jung more than the others. Obviously, I picked up a lot more as I went along. Bottom line: I had to do an enormous amount of reading and research.


Kathy: Have you a particular favorite of the aforementioned characters as they existed in the real world?

EC: Each one is fascinating in their own different ways. With Sherlock Holmes, Doyle was a pioneer in forensics before it was considered a science. Houdini and Jung were groundbreakers in their own respective fields.


Kathy: What first drew you to mysteries?

EC: I always loved a good Victorian ghost story, and who doesn’t love Scooby Doo, which is technically a YA paranormal mystery with a sense of humor? Comparatively, I’m a latecomer when it comes to mysteries. I belong to Mystery Writers of America, Sherlockian groups, and Sisters in Crime and attend a lot of crime conferences. Most people I know have read far more in this genre than I have. Many of my Sherlockian friends read the canon (original Sherlock Holmes stories written by Doyle) when they were eight-years-old! All I remember is watching a handful of Basil Rathbone movies. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t watch the Granada series with Jeremy Brett, who did the best portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, until seven years ago or so.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

EC: Yes. For years I’ve written non-fiction articles in magazines and many of these specialized in martial arts. Right now, I do a lot of author interviews for Blackgate.com, a SF/F online magazine and am currently seeking paying clients in the mystery/suspense genre. For fiction, the Time Traveler Professor series is a cross-genre epic series—alternate history/mystery—fantasy noir—fictional memoir that finds its own cult audience—some who like Sherlock Holmes—some who like steampunk or time travel—some who have a yen toward paranormal/metaphysical historical fiction.

Conversely, I have two and a half novels completed in a Hollywood suspense series that takes place in the 1990s with a female protagonist who is an entertainment journalist. It is far less esoteric than the Time Traveler Professor series. However, it’s unpublished, and I’m looking for a new literary agent. My background is in the entertainment industry. I can definitely picture these novels as a series on Netflix or Amazon Prime, but for that I need an agent.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

EC: The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian is a 19th century X Files meets H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine featuring Arthur Conan Doyle and his paranormal enthusiast partner, John Patrick Scott.

The Time Traveler Professor, Book Two, A Pocketful of Lodestones: Imagine Slaughterhouse Five meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on the Western Front.

Currently, I’m working on the third book, A War in Too Many Worlds, but I don’t have a catchy tag line locked down yet. It picks up in 1918 until the end of the war and its aftermath.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

EC: John Patrick Scott, my protagonist, of course. Poor guy is a flawed, unwilling explorer in the game of life with a pesky sidekick, Finn, who drives him bonkers but prods him along to the next adventure.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

EC: I mentioned it above when I spoke about finding a psychic influence in an antique.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

EC: Originally, the first book was published by a small press in London that buried it into obscurity by refusing to market, promote or distribute it or any of the books in their catalogue. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find a larger publishing company to pick up a series where someone else had already published the first book. Kicking and screaming, I took the bull by the horns and started my own publishing company to revive the series, because I refused to give my original publisher any more of my novels. You have to realize that each book in that series has required several trips overseas for research. I had way too much invested in time, money and effort to drop the ball. My traditional publisher didn’t even provide editorial services. I had to hire my own freelance editors out of pocket.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

EC: Arthur Conan Doyle, for sure. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Alan Poe. So far, all of them show up in my novel except Poe.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

EC: (Blush) I’m reading a romance novel called Storm Damage about a mermaid falling in love with a human she saved. I almost never read romance novels (true confession), but an author friend of mine wrote it, and she’s a very successful and popular romance writer. Also, I’m attending the RWA (Romance Writers of America) annual convention to learn a bit more about writing romance and steamy scenes. Not so much for the Time Traveler Professor series, but more for my Hollywood suspense series, although there is an interesting love triangle in Book One. No spoilers for Books Two and Three.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

EC: Reading, of course. Attending live author readings, traveling, going to conventions. It’s hard to separate business from pleasure.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

EC: That’s a funny question—whole milk for coffee, Haagen Daz, bread, peanut butter.


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

EC: Current series, The Time Traveler Professor, Book Three: A War in Too Many Worlds wrapping up WWI. Hopefully, I can wrap up the series with Book 4. For alternate history: a series based on Aliskiya Lleullne, the girl from the future (read Silent Meridian!) The Hollywood suspense series (different genre) and a stand-alone chick-lit/mystery project about three women who skip the country to avoid their problems and encounter more than they bargained for.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

EC: Getting positive feedback from fans and readers.

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The Time Traveler Professor, Book One:

Silent Meridian

by Elizabeth Crowens

on Tour August 18 - September 21, 2019

Synopsis:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is obsessed with a legendary red book. Its peculiar stories have come to life, and rumors claim that it has rewritten its own endings. Convinced that possessing this book will help him write his ever-popular Sherlock Holmes stories, he takes on an unlikely partner, John Patrick Scott, known to most as a concert pianist, but a paranormal investigator and a time traveler professor to a select few.

Like Holmes and Watson trying to solve a mystery, together they explore lost worlds and their friendship is tested to the limits when they go back in time to find it. Both discover that karmic ties and unconscionable crimes have followed them like ghosts from the past, wreaking havoc on the present and possibly the future.

The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: SILENT MERIDIAN reveals the alternate histories of Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Houdini, Jung and other luminaries in the secret diaries of John Patrick Scott, in an X Files for the 19th century. First Prize winner of Chanticleer Review's Goethe Award for Turn-of-the-Century Historical Fiction and First Prize for Steampunk in the Independent Press Awards. Stay tuned for A POCKETFUL OF LODESTONES; Book Two in the Time Traveler Professor series by Elizabeth Crowens.

Book Details:

Genre: Alternate History, Mystery, Fantasy Noir
Published by: Atomic Alchemist Productions LLC
Publication Date: June 12th 2019
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781950384 (ISBN13: 9781950384044)
Series: The Time Traveler Professor #1
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

Edinburgh, 1898

Scotland was just barely crawling its way out of the nineteenth century. I was a naïve, but ambitious student studying music at the University of Edinburgh hurrying over to meet Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who would change my life forever.
“John Patrick Scott, sir,” I said and approached Mr. Doyle, who was already seated at a back corner table of the Deacon Brodie, the pub that inspired the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I extended my hand to greet him and removed my rain-soaked hat, while my overcoat slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor by accident. It was still hard to believe that good fortune finally brought us together, but we were both nervous. “Mr. Conan Doyle, or should I call you Doctor Doyle?” I was unsure how to address him.
Doyle scrutinized me from top to bottom as he signaled the waiter. “John, call me Arthur.”
“Sir, I’m so honored that you agreed to discuss this matter. Perhaps you can enlighten me in a way that I’ve failed to comprehend.”
I wanted to ask him about my unusual turn of events straight away but he caught me off guard and was dead set on pulling me into the swift current of an unexpected conversation.
“Can I assume you believe in the transmigration of souls?” he asked.
“Until now, I haven’t given it a lot of thought,” I said, unsure as to which direction he was leading.
“Did you ever read those books about that Swiss doctor who felt his body and soul had been taken over by a Benedictine monk? That presented a curious case. He claims that he was approached by the spirit of an elderly monk before he died, and that the monk needed to rent his body to continue his spiritual mission.”
“Rent?” I choked in disbelief.
“We truly don’t take anything with us when we pass on, do we? This monk knew he was dying and therefore needed to replace his physical body with something more youthful and vital.”
“That’s incredible. It debunks the theory that you need to die and be reborn as an infant to carry on your spirit.”
Mr. Doyle had the tinge of excitement in his voice.
“John, here’s another instance. I’ve had my suspicions about a famous musician who had an obsession about a notorious and controversial mystic. You’d surmise by his overwhelming attraction to that person he might’ve been him in a previous lifetime, but facts were clear he was born three years before the mystic died. My understanding is the mystic was aware he didn’t have long in his present incarnation. Therefore he made plans for some sort of partial soul transference while he was still alive to imprint his essence upon the child. That would’ve allowed him to carry on and accomplish unfinished business, which couldn’t have been executed otherwise. Essentially he had the ability of being two places at once.”
“Sounds more like Spiritualism,” I replied.
“Honestly, John, I don’t think there are any steadfast rules when it comes to this matter. That’s what makes it so intriguing.”
I sensed he had a secret agenda.
Doyle reloaded his churchwarden pipe with fresh tobacco and continued, “This is not at all like anything you’ve ever read from H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. We’re poking holes in every treatise written on the subject — the idea of being able to reincarnate a part of yourself while you are still alive into another soul.”
Our conversation was quickly becoming like a speeding train ready to jump the tracks. Realizing this, Doyle slowed down the pace and took a deep breath. He carefully composed his next statement.
“Fiction it may seem to be but it’s not hocus pocus. Don’t you also find it strange that you somehow found yourself initiated into a mystical order on a commuter train bound from London to Edinburgh when the instigators kept on mistaking you for me? There are no accidents.”
I became silent for a moment, stalling for time as I slowly raised my glass of ale to my lips. As soon as I fished a small red book out of my coat pocket and placed it on the table in front of us Arthur eyed it intently. It had been the source of intrigue, which led me to Doyle in the first place and piqued his curiosity as much as it did mine.
“Could I have done something terrible in my youth that caused this to happen?”
“You have no recollections, John?”
“I remember so little of my childhood. I wish I could.”
“You’re a smart young man. I’m sure you’ll come up with a clever deduction.”
Mr. Doyle paused to relight his pipe. He had an unnerving look in his eye, which I vainly tried to read into, but he took me for a spin when he brought up the next topic.
“On another note, John, have you ever considered that people are capable of communicating without speech, and I’m not talking about writing letters?”
“Pardon me?”
“Imagine communicating by mere thoughts. I’ve always wanted to experiment with someone open to these concepts. God knows — my brothers at the Society for Psychical Research certainly talk enough about it. My wife, Touie, has been an unwilling subject and is not the most objective choice.”
I looked at him, somewhat perplexed. “Are you asking me to accurately guess what you’re thinking?”
“Come now. We’ll play a game. I’ll form an image in my mind, and for the next minute I will try to project it into yours. Clear your thoughts of any distractions and be as receptive as possible,” he explained.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t have been more preoccupied. Images of that fateful event flashed through my brain. My recollections revealed my rain-soaked train ticket. I kept arguing with the steward about putting me in the wrong cabin. An erroneous judgment had been made when three strangers insisted I was Arthur. We were so different in physical appearance. He was a large, athletic man with a distinguished moustache. On the other hand, I had baby smooth skin and couldn’t grow facial hair to save my life. I was nearly twenty years younger and much shorter with wild auburn hair that resembled Maestro Beethoven’s with the exception of premature strands of gray.
So why was I singled out? Was there laudanum in my brandy? Details spun like a whirlwind. I must’ve been in a drug-induced stupor but I was initiated into some secret Masonic-like society, and when it was all over those mysterious men were gone. What remained were an engraved silver ring on my finger and an ominous red book on the seat beside me.
“Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.” Arthur broke my trance and realized my thoughts had been elsewhere.
“I felt like I had.” Barely able to articulate, I tried to tame my wild mane in place. Visions faded in and out. Timelines jumped. So I gulped down another swig of ale to focus on the present.
Arthur leaned in closer. “I can see you’re still worried about that event on the train. Those men have been after me for some time. Why? It’s hard to fathom. I’ll dilly dally with notions here and there about Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Watson, who fancy themselves as detectives. Me? I’m just a simple doctor and writer with interests in Spiritualism trying to find scientific explanations for the unknown.”
“Arthur, what would anyone want with an unassuming music student like me?”
“Personally, I don’t think this was A Case of Identity,” Arthur replied with a smile.
Obviously he meant to say my dilemma was not a case of mistaken identity, not the name of one of his famous Sherlock stories. He was pleased I caught the humor of his play on words.
“Perhaps it has something to do with that book,” he said pointing to the one I brought.
“I’m concerned it’s dangerous, that it’s a curse. I wish I had never found it.” I shoved it back into my pocket and drained my glass.
* * *
One week later as I was returning home from school, my landlady, Lydia Campbell, yelled from the kitchen as I trudged my muddied shoes through the front door of her boarding house. “John, a letter from Undershaw arrived for you today! I wonder whom it could be from? You don’t know anyone from Undershaw, do you?”
Oh, yes I did. I grabbed the letter and ran upstairs so fast I nearly tripped on my muffler and fell on my face. I poured myself a glass of port to calm my nerves, doffed my wet garments and sank into my most comfortable brass-studded leather chair I affectionately named my thinking chair, where I created many a melody in my head, could think deep thoughts, and drift off to dreamland.
* * *
Dear John,
I wholeheartedly enjoyed our conversation at the Deacon Brodie and kept my promise of a prompt reply. By now, you are well aware of my passion to explore the realms of Spiritualism and related paranormal phenomena far surpasses any personal interests involved with Sherlock Holmes. Public demand for my writing, however, exerts a strain on how much I can overtly reveal to even my most trusted colleagues. Whenever I indulge in any activity, be it a simple séance, investigating a revered medium or attending a meeting of the British Society for Psychical Research, it never fails to raise the eyebrows of my wary publishers and critics. It’s God’s honest truth that I believe in many of these inexplicable accounts. Even my father painted beautiful renditions of fairies, which I trust he witnessed with his own eyes. The betterment of mankind rests on embracing such theories once they are proven to exist by the scientific community. Thus, I’ll have to continue more controversial and debatable endeavors in utmost secrecy, or at least for the time being until more evidence can be brought to light.
Since you seem to be an open-minded young man who has already experienced some effects of the preternatural, this is my proposal: At midnight every night, we should conduct a variety of remote operations with the primary purpose of communicating through means of telepathy. Since I have a tendency to travel, we’ll have to make some sort of adjustment to take into account the different time zones. Of course, you must share this secret with nobody. Besides us, only my wife will know, although she will not participate.
When you shared the account of the strange commuter train incident that was enough to convince me that you would be the perfect partner for this private undertaking. Most assuredly, there was something you did in the past in the realm of the arcane to warrant such a chain of events. That was not mere happenstance, and now since you possess that enigmatic red book, I’m sure it will affect your life in ways you’ve never imagined.
My intentions have been to perform similar trial and error enterprises with Harry Houdini, a rising star whose stage performances have been astounding audiences, but his busy schedule has made it nearly impossible to coordinate such engagements with any sort of regularity. One of these days we’ll catch up. Meanwhile, I collect whatever news comes from across the herring-pond. At one point, he and I will develop a special relationship based on mutual interests.
Regarding the two of us, however, we’ll back up our observations with letters or telegrams as often as possible as proof of results, but those must be destroyed as soon as they are read. Once again, I cannot over emphasize the importance of confidentiality. Regardless, we must keep a faithful agreement, as skill will come with practice.
If you are willing to put aside any apprehensions regarding trains, I’ll pay for you to travel down to Undershaw and visit me on weekends whenever possible. My driver can meet you in London at a pre-arranged time. You’ll stay in one of our guest bedrooms, and as long as you don’t mind the children and can tolerate what our kitchen staff provides, you’ll be well taken care of. That’ll give us the opportunity to expand our repertoire and commence further psychical experimentation with ectoplasm, spirit photography and astral projection. And bring the red book. I’d like a chance to look at it.
I’ve also desired a partner to accompany me for ghost sightings and occult investigations. For all we know with the knowledge gained, we might even break through the barriers of time. That would certainly give Bertie (H.G. Wells) a shock to the senses, proving his imagination does not merely dwell in the realm of fiction. We’ve been at odds on this topic for years.
Regarding telepathic technique, I can only suggest you conduct yourself in a way as you see fit. Personally, I don’t give credence to things like magical amulets, but if it helps to have an etheric link, use this letter you hold in your hand, as it contains my heart, soul and signature with a drop of blood, which I added to the ink. You might wish to reciprocate.
Let’s raise our glasses to honor the quest of conquering the unknown.
Arthur Conan Doyle
* * *
So, Arthur was serious when he first brought up the subject. When he and I left the pub, I really didn’t know what to think. After all, he was a famous author, and I was merely a student. What possessed him to choose me for such an engagement?
I shuffled through my schoolwork to find my pen and ink and a fresh sheet of paper. Blood, I needed blood. Ah, my razor! That would work. I fetched my shaving kit and winced as I drew a few drops. I scribbled a swift, affirmative reply with the blood-tainted ink, mailed the letter the following day and looked forward to our first otherworldly encounter.
***
Excerpt from The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens. Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Crowens. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Crowens. All rights reserved.

Author Bio:

Crowens has worked in the film and television for over twenty years and as a journalist and a photographer. She’s a regular contributor of author interviews to an award-winning online speculative fiction magazine, Black Gate. Short stories of hers have been published in the Bram Stoker Awards nominated anthology, A New York State of Fright and Hell’s Heart. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, The Horror Writers Association, the Authors Guild, Broad Universe, Sisters in Crime and a member of several Sherlockian societies. She is also writing a Hollywood suspense series.

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Giveaway!!!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elizabeth Crowens. There will be eight(8) winners. One (1) winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card and seven (7) winners will each receive Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens (eBook). The giveaway begins on August 18, 2019 and runs through September 23, 2019. Void where prohibited.

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Be sure to come back Friday for my review of Silent Meridian!