
Page Count: 235
Book Title: The Silver Crescent
Synopsis:
Betrayal, murder, and a fortune stolen a century ago from a Colorado silver mine send Elise Baxter to Cedar Bend on a quest to solve a family mystery—and to recover a treasure. Following clues from her great-great-grandmother’s diaries, Elise seeks out Max Holt and his restored Victorian inn.
An instant 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.
Max soon learns his inn has guests from the netherworld—a pair of ghosts who seek justice for a past murder, and an evil presence who will oppose them.
Guided by the ghosts, Max and Elise search the inn, but there are others driven by greed who will stop at nothing to unlock the mystery of the Silver Crescent.
Excerpt
Once the men had left the library, Virginia did as Martin had suggested and sailed down from the painting. With narrowed eyes and her mouth a thin line, she turned to face Cyrus, now seated behind his desk.
“That was a close call. I didn’t know if Max would feel my warning.”
“By the look on his face, I’d say you got through loud and clear.”
“What shall I do if he tries to remove my portrait?”
Cyrus shook his head. “I don’t think he will. And if he does, we’ll have to stop him.”
Virginia rubbed her temples. “And what about the display Garrison put on?”
Cyrus frowned. “I’m surprised he’s strong enough to conjure something like that.”
“I’m afraid if he keeps scaring them, they’ll leave, and our future will be doomed.”
He shook his head. “I have a feeling they’re tougher than that. We’ll just have to double our effort to subdue him.”
At that moment, one of the long French windows blew open, and Garrison strolled in.
“Did I hear my name?” He sat down in one of the high-backed chairs, propped his foot across his knee, and smirked.
Cyrus leaned forward and folded his arms on his desk. “You may be enjoying yourself with your little games, but your amusement will be short-lived. Trust me, you will not win.”
Garrison’s smirk turned to a grin as he reached into his pocket, removed a phantom cigar and lit it. “Are you sure about that, Cyrus old man?” His eyes glowed with hatred. “Who holds the power may soon change.” He let out a stream of tobacco smoke and disappeared.
Her face stricken with fear, Virginia turned to Cyrus.
He floated across his desk and took her in his arms. “It will be all right, my dear, don’t worry.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “Cyrus, he can’t have meant what I think. If so, it’s too horrible to imagine.”
He stroked her back. “Hush, now. We must do the best we can to help them along.”
“Yes, and we must keep them safe.”
Cyrus nodded.
“Perhaps we need something besides the crescents?” Virginia asked.
“Let’s give them a little longer. If they don’t figure it out, I have another idea.”
When they heard voices in the hallway, Virginia gave Cyrus a quick kiss and reentered her portrait, and Cyrus vanished.
About the Author

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Guest Post
I’d like to thank Joood for spotlighting The Silver Crescent.
1. I wish I’d taken some writing classes before I submitted my first manuscript. I got a nice note back telling me I had a good story, if I could write it.
2. You definitely need to have other people read through the manuscript. And listen to their advice. Submitting your work to writing contests is a good way to get feedback.
3. Diagramming sentences was never something I enjoyed, but if you’re going to write, you had better make sure all your grammar and punctuation are correct.
4. I had no idea how many times I’d have to rewrite sections of the book. In one case, I must have rewritten the beginning ten times. In another, my editors asked me to add an entirely new character to the story.
5. Finding a publisher. I thought my first book was so good I wouldn’t have any problem getting published. Wrong! But the lesson I learned was to keep trying. If one publisher isn’t interested, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one out there that is.
6. It doesn’t matter how many times a writer is told not to worry about rejection letters, and that best-selling authors also received their share, it still hurts. You have to be extremely thick-skinned to be an author.
7. Pitching a book to agents and editors can be terrifying. I couldn’t sleep the night before my first pitch. That morning I felt sick and just knew I’d forget everything I had to say and make an idiot of myself. I made it through and ended up getting a book contract. I’ve pitched many times since, and now it’s nowhere near as terrifying.
8. When your book is released, the publisher goes all out to market your book, but after a while you’re on your own. I knew nothing about Facebook, Twitter, or blogging. Each time I went to a writers’ conference, I made sure to attend workshops on marketing. I’m getting a little better, but I have to admit I’d rather write the book than market it.
9. Making myself crazy checking Amazon and other sites to see how my book sales were going, then wishing I hadn’t looked when my numbers are low.
10. I can’t express the emotion I felt when I held my first published book in my hand. You think about how exciting it will be, but knowing that others will read your story, the feeling is emotional and thrilling.