Today I am so happy to be visiting with author Susan Roebuck on the seventh stop of our Summer Blog Tour! This week you can find me visiting with Corinne Davies at her blog, www.daviesromance.blogspot.com
Welcome, Susan!
Two Truths and a Lie
I love this game – it’s a great ice-breaker. If you’re a teacher, try it in the classroom on the first day of classes.
So, which one of these is my lie?
1. I’ve been on a ship that hit an ice-berg.
I was on an ice-breaker that sailed up the coast of Norway, visiting the beautiful fjords and bird islands that abound in that area. The ship continued up past the Arctic Circle before it went around the Svalbard archipelago. It was June and so the sun never set which was a little upsetting to my body clock because I don’t think I’ve gone to bed in daylight since I was about six years old.
I was overawed by the stark landscape of black rocky mountains with patches of snow and the sapphire colored glaciers, alarming in their retreat. It was disturbing to know that if for some reason I was abandoned on land, I wouldn’t survive for long.
The days were never boring, as the ship continually encountered an assortment of wildlife. However, the captain said that if they spotted a polar bear at night, they’d wake me up whatever the time. And that’s just what happened – 3am with the sun in the sky and a polar bear with two cubs sniffing around on the ice less than a quarter of a mile away.
Later that day the captain wanted to show off his prowess at maneuvering the ship and he approached a beautiful blue iceberg, slowly inching along until the ship’s bow was actually touching it. Then the first mate leaned over and hacked off a lump of ice for our evening drinks.
2. My novel, Perfect Score, was originally set at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. My inspiration came after a trip I had to the Catskills in Upstate New York. I stayed in a wooden ski lodge that reminded me of The Munsters’ Mansion with its huge towering turrets where bats flew about at sunset. The local village had a pall of suspicious-smelling smoke over it and the tiny shops sold homemade handicraft, while their owners wafted about in open sandals and long dirndl skirts with spaced-out expressions.
A local tennis pro believed in the success of levitation – which he didn’t, unfortunately, manage to demonstrate. And I thought, “This is full of the quirky characters that I want to populate my novel.”
3. I once saw a ghost. I must have been about 11 years old and I went with my sister and parents to spend a holiday in a converted school-house in Galway, Ireland. The place dated back to the 1700s (according to a plaque above the main doorway) and smelt of chalkdust. The window in my bedroom was on the floor (not half-way up the wall as is normal) and you had to lie down to look out at the donkey in the field outside. One night, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I saw a figure at the foot of my iron bed (which creaked horribly, by the way). The figure, which I believe was a man wearing a large hat, was wispy like smoke, holding a glowing lantern and peering at me in its strangely golden light. I remember becoming sweaty and shivery at the same time, and being unable to utter a word. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but was probably only seconds, before I dived under the bedclothes (I was only 11, remember). I didn’t sleep much that night, too scared to move a muscle and so didn’t emerge from the sheets until morning. I never saw the apparition again – but that might have been because I slept under the bedclothes from then on until the end of the holiday. But, even so, being under the sheets didn’t prevent the feeling that something or someone was checking me out.
Find Susan Roebuck here:
Feckless, exasperating Alex Finch is a rich, handsome and talented singer/songwriter who longs for two things: a career as a professional rock singer, and to have his love for Sam Barrowdale reciprocated. But drifter Sam’s two aims are simply to earn enough money to pay his sister’s medical bills and to hide from the world his reading/writing and speech disability. At this time the word “dyslexia” is generally unknown so to most people he’s just a “retard”. From the severe knocks life’s dealt him, Sam’s developed a tough outer coating and he has no time for a spoilt, selfish guitar player. Despite his defects, Alex’s love for Sam never wavers and when Sam unexpectedly disappears, Alex begins a somewhat bungling quest to find him, only to discover that Sam has a fearful enemy: Alex’s powerful and influential yet sociopathic uncle. As Alex spirals downwards towards alcoholism, many questions need answering. Just why did Alex’s evil uncle adopt him at age eleven yet deny him any affection? And what’s the mystery behind Alex’s father’s death? Both seem to face unbeatable odds. Are they doomed to follow separate paths forever?
Hewhay Hall by Susan Roebuck
This is a stop on the Best Ever Summer Blog Tour.
Eight authors in mixed genres trading blog space for eight weeks for your enjoyment. Someone on the blog tour is giving a prize every week – this week find me, Regina Andrews, visiting Corinne Davies at
www.daviesromance.blogspot.com
There will be a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift certificate awarded at the end of the tour. Enjoy the blogs and leave comments for the opportunity to be the grand prize winner. One entry ticket per comment!
Want to continue the tour? Here’s a list of the blogs:
Ann Tracy Marr -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Tracy-Marr/114711658247?ref=ts
Susan Roebuck - http://lauracea.blogspot.com
Sharon Poppen -http://poppensthoughtsonwritingandstuff.blogspot.com
Regan Taylor - http://regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com
Corinne Davies - www.daviesromance.blogspot.com
Regina Andrews - http://reginaandrews.wordpress.com
Christine London – www.christinelondon.com
Lynn Hones - lynnhones.wordpress.com
This week you can find me visiting with Corinne Davies at her blog, www.daviesromance.blogspot.com
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Thank you Regina…I know which the lie is
Dang–they all sound lovely and adventurous! I dare not guess! That cruise sound wonderful!
The characters in Susan’s book sound fascinating and the plot will keep readers turning the pages. Congratulations.
I’m not sure which of the three is a lie, but the other two were experiences to remember, for sure.
I’m just going to make a wild guess on the lie and say it was the ghost story! But you sure have a lot of fantastic detail to all the stories!
Hi Bethany, it was nice to hear from you, thanks for stopping in. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Stay tuned and come back and visit — for the truth will be revealed!!
Thanks Christine, Gail and Bethany! Not telling just yet!
HI Susan and thank you so much for visiting with me this week! I think all your stories are great. Perhaps, I was wondering, if you could give a clue as to which one might be the lie…
Christine, I agree! Susan had me right there on the deck of that cruise ship. Thanks for popping in.
Gail, hello and thanks for stopping in today! You make a great point – the two experiences are no doubt unforgettable! Great of you to visit, thanks again!
what a nice blog ! I like the part about the hotel in the Catskills!
A little clue? Hmm….well….they’re all true, but one of them didn’t quite happen exactly like that. Is that OK? LOL. Which one is it? Regina knows!!!!
Yes I do!!!! Yes I dooooo! heeeee heeee heeee…..
Susan-looks like a great book,i really love to read about the Catskills as it brings back many memories.regards Ben Smith
Susan-thanks for stopping in at Regina’s blog.She is a great writer,.and is currently on a blog tour for the summer.Regards,BEN SMITH