Monday, June 13, 2011

The Apothecary Blog Tour


Today I am happy to announce that I am taking part in The Apothecary blog tour!!
I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour.

Today I will be hosting a excerpt from the book and a giveaway for an e-copy!

So what is the book all about??

When Claire Mayfield suddenly finds herself the new heir of a property that has lain vacant for over one hundred years, she becomes leery of the rumors of the hauntings from the three young children who were said to have been murdered there. With a little encouragement from Ben, the lawyer who breaks the news of the inheritance to her, Claire agrees to explore the manor, but only on the condition that Ben accompanies her. Finding her attractive, he accepts the challenge, and the two embark on an adventure that will forever change their lives.
Despite a few distractions and bumps along the way, Claire discovers her great uncle, Dr. Blackwell's, apothecary and traveling medicine show from the late 1800's, and even stumbles upon clues that could help her solve her ancestor's one hundred-year-old murder-mystery—all with a little help from a mischievous young girl who has been dead for over one hundred years.

Want to know more about the author?

Samantha Jillian Bayarr founded Livingston Hall Publishers in 2002. Named for her great, great grandfather, Edward Livingston Hall, who owned a publishing house in the 1800's, until his passing; Samantha resurrected this legacy as a way of honoring him for passing onto her his love for the written word.
Working in the production aspect of publishing has provided her with the expertise needed to produce, develop and design books from the inside out. When it came time to publish her own work, her experience in the field lent her the ability to produce several genres such as: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Fantasy, Time Travel Romance, Chick Lit, and Amish Romance.
Her first book, Little Wild Flower, an Amish Romance, was borne from her up-close encounters with the Amish community she lived near in Indiana until 1995 when she moved to Florida.

So know you know all that....time for a wee sneak peek at the book with an excerpt

I stood on the fake grass carpet that surrounded the grave upon which my mother’s simple casket rested. Clutching my mother’s black rosary to my chest, I could feel my heart pounding. It rang in my ears, drowning out the words spoken by the priest. “As we lay to rest Lucinda Blackwell-Mayfield…” My mother was raised Catholic by the nuns in the orphanage, and the rosary I desperately clung to had supposedly belonged to her own mother. It was the only thing she had been endowed with from the teen who’d unwillingly surrendered her life giving birth to her.
Just how the rosary had followed her to the orphanage would probably always be a mystery to me, for she never really wanted to talk about it much, but she clung to that rosary until she let out her last breath. The only thing I knew for sure, was when she left the cold halls of the Wellington orphanage at the age of eighteen, the rosary was given to her by the nuns, who’d explained it had been left with a note stating that it had belonged to her mother.
My mother admitted there were rumors that circulated the halls of the orphanage claiming that it had been the dying Widow Karington who’d left my mother on the steps of the orphanage that cold October morning in 1953 with a very large sum of money and a secret note. My mother always made light of the rumors, especially the one that claimed she herself had been named after the Widow Karington, whose maiden name had been Blackwell; first name, Lucinda. My mother rejected the name Lucinda because of this, and had always insisted on being called Lucy. She always joked that she didn’t even have a proper last name until she married my father, Grayson Mayfield, III, but we both knew how that one turned out.
I clutched Emily’s hand as the casket was lowered into the tomb that would become my mother’s final resting place. I’d chosen a spot near a tree, but not too near as to block the sun from shining down on her grave. My mother loved the feel of the sun on her face and the sound of birds chirping, so this was the perfect spot, if there was such a thing. Birds chirped from the nearby tree and I hoped my mother could somehow hear them and approve of the spot I’d chosen for her. As for me, the sun felt as if it shone black so as not to contrast with my mood. I turned my head and allowed tears to fall unchecked as the casket lowered out of sight. I let go of Emily’s hand and began to walk toward the parking lot, my heart threatening to pound its way from my ribcage.
As I approached the curb, a man in a dark grey suit walked toward me, his crisp blue eyes reflecting bits of the clouds. His sandy brown hair thick with gel moved only slightly in the breeze, but his focus on me as we neared each other almost made me forget why I was at the cemetery. He stopped me before I passed him. “Excuse me Miss, are you Claire Mayfield?”
I mindlessly nodded my head, and pulled my unruly hair behind my ear as he pushed a business card into my hand. I glanced down at the card that boasted the name of a large, local law firm.
He managed a half smile; his dimples momentarily mesmerizing me.
“I apologize for coming here, but I’ve been trying to track you down for a week. I read of your mother’s funeral arrangements in the newspaper and knew this might be the only place I could find you. Forgive the intrusion, but I need to speak to you about your mother’s estate.”
“My mother’s estate?” I looked up at him furiously, clutching my mother’s rosary in my fist and shook it at him. “This rosary is the only thing my mother left me, and you can tell the hospital they’re not getting their hands on it to pay her bill. I’ll find another way to cover her debt.”
He backed up slightly, holding his hands up in mock defense. “I think you’ve misunderstood me, Miss Mayfield. I’d like to go over the details of your mother’s inheritance.”
“My mother was an orphan, and orphans don’t get an inheritance. You must have the wrong Lucy Mayfield.”

Liked what you read?
Why not enter my giveaway for an e-copy of The Apothecary.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your email address!
Giveaway is open for 1 week, until the 20th June. Must be over 13 to enter and it is open internationally.
Good Luck!!


Also make sure to check out tomorrow's stop on the blog tour which will be over at:
A Mother’s Touch Book Shelf http://booksbyamotherstouch.blogspot.com

6 comments:

  1. Wow! This sounds like a fantastic read! I love romance, history, adventure. . . . .Looking forward to cracking the proverbial spine. My email is karysafaire@gmail.com. :-)

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  2. Loved the excerpt! Great post.

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

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  3. Thanks for the interest. I'm a big history buff, and that helped inspire me to make this story begin in 1901 with Claire's family history. :-))

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  4. This book sounds so interesting! Loved the excerpt and think that it's great that you could base the whole story off of an old photo.


    dani3222001(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  5. +JMJ+

    I haven't heard of this book before, but it sounds so interesting! There's something about Catholic characters in Horror/Ghost stories that I can't get enough of. Thanks for making this international!

    (I entered your giveaway for The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but now I think I want this one more! LOL!)

    altaemoeniaRomae
    [at]
    Gmail
    [dot]
    com

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  6. This book sounds like it is going to be amazing!! :) I'm super excited to read it now, thanks for giving us the opportunity with the giveaway.

    audrisj1216@aol.com

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