Excerpts from The Advent

New excerpts from The Advent are available online. From Chapter Nine:

MOLLY HAD NOT FARED well. Despite her desire to rejoin society after bearing the twins in 1881, she could not shake her extreme depression. She rarely left her rooms, and when she did, it was to go up to the vast attic. There she was alone in the dim albeit large stuffy room, reviewing her life, her failures, her shameful acts, and her conscience.

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By the way, The Advent became available at Kobo Books this morning.

Happy Reading!

Second Coming: The Advent

"Passion Forsaken" has been renamed and rereleased as The Advent. The novel is the first book in the Collective Obsessions Saga.

Forbidden love and dark secrets haunt two Irish families hacking out a new life in 19th-century America. When Molly Larkin's father discovers her affair with lighthouse keeper Colm Sullivan, his reaction pitches her into madness. Yet the legacy forges a bond of blood that will endure for generations.

The Advent is book one in the Collective Obsessions Saga, which chronicles the extraordinary loves and obsessions between two families sweeping a span of more than one hundred years, all set against the backdrop of a Gothic seaside mansion in Maine.

The Advent was previously published as "Passion Forsaken" by Club Lighthouse and Tyborne Hill.

Quite frankly, I've always disliked the title "Passion Forsaken." However, through various publishers over the years, the moniker was beyond my control. The book is not a steamy romance in typical Harlequin fashion, nor is it a fluffy piece about unrequited love. The story actually launches the Collective Obsessions Saga, an eight-part series which follows two Irish families from their arrival in America to the present day. The books weave through more than one hundred forty years of fictional family history filled with avarice, madness, murder, mystery, paranormal activity, romance, self-indulgence and macabre Gothicism. It's hardly light reading.

To that end, I elected not to renew my publishing contract for "Passion Forsaken" as the three-year term came about in February 2014. Call me crazy, but I decided to take control of the book and do my own thing. Renaming the novel was my first priority, as was designing a new book cover. The story is the same as "Passion Forsaken" from start to finish, so little text editing was necessary.

I also had issue with the ordinal pricing of the book decided by the publisher ($5.99).  The Advent is the shortest title in the Collective Obsessions Saga (roughly 130 pages), so I felt $0.99 was a bit more appropriate. Some publishers might feel pricing the book at $0.99 is a form of "devaluing" the author, but I strongly disagree. Some of the best books I've read in recent years have been by unknown authors trying to make a break in publishing. There are many good writers out in the world, and I think most consumers understand the difference between crap and quality from the first chapter. Being an avid reader myself, I would never pay $5.99 or even $4.99 for a general fiction e-book even if it was written by Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King. Many people are struggling financially these days, so $5.99 for one e-book is a lot to ask of them.

However, I want to make clear my appreciation to Club Lighthouse Publishing (especially Terri Balmer) for giving all right books in the Collective Obsessions Saga a chance. I will never forget her generosity.

Although The Advent is no longer available at Club Lighthouse, the remaining seven books in the series are.

Gothic Web

A new design was recently uploaded for my official web site. I'm highly pleased with the results (dark and "gothicky" just as I like it). It's been a few years since any major changes were made to the site, so I felt the time was ripe.

There are some new features with the redesign. Pages with images and descriptions have been added to highlight more information about the fictional harbor town of Larkin City and the vast Larkin Estate found in the Collective Obsessions Saga.

Enjoy!

Megan's Legacy Tidbits

Can anyone guess the "model" for Luke on Megan's Legacy book cover?

Megan finds a stray kitten in Megan's Legacy. Fictional, yes, but based on a real event. Click here to read the excerpt.

Megan's Legacy Released

Megan's Legacy was released today. The book brings the eight-part Collective Obsessions Saga to a conclusion.

Megan is forced to discover the truth to set herself free from a legacy of family secrets and obsessions.

Megan Larkin, only child of Liam Larkin and Carly O'Reilly Sullivan, falls for Boston attorney Luke Castaneda. Locals try to warn Luke about Megan's family history of madness and tragedy, but he falls in love with the shy and retiring Megan, determined to make her his wife.

Other forces are at work to ensure the union never takes place, bringing another veil of evil over the Larkin's and their self-named city in the guise of a serial killer. . .

Megan's Legacy is available at Amazon and the Club Lighthouse Publishing web site. If you feel so inclined, click here to read excerpts from the book.

As I've said before, it's kind of bittersweet to see the Collective Obsessions Saga characters and storyline finally coming full circle, but the event is also very satisfying.

I posted the following blog entry back on March 18, 2011 (At Loose Ends):

A few days ago I wrote the final page for Megan's Legacy, and shortly thereafter sent the manuscript to my publisher. Considering I began writing the storyline a few decades ago, I'm stunned rather speechless that it's finished, once and for all. Even better, I'm very happy with the way the story ended. A few months ago I envisioned agonizing over the finale, but it didn't happen that way. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and that's where I took the story and its characters.

Sounds like a rather simple statement, doesn't it? However, completing Megan's Legacy also signals the end of the Collective Obsessions Saga. Having been consumed by the storyline and its characters for more than twenty years, it's a jolt to realize I no longer have to get up at the crack of dawn and work until midnight to make a dent in my planned vision for the books.

Just a year ago I thought I'd never see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet here I am. The rigid daily schedule I kept for so long is now history. I'm sure there will come a time when I'll impose the same schedule on myself for another project, but at the moment I'm a bit at loose ends.

One of my favorite regimens was to write longhand by night just so I could get away from the computer screen, and then type my notes by day. I'm not a natural typist, frankly, so writing longhand was enjoyable for me. I also had a few quirks that went along with the scribbles: round-stick grip black pens only, and countless pads of quadrille paper (five squares per inch on each side). I may have to start my next project sooner rather than later just to get back into my nightly swing.

To know that all eight books in the Collective Obsessions Saga will be released this year and next is keeping my head in the clouds. It's akin to a natural high, and I'm not sure I'm ready to come back down to earth yet. But real life marches on...

I can't express it any better in the present day.

Neddy & Old Sod

Kevin Larkin is another one of my favorite characters within the Collective Obsessions Saga. He first shows up as an adult in The Twain Shall Meet.  Kevin is gruff, no-nonsense and completely unabashed about his rather lecherous romantic past. It also helps that he is tall, dark and handsome as well as humorous in stitches.

Kevin and his younger brother Liam share pointed barbs throughout the saga, although it is equally apparent that they feel great familial love for one another. Kevin always refers to Liam as "Neddy" (an Irish term for a fool), while Liam gleefully calls Kevin "you old sod."

When Kevin finally marries his longtime love Mariko Woods in The Twilight, the "dressing" ritual before the ceremony beings out the best in the two brothers:

EARLIER IN THE DAY, Liam snuck Kevin into the mansion, coordinating their entry with Shannon while Mariko was safely ensconced in her own room. The two brothers made a beeline for Kevin's bedroom on the fourth floor to prepare for the wedding. Shannon left them a tray with a decanter of cognac and two snifters in a thoughtful gesture, hoping it would help keep Kevin calm on his special day.

But Kevin declined a drink. "I had enough hooch last night, thanks. I want to be clear-headed when I lumber across the foyer in my twinky get-up."

"It wasn't much of a bachelor party," Liam complained. "Twenty men crammed into the keeper's cottage, taking shots of whiskey and playing poker. The Coven would have been better…"

"Yeah, but it would have been much harder to pry me out of the Coven," Kevin grinned. "This way we're close at hand and semi-sober." He pointed to the garment bag draped over his bed. "Grab my clothes, will you? Let's get this over with. I'm warning you, though, if you laugh at me in my get-up, I'll hurt you really bad. I'd like to see your bony little ass in one of these outfits."

Liam tried to keep a straight face as he helped his brother slip into the black montsuki haori full-length kimono, split between the legs, and baggy pants known as hakama. Kevin tucked a white sash into the pants, and then admired the Larkin family crest embroidered on the breast pocket of the kimono.

"Look at me, will you?" Kevin snorted. "I waited fifty-eight years to get married, and it's come to this. I'm going to face Father Hunter and all our guests looking like an Irish samurai. All I need is a sword swinging at my side to appear the part."

Liam couldn't hold back his laughter. After he regained a semblance of control, in part spurred on by Kevin's fierce glare, he offered a positive note: "At least Mariko made the outfit large enough to cover your frame comfortably."

"She is something, isn't she?"

Liam sobered, catching the solemn tone of his brother's voice. Clearing his throat, Liam stood behind Kevin at the bedroom mirror and looked at his reflection. "I know I've said this before, but I'm glad you found Mariko. She's the best. She's understated and serene, yet so funny and wise. I love her to bits, and she'll make a wonderful addition to our family. However, if you asked me ten years ago…I never thought you'd give up tall blondes and bleary bar flies for a tiny Japanese lady who brooks very little nonsense. It took you long enough, but you deserve all the happiness in the world. You've earned it, and then some."

"For once I agree with you, neddy."

"Just be happy," Liam insisted.

"I'm very happy, and thank you."

The brothers were uncomfortable with frilly sentiment, unused to sibling displays of deep affection, so they let their personal comments rest there.

Click here to read more excerpts from The Twilight.

Fiction in the Kitchen

The Larkin Community Cookbook has been updated with a new format and book cover.

The Larkin Community Cookbook is a compilation of more than forty recipes mentioned or prepared by characters in the "Collective Obsessions Saga" by Deidre Dalton. The eight-part series of fiction novels chronicles the extraordinary loves and intricate obsessions between two families sweeping a span of more than one hundred years, all set against the backdrop of a Gothic seaside mansion in Maine.

A number of characters found in the "Collective Obsessions Saga" are exceptional cooks. It begins with the first family chef Claude Mondoux, and carries on with the ill-fated Nicholas Bertrand, the much-beloved Mae Jensen and the drunken Cora Ann Hogan.

The diabolical Amber Whale executive chef Jack Sansovino is also a dab hand in the kitchen, where he brews more than just seafood specialties.

 

 

Various members of the Larkin family have culinary talent as well, including Shannon, Derek and Dana, who prepare mouth-watering dishes for family and friends. Derek also becomes a professional chef and opens his own elegant restaurant in Larkin City, known as The Silver Tassel.

Before her self-inflicted demise, Carly O'Reilly whips up delectable dishes for her highly successful Harbor View Catering Company, where she also sells homemade foodstuffs.

Click here to learn more.

Bon Appétit!