"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

BBT Virtual Book Tour: Guest Post with Maralee Lowder - The Morticians Wife


Please welcome Maralee Lowder, (I just LOVE her name), visiting during her tour at Bewitching Book Tours with her book, The Morticians Wife! I KNOW! Awesome title and cover! 

Welcome Maralee!


Maralee Lowder

Author of

The Mortician’s Wife


            One of the biggest problems I faced while writing The Mortician’s Wife was figuring out how to create a character evil enough to make an otherwise timid woman want to murder him without him turning into some sort of comic villain.  Horace, my ultimate “bad guy”, had to be someone most people would admire if he were to get away with the crimes he committed.  In fact, he had to be more than likeable. He had to be downright admirable.

            While casting about in my brain for an inspiration for Horace, I came up with the perfect answer.  I would model him after my brother-in-law, the man our family called our very own “action hero.”  James (I’ve changed his name here because, although he knows about his role in the writing of my book, he would still be embarrassed if I made a big deal about it), was, and still is, a true hero.  He’s saved more lives than he can remember. He is the type of man who makes friends everywhere he goes.  He is kind, considerate and loving.  Those attributes were exactly what made him the perfect model for my villain.   

If a villain readily shows how evil he is, he may be scary, but not nearly as scary as the guy who appears to be kind and gentle, while hiding his vile impulses. I used James’ most-loved-guy-in-town personality to offset the black soul that lurked just under Horace’s outside appearance.  It was this likable side of Horace that everyone in town loved and respected.  And it was that side of his personality that won an innocent young woman’s heart.  And it was also that side of his personality which allowed him to do things too evil to comprehend, yet never worry about being discovered.

            Given her dilemma, what was his young wife to do?  When she discovered the true character of the man she had married, she knew that his taunts were all too real—no one in town would ever believe her when she told the authorities what he had done and what he was fully capable of doing again. 

            In the end, she did what she knew she must.  But there was one thing she was not prepared for.  Although she was able to eliminate Horace from this earthly world, there was no way she was able to eliminate the horror of his haunting soul.

About the Author:

Maralee Lowder found so much pleasure in reading such a wide spectrum of romance genres, she has never been able to write in just one.  Her novels run the gamut of contemporary, historical, humorous, horror, paranormal and suspense. 

Look for the sequel to "The Morticians Wife"  coming soon




Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Taylor Street Books

ISBN: 13: 978-1480011229
ASIN:  B009KDVFEI

Number of pages:194
Word Count: 71000

Cover Artist: Tim Hewtson



Book Description: 
“I have spent the night in supposedly some of the most haunted buildings in America. I have met people who could fairly be described as evil incarnate. I have been to the Old Mortuary in Dunsmuir. It is gorgeous but I wouldn't spend a single night there.” Kathleen McKenna, author of horror novels 'The Wedding Gift' and 'Family Matters'.

Five miles from the new age Mt. Shasta City, the sleepy Northern California town of Dunsmuir plays host to a nightmarish house – the Old Mortuary – where the mortician's wife spent four decades alone, and some say insane, sleeping in an alcove off one bedroom where she believed the evil spirits of the house could not get to her, harboring terrible secrets.

With the steady flow of dead bodies through the basement and the murderous events upstairs, this is the story of how the Old Mortuary of Dunsmuir became one of the most haunted houses in America as a result of the personality and misdeeds of one man, Horace Carpenter, whose eternal soul most certainly does not rest in peace, as many will attest, and probably never will.




3 comments:

Nightly Cafe said...

Thanks for stopping in Maralee and Happy Halloween!

Unknown said...

Maralee is a great name for sure and I'll check her book to read more about that "admirable" Horace!

Unknown said...

Sounds great. I'll have to look into this one. :)

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