Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann @ann_swann @GoddessFish

The Remains in the Pond

by Ann Swann

GENRE: Romantic Suspense

BLURB:

Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi’s life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she’s taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It's a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.

Excerpt:

I didn’t see Matt anywhere. There weren’t any vehicles in the gravel lot. I parked but didn’t roll down the windows. Something felt wrong. The night began to feel as opaque as the murky water. If Matt wanted to see me, where was he?

Backing up, I shined my headlights a different direction, then I made a small tight circle and lit up the entire parking area a little at a time. Low mesquites and spindly live oaks bordered one side of the lot. It was the sort of foliage that loved a little water now and then but thrived just as well without it. I saw neither Matt nor Rose.

After a few minutes, I pulled out of the lot and circled the pond as far as I could go. The gravel road didn’t loop around the entire thing, only about three quarters of the way, and then you were forced to turn around in the only remaining wide spot unless you wanted to get out and have a picnic beneath the single stand of oaks tall enough to give good shade.

Of course I didn’t need any shade now. And I really didn’t want to get out of the car. This seemed too weird. I put the car in reverse and executed a careful turnaround. When my headlights picked out the figure at the edge of the water, I inhaled sharply. It was not what I expected to find.

I rolled down my window. “Rose?” I called. “Is that you?”

A branch cracked, a shadow moved, and panic slid between my ribs like a blade.  The figure turned toward my headlights, definitely female. She wore her long hair lose and flowing. Under the moonlight, I couldn’t be certain if the woman’s hair was red or light brown.

“What are you doing here?” No answer. “Where’s Matt?” I tried to keep my voice steady, to show her I wasn’t afraid. I put the car in PARK and opened my door tentatively, putting one foot on the ground.

She stared into my headlights, one hand shielding her eyes like a sailor looking for land, and then, like a flash, she ran straight at me. Straight toward my little Honda with the window rolled down. Her hair flew out behind her and it was all so surreal that for a moment, I simply sat there, paralyzed. Then she raised her right hand above her head. In her grip, I caught a glimpse of silver.

Interview with Ann Swann

        Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in THE REMAINS IN THE POND?

Gabrielle Kelly—the main character—is named for a reader who won a contest on my blog. The character is a high school senior who plans to work while saving for college. She has a super-crush on her chemistry partner. At prom she learns he feels the same way about her. Enter Rose Lintz (another blog name winner). She is the jealous cousin of Gabi’s crush (Matt). Rose is the reason everything falls apart. Reece is a late entrant. It turns out he fancies himself Gabi’s true soul mate. Now he just has to convince her of that fact.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

I’m currently working on a romance set near the fictional town of Stutter Creek. I can’t say the title yet (superstitious), but I will say it is a lot steamier than my other books. I’ve also got book 4 in the Phantoms series ready to go to the editor, and I have another YA that is finished and fermenting.

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

Each one is different. The best books tend to write themselves. All For Love did that. Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot (and the others in that series) did that, too. Stutter Creek and Lilac Lane went quickly, too. This book, THE REMAINS IN THE POND, took much longer because I had to stop midway and have a talk with that Muse. On the other hand, I have two complete novels that really want to be born but they are stuck in computer no man’s land because they won’t come to heel.

What is your favorite childhood book?

Grimm’s Fairytales. Silver Chief, Dog of the North, The Black Stallion.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from THE REMAINS IN THE POND who would it be?

Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do. Oh, I would definitely spend the day with Reece at Big Sur. He could teach me to surf, and then we would have a bonfire on the beach or perhaps we would stay in the cliff-hanging Cabin #10 at the Lucia Lodge.

What was the hardest scene from THE REMAINS IN THE POND to write?

I had to rewrite the ending several times because, well, I can’t tell you why, it’s not cool to give away the ending, right?

What made you want to become a writer?

My childhood. I had to write to make sense of it.

Just for fun

(a Favorite song: Thunder Road or Turn the Page, no, Night Moves. It’s definitely Night Moves. I think.

(b Favorite book: The Crystal Cave

(c Favorite movie: Terminator or The Jason Bourne series

(d Favorite tv show: Major Crimes and Stranger Things

(e Favorite Food: Chocolate and/or Mexican

(f Favorite drink: Coffee and Diet Vanilla Coke sometimes Semi-sweet tea

(g Favorite website: too many to list

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ann has been a writer since junior high school, but to pay the bills she’s waited tables,

delivered newspapers, cleaned other people's houses, taught school, and even had a short

stint as a secretary in a rock-n-roll radio station. She also worked as a 911 operator and a

police dispatcher.

Ann’s stories began to win awards in her college days. Since then she’s published novels,

novellas, and short stories. But even if no one ever bought another book, Ann wouldn’t stop

writing. For her it’s the cathartic pause in a sometimes-crazy world. Most of the time, it even

keeps her sane.

Blog ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ LinkedIn

Buy Link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

$10 Amazon or B/N GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.