NOW AVAILABLE: The Middle Aisle

The sequel to Lancaster House, The Middle Aisle, is now available!

Just click on one of the following links!

Amazon paperback

Amazon Kindle (Only $2.99!)

Smashwords

Create Space estore

Enjoy the conclusion to Andre and Zoe's story!

Review of Lancaster House

A wonderful review of Lancaster House by Simone of Bookworm Babblings: (Thanks, Simone!)

My Review

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.  This book really took me by surprise.  You know the saying “don’t  judge a book by it’s cover”?  Well this is that book!  Zoe  moves to California for a fresh start.  She uses her inheritance to purchase a rundown 1920’s Victorian mansion.  Taylor Dean describes this house so meticulously that you can see it in your mind’s eye.  Strange things begin happening in the house, the stove shuts itself off, the half wallpapered walls are suddenly complete, the list goes on and on.  Zoe refuses to believe in ghosts, and thinks her ex or someone else has found a secret passage into the house and is playing mind games on her…The truth will shock you, it certainly did me as I never expected the answer I received.  I loved the author’s writing style, jumping from past to present, it helped to know where Zoe was coming from and how she got into the predicament she was in.  I wasn’t thrilled with the way this book ended (we’re left hanging in anticipation of book 2).  But I must say, Taylor Dean is now one of my favorite authors!

And to think . . . I never planned on writing a sequel to Lancaster House! Seriously!

If you use your imagination, you know exactly what happens next at the end of Lancaster House. But, too many people demanded a sequel, and I can understand why. Writing the sequel was very satisfying for me. Everything I wanted to happen in the first book finally gets to happen--without ruining the suspense of the first novel. It would seem that most readers would agree with me. We all want to see that happy ending come to fruition!

In the end, I'm glad I wrote the sequel before I ever released Lancaster House. Otherwise, my readers would be very disappointed! I END the story with The Middle Aisle. To be honest, I didn't want to drag it out any further with a book 3 and book 4, etc, etc. You CAN have too much of a good thing, and I felt it would ruin the story.

At any rate, the rest of Andre and Zoe's story is about to be told--the way I always pictured it in my mind from the very beginning. Enjoy!

The Middle Aisle's official release date is Dec. 1!

I Have People Blog Tour

Virtual Book Tour November 29 - December 27

November 29 -  Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet

November 30 - Anatea's Bookshelf - Guest Post/PROMO

December 1 - Book Nerd - Review/Guest Post

December 2 - Books, Books, the Magical Fruit - Interview/PROMO

December 4 -Dive Under the Cover - Review

December 5 -

December 6 -

December 7 -

December 8 -

December 9 - My Reading Addiction - Review

December 10 - 

December 12 - Fiction Addiction - Guest Post/PROMO

December 13 - Jen McConnel - Guest Post/PROMO

December 14 - A Date With a Book - Review

December 15 - Up All Night Reviews - Guest Post/PROMO

December 16 -Jersey Girl Book Reviews - Review/Guest Post

December 18 - Books For Me - Review

December 19 - My Cozie Corner - Review

December 20 - Paulettes Papers - Review/Guest Post

December 21 - 5 Girls Book Reviews - Review/Guest Post

December 22 - Oh, The Books That You'll Read - Review

December 23 - Lov Liv Life Reviews - Guest Post/PROMO

December 26 - Kaisy Daisy's Blog - Review

December 27 -Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews - Review/Interview

SNEAK PEEK OF THE MIDDLE AISLE

SNEAK PEEK OF THE MIDDLE AISLE:

Andre was a figment of her imagination. A fabrication of a desperate dumped woman—a fantasy, an illusion. Her creation of the perfect man.

She really was crazy. She just hadn’t realized it. She was a raving lunatic, walking around Monterey, California, acting as though she was with the man of her dreams, thinking she was making love with him and kissing him. When really she was as alone as a man in solitary confinement—a lost hopeless soul. Pathetic.

It was no use, she couldn’t fool herself any longer. Now that the seed of doubt had taken hold, she had to recognize it and grab onto it. It was the only way back to sanity.

“The realization of our delusions is the hardest step, Zoe. I know this is difficult. I can help you through it, I’m here for you. You’re not alone,” Doctor Channing said with so much sympathy, it made her cry even more.

“I don’t understand, he seems so real,” Zoe blurted.

“The mind is an amazing thing. It has the ability to believe what it wants to believe. If it couldn’t function in this manner, I’d be out of business.”

Zoe looked up at Doctor Channing, for once thankful for his presence. He hadn’t given up on her even though she’d been pretty awful to him. “I’m sorry I almost hit you with the garden trowel.”

“I’ve already forgotten about it.”

Zoe knew she must be a sight. She hadn’t showered in two days, she was wearing rumpled pajamas, and her hair was all over the place. Plus, her face must be red and swollen from crying. To top it all off, she probably smelled like throw up too.

“I think I’ll take a hot shower and freshen up,” she told him.

“I’ll get you some breakfast.”

Before they parted, she said, “Doctor Channing?”

“Yes, Zoe?”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and left. As she stripped off her clothing, a few more tears drizzled down her cheeks. The loss of Andre from her life wasn’t going to be easy. He was everything to her and now that she knew he wasn’t real, she didn’t know how to start over . . .

 IS ANDRE REAL OR NOT? 

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! (OR HOPE!)

THE MIDDLE AISLE

THE MIDDLE AISLE, the sequel to Lancaster House, coming your way . . .
DECEMBER FIRST!!!

Review of Lancaster House

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise! I'm just busy taking care of this cute little guy . . .

He's my one year old grandson. My daughter (his mother) is very, very morning sick with her second child. So, not only am I taking care of my grandson, I'm taking care of her too. This leaves very little time for much else! But, The Middle Aisle (the sequel to Lancaster House) is on it's way! I haven't dropped everything!

Meanwhile, I've received another wonderful review of Lancaster House from Andrea of A Chick Who Reads! Here it is:

Review: Can I just say WOW!

I was totally enamored of Taylor's Sierra, when I read it awhile back, but Lancaster House is even better.

Taylor weaves a story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.

Zoe is an interior decorator who wants to restore Lancaster House and resell it, but once she starts working on it, strange things start to happen. Strange things that make her question her sanity, and then she meets Andre.

Andre is a new twist on a paranormal creature, part vampire and part ghost. There's a lot more to him then meets the eye.

The two fall in love as they restore his old home. Yes, Andre is Andre Lancaster the man who built Lancaster House.

Sound exciting?

Well it gets better, this story is told by Zoe as she's recounting it to a psychiatrist after a suicide attempt.

Yeah!

This is really a gripping read and one I recommend highly! Taylor Dean is on my list of must read authors now.

Rating: 5 flowers

Lancaster House Book Tour

My latest Lancaster House Book Tour is well underway! Follow along!





November 5 Interview
Oh, Chrys!
http://ohchrys.blogspot.com/


November 7 Interview
Roxanne's Realm
www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com


November 8 Guest blog and review
A Chick Who Reads
http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.com


November 9 Interview
Sarah Ballance
sarahballance.wordpress.com


November 10 promo
http://inkkreviews.blogspot.com
inkkreviews@gmail.com


November 11 Interview
Books & Other Spells.
nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com


November 13 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com


November 14 Guest blog
Mama Knows Books
http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com


November 15 Interview
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
http://issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours


November 17 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com


November 19 Interview
DEB SANDERS
http://DebSanders.com


November 21 Guest blog
The Bookshelf
http://bookshelf.shotgunopera.net


November 23 Promo/Excerpt
A Dream Within A Dream
http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com


November 24 Promo
Sapphyria's Book Reviews:
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/
November 25 Interview
Andi's Book Reviews
http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com


November 29 Review
Bookworm Babblings –
http://inspirationsbysimone.blogspot.com




December 1 Promo
SMARTMOUTHTEXAN
www.smartmouthtexan.wordpress.com


December 1 Review
Fangs, Wands & Fairydust
http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/


December 2 Guest blog and review
Carly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romance
www.CarlyFall.com
inspiration for writing this book


December 3 Guest blog and review
For The Love of Reading
http://niinas-reading-and-reviewing.blogspot.com/
Suggestion: Spooky House Playlist to go with Lancaster House


December 15 Feature (Holiday article, recipe, advice, gift list, exclusive excerpt, short fiction)
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
http://issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours

Judge a book by its COVER!

It's that time again; time to show the old cover versus the new cover for my soon-to-be-released novel, The Middle Aisle, the sequel to Lancaster House. It will be released on December 1st.   I love to show everyone my old and new covers. It was such a hard decision! I agonized over the choice. But, I'm happy with the results.

When I was ready to publish my novels, I thought I had completed my covers. I was happy with my choices. But my daughter felt they were boring. I resisted for awhile and then I realized she was right. While the covers  spoke to the story-line inside the books, they didn't say to the reading public, "Hey, read me!" They weren't eye-catching.

That was when I made the decision to change my covers. After all, my books were going to be sold online. All readers would see was a thumbnail image. (sometimes, a little larger) But they wouldn't get to see it on a bookshelf and hold it and admire it, etc. My daughter was right! The cover better be beyond amazing! The cover better reach out and grab people's attention. In this case, everyone judges a book by its cover!

So here it is, my old cover for The Middle Aisle:

This cover took some tricky manipulation with the house image! I wanted a house on a cliff edge overlooking the ocean. (this house is featured in The Middle Aisle) The problem is that the house is just too darn big. The ratio between the cliff edge and the house just don't seem right. The visual gets the point across and is perfect for the description inside the book, but it's not quite . . . right.

There was one other thing that bothered me about this cover. The picture kinda looks like an island, right? (although it's supposed to be a rocky shoreline) Yet, the title is The Middle AISLE. I figured people would think I misspelled ISLE. A logical assumption when combined with the picture!

Regardless, I do like this cover. One glance and I am transported to the corresponding scene in the book.

When I decided to go with the 'hand reaching out from the grave' cover for Lancaster House, I was stumped over what to do for the sequel. Then I ran across a similar picture from the same artist. It featured--what looked like to me--a Cypress tree. Monterey, California is known for its Cypress trees. It was absolutely perfect! Part of The Middle Aisle takes place in Monterey, California, one of my favorite places on this earth! (one of my daughters was born there)

Here's the new cover:

The colors are a little retro, but in the end, I'm super happy with the Lancaster House and Middle Aisle covers. 

An interesting tidbit: My youngest daughter stood behind me as I scrolled through possible cover pictures. She is the one who pointed out the 'hand' picture and said, "I think you should use that one for Lancaster House." I'm not sure I would've thought of it, to be honest. My other daughters LOVED the new covers for both books and here we are!  Done deal! What would I do without my fam for advice? I'd probably still be agonizing over the decision, to this day!

So, what do you think? Which cover do you like the best? Or would you have chosen something else entirely different?

To see the old and new covers for Lancaster House, click here.