I'm Famous!!

Okay... not really.

But I did have my debut signing for CARVED IN DARKNESS a few weeks ago...


We had such a great turn out at the Poisoned Pen! Thank you to Darrell James and Matt Coyle for allowing this newbie to tag along!

Here I am, signing books! That's my grandmother, right before she told Matt that the reason I was so brilliant is because she's French... she's right, BTW. ;)

Me, Matt and Darrell, after the smoke cleared.

I was also asked to be a guest on a local radio show. I had such a  great time and I really got a chance to reflect on the long, winding journey the road to publication has led me down. Take a listen:

http://www.lifemattersmedia.com/2013/05/12/stay-at-home-mom-turns-her-passion-into-a-best-selling-author/

I think I did pretty good considering the fact that I was sick with some crazy mystery illness.

and then the husband and I took a much needed, long over due vacation...

the house where we stayed...

the view from our balcony...

the husband and me...

the fantastic group of people we had the pleasure of spending our weekend with...

and proof that I actually got some work done!

Get CARVED IN DARKNESS for FREE!

This is my very first book giveaway and I'm beyond excited!!
Cath, book reviewer and blogger extraordinaire, over at My Book Chatter is hosting, so shuffle on over and enter to win a personally signed copy! 










http://mybookchatterchat.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/spotlight-on-carved-in-darkness-by.html 

News & Updates

I've been neglectful again... but this time I have a pretty good reason--or should I say reasons. 

I'm roughly 1 week from my official release of my debut novel, CARVED IN DARKNESS and things are getting crazy! I mean one-armed-juggler-in-a-three-ring-circus kind of crazy. Between kids and husband, promoting the release while trying to write book #2 in the series (I'm approximately 60k words in!), I don't have time to breathe, much less blog, but I want to share my news so I've finally managed to grab a few minutes (It's 6am, I have school lunches to make and the kids are running around banshees, but whatever) to blog.

Over at Beth Groundwater's today! She's asked some fantastic questions about the book, my writing process and what keeps me sane. Beth writes the Claire Hanover gift basket designer series (A REAL BASKET CASE, 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award finalist, TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET, 2009) and the RM Outdoor Adventures series starring river ranger Mandy Tanner (DEADLY CURRENTS, 2011, an Amazon bestseller, WICKED EDDIES, 2012). The 3rd book in both series will appear in 2013. 

Hit the link below to check it out:

 http://bethgroundwater.blogspot.com/2013/04/todays-mystery-author-guest-maegan.html

And don't forget to drop me a comment to say "hi"!

In other exciting news, If you happened to order a trade paperback of CARVED IN DARKNESS from Amazon (they've already sold out once and looks like they're about to do it again!), chances are you've already received your copy. I hope you're as happy with the finished copy as I am... if so, I'd be thrilled of you took a few minutes to rate CARVED and leave me a brief review. I'll even make it easy and leave the links!

For Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Carved-Darkness-Maegan-Beaumont/dp/0738736899/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367330833&sr=1-1&keywords=carved+in+darkness

For Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/carved-in-darkness-maegan-beaumont/1113557699?ean=9780738736891

I also received a darn good review from Kirkus Review:

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/maegan-beaumont/carved-in-darkness/

As busy as I am, I haven't forgotten that it's all of you who've made it possible. Thank you for supporting me as a writer!

And do forget, I still answer writing problems! If you're a writer and stuck on your plot, give me a shout at:

thrillersandkillers@gmail.com 

Les Edgerton Guest Post: Dialogue!

Check out this great guest post, via Kristen Lamb's Blog by my mentor and friend, Les Edgerton, on how to write effective and believable dialogue. Great advice from an outstanding writer!

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/les-edgerton-shows-how-to-write-amazing-dialogue-part-1/#comment-65511

Reader Reviews: Carved in Darkness

Don't let me fool you--I really do care what people think. Probably a lot more than I should.

 I believe it goes hand-in-hand with my near paralyzing fear or failure, this worry that I might disappoint someone I care about, or someone I just met... or even a total stranger that I happen to make eye-contact with at the grocery store. Disappointment means failure and I'd rather eat glass than fail at anything, which makes my life as a writer challenging, to say the least.

When I see or hear someone post or say good things about my writing, I get giddy with success. I do my happy dance and grin like a simpleton. I twirl on mountaintops. I burst into song... of course all of this happens in my head. On the outside, I might shrug and say, "that's pretty cool." Which prompts people to think I'm either a) an emotionless cyborg, b) insane, or c) jaded beyond salvation.

None of which is true (I mean, option B is always up for debate...). I think, along with my failure phobia, I've developed this belief that if I celebrate my own success, I:

1) will jinx myself.

2) will look like a pretentious asshat. (because in my mind, this is what a pretentious asshat looks like)

3) will have farther to fall when I am inevitably shoved off the Cliffs of Success by my arch nemesis, Failure. That's Failure, on the right.


The sad thing is that I've had some pretty cool reviews. Great reviews. Reviews that if I were not me, would make me want to read the book I actually wrote. I should be sharing them, right? That's not douchy or pretentious, is it? I'm allowed to celebrate, aren't I? I can toot my own horn without fear of invoking the wrath of Failure and to prove it, I'm gonna start tooting...

This is a great review I received today from Blood Rose Books:

http://j9books.blogspot.com/2013/03/maegan-beaumont-carved-in-darkness.html?spref=fb

This is another from Mallory Heart Review:

http://archiestandwoodsreviewsandwritings.blogspot.com/2013/02/carved-in-darkness-by-maegan.html

This is another by Julie Beckett's Wicked Little Imp Review bog:

http://mildlysane1.blogspot.com/2013/02/carved-in-darkness-by-maegan-beaumont.html?showComment=1364323220682#c1412246246590121895

UPDATE: 

Last, but certainly not least, I received this review today by Cath on her wonderful blog, My Book Chatter Blog:
http://mybookchatterchat.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-carved-in-darkness-by.html

I am BLOWN AWAY by the level of support CARVED has garnered and am so giddy I might actually do my happy dance for reals! :)

I might have missed one or two but I want to thank these fantastic bloggers who took the time to read and blog about my novel, for nothing else but their own love of good books. I don't know who you guys (or gals) are but I owe you big! If you head over to their site to read their reviews of CARVED IN DARKNESS, stay awhile. Read what they have to say about other books as well. You won't be sorry.

my buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Carved-Darkness-Maegan-Beaumont/dp/0738736899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364323833&sr=8-1&keywords=carved+in+darkness

official release: May 8th, 2013.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hide under my desk until then...

What Hangs in the Balance

Like most things in writing, villains are a delicate balance. Not enough evil and you get this:

Too much evil and you get this:

The most effective villains are like this:

See what I mean? Delicate balance.

The weird thing is, though... true villains aren't balanced. They've leaned too far over the edge and lost their footing... or maybe they just swan-dived into the abyss. Either way, they're free-falling down a deep, dark hole. 

And they like it. 

They presents well. They look normal. They smile and talk. Give their seats up to little old ladies on the bus and rescue cats out of trees. They have children and drive minivans. And all the while, they harbor darkness.

Not that we don’t all harbor darkness—we do. We all have thoughts and desires we would never act on because not only do we know the difference between right and wrong, we respect it. 

We're balanced.

In order to write an effective villain, we have to knock ourselves off balance. We have to be willing to go there. You know, there. We have to be willing to search out the dark spots we keep hidden and poke at them until they bleed. To get the page a bit dirty, to scare ourselves silly. To dangle our toes over the abyss.

There have been times--many times--when I've written something and afterward wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with me. My husband blames (for lack of a better word) my childhood. He's probably right.

Whatever the reason, I'm thankful for my keen sense of balance because no matter how many times I dangle my toes, I'm able to right myself without falling. 

And now, just for fun, some of my all-time favorite villains:

and last, but not least...

who's your favorite all time villain?

Maegan Beaumont is the author of  Carved in Darkness, available through Midnight Ink, May 8th, 2013

Review: The Rapist

Truman Pinter is a sociopath.

Like all sociopaths, he sees himself as better—elevated in every way. Removed and above those of us he sees as less. Less cultured. Less intelligent. Less aware. Less significant. Less… human.

We are but bothersome insects to Truman. Base, vulgar creatures who roam and rut our way through life without thought or care for things that truly matter.

Truman Pinter is a Rapist.

This is a fact he never disputes… in fact he admits it almost proudly. To police. To himself. To us. He infects us with his perverse perceptions and false logic. He makes us question the very things we base our own humanity on. He peels back the curtain and whispers, “there… see, you feel it too. You are no better than I.”

Truman Pinter is going to pay for his perceived crimes against humanity.

Or is he?

It’s hard to pin down, Les Edgerton’s latest novel, The Rapist. Is it considered a classic noir tale of a damaged man’s twisted path of self-destruction? Maybe it’s a gritty crime novel that chronicles an evil sociopath’s final hours… perhaps it’s a highbrowed work of literary fiction fraught with existential yearning.

The answer is yes. The Rapist is all of those things… and much, much more.

The Rapist is a dirty window used to peer into the blackest of hearts and the most vile of souls. A window that can never be wiped clean enough to make us want to press our faces against it… but we do so anyway, all the while feeling as if the black of Truman Pinter’s heart has tainted us forever.

It is a murky kaleidoscope of appalling shapes and unspeakable colors. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, just when you think you finally understand the vision Edgerton has set in front of us, it tumbles away, giving us another look from an entirely different perspective. A perspective we are not wholly comfortable with. One we reject, even as we unwillingly understand it.

The final result is Les Edgerton’s tour de force. A masterfully raw, brilliantly unabashed study into the heart and mind of the most cold-blooded sociopath you’ll ever encounter, on the page or off.

check it out!:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Rapist-ebook/dp/B00BOXQVF0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1362685567&sr=8-6&keywords=the+rapist