 |
| Author Penny Ehrenkranz |
Penny: Hi Stephanie, thank you for hosting me
today and giving me the opportunity to talk about Mirror, Mirror, published by MuseItUp Publishing.
Giveaway Opportunity:
I would like to offer an electronic copy of
Mirror, Mirror to one of your
readers. They simply need to leave
their names, comments, preferably about why they would like a copy of the book,
and their contact information.
STEPH: What is Mirror, Mirror about?
PENNY: Mirror,
Mirror is a time travel romance. Here’s the blurb: Lindsey Baker is intrigued by everything
about the middle ages, but when she purchases an antique mirror and a costume
to attend a Renaissance Faire, she suddenly finds herself transported back in
time. There she finds she’s been
called by a witch to right a terrible wrong.
Graham
loves Prudence, but he can’t marry her because he’s landed gentry, and she is
only the baker’s daughter. Before
Lindsey can return to her own time, she must convince Graham to marry against
his father’s wishes. Unfortunately,
she also finds herself falling for the handsome gentleman.
Can she
find her way back to her own time, or will she be stuck in a time when women
had no rights?
STEPH: How long did it take you to write?
PENNY: This is a twenty-seven-page story, so it
wasn’t a long involved project. It
only took me a few days to do the first draft. Of course, after that came the revisions before submitting
and the editing once it was accepted for publication.
STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the
story?
PENNY: Our small community actually hosted a Renn
Faire one year, which I was able to attend. As I wandered around the faire grounds, I kept wondering
what it would be like if someone who followed these faires around the country
would be transported back in time to an era where they would be forced to live
out their fantasies.
STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story?
PENNY: I think the artist, Suzannah Safi, did an
excellent job of depicting a young woman who is conflicted by her
circumstances. The cover art also
lets the potential reader know the story is set in bygone times.
STEPH: Lindsey Baker is the heroine. What are
her strengths? Weaknesses?
PENNY: Lindsey’s strengths lie in her
determination to succeed and her belief in her own abilities. She’s gutsy and doesn’t go into a panic
when she finds herself in a new and unbelievable situation. Her main weakness
is also part of her strength. She
simply cannot believe that she can’t do the things she was able to do in her
own time, such as read and write. Her other weakness is Graham…
STEPH: Graham is the hero. What attracts him to
the heroine?
PENNY: Graham actually believes Lindsey is his own
love, Prudence. He doesn’t know
Lindsey was magically transported to his time to convince him to marry
Prudence. Through an old crone’s sorcery, Lindsey appears to all who see her as
Prudence.
He has loved Prudence since they were
children. Of course, he is also a
bit confused that “his” Prudence is suddenly so headstrong and determined to
prove she is far more capable than women should be in his time.
STEPH: Tell us about your writing space.
PENNY: I have three places I enjoy working. My office is located near my bedroom
and has a wonderful wraparound desk for my desktop computer and tons of
bookshelves for all my reference books and little treasures I’ve collected over
the years. In this room, I have a window that looks out through my sunroom into
my side garden. I also like to sit in my Ikea chair with my feet on a footrest
and my laptop secure on my lap.
When I sit here, I’m joined by both my small LhasaPoo dogs and commonly
my cat as well. Here, too, I have a lovely view of my side garden through a
wall of picture windows. Lastly,
when the weather is warm, I enjoy sitting on my patio with my laptop, enjoying
the birds and butterflies and flower aromas.
STEPH: Do you have any advice to aspiring
authors?
PENNY: My best bit of advice is to have faith in
yourself as a writer. If you enjoy
writing, if you’ve studied the genre in which you want to write, if you’ve
perfected your grammar and writing skills, then don’t be afraid to submit. What one editor might not like, another
might love. It sometimes just
comes down to being in the right place at the right time with the right story.
STEPH: Fun Question: What's your favorite sport
or hobby?
PENNY: Is reading a sport? LOL. I’m not very sports oriented, so I will
answer with my favorite hobby being crocheting and crafting.
STEPH: What book did you read recently?
PENNY: I’ve read several recently including the Divergent series, which was well
written, and Orphan Train, which I
loved. I tend to enjoy fantasy and science fiction, but I belong to a book
group that forces me to expand into genres I might not try on my own. Orphan
Train was on our book group list, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to
read it.
STEPH: I'm reading the Divergent series now and I'm totally hooked! Love it. Just finished Insurgent and it has the BEST ending for a 2nd book in a series that I've read yet!
BUY LINKS FOR MIRROR MIRROR :
ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
After Stefany left, Lindsey adjusted the
water spigots on her tub. A few
drops of bubble bath went into the water, and the soothing scent of lavender
filled the moist, steamy air.
While the tub filled, Lindsey tried on her Renaissance outfit for the
upcoming Faire. She couldn’t believe her good luck at finding the perfect
pieces. She tested the bath water
to be sure it was the right temperature. Then she picked up her antique mirror
to get a better view. Was this a scryer’s
mirror at some point in time? It slipped from her wet hands into the
bathtub.
“Nuts,” she mumbled as she leaned over the tub. She pulled one sleeve up on her blouse
and fished around in the bubbles for the mirror. When she pulled the mirror
from the water, spots appeared in front of her eyes, and she felt faint. While she watched her reflection in the
old mirror, the background changed.
She no longer saw the inside of her bathroom. She closed her eyes as the room around her went black.
AMAZON REVIEWS:
4.0 out of 5
stars
Time Travel or
Magic, August 30, 2013
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
Lindsay loves
antiques, spending a large portion of her time searching through dusty shops.
One day, she finds an old mirror which has to have. Hey, for only $9.99, why
not? She takes the mirror home and proceeds to dress up for the upcoming
Renaissance Faire in full medieval wench array. Checking her image in the
mirror...zap! She falls on her butt in a muddy courtyard amidst a pile of dirty
laundry.
She soon finds
herself scrubbing shirts and getting the 411 from a crone, who gleefully lets
Lindsay know she's been grabbed up from the future to help a young scullery
maid named Prudence capture the hand of Lord Graham. While he loves Prudence,
his father will not allow his only son to marry the maid.
Lindsay
realizes she has to solve Prudence's problem by getting Graham to stand up to
his old man. She uses her 21st C. smarts to unite the star-crossed couple and,
by so doing, get her ticket back through the mirror to her own time.
I enjoyed this
short time travel by magic short story. I'm not a big romance fan, but I
couldn't help but root for Lindsay's match-making skills to unite Graham and
Prudence. I got the fantasy story I like, and the romance readers get a sweet
romance with a happy ending.
4.0 out of 5
stars
Good reading!, June 7, 2013
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
A very short
time travel. A nice little story of love in the Middle Ages. All I can say is
that it was to short!
5.0 out of 5
stars
Yesterday=Today, June 2, 2013
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
Have you ever
wondered what it must be like to, without warning or design, be like Alice and
fall through the equivalent of the rabbit hole, or melt into the Looking Glass?
Penny Lockwood
Ehrenkranz takes us, her attentive readers, on just such a ride in this, her
latest Muse It Up Publishing historical romp.
Poor Lindsey,
Penny's heroine...buys an antique mirror rumored to have belonged, in days gone
by, to a
scryer. Is it
true? How can one tell?
Into the
bathtub it falls, and through the tendrils of time, Lindsey is swept...called
by the ancient scryer...There's a task she must perform...all on her own. If
she fails, will she remain locked into this ancient piece of history?
Penny Lockwood
Ehrenkranz is a brilliant author who gives you, right from the opening dilemma
all the way through the satisfying conclusion, delightful reading pleasure.
Mirror, Mirror
is a fantastic, powerful read. My only criticism is I wish it had been longer.
Still it is a DYNAMIC story worthy of all our eyes, so I take great pleasure is
awarding it 5 shining stars.
Well Done
Penny.
5.0 out of 5
stars
Couldn't Put
It Down, March 27, 2013
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
I opened
Mirror, Mirror, to the first page and never stopped reading this amazing story
till the end. Ms. Ehrenkranz easily moves us from contemporary time to the
Middle Ages. The shift is so well done and smooth. But the reader knows where
she is at all times because the language and descriptions are appropriate for
the time change. Loved the twist at the end. Very satisfying.
5.0 out of 5
stars
A delightful
time travel romance!,
April 7, 2012
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
Mirror Mirror
is a delightful short story about a modern young woman, who, by way of an
ancient scrying mirror, quite literally `falls' into the year 1421.
When Lindsey
Baker, who loves all things renaissance, finds herself abruptly transported
back to the fifteenth century, and is tasked with convincing the handsome
Master of the manor (Graham) to marry against his father's wishes, identities
and emotions become befuddled, passions ignite, and Lindsey must sort it all
out before she is lost, not only in time, but to the man she's fallen in love
with.
Ms. Ehrenkranz
has created a gutsy heroine (even humorous at times) in Lindsey Baker, making
this a cleverly plotted romance and an absolute page turner all the way to the
surprising end!
5.0 out of 5
stars
Fun dip into
the middle ages, March 28,
2012
By Edith
(Nürnberg, Deutschland)
This
review is from: Mirror,
Mirror (Kindle Edition)
As a fan of
the middle ages, I was intrigued by the blurb of this story and didn't get
disappointed. The writing is great and beautifully reflects the time shifts.
Lindsey's a vividly drawn character and ideal for the mission she's whisked
away to although she might not agree. The ending had me balk at first until a
fantastic twist made me laugh out loud. Nice one, Ms. Ehrenkranz!
.jpg)
