OK, howsabout this?

For Ringan Laine, an invitation to perform with his band at the Callowen House Arts Festival is a mixed blessing, especially when he's asked to bring his longtime lover, actor-producer Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes, along as an honoured guest.

The Festival, held every year at Lord Callowen's stately home in Hampshire, is as prestigious as it gets. Artists perform by invitation only, to a handpicked audience. For two weeks, the fortunate participants enjoy every luxury that Callowen House, family seat of the Leight-Arnolds, has to offer.

For Ringan and Penny, though, there's a downside. The couple has already held two terrifying exorcisms for ghosts whose stories, true or false, are told in songs. And Callowen is haunted, by the pretty young wife of a 17th century Leight-Arnold, killed by her husband when caught with another man. What's more, her story is told in a famous traditional song, "Matty Groves".

This time, it seems there's no mystery for them to solve; Lady Susanna's story is straightforward, and besides, Miles Leight-Arnold is very proud of his family phantom. But from the first night, it becomes clear that Lady Susanna, harmless and tragic, is not the only ghost.

Something else is awake, moving through walls and nightmares, growing stronger as it feeds on Penny's sensitivity and on the very fear it creates: Andrew Leight, a man as twisted and violent in life as he is in death. When Penny is attacked and Charlotte, the daughter of the house, is injured, Lord Callowen hands Ringan and Penny an ultimatum: get rid of Andrew Leight, but leave Lady Susanna's ghost untouched.

And as the Festival disintegrates around them, Ringan and Penny begin to suspect that Lady Susanna's death was not as simple as the song lyric suggests, and that the truth may expose a four-hundred-year-old lie with implications far greater than a husband's betrayal.

Works for me! And now, back to the Garden?

I don't think she IS with Andrew.

No, she's not "with" him. But she's his focus. She's what he wants, chases, won't allow to rest. She's the reason he's still there.

And "ghost" is fine; it's a ghost story, after all...

Yep, back to the Garden (Joni Mitchell moment just went through here...)

Sorry I disappeared -- it was time for Princess Stinkypants' nap.

OK, howsabout this?

Looks good. I love writing copy. It's a word puzzle -- you have to include X number of details in Y number of words, for maximum "must read this!" effect. (And that's the only math I like to do.)

Princess Stinkypants

There is no limit to my love for this phrase.

I usually adore writing copy; I'm one of the few people I know who can write a classic, one-page, grab-the-agent and/or grab-the-editor synopsis and not take more than ten minutes to do it.

But the musician presently playing on my creative stage isn't Ringan Laine, it's JP Kinkaid.

I'm-a send this off to Toni Plummer at Minotaur, and get back to rock and roll. Thanks to Amy, Bev and connie!

There is no limit to my love for this phrase.

Some days I change it to Princess CrankyStink.

I usually adore writing copy

I usually write five or six pieces of copy a month freelance, and most of the time it's great fun. Although the one I had to write about "Asatru, Nordic Heathenism" the other day was a little baffling. I'm definitely better with fiction, and switching voices between chick lit, historical romance, romantic comedies, and traditional Regencies is always cool--it's like trying on costumes for an afternoon.

Glad to help!

Guess what! There's gonna be a second book, a little different than the one I was picturing, but I remembered something that happened to somebody I knew once and...well, it turned out to be a good thing I'm moving slowly this AM. I'm still not a machine like deb g though, sadly.

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! on second book!

Deb, chapter 3 finally backflung to you, with comments.