Monday, February 24, 2014

Guest Post and Giveaway: Getting a Life, Even If You Are Dead by Beth Watson


I am excited to have Beth here today to tell us a little about her new book and about the life of a ghost.

Thanks Beth!




*Amazon*Barnes and Noble*
Book Description:
If you died, could you live with your regrets?

When Kendra’s mother drags her to a creepy Paris cemetery for work, the last person Kendra expects to see is Amber, her best friend who moved away three years earlier. Amber helped Kendra through a dark time, and Amber’s departure was just one more loss for Kendra. Amber was Kendra’s confidante but it turns out Amber failed to share her biggest secret: she was dead.

Amber never planned to disclose her true identity to Kendra, but a boy’s life is at stake. Amber is suddenly unable to connect with troubled kids and she needs Kendra to console Pierrot, a despondent boy who holds the answers to the suspicious death of his brother, Loic. Although Loic needs closure to cross over, the truth about his death might impact everyone’s future, including Kendra’s, since she has fallen for Pierrot, the mysterious boy and murder suspect.

But dead or alive, there is no going back…

Getting a Life, Even If You’re Dead is on sale for only $0.99 until March 1! 



About the Author:



When Beth isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Wisconsin working on her next novel. She enjoys bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley, Frankie, and Sammy.


Connect with Beth: 
Website 
Twitter 
Facebook





If I Were a Ghost, Living in Paris…

In my book, Getting a Life, Even If You’re Dead, Loic attempts to solve the mystery behind his death. The fact that he is dead makes it easy for him to access the crime scene and evidence. Of course if I were a ghost, I would secretly help the police solve crimes, along with other worthwhile endeavors. But like Loic, who copes with his death by playing pranks and haunting people, I’d also want to have a bit of fun. Here are the top five things I would do as a ghost living in Paris.

1) Research books. As a ghost, I would still be writing books. I would have carte blanche access to everything I would need to conduct research. If I wrote a book about a Parisian chef, voila, I could pop into the famous Maxim’s restaurant and shadow a chef for a week. For a book about haute couture in Paris, I could strut down a catwalk and hang out at photo shoots with super models. And I could get the scoop at police stations and pen the best crime novel ever.

2) Admire the Mona Lisa up close. The first time I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, I couldn’t believe how small the painting is for being the most famous painting in history. At that time, I was fortunate that I could walk right up to the painting and study every speck of paint and fine line. Now, she’s enclosed in bullet-proof glass and a wooden barrier prohibits you from getting within five feet of her.

3) Visit tourist attractions after closing time. Not only would I visit the Mona Lisa, but all the museums after they closed to avoid the overwhelming crowds. During the summer, the lines for the Eiffel Tower are daunting. You have to fight throngs of tourists to catch a glimpse of the city. I would stand at the top of the Eiffel Tower, gazing out at the boats along the Seine and Sacré Coeur Basilica in the distance, my only companion the faint sounds of the city below.

4) Sleep in a different bed every night. Even though as a ghost I probably wouldn’t need to sleep, I would stay somewhere different every night. After all, I could finally afford to live in Paris. I would spend one night in Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at the Palace of Versailles. Another night at the prestigious Hotel Ritz, where I would stay in the Hemingway Suite, named after the famous writer who resided there for years. And I would have no problem finding spots the other 363 days of the year.


5) Shop till I dropped. I would hit all the haute couture shops and try on Chanel gowns. Then I’d be off to Cartier for some jewels. Of course I would return them all in a timely manner, after I sashayed down the steps of the Louvre in a red gown, like Audrey Hepburn did in Funny Face.





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39 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for having me here today Ali!

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  2. Fun post, and yes I would site see and go into all the areas of museums closed off to visitors and if I could eat..well I would sample everything!

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    1. I agree, I would hit the patisseries, especially since I couldn't gain weight at that point. :-)

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  3. Oooo yes, being a ghost would make researching books a bit easier! Nothing like popping in wherever you please and observing the things you need to learn about first hand! I think it would be really fun to sleep in a different bed every night as well, particularly the super famous ones:)

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    1. I like the way you think Jenny!

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    2. I know, just think of the things I could observe and write about. Would make for some very interesting books. Lol!

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  4. Oh dear, she's made the appeal of being a ghost go up by a lot! I would spend my time site-seeing the world! I think I would do a lot of the same things, but I don't think I'd spend time writing a book, I'd be too busy experiencing things!

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    1. Lol, Candace. Although I hope I'm not a ghost for some time, it could definitely have a few perks. :-)

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  5. I been loving ghost books lately so this sounds interesting heh especially when it involved one that is trying to solve his own death instead of moping around and having others do it for them :D

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    1. You have a very good point Lily, I like that they aren't waiting for someone else to help them.
      I picked this one up just because it looks so interesting and at $.99 I felt it was worth it to give it a try. :)

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    2. Thanks Lily! Loic definitely takes charge of solving his death with a little help from his friends.

      Thanks so much Ali, I hope you enjoy the book!

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  6. I love a good ghostly book and I saw this recently on another book. I am all about the setting! Sounds like a fun read!

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    1. I agree, settings are really critical to books like these.

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    2. Thanks Heidi! I have spent a lot of time in Paris's cemeteries, so they were the perfect setting for this book. I'm so obsessed with the cemeteries I did an entire blog post on them. :-)

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  7. Such an amazing list! I'd do more or less all these things too. Yes for trying all designers cloths! Why not :) Great post. Thanks for sharing Ali :)

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    1. Thanks so much Tanja. I'd love to dress like Audrey in all of her movies set in Paris. How To Steal a Million was my favorite.

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  8. I WILL haunt Disneyland. I even want my ashes to be scattered there. lol. I tell my family and friends to go visit my on Pirates of the Caribbean ride after I die. :D

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    1. I love it Christy! The first thing I thought of was I wonder if Johnny Depp might have his ashes scattered on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride also... I'd be all over that, spending eternity with Johnny. Lol!

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    2. I love that about you Christy. :)

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  9. Thanks so much for popping by and commenting everyone! Great posts! Merci beaucoup!!!

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  10. This book sounded so wonderful and unique, I went and bought it! I have a feeling my daughters are going to beg me to by them a copy now! lol

    This book sounds so fun! I would "haunt" famous sexy men and raid the closets of all the female stars! lol

    Oh, wouldn't it be great to finally see wild animals up close and personal that one normally could not get near? Or sneak into the Vatican Vaults. Oh, the ideas are endless!

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    1. *buy
      (My laptop is slowly dying and likes to skip letters. lol)

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    2. Sneaking into the Vatican Vaults, I love that Kimberly! One item that didn't make my list--because my list was getting too long--was accessing the cellars and storage areas at the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. The Louvre owns over 460,000 works of art, yet only like 35,000 are on display at any one time due to space. Oh how I'd love to see all 460,000 pieces of art!

      Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy Getting a Life!

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  11. I would totally do the going to attractions when everyone is gone thing! I also would love love love to play pranks on people! BUT only funny ones! No scary mean stuff. That was a fun post!

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  12. congrats to Beth on the newest release and thanks for sharing :) Yep... being a ghost doesn't sound as bad after your post! LOL... hope the afterlife will be as much fun!

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  13. Beth makes being a ghost sounds like so much fun! I think I wouldn't mind it, as long as there were other ghosts I could hang out with so I didn't get too lonely.

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    1. The characters don't have much fun being ghosts in my book, but hopefully I won't be one for a long time, and it would be under different circumstances so I could have a bit of fun!

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  14. Ooh, visiting museums and galleries after hours would be wonderful! So would sleeping at Versailles. Though I'd probably stay there more than one night, if I'm honest. Unless of course Marie Antoinette's ghost is hanging around, I wouldn't want to step on any ghostly toes. :-) Fab guest post!

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    1. LOL, yeah some of them might be scary!

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    2. Especially Marie Antoinette's toes. She's probably not a fun-loving ghost. :-)

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