Brom Bones Is Dead
Posted by Morgan
Sleepy Hollow roust-about and playfully rowdy former “Sleepy Hollow Boys” leader Abraham Van Brunt, affectionately called Brom Bones by the townsfolk of Sleepy Hollow and thereabouts, gives up the ghost without a fight.
Late Fall, Sleepy Hollow – Sometimes boisterous prankster and much loved father Abraham Van Brunt died in his sleep. Some say he grieved himself to death, never quite able to recover from the heartbreak suffered at the death of his beloved Katrina some three years previous.
Survived by a daughter, eighteen year old Katherine Van Brunt mourns the loss of her father, but feels he is now at peace. Katherine was overheard telling a friend, “He is with Mother now. He was always happiest when she was at his side.”
Despite Mistress Van Brunt’s apparent acceptance of her father’s death, one man in Sleepy Hollow believes her loss to have affected her much more deeply than she lets on.
Braughton Van Ripper claims Mistress Van Brunt has become obsessed with the desire to restore Sleepy Hollow to the splendid prosperity of its heyday—a thing not seen since shortly after the death of the lovely Katrina (Van Tassel) Van Brunt, Katherine’s mother, Baltus Van Tassel’s once coquettish daughter and Abraham Van Brunt’s much beloved wife.
The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow Exercise Plan
Posted by Morgan
Tonight I was sitting here thinking of the many ways reading The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow can be a good thing for you, my readers, and I sorta stumbled upon one I need to practice myself. The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow Exercise Plan.
Icharus is in tippy-top shape, if I do say so myself, so I know the exercise routines he practices actually work for taking off pounds, flab, extra inches…whatever you wanna get rid of, if you do what Icharus Crane does in The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow, you’ll drop it in no time flat.
First off, you can chop down trees with a monstor axe (Jericho Downes’s tree feller is no’ a toy for weaklings!) like Icharus does in the early chapters of The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow. He just had to keep an eye out for the Witch of the Western Woods while swinging the thing. Maybe you won’t have to worry about that, eh?
Or, you could…
Dig graves. All that shoveling is sure to strengthen those biceps and tighten your tenderloins. Especially if you have to dig more than one in a short period of time.
Or maybe you’d rather…
Chase headless folks around through the swamp at night. That’s sure to melt away those extra pounds (or could that warm liquid running down your legs be some yellow substance extracted from humans in the face of extreme fear?) Hmmm. Maybe we’ll skip that.
Ah well, there’s always the heart-starting exercise in Chapter 19 to practice if neither of the ones I’ve mentioned here work for you.
Still, we have no less than four brilliant exercises from The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow for you if you’re willing to put in the effort. <g>
Morgan the Moron
(Please note: This blog is intended to be funny/humorous. If you didn’t laugh, don’t blame me for your failed sense of humor or my warped one, please.)
Sleepy Hollow Romance: Potato Salad Appetizer
Posted by Morgan
Icharus spied her immediately. He caught hold of one of the beams and swung himself out of the framework, hanging for a moment before he dropped to the floor beneath. He walked over to where she stood with Dirck, and dusted his hands against his thighs.
“Dirck, go up and help your father with that beam,” he said before turning his attention to Katherine. He smiled. “Behold your inn, Mistress Van Brunt.”
She grinned. “Well, almost,” she said, and he laughed. Taking hold of her arm, he led her away from the worksite. “We’ll be safer over here.”
She followed him, but when he would have stopped, she gestured toward the tall tree near the brook.”Actually, I thought we might sit over there,” she said. “Are you hungry, Master Crane?”
His gaze practically devoured her on the spot. “Starving.”
She held out the basket Edda had prepared. “Since today is such a beautiful day, I thought we might sit beneath the shade and share what I have in this basket.”
Her voice was so playful, and yet so timid. Icharus arched a brow. “A picnic?”
She nodded, her smile teasing him, and he noticed the bright sparkle in her gaze. Almost regretfully, he looked back toward the inn where the others were still hard at work, and sighed.
Katherine stepped in front of him, peering up at him with those wonderful eyes of hers, and said, “Please. You’ve been working so hard. You deserve a rest.”
Icharus started to protest, to remind her that he hadn’t been the only one working, but the happy twinkle in her gaze stopped him. For the life of him, he couldn’t allow himself to be the one who made that joyful shine disappear from her gaze.
“A picnic you say? Why, I remember as a child, Mum would pack a veritable bounty of pies and puddings and sweetmeats into a basket just like that one. We’d all go off to the meadow and spend the afternoon enjoying the warm sunshine and a meal made more delicious for having eaten it outdoors. Father especially enjoyed such times. He had rather peculiar fondness for eating.”
Katherine smiled. “See? Your father knew that everyone must take time away from toiling to enjoy a good meal. Now, take this basket, if you please, and follow me.”
His lips twitched, but he nodded and took the basket, hefting it onto his shoulder. “Indeed, Mistress Van Brunt. It seems you are correct. Let us away, my dear.” He gestured toward the brook. “After you.”
Icharus found it a bit humorous that she chose a spot beneath the very tree his father had often spoken of…the very place Ichabod had wiled away many an hour spinning fantasies of himself and Katrina Van Tassel. He grinned. “You know, my father used to come here of an evening,” he told her.
Katherine had busied herself with spreading a colorful quilt over the ground and laying out the scrumptious smelling repast Mrs. Porter had packed into the basket for them. She sat down on a corner of the quilt now, and cast him a glance. “Indeed?”
Icharus nodded. “He told me so himself, many a time. He said he would come here to this exact spot and spend hours with his imagination, casting lurid images of himself and your Mother round in his mind. Many a time, he said, his mind would produce an image of the two of them sharing a kiss so vividly he almost thought the deed done in reality.”
She chuckled. “And what of you, Master Crane? Will you spend this hour allowing some lovely female to enchant your thoughts? With whom shall you share a vivid but imaginary kiss?”
Icharus joined her on the blanket and leaned close. “I only indulge in real kisses, dear lady,” he said, his voice husky.
She laughed, and he reached out, cradling her cheek in his palm. “Flights of imagination are for dreamers. I prefer to feel the warmth of real lips beneath mine, to watch as they part just the tiniest bit in breathless anticipation, to taste the sweetness offered… in broad daylight.”
His thumb teased her lower lip, and her eyelids drifted downward. “I prefer real lips, Katherine. Like yours. Now,” he said, leaning ever closer as he spoke.
“Now?” she whispered.
He gave the barest of nods an instant before his lips brushed hers. He teased her lips with his own, brushing them against hers in a featherlike caress. Once. Again. She sighed against his mouth, and he shifted on the quilt, pulling her against him, his fingers sifting through her soft curls.
“Katherine. I want to taste you.” He breathed the words against her parted lips. He slid his tongue over her lower lip, and then his mouth closed over hers, his tongue sliding inside to taste the nectar of her kiss.
The feel of her own tongue timidly sliding against his near destroyed what bit of sanity he had left to claim. Desire, hot and ready, slammed through him. He groaned and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. He devoured her mouth with his own, his tongue plunging again and again to taste of her sweetness, but he wanted more. His hand slid down, along the gentle curve of her side to her hip, and he cupped her bottom, pulling her as close as he dared.
A moan slid from her throat, and he broke away from her lips to kiss her there, and again at the tender area beneath her ear before he reached up to nibble at her earlobe. Her hands seemed to have taken on a life of their own, one moment sliding through his hair while she held him close, and then gliding across his shoulders and lower before coming back up again to tangle in his hair.
He delighted in the soft sounds coming from her in response to his kiss. How he wanted this woman, he thought, in every possible way. He shifted again. She wiggled closer… and then froze.
“Icharus?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
She shifted away from him, and leaned up on an elbow. “I think we’re lying in the potato salad.”
Oh, and I just LOVE those coolio blockquote tricks, yes? Makes it soooo much easier to read this stuff. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the excerpt…and the food. 
If you wanna read more, check out my website www.morganleshay.com (click on the The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow link, then on the Read an excerpt link) and immerse yourself with Icharus, Balt, Katherine, Brau…the whole gang!
Morgan
Romance Author “Wigs Out” Over The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow’s Headless Horseman
Posted by Morgan
You know, coming face-to-virtual-face with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow would probably most definitely be a “hair-raising” experience…
I’m thinking this must be how Katherine felt when she saw our illustrious Horseman for the first time, but I could be wrong.
A friend promised to pay me $500 to post this picture. Don’t even begin to think I’d have done it without massive persuasion of the monetary sort - or at the very least - a dare!
Morgan Leshay Held Hostage For 11 Days!
Posted by Morgan
I’m Back!
Where’ve I been? Well, first off, the hubby and I took off for a short vacation back on the 7th. Went and seen a few sights I hadn’t seen even though I’ve lived in the area my whole life. Of course, he hadn’t seen them either, so we both enjoyed our short jaunt into restfulness.
But we’ve been home since the 11th. It’s funny, but when we got home, we had to take a few days to “recuperate from resting”. Any of you ever done that? <nod> Then you know what I’m talking about. We were exhausted from vacationing. Guess it was a little too much fun, huh? LOL.
Anyway, you’re probably wondering about the topic of this post, about me being held hostage. Well here’s the skinny. Not long after we got home, I got hit by some nasty mutant alien bug (combination of food poisoning, strep throat, and a case of hypertension from hell.o) that brought me down in a hurry.
7 days…for seven days I was practically unable to get myself out of bed, and then I’ve spent another 4 trying to restrengthen muscles enough to stand upright for longer than three minutes at a time. Sheesh. Yep. I’ve been feeling pretty miserable. But I’m happy to say things are looking to be on the up-side now. I’ve been able to check my email, answer MySpace requests, and even write this blog this morning so yeah, I’d say I’m finally feeling better.
On the book front, I’m still waiting to hear from my publisher with the final galleys of THE LEGACY OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. Once those are gone through, next step is: I’ll be able to hold my book in my hands! Finally! Woohoo!
I’m really looking forward to it.
Clearing the Calendar for Vacation and Writing
Posted by Morgan
Yep, it’s time for me to get all my work caught up (actually, I’m pretty much caught up, come to think of it, except for some reading) before vacation. The hubby and I are thinking of driving around to visit some of the “gardens”. Calloway, Barnsley’s, and maybe a visit to Dallonegha (yes, I know I probably botched the spelling of that).
Wherever we decide to go, I’ll be carrying my laptop because I’ll be writing on my next book in the evenings. It’s going to be fun…something I think you all will enjoy. I can’t say too much about it right now because my editor is waiting for chapters even as I type, so I better not spill any beans just yet, but I promise to tell you more as soon as I can.
Anyone seen the latest Johanna Lindsey novel in Wal-mart? I keep checking at both my local Wal-mart stores for it, but they don’t have it. Waaa! Wonder if it has something to do with the fact it’s in hardback? Guess I’ll have to coerce the hubby to drive me down to Barnes and Noble and get it there.
Oddly enough, I’m not as excited about getting my hands on it as I am the upcoming Karen Marie Moning book, FAEFEVER. Any of you signed up to receive her newsletters? My daughter is, and everytime she gets one she makes sure I read it…and darn it all, those teasers just drive a body nuts! I don’t wanna wait anymore. I just want to read the story!
Morgan
Sneak A Peek Inside The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow!
Posted by Morgan
Yes! This afternoon I got the “go ahead” from my EIC at LBF Books to post an excerpt from The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow on my website and I’m so excited about it!
This is the first I’ve been able to give readers a sneak peek between the covers of the book, and I’m dying to know what you think about it so you all go over to www.morganleshay.com/thelegacyofsleepyhollow.html and give it a read-through, please! Then (if you don’t mind) come back over here to the blog and let me know your thoughts. I’m kinda going nuts to hear what other people think about this story, so I’d love to hear from you.
Oh, about the “potato salad” scene…
Um…well…we’ll talk about that in another post I guess. I will say this though…today Jodi (LBF’s EIC) said it’s “priceless!” LOL. I think it is really cool, but I’m debating whether or not to post it too. What do you think? Wanna read the “Potato Salad Teaser”?
Okay, okay, go read the excerpt! We’ll talk potato salad soon.
Morgan
Why Choosing An Excerpt From The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow Sucks - Or The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow Edits Are Done
Posted by Morgan
Except for reading through after the copyeditor has a go at my manuscript, the edits for The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow are done! Yes! And in reflection, I’m wondering why so many authors profess to hate editing. It was fun…and easy. But I think Michelle (my editor) had something to do with that.
Oh wait. After my last rant, you were probably thinking my editor was Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde, right? LOL.
Turns out Michelle was having technical/computer problems from heck, or we’d have had these edits done a lot faster! Bless her heart. When I finally discovered what was going on with her (blowed router, bad line, all sorts of techie stuff that mostly goes right over my head), I felt bad for being in such a rush. Really bad. I’d have been pulling my hair out if I’d had to deal with all that. Sheesh!
But anyway, edits are all done… and now I’m obsessing over the teaser and excerpt.
What should I use?
. . . thinking . . .
. . . still thinking . . .
After I read through The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow three more times, and was still no closer to making a decision on which parts of the story to use for an excerpt and teaser, I called my daughter into my office for help. Since I love every single little bit of the story, I just couldn’t choose.
Bree loves the story too, she does. All of it. But it was still no surprise, really, when she said, “I like the potato salad scene.”
<Groan>
The “potato salad” scene?
It’s good. It’s really good. In fact, I love it! Romance readers will love it, too. But what about all the rest?
What about the other readers, I asked her. The ones who are going to want to see something, some hint, of how The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow ties into the original Washington Irving classic, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow?
So… I go through the manuscript again, to the “potato salad” scene, and thankfully yes, it’s in there. The tie-in to the other Sleepy Hollow that I just know everyone’s going to be looking for. So I decide the “potato salad” scene will be fine for the teaser my publisher asked for (although it’s a little long in word count). Now that decision is made, but…
What about the excerpt?
Obsess, obsess, obsess…
Well I finally did manage to choose. It was a difficult decision, and I may wish a thousand times over that I’d chosen a different one later, but for now, I think the excerpt I decided on is a good one. If you’re an author and you’ve ever had to do this for your own book, I’m sure you can understand.
For those who aren’t authors, choosing only a small portion of your story to let readers sample is like showing off a picture of your baby or grandbaby…but the only thing that shows up in the pic is the eyes. Or the hand. Or… you know what I mean, right? It’s just not the WHOLE picture.
<sigh>
But it’s enough, I hope, to intrigue you.
Anyway, I have to be sure it’s all approved by the publisher first, but as soon as I get word that it is, I’ll post a link to the excerpt so you can read it. Until then, keep wondering…potato salad??? LOL
Morgan
There Are A Few Places I Don’t Mind Doing It…
Posted by Morgan
Waiting, that is.
The line at the register in Wal-Mart, anywhere reaching the front of the line means I have to give someone else my money, really.
But I hate waiting for email. Drives me NUTS! Like now. I mean, how hard is it to click “attach”, type a subject, then click “send”? Hmmm?
So what’s got my feathers ruffled this time?
For the last week or so I’ve been waiting to finish up my edits for The Legacy, but for some reason, my editor insists on sending me only five chapters at a time. Me? I want it all, right now, so I can go through while the kiddies are sleeping and send it back to her-complete-yesterday.
But no…
I think she’s playing some cruel, evil editor trick on me, don’t you? I mean, she *has* the edits done already. What is the big deal with sending them all on over, hmmm? LOL.
Okay, okay, for any of you out there who think I’m seriously dissing my editor, let me hit you over the head with the fact that the above was all said “tongue-in-cheek” for the most part.
I’m impatient. My editor knows this (she’s probably laughing maniacally at me right now while she takes my edits email *back out* of the queue for today!) but she also wants to make sure we do a good job with the story. Gotta make sure the “I’s” are dotted and the “T’s” crossed, right? If we rush, we might miss something. Besides, patience is a virtue, and I’ve asked for it, certainly, but whoever’s dispensing it needs to hurry up!
So anyway, while I’m sitting here obsessing over wanting the edits email and not getting it, I thought I’d ask what you’re all reading lately…anything majorly good? Tell me about it, please!
There’s a few books I’m waiting on, but dang if they don’t come out months from now (well, except for the new Johanna Lindsey, which I think comes out this month). I WANT FAEFEVER! Anybody else diehard KMM fans? Also waiting on … ahem … Acheron (looking around to make sure Bree didn’t hear me say that!) from Sherrilyn Kenyon. What are you waiting to read?
Let’s chat about it!
That Can’t Be Romance!
Posted by Morgan
Some days I can’t help but be amused by the way life will turn things around on you.
I’m not sure if you read where I told about my daughter Bree saying I couldn’t make a romance from Sleepy Hollow, but if you did, you’ll remember how I got a major kick out of it because it only took a few seconds and a few possible details from me about a story I was just thinking about writing at that point to completely change her mind and light up her eyes with eager anticipation for the story to come.
Well guess what happened to me this morning?
From about 1:00 AM I’d been thinking about this old story I’d read once, about one character in particular. Nothing major, though. Just his name and a vague image popping into my thoughts once or twice. I pretty much ignored it…until I’d tried for the fourth time to go to bed and sleep.
Around 5:30 AM, I was still awake, still restless, and now something was urging me, pushing me, to GET BACK OUT OF BED AGAIN and go read this story online. I didn’t want to. I wasn’t interested in the least, but at this point, I finally realized what was going on. “G” was pointing me toward another story idea, another book he wanted me to write.
I thanked him, of course, although I didn’t know “what” story he was pointing me toward at the time. But anyway, at 5:30 AM, I gave up, and with a sigh, flung my legs over the bed to trudge back to my office…again…to do a Google search.
Took less than a minute to find what I was looking for, and still uninterested and vaguely annoyed for having been needled to go read when I wanted to sleep, I propped my chin on my hand, my elbow on my desk, and started to read. An hour later, I was done, but I didn’t get it.
There was no way I could make a romance out of what I had read! Or so I thought…
Much like I had with Bree about Sleepy Hollow, “G” said to me, “Really? Not even if…” and “…and what if…” (I’m not giving details yet because although I’ve contacted my publisher about this new tale, I haven’t heard back from her on it) and it was almost as if I could feel my own eyes light up with excitement, just as Bree’s had when we first discussed The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow not so long ago.
Soon, my hesitant, momentary excitement was followed by sheer awe. I hadn’t known anything about some of the details that were being revealed to me! And now that I did, now that I’d been given some “insider information”, I wanted to run downstairs and wake Bree up…to tell her RIGHT THEN about the new story I was going to write.
<...shakes head...>
I didn’t. Not that she needs her beauty sleep or anything. She’s gorgeous (but don’t tell her I said that. Her head will swell and she’d float away). I didn’t tell her because I just wanted to think about a few things first. I wanted to “be sure”.
With this story coming to me so swiftly on the tail of the last one, I wanted to be sure the excitement I was feeling at that time wasn’t a momentary thing…fleeting…that would disappear once the sun was high and I’d had a few hours of sleep. But it didn’t go away, and as a matter of fact, with each new detail I discover, my eagerness to get started on the writing of it grows.
I can’t wait to tell you more!