Today I’m excited to play host to the blog tour for Best Kept Secrets, the lastest release by author Shelly Ellis. Shelly is an author I admire and have gotten to know a little via Twitter over the past couple of years. So it was fun to get to know her better and talk more about her latest release.
Shelly, thanks for visiting with us today. Tell us three things we should know about you.
Revelation 1: I’m a socially awkward introvert. It has its downside, speaking in front of audiences makes me freak out but the upside is that I’m a natural born observer. I like to watch people and walk around places and just get a feel for them. I don’t feel the need to interact and am perfectly comfortable with sitting on the sidelines. You learn a lot about people and places being that way and you can use it in your writing.
Revelation 2: I have eclectic taste from books to music. One week I can be deep in a horror novel and the next week I’ll pick up funny women’s fiction. I love 90s HipHop like Pharcyde but have been a fan of Bjork since college. I refuse to limit my tastes.
Revelation 3: Before I decided to become a writer, I flirted with the idea of becoming an artist. I paint on occasion as a stress reliever. My paintings are around my house. I’ve done them for friends and family too at their request.
Tell us a little about what genre(s) you write and what we should expect from a Shelly Ellis story.
I write primarily romance and women’s fiction FOR NOW. But I might expand in the future. If you’re reading a Shelly Ellis book expect lots of drama, some snark, some humor, and a multicultural cast of characters.
Your new release, Best Kept Secrets, is the first installment in your Chesterton Scandal series. Tell us a little about the series.
The series is set in the fictional town of Chesterton, Virginia, and it’s about the wealthy Murdoch family—Evan, Terrence, and Paulette—which is both admired and envied in their small town.
There is lots of drama in Best Kept Secrets. Shady business deals. Scandalous affairs. Tell us more about the Murdoch family and the entanglements they find themselves in.
At the beginning of the novel the former patriarch, George Murdoch, is deceased and now his eldest son, Evan, is taking over the family business and is now considered the leader in the family. We follow his tribulations in his marriage to his alcoholic wife, Charisse, and his feelings for his best friend, Leila. We also see the secrets and drama that his little sister Paulette is going through. It’s basically a night-time soap. My editor was like, shoot for something like Scandal, and that’s what I did.
What’s next in the Chesterton Scandal series and are you working on any other projects that we should expect in the near future?
The next book in the series is called Bed of Lies and it comes out in April 2016. It continues many of the storylines from the previous book but also introduces some new ones and new characters. I had a lot of fun with it. I also get to explore Terrence Murdoch as a character a lot more in this novel than I did in Best Kept Secrets. He goes through a lot and evolves. It was rewarding to take him on his journey.
I have other projects in the pipeline but nothing I can really talk about now. I hope I can share more about them in the future.
Get to know Shelly Ellis better, grab your own copy of Shelly’s latest release, and enter the $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card raffle contest using the info below:
Shelly Ellis $25 Barnes & Noble Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Summary
Between the fall-out from his father’s latest shady business dealings and his wife Charisse’s alcoholism, Evan Murdoch has his hands full. But he should be most concerned about the scandalous affair Charisse is having right under his nose–with his half-brother. Evan’s being pushed to the edge, and no one knows that better than Leila Hawkins…
Leila is back in Chesterton, divorced, penniless, and desperate enough to do anything to save her mother’s home from foreclosure–including turning to Evan, her former best friend. But Evan isn’t interested in friendship. Instead he makes Leila a shocking indecent proposal…
Meanwhile, Evan’s newlywed sister, Paulette, wants to be the perfect wife. But a blackmailing bad boy ex has reappeared in her life–and he’s threatening to reveal her most painful secret…
The scandals just won’t quit–and for everyone involved, desire, betrayal, and lies are all in a day’s work…
Buy the Book
Amazon: http://amzn.com/1617733997
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/best-kept-secrets-shelly-ellis/1120843660?ean=9781617733994
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25739781-best-kept-secrets
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/best-kept-secrets-11
Indie Bound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781617733994
Get Social with Shelly
Website: ShellyEllisBooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shelly-Ellis-554332437931239/timeline/
Twitter: @EllisRomance
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6464591.Shelly_Ellis