The Glass Coffin by Kelly Martin Series: ,
on 2016-05-29
Length: 203 pages
Gertrude "Trudy" Dodsworth wants nothing more than to be with the love of her life, William Haddington, Earl of Waverly. Her father, the evil "sin collector" Frederick Dodsworth, forbids the union and sends Trudy and her mother far away to a town called Everdale. While there, Trudy catches the eye of the roguishly handsome and very controlling, Lawson Stockwell--also an earl. He asks for her hand in marriage. Trudy reluctantly agrees for the sake of her mother who has fallen suddenly ill.
William Haddington has hit a new low. Once thought of as a virtuous man, William has fallen from grace. Laden heavy with guilt, he trudges through life carrying the burden that is his to bear. He set the fire that disfigured Nicholas Wellington, The Beast of Ravenston. William goes to Everdale to start over, become himself again, try to move on, but when he sees the love of his life, Trudy, arm in arm with another man, he falls back into the bottle.
When the "gifts" begin appearing on his doorstep, William has no doubt they are from Lord Ra-venston, who is known to get revenge on those who hurt him.
With time running out and his love for Trudy tearing him apart, William must decide if he will give into his feelings for her or force her to hate him forever.
Because The Beast is coming to Everdale.
And he's coming to make William suffer.
Based on Sleeping Beauty
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Kelly Martin writes paranormal, contemporary, historical, and YA fiction. She has been married for over ten years and has three rowdy, angelic daughters. When she’s not writing, she loves taking picture of abandoned houses, watching horror gamers on YouTube– even though she’s a huge wimp– and drinking decaf white chocolate mochas. She’s a total fangirl, loves the 80s and 90s, and has a sad addiction to paranormal TV shows. {Basically, she likes creepy stuff.} Her favorite characters are the very flawed ‘good guys’–and ‘bad guys’ who don’t know they are evil. She loves giving her readers books with unexpected twists and turns, but (here’s a hint) most of her books have the ending spelled out in the first chapter. See if you can figure it out.
If you ever have a question or comment, feel free to email her at kellymartin215 @ yahoo . com ♥ You can follow her writing adventure at www.kellymartinbooks.com
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Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m an author. I have over 20 books and novellas out. Some are romance. Some are YA. Some are scary. Most have some sort of creepy in it (in a good way). When I’m not writing, wow… well, I have been married for 12 years and have 3 girls (10, 9, and 5). I have a cat named Sam (after Sam Winchester… though my husband just found that out 😉 ). I’m a teacher. I make youtube videos. And I spend too much time watching Netflix (did you know Sliders was on Netflix? Summer I spent binging Supernatural. Christmas was American Horror Story– I know… and Spring Break was Sliders lol)
What inspired you to become a writer?
I love writing. I always have even back when I was in grade school. I used to write fan fiction. I kid you not. It was fun and I still dabble on occassion. I got my first laptop in 2011 when my youngest was a year old. I did nanowrimo 2 months later and I won 🙂
Is there an author or book that influenced you in any way?
Stephenie Meyer really influenced me. Mainly because she was a mama and had three kids and still put out books. I thought if she could do it, I could. I was right.
Where did you get your ideas?
Dreams a lot of the time. Dreams or daydreaming or just thinking ‘what if’.
Is there anything in your books/series based on real-life experience or is it purely imagination?
I hope nothing in Heartless was real 😉 Well, there is one fight in that book that really happened. And I DO think that we all have that little voice of ‘doubt’ in our head. Gracen’s voice of doubt just happened to be a demon, but still…. I think we can relate. For the Shattered Fairy Tale Series, I think a lot of people can relate to just being pulled in the tide of life. You can’t really control it and you are at life’s mercy. That’s why I love the girls in the Shattered Fairy Tale Series. They don’t just accept that this is life and go with it. They fight for their Ever After.
What was your favorite part to write?
My favorite part of The Glass Coffin is almost at the end, so I can’t give many details. Let’s just say that there is a showdown between two characters that is a long time coming.
Is there a character or theme you’d like to revisit?
I love Mr. Dodsworth. He’s my favorite villain, and I’d love to learn more about him.
What drew you to writing?
I love telling stories. I love meeting these characters and seeing where their lives take them.
What are you working on now?
The Shattered Fairy Tale Series is over. I’m working on the third book of the Heartless series (which is a supernatural series). I plan on having it finished by Sunday. Then I have a lot more books planned. My fingers will hate me forever.
Now that you are published, what’s been some of the hardest criticism you’ve dealt with? Best compliment?
I’m pretty lucky in that I’ve not had any really bad reviews. The best one star review I ever got was from someone who said one of my books made her need a shower… and not in a good way lol. I still love that review. The best compliment was when someone said I reminded her of Stephen King. I took that as a huge compliment.
Any advice you’d like to share with aspiring writers?
Don’t give up.
If you don’t ask the answer will always be no.
It isn’t easy, by a long shot, but it is worth it.
Also, Google is your friend. If you don’t know… Google.
Anything you’d like to say to your fans?
I want to thank you for sticking with me. I love you all so much.
If you don’t know me, I’d love for you to join my newsletter: http://goo.gl/mY2AMD
If you don’t like newsletters, I also have a nerd group on fb. We watch Supernatural, Doctor Who, and basically fangirl over anything and everything. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1451773008377850/
I hope you see you around! Let me know if this interview sent you my way. I can’t wait to chat!
Now for a few fun questions…
Favorite color?
Purple
Favorite movie?
Favorite TV show?
Favorite place to write?
I love to write in my recliner, but it makes me sleepy so I write in my office. (basically a spare bedroom)
If you had to choose just one book, what would it be and why?
Last question and possibility the most important…what brand of cereal best describes you and why?
Rice Krispies… because I snap, crackle, and pop 😉
Don’t Miss The Glass Coffin, Available Now!
Excerpt:
Nicholas Wellington, the beastly Duke of Ravenston, absently rubbed his fingers over the scars on his face — the ones Beth never seemed to notice, no matter how many times he gave her a reason to notice them — to see how much of a monster he was.
Beth — Elizabeth — didn’t seem to care. She saw the good in him when there was no good to see, when he’d hurt her, when he’d inadvertently almost caused her to die.
He cringed at the memory of her in her bed, in his late wife Lydia’s bed, feverish and trembling. Sick. And he’d caused it.
He’d hurt her.
And if she ever found out what he was doing now, he’d hurt her again.
Not that he’d ever intend to hurt her. Not at all. Not ever. Not again.
She’d gone off with the Earl of Brighton and his bride, with their son — his son, though he’d never gotten attached. Never allowed himself to be close to the boy because it hurt too much.
Nicholas had also been the cause for the death of the only mother the boy had ever known.
He was responsible for a lot of things in the world.
The fire, however, had not been his fault.
It wasn’t revenge he wanted on William Haddington. It wasn’t. Revenge meant that he was vengeful, and Nicholas wasn’t. He knew that what he would do to William would be fair. It would be just and what the bastard deserved.
William may not have ruined his life, but he damn-well hadn’t helped it.
Nicholas would go to Everdale, thanks to the tip from that scoundrel, Mr. Dodsworth. He’d seek and find William Haddington. He’d rip out his heart.
The carriage bounced along the path toward Everdale. Another day’s journey at least. Nicholas had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to plan. Plenty of time to feed the rage inside his belly.
No matter what he decided, however, one thing had to be certain: Beth could never know. Beth would never know. He loved her too much for that.
But, even with all that, even with the fact that he knew he’d spend his eternity in hell, William made the conscious decision to not drink — to try, try, to do good. He might never, in his mind, make it to the Pearly Gates, but he would do his damnedest to never hurt another living soul.
He never should have chosen Everdale; he knew that now. Not after he saw her. He should have hopped right back on the first carriage out of town and headed… somewhere. Anywhere. This was supposed to be a place to start over, refresh, and move on.
How could he move on with her beautiful face taunting him?
So, he crouched behind carriages and behind corners, watching, waiting, and gawking.
The first time his gaze had slid passed her, he hadn’t recognized her.
Gertrude — Trudy — Dodsworth had become more of a lady since that fateful night six months ago. Her long red hair that had always lain in unruly curls, the tresses he wanted so much to run his fingers through, to pull her toward him and take her lips on his, was piled atop her head like all the proper ladies. William understood pomp and circumstance. He understood the ways of the world, more than most. However, he missed seeing those wild locks. The girl who, though wealthy and well-brought-up, always had a wildness about her. But not around her father. No, she was too smart for that. Frederick Dodsworth would have scared the devil. He sure as hell scared William.
Around her father, Trudy was the perfect lady. Around William, it was completely different.
In Darenset, their encounters had come about unintentionally at first. They’d run into each other, literally, as he rounded a street corner on the way to Vaughan’s residence, and she’d come bounding around the other direction. She’d ended up on her bottom. William had wound up red-faced and apologetic.
Then, the most wonderful thing had happened.
She’d laughed.
A proper young lady, laughed at him — not at him. Not like he’d done something wrong, but a light-hearted chuckle. People around them had stopped and stared, but the girl hadn’t seemed to mind. She’d taken William’s extended hand, and he’d pulled her upright.
He’d found out later that she’d escaped her chaperone because she’d only wanted a few minutes to herself. Her father wouldn’t allow it. Trudy had always assumed he’d been afraid someone would hurt her. William figured it was because he had to control every single situation. Even his daughter.
Especially his daughter.
Time went on, and they continued to run into each other. William found that he looked forward to those meetings most in the world. Not the ones with the important folks that he had to attend. No, he daydreamed about Trudy, about pulling her into his arms, about things he knew he should not even consider.
Then came her ball, her coming-out party. And William had never felt more alive… and more scared. He’d known it meant that she’d start courting. Other men would be able to meet her, unless he asked her father for her hand. William had a title, a good title, anybody — well, most people — would love their daughter to marry above her station.
Not Mr. Dodsworth.
The answer had sullied William’s spirit, and he’d done something he never in his life imagined he’d do; he had set a blaze to Dodsworth’s textile factory.
He’d stood there and watched it burn.
Then he’d heard the screams.
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