Today is release day!
The Estate Appraiser is available NOW on Amazon. Clickity HERE to get your very own copy for .99! This is a long story – not quite tipping the scales at novella weight but too lengthy to be considered a real short. It features a new character named Lydia Davenport and a sets up a fun series focused on art & antiques and the messy business of estate appraising.
For those of you who like to know in advance, the KINDLE version runs a mysterious length but the paperback edition is 87 pages.
Want to hear more?
With an art history degree clutched in her freshly graduated hand, Lydia Davenport faces a major problem. She’s unemployed, has exhausted the local job market, and the bills are stacking up. In a desperate scramble to find a paycheck, she hits up a former teacher for advice and strikes paydirt when Professor Baumgarten offers temporary work. Soon Lydia finds herself at creepy Melbourne House, the country estate of legendary playboy Machiavelli Montrose. While inventorying the estate for the family lawyers, she learns about the mysterious death that occurred in the old house after a weekend of debauchery. Punctuated by artifacts of an era celebrated for its gratuitous sex and drugs, Lydia stumbles over examples of 1960s kitsch scattered among legitimate pop-art. The nearly empty house is a letdown until an unexpected find brings the task to an abrupt close.
Want an excerpt?
“The visual was right out of a classic B movie. The house squatted at the end of a long drive, surrounded by thick stands of maple, beech, and birch trees. The windows were dark. I wondered if they were too dirty to reflect the weak sunlight or shuttered. Nothing looked amiss as we drove closer, but if a monstrous figure shambled around the corner of the structure or a banshee started wailing from an upper window, I wouldn’t have been surprised. I’d spent my PG13 years watching movies featuring houses just like this one. I knew nothing good ever came of going inside. The setting was equally cinematic. Overgrown trees and shrubs flanked the drive, draping over the roofline like leafy shrouds. Despite the general air of neglect, the house itself looked to be in decent shape. There were no broken windows or screens hanging askew, not even a crooked shingle. The paint had long ago cracked and flaked on the trim work, leaving a crackled effect. ”
– Lydia, The Estate Appraiser
I hope you’ll check out Lydia’s adventures. Available-before-you-know-it on NOOK, KOBO, and iBOOKS. Keep an eye on Goodreads for upcoming promotions. Thanks for celebrating with me!
Lesann Berry 