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What is the Harris Estate about? Harris Estate is an alluring mystery that takes our protagonist, Leah Murphy, from San Francisco, California to Oakdale, Texas when she inherits a long abandoned ranch estate. A grisly discovery on the property sparks an investigation with local authorities, which opens up Pandora's box and everything Leah knew about her life is changed forever. During the trials and tribulations, her marriage is tested, her desires are amplified, and she has decisions to make that will affect everyone she loves. Why did you write the book? In January, my grandmother passed away at the age of 96. We celebrated her life and the love that she gave to all of us.   Like many people after losing someone special, I found myself analyzing my life, past, present and future. A week after the service, I was on a several-days-long road trip for work when I drove past an abandoned farmhouse.   My mind and imagination went into overdrive as I w...

Book Launch: Sept. 17, 2016 Time: 1pm to 2pm Location: Avid Reader Address: 617 2nd St., Davis, CA    A new author has emerged in the literary world by the name of Stacey Cotter who has penned a captivating mystery titled Harris Estate: Some secrets can’t be buried.. . This well-written and fast-paced novel reveals the story of a young woman named Leah Murphy who sets out to sell the family’s estate in Texas only to uncover many dark secrets that completely unravel her identity. Harris Estate is loaded with tense intrigue as Leah Murphy learns more than she bargained for when she visits the decaying farmhouse estate. The novel is the frosh effort of Stacey Cotter who worked for many months to bring this story to print. Her writing style takes situations that on many levels might seem ordinary (exploring the estate or even sitting down for a meal) and flushes them out by creating layers of subtext and deeper meaning. The very nature of Leah ...

1. What is Harris Estate about?  Harris Estate is an alluring mystery that takes Leah Murphy from San Francisco, California to Oakdale, Texas when she inherits a long abandoned ranch estate. A grisly discovery on the property sparks an investigation with local authorities, which opens up Pandora's box and everything Leah knew about her life is changed forever. During the trials and tribulations, her marriage is tested, her desires are amplified and she has decisions to make that will affect everyone she loves. 2. What is the main take-away you want readers to have when they finish the book? I'm in hopes that the reader enjoys taking a wild ride that makes them question what they might do in the various scenarios that our characters are thrown into. I want them to experience the same range of emotions: shock, fear, humor, passion and vengeance. 3. Your story centers on a strong female protagonist. Why did you choose to tell the story from a woman's...

In publishing land the summer heats up since most people want to sell their books, products or services for the holiday season. We just go the Harris Estate up on press and next up "Tails" from the Trail goes on press, too. Smile Power is wrapping up too. I've been encouraging author Ramin Bahram to get Smile Power printed in time for World Smile Day , which is Oct. 7 .   Since we're on the subject of smiling, I wanted to share how much I learned in working on Smile Power about the "power" of a smile. You have absolutely no idea (or maybe you do) how the mere act of smiling can impact so many aspects of your life, from your health to your wealth, and from your relationships to your career. I never thought about the power of a smile. I just smiled, as I'm certain most of you do as well. It was fascinating to find out that while disparate research has been done on smiling there are really no books out there on the subject. So, Ramin...