Meet Author Ellen Read

Today we meet author Ellen Read to the blog. I've really enjoyed getting to know her and so glad she and I connected! You might have read my interview with her recently. You can find that here: bit.ly/2lSLgWK

And now you can hear from Ellen herself! 

I’m so thrilled to write a post for Krysten’s blog about my recently published debut novel, The Dragon Sleeps.
 
When I first started writing it, I intended it as a stand-alone novel. It was only when I’d finished that I knew I had to write more. I’m working on the second book now and a third will follow. Each will have a totally new mystery but will follow the lives of the main characters, Alexandra Thornton, Edith Blackburn her best friend/adopted sister and Benedict Archer, manager of Thornton Antiques.
 
The Dragon Sleeps is an historical murder mystery. There is a love story but it isn’t the main focus. It’s set in the 1920s in Victoria, Australia. A Chinese Antique’s dealer and his son deliver a Ming dragon statue to the Thornton family home. The Thorntons are antique dealers and collectors and have an antique store in Melbourne.
 
Most of the story unfolds at the Thornton’s lavish and magnificent mansion and grounds. I wanted the house as a backdrop to the story but really it’s almost like another character. So much of the mystery revolves around the mansion, in such places as the tower and the mysterious muniment room.
 
I wrote the book through Alexandra’s point of view. She’s a modern woman. At the beginning, she has not long turned 21 years old. She and Edith have returned from Finishing School and Alexandra spent the next year as Melbourne’s new darling of Society. It was fun while it lasted but she wants more to her life. In the late 1920s, after the Great War (World War I) times have changed and she wants to work. With Benedict Archer’s help, she convinces her father to allow her to work in Thornton Antiques.
 
Before Alexandra has time to start her new job, there’s a murder at Thornton Park, and everyone is afraid for their lives.
 
Alexandra decides she must discover exactly what is happening. In her search, she finds herself, and uncovers an eighty-year-old secret.  The trouble is that this knowledge places her life in danger.
 
The question remains: What treasure is worth killing for?
 
Thank you so very much, Krysten, for welcoming me to your blog. It’s been a pleasure.
  
My book can be purchased at:
Amazon
Amazon - Australia
Barnes & Noble
 
Kobo
iBooks
Booktopia
Angus & Robertson
 
If you’d like to contact me, I’d love to hear from you, you can do so at:
Instagram
Facebook
Goodreads
Pinterest
 Google+

 Wordpress Blog
 www.ellenread.com
Ellen Read is the author of The Dragon Sleeps - an historical murder mystery romance novel, and Love The Gift - an eBook Novella, a time slip romance, a story to heal grief.
 
Ellen was born in Queensland, Australia.
 
She loves to read, fiction, non-fiction, poetry. She particularly loves history and stories of ancient myths and legends. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Victoria Holt, the latter of whom wrote gothic mystery/romances, have influenced her own work.
 
Other interests include photography, music and musical theatre, and dance. Ellen was a ballroom dancing teacher for many years and has also worked in Performing Arts administration. 

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