Monday, January 26, 2015

Blog Tour: Guest Post TRACY COMSTOCK (MURDER IS OUR MASCOT: Schooled in Murder Book 1)



Today's post is from TRACY D. COMSTOCK author of MURDER IS OUR MASCOT

Gabby Spencer is the best friend of the protagonist, Emily Taylor, in my debut novel, Murder Is Our Mascot. I thought you all might enjoy learning a little more about Emily’s sidekick. Here is a journal entry from Gabby telling you all a little bit more about herself.

Gabby Spencer’s Journal:

Where do I begin? I hate talking about myself; I’d rather focus on those around me. Being a mom to my two beautiful girls is the highlight of my life. I love being at home with them. I hope we have a brother for them one of these days, but right now, I’m just enjoying the “two’s.” I don’t know why people call them the terrible twos….?? Ha! Just kidding. Our girls are either angels, or demons, depending on the day. They have hidden angel wings and hidden devil horns, as well. J Abigail has thick, curly, dark hair like me, but even though that might benefit her in hiding her devil horns, she is my loud and impulsive one. While neither of the girls inherited my dark green eyes, I would say that Phoebe comes closer to sharing my personality. She is more of the introvert. She is happy to just hang out with her sister. They are wonderful playmates, so I am blessed there. Hopefully, as they get older, Phoebe can balance Abigail’s extreme spontaneity. They remind me of myself and Emily in that regard. Emily was always the more outgoing, impulsive one in high school. We both were probably what you would consider “goody two-shoes,” but Emily never met a fight she‘d back down from, and I hate confrontations. Sometimes Emily listened to the voice of reason (mainly--me), and sometimes she didn’t. I know she was disappointed when I impulsively quit college to marry Greg, but the moment I met him, I wanted nothing more than to be his wife. Having our two beautiful girls was the icing on the cake. Thankfully, Greg agreed that he wanted to raise his kids in a small town, so we ended up back here in Ellington, rather than moving to his hometown of Chicago.

Greg is an awesome dad. He has been hands-on from the very beginning. I always tell him he is my tall, dark, and handsome hero, and he is. He is very tall, has those beautiful brown eyes my girls inherited, and is fantastic at his job as a mortgage broker. He 100% supported me in my decision to be a stay-at-home mom. The one thing--well, really the only thing--that has changed about Greg since we got married is his hair. He was going bald prematurely, just like his dad did, so he shaved his head. He refers to himself as Mr. Clean, but if so, he is the sexiest version of Mr. Clean that I’ve ever seen! J He and Emily are close, as well, so that makes hanging out especially fun. He was all for the idea of having Emily as the twins’ godmother. Now, if we could just get her to open her eyes and see that Tad is madly in love with her…but with her stubborn streak, that could take a while. (Sigh)

I also lucked out in the in-laws department. My own parents, of course, are wonderful, too. I grew up in a big, noisy Italian household with my two older sisters, one older brother, and one younger brother. My youngest brother, Antonio, still lives in Ellington, is still single, and is a dentist. My other siblings all moved to St. Louis to open up a consulting firm. And Mom and Dad ended up following them. I would have joined them if I had finished getting my degree in finance rather than getting married, but I know I made the right choice for me. However, between my three siblings, they have given my parents seven grandchildren. My mom always stayed home with us, so she likes to be close by to help out with all those grandchildren. Dad loves being a retired architect. He’s always busy designing amazing playhouses or treehouses for his grandchildren. But right after my parents, Maria and Carl Moretti, decided to move to the suburbs of St. Louis, Greg’s parents moved here from Chicago. Kathleen and Paul have truly been a godsend. They adore their grandchildren. Greg is an only child like Emily, so Abigail and Phoebe are the only grandchildren for his parents, and they spoil them rotten. They treat me just like their own daughter, too. It’s nice. Plus, I love that they are always up for babysitting so that I can keep up with my volunteer work.

Outside of my husband and my kids, my passions are volunteering and running. I love running for a good cause. My goal is to complete my first marathon in the coming year. I’m still trying to talk Emily into running with me, but running has never been her thing. She will volunteer with me at places like the Food Pantry and the Red Cross Blood Drive, but she draws the line at giving blood herself. (She is slightly needle-phobic…but I love her anyway.

I hate to sound like Pollyanna, and I do have my bad days, believe me, but mostly my life is pretty perfect. I married the man of my dreams, live in the same town as my oldest and dearest friend, and am raising two of the most adorable girls on earth. Lucky? Yeah, I’d said so…and very, very blessed.


Synopsis of MURDER IS OUR MASCOT

Murder is the new mascot at Ellington High...

A murdered coach and a missing counselor has thrown the school into a foreign curriculum of anger, fear, and suspicion. English teacher Emily Taylor is determined to prove that her missing friend is not a murderer. But if she's not, then who is? And where could her friend be?

Against the advice of fellow math teacher and former crush Tad, Emily and her best friend Gabby dig into the dead coach's past. But someone doesn't want Emily unearthing their secrets and is determined to see that she gets a failing grade in the sleuthing department.

Soon, Emily finds herself scrambling for a new lesson plan to solve the murder...before the killer sets his own deadline!



About the Author
Tracy Comstock is a small-town girl from Missouri. She lives in a home where she is outnumbered 3:1 by the males in her life: her husband and their two extremely adorable, but terrifyingly ornery sons. She has no pets as all living things, besides humans, of course, come to her house to die, including the victims in her books. All her life Tracy devoured books. Her parents' most effective punishment was grounding her from reading. Although she has a B.S. in Education and a Masters in Literature, she was nudged down the path to publication by encouraging (and sometimes threatening!) family, friends, professors, and students. When not working on Emily's adventures, Tracy is an adjunct instructor for several local colleges, where she gets to teach others about her greatest passion: writing.

WEBSITE      FACEBOOK      TWITTER       PINTEREST

Purchase Links

Amazon   Nook    ibook    Kobo    Smashwords   Print

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No comments:

Post a Comment