My name is Violetta Devereaux. You don’t know me yet, but you will. You haven’t heard my story yet, but once you have, you’ll never forget it. I can promise you that. You will never forget me.
I am a woman from the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. Some folks call us hill people. Some folks call us crueler things than that. But we’re just people. Families scratching a living from the land. Fighting. Loving. Learning. And leaving.
That’s what I did. I left that place in search of a better life. And do you know how I escaped? I told stories. Yes, stories. The ones you heard around campfires when you were small. The ones your grandparents whispered to you before you fell asleep on a cold, winter night. The ones that painted pictures in your mind and haunted your dreams.
That’s what I am about to become. A haunt. Where I come from, we’re called haints. And my story, the story in the pages of Poisoned Prose is a haint tale. I carried a secret with me to the storyteller’s retreat in Oyster Bay and that secret has been brought to life. The results will be devastating for some of the people you know there. Olivia, Chief Rawlings, and those other writers. I’m sorry to have brought sorrow into their midst, for they are storytellers too, but it is my destiny.
To be memorable sometimes means having to cause pain.
So I invite you to my performance. It will take place at night in the Oyster Bay Public Library. 
There will be a single spotlight, a trunk of props, and a dwarf named Lowell. I will tell you several stories. I will enchant and entrance you. And by the end of the evening, someone in the audience will vow that this will be the final event of my career.
You can read more about Violetta in Poisoned Prose, the fifth book in the “Books by the Bay” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The first book in the series is A Killer Plot.
To be entered into the drawing for a signed copy of POISONED PROSE, leave a comment about a memorable person who told you stories. Contest ends October 16; U.S. entries only
From Dru: Congratulations to Ellery as “Poisoned Prose” is #16 on the NY Times Mass Market Bestsellers’ List (10/20/13).
More about Poisoned Prose: A Books By the Bay Mystery
When Olivia Limoges and other Oyster Bay patrons of the arts sponsor a retreat for famous storytellers, one of them is going to have a very unhappy ending…Olivia thought gathering some of the most renowned storytellers in one place would be a nice, simple way for herself and the Bayside Book Writers to appreciate their talents. But things take a dark turn when the most famous storyteller in the nation—the captivating performer Violetta Devereaux—announces onstage that she will meet her end in Oyster Bay.
When Violetta is discovered murdered after the show, everyone involved with the retreat becomes a suspect. There are rumors that Violetta, who grew up in extreme poverty in the Appalachian Mountains, possessed an invaluable treasure. Now Chief Rawlings and the Bayside Book Writers must work at a frenzied pace to solve the crime before someone closes the book on them.
About the Author
Ellery Adams grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound. Having spent her adult life in a series of landlocked towns, she cherishes her memories of open water, violent storms, and the smell of the sea. Ms. Adams has held many jobs including caterer, retail clerk, car salesperson, teacher, tutor, and tech writer, all the while penning poems, children’s books, and novels. She now writes full-time from her home in Virginia.
If you want to know more about Ellery Adams and her books, you can find her here:
Twitter: @ElleryAdams
Website: www.elleryadamsmysteries.com
Blog: www.cozychicksblog.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ellery.adams
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
I love this series from one of my favorite authors!
My grandmother would tell us stories , mostly about her childhood and early years of her marriage . She always made me think of Laura Ingalls when she would tell us stories. No refrigeration, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, but she was always happy and smiling when she told them !
I wish there had been a storyteller in my family…Dee
Would really love to win this book. Sounds wonderful
My grandparents told me stories about their past – and I have many aunts and uncles who shared stories of their growing up years. I just come from a big family who loves to hear themselves talk.
My mom is a great story teller. She knows a lot about our family’s history and loves to share stories with me and my children. We all love to listen. She’s 86 and still going strong!
My family didn’t tell many stories but I did enjoy the ones they did tell. I would love to read this mystery!
There are some great storytellers here in the mountains of North Caroina! And I really enjoyed traveling to Jonesborough, Tennessee, for the National Storytelling Festival a few years ago! I really need to go back to that some year.
http://www.storytellingcenter.net/festival/
Wow this book already has my heart. I will red this mystery.
Sorry I will read this mystery not “red” this mystery. Need more coffee…
There was only one story teller in my family, my uncle Leonard (Lenny is mommy dearest’s brother). He used to tell me stories about his time in the army in WWII with his best friend (who I called Uncle Tiny). I loved the one about the time they got caught in the fire box of a steam engine while hiding from a bombing. Ask me sometime Dru and maybe I’ll tell it to you.
Please enter me in the giveaway Dru, I love Ellery’s books.
I can’t wait to meet Violetta, she sounds amazing.
When my grandma and great aunts get together they always have the best stories. My favorite ones are about when my dad was growing up and the entire family went out on the Mississippi in their hand-made pontoon boat to just have fun and make memories.
I would love to read this too!!! Sounds great!
My grandfather told me lots of stories–mostly about our family and growing up in the late 1800’s and logging and horses and oh, so many things.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
All the aunts on my mother’s side were storytellers. That is said because none of my cousins are. It is hard to pick one, but my aunt Blanche had loads of them. She lived all over the world because her husband was a Colonel in the Army. Every time she came to visit, we heard all the stories of her travel. The one that sticks with me the most is her getting the runs while waiting for the changing of the guard in London. Where was she to go?
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I can’t think of anyone who was a storyteller in my life until I moved into a senior complex 7 years ago. L. just passed away. A year younger than me, our birthdays were a day apart. L. joined our former writers group and had ghost stories to tell. Even her reality tales were an adventure. L. suffered from many painful ailments and became reclusive over the 7 years. Her stories were never boring and certainly unforgettable. She’ll be missed. I’m reading lots of others’ stories these days – Ellery’s signed edition would be wonderful to receive. Thanks. judydee22002@yahoo dot com
No one in my family told stories. But growing up my Mom and Grandparents read to me. I love this series.
Oops. My e-mail
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
My Godmother was a wonderful story teller. She had traveled all over the world and had a great time telling all of the neighborhood kids about her experiences. She awakened my desire to travel and see the world.
My husband’s grandmother lived with us for about 18 years and what a story teller she was! Loved her stories – she was born in 1891 so she saw a lot in her nearly 104 years.
My mother was older and had lived through WW II and the Great Depression (she was born in 1910) and used to tell great stories about living on the farm and her childhood there. She was also the one who insisted that I read at an early age and began my lifelong love of books.
Spending time with my Papa was always memorable with his stories of World War II. We would sit at the kitchen table by the wood stove, and he would flip through his photo albums and, tell me the stories behind each picture….I miss those days:)
There were no story tellers around me as a child. When I married, my husband’s grandpa was a born story teller. My favorite story was how he and his wife had met. It was so sweet. He was 95 when I met him
My grandparents always had stories to tell.
I love the cover of this book and it sounds like an excellent read!
My great aunt that I stayed with in the summer always told me great stories!
My dad’s brother was the best storyteller. From their days as kids, to his stint in the navy during WWII–I really miss hearing him now.
My mother told me the best stories and I will never forget them.
My son tells the most creative stories.
My husband tells our children (and me) story after story. His eyes light up when he is recounting something that happened to him as a child or young adult. He is 75 now and continues to fascinate our grandson with stories.
I don’t remember any great storytellers. But maybe I wasn’t listening because I always had my head in a book.
My grandmother would tell wonderful stories to help us fall asleep. They tended to be fantasy stories involving children.
Thanks to Ellery for letting Violetta have her say.
contest is closed.
Oh, I missed it!!! (;