THE MASON’S MARK: LOVE AND DEATH IN THE TOWER

by M. S. Spencer

In both the best and worst first day at work ever, docent Claire Wilding meets the man of her dreams, but her carefully rehearsed guided tour of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial falls apart when she discovers a dead body. Together with Detective Ernest Angle, she’s drawn into a dark world of black ops and Italian renegade masons. Also cloaked in mystery is her new love Gideon Bliss. A George Washington expert, he haunts the Memorial, his manner evasive. What is his secret? Claire fears she’ll fall in love with him only to learn he’s a thief or even a murderer.

Juggling two eccentric mothers, an inquisitive sister, and an increasingly smitten Ernest, Claire must find answers to a complex web of intrigue, including which black ops agent to trust, whether our first president strayed, and if she and Gideon will ever be together.

What’s a Little Googling Among Friends?

Hello everyone, and thank you for having me, Harper! I’d like to give your readers a bit of background on the writing of my latest romantic suspense/murder mystery The Mason’s Mark: Love and Death in the Tower. Authors must do quite a bit of research for their books even when they know the subject well. The Mason’s Mark is set in my former home town of Alexandria, Virginia at the George Washington National Masonic Memorial. A landmark of the Washington skyline, the building is not only a Masonic lodge, but a memorial to our first president. I began with the idea that my heroine would find a dead body on the ninth floor observation platform, with no rational explanation of how it got there. To ensure authenticity I set about Googling both freemasonry and George Washington, but my search soon led me into a strange world of global intrigue and crime. I followed one thread to a remarkable scam artist named Licio Gelli who set up a fake Masonic lodge called Propaganda Due to bilk suckers and politicians. How could I resist? I added him to the mysterious corpse. Googling on George Washington tossed up lots of fascinating scandal rumors. So now I had a body, a renegade Mason and scam artist, and long-lost George Washington letters. Voila! The Mason’s Mark: Love and Death in the Tower, a contemporary tale about old scandals. And a dynamite love story.

EXCERPT: The Breakup

She heard not a peep from Gideon for the next three days, a welcome respite because it gave her time to think. The meddling of the mothers aside, the issue lay between Dorcas and Gideon. It didn’t matter that Dorcas had left Gideon—Claire still felt like the other woman and it didn’t sit well with her Southern upbringing. Another skirmish with Wonder Woman would be the death of her. By the time Gideon called, she’d made up her mind.

“Hi, sorry I haven’t been in touch. I—”

“I understand. You’re dealing with…family matters.”

“No,” he said slowly. “Actually, the Senate will be back from recess this week. They had a pro forma session Friday and being the lowest life form on the seniority pole, I had to preside.” He paused. “I sent the papers to Dorcas. She hasn’t responded.”

Claire didn’t want to get sucked into the soap opera. Bite the bullet. Take the bull by the horns. The horns of a dilemma? No, that’s not right. Take my medicine—take his medicine. Oh dear, I wish I were better at these idioms. “Gideon, I…I think you should clear this matter up before we see each other again.”

The phone went dead. Hmm, he took that surprisingly well. She resisted the urge to cry and went into the kitchen. When she came out carrying a glass filled with ice and a bottle of vodka, she found Gideon sitting on the packing crate. His eyebrows bristled. Claire didn’t think she’d ever seen eyebrows actually bristle. It made him look like an angry centipede.

“Claire, you can’t dump me over the phone. I forbid it.”

She poured a large tot into her glass. “I see.”

He stood and paced, not an easy thing to do in a room the size of a refrigerator box. Watching him, it occurred to Claire that she should decorate her house in the Shaker style—have all the furniture hang on pegs, up and out of the way of large tramping feet. She forced herself to focus on the words spilling out of the side of his mouth. “I never hid my predicament from you. It’s unfair to let me fall head over heels for you and then suddenly go all ethical on me.” He stopped and peered down at her. His face drooped. “Claire, I need you to help me through this.”

Her heart tried to claw its way out of her body and rush to him. She deliberately folded her arms across her chest. To muster her resolve, she pictured herself burning at the stake, the crowd chanting, ‘The other woman must die.’ When she finally spoke, her tone was hard. “You’re a grown man, Gideon Bliss. You have to clean up your own messes. I begin to wonder if your mother may have spoiled you just a teensy bit.”

His cheekbones went rigid and his eyes narrowed, firing bullets of angry red light at her. “That was unnecessary, Claire. And unjust. But you’re right—this is my mess.” And with that he twirled, bumped his shin hard on the hall stool and charged out the front door, leaving it open.

That went even better than the phone call. This time she did not resist the urge, and burst into tears.

Secret Cravings Publishing: (released January 7, 2014)

78,400 words

Romantic suspense   M/F    3 flames

BUY LINKS

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*The Mason’s Mark will soon be available in print-on-demand, too.*

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Although she has lived or traveled in every continent except Antarctica and Australia
(bucket list), M. S. Spencer has spent the last thirty years mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. Blessed with two fabulous grown children, she has published eight romantic suspense/mystery novels. In an excess of optimism, she has recently heaved the entire ho to Florida with a detour to Maine, leaving behind the cherry blossoms, the monuments, and the political hacks.

She’d love to hear from you:

Blog: http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/M.S.SpencerAuthor

Author Pages:

Secret Cravings Publishing

Amazon Author Page

GoodReads

M. S. WILL CHEERFULLY GIVE AWAY AN EBOOK COPY OF HER ROMANTIC ADVENTURE, LAPSES OF MEMORY, TO ONE LUCKY COMMENTER!

JUST LEAVE COMMENT ON THIS POST!

INCLUDE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WHERE YOU CAN BE CONTACTED IF YOU WIN!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER. THE WINNER IS MELISSA K.!

Lapses of Memory follow the exploits of two journalists, Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies, as they travel the globe reporting on various world catastrophes. In one of their encounters they find themselves embroiled in the early stages of the revolution in Iran and only barely escape. A few years later we find them rivals in the search for a scoop on the Lebanese Civil War. Their love is reignited each time they meet, but in the long years following each meeting Sydney forgets him. For his part, Elian knows from the age of seven that they are meant for each other, but when Sydney finally sees the truth, he has lost his memory—literally. Can she make him remember her? Will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Meanwhile, Sydney’s daughter Olivia chronicles the ups and downs of her parents’ romance, making it difficult to concentrate on her own dilemma—how to choose between the rich and dashing Rémy de Beaumec, who wants to fly her around the world, and the steady, quiet, American-to-the-core, Benjamin Knox, who only wants to make her happy.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway! Thank you, M.S. Spencer for stopping in!

~H.A.B.