Tear Stained Beaches by Courtney Giardina- A Character Interview

Guest post by author Courtney Giardina

In Tear Stained Beaches there are two things we know for sure Haylie enjoys: running and wine. Since I myself am a fitness lover, I decided to do a fun character post involving running. In this post you’ll meet Haylie, the main character of Tear Stained Beaches and her nosey neighbor Beverly. Beverly is a housewife, who doesn’t understand Haylie’s lifestyle since it doesn’t consist of yoga, tea parties and daily pampering. Haylie has spent most of her time in the neighborhood tolerating in order to fit in to what she calls their Stepford Wife world.

In this imaginary scenerio Beverly stops Haylie as she approaches the end of one of her nightly runs.

Beverly: Hey Haylie, how are you?!?

Haylie: Hey Beverly, I’m fine thanks, you?

Beverly: I’m doing good! Just got home from the grocery store. I’m planning a facial and fondue party this weekend so I had to grab some last minute supplies. You should totally come.

Haylie: Actually, I’m working this weekend at the country club. I have a wedding to coordinate, so I don’t think I can make it.

Beverly: Oh that’s too bad, I feel like you could use it. You’re looking a little run down lately. Isn’t this like you’re third run this week?

Haylie: Yea, that’s the norm. About three to five times per week.

Beverly: You know, I never understood running. You just get all sweaty and oh dear, look at your hair, it’s flying everywhere. Why do you like it so much?

Haylie: I like it because it’s peaceful. It clears my head when I have a lot going on.

Beverly: That’s what a massage is for. I do that every week. You should try it, I’m sure it’s way more relaxing than running. My masseuse, his name is Hans. I just love his strong hands. Sends me into oblivion. You can’t get that with running now can you?

Haylie: Yea, sounds like I’m missing out.

Beverly: Oh and I saw you bringing home take out the other night. Mike would probably have a heart attack if I ever did that, ha! If you need cooking lessons I’d be happy to come over and teach you a few things. No better way to a man’s heart that a home cooked meal.

Haylie: Wow, yea I’ll keep that in mind thanks. I better get going.

Beverly: Oh yes of course. Well if you change your mind about this weekend, do let me know. And maybe put a little bit of leave in conditioner in your hair. It’s looking a little dry.

Haylie: Goodnight Beverly

To hear more from Beverly and Haylie, check out Tear Stained Beaches! Available now in print and ebook version! To celebrate the print release of Tear Stained Beaches, Courtney is giving away a free autographed copy to one lucky winner! Enter for your chance to win below!

www.courtneygiardina.com

Twitter: @sweetangeleyz

Facebook: facebook.com/courtneygtalent

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Alternatives to Goodreads...and why you might want them

I had just arranged an interview with two anonymous librarians about why Goodreads is useful and how they use it when I saw this piece by Dear Author, one of my favorite blogs, about where people can go once they leave Goodreads. And why are they leaving? Because Goodreads deleted reviews and shelves without warning after months (years?) of complaints by authors that they were being bullied and harassed. This piece has a good analysis of what happened and what Goodreads could still do.

As an indie author who hadn't yet fully jumped in, I'm not sure how much this affects me. I'll have my secret sources verify this for me this week, but it seems that while Goodreads is a great place for readers to discover books and then their authors, most readers aren't sitting at the screen thinking, "Let me search Goodreads right now as a place to find the next big author in New Adult/Romance/Chick Lit/whatever." My read- and again I'm not the expert- is that your book already needs a little traction from readers- or just one reader- before it can start genuinely taking off there. But maybe I'm wrong- we'll find out.

Nothing inspires an argument more

As a long-time reviewer on Amazon, I have mixed feelings. In the decade-plus that I've been reviewing, I have had fewer than five reviews pulled, and really I only remember one. That one still bothers me- I called someone who wrote a memoir racist because, um, he went on a racist rant without any irony- but I let it go. I've had some reviews generate A LOT of discussion (criticize Ben and Jerry's and watch out!) but I've never felt attacked. However, if I'd had a lot pulled- or if people had been particularly nasty to me- I know I'd feel differently. On the other hand, I try not to say anything that talks about the author out of the context of what that person wrote. (And I also don't create lists that talk about how much I hate someone or want to see them hurt in any way.)

Then again, just as I don't like people "joking" about wanting to see an author raped in prison, I also don't like the idea that anyone is doxxing a reviewer.

I hope we can all agree on something that works, because while in one sense it's just books, in another sense, books are everything.

Be brave, bold and get your Happily Ever After (HEA)

I love this piece on NPR about why romance has been banned before. Maybe it's not just that there's eroticism, but that eroticism *isn't* punished but is instead rewarded with a happy ending. Oh no!

And that led me to a more disturbing thought: is that why dark erotica is so popular now? Because those heroines are exploring uncharted (for them) sexual waters, but in many cases they decidedly are not getting their HEA. While some of them are walking away more self-actualized than they were before, in many cases they are not, especially in some of the more popular books.

While I love Anna Karenina and Othello, I much prefer my heroines to walk away from the story alive- regardless of what they did in a bedroom before that.

Don't they deserve to be happy?

True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders by Dina Di Mambro

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book. This did not in any way influence my review.

As shocking as some film plots are, they pale in comparison to the real lives and dramas of some of the actors and writers who brought those stories to life. And while we may think of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies as the "noir" period of American life, as Di Mambro shows, the Twenties were just as wild if not wilder. And while we may have forgotten William Desmond Taylor and Thomas H. Ince, Di Mambro paints a convincing picture of how important they were during their time and how their influence affects us to this day.

While most of the victims, perpetrators and bystanders were famous and glamorous- Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd, George Reeves, Bob Crane, Gig Young, Natalie Wood, Joan Bennett, Lana Turner, Robert Blake and Robert Wagner- most of the crimes came down to the mundane that drives most crimes: money and love (or at least its substitutes, sex and jealousy). There were, however, a couple that made you cringe, particularly the stories of Bonnie Lee Bakley, Lana Turner and Bob Crane (but that's child abuse and sex addiction for you).

While the mob haunts several of the stories, particularly Lana Turner's, the last chapter focuses on Mickey Cohen, the famous (and beloved) mobster from Cleveland who started out as Ben "Bugsy" Siegel's right-hand man. As told by his longtime friend and employee Jim Smith, Cohen was a mobster who believed in "honor among thieves". He was a murderer as well as a robber, but as his boss Siegel once said, "don't worry, we only kill each other." (But weren't there plenty of bystanders hurt as collateral damage when mobsters were "hurting each other"?)

As juicy as the other chapters were, the one on Cohen provided for the biggest surprises. Yes, the Rat Pack hung out with Cohen, but Sinatra was a prima donna and Dean Martin was kind to almost everyone; Pat Brown was on Cohen's payroll, Billy Graham was a transparent con man, and Richard Milhouse Nixon got his start thanks to Cohen (is that really a surprise?).

I found this book to be informative, but for most of the chapters the author appeared to favor a certain theory or person. She writes almost affectionately of Cohen, but while we can believe that he did all of the charitable contributions and gestures he is said to, that chapter is unbalanced. To read it without question, we'd presume that everyone Cohen ever hurt deserved it.

Recommended for fans of Hollywood history and true crime who can take the information with a grain of salt.

An interview with Caroline Fardig, Author of It's Just A Little Crush: A Lizzie Hart Mystery

I thoroughly enjoyed Caroline Fardig's Chick Lit Mystery, It's Just A Little Crush. I can't wait to see what other trouble Lizzie is going to barge her way into next.

Caroline and I laughed our way through this interview (except for the part in which she says she's not a Nancy Drew fan, because that's just wrong). I hope you enjoy, and I encourage you to give Lizzie a whirl.

Lizzie is one of the funniest amateur detectives I've ever read, but I totally see her as a modern, grown-up Nancy Drew. Were you a big fan of Nancy's when you were younger?

Thank you!  I was not a Nancy Drew fan AT ALL.  I was a die-hard Trixie Belden fan, and as such, I could not be seen reading her competition!  Trixie is headstrong and doesn’t take crap, just like Lizzie, which is probably why I liked her so much.

  

Obviously, you're a writer, but you made Lizzie an editor who has zero patience for poetic license. What was your thinking behind that?

It’s kind of a joke on me.  When I was little, when an adult asked me a question, I would always answer yes/no or with the least amount of words.  I wasn’t much of a talker.  My parents tried to get me to be more conversational by telling me, “When asked a question, answer it, and then add a little something.”  Like if someone said, “Caroline, I like your yellow dress.”  I should answer, “Thank you.  Yellow is my favorite color.”  Conversationally, Lizzie is the adult version of little Caroline (but the one who never learned to add a little something). 

Lizzie is also a straight shooter who becomes irritated when other people won’t get to the point, which is why she’s good at her job.  As copy editor, she keeps the overly verbose journalists’ stories relatable to the general public.

One of my favorite scenes was when Blake did his version of Lizzie's fire story. As a writer, it kind of made me squirm. Do you ever have moments like that in which you've written something and you think, "Oh come on, cut to the chase!"?

That was the intention!  And yes, I have a particular chapter in Book 3 that is a lot of conversing and not a lot of action.  The conversing has to happen, but I’m trying to find a way to spice it up a bit!

  

The story opens with Lizzie almost literally falling all over herself because of Blake, but as we read more we start to see that that's really uncharacteristic behavior for her. What is it about Blake that's so appealing to someone as independent as Lizzie?

Did I mention that he’s smokin’ hot?  I think part of Blake’s appeal is that he’s unattainable (or so she thinks), and she’s almost made him her pretend rebound from her previous relationship.  It didn’t end well, and we’ll visit that in the second book.  Lizzie is famous for shielding her heart so it won’t get hurt, and what better way is there than to lose herself in a crush?

Are we going to find out why Lizzie is so determined to shield her heart?

You’re going to wish you hadn’t asked.  It’s all coming out, and it ain’t pretty.

  

At first glance, you can't help but think, "Really? All that, in a sleepy little Midwestern town?" What made you decide to set your story there?

Are you kidding?  All of the action is in small towns!  In any given small town, you’ve got infidelity, backstabbing, and gossip galore.  Granted, there probably isn’t as much crime as in bigger cities, but when there is, it can be jaw-dropping.  There have been several murders over the years in my area whose shocking events would have rivaled those in any thriller.  I prefer to set stories in small towns because I like for the characters to all know each other and be interconnected.

Not to give too much away, but as Lizzie's best friend says, murder is either about love or money, and in this book it's definitely more one than the other. Are we going to see more of the other motive in the next book?

Hmm.  So I won’t give too much away, let’s just say that Lizzie’s motive in investigating this murder is definitely about love.  Her ex-boyfriend’s brother is murdered, and Lizzie owes it to her ex to be there for him this time.

As I was reading, I couldn't decide whether I wanted Lizzie to live happily ever after with Blake or send him packing in his fancy Porsche, even at the end. Blake can be heroic, but he's clearly hiding something else. When are we- and Lizzie- going to find out what that is?

Ah, Blake.  I love that man.  I don’t think that he’s necessarily hiding something as much as he’s protecting his heart.  I’d like to let him deal with his feelings about getting left at the altar at some point, and I think a catfight between Lizzie and his ex-fiancée would be epic.

Who were some of your mystery writing influences?

For starters, Julie Campbell, author of the first six Trixie Belden Mysteries (which were always the best), showed me that you could craft a great mystery that was still easy enough for kids to understand.  I also love how Meg Cabot, Gemma Halliday, and Wendy Roberts tell their stories, with plenty of romance and wit to balance the mystery.

What else do you have planned after the sequel?

Lizzie is going to be around for a long time.  I have Book 3 written, and it’s called Bad Medicine.  There’s an evil chiropractor involved, hence the name.  Book 4 is in my head, as is Book 5.  Lizzie is going to get to take a little vacay to Hawaii in that one!

Lizzie knows a couple of characters, but my favorite was her cousin, the hot mortician. Any other fun characters we're going to meet next?

Lizzie’s nemesis, Bethany, is going to get a lot more screen time, or I guess…page time, in the future.  She’s her own brand of crazy.

Of all of the characters is Lizzie's universe, who's your favorite, aside from Lizzie?

Blake, of course, but there is a seriously hot detective coming up that I wouldn’t mind frisking me!

--

About It's Just A Little Crush:

The sleepy town of Liberty hasn’t seen murder in…well…ever.  Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century.

Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems.  Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office.  How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head?  It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. 

After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized.  When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way.  Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder.  She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan.  Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her?  Not like this.  Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

About the Author:

CAROLINE FARDIG was born and raised in a small town in Indiana. Her working career has been rather eclectic thus far, with occupations including schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom. Finally realizing that she wants to be a writer when she grows up, Caroline has completed her first novel, It’s Just a Little Crush, and is currently hard at work churning out a second novel in the series. She still lives in that same small town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

  

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An Unfinished Business Giveaway!

Unfinished Business

An Angela Panther Novel

By

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes the dead need our help and sometimes, we need theirs

                                               

ANGELA PANTHER HAS A PERFECT LIFE:  A lovely home, an attentive, successful husband, two reasonably behaved children, a devoted dog and a lot of coffee and cupcakes. But while her life might border on mundane, she's got it under control. Until her mother, Fran dies-and returns as a ghost. It seems Fran's got some unfinished business and she's determined to get it done.

Now Fran's got some nifty celestial superpowers and isn't opposed to using them to levy a little ghostly retribution on her granddaughter's frienemies and even her own daughter, which doesn't make Angela happy.

While Angela's shocked and grateful to have her mother back, she's not thrilled about the portal to the afterlife Fran opened upon her return. Now every ghost in town is knockin' on Angela's psychic door, looking for help-and it's a royal pain in the butt.

Now Angela's got to find a way to balance her family life with her new gift and keep her mother in line. And it's a lot for one woman to handle.

________________________________________________________________________

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson tackles, with comic cleverness, the serious subjects of mother-daughter relationships, death and raising teenagers in this smart, funny take on the love of family and the uncontrollable paths our lives take.

"It's about ghosts, the love of family, the never-ending love of mothers and daughters...add some humor and it's the perfect combination of adult/chick- lit/paranormal (all in one book)." - The Book Trollop

                                                                                                             

"Aspenson hits the ground running with her debut novel and carries the reader along on a rollicking adventure highlighting both the joys and conflicts of mother-daughter relationships." - Katrina Rasbold

www.carolynridderaspenson.com  
 www.facebook.com/unfinishedbusiness  
www.twitter.com/awritingwoman

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Well, I'm just all over the place this week :-)

Karen Martin was kind enough to let me share my thoughts about how to make the most use of your writing time when you don't have a consistent schedule. (Did I mention I homeschool my children? LOL, consistency!)

A few days later, my good buddy Lisette Brodey gave me a place to talk about how writers should conduct themselves on this great information superhighway. Please have a read, but shorter: be interactive and don't be a jerk.

(And while I wouldn't usually say my own blogs count as guest posts, have a look at my thoughts on the Orson Welles mini-film festival I indulged in this summer.)

This morning found me grinning from ear to ear. First, the kind folks at Masquerade Crew called The Smartest Girl in the Room "witty and delightful". This pleases the would-be Oscar Wilde in me greatly. Finally, the ever-witty Louise Wise allowed me to talk about one of the secrets behind my ideas: yes, Trashy Television from the Seventies and Eighties.

Alright- enough of that. Back to plotting The Golden Boy Returns...unless someone wants me to talk about how Soap Operas influenced my writing?

;-)

Jane Wyman as Angela Channing. Nobody did family secrets better.

Zainab visits a Fortune Teller (Fortune Teller Blog Hop)

This blog hop comes just in time to tease my soon-to-be-released sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room, The Family You Choose. 
Zainab Oginabe-Kensit thinks she's avoiding an uncomfortable reminder from her past, but really she's about to get a preview of what Miranda's going to discover about her own past.

~~~

Zainab avoided the Quad the first week of classes. The first year she'd been there it had been exciting to see all of the extracurricular options in front of her: The Silver Masque, the Key Club, the International Student Organization and, of course, Student Government Council. She sighed. Emily had made sure Joe Welles was gone and not coming back, but everyone else was still there. She didn't want to look at them and remind herself of what had happened last Spring. Everything was better now, but there was no reason to linger over when it hadn't been.

She ducked into the Kay Center, but there was a table set up there too with flyers, chocolates and balloons. "Ugh," she said, then slipped down the stairs. She'd use the shortcut through the café and into the bookstore.

"Hello." Zainab jumped as she was halfway through the dimly lit, empty café. She turned around and saw the red haired woman sitting at the table, a small cup of coffee at one side and a deck of cards on another. "I didn't think anyone was coming down until later tonight."

"I'm sorry?"

The woman raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Oh, let me guess: shortcut?"

Zainab nodded. "How did you guess?"

The woman laughed. "It's sort of what I do." She gestured at her cards. "I'm the fortune teller tonight. You know, 'The Future Is At Your Feet'?"

Zainab groaned and the woman laughed. "Wow, whose the PR genius who came up with that?"

"I couldn't say, but whomever it was they're above my pay-grade."

Zainab took a step closer. "What time do you start?"

"Six o'clock."

"Oh," she sighed. "I have plans."

"Dinner with the boyfriend?"

"You know, you're pretty good at this stuff."

The woman chuckled. "That, or it was obvious." They both laughed. The woman picked up her cards. "Want to see how I do with something a little more difficult?"

Zainab heard the crowd moving upstairs and looked up. She didn't have to be anywhere for half an hour. "Sure, why not?"

She sat across from the woman as she shuffled her cards. "Start thinking of a question. You don't have to tell me what it is, and it doesn't necessarily need words, but think about something you want the cards to help you with."

Zainab flashed to Miranda at her house a few weeks ago. She'd worked so hard to make Mitch and Emily's reception a beautiful affair, but everything had been so tense. When would things start working out for her?

"You have your question?"

Zainab nodded. "I think so."

The woman shuffled one last time, then asked Zainab to cut the deck. She picked up the cards and started dealing them, placing them into a cross formation. She studied them then looked up at Zainab.

"What do you see?"

The woman shrugged after a moment. "You know, I'm glad you're here, because I obviously need the practice." She bit her bottom lip. "I see a young, blonde woman."

Zainab smiled. "Jessie," she said, thinking of Richard's cousin.

"I don't know," the woman said. "That's someone you know now?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't think so. This is…the past."

What did that have to with Miranda's future? "What else do you see?"

The woman put her hand on the card and closed her eyes. "I see a beach, and the girl is crying. A very pretty girl, with very pretty green eyes. But she's crying as if she's never going to smile again." She opened her eyes. "And she didn't."

Zainab swallowed. "What do you mean, she didn’t?"

The woman looked away. "She never smiled again."

Zainab picked up her bag. "I think I should go," she said apologetically.

The woman nodded and quickly moved to pick up her cards. "Yeah, of course. Thanks for letting me practice." She stopped and looked at Zainab. "But…"

Zainab was standing up and couldn't wait to leave. "Yes?"

"Good luck to your friend," she said quietly.

Zainab nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she said right before she ran out of the café.

She practically ran to the bookstore. She walked over to cold drink section and picked one up, hoping that might make her hands stop sweating.

Who was blonde with green eyes? Her lip trembled. And who never smiled again? She thought of Richard's mother Lucy, but her eyes were as grey as Jessie's. But…what did that have to do with Miranda?

~~~

Miranda Harel was lying in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. Why had Michael come back? What would it take to make him go away and never come back? She thought of how Mitch had glared at her at the party, and it still made her cheeks burn. Worse still, she couldn't blame him.

Miranda closed her eyes to stop crying, then kept them closed. She wanted to remember right before she went to sleep. Tonight it wasn't enough to dream.

She was a little girl again, at her old house. The room was pink. She was five years old and lying in her bed when her beautiful, blonde mother came to tuck her in. She told her a story and kissed her goodnight right before she turned out the light and closed the door.

Miranda sighed contentedly. One of her only memories of her mother. I wish my eyes were green, she thought to herself right before she drifted off to sleep.

~~~

Want to read more great fortune teller stories? Please visit these blogs.

Participants:
Kayla Curry (Host)
Alyssa Auch
S. M. Boyce
N.R. Wick
Steve Vernon
A. F. Stewart
Linda Taylor
Tami Von Zalez
Quanie Miller
Ellen Harger
Deborah Nam-Krane
Erin Cawood
Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba
Wendy Ely
Laure Reminick
Jen McConnel

How much spice do you need in your story?

The Family You Choose is coming out at the end of the month, and I'm taking a lot more risks with this story than I did with The Smartest Girl in the Room. When you think about the characters, this makes sense: Emily wants to protect herself and those she loves at all costs, whereas Miranda is willing to be vulnerable.

There is more sexual content in The Family You Choose, but none of it is graphic. That works for my characters and their story, but maybe not for others.

For more of my thoughts on the matter, please read on.

I get the Indie Books Discovery Award!

Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba, one of my favorite authors (right up there with Erin Cawood), had an early look at The Family You Choose and got exactly what I was trying to do. Family Saga? Oh yeah. But maybe a different kind of family... 

I hope you enjoy the interview and read the review, and did I mention that she's giving away two copies of The Family You Choose for me? It's all good!

Unfinished Business: An Angela Panther Novel by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Angela Panther has just lost her mother Fran after a long illness. She hasn't even had time to start processing her grief when- surprise!- her mother starts revealing herself to her as a spirit. After she reluctantly accepts that she isn't going crazy, Angela wants to know why her mother hasn't gone onto "the light". Fran is as hot a ticket in death as she was in life, but there are some rules even she can't break, and all she can reveal is that it's "Unfinished Business". (Is that just a new version of "you'll understand when you're older?")

Thank goodness for her supportive (and mildly sex-crazed) best friend Mel and her skeptical but hot husband Jake; she needs all the support she can get as she tries to uncode the "unfinished business", starts seeing ghosts everywhere she goes and, oh yeah, deals with her children, one of whom is going through teenage angst and the other of whom just might have something in common with his mother. Does Fran's "unfinished business" have anything to do with them? With all of this going on around her, is Angela ever going to have a normal life again?

As funny as Mel is, Angela's spoken and unspoken sarcasm made me laugh even more. I also teared up several times. Not to give anything away, but this book makes it hard to decide whether it's harder to be a parent or a child, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing harder than being both.

This isn't all ghosts, spirits, celestial beings and well-dressed psychics; there are some very serious issues presented, and even more importantly, the question of what the everyperson should do about them. It's a question Angela struggles with every time a spirit presents itself, and hopefully it's one the reader will contemplate too.

Recommended for fans of chicklit and paranormal.

Top 5 Most Unexpected Romantic Characters, hosted by The Masquerade Crew

Before I send you over there (the link is in the picture below), I just want to make it clear that these aren't recommendations. Please do not evaluate potential dates to see if they have any of these characteristics. In fact, if they do, you might want to run.

However, there is something about all of these characters that makes you want to look at them just a moment longer than you need to, and it's not hard at all to find  yourself imagining what could be needed to make someone "better", in whatever way they need to be. Some of them are lost causes (how do you redeem the Lord of the Underworld?), but most of them take much less work.

Oh, by the way: hands off Spock- he's mine.

The Smartest Girl in the Room is on sale for 99 cents

Grab a copy of The Smartest Girl in the Room for 99 cents if you haven't already.

The sale will run at least through Monday evening- I'll let you know when it's coming to a close.