Category Archives: Close Up Magic

Musings on Magic Memories and a Few Announcements without Alliteration

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I’ve been reading some “how-to” type books about magic and it got me thinking. When did I really get interested in magic? It feels like I’ve always been fascinated by magical things, and I can’t ever pass up a magic show, whether it’s on the corner of a street fair or at a birthday party or in Las Vegas. If somebody wants to get my attention, they just need to whip out a pack of cards and tell me to pick one.

But when did it all begin? Well, I’ve mentioned the magic show my mother took me to way back when I was a little girl. I was probably about five or so, because the memory is very dim, as if most of the lights are out in that particular room of my memory attic. I remember bits and pieces of the show. I think he may have pulled some animal or other out of a hat…maybe a rabbit, maybe a dove. I know I remember the rings because they glittered and fascinated me. But the best–and worst–part of the show was the end.

All the little kids had been told to pick a carpet square to sit on in the front of the audience. Normally I was a timid thing that wouldn’t have wanted to leave my mother’s side, but I had done it for this show. I wanted to see the magician and his beautiful assistant up close. I think the carpet square I selected was tiger striped, but my memory may have added that. I know I was sitting stage left.

For the finale, the magician announced one of us was sitting on a magic carpet and his assistant would come down and get us and help us make the carpet fly. Of course this was very exciting to a room full of children. Who was the lucky one? To my childish amazement, the assistant came directly to me, led me onto the stage and handed me over to the magician.

He probably asked me some questions. I can’t really remember. I’m sure he asked my name and how old I was. I think he asked me if I wanted to fly. I do remember he lifted me onto a carpeted table and told me to sit very still and close my eyes. And not to open my eyes until he told me I could. Of course I obeyed. I was no rebel. I’d been taught to behave myself and listen to adults. Of course, if I’d opened my eyes, I might never have believed in magic again, because I probably would have seen the trick.

And that’s the real magic I remember from that day. Of the fifty or so kids in the audience, how did he and/or his assistant know to pick me? I might have been the only child out there too timid to do anything other than what the adults told her to. Most kids would peek. Most kids would open their eyes unless you duct-taped them shut. My daughter would. But I would never have thought to do such a thing, and so I sat still, eyes tight shut while I heard the audience ooh and aah and clap. And then the magician, smiling in triumph no doubt, helped me down and told me to take a bow.

That’s not just my favorite magic memory. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories, and it’s definitely the beginning of my lifelong love for magic.

On to the announcements.

You may notice some slight changes to my blog. On the right side of your screen, you’ll see a lovely new JPEG announcing my virtual book tour in June. Watch this space for my blog tour engagements. I’ll get them up soon.

Also, I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be hosting fellow romance author Donna Steele, who’ll be discussing her newest release and writing and whatever else she takes a mind to this Friday. Meanwhile, I plan to insinuate myself into her blog over at SteeleStories.com and blab about magic and Close Up Magic and whatever I can get anyone to listen to. Hope you’ll check in both places and say hey!

Finally, a reminder! You can still enter to win the Kindle Paperwhite. Enter as often as you like. You can enter by tweeting about Close Up Magic and tagging me (@michellegflye), liking the Close Up Magic Facebook Page, posting about Close Up Magic on your Facebook page and tagging me or the Close Up Magic Facebook Page, blogging about Close Up Magic…etc. I’m doing my best to catch every entry, but go ahead and make it hard for me! I like a challenge.

Having Fun With Magic…Wanna Join Me? Contest!

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Dedication page of Close Up Magic

Dedication page of Close Up Magic


As I mentioned earlier, for the next couple of months, I’ll be tweeting magic, blogging magic, posting on Facebook about magic and generally having lots of fun. And I want you to join in the fun.

I’ve decided to give away a Kindle Paperwhite on June 1 to celebrate the publication of Close Up Magic. To sweeten the deal, I’ll also gift you my books Weeds and Flowers and Ducks in a Row, both of which have very good reviews on Amazon. If you’d like to enter, here’s how to do it:

1. Leave me a comment here or on one of my other magic-related posts.
2. Like Close Up Magic on Facebook. (If you’ve already done this, you’re automatically entered.)
3. Tweet about Close Up Magic and tag me @michellegflye.
4. Join me on one of my guest posts between now and June 1 (I have four lined up and I’ll announce them later on).
5. Post on Facebook about Close Up Magic and tag me.
6. Mention Close Up Magic on your blog and email me a link at michellegflye at gmail dot com.

You can enter as many times as you like. The point is, I love talking to people, and this should be a great conversation starter!

I’ve already been hard at work promoting Close Up Magic, although my silence over here might seem to indicate otherwise. You see, while researching Close Up Magic, I accumulated a lot of unusable but fascinating data. And I’ve decided to put it to work. Everyday I post a little tidbit of the history of magic over on the Facebook fan page I made for Close Up Magic. For instance, just this morning, I posted about the first magician to perform the Sawing a Woman in Half illusion. Don’t know? Head on over and find out: Close Up Magic Fan Page. And tell your friends!

You see, writing Close Up Magic was so much fun, I figure promoting it should be too. It’s all bringing back to me that original childhood excitement I felt when I saw my first magician at the age of five and he made me fly on a magic carpet. I had a string of magic sets as a child. Each time I got one, I was certain I could become the most famous woman magician of all time (more about women’s place in magic on my Facebook page this week). Of course, that never materialized. I always turned to a book to read or a story to write, but, hey, it was fun while it lasted, right? And maybe this is my contribution to the world of magic.

Close Up Magic to be released June 1

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CloseUpMagicI’m a little behind the eight ball in putting the cart before the horse here (ahem) because I couldn’t wait for my blog to catch up to my progress! I’m in the last stages of getting my new book, Close Up Magic, ready for readers, and I’m super excited about this one. It’s not that it’s deep or has anything to do with anything real in my life. In fact, it’s a pretty superficial, straightforward romance. And it’s set in Las Vegas, not North Carolina!

Every book I’ve published so far is a story that wanted to be written. I often feel like I have very little to do with them other than fixing a word or two here and there. I hear other writers talk about the “craft” of writing, and I try to relate it to the process I go through. I don’t create story arcs. I create the characters and they tell me their stories. I’ve found that the further I delve into what makes my characters tick, the easier their stories are to tell.

I may be digressing, but that’s what I went through for Close Up Magic, so I’m going to leave it. The moment I decided to write a romance with a magician hero, Andre Hawke began to form in my mind. Because of my lifelong crush on David Copperfield, he started out looking like a young David, but before I knew it, his eyes changed color, he gained weight, got brawnier…all good stuff, no insult intended to Mr. Copperfield, who remains the epitome of a magician in my mind. I gave Andre quite a colorful family background (and yes, he hails from North Carolina. I had to get that little tribute to my home state in!), and of course, nothing can bring on trouble and controversy quite like family!

Bring on brassy, sexy, hard-boiled reporter Stacey Matthewson. She’s the type of reporter I always wished I could be, but I was too timid and accommodating to do manage it. Stacey knows what it takes to get her story, and she’s willing to do it, even when it comes to exposing her own idol’s darkest secrets. Stacey hasn’t had much reason to believe in magic in her lifetime. She’s got family problems of her own, a career that may be going down the wrong path and one last chance to redeem herself. But then Andre Hawke, the only man who’s ever persuaded her to believe in magic, offers her a chance to go another way, and she finds she’d rather help him than get another story. And that’s just the beginning of their story.

For the next couple months, I’ll be writing and thinking and breathing magic around here, and I’ll probably be posting a couple of excerpts from Close Up Magic, too, but if you can’t wait, click on the cover picture and you’ll be magically transported to a preview, featuring the first half of the first chapter of Close Up Magic.

Writer Beware? My thoughts on Amazon’s return policy…and a review. :)

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Authors are petitioning Amazon to change their return policy on ebooks, and an unfortunate line has been drawn between writers and readers.

I signed the petition, not because I have a huge problem with people returning my books, but because I see why it was started. Currently, Amazon allows the return of an ebook within seven days of purchase. Readers say it is a fair policy, even if they’ve read the book, if they find the book is sub-par for some reason. And most readers don’t abuse the policy, it’s true. But the fact remains that the loophole is there, and some people will abuse it. Many people won’t even think of it as cheating. Remember back when women used to buy a dress, tuck the tags out of sight, wear it and return it the next day? How many of those women would have been shocked if you’d called them a thief? Most, I’m betting.

Most stores have now put a stop to this sort of practice. My last purchase from Nordstrom’s came with a red tag attached in a conspicuous place which, after removal, rendered my dress non-returnable. Good for Nordstrom’s!

Maybe I feel the way I do about this petition because I do not a have a “borrower’s” frame of mind, which is weird since I have a master’s in library and information sciences, right? But I don’t go to the library on a regular basis now that I don’t work there, and I HATE library fines, so I frequent book stores (and Amazon) instead. I buy my kids books and exchange them at the secondhand bookstore after they’ve outgrown them. I buy myself NOOK and Kindle books. And yes, a few of those have been regrettable. I did not return those.

To the readers I may have offended by signing the petition, I ask that you look at my side of the fence. I am a reader and I am raising readers. I am a librarian, and I believe in libraries. I have no real problem with Amazon’s lending feature, either, although I don’t utilize it. But if you buy an ebook you need to understand something. Whether the author is J.K. Rowling or me, a lot of work went into that book, and if you buy it and return it after you’ve read it, you’re stealing.

CloseUpMagicPersonally, I believe in giving readers lots of chances to read my stuff before they purchase one of my books. That’s why I post excerpts on my blog, have a Free Fiction Page, and have been known to give away books. I currently have four copies of Weeds and Flowers up for grabs on Goodreads, for instance, and I’ve given away four copies of Ducks in a Row over there recently. Over the course of the next couple months, I’m going to be promoting my new release Close Up Magic. I’ll be posting excerpts and quotes and (hopefully) a few advance reviews. I’m going to give you lots of chances to decide if you want to read the whole book before you hit that all important “Buy” button.

And I’m going to be hoping that those who do hit the “Buy” button will take into account that I gave up sleep to write this book. I cursed and sweated and bled on the pages. I endured a lot to bring those voices to life. Don’t cheat me out of the few dollars I earn off each copy I sell.

For an advance preview of Close Up Magic, click here.

In Other News

I was fortunate enough to obtain another review of Ducks in a Row the other day. Steph at Book-A-Holic Anon gave it 4.5 stars! Here’s a little taste of the review and a link, if you’re interested in checking it out:

“…a tragic story in some ways with a glimmer of hope that even at our bleakest moments real love can conquer all.”
—Book-A-Holic Anon

Steph is brutally honest in her review that Ducks may offend some readers. And it might. I knew it when I wrote it, but the story wanted to be told. This review might be one of the best I’ve ever read of one of my books, because it was honest, blunt and to the point. And beyond that, she really got what the book was about. The above quote sums the story up perfectly. I love it when a reviewer really understands where I was coming from because it means I did my job as a writer. Thank you, Steph, for giving me that moment.