M.C.V. Egan's Page

Cold Coffee Press Endorses Defined By Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1)
and The Bridge Of Deaths: A Love Story and A Mystery by M.C.V. Egan

************************ Defined By Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1) - by M.C.V. Egan

A word, a single word defines a moment for Anne. She needs to find a new one when her spouse leaves her at the age of 47, coming out of the closet literally in a closet. She finds herself back in her hometown amongst her high school friends which she left behind in her past.

An inheritance from a friend leaves her with the means to meddle and spy on the lives of some of their mutual acquaintances. In an attempt to run from her reality Anne gets engrossed in a game of "fun" and "flirtation" with her friend and fellow sufferer Connie at her side. Anne however did not read all the files and what to her is fun games turns into a deadly reality. It is no longer a game.

Life, death and not even a defining word can stop the reality of manipulation.

Genre: Women's Contemporary Fiction Thanks sounds better than Chick Lit

DEFINING WAYS Series in on my WordPress Blog

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Defined by Others
(Defining Ways Series Book 1) by M.C.V. Egan

Like so many in our mobile society, Anne had left her upper middle class town to live, work, travel, get married and have children away from her small town roots, family and friends. At age forty-seven Anne finds herself back in her hometown, where very little has changed. As bad as the small town rumor mill is, time has added a cyber aspect where it seems everyone ‘knows’ and this increases Anne’s pain, guilt, frustration, devastation and anger that her husband has left her for a ‘man’.

Anne prided herself in knowing just the right word for every situation. What word will come to mind after her high school friend Amanda dies? Amanda’s casket had just been lowered into the ground when Anne finds herself alone in an Attorney’s Office starring at Amanda’s final message on video. Almost in a trance, Anne leaves the office with the inheritance held tightly in her hands as questions swirl around in her head.

Connie whose marriage had also taken a bad turn, is a welcome old friend that makes herself at home in Anne’s childhood home. Connie and Anne reminisce, eat, drink, explore Anne’s mother’s secret room and slowly go through and digest the inheritance that Amanda has left.

Together Annie and Connie tap into what they call “our inner b****” to deal with the cards that life had dealt them. Intrigued by a “game” that Amanda started and manipulated by the detailed instructions left by Amanda; this game engages them in “harmless” cyber fun that allows Annie and Connie to toy with the emotions and even love interests of mutual acquaintances.

If you could secretly know everything about your friends and neighbors, would you want to know?

If you could secretly manipulate those who had hurt you in the past, would you?

How far would you go?

Would you heed the message on the cover of this book? “If you share a secret it will no longer be a secret.^^^Keep your secrets safe.^^^Do not share your secrets.^^^.It will destroy you.^^^Secrets give power.”

I always quote a couple passages from the books that reads, so here goes.

P56 “power is great because it makes you the dominatrix. The psychological manipulator, which is the perfect description for what Amanda was.”

P150 “As we sat there judging and discussing our generation we were ridiculously oblivious to our own behavior. Apparently women often do not realize they are addicted until they are in a heap of trouble, and we were no exception.”

P151 “We were addicted to a variety of deceptions: love deception and sexual deception.”

You must read this book to see exactly what was included in the inheritance that Amanda gave Anne, what was involved in perusing Amanda’s game and what if any consequences, real or imagined in life and in cyberspace.

Defined by Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1) by M.C.V. Egan is a well written Women's Contemporary Fiction with realistic dialog between the characters and a twist of generational similarities and differences.

Cold Coffee Press/Café endorses Defined by Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1) by M.C.V. Egan as a well written Women's Contemporary Fiction with realistic dialog and a twist of generational similarities and differences.

I hear rumors that ‘Climbing Up The Family Tree: Defined by Pedigree’ is next in the series. Meanwhile make sure you read The Bridge Of Deaths: A Love Story and A Mystery by M.C.V. Egan. We reviewed this book from Print/Kindle/PDF format. The review was completed on January 27, 2016. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/ and Cold Coffee Café http://coldcoffeecafe.com/

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Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link

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The Bridge Of Deaths: A Love Story and A Mystery
by M.C.V. Egan (Second Edition)

On August 15th, 1939, an English passenger plane from British Airways Ltd. crashed in Danish waters between the towns of Nykøbing Falster and Vordingborg. There were five casualties reported and one survivor. Just two weeks before, Hitler invaded Poland. With the world at the brink of war, the manner in which this incident was investigated left much open to doubt. The jurisdiction battle between the two towns and the newly formed Danish secret police created an atmosphere of intrigue and distrust.

The Bridge of Deaths is a love story and a mystery. Fictional characters travel through the world of past life regressions and information acquired from psychics as well as archives and historical sources to solve "one of those mysteries that never get solved."

Based on true events and real people, The Bridge of Deaths is the culmination of 18 years of sifting through conventional and unconventional sources in Denmark, England, Mexico and the United States. The story finds a way to help the reader feel that s/he is also sifting through data and forming their own conclusions. Cross The Bridge of Deaths into 1939, and dive into cold Danish waters to uncover the secrets of the G-AESY.

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review for The Bridge Of Deaths:
A Love Story and A Mystery by M.C.V. Egan (Second Edition)

M.C.V. Egan’s book ‘The Bridge Of Deaths’ is unique because the author is driven by childhood memories, family stories and perhaps the spirit of her grandfather who died when an English aircraft (carrying 5) crashed on August 15, 1939. Her exhaustive research, passion for details and networking abilities brings this fiction (based on real events) to life from archives buried during the chaos of World War ll.

Characters like Bill, Maggie and Catalina draw us into their world with conversations and settings that bring the reader to the table, quenches the thirst for love at first sight romance and delves into a quest for knowledge that reaches into the paranormal realm that few of us would dare venture into.

If you like historical fiction (eliminating dry facts) the time frame and mystery behind this historical plane crash and family tragedy will keep you turning the page. The use of skype conversations was creative and the historical documentation such as the use of actual Western Union Telegrams validates the truth behind the fiction.

I personally would have loved to read more about the author’s family and especially her grandfather’s life and see more photos. Understandably this book is mystery based on a tragic historical event and is not a biography. After reading this well thought out, painstakingly researched fictional accounting of a historical event that few of us even know about, I only have one question. Where will M.C.V. Egan take us in a sequel and what nugget of information might be unearthed by the publication of this book?

The blending of facts with mysticism to arrive at the truth is a payoff even for a reader who holds a skeptical view of the paranormal, use of hypnosis and past-life regression.

Cold Coffee Press/Cafe endorses M.C.V. Egan’s book ‘The Bridge Of Deaths’ for the author’s nearly two decades of research, thirst for the truth and family bonds.

'The Bridge Of Deaths' was given to us in a hard copy format for review. Cold Coffee Press completed this review in September 2014. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/ and Cold Coffee Café http://coldcoffeecafe.com/

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Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Amazon Kindle Purchase Link

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Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author M.C.V. Egan

M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family.

From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo--mostly the story of how he died. She spent her childhood in Mexico.

When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class.

In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977. She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years.

In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople.

She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish. Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother.

Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject. She celebrated her 52nd birthday on July 2nd, 2011, and gave herself self-publishing The Bridge of Deaths as a gift. Find M.C.V. Egan and The Bridge of Deaths at http://www.thebridgeofdeaths.com

Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from Florida? I am originally from Mexico City and have lived in a number of places but Florida has been home for a quarter of a century now, and I love it. Hemingway loved it so what’s not to be proud about?

What or who inspired you to become a writer? My affair with words began at a very early age. As the 6th of 8 kids sandwiched between all the males in the house I had a serious need to communicate. When I was 12 we moved from Mexico City to the Washington D.C. area and I had a HUGE list of pen pals, I know that it was through the art of letter writing that I discovered my passion for the craft.

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? Okay? Dare I answer? Years ago I went to a psychic who said; I don’t think you realize it yet, but you are a writer. I went home and looked at my boxes of notebooks and journals; I had imagined myself a published writer before that, but that day it felt plausible, real you know.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? YES and YES! As I said before my very large family made me search for a voice a strong voice and in THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS the strong influence of researching my grandfather’s mysterious death in a 1939 plane crash which is the central storyline.

Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? If I do it very often changes, sometimes a story ends up guiding you to a title.

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? To be honest I write in a variety of genres. I can tell you that I am not capable of good fantasy or Sci Fi as much as I love reading said genres. But I can KILL and I can LOVE, and turn a story into chick lit, romance, murder mystery. Lately I am toying with one act plays.

What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? It was in 1993 when I first held the British Airways LTD. Files in the UK and the archivist RIP to whom I dedicated the book said to me, “Can of worms you are about to open young lady.” I just knew a can of worms always makes for a good story and good book.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? There are frankly so many I cannot pin-point one. The mere process of writing is so healing and frustrating. It is all a bit like loving a complicated person. I can tell you the worst, editing and re-writing, that is tough!

Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I did not expect five star reviews and they poured in, so I took them a bit for granted, and then the searing first bad review was a ONE STAR. It felt horrible! I decided to give it as much attention and promoting as I had all the positive reviews. The encouraging feedback was an amazing experience and that one star review became a favorite, of course I prefer good reviews but my negative reviews have made me grow and explore how I can improve.

What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? The good reviews of course!

Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? There is growth from everything and what might not be great for me is good for others so I am going to stick to the golden rule; “If you don’t have something good to say…” To any writers out there, research your options carefully and contact authors privately with your questions. In a private forum I do voice my negatives.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Trust your own personal unique voice. The same story can be told in a million ways, but it can only be told YOUR way by YOU.

Who is your favorite author and why? I have to first say that I have MANY, especially a lot of great Indie authors I have met in the past three years. However I will give you my ALL TIME classic. W. Somerset Maugham, the why is simple, his stories are phenomenal and timeless. However I also have this goose bump thing to share. In 1948 he wrote the book CATALINA which is my middle name and the one I have always gone by. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99662.Catalina) His book starts on an August 15th and the Plane crash my grandfather died in (the one in The Bridge of Deaths) was on an August 15th, once you get around chapter four Catalina visits a priest to confess and he is Father VERGARA, my maiden name! Now Catalina is far from Mr. Somerset Maugham’s best work, it is not Of Human Bondage or the Razor’s Edge. No Painted Veil, but even at his not so good, OMG the guy was amazeballs.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I have three blogs and I welcome writers and artists as long as it is not Erotic Art or Erotica writing. I am a mom and I think that my son is at an age where he still needs to learn more by example than anything and that is my reason to avoid that. But all others are welcome for a spotlight or an interview at 4covert 2overt A Place in the Spotlight and for my other two blogs I like people with a historical angle, any era, and any theme. I am happy to welcome any of your members whose genres fit.

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Amazon Author’s Page
Professional Website

Author M.C.V. Egan’s Blogs
http://4covert2overt.blogspot.com
http://thebridgeofdeaths.tumblr.com
http://ishistorytheagreeduponlie.blogspot.com
http://mariacatalinaegan.com/2016/01/26/the-summer-i-was-17-sans-armes-ni-haine-ni-violence/comment-page-1/#comment-867

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