Good morning, everyone! Jennifer is extending her hospitality to me today to talk about my new book, Sinners’ Opera, which was released by The Wild Rose Press October 7th. This is the second incarnation of Morgan’s and Isabeau’s love story. The first edition was published by a Canadian publisher in 2015. When I received my rights back, I immediately sent the book to my editor with the Black Rose line. The book has undergone a rewrite.
The book is set in beautiful, historic Charleston, SC. The hero is an English lord, a concert pianist…and a vampire. He has everything except what he most desires—Isabeau. The tag line is Death if his punishment; she his prize.
Since he is a concert pianist, I thought we’d talk about pianos. This blog might be more than you’ve ever wanted to know about pianos, and I will only brush the surface of this most spiritual of instruments. In fact, I’m now looking for a baby grand with a player system (I don’t play). That’s a little not-very-interesting aside.
In Sinners’ Opera, Morgan’s choice of pianos in a Bosendorfer, a very expensive piano. Bosendorfer is an Austrian piano maker, and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha, a Japanese piano manufacturer and is one of the world’s largest producers of pianos. Today, a lot of pianos are made in Japan or Indonesia.
Another premium piano is the Steinway. You’ll find many concert halls have Steinways. Steinway & Sons is an American piano company founded in 1853 by in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg. Along with C. Bechstein (Liszt’s personal favorite), Bosendorfer, and Bluthner, Steinway is often referred to as the Big Four. Steinway’s share of the high-end piano market frequently exceeds 80%.
Another piano with a good, rich sound is the American piano, Mason & Hamlin. Mason & Hamlin is an American piano based in Haverhill, Massachusetts, founded in 1854. In the 19thcentury, they also manufactured a large number of pump organs. They are not inexpensive by any means, but not as expensive as the Steinway or Bosendorfer.
There are a lot of pianos with smaller price tags than $30-80,000. Samick, an Indonesian company, manufactures several lines of pianos, the top of their line being Kohler & Campbell, which also once was an American piano. The Yamaha is more costly, and to my tastes too ‘bright’, meaning that the sound tends to be more high-pitched.
Baldwin, an American piano, founded in 1862 in Cincinnati, is a good, rich piano but the grands or baby grands are still quite expensive.
Kawai is a Japanese piano company and more affordable than the Yahama. The piano company has been striving to improve their pianos and now are recognized for their sound quality. Since I can’t afford one of the Big Boys, maybe I’ll take a look at a Kawaii.
Quickly, let’s look at piano player systems. There are two best known and most used. QRS Pianomation and PianoDisc. Both reproduce keystrokes from recorded music which are transmitted to the piano from solenoids on the inside of the piano (that’s a very simplified version of what goes on). The capabilities of these systems range from those that simply play the piano (often all that’s desired for home use) all the way to those that allow composers to create, play, and print entire orchestral scores without ever leaving the piano bench. I only want one of the new QRS iPad compatible systems.
Morgan and I hope this zippity quick piano lesson hasn’t bored you, but maybe put the desire for a piano into your heart.
Do you research online or in brick-and-mortar stores. There are SO many brands of pianos, and you need to choose one that resonates with you. Also, I don’t know a lot about pianos, so forgive me any mistakes.
Sinners’ Opera
Sinners’ Opera Buy Links:
Tagline: Vampire Morgan D’Arcy has everything except what he most desires…a woman he has loved since the day she was born…Isabeau.
Keywords: The Wild Rose Press, vampires, New releases, books about vampires, obsession and love books, paranormal romance books, Linda Nightingale, Morgan D’Arcy
Blurb:
Morgan D'Arcy is an English lord, a classical pianist, and a vampire. He has everything except what he desires most—Isabeau. As the Angel Gabriel he’s steered her life and career choice, preparing her to become Lady D'Arcy. Many forces oppose Morgan's daring plan—not the least of which is Vampyre law.
Isabeau Gervase is a brilliant geneticist Though she no longer believes in angels, she sees a ticket to a Nobel Prize in Gabriel's secrets—secrets that have led her to a startling conclusion. Gabriel isn't human, and she fully intends to identify the species she named the Angel Genome. Morgan is ready to come back into Isabeau's life, but this time as a man not an angel. Will he outsmart his enemies, protect his beloved and escape death himself? For the first time in eternity, the clock is ticking.
Excerpt:
Hunger gnawed at me. An edgy dark feeling possessed me. I gravitated to the piano as I always did in times of trouble. Alone in the room, the 1930s Bosendorfer gleamed sleek black, waiting patiently for my hands to bring her to life. I settled on the bench to await Lucien St. Albans. ’od’s blood, what had brought the most powerful vampire in the world halfway across the globe to my door?
Avery and a tall black shadow appeared in the doorway. My old ally’s stance was unyielding, blocking the way. “My Lord, Luc—”
“Lucien St. Albans.” The shadow shouldered Avery aside. “I’ve waited for hours.”
Undaunted, the old man stepped in front of the dark prince of the Vampyre. “My Lord, does it please you to receive your guest?”
“Children, stop bickering.” It was the game they always played.
I studied the beautiful, ruthless vampire who’d found me wandering a rutted road in the spring of 1659. Without him, the morning sun would have ended my pilgrimage to the Vampyre. That night in Paris I hadn’t known what it meant to be a vampire, and I was one. My vampire mother had perished to mortal revenge. Lucien St. Albans took me under his wing, guided my discovery of self and taught me to control bewildering powers of mind and body. He had been my teacher, and once we’d shared blood. Through thick and thin, Lucien had been my most loyal friend.
He strode across the room, his presence resonating the air, and posed with his arm resting on the marble Louis XV mantel. Black hair streamed over the shoulders of his black suit. As a young mortal man, Lucien had watched his countrymen nail a carpenter to a cross. Centuries later, he had the power to condemn me to crucifixion—in the sun.
“Good evening, Morgan.” Mocking eyes glittered like scarabs.
“It was a good evening.” I leaned my back against the piano, stretched the length of my legs in front of me, the patent formal shoes gleaming.
“What of courtly manners, My Lord?”
I withheld the smile he expected. “I gave them up for Lent.”
“Lent is in February.” Long bronze fingers twirled an emerald-eyed griffin. “The proper response is, ‘Welcome, Lucien, I’ve missed you.’”
Lucien toying with St. Averil’s heraldic symbol was a blatant challenge. A knot of sick apprehension burned my stomach. I resisted rubbing my abdomen.
Masking dread with sarcasm, I let my gaze stray down the front of him, then flashed a smile. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Lucien had dispensed with a Glamour. Oblong pupils caught the light as he tossed me a fanged smile. I swung a leg over the bench, ran my fingers along the keys, striking the first chords of a symphony I’d write as I played a game turned deadly.
About Linda:
After 14 years in Texas, Linda just returned home to her roots. She has seven published novels, four of which are available from Audible.com in audio. For many years, she bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. Our local author has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award and the SARA Merritt. She retired from a career as a legal assistant at MD Anderson Cancer Center to write full time.
She has 2 wonderful sons—one in Texas; one in England—and 4 equally marvelous grandchildren.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LNightingale
Web Site: http://www.lindanightingale.com– Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.
Blog: https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/- Lots of interesting guests & prizes
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/
Cool excerpt and post, Linda. Best of luck with the book!
ReplyDeleteFascinating information about pianos. love hearing the sound of a piano being played. Great cover. Best of luck with your release.
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