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  Helen Alexander

Interview with Q.L. Pearce

11/20/2016

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Interview with Q.L. Pearce


1. Greetings, can you tell us a little bit about your history and how your work has evolved up to this point?

My first publication was an elementary level activity book about dinosaurs. It came out around the same time as Jurassic Park was published. I was so into dinosaurs I actually figured out that if they made a comeback my favorite, ankylosaurus, would fit in my back yard. I enjoyed writing and researching nonfiction, but my heart had always been set on creating scary short stories. That’s what I loved to read and that’s what I wanted to write. More Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs came out in the early 90s and it was a huge hit! I wrote five books in that series and went on to write several others. I also continued to write nonfiction and branched into biography. With coauthor and illustrator, Gina Capaldi, I wrote Red Bird Sings, which won several awards including a Carter G. Woodson gold medal.

2. What genre, or genres, do you write?

I write for young readers in every age range from picture books to young adult. When it comes to fiction, horror and sci-fi are my favorites.

3.  What is your latest book called and what is it about?

Spinechillers: Hair-Raising Tales is a collection of short stories for a new generation. It includes seven tales about ghosts, monsters, mysteries and mayhem. The stories are generally for tweens and teens, but young horror readers are a unique group who are difficult to categorize so it may appeal to a wider range.

4. What was the inspiration for your book? When did you first get the idea for it?

I have enjoyed ghost stories since a was a child. During my elementary school years I lived on a small island in Florida. My friends and I shared stories and swapped scary comic books. We even formed a ghost-hunting club, though I can’t say we ever found anything. It was fun though. Those days are the inspiration for Spinechillers.

5. How long did it take you to write it? What is your writing process like?

It took about eight months to write the individual stories and another four or five to rewrite. I’m fortunate to have a terrific critique group to help with the process. I’m also very lucky to be able to get feedback from the amazing writing duo, Thorne and Cross. I probably write for a couple of hours a day, and I work on several projects at a time. I’m always on the search for concepts. I love prowling through antique stores or traipsing around in new environments looking for objects and settings that might spark an idea for a tale. My BFF Tamara Thorne and I sometimes go on road trips and we stay in haunted hotels to soak up the atmosphere.

6. What can we expect from you in the future?

I’m working on a new collection of Spinechillers for Book Two. I’m also writing a YA horror novel and a middle grade mystery/adventure series called Mystic Cove, with coauthor Francesca Rusackas.

7. Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine?

Swimming Lessons, the first story in More Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs has always been one of my favorites. It is based on something that happened to me when I lived on the island. Of course I ratcheted up the experience and made it much scarier then it actually was. Still, reading it is like going back and spending some time as my ten-year-old self.

8. Do you plot ahead of time, or do you let the plot emerge as you write?

I usually have a basic idea for a plot, but I put most of my effort in understanding my characters and developing the setting. Once that is in place I let the characters show me what happens.

9. Who are some of your favorite authors to read? Favorite books?

There are so many! Ray Bradbury, George Orwell and Roald Dahl are among my favorite masters. Modern masters include Neil Gaiman and Holly Black. My favorite book is always changing but Something Wicked This Way Comes, Coraline  and The Graveyard Book are all on the list. I remember when I read Fahrenheit 451 I considered what book I would be if I had to memorize it for posterity. I picked Animal Farm.

10. Where can we buy your book?
Amazon!
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About the Author
 
Q.L.Pearce is the author more than 120 books for young readers, from picture books to YA, as well as film tie-in books for the Fox animated film Titan AE and the Universal animated series Land Before Time. Red Bird Sings: The Story of  Zitkala Sa (Carolrhoda Books, with co-author and illustrator, Gina Capaldi), received several awards including a Carter G. Woodson Book Award gold medal from NCSS and a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award gold medal. Her fiction includes the popular middle grade series, Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs (Price, Stern, Sloan). Q believes strongly in the value of scary books for young readers. When asked what credentials she has which qualify her as an expert in this area she replies, "I was a child once. That was very scary."

Spine Chillers Buy Link
Website



Q.L. Pearce – Prose
Excerpt from Spine Chillers


Prom Date

The Roller Grille was the real deal. An authentic drive-in restaurant with car hops on roller skates delivering trays of burgers and fries to people parked outside. It had been in business for decades. Other than a fresh coat of paint now and then it hadn’t changed from the day it opened.
Tyler, Andy and Jacob threaded around the cars and pushed through the glass doors to the diner. A hostess dressed in a fuzzy sweater and a poodle skirt guided customers to booths covered in red vinyl. A candy-colored jukebox blared from a corner. The laughter and chatter of the crowd was louder than the music. Tyler noticed Shay jammed into a booth with her friends. He raised a hand in greeting but she ignored him.
Andy pointed to the long soda fountain. “There’s room over there.” Tyler nodded and they each claimed a stool.
“What’ll it be?” Randy, the soda jerk adjusted his black bow tie and gave them a toothy grin. The boys ordered shakes.
Andy whirled around once on his stool and stopped to face Jacob. “So do they have any place like this in Phoenix?”
“No. This is pretty cool.” He looked around and his eye settled on a wall of photographs. “Who are those people?”
“Those are the prom kings and queens from the high school,” Tyler answered.
“Wow there’s like a hundred of them. What’s the deal with those two?” Jacob pointed to a black and white photo that was larger than the rest.
Tyler slipped into telling the story that everyone in town knew by heart. “That’s Johnny Tonnarro and his girlfriend, Samantha. He was like a rock star a long time ago. He got killed in an accident off Yetter Point.”
“It was a foggy night. He drove his car off the cliff and got squished like a pancake,” Andy added. “His girlfriend waited for hours in the cold for him to show up. She was all dressed for the prom and crying like a baby.”
Jacob gazed at Samantha’s sweet face. “That’s sad. What happened to her?”
Tyler lowered his voice for effect. “She drowned a year later on the anniversary of the accident. She was down on the jetty throwing flowers out into the ocean, those stinky white ones...gardenias. A wave swept her off the rock. Some people say they’ve seen her.”
“Seen her? What do you mean?”
Andy took up the story again. “Every year around this time her ghost waits out on Thorne Road near Highway One for Johnny to pick her up. Just standing there crying.”
Randy placed the shakes in front of the boys and joined in. “This time of year the evenings are usually foggy,” “They say she waits just off the edge of the road in the mist - lavender gown, white gloves, and gardenias in her long, blonde hair.”
Jacob’s mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide. “Really? A real ghost? You’ve seen her?”
Taylor and Andy couldn’t hold back their laughter. “Nobody’s seen her,” Andy snickered. “It’s all made up. Not the accident part but the ghost part.
Jacob frowned. “So Samantha didn’t really die?”
“Oh, yeah. She died alright. She drowned. But only little kids and tourists swallow the ghost story. You have to be a real lamebrain to believe it. Last year the town newspaper offered a ten thousand dollar reward for anybody who could get a photograph of her. There were a lot of fakes but nobody’s earned the money yet.”
Still grinning, Tyler turned to take a sip of his milkshake and caught a glimpse of Shay. She was staring toward the entrance. If looks could kill, her eyes were lethal weapons. Tyler followed her gaze.
“Uh oh,” he whispered and his smile faded. His brother was holding the door open for Anilla Jacoby, Shay’s arch-enemy. Anilla beamed up at Lane and slipped her arm through his. The couple slid into a booth. Shay stood and stormed toward the door without looking at them.
“This isn’t good,” Tyler muttered.
A moment later his phone beeped. He read the text. Come outside now. We need to talk. Shay was waiting for him as he pushed open the door.
“I thought I would die of embarrassment. I can’t believe he would show up here in front of everyone with that airhead hanging on him like that. Now I know why he’s been avoiding me.” She turned on Tyler. “How long has this been going on?”
“Don’t ask me. This is the first time I’ve seen him with Anilla.”
“He needs to pay a price for humiliating me like that. I want to embarrass him in front of all of his friends!”
Tyler shifted nervously. “Shay I don’t want to...” “Think of something!”
“Look, Shay. Maybe you should just let it go. He’s my brother. I can’t ...”
“I’m not going to let this go, Tyler.” She leaned in and growled. “You’re with me or against me. And trust me, if you want to survive high school you don’t want to be against me. I can make your life miserable.” Shay turned and stomped away.

Excerpt from Spine Chillers, by Q.L. Pearce
Copyright © Glass Apple Press 2016.
Berlin Malcom
Publicist
www.bamliterature.com
berlin@bamliterature.com
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Interview with Shay Robell from Spinechillers: Hair-Raising Tales by Q.L. Pearce

11/20/2016

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Interview with Shay Robell

Character name: Shay Robell
Book title: Spinechillers: Hair-Raising Tales by Q.L. Pearce


Tell me a little about yourself?
Well it’s not like everyone in town doesn’t already know about me. Last year I was the only freshman on the Queen’s Court at Saltlick Bluffs High. This year I intend to be prom queen.

Where do you live?
Saltlick Bluffs is on the Central California coast. It’s okay for now but I’m a big fish in a little pond. I can’t wait to graduate and move to New York or something. Then I can be a big fish in a big pond.

Who is the most important person in your life?
Me.

What was your childhood like?
Fine I guess. I live with my mom and latest stepdad. She’s been married a couple of times. In a way that’s cool. The stepdad always wants to make a good impression and win me over, so I usually get whatever I want. My parents mean well but they don’t understand the pressures of being one of…no…being the most popular girl at school. My mother has no taste so I’ve been picking out my own clothes since second grade.

Of all the people you've met, who would you LEAST like to be stuck in an elevator with?
My sixth grade homeroom teacher. She’s one of those Kumbaya types. You know? Everyone is valuable. We’re all  in this together. Please!

What is the most important thing in your life? What do you value most?
My tiara from last year.

What is your biggest fear?
Getting into an accident I guess. I wouldn’t want to be scarred or something.

What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why?
I was in a music video for Cuthulu’s Cat. They shot part of it on the beach just off Yetter point. The band was out on the beach and there were some girls dancing on the jetty behind them. One of them fell and twisted her ankle. The producer saw me and asked if I wanted to replace her. Well duh! He gave me his card for when I get to New York.

Do you have any special talents or abilities?
I can do it all, model, dance, act. I’m smart too. I know how to get what I want.

How do you see your future?
On the cover of Vogue and as the CEO of something. Something big.

If you could spend the day with someone you admire (living or dead or imaginary), who would you pick?
Anna Wintour

If you had a free day with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?
This is just between us, right?  What I would really like to do is spend the day in boxer shorts and a baggy sweatshirt. I wouldn’t brush my hair or put on makeup. I’d just sit on the couch with a giant bag of sour cream potato chips and a pint of salted caramel ice cream, watching reruns of Shaun the Sheep. If you breathe a word of what I said I’ll deny it.

Where can we find out more about you?
I’m the absolutely most important character in Prom Date, the last story in Spinechillers: Hair-Raising Tales Book One.

Spine Chillers Buy Link
Author's Website

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Interview with Michael Thal

3/21/2016

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​Please tell us about your latest book. My latest book, Koolura and the Mayans, is the third book in the Koolura Series. Each book in the series is loosely connected to the other books in the series, but a reader doesn’t have to read book one to appreciate book three. In this third book, Koolura, a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, visits Oaxaca, Mexico with her deaf friend, Leila for a family wedding. The girls visit Monte Alban, a Mayan archeological site. When they explore one of the ruins the girls are transported over 1000 years into the past where they meet an advanced race of aliens that are enslaving the Mayan people and perhaps planning an invasion of Earth. Can Koolura and Leila prevent a time shift?
 
What can we expect from you in the future? I just started researching for my next book, Gem of Peace: The Story of a Deaf Girl in Iran. It will be a fictionalized account of the life a Jewish girl in Iran during the 1950s-70s. It will be loosely based on the childhood of Jila Haghighat, my fiancé, who died last year from colon cancer.
 
How do we find out about you and your books? You can learn more about my books and my writing on my website at www.michaelthal.com. If you’re interested in young adult novels, visit Pop’s Blog at www.michaelthal.com/blog. Here’s where you can read book reviews written by independent authors as well as traditional authors. I also write about current trends in YA lit and suggest books for kids to read. Here are more links: 
 
The Legend of Koolura: http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Koolura-Michael-L-Thal/dp/1470135337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458245825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+Legend+of+Koolura
 
Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback: http://www.amazon.com/Koolura-Mystery-Camp-Saddleback/dp/1494351730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458245888&sr=8-1&keywords=koolura+and+the+mystery+at+camp+saddleback
 
Koolura and the Mayans: http://amzn.com/B01D3UM8JY
 
Goodbye Tchaikovsky: http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Tchaikovsky-Michael-Thal/dp/0880924691/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458245970&sr=8-1&keywords=Goodbye+Tchaikovsky
 
The Abduction of Joshua Bloom: http://www.amazon.com/Abduction-Joshua-Bloom-Michael-Thal/dp/1625260725/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458246019&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Abduction+of+Joshua+Bloom
 
The books are also available on publisher websites and on Barnes & Noble.
 
How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?  I taught elementary/middle school for 28 years. During that time I learned a lot about the middle grade student. That knowledge has been carved into the personalities and behavior of my characters. For example, Koolura is modeled on the personalities of my daughters, Channie and Koren. I also have a strong belief in being kind to others, so my main characters tend to be friendly and polite. Their antagonists, on the other hand, aren’t as accommodating bringing tension and stress to the stories.
 
When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms? I first started writing seriously after a dream about being abducted by aliens. From that dream I wrote The Abduction of Joshua Bloom. However, that project started during my late 20s. The book didn’t get published until 2012. Back in 2000 I suffered from an irreparable hearing loss that left my right ear deaf and my left ear severely damaged. I couldn’t understand my students any longer. When my ENT specialist suggested disability, I jumped at the opportunity to become a full time writer.
 
Generally, how long does it take you to write a book? That depends on the book. Koolura and the Mayans took two years to write. Goodbye Tchaikovsky, the story of a deaf violinist, took about a year to write.
 
Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow? I try to write a chapter a month. For Gem of Peace, I’m in the research stage and should get started writing the book this summer.
 
What is your writing routine once you start a book? I write a chapter then get together with my writing group, The San Fernando Valley Critters, and share what I’ve written. They read the chapter and provide feedback. I then go home, edit, and then write the next chapter. So it goes until the book is finished. With the finished manuscript I re-read, edit, then send off to trusted friends to read and advise. Once that’s done, I’ll send the edited version to my publisher. She is always impressed with how little work she has to do. LOL.
 
What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions? My daughters are adults and don’t live with me any longer. My Jila passed away last year. All I have left to interrupt me is Scribble, my dog. So if she wants to bother me, I give her a bone and that usually shuts her up. LOL!
 
What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries? I visit Channie and my grandchildren or take a trip to Boston to see Koren. But usually, I enjoy going to the gym for a workout.
 
What truly motivates you in general?  In your writing? Once I set a goal for myself I see it through. The monthly meetings of my writing group are a huge motivator to have something to show my writing friends. I refuse to go empty handed.
 
Where do your ideas come from? A few of my ideas came from dreams. Some come when running around beautiful Lake Balboa. And others just pop into my head. I keep a pad of paper nearby and write down ideas so I won’t forget.
 
Do you feel humour is important in YA fiction and why? Yes, humor is very important. For example, in The Legend of Koolura there are many classroom scenes. To keep my kids interested as a teacher I used humor. When kids read they too like to laugh. There are also sad scenes, exciting scenes, and scenes that will make you cry. All the emotions are tugged in my books.
 
What kind of research do you do? For Koolura and the Mayans I had to research a lot about Mayan civilization and incorporate that knowledge into my book. In Goodbye Tchaikovsky I researched hearing loss as well as Deaf Culture and specific signs. To be effective I took ASL classes at a community college. As I’m researching for Gem of Peace I am interviewing Jila’s family to learn more about her childhood in Iran, the community in which she lived, the Persian language, Iranian architecture, etc. Writers want our books to feel as realistic as we can make them feel.
 
Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre? The Abduction of Joshua Bloom is science fiction. Goodbye Tchaikovsky is realistic fiction. And the Koolura series is middle grade/YA fantasy. All five books are linked to the middle school/high school audience I write to. However, adults read my books too and enjoy them as much as the kids.
 
What does your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend think of your writing? Jila was very proud of my writing. Whenever I had a book signing party she’d invite her family and prepare the food.
 
Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.) I grew up on Long Island, New York during the 1950s and 60s. I earned a BA in History at the University of Buffalo then went on to Washington University to earn a MA in elementary education. I chose to live in Los Angeles because of the warm climate. I have two adult daughters, I enjoy traveling, and exercising at the gym.
 
Fill in the blank favorites - Dessert. City. Season. Type of hero. Type of heroine. My favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream. My favorite city is New York City (in the spring/summer), and my favorite season is summertime. As a boy, my hero was Superman and my favorite heroine was his cousin, Supergirl.
 
What are some of your favorite things to do? I enjoy tutoring children and I volunteer at my local synagogue teaching ESL to Iranian and Russian immigrants.
 
Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book? Right now I’m really into Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles. The first in the series is Cinder, which is followed by Scarlet, and then Cress and Winter. I’ve turned into a real Lunatic!
 
Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?  John Grisham’s books always hold my attention. And a little known author, Anne Lauder McGee is excellent. You don’t want to miss her extraordinary historical novel about the Civil War, Anni’s Attic.
 
What do you think of critique groups in general? My critique group has been a huge asset to me.
 
Where do you see yourself in five years? My ex-wife and her husband bought me a condominium in Encino, CA. I plan on being here in five years. I love the place. However, I just started a new job as an International Coordinator for exchange students from Europe and Asia. So I see myself getting involved with that job and taking copious notes for book ideas I may get from that experience.
 
How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer? I’ve been writing since I was 27 years old, so that’s about 40 years now. Writing professionally began after I left my sixth grade teaching job back in 2001.  My interest in becoming a writer was evolutionary, however losing most of my hearing was a huge impetus.
 
How many books have you written, how many have been published? I’ve written five books and all five have been published.
 
After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it? I always buy a copy for my Kindle. I guess I’ll re-read the books after their 10-year publication dates. Got some time on that. I did re-read Goodbye Tchaikovsky. While writing it I injected the emotions of my hearing loss into David Rothman, the main character. So when I read about David’s trials, I cry every time.
 
Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine? I feel the closest to David Rothman because we both suffered from an overnight hearing loss. So Goodbye Tchaikovsky is my favorite, and it’s won awards. Recently it won Second Place in the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards.
 
What book for you has been the easiest to write?  The hardest?  The most fun? Goodbye Tchaikovsky was written in a year, the fastest book I’ve written. It was also the hardest because of my emotional involvement with the main character. Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback as well as Koolura and the Mayans was a lot of fun to write. Having the support of my writing group can attest to that.
 
Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting? That depends. In The Abduction of Joshua Bloom the story came first. In Goodbye Tchaikovsky the protagonist came first. When I write the Koolura series I first think of Koolura, then the setting, and finally the plot.

What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you? The hardest is sitting down and doing it. Once I’m in my seat, time flies.
 
What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer? A teenage girl once said to me, “I love the Koolura Series. I can’t wait until the next book comes out.” I’ll make sure to give her a copy as soon as my print copies are sent to me.
 
If you weren't writing, what would you be doing? I’d probably tutor more children or take on a part time job.
 
Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers? It took over 150 rejections before The Legend of Koolura was accepted by Solstice Publishing for publication. So never give up and make sure when you do submit the work it is your best.
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Koolura, a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, is back again with pal Leila. The duo is off to Mexico for Koolura’s father’s wedding. When touring a Mayan archeological dig, the girls uncover a mysterious device that hurtles them 2000 years back in time. They soon discover aliens from the planet Aquari living amongst Mayan natives. Are these Aquarians planning to take over Earth? And can Koolura and Leila stop them in time? 














Koolura Series

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Koolura-Mystery-Saddleback-Series-Volume/dp/1494351730

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koolura

Twitter: https://twitter.com/koolura

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19399278-koolura-and-the-mystery-at-camp-saddleback

www.michaelthal.com
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Interview with Tamara Thorne & Alistair Cross

3/15/2016

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                                                                                   Like Mother, Like Monster

From filicidal Medea to Hansel and Gretel’s passive-aggressive stepmother, to Norma Bates, Margaret White, and Pamela Voorhees, fiction is loaded with horrific mothers. Whether Erica Sayers, the mother in The Black Swan who made the world cringe when she cut her daughter’s fingernails, or Peyton Flanders, the would-be mother who tried to take over a family in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, crazy mothers are a staple in horror.

When we decided to write about Priscilla Martin, it was in part out of love for all these crazy mothers who have peopled the horror world since the Greeks told their stories of Medea - who was the worst of many horrible mothers in their mythology. And surely that horrific mother archetype goes much further back. Undoubtedly, some of the first drawings done by cavemen depicted macabre maternal memories.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good evil mother? In the original Psycho, the real Norma Bates was a mummy, only “alive” because she had so warped her son that he regularly became her. But what was she all about? In the series Bates Motel, we meet her as a young woman raising a teenaged Norman and get to see, in full cringing detail, how she inadvertently helped him let his freak flag fly. She is a mother wolf, a woman who protects her son at all costs and is anything but a sociopath herself, despite her oedipal leanings. What she does, she does out of love and protection - sure, she’s a little weird, but Norman had to inherit that from someone. His mother is the obvious choice.

Margaret White, on the other hand, was a full-blown fanatical loon who thought that women grew breasts and got periods as punishment for thinking about sex. When she locks Carrie in the closet to pray to a bloody crucifix we feel the horror - the claustrophobic darkness, the confusion and terror. Carrie doesn’t even know why she’s being punished - and haven’t we all felt that way at one time or another? Imagine experiencing it over and over again and it’s easy to see why Carrie finally cracked: Margaret White is a mother who really knows how to hit where it hurts.

And who can forget the pretty-as-a-porcelain-doll Corrine Dollanganger from V.C. Andrews’ classic, Flowers in the Attic? Corrine was a woman who loved status and money so much she was willing to deny the very existence of her children, leaving them to experience life, growth, sex, pain, and even death in the confines of a one-room attic. The only woman worse in that story is the evil grandmother who forces Corrine’s hand.

Our personal favorite, however, is La Llorona, who drowned her own children so that she could win the affections of another man. In the Mexican folktale, La Llorona - the Weeping Woman - is usually married, so she’s one cold mother. We included the lore in our novel, The Cliffhouse Haunting, and our ghostly antagonist, The Blue Lady, is a new twist on this tale of terror.

There’s no shortage of monstrous mommy material out there, and that’s why, when Priscilla Martin, the mother of our own nightmarish making, came to us demanding a story all her own, we were more than happy to oblige. In fact, we were afraid not to.

From all these tales of mad matriarchs, we’ve learned that mothers can be far crueler disciplinarians than fathers. We see this in our novel, Mother. Priscilla Martin is both creative and inappropriate in her punishments, and woe unto the favored child in this case. There are plenty of mothers who fall into this category, from those who put out cigarettes on tender flesh to those who make their own children sick to gain attention. (This was best shown in The Sixth Sense when Cole meets the ghost of a girl who is the victim of Munchausen’s by proxy.)

Priscilla Martin, we learned, is a woman with a plan - and nothing gets in the way of her plans. What continually surprised us were not only the plans themselves, but the lengths Priscilla was willing to go to in order to have her way. This is a woman who does not accept failure and does not like to go unnoticed. And from her attention-commanding layers of Opium perfume to putting herself in charge of every neighborhood and church event, she is not easily overlooked. Priscilla is a woman whom we’ve all met - and tried to avoid - in real life.

As evidenced by the rooms stuffed full of decades-old trinkets and teetering stacks of dust-covered prized possessions, Priscilla’s motive, like her real-life counterparts’, is ownership. And there’s nothing she loves owning more than other people - especially when it comes to her own children.

Mother likes to play favorites, too. While her long-dead son, Timothy, is the apple of her hawk-like eye, her daughter, Claire, makes hardly a blip on the radar. But only when unavoidable circumstances force Claire and her husband, Jason, back into Mother’s lair, did we get to see the very twisted roots from which our story evolved. When Claire’s memories come flooding back we, as the authors, got to see a past that was even more horrific than we’d imagined.

Why are horrific mothers so popular? We think it’s because, all too often, these horror stories are derived from real experience. It’s art imitating life.




Please tell us about your latest book.

Mother is a psychological thriller in the vein of Psycho and Misery, with a pinch of Peyton Place and a dash of Gaslight. It concerns a young, expectant couple, Claire and Jason Holbrook, who’ve fallen on hard times, forcing them to move in with Claire’s estranged mother. Claire vowed to have no contact with the overbearing woman ever again, but Mother is thrilled at the prospect of a grandchild. At Mother’s, Claire and Jason begin experiencing things that make them determined to leave immediately … but when a cruel twist of fate makes leaving impossible, Claire becomes obsessed with her mother’s motives. Fantasy and fact blur together as her compulsion consumes her, and Jason wonders who the villain really is. When a cache of macabre family secrets is uncovered, Claire and Jason find the answers they’re looking for - answers that will change them forever … assuming anyone can get out of Mother’s house alive.

What can we expect from you in the future?

More installments of The Witches of Ravencrest, a collaborative sequel to Tamara’s classic vampire novel, Candle Bay, a solo novel from each of us, more collaborations, and an abundance of fascinating dark fiction writers on our radio show, Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!

How do we find out about you and your books?

Readers can find everything they’re looking for and more at our websites: tamarathorne.com and alistaircross.com  We also have a mutual blog.

How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

While it’s impossible for an author not to “leak” into his or her stories to some degree, we try never to insert ourselves into our work. Nothing has either of us shutting a book more quickly than the author’s constant presence, peering over our shoulders as we read, telling us what a fascinating person they are, showing us how much they know. The author’s ego is an easy thing to spot, and in our opinion, doesn’t belong in fiction. So we work very hard to not inject our personalities and personal narratives into our work.

When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

Tamara: I was in second grade when I wrote my first story simply for the joy of it. I began devouring every last book on writing the library had in those years - there were hundreds - and continued reading and writing throughout school. After a hiatus to try out the “normal world” I decided to write a novel. I submitted it when it was finished. That’s it.

Alistair: I first thought about being a writer when I was in third grade. I began submitting manuscripts when I was in my early thirties and what prompted me to submit them was the hard-earned knowledge that I would never truly be happy until writing was my job and not just my hobby.

Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?

With edits and final research, five to nine months. Basic research begins in spare moments many months before that.

Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

Absolutely. We write together from 8:30 am to about 7:00 pm Monday through Friday, and put three to six hours in on Saturdays for promotional and other business-related tasks.

What is your writing routine once you start a book?

It always starts with several weeks of research and world-building and brainstorming. Then we write every day, keeping regular hours. As we get close to the finish, we give up other Saturday tasks to finish. Immediately after that, we dive into our major edit, then send it out to the copy editors. While they have it, we begin the research, world-building and brainstorming on the next book. When the completed book comes back, we read it again and do our final edit. Then it goes to the publisher and we’re instantly writing our next novel.

What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

We set boundaries and made it clear very early on that writing was our job. We don’t receive phone calls or accept visitors during writing hours, the same way we wouldn’t be chatting on our phones or hanging out with friends if we worked for a company. Initially, people do assume that you’re available when you’re working at home, but you just have to shut that down before it gets out of control. Sometimes, you have to be harsh … the people around us wouldn’t really dare interrupt, and that’s the way we like it. Only our cats get a pass.

What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

Tamara: After a long day at the computer, I like a couple of cats in my lap, a Family Guy or two and then some horror - a Walking Dead, a Supernatural, a horror movie. In bed, what I need is a hard, strapping novel that knows how to make love to my brain.

Alistair: I read. A lot. I’m also a fan of The Walking Dead. And I like going for drives with no destination in mind, listening to really loud music.
 
What truly motivates you in general?  In your writing?

Tamara: Desire for knowledge and love of fun motivate me in equal parts. In my writing, it’s all about being passionately interested in my subject matter - so it’s pretty much the same thing.

Alistair: My primary motivation is to get out the stories that have been milling around in my mind for the majority of my existence. My secondary motivation is a refusal to fail, an unwillingness to be one of those “writers” who never actually writes anything.

Where do your ideas come from?

Everywhere.

Tamara: Often my ideas gel in dreams, though more often, Alistair and I just begin riffing on something small - a tiny detail in a photo, a peculiar word, a place - and we end up brainstorming. Before we know it, we have another book to write.

Alistair: Agreed. The real question is, where don’t you get ideas. Ideas are all around you, all the time.

Do you feel humor is important in the horror and thriller genres and why?

Humor is vital to horror or any other anxiety-inducing genre. Unrelenting stress isn’t any fun for many of us (although we have met a handful of folks who seem to enjoy chronic stress and chaos!) Alfred Hitchcock always made his audience relax or even chuckle before doing something shocking. While we don’t set out to do humor, certain characters inevitably rise up and give some comic relief. We’re grateful - they keep our heads from exploding.
 
What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?


Not at all. While we don’t write full-on romance, there’s plenty of it in many of our books. The Ghosts of Ravencrest is loaded with it and our scenes tend to be quite spicy. Every so often, we enjoy titillating our readers. We’ve been told the section of The Ghosts of Ravencrest titled “Awakening” requires smoking after the, uh, climaxes.

What kind of research do you do?

We do all kinds of research. We always try to get reality right - from housing styles, to types of high heels, to how to get a pike into someone’s skull properly. We discovered we both have a penchant for historical research when we wrote “Christmas Spirits,” a historical novella inside The Ghosts of Ravencrest. For Mother, we researched certain aspects of psychology - both through written material and by consulting a friendly psychologist - to make sure we got everything right. To write outrageous things, your base in reality must be impeccable.

Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?

We don’t really think about genre. No matter what we write, it’s unlikely we - alone or collaboratively - are capable of enjoying writing a story that doesn’t have a horrific aspect.

What does your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend  think of your writing?

We are both very fortunate that our spouses are extremely supportive of our careers and what we write. They love our stories and we love them for it.

Do you ever ask him/her for advice?

Neither of us have ever let our mates read until a book is complete - then both will read for continuity and grammatical errors. We appreciate that, and their praise. It means a lot.

Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)

Tamara lives in southern California with her high school sweetheart and a passel of purring felines. Her husband loves to cook and her hobby is encouraging him. Tamara’s educational background is in journalism and psychology.

Alistair also married his high school sweetheart and they live near the mountains with two cats and one blind, deaf, elderly dog. Alistair’s hobbies include poetry, photography, and stalking Stevie Nicks. Well, not stalking exactly, that would be creepy. But, you know, waiting in angst for the next album to drop … googling for pictures he might somehow have never seen before. Things of that nature.  
 
Fill in the blank favorites - Dessert. City. Season. Type of hero. Type of heroine.

Tamara: Lemon sour cream pie. San Francisco. Fall. Deadpool. Feisty.

Alistair: Raspberry cheesecake. New York. Fall. Anyone who dares carve their own path. Spandex pants?

What are some of your favorite things to do?

Tamara: Hike the trails at Joshua Tree National Monument or hike any mountain trail, go to allegedly haunted locations and soak up the atmosphere - or if it’s a touristy haunt, plant ideas in people’s heads to watch reactions. Petting cats. Reading. Roadtrips.

Alistair: Read, go on long drives. Listen to music.

Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?

Tamara: I teethed on Ray Bradbury and consider him my mentor. His book, Dandelion Wine, is an eternal favorite. Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House, Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor, Tolkien, LOTR.  All early favorites, all influences.

Alistair: I have a few favorites. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It by Stephen King. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Pines by Blake Crouch. The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

Tamara: Stephen King and Nelson DeMille - those are two authors whom I will read even if I don’t care for the subject matter. I enjoy many, many more. Graham Masterton, James Blaylock, Douglas Clegg, Peter Straub, Harlan Ellison, Kurt Vonnegut, and of course, Alistair Cross!

Alistair: Stephen King, V.C. Andrews, John Saul, William Peter Blatty, and Tamara Thorne (I know she’s my collaborator, but I’m serious. I’ve been a fan since the 90s)

What do you think of critique groups in general?

They’re great for some people. A good group, free of petty jealousies, is hard to find, but if you like going the critique route, that’s what you need.  Neither of us have ever been joiners. We prefer another writer to critique with - and we have each other for that. We have a good friend, a children’s writer who used to be an editor that we go to for content commentary when we finish a manuscript.  

Where do you see yourself in five years?

No changes except for having lots more books out! And Alistair will be totally buff. He’s working out, you know. Tamara will become buff by osmosis.

How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?

We have both been writing since the earliest primary grades and both of us have always wanted to be writers.

How many books have you written, how many have been published?

Tamara: About a dozen, maybe more. All have been published or are about to be.

Alistair: Several collaborations with Tamara, one solo and another on the way.

After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

Tamara: No. It’s behind me and I prefer to look forward. Though occasionally, I’ll reread a book that’s a few years old and I don’t remember it so well. That’s fun. Alistair and I are both about to reread my vampire novel, Candle Bay, because we’re writing the sequel together.

Alistair: No. By the time a book goes to print, I’ve already read it anywhere from five to seven times, and by then, I’m clear sick of the sight of it, and eager to get started on the next.

Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine?

We’re in love with our new psychological thriller, Mother, as well as our ongoing series, The Ravencrest Saga, which pays homage to gothics like Dark Shadows and lots of other things. We’re both very fond of Ravencrest’s Belinda Moorland - we love watching her grow. We’re also crazy about Ravencrest’s Grant Phister - a butler who is more than he appears. And then there’s Coastal Eddie, a DJ/conspiracy nut (or is he?) who first debuted in Candle Bay and now appears in all of our collaborations as the voice of unreason and, perhaps, reason.

What book for you has been the easiest to write?  The hardest?  The most fun?

None of our collaborations have been difficult, but Mother has been, hands down, the most fun. An absolute blast. And despite the fact it flowed onto the page easily, it was also the most difficult to write - it’s been a complicated dance. We should also mention The Cliffhouse Haunting - we shrieked with glee regularly during its writing.

Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?

Alistair: Usually, the characters come first for me.

Tamara: It’s often a location, but location is a character. It’s always character.

What are the elements of a great romance for you?

Tamara: Spookiness, mystery.

Alistair: Longing.

What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?

Tamara: The hardest part is getting up in the morning. The easiest is the joy of brainstorming - and writing once we get in the zone.

Alistair: The hardest part for me is often research, and sometimes setting. The easiest part is dialogue.

Have you experienced writer's block? If so, how did you work through it?

We don’t believe in it. If something isn’t coming, we just write. It can be nonsense, it can have little to do with the project, but before long we’re there. We think writer’s block often emerges when an author trying to force a character or story to do his or her bidding. Listen to your characters, keep typing, and it will flow. Honestly, we consider pleading writer’s block a lazy way to get out of working.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

The short commute to the desk and the comfy clothing are nice, but the best thing about being a writer is getting to create new worlds, to live in them, and feel what our characters feel. Finishing a book is about as satisfying as it gets.

If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

Tamara: Maybe a profiler - I’ve been told I have a knack for that - and it’s similar to being a writer. Or a forest ranger or a beach bum. Maybe a Halloween-house engineer.

Alistair: Honestly? I’d be miserable. Likely drunk most of the time. Perhaps I’d have a job somewhere, doing something inane and repetitive, assuming I didn’t get fired for being drunk.

Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Don’t write to a market because you think you might make money that way - write what you love. Write every day and don’t take advice from anyone who isn’t where you want to be.
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Tamara Thorne is the author of many novels including international bestsellers, Haunted, Moonfall, Bad Things, and The Sorority. She’s been interested in ghost stories all her life and has been published since 1991. Alistair Cross’ debut novel, The Crimson Corset, was an immediate bestseller which earned praise from vampire-lit veteran Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and well as NYT bestselling author of The Walking Dead, Jay Bonansinga. In 2012, Thorne and Cross joined forces and they have since completed three novels, The Cliffhouse Haunting, which reached the bestsellers list in its first week of release, the successful Gothic The Ghosts of Ravencrest, and Mother, which is due out this spring. They are currently working on their next projects, which are slated for release throughout 2015 and 2016.


Together, Thorne and Cross host the popular Horror/Thriller/Paranormal-themed radio show, Thorne & Cross Haunted Nights LIVE!, which has included such guests as worldwide bestseller, V.C. Andrews, Laurell K. Hamilton of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels, Charlaine Harris of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and basis of the HBO series True Blood, Jay Bonansinga of the Walking Dead series, Peter Atkins, screenplay writer of Hellraiser 2, 3, and 4, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro of the Saint-Germain vampire series, Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter novels that inspired the hit television series, and New York Times bestsellers Christopher Rice, Jonathan Maberry, Christopher Moore.
 
You can visit Alistair Cross’ website at www.alistaircross.com and Tamara Thorne’s website at www.tamarathorne.com

MOTHER
Thorne & Cross
Glass Apple Press
Berlin Malcom, publicist
berlinmanagement11@gmail.com
Release: spring 2016
Psychological Thriller
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MOTHER
 
A Girl’s Worst Nightmare is Her Mother ...
Priscilla Martin. She’s the diva of Morning Glory Circle and a driving force in the quaint California town of Snapdragon. Overseer of garage sales and neighborhood Christmas decorations, she is widely admired. But few people know the real woman behind the perfectly coiffed hair and Opium perfume.
 
Family is Forever. And Ever and Ever ...

Nothing escapes Prissy’s watchful eye, nothing that is, except her son, who committed suicide many years ago, and her daughter, Claire, who left home more than a decade past and hasn’t spoken to her since. But now, Priscilla’s daughter and son-in-law have fallen on hard times. Expecting their first child, the couple is forced to move back … And Prissy is there to welcome them home with open arms … and to reclaim her broken family.
 
Home is Where the Terror Is ...

Jason Holbrook loves his wife. He’s heard Claire’s stories about Priscilla, but now it seems Mother has mended her ways, and as he uncovers a cache of vile family secrets, he begins to wonder who the real monster is. Lives are in danger - and Jason must face a horrifying truth … a truth that may destroy him … and will forever change his definition of “Mother.”
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Interview with Alistair Cross

8/7/2015

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW


1. Greetings, can you tell us a little bit about your history and how your work has evolved up to this point?

Greetings, and thanks for having me! I’ve been writing since I was about eight years old when I began penning short stories and what I thought of at the time as songs.

Currently, I write solo and collaborative novels and while I still write the occasional poem, I find myself doing this less often as free time has become rather scarce. As for how my work has evolved, I see quite a bit of stylistic difference when I look at my work from just a few years ago. I think I’ve gotten better at setting, which is something that used to intimidate me quite a bit. I also think I’ve grown a lot in terms of character development and managing multiple plot threads since switching to third person a few years back.

I also find I have a much firmer command of the language than I used to. I think this is the natural result of writing and reading on a continual basis.


2. What genre, or genres, do you write?

Paranormal, Gothic, Horror, and Thriller.


3.  What is your latest book called and what is it about?

It’s called The Crimson Corset, the first in a series titled The Vampires of Crimson Cove. The Crimson Corset is about a seemingly ordinary young man named Cade Colter who moves to the tourist-centric little village of Crimson Cove where he discovers he’s not so ordinary after all. Unbeknownst to him, Cade has a genetic rarity that makes him very extraordinary … and very valuable, particularly to Gretchen VanTreese, the undead proprietor of the Crimson Corset - a nightclub of ill-repute that looms at the edge of town.

As Cade becomes the object of Gretchen’s obsession, the peaceful vampires on the other side of Crimson Cove must call off the ancient and uneasy truce between their Loyals and Gretchen’s in order to protect Cade Colter. But Gretchen has already begun laying an elaborate trap that will put Cade, and everyone around him, in mortal danger.

The Crimson Corset is a tale of terror and seduction, good and evil; it’s a demonstration of the corruption of power, and the strength of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity.  


4. What was the inspiration for your book? When did you first get the idea for The Crimson Corset?

Although I never foresaw myself writing a vampire novel, I suspect I was inspired by vampire books I read when I was younger - particularly Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which I found fascinating and seductive.

As for the idea for The Crimson Corset, it came to me, oddly enough, at a nightclub I visited a few years ago. The atmosphere of the place inspired me in a dark, strange way, and I spent the evening alone at the bar jotting down the plot on the backs of napkins.


5. How long did it take you to write it? What is your writing process like?


I actually began this book in 2006 and I completed it in 2010. However, after a few years of writing other things, I returned to this novel to find that it needed a serious facelift - so much so, that I rewrote it from the ground up in third person instead of first. I began that process in early January of 2015, so it took me about four and a half months to write and three months to edit and revise.

I try to keep my process simple. For several weeks before beginning a project, I immerse myself in research, setting, plot, and character development. Once I start the story, I don’t stop until it’s complete. I write full-time, usually putting in 8 to 10 hours per day 6 days a week.


6. What can we expect from you in the future?

There is much on the way.  Between solo works, and collaborative projects with my co-author, Tamara Thorne, the next year or two will bring angels, demons, ghosts, over-protective mothers, unstable lovers, crazy writers, sadistic housekeepers, witches, and even some zombies. It’s going to be a very busy year ...


7. Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine?

I have thought about this, and can only answer by saying that my favorite book is whatever I happen to be working on at the time. As for favorite heroes and heroines, I have a few from each book. From The Crimson Corset, I’m really fond of Cade Colter and his brother Brooks. In The Ghosts of Ravencrest, Belinda Moorland is endlessly interesting, and her phantom lover, Thomas Manning, is always a lot of fun. In The Cliffhouse Haunting, I get a particular kick out of Constance Welling and Dr. Siechert, although I’m not sure either of those two would qualify as heroes.


8. Do you plot ahead of time, or do you let the plot emerge as you write?

A little of both. I like having an abstract roadmap with one to three possible endings, then I let the characters go wild on the page and enjoy the journey as they execute the story on their own terms.


9. Who are some of your favorite authors to read? Favorite books?


I thoroughly enjoy the works of many authors from many genres. Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Rice, Ira Levin, Tamara Thorne, John Saul, Stephen King, Patricia Scanlan, Christopher Moore, Richard Laymon … it’s a very long list.


10. Where can we buy your books?

All my information can be found on the Library page of my website at alistaircross.com

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CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Character name:

Gretchen VanTreese

Book name:

The Crimson Corset


Tell me a little about yourself?


I was born in Sweden, in 1660, where I lived a life of utter boredom until 1679 when my mother, who’d been unhappy with the country since the end of Queen Christina’s reign, took me to Rome where we began new lives. That same year, Mother and I were attacked by a vampire - and we were both turned. I don’t know anything about him except that he was a traveling tradesman.


Where do you live?

Mother and I moved to America in 1779 and traveled quite a lot, but after Mother’s … demise, I settled in the area that is now known as Crimson Cove, California. In 1912, I purchased the nightclub I call The Crimson Corset and have lived there since then with several followers of my own. I’d been outcast by Mother’s group, you see. She had her own band of Loyals who shared her philosophy that vampires should live invisibly among humans. In short, she wanted us to cower to them. I disagreed, and her little group didn’t take kindly to it when I killed her. She had no spine. So … let the punishment fit the crime, I say. (Evil grin)


Who is the most important person in your life?


(Sighs) It’s a sad existence indeed when the most important person in my life is a damned human, but currently, that is the unfortunate truth. There is a young man named Cade Colter who recently moved to Crimson Cove. He has a very special ... talent; something that would secure me in a position of ultimate power. He’s become very important to me.


What was your childhood like?

Until I was given immortal life, my existence was dull and unremarkable. I was raised by a woman with no understanding of her own capabilities, or mine. I had no father and know nothing about the man with whom my mother procreated. Surely, he was a great man because I certainly didn’t get anything of value from Mommy Dearest.


Of all the people you've met, who would you LEAST like to be stuck in an elevator with?


Ethan Hunter, Crimson Cove’s very own sheriff. He’s such a tedious man, always showing up where he doesn’t belong. Of course, if I were stuck in an elevator with him, I suppose that would give me the opportunity to see what kind of mettle he’s really made of ...


What is the most important thing in your life? What do you value most?

My legacy. I was born for greatness, and finally, after all these years, it is within my grasp.


What is your biggest fear?


Silly human. I don’t acknowledge fear and I certainly don’t invite it in for tea. Fear is the height of weakness. It’s an illusion - an excuse to take the easy road.


What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why?


Cade Colter’s recent move to Crimson Cove, because he carries the very key to my destiny. It’s only a matter of time before I get my hands on him, and what is time to vampire, after all? I can wait.


Do you have any special talents or abilities?


I doubt very much that you’d like me to sully your blog and offend your readers with an in-depth account of my talents, but I assure you, I have plenty.  


How do you see your future?

Oh, you should see it! (clasps hands together) It will be wonderful!


If you could spend the day with someone you admire (living or dead or imaginary), who would you pick?


I wouldn’t mind an evening with Jim Morrison. (Raises eyebrow) Again.


If you had a free day with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?


In my very limited free time, I like being pampered by Scythe, my guard. If you want to talk about special talents, I could spend hours pontificating the ways in which he pleases me. But again … it would be inappropriate to discuss here. Let’s just say that the real  “Vlad the Impaler” has nothing on my favorite pet, Scythe.


Where can we find out more about you?


I’ve heard rumors that some half-witted human has written a book about the recent events in Crimson Cove called The Crimson Corset. Really, it was just a matter of time before someone wrote a book about me, and I suppose I should be flattered, but I haven’t even read it. I only hope he didn’t leave out the story behind the real crimson corset - the one I’m wearing now. (Runs fingers across her corset’s ribbing) There’s a hell of a tale behind this garment ...


EXCERPT from The Crimson Corset


Untidy, Ryan Closter had called it. The young deputy had a knack for understatement so when Ethan arrived at the scene just after seven a.m., he was prepared to be put off - but this was downright ghastly. This wasn’t the way Ethan liked to start his mornings.

Blood was everywhere, a dried riot of red rust all over the floor, across the bed, and even on the ceiling. It was as if someone had put a bomb in a can of paint. And the smell was unbearable. Flies swarmed like a black cloud above the body.

Closter spoke at Ethan’s side. “A neighbor heard some noises last night. She informed the landlord this morning, and after knocking and getting no response, this is what he walked into.”

At the center of the bed lay the woman, facedown, in a dried pool of her own fluids.

“Her name’s Rose Keller,” Closter said.

Ethan shook his head. “Day manager of the Black Garter.”

“You know her?”

“Our paths crossed recently.” Ethan wouldn’t have been surprised to hear the woman had overdosed on something, but wouldn’t have guessed she’d go like this.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Closter looked a little green, and his partner, Nick Grayson, gave Ethan an uncertain glance.

“Why don’t you go get some fresh air, Closter?” Ethan said. “We’ll be fine till the others show up.”

The deputy swallowed and nodded, his face clammy. The last thing they needed was for someone to throw up on the crime scene - not that it’d be the first time.

As Closter stepped out, Ethan heard the buzz of bystanders just outside the door. “Jesus,” someone said. “I’ve never seen so much blood …”

“I heard they can’t find her head,” said another.

The voices faded as the door closed. How eagerly people swarm to violence and death. Like ants to a piece of rotten fruit. It unsettled Ethan.

The room was hot, intensifying the reek of blood, of innards - of death. Dozens of flies crawled lazily over the body and more were landing. Ethan’s own stomach roiled a little. He hadn’t been sick at a scene since his earliest days on the force and he didn’t intend to buckle now, but it wasn’t easy. He’d never seen anything this theatrical; it looked like the police photographs from the Jack the Ripper crimes. But in horrible living color. He moved closer and stared down at the woman on the bed. Two stumps of spine glistened white, jutting out of the mess that was the rest of her. It was as if someone had unzipped her skin, reached inside, and yanked her backbone out. And they’d managed to snap it in half in the process.

“Whoever did this was sending a message.” Deputy Grayson was crouched beside the bed, his gaze roving over the late Ms. Keller. A former quarterback in his early-forties with broad shoulders and the earliest beginnings of a beer gut, Nick Grayson was one of Ethan’s best.

Ethan nodded. “I’ll agree with you on that.”

Grayson’s gaze never left the victim. “A killer doesn’t cause a scene like this unless he wants to make a statement.”

The question was, who was the killer, and what was he trying to say? “No sign of any weapons?”

Grayson shook his head and Ethan noticed new gray at the deputy’s temples. This was the kind of work that would do that. “Nope. Nothing.”

Ethan had figured as much. There was something about this scene that didn’t work.

The woman was tangled in white sheets, reminding him, morbidly, of an old barber’s pole. Red and white, red and white, blood and bandages, blood and bandages. He walked around the bed, seeing it from all angles. Every crime scene told a story, you just had to know how to read it. And this one, Ethan was certain, was one hell of a tale.

The more he saw, the more certain he became of two things. One, Rose’s killer was not human, and two, it was not an animal, either. Not in the usual sense, anyway. He bent and moved the victim’s hair back a little, careful not to disturb anything. He saw the bite marks on her neck that confirmed his suspicions. He’d have them checked against dental records and if he was lucky - which was highly unlikely - maybe they’d catch the perp fast.

There were also places along her shoulders and arms where the skin was torn. Someone went to town on her. The thick sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach went colder.

“I’ve been trying to figure that out, too,” said Grayson, watching him. “They’re bites.”

Ethan’s knees popped as he stood and moved to the window. He pinched back the blood-spattered white curtains and stared down. Outside, the Ivory Heights apartment complex was already surrounded by a swarm of onlookers, and it was only going to get worse. Rose Keller’s one-bedroom, second-story apartment would soon be a frenzy of technicians, detectives, plainclothes, more uniforms, a photographer, and videographer. There was no dignity in death, he thought as he looked at the shredded body on the bed. Especially not when you die like that.

Ethan decided it was time to pay Michael Ward another visit.


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BIO

Alistair Cross was born in the western United States and began penning his own stories by the age of eight. First published by Damnation Books in 2012, Alistair has since published several more novels. In 2012, he joined forces with international bestselling author, Tamara Thorne, and as Thorne & Cross, they write the successful Gothic series, The Ghosts of Ravencrest. Their newest novel, The Cliffhouse Haunting, is an Amazon Best Seller, and this summer also sees the release of Alistair’s solo novel, The Crimson Corset.

In 2014, Alistair and Tamara began the internet radio show, Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE! Haunted Nights LIVE! premiered to great acclaim and has featured such guests as Chelsea Quinn Yarbro of the Saint-Germain vampire series, Charlaine Harris of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and basis of the HBO series True Blood, Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter novels that inspired the hit television series, Jay Bonansinga of the Walking Dead series, Laurell K. Hamilton of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels, and New York Times best sellers Christopher Rice, Jonathan Maberry, and Christopher Moore.

Alistair is currently at work on several projects including a solo novel and a new Thorne & Cross collaboration. His influences include the works of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Ira Levin, and William Peter Blatty.

Media Links

website: alistaircross.com

blog: alistaircross.wordpress.com

twitter: @crossalistair

Facebook: facebook.com/alistaircoss

Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/6517308.Alistair_Cross

Buy links:

The Crimson Corset: http://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Corset-Vampires-Cove-Book-ebook/dp/B0139K6N7Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438671456&sr=8-2&keywords=crimson+corset

The Cliffhouse Haunting: http://www.amazon.com/Cliffhouse-Haunting-Tamara-Thorne-ebook/dp/B00VL9LUC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438206219&sr=8-1&keywords=cliffhouse


The Ghosts of Ravencrest: http://www.alistaircross.com/My-Library

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Welcome to Crimson Cove

Sheltered by ancient redwoods overlooking the California coast, the cozy village of Crimson Cove has it all: sophisticated retreats, fine dining, and a notorious nightclub, The Crimson Corset. It seems like a perfect place to relax and get close to nature. But not everything in Crimson Cove is natural.

When Cade Colter moves to town, he expects it to be peaceful to the point of boredom. But he quickly learns that after the sun sets and the fog rolls in, the little tourist town takes on a whole new kind of life – and death.

Darkness at the Edge of Town

Renowned for its wild parties and history of debauchery, The Crimson Corset looms on the edge of town, inviting patrons to sate their most depraved desires and slake their darkest thirsts. Proprietor Gretchen VanTreese has waited centuries to annihilate the Old World vampires on the other side of town and create a new race – a race that she alone will rule. When she realizes Cade Colter has the key that will unlock her plan, she begins laying an elaborate trap that will put everyone around him in mortal danger.

Blood Wars

The streets are running red with blood, and as violence and murder ravage the night, Cade must face the darkest forces inside himself, and perhaps even abandon his own humanity, in order to protect what he loves.

“Put Bram Stoker in a giant cocktail shaker, add a pinch of Laurell K. Hamilton, a shot of John Carpenter, and a healthy jigger of absinthe, and you’ll end up with Alistair Cross’s modern Gothic chiller, “The Crimson Corset” - a deliciously terrifying tale that will sink its teeth into you from page one.”

- Jay Bonansinga, New York Times Bestselling author of THE WALKING DEAD: INVASION and LUCID

“This drop-deadly tale of seduction and terror will leave you begging to be fanged … ”

- Tamara Thorne, international bestselling author of HAUNTED and MOONFALL

“I couldn’t put this book down. It’s got more hooks than a day boat out of San Pedro Harbor!”

- QL Pearce, bestselling author of SCARY STORIES FOR SLEEP-OVERS

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Interview with David K. Bryant

2/7/2015

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Tread Carefully on the Sea by David K. Bryant

Solstice Publishing



1. Greetings, can you tell us a little bit about your history and how your work has evolved up to this point?


One of the biggest thrills of my life has been taking up my new pastime of writing books. I would never have guessed it could be so stimulating and satisfying. I was a journalist and public relations executive so I should have realized earlier in life that my penchant for the pen could be extended to authorship but that actually took until I was 68 years old.

2. What genre, or genres, do you write?


Historical fiction.

3.  What is your latest book called and what is it about?


My only published book is Tread Carefully on the Sea. It’s set in the pirate-infested Caribbean of the 1700s. The Royal Navy is just beginning to get the upper hand when the worst of the buccaneers, Captain Flint, commits his worst crime – and makes his biggest mistake – by kidnapping the Governor of Jamaica’s niece. That leads to all sorts of drama including conspiracy, murder, cannonades, bare-knuckles boxing, disease and a devastating storm.

BTW – Anybody who recognizes the name Captain Flint will have guessed that Tread Carefully on the Sea is a prequel to the great classic Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

4. What was the inspiration for your book? When did you first get the idea for
Tread Carefully on the Sea?

I had my first go at a book some time in the 1970s. It had been in my head since childhood that a prequel was needed to Treasure Island. So I wrote one. I wasn’t impressed with it, put it in a drawer and forgot about it. Then years later, my schoolboy son Matthew read Treasure Island and I told him I’d written the prequel. At his request I read it to him. When he was in his 20s he asked to read it again. I was ashamed to give him the old sub-standard job so I started re-writing. This time I did all the historical research and gradually put together a bunch of characters and a plot that, I thought, worked. It became my first published book, Tread Carefully on the Sea.

5. How long did it take you to write it? What is your writing process like?


I think the writing took three years. It did flow reasonably well but a lot of that time was spent on research. There was so much to get right: places; 18th Century events and customs; clothes; ships; weapons; currency; food; medicine. The list goes on.

My writing process is to grab time when I can, which can be anytime during night or day, but I work in two-hour stints. I don’t have a longer concentration span. Whenever I get stuck on something, I escape to emails or social media, then return to the book.

6. What can we expect from you in the future?


Three more books. (Yes I’m working on them all at once.) They’re all historical novels but the similarity ends there. The one nearest completion is a story set in ancient Rome. Like Tread Carefully on the Sea, it took an enormous amount of research. It’s based around actual events as recorded by the Roman chronicler, Livy. Another of the books is set in the 1960s, a decade rightly known for its social revolution. But there was a darker side: everyone thought the world was about to end and the drama takes place against the background of the UFO hysteria of that time. The third book is a police/crime thriller set in the 1970s.

7. Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine?


Hard question. I’ve enjoyed writing all four books that I’ve worked on so far. I will tell you my favorite character. When I wrote my Roman story, “The Dust of Cannae” (not yet published), I had this nagging feeling that there was something missing. Then I realized that it was not something, but somebody. This woman came into my head and told me she should be in the narrative. So I obliged. She then told me by telepathy what her role would be and she just kept on driving the story. I don’t think I have a psychic receptor but it really was like someone else had taken control to the extent of becoming a co-author. Maybe she was real and had waited more than two thousand years for her story to be told (?)

8. Do you plot ahead of time, or do you let the plot emerge as you write?


I get an idea for the premise, then think about the people who would be involved. From that, I start writing – with no idea where the story’s going to go. Half the fun is finding out for myself what’s going to happen. I try to draw believable characters, put them in situations, and then I talk to them. I ask them how they would react in those circumstances. They answer me and the action follows from that. It might lead to tragedy or a happy ending. I won’t know until I get there. So it’s rather like writing the book and reading it at the same time.

9. Who are some of your favorite authors to read? Favorite books?


My favorite author is the oldest one in the world (I think). He was Homer, writer of The Iliad and The Odyssey. I believe those works set the standard for what a book should be and it’s still today’s formula. Scenario, heroes, villains, ups and downs, love, cruelty, tragedy, triumph, conspiracy, tension, what’s gonna happens, fast-flowing prose, all wrapped up in a beginning, middle and end.

My other favorite books are:

·       The Early History of Rome by Livy (fascinating and the best historical record of the kingdom, republic and empire)

·       Warriors of the Dragon Gold by Ray Bryant (my brother)

·       Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

10. Where can we buy your books?

http://amzn.to/1zs9ebu

http://solsticepublishing.com/tread-carefully-on-the-sea/

Any links you'd like to include:

website/blog:
www.davidkbryant.com
twitter: @DavidKBryant
Facebook:
facebook.com/DavidKBryant.author
Buy link: http://amzn.to/1zs9ebu


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Character Interview

Character name: Captain Flint
Book name: Tread Carefully on the Sea


 
“Captain Flint, it’s good of you to give time to a journalist. Do you mind if I ask you some blunt questions?”

"Not if you don't mind some sharp answers."

“Okay, I see you have your cutlass there and I wouldn't want you to answer me with that. Anyway, first question. Could you describe yourself?”

"I have black eyes and I'm told they're quite intimidating. They're on you now."

“Yes, uh, they're quite charming. Could we change the subject? I hear you're quite a sportsman.”

"I enjoy archery. I'm a bit tired of conventional targets. In “Tread Carefully on the Sea” I shoot a man in the head."

“Oh, that must have been in self defense.”

"No, I just wanted to make an example of him."

“It must be hazardous being a pirate but I expect you get a lot of fan mail.”

"Quite a few ghosts seem to have a sneaking respect for me."

“Well that is unusual. Who do you most admire?”

"Anyone who's still alive after I meet them."

“Um, Captain Flint, you don't mind me being here, do you? I mean, I'll leave if I'm taking up too much of your time.”

"Too late. We've up-anchored since you arrived."

“Oh dear, where are we going?”

"Ultimate destination - Hell. But before that we'll be making a stop at Purgatory."



Biography
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Tell me a little about yourself.

I had a good career. I was in the team that launched one of the UK’s first computer-prepared daily newspapers. Later I moved from journalism into public relations and had the privilege of working on behalf of Margaret Thatcher. I promoted one of her revolutionary parliamentary Bills and I also handled communications with the world’s media after the bombing in Brighton that so easily could have killed her.

Where do you live?
 
A small town called Frome in Somerset, England. It’s a traditional market town with quaint streets and a lot going on. One of England’s best cities, Bath, is 30 minutes’ drive away and I’m quite near the famous Glastonbury. It’s a lovely spot.

Who is the most important person in your life?


My wife, Stephanie.

What was your childhood like?


My parents were the best of people. I felt secure, although we moved around a lot. I spent some of my early years in England, some in Australia. I was good at English but dumb with numbers. I use a calculator for anything beyond 1+1. My two brothers were much older than me and frequent moves meant that I didn’t establish many friendships, so I think I became quite self-sufficient and a bit of a loner.


Here’s an anecdote which I think captures our family atmosphere:

I was once sent to bed without my night-time drink for some misdemeanor at an early age. My parents independently took pity on me and met each other on the stairs, both having decided to sneak that night-time drink to my bedroom.

Of all the people you've met, who would you LEAST like to be stuck in an elevator with?


I won’t name names. The answer is any except three of my former bosses.

What is the most important thing in your life? What do you value most?


I am blessed with a wonderful family. My wife Stephanie and I have been married for forty years. We are proud of our two children Matthew and Melanie, grandsons Henry and Toby, son-in-law Jamie and daughter-in-law Fleur.

I have a big brother Dennis and I cherish the memory of my other brother, Ray. He was also an author, his biggest accomplishment being a story based on the Bayeux Tapestry called Warriors of the Dragon Gold. It’s still available and is a damn good read.

His daughter, Jenny, is one of my favorite people.

What is your biggest fear?

Being stuck in an elevator with any except three of my former bosses. I’d probably murder the others.

What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why?


Going into journalism. That led not only to a satisfying career but also to meeting Stephanie, who became my wife. That led in turn to the births of our children and of our grandchildren. That career choice sparked a lot of good things.

Do you have any special talents or abilities?


I’ve dabbled in all sorts of stuff – guitar playing, horse riding, cycling. Never been any good at any of them.

How do you see your future?


Writing (and re-writing, what a chore) and traveling as much as I’m able.

If you could spend the day with someone you admire (living or dead or imaginary), who would you pick?


Elvis Presley. Then I’d be with someone who had a positive nature, a great sense of humor, would buy me a car, and keep me entertained all day with his songs.

If you had a free day with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?


·       Get up late.

·       Breakfast and coffee in dressing gown.

·       Bathroom stuff around midday.

·       Go to beach, forest or mountains.

·       Have lunch (around 4pm) in a pleasant but not expensive restaurant.

·       Go home and have a nap (maybe 5.30-6.30).

·       Do two hours marketing.

·       Dinner at home at 8.30.

·       Do three hours writing (9pm-midnight).

·       Read a good book, sitting up in bed.

·       Go to sleep at 2 or 3 a.m.

Where can we find out more about you? 

www.davidkbryant.com All the aspects of me are there, including the crazy side. (See the page “Nonsense I Have Written”.)



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Tread Carefully on the Sea


The Governor of Jamaica organized a splendid 21st birthday party for his adopted daughter, Jessica. However, the best surprise for her came the following day when her admirer, Captain Michael Townsend of the Royal Navy, asked her to marry him. Meanwhile, Captain Flint, one of the most successful buccaneers of the colonial era, decided to take the fortune he had made from twenty years of piracy and retire to a secret place where he would be out of the reach of justice. That’s what should have happened. But Flint was persuaded to raise yet more money through one last crime; a crime more daring and dangerous than any he had previously committed. His men would kidnap Jessica and add her ransom money to their pensions. The kidnap leads to a desperate chase across the Caribbean and all the horrors of 18th Century life at sea for Jessica and those who try to help her, while Captain Flint himself must face the threat of both the hangman and those within his own crew who plot against him.

COVER ARTIST- jerry@authorsupport.com

EXCERPTS from Tread Carefully on the Sea


As the shirt was removed, her eyes came level with a huge tattoo of an eagle on his chest. Ridiculously, that gave her renewed terror, as though the tattoo was worse than the man. There was certainly menace from the eagle. It stared at her, its talons outstretched and its wings spread wide. It looked prepared to pounce right out of his chest and claw at her face.

**

The cry that would have brought forth a dozen soldiers was about to leave the governor’s tongue – but remained unleashed as the pirate warned: “I wouldn’t do that, Governor, for the sake of your niece’s health.”

**

“Did you get the name of the ship?” demanded the governor.

“It was the Walrus, Sir,” the messenger replied.

“Captain Flint,” said Trelawny, and for the moment that was all he did say.

**

One of the stories that had evoked within the Royal Navy a sneaking admiration for the pirate chieftain was that he had captured a big Spanish galleon and made it his own. Now Townsend could see in front of him the confirmation of that audacity. The big ship sat on the ocean like she owned it.

**

“Britain came to this part of the world to find riches. It was very successful in doing so but it had a major problem. It was shipping around so many slaves and so much merchandise that it didn’t have sufficient military resources to protect its new-found wealth. So what did it do about the policing of its trade routes and the protection of places like Jamaica? It found it convenient to encourage the people you would call pirates…You had better hope that the King never turns against the Royal Navy in the same way that he turned against the privateers.

**

Reeling and with blood dripping down his face, O’Hara got up on one knee, then the other. By the time he was on his feet, Hugh was charging forward like a stag in the rutting season. Another head butt was imminent.

**

Flint bent his knees and placed his hands on them so that his face came level with Townsend’s. “That’s it, then” barked the pirate captain. “You don’t agree to my proposal. I don’t agree to yours. Our fates are intertwined.”

**

She didn’t close her eyes and her brain pitifully tried to distract her from reality by registering that the gunman was left-handed. His finger was going back with the trigger. Spontaneously, she said a few words of her native Ashanti. The phrase had been taught to her by Queen Nanny: “Do not fear death any more than you fear life.” If Libby was going to die, she wanted those to be the last words she said.


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Tread Carefully on the Sea
Solstice Publishing
www.davidkbryant.com
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Interview with Lincoln S. Farish

2/4/2015

0 Comments

 
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Junior Inquisitor

Book One of the Inquisitor Series
Available 1 March 2015
Pre-order now at
Amazon and Smashwords
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Brother Sebastian is halfway up a mountain in Vermont, hell-bent on interrogating an old woman in a shack, when he gets the order to abandon his quest for personal vengeance. He has to find a missing Inquisitor, or, more likely, his remains. He’s reluctant, to say the least. Not only will he have to stop chasing the best potential lead he’s had in years, this job—his first solo mission—will mean setting foot in the grubby black hole of Providence, Rhode Island. And, somehow, it only gets worse…


If he’d known he would end up ass deep in witches, werewolves, and ogres, and that this mission would jeopardize not only his sanity but also his immortal soul, he never would’ve answered the damn phone.


JUNIOR INQUISITOR

Today, I would like to introduce you to Brother Sebastian, supposedly a monk of the Poor Brothers of  Gethsemane, a minor order of the Benedictines, but really part of the secret Order of Inquisitors. Sebastian is able to see magic and has been recruited, trained, and charged with protecting innocents from witches,  warlocks, their minions, and the death and destruction brought about by magic.

Having had a normal life, which was destroyed by a witch, Sebastian is carrying a lot of anger; he also has doubts about himself and what the life of an Inquisitor entails. Still under mentor-ship, Sebastian is sent to Providence, Rhode Island, his least favorite city in New England, to find out what happened to Brother James, the Inquisitor for the area who has gone missing. What was supposed to be an easy mission for him turns deadly, and Sebastian finds himself on the run, without back-up and ass deep in witches, werewolves and ogres. All because he answered the phone...

EXCERPT
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I took another step into the shop, pushing against the waves of evil. On the next set of shelves, I saw a severed hand in a large clear jar. The hand of a slain witch contains the knowledge of the deceased. The possessor then has that knowledge, all her spells and tricks. It’s one of the reasons witches were burned years ago...

A flash of movement from the other side of the room caught my eye. Two handmade Raggedy Ann style dolls were each held fast to the counter by a small black iron chain. The dolls were sitting slumped, as though alive and waiting for release. High-pitched, girlish voices came from them, full of hate, malice, and insanity. A sign in front of them said they were Hogaana Dolls.

A summoned spirit—a soul called from Hell—can be captured and enslaved by a strong or skilled witch. Trapped between here and Hell, the spirit can act as an oracle and tutor—a guide for witches trying to learn and experience new levels of power and what I’d call madness but she would refer to as “clear thinking” or “a deeper understanding.” The drawback is that a spirit is still ethereal and can escape easily unless tightly contained and constantly fed power to keep it here. The bound spirit can be transferred into a vessel to contain it in a form, a body...

My hands were shaking, my stomach roiled, and my eyes stung from the candles and incense. I wanted to flee...

I needed to leave and report back. This was beyond my abilities.

When I looked up, a tall, thin woman was staring at me from behind the counter. Her gray hair grew in clumps between patches of gnarled burn scars. She was dressed in a tight jumpsuit, stained with blood. Rings covered her hands, and I saw the deep purple of porphyrite in one.

Her face had an odd twist to it, as though someone had taken a screw, driven it into her nose, and turned it. She was a Screwface—a witch who thrived on pain and torture. A witch I wasn’t capable of breaking, or even dealing with. And now it was too late for me to escape.

Only a very special type of Inquisitor—a man without empathy, one who would be called a sociopath in the regular world—could deal with them. Formed into teams called Hammers, they’re elite, but they die even faster than regular Inquisitors. Not only do they train longer and harder than my regular Brethren, they receive special instruction on how to deal with Screwfaces. And despite all this training and conditioning, they’re still sometimes reduced to a pitiful weeping mess after one of their Purges.

Her smile reeked of madness and pain.

One of the dolls moved and shrilled, “Make it bleed.”

She glanced at it then raised the hand with the porphyrite ring, which was glowing and snapping in a purple and black nimbus. She was unleashing some spell; only magic was that mind-bending color. “Goodbye, false monk.”

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Interview with Lincoln S. Farish


When did you start writing?

On this series I started the first one about ten years ago. I'm not sure if I will ever use it, it is a kind of Origins story. But once I wrote it I was kinda hooked, I realized there were many many more stories about Sebastian that needed to get out. I wasn't in a hurry, and I took my time, hence the slow pace. Since then I am almost finished with my fourth novel in the series.  It's funny I wrote my first book long before I'd ever heard of any of the other authors that write along similar lines. The first time I read Larry Correia,  Junior Inquisitor was with my editor. I wish I'd read him earlier, his creation of a useful silver bullet is better than mine.


What research did you have to do?


Quite a bit on Providence, it's been a long time since I've been there. And lest anyone think I hate Providence, I do not. I just needed a decent sized town for creatures of madness and mayhem to run around in. I could have picked Worcester, New Bedford, even Hartford. I went with Providence. I also spent time learning about the different orders of monks, so that part of the story would be authentic. On weapons I had a lot less research to do since I've used weapons ever since high school and quite a bit through out my twenty-eight years in the military. I've been over to Iraq twice, Afghanistan, three times for the military, and spent about a year in Afghanistan working for a private security firm. Every bit of equipment the Inquisitors use I have experience with, the same with their tactics, which made it easy to describe but boring to read. Most of the time when there is a fight people focus on what is right in-front of them. To give a story any kind of continuity and avoid “Well  if you remember Bob,” or “Tell me again what happened when the Ogre attacked,” dialogue I had to expand Brother Sebastian's peripheral awareness. At the same time I didn't want to descend into omnipotence, so it was a balancing act.

Why dark urban fiction almost horror?

I was really stuck trying to shoe-horn in my story into a genre, because it just didn't quite fit. I'm not trying to scare anyone, act as a warning to the populace at large on the dangers of Cthulhu, or teach a moral lesson like horror usually does. At the same time if you have a group of people who have powers that can and usually do harm regular people, your story is not going to be a happy one. Bad things will occur, people will die, and mayhem will run rampant. It's not dystopic, for most people magic never enters their lives and they go about quite happily unaware it actually exists. Those that do, however, experience all kinds of terrible events and traumas. Set more or less today that kinda makes it urban fiction, minus the romance. So dark urban fiction almost horror.

Are Wiccans witches?

Not in my books; completely different types of people and motivations. In my world witches are unrepentantly evil, more or less crazy, sacrifice innocents to gain power, and generally nasty all around. Witches will sometime prey on Wiccans, but they could just as easily go after a Girl Scout Troop, or the Moose Lodge.

Are there only evil women?

Of course not, in my first book, the two biggest sources of pain for Brother Sebastian, the protagonist, are both male; warlocks. There are different types of magic users, ones that have different skills or focuses, that I will reveal in due time, and some of the sub-types of magic users may be more male or female centric, but they are all nasty vicious people bent on blood lust and chaos. Evil is pretty much an equal opportunity recruiter.

Why aren't there good magicians like Harry Dresden or Harry Potter?

Those are differently worlds with different rules. Jim Butcher has within his series, The White Council and the Laws of Magic to reign in true evil. That kinda sorta works for Harry Dresden, but that does leave a lot of room for abuse as Harry's mother pointed out. If you notice in Harry Potter, Arthur Weasly, as nice as he is written, makes remarks about how clever Muggles are for inventing things like electricity and phones because they don't have magic. Like they're an occasionally bright child, there is a kind bigotry of low expectations. This is shown pretty clearly when the Minister of Magic visits the Prime Minister, and of course how Dolores Umbridge acts towards non-humans. There is some real nastiness in the margins of Harry Potter's world, and I think the stories are better for it. The other difference is in both of those worlds, one is born into magic or not, and they grow into their power, no one reads a strange book and has magic unleashed upon them as in my world.

I took, I think, a harder, and more realistic approach as to what would happen if there was magic. It's power. People rarely handle power well, especially if they get it suddenly. A decent comparison is when people win the lottery. They tend to go a bit crazy with all of the new possibilities open to them now they are a millionaire.

Imagine you had the power, magically, and from across the room, to slap someone who was rude, maybe they're yammering away on their cell-phone in public, perhaps they're driving like a jerk, maybe talking during the movie, cutting in line, whatever. Now if you could do that, and no one would know that it was you doing the slapping, and there was no way you'd be punished by the law for doing so, would you be tempted?

Even if you never slapped anyone, but knew you could, how would your attitude change towards regular people? Would you start to hold them in contempt, just a little, because you had abilities they did not? How would your attitude change towards following the law knowing you were above it?

Now toss in some evil entities encouraging you to do more than just slap around people who get in your way and you have a real monster being created.

Does the Government know about witches?

No.   First off remember most people can't see magic, just the aftermath. Could you see a politician getting up in front of the cameras and saying, “magic is real,” and not be laughed off the stage? What modern government could admit there was a problem that most people can't directly see, can't measure, and that the government couldn't fix? They deliberately turn a blind eye to magic and engage in willful ignorance, and will silence those who point out that there is a problem. Bureaucracies are very self-protective, ask any whistle-blower, pointing out the Emperor has no clothes leads to punishment, not acceptance.

Even if you did convince people there was magic, witches, and evil made manifest,what do you think would happen? Would people pick up their pitchforks and start weighing suspicious characters to see if they weighed as much as a duck, or would they seek witches out hoping for favours and power?

Why can't the Government hire those that can see?


I had thought about it. Larry Correa's does this with his Monster Hunter series, the protagonists are in league with a shadowy part of the government to eradicate monsters and suppress monster uprisings. Works for him, I'm more cynical. In my mind if you have ten government employees who know about monsters and it'll be news in a week. Governments and conspiracies just don't work out. Remember if two people having consensual sex in the White House can't keep it secret, how would it be possible that an entire agency, or bureau, or department could hide the existence of the supernatural?

With Rick Gualtieri's Bill the Vampire series, the vampires have bribed off cops and various important government officials to keep quiet, and that could work to a point. However, I'm not cynical enough to think that would work well long term either. Now these are their worlds and they say what does or does not work, but for me I figured that a shadowy guerrilla war between evil and the Church worked. Witches stay out of sight because they fear being captured/enslaved/ sacrificed by more powerful magic users, and the monks do so because no one would ever believe them, and some would actually work to keep them from spreading fear or exposing government incompetence.

Why wouldn't people believe in magic?

We live, for better or for worse, in a culture that follows scientific principles, and reason more or less. How would you even measure magic? “I'm going to sacrifice ten kittens and compare how much power our trapped witch receives versus the ten puppies we sacrificed yesterday?”

Why Catholic Monks?


I needed a group that was world-wide, large enough that they could have a secret society with in them and old enough that they could have been battling evil for a very long time. I also need to explain from where the darkness comes with out copying anyone. Larry Correia uses the Cthulhu mythos, Harry Potter is fairly agnostic, religion is rarely mentioned, except Christmas.  Rick Gualtieri has a hint of Catholicism with the Templars protecting the Icon from the icky vampires. Jim Butcher has a bit more Catholic mythos with Angels and Knights of the Cross, so I went further; full on Catholic.

So where are you now in your series?

Of the ones I decided to move forward with, The Soulless Monk, the next in the series is with my exceptional editor Danielle Fine and I am finishing up The Witch's Lair now. With luck that will happen in the next week or so.

When are they coming out?


Not sure. Should be later this year, but I'm sure The Soulless Monk will be out by fall, if not sooner, but there are lots of factors like re-write time, outside influences like the wife and helper dog and their willingness to put up with my antics that will have an impact on timing. A big one is, obviously, how many copies and how quickly they are sold of Junior Inquisitor. From those sales I'll be paying my editor, to work on the other two. I'm hoping to sell a lot as she gets real cranky when it comes to her money, and she does such a good job it feels wrong to try and pay her in kindness and with my good looks.


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About the author

Called an adventurer and quite possibly insane, Lincoln has traveled to many continents and countries on his own and at his country’s behest to determine from whence the darkness comes. Despite persistent rumors, Lincoln maintains that he had nothing to do with the tiger, was not involved in illicit wiener dog races, and has never used his knowledge of genetics to create a better life form.


online:

Twitter: @LincolnFarish
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lincoln.farish.7
Email: lincolnfarish@gmail.com


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Junior Inquisitor


Brother Sebastian is halfway up a mountain in Vermont, hell-bent on interrogating an old woman in a shack, when he gets the order to abandon his quest for personal vengeance. He has to find a missing Inquisitor, or, more likely, his remains. He’s reluctant, to say the least. Not only will he have to stop chasing the best potential lead he’s had in years, this job—his first solo mission—will mean setting foot in the grubby black hole of Providence, Rhode Island. And, somehow, it only gets worse…


If he’d known he would end up ass deep in witches, werewolves, and ogres, and that this mission would jeopardize not only his sanity but also his immortal soul, he never would’ve answered the damn phone.


Junior Inquisitor
Book One of the Inquisitor Series
Available 1 March 2015
Pre-order now at
Amazon and Smashwords


Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Junior-inquisitor-Inquisitor-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00S4BZLTW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421509763&sr=8-1&keywords=lincoln+farish

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/507866

Barnes & Noble Nook coming soon!

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Interview with Alec from Second Nature, a novel by Marie Lavender

2/4/2015

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Interview with Alec Sullivan
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Character name: Alec Sullivan
Book title: Second Nature


Tell me a little about yourself?

I am an investor in the real world. And in the Other realm, I have a dark secret. I am not human.

Where do you live?

Baltimore.

Who is the most important person in your life?

(Clears throat.) Once I might have said my family or my old flame Lily, but they have all passed. Desiree is the most important now.

What was your childhood like?

I lived in a middle-class household with my father, mother and brother. I was the oldest, and my father was grooming me to succeed him in business before I enlisted in the war.

Of all the people you've met, who would you LEAST like to be stuck in an elevator with?


My sire.

What is the most important thing in your life? What do you value most?

Survival. I must keep the secret at all costs.

What is your biggest fear?

Putting someone I love in danger.

What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why?


It was an ordinary day, but it wasn’t at the same time. I was at the annual Jazz & Blues Festival when my entire life changed. I won’t go into any more details, though. I’m a private person.

Do you have any special talents or abilities?

I can move very fast, and I can heal quickly.

How do you see your future?

I’m just trying to make it from one day to the next.

If you could spend the day with someone you admire (living or dead or imaginary), who would you pick?

I would pick my father, God rest his soul.

If you had a free day with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?

(Clears throat again.) I have an allergy to the sun so I would enjoy a night on the town, maybe go to a café and sample a fine bottle of wine and one of their specials.

Where can we find out more about you?


I think you need to read the book to find out.

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Second Nature

She never expected it… 

Desiree Edwards has a problem. She’s been attacked, kidnapped and forced to get along with a vampire of all things. It’s something right out of the story books she reads, or her worst nightmare. But, sometimes he’s not the monster he appears to be. He seems so human like that she can’t help it when her emotions betray her, when her body betrays her. To make matters worse, she finds out more about herself than she ever wanted to know. 

She was unlike any other… 

Alec has a problem. The animal in him wants Desiree. But, so does the man. The more he learns about her, the harder it is to deny what he wants. But, he’s a freak, and she’s just a human. The two species don’t mix that way. Then an old enemy surfaces and Alec is forced to make a choice. His life or hers. 

Can Alec’s soul be saved by this unique human? Or will it be far too late?

Excerpt from Second Nature

Desiree rose on shaky legs to look in the mirror. She looked the same. When she tilted her head, she saw the blood. Damn, that man really had bitten her! What kind of freak did that? “Shit,” she muttered, and grabbed a washcloth to wipe away the blood. What met her gaze next was startling, and even as she cursed once more, she backed away. Two single red puncture marks stood out in sharp contrast to her skin tone. Two holes. Two holes instead of a tooth pattern. She shivered, aware of the implications and how ludicrous it was. There was only one word for it really.  

“Shit,” she whispered as reality glared at her.

Vampire, her mind screamed. But, how was it possible? She shook her head. It couldn’t be. She looked at the puncture marks again. Vampire. Vampires existed? It went against everything she’d previously believed. Vampires. And it was so much worse than she’d thought. She’d had sex with one.  

Vampires. The air left the room and her knees gave out, sending her toward the hard tile. She was faintly aware of a soft landing, a ragged curse and a hint of aftershave before she blacked out. 



Second Nature is available at Solstice Publishing, Amazon, CreateSpace and Barnes&Noble.

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Biography

Bestselling author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 19 other books. 2014 BTS Red Carpet Review Nominee. Finalist and Runner-up in the MARSocial's Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader's Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013 and 2014. Top 50 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.

Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Marie has published twenty books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance/fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. Lavender just released Second Nature, a paranormal romance/urban fantasy, in December of 2014. She released Magick & Moonlight, a romantic fantasy, back in March. Upon Your Honor, released in late April, is her second historical romance. Her current series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Magick Series and The Blood at First Sight Series. Feel free to visit her website at http://marielavender.com/ for further information about her books and her life. Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.



A list of her books and pen names are as follows:



Marie Lavender: Upon Your Return; Magick & Moonlight; Upon Your Honor; Second Nature



Erica Sutherhome: Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom; Leather and Lace



Kathryn Layne: A Misplaced Life



Heather Crouse: Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things

Links

Website:  http://marielavender.com/
Blog:  http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/marielavender1
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MarieAnnLavender
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938764.Marie_Lavender
Amazon Author page:  http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Lavender/e/B00C10Q94I/

Trailer for Second Nature

http://youtu.be/CaD_-pJ0fE8

Buy links for Second Nature

Universal Amazon:  http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00Q7FWIWA
Publisher:  http://solsticepublishing.com/second-nature/
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/second-nature-marie-lavender/1120879883
CreateSpace link: https://www.createspace.com/5131233
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Interview with Marie Lavender

2/3/2015

0 Comments

 
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1.    Greetings, can you tell us a little bit about your history and how your work has evolved up to this point?

Hello. I have been writing stories since the age of nine; that’s well over twenty years. I studied Creative Writing in high school and college. I started out writing short fiction and moved to full-length novels, though I still occasionally write short stories and novellas. In college (2005), I published two stories in a university publication. I began self-publishing in 2010, and was traditionally published in 2013.

2.    What genre, or genres, do you write?

I have published twenty books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy, romantic suspense, literary fiction and mystery/thriller. My works in progress span anywhere from contemporary romance to time travel romance to dystopian fiction, really whatever comes to mind. I am more comfortable with writing romance or its subgenres, but I am not afraid to try something different. Recently, I attempted children’s fantasy.

3.    What is your latest book called and what is it about?

My latest release is titled Second Nature, and it is the first book in the Blood at First Sight Series. It is a paranormal romance/urban fantasy. Second Nature is about a young woman, Desiree, who finds herself kidnapped and confronted by a creature that should not exist. This fanged creature, however, is not a beast, but has more humanity than she ever imagined. She also must come to terms with some hard truths about herself, about her origins.

4.    What was the inspiration for your book? When did you first get the idea for Second Nature?

The idea for the book randomly came to me in the form of a scene. I pictured Desiree tied up in the backseat of a car, not knowing who the hell had taken her and what he wanted. It built from there.

5.    How long did it take you to write it? What is your writing process like?


Well, technically I began writing Second Nature a very long time ago. That scene was a seed in my mind, and it sat on the backburner for a while until I decided to resurrect it from my archives last year and make something out of it. When I really began to focus it, I would say that it took me a few months to write and perfect it. The ideas for the sequels came not long after that.

My writing process is fairly random most of the time. Ideas or scenes come to me and I have to write them down or it will drive me crazy. I also do it for fear that I may lose that crumb somehow. LOL. When I am ready to take on a new project, I will select a work in progress and write as many scenes as I can (I always have a loose plot idea in my head) before I have to break down and write a full outline. Then I do more writing, and the research comes after that. Or sometimes I research just to jolt me out of writer’s block.

6.    What can we expect from you in the future?

Well, currently I am working on the final book in the Heiresses in Love Series. That is a Victorian romance, and the second book in the series came out in April of 2014. Anyway, the work in progress is titled Upon Your Love, and I hope to finish that soon. After that, I will probably take a small break before I work heavily on the other books in the Blood at First Sight Series. I also plan to write a new romantic fantasy sequel to Magick & Moonlight, as part of the Magick Series. And I have plans for a future series of six books called The Witches of Moonhaven Series.

7.    Among your own books, have you a favorite book?  Favorite hero or heroine?

Usually, I tend to favor the book I’m most familiar with. So, Second Nature wins. But, I do have a weakness for two specific books. I will always feel close to Fara Bellamont of Upon Your Return because of her spirit and, of course, the trademark red hair. I also have a soft spot for the characters in A Touch of Dawn, which was published under my alternate pen name Erica Sutherhome. Jack and Caitlyn are such special characters. Tragedy should have destroyed them, but it only made each of them stronger.   

8.    Do you plot ahead of time, or do you let the plot emerge as you write?

I do both. I let the plot play out, though I have a basic idea of how it flows. I never know the details until I get there. When I finally do my outline, that’s when everything starts to fall into place. Do the characters sometimes resist me? Of course. I have to honor them. So, even if I do create an outline, the book may not end up the way I originally planned it.

9.    Who are some of your favorite authors to read? Favorite books?

I have so many! J.R. Ward, Nora Roberts, Chloe Neill, Kris Tualla, Tessa Dare, Kerrelyn Sparks, P.C. Cast, and the list keeps going. Favorite books? I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward. Sexy, alpha warriors? How can I say no?

10. Where can we buy your books?

You can buy them on Solstice Publishing, Amazon, CreateSpace and Second Nature is also available on Barnes&Noble.


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Biography

Bestselling author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 19 other books. 2014 BTS Red Carpet Review Nominee. Finalist and Runner-up in the MARSocial's Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader's Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013 and 2014. Top 50 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.

Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Marie has published twenty books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance/fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. Lavender just released Second Nature, a paranormal romance/urban fantasy, in December of 2014. She released Magick & Moonlight, a romantic fantasy, back in March. Upon Your Honor, released in late April, is her second historical romance. Her current series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Magick Series and The Blood at First Sight Series. Feel free to visit her website at http://marielavender.com/ for further information about her books and her life. Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.



A list of her books and pen names are as follows:



Marie Lavender: Upon Your Return; Magick & Moonlight; Upon Your Honor; Second Nature



Erica Sutherhome: Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom; Leather and Lace



Kathryn Layne: A Misplaced Life



Heather Crouse: Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things

Picture
Second Nature

She never expected it… 

Desiree Edwards has a problem. She’s been attacked, kidnapped and forced to get along with a vampire of all things. It’s something right out of the story books she reads, or her worst nightmare. But, sometimes he’s not the monster he appears to be. He seems so human-like that she can’t help it when her emotions betray her, when her body betrays her. To make matters worse, she finds out more about herself than she ever wanted to know. 

She was unlike any other… 

Alec has a problem. The animal in him wants Desiree. But, so does the man. The more he learns about her, the harder it is to deny what he wants. But, he’s a freak, and she’s just a human. The two species don’t mix that way. Then an old enemy surfaces and Alec is forced to make a choice. His life or hers. 

Can Alec’s soul be saved by this unique human? Or will it be far too late?


Links

Website:  http://marielavender.com/ 
Blog:  http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/marielavender1
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MarieAnnLavender
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938764.Marie_Lavender
Amazon Author page:  http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Lavender/e/B00C10Q94I/

Trailer for Second Nature

http://youtu.be/CaD_-pJ0fE8

Buy links for Second Nature

Universal Amazon:  http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00Q7FWIWA
Publisher:  http://solsticepublishing.com/second-nature/
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/second-nature-marie-lavender/1120879883
CreateSpace link: https://www.createspace.com/5131233
0 Comments

Author Interview with Rachael Stapleton about her new release Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire #contest

1/28/2015

0 Comments

 
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Today, I'd like to share with my readers an author interview with Rachael Stapleton. Be sure to check out her new release, as well as her great giveaway contest at the bottom of this post.

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Time travel is sometimes considered cliché. So why do you write about it?


If you chase what is popular without writing about what you love or what inspires you, it will affect your work. It’s easier and more natural to write about something you want to read. I do think that there has been a saturation of time travel in the past couple of years. But readers and viewers are fascinated with the idea of what it would be like to be dropped into another time and place. Besides, I always try to put my own spin on things, and while this series appears to be time travel, it’s really more reincarnation.

Who is your publisher?

Solstice Publishing. They are one of the fastest growing mid-market publishers in the USA and they just finished #2 right in the The Preditors & Editors™ Readers' Poll.

How did you get published?

I began doing online pitch contests about a year ago. I participated in approximately three and saw a lot of success beginning with #Pitmad. They run 3 times a year, March, September and December. I got many requests for partials that eventually turned into requests for full manuscripts from both agents and publishers. The last one I participated in was the September #Pitmad and two days later I received a contract offer from Editor in Chief Kathi Sprayberry at Solstice Publishing.

In your debut novel, The Temple of Indra’s Jewel, your main character Sophia Marcil finds herself pulled into the body of a Princess. Does she go back to 1857 again in the second book? No. The second book in the series mostly takes place in modern day Ireland where she lives with her fiancé. She does experience another moment when her boyfriend proposes with the very ring that’s cursed her. This drops her into her own family’s history in the 1920’s and leaves her with one big question. How did Cullen get a piece of the Purple Delhi Sapphire?

I’ve heard of the Purple Delhi Sapphire and you open with a prologue in book two giving the backstory on the cursed gem. Is it true?

There is truth to the legend. It really is thought to have been looted from the Temple of Indra during the horrific Indian Mutiny of 1857. The temple is devoted to the Hindu god of war and weather, and it is strongly believed that through its theft from the ancient idol, a curse was cast. The Sapphire was brought to England by Colonel W. Ferris, a Bengal Cavalryman who would go on to regret taking the precious stone home with him. Soon after returning to England, the entire Ferris family seemed to be beset by health and financial trouble. They blamed their problems on a series of failed investments made by Mr. Ferris and his son, which left the family in near financial ruin. Things took a grave turn for the worse when a friend of the Ferris family unexpectedly committed suicide whilst in possession of the sapphire. The gemstone went on public display at the vault in the Natural History Museum in London in November.

Will there be more books in the series?

Yes, I’m writing the last book now. Part of the book is from the perspective of Sophia’s daughter, sixteen year old Alanna O'Kelley, who is crushed at the age of sixteen when her mother Sophia is killed. Raised for the last few months by her father Cullen along with her mother's best-friend Leslie, she begins to suspect that they're keeping a secret from her. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking Alanna from dusty libraries to the castles of Eastern Europe as she trails after her father all in the hopes that her mother might still be alive. One question remains, if they find her, can they rescue her from the past?

Do you have any upcoming media events?

Yes, I have a book blog tour happening now until February 23rd. You can check out the links and dates on the media page of my website
www.rachaelstapleton.com. I was also recently interviewed by Charlene Jones at "Off the Top" at Whistle Radio. I’ll be embedding a copy of the interview on the interview shortly.
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The Temple of Indra Series

Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire

Book 2

Rachael Stapleton

Genre:  Adventure, Romance, Mystery, Time travel

Publisher:  Solstice Publishing

Book Description: 

As a librarian, Sophia Marcil loves reading, especially books about ancient curses and reincarnation, but she never imagined the legend of the Purple Delhi Sapphire was true until she inherited it and was transported back to a past life where she was murdered. Now she knows that not only is reincarnation real, but so is the devil’s magic locked inside the precious gem. Just as she’s about to tell her boyfriend Cullen about it, he proposes with an engagement ring made from a piece of the very sapphire that’s cursed her. Reeling from the shock and surrounded by his family, she allows him to place it on her ring finger. As soon as it touches her skin, she feels herself being wrenched back in time.

Before she knows it, she’s wandering the hallway of an old Victorian house in the body of her great aunt. Unfortunately, her nemesis has also reincarnated in 1920—as one of her family members. Sophia struggles to locate the Purple Delhi Sapphire in time to prevent the deaths of those she loves, but she fails and returns to her present-day life, to the precise moment she left, with a deep understanding that her killer’s soul is also tied to the sapphire and every life she has, he is resurrected as someone close to her. Her stalker ex-boyfriend Nick seems like a prime candidate this time but she’s convinced she’s a step ahead of him, thanks to a tip from a medium, she knows that if she uses the magic of the stone correctly she can trap Nick’s soul in the sapphire and save herself. But when Nick is murdered, she finds evidence that has her questioning everything she thought she knew. Is Cullen husband material or is history doomed to repeat itself.


 

Available for Pre-Order Now at
Amazon



Excerpt:



He lowered to one knee and grinned up at me—so charming and gorgeous. His green eyes, as always, were mesmerizing. They had flecks of gold in them that clung to the edges and danced in the center, like they were on fire. My heart beat so loudly in my ears that it almost drowned out the “awws” and “oohs.”

“Ye’re already mine, lass, in every way possible and I am yers, but I want the world to know,” he said, taking my free hand. Someone took the glass of champagne from the other one, as I was shaking so badly. The black velvet box squeaked open, and his aunts gasped in unison, as if on cue.

“Will ye make me the happiest man in Ireland, Aevil, and join our O’Kelley Clan?” He kissed my fingers as I stared down at him.

The marble-sized rock in the box swirled, and doubled in front of my eyes. Deep purple amethyst with a thin frame of diamonds, set in pink gold and accentuated with a slender shank and crescent details.

I looked past the ring, into his eyes, and found him still staring directly at me. He’d removed the ring from the box and was holding it out, ready to place it on my finger.

He cleared his throat. “It was my great-great-great-grandmother’s and I thought ye might appreciate it, since ye were so intrigued with her portrait.”

I nodded, trying to smile through the confusion, but my head swam with random bursts of chatter, the fiddle, and all the thoughts flooding me at once, mostly that Cullen had just proposed to me with the missing Purple Delhi Sapphire ring. A bead of sweat ran down the side of my cheek as the ring touched the tip of my finger.

Cullen’s face began to distort. A shimmery haze had fallen over the room as if the desert were closing in. The vibration from the ring traveled up my arm, and the room began to shift and blur at the edges. Another room, a darker room, was coming into focus. I could still hear Cullen’s aunt ordering someone to get me a glass of water.

There was something I should remember. Water. Rochus said water was necessary to ease the pain of time travel. Maybe this was what it felt like without. I tried to blink away the heat, tried to stop myself from going, but I couldn’t. The edges of the room were burning away fast now, like a Polaroid scorched by flames. I could hear the trickling of the fountain in the corner. I ran for it, or at least I intended to, but it was too late.

 
About the Author
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As a child, Rachel Stapleton spent much of her time getting lost in the imaginary world of an old Victorian library where she consumed everything from mystery to biography, creating secret worlds, hidden elevators, and magical spiral staircases. As sixteen, she penned a column for the local newspaper and in 2006, while on maternity leave, wrote her first book featuring an adventurous librarian. Most recently, she bought a beautiful Second Empire Victorian with her husband and has been writing in the comforts of aged wood and arched dormers and snuggling up with her family of four. She is the author of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel and Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire with Solstice Publishing and is currently working on a third book in the Temple of Indra series. She hopes that her fans continue to enjoy her wild and crazy imagination. To find out more about the author visit www.rachaelstapleton.com.


Website:          www.rachaelstapleton.com

Blog:               www.rachaelstapleton.blogspot.ca

Twitter:         
https://twitter.com/RaquelleJaxson

Goodreads:   
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7271862.Rachael_Stapleton


Tour giveaway

E-Copy of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel. Please like her Author Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Rachael-Stapleton/137831156290570?ref=hl and sign up with your email to follow her blog www.rachaelstapleton.blogspot.ca to win!

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