Janine McCaw's Blog: SUPERNATURAL CENTRAL, page 3

Meredith Allard's Blog (Helens GIVEAWAY)

►Stop by Meredith Allard's blog for a give-away of Helens-of-Troy http://bit.ly/r84wY9

SIMPLY INFATUATED GIVEAWAY

Simply Infatuated give-away and blog with Helens-of-Troy http://bit.ly/K1WBrW

REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Books, Books and More books has reviewed Helens-of-Troy...FOUR out of FIVE CLOUDS. YAY! And there's a giveaway...double YAY! Go here: http://bit.ly/M66WUs

A Daydreamer's Thoughts

"Has Mom seen A Daydreamers Thoughts interview with Ryan yet?" Ellie asked. Helena glanced out the window. "I don't think so. Their house isn't on fire yet." http://bit.ly/JXDrFd

CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH RYAN LACHEY

KEEPING UP WITH THE RHEINLANDERS

The Helens were visiting with the Rheinlanders on their blog today. You can read an excerpt from Helens-of-Troy here: http://bit.ly/Jlsq2G

The Helens visit with Stacy Eaton

Welcome Janine!!


Tell us a bit about yourself:
Do you work another job when you are not writing?

My job is very boring I'm an office clerk - Martha and the Muffins.


What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing?

I like to take photos, ride my bicycle and talk to people on twitter. I spend way too much time on twitter, but I've met some great people. Some have even done reviews for me. I also recently found a fluted cake pan tucket away in a cupboard. Now I'm searching online for bundt cake recipes. See, the computer is the devil.

What is your favorite color? Why?

Chartreuse. Because I like the way it sounds.

What is your favorite season? Why?

I like autumn for the the colours.I live in the Pacific Northwest, so it's not quite as dramatic as other parts of the country, but September is my favourite month.


If you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be? Why?

San Juan Capistrano. Because I like the way it sounds. Seriously, I live in Vancouver, Canada and I think it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so I'm pretty lucky.

If you could have any car, what would it be?

A sixty-four and a half mustang convertible. White or that teal blue colour that Mustang was famous for. One of my bosses had one once, and I fell in love with it. That's what Helena drives in the novel. I live vicariously through her.

Tell us about your writing:


How long have your been writing? Was it a dream, a goal or is it just a hobby?
I've been writing for what seems a lifetime, but really only got into it about six years ago. I find it's a great stress reliever. One particularly bad day at work I went home and killed a few thousand people in my first novel. It's a lot cheaper than a therapist.

How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

I can't do it that way. I can't force it. I jot down a lot of notes and wait until I'm in the mood to type out a whole chapter. Then I wait a period of time and go back and re-read what I have written and start the initial editing from there.

Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

Definitely when the mood strikes or when my friends and family nag me. I find they're pretty good at that.

Is there some place special you like to be when you write?

I'd like to be in San Juan Capistrano, but usually I'm sitting on the couch with the laptop on my legs. I keep it next to it, so I can write, or google I.M.D.B. with movie questions when the hubby and I are watching something on Netflix.

Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?

Both, depending on whether I'm alone or not. I like to start a writing session with The Gore Gore Girls' rendition of "Where Evil Grows", or Helix's "Deep Cuts the Knife". They both put me in the mood for writng something supernatural.

Tell us about your book:


What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?
My latest novel is called "Helens-of-Troy," and it's the story of three generations of the LaRose family, all named variations of 'Helen'. When the uptight Helen senses that her goth daughter Ellie is about to start experiencing supernatural situations, she moves her to live with her own mother,the sex-pot Helena, in a small town called Troy. It's the first of a series of paranormal books featuring 'the Helens".

Where did the idea come from? How long did it take to write?

The title came to me first, a play on the title we all know so well. I wondered, what if there were three of them? And what if they were kick-ass demon killers, because you know, the original Helen with the horse was a bit of a slayer herself. I started it a few years back, but then really pushed at it the last year so I could get it done.

What is it about?


Fifteen year old Goth-chic Ellie has a lot of explaining to do. She’s just moved to the small town of Troy, fought with her uptight mother Helen, met the boy of her dreams and found a dead body on her sexy “new-age” grandmother Helena’s porch. All on the first night!

But Ellie’s not alone. Helen is hiding something. Helen knows all about the kind of eerie dreams her daughter is having — the dreams that show the whereabouts of the missing children of Troy — because she’s had them herself. But she’ll never admit it. Not while Ellie’s sex-crazed friend Ryan is safely behind bars for the murders. Helen knows what it’s like to be attracted to dangerous men.

Then there’s the little matter between Helena and Gaspar BonVillaine, the teenaged vampire who is learning to feed on young prey. Now that he’s caught Ellie, he doesn’t know whether he wants to kill her or turn her to the dark side and keep her forever. Helena should have finished him off when she had the chance.

To survive the vampire feeding frenzy surrounding them, mom Helen needs to come to terms with her own insecurities and deal with the gifts she has. Helena must learn to ground herself for the good of mankind and more importantly her own family. And Ellie has the toughest choice of all. Ellie must decide whether its time to let her own childhood go and become the woman she is destined to be, one of the ageless and timeless “Helens of Troy”.

Do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published?

Back in 2006 I wrote "Olivia's Mine" a fictional account of the disasters that happened at Britannia Beach, BC in the early 1900's. They carry it in the BC Museum of Mining, so that's pretty cool. I'm also working on a project called "The Inn at Hazy Waters", which is a cross between Fantasy Island and Northern Exposure.

Where can readers connect with you?
website: www.helens-of-troy.com
twitter: mc_janine
facebook: http://on.fb.me/GMiuI0
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/bDn8nA

Where can we buy your books?

Check the usual spots...Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Chapters, iTunes, the Sony Store.

KEEPING IT REAL

One of the challenges I found when writing Helens-of-Troy was how to keep my supernatural characters acting semi-normal in a mortal world.
My first novel, Olivia's Mine, was historical fiction based on fact, so there wasn't a whole lot of room to play around. Perhaps that's why I personally found the paranormal genre a lot more fun.
While the paranormal genre is a godsend for writers who don't like boundaries, I think there are some invisible ones. Since my characters live on earth, I have decided that they need to fight their demons with items found on earth, i.e. there will be no battleships appearing from the sky with a battalion of ghost hunters to help them. But that's just me.
I think one of the reasons the television series "Supernatural" has maintained a huge fan base for several seasons, is the relationship between the brothers. They may lie, cheat and steal, but the bond they have between them bonds the viewer to them as well. This is the relationship I try to achieve with my women in Helens-of-Troy.
I think that the paranormal fan secretly wishes that the heroics of the characters in any book could be done by themselves if they only had a little more power. Not "rule the world" power, but enough fortified energy to see if the irritating neighbour next door really was a demon in disguise. He's hiding something behind those windows he won't wash, and damn it, I'm ready for whatever it is. I just wish I had a heavy shovel and maybe a sidekick to help me.
How do you kill your demons?

GIVE ME BACK MY BOOK: When Characters Take Over

If you write fiction, then this has probably happened to you. You've carefully plotted your chapters so you've got a clear idea of where you're headed in this journey you've mapped out for yourself. You know that your antagonist is scheduled to meet his maker around two-thirds of the way into your story; his own conflict being resolved with three words—Monroe was dead.
Then you pause. You wonder if you've done the right thing, unaware that what Monroe really was, was clever. About a third of the way into your story he began to seduce you. Sure he had shown you his bad side, but every once in a while he began to throw in some charm. He's so charming in fact, that by the halfway point in your book, you're starting to think that maybe Monroe doesn't die. Maybe your protagonist gives him an epiphany so empowering that evil no longer lurks in good old Monroe.
It's the curse of writing good characters. They come alive. They dance around in your brain like multiple personalities and prey on you like your kids. They start to talk back. You try not to listen to those voices in your head, but they just won't shut-up. They take you to the left when you really want to go right.
Remind yourself about the book you initially set out to write. Go back to those initial notes and swear on Monroe's grave that you're going to take him down on page 175. Maybe he doesn't go down in a hail of bullets, maybe he goes down in just one, but down he goes—Monroe is dead.
P.S. Here's a tip I've learned from experience. Save the day of Monroe's demise for when you've had a really bad day at work. That's right. That scene will be so much easier to write when Monroe begins to sound like the person or situation that has driven you to the point where chocolate offers no comfort. It also saves you a trip to the therapist.

GHOST STORIES...I've got a million

CONFESSIONS OF A GHOST LADY

Ghost stories. I've got a million of them.
Okay, maybe not a million, but more than a dozen. I believe that I saw my first ghost at the age of ten, during a sleep over at my friend's house. I pointed at the apparition that appeared by the window, and my friend calmly said "oh, that's my dead uncle." 'Nuff said.
I come by it genetically. My father, who has since passed, once told me that he left his body not once, but on a couple of occasions. He wasn't a big joker, my Dad, so I have no reason to disbelieve what he told me. He also completely understood when weird things happened to me.
I'm not a "Ghost Whisperer". These things don't happen to me all the time. I can't control it. But from time to time, the beyond tries to communicate with me. Sometimes they tap me on my shoulder. Sometimes they turn on my outdoor Christmas lights without any power. But the story I'm going to share with you today involves my Dad, and a trip he made back home to visit his mother.
My Dad came to Canada when he was young, met my mother, went to war and raised a family. After years of being away from Scotland, his homeland, he knew it was time to get back and visit his mother before she died. He saved his dollars, went there, brought back the requisite souvenirs, and threw his roll of photos in a drawer. He was a bit of a procrastinator.
Months go by, my grandmother passes away and Dad decides to get the film of his trip developed. In one of the pictures, he is gathered around relatives I don't know, but their poses are a bit, well…not quite right. My Dad said the reason it appeared that way, is that his mother was missing from the photo. She was there when it was taken, with them when they gathered before the camera, but now…she was gone. Not only from the photo, but from his life as well.
I wish I had the photo to show you, but I don't. I just know I get goose bumps when I think about it, and I hope you did too, reading this.
If you would like to share your own ghost stories with me, send me a note via Janine@helens-of-troy.com. I won't think you're crazy. I'll share some of them on the website.

BITE OF THE WEEK: SIMPSON'S POP CULTURE

Lisa Simpson: Grampa's a vampire?
Bart Simpson: We're all vampires.