S.T. Sanchez's Blog, page 22

Illustrator Interview with Baruch Inbar

What made you want to be an illustrator?I have always loved drawing, since I was 3 years of age. I have also loved storytelling, and it became rather natural for me to marry these two into being a visual storyteller.
How long does it typically take for you to complete one color illustration of a book?It really depends on the style and complexity of the artwork. Some color illustrations may a couple of days, and some may take a week or more.


What tips would you give a new illustrator starting out?My best advice would be: follow your heart and be authentic with your individual style and artistic expression. It is wonderful to be inspired by other artists, but at the end of the day, your own unique expression and "voice" is the most important thing.
What warnings could you give an author looking for a new illustrator?I would suggest to do a little bit of research about them, get some references from former clients and most importantly: have a signed CONTRACT before you do anything. 


When an author contracts with you, do they own exclusive rights to the images, or does that have to be purchased separately?My clients hire me to create artwork for them, therefore they own all the rights once the work is done and I am fully paid. That said, I retain the rights to promote the art and use it in my marketing avenues.
Do Illustrators offer revisions of their work? Absolutely. It is a vital part of the creative process.


Any last words?I love working on children book projects which inspire and empower children to take action in their lives, dream big and become visionaries. Otherwise, what's the point to write children books?...

Thanks for Sharing with us. Don't forget to check out more of Baruch. Happy Reading!!
My website:  https://www.snaut.com
Put all you social media and contact info here Email:  Baruch@snaut.com                Linked in:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/snaut/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SnautEntertainment                       https://www.facebook.com/SnurtleBook

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/baruchinbar/

Author Feature- The World Ends Tomorrow by Eliade Moldovan

Where is humankind?


Did human consciousness change along centuries and millennia?
Disrespect for our environment, religious intolerance, greed, selfishness… I did my reading, history and religious texts and books.
My conclusion? Not much. Add to all this the unstoppable population growth, the overpopulation and the insane resource consumption.
Did our life standards improve along centuries?
My take? A lot. For some of us. I would dare say that the average individual in western world lives better than kings few hundred years back. I remember a chronicle about the life during king Louis XIV, the Sun King; the cold and ugly smelling palaces (no toilets), sticks to scratch under the wigs for head lice, health problems…
So, we do better today. All this done because of human technology advances: internet, cars, airplanes, medical assistance, you name it…
So, what is wrong?
Technologies advanced much faster that human consciousness; and technology out of control generates disasters.
Discoveries and innovation based on research in chemistry, biology, quantum physics, information technology, transportation… make our life better, but could be used for destruction in the worse imaginable ways.
Can our society fix itself, and avoid self-destruction?
NO.
Why? There are mathematical theories that a system cannot fix itself from inside. The mechanisms to fix the system will alter it, and so, it is different than when the project started, it is catch 22 situation. 
What can be done?
If humankind deserved being saved, it will happen, help from above. Aliens? or gods?
But does indeed human society deserve saving?
My book The World Ends Tomorrow describes such a scenario.

Fracony, a supercivilization that visited Earth periodically, built models forecasting that an apocalypse generated by humans themselves is inevitable.
They discovered a baby girl, Clara, with very special qualities, a research accident from a lab that tried to match man and women for best offspring. Clara was raised and trained all her life to take over the world leadership and prevent or diminish the consequences of an apocalypse.
And the disater came as a biological apocalypse from a virus escaping from a research lab.
Clara can communicate with Fracony, but her training could not foresee everything, and Fracony might have their plans about what really means saving humanity, or the price to pay.
What is good and bad have different definitions in normal times versus crisis situations, and when human race was at stake that line between right or wrong was blurry and shifting until became non-existent.  Principles transformed into self preservation, fear in divine punishment transformed into anger. Who could rule such a world?
The action is four hundred years into the future, and only two countries sharing the planet, Gaia and Esperanto. Clara was ruling Esperanto as its Secretary. She had to navigate among centrifuge interests and ideas and take bold and heartbreaking decisions. Will she succeed or collapse before reaching the end of the tunnel?
The World Ends Tomorrow   Happy Reading!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BXK259K

Illustrator Interview with Cris Carvalhoss

Today let's welcome to the blog Illustrator Cris Carvalhoss!We are so glad to have you with us today, will you please tell us a little about yourself
I am a digital artist based in Brazil. I’m majored in Fashion Design in 2010 and I work as a freelancer illustrator  and designer since 2016. I usually make portraits, character design and children’s books. I love to read, I love cats and I just love drawing cute stuff (specially girls).  
If there was one thing you wished author’s knew about illustrating what would it be?
I think that I’d like them (and everyone else) to know that illustrating is more than just doing cute stuff on a canvas. It requires a lot of hard work and thinking. It can be kind of tough sometimes, because images are also a message that you spread. So you have to think a lot about what you’re going to communicate, especially to kids. I don’t think that people have this misunderstanding about making art because they’re mean or something like that, it’s just that this part of the work don’t go out a lot. So that’s my message, art is hard work too! :)




I believe you. I can only imagine how much time it takes to achieve perfection. As an author I can just hit delete and start again. With Illustrations you might have to start all over from scratch. How do you communicate with the author on a project? Do you like it when the author gives a lot of direction or just lets you have creative license?
We usually have a more collaborative approach. Starting with the amount of illustrations or spreads that the book will have, to the sketches, composition, colors… We talk about everything, during the whole process. I kind of like it when they give me directions, because I know exactly what they need and what they’re expecting. But creative license is great as well!


What do you typically charge per illustration?
It depends a lot on the kind of illustration. If it’s a simple lineart to a coloring book, now I charge about $15 per illustration. But if the illustration is more complex, like a spread to a picture book, it cost about $45 per illustration. It really depends on the needs of the author, so prices can vary. 

Cris, do you have a favorite project that you have worked on?
My favorite so far is an illustration project that I’m working on right now. It’s for a children book, a story about courage of being yourself and I’m doing this with my husband (he’s a writer!). It has been great so far, and I hope I can come up with this soon, because it’s an amazing story and I think it has a great message.







What is your preferred method to illustrate in?  Digital? Pencils? Watercolor?
For personal work, any medium is great for me. I love digital,  pen and pencils, and I plan to learn about oil painting and watercolor soon. But when it’s about professional work, it’s easier for me to work digitally because of time and high quality of the images. It just helps me to keep the process more organized.
Any last words?
Thank you so much for this opportunity! I really enjoyed your work and it’s an honor for me to be part of it. Best wishes and inspiration for everyone!


Check out more from Cris at the links below. Happy Reading!!
Portfolio: https://cristinacs.carbonmade.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristinac.sena
Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/cristinacs

The Wait is Over!

PREORDER YOUR COPY TODAYAmazon Link
MAY 23rd 

Fans of Blood of Eden and The Originals will Love Nightwalker
It’s now three months since Lilly saved Tread and killed the psycho vampire Lord Steel, the leader of a sinister vampire community that enslaved humans and forced them to give blood. 
   Now Tread is slowly recovering from the terrible wound he received, but there are other problems to contend with. The city is slowly emptying of humans who don’t want to live alongside the vampires and donate blood to keep them sustained. 
  When Tread’s old friends Koyt turns up one day, along with two vampire friends, Lilly’s father recognizes him as one of his torturers and is enraged that he has been allowed to enter the city. But Koyt says he is a different vampire now and wants a second chance. 
When challenges like a widespread epidemic and a mysterious blood thief threaten to destroy the city that Lilly and so many others have worked to build, Koyt may be the community’s only chance at survival.   
  But can Lilly trust him to do the right thing? Can Koyt live up to his word, proving that he isn’t the monster he once was? And will Lilly and Tread’s relationship survive it if he doesn’t? 

Coming Soon

With the release of Nightwalker just a few short weeks away, May 23, I thought I'd share a little teaser with you all.


Excerpt from Nightwalker:
Ryan would come through. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Tread’s shoulder, relaxing for the first time since the outbreak began. She only needed to get her parents through one more night, and then everything would be fine.She opened her eyes and turned to ask Tread when he would leave and then she froze.From the bedroom she heard a gasp.Then the wheezing and breathing ceased, and one less heartbeat echoed from the room. She looked at Tread for a split second and they both lunged into her parents’ room.
There's still time to read Sunwalker, book 1, before Nightwalker arrives May 23rd. You can read Sunwalker for free on Kindle Unlimited.AmazonBarnes & Noble
Happy Reading!!

Interview with Illustrator Teresa Guido

Today I'd like to welcome Illustrator Teresa Guido. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today and share some of your work.Teresa, what made you want to be an illustrator?
I have always had a passion for drawing and constancy in carrying out this dream. Surely my family has played an essential role in terms of pushing towards this goal, but every day I try to improve myself more as an artist.



I can tell you work hard, your illustrations are beautiful. How long does it typically take for you to complete one color illustration of a book?
This depends by the complexity of the illustration. Sometimes can happen that i can finish an illustration in one week or in one month!


Wow, that's a long time. I think authors sometimes can forget how much work it takes to do a quality illustration. What tips would you give a new illustrator starting out?
It is very difficult to give life advice. But if I can express my opinion on the profession as illustrator, surely a quality that helps is the strong determination and constancy of the dream. I have never been given any useful advice but I have always crawled, followed, and explored the artists who inspired me by following their footprints.



What warnings could you give an author looking for a new illustrator?
That an illustrator must be interested in the project that the writer proposes, follow the author in his choices to be professional and create a good reputation.


When an author contracts with you, do they own exclusive rights to the images, or does that have to be purchased separately?
Usually i can hold rights on the illustration, but i cannot sell the illustration that i have created for an author, maybe i can use that for my personal portfolio.



That's good to know. Do Illustrators offer revisions of their work?
Yes, i usually start with a pencil sketch and i show it to the author if he or she is satisfied i go on.


Teresa, any last words?
I hope to create my own style, recognizable, and to make happy authors that wants to bring life their ideas!

 Thanks so much for sharing with us today Teresa.  Happy Reading!!
Where can we find out more about you?
https://www.artstation.com/teresaguido5
Email: teresa.guido1986@gmail.com         
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresaguido/
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresaguidoart/
                     https://www.facebook.com/teresa.guido.5
Instagram teresaguidoart
                                                                                                                        

Interview with Kate Rauner, author of Glory on Mars

Today I'd like to welcome author Kate Raune. Tell us a little about yourself.


I grew up in a house full of books and magazines, and learned to read before I started school. That turns out to be a huge advantage, because all the teachers thought I was really smart. I've always loved science, solving problems, and finding out how things work, which led me to degrees in chemical and environmental engineering.


Most of my career I worked in America's nuclear weapons complex. I've held plutonium in my (gloved) hands and not too many people can say that. I was lucky enough to be at the Rocky Flats Plant when the Cold War fizzled out, and was on the team that demolished the site. Now it's a wildlife refuge.


Today I live on the edge of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, USA, with my husband, cats, dog, and some elderly llamas. This is where I started writing seriously. I have seven science fiction novels published, a collection of short scifi and fantasy reads, and three collections of science-inspired poetry.


Sounds like a fun place to live. Kate, what got you into writing?


On and off in the past, I'd tried writing, but never kept any of my early efforts. A friend tricked me into my first novel. He got me writing posts for his blog. Then he wrote a children's fiction book with his grandkids, just for fun, and asked me to edit. Seeing it on Amazon was a thrill. When National Novel Writing Month rolled around, he encouraged me to try and helped edit the result into a reasonably decent book.


The effort was fascinating and it seems I'm not terrible after all. But there's a lot to learn, so I wanted to try again. I was hooked.


Is there something you learned from writing your first book?


Many things. How to write every day, how useful long walks are to jogging ideas loose in my head, and how much of a mess of repetition and contradiction I could make when I had no plan. It took forever to morph that first draft into an actual story. But it made me want to get better.


Which do you prefer: print books or ebooks?


Print books last longer and I want some favorites on my shelves forever. If you've ever had a computer or e-reader crash, or tried to transfer files to new formats, you know how ephemeral ebooks can be. But I enjoy reading curled up in a chair or outside, where my e-reader is perfect. I can read one-handed at any angle and the pages don't flutter in a breeze. So I'm a convert to ebooks for most of my reading.


Ebooks definitely have their advantages! I probably read about 50 percent ebook and 50 percent print. I still love the book in my hand. Share a short excerpt from your novel


This is from a near-future colony on Mars. Roboticist Emma Winters is on Earth, about to leave on a one-way trip to Mars:


She entered at the back of a stadium-style control room, behind two dozen stations each arranged like an individual cockpit, and scanned the room for Filip Krast, the stocky MEX mission control lead. The front row, on the lowest level, was fully occupied as always by controllers running the satellite systems that orbited Mars - communications, tracking, weather, and solar power. On the second level technicians were installing upgrades for Emma's Settler Three mission.
Filip hurried across the top level, past the special projects stations, and ushered Emma to a glass-walled cubicle against the back wall.
"There's been a... an incident at Kamp. This isn't easy to watch." He steered her to a video console in the corner and hit playback. "There's been a death."
Emma sat up straight and felt her fingers go cold.
On the vid, the colony's doctor, Ingra, was stepping through a door in the habitat module. The lights were dimmed and the audio feed was silent except for the hum of life support systems - it was pre-dawn at the settlement. She crossed to the airlock, slowly rotated the door handle, and hopped through.
Filip tapped the console, switching to the playback from inside the airlock. Ingra sealed the door and looked up at the imager.
"By the time this transmission reaches Earth, I'll be gone. I can't stay here any longer. There's a huge old oak tree beyond that little crater. No one can see it, but I know it's there. I'm going home. Forgive me." She walked past the surface survival suits hanging on the wall and reached for the airlock control panel.
Emma felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
"She can't get out without a suit, can she? The airlock pumps are slow; she'll pass out before the pressure is low enough for her to open the outer door, right?"
Filip pointed back to the screen.
Ingra stepped to the outer door. With a pull and twist, she opened the emergency decompression valve. Red lights began to flash and ice fog clouded the imager lens. Ingra fumbled with the outer door and it opened. With her last lungful of air, she pulled the door open and disappeared into the darkness.


Tell us a little bit about your main characters


The story follows Emma, a robotics engineer inspired to follow her creations to Mars. She's hard-working and tough, and dedicated (as anyone taking a one-way trip must be), but understands what she's left behind. Her crewmate Claude is more conflicted. He couldn't turn down the chance to study Martian geology firsthand, but regrets leaving his university job and especially his wife behind. They discover something's terribly wrong at the colony, but are determined to survive and explore the Red Planet.


Is this a stand-alone novel or part of a series?


Glory on Mars is the first in a series. Each book is set in the same colony but a different generation, so you can read any of them as stand-alone stories. Each follows one settler's ambitions and hopes as they struggle with the hostile planet, and sometimes hostile fellow settlers, to survive and build lives on Mars.


Currently, what are you working on?


I just published a box-set collection of my five Mars colony books, so I'm outlining and researching for a new trilogy. I going to Saturn's moon Titan next, and a brother and sister will be the main characters. It's exciting because I love learning about the Saturn system and thinking up adventures and disasters for them to tackle. Also scary, because I don't know what the books will look like yet.


It's always fun to start a new project. And you must feel a sense of accomplishment to finish a series.  I don't know that feeling yet. I have one more book to go for my Vampire trilogy. Do you have people read your drafts before you publish? How do you select beta readers?


I definitely get others to read my drafts once they're finished as best I can by myself. I've joined the on-line critique group Critters, which has workshops in many genres and posts excellent articles explaining how to make comments helpful and appropriate. Readers volunteer based on a sample chapter or two. We're all writers trying to help each other, and I've always been pleased with the critiques. It's nice to receive comments via email, so I have privacy as I read them. I want to be able to occasionally pound the desk or dance around the room.


 I've met a couple other scifi authors over the years to swap beta-reading with, too.


I think it's important to find beta-readers who read and enjoy the genre you write in, and even then, comments are most useful from people who like your premise and basic story. Beta-readers always improved my stories.


What was your biggest challenge when writing? Did you have any writer’s block? If so, how did you work your way through it?


It's a challenge to create believable characters - people to care about and who make sense as they navigate through a story. It's easy for me to lose track of time in my books, so I keep notes on dates for each chapter.


When I get stuck, I find walking in the forest helps me unblock. Having notepads handy is helpful, because ideas can pop into my head any time of day. Or night! I keep a pad at my bedside because otherwise I lay awake trying to memorize an idea (which never works, because ideas at night are like dreams and they fade.)


I know what you mean. I always regret not writing an idea down the moment it strikes!What was your writing process like?


I start by reading whatever I can find on the setting I've chosen. I need to have a picture in my head of where I am. With each project, I've spent more time creating outlines. That helps me avoid inconsistencies and lets me go backwards to add foreshadowing, so the wonderful ideas I get later in a story make sense. It's much easier to do on an outline than in a narrative.


I like to write in the mornings for an hour or two or three. Research any time of day. Afternoons work better for editing, social media, and reading. I read mostly science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction. Reading is part of the writing process because, as Stephen King says,“the more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself.”


What are your hobbies aside from writing, if any?


I'm a volunteer firefighter, which qualifies as a hobby since I don't get paid. People living in rural areas like mine must be self-sufficient, and healthy retired folk are vital. I'm our department's secretary and involved in setting up training, as well as being a firefighter myself. There are only a thousand people in my district, but ninety-three square miles including a lot of forest, so we fight more wildland fires than house fires.


With my husband, I enjoy hiking - something we've always done. Since moving to New Mexico we've added bird watching and a little geology to our interests.
Wow Firefighting! Kate, you are braver than I am.  Thanks so much for sharing with us today. Don't forget to check out Glory on Mars Book 1 and the rest of the Colonization Books.  I don't always find the time to read the authors I feature on my blog, but I have read book 1.  If you like Sci-fi this is a great story, and I am anxious to see what happens in the rest of the series.  Happy Reading!!


https://www.facebook.com/kate.rauner/
https://twitter.com/katerauner
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChqS1s_yfuN3VCJNYXH1-pg
Or visit my blog at https://katerauner.wordpress.com/
Or my Amazon author page at https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Rauner/e/B00DMEEMWS/

Find my Mars colony series on Amazon at http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B0791GKGMX 
or start at Book 1 on other favorite stores https://books2read.com/GloryonMars 

Interview with Illustrator Ann Pilicer

Today let's give a warm welcome to the talented Ann Pilicer!

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to tell you more about me. My name is Ann Pilicer and I am a freelance Children’s Book illustrator. I recently got accepted and am currently under contract to illustrate two books. One is named So You Want A Puppy by Raven Howell to be published by Handersen Publishing and due to be released in Spring 2019.  The other book titled Greetings also by the very talented poet Raven Howell is to be published by Michelkin Publishing and will also have a 2019 release.   These two books although written by the same author will have very different looks. The first book So You Want A Puppy is more of a character driven book. I will be using my technique of using thick gouache as the lead in color. This is a story of a boy who gets a puppy named Murray and learns that puppies are cute but they are quite a challenge!  The book will also give advice on how to take care of your new puppy. The book Greetings will have more of a watercolor look using gouache with the movement of color that guides your eye though the pages. This book takes you on a journey through the seasons with fun animals and brilliant colors.   
What made you want to be an illustrator? 

I was a very shy child and drawing was a comfort. I grew up in Brooklyn and it was my way to take adventures to different places other than our apartment building and concrete playgrounds. Shyness still takes a hold on me. But, at the beginning of this year I decided to show more of my work. I have put my work more onto social media and I’m selling prints through Etsy. This is what I believe got me noticed. Making the effort and coming out of my box.  After graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York for illustration I worked in a New York City studio painting garment designs, then moved onto a textile manufacturing job. Marriage and two kids followed and I continued with the joy of oil painting and creating three dimensional wall art. I will skip ahead here because kids became my world. I then got to illustrate eight books and an EBook. I also did all the design work as well on these. Each author can see exactly how his or her book will look in the end. It gives the author and illustrator freedom to play and work on making the book how they see it. I love my job and am thrilled to be able to do it.  I am proud of all that I have accomplished and looking forward to creating these new books. Also, to all of the wonderful possibilities in the future.   

                                                                                                                                                        Ann, how long does it typically take for you to complete one color illustration of a book? This definitely depends on the particular style. Since I like to work traditional and work in gouache and follow up with Photoshop and color correcting, this can take up to a week or more. This time frame does not include revisions.  The same goes for watercolor. But, if I were to do all digital directly from sketch it would take a little less time. I really do like the traditional way so I can get a chance to see what colors might work and any texture that I can achieve with the paint.  



What tips would you give a new illustrator starting out? Use all the tools available today to grow.  By this I mean do your research on many different social media sites and look at different styles. Practice and try new things. Try doing the style you love and then put your own stamp on it. Explore different mediums and find what works for you. You might find that this is your new style. I am always looking, researching and growing.  

What warnings could you give an author looking for a new illustrator? You should always have a contract. Make sure you are able to work together and be open, honest and realistic on time frame and what is expected.  This will protect the rights of both the author, as well as illustrator.  Have realistic expectations about how long good illustrations take and how much they cost. I have been lucky to work with authors that understand quality work takes time to produce. Children’s books can take from 8 months to a year to complete. You are putting it out to the world; you want to be proud of your work not rushed.  



When an author contracts with you, do they own exclusive rights to the images, or does that have to be purchased separately?  I retain all copyrights to the artwork but I give the author and publisher a written form that releases rights to use all the artwork for promotion, print and online media.  I do not give up the rights to my work; I specifically state that I want my name on the work.  I feel that both the author and illustrator should be acknowledged for what we have worked so hard for.   It is a joint venture and one that is equally worked on with zest.  
Do Illustrators offer revisions of their work?  Yes, revisions come with it. But, it is less likely there will be a big change if you communicate with each other. Bounce around ideas and be open to each other’s thoughts. For me I work up the sketch of a layout first and make sure it is approved before proceeding.  


Any last words? Contact me if you are interested in working together and see what I can do to create a beautiful book.  Thank you!  
Thanks so much for sharing with us today Ann.  Happy Reading!!
Where can we find out more about you? My website https://www.annpilicer.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annpilicerillustrates/ For Prints of Artwork: Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/AnnsArtLoft Email: annpilicerillustrates@gmail.com  

Interview with Steve Haberman author of Darkness and Blood

  Today let's give a warm welcome to fellow Texan Steve Haberman. Steve will you tell us a little about yourself?
  
      I was born and raised in Texas. Staying close to home, I earned a B. A. Degree from the University of Texas in Austin, majoring in political science and minoring in history. Afterwards I moved to Los Angeles, where I passed my stock broker's exam and worked for a time at a brokerage house before returning to school.  Upon getting my legal assistant certification from UCLA, I worked at a law firm. Successful stock market investments allowed me, thankfully, to retire early and to pursue two dreams, writing and foreign travel, and I have since traveled extensively and frequently to Europe. 

     I enjoy the cosmopolitan bustle, sidewalk cafes, the museums of Berlin, Rome, Vienna, London, Budapest, and Paris. Many of these capitals find their way into my stories of intrigue..."Murder Without Pity" (Paris), "The Killing Ploy" (London, Berlin, Paris, and Lugano) and just released "Darkness and Blood" (London and Paris) and "Winston Churchill's Renegade Spy" (London and Zurich).  I'm also researching for a fifth novel, this one to be set in 1946 Berlin.





Share a short excerpt from your novel:      Here's the opening chapter to Darkness and Blood, a conspiracy thriller and sequel to The Killing Ploy, I just  finished...
                                                THE MIDNIGHT INTRUDER

      A few minutes past midnight in the south of France.

      Pablo de Silva, ex-CIA agent, awoke from the restless half sleep of a man on the run. Had he heard a noise somewhere outside his farmhouse? Intelligence operatives had found his hideaway to kidnap him back to his former boss?  Terrorists, hell bent on avenging the killing of one of their own, had tracked him down? Or a jealous husband set on murdering his wife who had fled his beatings and who now, he worried with a glance at her, lay just as uneasily beside him.

      “Qu'est-ce que c'est?" What is it, Pablo? she asked in a whisper. “Something wrong?”

      He shrugged, whispered back, "Je ne sais pas," and put a finger to her lips. “Quiet." He listened a moment longer in the absolute stillness of the country night, trying to place the sound. After a moment longer, sure now he had heard something, he patted her warm naked thigh; stay here, his intimate gesture implied. He leaped from their bed and tiptoed to the room’s threshold. A dash across the darkened living room, and he stood at one of the two windows that overlooked the dirt drive. He knelt, feeling the cold wooden floor on his knees, and, nudging apart the curtains, peered out. For a moment, squinting past the partly opened wooden shutters, he saw nothing except the thick blackness of night. He heard only the same sound that kept him tense, a mechanical rattle. It came from a car, he saw at last, headlights out, its menacing silhouette looming closer to the end of his farmhouse’s drive. He realized they didn’t have time to flee or to search for his 32 cal revolver.

      “It’s him, I know it is. He’ll kill us both, Pablo.”

       Pablo glanced over his shoulder. “Stay in our bedroom, Gabriella."

      “He's that kind of husband. He’s crazy with jealousy.”

      “Just do as I say, dammit, and lock the door.” Pablo peeked out through the curtains again, ending further discussion. Only one car, not several. Parked about ten feet from the stone steps leading to his front door. Three men in silhouette in the car; a fourth in darkened outline, above average in height, stepping out. Four men in one vehicle, not a convoy bringing a snatch or kill team. More than likely then, he guessed, Gabriella’s husband with his armed investigators had found them out.

      The man passed in front of several cypress trees bordering the drive, and Pablo silently cursed losing sight of him. He pressed his ear against the paneled oak wall, straining to hear through the thick wood. "I'll do the front," the man called out to his companions. "You guys check around back. Search everywhere." Or did he say, "Search for that pair?" Pablo pressed his ear hard against the wall.

     "You really think he's around?" an accomplice, younger sounding, asked. "With all these weeds, the place looks abandoned."

   "It's not abandoned, trust me. It's exactly where that wily bastard would hide out. He's got to be around here somewhere."  He paused, muttering about the damn cold and the damn mud. In that moment Pablo believed he had heard that soft voice before. Then he saw he had forgotten to turn the locks, and his thoughts were on the impending attack. 

     A heavy tread, heel, toe, heel, toe, now inches from the front door....

 

Currently, what are you working on? 
     I'm just finished up Darkness and Blood, and now on to Winston Churchill's Renegade Spy.  It's a WWII spy thriller, set mostly in Europe.  An ex-New York City detective and briefly, a bodyguard for Winston Churchill, is asked to help investigate a  spy at the heart of the British government during the most critical time in its long history.


Tell us a little bit about your main characters:
     These are some characters from Darkness and Blood
     Pablo de Silva is the protagonist in both The Killing Ploy and Darkness and Blood, the sequel.  He had a privileged upbringing. His father owned at one time a five-star boutique hotel in Switzerland. But he took on too much debt and had to declare bankruptcy.
    Needing to support himself, Pablo used his language skills and knowledge of Europe in service to the CIA, but with a disastrous result. 
     Stuart Bishop was once Pablo's case officer.  After a disaster in Berlin, he re-evaluated his agent and believed the CIA should fire him.  But after a certain incident in Vienna, he changed his mind once more about de Silva.
     Gabriella Rohman, a human rights attorney, planned to divorce her big shot Paris husband, who beat her once. She played a vital part in protagonist Pablo de Silva's life.  
     Big Snoop/Little Snoop, covert spy facilities outside Washington D. C.


Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with titles, how did you decide on what to title each book?

     So far I've been lucky.  The titles simply come to me as I write.  In fact, I think I've had only one working title, Murder Most Secret, that I changed to Winston Churchill's Renegade Spy.  Usually, however, what comes to mind while I'm writing (Murder Without Pity, The Killing Ploy, Darkness and Blood, Where the Bodies Lie) is the final title.


What was your biggest challenge when writing? Did you have any writer’s block?  If so, how did you work your way through it?
     I've never experienced writer's block.  That's because I write only what interests me, what works on my imagination, not what's currently selling.  So I'm always working even when I'm not at the writing desk.  I say "always" because my subconscious is working things out even when I'm not writing. 
     The biggest challenge for me is finding credible feedback.  By that, I mean someone who can say what works for him/her and what doesn't. If someone's hyper critical toward what I write, I'll pass.  Editors are a dime a dozen.  Good editors aren't.


I am blessed to have found a fantastic Editor. You are right, they are not easy to come by.What are your hobbies aside from writing, if any?
     I enjoy tap dancing, riding my newly purchased bike, going to a self defense class, and especially traveling to Europe.  I don't romanticize that continent.  I'm aware that terrible, terrible cruelties happened there and that rotten people with rotten beliefs would engage in those cruelties again, if permitted.
    But Europe has great museums and museums in general, superb transportation systems like their metros and bullet trains, and vibrant city life.  Whenever I go, I must have been 20 times already, I always find it an invigorating experience.

I hope to experience all that Europe has to offer someday. I travel to Mexico frequently and love the people and culture, but Europe is definitely on my list. Which is your favorite book?
     My all-time favorite spy novel, John Le Carre's Cold War thriller, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.  I read it when the James Bond novels were highly popular, and Le Carre's grim portrayal of spying was stunningly brilliant and a nice offset to  what  for me was Ian Fleming fluff.


Since you wrote in this genre, do you think you will ever write in other genres?
     I can't see myself writing in any other genre.  I came of political age during one of the most traumatic periods in American history...JFK's murder, his brother's murder, Martin Luther King's murder, Vietnam, Watergate.  Lots of bad stuff happened then that grounded me in the real world, and I try to bring that realism to the murder mystery/spy genre.  Whether I succeed or not is another matter, but at least I try.

Thanks for sharing with us today.  Don't forget to check out all of Steve's great books. Happy Reading!!
Darkness and Blood -Amazon

Darkness and Blood - Barnes & Noble

Darkness and Blood - Apple

Darkness and Blood - Kobo

The Killing Ploy - Amazon

website

Check out my new interview

I have a new interview up.  Go read it! New Interview  Don't forget Nightwalker Book 2 of the Sunwalker Trilogy is coming out in May!