Karen Swart's Blog, page 28
March 16, 2015
Blog Tour & Giveaway – Meet The Indy Book Fairy Blog @CarrieBookFairy #payitforward
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Book blast & Giveaway: Heart’s Strum by @charityparkerso
BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – Heart’s Strum SERIES – Ugly Eternity – Book #3 AUTHOR – Charity Parkerson GENRE – M/M Romance LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 30,000 PUBLISHER – Punk & Sissy Publications COVER ARTIST – Charity Parkerson for Punk & Sissy Designs
BOOK SYNOPSIS
For a moment, Jamie held the world, even though it wasn’t his to hold…
Jamie has spent his entire life playing the good twin. Now, he’s the one standing out after signing with Guillotine Records. Two years of being on his own in California hasn’t lessened his desire for the man who made it happen. Too bad that man belongs to one of Jamie’s oldest friends.
Fate is about to hand him an unexpected chance.
After losing everything, Hawke needs a break from reality. Too many lies and heartaches have left him with nothing except nightmares he can’t escape. Seeing Jamie again reminds him of a different time—one where Jamie made him feel a spark of something pure.
Can Jamie undo the years of damage caused by his so-called friend?
In the face of everything Maddox has done to Hawke, Jamie can’t let this chance pass him by. No friendship in the world is strong enough to overlook the pain Maddox has caused. Jamie can’t think of a thing he’d rather do than pick up the pieces of Hawke’s life, but will Hawke let him?
Sometimes the most beautiful relationships spring from the most broken places.
BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK – GOODREADS –
SHELFARI
EXCERPT Hawke hugged him. Jamie was too surprised to react right away. When he did, some sort of strange dumbassery rose to the surface. “Awww, you let me inside your bubble. I’m going to breathe up all the good air.” Hawke snorted. “Shut up.” He tensed as if he meant to pull away. Jamie closed his arms around him, keeping him in place. “I’m being serious.” He turned his head, burying his nose against Hawke’s neck, and inhaling loudly. “You’re going to suffocate.” A low laugh escaped Hawke, feeding Jamie’s ridiculousness. He didn’t try pulling away again. Jamie’s heart swelled. He pressed his mouth to Hawke’s throat, breathing heavily. “I’m breathing on you too. You’re going to end up with some dreaded disease.” Hawke’s hands found his waist. “You’re definitely killing me.” Jamie didn’t miss the husky note to his voice. The pads of Hawke’s thumbs brushed his sides—skin on skin. Jamie’s body reacted the same as Hawke going down on him. He wouldn’t last long if the man ever willingly touched him in such a way. Jamie untangled himself before he could embarrass himself.
AUTHOR BIO Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with Ellora's Cave Publishing, Indie Publishing House LLC, and Punk & Sissy Publications. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters. *Winner of 2, 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards *2014 Golden Ankh Nominee *2013 Readers' Favorite Award Winner *2013 Reviewers' Choice Award Winner *2012 ARRA Finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance *Five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS Amazon Author Page – Website/Blog – Facebook – Twitter – Google+ - Pinterest – Tumblr – Networked Blogs – Goodreads – Shelfari – Coffee Time Romance – Ellora’s Cave –
Passionate Ink
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March 15, 2015
Book blast, Giveaway & Interview: Angel Codes by Ami Blackwelder
Angel Codes
AngelFire Chronicles
Book 3
Ami Blackwelder
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Angel suspense
Publisher: Eloquent Enraptures Publishing
Date of Publication: March 14, 2015
ASIN: B00SU3X9MA
Number of pages: 217
Word Count: 78,000
Cover Artist: Ami Blackwelder
Book Description:
After Kian is taken away from Ali, she and the other Angelfire must defend Manhattan on their own, while learning where Kian is and how to retrieve him.
Meanwhile, Kian is fighting his own internal and external demons deep within the cell of The Underground.
Will Ali and Kian finally find love or will Dumah destroy it all? Find out in the last book to the AngelFire Chronicles.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/G7PJRQ3iFhA
Available at Amazon
Get it free March 15, 16, and 17
Other Books in the Series:
She Speaks to Angels
Dumah's Demons
Falling Angels
Angel Codes
Ali
Fall of senior year sped by so quickly, I could hardly believe everything that had happened. I became an angel, learned Angelfire Gifts, had both my best friends get too close to danger, and killed Dameon- then I lost Kian. Winter would be terribly cold.
Waking up each morning without Kian at my side or without his milky, musky smell persisting in the air felt odd and left a large vacancy in my heart. My eyes were often swollen shut from crying myself to sleep. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again, and if it was up to Dumah I never would.
The morning after Sam returned home Mom contacted the police. Officer Wriley led the investigation and showed up at the front porch. I heard them talking in-between an ajar door as I stumbled downstairs in checkered pajamas, half-yawning.
“So, Officer Samuel Maney is here?” Officer Wriley asked again.
“Yes, safe and home. He is resting upstairs, but please come in and feel free to wait in the living room. I don’t want to wake him after everything he’s been through.” Mom said.
“I understand, Mrs. Maney. Thank you.” He tipped his cap and then a gush of cigarette air wafted into the room when he waltzed in with a crisp police uniform. He plopped onto the soft sofa and the three other officers followed.”
Still in PJs, I decided to sprint back upstairs and change. I caught sight of Sam’s head poking out of his door. “They downstairs?” Sam inquired impatiently.
“They? You mean your department? Yes, Officer Wriley and his team. They’re concerned about you. Anyway, Mom called them. She thought they should know,” I whispered.
His furrowed brows told me he felt differently. “I…I just don’t know if I can face them just yet. You know? All the inquiries about my disappearance and I haven’t yet processed it myself.” He raked his hand through his hair.
Character Name: Dumah
Character Bio: Dumah grew up an orphan in Manhatten New York and ran away at twelve to live on the streets. She was gang raped as a teenager and left her brother Kian to live with Dameon underground where she developed her wings and gifts.
Describe yourself. What is your worst and best quality?
I get things done. I can be abrupt.
What is the one thing you wish other people knew about you?
I am a compassionate person and have given a lot of time to helping others. I also love animals and fight for animal rights.
What is your biggest secret. Something no one knows about?
I love black nail polish.
What are you most afraid of?
Not finishing the seven novels in my head.
What do you want more than anything?
To have a movie made of one of my novels.
What is your relationship status?
Single and looking. Seriously, guys contact me;)
How would you describe your sense of fashion?
Fashionable and at times relaxed.
How much of a rebel are you?
I tend to not follow the crowd, so in that sense I’m a rebel.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
I’ve built up schools in Thailand, have two degrees under my belt and have written over ten novels. I’ve also served in the Air Force.
What is your idea of happiness?
Writing and reading most of the day on the beach with lots to drink, LOL;)
What is your current state of mind?
Peaceful.
What is your most treasured possession?
Labtop.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Imaginative and creative.
What is it that you most dislike?
Cruelty.
Which living person do you most despise?
The leaders of China and North Korea.
What is your greatest regret?
Not writing novels at a younger age. I only wrote short stories and poems.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Sense of humor and intelligence.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Easy going and honest.
Who is your favorite hero in fiction?
I like detectives.
Which living person do you most admire?
Obama is pretty amazing with everything he has achieved.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I’d stop all my personal bad habits, LOL;)
What is your motto?
They defeat those who believe they can. Just do it.
Ami Blackwelder is a Paranormal and SciFi author. Her stories range from Tween & YA to Adult. Growing up in Florida, she graduated UCF and in 1997 received her BA in English and additional teaching credentials. Then she packed her bags and travelled overseas to teach in Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, China and Korea. Thailand is considered her second home now.
She has always loved writing and wrote poems and short stores since childhood; however, her novels began when she was in Thailand. Having won the Best Fiction Award from the University of Central Florida (Yes, The Blair Witch Project University), her short fiction From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return was published in the on campus literary magazine: Cypress Dome and remains to this day in University libraries around the USA.
Later, she achieved the semi-finals in a Laurel Hemingway contest and published a few poems in the Thailand’s Expat magazine, and an article in the Thailand’s People newspaper. Additionally, she has published poetry in the Korea’s AIM magazine, the American Poetic Monthly magazine and Twisted Dreams Magazine.
http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com
http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angel-Fire-Chronicles/262738260422879
March 12, 2015
New Release!! My Favorite Second Chance by Rue @ItsNotMyFavorit
Presented by: Sparkle Book Tours
My Favorite Second Chance The Lake Effect Series # 2 by Author Rue Audience: NA and Adult - Genre: Romance/Contemporary; LGBT - Formats: E-book and Paperback - Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Productions - Cover by:
Regina Wamba, Mae I Design
- Editor: Jazmine Hale- Pages: 328 - ISBN-13: 978-0-9860627-3-5 (Paperback) - ISBN-13: 978-0-9860627-2-8 (eBook) - Date Published: 10 March 2015
Have you ever wished for a second chance? The Hutchinson sisters are out of the frying pan and into the fire—just like their mother always threatened! Gwenn is floating in the dreamy, fragile glow of her new relationship with wealthy artist, Daniel Gregory, when a blast from her past makes a triumphant return. Sure he ran out on her over a decade ago, but can she turn her back on a war hero? Rachel is on the brink of having everything she ever dreamed of, but that’s not how things work out for Hutchinson girls. Her rock-star girlfriend is leaving for a lengthy tour and something is afoot at the bakery. The righteous hand of her mother, Shirley, can orchestrate tribulations from halfway across town. The sisters think they can run away from their troubles on a quick trip to the heart of Mexico, when an unexpected phone call shatters that illusion. Filled with intriguing characters, plenty of steamy romance and lovely plots twists, MY FAVORITE SECOND CHANCE will have you flushed with anticipation, blinking back tears, laughing out loud and cheering for your favorite characters.
Amazon
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CLANG! He woke with a start. A flaccid sliver of grey light had infiltrated the dank blackness. The comforting numbness in his right shoulder convinced him that he had survived the night. He listened carefully and played his second favorite game—how long until they got to his cell and tossed in what he had come to call “breakfast.” A key twisted in the lock. The door screeched open, the light blinded his nocturnal eyes and a metal tray scraped across the filthy concrete floor. His hand searched toward the sound. Treasure found, his fingers encircled the spoon handle. Slowly, painfully he crawled to the corner and scratched a hatch mark on the wall as he recited his “sanity” mantra. “I am Sergeant Steven Hays. Today is day 2,189 of my captivity. I am engaged to Gwenn Hutchinson and I will return to her. God. Country. Corps.” Steven slid the bowl over and forced himself to consume the foul slop it contained. He was emaciated and his mouth burned from canker sores. One thought kept him alive—his last, sweet, searing memory of her. Gwenn was his guardian angel and he intended to live long enough to tell her.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL58rl-VV_qmCRPXuH-Xy7g0Xa2p7zzpxd
Rue graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, with a degree in Journalism. Her intimate knowledge of the Midwestern United States, the inordinate amount of time she spent in its churches’ pews and her unique parentage make her an expert on life after religion. Having moved 17 times by the time she graduated from high school Rue has seen more than her share of the Great Plains. She never stayed in one place long enough to make lasting human friends. Her best friends were all characters from her beloved books; and the love of reading led to a lifelong passion for writing.
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Tsu
Book Blast & Giveaway: Demon Child by @kyliechan
Demon Child
Celestial Battle
Book Two
Kylie Chan
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager
Date of Publication: 2/24/2015
ISBN: 9780062329080
Number of pages: 544
Book Description:
Australian bestseller Kylie Chan returns with a new, fast-paced adventure of magic, martial arts, and romance.
This trilogy follows the story of John Chen and Emma Donohoe. They have just found out that Emma has Demon blood. The Sidhe - or Shining folk, who defeated the Western Shen a thousand years ago - are prepared to do battle against the Western Shen to retain their dominance.
Emma’s allegiance is torn: to fight for her kind, the Western demons she is descended from, or to stand alongside her beloved Xuan Wu.
Available at HarperCollins
Add it to Your Goodreads Shelf
Kylie Chan is the bestselling author of the Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilogies. She married a Hong Kong national in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony.
Kylie has studied Kung Fu and Tai Chi and is a senior belt in both forms. She has also made an intensive study of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy and has brought all of these interests together into her storytelling.
She lived in Hong Kong for many years and now lives in Brisbane, Australia.
Twitter: @kyliechan
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kylie-Chan/391705800860529
March 11, 2015
Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Earth’s Imagined Corners by @TamaraLinse
Earth’s Imagined Corners
The Round Earth Series
Book 1
Tamara Linse
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Willow Words
Date of Publication: January 31, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9909533-1-9
ASIN: B00T18RRNK
Number of pages: 472
Word Count: 130,000
Book Description:
In 1885 Iowa, Sara Moore is a dutiful daughter, but when her father tries to force her to marry his younger partner, she must choose between the partner—a man who treats her like property—and James Youngblood—a kind man she hardly knows who has a troubled past.
When she confronts her father, he beats her and turns her out of the house, breaking all ties, so she decides to elope with James to Kansas City with hardly a penny to their names.
In the tradition of Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Earth’s Imagined Corners is a novel that comprehends the great kindnesses and violences we do to each other.
Available at Amazon
Anamosa, Iowa, 1885
Sara Moore should have nothing to fear this week. She had been meticulous in her entering into the ledger the amounts that Minnie the cook requested she spend on groceries. She had remembered, just, to include her brother Ed’s purchase of materials to mend sister Maisie’s doll house and to subtract the pickling salt that she had purchased for sister Esther but for which Esther’s husband Gerald had reimbursed her. She stood at her father’s shoulder as he went over the weekly household accounts, and even though her father owned Moore Grocer & Sundries from which she ordered the family’s groceries, he still insisted she account for the full price in the ledger. “No daughter of mine,” he often said, though sometimes he would finish the thought and sometimes his neatly trimmed eyebrows would merely bristle.
Despite the buttressing of her corset, Sara hunched forward, somewhat reducing her tall frame. She intertwined her fingers so that she would not fiddle with the gathers of soft navy wool in her overskirt, and she tried not to breathe too loudly, so as not to bother him, nor to breathe too deeply, in order to take in little of the cigar smoke curling up from his elephant-ivory ashtray on the hulking plantation desk.
As always, the heavy brocade curtains armored Colonel Moore’s study against the Iowa day, so the coal oil lamps flickered in their brackets. Per instructions, Sipsy the maid lit them early every morning, snuffed them when he left for the grocery, lit them again in anticipation of his return at seven, and then snuffed them again after he retired. It was an expense, surely, but one that Sara knew better than to question. The walls of the study were lined with volumes of military history and maps of Virginia and Georgia covered in lines, symbols, and labels carefully inked in Colonel Moore’s hand. In its glass case on the bureau rested Colonel Moore’s 1851, an intricately engraved pistol awarded to him during the War of Northern Aggression. Sipsy dusted daily, under stern directive that not a speck should gather upon any surface in the room.
Sara’s father let out a sound between an outlet of breath and a groan. This was not good. He was not pleased. Sara straightened her shoulders and took a breath and held it but let her shoulders slump forward once more.
“My dear,” he said, his drawl at a minimum, “your figures, once again, are disproportionate top to bottom. And there is too much slant, as always, in their curvatures. I urge you to practice your penmanship.” His tone was one of indulgence.
Inaudibly, Sara let out her breath. If he was criticizing her chirography, then he had found nothing amiss in the numbers. The accounts were sound for another week. Later, when he checked the numbers against the accounts at the grocery, there was less of a chance that she had missed something.
He closed the ledger, turned his chair, and with both hands held the ledger out to her. She received it palms up and said, “I will do better, Father.”
“You would not want to disappoint to your mother.” His drawl was more pronounced.
So he had regretted his indulgence and was not satisfied to let her go unchecked. His wife, Sara’s mother, had been dead these five years, and since then Sara had grown to take her place, running the household, directing the servants, and caring for six year-old Maisie. Ed needed little looking after, as he was older than Sara, though unmarried, and Esther, the oldest, was married with two daughters and farm of her own.
Sara straightened her shoulders again and hugged the ledger to her chest. “Yes, Father,” she said and turned and left the room, trying to keep her pace tranquil and unhurried. She went to the kitchen, where Minnie had a cup of coffee doused with cream and sugar awaiting her. Minnie gave her an encouraging smile, and though Sara did not acknowledge what went unsaid between them—one must shun familiarity with the servants—she lifted her shoulders slightly and said, “Thank you, Minnie.” Minnie, with the round figure and dark eyes of a Bohemian, understood English well, though she still talked with a pronounced accent, and Sara had only heard her speak the round vowels and chipped consonants of her native tongue once, when a delivery man indigenous to her country of origin walked into the kitchen with mud on his boots. Sara tucked the ledger in its place on a high shelf and then allowed herself five minutes of sipping coffee amid the wonderful smells of Minnie’s pompion tart. Then she rose, rinsed her cup, and applied herself to her day.
The driver had Father’s horse and gig waiting, as always, at twenty minutes to nine. As Father stretched his fingers into his gloves, pulling them tight by the wrist leather, he told Sara, “When you come at noon, I have something unusual to show you.”
“Yes, Father,” she said.
It seemed odd that he would concern her with anything to do with business. He left her to the household. He had long tried to coerce Ed into the business, but Ed’s abilities trended more toward the physical. He was a skilled carpenter, though Father kept a close rein on where he took jobs and whom he worked for. All talk of renaming the business Moore & Son had been dropped when Father had recently promoted the young man who was his assistant, Chester O’Hanlin, to partner. Mr. O’Hanlin had droopy red muttonchops and a body so long and thin he looked a hand-span taller than he really was, which was actually a bit shorter than Sara. Mr. O’Hanlin didn’t talk much, either, and he seemed always to be listening. He held himself oddly, cocking his head to one side, first one way and then the other, his small dark eyes focusing off to the left or right of the speaker. His nose, long and wedge-shaped, seemed to take up half his face. “Chester, the Chinaman,” Maisie called him outside of his presence because of the way he stooped and bobbed whenever their father entered the room.
Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
Oh, I wish I was one of those people who could say that they always wanted to be a writer! Books have always been my passion. I. LOVE. BOOKS. They are my raison d’etre. I’ve always been a reader and I’ve always written, but I didn’t think of myself as a writer. Writers were these numinous beings who lived Somewhere Else. No one I knew was a writer. They were ranchers and waitresses and teachers and nurses. I didn’t know one could BE a writer. In fact, I firmly believed myself to be invisible. But, then, when I was almost thirty, I started to allow myself to dream just a little. Could I? Could I do it?! Growing up on a ranch, I thought I might be a veterinarian until I graduated from high school. Then when I went to college I was officially in almost every college on campus. I loved English, but heavens you can’t make a living with an English degree, I thought. Turns out, you can. It took me 13 years to get my bachelor’s and then 2 to get my master’s.
When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?
Around the time I turned 30. I had always written and had even won prizes for my writing but I didn’t claim it. I think that’s a problem for people in general ~ they don’t let themselves dream and they are their own worst enemies. They undermine their own success, sometimes passively and sometimes actively. It’s as if they’re saying, “I’m such a horrible person I don’t deserve any goodness and so if there’s any possibility that there will be success I’ll make sure I fail.” But it’s all unconscious.
How long did it take to get your first book published?
Ha! Well, I started seriously writing fiction in 1999 and it came out last year, in 2014, so 15 years. When I began writing, I almost immediately started a novel. Then, immediately after that, I realized I didn’t know the first thing about writing a novel, though I had been reading them my whole life. At the beginning, it was one long resistance against writing the first thing that comes to mind, against cliché. And so I began writing a lot of short stories too. Short stories are great because they force you to learn fiction writing in a way that novels don’t. They have to be so perfect on a sentence- and effect-level. It took me seven years of writing and then sending out to agents before I gave up on that first novel ~ which is actually Earth’s Imagined Corners. It garnered minimal interest. And so I began writing another novel. This second one is Deep Down Things, which came out last year. Once again I wrote and revised and sent it out to agents. Finally, the wonderful Dystel & Goderich Literary Management took me on! That was an exciting day! The agent search took 11 years. I totally rewrote both novels, and we sent them out to publishers, but no one wanted to publish them. I finally had a totally creative collapse. I couldn’t even read. Out of the depths of depair, I finally thought, screw it, I’m going to self publish. And I haven’t looked back. My first was a short story collection called How to Be a Man, and now the two novels. I’m so thrilled about where I am and where I’m going, and I still have my lovely agent, Rachel Stout at Dystel & Goderich.
Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?
Yes, you gotta eat. I am an editor for a foundation, and I love it. It’s a great place to work, and it’s close enough to but far enough away from my fiction writing that it contributes, rather than takes away. When I was teaching, it drained my brain and emotions too much. I write every day, whether it’s marketing or fiction, and I really believe in what I’m doing, which is promoting education.
What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Earth’s Imagined Corners - A novel that comprehends the great kindnesses and violences we do to each other. Like Willa Cather and Zora Neale Hurston.
Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?
Oh, I have the best publisher. They just get, you know?! Seriously, I’m self-published, or indie, as they say. I continue to pursue traditional publishing through my agent, and I hope to be a hybrid author, someone who chooses the publishing route depending on what’s best for the project. I find self-publishing very rewarding, but a lot of work too. Overwhelming at times. But my background is ideally suited to it. I’m a writer and editor. I’m a marketer. I have a background in art and document design. And I’m into computers and a bit of an early adopter. It all comes together in this one great thing. Plus I ask for a lot of help.
How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
A long time. I’ve finished a manuscript in five months, but that was on a second draft written from scratch, just keeping the plot. All my books, from conception to finished product have taken at least seven years. I’m trying to shorten that eternity, but life keeps getting in the way.
What can we expect from you in the future? I.e., more books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
What a great question! I’m so glad you asked! I have loads of ideas, but these are the two I’m pursuing right now. I’m starting a young adult series called the Wyoming Chronicles that are rewrites of classic British novels set in contemporary Wyoming, half for girls, half for boys. The first is called Pride and is Pride and Prejudice set in Jackson Hole. The second will be Moreau, based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, set in the Hole in the Wall country. It would be great to put these novels out in a double digest format, half Pride and half Moreau. The other project is the second in the Round Earth series after Earth’s Imagined Corners called Numberless Infinities: “In 1890 Kansas City, Sara and James Youngblood have built a life for themselves, but then James’s yearning for the West gets the better of him. He accepts a contract to supply ties for the burgeoning railroad, and off they go across Nebraska and the Dakotas. Life on the road is hard, and Sara cooks for the crew, but then she discovers she’s pregnant—she lost a baby before and almost died. The crooked railroad boss refuses to pay, and James’s crew revolts, and so they are stranded on Indian lands with the rising tide of the Ghost Dance religion. Numberless Infinities may remind you of Jane Kirkpatrick’s All Together in One Place and Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man.
What genre would you place your books into?
I would place my books in the genre of literary fiction. Different genres have different goals, and as I see it the genre of literary fiction is trying to portray lived reality, what it’s like to be in a room and all the tensions and subtext and things we do to each other. It’s trying to balance what life is really like with a satisfying art object. I’m going for subtley and nuance and also to challenge received notions of the world. Other genres go for entertainment and to work within an established formula, which is a wonderful goal in and of itself, but that isn’t what interests me. I’ve written fiction set in contemporary times, historical fiction, short stories, young adult, and kids books, not to mention all the marketing and professional writing I’ve done.
What made you decide to write that genre of book?
I think the reason I chose literary is because I’m fascinated with trying to portray my experience of real life. I’m trying to talk about what goes on and then what goes on underneath that. I was acutely aware as a child how the things we say we are are so much different from what I found them to be, and then when I read fiction, people would talk about those things that were left out of the accepted story. Plus I find fiction to more closely represent real life. Nonfiction often portrays a received narrative, and it leaves out the complexities and nuances, though there is some longform nonfiction that is just as good as literary fiction.
Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?
Oh my gosh. That’s like trying to choose a child as your favorite. No, I can’t say as I do have a favorite. I’m a good girl, and so it’s easiest for me to write good girls and good boys like myself, but writing antagonists and bad girls and bad boys are a lot of fun. You get to channel things you don’t normally express. What does it say about me that the characters that are the liveliest and most fun to write are the farthest from myself?
How long have you been writing, and who or what inspired you to write?
I’ve been writing my whole life. The first story I ever wrote was inpired by a grade-school friend of mine named Cami. She turned me on to the British mystery writer Joan Aiken, and together we read every one of her books. Cami wrote a story that ended with a head rolling in a gutter, and that made me think, hey, maybe I can write a story. My first story was called “The Silver Locket” and it was about a girl who goes back in time to become her own great grandmother.
Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
I certainly write best when I have a routine, when I write for a couple of hours every day first thing. However, life doesn’t often let me. And I’m not in general a schedule person. So I wish I could say that I was that person. I write on the computer and I write long-hand. I steal a moment here and there. I like to go to a certain café and go to a side room sometimes. It’s really hard to get started, to get the ball rolling, but once I do I go full bore. I’m thinking about it all the time. It’s as if the world goes in black and white, and the world I’m writing goes technicolor. It’s like reading only even better. For me, the struggle is to deny the demands the world places on me and do the work I know I need to do.
Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
I do, and so far everyone has been very kind. The books I write don’t seem to engender passionate opposition. I’m sure that will change, and someone will rip me a new one someday, but for the time being, everyone has been so kind. I often see the merit in the constructive criticism that is offered. And I can’t express how thankful I am for the people who take the time to review my books.
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
Titles come fairly early on for me, if not the first thing. They may change along the way, but something about arriving at a title sets it for me.
How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
Characters’ names are very important. I often look for the unusual name that conveys something about the character. The name has connotations of the character of the character. I’ll think long and hard about those names. I’ve used everything from Apple to ZoLilly as character names. As for place names, I’m often setting things in real places, so the names are chosen for me, but if I’m choosing the place name I’ll give it the same consideration as character names. I had a fictional Wyoming town in which I was setting stories called Last Chance, which seems both like the name of a real town in Wyoming and also evocative of the stories.
Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?
No, I almost always come up with the names early in the process, and they don’t often change. Like the titles, I have to have them in place before because they are indicative of the character of the character. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve changed character names, and this was because another main character had the same first initial. People confuse characters whose names begin with the same letter.
Do you decide on character traits (i.e., shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
Yes. My books are very character-based, and so I need to have a pretty firm grip on who they are from the beginning. That doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes change a bit as their backstory develops during the writing, but their basic character remains the same.
Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is…")
I don’t have morals in them per se, but I’ll often have something I’m riffing on. For example, Earth’s Imagined Corners is hung on the basic facts of my great grandparents’ lives. Those are a jumping off point. For my previous novel Deep Down Things, the story of Jesus is deep down in there. You wouldn’t probably even know it if I didn’t tell you. It’s not a religious book, but I took the facts of Jesus’s life as a jumping off point. I’ll also sometimes add homages to the writers I admire. I think of them as grace notes. For example, the moon rises like a “fired pine knot” during the lynching scene in Earth’s Imagined Corners ~ that’s an homage to Jean Toomer and his story “Blood Burning Moon.”
Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?
For publishing or for reading? For publishing, I try to get my books out in as many formats as possible, including paperback, kindle and epub and pdf, and audio. I don’t do hardbacks because they are too expensive for the reader. I also try to get as broad a distribution as possible ~ worldwide. For reading, I used to be pretty wedded to paperbacks or hardbacks, but I’ve really come around, and I’ll buy one format or another depending on what I’m looking for. If I can’t wait, I’ll order kindle. If it’s something I know I’ll love and go back to, I get paperback ~ or if I have to , hardback. Plus I love the Bookbub and Midlist emails because I try a lot of books in digital format that I wouldn’t otherwise because they are inexpensive.
What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?
I cannot choose, sorry! There are so many favorites, and it’s often the last book I read. However, I will say that Hemingway and Woolf are my writer gods. Hemingway is my natural inheritance, growing up in the West, and I have his sense of brevity and emotional distance ~ too much so, if I don’t watch it. Woolf tries to portray social situations with such grace and charm, and that’s what I try to do. I adore VW.
Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?
I think my books would transfer well. They tend to have a dramatic climax and strong characters. Things happen. Most often, in general, the book is better than the movie, but movies that have been amazing in their own right, in my opinion, are The Shining and Cold Mountain and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Forest Gump. Because they’re such different forms, the book form and movie need to diverge quite wildly to be effective, generally.
Your favorite food is?
I’m a carb person. Give me a huge bowl of mashed potatoes with butter or sweet creamy tea with buttered toast, and I’m happy.
Your favorite singer/group is?
I like so many different genres. I like rock and jazz and classical and alt and blues and so much more. It depends on my mood.
Your favorite color is?
You may not credit this, but I really don’t have a favorite color. I feel like I should. I wear a lot of black, if that helps.
Your favorite Author is?
Don’t make me pick!
Tamara Linse jokes that she was raised in the 1880s, and so it was natural for her to set a book there. She is the author of the short story collection How to Be a Man and the novel Deep Down Things and earned her master’s in English from the University of Wyoming, where she taught writing. Her work appears in the Georgetown Review, South Dakota Review, and Talking River, among others, and she was a finalist for an Arts & Letters and Glimmer Train contests, as well as the Black Lawrence Press Hudson Prize for a book of short stories. She works as an editor for a foundation and a freelancer.
Find her online at www.tamaralinse.com and her blog Writer, Cogitator, Recovering Ranch Girl at www.tamara-linse.blogspot.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tlinse
Twitter https://twitter.com/TamaraLinse
March 10, 2015
Book Blast - Greater Expectations by @GECupid
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Greater Expectations AUTHOR – Alexander McCabe GENRE – Romantic Comedy PUBLICATION DATE – August 5th 2014 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 257 pages / approx. 90,000 words PUBLISHER – Self published ebook COVER ARTIST – Kirsty C. Maclauchlan
BOOK SYNOPSIS
It is said that the course of true love never runs smooth - even for us men. Yet it has never been easier to find love than in this modern digital era where the mighty computer has all but rendered Cupid redundant. Love is now to be found, quite literally, at your fingertips. Although love also seems to have changed with the times. This new love is deceitful and manipulative, cunning and untrustworthy. Love has gotten ugly. Thankfully, not all the answers to life’s mysteries are to be found in the computer and Cupid - battered and bruised as he may be - proves that he still has some game and a few tricks up his sleeve…
BUY & TBR LINKS
AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK – GOODREADS – SHELFARI
EXCERPT
When first I met my now estranged wife during our Master’s year at university, I was seeing someone else too. In the main, this defines me as a “bastard”, although I preferred to think of myself as a “player”. Indeed I would argue that it falls under the guise of “sowing wild oats”. That’s the phrase that makes the practice somehow acceptable, and mothers the world over tell their sons that this is what they need to do before they settle down. The rite of passage into manhood as it were. At least, it’s what my mother told me. Women may argue this point - sorry, women will argue this point - but then they become mothers.
Naturally, they just don’t want those “wild oats” sown with their own daughters.
However, it is a fallacy to think that we men are completely heartless. I realised that I actually liked the girl that I eventually married so quickly ended all contact with the third party. In actual fact, she was a girl that I had been seeing first but only by a matter of a few weeks. I got the usual tirade of “bastard” texts, emails, and drunken voicemails. “I thought you were different” being the obligatory phrase that she just had to use during every one of these “opportunities”. In one particular instance, during which she also branded me a “coward”, I foolishly responded. I explained to her that I was merely being cruel to be kind as it was blatantly obvious to me that there we had no future together. Furthermore, after everything that had been said and done – more on her part now than mine - she would surely realise and accept that there was no going back as any trust and respect that had been built was now completely shattered.
I got the following reply:
“See, I knew you were different. That was lovely, you thinking of me and my feelings and us and our future. Why can’t we make this work? We can, you just have to trust yourself to trust me. Call me.”
It took another six weeks of ignoring and blocking her before she finally gave up. We had only been dating, if it could ever have been called that, for three weeks.
It takes true courage and bravery to finish any relationship. As my marital separation was only a week old, I understood that there may be some element of hope that we could fix it and move on. Yet I knew there was no way I could, or would, allow myself to stoop to such a level of indignity. My sense of pride has taken a pounding and is undoubtedly battered and bruised, but it is still there, standing tall and intact, however weakly. It is also getting stronger with every passing day.
All thanks to “Hope”.
“Hope” is a very strange feeling that displaces others such as “confidence”, “faith”, and “trust” and one that I have naturally gravitated towards my entire life. We are old friends, hope and I. Never have I dared to have “confidence” in my academic or sporting abilities, rather I always “hoped” that I would perform at my best as necessitated in any particular circumstance. When things had gone better than I had even dared “hope”, then I defaulted to the notion that is was merely my “good luck”, and vice versa. “Luck” has always provided me an excuse for all of life’s highs and lows and everything in between. Now I wanted to change all that. Now I wanted to control my existence.
Now I wanted to stir the stagnant pool that is my life proactively to feel like I am living again.
So that may well explain why I am now sat in only my boxer shorts in front of my computer, as the rain batters the window behind my curtains, and trying to focus on completing an online dating profile that includes a “personal statement” section. Apparently, its purpose is to allow me to describe myself in as broadly generic terms as possible in order to seem “normal” and “average” - and so maximising my appeal - whilst also trying to ensure that I am unique enough as to stand out. The logic of the concept is irrefutable and yet fantastically ridiculous.
It is also proving so challenging to the point of being quite impossible.
As a truck driver, I work most weekends and so this job commitment removes the more conventional ways of meeting women. Using a dating site makes far more sense in this new age of technology as it allows for an immediate connection without the need to wait for the weekend, or the demand of a decent chat up line. It cuts to the chase, so to speak. The site has posted a statistic that states over 28% of couples now “meet” online, so I am still happily in the minority. However, it is utterly galling to me that I should ever try to be “normal” or “average” to anyone as I have never considered myself as such.
It seems to me to be morally fraudulent.
Online dating. It really is quite an absurd concept yet totally in concert with the modern era where people are too busy with work and life to take the time and make the effort for actually dating. Yet where is the romance of it? You will never hear a love song that refers to such sites. Can you imagine Rod Stewart singing “The Algorithm of my Heart”, or some such like?
No? Me neither.
AUTHOR BIO
After graduating with a couple of useless degrees in law, I left my Scottish homeland and wandered nomadically around the globe to experience the rich diversity of culture that the world has to offer.
On my travels, I met my Canadian wife in New Zealand, we were married in Scotland and now live in Canada with our newborn son. Although we currently call Toronto home, this is not yet a permanent arrangement and, rather alarmingly, we are perfectly happy about that…
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER
Tour Organized & Hosted by
Book Blast: Passed the Moments by @A_Creative_Mind
BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – Passed the Moments, Through the Tears, Out of Concrete AUTHOR – Me’Shon La’Kair GENRE – Poetry PUBLICATION DATE –September 30, 2014 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 87 Pages PUBLISHER – Upland Avenue Publishing COVER ARTIST – Upland Avenue Publishing BOOK SYNOPSIS Me’Shon La’Kair’s experiences have been captivated through words that flow effortlessly on these pages, which have been brought to life so vividly. Professing the struggles of a fatherless childhood to the illnesses of Epilepsy and Type 2 Diabetes that proclaim thousands of lives every day. While being a Christian trying to hold strong to her faith in a world of curiosities. Still recognizing God’s beauty through its purest form and sharing her testimony with the world. Her work embodies a truth that many can relate to and learn from. It possess her views on love, life, politics, religion, and the harsh realities of this world past and present. Sharing life’s obstacles and breakthroughs is what makes this book a profound read. Her poetry uplifts, edifies, and encourages the masses. Ranging from the importance of education to a mother’s love Passed the Moments, Through the Tears, Out of Concrete is a must read.
BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US –
BARNES & NOBLES NOOK
EXCERPT My Outlet Exclusively written for the ones who understand That what I’m saying comes and doesn’t demand Anything more or less But is written to make one visualize my creativeness It’s not just words on a page, but an abundance of thoughts That were trapped and caged Now freed beyond the finite walls which we possess Written and shown so the world can have a look at its uniqueness Gifted and blessed to have been given God’s best Which is my outlet to express Its job is to uplift and relate to others with the same situation on their plate Freedom of speech or expression has no room for others to debate Because it survives in a world where others can appreciate AUTHOR BIO Me'Shon La'Kair is an up and coming author who is a native of Baton Rouge, LA she has been writing since the age of 14. She has received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has recently published her first book called Passed the Moments, Through the Tears, Out of Concrete. She is a member of Omega Phi Alpha which is a National Community Service Organization. She writes poetry, fiction, and short stories but her favorite form of writing is poetry. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and she also likes traveling, sports, and reading. AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – TUMBLR –
GOODREADS
March 9, 2015
New Release!! Adapted for Film by @rourkewrites
Presented by: Sparkle Book Tours
Adapted for Film By Stacey Rourke Audience: General/adult - Genre: Romantic comedy - Formats: E-book and Paperback - Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing - Cover by: Najla Qamber Designs -Date Published: March 9. 2015
Aubrey Evans is living every author’s dream; her sizzling romance novel is being turned into a blockbuster film. She would be celebrating this momentous event, if she wasn’t busy fighting over every tiny production detail with the maddeningly cavalier director, Kole Camden. When news of their heated rivalry hits the gossip columns, drastic measures must be taken to save their sinking project. In an elaborate PR hoax, she is publicly linked to Greyson Meyers, the swoon-worthy star of her movie. A whirl-wind love affair is staged for the couple to mirror the steamy chapters of her own books.
Can the introverted author resist the charms of Hollywood’s sexiest leading man? Or will love find her in the City of Angels?
Goodreads / Amazon
You would think sprinting across a movie studio, frantically waving a skirt over my head while onlookers gaped in alarmed bewildered, would have calmed my frenzy. You would be wrong. With each stomped step I rehashed the script changes, prop swaps, recasting, and inferior costuming. Or, as I now liked to refer to them, the elements that pushed me over the brink to finally achieving full-blown, bat-shit crazy status. “Camden! Camden!” I shouted, loud enough to strain my throat, the instant I caught a glimpse of him.
His thumbs were looped in his front pockets, and his denim shirt rolled up his forearms. An annoyingly charming smile curled across his face as he turned my way. That lone dimple plunged deep into his cheek.
Between heaving pants, I recited the speech I’d mentally prepared on my long journey across the excessively large lot. “Hey! I’ve got a question for you. If we hit a local bookstore we could probably find every book I’ve ever released. If you want, I could gather them all up in a big pile so you can take a shit right on them. Would you like that?”
Kole’s eyes narrowed while his amused smile held steady, as if he was struggling to find his place in an argument I’d jumped a few chapters ahead in. “I feel like I know the right answer here, but there’s a chance this is a trick question.”
“No, I’m serious!” I ranted, flicking a stray lock of hair from my eyes. “Because you seem so hell bent on destroying everything I’ve created, maybe we could try this method as a time saver!”
“You know,” Kole tilted his head, his arms crossing over his chest, “after the whole pizza and beer comment I was a little worried things would be awkward between us, but I was wrong. Now it’s awkward. I see the distinction.”
“Aubrey!” Tandy hollered, her parts jiggling enough to catch the eye of every straight man on the premises in her jog to catch up. “Let’s take a time out before you yank your earrings off and forget you’re a lady.”
“Nah, don’t tell her that!” Mateo rushed after her, holding his baggy pants up by his belt buckle. “Tackle her to the ground, roll around a little! I’ll video it and add it to my spank bank!”
“Ugh! Why the hell are you following me, you perverted little troll?”
Ignoring their banter, I clasped my trembling hands in front of me and brought them to my lips. I forced myself to take a minute before I blurted something I couldn’t take back. “I mean no disrespect, truly. I’m sure Killer Robots from Outer Space, or whatever it was called, was a cinematic masterpiece. I’m just not sure your … vision is right for this film.”
“It was the sixth in the franchise, actually. That would make it KRFOS6, by your titling.” His smile tightened around the edges, acting as the only hint of his underlying annoyance. Taking a step closer, he dropped his voice to a gruff whisper only I could hear—much to the disappointment of the crowd that had gathered. “I’ve directed Shakespeare to historic war films, and everything in between. If the content is there, I can bring it to life. Simple as that.”
“If?” I scoffed at his audacity, and I’m not an avid scoffer. “Two hundred and six weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list says there’s something worthwhile there.”
“Not every person that goes to the movies is a horny housewife,” he brought one hand to the side of his mouth as if revealing a huge secret to me alone, “so we may need to broaden our appeal just a tad.”
A colorful spew of expletives was about to purge from my lips when Duncan stepped forward, nerves having drained his complexion waxy.
“Mr. Camden?” he cautiously interjected from a safe distance—just in case one of us started swinging. “You’re needed on set. Greyson says he’s having trouble finding his motivation for the new scene.”
“That’s my cue. Unless there was something else, Ms. Evans?” Kole grinned, one ebony brow raising in an open dare for me to make more of a spectacle of myself.
Oh, how I wanted to call him every name I could think of, then make up a few new ones just for fun. Instead, I rose up on my tiptoes and jabbed my index finger into the dead center of his forehead. “This is me putting a pin in our conversation. It isn’t over.”
In a bold move, his hand encircled my wrist and he tugged me to him. His firm but gentle grasp scorched my skin. My breath caught in a hitch, his penetrating stare making my muscles weak … despite my better judgment. “I’d be deeply disappointed if it was.”
I wanted to be outraged he had dared touch me; however, I found my attentions were fixated on his lips as they formed each word. Dropping my hand, his lashes brushed the top of his cheek in a quick, cocky wink and then he was gone. Turning on his heel, he strode off with a determined gait, leaving Duncan scrambling to keep up and me stewing in my own pressure cooker of pheromones laced with contempt.
Link: http://youtu.be/GxQGMp2i-9o
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series as well as the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.
Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon / Instagram
Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Rememberers by @WinCurt
![Rememberers Banner 851 x 315_thumb[1]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-JK9fmWACR-0/VPwmtu9BLiI/AAAAAAAAOwg/m-9TrKj-bj4/s1600-h/Rememberers-Banner-851-x-315_thumb12.png)
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Rememberers
Book 1
C. Edward Baldwin
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ink & Stone Pubishing
Date of Publication: June 2015
ISBN: 978-0692356760
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: 99k
Cover Artist: Clarissa Yeo
Book Description:
In Rememberers, time is not a straight line. It circles back onto itself. Eternal Return is real. But only a small handful of humans know this. And of that handful, an even smaller number of people, known as Rememberers are capable of remembering events from previous life cycles.
Kallie Hunt, a nineteen year old college student, after suffering from a sustained bout of déjà vu, discovers that she’s not only a Rememberer, but also the reincarnation of the goddess Kali and the first woman Eve, and perhaps more importantly, a demon-slayer.
Monday, August 24
Detective Jeremy Stint looked absently at the clock on the wall of his office. He was vaguely aware that it was 7:30 p.m. But his mind wasn't on the time. He was thinking about Phillip Beamer's murder. The murder, which had been committed in the first week of August, had been the first murder in Buckleton in nearly a decade. Murders in Buckleton were as rare as a truth-telling politician. The town was located in a sweet spot in South Carolina about halfway between Charlotte and Columbia. It was off the beaten path for drug runners, therefore drug traffickers and the peripheral trouble usually accompanying them tended to avoid it. It was a town made up mostly of the elderly and middle agers with small children. Young people, considering it the boondocks, high-tailed it out of town as soon as their parents and the law allowed, never looking back, which was just fine by Stint. He'd spent twenty years working homicides in Richmond, Virginia, where murders had seemed to occur as often as hands got dirty. The cities could have their mass population's largess of crime. He'd take the slow pace of Buckleton any day of the week.
The rarity of murders in Buckleton made the occurrence of one more horrifying for the town's citizenry, especially since with Buckleton being a small town, the victim was usually known by all. Strangers were as rare as murders in Buckleton, which made Phillip Beamer's death doubly concerning. No one in town had known the man. It was as if he'd dropped into the town out of the clear blue sky.
Stint reread his notes on the Beamer case. The victim's landlord, Mabel Jones, had nearly tripped over the victim's body on the morning of August 6. It was five o'clock in the morning and Mabel was leaving the house on her way to her second business. She was the proprietress of Belle's Cafe. Beamer had been left on her front porch, stabbed to death. Mabel had been up since four and hadn't heard Beamer leave the house. She thought he was in his room, which was on the house's second floor along with the rooms of her three other borders, all of whom had been sound asleep, hearing nothing.
"I tell you that man was as quiet as a church mouse," she'd said to Stint during her first interview at the station. "He'd barely make a sound. I hardly knew he was there. Unlike those other three who clunk around like show horses."
She'd rented a room to Beamer just two weeks earlier. He'd passed her background check and had excellent credit. He'd told her he was a freelance writer and was working on his first novel.
Mabel sipped from the cup Stint had brought her. Drops of coffee trembled down the cup's sides, lightly dotting the table around it. "He said he needed a quiet place to work. And you know there's no quieter place than Buckleton. Even the wind tiptoes around here. I had no reason to doubt him. Everything had checked out. He was so nice and he paid me six months in advance." When she finished, she looked weakly at Stint as if seeking his forgiveness.
Stint remained stone-faced, but he didn't begrudge the woman's making of a buck, nor did he fault her for harboring a bad apple. Background and credit checks were the staples of the industry and were often a landlord's best and only defense against weirdoes and deadbeats. But they weren't foolproof. Heck, even reference-checking didn't always expose poisonous fruit. There was simply no surefire way for landlords or employers to keep a potential Ted Bundy or Jonathan the Bum from entering their places of business or humble abodes. It was impossible to know everything about everyone. Sometimes personal baggage moved in silent lockstep with applicants. "Did he have any visitors?" Stint had asked her.
"Nary a one," Mabel said. "Like I said, I hardly knew he was there. He was as quiet as a church mouse."
Church mouse, Stint thought somberly. It had been a morbidly fitting analogy. Beamer's head had been nearly decapitated, as if his neck had been snapped off by a human-sized mouse trap. Crime of passion perhaps, he thought.
There was a light rap on the doorframe to his office.
Stint looked up and saw the ICE agent standing in his doorway, holding a briefcase. After the Beamer murder, the agent had shown up at his office unexpectedly. Stint had no idea what Beamer's death had to do with national security. But then again, he didn’t know what the death had to do with anything. "Agent Bennett, come on in."
Bennett stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. Stint offered him the client seat in front of his desk. After an exchange of pleasantries, Bennett sat down in the offered seat and laid his briefcase across his lap. He opened it, pulling out the plastic bags containing the business card and crime scene photos. He handed the items to Stint. "I appreciate you letting me borrow these."
Stint laid them on his desk. "No problem, just professional courtesy. I'll put them in our storage safe. Would you like to share with me why you needed them?"
"Let's just say I wanted to gauge the reaction of a little birdie."
"A suspect?"
Bennett bit his lip. "It's hard to say."
Stint waited a moment to see if the agent was going to add to the short statement. When it was clear that he wasn't, he said, "We don't get much violent crime here. You can imagine the stir this one has caused. If there's anything you could share to help me solve this thing..."
"You're not going to solve it," Bennett said.
"How's that?" Stint asked, his dandruff rising. "I know we're a smalltime outfit, but there's no cause to..."
"That's not what I mean," Bennett interjected. "You're not going to solve it because the murder had nothing to do with Buckleton."
"Well, even a random act of violence happening in my jurisdiction is still my responsibility," Stint said.
"This wasn't a random act of violence."
Stint snatched up the plastic bags and stood up. He walked over to a floor safe tucked into the back corner of his office. He turned the combination lock and popped open the door. He paused and turned to face Bennett, holding the plastic bags up in the air. "Don't you think one professional courtesy deserves another?"
There was a brief pause, and then Bennett said, "Is this place secure?"
Stint just looked at him. Buckleton had a two man police force. Stint was the police chief and lead detective—well, only detective. The other member of the force, Raymond Johns, was home, probably just about ready to tuck his five-year-old son into bed.
"Okay," Bennett said, obviously catching the detective's drift. He nodded for Stint to return to his chair. The police chief placed the plastic bags inside the safe, closed the door, and readjusted the combination lock. After he returned to his chair, Bennett said, "Phillip Beamer was also known as Abu Dawood. He was an American citizen with ties to Al Qaeda."
"He was a terrorist?" Stint asked.
"He was a sleeper cell, planning a terrorist attack against America. He and a group of his cohorts were going to blow up the Strom Thurmond Federal Building in Columbia. We'd been tracking his email communications for a number of years. We'd known about Beamer or Dawood since 2001."
"Who took him out? Was it us?"
"By us, you mean the US government?"
Stint nodded.
"No," Bennett said. "There were no plans to take Dawood/Beamer out. We would have prevented the attack, but he was worth more to us alive than dead."
"Then who?"
Bennett's face drew in as he slowly shook his head. "We don't know."
"But you have a theory," Stint said.
Bennett looked at him curiously for a moment as if trying to gauge his aptitude for hearing the absurd. "Yeah, I do. It's a wild one, maybe even too wild to mention."
"I've been in law enforcement over twenty years. I've just about heard them all."
"A psychic," Bennett said in a matter of fact tone.
"A psychic?" Stint repeated.
"I think someone knew what Dawood/Beamer was planning to do, and then either they or someone they directed killed him before he could carry it out."
"Huh," Stint said. He was skeptical, but not dismissive. He'd known stranger things, like the man who'd thought his dog had commanded him to kill. "What about his cohorts?"
"What about them?" Bennett asked.
"Were any of them killed, too?"
"No," Bennett said. "We have a couple of the ones Dawood/Beamer communicated with via email in custody. But they, too, were sleeper cells and hadn't actually met him."
"Why would someone kill only this Dawood/Beamer character?"
"Because he was the leader. Killing him ended the planned terrorist threat. Dawood had been the lead domino. The other cells were to follow his instructions like trained seals. They knew none of the particulars of the assignment, only their specific roles in it."
"Okay," Stint said. "Let's say a psychic was involved. You have a vigilante on your hands that killed a known terrorist who was planning a horrific act of terrorism against the US. End justifies the means, right?"
"You don't really believe that, do you?" Bennett asked.
He didn't. Vigilantism was just another form of law breaking. To allow it would jeopardize the rule of law in society, ultimately leading to chaos. Not to mention the very real possibility that a vigilante could kill the wrong person. Stint didn't say any of this, but he didn't need to. He could tell Bennett recognized a slip of the tongue when he heard one. "So why do you think he was killed here in Buckleton?"
"Because he was here. His death wasn't connected to the town in any other way."
I guess that's good to know, Stint thought. The last thing Buckleton needed or wanted was someone targeting its citizens. "What's your next step?"
Bennett poked the inside of his jaw with his tongue and looked away. "There isn't a next step. Right now, we wait."
"What should I do about my investigation?"
"Unless you're a glutton for the punishment of an unsolved murder, I'd table it. Beamer's killer is most likely a world away from Buckleton."
Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
As a child I wanted to be a fireman or a professional athlete. The first time I even remotely thought about being a writer was in college.
When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?
After I finished my first story. To me, a writer is simply someone who writes, or more accurately someone who finishes what he/she is writing.
Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?
I write full time. But I was in the insurance industry for over twenty years. I was a property claims adjuster. If you’ve ever been in an automobile accident, I was the person that came and appraised the damage to your car.
What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Rememberers. It’s a story about time cycles, eternal return, friendships, first loves, and being yourself.
Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?
I co-own the small press, Ink & Stone Publishing that publishes my books.
How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
My first novel, Fathers House, took four years to complete; although there were some significant down moments when I didn’t write. My latest book was done in seven months. Although to be fair, it was based on an idea first hatched over eighteen years ago.
What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
There are two other books in the Rememberers series (at least two). The next installment (Killing God) should be out in 2016, as well as another crime thriller. The one I’m writing now has the working title, In a Wooded Area, and it will feature one of the characters from my debut novel Fathers House: Detective Leo Johnston who will be off on his own in a new series.
What genre would you place your books into?
I write in two genres: urban fantasy and crime thrillers and both can be subsets of mystery-suspense.
What made you decide to write in those particular genres?
In actuality, I wrote both my books without even considering genre. In fact, with Fathers House, I didn’t know it was classified as a thriller or crime fiction until the professional reviews weighed in and called it that. I discovered the genre urban fantasy, as I was completing Rememberers, and was looking for a way to categorize it. I’m a big fantasy fan; but I realized Rememberers wasn’t quite fantasy since it has so many contemporary components. But I found that it’s squarely urban fantasy and I believe I’ve found a home in that genre. It’s really who I am. I consider urban fantasy to be freeing, no rules, no holds barred.
Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?
Of course I like my protagonists; but my favorite character is Maggie, a secondary character from Rememberers. I like her because she’s a little overweight, fair-looking. But she’s so comfortable in her own skin and confident. Believe it or not, she’s actually based off someone I actually know. She’s a true-blue person, someone you’d love to have on your side.
Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
I read everything. Sometimes it can be like being a glutton for punishment, or blowing smoke up your own rear end. But I can’t help it. I love seeing what others think about my work.
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
I do both. I choose a title to work under, and then when the book’s finished, the title may stay or it might go.
How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
That’s a good question. I go through name lists on the web. I look at the names running during the credits on movies and television. I brainstorm. And I also try to listen to the story I’m writing. If a character is not doing “Peter” type stuff, then I won’t name the character “Peter.”
Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?
I name everything before I start. But names of people and places can change during the process. Again, I try to “listen” to the story being told.
Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
If I have the voice of the story down, then those types of things tend to work themselves out as I’m going along.
Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")
Oh yeah, I’m a big fan of hidden messages. But it’s not to be preachy or teachy. I really want my stories to entertain. That will always be my number one goal. But I also feel that if someone is willing to give me some of their time by reading my work, then I’m also obligated to give them something to gnaw on.
Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?
As a small press, we specialize in e-book and trade paperback. But I love a good hardback, although sometimes, the paper covering can be a nuisance.
Your favorite color is?
Blue
Your favorite Author is?
Harlan Corben
C. Edward Baldwin’s debut novel, Fathers House was released in December, 2013 to wide critical acclaim. Kirkus Reviews called his 2014 Reader’s Favorite Award winning crime fiction book, “A resounding story of fatherhood packaged as a tense thriller.” Rememberers is Baldwin’s sophomore effort. Baldwin graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a BA in Communications and he holds a MA in English from East Carolina. He and his wife Natasha, and their two boys, currently reside in Raleigh, NC.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7189731.C_Edward_Baldwin
https://cedwardbaldwinblog.wordpress.com/
twitter: @WinCurt
https://www.facebook.com/pages/C-Edward-Baldwin/332395700227959
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