Mimi Sebastian's Blog, page 7

New Release, Portents

Happy Halloween!! I’m pleased to feature the new release of Shanyn Hosier’s second book in the Amanda Ryder V.I. series, Portents. I had the luck of reading Portents before its release and you won’t be disappointed. Shanyn creates an interesting world with her paranormal characters and their powers, and her characterizations are top notch!

When all signs point to trouble, can Amanda steer clear of disaster?

Amanda Ryder’s determined never to fail her coven again. Next time, she won’t hesitate to pull the trigger to defend her friends. If only they’d trust her enough to let her set foot outside the Academy…

Frustrated and itching to prove herself, Amanda snags her first Academy mission: she and Toby Laboyteaux, fellow teen witch who “kinda sorta sees the future,” must work together to track down a local swamp monster stirring up trouble in the sticks. But overturned suburban garbage cans and blurry tabloid pictures aren’t the only problems—strained relationships with her new colleagues, a growing guilt-complex, and the waxing moon all add to Amanda’s stress. Add to that the pressure of being hunted by a psychic psychopath, and Amanda’s got plenty on her mind.

Meanwhile, Hamilton Nash swears Marian Dupree and her Academy of bumbling do-gooders have thwarted his plans for the last time. Convinced Amanda’s the subject of his mother’s recent prophecy and the key to his future success, he redoubles his efforts to obtain the mystery girl. But when Amanda proves too slippery a quarry, Nash sets his sights on the next best thing. When a valuable member of the Academy coven is kidnapped, Amanda and her friends are in a race against time. Is a tragic future destined to come to pass?

About Shanyn: Born and raised in small-town, rural Indiana, I now live in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona with an intimidatingly smart and devastatingly handsome husband and two hyperactively cute and talented sons who will one day be Earth’s Overlords (never underestimate the power of Legos). I enjoy cooking, traveling, gardening, sewing, quilting, and embroidery but only when I’m in the right mood and seldom concurrently (I’m kind of streaky when it comes to hobbies). I adore reading and writing in the same way that I love breathing and eating, gaining a similar nourishment from each.

Web  http://www.shanynhosier.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shanyn-Hosier/117508078349472

Twitter  @Taboo_Mistress

Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5415139.Shanyn_Hosier

Amazon Author Page  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006HGAZL0

The Werewolf’s Devotion short story release and giveaway

It’s finally here! My short story from the world of the Necromancer Books. A small tale, but Brandon holds a special place in my heart as does the lovely cover done by Kim Killion.

I’m only offering The Werewolf’s Devotion booklet as a giveaway via various contests, blog spots, etc. So as part of the release, if you comment on my blog or send me an e-mail at mimi@mimisebastian.com and put Werewolf Devotion in the subject line, today and tomorrow, I’ll pick one person to receive the booklet. And, if you hop on over to Camelia Miron Skiba’s blog today, check out her review, and leave a comment, and/or hop over to TiffyFit’s Reading Corner on Facebookfor additional opportunities to win the booklet

I’ll announce the winners Friday. If you leave a comment instead of e-mailing me, please leave your e-mail in your comment and I’ll contact the winner with specifics. Thanks for stopping by!! And thanks Camelia and Tiffany for participating!

Back cover copy:

I wheeled around. I hadn’t noticed anyone behind me.

Brandon’s quirked eyebrow reached the bangs of his wavy brown hair. His thin frame, straddling a wood cathedral chair, belied the power visible underneath his worn jeans and . . . surprise fluttered through me at the sight of his priest habit. A werewolf priest?

He stood and walked over, taking my hand in a firm shake. He smiled. “I’m used to that look.”

I’m not even going to try to understand how a wolf can reside within a priest. As if reading my thoughts, he said, “Even the beasts need to confess.”

-Excerpt from The Necromancer’s Seduction

Before the werewolf priest, Brandon Ross, ever met the necromancer, Ruby Montagne, he’d adopted a quiet life in the Northeastern Brazilian countryside. There he dedicated himself to the parish and immersion in the local culture, even if it brought temptation in the beautiful town doctor, Solange Neves.

Now discover the story of how Brandon became a werewolf and the troubled past he seeks to escape. As he struggles to make sense of the new, darker power that has taken control of him—of the monster he has become—will Solange be his salvation or his ruin?

October update and Halloween short

October in Phoenix means I can once again enjoy the outside. It’s only 80+ after all But the evenings and mornings are glorious, and we put up our Halloween decorations! It’s the only holiday in which I decorate the house. There’s just something about hanging skeletons from the roof that appeals to me and I’m not going to explore that thought any further. One of the many lovely advantages of having a five year old is enjoying the holiday through him. I get to trick or treat again!! And this year we’re doing the zombie walk!

Lots of things going on this month. I’m  participating in a Fall into Fantasy giveaway (click here to go to Rafflecopter) and releasing my short story, titled The Werewolf’s Devotion,  about my werewolf character, Brandon, from the Necromancer’s Seduction. And I heard from ImaJinn that they plan on continuing on with the contracted books after the passing of Linda Kichline. We will become an imprint of Bell Books/Belle Bridge Books. I’m excited about joining Belle Bridge. So it looks good for a March 2014 release for book two in the Necromancer Series. It has to be pretty intense for Linda’s family after her death, and I greatly appreciate the care they’ve taken with the ImaJinn authors.

So I promised a Halloween excerpt!! Ruby and Adam take a stroll through a cemetery. What can go wrong when a necromancer and a revenant visit the dead? Enjoy!

I should have known beforehand to walk away when a revenant asked if I wanted to take a “little stroll” through a cemetery on Halloween night.

On the positive side, I did learn something new about Adam, my revenant, but would have really preferred to have read it in a manual. Hands on learning is over-rated.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, yet it tests my evasion of the supernatural world. The supernatural community goes all out on the one night when strange happenings are tolerated by the general public. Cora, my grandmother, had always attended some killer party held by the witches, and constantly pestered me to accompany her. I almost surrendered to her indomitable will a couple of times, then remembered my mother’s death, chilling my enthusiasm.

We arrived at the cemetery, situated next to a church in the fashion of cozy European village cemeteries. Many of the dead rested in old tombs and masoleums, nestled among lush shrubs and shrouded by trees. We climbed the brick wall and dropped to the thick grass next to a stone angel, her white marble stained green by algae. The nearly full moon served only to lengthen the shadows cast by the trees and graves.

“Somehow, this just doesn’t feel as foreboding as when I was alive,” Adam said. “Why don’t you raise some zombies?”

I glared at him. Making a zombie was something a rational necromancer avoided at all costs, and there were plenty of irrational, bordering on insane necromancers—a trend I was hoping to buck.

“Oh, developing a conscience suddenly,” he muttered under his breath.

I grunted in reply and studied some of the gravestones, finding one from the eighteen hundreds. I’d raised the beach blond surfer, Adam, from the dead to help us track a killer, and in the short time we’ve spent together, I’d glimpsed bits of the former man behind the undead—the sorrow he buffered with sarcastic humor. When he let his gruff exterior slip, and wasn’t so pissed at me for disturbing his eternal oblivion, we actually had fun. But I knew if I let my guard down completely, if I allowed myself to see him as Adam, the man, I’d easily, literally, find my head in my lap.

Despite the danger, I had to learn more about him—learn from him—if I was to understand who had killed him and why.

“Do you hear that?” he whispered.

“No.”

“I hear murmurs.”

A small worm of worry slithered around in my gut. I was still learning how to control my power. I closed my eyes and scrunched my hands close to my chest, my fingertips tingling. My power thrummed and sparked in the presence of death, seeking to join the dark effluvium of decay swirling around us. What if I’d somehow let some seep out, waking a corpse?

Adam loped up a small rise and peeked around a masoleum.

“Did you see anything,” I asked when he came back down.

A wicked grin slashed his face wide. “Some young folk ripe for the picking.”

“Adam,” I exclaimed, horrified.

“Oh, relax, necromancer. I’m not going to eat them, but it’s Halloween. Trick or treat.” He wagged his eyebrows in mock deviousness.

Did I mention Adam was a witch? I still didn’t know how much of his previous abilities had hitched a ride when I raised him and was hoping not to find out anytime soon.

The voices of the three people—two girls and a guy—became more discernable as they drew closer. “Can we leave, please? Casper doesn’t feel like playing,” one of the girls said.

I grabbed Adam’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“Not without having some fun first.”

I reached for him with my power and his expression darkened. “Two can play at that game.” He tugged back through our bond, causing my chest to tighten.

The problem with revenants, stronger than zombies, intelligence intact, is they can overcome and kill their necromancer. Did I want to play this one out? No. I released my power. Save it for a time when it really matters, although I hope that day never comes. I hated to think of Adam as my adversary, but wasn’t naïve enough to convince myself otherwise.

His face relaxed. “Come on. I won’t hurt them. I’m the undead. I should be scaring people.”

“Scare, not frickin re-enact Night of the Living Dead.”

“Did you hear something?” the guy asked. The trio of twenty-somethings stopped and scanned the cemetery.

Adam smiled and began chanting. Frightening suspicion confirmed. He could cast spells. He transformed before me and I had to admit, the effect was pretty impressive. When he stopped chanting, he resembled your garden variety, shambling, oozing, colored in black decay, cinematique zombie. He turned to me and snickered. I had to bite back the peal of laughter that threatened, lest I blow the whole charade. I’m sure the kids wouldn’t laugh when they saw Adam, but it was Halloween, and man, would they have a good story to tell their friends.

Adam winked at me then made his grand entrance.

Upon seeing the decrepit Adam, they laughed.

The response was not what I expected and, despite my previous reservations at scaring our trick or treaters, I found myself irritated.

When Adam projected blood from his mouth, they laughed even harder.

“Tyler, I know that’s you. Good joke, but the gig’s up,” the guy said in between chuckles.

Damn the horror porn movies, stealing the thunder from us hard working supernaturals.

Adam looked back at me and narrowed his red-rimmed eyes. I sensed his pique through the bond. Oh no.

He stretched his arm out, wound his fingers in his hair, and tore his head off his neck. My mouth fell open.

The three froze. One of the girls screamed. They turned and high tailed it over the wall, scrabbling and tripping in their mad dash.

Adam walked back toward me, still holding his head next to his shoulder. “I kind of like this look. Maybe for a few days anyway.”

I bit my lip and tried to sound serious. “Put your head back on, and let’s get out of here.”

“Buzz kill.”

Fall into Fantasy Giveaway

Lots of giveaways this month, this time of the year, so lots of opportunities for freebies and swag!! I will be participating in this giveaway with lots of cool authors so check it out

Click here to go to Rafflecopter to enter.

Swag and books up for grabs from Niteblade Magazine, Ash Krafton, Sharon Buchbinder, Lisa Kessler, Mina Khan among other great authors!

 

Avast! Today be talk like a pirate day!

Yo ho! I give you good day!

For today is international talk like a pirate day. To find out more, run out the sweeps and visit the official site for talk like a pirate day!

If you haven’t at all noticed, I do love pirates. The more I read about them, the more fascinated I become so much so I’m planning, sweating, editing furiously to finish my pirate book to self publish by the end of this year, which I discuss on a previous blog post here.

To add to my excitement, next year premieres Black Flag, a tv show about the pirates on New Providence in the Bahamas which was a pirate enclave during the Golden Age of piracy. Sounds like it will be more of a realistic portrayal. Fingers crossed anyhow.

So go about ‘n have a bit ‘o grog, and good luck to ‘ee and a fair wind. To end on the words of our brother, Black Sam Bellamy:

“They villify us, the scoundrels do, when there is only this difference, they rob the poor under the cover of law, forsooth, and we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage.”

Faith of the Fallen Cover Reveal

I’m furiously editing to complete my short story Faith of the Fallen, which features one of my characters, the werewolf Brandon, from the Necromancer Series. One of the reasons I’m so excited is because Kim Killion designed such an amazing cover. Here it is!!!

This story was one of those moments where the words wrote themselves. I loved Brandon’s character and wondered, well, how did he become a werewolf. I mean, he’s a priest for crying out loud. And then it came to me in 3,000 or so words. Part of the inspiration for his story was the setting, and I asked Kim, in designing the cover, if she could find a background that represented the Northeast of Brazil, also called the sertao. A very dry, semi-arid region. My parents were born in Sao Paulo, (I’ve probably watched every World Cup soccer tournament since like the crib) and I lived and worked in both Recife and Salvador, Brazil, Northeastern coastal cities, and my work took me to the sertao quite often. Brazil is very culturally diverse, and it’s regions can differ quite a bit in topography. So while you had places like the sertao:

I’m pictured above with some Brazilian work colleagues in a typical village in the Northeastern countryside, and below are some wonderful kiddos in one of the communities.

You also had pristine beach areas like this:

Why am I living in the desert? Sigh.

Anyway, back to Faith of the Fallen. In the story, I feature the Sao Joao festival, which occurs every year in the countryside, and is a wonderful celebration of Northeastern country culture with lots of food and drink, but that’s typical of any Brazilian celebration

One of the most amazing things I experienced while working in the Northeast, was that even in the more disadvantaged parts of the country, like the sertao, people always share what little food they have on hand. I worked on projects to help increase access to potable water in the farming communities pictured above, and when we visited the projects, people brought out more food for us then they wold probably eat in a week. Always a very humbling experience.

So with that background, I bring you Brandon’s short story. I’m only going to offer Faith of the Fallen, beginning in October, as a print giveaway during blog tours and as part of a Halloween/October giveaway, and periodically thereafter. I’ll announce the opportunities here and on the Facebook page for the Necromancer Series as they come up.

So, as they would say in Brazil, abraco (hugs) and boa sorte (good luck).

Back cover copy for Faith of the Fallen:

I wheeled around. I hadn’t noticed anyone behind me.

Brandon’s quirked eyebrow reached the bangs of his wavy brown hair. His thin frame, straddling a wood cathedral chair, belied the power visible underneath his worn jeans and . . . surprise fluttered through me at the sight of his priest habit. A werewolf priest?

He stood and walked over, taking my hand in a firm shake. He smiled. “I’m used to that look.”

I’m not even going to try to understand how a wolf can reside within a priest. As if reading my thoughts, he said, “Even the beasts need to confess.”

-Excerpt from The Necromancer’s Seduction

Before the werewolf priest, Brandon Ross, ever met the necromancer, Ruby Montagne, he’d adopted a quiet life in the Northeastern Brazilian countryside. There he dedicated himself to the parish and immersion in the local culture, even if it brought temptation in the beautiful town doctor, Solange Neves.

Now discover the story of how Brandon became a werewolf and the troubled past he seeks to escape. As he struggles to make sense of the new, darker power that has taken control of him—of the monster he has become—will Solange be his salvation or his ruin?

We Love Our Demon Heroes: Discussion with Jocelyn Dex

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ve been looking forward to this post. You can also find it here, on Jocelyn Dex’s blog: Demons Do It Better, which is an appropriate name given our “panel” discussion today on demons. Jocelyn features demons in her book Araya’s Addiction and they play a big role in my Necromancer Books. To get us in the mood, here is the cover of Araya’s Addiction featuring a hunky demon

So let’s get to the discussion and please join us by leaving a comment!

More and more books feature demons, all taking a slightly different approach, which is fun like where they come from, their powers and types. Can you speak a little to the demons in your stories?

Jocelyn: I created several different types of demons for my Sempire Seductions series, but the Sempires can teleport, are very strong, and without, um, semen, they will weaken and eventually die. (Hey, I write erotic romance. It works.) Most of them also carry over some sort of power from their fathers.

Mimi: I loved the semen factor in your book! I don’t know what that says about me, but it’s a unique approach. My demons come from another realm and have interfered, influenced the human realm going back to ancient Sumeria, if not further. They’re not demons from “Hell”, and have a very defined social structure. That’s about all I can say

Let’s talk demons vs other supernatural males, like vampires, werewolves, fae, etc.

Mimi: There’s something to me that’s very primal about demons. I love vampires, but vampires almost seem too polished, and they were also once human. Maybe it’s their age as well, making them somewhat jaded. Demons feel more dirty and sweaty to me, LOL. And when you unleash the demon, you let loose that primal force, like a hurricane, that you can’t control. It’s scary and frickin’ sexy at the same time.

Jocelyn: Ha. Dirty and sweaty. I agree with that. I like the grittiness of demons and I feel like there are no rules with them. I also dig vampires, but there are so many preconceived notions when it comes to them. Demons can be whatever you want without too many preconceived ideas of what they should be.

I’m not a big fan of shifters (werewolves, big cats, etc.), but every once in awhile I come across a story with shifters that catches my interest and turns out okay. I read a gargoyle romance a few months ago and really enjoyed that. It was something different and I’m definitely interested in reading more.

Are your demons good or bad or somewhere in between?

Mimi: I like my demons to play in the moral gray areas. While they are not evil, they may at times take actions that stretch those boundaries. My demons come from another dimension and their take on what’s right or wrong is shaped by an entirely different social structure.

Jocelyn: Some of my demons are good, some are bad, but that’s really a matter of perspective. Like Mimi said, the demons’ take on what’s right or wrong is shaped by the world they’re from so it may not jive with humans’ take on right and wrong.

Do they come from another world? How do they coexist in the human world?

Jocelyn: Most of the demons in my stories come from the demon realm and most want to live in the more pleasant human realm or in the veil between realms. Some want to make trouble but most want to live peacefully, undetected by humans.  

Mimi: I jumped the gun and talked about this in the first question. How do they coexist? That is an interesting question. Like Jocelyn said, some do blend in pretending to be human, and some want to cause trouble J

What about some favorite demon heroes from other books or shows?

Mimi: Greyson from Stacia Kane’s Megan Chase series. I also like Ryan from Diana Rowland’s Demon Summoner series, but I’m ready for her to unleash him already. I’m getting a little fatigued with reading about Kara sleeping with every other demon besides Ryan. Talking television, I really liked Cole from Charmed, but hate what they did to him. I wished they would have kept him around, but the actor went on to greener pastures.

Jocelyn: Oooh! Oooh! Me too! Cole from Charmed. Oh man, I loved his character and I was also pissed about what they did to him. I totally blamed Phoebe for his ultimate demise. Bitch. Haha. Anyway, in books, I love Larissa Ione’s Wraith. He’s a sexy badass demon with a smartass attitude. Love him.

Oh and I can’t forget Crowley from Supernatural.  He’s a bad demon but every once in a while does something surprisingly helpful and he has a certain charm. Maybe it’s the accent.

What are your plans for future demon characters?

Jocelyn: Oh, so many plans! Even though book 2 and 3 of my Sempire Seductions series are still in edits and not yet released, I’ve already started a new series featuring more demons. Different demons, and I love the characters, but I can’t say more than that just yet.

Mimi: Awesome! Can’t wait.

Any final thoughts on why you like demon heroes/heroines?

Mimi: I like that they’re not your typical heroes and are sometimes driven by primal forces beyond their control which makes exploring their vulnerabilities that much more interesting.

Jocelyn: They are the ultimate bad boys and bad girls. What’s not to like?

Thanks for joining the discussion! Here’s info on Jocelyn:

Jocelyn was born in Iowa and currently resides in hot-as-hell Texas. She shares her home with her very own 6’4″ alpha male and varying numbers of spoiled cats and dogs. Teaching one of her dogs to file his own nails is one of her all-time favorite accomplishments.

Jocelyn loves to paint, loves to read, and loves to write sizzling erotic romance about yummy demons that would make your momma blush (or not–depends on the momma).

In Memoriam to Publisher and Writer Linda Kichline

I opened my e-mail today and read the sad news. Linda Kichline, the heart and soul of ImaJinn Books, my publisher, passed away after having a stroke. While I hadn’t known Linda for that long, the time I did interact with her was incredibly meaningful to my growth as an author. I queried with ImaJinn last year, and Necromancer’s Seduction released this past July. I decided to submit to ImaJinn because of their focus on Urban Fantasy/Paranormal, and they were publishing one of my favorite vampire Urban Fantasy series by D.B. Reynolds.

Ultimately, whatever drove me to hit send, I felt I’d made the right decision. Linda was always supportive and great to work with and her editing of my manuscript definitely elevated my writing. Both Linda and my editor really liked my story and writing style. I’ve heard, often, at a bigger publishers, the person who edits your manuscript is not always vested in your story or may not even like your writing. For a new author, still building my confidence, it was a great boost to have someone like Linda in my corner.

Linda wrote and had published a witch/warlock series under the name Carin Rafferty, and as Allyson Ryan for Silhouette Books. She also wrote for Harlequin. She started ImaJinn to publish the type of paranormal books not being picked up by many of the larger publishers at the time. If you can imagine. I’m not sure exactly when Linda started ImaJinn, but I think it was 1999, before this explosion of small presses, showing her as a pioneer in the industry and in paranormal romance. If you look at her Goodreads profile, an editor from Penguin commented that Linda had a great grasp of paranormal romance long before it really took off.

I write this blog with great sadness, but Linda left behind a wonderful legacy and I feel so fortunate that she saw something in my writing worth nurturing and investing in. In fact, it makes me very proud. I wish I would have had more time to work with Linda, but am grateful for the time I did share with her. Thank you Linda and rest in peace.

The Conjuring and other not so scary stuff

Part of what you’ll see on my blog from time to time is a discourse on movies, comics, general pop, fan girl culture which feeds my soul. I am a Geek at heart. But first off, I sent in book two, The Necromancer’s Betrayal, to the publisher for the first round of edits. I’m excited about book two but wary as well. The events really test the characters and change some of them, for better or worse? Betrayal is one of those fulcrum books that tips the lever, sending everyone reeling. They also spend more time in the demon realm which was fun to write.

I hadn’t realized how tightly I was wound up until I hit send on that book. My stress levels were pretty high, trying to meet deadlines and take care of all my other responsibilities. Now I basically only have book three to write and polish up my pirate book for self publishing later this year, and fit in time to polish up my short story about the werewolf Brandon, featured in Necromancer Seduction. I feel pretty relieved.

So I did manage to catch the Conjuring, which I’d been anticipating for a long time. Directed by James Wan, the auteur of the first Saw and Insidious. What got me hot and bothered about The Conjuring was Wan intended to harken back to the traditional, atmospheric scary haunted house movies, and did he, but more on that later.

The movie is based on an actual haunting investigated by Lorraine and Ed Warren portrayed wonderfully by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. Say what you will about the Warrens (who also investigated Amityville), I’d love to visit yet not touch their collection of haunted artifacts. Lorraine Warren actually had a brief cameo in the classroom scene. She was seated in the audience.

Wan did a great job portraying a haunted house movie set in the seventies. It felt like a movie filmed in the 70s, kind of like The House of the Devil, directed by Ti West. I saw lots of 70s horror flicks as a kid, so watching these types of movies, where the director calls upon that atmosphere really appeals to me. Ti West also did The Innkeepers which had its share of jump in your seat moments. I give lots of credit to directors who can still get you on the edge of your seat with scenes in which a character is stepping into a dark basement, or walking down a darkened hallway. Wan accomplished that and more. (And I will never play a hide and seek game involving hand clapping. Never.) It’s too easy to rely on gore or some such to get the audience to react. Wan doesn’t need to in the Conjuring. He gives us plenty of scary dolls, and one scene that really did make me hop in my seat and sent my heart racing. I also enjoyed some homage moments to movies like Poltergeist.

The ending was scary, but not in the sense of what actually happened, but by the set up, the implication. I did like his take on the possession sequence, giving something a little different than what we’ve seen in movies like the Exorcist. And Lili Taylor portrayed that perfectly. I can’t imagine having to act out a scene like that. For any Lili Taylor fans, of which I am, she did a movie called The Addiction in the 90s about a grad student who turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her frequent craving for human blood. It was a great, little known vampire movie.

So if you like good, old atmospheric haunted house type movies, definitely check out The Conjuring. Oh, last but most definitely not least, the sound track is incredibly unnerving. In fact, the scene where the family arrives at the house with the music playing just gave it that epic feel, same feeling when watching Halloween and that god-awful, yet brilliant movie score starts playing. That’s what I’m talking about.

Sharon Buchbinder’s Obsession

It’s wonderful having friend and fellow Paranormal Romance Guild author, Sharon Buchbinder, on my blog today. I read Obsession, and if you haven’t read it, pick it up! Sharon did a wonderful job with her characters. I especially liked how she wrote about the cult leaders and their mentality. The setting is exciting and interaction with the local culture and how the indigenous population figured into Angie’s quest to find her son. I really liked Angie as a heroine. She endured a lot of trauma at the hands of her parents, yet managed to survive it and become stronger. I enjoyed the romance between Angie and Alejandro too! He’s hot

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies/interests? When did you start writing?

Thank you very much for having me here, Mimi. I’ve been telling stories from childhood and began writing and submitting stories to magazines in high school. I still have the rejection slips from Redbook. I realized I needed to eat, so I set aside the idea of a writing career in favor of a steady income. After working in health care delivery for years, I became an association executive, a health care researcher, and an academic in higher education. I had it all–a terrific, supportive husband, an amazing son and a wonderful job. But that itch to write (some call it an obsession) kept beckoning me to “come on back” to writing fiction. My mid-life crisis consisted of attending a writing retreat in upstate New York. That weekend reinvigorated my muse and I’ve been writing, and working full time ever since. Thanks to innumerable online classes, weekend seminars, boot camps, workshops, the kindness of family, friends, critique partners, and beta readers, I am now published in mystery, horror, and science fiction, as well as contemporary, erotic, paranormal and romantic suspense. When not writing, I can be found trying to make students, colleagues, and babies laugh, teaching, herding cats, waiting on a large gray dog, fishing, or enjoying a good meal and laughs with friends or family.

I need a weekend to invigorate my muse! You have a new release, Obsession, please tell us about it.

Here’s the blurb: A year after a barbaric childbirth, complete with a near-death experience and an encounter with her guardian angel, Angie Edmonds is just happy she and her son, Jake, are alive. She’s finally in a good place: clean, sober, and employed as a defense attorney. But at the end of a long work day, she finds herself in a parent’s worst nightmare: Jake has been kidnapped and taken across the Mexican border by a cult leader who believes the child is the “Chosen One.”

Stymied by the US and Mexican legal systems, Angie is forced to ask the head of a Mexican crime syndicate for help. Much to her chagrin, she must work with Alejandro Torres, a dangerously attractive criminal and the drug lord’s right-hand man. Little does she know Alejandro is an undercover federal agent, equally terrified of blowing his cover—and falling in love with her.

When I began researching Chihuahua, Mexico for a setting for Obsession, my primary intent was to find a location to build my villain’s refuge.  Lucky for me, the rugged terrain of the Sierra Madre, and specifically,  Copper Canyon, were perfect for a hidden compound for a crazed cult leader who kidnaps his grandson because he believes the child is the Chosen One. This part of the world is remote, beautiful, and sparsely populated. The cult leader believes he has it all: isolation, control of a thousand loyal-to-the-death followers, paid off politicians, and the Chosen One. With more research, I found the setting was perfect to demonstrate the heroine’s resolve to rescue her son, the hero’s strength and abilities under harsh conditions, and to provide a realistic backdrop for supernatural events core to the story. In addition, I found allies for the heroine and hero in the form of the hidden indigenous people of Mexico, the Tarahumarans, also known as the Rarámuri. The research on the setting was pay dirt for me in this story in many ways!

Your research definitely paid off. You brought the setting and people to life! You write romantic suspense and paranormal. How do you get the ideas for your stories? Do you find similarities in writing the two genres?

Authors are told to write what they know and what they like to read. I grew up wanting to be Nancy Drew, and then moved on to Agatha Christie, so my love of mystery and suspense runs deep. I also grew up having a lot of paranormal experiences and I had a near death experience (NDE) at age 15. The book begins with the heroine having an NDE during childbirth.

The story lines in  Obsession are ripped from today’s news. Human trafficking is in our backyard. Drug cartels are running Mexico and gangs in the US. Cult leaders are still leading believers to their death. Child exploitation and abuse continues to be rampant, witness the news in Cleveland with the girls kidnapped and held captive for a decade. These are transnational, transcultural issues and they are not going away soon.

My first job as an author is to entertain my reader and keep the reader turning the page, long after she said she going to sleep. In romance, that means I promise the reader a happily-ever-after for my characters. In romantic suspense, I want the reader to solve the mystery along with the heroine. In paranormal romance, we are always examining the mysteries of life and what is not “normal.” Death is the ultimate mystery, isn’t it? I find it natural to combine the two.

 Obsession is a tale of good versus evil, writ large, complete with the appearance of angels. No spoilers here, however, readers tell me they are cheering at the end of the book.

What has been one of your biggest challenges so far in your writing career?

Saying “No” and sticking to it. As a woman, I’ve been programmed to be the caregiver/people pleaser/do-it-all person. My ideas of what I needed to do to prove that I was “worthy” stem from my childhood and an abusive mother. I’ve had to learn to say no to people, places, and situations that are not conducive to my physical and mental health. I also needed to do it to free myself to pursue my passion of writing. At first, it was scary. What if people didn’t like me anymore? Well, those were the people who really didn’t care about me. They cared about themselves and what I could do for them, not what we could do for each other. There was no real reciprocity in those relationships. That was a freeing realization.

What has been one of your favorite characters to write?

I love writing villains. They are essential to a good romantic suspense and need to be 3-D, not moustache twirling cartoons. I like climbing into their twisted brains and creating believable back stories for their behavior. In  Obsession, I enjoyed writing the villains so much, my editor, Amanda Barrett, was like, “Hey, girl, these two are on the stage too long. Whose story is it, anyway?” I color coded the book for each character. She was right. They did hog the spotlight. I had to cut them down. They are still big and bad, just not taking over the story any longer.

Are you an outgoing person? Are you a morning or night person?

On a Myers-Briggs, I am at the extreme right lower hand corner, an extroverted, decision-making person. I do need ME time to focus on writing and live in my other worlds, but I love my day job as a professor and coordinator for a master’s degree program. I have the best of all worlds. And, I’m much sharper in the morning than in the evening!

What book(s) are you reading right now?

Henry A. Crumpton’s The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA’s Clandestine Service. (BTW, I just know he and I could be good friends. He loves duct tape as much as I do.)

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career?

My family is incredibly supportive. They all go out of their way to help me with time management, finding sources of inspiration (like Ethiopian opals–did you even know they existed??), reading and promoting my work.

Does your significant other read your stuff?

My husband is my alpha reader. He reads every word of my work, many times over. He gets every draft of my WIPs. He gives me great feedback and tells me when something doesn’t make sense or is confusing. As a vascular surgeon, he also makes a terrific medical consultant.

If you had a ticket to fly anywhere in the world to do research on your current book or upcoming book, where would you go?

I would love to go to Ethiopia, home of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. Many stories have been written about the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, from four major religions to thousands of novels and movies. My work-in-progress, Kiss of the Virgin Queen, takes place in the spaces between history, religion, and the paranormal.  Kiss of the Virgin Queen explores that space and the effects of the epic romance between King Solomon and Queen Makeda that continue to ripple down the centuries to their descendant, Homeland Security Special Agent Eliana Solomon, aka the Jinni Hunter.

What books/authors have inspired your writing?

I love Katherine Neville’s The Eight. The story takes place during the French Revolution and in contemporary times and the chapters alternate between them. The McGuffin that ties the story together is a supernatural chess board once owned by Charlemagne, and pursued by good and bad people. I’ve read the book at least 8 times and I’ve met Katherine Neville. She is a lovely, gracious woman. Especially since I was a babbling fan girl when I met her! I liked the story structure so much, I am emulating it for Kiss of the Virgin Queen, which takes place in Biblical and contemporary times, with alternating chapters.

Thanks for stopping by Sharon! I enjoyed reading your responses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obsession Excerpt:

“Who are you? Who is that giant? What did you say to him?”

The pony-tailed man flashed a grin, the smile reaching his sky-blue colored eyes, giving him an appealing boyish look. “The big guy’s name is Tio. I told Tio to truss Raul up like the pig he is and to bring him to Isabel Ramirez. She’ll know exactly what to do with him.”

“Who are you?”

The movie-star-handsome man stopped, bent down until he was eye-to-eye with Angie.

“I found your passport tossed onto Raul’s desk, Angela Edmonds from the U.S. of A. I like that name. You look like an angel.”

She shook her head and the street twirled. “I’m no angel.” She steadied herself on his well muscled, naked arm. Rather than creeping her out, the skin on skin contact with her rescuer reassured her that he was a real human and not an angel conjured up in fevered religious delusion and desperation. “You sound like an American. You haven’t answered my question. What’s your name?”

“Torres.” Still holding her ID, he strode to the driver’s side of the car, hopped in and flashed a dazzling grin. “You could call me your hero because I’m taking you to see the woman who can help you find your son. My name is Alejandro Espinosa Santoyo Torres. But most people just call me Alejandro.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Where Sharon Buchbinder and Obsession can be found on the Internet

Kindle Buy Link for Obsession http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGOGT12

The Wild Rose Press Buy Link for Print Version

Book Trailer for Obsession http://youtu.be/f1kujUWoGbk

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sharon.buchbinder.romanceauthor

Facebook page for Obsession https://www.facebook.com/pages/Obsession/174546772700131

Website/Blog http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IODIE2

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4417344.Sharon_Buchbinder

Twitter @sbuchbinder https://twitter.com/sbuchbinder