Interview with Karen Greco - Hell's Belle (Bewitching Book Tour & Giveaway)

Hell's Belle

Karen Greco

Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN: 1484830202

ASIN: B00DEUDXH0

Number of pages: 238

Word Count: 74,722

Cover design by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.

Book Description:

Half-vampire, half-human, Nina Martinez spent most of her life underground as part of an elite secret team of government agents who quietly take down rogue monsters -- the human world none the wiser.

She moves back to her hometown of Providence, RI to keep an eye on the recent uptick in supernatural activity, and to help run the bar she co-owns with her aunt. Her attempt at a “regular” life, not to mention a budding relationship with smoking hot FBI agent Max, is cut short because of a string of ritual murders targeting the city's community of witches.

But Nina's investigation unearths deadly secrets from her long buried parents. Now the target of supernatural assassins, could Nina be the most dangerous vampire hybrid to ever exist? No wonder she can’t get a date.

An urban fantasy set in a decaying Providence, Rhode Island, HELL'S BELLE is a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled roller-coaster ride through a city on the cusp of becoming an urban wasteland. An energetic, expansive, and cinematic, HELL'S BELLE was called "captivating" by Kirkus Reviews.

Book Chick City gave it 5-stars, calling it "one of the best urban fantasies I have read this year!"

Amazon

Welcome to IAB. I'm so glad you could stop in today to chat. May I offer you a beverage? 

I'd love a Witches Brew, thank you!

Now that we are settled in, let's get to know you better.

BK: Looking out the nearest window, describe the scene you see.

It's dark. I can see my neighbor's front porch--they have their front night light on. I see trees, cars on the street but they are in shadow. We have few streetlights.

BK: Tell us about your office. Is it a mess like mine, or is everything in its place?

I wish my office was organized. Right now, it's like a tornado passed through.

BK: What is a must-have, such as coffee or a favorite pen, that you need to write?

I was a smoker for a long time, so writing without smoking was really tough at first. Now, I always need something to drink, coffee or tea, or even just water. Sometimes I'll have a beer or glass of wine. But I usually forget it's there. It's like a crutch. I just want it. Just in case!

BK: Do you like to write in silence, or do you need music or background noise?

It really depends. Some days I do better in complete silence, sometimes I like some music. But I don't need either to write. Since I write in weird places at weird times, I am pretty adaptable.

BK: Tell us a bit about your hero/heroine, and their development.

Nina is in her early 30s, half vampire, half human. I wanted her slightly older than the usual urban fantasy heroines. She had a weird, almost sheltered upbringing. She was raised on a secret military base where she trained to be a member of Blood Ops, this wild government organization takes down rogue supernatural creatures. So her world view is a little skewed. She's never really dated, her only friends are supernaturals since she never really spent time in the human world.

BK: As a writer myself, I'm always curious how other writers get through stumble blocks. When you find a story not flowing, or a character trying to fight you, how do you correct it?

I write through it and then go back and edit out the stuff that doesn't work. Sometimes I have to walk away and start the next chapter. Then I can go back to the problem spot with a fresh pair of eyes.

BK: Using the letters of your first name as an acronym, describe your book...

Kriptonite Ass-kicking Rocking Exciting N

BK: How did your writing journey begin?

I started writing plays in high school and all through college. That's what I thought I Wanted to do with my life. Then reality sunk in--it's near impossible to make a living as a playwright. So I just stopped, and worked in entertainment for 20 years. I wrote on and off but just kind of filed it away, forgot about it. A few years ago, I decide to just go for it.

BK: Using the letters from the word, Summer, how would friends and family describe you?

Silly Unhinged (sometimes) Madcap Magnanimous Enthusiastic Resourceful

BK: What is the craziest thing you've ever written about, whether it got published or not?

This is a tough one. I once wrote about someone lighting themselves on fire. I was 10.

BK: Tell us one thing you've done in life, that readers would be most surprised to know.

Another tough one! Maybe that I've worked the red carpet at an Emmy Awards? That was kind of wild. And super stressful.

BK: What can we expect from you in the future?

I am working on the Hell's Belle follow up, as well as a horror novel. I have the idea for a paranormal YA novel as well. Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more books!

This or That...

Coke or Pepsi?

Diet Coke. In a glass bottle.

Night Owl or Early Bird?

Night owl when given a choice, but lately early bird

Fantasy or Mystery?

Fantasy

Pen/Paper or Computer?

Computer

Pizza or Burger?

Burger

Rock or Country?

Rock

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla

Beach or Mountains?

Beach

Thank you so much for having us as one of your stops today. It has been great getting to know more about you and your book, and hope you will come back when the next release is out (*hinthint*)

Wishing you much success! Watch for my review of Hell's Belle tomorrow! Whew! Good stuff!!!

BK Walker

About the Author:

An award-winning playwright, Karen Greco has spent close to twenty years in New York City, working in publicity and marketing for the entertainment industry.

A life-long obsession with exorcists and Dracula drew her to urban fantasy, where she can decapitate characters with impunity. HELL'S BELLE is her first novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenThegreco

Blog: http://karengreco.blogspot.com/

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

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17858864-hell-s-belle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Genesis by K.L. Kerr - Bewitching Book Tours

The Genesis

Blood of Ages, Book One

K. L. Kerr

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Penrefe Publications

ISBN: 0955984556

ASIN: B00999FXZ0

Number of pages: 314

Word Count: 100,000

Cover Artist: K. L. Kerr

Series Site Amazon Kindle

Amazon Print

Amazon UK Kindle Amazon UK Print

Book Description:

The vampires of Dayson city are preparing for war. Having lived in constant fear of the Archway Corporation for decades, desperation has forced them into action. Their solution is to bring the First vampire, Alistair, back from the dead, a warrior famed for eradicating entire armies in the name of his kind.

For fledgling vampire Catrina Malinka, the fabled return of some unknown deity falls low on her list of concerns. Between fending off strangers trying to kill her in her dreams and trying to rein in an uncontrollable power that no one else even understands let alone shares, Catrina is forced to fight her assumed role in the war against Archway, which threatens to send her down a path she doesn’t want to travel.

The first book in The Blood of Ages series, “The Genesis” is an urban fantasy about the inescapable nature of Fate and the corruption of power.

Excerpt: The First Feed

Catrina paid little notice to where they were headed, since she was too enrapt in the swirl of streetlights sweeping by the window to listen in on Fox and Rose’s conversation. Her attention broke occasionally when Rose laughed, which she did often. If Fox were the lion, as she’d imagined on their first meeting, that made Rose the hyena.

The nights in Dayson were never truly dark, and the days—which she would only ever be able to recall from memory from now on—were never bright. Skies in varying shades of grey were all that overlooked their fair city, and any break in infinite varieties of rain constituted good weather. Even so, her new eyes could make out the crescent moon floating amongst an ocean of stars as Rose parked the car outside a bar that looked like countless other rundown brick buildings scattered in amongst those made of concrete.

The music pulsed harsh and raw through the open doors, thunderous beats to dance to for those gathered inside the low-ceilinged, dark rooms. Rose left them at the entrance, quickly swallowed up by the mass of bodies.

Catrina followed Fox into the smoky room and was hit by a smell so fierce that it threatened to floor her. Beyond that of sweaty bodies laced with grime and grease from their days of hard labours, the unmistakable scent of blood rose in the air. So much stronger than what she’d sensed from Maria, and in such a tightly packed space, it came inescapably with every breath, like honey-sweet liquid iron sliding down her throat.

The people were all oblivious. No, not all of them. A few stood out, their movements fluid, more calculated. As they slipped through the mass, she noticed the path being created by people was wide enough for them both. The hunger sent sudden, urgent impulses that left her fingers twitching. She barely managed to keep at Fox’s back on the way to the bar, as a mist descended across her vision. So many people and so much blood pumping through frail bodies that seemed barely able to hold it in. Her head ached with the deafening sound of a hundred hearts thumping in time with the pounding bass.

In a far corner, Fox introduced her to a man, his clothes were the same colour as his raven hair, half-blended into the shadows. He didn’t need a name. Fox simply referred to him as “the Moderator.” The Moderator regarded her with hazel eyes too small for his face, tiny glinting gems set in alabaster skin, which snatched her, and the hunger’s, interest from the room’s other occupants. He offered her a hand as though proposing they dance. When she turned to Fox for an answer, he just nodded and left them. With butterflies in her stomach, she accepted the Moderator’s thin hand and let him guide the way.

“This is your first time feeding?” he asked in a soft voice, whispering in her ear to be heard over the music. Painful in its simplicity, the question left her insides churning. She just about managed a nod. “The hunger will torment you until you give it what it needs.” When she winced, he gripped her hand tighter; the pressure alleviated some of the pain. While not an especially attractive man, the Moderator’s presence was all-consuming, and his iron grip and piercing eyes ensured attention stayed on him, before the hunger could release her into the pack of waiting bodies. “I understand your pain, child, but the hunger must be appeased. Despite what you may think, you are not the one in control anymore. The hunger is its own master and you its slave. You will succumb to it when it craves its fill, or else you will both perish. Succumb often, and in careful doses, and given enough time, you will be able to control it completely.”

“And until then…?”

A jester’s smile stretched across the Moderator’s face. “Until then, you will feed like the rest of us.”

As they reached the edge of the crowd, her guide gestured to a man swaying out of time with the music, pupils dilated like saucers and mouth open wide. So this shaggy-haired stallion riding what appeared to be a permanent high would take her vampiric virginity. And while the hunger urged her forwards at the very thought, she saw reason to pause and tightened her grip on the Moderator’s hand.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “The hunger will show the way. And do not concern yourself with our friend’s wellbeing. Observe the skin.” He gestured the man’s shoulder, where she saw scant silver lines tracing all the way up his neck. The thin vest fitted to his shapely, muscled form proudly displayed the scars. “He is a donor. You will find many of their kind in places such as these. I can assure you, he is more than willing.”

When the Moderator released her, the hunger led on. For the next minute, she was no longer Catrina Malinka. She was the hunger. She may have forced the man easily twice her size up against the wall, leaning into him and savouring the musky scent rising from perspiring flesh. If he struggled or resisted, she couldn’t remember. He may have moaned as her fangs sliced through her gums and into the vein. As blood gushed like liquid fire, she too may have moaned, closing her eyes and letting the moment consume her.

New thoughts overwhelmed her sense of reason with each mouthful of blood pumping out of the fissure in his neck, as though for an instant she saw the world through this man’s eyes; the image of their naked bodies tangled together on an unmade bed in what she could only assume was this man’s shoebox of an apartment flashed across her vision.

Spurred, it seemed, by the same thought, he slid a hand up her back, trying to force her closer. But despite his urgency, he had all the strength of tissue paper when put against her. While she revelled in his weakness, the hunger subsided into anger the likes of which she’d never known.

Her dark eyes flashed open and fingers slipped around his shoulder, feeling the top of his spine underneath the thin stretch of skin. One quick twist, and he would be dead. Before she could get her fingers around his neck, strong hands pulled her away, which severed both the lustful thoughts and the absolute desire to destroy him.

The man struggled to breathe as he ran shaking fingers over his neck, but a lazy smile curled his lips nonetheless.

“Our saliva heals the wounds,” the Moderator said as she stared at her first “victim” lurching back into the throng of bodies. “The scarring only occurs from continuously providing donor services, or in cases where the human has been attacked. Here, the donors are safe and aware of what happens to them. Feeding out there—” He gestured to the bar’s entrance. “Is difficult and delicate when you choose not to kill. There will be certain situations where your actions can be more easily dismissed if you choose to feed on someone who does not know what you are.” Such sobering words set her eyes back on the Moderator, who regarded her cautiously, concern stretching lines on his face. “Tell me truthfully,” he said. “How did it feel?”

Without a second thought, she replied, “I wanted to kill him.”

About the Author:

Born and raised close to North York Moors, initial setting of American Werewolf in London, one might be excused for thinking K. L. Kerr's interests might lie with those furry beasts. But she has always preferred monsters of the fanged variety, having written the very first draft of her novel, The Genesis, aged sixteen.

When not writing, Kerr can be found playing the MMORPG, World of Warcraft, or listening to music from video game soundtracks. She still lives in the North of England, close to The Moors (keeping to the roads, naturally), with two cats who--like all cats--think they're people.

http://bloodofages.com

http://penrefe.com

http://twitter.com/penrefe

http://facebook.com/bloodofages

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6468895.K_L_Kerr

Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway with Alan S. Kessler - Satan Carol

Today I am excited to introduce you to Alan Kessler, on tour now with his book Satan Carol at Goddess Fish Promotions! Alan is offering you a chance for 2 of you to win a copy of his book in your choice for print or e-book, PLUS, by following his tour and commenting, you also will be entered to win a $10 Wild Child Publishing Gift Card AND a pack of Snackwells Devils Food Cookies (Open to US/Canada Only)!

Welcome to Immortality and Beyond Alan!

BK:  Please tell us a little bit about your current release...

Satan has a son who needs a soul. A Satan Carol is a story about how the devil, constrained by the cosmic law of freewill, tries to influence a young girl and her family into giving her child’s soul to him.

 BK:  What inspired this particular novel/book?

I wanted to write a story about faith and choices while using as its central character the devil, portraying him beyond caricature as someone with motivations we can understand. He is not the enemy of God but a fallen angel who feeling abandoned by his Father has a plan to regain His  love. Of course, since we are talking about Satan here, the plan is demonic.   

BK:  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I wrote my first story when I was ll. It was about the earth opening up and exploding with crawling creatures called Leeks.

BK:  How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

I think spiritual horror is different by definition. I use blood but at the end of the story I want the horror to transcend the visceral and give the reader something to think about beyond the gore.

BK:  What was the hardest thing about writing this story?

My habit of self-editing as I write. I want every sentence perfect, every word to fit not only with what I want to say but have a rhythm. Prose should be musical, that often means not using the same adjective, verb, or noun in the same paragraph or sometimes, same page. Pretty crazy, I admit. 

BK:  What character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?

I liked having Satan expound upon why he thinks he got the short end of the stick.

BK:  Which was your favorite scene to write?

There’s an old farmer from Idaho, Orem, who landing on a beach, in the parallel universe of ShinyLand 7, believes he’s died. Crabs pop up from the sand and crawl over him, their large pincers snapping. He tries to brush the crustaceans away, his hands going through the scaly bodies.

BK:  Will this become a series? If so, what inspired it to be a series?

No. One journey into this kind of hell is enough.

BK:  Now for a little fun, and into your everyday life, What is a day in your life like?

I get up, walk the dog, see the kids off to school, sometimes use the EMF meter I got for my birthday and look for electromagnetic anomalies in our old New England farmhouse.

 BK:  What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I teach karate, watch Ohio State football and when I can, the Cleveland Browns. For those of you not familiar with the latter, it is a professional football team and according to a Brown’s website, rebuilding since 1964.

BK:  What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

I hate violence

.

BK:  What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

I read non-fiction, except for horror writers I like, especially ones belonging to the New England Horror Writers association. I like Dickens and Faulkner. Both believed in ghosts.

BK:  Please tell us one piece of advice you were given as an author that you carry with you when you write?

Don’t let your imagination become a monster devouring the story.

BK:  What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring writers/authors?

My advice is a cliché—don’t give up; persevere. But here’s something more—write what’s true to your heart and with your own voice. Perhaps that will intersect with what the market wants, but if not, does it matter? The passion to write should be the overriding motivation for why we do it.

   

BK:  What are you currently working on?

A novel about a boy who grows up in a house of demons and a novella with a serial killer who gets what he deserves.

BK:  Where can readers connect with you?

alan@askessler.com

About Alan:

Born in a small town in Ohio. Married, with four children and a dog, Buckeye. We live in New England.

What does the devil really want?

Nostalgic for the Inquisition and plague, Satan feels neglected by the modern world that no longer blames him for disease and death. He plans to create a new genesis, a place where people will love him. For that, his son needs just the right soul.

And there is one—unique, powerful, able to heal. To get it, Satan has a plan that begins in Ireland in the famine year, 1848, and 180 years later traps a young girl and her family in demonic forces pushing them to kill.         

A Satan Carol is a horror story about family values--even if they originate in hell.

  

Excerpt:

On back of the EnViro truck continuing across the grassless, treeless land, Orem couldn’t tell if the gray, steaming waves he saw lapping sluggishly against a beach were those of a bay or ocean. He could distinguish the two structures whose dark shapes he had seen from a distance, the one closest to him an old farmhouse painted black, beyond it, a ramshackle pier standing a half mile from the shoreline. When the truck passed the pier, Orem saw what looked like a junkyard where the road ended. As the truck slowed before entering the junkyard’s fenced in area, he let go of the handle and jumped, rolling in dirt so dry and light he inhaled it as if it were another form of air. Choking, he took small breaths, sat there slowly adapting to the particle laced, heated atmosphere.

Out of the ground hundreds of small, shriveled crabs, their oversized, razor-sharp claws clicking, swarmed over him. Orem thrashed at them, his hands going through their bodies. Still frantically searching for what had strayed into their feeding zone, the crabs covered Orem’s face, twitched and convulsed in hunger and after running down his legs, disappeared with a popping sound into the dust, the last of their energy wasted on trying to eat a ghost. Orem saw no bite marks on his skin. He got up and by walking slowly, resting every few steps, the heat from the scorching land burning through the soles of his shoes, reached the junkyard fence of dry-rotted planks arranged haphazardly. Orem read a blistered, hand-lettered sign propped up against an old toilet: Moe Gut-man Salvge & antiks

A business sign…in Hell? The EnViro road from Boston to the White Mountains ended on Moe Gutman’s desert land where sinks, stained mattresses, broken pipes and large, cracked vats lay jumbled together along the fence. Through a hole in the boards, Orem watched the truck he’d jumped from pierce the ground with its titanium shaft. Sludge poured from the truck into a bubbling landfill marked Field 17. Nearby, a row of glowing, fissured mounds created by EvViro trucks pumping waste beyond the ground’s capacity to absorb it, rose 70 feet above fields 12 and 9. Brother Green’s business extended all the way to Hell. Orem didn’t understand. For him Hell was a place of torment, not entrepreneurship. In the Hell he imagined, the crabs would have chewed on his face forever. “Am I a spirit and this, damnation? The house and pier, the junkyard, designed to remind me of the world I’ve lost?” Except for the heat, he couldn’t feel or touch what was around him. This Hell of Brother Green’s trucks had its own dynamics and he remained outside it, looking in, detached and alone. “Is this my punishment for sin?  Eternal isolation even from other damned souls in this land of the dead?”   

Hello hello. Can you hear me?

Orem blinked and looked over to where a boy sat slumped and drooling in a stroller parked a few yards from the junkyard fence. Behind the child, a young girl, very thin, stood gazing out at the water.

Children? In Hell? To Orem that didn’t make sense. And he was sure the girl had just spoken to him. Is it possible, by some miracle, I’m still alive? 

 October 22:Writers and Authors

October 23: The Bunny's Review

October 24: You Gotta Read Reviews - Guest

October 25:  Immortality and Beyond

October 26:  Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews

October 26:  STOP 2  Linda Nightingale...Wordsmith

Award Winning Author p.m. terrell is at the table today! #Giveaway & Interview

Welcome to Immortality and Beyond.  I'm so happy you could join me today. p.m. is currently on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions and will be offering you a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card during her tour, so be sure to leave a comment and please include your email address. Follow the tour for more chances to win.

BK: Please tell us a little about yourself...

I write under the pen name p.m. terrell, which stands for Patricia McClelland Terrell. I’ve been very fortunate to have received international acclaim for the fourteen books that have been released to date. River Passage, an historical adventure based on the true story of a riverboat journey, won a 2010 Best Drama Award. And Vicki’s Key, the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, was a finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and a nominee in the 2012 USA Best Book Awards. I am a full-time writer. In my personal life, I am a sucker for dogs down on their luck (I’ve rescued 7 dogs to date and would rescue more if I had the space) and my hobby is keeping and raising freshwater angelfish—which made it into my series as a front for CIA operatives Vicki Boyd and Dylan Maguire.

BK: Please tell us a little about your book....

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman is the third book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series. Dylan Maguire returns in his first assignment with the CIA: to interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it’s obvious she’s had help from within the CIA’s own ranks. Now he must discover why some in the highest government offices want her killed—and others will risk everything to help her. And when he discovers her true identity, his mission has just become very personal.

BK: What inspired you to pen this particular novel?

After Exit 22 was released a few years ago, I was inundated with requests from readers to bring back Brenda Carnegie. There was something about the way she was equally comfortable as a computer hacker on the wrong side of the law as she was escaping through an alligator-infested swamp... So I knew I would have to bring her back as a major character throughout the entire series.

Readers were the same way with Irishman Dylan Maguire; opportunistic, perpetually good-humored but capable of killing when he had to, I knew he would be the perfect nemesis for Brenda. They are so much alike that they are drawn to each other—but each too dangerous to know it would ever work out between out.

BK: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Definitely by the time I was fourteen years old. I won my first poetry contest (which I’ll always think was rigged) when I was in the fourth grade and that started me on the path to writing—first poetry then short stories, and by the time I was thirteen or fourteen I was writing full-length novels. But I didn’t consider myself a decent writer until nearly forty years later!

BK: How do you keep your story flowing?

Most writers work toward the climactic scene near the end of the book. But when I decide what the plot will be, I determine three points: the beginning and the groundwork to be laid there; the middle, which could be a climactic scene by itself and turns everything in the book a hundred and eighty degrees; and the ending. I work the first half of the book toward that mid-point. Once that point is reached, the story is propelled forward like a roller coaster toward the climactic ending, which has to be bigger and more breathtaking than the mid-point.

BK: Do you ever run into writer's block, and if so, what do you do to get past it?

I never run into writer’s block. My problem is I don’t have enough hours in the day to write all that goes through my mind. I get ideas from everywhere—scouring declassified government documents, watching documentaries, reading everything I can get my hands on. My plots are always believable because they are pulled from headlines that I weave together—like the rise of China and how easily our touch-screen voting technology could be rigged by a foreign government. The plot of Secrets of a Dangerous Woman was actually devised when I couldn’t turn on the television or open a newspaper without seeing or reading about another politician’s scandals.

BK: What is your writing process like? Do you have any quirks, or must-haves to write?

I have been typing my manuscripts since the late 1970’s; writer’s cramp prevents me from writing too much by long-hand. So electricity is a must-have! I also prefer silence because I can really get into a scene. I find that music or noise in the background can make its way into my writing by phrases or mood so I sequester myself in another building on my property and write six days a week, sometimes more than ten hours a day.

BK: Where do you hope your books/writing will be in the future?

I have one series, Black Swamp Mysteries, underway that will always involve an element of the CIA (since several main characters are CIA operatives) and international locations. I have started a second series involving an Irishman who moves to America and becomes a homicide detective that involves local mysteries—it’s a cross between Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series and Nicholas Sparks’ romances. I hope to write three or four books per year between the two series. I’ve written three books this year and love the schedule. My agent is also shopping the movie rights for all my suspense/thrillers.

BK: What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

I hope to entertain; to take the reader out of their own life and propel them into the worlds I create; and because my method of writing includes a lot of factual detail, they can learn a lot in the process—whether it’s the inner workings of the CIA or terrorism or foreign lands and cultures.

BK: What is one piece of advice you received that you carry with you in your writing?

Show, don’t tell.

BK: What is one piece of advice you would give to new and aspiring writers?

Take your ego out of your work. When a writer thinks his or her book is the best thing since sliced bread, they’re unable to accept constructive criticism and they’re unable to improve. By removing their ego, they can listen to criticism, take it under advisement and improve their writing book by book.

BK: Are you currently working on any new projects? What can we expect from you in the future?

I am currently working on the sequel to Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, entitled Dylan’s Song. It takes Vicki and Dylan to Ireland on a CIA mission—to find and extract a missing CIA operative. While there, Vicki learns the real reason Dylan left his native country—while harboring a secret of her own.

Dylan’s Song is scheduled for release in 2013, along with the next book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series (as yet untitled.) I will also be writing the second book in my new Ryan O’Clery mystery series, tentatively entitled After the Tempest.

BK: Where can readers find you?

My website is www.pmterrell.com. From there, you’ll find links to my Facebook page, Twitter and blogspot. I often post things on Facebook, Twitter and my blog first—so it’s a great way to know what I’m up to in real time.

Thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. It's been a pleasure having you and I wish you much success in the future.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books, including Vicki's Key, a 2012 International Book Awards finalist, and River Passage, 2010 Best Fiction & Drama winner. She is the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation whose slogan is "Buy a Book and Stop a Crook" and the co-chair of Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference & Book Fair. For more information, visit www.pmterrell.com.

LINKS:

www.pmterrell.com

www.pmterrell.blogspot.com

Twitter: @pmterrell

Facebook: Patricia M. Terrell

In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, Dylan Maguire is back in his first assignment with the CIA: to interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it's obvious she's had help from within the CIA's own ranks. With Vicki Boyd's assistance, Brenda is back in Dylan's custody. And now he must find out why some in the highest levels of our government want her dead while others are willing to risk everything to help her. And when he discovers Brenda's real identity, his mission has just become very personal. 

Excerpt:

“Who are you running from?” Vicki asked.

Brenda took a deep breath. “I am in trouble. Big trouble.”

“What did you do?”

“Depends on who you ask.” She took a deep breath. “I’m tired, Vicki. Really tired. I need to get off the street. Stay inside for a day or two. Regroup.”

“I’m living in Lumberton now. The woman who owned the house where I’m staying passed away. Her nephew inherited it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah? Where’s he?”

“I live with him. Come home with me. It’s a big house, three stories.”

Brenda frowned as if she was deep in thought. “It’s just you and him there?”

“His name’s Dylan. I’ll tell you all about him on the way.”

She half nodded. “He won’t be taken aback by you bringing me home? I’m a bit more to handle than a stray cat.”

“He’d love to meet you. I promise. He’ll take care of you.”

“He will, will he?”

Vicki blushed. “He’s got a strong sense of family. Besides,” she said as she started to rise, “it’s suppertime and you need to eat. We’ll get something in your belly and you’ll get a good night’s sleep.”

Brenda hesitated only briefly before she rose from the table. “You sure you can handle the intrusion?”

“Positive.”

As they made their way toward the door, Brenda whispered, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Librarian by Day, Actor by Night, Writer Inbetween! Chatting with Lyle Blake Smythers

Welcome to Immortality and Beyond. May I offer you a beverage? 

 

Thank you, I  believe I will have some tantalizing tea. Aphrodisiac, if you have it.

 

 

Now that we're all settled in my lair, I'm de-bite-fully glad you stopped in.

 

I’m pleased to be here and wish I could stay longer.

 

BK:  Please tell us a little bit about your current release...

 

I look forward to introducing readers to a magical world of one-eyed men, large intelligent cats that understand English, and giant mutant owls. Inspired by some little-known traditional stories found in an old edition of the Arabian Nights,I twisted these tales to suit my own purpose and used them to ensnare my four narrators in a larger pattern of sinister intent.

 

I wanted to work within the framework of standard heroic fantasy but add fresh elements to give the reader an experience never felt before. Not just sorcerers and a quest (they are there) but a hallucinogenic drug, green snow, a boy turned into a monkey, an outdoor festival where people come to see a magic trick onlyperformed once a year. Also bloody revenge. Please join me.

 

BK:  What inspired this particular novel/book?

 

The original kernel that gave life to some of the multiple plotlines came from an old edition of the Arabian Nights I found as a child.  My family was traveling through the mountains of southwest Virginia, on our way to visit relatives near Galax,  and we stopped in a tiny hamlet called Fancy Gap.  We wandered into a used furniture place that had a table of used books for sale. I picked up an old copy of the Andrew Lang retellings, one with terrific illustrations.  Soon I was riveted by the great stories inside.  I was already  familiar with the well-known  ones about Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Aladdin, but soon I got to lesser-known ones that were equally intriguing.  One that really interested me described a porter in Baghdad who carried a package home for a customer and found himself mingling with strange visitors in her house, men who had missing eyes and shaved heads.  Each had his own story to tell, and wondrous stories they were.

Even in elementary  school, I had started to write my own stories.  Adventure stories, science fiction, my own version of Tarzan tales, bizarre people and creatures hidden in darkest Africa.  Somewhere along the way I resolved to find a way to retell some of these stories of one-eyed men and the dangers they had faced and overcome. Fast forward some thirty years.

 

I was visiting a friend in Baltimore and we went to a Star Trek convention.  At this point I had started to tinker with an outline for the Arabian nights novel but was getting nowhere.  I wanted a unifying thread more significant than just a chance encounter with strangers in a strange house.  At the con they were showing a variety of fantasy/SF movies and I ended up in LADYHAWKE, the medieval fantasy story of two lovers trying to find each other again while under two very different shape-shifting curses.  What caught my attention was the motivation behind the person who put them under their spells:  They had been cursed out of REVENGE.  I had it.  My characters would be subjected to the horrible perils they faced because a powerful magician was wreaking revenge.  On whom?  And why? It didn’t take me long to work that out. And my book was born.

 

BK:  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

 

When I was in the sixth grade I was a big fan of the adventure novels of Edgar RiceBurroughs, his Tarzan books, the John Carter stories set on Mars, and the Pellucidar books that took readers to a strange world at the Earth’s core. I started writing my own story, entitled Expedition Into the Unknown, a highly derivative work that took some men in a giant Devil Drill to the Earth’s core for adventures among strange people and monsters. It was not terribly good but I had fun with it. When I got to junior high school I said, “This is awful” and abandoned it. Since then I have been preoccupied with making my own stories.

 

BK:  How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

 

I had to trust my instincts and not be afraid to be different, particularly in the area of terminology and character names.  I had a monstrous supernatural creature, a kind of evil genie, who was referred to in the Andrew Lang retelling not as a genie but as a genius.  I really liked this word but hesitated to use it because it is not standard terminology in the fantasy we see.  I was tempted to call him a demon instead.  By the same token, I had started to call one female character Diarfa. I thought about changing that to Deirdre.  In the end I remembered hearing Lloyd Alexander, author of the award-winning children’s fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain, talk about how his editor wanted him to change his major female character’s name from Eilonwy to something less odd.  He stuck to his guns and I decided to stick to mine and be as odd as I liked.

 

BK:  What was the hardest thing about writing this story?

 

Giving each of the four narrators his own distinctive voice, so that their alternating stories sounded as if they were coming from four different people.

 

BK:  What character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?

 

I would not like to think that I played favorites, but certainly the most interesting and the most rewarding was the section told by the first one-eyed boy, because he is talking under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug that causes stream of consciousness speech.  In eight chapters there are what seem like a million commas, but only one period.

 

BK:  Which was your favorite scene to write?

 

That would be the climactic revelation scene, in which many of the characters seen throughout the story are brought together in a dramatic confrontation with the person who has been the architect of their destruction.

 

BK:  Will this become a series? If so, what inspired it to be a series?

 

This is a stand-alone novel by  the nature of the plot, as will be evident to those who read it, but I could foresee telling other unconnected stories about the same characters or set in the same world.

 

BK:  Now for a little fun, and into your everyday life. What is a day in your life like?

 

I have a full-time day job as a librarian and keep active at night and on the weekends as an actor in local stage productions.  Because of my busy schedule, I can go as long as one or two weeks between writing sessions, during which time I am frequently thinking about what’s coming next in my work in progress and making notes to myself. I frequently find myself writing in a leather armchair at the cigar shop where I buy cigars, because they have a smoking area inside that is climate controlled. It’s a nice place to relax, look over my notes, and start trying to make more literary magic.

 

BK:  What do you like to do when you're not writing?

 

Besides being a librarian and an actor, I love watching others onstage and I watch a lot of movies. I prefer to go to movies when they first come out, rather than wait,and I sit in the very front row so that the gigantic images on the screen can engulf me.

 

BK:  What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

 

Although I have had a love of words and books for as long as I can remember, and for a brief time toyed with the idea of becoming a newspaper reporter, for a long time I had no intention of working with books or being a published writer.  I thought I was going to study to be a doctor.

 

BK:  What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

 

I read almost all genres and have favorites in all of them: literary (Faulkner, James Joyce); science fiction (Asimov, Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, China Mieville); fantasy (Ursula K. Le Guin, Roger Zelazny), mysteries (John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L.Sayers, Martha Grimes), espionage (John Le Carre, Len Deighton).  I could go on for days.

 

BK:  Please tell us one piece of advice you were given as an author that you carry with you when you write?

 

“The 2 best pieces of advice I heard for dealing with negative reviews:

No book can please everybody — it’s statistically impossible.

Those aren’t the readers you’re looking for.(In Obi Wan's voice, of course…)”

 

BK:  What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring writers/authors?

 

Don’t take rejection personally. Your book is being rejected, but you are not. Keep going. Try the next person on your list. (You do have a list, don’t you?) Keep knocking on doors until one opens.

 

BK:  What are you currently working on?

 

My work in progress is a blend of dark fantasy, New Weird and urban detective noir. A little China Mieville, a little Jeff Vandermeer, a little Philip K. Dick, a little Raymond Chandler, in a realistic, complex real-world setting combining elements of both science fiction and fantasy. Two supernatural beings from Irish mythology, the hero Finn M’Coul and Viledark, the Hog Who Ate the Sun,are running a private detective agency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.,when they come across a new sex drug that increases the male orgasm, but also kills, and only works on gay men. Their search for a missing boy leads them to Sin, a psychotic supervillain who claims to be the original model for FuManchu. I have not yet sold this book to a publisher.

 

BK:  Where can readers connect with you?

 

Right now Feasting can be pre-ordered from Barnes & Noble at bn.com and from my publisher at http://pinknarc.com/ which is also how they can connect with me if they have comments or questions.  It will be available shortly on Amazon as well.  I can also be found on Facebook.

 

BIO: Lyle Blake Smythers is an actor, writer and librarian in the Washington, D.C., area. Since 1976 he has performed in over 100 stage productions, including three appearances at the National Theatre. He has published fiction, poetry, satire and literary criticism in Manscape, FirstHand, Playguy, The William and Mary Review, Insights, School Library Journal, and Children’s Literature Review. A fformer children’s librarian, he is currently providing cataloging support for an ongoing project at the Library of Congress.

 

Synopsis:

 

We found the first one-eyed man at dawn...

So begins the highly original fantasy tale of warrior poet Catalan, when he and his band stumble upon a handsome acolyte near death in a mountain pass. But when the acolyte reveals his mystical vision, the poet finds himself at the center of a War Game between two mysterious sorcerers. To unravel the mystery, Catalan and the agents of the War Game must seek the missing pieces of an enchanted chess set in a quest complicated by deceit and treachery, in which nothing is what it seems.

 

Giveaway:

 

We are going to be giving away a free copy of my novel, either print edition or e-book, to one of the readers of this blog.  Interested readers should leave a comment here that includes their email address.  I will select the most intriguing poster to be the winner.

Follow Lyle's tour HERE for more chances to win.