Interview With Author – Keith Gouveia

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Keith Gouveia.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

I am a Mechanical Engineer who writes fiction in his spare time. I live in Orlando, FL with my wife Lisa, our dog Murphy, our parrot Marley, and two rabbits, Scooby and Lilo. My writing bounces back and forth from Horror and Fantasy, but no matter which genre I’m in, you can bet I’ll startle you at some point.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I’ve been writing seriously for ten years now. My first book was self-published and I learned the ropes the hard way. It has taken me many years, and tens-of-thousands of words to overcome that hurdle, but today, my writing is stronger than ever and I receive a fraction of the rejection letters that dissuaded me from traditional publishing what seems like a lifetime ago.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novel?

My latest book, Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy came to be from a challenge laid down by fellow author AP Fuchs. He had asked if I had enough werewolf material, without duplicating too many ideas, to fill a book. At the time, I had two short stories and four months later, I had eleven stories and one poem. He, like many others since, believe I answered that challenge.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

Within the stories of Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy we explore the human condition by focusing on the beast lying dormant in all of us. Some go to extreme measures to protect others from the beast’s cruelty, while others unleash it. I believe these tales are a fine example of the Horror Genre with enough blood and guts to satiate the jadest of fans.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

That’s a tough question to answer for me. When I sit down to write, I start with a single thought and I explore that thought as I write. I do not outline so for me, the story’s conclusion is a surprise and a natural occurrence. I have no predefined boundaries I have to force myself to change or meet. By the time I’m done, that’s the story my heart wanted to tell, and I’m true to that.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

From the opening tale, The Beast of Garden Row, in Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy:

The next night, under the light of the full moon, Jim transformed into the monster that had taken everything away from him. As the beast, he had full knowledge of its actions, but control was lost. After a hundred years he had learned to influence the beast, but in the end, it was a wild animal whose actions were unpredictable. As a former man of the cloth, he would never gamble with an innocent life so he chose this existence. To live among the dead and allow the beast to release its destructive impulses on those it could not harm.

What can we expect from you next?

Multiple projects actually. The reading period for The Snuff Syndicate is over and stories have been selected for this Serial Killer themed anthology, edited by yours truly. Final product should be out late this year, or early 2011. I have completed The General and the Puppeteer, part two of my Death Puppet trilogy, which Coscom Entertainment will be publishing soon. The first part, Revolt of the Dead, published by Coscom Entertainment is currently available. I have several short stories due to be published in various anthologies and I am currently writing a Vampire novel with fellow author Giovanna Lagana. I also have a secret project going with Coscom Entertainment and I hope to be able to share details on that soon.

Where can we find you on the internet?

Though I’m terrible with updates, you can always find me on the web here: http://www.keithgouveia.com or you can join me on Facebook where I frequent the most.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Just a thank you, David, for allowing me this opportunity and to your readers: Regardless of your dreams, never let anyone stand in your way.

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My pleasure, Keith! And that’s a great motto about your dreams – I totally agree!!

Thanks for the interview and best of luck with Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy and your other upcoming works. I look forward to your secret project with Coscom entertainment! Be sure to come back and fill us in!

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Interview With Author – Emma Newman

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Emma Newman.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

I write. A lot. I also drink too much tea. My debut YA dystopian novel, 20 Years Later, comes out later this year – a fact that still makes me grin like an idiot – and I publish two flash fiction stories on my blog every week. I’m currently writing the sequel to my novel and have just launched my professional voice acting and audio book narration service.

I’m at my best with a few hours to write my fiction, a hot cup of tea and a little bit of chocolate. I’m like a bizarre pastiche of the incredible hulk – if I don’t get these things regularly, I go a horrible colour, get really grumpy and want to smash things.

I live in Somerset, England, in a tiny town that is way past its best, and lacks its own bookshop. The countryside is beautiful though.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I started writing stories at the age of four according to my grandmother. I wrote all the time until a short story got me into Oxford University when I was 17. That created a block that lasted for ten years! Then I began to write again and the first draft of 20 Years Later poured out of me over 26 days. I barely felt in control of it. My poor husband was a writing widow.

Three years later, after over thirty rejections, I got my publishing deal and have carved out a lifestyle that enables me to write everyday. Life is good, but it took a long time to get here.

How did I get to this point? Well, the decision to start a blog in January 2009 was a huge part of it. I learned how to be comfortable with sharing my work with other people, have found an amazing group of people and finally feel part of a community. My first contact with my publisher was actually through Twitter, so I owe a lot to the joys of social media.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular anthology?

I never set out to write an anthology, it happened organically. Last year I started a Short Story Club. Every month I invite people to submit prompts, then I pick a winning prompt and write a story from it. The winner gets to read the story first and then everyone in the club gets to read it. Members get to read a free short story every month that they have contributed to – and it’s taking off. At the time of writing this there are 204 members. They are hugely supportive and give wonderful feedback.

I realised after a few months that I had a number of stories that had gone down very well with the club, and all of them were dark. I had found my niche. I’d been writing flash stories for a few months on my blog and realised that I had accidentally created an anthology.

I named it From Dark Places after the first story in the anthology – the first written for the short story club in fact. It fits well.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

Dark fiction is exactly how I would classify From Dark Places. The stories feature people caught in crisis, subject to the influence of frightening forces – both within and from without – and who are struggling to find a way through. The stories are gritty, fantastical, some are lighter than others, but all deal with dark themes such as loss, revenge, the brutality of selfish love and the desire to have power over another’s life.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

I didn’t have that problem so much in the anthology, I think because of the way I approach short story writing – I don’t start writing until I have the shape of the story straight in my head.

However, I do know it well in my novel writing and have made some agonising decisions. The first draft was told from the perspective of an active narrator – someone who witnessed the events – but it simply didn’t work. It distanced the reader and I realised it was actually a crutch for me. He was pushed into footnotes in a later draft, but his prologue and epilogue left in place. In the final draft that’s going to print, he is gone from the main body of the book altogether.

There are also scenes that I’ve loved but had to cut because they were indulgent – just because I loved them didn’t mean they could stay and slow the pace down.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

This is a snippet of conversation between two characters in a coffee shop.

He winced. “The last one was a disaster.”
“The Cultural Revolution was not a disaster!”
He glanced at the woman at the next table who had looked over at the outburst. “Keep your voice down, beloved.”
She laughed and glared at the woman who looked away with all the British embarrassment bred into her for generations. “It wasn’t a disaster,” she whispered across the table in a mock conspiratorial tone.
“Millions died!”
“But it was so interesting.”

What can we expect from you next?

I am writing the sequel to 20 Years Later now, and at the time of this interview I’m just over a third into the book. I also write a piece of flash fiction (1000 words or less) every Friday on my blog as part of the #Fridayflash Twitter community.

I am also writing a serial that is building the world and sowing plot seeds for the trilogy I plan to write when the 20 Years Later trilogy is finished. I have committed to a year and a day of stories in that world, published every Tuesday on my blog. I’m almost half way through that year now. It’s set in the Split Worlds and is quirky urban fantasy. This is how I recently described it to a friend:

Tales From The Split Worlds: Where tea and good manners meet spiteful fairies and the political machinations of powerful dynastic families.

You can find the index to the stories here.

I almost have enough stories to bring out From Dark Places Volume 2 soon.

Where can we find you on the internet?

My blog can be found at www.enewman.co.uk and I am @emapocalyptic on Twitter.

From Dark Places can be found on Amazon for the Kindle and on Smashwords for all other e-book formats.

My publisher created a Facebook page for 20 Years Later too.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Self-promotion can be agonising, so I wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to talk about what I do as a writer, and about my anthology. I really don’t want to become one of those authors who only shouts about their own book so I end up over-compensating and not mentioning it at all. Having the chance to talk about it without that risk is most welcome.

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You’re very welcome! I really enjoy doing these interviews. I learn a lot from other authors.

Best of luck, Emma, with From Dark Places and your sequels!

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Interview With Author – P.A. Woodburn

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, P.A. Woodburn.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

I am officially retired. However, I have a part time job as a caregiver, and I spend the rest of my time writing. If I made enough money writing I would drop the care -giving. I have had many different jobs during my working life. DSHS was the longest. I have also done nursing and laboratory work as well as fundraising in the non-profit sector.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I have been writing for thirty or more years, but I did not submit anything, and it was a long time before I dared to show my writing to anyone. When I was working full time, there never seemed to be anytime. Now that I am retired I am a lot more focused, but I still feel that I lack time. I felt less and less inspired to submit my novel to a publisher as time passed. I had read a lot of the horror stories about the publishing industry. Then I read about JA Konrath on Kindle, and my ex husband died on St Patrick’s Day. Those two things were a call to action, and I spent every spare minute editing my novel, Cries in the Dark. I put it on Kindle on June 24th, 2010.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novel.

For many years I have wanted to write a novel that might encourage people to protect animals. I had some experience working in a lab that used rats. I was not happy when they ate their own feet from pain. I was very interested in signing chimps, and even went to see some. I know several people who claim to be able to talk to animals. I enjoy murder and crime stories so I put it all together to make a novel.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and tell me what’s dark about it?

From people’s reactions I think that people do not mind reading about human’s being cut up or tortured because they don’t think it is real, but several people stated that animal research is very controversial. My challenge in this novel has been to understate the torments animals go through while trying to retain the interest of the reader. Talking about laboratory animals is very dark, and although I have presented it as fiction we all know it happens everyday. I have also introduced more than six dead humans into the book to try and keep everyone guessing.

Do you think it might be possible to end animal research in our lifetime?

Yes I do think it will be possible. I also think it is very necessary. The physiology of all animals even the chimpanzee is very different from ours. Animal experiments do not work. A lot of money is wasted on animal research that would achieve better results if it were funneled into experiments using computer data and/or clinical trials.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

I killed off a very popular character in a very gruesome way.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

Though anaesthetized, her body jerked, as her arms struggled upwards as if trying to grab some air. Then she was gone. Feeling for the pulse, he found none. One less whore to pollute the earth, he thought.

What can we expect from you next?

I would like to write another novel dealing with a different animal issue. There is no lack of animal problems to write about, and creatures cannot speak for themselves.

Where can we find you on the Internet?

At the minute I’m on Facebook and Twitter. I do intend to start a blog and website in the near future.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Although I’m retired, I intend to write so long as I continue to be in good health. I just ordered a pedometer so that I can monitor my daily exercise.

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I’m really impressed by your inspiration and focus on the plight of animals. I’m sure it comes across well in your book. Best of luck with Cries in the Dark and all your future novels!

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Interview With Author – Lynda Hilburn

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Lynda Hilburn.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

I’m a vampire book author who makes most of her living as a licensed psychotherapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist. I’ve been a fan of all things paranormal/vampire since I was a kid and first read Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I live in Boulder, CO, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which I consider to be one of the most gorgeous places on earth. I also spent many years singing in rock and roll bands. I guess I have eclectic interests!

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I have been writing nonfiction for the last couple of decades, and only became bewitched by fiction in 2002. In the midst of reading all of the new “paranormal romance” novels featuring vampires, I decided it was time to try my hand at writing my own bloodsucker books. The first thing I sold (to an epub) was a very short story about a self-absorbed vampire, called Diary of a Narcissistic Bloodsucker. Since then I’ve sold two, 105,000-word novels (The Vampire Shrink and Dark Harvest) to a medium-size, independent print publisher, and several shorts and novellas to epubs and print anthologies. Since I hold the e-rights to most of the things I’ve written (thanks to my smart former agent and my own requests to various epubs), I was able to upload the two novels and a novella on Amazon and Smashwords. I have been so excited by the results, so far. What a wonderful opportunity for authors. It’s a great time to be a writer.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novel?

The inspiration for The Vampire Shrink came directly from a client session. I have many clients who are involved in one unusual lifestyle or another. That particular day, a young woman was talking about her desire to join a non-human group (not vampires, but I do have Goth and vampire-wannabe clients). As I listened to her words, I began to wonder what it would be like if a real vampire showed up in my office (I haven’t met a “real” one yet, but my door is always open!). So, I went home that night and started writing. It was the most fun I’ve ever had with a manuscript. The main female character in the book, Kismet Knight, Ph.D., is an idealized version of me. She is younger, prettier, thinner and having much more fun. I get to live out my fantasies through her.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

The dark elements of this book didn’t occur to me until I started getting feedback from readers. Some of my romance reader fans were surprised by the level of reality in the book. Bad things happen to everyone, including the protagonist. They told me it wasn’t what they expected from a book they thought would be predominantly a paranormal romance. I never really intended it to be a traditional romance. I can’t imagine writing anything without romance/interpersonal aspects, but I’m definitely a “with romance elements” writer. Maybe because I’m a therapist, and I see the shadow side of people on a daily basis, I am used to expressing those dark things. So, the very worst aspects of human (and vampire) nature get played out on my pages. I now refer to my books as Dark Contemporary Fantasy, but they actually have so many genres (another thing that got me in trouble, early on), it’s hard to categorize them. The books could also be described as: urban fantasy, dark paranormal, vampire chick lit with mystery, humor, sex, satire, metaphysics and horror elements!

I understand you got a bit of negative feedback because 1) your heroine takes a while to accept the existence of vampires, and 2) she isn’t an ass-kicker. Would you like to talk about those issues?

Yes! I’d love to. I have been taken to task by readers and reviewers because of these things. Over the last few years, a lot of the popular vampire books had vampires who were known to the world (not hidden, like mine) and featured very physically-aggressive female main characters (vampire slayers, like Buffy, etc.). I like all those books and movies/shows, but that wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. Since my heroine is very much an enhanced version of me, and she shares my professional career, it just seemed rational that she would use her mind before her body. She’s cerebral — a scientist. I know that when a client comes to me and tells me a fantastical story, I don’t immediately make the assumption that the tale is true. I always allow for odd possibilities, but I have discovered over the years that most of the non-human exploits I hear about usually turn out to be mundane expressions of repressed emotions and fears. When someone tells me he/she is a vampire, and gives evidence, I can always find a mental health explanation. Same with my heroine. She is always going to look for a pragmatic reason for the symptoms and behaviors. I hope readers will keep an open mind!

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

This book went through so many critique partners and critique groups, and was transformed over and over, that by the time it was picked up by an agent and we went through his desired changes, I was used to the process. I actually enjoy editing/rewriting. I love when someone makes a suggestion that opens up an entirely new plot aspect. The hardest part with this book was holding onto my voice and my vision for the story.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

How about a brief excerpt from the scene where the bad vampire comes to visit our psychologist in her office:

He lowered his mouth to within an inch of mine, and I twisted my head to the side, shifting away from his hot, unpleasantly sweet breath. He grabbed my chin between his thumb and first finger, holding tightly enough that I knew there’d be bruises, and forced my face back level with his. “I’m Bryce. I believe you’ve heard of me.”

“Stop it! Let go of me. . .”

He swallowed my words with his mouth, clamping his lips on mine with enough pressure to cause my teeth to break the skin on the inside of my lip. Then he sucked my lower lip into his mouth, holding it with his teeth until I made an involuntary yelp of pain. Only then did he pull back, giving what could only be called an evil grin, and gazed at me with his dark green eyes, which seemed suddenly magnetic. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. I literally couldn’t. It was as if his eyes were pulling me. I managed to briefly squeeze my eyelids shut, and he dug his fingers into my chin again, jerking my head roughly. “Open your eyes,” he roared.

My eyelids flew up and his eyes were directly in front of mine, the green darker than before, almost black. I fell into them and felt the edges of my vision blur – a strange haze settling over everything – as part of my mind drifted off on a cloud.

What can we expect from you next?

I’m working on the third book in my series, along with expanding a short story I sold to an anthology, as well as making notes about a spin-off series in the same world as The Vampire Shrink. I wish I would win the lottery so I could quit my full-time job and write!

Where can we find you on the internet?

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Lynda, thank you very much for the interview. Sounds like your professional life has really inspired your writing. Good luck with the series and I hope you can come back in the future to tell us more!

Purchasing information:

Amazon – Kindle
Smashwords

Interview With Author – Jess C. Scott

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Jess C. Scott.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

Hello! Sure — I’m a writer/novelist/poet, artist, dreamer, doer, and non-conformist.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

Since I could hold a pencil (terribly cliched as that sounds). I just published a literary collection containing samples of my writing (and a small selection of artwork / 10 images) over the past decade or so (I turn 24 this September). You can download a PDF copy on my website .

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novel?

I’d been wanting to write a story about an incubus for some time. I started working on a short paranormal romance story, while working on my second book (an erotic short story collection). I like the combination of dreams (since an incubus “descends upon sleeping women”) and desire — these are fantasies that tap into powerful subconscious forces in both men and women.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I’d classify The Devilin Fey as paranormal romance, and dark urban fantasy. The novella explores the depth, complexity, and intensity of the realm of love/sex (they’re one and the same to me, as an “ultimate” supreme value, lol). I’ll let my blurb and a couple of reviews do the rest of the explaining.

BLURB: A novella of two stories, featuring an incubus and succubus. Story #1 features a demure young woman unleashing the “devil in” her, through the intimacy with an incubus. Story #2 features a voyeuristic succubus driven by jealousy and a dangerous fixation.

REVIEWS:

“[The pages] were filled with passion, adventure, mystery and a love that pulls at the heart strings.”
— Review @ Addicted To Romance

“[The Devilin Fey] was erotic without being pornographic, emotional without being sappy, spiritual without being preachy…just enjoyable reading. Kudos to Jess Scott.”
— Paul G. / Amazon review, July 2010

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

I like keeping things lean, so I’m not really adverse to hitting the ‘delete’ key. What I had trouble with this novella was the navigation between the real-life scenes, and the dream sequences [which are key scenes, as Caitlin Fey "gets intimate" with the (devilishly delicious) incubus, Lucius]. The storytelling had to make sense, yet still contain a certain amount of fantasy to bring out/enhance the supernatural/paranormal elements of the character and the plot.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

In this scene, the incubus pays Caitlin a surprise night visit, and presents her with a bouquet of purple and white (her favorite colors) lilies. This is his response, when she stutters a “thank you” for the flowers–

Lucius: “They’re straight from the underworld, by the way. They are everlasting. They won’t die.”

What can we expect from you next?

I’m getting ready to launch the first book (lust) in a contemporary/multicultural “seven deadly sins” series. It’s a teenage version of Dirty Dancing meets Punk’d. I think I’ll be fiddling with the website soon enough @ http://sins07.wordpress.com — I recently slightly tweaked the first version of the cover. I enjoy coming up with my own book cover designs.

Where can we find you on the internet?

Any final comments or thoughts?

I’m only just getting started (with the whole writing/publishing escapade ).

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Wow, Jess! You have lots to keep you busy! Thanks for the interview and best of luck with The Devilin Fey and the new series!

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Interview With Author – Scott Nicholson

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome back author, Scott Nicholson.

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I interviewed you for The Skull Ring a couple of months ago. Tell me about this new book.

Speed Dating with the Dead is an urban fantasy thriller, a term I invented that’s probably meaningless. “Urban fantasy” means you have demons and angels and sex (in my case), or werewolves and vampires and sex in the case of bestselling urban fantasy, but it’s not really a funny or erotic book, paced more like a thriller. I wish I could just do things normal and have a vampire shag something and make lots of money, but that’s just not my style.

What inspired you to write this particular novel?

I hosted a paranormal conference a couple of years ago at an old haunted hotel here in the Blue Ridge mountains and informed all the ghost hunters I was writing a novel about it. Of course, we didn’t stir up any demons that I know of, but the hunt stuff is real.

Which of your characters in this book was the most difficult to write about? Why?

Digger Wilson is loosely based on me, going metafictional because I play “Digger” in my own comic book series DIRT. Are you confused yet? He’s a cynical, alcoholic guy worried about being a good father and finding faith.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I could give it a lot of labels. Paranormal works because of the paranormal investigation (though again, the phrase “paranormal” in publishing means something entirely different, because it’s shorthand for creatures shagging), or “supernatural thriller,” which I generally use for my books. I don’t like the term “horror” because I don’t think a lot of my stuff is horrific. I am more interested in psychological suspense.

What’s your dream job?

I’m pretty much living the dream. I’m a journalist and I garden. I write. I have two chickens. That’s about enough.

You have been very active in the indie author community. Tell me about your experiences of being a traditionally published author vs an indie author.

Six novels with a mid-major publisher and two paper collections from a small press. I was treated fairly but there was no “next level.” It was a great learning experience but today the field is so wide open, being able to connect directly with readers through e-books and build my audience organically instead of the 30-day panic to push a paperback release before you’re toast. I love this era. My new motto is “We’re all in it together.”

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

“Maybe ghosts are like clouds on a windy day. The ether merges in tapestry—then is torn away, and all you were is never again. A memoir writ in invisible ink.”

–Digger’s daughter Kendra, in the words of her comic book character Emily Dee, a ninja Goth version of Emily Dickinson.

What can we expect from you next?

I just put out a collection called Murdermouth: Zombie Bits, collecting eight zombie short stories, the comic script of the Murdermouth comic, and a bonus piece from Jack Kilborn, as well as a “Zombie Apocalypse Survival Scorecard” from Jonathan Maberry of Patient Zero fame. I’m about to embark on a 90-day blog tour in September and I’ll probably release two or three more books this fall.

Where can we find you on the internet?

Many places: Web, Blog, Indie Books Blog, or Twitter and Facebook.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Thanks for doing what you do for our indie community. As someone once said, “We’re all in it together.”

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My pleasure, Scott!! I agree. We ARE all on this together. And thanks again for dropping in. I look forward to hearing more about your blog tour when that comes around!

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Interview With Author – Kiki Howell

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Kiki Howell.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

First and foremost, I am a wife and a mother of two teenage boys. I am an avid bookworm, almost to the point of addiction. LOL I am a dreamer, a romantic, and one who over-analyzes life. Mostly a cerebral person, when I find the time, I also like to express my creativity baking and knitting. I am a home-body, happier home than out. Yet, having two boys into sports keeps me from being a true recluse. Also, I am a Certified Feng Shui Practitioner. I love it. And, I credit it with helping me to achieve my success.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

After being a stay-at-home mother for years, I tried to get back into writing – a passion I had let go for over a decade – while my kids were at school. It happened quickly for me. In the summer of 2007 I wrote two stories based on a call for submissions I saw. A few months after submitting the manuscripts, I got my first publishing contract with Whiskey Creek Press. Life has been a fabulous whirlwind since. I now have well over a dozen stories published. Most are paranormal romances which are classified as erotic, but lately I have been writing a few sweet romances as well.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novella? It sounds like your husband’s music was very inspirational for this.

It was! This story started with one specific song called, “The Road.” Click here to listen to the song. The song just screamed storyline to me…the regrets, the forlorn tone, the passions untouched… However, once I started letting my imagination go, it seemed that others of my husband’s songs echoed in my head as the plot progressed. So, I went and grabbed his newest CD, Weathervanes. The idea struck me to try to see how many of them I could use. It was sooo much fun listening and playing with the songs to create a storyline. Only, once that step was done, and they were all arranged, the story would not be stopped! I was writing over five thousands words a day on it for the first few days, not able to walk away from it without having to grab a pencil and paper to scribble down notes on. I think that is a testament to the caliber of songwriter Steven is.

I was really nervous for him to read it. Yet, once he did, he said that often it was just uncanny how the songs fit the story so well, as if the hero, Adam, would have wrote them just for the situation her was in. That was the greatest compliment, as I hope the book, the use of his creative genius in such a way, was to him.

I am just so excited, and so grateful to my husband, Steven Howell, for letting me use his music!

I love stories with fantasy and magical elements. How would you classify this book and what’s magical about it?

It is a paranormal romance. The hero is a sorcerer, and he uses his music to weave his spells for him. Once I had the idea to write the story from my husband’s song, I immediately began searching for a paranormal element to add. Since music can so easily influence people, I made the hero use his songs as spells.

The inspiration for this story was very personal. What other of your books have been written from personal experiences?

None are as deeply personal as this collaboration with my husband in The Sorcerer’s Songs. Yet…

My novella, Rituals, was written when I heard the tragic story of a friend. I had trouble dealing with the despair and the insanity if the whole situation. In order to reconcile it in my mind, I guess, I wrote this story giving a heroine in a similar situation a happy ever after ending, and thus myself hope that they exist.

Also, my short novel, A Modern Day Witch Hunt, came from an absurd personal experience that I just decided was to have some fun with. Silly me thought that people around me may have a problem with the fact that I write erotica. Now, while some have, I was shocked to find a few had more of a problem with the paranormal elements. The writing of this story was very cathartic in being able to file away appropriately the silliness of the situation.

You have to love fiction, not only for the escape it provides, but for the hope, the subtle messages, and sometimes the play with fantasy. I am grateful to read and to write it.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

Actually, I guess I had not done this well on my own. During work with my editor, she pointed out that one chapter/song seemed forced while all of the others just flowed together. Reading it again, I found that she was absolutely right. Yet, it was still hard to cut one if the songs.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

I am giving you a mix of my words and my husband’s song lyrics…

As she looked down to stop her tears, each note of each chord he hit on that old piano rang through her heart as if they were living, viable things.

I’m not a poet, I’ve got no money,
My words are riches to make you swoon
I’ve got this heartbeat, and my piano
They’re my offering to you

What can we expect from you next?

I have a few short stories coming out in Anthologies this year, but I am most excited about my first full length novel coming out in January 2011, titled Torn Asunder. It has a great mix of genres: Historical (Regency), Paranormal (Witches & Shifters), Erotic Romance.

Blurb: Aubrey Griffen is a witch whose true reasons for coming to London soon fall to the wayside when she catches the eye of Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury. He seduces her into a whirlwind romance until the lies and threats of his mother force her to flee to Triaill Brimuir, a secret island of her ancestors off the coast of Ireland. Edmund goes after her only to be hit by Aubrey’s confusion and anger when she magically transforms him into an elemental beast of her own creation.

However, it is when Edmund’s lust mysteriously turns him back into a man that the couple are forced to deal with a family secret and untold of powers. Now, Edmund must learn to shift himself into the beast in order to save her in a battle of black verses white magic.

Fraught with scenes of explicit intimacy, romantic spells and mystical shapeshifting, Torn Asunder is a unique blending of the age of manners with sexual magic.

Where can we find you on the internet?

My website is here.
My blog, Authors by Authors, is where authors review books and interview each other.
You can friend me on Facebook here and my Fan Page is here.
Follow me on Twitter.
Watch my book trailer videos here.

Any final comments or thoughts?

A trade paperback version of the novella, The Sorcerer’s Songs, and the CD, Weathervanes, can be purchased through the author only at my website. There is a discount for ordering both. **If you would like the book or CD autographed, please specify in space provided during checkout.

Ebooks can be purchased at FIDO Publishing, Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, etc.

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Kiki, it’s so exciting that you got to work with your husband’s music like this. What brilliant inspiration!

Thank you very much for dropping by and answering these questions! Good luck with the The Sorcerer’s Songs and your upcoming release of Torn Asunder. Hope you’ll come back again when it’s released!

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Book Review – 33 A.D. by David McAfee

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Jerusalem, 33 A.D. The vampires of the era have long sought to gain a foothold into Israel, but the faith of the local Jewish population has held them in check for centuries.

When one of their own betrays them to follow a strange young rabbi from Galilee, the elders of the vampire race dispatch Theron, a nine hundred year old assassin, to kill them both.

The rabbi’s name is Jesus. Killing him should be easy.

Let me preface this with the following: I am not into vampire novels. The genre does absolutely nothing for me. This particular book caught my attention when I saw the cover and the title. The description sold it. Vampires trying to assassinate Jesus – brilliant idea!!

I was not disappointed.

It’s written by indie sensation, David McAfee. If you haven’t heard of his name, you will, because this man knows how to write a thrilling story and grab a reader’s attention.

I could NOT put this book down.

The story is based in Jerusalem in 33 A.D., the week leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. It is an incredible ride, this story, as McAfee weaves an intricate tale of Bachiyr (vampire) secrecy with the events surrounding the crucifixion. The cast of characters are flawed, yet you love them anyway. They lift off the page and you cannot help but empathize with their respecitve plights, whether their intentions be diabolical or not.

In all this, McAfee handles the character of Jesus deftly. He places him in all the key areas and in the few scenes that include dialogue with him, he sticks to what would be very much in character – that of a simple man.

I’m not a religious person, and my first thoughts when I saw this title was that this might be Christian fiction. I tried it anyway, and I can’t tell you how thoroughly impressed I am, not only with the story (which is quite neutral around the Christian theme), but also McAfee’s writing. It is riveting material that makes you yearn for more.

If you read anything this summer, make sure it’s this book. I, for one, will be looking at McAfee’s other books – vampire or not.

He’s that good.

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Interview With Author – Dawn McCullough-White

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Dawn McCullough-White.

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To start, can you tell me a little about yourself?

My name is Dawn McCullough-White. I grew up just outside of Rochester, NY. I live with my husband and my son in the house my grandparents lived in. The property butts up against the Erie Canal on one side, a defunct cemetery on another side and dates back to 1840. When my grandfather dug out our basement back in the 1940′s he discovered a rubbish pile of old clay pipes, which I find really interesting. There’s speculation that the oldest section of our house may have been part of a tavern. This really helped to lead me into creating the setting for the “Cameo” series of books.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I began writing my first novel when I was fourteen; finished it when I was sixteen. It was no masterpiece but that’s how I learned to write, simply by doing. I’ve written many unpublished novels over the last twenty-six years. I used to handwrite them, type them up, send them to the copyright office and then not really know what to do with them. With this one I determined I wanted to publish it, and then somehow everything just fell into place. My sister-in-law, an editor, offered to edit the novel and an old friend offered to do the cover.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I would classify it as a historical dark fantasy I suppose. Cameo, the main character is an assassin who seems to possess a certain, otherworldliness. She has a master that she works for at a place called The Association, which is a company of assassins, and a secret master who is a vampire. She’s sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place, she hates working as an assassin but she’s afraid if she breaks from the company they’ll kill her, and she has a vampire master who seems to delight in tormenting her by killing the people she loves. Up to this point in her career she has steered clear of any sort of friendship entanglements, until she meets up with two somewhat charming highwaymen.

It’s set in a sort of faux 18th century, so it’s pretty gritty. The characters have scars and bad teeth from clay-pipe smoking, and hang out in dirty taverns. Death comes pretty quick and dirty, I don’t generally let characters with grievous wounds survive my novels. I try to stay fairly realistic to the medicine of the time except for an element of the supernatural and some magic. I really enjoy history so I try to inject odd bits of history into the story.

What made you choose to go the Indie route when publishing?

I really hate the “machine” that traditional publishing has become. I don’t want someone to determine whether or not I should be heard and I don’t want someone to tell me what to write. I want to have the freedom of my own creativity that all artists yearn for.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

This novel has several intertwined plot lines and as I was going along in the writing process I realized one had just hit a dead-end, so I had to go back in and remove and rework that particular plot which spanned something like four chapters at that point. That was pretty miserable.

The blog is called Random Musings so give us a random quote from the book- something you’re particularly fond of.

She looked up at him with her dead eyes. The coach was dark, and she could only make out the indistinct shape of his face in the shadows. “Stop talking to me.”
He laughed, “You’ll feel better after we kill someone.”
“I’ll feel better after I polish off a bottle of wine.”
“Whatever vice you prefer.”

What can we expect from you next?

Well, Cameo the Assassin is the first in a series of undetermined length as of yet. The second book in the series, Cameo and the Highwayman is due out this fall. Probably around October.

Where I can be found on the Internet?

Most of my information can be found on my website: www.dawnmccullough-white.com Although I have my novel listed for a more reasonable price (than the links on my website hint to) here for Kindle and here on Smashwords.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I’d like to just mention that the person who does my covers and website is Kurt Hanss, a very talented artist. And I’d like to thank David Burton for this interview.

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Dawn, I love gritty story telling and although I’m not into historical fiction, I think you may have grabbed me with this one. Thank you very much for dropping by and answering these questions! Good luck with the Cameo series – I’m sure it will do well!

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