Fantastic Special Guest, Andy Peloquin: All About Fantasy

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I'm really happy to host author Andy Peloquin, particularly because, as a mystery/crime writer, I usually host authors in my genre. But it's great to break out of your norm and go for something completely different now and then! Andy's fantasy series is great, so I hope this will serve as a learning blog as well as an introduction to his work (or to the next book in the series for current fans).  

Lament of the Fallen debuted two days ago, so you can pick it up NOW. Right here!

The Ins and Outs of Fantasy by Andy Peloquin

A lot of people don't understand the "fantasy" genre. To many, the idea of fantasy brings to mind elves, dwarves, magic, sorcerers, dragons, and all those other typical fantasy tropes found in books like Lord of the Rings and The Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones TV show).

But the genre of fantasy is actually much broader than that! Most fantasy books don't involve those elements. Instead, they (as Wikipedia describes them) "use magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting."

There is really only one rule for a book to be classified as fantasy: There has to be something fantastical, be it magic, magical/supernatural creatures, or an alternate world.

Let's take a look at some of the different types of fantasy:

-        Urban fantasy takes place in the modern world (usually a city), but with fantastical elements mixed in. Harry Potter is urban fantasy.

-        Epic fantasy or high fantasy takes place on other worlds, ones with little or no connection to Earth. Lord of the Rings is epic fantasy.

-        Portal fantasy involves people traveling from our Earth to an alternate fantastical world. The Chronicles of Narnia could be considered portal fantasy.

-        Dark fantasy involves elements of horror (monsters, demons, serial killers, etc.) in a fantasy world. Elric of Melnibone  is a dark fantasy series.

-        Historical fantasy is historical fiction with fantastical elements mixed in. The Outlander series is historical fantasy.

These are the most common fantasy genres, though there are many more (grimdark, sword and sorcery, heroic, juvenile, paranormal romance, etc.).

The Last Bucelarii series is firmly set in the dark fantasy genre, with elements of the grimdark sub-genre. The series involves demonic creatures and other elements of horror, but it qualifies as grimdark due to the amoral, violent, and gritty nature of the world in which the Hunter and the other characters live.

For those who are used to more "classic" fantasy genres (epic, heroic, sword and sorcery, etc.), delving into the dark world of grimdark/dark fantasy may be a bit difficult. To go from shining heroes and noble intentions to death, violence, treachery, murder, mayhem, and monsters can take adjusting. But as you get into it, you'll find the gritty nature of the books have a lot more in common with real life than you might think. If you're anything like me, you'll be hooked in no time!

 Thanks, Andy! I have a feeling I'll develop yet another obsession. Here's all about and how to get Andy's books (including book one if you haven't read it yet):

 

The Last Bucelarii (Book 2): Lament of the Fallen

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A faceless, nameless assassin. A forgotten past.  The Hunter of Voramis--a killer devoid of morals, or something else altogether? (The Last Bucelarii--dark fantasy with a look at the underside of human nature)

The Hunter of Voramis is no more.

Alone with the bloodthirsty voices in his head, fleeing the pain of loss, he has one objective: travel north to find Her, the mystery woman who plagues his dreams and haunts his memories.

When he stumbles upon a bandit attack, something within urges him to help. His actions set him at odds with the warrior priests commanded to hunt down the Bucelarii.

Left for dead, the Hunter must travel to Malandria to recover his stolen birthright. There, he is inexorably drawn into direct conflict with the Order of Midas, the faceless, nameless group of magicians that holds the city in a grip of terror. All while struggling to silence the ever-louder voice in his mind that drives him to kill.

From feared assassin to wretched outcast, the Hunter's journey leads him to truths about his forgotten past and the Abiarazi he has pledged to hunt. His discoveries will shed light on who he really is…what he really is.

Fans of Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, and Brent Weeks will love the Hunter…

Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen-ebook/dp/B01JJ5CKOU

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen/dp/1535388668/

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen/dp/1535388668/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30973111-lament-of-the-fallen

 

Bio:

Andy Peloquin: Lover of All Things Dark and Mysterious

Contact: http://andypeloquin.com/books/

Special Guest Judy Penz Sheluk, has Skeletons in the Attic!

I'm very pleased to host Judy Penz Sheluk, author and Sister and Crime Writers of Canada colleague.  For everyone, this blog will be a fabulous insight into how an idea grows into a book. For those of you who haven't read Judy's books/short stories, this will also serve as a great introduction.

- Cathy

Judy Penz Sheluk: Skeletons in the Attic 

Leith Hampton placed the will in front of him, smoothing an invisible crease with a well-manicured hand, the nails showing evidence of a vigorous buffing. I wondered what kind of man went in for a mani-pedi—I was surmising on the pedi—and decided it was the kind of man who billed his services out for five hundred dollars an hour.

He cleared his throat and stared at me with those intense blue eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready, Calamity? I know how close you were to your father.”

I flinched at the Calamity. Folks called me Callie or they didn’t call me at all. Only my dad had been allowed to call me Calamity, and even then only when he was seriously annoyed with me, and never in public. It was a deal we’d made back in elementary school. Kids can be cruel enough without the added incentive of a name like Calamity.

As for being ready, I’d been ready for the past ninety-plus minutes. I’d been ready since I first got the call telling me my father had been involved in an unfortunate occupational accident. That’s how the detached voice on the other end of the phone had put it. An unfortunate occupational accident.

I knew at some point I’d have to face the fact that my dad wasn’t coming back, that we’d never again argue over politics or share a laugh while watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Knew that one day I’d sit down and have a good long cry, but right now wasn’t the time, and this certainly wasn’t the place. I’d long ago learned to store my feelings into carefully constructed compartments. I leveled Leith with a dry-eyed stare and nodded.

“I’m ready.”

What would eventually become Skeletons in the Attic started life at the food court in the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. I was sitting with my friends, Larry and Charlotte, having lunch and catching up on life in general. Inevitably, the conversation turned to writing.

Charlotte and I had met at a creative writing workshop a decade ago, and Larry is a retired criminal prosecutor working on his first novel, a legal thriller set in the 1950s. The conversation went something like this:

“I’ve been thinking about starting a new series.”

“Why not write the sequel to The Hanged Man’s Noose?” Larry asked. Larry’s always the practical one.

Because I hadn’t found a publisher yet. Because I couldn’t bear to write a second book when the first one in the series hadn’t sold. Because if I didn’t start writing another book, maybe I never would, and that scared me more than I was willing to admit.

“I thought I’d try something different. Write this book in first person, from the protagonist’s point of view.” [For those of you who haven’t read it, The Hanged Man’s Noose is written in third person with multiple (though primarily two) POVs.]

“Do you have a title yet?” Charlotte, this time.

“No, but I’m thinking of calling my protagonist Calamity Barnstable. Callie for short.”

Charlotte frowned. “I like Calamity and Callie. I don’t think I like Barnstable. Makes me think of a barn and a stable. Maybe Barnes would be better.”

“Maybe,” I said, although I knew it was already too late.

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable had just started living inside my head. She’d be thirty-six, the only child of two only children. Her father had raised her, because her mom had walked out on them thirty years before. She had black-rimmed hazel eyes and a virtually uncontrollable mass of curly brown hair. And she was single, having inherited the Barnstable loser radar when it came to relationships.

I had dated a guy one summer, a triathlete with a fantastic body but not much else to offer. We’d spent more than a few days at that beach while he practiced open water swimming and I admired his form. Unfortunately, I discovered the only thing he was faithful to was training.

“What’s the premise?” Larry asked, interrupting the work-in-progress going on inside my head.

“Her father dies in an at-work accident and leaves Callie everything.” I explain the backstory about her mom leaving.

“Is the father’s death suspicious?” Larry again.

“Hmmm. That’s a good question. I’m not sure yet. The premise is that Callie inherits a house she didn’t know existed, under a very interesting condition.”

“Which is?” Both of them, now. I lean back and smile. I’ve piqued their interest.

“She has to move into the house and find out who murdered her mother.”

“I thought you said her mother left Callie and her father,” Larry said. Did I mention he was a retired prosecuting attorney? Nothing slips by Larry.

“That’s just what Callie’s been told. I still have to flesh out the details.”

“It sounds interesting,” Charlotte said, always the peacemaker. “Where does the story take place?”

“In Marketville. It’s a fictional commuter town about an hour north of Toronto.”

“Marketville, eh?” Larry grinned. “Sounds a lot like Newmarket.”

“Doesn’t it just?”

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery, The Hanged Man’s Noose was published in July 2015 by Barking Rain Press.

Skeletons in the Attic, the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series, was published by Imajin Books in August 2016. 

Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime, The Whole She-Bang 2, Flash and Bang and Live Free or Tri.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She lives in Alliston, Ontario, with her husband, Mike, and their Golden Retriever, Gibbs. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews other authors and blogs about the writing life.

Skeletons in the Attic will be released on August 21st in trade paperback and Kindle formats. It is now available for pre-order on Kindle for the special introductory price of .99 (regular $4.99) Find it here: http://getbook.at/SkeletonsintheAttic



Connect with Judy here:
http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/
and here:
https://www.facebook.com/JudyPenzSheluk

Write-Around Sue

 The Imajineers, as I've told you before, are an amazing bunch of people who work as a team to promote, inspire and motivate one another. We also cheer on the great things and rally around when life gets tough. 

Life has been tough for our Sue lately. Author Susan J. McLeod has encountered some health problems. So the team has done the posting for her, letting the cyber world know that, if you download her first book for free, you will certainly be hooked on the series. Well-written, historical fiction that fascinates, strong characters and a plot that will keep you guessing - Soul and Shadow has all the best elements for a romantic suspense. In fact, the book won a silver medal in the 2011 Reader's Favorites contest.

This is the LAST DAY of the freebies, so go get Soul and Shadow NOW.

  
In ancient Egypt, a young priestess of the goddess Hathor is laid to rest in a beautiful tomb with everything she needs for her journey into the afterlife…

Three thousand years later, archaeologist Ursula Allingham discovers the mummy of Amisihathor and is confronted by a mystery. Is the man buried with the priestess really her husband? Or was she actually in love with a scribe called Kamenwati and separated from him in life as well as death?

To answer these questions, Dame Ursula turns to Egyptology student and artist Lily Evans, who reluctantly agrees to help. Lily learns that she is psychically linked to Amisihathor and experiences a strange, unsettling phenomenon—the memories and emotions of the Egyptian woman. Luckily, Lily has her beloved pet Cleocatra and her irrepressible friend Katy to keep her grounded in reality. Or so she hopes.

Dealing with the challenges of falling in love with Ursula’s grandson Kent, the reappearance of her ex-fiance Stephen and the demands of her mother and her boss Professor Briggs, Lily soon realizes she has taken on much more than she bargained for.

Book 1 in Lily Evans Mystery series:
http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Shadow-Lily-Evans-Mystery-ebook/dp/B006IYGHMW

Susan J McLeod was born in Rochester, New York, on October 22, 1957. She began writing at a very early age, when she discovered that she could invent worlds that were much more fun than the one she lived in. Worlds where candy grew on trees and rivers of chocolate milk flowed. Where adventures were always waiting to happen and no one had to go to school.

Over the years, Susan visited ancient Rome, medieval England, and resided for a long spell on a starship orbiting Orion. A recent stay in Pharaonic Egypt resulted in her romantic suspense novel Soul and Shadow, which won a silver medal in the 2011 Reader's Favorites contest. It has been published by Imajin Books. Fire and Shadow, the second story in the Lily Evans series, was released in October 2012. Shell and Shadow is a novella that Susan wrote to raise money for Zara's Center. It was published in February of 2014.

Susan also writes short stories and poetry, and has won awards in both mediums.
She works for a non-profit family foundation that supports Zara's Center, a haven for AIDS impacted orphans.

U2 sums up her philosophy in life when Bono sings "We're one, but we're not the same/we get to carry each other, carry each other."

The Imajineers carry each other happily. Be well, Sue.
Listen to Imajineer Jesse Christensen's beautiful tribute song here:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7cAY5yv4F0

Do You Have Cyber Pals?

Yesterday I talked about the friendships that develop when authors meet and share a great deal in common, their writing front and center. These days, you can also have cyber pals. Wiktionary says these are people with whom you "communicate only through the Internet or cyberspace."

Two of my cyber pals are authors Kat Flannery and Luke Murphy. I "met" them because they are also Imajin Authors.

Cyber sociologist Judy Hempel says, "I have met and become friendly with a great number of people I would otherwise have no contact with: people all other the world, people from different cultures and backgrounds, and people with similar interests and/or experiences. Most of these relationships are casual and intermittent but there are a few individuals I would mourn losing touch with. They have become my friends."

That's what has happened with Kat and Luke. We have communicated, of course, about our shared passion of writing. But we've also communicated about other things: our lives outside the writing, our hopes and wishes and dreams, our tragedies and our glories.

Kat and Luke have freebies on until tomorrow as well. Get hooked on their series! Once again, in the tradition of books from Imajin: smart, sassy, entertaining yet challenging, exciting plots and interesting characters, Kat Flannery and Luke Murphy have it all. 

Kat Flannery

http://getbook.at/ChasingClovers
 

With over 100 reviews on Amazon, CHASING CLOVERS

is the perfect mix of sweet romance and Wild West adventure!

“A truly wonderful western that will break your heart at times and lift your spirit at others. A must read for all.”

Longing to escape the awful memories and the saloon she once sang in, Livy Green lies about her past so she can be a wife to John Taylor and mother to his two young children. Overwhelmed by the task, she struggles to put her resentment aside and love them as her own.

John loved his first wife and is still heartbroken over the loss, but he needs a mother for his children. When his distant and unfriendly mail order bride arrives, he begins to doubt his decision, though one glance into Livy's terrified green eyes tells him he can’t turn his back on her.

As Livy's past catches up with her and suspicious accidents begin to happen on the ranch, she is tempted to come clean and tell John the truth. But will he send her back if she does? Or will they forever be CHASING CLOVERS?

Author Bio:

Kat Flannery’s love of history shows in her novels. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal, and romance. She has her Certificate in Freelance and Business Writing. A member of many writing groups, Kat enjoys promoting other authors on her blog. She’s been published in numerous periodicals throughout her career. 

Her debut novel CHASING CLOVERS has been an Amazon bestseller many times. LAKOTA HONOR and BLOOD CURSE (Branded Trilogy) are Kat’s two award-winning novels and HAZARDOUS UNIONS is Kat’s first novella. Kat is currently hard at work on her next book.

Luke Murphy

http://ow.ly/Y94KB

What happens when the deck is stacked against you…

From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.

…and the cards don't fall your way?

When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.

What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?

Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.

3 of 7 not 7 of 9*

Sometimes the stars* do align and you get to meet the most interesting people. Some of whom you recognize instantly as a potential friend. A person you can relate to or be silly with. Someone who will hold their own in a debate and help you solve the problems of the world. Someone with whom you can share your obsessions and rely upon to be discrete.

 Anais Nin said, "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." This quote is never truer than for the friendships among writers. Often our fictional worlds develop within the nurturing circle of authors we trust.

I have been extremely fortunate to develop close friendships with two of my Crime Writers of Canada colleagues, Alison Bruce and Melodie Campbell. In fact, they are responsible for leading me to Imajin Books and all the great things that have evolved since. We're in a writers' critique group together in addition to being Imajineers.

And now - we're all FREE together. I should say, our books are FREE. Naturally, this is a ploy to get you hooked on our books, but either way, you get a terrific read for no dinero = 0 dollars = 0 out of 0.

Alison Bruce

 http://www.amazon.com/Under-Texas-Star-Alison-Bruce-ebook/dp/B00501H6YM

"Everyone has to start somewhere.

I start with coffee."













Under A Texas Star

Disguised as a boy, Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to their passion.

When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.

Texas Ranger Jase Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the cost.

Under the Texas stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control, yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?

Melodie Campbell

Click here: http://tinyurl.com/6p2vhgr

ROWENA THROUGH THE WALL

(Book 1 in the bestselling Land’s End Time Travel trilogy)

“Outlander meets Sex and the City” Vine Review

“Hot and Hilarious!”  Midwest Book Review

“A cross between Diana Gabaldon and Janet Evanovich”

“Is that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”
 

When Rowena falls through her classroom wall into a medieval world, she doesn't count on being kidnapped - not once, but twice, dammit. Unwanted husbands keep piling up; not only that, she has eighteen year old Kendra to look out for and a war to prevent.

Good thing she can go back through the wall when she needs to...or can she?

 

Catherine Astolfo (aka Me)
http://www.amazon.com/Bridgeman-Emily-Taylor-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005Z5IM28  

The Bridgeman is a story of masks, of people who don the cloak of the ordinary to commit extraordinarily evil acts. 

It's also a story of a love so strong it has survived its own tragedy. The Bridgeman is the tale of a community that must join together to defeat the horror of its underside.  

7 authors, 7 colleagues, 7 freebies, 7 things we love

The 7 authors, in alphabetical order by first name, are: Alison Bruce, Catherine Astolfo, Chris Redding, Kat Flannery, Luke Murphy, Melodie Campbell,  and Susan J. McLeod.

Ali, Cathy, Chris, Kat, Luke, Mel and Sue are all authors at Imajin Books. We are colleagues. At some point or another (e.g. yesterday for Chris), you've met them here on my blog. 7 of us: 6 female and 1 male. Since he has a wife and three daughters, Luke is used to being surrounded by women.

We all happen to have our books on sale right now: the ultimate sale - FREE.  7 freebies.

Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought you might like to read the 7 things we love about being authors.

1. We love our publisher, Imajin Books. Not only is it difficult to acquire a traditional publisher (i.e. one who pays you for your book), but it's also rare for a publisher to take chances on smart, different, rule-changing novels. CEO Cheryl Kaye Tardif is also an author, so she understands the nuances of clever writing, plots that challenge, characters that are unique.

2. We love our readers. They are discerning. They like to be entertained, but they're also looking for great characters whom they can like or dislike, plots that keep them guessing til the end, and settings that transport them.

3. We love our Imajineers. As a group, we are friendly, open, honest, and helpful. We don't compete, we complement. We network for and with one another. We share ideas and skills. We support each other, in good times and in bad.

4. We love marketing together. Selling your product is, for a creative soul, not easy. Banding together to share the work is so much better than going it alone.

5. We love the writing process. Those moments when the characters take over and veer the plot into exciting territory that we didn't know we'd envisioned. Those times when the words absolutely spill onto the page without effort. We soar! It's enough of a thrill to keep us going through the times when we are slogging through every single word.

6. We love our librarians and bookstore owners. They invite us to speak, organize readings, buy our books, and generally introduce us to new readers in the best way of all: face to face.

7. We love our families and friends. They are the foundation that keeps us on our feet. It's not easy loving a writer. Often we disappear for hours at a time. We're in other worlds a lot. We have other people in our thoughts (and they're pretty real to us). Without our families and friends, however, we'd never survive this business of writing, our obsession, our gift, and sometimes, our curse.

The easiest way to find our freebies is to go here and press SHOP NOW:
https://www.facebook.com/7freebooksimajinthat

Yesterday: Chris Redding
Tomorrow: Cathy, Ali and Mel
Monday: Kat and Luke
Tuesday: Sue

Route 66

Get your kicks, you're on Route 66.





I know those aren't the exact words, but these ones work for me. I am now sixty-six. Six Six. No longer a junior senior. I'm edging toward sincerely senior.

I still don't believe, inside, that I have reached this age. Not that I don't suffer from creaks and groans in the knee or the neck, but I usually slough them off like buzzing mosquitoes. Generally my body is very sturdy and functional, even though I often don't treat it as well as I should. It's never been thin, or narrow waisted, or long-legged, but it used to look pretty good.

I was a classic yo-yo dieter. I probably invented it.

Nowadays there are parts of my body that I don't like at all.  Turns out it all has to do with that yo-yo.

I remember reading Nora Ephron's book, "I feel bad about my neck," and, while I laughed, I didn't really get it. Now I do. I have a turkey neck.


The other day I googled "how to get rid of your turkey neck" and the articles told me to consistently maintain a healthy body weight. Too late, so I practised suggested exercises instead.

I sat up straight in my chair and looked up at the ceiling. I closed my mouth and made a chewing motion. While I did that, my turkey neck disappeared. When I opened my mouth again, it came back.

The next exercise was a lot of fun. I had to hang my head off the edge of my bed. The cat jumped on my stomach and began to knead the flesh, but I figured this might be good exercise too. I had to lift my head up until it was in line with the rest of my body. Then hold for 10 seconds. Why is 10 seconds so damn long when 66 years have whizzed past?

Next I took a nap.

I did teach my friends Janet Bolin and Melodie Campbell about the trick for photos. Put your hand  (though Mel likes the scarf method) under your chin when anyone snaps a picture. Voila! 

Janet Bolin, Melodie Campbell, Me (Catherine Astolfo)

The other thing I dislike are the spare tires around my middle. I know, I know, I can do something about those, and I am. After thirty years I rejoined Weight Watchers. So far, so good.

Last but not least are the wrinkles all over my face. "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been," said Mark Twain. Meanwhile, he covered his own with hair. I tried that, but my hairs just grew long instead of abundant.

When my mother was elderly, I leaned over to kiss her and she said, "Oh my god, you have a lot of wrinkles on your face."

I answered, "Well I am 60." (Which is was.)

She looked absolutely horrified. "If you're sixty, then how old am I?"

You see, it's a family tradition to forget how old you are.

I've had several lives and I do mean that sincerely. Along with several husbands. There was my flower girl hippy life, my typical mom/housewife phase, my gay divorcée stages, my head-of-the-Union life, my esteemed educator phase, and now, my author life (which also incorporates my grandma stage).

This last life (probably) is my favorite. I'm retired, I've had a long happy marriage, I'm a grandmother. Plus I get to do my most favorite thing all day if I want to, and that is, I get to write.

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, your creativity, that you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you have truly defeated age." Sophia Loren

The only thing that worries me is: how long do writers write? Do we get too old for it? For inspiration I looked up authors who wrote until they were severely senior.

Millard Kaufman died when he was 92. He was a screenwriter as a younger man, but he wrote and published his first novel at 90. His second was published after he died. I am impressed.

Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't get her first book published until she was 65. She lived until 90 and, although she seems to have given up writing in her 80's, she wrote so many great letters that they formed a book posthumously. I like that.

Agatha Christie is probably the most famous severely senior author. She wrote books right up until her death at 86. Tons of books and plays too. I don't know if I can get my hair to go like that, but I'll try. What an inspiration!

I should try honey and baking soda on my face. According to the ancient Egyptians, the wrinkles will disappear. Combine that with sandalwood, antioxidants, detoxing, healthy food, exercise, crossword puzzles, and plenty of sleep, I will be writing until I'm 100.  

George Burns said, "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old."

"You grow old if you stop laughing," Maurice Chevalier apparently warned.

Therefore, as I embark on Route 66, I resolve to laugh, eat healthy, keep writing, exercise, and sneak in wine whenever possible. That's how I'll get my kicks.

Cathy

Catherine Astolfo
www.catherineastolfo.com

How it Feels to Complete a Trilogy by Jesse Giles Christiansen

Jesse is one of those people who has become a friend even though we have never met face to face. But we have shared, discussed, debated, and supported one another through our writing journeys. You'll also see why I love his lyrical, poetic style. If you haven't started Jesse's trilogy, check out Imajin Book's big Christmas sale and get them all (one way or the other: on sale or perhaps as a prize!). www.imajinbooks.com

I am born, I live, and I die.

I am born as a Sea Eagle, beautiful and bold yet shy to face a new, white, blinding world. I live in a universe that my readers and I have created, a place where memories become as real as our own, a destination we can always visit upon a wink like a dear hometown. I die as the loops loop themselves, as the t’s cross and remember, and as the dots above the i’s lighthouse a literary frontier.

I may never write another trilogy again, because my writer’s life became a beautiful prisoner to a manufactured world that has not moved the real world enough. Please don’t misconstrue me, I have the most complete faith in my work, but if I’ve learned anything as an author, it is that the retail reality of books is composed of lines of readers waiting along a blinking thoroughfare of restaurants. And all too often the dining rooms of the most innovative chefs are forlornly deserted simply because the other restaurants had lines and theirs did not.

As authors, perhaps we start at the wrong end. Trilogies, if ever written, should come of great stories chained together, and only when the starry-eyed, dog-eared writer has won a long line of bookish followers, should they come to fruition.

I am a literary chef, standing in front of his restaurant with the few tattered tables populated by wide-eyed diners smiling eagerly at passersby, beckoning to them to leave the lines of the conformists. I am holding a platter up high that hurls the most fantastic, unique fumes at you, cuisine to which I’ve dedicated my entire life to creating. And the sign above my little restaurant reads, TIRED OF THE SAME OLD NOVELS?

Yours in literature,

J.G.C.

Beware of what the tide may bring…

Ethan Hodges is deeply unsettled when thousands of decomposed starfish inexplicably wash up along the shore of Pelican Bay. As the ominous sea epidemic spreads to other marine life, he continues to see a suspicious-looking man loitering on the beach.

To solve the mystery, Ethan seeks help from longtime friend, Sheriff Dansby, and Reagan Langsley, a beautiful marine biologist from Lighthouse Point. Spurred by curiosity and jealousy, Ethan’s estranged wife, Morgan, joins them in the investigation.

When the elusive outsider is finally arrested, an enigmatic relationship develops between Ethan and the man. With cautious prodding, Ethan learns that the fate of the world appears to rest in the hands of the tall stranger named…Mr. DM.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Captain-Shelby-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B017Y41K4Y/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/m88VaeFPmo0

All About Jesse

 

#1 bestselling author in sea adventures, Jesse Giles Christiansen is an American author whose page-turning fiction weaves the real with the surreal, while also speaking to the human condition. He was hailed by New York Times bestselling author, William R. Forstchen, as "leaving readers so tantalized by the story lines, they think the events actually happened—a demonstration of skill surely to launch this author into the big leagues."

Jesse was born in Miami, FL, playing on beaches as a boy, the sky bronzing him forever and the sea turning his heart lyrical. After spending a summer in Alaska before graduating from Florida State University with a degree in literature and philosophy, he wrote his first novel, Journey into the Mystic.

He feels he is haunted by Hemingway's ghost, not just by the poster in his writing studio that stares at him, saying, "What else you got?" but also by having a café called Hemingway's in the small European city where he writes. Finally, Hemingway became his neighbor on Amazon when his novel, Pelican Bay, outsold Old Man and the Sea.

He currently lives in Lüneburg, Germany, with his wife and their precocious White Siamese cat.

To learn more about Jesse, visit him at www.jessegileschristiansen.com.

Blog: www.jgchristiansen.wordpress.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JesseGilesChris

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jesse.gileschristiansen.7

Alison Bruce is Back!

 This is my friend Ali and me. This looks like us too.

Alison Bruce and I met through Crime Writers of Canada a few years ago and immediately became friends. That's the way I remember it, anyway.

Her "Deadly Legacy" character, Kate Garrett, is one of my favourite heroines, kick-ass but down-to-earth realistic female who lives slightly in the future.

Now she's back in Deadly Legacy

The Interview

Me: Tell us what this book is about.
Ali: It’s about 111 pages long… Sorry I couldn’t resist.
(You're so funny, Ali. - Me)
In Deadly Legacy Kate lost her father. Now she’s dealing with the fallout. She’s accepted her first case as a private investigator and is looking for a cat killer. At the office, she has to walk on eggs around her new business partner. In her off-time, she is packing up her father’s apartment where she comes across his last case as a police detective. Life is an emotional mine field and yet, Kate manages to solve her current case and a decade old one in the same neighbourhood.

Me: If you could only use one word to describe this book, what would it be?
Ali: Whodunit.

Me: What do you do for fun?
Ali: Reading and writing are both fun and professional activities. Just for fun? I draw cartoon versions of people… like the one of me and you.
(And I LOVE it! - Me)

Me: How would you describe your writing style?
Ali: Funny but not comedy. Adventurous but not super heroic.  Romantic but not sappy. I aspire to write like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance. They make it look easy, but it’s not.

Me: When you begin to write your books, do you know how it ends or is it decided by the actual process of writing?
Ali: I always know how my books are going to start and end. I almost always end up starting at a different point than I intended and end up somewhere slightly different than I planned.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing?
Ali: Everything when it flows. Nothing when it doesn’t.

Me: If we were to meet for lunch and talk books, where would we go (money is no object)?
Ali: Let’s do Paris. There is (or was) a lovely trattoria on Boulevard Saint Germain in the Latin Quarter. There’s an English book store in the same block. That way, we have a place to shop afterwards. If the weather is nice, we can sit outside and watch the students and tourists go by.

Me: How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
Ali: My parents read…a lot. My mother had a huge collection of mystery novels. I grew up with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers and that’s just scratching the surface.
My father, on the other hand, loved westerns and thrillers. So I also read Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean. He also introduced me to Stephen Leacock Award winners Donald Jack and Farley Mowatt (also to Stephen Leacock for that matter).
I don’t think I appreciated how much these authors influenced me until recently.  But maybe the biggest influence was all the travelling we did when I was young. I devoured books in hotel rooms and nights in our ugly family camper, but I couldn’t read in a moving vehicle. Instead, I made up stories in my head. Sometimes my sister and I would play act them, but mostly I had a head stuffed with plots and characters.

Me: How important do you think villains are to a crime story?
Ali: “Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly.”
Robert Heinlein said that in The Notebooks of Lazarus Long. I try to keep that in mind at all times… not just when I’m writing. I do my best not to write villains, only enemies. That being said, “A hero is only as good as his villain.”

Me: If you could be anyone else in the world (living), who would you be?
Ali: That’s tough. If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t have my kids, my family and friends. That wouldn’t do at all. In another universe, there is an Alison Bruce that didn’t chicken out of submitting her work when she was in her twenties. If other parts of her life worked out close enough for me still to have Kit and Sam as my kids, I’d be her.

DEADLY SEASON
An Imajin Qwickies™ Mystery/Crime Novella  
A Carmedy & Garrett Mini-Mystery #1
By Alison Bruce
Imajin Books
November 2015

Last month Kate Garrett was a Police Detective. Now she’s a Pet P.I.?

Kate recently inherited half her father’s private investigation company and a partner who is as irritating as he is attractive. Kate has been avoiding Jake Carmedy for years, but now her life might depend on him.

Kate and Jake are on the hunt for a serial cat killer who has mysterious connections to her father’s last police case. Kate’s father had been forced to retire when he was shot investigating a domestic disturbance. Is the shooter back for revenge? And is Kate or Jake next?


Available at:
www.amazon.com/Deadly-Season-Carmedy-Garrett-Mini-Mystery-book/dp/B017AFRN02
store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/deadly-season
play.google.com/store/books/details/Alison_Bruce_Deadly_Season?id=SzvSCgAAQBAJ
www.smashwords.com/books/view/588711

Alison Bruce has had many careers and writing has always been one of them. Copywriter, editor and graphic designer since 1992, Alison has also been a comic store manager, small press publisher, webmaster and arithmetically challenged bookkeeper. She is the author of mystery, romantic suspense and historical western romance novels. Three of her novels have been finalists for genre awards.



http://www.alisonbruce.ca 
(author and business website)
https://www.facebook.com/alisonbruce.books 
(author page)
http://alisonebruce.blogspot.ca 
(author blog)
https://twitter.com/alisonebruce 

On Fire! Kristina Stanley on Researching Arson

Thank you, Catherine, for hosting me.

Are you kidding? Thank you for being here! I am always happy to host a hot writer.

Pardon?

I mean, a writer who's hot. You know, popular.

Oh. Okay.

Also, it was a little play on words...you know, your research on fire...hot...right?

Oh, I see. You're funny.

Is that funny ha ha or funny strange...?

Kristina actually only said that first sentence. The rest I made up. Surprise! Seriously, I am THRILLED to have Kristina Stanley do a return post on research for her second novel. The scenarios are so different, from snow and cold to fire and heat. Her first novel was terrific! I'm looking forward to reading the second.

She also gives a little teaser for her third novel and by the sounds of it, we'll all want to hear about THAT research too!

 Now, here's the real Kristina Stanley.

 

Every novel has a unique subject, giving an author an opportunity to research and learn about something new. I write the Stone Mountain Mystery series that takes place in the remote mountains of British Columbia.

For DESCENT (1^st in the series), the majority of my research focused on ski racing and ski tuning. For BLAZE (2^nd in the series), arson is the crime, so fire fighting was the research topic.

The idea for BLAZE came to me while I was the director of security at a ski resort. Late one night, my phone rang. A set of condos was on fire. My role for the night was to manage the scene surrounding the fire. This included calling for ambulance and RCMP backup, finding rooms for guests who had been displaced, arranging crowd control, and ensuring the firefighters had food and water during the night. The firefighters did all the hard work and saved many condos from burning to the ground.

By morning, I had an idea for a story and had just been given first hand research.

By being on the site of a major fire, my senses and thoughts were filled with:

-       Smell and sounds. Alarms, floors crashing, commands being shouted, burning debris…

-       Water, water everywhere. This is where I learned how much water damage occurs while trying to put out a fire.

-       Fear of people being hurt. I knew many of the firefighters personally, and watching them inside a burning building is stressful.

-       Worry about pets. Luckily no pets were hurt.

-       Desperation of a person whose home is burning.  Standing beside some who is losing their home fills one with a variety of emotions.

These senses and emotions were incorporated into BLAZE. The trick was to turn the experience into a story. With my imagination triggered, I decided arson was the crime, Kalin Thompson was the suspected victim, and I needed to add a forest fire to heighten the danger.

The next step in the research process was to interview firefighters.

-       This was more valuable than reading about events. A firefighter can tell you what they would wear for different fires. I learned about gear for a forest fire versus a structural fire, what a man-down alarm sounds like, and what a firefighter would think and feel while working in a burning building.

After the interviews, I expanded my knowledge with online research.

-       I read news about fires.

-       I watched videos – there is always a video. A little aside about researching for my novel AVALANCHE, if you want to scare yourself google “what does it feel like to be caught in an avalanche," watch one of the go pro videos of a person being buried. I did this and had to go for a walk just to calm down. Now that’s exciting research.

The final step in my research process was to have a firefighter read the fire scenes for accuracy and believability. My thought was if a firefighter believed the scene, then others would too.

Research can be an exciting part of the novel-writing adventure. Just be sure you don’t get so involved in the research that you forget to write.

My Facebook launch party for BLAZE (https://www.facebook.com/events/1630121803934943/) is this coming Sunday, October 25th from 4 to 6 PM EST. I would love to see you there.

For added Facebook excitement, Catherine will be giving away a copy of LEGACY at the BLAZE Facebook launch party. If you’re not familiar with a launch party, drop on by and chat with authors, maybe win a book, and socialize online. I’ve met some fun online friends this way.

Kristina’s Bio

Kristina Stanley is the author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her books have garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated DESCENT for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers’ Association nominated BLAZE for the Debut Dagger. She is published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

Before writing her series, Kristina was the director of security, human resources and guest services at a resort in the depths of the British Columbian mountains. The job and lifestyle captured her heart, and she decided to write mysteries about life in an isolated resort. While writing the first four novels, she spent five years living aboard a sailboat in the US and the Bahamas.

Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

When the fire is declared as arson, finding the firebug responsible becomes Kalin’s personal mission. In the course of her investigation as Director of Security, she discovers that some people will go to extreme measures to keep her from exposing their secrets.

I love to connect with people online. I can be found at: www.KristinaStanley.com

Follow me on twitter, let me know you read this blog and I’ll follow you back. @StanleyKMS

Or comment on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KristinaStanley.Author

If you're looking for something to read and you haven’t read DESCENT yet, now is your chance before BLAZE comes out. Find it at:  http://mybook.to/Descent

And if you have read DESCENT, I’d be very excited if you pre-ordered BLAZE http://myBook.to/BLAZEbyKristinaStanley