Follow Friday

Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

At least 25 including The Night Circus...sigh...which I've wanted to read for weeks.

Michael J. McCann - Blood Passage - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is your favorite character?
Although Hank Donaghue is the central character in the series and probably closer to me than the other characters, I have to admit that Karen Stainer is the one I'm most fond of.

2. Why is she your favorite?
She's foul-mouthed, aggressive, cocky and violent, and not the kind of person I'd take to in real life, but I've never had a character come to me before as complete and as round as Karen. Her scenes flow onto the page without effort. As well, she cares deeply for Hank Donaghue and will always have his back, and her past, once it's revealed in detail throughout the series, will explain a great deal about her personality and will show how she can find a much better balance in her life than she has in Blood Passage.

3. How did you come to create her?
I have absolutely no idea. It was as though she sprang out of my forehead fully developed.

4. When did she first enter your mind?
Hank Donaghue came first, but I'd decided up front I wanted a male/female duo and since Hank is well-educated and from an upper-class background I naturally wanted to cast the female as an opposite of sorts. I ran a couple of Google image searches looking for a face that might serve as a reference and found a photo of an actress I didn't know and whose name I don't recall now, but as soon as I saw that photo I understood who Karen Stainer was going to be.

5. Where was she given life in the creative process?
I began with the story idea. I'd been reading a book called Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives by Dr. Jim B. Tucker of the University of Virginia when I thought the concept might make a great premise for a crime novel. When I asked myself who the homicide investigators would be, as I say, Hank came first but Karen was close behind.

6. What do you like and dislike most about her?
As a writer, I like the fact that Karen has a wicked sense of humor. Hank's sense of humor is wry and very ironic, but Karen gives me a chance to zip a few fastballs in there. Plus, I have to admit, I love her foul mouth -- although I know it bothers some readers -- because it's such an important part of her personality. I'm asking readers to take her foul language with a grain of salt and try to figure out why she's always so damned angry! What do I dislike most about her? As a writer, I dislike her Texan accent because I want to get it just right but I don't want to overdo it. I drop final consonants sometimes and other times I don't because it just doesn't look right. However, I only use "y'all" in the plural and I understand that's correct. Right?

Book Summary

Four years ago Martin Liu was found dead in an alley and the physical evidence suggested it was a drug deal gone wrong. Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue didn’t like the feel of it, but it wasn’t his case and it ended up going nowhere.

Now Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer are drawn into the Liu cold case when an out-of-town graduate student is beaten up by gang members after asking the wrong questions about the victim. Donaghue and Stainer discover that Martin Liu’s cousin, Triad enforcer Peter Mah, has taken an active interest and is tracking down suspects on his own to extract his own deadly brand of vengeance.

As Donaghue and Stainer race to contain the violence sweeping their city, they must confront the troubling fact that new evidence, including the names of the men responsible for Martin's death four years ago, seems to be coming from the most unlikely of sources – a three-year-old boy!

Title: Blood Passage. A Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel
Publisher: The Plaid Raccoon Press
Genre: Crime fiction; Mystery & Thriller/Police Procedural
Paperback edition: 250 pp., published June 28, 2011

Links to buy the paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Passage-Michael-J-McCann/dp/0987708708

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-passage-michael-j-mccann/1104161526?ean=9780987708700&itm=4&usri=michael%2bj%2bmccann

See my website for Canadian and international links.

E-book edition: Published by Smashwords on July 11, 2011.

Links to buy the e-book:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72770

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Passage-Donaghue-Stainer-ebook/dp/B005GRAK5M/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-passage-michael-j-mccann
/1104161526?ean=2940011425219&format=nook-book&itm=4&usri=michael%2Bj%2Bmccann

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/blood-passage/id453284535?mt=11


Author Bio

Michael J. McCann lives and writes in Oxford Station, Ontario, Canada. He's the author of Blood Passage, a Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel, and The Ghost Man, a supernatural thriller.

Connect with Michael:

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/MichaelJMcCann1

Website:
http://www.mjmccann.com

Blog: The Overnight Bestseller: http://michaeljmccannsblog.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-J-McCann/100002485759516

Video book trailer:
http://vimeo.com/31346221

Gordon Gumpertz - Red Hot Sky - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is your favorite character?
I created two protagonists for Red Hot Sky: Ben Mason and Claudine Manet. They are equal favorites.

2. Why is he/she your favorite?
Ben has all the traits people admire: courage, loyalty, selflessness, quick thinking under stress, ability to accomplish great things against impossible odds. And he does it with modesty and a sense of humor. Claudine has beauty, brains, determination, and a soft, loving side. She's fearless when it comes to driving people to get the job done. But her love and caring for Ben run deep.

3. How did you come to create him/her?
I wanted to write a story about a relationship between two strong people who love each other but have their own ideas. And about their reactions when the ideas conflict and the relationship is strained.

4. When did he/she first enter your mind?
The character profiles developed as I was outlining the plot and storyline for Red Hot Sky.

5. Where was he/she given life in the creative process?
Ben was introduced on page 1 and we came to know something about him by the end of Chapter 1. Claudine was mentioned early as being out of town, and not introduced till page 33, after which we gradually learn more about her.

6. What do you like the most about him/her and what do you dislike the most about him/her?
The likes are same as question 2. As for the dislikes, Ben can keep his head under extreme pressure and do great things. I guess I'm jealous. Also, his addiction to danger puts him in conflict with his responsibilities to others. The main discomfort with Claudine is her set of rigid expectations for her relationship with Ben.

Book Summary

CO2 buildup in earth’s atmosphere reaches a tipping point. Global weather destabilizes, turns chaotic. Ice storms, dust storms, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes pummel the earth nonstop. A secret computer model reveals that the frantic weather will peak out, and transform world climate into an alien environment devastating to human survival.

Scientists Ben Mason, Claudine Manet, and Bertrand Short are developers of the computer model. Ben and Claudine are lovers as well as lab partners. While they work frantically to head off the approaching catastrophe, a disgraced Russian general hacks into their model and sees earth’s bleak future as his opportunity for ultimate world power.

Ben, who had left the CIA to develop the computer model at the national lab, is reactivated by the Agency and sent on a perilous mission to block the rogue general’s plot. Claudine, not realizing that Ben is on a secret mission, misunderstands his absence, putting their relationship on thin ice.

Claudine is placed in charge of a massive NASA project that, if completed on time, could stop the approaching doomsday climate change. But her project is stalled by bureaucracy. Ben is on the run in hostile territory. The climate change calamity steadily approaches.

Author Bio


Gordon Gumpertz brings fiction readers another exciting action/adventure experience in his new novel RED HOT SKY. This is the author’s second book, following his highly acclaimed novel TSUNAMI.

In addition to writing novels, Gordon has won gold and silver awards in national and regional short story competitions. He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Palm Springs Writers Guild, a UCLA graduate, and an instrument-rated private pilot. He keeps his website current by blogging on natural disasters and natural phenomena.

Gordon and his wife Jenny live not far from the San Andreas fault, where the Pacific Plate thrusts into the North American Plate, building increasingly high levels of faultline stress which, the seismologists say, may soon produce the Big One.

Visit his website at www.tsunaminaturaldisaster.com.

Website | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

FINAL SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Twenty of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A final sneak peek of chapter twenty of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!

buy links
Kindle - $2.99
Nook - $4.95
iPad - $4.99
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

CHAPTER TWENTY
Beatrice Amon and the Peaches

Teddy said uneasily, “Well look, Father. I can't help but think that all Miss Amon did by calling the cops was cause a whole bunch of trouble for all of us—even you.”

The priest’s exasperation with the young man's remarks was obvious. “Oh really? That's what you think, is it? Did you listen to one word I just said? Did you?”

Now Teddy was unnerved. When Father Sullivan got angry he seemed to grow two feet in height. He became very intimidating, especially for an 18 year old who knew him since the third grade. “Yes, Father, I was listening.”

“No, Teddy, you weren’t. You were too busy thinking about how much you don't like Miss Amon. Your pride has gotten in the way of your faith. L-Y-N, remember? Time to move on, Teddy. Miss Amon is not the mean-spirited person you think she is. In fact, none of you really know anything about her, do you? Now, you’re going to have to take this pride of yours and stuff it in your back pocket and sit on it. The fact is, you owe Miss Amon something.”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Brian Young - Blood Veins - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is your favorite character?
My favorite character ended up being Briah.

2. Why is he/she your favorite?
Briah I think stands out the most in the novel. She is the only prominent female character and there is a lot of mystery behind her. The reader won’t be entirely sure where Briah’s allegiances lie. She is a young and strong character, but she is a little naïve and will have a lot of learning to do before the story is over.

3. How did you come to create him/her?
Briah is integral to the story. I knew I needed a strong female character and the role she occupies fits that perfectly. Her role is to lead the other main characters along, all men. They are following a certain path, one that they want to take, but she nudges them in a certain direction in order to make sure they end up where her master wants them. Who better to play that role than an intelligent, attractive and strong female?

4. When did he/she first enter your mind?
She entered my mind very early in the story. She is in the second scene of the first chapter and I always knew I wanted the type of character she portrays to be present in my novel. I grew up with two sisters. I’m married and I have a daughter. I’ve been around a lot of strong women and I think Briah has a lot of those qualities, though she will have some struggles in the novel with her values.

5. Where was he/she given life in the creative process?
Many of the characters in the novel have very limited knowledge about the circumstances surrounding them. Briah develops the most in her interactions during these conversations. She represents a group that has a much greater view of the world beyond what most understand. Briah has answers to many of the questions the other characters are looking for but is forbidden from answering them by her superiors. But Briah is still very young and over the course of the novel as she spends more time away from her former home and more time with her current companions she starts to question where here her future will be.

6. What do like the most about him/her and what do you dislike the most about him/her?
I like that Briah really gets a chance to shine in the novel, both mentally and with her physical prowess. The reader will get to see her struggles especially internally develop throughout the story. She is put into a very dire situation in the latter half of the novel and really shows her toughness and perseverance. I don’t think there is anything about the character I dislike except that I wasn’t able to feature her even more in the novel.

Book Summary:

A black wave has passed over the thriving kingdom of Larista. Mysterious invaders calling themselves the Dolus have swept over the land laying waste to everything in their paths and leaving ghost towns in their wake. No one knows where they came from and no one knows what their purpose is. Tasting nothing but defeat after defeat the light of hope is fading in the kingdom; but the guerrilla forces resisting the Dolus invasion have received new information. This news has provided a small glimmer that could possibly spark into something more. Captain Maximus Rex leads a daring rescue mission deep in the Laristan forests to save the lone surviving member of the royal family.

Once freed Prince Alexander Novelle along with his friends and comrades face a perilous journey deep behind enemy lines. Their destination is Castle Varanasi. The once proud Laristan capital, gateway to heaven and salvation, lies in ruins under Dolus occupation. Mysterious assassins, underworld savages and renegade Dolus survivors stand between them the answers they seek. What they find there will shatter their perceptions and lead to unknown perils none of them are ready to face.

Excerpt:

Percival shook his head. "It's our duty to kill that murdering, traitorous scum, Novell, and free everyone. Not just these people here today. We can't do that on our own though. We need him or no one will follow us."

Maximus cocked his head and looked quizzically at Percy. "You know both their names are Novell, right? Not to mention there's no proof Prodis is responsible for this. I doubt Alexander would appreciate you calling his brother a murdering, traitorous scum."

It was clear Percival was convinced Prodis was responsible and all he gave in response was a short grunt.

"Anyway," Maximus continued, "If Alexander is down there and we don't go in, we will have missed our best and possibly our only chance at freeing him. We go."

Percival's face went blank as he barked out, "Yes Sir."

The captain sighed, his breath showing in the crisp cold air. The rain had started to let up and it seemed the temperature had dropped another ten degrees as the chill renewed its assault against his rain soaked cold weather gear. "I hate it when you call me Sir. It means you disagree with me, or you're mad at me"

Percy gave his Captain a half grin. "First, if I can't call you Maxi and I can't call you Sir, what am I suppose to call you? Second, I do agree with you. I just know when you need someone else to voice your inner thoughts and help you sort things out. Lastly, I'll make sure everyone is ready." Percival finished with his customary grin.

"I hate you sometimes, Lieutenant."

Percival shrugged and turned to pass the plans along to the rest of the squad.


Author Bio:

Brian is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He works as a banker and an editor for Rogue Phoenix Press. He currently resides in Oregon with his wife and daughter.

Find Brian on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Brian-Young/209003422499368


Giveaway:

PLEASE MENTION THE PRIZE THAT THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY: a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly selected commenter during the tour, and a $15 Amazon GC to the host with the most comments (excluding Brian's or the host's).

Encourage your readers to follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/11/virtual-book-tour-blood-veins-by-brian.html

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Nineteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter nineteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!

buy links
Kindle - $2.99
Nook - $4.95
iPad - $4.99
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

CHAPTER NINETEEN
Father Sullivan visits Beatrice

He pushed the doorbell and waited. He heard a faint voice coming from inside. “Oh, just a moment, please. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm not moving very well. Hold on, please.” It sounded like someone was trapped in a deep hole calling for help as they attempted to climb out.

A few moments passed before Miss Amon slowly opened the door. She was dressed in a floor-length, gray housecoat, a maroon, button-down wool sweater and a pair of rubber boots. Her body was sort of listing to one side and she was holding an ice pack to her bruised forehead.

“Oh my, Beatrice, you look awful. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Oh no, Father. I'll be all right. It's those kids upstairs. My apartment is destroyed. I was almost killed. I don't know what happened up there or what they were doing. All I know is, I'm lucky to be alive.”

“May I come in, Beatrice?”

“Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Of course, Father, come in.”

Father Sullivan followed the slow moving, lucky-to-be-alive woman into her apartment. She immediately headed to the sofa, as she fell more than sat on it. She took a deep breath while simultaneously emitting a soft moan. Leaning her head back, she removed the ice pack, shook it to rearrange the ice inside it before placing it back on her forehead.

Father took in the entire performance. “Well, Beatrice, tell me what happened here today. And what in heaven's name happened to your head?”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Rachel McClellan - Fractured Light - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is your favorite character?
It would have to be Llona.

2. Why is she your favorite?
Because she’s got this voice that makes me laugh, which made writing about her very easy. As her “creator” I wanted her to do different things, but she literally took over the book and sent it in a direction I hadn’t intended.

3. How did you come to create her?
I was thinking one day about people who say they can see a person’s aura’s, you know, the “light” that surrounds us. I thought it would be cool if someone could actually use this as a power, and from there I began to explore all the things an Aura might do with her ability.

4. When did she first enter your mind?
My friend and I were swapping various writing assignments (we’re total nerds), and one of them was something like, “write about a person at a funeral.” I instantly thought of my Aura, and Llona appeared. This scene ended up being my first chapter in FRACTURED LIGHT.

5. Where was she given life in the creative process?
When I heard her voice. She’s so snarky and sarcastic.

6. What do like the most about her and what do you dislike the most about her?
I didn’t like that, at first, she was afraid to show her true self to others. Gratefully, that changed though. I loved that Llona didn’t need Christian, her love interest, to fight the final battle. She depended upon herself to get the job done and did a very good job of it. Girls, never need a guy, want a guy. Go girl power!

Author Bio

Rachel McClellan currently lives in Maine, but was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she’s not in her writing lair, she’s partying with her husband and four small children. Her love for storytelling began as a child when the moon first possessed the night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it was…

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorRachelMcClellan
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RachelMcClellan
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFefXbzlfo4
Website: www.rachelmcclellan.com
Blog: http://blackbirdinmywindow.blogspot.com

Book Summary

I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.

Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After a Vyken killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.

As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger.

Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Genre: Urban fantasy
Release: February 7, 2012
Pages: 312
Price: $16.99
Purchase on Amazon