Katie Salidas: Authors Supporting Authors Tour

Immortalis: Carpe Noctem
by Katie Salidas

Bleeding to death after brutal mugging on the campus of UNLV, Twenty-five year old Alyssa, is rescued by the cold and aloof, vampire, Lysander. Taking pity on her, he shares the gift-and curse-of immortality. She awakens as a vampire and is soon devastated by harsh realities of her new way of life: the loss of her friends, her independence, and her humanity.
As if having her humanity stripped away was not enough to make life interesting, Alyssa finds out her “turning”, did not go unnoticed by the rest of undead society. Old enemies; an ancient sect of vampire hunters, known as the Acta Sanctorum, as well as a powerful Vampire mistress, each set plans in motion to destroy both Alyssa and Lysander.
Only by accepting her newfound immortality, seizing the night, will Alyssa hope to survive. She and Lysander must fight together against two sets of enemies bent on destroying them both.
________________________________________________________________

Many vampire novels gloss over the change and go straight into “normal” life as a vampire.

But I’ve always wondered… What would it really be like to turn into a vampire? What would it be like to say good-bye to everything you hold dear? What would it be like to hunger for blood? Blood from humans you once considered friends?

Those are the questions I wanted to explore with my novel Immortalis Carpe Noctem.

I wanted to take readers on a front row tour, so to speak, through the changes and hardships faced by a fledgling vampire.

In Immortalis Carpe Noctem we meet Alyssa. She’s your average Twenty-something girl living on her own, working her way through college. In one bad night, her imperfect world goes from bad to worse as she is brutally beaten and near raped before being “saved” by a vampire. Of course I use the term “saved” a bit loosely here as her new life as a vampire isn’t exactly the way Hollywood might have shown it.

As a vampire, Alyssa is now cut off from the rest of humanity. Vampires in this world are few and far between and they remain in the shadows to protect themselves from the Acta Sanctorum. Close friends, family, job, life are now things of the past and Alyssa is not even given the chance to say a proper good-bye.

Along with her new secret life Alyssa finds that bloodlust is a very real thing and it requires fresh blood to sate it. That means hunting … humans.

Hollywood may have made it seem like being a vampire would be cool, but the realities of the transformation are hard to accept.

Witnessing real human conflict and resolution is the current trend in entertainment. It’s why reality TV is so popular. I took this idea and ran with it adding “becoming a vampire” as the challenge. I took the transformation step by step and asked myself what would Alyssa have to face and how would she deal with it.

Eventually, she does  come to terms with all that has changed and even finds a few things to like about it, but it is the journey that make the story interesting.


Immortalis is sold at:

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Immortalis-Carpe-Noctem-Katie-Salidas/dp/0984419608/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268581182&sr=8-1

Smashwords (multi format ebook)
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10237

Barnes & Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Immortalis-Carpe-Noctem/Katie-Salidas/e/9780984419609/?itm=1&USRI=immortalis+carpe+noctem

Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Immortalis-Carpe-Noctem-ebook/dp/B003AYF3NW/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Publisher (Author Signed Copies)
http://www.risingsignbooks.com

Louise Wise: Authors Supporting Authors

Louise Wise used her general love of romantic fiction and interest in astronomy to write her first book, Eden. It was an experimental novel and was never meant to see the light of day! She had received many rejections, which stated that the novel was just too original for the current market. An agent took it on but failed to find a publisher for it, this urged Louise into believing in the novel, and herself as a writer.
She published with YouWriteOn.com a review website, which she whole-heartedly recommends. Eden has received good reviews so far: http://amzn.to/aqm4eM and even though Louise, without a mainstream publisher behind her, doesn’t expect it to hit the best seller list she will be happy to publish again with YWO.
“I’ve done with rejection letters,” she says. “Who needs them? I’d rather concentrate on getting my MS up to scratch instead of sending out submissions and waiting months -  sometimes never getting a reply.”
She has learned her lesson though, and now sticks safely to comedy romance (chicklit). A Proper Charlie will be out later this year.
Married, with four children, Louise lives in England. She is a pharmacist assistant by day, and a writer by night.

EXCERPT

Jenny plodded along, stupefied. The fingers circling her nape were biting and painful, but she barely noticed. The echo of the wolves’ howling was still too strongly embedded in her mind. Part of her knew Fly was leading her to her rape, and that part of her was going to allow it to happen because the other side was lying dormant through fear and exhaustion.
    The corridor was laden with dirt and grime. Animal excrement, electronic debris lay in her path, but she continued to walk where she was urged. His cabin door was open, and he nudged her towards the bed.
    While she sat nervously on the edge, he heated a metal canteen over a crudely assembled grill, wired haphazardly to a small accumulator. She watched as he stirred in the same beverage that she had yesterday morning. When it was steaming, he filled a cup and gave it to her.
    He sat on a chair opposite, and observed her with his usual disconcerting stare.
    She stared back, confused, until her fingers began to burn from holding the cracked cup. She pressed it against her lips, and it was only then that she realised her teeth were chattering.
    ‘You are not going to survive,’ he said finally using one of the small computers he had taken from the shelf.
    She gulped a mouthful of the liquid, and tried to disguise the unwelcome tears that pooled in her eyes. Already he thought her a weak, pathetic female and, for some strange reason, she didn’t want to give him further evidence to think any worse of her.
    ‘How do you stand it,’ she asked quietly, ‘the endless howling, night after night?’
    ‘There is a worse sound, and that is no sound at all.’
She fell silent, acknowledging this and feeling her own loneliness magnify. A lone wolf from outside, or even inside the ship, howled. She closed her eyes knowing she would never be able to forget how close she was to being eaten alive.
‘Th-the wolves,’ she said, shuddering, ‘what are they?’
    ‘Wolves?’ He looked at her in confusion when the translator offered no other information other than describing the canine creature that lived on Earth.
‘It’s what I call the howling creatures,’ she explained. ‘Their noise is similar to the animals back home.’
‘The wolves dominate over every animal here, and I regard them as the natives. To you they may seem savage, but they have shown me intelligence not normally found in animals.’

Ami Blackwater: Authors Supporting Authors

AMI BLACKWATER

BIO BLURB: I am a forbidden romance writer in the paranormal and historical romance genre. My unique experiences allow me an original perspective and a plethora of ideas to entertain readers.

WEBSITE: http://amiblackwelder.com

General author interview:

What is your idea of happiness? Some people think happiness comes with money. Some think fame. For some it is deeper than that and they chose love. For myself, it means to do what you love and spend time with something you are passionate about. For me that would mean to write.

Are you doing what you really want to do in life? I am a teacher and I am a writer and so yes, I am doing what I want to in life. I would like to add settling down and having a family as I have not had that opportunity, but hope that will come to me later in life. Yet, I have been able to travel the world, particularly eight years in Asia, and for me that satisfies a lot of what I have want in life.

In your career as a writer - what do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses? I am well travelled and have a lot of experience with various struggles and emotions as well as with different cultures and peoples and feel that would be my greatest strength. I am a fountain of ideas. But a weakness of mine would include my elation at finishing a novel and becoming too excited, resulting in early release when the novel should be through more edits. I have learned from the past not to release a novel too soon, so that it has the chance to develop more fully and successfully.

What are some of your favorite websites for writers? www.authorssupportingauthors.ning.com, www.paranormalromances.ning.com, www.bittenbybooks.com, www.permutedpress.com, www.kindleboards.com, www.gothicnet.com, and I love a variety of blogs related to paranormal, science fiction and history on blogger. Blogger is preferable to word press for me.

What are some of the tools you use for marketing? I enjoy using online services for my eBooks such as public publishing services by smahswords and scribd and some editorial public services like urbis and authonomy. I also like to market on blogger and a bit on word press and weebly. Some other marketing techniques include virtual book tours and facebook...as well as some of my favorite sites listed above. Offline, I like to create bookmarks, posters and sale my books locally at bookstores, libraries, and in schools, markets, malls and anywhere I am welcome. I enjoy speaking with fans and telling people about my novels. Flyers, and business cards are also useful. Giveaways and contests both offline and online are also great promotional devices! I have used all the above:)

Are you satisfied with your experiences as a published author? (things you’ve noticed that could be improved, what you’ve enjoyed, what you’ll do better next time…) I started publishing novels about a year and a half ago and I have learned quite a lot! I’ve learned to properly edit and have a variety of eyes on your novel before allowing the public to buy and view it. I have learned that reviews online through blogs and ezines are very useful for promoting. Word of mouth is very important and building friendships as well as networking is vital to success. I am satisfied with my experiences of having my novel for myself to enjoy; however, I do things differently now than when I first started publishing in 2009. I have learned and I am very happy with what I have discovered and the changes I know I can make to improve the publishing and marketing processes.

Susan Hanniford Crowley: Authors Supporting Authors

One Vampire is Never Enough!
By Susan Hanniford Crowley

SHC: It's my pleasure to visit AZ Publishing Services today.  It appears that the immortals have been planning a revolution. Wouldn't you say so, David?

Tall, handsome, dark-haired Vampire David Hilliard (from THE STORMY LOVE LIFE OF LAURA CORDELAIS) has been lurking in the shadows.  He walks into the light and takes a seat opposite me.

DH:  I don't think I would call it a revolution as much as a concerted effort toward evolution.  The vampires of New York have made a choice to change.

SHC: What does that mean exactly?

David leans closer and smiles exposing brutally cool white fangs.

DH:  It is the core belief of the Arnhem Society that humans and vampires can co-exist.  We are a part of New York just like any other New Yorker. 

SHC:  What is the Arnhem Society?

DH:   It's the most exclusive club in Manhattan, a secret society of vampires dedicated to the civilized life.  We are part of the community.  We fundraise for charities and volunteer.

SHC: In WHEN LOVE SURVIVES, you were a rescue worker. 

DH:  I was, but that book is mainly about my good friend and shapeshifter Gregor Vasiliev.  He met his love Regina minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center.  They are a remarkable couple and really went all out to help others, even risking their own lives.

SHC: You're friends with a shapeshifter?

DH:  It's funny what you focus on, Susan.  I just tell you about a death defying story and you focus on shapeshifters.  Yes, I'm friends with shapeshifters, elves, werewolves, Regina herself is half leprechaun/half elf, Harmonies, Telkhines . . . I could go on and on about all the different races that co-exist in the city.  New York is a masterpiece of diversity.

SHC:  Let's talk about Telkhines.  (I smile.)  Let's talk about Laura.

David smiles back as if this is a smiling contest.  It's his dark eyes that get me everytime.

DH:  Telkhines once inhabited the island of Rhodes.  They were gifted storm callers and metalsmiths.  When they offended Zeus, he made them dog-faced demons and doomed them to the sea.  Except Dexithea and her sisters.  They were once hospitable to Zeus and he remembered their kindness by sparing them.  He also gifted Dexithea with the bolt.  Laura is her descendant.

SHC: Laura means everything to you, doesn't she?

DH:  When you truly love someone, every second with them is a treasure worth more than gold or blood.  I could not imagine my life without her?

Blond Laura Cordelais walks out of the shadows.  She stands behind David and puts her hands on his broad shoulders and sighs.  She smiles and somehow even with fangs she's pretty.

SHC:  Hi, Laura.  I'm glad you could make it.  I wanted to ask David about the Arnhem Knights next. 

LC:  The mission of the Arnhem Knights is to save humans from death by vampires and assist supernaturals in trouble.  In A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS, our friend Trevor Stenwood falls in love with a woman with a supernatural gift who is marked for death by demons. 

DH:  (Laughs) Yes, but he is so tongue-tied around the woman that she thinks he's a stalker.

SHC:  (after chuckling a moment)  You two have had some problems too.  In THE STORMY LOVE LIFE OF LAURA CORDELAIS, there's a matter of being trapped in an underworld of voodoo and sorcery.  And there's the Keres.

Laura shudders.

LC:  Let not talk about the Keres.  They still give me nightmares.

SHC:  I would think becoming a vampire would give you nightmares. 

LC:  Not when I have David.  Being a vampire is only a nightmare if you spend eternity alone. 

David rises in his chair and takes Laura into his arms.

DH:  Thank you for having us.  We'll be seeing you later in the city. 

They were gone that fast.  

For information about the books in the Vampires in Manhattan series:

THE STORMY LOVE LIFE OF LAURA CORDELAIS
LIGHTNING
Being descended from an ancient race blessed by Zeus doesn't help Telkhine Laura Cordelais, when she's desperate and standing between life and death. Her destiny looks bleak. Every choice leads to death, and there is no winning door. Or is there?

THUNDER
Begging God for love, Vampire David Hilliard finds his request answered in the form of the tormented and dying Laura. In saving her, he falls in love and dooms them both to a dark underworld of voodoo and sorcery from which nothing can escape.

THE STORM BEGINS
Curses, Keres, demons, oh, my! And the unicorn's horn.

Available at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thestormylovelifeoflauracordelais-374695-139.html

In Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Love-Laura-Cordelais-ebook/dp/B00318D5VY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1271028314&sr=1-1

WHEN LOVE SURVIVES
MAGIC
Regina O'Malley is a college student who's just discovered she's magic. Today is the first day of her internship at a prominent brokerage house at the World Trade Center, and she's late. She doesn't know disaster is right around the corner.

LOVE
Gregor Vasiliev is a financial advisor at the World Trade Center. This shapeshifter hates the office coffee, and while on a donut run he gazes out the window of his favorite coffee shop. There in the street stands the lifemate he's been searching for. If he doesn't act now, he'll lose her forever.

IT'S SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.

Available at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-whenlovesurvives-362921-143.html/

A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS
Georgia doesn't know she's a Harmony. Jobless and about to be homeless, her heart sinks when a hand snatches the coat of her dreams from the storefront window. Then she sees him staring at her reflection . . . the stalker.
Trevor Stenwood, a vampire and Arnhem Knight, is handsome, sophisticated, and tongue-tied every time he sees her. Sworn to protect the supernaturals of the city, he's fallen for a woman marked for death by demons. How can he save her when she's afraid of him?
At Christmas time in New York City, will love bloom in the snow?
  
Available at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-avampireforchristmas-387184-139.html

For more information about Susan:
Her website:  http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com
Her romance blog:  http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SHCrowley
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Susan-Hanniford-Crowley/629298868

Thank you.

Cate Masters: Authors Supporting Authors

Recharging your creativity
with Cate Masters

Summertime’s a conundrum for me. As much as I love writing, when the sky’s blue, flowers are blooming and hummingbirds humming outside my window, I want to be outside. Bringing the laptop outside is a temporary fix. The best remedy is to get away – no email, no Internet. Unplug and play. The reverse of our driven, connected lifestyle.

A few years ago, my family took a vacation to the tiny island of Key West, Florida. History’s ingrained in its streets. Strolling down Duval Street, I could almost imagine myself walking in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, John James Audubon, Tennessee Williams or U.S. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Carter and Kennedy who’d stayed there. Visiting the Hemingway House left me with an odd sense of peeking inside the everyday life of the troubled genius who occupied it.

The biggest surprise came during a visit to the Keywest Shipwreck Museum. I had no idea its slogan, Where History Comes Alive, would be a virtual experience for me. While there, the history of the wreckers intrigued me so much, a story flashed in my head. What? You’ve never heard of a wrecker before? I hadn’t either until that visit, but the incredible tales of daring rescues by these men who salvaged shipwrecks, after first rescuing the ship’s passengers, inspired me to write Angels, Sinners and Madmen, a historical adventure novel to be released July 27 by Freya’s Bower:  http://www.freyasbower.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=246.

An excerpt:

Her intense scrutiny made him uneasy.

“Did someone hurt you? So much you distrust every other who shares her gender?”

Her face, illuminated by the setting sun, appeared so innocent, so youthful. She could not possibly know of the terrible danger inherent in offering oneself to another. The intricacies of a relationship.

“Yes.” The lone word revealed more than he had ever shared with anyone else. He stood rigid, unwilling to display himself further through any action or language.

“Then I am truly sorry, Sam. To close yourself off in such a way you can never know happiness again. It makes me sad for you.”

His laugh was hollow. “You needn’t pity me.”

Her face hardened, her beautiful lips retreating to a thin, disapproving line. “No. You’re right. To choose such a life willingly is your own doing. You deserve no pity.”

This was the kind of woman he was used to. Whose tender caresses turned to merciless clawing, so deep his very heart was at peril. “Such harsh words from one who would have me believe—”

“I will not be so pathetic as to cling to false hope. To wait for you to sort out your feelings could take years.” She bowed her head. “I hold you to nothing, Sam. Forget yesterday, if you must.” She lifted her head to hold his gaze for a moment, perhaps waiting for him to open himself to her. In resignation, she turned and walked out.

Stunned, Sam stood there, looking at the closed door.

She knew him. She knew him completely, her sweet touch had divined his true self, had breathed into his mouth and captured the essence of his soul. Her openness, her honesty, entranced him more than her beauty.
Yet he still could not move, could not will himself to go after her, confess his feelings.

The sensation of being in Livvie’s arms could not be more opposite to his time with Helen. When Livvie looked at him, she exposed herself completely. Nothing else existed in the world. Her giving nature resulted from her feelings, and what she did not feel, she would not give. He knew it to be true.

If Livvie left Key West, he would likely never meet another near her qualities. Her inquisitive nature inspired him to share his thoughts, his world. He trusted her reaction to be true, not a response designed to please him. Her skills of comprehension and analysis exceeded those of many educated men. Were it not for the constraints of society, Livvie could have risen to great power, if she’d aspired to.

He had never encountered another girl like her. That was perhaps what frightened him most. Yet he still felt rooted where he stood, even as he saw, in his mind’s eye, her figure grow smaller and disappear altogether. One thought repeated in his head: I will never forget.

Even more surprising was learning how exciting I found it to literally bring history alive by placing fictional characters in real events and settings of the past.

Writing is a stimulating creative activity, but sometimes the brain needs downtime in order to function. So do yourself a favor this summer. Give yourself a much-needed break and get away. The alteration to your perspective will amaze you. Wiping clean the slate of your brain is like a mental reboot. You don’t need to travel as far as a tropical island. Simply step out your door, find a tree-lined path and let your mind wander where it will. You never know where it will lead.

Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” The proud mom of three adult children, she currently lives in central Pennsylvania with her husband, Lily the dog, their dictator-like cat, Chairman Maiow, and dozens of characters inhabiting her imagination.  Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, http://catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Trish Silver: Authors Supporting Authors Tour Stop

Book Info: When I Remember Love is my first book.  It is a contemporary romance novel about a rock superstar, Aidan, who realized fame by winning an American Idol type of television reality competition.  He falls in love at first sight with the beautiful Jenna and together they navigate through the rocky road fame presented them.  You can learn all about it on my website: http://trishsilver.com.  It can be purchased on my site, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com, and SmashWords.com.  There is a Kindle version.

I have a lot of really good book promotion ideas on my site.  Here is one of them that I thought I would talk about today.   There is a site that converts books into e-books then sells them on the site.  They give the authors 80% of the royalties.  But that is not all, they also have a premium catalog that goes all over the world to the biggest book sellers.  They just signed a contract with Apple for the IPAD.  They also convert to Sony, kindle etc.  The author gets 65% of the royalties when they are sold from the catalog.

All the above is free to the author. However, in order to be accepted by the premium catalog, your book must be formatted perfectly.  They will only accept word files.  They have a free style guide for the author's to download and follow.  It is a lot of work.  I am lucky that I have a virtual assistant, Janis Friesler that did the formatting for me. She will do it for others too.  I think this is an ideal situation for an author that wants to revive some books that they have written in the recent past.

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog,

Trish Silver
Author of When I Remember Love

Bio: I was born and raised in Whitefish Bay, WI.   I went to college at the University of Cincinnati.  I moved to Los Angeles in the turbulent 1960's and met my husband Ed.  We have been happily married for 41 years and have two sons, Matthew and David.  We also have two grandchildren, Jack and Sarah.

Denise Verrico: Authors Promoting Authors Interview

Cara Mia blurb:
Mia Disantini is a vampire who wants to walk again in the sun.  Enslaved by her charismatic master, Ethan and plunged into the unenlightened Immortyl culture, Mia struggles for freedom.  Trained as Ethan’s “Bird of Prey”, she becomes the pawn of their enigmatic elder, Brovik, in his intrigues concerning the forbidden science.  Cast out by Ethan, Mia joins forces with Kurt, and together the lovers steal the secrets of immortality and deliver them to Genpath Laboratories.  Duped and imprisoned by CEO, Lee Brooks, Mia calls upon the aid of neuroscientist, Dr. Joe Ansari.  But Mia and Kurt are hunted for their crime and time is running out. 


Vampires have always been a passion for me.  As a kid, I loved watching Dark Shadows on TV.  Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid, was an early sympathetic vampire.  I devoured Anne Rice novels and read a lot of vampire lore.  Interview with the Vampire is my favorite.  I follow a lot of vampire traditions in my writing, like avoiding the sun and drinking only human blood, but I give these a scientific reason.  In the nineties, I read a lot about biotechnology.  I’ve always loved science.  The task I set out for myself was to create a plausible cause for vampirism and the subsequent immortality.  The sci fi vampire story, I Am Legend is another favorite of mine. 

I’m a sucker for a story about the little guy or gal fighting the forces of evil.  My heroine and hero are underdogs.  Mia and Kurt find they’re in sympathy because they find the strictures and cruelty of their society too much to bear.  They become outlaws who rebel against their masters and give the secrets of immortality to science.  Mia and Kurt are survivors who have suffered a lot, but her narrative reflects her irreverent humor and spunk.  Within all this science and intrigue, there is a love story.

A lot of people are curious about the Butterfly cover design.  First off, let me credit Linda Houle, one of the owners of L&L Dreamspell for her beautiful design.  My publisher is a joy to work with.  They allow the author a lot of input on the cover.  At author events and bookstores, I always hear compliments.  The butterfly is symbolic of metamorphosis.  In Immortyl culture, the human form is considered like a caterpillar. 

Only when he or she receives the progenitor’s blood, do they become fully realized.  But for Mia the butterfly symbolizes the soul.  In the book, her master, Ethan gives her a butterfly necklace to commemorate her transformation into an Immortyl.  When he casts her out to the elements, with only the clothes on her back and this necklace around her neck, she pawns the necklace.  In her mind, she has already sold her soul for immortality.  Her struggle is find her way back to her humanity. 

Also, Mia and Kurt’s story evokes the myth of Eros and Psyche.  Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul is usually depicted with butterfly wings.  The word psyche means both butterfly and soul.  If you’re not familiar with the myth, Psyche is a beautiful maiden who rouses the jealousy of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.  Aphrodite sends her son, Eros (Cupid, Amor) to prick Psyche with one of his arrows and make her fall in love with some horrible beast.  This isn’t the chubby baby of valentine cards but a graceful, winged young man.  When the boy sees the girl, he’s startled by her beauty and falls on one of his own arrows, thus falling in love with her.  He spirits her off to a house and only visits her in the night, when she cannot see his divinity.  Eros makes her promise never to look upon him.  The girl is naturally curious.  While he sleeps, she lifts a lamp to look on him.  Amazed by the beauty of the God, she trembles and spills a drop of hot oil on his shoulder.  He awakens and flies off, saying that Love cannot live with deceit.  Psyche is given many tasks to perform before she is allowed to join her Eros again, even traveling into the underworld.  Finally, Love and Soul are united for eternity. 

The myth is such a lovely story, about how winning love is hard work and never an easy path to tread.  Here’s a girl who goes to hell and back for the boy she loves.  You can also interpret the myth to be a struggle to realize the self, something Mia, a slave understands all too well. 

I’m very big on Joseph Campbell’s book The Power of Myth.  Mia’s tale has some elements of the classic hero’s journey.  These old stories still have a lot of power in today’s world.  All of my books so far are inspired by mythology in some way. 

In Twilight of the Gods, Book Two, (coming this fall) Kurt is nicknamed Loki by his followers, after the Norse mischief-maker who brings on the fall of the Gods.  In the third book, Fearful Symmetry, I turn to India and the tantric worship of Shakti, the female principle, who in one of her fierce forms is the goddess Kali. 

The POV character in that book is Cedric MacKinnon, who becomes a temple dancer and courtesan in an Immortyl cult of Kali Maa.

You can purchase personalized, autographed copies of Cara Mia through my web store at www.deniseverricowriter.webs.com.  It’s also available through www.Amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.borders.com and www.fictionwise.com. in trade paperback or multi-format e-book, including kindle.  The book is carried in some bookstores and it can be special-ordered if your local bookseller doesn’t carry it.

David Fingerman: Authors Supporting Authors Blog Tour

Interview with David Fingerman:
Author of Edging Past Reality





Patti:  Looks like you write suspense horror? Would that be correct?
David:
I also write mystery, humor, and other stuff.  But yes, the vast majority of my writing is horror and suspense.
  
Patti: What is the difference between suspense and horror?
David:
Tough question.  I think that it's pretty subjective.  They're both broad enough categories that there's a lot of overlapping. Offhand, I can't think of a horror story that can't also be called suspense.  It seems that the mainstream connotation of horror involves a supernatural element where suspense doesn't.  Although I do consider Psycho a classic horror movie. 

Patti: Are your short stories connected by some common element? If so, then what is the commonality?
David:
The theme that strings the stories together in Edging Past Reality would be altered reality.  I really like to take everyday normal people and shove them into situations far past anything they can comprehend.  EPR is divided up into sections starting with stories of childhood and ending with seniors.  No one, not even kids and old folk are immune – BWAHAHAHAHA!

Patti: How did you design that cover?
David:
I wish I could take credit, but I have to give the kudos to Two Harbors Press.  Their cover artist asked me what I had in mind.  This is what they came back with.  It really wasn't close to what I had envisioned - it was so much better.

Patti: What is your favorite story - by which author?
David:
Yikes.  There have been so many.  It's not my favorite story but it has stayed with me since I first read it back in the early 80s, and it still makes me think (plus, it is my favorite title because of the emotion it emits).  The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison.  It's from his book, Deathbird Stories.

Patti:  How has this favorite story affected your writing style?David:
Actually, what has affected my writing style, or lack thereof, was an interview I read about Stephen King.  He was being criticized for his lack of style.  He said flat out that he was a meat and potatoes kind of writer.  I'm not in any way comparing myself to Stephen King, but like him, I do want to tell a good and entertaining story.  Since I read that interview I don't concern myself with style, but just telling the best story I can.  If people want to read flowing, melodic passages, they aren't going to find it with my (ahem) style.  If they want to read between the lines and look for some hidden message or agenda, go right ahead.  If you find one, well, that'll be news to me.  But if you want to read a story that will let you escape reality for a bit ~ give it a try.

Patti:  What's next for you?
David:
My first novel, Silent Kill, should be released very soon.  It's a suspense/thriller.  Going back to your earlier question regarding the difference between horror and suspense ~ I could certainly consider this one horror, also.  There is nothing supernatural in it, but there are a number of scary moments.
Patti:  And, where are you going next in your blog tour?
David:
My next stop is June 7th.  I'm being interviewed on Blog Talk Radio with BK Walker.  One June 9th, I'll be a guest blogger with Cindy van den Heuvel.  Anyone can check my entire tour schedule at: http://davidfingerman.com.

Bio:  I was born in the dark recesses of St. Paul, Minnesota.  Well, recesses meaning a hospital, and I'm sure they had lights but it was 2:15 in the morning so at least it was dark outside.  I grew up in Minneapolis with an interest in reporting.  I started my career with Bill's Press (my friend Bill lived across the street and his dad owned a mimeograph machine – holy cripes, does that date me!)  I think we were about six at the time and we'd basically tell my friend's mom what we saw in the neighborhood, and she'd type it up for us.  My first story went something like, "There was a car crash on the corner of 39th and Abbott.  I don't think anyone got hurt but I had to leave before the police got there because a sixth grader came and beat me up."  We sold the mimeographed pages door-to-door for a dime. 

The journalism bug stayed with me through college, at least until my final quarter.  I realized that if I switched my major to speech, I had the requirements and could graduate that quarter.  It was then that I realized journalism was not where I was meant to be.  After a four to five year hiatus of anything related to writing (college will do that) I began to write short stories.  After a little more time, I then tried my hand at getting them published.  After bunches of years, here I be.

Lee Libros: Authors Supporting Authors Blog Tour

LEE LIBRO
Swimming With Wings

ISBN: 9781450580434
Format: 5 x 8 Paperback SRP: $13.99

For more information or to contact the author, visit http://www.swimmingwithwings.com
Have you ever felt like you were out of your element living here on earth? Have you ever imagined that maybe you really had wings? In her first novel, Lee Libro, visual artist and author of short stories, brings you the story of a character facing just such a dilemma. Swimming With Wings is blend of southern literature and historical fiction with a dash of mystery and romance.

As the mother of five children and a firm supporter of spiritual diversity, Lee Libro wrote the book as an expression of the soul-seeking route many take outside the disciplines of traditional religion. Swimming With Wings is a love story that takes a peek into the 1970’s emerging New Age alongside the growth of televised evangelical zeal of the era and purports that from the unruly to the strict, expression, personality, and beliefs are formed by family and cultural influence. Stripped away, spirit still remains as evidenced in our gift of creativity, whether in art or a simple spoken word or act of kindness.

Swimming With Wings follows the journey of three very different characters: a 19th century light healer; his grandson, a would be superstar of the evangelical world of the 1970’s; and a free thinking orphaned southern debutante. Their convergence surrounding a drowning, a famous American sculpture and a tumbledown plantation release a story of human brotherhood and true spiritual love.

What do these three: a light healer who can raise the dead, an eccentric, would-be dubutant teen and a fanatic cult follower have in common? A story of human brotherhood released only through the colliding dogmas surrounding their shared tragedy from long ago.

Lark Jennison is a free thinker and imagines she has wings! Set in the 1970's in a small southern town laced with folk mysticism, faith healings and the evangelistic zeal of the era, Swimming with Wings is her coming of age story. Orphaned, seventeen-year-old Lark and her brother are the last generation of the illustrious Jennison lumber family, and her uncanny ability to read a person, along with her eccentric ways as a budding artist, shine a spotlight of scrutiny upon her. When she falls for Peter Roma, a river gypsy from Summerville, she finds in him an equal, but is soon disturbingly set on a collision course with his fanaticism.

The drowning accident that had killed their father remains a mystery, a harbinger of ill feelings between the Romas and the Jennisons.  Is Peter Roma, a scammer, a real gypsy or Lark's personal savior? To protect her, Lark’s older brother sends her to art school in Maine, the home state of their mother’s family. Uninvited, Peter follows but eventually considers their relationship a danger to the beatification of both their souls. His grandfather had been a mystical light healer and heralded the rising tide of a new age; however, Peter's “being saved” interpretation of this leads him into cult and a world of corruption. Through it all Lark and Peter remain in love, but in the end who will save who?

An arresting blend of literary fiction, mystery and romance, this is a story about searching for direction, the hidden influences of ancestral roots and the forces that shape belief.

Perfect bound and expertly constructed at 286 pages, Swimming With Wings includes a Reading Group Guide, aimed specifically at the book club market and is being further promoted to markets with a focus on the New Age and Literary Fiction categories

Swimming With Wings is available at Powell’s Books (www.powells.com), www.Amazon.com and www.BarnesandNoble.com. Other retailers and wholesalers can order the book at wholesale from Ingram or Baker and Taylor.

About the Author:
Visual artist and freelance writer, Lee Libro lives in Florida with her husband, children and two dogs.  She grew up in Augusta, Georgia and Portland, Maine and earned her B.A. degree in English specializing in Renaissance literature at the University of Connecticut. She spent nearly ten years in Marketing Communications and then the following decade as a foreign language translations editor.

She is currently working on two additional novels. One is based on the true life story of her own great, great aunt,  accused and convicted of murdering her daughter-in-law on the surgery table, a suspected abortion case covered by national media in the 1930’s. The other is a modern adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, involving a modern day neurobiologist who tampers too far with the chemistry of the mind, and in so doing, discovers the threshold of the soul.