The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller-a review

THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller- a review

THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

NOTE: There are various covers for this book, but this is the one I chose to use for the review.

THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller is a story based on the Iliad by Homer. The names, places and faces are recognizable but Madeline puts a spin on the classic that is all her own. The introduction starts with the birth of Patroclus to King Menoitius and his ‘simple’ wife but the storyline begins when Patroclus, at the age of 10, is exiled to the kingdom of Phthia for killing the son of a nobleman. Patroclus will be raised by King Peleus in the shadow of his son Achilles. The story is told from Patroclus POV.

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles twists the tale so the reader witnesses the events from Patroclus point of view. We listen to Patroclus internal dialogue about his feelings, emotions and day-to-day life, living in the shadows of Achilles –the golden boy and prophetic warrior to be. As an exiled prince, Patroclus is now a nobody but Achilles sees something in the young boy and for all intents and purpose Patroclus becomes Achilles only friend and eventual lover. We are privy to Patroclus warring emotions between fear and anxiety, friendship and love, humiliation and rejection.

Like most young boys, Patroclus is unable to explain his reaction to their developing relationship, but as adolescence and hormones take over, he becomes well aware of what and whom he desires. Miller lets us into the very depths of Patroclus desires and yearnings, where we see a typical young man fearing rejection and humiliation at the hands of his objectified love. But rejection will come at the hands of another when Achilles is taken by his Goddess mother, and it will take everything in Patroclus to find his friend.

In the original, Achilles avenges the death of his beloved Patroclus by desecrating the body of Hector and in Miller’s version we are witness to the anger, guilt and depression that engulf Achilles when the only person he has ever loved is killed, but once again, Patroclus disembodied narration brings the heartbreak of loss to the forefront, as the deceased lover grieves for the friend he left behind. Even in death, Patroclus continues to tell the story of his beloved, pleading with Achilles mother to let her son go in peace.

THE SONG OF ACHILLES is the romantic re-telling, albeit very personal view, of Homer’s The Iliad. The story of a ten year siege when Helen was taken to Troy, and the internal struggle between King Agamemnon and Achilles. And just like Patrolcus, we witness some of the battles from the front lines, but the emotions come from a young man fearing for the life of his friend all the while questioning ‘why’ where they at war. Madeline Miller has blended the timeline beautifully from Patroclus’s POV and told a story of a love between two people that ended tragically when one man’s pride would cause the deaths of 1000s including his closest friend and his own. The gods and mortals mix in a tragic tale of a prophecy foretold and if you are a fan of Greek mythology, this retelling will grab you from the very first page.

LINKS TO ORDER: Amazon / Barnes and Noble/ The Book Depository / KOBO

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Author’s Note – THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller


I have loved ancient Greece since I was five and my mother began reading me the Greek myths. I was enthralled: by the larger-than-life gods, the epic adventures, and most particularly by the stories of the Trojan War, with its noble and deeply flawed heroes. “Sing, goddess, of the terrible rage of Achilles,” begins The Iliad. The words resonated in me, lingering long after my mother had closed the book and turned out the light.

Years later, when I became a student of Greek and Latin, I immediately sought out The Iliad. The poetry and language were gorgeous, the story even more compelling than I remembered. I spent a summer in Greece working on an archaeological dig, and my copy of the The Iliad came with me. There, wandering in olive groves and swimming in the beautiful Aegean, I began to think of how I, too, could sing of these ancient tales.

I had always been especially moved by Achilles, and his desperate grief over the loss of his companion Patroclus. But who was Patroclus? I searched the ancient texts for every mention of his name, and discovered an amazing man: exile and outcast, loyal and self-sacrificing, compassionate in a world where compassion was in short supply. I had not thought The Iliad had a love story; I was wrong.

It has been the deepest privilege and pleasure to spend the last ten years sailing in Homer’s wine-dark waters. I very much hope you will enjoy reading this book as much as I have loved writing it.

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A Q&A with Madeline Miller, author of THE SONG OF ACHILLES 

(Supplied by Harper Collins-publisher)

 

Q.: Do the Greek myths really matter in our modern world of cutting-edge technology and tenuous global politics? 

A.: It can be a cliché to call a story timeless.  But the stories of ancient Greece—the Iliad foremost among them—are exactly what this cliché was made for.  To borrow Ben Jonson, they are not “of an age, but for all time.”  Human nature and its attendant folly, passion, pride and generosity has not changed in the past three thousand years, and are always relevant.  And especially at this fractured and shifting historical moment, I think people are looking back to the past for insight.  These stories have endured this long, moving generation after generation of readers—they must, still, have something important to tell us about ourselves.  Every day on the front page of the newspaper is an Iliad of woes—from the self-serving Agamemnons to the manipulative, double-speaking Odysseuses, from the senseless loss of life in war to the brutal treatment of the conquered.  It is all there, in Homer too: our past, present and future, inspiration and condemnation both.  

I would also add, more specifically, that I think the culture is ready for the kind of love story that transcends gender and time. I did not deliberately set out to tell a “gay” love story; rather, I was deeply moved by the love between these two characters—whose respect and affection for each other, despite the horrors around them, model the kind of relationship we all can aspire to. 

Q.: How much of the Achilles story depicted in THE SONG OF ACHILLES is based on the classics and how much did you create in order to tell the story?  And, can you explain how you did your research for the book? 

A.: In some ways I feel like I’ve been researching this book my whole life!  I have loved the ancient Greek myths since I was a child, and studied Latin and Greek throughout high school, college, and graduate school.  My professors gave me an incredible and electrifying education in ancient history and literature, and all of it helped provide the foundation for the book—though at the time, of course, I had no idea that I would one day use it for fiction. 

Once I started writing the novel, I inevitably discovered that I needed to know more: What exactly did ancient ship sails look like?  What kind of flora and fauna does Homer mention?  My background in Classics helped there too; I had a lot of the answers already on my bookshelf, or I knew where to go to find the information I needed.  It was also extremely helpful that I had spent time in parts of Greece and Turkey. 

It was very important to me to stay faithful to the events of the Homer’s narrative.  The central inspiration behind the book is the terrible moment in the Iliad when Achilles hears about Patroclus’ death.  His reaction is shocking in its intensity.  The great half-god warrior—who carelessly defies rules, and condemns a whole army to death—comes completely unglued, desperate with grief and rage.  I wanted to understand what it was about Patroclus and their relationship that could create that kind of crisis.  Although Homer tells us what his characters do, he doesn’t tell us much of why they do it. Who was Achilles?  And why did he love Patroclus so much?  Writing the novel was my way of answering that question. 

The biggest changes to the mythology came with the stories about Achilles’ life before he came to Troy, which the Iliad doesn’t cover.  There are many, many variations on these, so part of what I was doing was figuring out which ones added to the novel’s arc, and which ones I should omit.

Q.: Most people don’t know that much about Patroclus and his relationship with Achilles.  How did you come up with your theory that their friendship grew into love? 

A.: I stole it from Plato!  The idea that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers is quite old.  Many Greco-Roman authors read their relationship as a romantic one—it was a common and accepted interpretation in the ancient world.  We even have a fragment from a lost tragedy of Aeschylus, where Achilles speaks of his and Patroclus’ “frequent kisses.” 

There is a lot of support for their relationship in the text of the Iliad itself, though Homer never makes it explicit.  For me, the most compelling piece of evidence, aside from the depth of Achilles’ grief, is how he grieves: Achilles refuses to burn Patroclus’ body, insisting instead on keeping the corpse in his tent, where he constantly weeps and embraces it—despite the horrified reactions of those around him. That sense of physical devastation spoke deeply to me of a true and total intimacy between the two men.

Q.: What about the “Achilles Heel” legend?  Where does it come from, and after all of your research, do you believe it? 

A.: Achilles’ most famous myth—his fatally vulnerable heel—is actually a very late story.  Our earliest account of it is by a Roman author, almost a millennium after the Iliad and the Odyssey were first composed.  During those thousand years a number of other stories popped up to explain Achilles’ seeming invincibility, but the Iliad and Odyssey contain the simplest: he wasn’t really invincible, just extraordinarily gifted in battle.  Since the Iliad and Odyssey were my primary inspiration, and since their interpretation seemed more realistic, this was the version I chose to follow. 

There are a number of fun myths about the heel, once that story became popular.  The most famous one is that, in trying to make him immortal, his mother, the goddess Thetis, dipped him in the river Styx.  The place where she held him—his heel—was the only place not made invulnerable.  Every time I have told this story to my middle school students, they erupt into chaos:  

“That’s so stupid!  Why didn’t she just switch heels and dip him twice?”   

“Or go back later, and do it again?”   

“The water would still have seeped in!”  

So that may have also influenced me on finding that a not-as-compelling reading.

Q.: If one wanted to visit Greece and its surrounding countries now, and walk in Achilles and Patroclus’ footsteps, and “re-live” the Trojan War, what modern cities should they visit and what might they find there? 

A.: The journey would begin in northern Greece, in the region of Thessaly. We aren’t sure where Peleus’ palace may have been (if it was a real place), but certainly Mount Pelion is still there.  It is a gorgeous spot to go hiking, and there’s even a mountain train that runs on the weekends.  Nearby, the major port town Volos is a wonderful place to visit and, given its excellent location, could very well have been a good Phthian settlement in antiquity. 

Next up would be the island of Scyros, where the goddess Thetis hid her son Achilles from the war, disguising him as a woman.  Scyros is in the middle of the Aegean, the most southern of the Sporades island cluster.  It’s quite rocky, especially in its southern region, and also has some wonderful Byzantine and Venetian monuments, along with its stunning landscapes and beaches. If you want the full Achilles experience, cross-dressing is a must. 

After that, it’s off to Aulis, (modern Avlida), in Boetia, due north of Athens.  This is where the Greek fleet gathered before setting off to Troy.  It’s quite a small town, but there are beaches, of course, and you can sit on them and pretend that you’re there waiting for that kid Achilles to finally show up so you can sack Troy already…. 

Though Achilles and Patroclus didn’t actually go there, now is a good time to take a quick detour to Agamemnon’s palace at Mycenae, in the northern Peloponnese.  It’s one of the few Homeric-era ruins that we do have, other than Troy itself.   You can see the famous “Lion-Gate” entrance to the city, as well as the circular graves where the golden “Mask of Agamemnon” and “Cup of Nestor” were found.  As you tour the site, imagine that you’re the proud son of Atreus himself, and bully some subordinates.  But don’t go too far: Agamemnon was killed with an ax in the bathtub by his fed-up wife. 

Now, back to Aulis.  After joining up with the fleet, Achilles and Patroclus would have made their way to Troy, stopping several times along the way.  Since we don’t really know where they stopped (even in mythology), I think that this gives you the right to land at pretty much any fabulous Greek island that you wish.  If you take the southern route, you can drop by Lesbos, where the famous poetess Sappho (whom Plato named the tenth muse), lived and wrote.  Farther north is the island of Lemnos, which was infamous in ancient mythology as the home of the venomous snake that crippled the hero Philoctetes.  Watch where you step! 

Personally though, I would recommend choosing the most northern route, which takes you, with just a little detour, by the incredible city of Istanbul. I had the good fortune to visit Istanbul this past spring, and it is breathtaking.  Everywhere you look there is some priceless piece of history, from the Hittites to the Ottomans, not to mention its many modern attractions.  So, you heard it here first: Patroclus definitely went to Istanbul. 

Last stop: Troy itself, perched just below the Dardanelles.  The nearby city of Canakkale is a great place to stay and boasts the full-size prop of the Trojan Horse used by the 2004 movie Troy.  Brad Pitt himself arranged the donation, the rumor goes! 

A short bus ride south brings you to the ancient archaeological site.  Stand amid the ruins of five thousand years of history, and look out over the plains where the Greeks and Trojans fought.  Though not much is left but stones, the feel of the place is unmistakably epic. Be sure to bring a jacket: not for nothing did Homer call it ‘Windy Ilios.’  Find the highest point—all that’s left of one of the ancient city’s famous towers— and remember the Iliad’s immortal first line: 

Sing, goddess, of the rage of Achilles.

Q.: What do you hope that readers will gain from reading your book?  And, what do you say to folks that say, reading the Greek myths is just too hard and not very interesting?  That kids in school should be able to choose their own reading materials (vampire novels, and the like) and not have to worry about these classics? 

A.: For those who have dipped into an ancient epic—the Iliad, say, or the Aeneid— and found it boring, here is my answer: I understand. 

As a teacher, I have often had students who would come to me at the beginning of the school year and confess, I read the Aeneid over the summer and hated it.  It doesn’t worry me: the poems assume a lot of background knowledge—who the gods are, and what the back story is.  They also assume that their audience understands epic conventions, like listing all the generals and their ships, or using frequent repetition.  If you don’t have that knowledge, the book can feel like a confusing slog.  But, if you go into it with a guide—a good introduction, a quick re-read of Greek myths, a friend who loves it—then it just comes to life in your hands.  Every one of those students, at the end of the school year, declared that they loved Vergil and they loved the Aeneid. 

One of my explicit desires in writing this book was to make it so that readers didn’t have to know anything about the Iliad to enjoy it.  I wanted to give them everything they needed to follow the action right then and there, so that they could experience Homer just as his first audiences would have: as entertainment, instead of an object of study. 

The good news is that even if someone doesn’t appreciate a Classic text in school, they might go back to it later and realize that they enjoy it after all.  I read Toni Morrison’s Sula in tenth grade and it went completely over my head; I just couldn’t connect with it.  Then I picked it up again a few years ago, and absolutely loved it.  So there’s always hope.  In the meantime, what’s wrong with vampires? 

As for what I hope readers will gain: I certainly would love to hear that the novel inspired some interest in Greek mythology in general, and the Iliad in particular.  I hope too that it might help to combat the homophobia that I see too often. 

In writing this novel, I thought a lot about personal responsibility.  Patroclus is not an epic person, the way Achilles is.  He’s an “ordinary” man.  But he has more power than he thinks, and the moments where he reaches out to others and offers what he sees as his very modest assistance have huge positive ramifications.  Most of us aren’t Achilles—but we can still be Patroclus.  What does it mean to try to be an ethical person in a violent world? 

 

 

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Gena Showalter and PC Cast-Interview and Giveaway with the Authors

Gena Showalter and PC Cast – Interview with the Authors

October 23, 2012 saw the release of the AFTER MOONRISE anthology written by Gena Showalter and PC Cast. We would like to welcome both Gena and PC to The Reading Cafe.  And pay close attention-these ladies are truly gifted in the humor department.

TRC:  Hello ladies and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to congratulate you on the release of AFTER MOONRISE.

For our members who do not know about Gena Showalter or PC Cast, would you please tell us something about yourself?

PC-I love wine, Oklahoma, and typing “the end.”

Gena-I have three dogs I treat like children—even though one of them is as big as a horse and all three reward me by farting in my office.

TRC:  OK..let’s switch it up. Would you please tell us something about each other that we may not know?

PC –about Gena: She cheats at pillow fights and sheds enough hair to make a hair rug.

Gena-about PC: She would totally win at Dancing with the Stars/Dirty Dancing Edition and success hasn’t changed her. Proof: she still teases me about my amazing hair rug—even though I spent three days weaving it for her.

TRC:  😉

TRC:  AFTER MOONRISE is new anthology (October 2012 release). Would you please tell us about the premise for your contribution to the book?

PC-POSSESSED-My fabulous hero, Kent Raef, is a psychic detective who can follow negative emotions and track killers through them. He spends a lot of time dealing with the underbelly of life, so he’s not very good at positive emotions, like love and happiness and pleasure. It’s only after he accepts a job tracking a killer, who is also psychic and who preys on negative emotions, that Raef realizes for the first time in his life he has to tap into the gentler side of his gift, which leads him to opening himself to love during a murder investigation… There’s a twist and a ghost and a lot of heat!

Gena-HAUNTED-My antisocial hero, Detective Levi Reid, is missing big chunks of memory. Like, he’s not sure how he ended up living in a flea bag apartment, suspended from duty, with a best friend/former partner who won’t speak to him. Then, in moves the innocent and haunting Aurora Harper who thinks she’s witnessed a murder so brutal she’s repressed the memories, only to sleep-paint the scene. They’re drawn to each other in the most magnetic way—and as they help each other, they begin to realize just how entangled their lives really are.

TRC:  What was the decision behind participating in an anthology? Have you ever collaborated with an anthology before?

PC-My decision to participate in a duology with Gena is because she and I have collaborated on two other anthologies. I loved playing in the sandbox with her!

Gena-PC said, “Want to do a book with me?” I was screaming “Yes,” before she finished the sentence.

TRC:  Most storylines in anthologies are novellas or short stories. Which do you find more difficult to write-full length novels or short stories where the premise, plotline and character development come to fruition at a much more rapid pace?

PC-I’m most comfortable writing long. I like to have plenty of room to world build!

Gena-And see, I would love to write an entire book in a single page. <== true story.

TRC:  Have either of you considered working on a co-authored collaboration with each other?

PC-We have! And I definitely would again! I heart me some Gena!

Gena-PC has been one of my dearest friends for the longest time (and that doesn’t mean we’re getting old! We’re young. Young, I tell you.) She’s a dream to work with!

TRC:   PC-ACCIDENTAL MAGIC (September 2012 release) is a combination of two of your short stories. Would you please tell us something about the premise of each storyline?

PC: My ACCIDENTAL MAGIC stories are from the anthologies Gena and I created several years ago. They’re set in Mysteria, Colorado, a supernatural town filled with vampires, witches, werewolves—and lots of sex! Here are the premises:

In Candy Cox and the Big Bad (Were)wolf, five-time divorcée Candice Cox is burned-out and lacking in love. But when a friend’s spell presents Candice with the young werewolf lover of her dreams, she starts to rethink her commitment to swearing off men. While the age difference throws her at first, Justin is exactly what Candice needs to kick-start her stalled love life…

In It’s in His Kiss, strict vegetarian Summer Smith has always had a hard time giving up control—especially since her magic is unpredictable at best. But when she meets a dark, gorgeous vampire named Colin, Summer suddenly finds herself wanting to let loose and experience the new appetites awaked by Colin’s kiss…

 

TRC:  PC- HIDDEN is the latest installment (October 2012) in the House of Night. Would you please tell us something about the premise? Do you see an end in sight for Zoey and the House of Night series?

HIDDEN is book 10 of the House of Night. Yep, I plotted 12 HoN books. I totally know what’s going to happen to Zoey and the gang!

 

TRC:  Gena-BEAUTY AWAKENED is the February 2013 installment in your Angels of the Dark series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Gena:  Beauty Awakened features Koldo, who is scarred, powerful, and known for his control legendary. He lives only for vengeance, determined to punish the angel who viciously removed his wings (AKA his mother. Yes, he has slight mommy issues). But if he yields to the forces of hatred, he will be kicked from the heavens and eternally damned. His last hope is the fragile Nicola Lane, a human born with a defective heart. Yet she shows surprising strength as demons stalk her every move, determined to end her. She is the key to Koldo’s deliverance…and his downfall.

TRC:  Gena-DARKEST CRAVING (Lord of the Underworld #10) has been schedule for release in July 2013. Would you please tell us something about the premise? How many books do you have planned for the series?

Gena:  I wish I could, but I haven’t yet gotten permission from the publisher to post anything about the book. (Mostly because the rough draft isn’t done, and my stories can change so much between one stage and another) All I can tell you is that it features Kane, the keeper of Disaster, he’s in a terrible mental and emotional place considering all the bad stuff that went down in The Darkest Seduction. He needs a woman to shine a little light into his life asap.

Right now, I have two more books contracted in the Lords of the Underworld series. The next one might just belong to Cameo.

TRC:  Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, family members and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas and why?

PC-I brainstorm with my editors and my agent. I trust their instincts and love the different slants they bring to the writing process. I also babble to my wonderful man. (Yes, he reads my books!) He doesn’t so much brainstorm with me, though, as he does give me a sounding board. But sometimes he says stuff like, “Why don’t you just shoot that character?” The last time he said that was while I was writing POSSESSED. I told him he was brilliant – kissed him – and then I did, indeed, shoot the character. Ha!

Gena-I love to bounce ideas off fellow author Jill Monroe, as well as have her read my drafts in chunks. She’s honest, hilarious and isn’t afraid to tell me I need to chop the first hundred pages because I started in the wrong place. What I don’t like is having to say, “You’re right.”

TRC:  What difficulties or challenges have you faced as a writer?

PC-The first half of writing every single book makes me want to leap off a tall building.

Gena-Having more than one project due at the same time, in different stages.

TRC:  Do you still fear rejection from a publisher?

PC-I don’t really think about publisher rejection – or at least I don’t think about it after I’m under contract. I obsess about writing the best book I can every time I write – so I suppose the rejection I fear most is of my own making.

Gena-I hate fear and won’t let myself entertain it for anything! I used to make myself sick worrying over the silliest things. Now I’m learning to resist it in all its varying forms, and oh, I love feeling it flee. (You can probably picture me fist pumping and shouting, “Freedom!”)

TRC:  Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the stress of writer’s block?

PC-Well…I don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe that not everyone who begins a book can finish one. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a veterinarian, but when I volunteered at a vet clinic I realized I didn’t have what it takes to be a veterinarian. I didn’t have vet block; it just wasn’t the right job for me. I don’t look at writing as a nebulous, Muse-driven thing. I look at it as a job. It’s a cool job. I love it. But it’s a job, and that means that sometimes, whether I feel like writing or not, I write. It’s just like when I was teaching high school. I didn’t always feel like teaching class, but it was my job, so I showed up and did it to the best of my ability whether I felt like it or not. Because writing has been romanticized for so long I think people tend to forget that a successful professional author is a professional.

Gena—I don’t believe in writer’s block, either! And like PC, I see writing as a job. It takes discipline to force myself to go into my office, shut the door, and sit down at my computer when I’d rather stay in bed – and rather not be enveloped by the pungent aroma of dog fart.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

PC-Right now I’m working on answering this interview – thereby procrastinating and not writing the House of Night novella that’s due next month and is soooo not close to being done…

Gena-I’m currently working on the rough draft of The Darkest Craving, copy edits for Beauty Awakened, page passes for Last Kiss Goodnight, and plotting Through the Zombieglass. “I will succeed,” she says with another fist pump.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

PC-Yep – a big wave to my paranormal romance fans! It was a pleasure to write for you again!

Gena-Thank you so much for your support!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food

PC-wine
Gena-gourmet hamburger from my favorite restaurant, The Stuffed Olive

Favorite Dessert

PC-wine
Gena-sugar cookie from my favorite restaurant, The Stuffed Olive

Favorite TV Show

PC-currently The Big Bang Theory
Gena-New Girl

Last Movie You Saw

PC-The Avengers
Gena-What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Dark or Milk Chocolate

PC-Dark!
Gena-Dark

First book ever published

PC-Divine by Mistake (published originally under the title Goddess by Mistake)
Gena-The Stone Prince

TRC:  Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations to both of you on all of your success and the release of AFTER MOONRISE. We are looking forward to your new and future releases.

The Reading Cafe is offering a GIVEAWAY a copy of AFTER MOONRISE to one lucky member wherever The Book Depository delivers.

1. You must be a registered member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please add your email address to your comment as Twitter etc does not allow for email addresses.

3. Giveaway open INTERNATIONALLY wherever The Book Depository delivers.

4. Please answer one of the LIGHTNING ROUND questions.

5. Giveaway runs from November 2-November 6, 2012

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Anne Allen-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Anne Allen-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

TRC: Hi Anne and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of Dangerous Waters. We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Anne: My home is in Devon, by my beloved sea. I have three children and my daughter and two grandchildren live nearby. I was born in Rugby, to an English mother and Welsh father. As a result I spent many summers with my Welsh grandparents in Anglesey (now famous for being the home of Prince William!) and learnt to love the sea. My restless spirit has meant a number of moves which included living in Spain for a couple of years. The longest stay was in Guernsey for nearly fourteen years, after I fell in love with the island and the people. However, I contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns!

By profession I’m a psychotherapist but have long had creative ‘itches’, learning to mosaic, paint furniture, interior design and sculpt. At the back of my mind the itch to write was always present but seemed too time-consuming for a single mum with a need to earn a living (my husband died while young). Now the nest is empty there’s more time to write and a second novel is gestating, but novels take a lot longer than children to be born!

TRC: Your bio states that you were a hypnotherapist, psychotherapist and counselor, as well as a Master Reiki Practitioner. Would you please explain to our members, what entails a Master Reiki Practitioner?

Anne: Reiki is a form of healing devised by a Japanese man, Mikao Usui, and aims to balance energy levels – physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s very gentle, with the practitioner placing their hands a few inches away from the client’s fully clothed body and moving down from the head to the feet. A practitioner will practise meditations, treat themselves and follow simple spiritual principles. A Master Practitioner is someone who has trained to Level Four Reiki and can then teach others.

TRC: Do you believe your experiences have helped with your writing career?

Anne: Definitely! Both personal and professional experiences have impacted on the way I see people and I‘ve learnt a great deal about human nature. All useful for a writer! And a significant character in my book is a psychotherapist who uses hypnosis.

TRC: What challenges have you faced as an author?

Anne: The usual, I guess – lack of time, a great deal of procrastination, feelings of isolation and loss of confidence in my ability to write.

TRC: DANGEROUS WATERS is your latest release. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Links to Order
Amazon Paper Books
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook
The Book Depository
KOBO

Anne: It’s a romantic mystery set in Guernsey, Britain following the loves and losses of Jeanne Le Page. She’s a thirty-something who left the island 15 years before after a family tragedy and now is forced to return after her grandmother’s death. The old lady has left Jeanne her cottage but she doesn’t want to live there, planning to sell it and leave. Heartbroken after the recent end of a relationship she is feeling completely lost. But then Jeanne starts to unearth secrets going back to the German Occupation together with the truth behind the unexplained tragedy. She had been injured in the accident and suffered traumatic amnesia. With the help of hypnosis Jeanne slowly recovers her memory but this puts her in mortal danger from an unexpected source.

Jeanne has to relive the past as the ghosts continue to haunt her. But over time the Island works its magic, encouraging her to live and love again. . .

Click HERE for our review of DANGEROUS WATERS

TRC: What was the inspiration behind the storyline?

Anne: The island of Guernsey was the initial inspiration and I wanted to write a romance with a twist – some mystery. The story covers love and loss, which can and does happen to most of us, meaning it’s something everyone relates to. Both my own experience and my clients’ stories offered examples of how people overcome tragedy. This was the central theme – that whatever, or whoever, we’ve lost, we can always love and live again. There is a parallel story concerning Jeanne’s grandmother which flags up events from the Occupation which actually occurred. So there’s a mixture of fact and fiction with the characters and their stories being pure fiction of course! I also knew that there had to be an old house hiding a secret.

TRC: If you could virtually cast the storyline characters, which model or actors would you select for Jeanne, Marcus, Peter and Molly?

Anne: Emily Blunt as Jeanne.

Ben Affleck as Marcus.

Tom Wilkinson as Peter.

Julie Walters as Molly.

TRC: Have you faced any difficulties on the road to publication?

Anne: I sure have! I sent my MS. out to what seemed like all the literary agents in the UK, but was possibly nearer 20, and in the main just received short, pre-printed rejections. Very depressing! I did receive a couple of personal replies which were encouraging and it was these that kept me going. I obtained some professional critiques which really helped me to see where I needed to make changes to the novel. I ended up chopping out about 10000 words! I later realised that sending out my first draft to agents was very foolish and I’ll know better another time J

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon for many authors. How do you handle the stress and anxiety of writer’s block?

Anne: It’s usually been short-term – perhaps a few hours or days at the most- and I find it best just to walk away and do something different. Usually when I’m not actually thinking about the book, the answer to any problem will pop into my mind. Otherwise, I’ll just write something to move the story on, knowing that I can change it later.

TRC: With whom do you bounce ideas and storylines?

Anne: Well, I have a couple of girlfriends who are happy to listen to my ideas and read rough drafts. We all need someone to encourage us!

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Anne: Finding Mother, the story of a young woman’s search for her natural mother. Along the way family secrets are revealed going back to the Second World War. It’s based primarily in Guernsey but has excursions to England, Spain and Jersey. It’s another story of lost love but it will have a happy ending! I’m hoping to see it published next year.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Did you attend ANY of the Olympic events?
No, I’m not really into sport. But my children went one night to watch the track events in the fantastic stadium. My youngest son treated his brother, sister and brother in law and they all really enjoyed it!

Favorite Food
Lobster (Have expensive tastes!)

Favorite Dessert
Baked Alaska

Favorite TV Show
Inspector Montalbano (Italian – not sure you get it in the US)

Favorite Movie
Shirley Valentine

Last Movie You Saw
The Iron Lady (on DVD)

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Dark

Favorite Flower
Freesias – from Guernsey!

Do you have any pets?
No

TRC: Thank you Anne for taking the time to answer our question. WE wish you all the best in your chosen career. Good luck on your next life-adventure.

Anne is offering a copy of her novel DANGEROUS WATERS to one lucky member at The Reading Cafe.

1. You must be a member at The Reading Cafe to qualify for the giveaway. If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page, or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter, please post your email address with your comment, as Twitter etc does not allow for email addresses.

3. Giveaway is OPEN Internationally for ecopy. Giveaway is OPEN to UK residents for Paper Only. (Please let us know if you are a UK residents when you comment)

4. Giveaway runs from October 6-8, 2012

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Alexandra Ivy-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

 Alexandra Ivy-Interview with the Author

 

With the release of FEAR THE DARKNESS, number 9 in the Guardians of Eternity, we would like to welcome the author  Alexandra Ivy. 

Follow Alexandra at:
Website
Twitter
Facebook

TRC:  Hi Alexandra and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of FEAR THE DARNESS.

Alexandra:  Thanks so very much for inviting me!!! I’m really excited that Caine and Cassie’s story is finally here. It has some unexpected twists and turns, so I hope everyone enjoys the story.

 

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Alexandra:  I’m a small town girl from the Midwest. I’ve been married for 28 years (yikes, that hurts to admit) to my very own romantic hero and I have two sons, Chance and Alexander. I love, love, love to read when I have the time and on occasion I indulge my love for traveling.

 

TRC:  Many authors begin their love of writing at an early age. What was the catalyst that sparked your interest in writing?

Alexandra:  From a very young age I intended to become a famous actress. I loved the stage and performing in front of a live audience, but when I took a playwriting class, I knew I’d found my true career. I loved the ability to create my own world that was populated by my own characters. Of course, life intruded and after marrying my college sweetheart I was busy working and having children. It was when I decided to stay home with my boys that I returned to my love of writing. It took a looooong time 😉 , but finally Zebra Publishing bought my regency historical, and as they say, the rest was history.

 

TRC:  What challenges of difficulties have you faced as a writer?

Alexandra:  I was absolutely the tortoise, not the hare. It took me almost ten years of writing before I was ever published. And during my career, I’ve gone through every stage. I definitely wasn’t an overnight success. In fact, I trudged along at the bottom of the publishing world for a quite a few years. Then, I was fortunate enough to find a group of readers who have supported the Guardians of Eternity with amazing loyalty.

 

TRC:  FEAR THE DARKNESS is the 9th installment in your Guardians of Eternity series. Would you please tell us about the premise?

LINKS TO ORDER
The Book Depository
Amazon Paper Books
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Alexandra:  Cassandra is a Were, a blessed with visions that portend the fate of the world. A rare and delicate creature, Cassie must be protected at all costs. Enter Caine, a powerful cur turned pureblooded Were whose recent tangles with a demon lord have left him in serious need of redemption. Caine is duty-bound to keep Cassie out of danger—and that means resisting his potent urge to seduce her…

 

TRC: The couple of note in the storyline is Cassie and Caine, who will finally acknowledge their attraction and obvious mate status, but the overriding premise is the Dark Lord’s obsession with returning to full strength and using any method and everyone possible including Gaius.  How challenging was the writing to include many of the major players from the series as well as trying to keep the focus on Caine and Cassie’s relationship?

Alexandra:  A great question! It was a true balancing act and I had to rewrite more than one scene when I realized that former characters were starting to take over the book! Especially Styx and Viper who always have to be center stage 😉

 

 

 

TRC:  Without giving away the ending, is Gaius storyline next in the series or will he continue to be a slave to the Dark Lord (in more ways than one)?

Alexandra:  He is in the next book. And he’s being tortured on an epic level, but there’s a surprising twist that I hope will keep readers guessing.

 

 

GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY (Reading Order)

1. When Darkness Comes
2. Embrace The Darkness
3. Darkness Everlasting
4. Darkness Revealed
5. Darkness Unleashed
6. Beyond The Darkness
7. Devoured By Darkness
8. Taken by Darkness (Yours for Eternity Anthology)
9. Darkness Eternal (Supernatural Anthology)
10.The Real Werewives of Vampire County (Anthology)
11.Bound by Darkness
12.Fear The Darkness

TRC:  My heart goes out to Gaius. His pain and guilt eats away at his very soul. Will he get another chance at love? At a HEA?

Alexandra: I can’t say yet 😉

 

TRC:  MY LORD ETERNITY is the second release (December 1, 2012) in your IMMORTAL ROGUES series.-a spin off from the Guardians of Eternity. Would you please tell us about the premise?

Alexandra:  To other vampires, mortals are weak, uninteresting creatures. To Lucien Valin, they are infinitely fascinating. Especially Jocelyn Kingly—once the prize of London society, now an outcast. As the vampire assigned to guard her, Lucien is relishing his task. But her beguiling goodness puts her in terrifyingdanger. Not just from the traitor intent on claiming her mysterious amulet, but from the desire Lucien struggles to keep in check.

Youthful infatuation already cost Jocelyn her good name. But even with little to lose, instinct tells her that accepting Lucien as a tenant in her home is a devil’s bargain. As she roams London’s streets at night, helping the most wretched, she feels a dark force drawing near. And Lucien—magnetic, charming, irresistible—may turn out to be her savior, her lover, or the means to change her destiny forever.

 

TRC:  The last book in your Immortal Rogues trilogy is MY LORD IMMORTALITY is set to release December 31, 2012. Would you please tell us something about the premise of the storyline?

Alexandra:  Amelia Hadwell has no time for London’s nightlife. Not when her beloved brother’s odd ways have their family threatening to institutionalize him. And not when she is questioning her own sanity after being confronted by a murderous shadow creature—then being saved by a captivating stranger, a man who belongs to a world she cannot imagine.

Reserved and scholarly, Sebastian St. Ives has been content without human desires—until they are reawakened by the delicate, brave Amelia, whom he is meant to protect. For the young woman has no idea she possesses the key to a ravenous vampire’s dark victory. Now Sebastian must shield her from both a killer and his own growing attraction—or bond with her completely, and forever…

 

TRC:  What was the decision behind the spin-off trilogy? Where the characters demanding their stories be told NOW?

 

Alexandra:  These are actually books that I wrote under the name Debbie Raleigh when I was still writing regencies. Even then I couldn’t resist vampires J It was so much fun to see the books back in print and since the characters are immortal, I used one of the female characters…Nefri…to tie the books into my new series.

 

TRC:  What was the decision behind releasing the IMMORTAL ROGUES trilogy (all three books) within the span of less than 12 months?

Alexandra:  Since they were re-releases it was much easier to schedule them close together and I think readers enjoy when they don’t have to wait for months or sometimes years between books.

 

TRC:  What challenges did you encounter (writing, research, logistics) with the successive release of the novels? Did you find the time to sleep? 😉

Alexandra:  My writing schedule has truly been nuts over the last couple of years J Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy to have the books being released so close together, but it has meant that I write 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. I keep promising my family I’ll take a break, but there’s always another story to write!!

 

TRC:  Writer’s Block is a real phenomenon that many authors encounter from time to time. How do you handle the anxiety and pressure of writer’s block?

Alexandra:  Thankfully, I’ve never had to struggle through writer’s block. I write every day, and while I might go back and edit what I’ve written or even toss it out, I never, ever stop writing. To be honest, I’ve never really believed in a muse. Some days are easier than others, but it’s actually hard work that gets the story written. Having a deadline keeps me focused.

 

TRC:  If you could virtual ‘cast’ the characters from your Guardians of Eternity series, which actors or models do you feel would be represent the major players in the storylines?

Alexandra:  When I was writing Dante was definitely Johnny Depp and Abby was loosely based on Sandra Bullock. Caine has a bit of early Brad Pitt. Levet is a combination of people with a hint of Pepe La Pew 😉

 

TRC:  Many authors listen to music while writing for inspiration or relaxation. What do you do for inspiration? Relaxation?

Alexandra:  I read!!

TRC:  Your storylines are part of many anthologies. Which do you find more difficult to write: full length novels or short stories and why?

Alexandra:  Short stories are challenging. You have to have a story that can unfold in a third of the space of a normal book, but they’re also a lot of fun. I love the opportunity to take characters that might not be suitable for a full length story and giving them their own adventure!!

 

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Alexandra:  I’m actually working on a new series. The books are tentatively titled the ‘Sentinels’ and will start off in a short story collection coming May 2013. These will be different from my Guardians, with the stories revolving around people who are ‘gifted’ with special abilities. They’re known as high-bloods and will include witches and psychics and necromancers, as well as the Sentinels. The Sentinels are men and women who are trained warriors who protect the high-bloods when they travel away from their safe-house called Valhalla, or track those high-bloods who are a danger to the mortal population.

 

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Alexandra:  Just a huge thank you to all my readers. I never forget that without them I wouldn’t be allowed to share my crazy world 😉

 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Any kind of Chinese food…mmmm.

Favorite Dessert
Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
Right now it’s True Blood! Of course, I also love Game of Thrones.

Favorite Movie
Pride and Prejudice–the Colin Firth version.

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk

Do you have any pets?
Over the years we’ve had dozens including ferrets, hamsters, dogs, cats…now, we just have one dog.

TRC:  Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Once again congratulations on the release of your new novel and the upcoming final 2 installments in the Immortal Rogues trilogy. We are looking forward to reading the novels.

Alexandra:  Yay! Thank you so much!

Alexandra Ivy has graciously offered a copy of one of her GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY books (Winner’s Choice) to one eligible member at The Reading Cafe.

1. You must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter, please leave your email address as Twitter does not allow for email address.

3. Please answer one of the LIGHTNING ROUND questions.

4. Giveaway open to continental USA and Canada only.

5 Giveaway Sept. 5 -8, 2012.

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Traci L. Slatton-Interview with the Author

Traci L. Slatton-Interview with the Author

TRC:  Hi Traci and welcome to The Reading Café.  Congratulations on the release of COLD LIGHT-the latest in your After Trilogy.

Traci:  Thanks! And thanks for having me at The Reading Cafe. This is fun!

Link to : Traci’s Website

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information.  Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Traci:  When people ask where I grew up, I say, “Around,” because my dad was in the military and we moved around the US a lot. But I liked that because it gave me a chance to see different ways that people live. I am now married to classical figurative sculptor Sabin Howard www.sabinhoward.com . He is really the best in the world at what he does, but he keeps leaving his dirty bicycle shorts on the dining room chair, and he doesn’t know how to clean up after himself in the kitchen…. I have three daughters and a stepdaughter. We all belong to two labs, a chocolate and a yellow. My favorite places in the world are Cape Cod and Florence and Rome and Paris.

TRC:  Many authors begin their love of writer at an early age.  What was the catalyst that started you on the road to writing?

Traci:  When I was 6 years old, I went from reading “See Spot Run” to reading novels. I fell in love with books and there was no holding me back. After a few months I read my first novel. It was about a child who had died and was watching his family from heaven. It moved me deeply and my emotional response made a big impression on me. I thought, “I want to do this! I want to move people the same way!” After that, writing novels was the longing that led me through my life. It still is.

TRC:  What challenges have you faced as a writer?

Traci:  Whew, there have been a lot! I came from a family that had not had a lot of education, and I was the first person in my family to go to college. Then, even though I was determined to write novels, it didn’t come naturally. I had to reinvent the wheel several times to figure out how to structure a story and to create characters. I’m still learning.

I’ve had a gazillion rejections; that’s a 1 with a hundred 0’s after it. I could wallpaper my whole apartment over in rejection letters. There was even a journalist who read a first draft of something I wrote–this was back in the days before spellcheck was automatic, and I hadn’t even spellchecked the document–and he trashed my writing in print, in a book he wrote. Transference is a bitch, right?

I’ve been through a bunch of agents and now there’s some funky stuff going on in publishing, because the advent of Print on Demand technology and eBooks have revolutionized the field, in the same way the Gutenberg Press did five hundred years ago. Authors really have to watch out. The brave new world of publishing offers unparalleled opportunities to authors, but there are some sharky literary agents doing the wrong thing, eg, running their own epublishing houses and getting their authors to pay them for it. Not cool!

TRC:  FALLEN is the first book in your After Trilogy.  Would you please tell us about the premise of the novel?

LINKS TO ORDER
The Book Depository
Amazon Paper Books
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook and Paper Books
KOBO

Traci:  FALLEN is set after a global ecological cataclysm has killed billions of people and devastated the planet. Most of the structures, both physical and social, are gone. Emma is an American woman caught in France with her daughter on “The Day,” and she struggles to stay alive. As she travels south, seeking safety, she takes on seven other children. She becomes the de facto mother to a little band of survivors whose safety she is desperate to ensure.

TRC:  There is plenty of reference to ecological and biological warfare etc.  How mush research was involved with the writing of this particular series?

Traci:  You know, I always do a lot of research. Some of it is on the internet, some of it comes from books, some comes from talking to people. I was sitting at a dinner for an arts organization and the man next to me ran a company that makes blankets that are actually solar energy cells–so I used that idea.

TRC:  COLD LIGHT is the second instalment in the series.  Would you please tell us something about the novel?

LINKS TO ORDER
Amazon Paper Books
Amazon Kindle
The Book Depository
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Traci:  COLD LIGHT picks up about a year and a half after FALLEN ends. In COLD LIGHT, Emma is back in Canada. Her older daughter is kidnapped by raiders, and Emma sets out to get her back. Along the way she encounters some old friends and has faces some heart-wrenching choices…

TRC:  If you could virtually cast the characters in the After Trilogy, which actors or models would you use for the major characters within the series?

Traci:  For Emma, I’d love to see Natasha McElhone or Kate Hudson. Both women project a good balance of serious and humorous, and they come off as soulful. For Arthur, maybe Scott Elrod with his hair dyed black. For Vasily, since we’re dreaming, Anthony Hopkins. For Laurette, Emma Stone with her hair dyed dark–Emma Stone can be sassy and arch in just the right way for Laurette. For Robert, a young red-haired Irish actor. For Alexei, Alexander Skarsgard, who brilliantly plays a handsome sociopath. For James the doctor, Noah Wylie. What do you think?

TRC:  🙂

TRC:  Did you face any difficulties or challenges getting this series published?

Traci:  It was originally represented by a famous NYC literary agent who claimed to love it. After a few publishing houses passed on it, she tried to get me to let her epublish it, and she would take 15% of the profits–and I would pay for the conversion to an ebook. But I had already done a lot of research into independent publishing because of a sculpture book I was writing with my husband, “THE ART OF LIFE.”

It’s unethical for agents to open their own epublishing branches. Several of them are doing so, and it’s just not OK. It presents a conflict of interest for agents. I’ve heard too many stories about novels that went around to publishers several times and were rejected by twenty editors before the twenty first editor picked it up–and turned it into a bestseller. An agent with his/her own epublishing enterprise simply won’t be motivated to work as hard, and to persist as long, in getting a book sold to a traditional publisher.

I politely declined with this agent and asked her to represent the foreign rights, because my first novel IMMORTAL did very well around the world. But she was pretty mad that I didn’t want to give her a lot of money to do something I could do for myself more cheaply, so she dumped me.

TRC:  Writers Block is a very real phenomenon for many authors. How do you handle the stress and anxiety of Writers Block?

Traci:  Darn good question!! Even to say those words, “w- b-” is like a golfer saying “shanks.” It makes you feel jinxed. This is me knocking on wood and making the sign of the cross and throwing salt over my shoulder!

Physical exercise really REALLY helps me. Joyce Carol Oates writes about authors running. I don’t run anymore because I value my hips and knees and I want to keep them in good condition until I’m 90 years old. But I have a regular yoga practice and I like to get on a stairmaster or elliptical trainer at the gym. Cardio REALLY gets the ideas flowing.

I also walk a lot. Dickens used to walk all over London at night. Walking seems to shake things loose in my head. Then, if I’m really blocked, I start going to the movies a lot. That helps the creative juices flow.

TRC:  With whom do you bounce ideas?

Traci:  I try to bounce ideas off my husband, but Sabin is obsessed with sculpture and just kind of nods at me. He’s a good reader of a first draft.

I ruminate a lot. Sabin says writers are lost in their thoughts much of the time.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Traci: I’m working on a historical novel set in Germany during WW2 and the last book of the After Trilogy. Also taking notes on a fable called SHOE. I’ve written about five chapters of a bittersweet romantic comedy called THE YEAR OF LOVING.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Traci:  YES, thank you: I wish you and your readers much JOY OF READING!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Chocolate

Favorite Dessert
See above, chocolate. Chocolate is a reason to incarnate in the physical body!

Favorite TV Show
Community

Favorite Movie
Tie: Splash and The Terminator

Last Movie you saw
To Rome with Love

Dark or Milk Chocolate
DARK!!

Favorite Flower
Lilacs

Last Vacation Destination
Truro, MA

Do you have any pets?
I belong to two labs, a female chocolate named Molly and a male yellow named Gabriel. I belong to them, and so do my socks and knickers, which they see as snack food.

TRC:  Thank you Traci for taking the time to answer our questions.  WE are looking forward to your final instalment in the After Trilogy.  Keep us in mind when you are closer to the release date.

Traci:  Thanks for hosting me and you’ll be one of the first people emailed when the new book is ready!

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Victoria Roberts-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

VICTORIA ROBERTS-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

 

 

TRC: Hi Victoria and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on your upcoming new series The Bad Boys of the Highlands and your first novel TEMPTATION IN A KILT.

Victoria: Thank you so much for having me, Sandy. I love the opportunity to meet new people.

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Victoria: I’m fortunate enough to be the mother of two beautiful kids and the wife of a supportive husband. Like many authors, I have a full-time day job and write every spare moment of the day. Home is in Western Pennsylvania while I dream of Scotland daily. *sigh*

TRC: What challenges have you faced as an author?

Victoria: Being a debut author, every step is a challenge. Between querying, synopsis writing, hooks, marketing, copy/edits, reviews and much, much more, everything is new. Sometimes it’s a little scary getting your feet wet in something you virtually have minimal knowledge on. I still find myself fighting this internal battle.

TRC: Many authors develop their love of writing at an early age. What or who sparked your interest in writing?

Victoria: As a child, I did not like to read. I could not find topics that interested me. As an outlet, I wrote. I was sixteen years old and penned my first young adult novella without ever having read a single romance novel. I guess you could say I had the romance writing bug at an early age and didn’t even know it. But when my mother (an avid reader) gave me Flowers in the Attic, I discovered a new love. I could not turn the pages fast enough and I was hooked. That was the moment that defined the purpose of curling up with a good book.

TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon for many authors. How do you handle the stress and anxiety of writer’s block?

Victoria: This is very real. And yes, I think every author deals with writer’s block at one time or another. I always walk away and come back to my manuscript within a few hours. On the rare event that doesn’t work, I take a few days off and forget about it. In my experience, I find coming back with a “fresh” perspective is sometimes the best way to go. And don’t be discouraged if you find out your scene doesn’t work. I’ve cut scenes, added and switched things around until it made sense.

TRC: TEMPTATION IN A KILT is the first novel in your new Bad Boys of the Highlands. Please tell us about the premise of the storyline?

LINKS TO ORDER:
The Book Depository
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Victoria: Temptation in a Kilt is about life and relationships. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for love, but I favor a story so much more when there are realistic obstacles that get in the way. It makes the journey that much more enticing.

My hero and heroine have family issues of their own. In order for Ciaran and Rosalia to grow as individuals and then eventually as a couple, they need to overcome personal demons as well. They feel their life is directed down one path with duty and responsibility and yet, they’re sort of confused with the nagging feeling of “how can something so wrong feel so right?”

TRC: The character of Rosalia is heartbreaking. Her sense of worth and self-esteem issues are very real for many of today’s women. What or who was the inspiration behind Rosalia?

Victoria: Rosalia’s character is meant to be an inspiration. I don’t know of any woman who doesn’t have some type of self-esteem issues no matter how large or small they may be. I loved the moment when Rosalia takes hold of her life and becomes her own woman, basically finding herself. I think every woman wants to find that inner peace.

Although Rosalia was my great-grandmother’s name, her character is based on a mix of women that I know—from her shyness, her stubbornness, the relationship she has with James (her best friend.)

TRC: Aiden and Aisling are already an established couple. Have you considered writing a pre-quel to tell their love story?

Victoria: No. I personally do not like prequels because they are usually never as good as we want them to be. I’m still an original Star Wars fan. The first three were the best.

TRC: What plans do you have for the next installment in the Bad Boys of the Highlands series? Will we see Declan fall for a certain black-haired beauty?

Victoria: Ah, you know me too well! X Marks the Scot is the next book in the series and is scheduled for release in February 2013. And yes, I can confirm that Declan MacGregor and Lady Liadain Campbell will have their fifteen minutes of fame. Declan was so much fun to write. For those of you who have read Book 1, you’ll understand why. No spoilers here.

TRC: Why a novel of the historical Scottish Highlands?

Victoria: Strong alpha-males fighting for a cause, finding a single chance to love… With such brutality in that day and age, love is the light at the end of the tunnel. Between the Vikings, English and clan wars, Scottish history provides a fine backdrop for a steamy romance. Don’t you think?

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Victoria: There are three books in this series.

TRC: Did you face any challenges or difficulties getting your novel published?

Victoria: I think every author faces challenges and I am certainly no different. When I finished my first manuscript, I entered a contest with the publisher of my dreams. And it turned into a nightmare. Although the publisher did not question my story content, I was pummeled on my hook—or lack thereof. What separates me from the other authors? What makes this story different? Why would I buy this? I bombed. For three days, my family avoided me like the plague. My CP (critique partner) wanted to kill me. And I was literally hanging on by a thread. It came down to one question. “Am I a quitter?” Low and behold, one month later, the same publisher had another contest. Some may say I’m a glutton for punishment. I did not think twice and jumped in—head first. I entered. I won.

And I will never forget the publisher’s words, “Victoria, I love your voice! Send me a full!” After several months of checking my e-mails about ten times a day, the moment I had waited for finally arrived. My jaw dropped and I believe for a brief time my heart even stopped. Not only was the publisher interested in my manuscript, but I was asked to pitch the series!

TRC: How much research was involved with writing this particular series due to the historical nature of the Scottish Highlands?

Victoria: There was a significant amount of research involved, but of course there are fictional characters and situations as well. That’s what makes writing fiction so much fun.

TRC: Have you ever been to Scotland?

Victoria: Isn’t THAT the question? No. All of my love thus far has come from books, DVD’s, internet and living vicariously through some of my chapter mates. One day. *sigh*

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, or between family and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Victoria: I am blessed with a phenomenal CP (critique partner.) She is the only one I discuss my ideas with, unless of course I have hunting or fishing questions and those go to my husband.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Victoria: I am currently working on Book 3 which is Laird Alexander MacDonell and Lady Sybella MacKenzie’s story. Alexander was Rosalia’s cousin from Temptation in a Kilt.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Victoria: For those aspiring authors, never give up your dreams. I will leave you with my daughter’s infamous line in handling every sort of rejection. “Don’t be upset. They’re blinded by your awesomeness.”

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Pizza or anything Italian

Favorite Dessert
Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
Game of Thrones

Favorite Movie
Titanic

Last Movie you Saw
Madagascar 3—hey, I have kids.

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk Chocolate

Favorite Flower
Cymbidium Orchid

Do you have any pets?
We have a mixed lab named Zoe.

TRC: Thank you Victoria for taking he time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best in your writing career. Good luck with the release of Temptation in a Kilt. Keep us in mind for the second novel in the series.

Victoria: Thank you so much Sandy and to the folks at the Reading Café for having me. This was a lot of fun. I always love to hear from readers. Please visit my website at Victoria Roberts Author. Take care everyone and happy reading!

 

Victoria Roberts and Sourcebooks has graciously offered 2 copies of TEMPTATION IN A KILT forThe Reading Cafe giveaway.

1. To be eligible for the giveaway, you must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page, or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter, please leave your email address with your comment as Twitter etc does not allow for email address info.

3. Giveaway open to continental USA and Canada only.

4. PLease answer one of the LIGHTNING ROUND questions.

5. Giveaway from September 1-4, 2012

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Kendare Blake-Interview with the Author

Kendare Blake-Interview with the Author

 

 

TRC:  Hi Kendare and welcome to The Reading Café.  Congratulations on your new release in the Anna Dressed in Black series-Girl of Nightmares.  We would like to start with some background information.

 

Would you please tell us something about yourself?

 

Kendare:  Well, let’s see…I’ve got two cats and a horse, but the horse lives away from me, at eternal summer camp. We recently discovered one of the cats is gravely ill. We’re preparing for a very tough time around here.

TRC:  We are sorry to hear that. 🙁

TRC:  Many authors develop their interest in writing at an early age.  What sparked your interest in writing?

Kendare:  The stories I read. They were so much more fun than real life. They still are!

TRC:  What challenges or difficulties have you faced as a writer?

Kendare:  Probably the same ones we all face…rejection. And then some more rejection. And then…rejection. Also a lot of uncertainty, and things being out of my control.

 

TRC:  Anna Dressed in Blood is your first book in the Young Adult series appropriately named the same.  Would you please tell us about the premise of the series?

LINKS TO ORDER:
The Book Depository
Amazon Paper Books
Amazon Kindle
KOBO
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Kendare:  Anna Dressed in Blood tells the story of Cas Lowood, a young ghost hunter set on killing the murderous dead and eventually avenging his dead father (who was eaten by a ghost in Baton Rouge). Along the way he comes across Anna Dressed in Blood, the ghost of a murdered sixteen year old girl who kills everyone who steps into her abandoned Victorian. She turns out to be the hardest fight of his life, and then…hijinks ensue.

TRC: Which genre would you categorize this particular series?  Paranormal? Horror? Urban Fantasy? Or a combination?

Kendare:  People say it’s horror. And who am I to argue?

TRC: The storyline description on some of the book-sellers states for ages 13 and up, yet there is plenty of graphic violence and disturbing passages.  Do you think the age level is appropriate to the storyline content?

Kendare:  The appropriateness depends on the person reading. When I was thirteen I was well into Stephen King and Anne Rice. About a year away from Bret Easton Ellis. But I know some people it’d be too much for. So, it all depends.

 

TRC:  GIRL OF NIGHTMARES is the most recent release in the Anna Dressed in Blood series.  Would you please tell us about the premise?

LINKS TO ORDER:
The Book Depository
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
KOBO
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Kendare:  GIRL OF NIGHTMARES picks up a few months after the events of Anna Dressed in Blood. Cas is trying to move on, learning how to stay in one place with his newfound friends, Carmel and Thomas. Unfortunately, Anna doesn’t seem to be willing to let him. He sees horrible visions of her, almost like a haunting. Girl of Nightmares is his quest to find out just what happened to Anna, and to pull her out of Hell is she’s suffering. But finding answers might cost him his life.

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for this series?

Kendare: Two. Girl of Nightmares is the last. I’m 90% sure.

TRC:  🙂

TRC:  What difficulties or challenges have you encountered getting this particular series to publication?

Kendare:  Honestly, it’s all gone so smoothly! The team at Tor has been so supportive, and I have no complaints! Now I have to go find some wood to knock.

 

TRC:  Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon for many authors. How do you handle the anxiety and stress of writer’s block?

Kendare:  Once again, knocking wood…I’ve never had writer’s block. But it sounds terrible.

 

TRC:  Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, or between family and friends.  With whom do you bounce ideas?

Kendare:  Myself mostly. Sometimes friends, or my husband. Occasionally my cat, but he’s super critical.

TRC:  Do you think you have a specific style of writing and if so, will you please describe the style?

Kendare:  Oh wow. I don’t know. Dark? Sarcastic? Gore-embracing?

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Kendare:  I’m working on revisions for ANTIGODDESS, which is releasing next August. It’s the start of a trilogy that may or may not be called The Goddess War, and it’s about dying Greek gods and reincarnated teen heroes.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Kendare:  I think you’ve covered everything! But thank you, to the readers and proprietors of The Reading Cafe! Great questions 🙂 And oooh, a Lighting Round!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – French food. Sauces. Yes.

Favorite Dessert – Chocolate cake. Dense, but not too rich. With white frosting, or creme fraiche or something.

Favorite TV Show – Right now? Uh….Fringe. Or Game of Thrones.

Favorite Movie – Right now? Uh…The Dark Knight Rises. Or Melancholia.

Last Movie you SawSomething on SyFy called Open Graves. Silly. Fun. Kids playing a game that granted you one wish if you won, but killed you if you lost. Like a way less fun and more boring Jumanji.

Dark or Milk Chocolate – MILK!!! (I’m sorry for yelling.)

(Everyone yells for chocolate) 😉

Do you have any pets? – Yes. Two catsons named Tybalt and Mojo Jojo. Yes, Tybalt was in the books. One horse named Lassie. She’s very belligerent.

TRC:  Thank you Kendare for taking the time to answer our questions.  Once again, congratulations on the release of GIRL OF NIGHTMARES.  All the best on your future novels and storylines.

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Jessie Harrell-Interview with the Author

JESSIE HARRELL-Interview with the Author

The Reading Cafe continues our salute to the amazing authors from the INDELIBLES. Today we would like to present Jessie Harrell-author of DESTINED.

TRC :  Hi Jessie and welcome to The Reading Café.  

Jessie: Thanks so much for having me!!

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Jessie:  By day, I’m an appellate lawyer. By night, I’m a wife, mother of two, and author/lover of all things Greek mythology. I’m a native Floridian, frustrated world traveler, unrepentant dreamer, lover of acoustic music and not-so-closet geek.

TRC:  You are a member of the INDEBLIBLES website dedicated to indie authors of Young Adult storylines.  How has your association with the Indelibles helped your writing career?

Jessie: There are probably more ways than I can count that being part of a group like The Indelibles has helped me.  We share information, tips, and tricks; we get feedback on book covers and marketing ideas; and we’re all there for each other for moral support (as well as cross promotion).  Writing can be lonely, I’d recommend that all authors (Indie or not) have a support group.

TRC:  Do you have a particular writing style?

Jessie:  I don’t know that I do.  Destined is written in an anachronistic style (big word I learned as an author), where I intentionally did not match the speech with the historical setting.  My goal was to make an ancient myth accessible for today’s teens while keeping it rooted in the past.  I know some readers have not liked this particular style, but that’s the way I wanted to tell my story.  And as an Indie author, I had that freedom.

TRC:  Many authors bounce information and ideas between each other or their family and friends.  With whom do you bounce ideas?

Jessie:  I have some great critique partners with whom I frequently bounce ideas.  Lynne Matson has been awesome to me and I’m so excited that her novel will be hitting the shelves in 2014!  I also use my husband as a sounding board, but he usually just smiles and nods.

TRC:  Have you ever had a serious case of writer’s block and if so, how did you handle the stress and anxiety?

Jessie: What author hasn’t had writer’s block?  Sometimes I find if I just research, an idea will come to me.  Other times I have to let the characters play a scene out the way they want to.  But generally, the best remedy for writer’s block is a deadline!

TRC:  Do you find anything particularly challenging about writing?

Jessie:  Writing for young adults required that I learn a whole new skill set.  I’m an attorney and write daily for my job, but it’s a COMPLETELY different kind of writing.  Putting the craft aside, I find plotting is the hardest part of writing for me.

TRC:  What challenges did you face getting your novel published?

Jessie:  Like most authors, I queried before the manuscript was ready, and probably lost some opportunities because of it.  Once it was in better shape, I had several “near-misses” with agents, who didn’t take it on for one reason or another.  None of this is out of the ordinary from what I understand.    Ultimately though, I decided that Destined was ready for publication and the timing was right.  I released the novel myself under my own imprint (Mae Day Publishing) and have never looked back.

TRC:  DESTINED is your latest release.  Would you please tell us about the premise?

LINKS TO PURCHASE:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Nook and Paper books
KOBO

Jessie:  Destined is a reimagining of the myth of Eros and Psyche from ancient Greece.  Here’s the blurb from the back cover:

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

TRC:  Have you planned a series of novels based on the characters and the storyline?  If so, what is the premise of the next installment?

Jessie:  No, Destined is a stand alone novel.  I am working on another novel set in ancient Greece, but it will include all new characters.

TRC:  Where did you come up with the ideas behind your story of Psyche and Eros?

Jessie:  Well, I relied heavily on the ancient myth, of course.  But then I had to figure out what I wanted to change; what message I wanted to send.  I wanted to portray Psyche as a girl with the courage to fight for love and not as some brainless, pretty face who requires help from inanimate objects (she got a tip from some talking river reeds in the original).  I also wanted the gods to have motivations for what they did beyond just being petty.  So really what I tried to do when writing was figure out how to make the myth more robust and character-driven.

TRC:  Did you have any muse/models in your life that influenced your creation and personalities for you characters of Psyche and Eros?

Jessie:  I’m be lying if I said Psyche didn’t have a lot of me in her (the teen me was also prone to tears), but she’s also a lot wittier than I am and speaks her mind.  When I was writing Eros, my muse was a picture of a young Leonard Dicaprio.  *swoon *

TRC:  Did you study Greek Mythology, or have you always been a fan of that area?

Jessie:  I majored in Classical Studies in undergrad and the Greek history and culture was my favorite part.  My mythology professor was amazing; she always taught to a packed room.  And perhaps my favorite course was Honors Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult in Ancient Greece and Rome.

TRC: Will you be writing any future storylines about the Greek gods/goddesses?

Jessie:  My next novel set in ancient Greece will revolve around Apollo and his oracle, the Pythia.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Jessie:  I’m working on edits to a contemporary, mythology-based paranormal story called Beneath the Surface, as well as the Apollo/Pythia story, called Oracular.  I’m also really looking forward to seeing my short story, “I Come Bearing Souls,” appear in the Two and Twenty Dark Tales Anthology, a collection of dark stories inspired by Mother Goose rhymes.  My story is loosely based on Hey Diddle, Diddle.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

 

Jessie:  I’d love for folks to pick up their free e-copy of Before, a short story told from Eros’s perspective about the love he had before he met Psyche.  It’s available for free on Smashwords.  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/165945

LINKS TO ORDER : BEFORE by Jessie Harrell
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook
KOBO

 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Chicken Parmesan from Pizza Palace in Jacksonville.

Favorite Dessert
Anything chocolate, especially if it has caramel or coconut.

Favorite TV Show
True Blood

Favorite Movie
I’m not sure I have one.  I really like comedies like “Get Him to the Greek” and “The Hangover.”

Last Movie you Saw
The Vow

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk

Do you have any pets?
no

Favorite Flower
blue hydrangea

TRC:  Thank you Jessie for taking the time to answer our questions.  The Reading Café would like to wish you the best of luck with your writing career.

Jessie:  Thank you SO much for having me on your lovely blog!  If your readers are interested, I can be found around the web here:

Blog: http://jessie-harrell.blogspot.com
website: www.jessieharrell.com
Twitter: twitter.com/jessieharrell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessieHarrell.Author

 

 

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