Interview with author Kfir Luzzatto

Today's guest author is from Israel. Kfir Luzzatto is currently touring his thriller The Evelyn Project. There's a lot history behind this novel.

Bio:

Kfir Luzzatto was born and raised in Italy, and moved to Israel as a teenager. He acquired the love for the English language from his father, a former U.S. soldier, a voracious reader and a prolific writer. Kfir has a PhD in chemical engineering and works as a patent attorney. He lives in Omer, Israel, with his full-time partner, Esther, their four children, Michal, Lilach, Tamar, and Yonatan, and the dog Elvis.

Kfir has published extensively in the professional and general press over the years. He is the author of several short stories but now mostly writes full-length fiction. Books: Crossing the Meadow (2003 P&E “Best horror novel”), The Odyssey Gene (2006), Have Book Will Travel (2012). He got the idea for his new thriller, The Evelyn Project, from an in-depth research into the family archives.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Kfir. Please tell us about your current release.

The Evelyn Project is a thriller that runs in parallel in present days and a hundred years ago. An old document is brought to light and characters in both centuries believe that it creates a connection between them that bridges the time gap and may change history. Murder, cross-country chase, intrigue and some romance are the ingredients that propel the story forward. I am told that the book keeps you on the edge of your seat, and that’s what it was meant to do.

What inspired you to write this book?

Evelyn (or, rather Evelina, as she was named in my native Italy) was my great aunt. She died of tuberculosis in 1894. She was only 26 years old. My second daughter, Lilach, is her living image and her 26th birthday is approaching fast. That might have been a catalyst for me to write the book. When my parents died I was left with the responsibility to make sure that my family history would not be forgotten. That entailed a lot of reading in books, documents and letters, which brought Evelyn's figure increasingly to life for me – so much so that I simply had to write a book about her, because I realized that without my intervention her memory would soon fade from this world.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have completed a contemporary novel, An Italian Obsession, which will be released in September of this year. It is a dramatic representation of middle-class Italian life after World War II. I am now working on a techno-thriller that I plan to release in 2013.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I had a hard time calling myself that, until I opened the package that came from my publisher with a copy of my debut novel, Crossing the Meadow, and I realized that it was for real. Still it took me a few more months before I was fully convinced. I guess that it was Crossing the Meadow placing first in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll that really did the trick.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I have a very demanding day job, running a patent law firm established by my great-grandfather (the one in The Evelyn Project) 143 years ago, but I use every free moment to write. I sit down to write mostly at night and during weekends, but also on trains, airplanes and pretty much everywhere. It has become a Pavlovian reflex: free moment=work on novel.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I dictate the first draft of every book using an amazing piece of software called “Dragon Naturally Speaking”, and I do so walking around the room (except if I’m in a noisy environment with other people listening in). I dictate the chapters as they come and in my second version (done at the keyboard) I reshuffle them so the two versions look completely different. I guess it sounds loopy, but it works for me.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

At first I wanted to be a sailor (until I realized that I can't swim very well), then a photographer and a dozen other irrelevant things. It kept changing with every book I read.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My greatest beef with some of the books out there is that they are formulaic, written without passion. I can usually tell after a couple of chapters if an author was possessed when he wrote his book. I hope my readers can feel the passion that I put into each novel and that I can pass some of it on to my audience. One of the greatest compliments given to The Evelyn Project was that reading it “was like being in the middle of a REALLY good Hitchcock movie! but with WORDS instead of moving pictures!" That’s my aim: turning words into moving pictures in the reader’s head.

Thank you for stopping by today, Kfir. I think you're my first guest author from Israel. It's been a pleasure getting to know a bit about you and your writing.

Interview with mystery author Linda Schroeder

Today's Reviews and Interviews guest is mystery author Linda Schroeder. She stopping by as part of a virtual book tour for her novel Artists & Thieves.

Bio:

Linda Schroeder divides her time between the bright sun of California and the high mountains of Colorado. She has a Master’s degree in English and one in Communicative Disorders/Audiology. In addition to her novel Artists & Thieves, she has published a college text.

Her early interest in English expanded to include language disorders and she began a second career as an audiologist and aural rehabilitation therapist working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults.

Currently, she studies and practices Chinese brush painting, celebrating the vitality and energy of nature. She follows art and art theft blogs and writes her own blog about art and sometimes includes reviews of books. She is working on two more novels, a second Mai Ling novel about the Diamond Sutra, and a Sammy Chan art mystery about the forgery of a Goya painting.

Welcome, Linda. Please tell us about your current release. 

Artists & Thieves won the San Diego Book Awards in the action/suspense category. It is the story of Mai Ling, a Chinese/American artist who works for Interpol recovering stolen art. In this book she is on a very personal mission to recover an ancient Chinese bowl which belonged to her ancestor in order to return it to China. 

However, Mai is not the only one after the bowl. Four rival thieves also plan to steal the bowl from a private California art collection. The book is set against the vibrant backdrop of the Monterey Peninsula and peopled with quirky characters, including a peacock who is itself a character. Midwest Book Review rates it “Highly Recommended.”

    

What inspired you to write this book?

Several years ago I was reading David Hockney’s Secret Knowledge, his discussion of painters who use a camera obscura to first trace a subject and then paint it. At the same time I was studying Chinese art and also enrolled in a class on how to write a mystery novel. So, for the class I came up with idea of creating a very ancient art object, a Chinese bronze bowl, which depicted a camera obscura. My mystery novel involved the theft of that bowl. All I needed then was a plot, interesting characters, and four years to put it all together!. Piece of cake!

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on two more novels, another Mai Ling adventure, this time involving the Diamond Sutra. The story takes her into a hidden temple in China and then to Shanghai. The second novel involves a Francisco Goya painting and an art crime detective, Sammy Chan and his brother, an art forger. I’m having great fun with both.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I studied literature in college. I wanted to learn to tell stories more than “to be a writer.”

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I am retired and I do a lot of things besides writing. My other creative focus is Chinese brush painting. I have a wonderful master teacher. And I have two writing groups which keep me on my toes with my “in progress” books. I also have an art blog which means I hunt for local art to talk about. I have time to research for writing. For instance, I visited bronze foundries to learn how bronze is cast for Artists & Thieves. Now I am researching art crimes and art forensics. Plus, I live by the Pacific and the beach is a great place to observe people.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I compose on the computer because with the keyboard I can get ideas down quickly, but I rewrite by hand so I can think about words and sentence structure and the craft of the scene.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a dancer.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I’m lucky to have the time to look for beauty around me. It is the importance of art and beauty which I try to share in my stories. 

Thanks for stopping by today, Linda!

Interview with humorous memoirist Derek Thompson

Today's guest author, Derek Thompson, is here to talk a bit about his memoir Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic’s Mood Chart.

Bio:

Derek Thompson grew up in South Charleston, Ohio and received a BA in communication in 2005 from Wittenberg University. After graduation, he pursued a corporate sales career at AT&T where he excelled in the high-paced sales environment. That’s up until he was unexpectedly and rudely interrupted by his first manic episode in 2008 which changed everything; they tended to be real jerks like that. 

The episode took him back home where he struggled to understand what his new mental health condition diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I was and meant. To cope with this confusion he began writing a blog as a therapeutic process to deal with his new crazy life and have some fun along the way. He currently resides on one of his family’s farms in rural Ohio.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Derek. Please tell us about your current release.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow is the story of one Millennial’s bipolar life with moments ranging from the ridiculous to the terrifying to the hilarious. By blending pop culture references and cyberspeak with psychiatric terms, it combines the funny, conversational tone of Sh*t My Dad Says with a nonlinear narrative structure similar to that of Manic. The book actually began as blog I started writing as a therapeutic process to deal with the diagnosis of my bipolar disorder type I.           

Somewhere Over the Rainbow will be the first humorous memoir about bipolar written by a member of the Millennial Generation--today’s young adults. The entries are divided into three sections, Depressed, Normal, and Elevated, and cover the past three years: my psych ward getaways, my vision of fighting alongside Jesus at Armageddon, my attempts to find a woman who accepts that I sometimes lose my mind. Therapy “sessions” with a fictional psychiatrist provide my present-day reflections on each entry. (I had to create my ideal shrink because I tend to fight with the real ones.)

More than an account of coming to terms with a mental health condition, it’s a story of being young and feeling lost, dealing with heartbreak and still finding plenty to laugh about, no matter what happens.

What inspired you to write this book?

Well, to be completely honest, I never really seriously considered writing a book until I was forced to move from Chicago back home to Ohio. This was last summer and it was caused by the fact that I was suffering another setback in my recovery due to my mania. I had to essentially sit on my hands and wait and see whether my new medicine would work and on top of that complications with my mania had also forced me to drop out of graduate school as well. I guess I figured I wasn’t doing anything else so there probably wasn’t ever going to be a better time to start writing my story than right then.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m actually trying my hand at a novel this time. It’s going to be loosely based off my life and told as a mysterious adventure through my manic mind. By incorporating themes from my blog, memoir, and mania the reader will be able to experience what a psychotic manic episode feels like. The questions I’ve been relentlessly struggling with over the years about my bipolar life will finally be answered. . .maybe.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

For the longest time I only wrote as a therapeutic release and as a way of communicating the difficulties of bipolar with my family and friends. It always felt like it was a hobby to me for some reason and merely as another part of my support system I needed to live with the bipolar. I think that started to change when people I didn’t think knew I wrote began coming up and telling me they enjoyed my stuff. I’d say right about then is when I started to feel like a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I don’t write full time in the sense that I consider it my 9-5 job, but I do feel like I’m always trying to be writing in some way. It could be research for my book or simply noticing something peculiar whiling hanging out with friends. I’m constantly looking for inspiration as well. For some reason I find a ton of it when I’m driving around so I’ll constantly find random reasons for a drive. I’ve never really been able to just sit down and say I’m going to write so many pages today or whatever. I usually just start writing whenever something inspires me, whether that’s when I’m randomly driving down the road or during commercial breaks of the Reds game.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

One quirk I’ve noticed when I’m writing for my blog is that if I outline my post for the week too much the writing really isn’t very good. I usually come up with my ideas to write early in the week, but wait until later in the week to actually sit down and write it. When I used to try getting an in depth outline and to really set up the structure for my post it never would turn out very good. But rather when I merely jot down a couple ideas and then just sit down and write later on my post are so much better. So with my blog it almost seems that in a way the harder I try the worse it gets.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I grew up in a small farming community in rural Ohio where I was completely out of my element. Despite our family’s long heritage in agriculture I sucked at it. This being the case I just wanted not to be a farmer when I grew up, because I knew I would be a terrible one.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Yeah, there’s been this rumor going around that I can’t read. To be completely honest I have no idea where this came from, but it’s absolutely ridiculous. I mean I’m a writer for God’s sake. Thanks.

Thanks for being here today, Derek, and showing us that we can still have some fun with serious topics.

Interview with mystery novelist Denise Robbins

Today's guest is techno-thriller author Denise Robbins. She's giving us some insight her her novel Phish NET Stalkings.

Bio:

High-tech becomes high-risk in Denise Robbins' novels. The New Hampshire-based author uses two decades of experience in computers to explore the killer possibilities in technology. Denise integrates her knowledge of computers and technology along with secrets, intrigue, suspense, and even a little romance into all of her techno-romantic thriller novels. Readers and reviewers agree Denise writes stories that will keep you at the edge of your seat and clamoring for more.

Welcome, Denise. Please tell us about your current release, Phish NET Stalkings.

When Jane East is looking for Mr. Right through an online dating service, she receives an e-card and unknowingly installs phishing software onto her computer. Along comes Cooper Chance, ex-FBI cybercrime specialist turned small-town cop, who helps her track the cyber phishing scammer, while she helps in his investigation of a man who attacks women using the online dating service.

What inspired you to write this book?

Have you ever received a phishing e-mail? One of those little e-mails that invade your privacy and try to steal your information? I have. I’ve been hacked. I’ve had my information stolen and it was not pretty. Now I’ve learned and wanted to use that experience in a novel.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I just started my seventh novel and haven’t worked out all the details yet, but suffice it to say, it will have a heroine from Sweetwater, Texas who has seen it all thanks to spending several years as a member of an elite military group known as Delta Force.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

The first time a reader sent me an email telling me how much she enjoyed my first novel. That’s when I knew I was a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I wish I was a full-time writer. Alas, I am a lowly software development manager in my day job. I find time to write in the evening on a rare occasion, but I dedicate my Sundays to my writing muse and letting her guide me through my writing.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My best writing occurs after I have had a Panera cinnamon roll and a Mountain Dew at seven in the morning on Sunday. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s the sugar rush, maybe it’s that there’s no waitress asking me if I need anything else, or maybe it’s the hustle and bustle of all the restaurant guests. All I know is it works!

That's definitely a different answer! :)

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

My original goal was to be a doctor. I had a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. I was ready! Then I broke my leg. That cured me of that desire.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I hope you enjoy Phish NET Stalkings and send me a note letting me know what you thought. Happy reading!

Thanks for stopping by today, Denise.

Interview with debut novelist Susan Spence

Today's guest is debut novelist Susan Spence to share a bit about her writing of A Story of the West.

Bio
Susan Spence has always been intrigued with life in the west in the 1880s. She researched historical accounts and first-person narratives as she prepared to write A Story of the West. A lifelong resident of the west, she currently lives in Montana on an old sheep shearing station that she shares with lots of furry critters, some domestic and others wild. This is her first novel, and she is busy working on a sequel due out in late spring.

Welcome, Susan. Please tell us about your current release.
A Story of the West is about a father and son who come to Montana driving a herd of cattle in the 1880s. They decide to settle on the frontier and start a ranch. With little law on the vast prairie, it was a free for all as speculators tried to claim as much land as possible to make money in the exploding cattle industry. Greed ran rampant and the little guy was frequently pushed aside. Some people who stood in the way were even killed during this time.

What inspired you to write this book?
I had never considered writing anything, but then I thought up the pivotal event in my hero’s life and decided to attempt writing a book around it. It was a decision about whether his life was worth living any longer, as he couldn’t see a way out of the situation he was in.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am currently finishing a sequel to A Story of the West. A fourth generation Daly is now running the ranch. With this latest generation comes new complications as the times “they are a changing.”

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I didn’t consider myself a writer as I was attempting to put A Story of the West on paper. It was just something I decided to try on a whim. As I was finishing it, I realized the story wasn’t complete. I guess I became a writer when I began the sequel.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I don’t write full-time. I live on a ranch, and there are always plenty of other things that need doing. Finding the time to write is definitely a matter of setting priorities and it’s really easy to get distracted. I finally just have to sit myself down and start writing.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
The fact that I can’t sit at the computer for extended periods of time, I guess could be considered a quirk. I take frequent breaks to move around and also to ponder.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
After watching Westerns on tv, my sister and I wanted to be ranchers because, to us, it meant galloping around on horses all day. I also wanted to be a ski racer.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I don’t know if anyone knows who is penning next best seller, but to me it’s about more than making money or being famous. When I’m sitting at the computer and I really connect with the story and feel like I nailed a part, it’s more than worth any aggravation.

Thank you for joining us today, Susan. Keep writing!

Interview with author Caroline Alethia

Today's guest is professional writer Caroline Alethia to share a bit of how her novel Plant Teacher came into being and what it's about.

Bio:
Caroline Alethia is a professional writer whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, on radio and in web outlets. She has worked as a technical writer for the United Nations, a journalist covering European Union business policy in Brussels, and an executive producer of national, Spanish-language educational radio programs. She has edited numerous international publications and has taught business communications at the college level. Her words have reached audiences on six continents. She lived in Bolivia and was a witness to many of the events described in Plant Teacher.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Caroline. Please tell us about your current release.
Plant Teacher follows the lives of American expatriates in La Paz during a time period when the country of Bolivia is turning into a dictatorship. The main characters in the book, Martin Banzer and Cheryl Lewis, are recent college graduates who have come to La Paz for opposite reasons. Cheryl wishes to create a new life and a future for herself while Martin, who is of Bolivian ancestry, is trying to come to terms with his past.

I think it is a bit trite for an Anglo writer to attempt magic realism, but I wanted there to be an element of the magical and the native in this story. For this reason, I had Martin experiment with indigenous hallucinogenic plants and initiation ceremonies at the beginning of the narrative, and the aftermath of this experimentation guides much of the rest of the book.

What inspired you to write this book?
Above all, I wanted to entertain. All of the novels that have impacted me the most were ones that I enjoyed reading. After living for almost a year in Bolivia, I felt that I knew a great deal about this country and enough certainly to tell an exciting story.

What exciting story are you working on next?
The theories of Freud’s greatest rival, Alfred Adler, are little understood. In fact, Adlerian psychoanalysis is a tremendously exciting process. It’s like fortune telling, only real. One of the scenes in Plant Teacher demonstrates Adlerian analysis in action, and I am going to write a self-help book that teaches people how to analyze themselves and one another in this way.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I always got top grades in writing in school, so I always considered myself a capable writer. When I was first hired to write for a living – when I worked for the United Nations after graduate school – then I considered myself to be a professional writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write most of the time. I work in marketing and a large part of my job is finding interesting people and then telling their stories. I’ve connected with people all around the globe in this capacity.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t wear a funny hat and I don’t have a lucky totem. I am, however, quite compulsive about writing. I set aside a couple of months to work on Plant Teacher, and I worked from sunup to sundown until it was complete. After it had been through some rounds of reviews, I worked from sunup to sundown on the editing, and I finished the rewrite in one long stretch.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was always dreaming up public service announcements as a young person: How to save on the water bill; Why girls are equal to boys. I was a bit eccentric. As an adult, I’ve learned that this is a discipline known as “behavioral change communications,” and I happily worked for seven years in this field.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Thank you to all of you who decide to read Plant Teacher. If I entertain you and spark your imaginations, then I have done my job.

Thank you for being here today, Caroline. All the best with your continued writing!

Interview with thriller author Rudy Mazzocchi

Today's guest interviewee is Rudy A. Mazzocchi. He's doing a virtual book tour for his new medical thriller Equity of Evil. 

Bio:
Rudy is best known as a medical device and biotechnology entrepreneur, inventor, and angel investor, with a history of starting new technology ventures throughout the U.S. and Europe. He’s been privileged to have the opportunity to see the newest innovations in healthcare and work with some of the most brilliant researchers, scientists and physicians in the industry.

Authoring more than 50 patents, he has helped pioneer new companies involved in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, neurosurgery and even embryonic stem-cell development. Through these efforts, he has become the recipient of many technology and business awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Healthcare and the Businessman of the Year Award.

Combining these experiences and opportunities, with thousands of hours of travel and long evenings in hotel rooms, he found the initiative to start writing a collection of medical thrillers based on true events, the first of which is entitled Equity of Evil.

Welcome, Rudy. Please tell us about your current release.
Equity of Evil is a politically compelling, suspenseful and reality-cutting medical thriller that will challenge the reader’s personal views on capitalism, ethics, and the basic morality of his fellow man. It’s about an entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist (Roman Citrano), who takes a risk on funding the creation of a new controversial business, one that intends to optimize the most frequently performed procedure in the world — Abortion. But it turns out that the decision to do so wasn’t really his, but something that he was manipulated into doing because of his unspoken past experiences. The new business venture quickly starts to go bad, but before he can make any attempt to repair or shut it down, he’s pulled deeper into an even darker world of deceit, rape, human trafficking, assassination, and the illicit black market for human organ transplants.

It becomes deeply personal as Roman’s sole love interest secretly uses one of his new abortion services to terminate her untimely pregnancy. When she disappears, his frantic search becomes a hellish nightmare that grows worse by the hour. This bold story is based on true events and involves some of the world’s oldest, most emotional and controversial issues.

What inspired you to write this book?
There were a course of events that unfolded in my personal and professional life that started to “read” like science fiction. I found myself asking two fundamental questions; what if, and why not? The story came together easy enough after I reached a point where the “thrillers” I was reading on a weekly or monthly basis were less exciting than the answers I was providing to those two questions. Make sense?

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m actually considering writing a trilogy and well into my second novel. The first, Equity of Evil, is based on the harvesting of fetal organs that are obtained from abortions then grown like hydroponic vegetables to feed the world’s expanding need for human organs. The second, which I’m currently calling “EQUITY of PAIN”, is a story that will revolve around an existing technology known as “neuroplasticity” — the scientific manipulation and re-wiring of functional areas of the brain. The third manuscript will include the shocking dark world of euthanasia, called “EQUITY of DEATH”. If successful, I hope these will become known as “The EQUITY Series”!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’m still waiting to be considered one. Really! I’ll let others decide if I’m a writer or not. For now, I just think I have a few interesting stories to tell based on true events and life experiences. I’ll keep putting them down on paper and building characters around them until someone tells me to stop.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
No, my day job is being a CEO of an early stage medical technology company, sitting on a few company Boards, and being the best husband and father I can be; (which is the toughest thing I do). My businesses take me all over the U.S., Europe, (and recently) Japan, which provides me dozens of hours each week to work on my manuscripts while on extended flights or in my hotel room after the business day ends. I’m actually writing responses to this interview while in between meetings in Tokyo. I also don’t golf!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I tend to spend too much time researching and thinking about the names of my characters. However, I find that their name provides me with some insight as to how their character should develop and what they might look like in my own mind. I’ve actually changed the name of a character half way through a story because I wasn’t comfortable with how their image was progressing.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
The simple answer is “an adult”. I couldn’t wait to grown up. In regards to a career, I loved dissecting stuff and had a love for animals, so I always wanted to be a veterinarian. It’s what carried me into my academic career and the fascination with medicine and science.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
The worst part of my day is going to sleep.

Thanks for being here today, Rudy. Your series sounds intriguing.

Interview with romantic suspense novelist Trish McCallan

Romantic suspense author Trish McCallan is on the blog today talking about Forged in Fire, dreams, and Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Bio:
Trish McCallan has been writing for as long as she can remember.

In grade school, she wrote children’s stories, illustrated them with crayons and bound the sheets together with pencil-punched holes and red yarn. She used to sell these masterpieces at her lemonade stand for a nickel a book. Surprisingly, people actually bought them. Like, all of them. Every night she’d write a new batch for her basket.

As she got older, her interest shifted to boys and horses. The focus of her literary masterpieces followed this shift. Her first full length novel was written in seventh grade and featured a girl, a horse, and a boy. At the end of the book the teenage heroine rode off into the sunset . . . with the horse.

These days, Trish sticks to romantic suspense with hot alpha heroes and roller-coaster plots. Since she is a fan of all things bizarre, paranormal elements always find a way into her fiction. Her current release, Forged in Fire, was the result of a Black Dagger Brotherhood reading binge, a cold, a bottle of NyQuil and a vivid dream.

Welcome, Trish. Please tell us about Forged in Fire.
Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before.

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm.

As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate.

Nominated For 2011’s Best Paranormal Romance by The Romance Review!

“Forged In Fire is a smoking hot adventure with an irresistible alpha hero. Danger, action, suspense, and a steamy romance make a story that’s impossible to put down!” –Patti O’Shea, National Bestselling Author of Through a Crimson Veil

What inspired you to write this book?
I actually dreamed the opening to Forged in Fire. In fact, I dreamed the opening sequence
over and over through the course of a week. Eventually, I sat down and typed out that opening scene; hoping the act of getting the scene down on the computer would excise the images from my brain. I thought my focus on the dream would fade once I’d actually written it out and that I’d be able to turn my attention back to the book I was revising back then. Except, once I started working on the dream sequence, the characters sprang to life and I quickly became obsessed with the story.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am currently working on the second book in the Forged series. This book is another high octane romantic thriller, with a working title of Forged in Ice. This book begins where Forged in Fire left off and continues the rollercoaster ride started in Forged in Fire. The hero in the second book is Lieutenant Marcus Simcosky, one of the secondary heroes in Forged in Fire.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, so I have always considered myself a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
On December 15th of 2011, I quit my day job to write full time. My work day starts at 6:00 am. I generally record the previous day’s sales, answer email, and drink coffee while I wait for the sky to lighten enough to go for a walk. Once it is light enough outside, I go for a nice long walk- usually takes around 45 minutes. When I get home I shower, eat breakfast, and do some light housekeeping. At 9:00 am I head to the office to begin the day’s work. I break for lunch at 1 pm- then write from 2:00 until 6:00 pm. If there is any promo to do, I take care of it after 6:00 pm. If there is no promo, I take care of any writing related bookkeeping, and go through email again. I’m usually done by 8:00 pm at which point I make dinner, do some more housekeeping and end the night watching television.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
That I am a weird combination of pantzer and plotter. My first two drafts are done with no outline and no idea of where the story is going. I just sit down and write. But on the third draft I assess the story and I outline the next draft in detail, chapter by chapter, then scene by scene. This approach seems to allow me to retain the creativity and the rollercoaster plots, while maintaining the tension, plot arc and character building.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I’ve always had an affinity for animals, so I wanted to be a vet or a marine biologist specializing in whales.

If people would like to connect, here's how:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Kindle

Thanks for visiting, Trish!

Interview with non-fiction writer Alexia Fraser

Today's guest is non-fiction writer Alexia E. Fraser. Alexia has been writing for a while, Memories of Mom is her first book.

Bio:
Alexia Elizabeth Smart-Fraser was born in the beautiful island of Jamaica. After marrying her high school sweetheart, Edward, she migrated to the United States. She is the proud and loving mother of two children, son Sean and daughter Paige.

Alexia studied acting at H.B. Studio. She worked as an extra on the set of “Cosby Mysteries” with Bill Cosby, “New York Undercover” with Malik Yubo, “Central Park West” with Lauren Hutton, and the series “Prince Street” with Mariska Hargitay.

As well, Alexia Fraser has written and produced three original non-fiction one act plays both off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway. “The Ryans,” “Dope the Endeavor,” and “Blind Trust.” Her fourth play “Our God is Awesome” is not yet produced, but will be in the near future.

Alexia is the original founder and partner of her production company, Paige Unlimited, LLC (www.paigeunlimitedllc) of which she is the Creative Arts VP. Memories of Mom is her first published book. She was driven to share her story after seeing how her mom suffered unacceptable nursing home and hospital care. Her second book is already partially scripted.

“Write what you know” is what she believes.

Welcome, Alexia. Please tell us about your current release.
Memories of Mom is a touching, personal story about a strong, dynamic, and loving mother’s life and death, and a caring daughter, who stood by her to the very end.

What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired to write this book, because I wanted to share my mom’s love and grace with the world!

What exciting story are you working on next?
My next exciting story will be my journey with my daughter, as she challenged her dream to becoming a professional contemporary ballet dancer and is now, I am very proud to say, living her dream as a member of the Ailey II Company in NYC. Her tenacity, her passion, and her drive is what got her there. And, of course, the support of her loving parents.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I considered myself a writer after I wrote and acted in my first original monologue for a five-minute scene class, in acting school. I went on to write and produce several one-act plays based on real life situations. Now my first book. Amazing! I had no idea I would write an entire book and is now on my second. WOW!!

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I do not write full-time, but I would love to. I have a full-time and a part-time job at the moment. I am also the Creative Arts VP for Paige Unlimited, LLC, a company that was formed after I started producing my original one-act plays, off-Broadway and off off-Broadway.

I am often asked where do I fine the time to write? and I would reply, I just do. It comes naturally to me. It is something within, something, I cannot explain. No big deal.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
An interesting writing quirk of mine would be my habit of writing in the wee hours of the morning when everyone is asleep. Peaceful and quite. No music.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child, I always wanted to be a wife, a mother, and an actress/model. Definitely something relating to the arts. Now I am a published author.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
In writing Mom’s story, I also wanted to document the pain and suffering she endured during her last lap of life. All at the hands of the very health care professionals charged with her care. Mom did not die from her illness, she died at the hands of negligence!

So far, I have been getting wonderful reviews from readers: “The book was touching and emotional; It made me laugh and it made me cry; You have inspired me to write a book.” Some are saying they cannot wait for my next book or when is the movie coming out? These are just a few. Hearing comments like these truly makes me feel complete. My job is done! Thanks MOM!

Memories of Mom is available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book on Amazon, Lulu, and Barnes & Noble. And at all major online bookstores.

Memories of Mom, you’ve got to have one!

Thank you Lisa, for having me.

It's been a pleasure, Alexia. Thank you for stopping by.

Here are the places you can connect with Alexia and find her book:

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Lulu | Barnes & Noble

Interview with author C. Elizabeth

Today's guest, C. Elizabeth is in the midst of a virtual book tour for her novel Absolute Obsession.

Welcome, C. Elizabeth. Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I live in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada with my family and work full-time as a paralegal. During this wonderful journey I have embarked on, I've learned a lot about myself, sometimes to the point that I wonder how the heck I got this far in life and know so little about myself.

For years I dabbled in many things, such as drawing, photography, sewing, only to find that after a while, I would lose interest. However, writing was a different story -- it found me and continues to be an addiction, as well as a most wonderful, incredible passion.

Please tell us about your current release.
Absolute Obsession is a novel about 42-year-old Rose Gerbaldi, who, for all intent and purposes is a loving wife, mother and grandmother and like all of us, on occasion she needs time to herself – those times she refers to as her me times. Her usual me times last about a week, then would pick up right where she left off and life would go on. However, this particular time goes awry when she finds herself absorbed in a book and completely fascinated by the hero – which hero is depicted in the movie version of the book, by thirty year old, British movie star, Michael Terrance. She then realizes her emotional attraction is no longer for the fictional character she had envisioned while reading the book, it was Michael Terrance.

There is love found, love lost, and love found again, but most of all it’s a story that shows us that no matter what decisions we make in our lives, even if they go against what fate is calling for...fate always finds a way to get you back on the path it intended for you to begin with.

What inspired you to write this book?
The inspiration came directly from the characters themselves. They reached out to me to tell their story, through a very unorthodox way, but somehow they knew I wouldn’t have listened if they introduced themselves the conventional way. Every day they inspire me and it has been a most wonderful journey.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am working the third of the Absolute series as we speak and I also have two more in the works that are not related either to the Absolute series or each other. I’m looking forward to delving a little deeper into the latter two once the Absolute Obsession series is finished.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In some ways, I still don’t consider myself a writer. As I said before my characters use me as their vessel to tell their stories, they are the storytellers, I’m simply the narrator.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
If I could write full-time I would, unfortunately that isn’t a feasible option at this point, I’m hoping it will be in the future though. Right now I work full-time as paralegal. The writing bug can hit me at any time during day and when it does, it’s written down and sometimes it’s something as small as a two word note, other times as long as two pages. Finding time to write for me is, it gives me peace.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I need complete silence when I write. That’s not to say people aren’t allowed to talk to me, because they do, but there can’t be a television or radio on, sometimes even the noise from the washing machine can distract me. If I’m unable to hear my characters then I lose my train of thought and forget what it was I was to be writing.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a child psychologist.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Thank you for having me and most of all, thank you to the readers for bringing my characters alive in their imaginations, that is what excites me most and I wish you a dream you never knew you had.

Thanks for stopping by here on your virtual book tour. Happy writing!