Interview with contemporary fiction author Maggie Bolitho

Today I’m chatting with author Maggie Bolitho about her contemporary novel, Outback Promise.

During her virtual book tour, Maggie will be awarding an e-copy of Outback Promise to 3 randomly drawn winners. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visits her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Maggie Bolitho grew up in Victoria BC Canada, where she spent her childhood flying under the radar, constructing alternate universes, and wishing to be somewhere over the rainbow. Shortly after her 17th birthday she set out to see the world. Eventually, she moved on to Australia.

While living Down Under and exploring the outback, Maggie started writing fiction. Her adult short stories have been published in various anthologies in Australia, the US, and Canada. She has written for Quills Canadian Poetry magazine, her YA novel Lockdown was published in 2014, and in 2015 she published Outback Promise.

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

Outback Promise is the story of Ros and Grady Balfour whose comfortable, happy lives were shattered by the death of their only child, Cadel. Over six years a wall of hurt and bitterness has grown up between them. In this arid and emotionally impoverished state, Grady has an affair. When the story opens, Grady invites Ros to go for a hike. He has something important to discuss. Ros expects the worst but what Grady wants from her is one last chance to renew their love and reconcile their years of aloofness and distance. He wants the chance to rebuild trust in themselves individually and as a couple.

What inspired you to write this book?

Outback Promise started as a tiny grain of sand, carried back to my Sydney home after three months in the outback in 2005. During that trip I wrote daily journals, over 100,000 words in total, about the places I saw and the people I met. The outback made me feel as insignificant as dust. At the same time I felt connected to that ancient land in a deep, primal way.

Visiting the Devil’s Marbles (the area known to the traditional owners as Karlu Karlu) I encountered notes about the Aboriginal dreamings. They told of the Kwerreympe spirits that live in the caves under the rocks and lure children away from their families. The thought of a lost child was planted and years later I found Ros, Grady, and their beloved son, Cadel.

It seemed to take forever for the story to come into focus. At first, the characters were a faraway mirage on a desert highway. For eight years I worked on the book and shelved it, over and over again, before it was ready for submission.

The vastness of the outback was a compelling inspiration – how it heals and tears asunder, all at the same time. It’s a perfect place to bare one’s soul, to shed pain and grudges.

At one point in their desert trek, Ros and Grady are completely alone in a way it’s so hard to find these days. The moment is pure outback magic.

Excerpt from Outback Promise:

After dinner we sat under the stars and revelled in the luxury of being completely on our own. The heat of the day abated, but unlike the freezing nights in the red centre, in the tropics the nights stayed warm. We heard scratching as nocturnal animals foraged for food around us. Above us a full moon lit the sky, so bright we could almost read by it. The emu stood in the middle of the Milky Way, strong and black.

In that secluded togetherness, my love for Grady flared. With a comfortable bed under a canvas roof, a meal cooked over a campfire and a cold bottle of wine, we had everything we needed. There was no past, no future, only that single evening suspended in time. Beneath the vast diamond-studded blanket of the outback sky, Grady lifted my wrist to his lips and kissed the palm of my hand.

‘You couldn’t buy a night like this,’ he said.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m superstitious and find incubation is an intensely private process. I’m not being precious. The ideas simply aren’t well formed enough to set free. I’ll say this much: it’s YA, set in Australia.

JK Rowling said it best, “I find that discussing an idea out loud is often the way to kill it stone dead.”

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

During my 2005 outback adventure, I used to do 1,000-2,000 word weekly broadcast emails to friends and family. They got such a positive response, from people I didn’t even know well, I thought I’d give writing a go.

Do you write full-time?

I’m retired now so I could, but I have a husband I adore and like to spend time with. It would be more accurate to say I’m a part time writer. I work about 4-5 hours a day. Sometimes that stretches to 8-10 hours, like now when I’m on a blog tour and trying to keep up with my critique groups and advance my work in progress.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My writing improves with chocolate.

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

For years I wanted to be a Mountie because I loved with their red serge jackets and handsome dark horses.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I met my husband scuba diving one warm spring day in 1982. Five weeks later he went back to Australia. We kept in touch for six months or so and then I didn’t see him for another four years. We married in 1987 and, so far, have lived happily ever after.

The point being, good things are worth waiting for and may take much longer than you anticipate.

If you’re an emerging writer, be prepared for a long apprenticeship. Why not? A musician doesn’t get to be first violinist the year after they pick up their instrument.

Thank you for joining me for this interview. Lisa, thanks for hosting me.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter  

Buy links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

You’re quite welcome, Maggie! Thanks for being here today.

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Interview with novelist Natalie S. Ellis

Welcome, readers.

I’m happy to be helping novelist Natalie S. Ellis kick off a virtual book tour for her contemporary fiction, Revenge for Hire, today.

During her tour, Natalie will be awarding an e-copy of Revenge for Hire to 3 randomly drawn winners. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Natalie S. Ellis worked behind the scenes in TV news for sixteen years and will always miss the rush of a breaking story. But the seduction of writing a fiery romance with twisty suspense is even harder to resist, especially when she has a new curve-ball for the plot. Natalie enjoys living in her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and attributes her cheerful attitude to empty nesting, a supportive family, and way too many lattés.

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

Belinda 'Billie' Chapman is working the overnight shift at WVOX-TV when she's called away to photograph a car that's crashed into the second story of a house. Yes, the second story. Makes you want to read the book just to find out how that happened, doesn’t it? Ha ha! While Billie’s on the scene, she spots a little girl across the street and videotapes her. That’s a big mistake because the child’s guardian threatens to hurt Billie if she even considers using the video. The man’s aggressive behavior and his odd way of denying the child is his at first, makes Billie wonder what he’s hiding. Billie’s determined to protect the child, but Nolan Voss, her station’s owner is in town and watching every move Billie makes. The “Boss Man” is rich, uptight and deliciously hot. He can give Billie’s brother a much-needed job, if she plays her cards right. But he also has the power to fire Billie with a snap of his fingers if she doesn’t play by his rules. Voss is fascinated with the fiery photographer who always speaks her mind. Although it’s highly unethical to pursue a relationship with an employee, he can’t resist Billie, and that means being dragged into her plan to help the young girl. Each step closer to finding the truth leads them to a dangerous plot that has come all the way from Chicago. Will the danger only fuel their irresistible attraction to one another? Or will one of them get burned?

What inspired you to write this book?

Years ago, when I worked at a TV station, the owner visited for a few days. Everyone tiptoed around him, careful to be polite and helpful. My friend, who happened to be a field photographer, was the only one who treated the owner like everyone else. She invited him to ride along with her on assignments and joked around with him, she even gave him advice about how to improve the station. You could tell he was having the time of his life. That made me realize that being treated so formally all the time would be lonely, and eventually drain your energy, make you uptight. And how wonderful and different if would be if someone had the guts to speak their mind like my friend did—like Billie does. When I think about who my characters need to be for a book, I always seem to pull out some tidbit from my past that I just couldn’t forget, and usually hadn’t even thought about for years.

Excerpt from Revenge for Hire:
Billie sent an email to Elliott, letting him know she’d upload a creative piece about the Porsche later on. He’d assume she was going to do the work, although he wouldn’t care if Ryan edited, as long as he had material for his news block. But she couldn’t take the chance that he’d slip and tell Rob. Once management wasn’t so pissed at Ryan, and they were genuinely impressed with all the imaginative stories Billie brought them, she’d tell them the truth and make her case for rehiring Ryan. Hopefully, she wouldn’t manage to get herself fired for her dishonesty.

Once Ryan was bringing in a steady income again, Billie could work on her own life.

She’d naively thought she could do whatever she wanted once she was out of the house her father ruled. But, so unused to making her own decisions, she’d automatically followed Ryan and took a job at WVOX. She hadn’t needed a college degree and the money was decent.

Then, when Billie finally decided to enroll in the community university to pursue a degree in social work, Ryan got Trish pregnant. And when Trish couldn’t handle being a mother,

Ryan needed Billie to take care of Savannah when he wasn’t home. If Ryan could get his job back and afford a sitter, Billie could get her life back. And do something with it.

Her brother knew she was trying to help him, but he didn’t want her kind of help. He wanted to be a freelance videographer. If he didn’t have a daughter to support, Billie would back him one hundred percent. But kids needed food, a warm house and medical insurance. Ryan just didn’t get that.

Worrying about Ryan and Savannah gave her a different kind of headache, so she pulled up her Photog Billie account on Facebook and posted a teaser about the car-in-the-house story, then moved onto Twitter to do the same.

Ryan was taking forever to get back from dropping Savannah off at school. He’d probably stopped at the Friendly Fox, his favorite coffee house, for some caffeine and a muffin.

Billie didn’t think she could stay awake much longer, so she wrote him a note explaining her ideas for a tongue-in-cheek story about a spaceship disguised as a car crashing into the house.

The missing driver was obviously an alien trying to find his way home. Satisfied that Ryan could work his magic, she emailed Elliott to let him know she’d have an eighty-second package for his show, and stumbled into bed.

As she drifted into the warm fuzziness of sleep, a round, pale face with big glasses and pigtails floated behind her eyelids. Is she his daughter? Why deny being that cute little girl’s dad? And why so defensive about putting her on the news?

Billie yawned and rolled over. There was a story there. There had to be.

She lifted her head to see the clock on her nightstand. Nine thirty. She’d sleep six hours, then go back to the scene of the crash before dark and nose around a little. Maybe she could find a neighbor outside who knew the little girl. More importantly, maybe she could uncover why the big guy kept changing his story, and why he didn’t want that girl’s face on television. If he wasn’t her dad, who was he?

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m plotting my third book in the “For Hire” series. Molly, the heroine in Fear for Hire, will be back and she’s being held hostage. Obviously, Jack, the hero and kidnapper in the first book, goes berserk. He’s the only one allowed to kidnap Molly. LOL! I’m also working on a book called Voices about a woman accused of murdering her family. She hides from the police on the streets of Philadelphia disguised as a bag lady. The book has some light paranormal elements because she constantly hears the voices of her dead family in her head, except when the hero touches her. So, picture this filthy bag lady trailing after this handsome, well-dressed businessman and continuously putting her hand on him to make the voices go away. It’s the only way she can think clearly and she believes if she can just figure out who killed her family, the voices will go away forever.


When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I began writing in 4th grade. I wrote “stories” about aliens a lot. I was fascinated by the idea of little green men coming to our planet and abducting people. Hey, I just realized those were technically my first kidnapping stories!  I also liked watching the Wild Wild West TV show, so I wrote my own episodes, mostly with Dr. Loveless as the villain. When I was in middle school, I loved the Bay City Rollers and wanted to sing with them, even though I can’t carry a tune, so I wrote “Roller Girl” stories. I was Roller Girl in those stories, of course. They adopted me as their new little sister and let me sing with them once in a while. Way back then, I used to say I was going to be a published author when I grew up. But I didn’t actually submit a book until I was in my thirties, then it took over twenty years and writing about seven manuscripts, before I reached my dream to be a published author.

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, I’m not a full time writer yet. I do most of my writing on weekends when I have long pockets of time to really get into the scene I’m working on. I like to plot during the week after work. I play tennis, do a lot of volunteer work and I like to hang out with my husband at night, so I have to squeeze plotting in around those fun things. I also plot while I’m driving and drifting off to sleep at night. As for my day job, I’m a public information officer in Parks & Recreation. No, it’s not as wacky as the TV show. I write press releases, work with the media on news conferences, do some interviews, and do a lot of social media marketing for our department. It’s really fun to have a mission statement about providing leisure activities for the community!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My husband would say that I can’t write unless I type (or key in) about ten words, then delete two words, then key in five more, or something along those lines. I can’t seem to just move forward and pause while I think. I have to keep the fingers tapping. I also have to plot out loud—usually with my husband—asking questions that I don’t let him answer. Like thinking out loud. He gets so confused because I talk really fast and skip important details. Once he realized he was just a sounding board, he relaxed and I have a feeling he doesn’t really listen to me now.

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

From the very first time I was asked, I wanted to be a writer. I stumbled into video and got sidetracked for sixteen years at a TV station, but returned to the writing path again after that.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

If you haven’t had a chance to watch my book trailer, please do. PUNCH Films did an amazing job—it’s like a movie trailer! And they let me write the script and help choose the actors. It was a blast! You can find it on my website: www.nataliesellis.com

Social links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thanks, Natalie!

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Special excerpt for sci-fi suspense novel Turing Evolved by David Kitson

Today’s feature is a special excerpt from David Kitson’s science fiction thriller novel Turing Evolved.

During his virtual book tour, David will be awarding THREE (3) e-copies of Turing Evolved to THREE lucky randomly drawn winners. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

A little bit about Turing Evolved:

When Ex-DEMON pilot Jon Carlson meets beautiful humanitarian Rachel, it's a match made in HEAVEN. Literally, because Rachel's an ANGEL. She's also an AI controlled android of immense power and capability. As Jon finds himself drawn into the world of these enigmatic creations of mankind, he unknowingly becomes involved in a program to create autonomous superweapons intended to fight the next war.

Excerpt from Turing Evolved:

Now was time for me to try out my well-rehearsed chivalry. They say it’s dead, but the attitude works.

‘No, you were trying to help me. I really should have been sedated back there, and I know it. I’d probably be all right by now and not have to deal with the muscular problems later if I’d just taken a little nap.’

She looked up at me, her expression searching for something in my words.

‘And I, well, I just wanted to say thanks.’

Janet smiled at that, the same smile that had made me feel better earlier when I was nervous. ‘Yeah, all right, you’re forgiven. I take it your partner pulled you out unexpectedly?’

‘What was your clue?’ I asked.

‘The part when Jeremy said, “Fuck it all, I can’t even see him now. Janet, dope him up because he’s coming out unexpectedly.”’ Janet made a funny-sounding deep voice as she said it, which I took to be an impersonation of Jeremy.

‘But you don’t know how close you came to receiving your own bruises,’ she warned, and her face hardened.

Still, I was on a roll now and knew it.

‘Yeah, thanks for that, or rather, not doing that. Why didn’t you try to jab me again?’ I asked.

‘I couldn’t find the syringe quickly enough,’ Janet said, nodding.

‘Can I make it up to you?’ I asked.

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Like how?’

I thought about it. I probably looked kind of stupid, standing here, chatting up a para while both my arms hung from my shoulders like dead flesh, except for the occasional spasmodic movement.

‘I don’t know, send a pizza, take you out for lunch, something to apologise?’ I suggested.

‘I don’t know, this is a pretty big bruise,’ she said, looking at the side of her arm. ‘I think maybe a full dinner apology is in order.’

That wasn’t what I expected, but it sounded better than what I had in mind.

‘Sure, but ah, not tonight, okay? I need to, ah, recover,’ I said. I felt like an idiot now.

Two other paras looked at me, gave each other a look, and then wheeled the cart around behind the ambulance and started loading it into the rear door.

‘Here’s my card. Call me,’ said Janet, and she held it out to me.

I looked at it and back at her. Didn’t she realise I couldn’t take it? The edge of her smile slowly lifted, and I realised she was getting back at me as best she could right then. After letting it sink in, she flipped the card vertically and dropped it into my shirt pocket.

‘Don’t plan on pizza. I expect a decent apology,’ she gently warned.

‘I’m kind of new to town,’ I said.

‘Then I’ll pick the restaurant and you can pay,’ she said, smiling, as the back of the ambulance started to close. ‘I think your partner is waiting for you.’

I turned to look at the half-closed door of the ambulance then, and saw what she was referring to. I could just make out Jeremy, with an annoyed look on his face.

‘Yeah, all right. Well, I’ll call you once I’m recovered,’ I offered.

‘Do that,’ Janet said.

‘Yeah, I’ll see you then.’

It’s difficult to walk off nonchalantly when your arms are effectively spastic and paralysed. It’s even more difficult to get into the cab, and it’s impossible to close the door. I was just angling to attempt to look even more stupid and pull it in with my foot, when one of the paras came around and closed it for me.

‘Thanks,’ I called out of the window, not game to stick my head too far out without my arms working.

‘Don’t wait too long,’ I heard Janet’s voice, as Jeremy pushed the accelerator and the ambulance started forward, causing me to bump my head on the door frame.

‘Did you just pick that lady up?’ Jeremy asked, as I pulled my head back into the cab. He didn’t sound impressed.

‘Janet?’ I asked.

‘No, the ghost you saw in your fucking dreams,’ Jeremy sarcastically responded. ‘Of course Janet.’

‘Ahh, yeah, I think she picked me up actually,’ I said. ‘I owe her a dinner it seems.’

‘Dinner? You’re shitting me. You’ve been here what, two weeks? All that in training, and now you come out here first day on the job and you pick up the para chick, just like that?’

‘It kind of seems that way,’ I said.

I almost fell over into Jeremy’s lap as he turned a little harder than expected into the next street.

‘Damn, you’ve got balls, is all I can say. Let’s see how long you last.’ Jeremy started to whistle as he made his way onto an on-ramp.

Author bio:

David Kitson has worked in corporate and government environments as a security analyst and technical network architect, as well as a print and TV journalist focusing on video games and technology news. His love of science stems back to a childhood spent climbing trees and building rocket launchers. He lives in Western Australia with his wife and four children.

Links:

Website | Amazon buy page

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