Talking With Rachelle Ayala

Rachelle Ayala's book, Broken Build, was published in September by Amiga Books, and she's here today to tell us a little about it.

Book blurb:
Jen Jones hides a horrible secret behind her new degree, toned body, and exciting job at Silicon Valley’s hottest startup—until a man is killed in a hit-and-run at her work.

CEO and founder Dave Jewell is about to land a huge deal. What he doesn’t need is blood on his car, threatening phone calls, and Jen wrapped in broken code and blackmail.

A gang of thugs hunts Jen, and she takes refuge in Dave’s protective arms. Together, they must thwart a killer and rescue an innocent victim from their past. Love blossoms, but a damaging revelation points straight at Jen, threatening to tear them apart forever.


Hello, Rachelle, I’m happy to have you here today to talk about your work. You’ve published three books. Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants, or let your characters tell you what to write?
I daydream the big moments in advance so I know who the villain is and what the setup of the climax would be. Other than that, I write by the seat of my skirt (I don’t wear pants since I outgrew my jeans.) When I write, a movie is playing in my mind. I record everything, and oftentimes it goes with what the characters are thinking and feeling. They don’t necessarily tell me what to write, but if they won’t go a certain way and I’ve tried to nudge them that way a few times, I give up. If I keep dictating to them to do this or do that, they go on strike, and I get blocked, and no writer likes to get blocked.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new names. How do you name your characters?
Names pop into my head. I don’t really give it much thought. I suppose it is free association. I try to keep the names very common so that no one can say it is about them, hence Jones, Walker, Williams, Cruz, Jewell, Mathews are used as surnames. I live in a multi-cultural environment so Indian, Spanish, and Chinese names pop into my mind frequently.

What would Jen, your main character, say about you?
She doesn’t like me very much. I’m too mean to her, expose all her secret fears and weaknesses and make her go through lots of trauma, physical and emotional. I gave her a broken man, one she broke with her past misdeeds, and had her fall in love with him while fearing he’d reject her when he finds out what she’d done.

Are you like any of your characters? How so?
My female characters have tender hearts. They may have their own problems, but they’re all nurturers and melt at the sight of small children and baby animals. They tend to be impulsive in love like I am. This means I need to write a different character next time, but I find it tough to relate to a hard-as-nails independent woman with a chip on her shoulder. Perhaps that is why I never finished my book, Kyra’s Shield, about a woman who grew up as a man in ancient Philistia.

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck on a deserted island?
Well, gosh, this is hard. I have such hot male characters. There’s King David, Prince Ittai, Michal’s second husband, Phalti the scribe, CEO Dave Jewell and my latest sweetie, triathlete Lucas Knight.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
This one is from Broken Build. I loved to play pinball back in the 1980’s. There was a game called William’s Time Warp with yellow banana shaped paddles. I must have been in the zone one evening at UCLA. Usually, I’m pretty bad and my friend, Kathy Curry, would whip me, but that night, with Time Warp, I scored one high score after another. I didn’t even notice that everyone around me had stopped playing and that a crowd had gathered.

So I relived this pinball game in Dave’s garage at his Tahoe cabin. Only, he was playing with a hot female sitting on the table facing him. Uhmmm… my favorite scene was actually deleted. Instead, he tells her what he’d do to her on the table without actually doing it. My characters were both too emotionally damaged to go through with the hot scene I’d written.

What book are you currently reading?
Scent of Triumph by Jan Moran, I’m fascinated by women who struggle through cataclysmic times to survive, gain love and reunite their family. The heroine in Scent of Triumph reminds me of my protagonist, Michal, in Michal’s Window who loses her husband, King David, to her father’s murderous rage, only to go on an epic journey to reunite with him, sidetracked by lovers and rivals, wartime destitution and queenly duties, death and sacrifice, but ultimate triumph.

How do you handle criticism of your work?
I don’t expect every reader to like my writing, so it is fine if they criticize it. I generally absorb it to see if there is anything I can improve, but I do not struggle to change my vision to suit critics. For example, my first book, Michal’s Window, has too much sex for its genre. I have my fair share of one-star reviews to prove it. But I truly believe I could not have captured the depth of Michal’s obsessive love for David and the distraction by her lover if I did not include the scenes. And honestly, they were not that explicit. It’s just that the ordinary reader of Biblical fiction is not used to on-scene sex.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do when it happens?
I rarely get blocked, but as I said earlier, when I do, it’s because I’m not being true to myself—I’m trying to live up to someone else’s expectation of how my book should be structured. Here’s an example. My current WIP, Hidden Under Her Heart, is about abortion. In order to not offend any potential Christian readers, I decided that my two lovers would not have pre-marital sex. I’m writing along and get to the 2/3rds mark where they’re reunited after a long estrangement of 10 weeks. These two have talked it out, they’ve averted sex three times already, but they insist on escaping the party to go camping in a tent. At this point my readers are likely to be just as frustrated as my characters. The situation borders on unrealistic. So my characters simply went on strike until they got what they wanted. Of course, sex complicates their relationship, but hey, complications are good. And unbeknownst to them, the “Delete” key is always available.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel with abortion as the main topic. I read a post on the taboos of romance. [URL: http://shewandapugh.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-unspoken-rules-of-romance-part-i.html] Abortion was mentioned as the #1 no-no. I’m an indie author, no one tells me what I can and cannot write about. As I started asking myself the “what-if’s” the story gelled. My main character, Maryanne Torres, is a nurse, not a pregnant teenager. I wanted her to be completely knowledgeable and responsible for her own choices. There will be obvious complications and a series of decisions to make. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but I’m excited about the concept and hope it will make for an emotional story, no matter which side of the debate you are on. 

I'm sure it will. Thank you, Rachelle, for stopping by to chat about Broken Build. Good luck with it and your WIP. I hope you'll come back when it's published.

About Rachelle:
Rachelle Ayala was a software engineer until she discovered storytelling works better in fiction than real code. She has over thirty years of writing experience and has always lived in a multi-cultural environment.

Rachelle is an active member of online critique group, Critique Circle, and a volunteer for the World Literary Cafe. She is a very happy woman and lives in California with her husband. She has three children and has taught violin and made mountain dulcimers.
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Eight With Amy: Sabrina Garie

Sabrina Garie’s new book, Fires of Justice, was released on October 17, and she’s here to tell us a little about it and herself. She’s also offering a giveaway—a $5.00 gift card at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Before we begin the interview, I’ll let her tell us a little about her book.

Fires Of Justice

Always read the fine print when swearing an eternal oath to gods and guardians…

Beholden by the sacred vows of her coven, fire witch Calista Reid agrees to temporarily mate with shifter Cullen McMahan to fulfill a mission assigned by the guardians. When tall, dark and damaged arrives on her doorstep, generating enough heat to scorch a fire witch, Calista finds herself drawn to his battle-hardened body and broken soul. His pain speaks to her own deep-rooted isolation and the intensity of his hunger slakes her passion like no other.

Cullen, scarred by a past that left him an indentured soldier to the guardians, resents yet another hump-on-command assignment…until he encounters the compassionate, fearless, incendiary redhead who detonates his body and reawakens the emotions sacrifice and loss had suppressed. But Cullen harbors a terrible secret—one that reaches back into Calista’s troubled childhood and threatens the foundation of their growing bond.

For an excerpt, click here. 

Welcome, Sabrina. Thank you for being here.

Thanks for hosting me today Amy. I’m excited to be here and share my eight with Amy.

The title of your book is Fires of Justice. How did you come up with it?

The book is a paranormal story in which the hero, who is a shifter, and the heroine, a witch, are fire elementals. Fire is the foundation of their powers and a universal symbol of renewal and rebirth. They find themselves temporarily bound together by the guardian of balance, justice and unity. Through their evolving relationship, they find a personal, karmic justice for the past wrongs done to them, hence the title.

How do you develop your characters?

Characters often first pop into my head to fix a story, movie or TV show that I had liked or could have liked but for a bad ending, a character I hated, or a drive to enhance part of the story to fulfill my own needs. I create a character and use him or her to rewrite the storyline. Argenta, the guardian of balance, justice, and unity in this story initially emerged to fix a TV movie whose ending made me gag. The story and other characters grew from her.

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

As hot and damaged as Cullen is, and as strong and independent as Calista is (both my favorite types) I had the most fun with Argenta because she is a total hoot. Creating a god-like figure with no limits gives a writer so much creative freedom. Trying to figure out what she looked like, how she’d talk and dress was like a being a kid in a candy shop with a wallet full of cash and no parents around. I savored every moment.

I agree—those are the best characters to write. Are you like any of your characters? How so?

I try and put one piece of myself in all the female characters I write. Not only is it cathartic, it allows me to reach deep into my own psyche when trying to convey emotions. Calista and I share a lonely childhood and a deep-rooted longing to belong and to be noticed for yourself.

Do you have a routine for writing? Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?
I have a pretty strict routine. Between full-time job, full-time parenting responsibilities, and social obligations, I have to be very disciplined or I just couldn’t write. The alarm rings at 5:00, and I write every morning Mon-Fri before my regular life begins. On weekends, I still write in the morning, but I don’t set the alarm.

To me, that’s just crazy, but if it works for you…
I love quotes. What’s one of your favorites?

This is the one quote I’ve carried through all different phases of life. It never ceases to inspire me:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
--Marianne Williamson 
 
That's very inspirational. Sabrina, you live in Washington, DC. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

By the water—ocean, river, lake—doesn’t matter. I want to see it from most of the windows in my home. It brings me peace and balance and a sense of belonging to the universe.

I’m totally with you there. There’s just something about water. If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Don’t worry about the money. Your publisher is paying.)

A World cruise—to soak myself in cultures, foods, smells, scents and sights.
So what about you all, where’s your ideal place to live? I’d love to hear from you. I’m giving away a $5.00 gift card from Amazon or Barnes and Noble (your choice) to one commenter. Winners will be chosen using random.org. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, Sabrina, for letting us get to know you. Now come on, people! Comment below for a chance to win that gift card.

About Sabrina:

Sabrina Garie is on a journey to create the most kick-ass heroine romance fiction has ever known and the hero who can take her. A believer that big, audacious goals spice up life, she relies on coffee, red wine and laughter to make those goals (and her characters) come alive. When not at the computer, she wrangles vegetables and extra helpings of homework into her star-spangled, fashion-loving progeny, kowtows to a fat cat and reads, a lot. Since it is more fun to travel in packs, come along for the ride. I’d love to chat.
 
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Meet Margaret Millmore

Today I'm welcoming Margaret Millmore to A Blue Million Books. Margaret is the author of a new series, The Four. The first book in the series, The Beginning, was released in August. First, a little about the book:
The Beginning, Book I

Clare had an ideal life. She lived in the perfect little town, had a great family and four of the best friends in the world. She also had nightmares, nightmares that plagued her for almost a decade. But these are not ordinary nightmares; they are premonitions, warnings of what is to come and what she will become.

She discovers that she isn’t alone in these vile dreams; her friends are having them too. They are dreaming of their ancestors and their own future... The discovery of their destiny and the future they must embrace is shocking and terrifying.

 
Hello, Margaret! Thanks for being here. Can you describe your book in a tweet? (140 characters or less.)  
“You will not be monsters…” The Beginning - Book I –The Four series $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/The-Beginning-Four-ebook/dp/B008UYO0 #suspense #vampires #werewolves

Terrific. How did you create the plot for this book?
I was up at my weekend home in the Sierra Foothills with my husband and a few friends. It was a lazy afternoon and we were playing some sort of board-game. That doesn’t seem like a plot for a book, but the atmosphere and enjoyment of the afternoon started something in my head that grew into a book about friends and friendship and continued into the story for The Four series.

When you start a new book, do you know what the entire cast will be?
I do not. Generally I have a main character or sometimes 2 or 3 characters in mind. I develop them in my head before I start writing anything, and when they’ve grown into something I can work with, the book begins and everything grows from there.

Who are your favorite authors?
Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz, and just about any author that entertains me with his/her work.

Which author would you most like to invite to dinner, and what would you fix him?
Ray Bradbury (rest his soul) – Chicken cordon blue, a nice salad, some San Francisco sourdough bread and a light sauvignon blanc – but I would ask my husband to make it, he’s an excellent cook and I’m great at boxed mac’n cheese…

I envy women with husbands who cook! Okay, the dreadful C word. How do you handle criticism of your work?
Everyone is a critic… some criticism is well founded, and I appreciate those comments the most because I learn from them and it makes me better at what I do. However, some critics are just jerks. I ignore them, people like that will always be around, and they are not worth my mental or emotional effort.

I hear you! Do you have a routine for writing? Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?
Early morning is my favorite, the world is mostly still asleep, and I can concentrate on what the voices in my head are saying without interruption. However I’ve been known to write all day long without stopping, I truly love those days the most.

I totally agree. I’m a collector of quotes. What’s one of your favorites?
My stories run up and bite me on the leg - I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off. Ray Bradbury   

I love it! I’m adding it to my quotes page. Where’s home for you?
San Francisco, California


Lucky you! I love San Francisco. Thank you for chatting with us today, Margaret. Best of luck with The Beginning. Stop back by when Book 2 is released.

About Margaret A. Millmore...
I was born and raised in Southern California and moved to San Francisco in 1991. I currently reside there with my husband. I am the grandniece of Irish author Benedict Kiely and the second cousin of Irish author Sharon Owens. My first novel, Doppelganger Experiment was published via World Castle Publishing in September 2011 (revised/re-edited February 2012). My second novel, The Beginning – Book I (The Four series) via World Castle Publishing released August 2012 and is part one in a four part series (release dates for books II through IV are expected in October 2012 through January 2013).


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Guest Post: Everything is Manana by L. Leander

Living and writing in another country can be exciting or frustrating – maybe a little of both. My husband and I reside in Wisconsin during the summer months, but leave in October for the sun and beach of Mazatlan, Mexico. In case you’re not sure of the location, it’s approximately 950 miles southwest of Tucson on the Pacific Coast (mainland of Mexico.) I’ve lived here a total of eight years now and love the color, the people, the culture and the affordability.

The minute we touched down at the airport, I felt at home. Bright pink, blue, and orange houses greeted me. People on bicycles and motorcycles darted in and out of traffic and the taxi driver made a few hair-raising slides past buses and trucks, even hitting a traffic cone in the process. My motto? Hold on and pray! Gotta love it.
My book, Inzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders was born in Mazatlan. Through a friend I heard about a local writer’s group of expats that gathered once a week. At the time I had penned mostly songs and poetry. I went the first time and was welcomed. The group is everything a good writer’s group should be. Six to eight people get fifteen minutes to read and receive critique. The critique can be brutal, but it’s always sincere and helpful. I found myself among misfits like myself – with a passion for writing that exceeds everything else.

I jumped in with both feet and started reading, reviewing and critiquing. I don’t know how, but one night this character got in my head and would not shut up until I put her words on paper. She remained nameless for some time; although I thoroughly researched Gypsy names, there wasn’t one that fit. So I made one up. For two and a half years I read chapters and went home and changed them after receiving critique. It was finally published in June of 2012.

Now that I’ve told you the good things about writing here (along with the beautiful skies, sunsets, and ocean) let me tell you about a few things that aren’t so much fun.

As I sit here writing this piece, I am without electricity. The whole block is out – maybe the whole city. And it’s hot. Darned hot. The humidity is about 89% and the temp is in the mid-90’s. With no A/C or fans it is unbearable. Not to mention the fact that I am without Internet, too. When I have Internet, it’s better than what I have in the US. But when I don’t – not so great. We may get power in a few minutes, or a few hours, or tomorrow, even. Time is no problem in the land of Mexico. Everything is manana.

Occasionally, there will be a fiesta next door that lasts into the wee hours of the morning. No way can you muffle out a Mariachi Band. Everyone is so happy. Me, not so much, without sleep and coffee. The telephone can drive you batty if you let it with telemarketers (I play the dumb gringo even though I speak Espanol) so I have resorted to turning it off while writing. Makes my friends a little irritated. Oh, and speaking of friends? They are my greatest assets and biggest distractions. Every day something is going on that they want me to be a part of. I’ve had to learn to pick and choose and make lots of excuses so I can write.

Every morning I awake to the call of the donut vendor as he walks down the street with a tray of the delicious rolls balanced carefully on one hand. Later, the bread man comes through and you can hear his loud shout “Pan, pan” as he bicycles his cart through the neighborhood. A rooster cackles cheerfully at dawn – a strange thing to hear in a city of a half-million people. After dark, I hear the whistle of the knife sharpener, making his way up the street to render his services. All day there is a constant barrage of city buses past our front door.

I love this land, this culture, this place that is about as foreign to the Midwest as I can get. Sure, I miss trees and cows, barns and green grass. In the winter I trade it for palms, bougainvillea, and the ocean. It’s great to have the best of two worlds that are so different. I do my best writing here. I hope this winter will be fruitful!
Check out INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders on Amazon:

INZARED Video Trailer
L. Leander's website: www.lleander.com

Look here for an interview with L. Leander.

Look here for a book excerpt of Inzared, Queen Of The Elephant Riders

 

Excerpt from Inzared, Queen Of The Elephant Riders

1843

Bertha Maude Anderson. Never liked my given name. Don’t it sound like some old maiden aunt no one ever heard about until someone pulls a family tree out of a tattered Bible and all of a sudden there she is? Ma said I was scatterbrained. Mayhap she was right, if it’s any indication of the way my life turned out.

We lived a hardscrabble life on our little farm in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Was rightly called hillbillies, a term we was all proud of. Soon as our shovel struck a bit of black soil to plant the early crops we’d hit rock and when the rains come it washed away all the young plants. Or the animals mowed them down. Rabbits and deer was the worst. Come out at night and make short work of the new sprouts. Pa worked tirelessly trying to stay one step ahead. Many a night I’d wake to the sound of his old twelve-gauge as he took aim at the marauding foxes that threatened our chicken coop full of laying hens. Eggs was the main source of income we had back then.

Guess I did fair-to-middling in the looks department. Short, about 4 foot 10 inches, I learned early on to hold my own. My long wavy black hair I inherited from Ma’s Irish side of the family, and my crooked teeth from Pa’s. Was my eyes that stood out, or so everyone told me. Amber, with tiny flecks of green that flashed when I got mad, as I was wont to do. I tried to keep my temper under wraps and act like Ma. She always managed to put people in their place with a withering look and a firm word. Sometimes it worked for me and sometimes not. I didn’t really care one way or the other.

Ma and Pa always favored Ezra, my brother. Never did bother me much, though. Was older than me by eighteen months and the boy Ma and Pa had prayed for. Steadfast and calm, Ezra stuck right to Pa like glue. I wasn’t never jealous – he was the big brother every girl wants. Tall, nearly six feet, like Pa. Same black hair as me, but a lot more handsome. More than once he took a licking for me, like the time I told Ma I didn’t know how all the eggs I had gathered got broke. When he come in the house and saw me in tears, Ma’s firm voice commanding me to get a willow switch, Ezra told Ma he was teasing and lobbed a clod of dirt at me.

“She ducked and dropped the basket and all the eggs broke.” He hung his head. “I’m real sorry, Ma,” he whispered. 

About the book:

Bertha Maude Anderson was born in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Raised on a small farm, she lives a hard life far-removed from everything she craved. Misunderstood by her parents, her only confidante her brother Ezra, Bertha yearns for excitement. A Gypsy circus comes to town and her world changes forever.

Coaxed into joining the Romanoff Brothers Circus, Bertha’s name is changed to INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders. She learns to ride Cecil, the elephant, and the two forge an unbreakable bond. Inzared falls in love, learns to co-exist with the Gypsies, solves a mystery and grows into a woman, all the while searching for the life she has always dreamed of.

About the author:

L. Leander is an e-book author, freelancer and songwriter. She writes for Yahoo! Content and does guest posts on author blogs and groups. As a child L. Leander dreamed of running away to join the circus. Instead, she grew up to write about it, bringing the magic alive for all who read her work. 

Ms. Leander currently resides between Wisconsin and Mexico. INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders is the first book in a series about a Gypsy wagon circus in pre-Civil War America.

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Talking With L. Leander

L. Leander is our featured author today. Linda's book, Inzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders, is available on Kindle and currently enjoys a rating of 4.6 from thirty-two reviews. Wow. Thirty-two! First, a little about the book:

Book Blurb:
Bertha Maude Anderson was born in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Raised on a small farm, she lives a hard life far-removed from everything she craved. Misunderstood by her parents, her only confidante her brother Ezra, Bertha yearns for excitement. A Gypsy circus comes to town and her world changes forever.

Coaxed into joining the Romanoff Brothers Circus, Bertha’s name is changed to INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders. She learns to ride Cecil, the elephant, and the two forge an unbreakable bond. Inzared falls in love, learns to co-exist with the Gypsies, solves a mystery and grows into a woman, all the while searching for the life she has always dreamed of.
Welcome, Linda. Your characters sound fascinating. Are any of them inspired by real people? 
My main character, Inzared, was inspired by a woman who had a positive effect on me during my young adult life. She taught me that having little doesn’t mean being poor. She grew up in poverty in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. As a young wife and mother she moved to the Midwest and encountered hardships most of us never dream about. Through it all she remained true to herself and loyal to her friends and family. She is one of the people in my life I would most aspire to be. Her stories of growing up and being part of her inner circle taught me a lot about life and about following your dreams. When I began writing INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders, the main character took on a lot of her traits.

She sounds like an amazing person. What would your main character say about you?
Inzared told me more than once that I was a procrastinator and that I needed to get her story out. I put it off for three years until she drove me crazy, and I published the first book just to shut her up! (In actuality, I’m not so much a procrastinator as unsure of myself. I kept trying to tell her that but she wouldn’t listen.)

Characters. What are you gonna do with them. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I tell everyone I can do a lot of things, but I’m not great at any of them. I don’t mean that to sound like I don’t think I’m any good. I don’t believe that. But I am a perfectionist and get mad at myself all the time for making what I call “stupid” mistakes. (I’m working on positive reinforcement.) So, here goes: I love to play the guitar, fiddle, autoharp and dulcimer, and write songs. (I play a lot of instruments, but those are my favorites, and I’ve been writing songs since I was in my teens). I have been sewing and quilting since I was very young, and it totally relaxes me. I’m on an apron kick right now, but I love to sew absolutely anything! Reading has always been my passion – if I could pick books or television, books would win hands down! I enjoy cooking and baking (especially campfire cooking). I love, love, love to go to the movies, especially if I’ve read the book! My husband and I camp in the summer and like to take walks and visit with friends. I am reality-tv obsessed! My favorite tv show is Survivor, but The Amazing Race comes in at a close second. I also like The Voice, American Idol, America’s Got Talent – you get the drift!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
This one’s easy – Mexico! I live in Mazatlan, Mexico in the winter months, and it’s the best place on earth. Surrounded by the ocean, great food, wonderful events and fantastic friends – couldn’t ask for more.

Which author would you most like to invite to dinner, and what would you fix me? I mean, him. Or her.
Sorry darling. No room at the table. I’ve already invited Stephen King, Ann Rule, Amy Tan, and Harlan Coben. I’m doing research for my next novel – paranormal Chinese history true crime mystery with a surprise ending! I’d do a barbecue because my hubby is an awesome grillmaster. I’m the prep cook then, and I make drinks and desserts to go with whatever he has in mind.

Oh man. Are you sure I can't come? I'll be really quiet and eat just a little...okay, moving on. When you start a new book, do you know what the entire cast will be?
No. I’m totally a “pantster.” I have learned that I need to outline (dread the thought) my characters and flesh them out a little or I tend to think everyone understands them the way I do. The characters apply when I put out the call, and after I’ve interviewed them and chosen the ones I need, I write them in. It’s kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle (another favorite pastime of mine).

What were your favorite books or favorite authors a) as a child: There was an Americana series that I loved growing up. The books were based on real historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, Betsy Ross, Abigail Adams, Andrew Jackson, etc. I loved and read each one over and over. By the age of ten I graduated to Zane Grey and read every one of his books – Wildfire was my favorite. I also began reading Jack London about then and couldn’t get enough of his books – loved White Fang! Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Anderson’s Fairy Tales were my other favorites as a child.
b) as a teenager: As a teen I grew to love the classics. Thomas Hardy was my favorite, but I also loved Bronte, Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, Poe, London, Longfellow, and many more. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of my favorite books as a teen.
c) as an adult: I have pretty eclectic tastes in reading. I don’t read Sci-Fi or Fantasy, as a rule, although I have found a few in each of those genres that I did like. I absolutely loved the Harry Potter books. For a refreshing read I like Sophie Kinsella, Janet Evanovich, and Stephanie Weiner. I have read everything Ann Rule has written as True Crime fascinates me. I cannot believe people are so base. Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly are my favorite mystery authors. Stephen King cannot be beat as the most intelligent writer of all time, in my mind. He proved that perseverance does pay. Amy Tan is brilliant, as is Barbara Kingsolver. I love biographies and autobiographies, and just about anything non-fiction. I love learning things, and research is my favorite part of writing, so I haunt the non-fiction section of the library. INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders is the title of your book. How did you come up with it?
I didn’t come up with it - she did! I had a couple of other names in mind, but Inzared was adamant. Some writer friends thought I should change it. She had a hissy fit. So it stayed.


My characters have hissy fits with tails. They're so dramatic. Thank you, Linda, for talking with us. I'm looking forward to reading about Inzared tomorrow in the excerpt you're going to share with us. 

About the author:
L. Leander is an e-book author, freelancer, and songwriter. She writes for Yahoo! Content and does guest posts on author blogs and groups. As a child, L. Leander dreamed of running away to join the circus. Instead, she grew up to write about it, bringing the magic alive for all who read her work.

Ms. Leander currently resides between Wisconsin and Mexico. INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders is the first book in a series about a Gypsy wagon circus in pre-Civil War America.

Excerpt from Heroes & Lovers

I've known Wayne Zurl since we were fellow writers on an online critique site. I remember when he started posting Heroes & Lovers for feedback. Try as I might, I couldn't find anything constructive to say to Wayne. I loved the story, and I ended up being a "lurker." I read the book without offering a review. Gasp. But at a fifty-word minimum, there are only so many fresh reviews one can leave that say "This is great. I love it." Flash forward to the present day, and Wayne's book is published. We get a sneak peek today with a small excerpt from the book. Sit back, read, and enjoy.

About the book:
Sam Jenkins might say, “Falling in love is like catching a cold. It’s infectious and involuntary. Just don’t sneeze on any innocent people.”

Getting kidnapped and becoming infatuated with a married policeman never made TV reporter Rachel Williamson’s list of things to do before Christmas. But helping her friend, Sam Jenkins with a fraud investigation would be fun and get her an exclusive story.

Sam’s investigation put Rachel in the wrong place at the wrong time and her abduction by a mentally disturbed fan, ruined several days of her life.

When Jenkins learns Rachel has gone missing, he cancels holiday leaves, mobilizes the personnel at Prospect PD, and enlists his friends from the FBI to help find her.

During the early stages of the investigation, Sam develops several promising leads, but as they begin to fizzle, his prime suspect drops off the planet and all the resources of the FBI aren’t helping.

After a lucky break and a little old-fashioned pressure on an informant produce an important clue, the chief leads his team deep into the Smoky Mountains to rescue his friend. But after Rachel is once again safe at home, he finds their problems are far from over.

And now, for the excerpt:
 
   The sixty-degree temperatures of several days earlier had cooled slightly. The cloudless Wedgwood blue skies we‘d been enjoying had turned to a muddy, hazy gray hanging over Prospect. The pollution of Knoxville and Oak Ridge had been blown southeast by the prevailing winter winds.
    When we pulled up at the repair shop, it took me less than a minute to spot Elrod sitting in his office reading a magazine. Another young man worked on a pick-up truck in the garage bay and two others sat on folding chairs nearby, drinking soda from cans, talking with him. We sat twenty yards from the open garage door and heard a radio playing. Someone lamented the loss of his girlfriend and contemplated his exodus to San Antone. The song didn‘t sound like one of the icons of country and western to me.
    Len Alcock, Bobby John Crockett, and Stan Rose pulled their marked police cars curbside, blocking the driveways after Junior and I drove up to the office door. The two soda drinkers were about to run when Alcock and Crockett put the arm on them.
    Stanley rousted the mechanic, a guy who looked like he ate pit bulls for breakfast, before he could hide in the supply room off the work area.
Junior followed me into the office. I walked up to a scarred and dented gray metal desk. An open bag of pork rinds lay on top, next to a two-liter bottle of Mello Yello. A half-eaten corn dog hid in a wrinkled wrapper.
    "Hi there," I said. "I‘ll bet you‘re Elrod Swaggerty, aren‘t you?"
    He was a thin, shady-looking character with short hair and sideburns ending below his earlobes. His dark blue mechanic‘s outfit hadn‘t seen soap in a long time.
    Elrod eyed me for a few seconds and then shifted his look to Junior and back again to me. If he didn‘t assume I was a cop, he was more mentally bereft than I anticipated.
    "That‘s me." His voice cracked a little as he tried a nervous smile.
    "The Elrod Swaggerty?" I started to enjoy myself.
    "Uh-huh, whot‘s up?"
    I held up a copy of the arrest warrant for him to see. "I know you were hoping Officer Huskey and I came from Publisher‘s Clearing House and we were about to give you a check for a million bucks, but I‘m sorry to disappoint you."
Junior tried to stifle a laugh, which came out like a combination snicker and snort from a clogged sinus passage. I should have remembered to smack him when we finished, but didn‘t.
    Someone in the garage turned off the radio, stopping the Nashville sound.
    "Elrod, my friend, you‘re under arrest," I said.
    "Whot fer? I didn‘t do nuthin‘."
    "You just committed a double negative in public. If you didn‘t do nothing, you must have done something. May I take that as an admission of guilt?"
    "Do whot?" He was almost gasping.
    "Elrod, son, you have the right to remain silent. I suggest you avail yourself of that right before I feel compelled to flatten your head with a brick."
    "Hey now, don‘t go gettin‘ mean an‘ hateful on me, I really didn‘t do nothin'."
    "Pal, you haven‘t seen hateful yet," I said. "We‘re only having a spirited conversation here. If you see me call in a helicopter or break out a field phone with little alligator clips attached to wires, you may infer I‘m going to get nasty."
    I heard Junior giggling behind me. I should tranquilize him the next time we go on an arrest.
    "Let‘s go, guy, on your feet. Time to put the cuffs on," I said.
    "Cuffs? Are you crazy? I said, I ain‘t done nothin‘."
    When he stood, I gave him a push and moved him up against the wall behind his desk. Just to the left, hung a two-foot-tall calendar showing a girl in a bikini, holding a gallon can of anti-freeze, standing next to a shiny black Mustang with the hood raised.
    "Assume position one, Elrod. Hands on the wall and walk your feet back some."
    Elrod seemed familiar with the steps to that dance. I took hold of his belt and backed him up even more, and then I used my right foot to spread his legs wider.
    "I‘m going to search you now," I said. "Is there anything in your pockets or on your person that is a weapon or might cut me, stick me, or in any other way piss me off?"
    "Do whot?" he croaked again.
    "Now listen carefully, Mr. Swaggerty, these are not multiple choice questions, just a simple true or false. Do you have a weapon or something sharp on your body?"
    "I got me a folder on my belt—that‘s it, it ain‘t concealed."
    I removed a cheap knock-off of a Buck lock-back knife from a beaten-up leather pouch on his belt and handed it to Junior. I finished patting him down, put cuffs on him, double locked them, and brought him back to the position of attention.
    "Whot am I charged with? I got a right ta know!" he crooned.
    "Larceny by inveiglement—four times and scheme to defraud."
    "Do whot?"
    Obviously, vocabulary hadn‘t been one of Elrod‘s favorite subjects.
    When Junior and I walked our prisoner out to the car, I saw John Leckmanski filming the festivities from a discrete distance, far off Elrod‘s property.
    I looked toward the garage area and thought Stan and the boys also hit the jackpot. Elrod‘s three minions were in cuffs, too. Stan found the mechanic with a shirt pocket filled by a baggie brimming over with the evil weed. The guy drinking Dr. Pepper was wanted on a Blount County Traffic warrant for failure to pay fines, and the lad with the Mountain Dew was named on a bench warrant from the Rockford Justice Court for failure to appear. The two cops would transport the prisoners. Stan Rose would stay to secure the scene and inventory any cash found in the office.
    The time involved in messing with Elrod‘s mind and processing his arrest would take us well beyond the 3:30 deadline for arraignments. Swaggerty would spend the night as a guest of Prospect PD and be transported to the county justice center in the morning. I timed the arrest that way for two reasons. I thought of Elrod as a first-class scumbag who needed to remember you don‘t screw around in Prospect. And second: I wanted to give my favorite TV newsgirl time to catch him tomorrow after he made bail and see if she could get an interview during the morning light.
    When Rachel and I spoke, I suggested she attend the arraignment. She and John could watch the judge set bail, but because the county deputies and court officers may be less enamored with good-looking female reporters than I am, they wouldn‘t let her get close to the defendant. I thought they should wait in the Justice Center parking lot until Elrod‘s release and follow him back to Prospect, when he‘d undoubtedly go to his shop and check on the status of the working capital he left behind. There he‘d find a copy of the search warrant with an inventory of the confiscated or secured property.
    I‘ve lived to regret that suggestion ever since.

About the author:

Wayne Zurl grew up on Long Island and retired after twenty years with the Suffolk County Police Department, one of the largest municipal law enforcement agencies in New York and the nation. For thirteen of those years he served as a section commander supervising investigators. He is a graduate of SUNY, Empire State College and served on active duty in the US Army during the Vietnam War and later in the reserves. Zurl left New York to live in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with his wife, Barbara.

Fifteen (15) of his Sam Jenkins mysteries have been produced as audio books and simultaneously published as eBooks. Ten (10) of these novelettes are now available in print under the titles of A MURDER IN KNOXVILLE and Other Smoky Mountain Mysteries and REENACTING A MURDER and Other Smoky Mountain Mysteries. Zurl’s first full-length novel, A NEW PROSPECT, was named best mystery at the 2011 Indie Book Awards, chosen as 1st Runner-Up from all Commercial Fiction at the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Awards, and was nominated for a Montaigne Medal and First Horizon Book Award. His second novel, A LEPRECHAUN’S LAMENT, is available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle. A third full-length novel, HEROES & LOVERS, is scheduled for release on Sept 29, 2012.

For more information on Wayne’s Sam Jenkins mystery series see www.waynezurlbooks.net. You can read excerpts, reviews and endorsements, interviews, coming events, and see photos of the area where the stories take place.