Month: January 2018

Please join CC Dado at the wheel!

 

1. Which of your characters would you most like to be romantically involved with?

Out of all of my characters Levi from ‘Say it with ink’ is the one I am most drawn to as a character. Hot guys with tattoos and emotional love secrets…. Mmm…

 

2. If you had to live in a movie, TV show, or book, which would you choose and why?

Dazed and Confused. Nights like those are an amazing, and scary rite of passage.

3. What advice would you give your 17-year-old self?

• When someone suggests you get tattoos together just hang up the phone… like seriously, for the love of god, hang up the phone.
• Life choices made drunk in a bar aren’t always bad… just go with it.
• Apply for scholarships or find a semi legal, well-paying side job, cause I’m literally still paying for our education and it sucks.

 

4. The letter E has been made illegal. Write a description of your latest book without running afoul of the law.

L#vi can r#m#mb#r th# #xact mom#nt th# proj#ction of his lif# chang#d #ntir#ly, from hom#l#ss dropout to coll#g# graduat#. It was th# day h# found Jami# Donovan standing on his front porch—th# boy L#vi had s#cr#tly drool#d ov#r from afar would b#com# th# b#st fri#nd h# s#cr#tly drool#d ov#r up clos#.

Wh#n L#vi g#ts a full rid# scholarship but Jami# do#sn’t, Jami# b#com#s an #xotic danc#r to h#lp pay his tuition. Watching Jami# p#rform is pur# tortur# for L#vi, and hiding how h# r#ally f##ls starts to tak# its toll. And wh#n th# hot n#w guy from his #con class hits on him, L#vi has to d#cid# just how long h#’s going to stay d#vot#d to his straight b#st fri#nd.

 

5. If you could instantly learn another language, which would you choose and why?

Swiss-Italian, it is the language spoken in the small village on the border of Sweden and Italy that my ancestors came from.

 

Book blurb:

Levi can remember the exact moment the projection of his life changed entirely, from homeless dropout to college graduate. It was the day he found Jamie Donovan standing on his front porch—the boy Levi had secretly drooled over from afar would become the best friend he secretly drooled over up close.

When Levi gets a full ride scholarship but Jamie doesn’t, Jamie becomes an exotic dancer to help pay his tuition. Watching Jamie perform is pure torture for Levi, and hiding how he really feels starts to take its toll. And when the hot new guy from his Econ class hits on him, Levi has to decide just how long he’s going to stay devoted to his straight best friend.

Book buy links:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/cc-dado-528-a

Author bio:

I write about painfully awkward, usually embarrassing, romance because long confident gazes followed by sexy dancing never happens to me. I am a native of the Pacific Northwest, and will probably never leave. I’m like a hypochondriac sundae, with claustrophobic sprinkles, and a big cherry of anxiety on top, so I don’t travel much. I read to relax my mind, so I love getting lost in someone else’s story, even if it is only for a little while.

Author contacts:

• Twitter: @C_C_Dado

Today Angel Martinez takes her chances at the wheel.

 

1. Make up a new word you really wish would catch on. What is it and what does it mean?

Snorgle (v.) – to half choke upon, half snort a laugh during those occasions where a person is unable to prevent the laugh but also feels some shame regarding the laughter escaping or feels it comes at a supremely inappropriate moment. (He snorgled at the viewing when he realized he was wearing the same suit as the deceased.)

2. What did you have for lunch yesterday?

I actually had a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. Yes, I’m eight years old and yes, sometimes I fall hard off the healthier eating wagon. Though peanut butter is a protein and with bread it’s a complete protein, so not entirely bad? Until you factor in that the bread is the white, gluey stuff, and there are other substances involved like chocolate spreads or marshmallow fluff… yeah, can’t claim the nutritional high ground there.

3. One of your books is being made into a movie. Who would you cast for the major roles?

I’m not an author who likes to pick out actors or models for my characters. Having a living person as the face of the character messes what’s in my head for that character and I’d prefer readers be able to build their own visuals of them. That said, acting is often more about ability to play the role than appearance.

We’ll take Books, Bulls and Bacchanals from the Brandywine Investigations series. (With a bit of time traveling for the casting.) I’d want a young Gary Oldman to play Dionysus. He’s the right size and has an uncanny transformative ability to play literally anyone. Police commissioner, Dracula, yep, he’s got it. For the minotaur, Leander, I’d like a young Ron Perlman. Actually, he could still play the part since there would be heavy makeup involved. Again, he’s sized correctly and is more than capable of playing the shy minotaur librarian convincingly.

4. You are permitted to place ONE ITEM in a time capsule chest to be buried and unearthed 100 years from now. What would it be, and why?

It would have to be a fidget spinner. Without context, sociologists of the time would be left to wonder, what is this for? There’s nothing more fun than confounding socio/anthropologists. Of course, I’m assuming some sort of catastrophic data loss in the next hundred years or they could just look it up. Cheaters.

5. If you had a time machine, where/when would you go and why?

I’d go to Renaissance Italy. Leonardo, I have so many questions. Always dangerous, of course. I could let information slip that he shouldn’t have and change everything forever. Come to think of it, I wonder if someone from the future did visit Leonardo. That would explain so much.

6. One of your characters is running for political office. Who is it and what’s the office?

So many of my characters are non-humans living in human controlled spaces – elected office isn’t really an option for them. I mean Hades would probably be an excellent, if not terribly politic, mayor of Wilmington, but it would be far too much visibility for him. Vikash Soren, one of the police officers in Offbeat Crimes, would do well in city planning, though. He has the scope of vision, the curiosity, and the natural diplomacy necessary for the position. It’s not elected, but it’s a vital appointment in a city that’s constantly struggling to renew.

7. One of your characters has an allergy that’s proved problematic. Tell us about it.

Oh, this is actually a thing! Kyle Monroe, police officer assigned to Philadelphia’s paranormal precinct and one of the main characters in the first two Offbeat Crimes books, has a meat allergy. It’s an allergy one of my friends suffers from and I wanted to give homage to some of that frustration – people don’t take it seriously, don’t understand that preparation and cross-contamination matter, and so on. Especially problematic in restaurants where the same oil or same surface or same utensils is used to cook both meat and vegetables. The problematic proteins remain even if the meat itself has been removed.

 

Book blurb:

‘Old actors never die’ shouldn’t be literally true.

Carrington Loveless III, skim-blood vampire and senior officer of Philly’s paranormal police department, has long suspected that someone’s targeting his squad. The increasingly bizarre and dangerous entities invading their city can’t be a coincidence. So when a walking corpse spouting Oscar Wilde attacks one of his officers, Carrington’s determined to uncover the evil mind behind it all.

As a rare books librarian, Erasmus Graham thought he understood some of the stranger things in life. Sharing a life with Carrington has shown him he didn’t know the half of it. They’ve survived attack books and deadly dust bunnies together and got through mostly unscathed. Now his world and his vampire’s appear ready to collide again. Books are missing from the Rare Book collection—old tomes of magic containing dangerous summonings and necromancy. He’s certain whoever has been stalking the Seventy-Seventh is composing their end game. It’s going to take a consolidated effort from paranormal police, librarians and some not-quite-authorized civilians to head off the impending catastrophe.

 

Book buy links:

Ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0783PL72N

https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/all-the-worlds-an-undead-stage

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-the-worlds-an-undead-stage-angel-martinez/1127528065?ean=9781786516602

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/all-the-world-s-an-undead-stage

 

Paperback:

https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/all-the-worlds-an-undead-stage-print

Author bio:

The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.

Published since 2006, Angel’s cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You’ll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don’t expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.

She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.

Author contacts:

• Website: http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com
• Blog: http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com/from-angels-cave
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amartinez2
• Twitter: @AngelMartinezrr
• Email: angelmartinezauthor@gmail.com
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/angelmartinez
• Newsletter Sign Up: http://weebly.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d695378c9dc2d2eba822769a5&id=bf9ef7415d

 

Keelan Ellis spins the wheel today!

 

1. If you were on a cruise ship for a week, what would you spend your time doing?

I have been on a cruise for a week, and most of my time was spent trying to find a moment to myself. If I could manage it, I would spend most of my days in a shady spot on the deck, writing my next book. Also, stuffing my face and drinking too much, because let’s face it—that’s what cruises are for, right?

2. Which Disney character most closely resembles you?

Maybe Sleeping Beauty? I really enjoy a long nap.

3. What is your favorite appliance?

These days, my slow cooker. I resisted for many years, but once I started using it, I fell in love.

4. One of your characters had—much to everyone’s shock—suddenly become leader of a small country. What are that character’s first actions?

What a terrifying thought! If Terry Blackwood, lead singer of the Vulgar Details, had to run a country, the first thing he’d do is set aside plenty of land for national parks, because he’s a low key NP nerd. After that, he’d appoint Henry to make all the decisions for him.

5. If you could communicate perfectly with one species of animal, what would it be?

Birds. They get to see things from such a different perspective than earthbound creatures and I think it would be interesting. Also, they’d make great spies.

6. If you could build any kind of structure to live in, what would you choose and why?

A treehouse. I’ve always wanted a huge, totally tricked out treehouse.

7. What invention would you love to see created in order to make your life easier?

Fantasy invention? I want something to dictate the dialogue I write in my head when I’m in the car or the shower. I can never get it just right when I try to write it down later. Either that or a robot servant who is programmed to be a master chef.

8. In your opinion, what should be the Seven Deadly Sins?

1. Hacky stand up comedy
2. Inconsiderate driving
3. MAGA hats
4. Wine mom memes
5. Playing games on your phone in a waiting room with the sound on
6. Humblebragging
7. Unsolicited dick pics

9. What is the most obnoxious thing you have ever done to try to impress someone you really liked?

Once, back in the 90s, I pretended to love ska.

10. Who would win in a fight – A monkey with a jet pack or a dog with Hitler’s brain?

Hitler lost even in a human body and an entire army, so clearly I have to go with the monkey.

 

Book blurb:

Talented studio musician, Henry Cole, is offered the dream job of touring with popular rock band, the Vulgar Details. Things aren’t all rosy, though, as he is hired to replace Dell Miller, creative force behind the band, who recently flamed-out in a car accident.

Henry is all too aware that he’s no replacement for someone like Dell. He’s not the only one who feels that way, either. Terry Blackwood, band front man, has been giving him a hard time even before the tour start. He seems to resent Henry’s presence beyond all reason. What Henry doesn’t know is that Terry and Dell’s relationship was both intensely close and fraught with conflict.

Terry’s grief over Dell’s death is overwhelming and threatens to destroy not only the band but his life. It doesn’t help that the new member of the band makes him feel things he doesn’t want to. Worse, when he sings, Henry sounds just like the man Terry cared so deeply for.

With so much at stake, everything could come crashing down around them and mean the end for the Vulgar Details. Or, just maybe, Henry and Terry will find the one thing they need most.

 

Book buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/One-Thing-I-Know-ebook/dp/B0747Z79FG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

NineStar Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/the-one-thing-i-know/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/738383

 

Author bio:

Keelan Ellis is an author of romance and detective fiction, who is always seeking to expand her literary horizons. She is a lover of music and food, and has an intense love/hate relationship with politics. Her stories reflect her passions.

Author contacts:

• Blog: keelanellis.blogspot.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellisauthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeelanEllisAuth
• Email: keelanellisauthor@gmail.com