Thursday, May 30, 2013
Mind Crafter Delay
There's been a bit of a delay due to some scheduling issues with my proofreader. Mind Crafter will be delayed a few days. Alas.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Schedule for Mind Crafter and The Eternal City
So, just wanted to drop a few schedule notes.
My next book, Mind Crafter, which is a conspiracy-driven fantasy tale, will b released on June 1st.
The sequel to The Emerald City, The Eternal City, will be released on August 31st.
Thanks for reading.
My next book, Mind Crafter, which is a conspiracy-driven fantasy tale, will b released on June 1st.
The sequel to The Emerald City, The Eternal City, will be released on August 31st.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Shattered Lives, Forgiveness, and Restoration: An Interview with Inspirational Romance Author Lucie Ulrich
Broken Vessels is set in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of my favorite places. It’s a story of shattered lives, forgiveness and restoration, revolving around a man and women, once childhood friends, who have each suffered great loss. They meet again after being apart for ten years, and rekindle their friendship. There is plenty of family dynamic, with a good dose of love/hate relationships, secrets and betrayals. Though the story is faith-based, it’s far from sweet and sappy. I won’t deny that my beliefs run throughout, but I worked very hard not to sound preachy.
2) Please tell us about your main characters.
Emma Brody is a former fashion model who bears not only emotional scars, but physical ones as well. Her struggles to make a new life for herself as a potter are impeded by a lack of self-esteem, an overbearing mother, and a brother whose main goal in life is to restore peace between Emma and their mother, Louise. Sadly, Louise can’t forgive her only daughter for what she considers “the sins of her past.” Emma is one who not only keeps secrets she’s one to run when things go wrong. And it terrifies her that Luke is getting too close.
Luke Connors has spent two years in therapy dealing with the loss of his wife and two young sons. He’s traded in his life as a high school counselor to take over his father’s landscaping business. He’s not looking for love, but his life changes when Emma moves back to their hometown. It doesn’t take long for them to become friends again. Like Emma’s brother, Jimmy, Luke is a fixer. His desire for Emma to see beyond her scars causes friction, and threatens to derail the unexpected feelings he’s feeling for her.
3) One of the main themes of your novel seems to be forgiveness. Why did you choose that as one of your main points of thematic focus?
About fifteen years ago I read a book by John Bevere called The Bait of Satan, which speaks of the effects of holding onto a grudge, or offence. It changed my mind-set, and made me realize how important forgiveness is for spirit, soul and body. I wanted Broken Vessels to reflect that by showing different degrees of conflict, and allowing the characters to make their own choices where forgiveness is concerned, and to live through the consequences of their decisions.
4) What, to you, fundamentally defines a romance book?
Great question! For me, a great romance is a story of love and commitment. It doesn’t matter if the couple is already married, or finding each other for the first time. A friend and fellow writer once said that for her, romance had to include sex. I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment. I do believe there needs to be sexual tension, however. I suppose the degree to which it’s shown depends on whether a book is classified secular or inspirational.
Strong characters are a must for me. I can’t stand wimpy women who wait for their hero to ride in on a white horse and save the day. That isn’t to say there shouldn’t be emotional conflict or angst. That’s vital to a good romance. A typical romance is a story of love – loss – love again. A happy ending is preferable, but not necessary. Nicholas Sparks has certainly proved that happy endings are not mandatory.
5) Do you have any links to any excerpts you'd like to share?
On the above mentioned website, and on Twitter @LucieUlrich
7) Where can readers purchase your book?
Friday, April 26, 2013
Blood, Love, and War in the Reign of Charlemagne: An Interview with Historical Fiction Author Kim Rendfeld
The Cross and the Dragon is a tale of love amid the wars and blood feuds of Charlemagne’s reign. Here is the blurb:
Francia, 778: Alda has never forgotten Ganelon’s vow of vengeance when she married his rival, Hruodland. Yet the jilted suitor’s malice is nothing compared to Alda’s premonition of disaster for her beloved, battle-scarred husband.
Although the army invading Hispania is the largest ever and King Charles has never lost a war, Alda cannot shake her anxiety. Determined to keep Hruodland from harm, even if it exposes her to danger, Alda gives him a charmed dragon amulet.
Is its magic enough to keep Alda’s worst fears from coming true—and protect her from Ganelon?
2) What inspired this book?
The inspiration came to me during a family vacation in Germany, when we encountered the legend behind the Rhineland ruins of Rolandsbogen. What follows is a spoiler and readers who would like to avoid it should skip to the next paragraph. The legend is that Roland (Hruodland in The Cross and the Dragon) built a castle for his bride and went off to war in Spain. His bride received false news that he was killed, took a vow of chastity, and joined the convent on Nonnenwerth, a nearly island in the Rhine. Roland returned too late and spent the rest of his days at his window, just trying to catch a glimpse of her as she went to and from prayers. I found out later that the legend was not true and that the historic Roland died in the ambush at the Pass of Roncevaux in the Pyrenees in 778.
However, the legend of Rolandsbogen refused to leave me alone. It followed me home on the plane and would not rest until I sat down at my computer and began to type, even though I knew little about the Middle Ages, let alone the Carolingians.
3) Please tell us a bit more about your main characters.
There is a lot to like about my heroine, Alda, a young Frankish noblewoman. She’s strong-willed, intelligent, wise, and compassionate, but what I admire most about her is her courage. Her love for Hruodland is so strong that she is willing to make herself vulnerable to physical danger. Giving him her most precious possession, the dragon amulet mentioned in the blurb, is just one example. Later, she will take a great risk for her husband’s sake.
Hruodland loves Alda’s strong will and cleverness, even though he’s been taught the ideal wife is submissive. But he is also a medieval man, and medieval men did not completely trust their wives, which is why is he is subject to bouts of jealousy. Still, he will defend Alda against any enemy and is even willing to die in the attempt.
Hruodland and Ganelon, my villain, already dislike each other at the start of the novel, but the fact they both want Alda as a wife deepens their animosity. Ganelon is a good-looking guy. Unfortunately, his looks are the only thing to like about him. Reviewers have rightly pointed out how loathsome he is. Alda describes his heart as black and twisted as a piece of burnt wood.
4) Please tell us how you approached the balance of fact and fiction, especially given that your basis is a historical legend that in of itself has some fictionalized details of the events and people it is about.
Any portrayal of Roland is going to be fictitious. All we know about the man is where and when he died and that he governed the March of Brittany.
The Cross and the Dragon borrows from the story of Rolandsbogen and the Old French epic The Song of Roland, both light on historical and heavy on fiction, yet historical events are woven into its narrative. The wars in my novel are real, and I’ve done my best to stay true to Frankish politics, culture, and customs. For example, I’d never have a girl refuse to marry a guy because she was apathetic to him.
As much as I cherish accuracy—to point of researching whether bishops wore miters then—the story must come first. The key word in historical fiction is “fiction”; I am a novelist, not a scholar. But I include historical notes at the end of my novels where I confess to the liberties I’ve taken. I owe it to the readers.
5) The period your book covers seems less popular than later, and for that matter, earlier periods of European history. Why do you think that is?
This is pure speculation, but I wonder if the answer lies in the fact that this period is little known to a general audience, at least here in the States. When I started writing this novel, I’d heard of Charlemagne and knew it meant Charles the Great, but that was about it. I don’t think I’m alone in that assessment, and that’s a pity. There is so much more to this era than that.
The family drama alone could rival a soap opera, and it led to a war and an attempted coup. There is not enough space here to discuss everything, but let me give you a little taste. At the start of my story in 773, Charles is in his mid-20s, twice divorced, married to wife No. 3, and about to go to war with his ex-father-in-law who is threatening Rome. This is all true. As a storyteller, how can I resist?
6) Do you see historical fiction as an educational tool or merely an entertainment tool? If the former, what advantages do you think it has in that regard?
My first responsibility as a novelist is to keep readers interested all the way to the end, but if I’ve done my job right, the reader will learn something new about the history. As an educational tool, historical fiction can show that the past was populated by people, not cardboard cutouts. Too often, we’re taught history as a list of events, who did what where, an approach that turns off many students. In historical fiction, we can understand people of the past saw the world differently, but they worried, grieved, loved, and felt great anger and great joy as we do today.
7) Are there any other early medieval period legends you are interested in revisiting?
My muse instead decided to bring me the heroine of The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar, Leova, a peasant Saxon mother determined to protect her children. Charlemagne fought bitter wars against the pagan Saxon peoples on and off for more than 30 years, something I could only touch on in The Cross and the Dragon. The Saxons, who did not have a written language as we know it, are history’s losers, and I wanted to give them a voice, even a small one.
Legends and folk tales still play a part, though. I used folk tales as one way to imagine what the Continental Saxons might be believed—their religion is mostly lost to us. And I’ve included a story about Saxon leader Widukind, a historical character, having different colored eyes.
8) Where can reads find out more about you?
Is its magic enough to keep Alda’s worst fears from coming true—and protect her from Ganelon?
2) What inspired this book?
The inspiration came to me during a family vacation in Germany, when we encountered the legend behind the Rhineland ruins of Rolandsbogen. What follows is a spoiler and readers who would like to avoid it should skip to the next paragraph. The legend is that Roland (Hruodland in The Cross and the Dragon) built a castle for his bride and went off to war in Spain. His bride received false news that he was killed, took a vow of chastity, and joined the convent on Nonnenwerth, a nearly island in the Rhine. Roland returned too late and spent the rest of his days at his window, just trying to catch a glimpse of her as she went to and from prayers. I found out later that the legend was not true and that the historic Roland died in the ambush at the Pass of Roncevaux in the Pyrenees in 778.
However, the legend of Rolandsbogen refused to leave me alone. It followed me home on the plane and would not rest until I sat down at my computer and began to type, even though I knew little about the Middle Ages, let alone the Carolingians.
3) Please tell us a bit more about your main characters.
There is a lot to like about my heroine, Alda, a young Frankish noblewoman. She’s strong-willed, intelligent, wise, and compassionate, but what I admire most about her is her courage. Her love for Hruodland is so strong that she is willing to make herself vulnerable to physical danger. Giving him her most precious possession, the dragon amulet mentioned in the blurb, is just one example. Later, she will take a great risk for her husband’s sake.
Hruodland loves Alda’s strong will and cleverness, even though he’s been taught the ideal wife is submissive. But he is also a medieval man, and medieval men did not completely trust their wives, which is why is he is subject to bouts of jealousy. Still, he will defend Alda against any enemy and is even willing to die in the attempt.
Hruodland and Ganelon, my villain, already dislike each other at the start of the novel, but the fact they both want Alda as a wife deepens their animosity. Ganelon is a good-looking guy. Unfortunately, his looks are the only thing to like about him. Reviewers have rightly pointed out how loathsome he is. Alda describes his heart as black and twisted as a piece of burnt wood.
4) Please tell us how you approached the balance of fact and fiction, especially given that your basis is a historical legend that in of itself has some fictionalized details of the events and people it is about.
Any portrayal of Roland is going to be fictitious. All we know about the man is where and when he died and that he governed the March of Brittany.
The Cross and the Dragon borrows from the story of Rolandsbogen and the Old French epic The Song of Roland, both light on historical and heavy on fiction, yet historical events are woven into its narrative. The wars in my novel are real, and I’ve done my best to stay true to Frankish politics, culture, and customs. For example, I’d never have a girl refuse to marry a guy because she was apathetic to him.
As much as I cherish accuracy—to point of researching whether bishops wore miters then—the story must come first. The key word in historical fiction is “fiction”; I am a novelist, not a scholar. But I include historical notes at the end of my novels where I confess to the liberties I’ve taken. I owe it to the readers.
5) The period your book covers seems less popular than later, and for that matter, earlier periods of European history. Why do you think that is?
This is pure speculation, but I wonder if the answer lies in the fact that this period is little known to a general audience, at least here in the States. When I started writing this novel, I’d heard of Charlemagne and knew it meant Charles the Great, but that was about it. I don’t think I’m alone in that assessment, and that’s a pity. There is so much more to this era than that.
The family drama alone could rival a soap opera, and it led to a war and an attempted coup. There is not enough space here to discuss everything, but let me give you a little taste. At the start of my story in 773, Charles is in his mid-20s, twice divorced, married to wife No. 3, and about to go to war with his ex-father-in-law who is threatening Rome. This is all true. As a storyteller, how can I resist?
6) Do you see historical fiction as an educational tool or merely an entertainment tool? If the former, what advantages do you think it has in that regard?
My first responsibility as a novelist is to keep readers interested all the way to the end, but if I’ve done my job right, the reader will learn something new about the history. As an educational tool, historical fiction can show that the past was populated by people, not cardboard cutouts. Too often, we’re taught history as a list of events, who did what where, an approach that turns off many students. In historical fiction, we can understand people of the past saw the world differently, but they worried, grieved, loved, and felt great anger and great joy as we do today.
7) Are there any other early medieval period legends you are interested in revisiting?
My muse instead decided to bring me the heroine of The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar, Leova, a peasant Saxon mother determined to protect her children. Charlemagne fought bitter wars against the pagan Saxon peoples on and off for more than 30 years, something I could only touch on in The Cross and the Dragon. The Saxons, who did not have a written language as we know it, are history’s losers, and I wanted to give them a voice, even a small one.
Legends and folk tales still play a part, though. I used folk tales as one way to imagine what the Continental Saxons might be believed—their religion is mostly lost to us. And I’ve included a story about Saxon leader Widukind, a historical character, having different colored eyes.
8) Where can reads find out more about you?
You can find out more about me on my website www.kimrendfeld.com and my blog www.kimrendfeld.wordpress.com. If you’re into social media, you can also connect with me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/authorkimrendfeld), Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/Kim_Rendfeld), or Twitter (@kimrendfeld)
9) Where can readers find your book?
The Cross and the Dragon is available in e-book and print from many outlets including:
Amazon U.S.
Amazon Canada
Amazon U.K.
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
You can find readers’ reviews and even more vendor links at The Cross and the Dragon’s Goodreads page.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Man, Dogs, and Evil: An Interview with thriller writer C.K. Raggio
Heron Park is a crime thriller with a horror/psychological twist to it. A small town detective and an FBI agent team up to stop a sadist, who uses highly trained dogs to terrorize and torture his female victims. I tell the story from both sides. The cops searching for clues and chasing a monster, and the monster searching for prey while evading the cops. The dogs have a huge part in the story, and I think this is where Heron Park differs from other serial killer/cop novels.
2) Please tell us about your main characters.
Detective Cassie Logan is a woman who grew up on Long Island's Great South Bay. She's a fisherman's daughter, a tomboy who doesn't look the part. She's confident, hard working and loyal. But her toughness is tested time and again throughout the book. Sometimes she cracks, but she never breaks, and she only grows stronger as the story progresses.
FBI Agent Rick Sanders is a bit of a womanizer. He's good looking and he knows it, but he's also really good at his job. He studied to become a profiler but changed his mind once he realized that meant he wouldn't be leaving the office much. This training comes in huge with the case. Think along the lines of Criminal Minds. He also finds himself quite attracted to a certain Detective Logan.
Timmy. Timmy is a sadistic, twisted killer. You don't find out his real name until about half way through the book. His violence and corrupted imagination lead to some very disturbing scenes. I've been told from some unflappable readers that they were definitely reacting during his murders. Some nausea, some cringes, and a bunch of flinching. I won't say much more about him besides he was one hell of a character to write.
3) What inspired this story?
I'm a dog trainer, and I was working with a small terrier in a nearby park. It was a bit late, the sun almost going down so the park was empty. Or so I thought. As I came around a sharp corner there was a man in a hooded sweatshirt with a golden retriever who obviously didn't like small dogs. It ripped free from it's owner and charged us. I scooped my pup up just in time and yelled at the dog to stay (in my most masculine of voices). It slowed, but didn't stop. I was able to turn my body and stomp down on his leash as he continued to try and rip the small dog from my arms.
The owner finally got control of his dog. After some very disapproving words from me, which I can't say here, I strode in the opposite direction. This got me thinking. What if that dog had been too big for me to control? He could've killed the dog I was walking. Hmm, then - What if he'd been trained to attack, so that while I was focused on my dog being ripped apart the owner could grab me from behind? Jackpot!
And so Heron Park was born.
4) Why do you think so many readers have such interest in such terrible crimes?
That's a tough one. I'd guess that most of these people have a sort of curiosity to violence and death. Maybe a part of them likes to see, read and experience a controlled type of fear. It's the same reason that some people enjoy horror movies. It gets your adrenaline pumping. Turns on the fight or flight mode. Do you read it, or do you skip through to the next scene? Do you watch it, or do you cover your eyes? I think it all depends on a person's ability to separate themselves from the brutality. Kind of like a doctor working in an emergency room, or a detective working on a homicide case.
I don't like to hurt any living thing. I release spiders outside, save earthworms from drowning in puddles after rain storms. Yes, seriously. You'd probably never think that after reading my book. But anyway, I think it's more of a wonderment for me. Why and what made this, or these persons, act that way? I like to try and figure people out. I always have.
5) Does delving into the darkness as part of the writing process ever cause you any distress?
I love this question.
I've been reading horror and true crime stories since I was in high school. I began delving even deeper when I started writing Heron Park three years ago. To say that this research has made me cautious is an understatement.
I had no problem walking by myself at night in the woods a few years ago. Now I wouldn't even consider it. I've woken up in the middle of the night, okay so I wake up most every night to the smallest sound. And I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tiptoed around, bat in hand, looking for an intruder and double checking all the locks.
I'm a little worried I'm going to start sounding like a paranoid loon, but I'll tell you anyhow. I almost broke my husband's nose with an elbow when he snuck up behind me one day. Yeah, not good. He hasn't snuck up on me since though, so I guess that's a good thing.
All in all, it has caused me distress, but I think in a good way. The world isn't all ice cream cake and unicorns. That feeling of being watched, when your hair stands up, and that chill crawls up your back like a giant hairy spider, is usually right. While before I would've ignored it, shook it off, now I take notice and let my instincts decide what I should do next.
6) Do you have any links to any particular excerpts you'd like to share?
My first chapter is available on TG Davis' website - http://tgdavis0.blogspot.com/p/heron-park-by-ck-raggio.html?m=1
7) Where can readers find out more about you?
Website - http://www.ckraggio.com/
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/C.K.-Raggio/e/B00AIBN4LI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ckRaggio
Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/ckRaggio1
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16237045-heron-park
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/ckraggio/
Want the Book?
Amazon Kindle - http://amzn.to/W4k3Ig
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)