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Character Interview: Alex Moreno from Liza Treviño’s women’s contemporary fiction novel, ‘All That Glitters: A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Hollywood Dreams’
We’re thrilled to have here today Alexandria Moreno from Liza Treviño’s new women’s fiction novel, All That Glitters: A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Hollywood Dreams. Alex Moreno is a 33 year old, film director screenwriter hyphenate living in Los Angeles, California.
It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you for inviting me here.
Thank you so much for this interview, Alex. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Yeah, I think I might’ve been a little too fairly portrayed. Seeing it all there in black and white, well, it’s hard to believe that’s supposed to be me. Sure, there was some poetic license here and there, especially early on…and, yeah…there are a few things that I’ll say are pure speculation on the author’s part, but I get it. She’s got to tell a story and she’s got to amp up for maximum impact. I see myself in there, and I’m not too surprised about how I come off.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
It’s weird to read about yourself, that’s for sure. But, I think the author wrote me as I am – without pulling too many punches. She wrote me as a “take it or leave it” kind of chick. That’s not so great for me, because I can come off as, shall we say, unsympathetic? And that’s fair. What can I say, I’ve proudly been “unsympathetic” from time to time.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
Hmmm, I guess it would be my ability to focus on a goal 100% until it’s accomplished and do whatever it takes to make the goal happen.
Worse trait?
The same as my strongest trait. Really.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
I’d really like a Latina to portray me. I’d love someone like a cross between Michelle Rodriguez and Salma Hayek to play me. Yeah, that would be fucking cool.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
Yeah, I guess you could say that. I mean, definitely more than I realized.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
Can I say the first page? I write about other people, so to start reading, and know that the person on the page is me…well, it’s surreal. I mean, it’s all right there from the first page.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
My ex, Nick. It would be depressing to be that much of an asshole—sorry, to be that much of a jerk. All. The.Time.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
It’s dramatic, cinematic and I like that it provides closure without feeling final. How’s that for vague? You know, I dig the wraparound structure the author used to tell the story. So, you start with the end at the beginning and then see everything that led up to that point, like Raging Bull. That’s cool. So, when the story does “catch up” to the end, there’s a sense of, “oh, THAT’S why that was happening.” It made the ending feel more complete overall.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?
I’d say, good luck with trying to keep up with my next adventures.
Thank you for this interview, Alex. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
No doubt about it.
I certainly hope so. You’ll have to read the book to find out.
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Liza Treviño hails from Texas, spending many of her formative years on the I-35 corridor of San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. In pursuit of adventure and a Ph.D., Liza moved to Los Angeles where she compiled a collection of short-term, low-level Hollywood jobs like script girl, producer assistant and production assistant. Her time as a Hollywood Jane-of-all-trades gave her an insider’s view to a world most only see from the outside, providing the inspiration for creating a new breed of Latina heroine. Website: lizatrevino.com
About the book:
Alexandria Moreno – clever, sexy, ambitious and, at times, self-destructive – blazes a path from Texas to Los Angeles at the dawn of the 1980s to make her dreams of becoming an A-list Hollywood film director come true. She and her best friend arrive in Los Angeles with little more than hope and determination to make it big. Alex, her beauty as dark and mysterious as her scarred heart, stands at the bottom of the Hollywood mountain looking up, fighting for her chance to climb to the top. Will her quest to live fast and take no prisoners on her way to the top destroy her in the end?
All That Glitters is a women’s fiction Jackie Collins-type saga that introduces a strong, driven Latina heroine at the center of a rags-to-riches story spanning a decade of action. Along the way, Alexandria walks the fine line separating ambition and self-destruction, and discovers that some sacrifices will cost her everything.
Advance Praise for All That Glitters
Kudos to Liza Treviño for giving us this unique image of the New Latina! I urge reading All that Glitters. You won’t regret it. – Graciela Limón, author
Treviño tells her story with wit, intelligence, and an undercurrent of sadness at the plight women face to make a name for themselves as human beings instead of strictly as women.” Jonathan Marcantoni, author and publisher of La Casita Grande Press
Click to Buy on Amazon: All That Glitters
Character Interview: Frank Swiver from Harley Mazuk, mystery/private eye, White with Fish, Red with Murder
We’re thrilled to have here today Frank Swiver from Harley Mazuk’s new mystery, White with Fish, Red with Murder. Frank Swiver is a 35-year-old shamus living in San Francisco, California.
It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so for this interview, Frank. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
It’s funny how things work out. The book is my story, in my words, but when I go back and read it now, I do seem a little slow on the uptake sometimes. And I make mistakes with the dames. But I was telling it the way it happened. You look at the big picture, I do all right with women. And I never claimed to be Sherlock Holmes, just a hard-working private eye.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
I don’t know about “colorizing my personality.” We were trying to write a page-turner here, and we told it the way it went down. That was fair enough to me.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I’m not fearless, but I have the courage it takes to do the job. And I’m a hard worker. If I take your money, I’ll keep at it until I solve the case. Courage and perseverance . . . you can take your choice.
Worse trait?
My loyalty to women is not always all it should be. I’m thinking here about Vera Peregrino, my secretary. I let her down. I look back on it and I don’t know how it happened. But at least I stuck with the case and sprung her from jail on that murder rap.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
While I was on this case, a redhead I met in Chico told me I looked like that cat in Out of the Past, Robert Mitchum. I believe he’s a little younger than me, so I took that as a compliment. He’s a bit beefier than I am—I lost a lot of weight in Spain during the Civil War and never put it back on. And I don’t have a dimple in my chin. But I think she was getting at something about Mitchum’s eyes.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
Yeah, two. And that’s the problem.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
I questioned one of the suspects, Spitbucket McQuade, the wine critic, over lunch at the Black Lizard Lounge. Just my luck he picks that day to open a poisoned bottle of Burgundy. McQuade got me a little hot with his cracks about Cicilia, and I slapped him in front of witnesses before I left. Twenty minutes later, he drops dead on the steps of his apartment building, and the owner of the Black Lizard tells the cops my name. I had to do some fast talking to keep them from taking me in. That’s where I started to worry. If I’d ended up in jail on a murder rap, I wouldn’t have been able to solve the Thursby killing and save Vera.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
I wouldn’t have wanted to be McQuade, because he died. And while he was alive, nobody liked him.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
The ending is not happy—I don’t get married and live happily ever after. At least it’s not a tragedy—I don’t die. But when the story ended, I felt I’d be better off dead. I guess that’s what they call noir.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?
Next time, Mr. Mazuk, less wine, more sex. And give me a chance to make it up to Vera.
Thank you for this interview, Frank Swiver. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
Oh, yeah. There’s a short adventure I had in Utah, in 1950. I called the case, “Pearl’s Valley.” It should be coming out as a stand-alone novelette in April, from Dark Passages Publishing. And there will be more novels, too.
Harley Mazuk [http://www.harleymazuk.com/] is a mystery writer living in Maryland. His first novel, White with Fish, Red with Murder [http://www.drivenpress.net/white-with-fish-red-with-murder] is out now, from Driven Press. [http://www.drivenpress.net/]
Character Interview: Ed Earl Burch from Jim Nesbitt’s hard-boiled Texas thriller, The Right Wrong Number
We’re thrilled to have here today Ed Earl Burch from Jim Nesbitt’s new hard-boiled Texas thriller, The Right Wrong Number. Burch is a 44-year-old private detective living in Dallas, Texas.
It is a pleasure to have Ed Earl with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so for this interview, Ed Earl. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
I think that Nesbitt guy did a fairly good job telling my story. He’s an ex-journalist and has a pretty keen eye for details and a sharp ear for dialogue. I just wish he hadn’t made me look like such an idiot with women and hadn’t repeatedly told folks I’m bald and fat. I’m an ex-jock gone to seed, a big guy who used to play football and have the bad knees to prove it. I’d much prefer to be seen as svelte and streamlined.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
I spent a lot of time with Nesbitt and he flat wore me out with questions about this case. He’s a nosy bastard and you can’t shut him up. But I have to give the devil his due—he caught me square. I’m no Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, although I do crack wise like those sharp guys. And I’m not supercool like Frank Bullitt. I’m more like Columbo—without the caricature.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I don’t quit. I get on the trail of a case and I stay there and don’t veer off into the brush. I’m relentless and don’t mind the long hours and tedious details of detective work. I’m no Sherlock Holmes with dazzling leaps of deduction and intuition. Nobody is. Building a case is slow, demanding work—people lie to you all the time and the truth is hard to come by. As a buddy of mine once said: there are a helluva lot of facts, but very little truth.
Worse trait?
I’m fatally attracted to women who are ready, willing and able to drive a stake through my heart.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
Tommy Lee Jones and Jeff Bridges immediately come to mind, but those boys are getting a little long in the tooth. Tom Sizemore would be good, if clean and sober. I think a great, dark-horse candidate would be Nick Searcy, the guy who played Art, Raylan Givens’ boss in Justified.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
I wouldn’t necessarily call it love, but it surely was lust. I banged boots with an old flame, a rangy strawberry blonde with a violent temper and a lethal knack for larceny and betrayal named Savannah Devlin Crowe.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
When I came out of a pharmaceutical fog in a hospital with a Houston homicide detective yammering in my ear about people I didn’t remember killing.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
My best friend, Krukovitch, a cranky and brilliant columnist and fellow traveler at my favorite bar, Louie’s. You’ll have to buy the book to figure out why.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
Hollow, empty, guilty but glad I didn’t get a stake driven through my heart.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?
I’d like that sumbitch to give me a little more hair on top and use the terms svelte and streamlined to describe me. Give me a hat like Raylan Givens, maybe. And get me out of paying my bar tab.
Thank you for this interview, (name of character). Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
You bet. Count on it. Can’t get rid of that Nesbitt guy. He’s like a bad habit. I expect he’ll be along shortly with another laundry list of questions.
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For more than 30 years, Jim Nesbitt roved the American Outback as a correspondent for newspapers and wire services in Alabama, Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington, D.C. He chased hurricanes, earthquakes, plane wrecks, presidential candidates, wildfires, rodeo cowboys, ranchers, miners, loggers, farmers, migrant field hands, doctors, neo-Nazis and nuns with an eye for the telling detail and an ear for the voice of the people who give life to a story. He is a lapsed horseman, pilot, hunter and saloon sport with a keen appreciation for old guns, vintage cars and trucks, good cigars, aged whiskey and a well-told story. He now lives in Athens, Alabama and writes hard-boiled detective thrillers set in Texas.
Find out more about the book:www.amazon.com/author/jimnesbitt
Website: www.jimnesbitthardboiledbooks.com
Facebook author page:https://www.facebook.com/edearlburchbooks/
Character Interview: Annabel Taylor from Jane Jordan’s Dark Romance, The Beekeeper’s Daughter
We’re thrilled to have here today Annabel Taylor from Jane Jordan’s new Dark Romance, The Beekeeper’s Daughter. Annabel is an eighteen-year-old Bee Charmer living on Exmoor in the South West of England.
It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so much for this interview, Annabel. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
A.T.: I feel that Jane Jordan completely understood my character and the Victorian Exmoor I grew up on, which led to the complex relationships that developed in my life. She understood the darkness in me and from where it came. When Jane Jordan started my story I was a child, she captured the essence of what it was to live, go to school and grow up in this time period, being surrounded by the wildness and landscape of old Exmoor.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
A.T.: Yes, she understood my personality, just how headstrong I could be, and fearless when faced with adversity. I have never given much thought to rules, but Jane Jordan delved deeper into my psyche to find that I have a strong moral sense of what is right and wrong.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
A.T.: Confidence.
Worse trait?
A.T.: Reckless
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
A.T.: Since I have never seen a television or a movie, I will have to defer to the author, Jane Jordan.
J.J.: The American Actress, Grace Holley, captures Annabel’s stunning green eyes and long red hair, also being very beautiful, she would be a perfect choice.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
A.T.: I have two, Jevan and Alex, but it’s complicated.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
A.T.: When I married Alex, I knew Jevan would be furious when he found out, and my life would be in danger.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
A.T.: Cerberus Saltonstall. Because he has been driven insane by the legacy, and along the way lost his moral compass. He is ambitious. He is willing to sacrifice anyone that gets in his way. He is powerful, but in a way he is lost, dabbling in dark magic. So blinkered by his belief, he does not fully understand the devastating consequence of his actions.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
A.T.: For me the ending is bittersweet, the character that is supremely evil is destroyed, but so is a character that, all along, was merely a pawn in someone else’s ambitious plan. I did not realize that at the time. Both these characters caused me great psychological suffering. However, I do end up with the right person and a future that promises to be happy.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?
A.T.: Both myself and the people I loved most went through so much in The Beekeeper’s Daughter, now, I could not bear to lose the one person that I hold most dear in this world.
Thank you for this interview, Annabel Taylor. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
A.T.: As far as I know Jane Jordan does not intend to write another novel with my character, she is too busy finishing up a different story. Of course, nothing is set in stone.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Beekeeper’s Daughter
Genre: Thriller
Author: Jane Jordan
Website: janejordannovelist.com
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Find out more on Amazon and B&N
Beekeeper’s daughter Annabel Taylor grows up wild and carefree on the moors of England in the late 1860s. A child of nature and grace with an unusual ability to charm bees, Annabel follows in the footstep of her mother Lilith, a beautiful witch. With her closest friend and soulmate Jevan Wenham by her side, Annabel’s life is a life filled with wonder and curiosity. But Jevan, the son of a blacksmith, lives his life on the verge of destruction, and his devotion to Annabel probes the boundaries between brutality and deep desire, passion and pleasure. When Jevan leaves Exmoor to pursue an education in London, Annabel’s world shatters. Devastated without Jevan, Annabel is sure her life is ending. But everything changes when she crosses paths with Alexander Saltonstall. The heir to the Saltonstall legacy and son of Cerberus Saltonstall, the wealthy landowner of the foreboding Gothelstone Manor, Alex is arrogant and self-assured—and enamored of the outspoken Annabel. Even though the two are socially worlds apart, that doesn’t stop Alex from asking, or rather demanding, Annabel’s hand in marriage. But when Annabel refuses, she is forced into an impossible situation. To further complicate matters, Jevan is back—and so are those same desires, that same passion and intensity. But nothing is as it seems, and Annabel and Jevan are in grave danger. At risk of being ensnared into the dark legacy of the Saltonstall family, Annabel faces the ultimate test. Will her fledgling powers be enough to save those she loves most? Can she even save herself?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Jordan grew up in Essex, England and spent six years in the South West of England living on Exmoor. A trained horticulturist, Jane worked and volunteered for Britain’s National Trust at Exmoor’s 1000-year-old Dunster Castle. The atmosphere, beautiful scenery, and ancient history of the place inspired Jane’s first novel, Ravens Deep, the debut release in her gothic vampire trilogy, which also included Blood & Ashes and A Memoir of Carl. Jane Jordan lives in Southwest Florida.
Connect with Jane Jordan on the web:
Character Interview: Brandi from S.K. Nicholls’ crime romp, ‘Naked Alliances’
We’re thrilled to have here today Brandi from S.K. Nicholls’ new crime romp, Naked Alliances, the first volume in the Naked Eye Series. Brandi is a twenty-nine year old exotic dancer living in Orlando, Florida.
It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so for this interview, Brandi. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Thank you for having me. Sorry I was late, but there was a Snorlax in my nearby sightings and I found him right around the corner. My author did a wonderful job portraying me in Naked Alliances. The private investigator in our story claims I’m irresponsible, but I saved his butt more than once.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
Colorizing is an interesting choice of words. I’m biracial and transgendered. My author took great pains to make certain that I wasn’t stereotyped, but Richard Noggin, a.k.a. Dick Head, P.I., certainly seemed to have some images of me that are stereotypical. I hope we’ve cleared the air on a few of those in the first book, so the author doesn’t have to work so hard in the next. I also appreciate that my author was able to demonstrate that I am quite capable of being a nurturing soul, even if things didn’t start out that way.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I take crap from nobody. Especially not a bumbling P.I. who can’t seem to keep hisself out of trouble. He’s smart man with crummy luck, but I’m no dummy. I’m a former Explosives Ordinance Disposal Specialist in the U.S. Army, and did a brief stint as a cop. Dancing and entertaining men are not the only things I do well. I am highly skilled. And I’m certainly not gonna take any crap from some mastermind of an organized crime ring.
Worse trait?
Admittedly, I have two bad traits. First, I have a horrible fear of guns. It came about after my Army days when I was working as a cop and had a serious incident trying to talk down a woman with a gun. Things didn’t turn out well. And finally, not so much a trait as a habit, but I smoke cigarettes. At least I did when the author wrote the book. But I’ve quit the cigarettes since then and now I vape, make my own e-juice, and wrap my own coils.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
Chablis from “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. She’s my heroine. Loved the movie and loved the book by John Berendt. She was not only the heroine in the book, but played herself in the movie. RuPaul has some characters that might do the job well, but I can’t think of one that’s better than me.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
I like to think I’m confident about my sexuality and I have loved. Truth is, I’m recently transitioned, so I’m still sort of struggling with my sexuality and since the book is set in a nudist resort that has a significant population of swingers, I had opportunity to consider my options. I still can’t decide if I’m more attracted to males or females. I’m attracted to both for different reasons. Richard is kinda cute, but with his attitude, I’m not sure we could ever really be more than friends.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
When Richard showed up at the nudist resort all angry at me for leaving our little friend, Cara, alone I thought he was gonna send me on my way. But after finding out what a bad day he’d had, I was able to smooth things over. Then, there was a time when he took off on his own to settle a score and I was really worried.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
Tim Morrison, the former mayor of Orange County and current Administrator of Growth and Development. He plans to run for Governor, but leads a double life. He tries to keep too many secrets. I put it all out there. He’s more sexually confused than I am, and sex-trafficking is rampant in his community. I wouldn’t want his job. Not only did he lose his wife to murder, but he could very likely lose his kids. He’s an unhappy man, and his personal assistant is an arrogant a**hole. I’d fire him in a minute.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
I’m glad our author insists on having a satisfying resolution for each book in the series. I want to know what’s going on with everybody in the books, but hate cliff-hangers.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?
I really need a new purse. That military green, oversized messenger bag from my Army days holds a lot, but it’s cumbersome, Richard hates it, and it’s just not fashionable.
Thank you for this interview, Brandi. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
I sure hope so. My author is eager to see how well we are received in the reading community with this first book. If everything goes well, and I’m talking reviews here, she’s promised me a starring role in the next book. (As if I wasn’t the star of this one.) She loves to hear from people about what they liked and didn’t like about her work. You can write to her at sknicholls@sknicholls.com.
This was my most fun interview to date!
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Title: NAKED ALLIANCES
Genre: Mystery
Author: S.K. Nicholls
Website: www.sknicholls.com
Publisher: Brave Blue Heron Books
Purchase on Amazon
About the Book: In Naked Alliances, novelist S.K. Nicholls takes readers on a witty, wild, wickedly fun romp that exposes a side of Orlando tourists rarely see. The debut release in The Naked Eye Private Investigator Series, Naked Alliances introduces lone wolf P.I. Richard Noggin.
When a young immigrant woman and an exotic dancer are forced to flee men with guns and have no place to hide, Richard Noggin, P.I., can’t turn his back—even if helping out makes him a target. Richard plans to impress an aspiring politician by taking on a big white-collar case that could take him from the streets to an air-conditioned office. Instead, he’s handed a cold case and quickly finds himself sucked into a shadowy world of sex, secrets and…murder. Marked for a bullet and stretched thin by his investigations, Richard reluctantly teams up with the unlikely, brassy custodian of the young woman on the run. With bodies piling up, Richard and his companion are forced to go undercover in a most unlikely locale: the Leisure Lagoon, a nudist resort. Going undercover in this instance will mean going uncovered…but lives are at stake—and this Naked Eye will have to juggle to keep his balls in the air and connect the dots before anyone else is murdered. As his pulse-quickening quest for answers leads from the dark corners of Orlando’s Little Saigon to the sunny exposure of the Leisure Lagoon, Richard will be put to the test. Just how much will this Naked Eye have to bear…or bare? The heat is on in this quirky Sunshine State crime thriller.
About the Author: S.K. Nicholls’ family owns and operates one of the oldest and largest nudist resorts in the nation located in Central Florida, Cypress Cove. Her experience gives her a deep understanding of the lifestyle choice and how it is extremely different from the sex industry, yet harbors clandestine elements of intrigue and fascination. Social issues are at the forefront of her writing. A former sexual assault nurse examiner, she has a special interest in the subject matter of sex-trafficking. A native of Georgia, she lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband, Greg.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sknicholls/
Character Interview: Bianca from Gabriel Valjan’s mystery-suspense novel, ‘Corporate Citizen: Roma Series Book 5’
We’re thrilled to have here today Bianca Nerini from Gabriel Valjan’s new mystery-suspense novel, Corporate Citizen: Roma Series Book 5. Bianca is a forensic accountant living somewhere in Italy.It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so for this interview, Bianca. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Fair? Hmm. In Corporate Citizen, I got called out on some things and by more than one person, which didn’t sit well with me at the time, but that’s life, isn’t it? We can wish for roses, but we learn more about ourselves when we are forced to hold the stems and deal with the thorns. Gabriel was kinder with me than I would’ve been with him had the roles been reversed.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
I think Gabriel was fair. I’m not an easy person to get along with because I’m guarded, but Gabriel did a great job showing that I have both a strong and vulnerable side to me in Corporate Citizen. I may not have always liked what he says about me, but he is truthful.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
My analytical mind is my best trait, which is frustrating because if a man possesses the same quality, he’s objective, but if a woman has it she’s a….
Worst trait?
Trust doesn’t come easy to me. I think readers know that of me, but this fault comes to the forefront in Corporate Citizen. I had to deal with a lot and from so many angles.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book were made into a movie and who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
Interesting question, but I would have to say either Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie should play me, or better — Charlize Theron should play me and Angelina Jolie should direct. I don’t think a male director should be behind the camera.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
I have two and it’s complicated. I’ll leave it at that.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
I get nervous every time Alessandro has a new girlfriend. To say that he has bad luck with women is an understatement, but I think there might be something to his pairing with Erica. Fingers crossed. My nerves don’t often get frazzled, but the mere mention of The Magician makes my hair stand on end.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
I wouldn’t want to be Nick. He has done his dance of pain for more than one lifetime and people have used and misused him. I admire him. I fear him and in my own way, love him, but, like me, he keeps people at arm’s length for good reason. I can relate to that and respect it. He has made me look into the mirror at myself. I’m uncertain as to how I feel about the reflection.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
The final page packs a surprise and it’s a game-changer. All I can say without spoiling it is that the Roma Series is headed into new territory and Gabriel provides the first chapter of my next adventure in London: Crunch City.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?
Gabriel should let readers see how brilliant Silvio is in the next book. I think we all underestimated the man. Oh, and there’s another character we meet in Corporate Citizen – a new one and Gabriel has to go there. I insist.
Thank you for this interview, Bianca. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
Yes. Readers will see me in London next with Crunch City: Roma Series Book Six. My life becomes a nightmare. Fun fact for your consideration: The British Security Industry Authority (BSIA) has 5 million cameras, or one for every fourteen people in place throughout Great Britain. I’ll leave you to imagine just how many of them are in London.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Corporate Citizen: Roma Series Book Five
Genre: Mystery-Suspense/Thriller
Author: Gabriel Valjan
Website: www.gabrielvaljan.com
Publisher: Winter Goose Publishing
Purchase link: http://amzn.to/2b9E2qE
A call for help from an old friend lands Bianca and the crew back in Boston. On a timeout with Dante, due to revelations in the aftermath of the showdown in Naples, Bianca is drawn to a mysterious new ally who understands the traumas of her past, and has some very real trauma of his own. Murder, designer drugs, and a hacker named Magician challenge our team, and Bianca learns that leaving Rendition behind might be much harder than she thinks.
About the Author:
Gabriel Valjan is the author of the Roma Series from Winter Goose Publishing as well as numerous short stories. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he enjoys the local restaurants, and his two cats, Squeak and Squawk, keep him honest to the story on the screen.
Connect on the web:
Twitter: @GValjan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gabriel-Valjan/291400997547203
Character Interview: Lark Chadwick from Bullet in the Chamber, a thriller by John DeDakis
We’re excited to have here today, Lark Chadwick, from author John DeDakis’ new thriller, Bullet in the Chamber. Lark is a 28-year-old journalist living in Washington, D.C.
It’s a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so much for this interview, Lark. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Nope. I think John “gets” me.
Do you feel John did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
Hmmmm. To me, “colorizing” implies airbrushing. I’m a just-the-facts-ma’am journalist, so I prefer authenticity – an honest portrayal, warts and all. I expect the truth (but rarely get it) from the people I interview, so it’s only fair that I should be willing to have the reader know me from the inside out.
If, on the other hand, colorizing means showing one’s true colors, then I think John nailed it. He shows my red-hot anger, he shows me when I’m green with envy, and Lord knows, I get the blues a lot. But if there’s anything I’m not, it’s yellow (but I feel like it sometimes).
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I think, at my core, I’m a strong person. That comes from being orphaned when I was an infant. My parents were killed in a car accident. My dad’s sister – my Aunt Annie – raised me. But she, rest her soul, was a bit of a nut case. Very unstable. So I had to dig deep inside myself to find my own sound foundation.
I think I’m also courageous. I know that might sound like bragging, but there’s plenty of inner terror that goes along with it. Circumstances have forced me to move forward in spite of my fears — which are legion. I define courage as fear in action. If I’d allowed fear to paralyze me, I’d be dead by now.
Worst trait?
That’s easy: I’m impulsive. And I have a short fuse. My bullshit meter is well calibrated, but sometimes I jump to conclusions. That usually complicates my life (but makes for a good read, I guess).
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
Well, when John first created me, he had Lynda Carter in mind, the buxom brunette who plays Wonder Woman on TV.
Nowadays, there are some younger actresses who might fill the bill, people like singer-actress Selena Gomez; Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard; Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation”); Ariel Winter (“Modern Family”); Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”); and Krysten Ritter (“Breaking Bad”).
Others I have my eye on are two of John’s friends: Beth Keener Dent, a young actress in Atlanta; and Jenna Bourne, a television reporter at WJAX, the CBS affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida. John and Jenna are actually collaborating on a pilot for a TV series featuring, um, me.
Do you have a love interest in Bullet in the Chamber?
Oh yeah! He’s Doug Mitchell.
I met Doug in John’s previous novel, “Troubled Water.” Doug and I worked together at a daily newspaper in Georgia. He was my photographer when I had to interview the parents of a young girl who’d been murdered. (I actually discovered the body, but that’s another story.)
Doug and I didn’t hit it off right away. He’s a hunk, but he’s also a player, so I have mixed feelings about him. We both ended up getting jobs covering the White House for the Associated Press.
When “Bullet in the Chamber” begins, Doug’s been radio silent on me for 48-hours, sixteen minutes, and thirty seconds (not that I was keeping track, or anything), then he shows up all jovial on my first day on the beat. I’m pissed. But, when the White House is attacked and the president is missing, all that personal relationship stuff gets put on hold.
There’s a lot I could say about Doug. A LOT. [Here Lark’s voice cracks and she chokes back tears]. But I don’t want to say anything more right now other than to say it’s complicated.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
[Laughs] – Before John even began writing it. No. Seriously. And that nervousness stayed with me all the way through to the last paragraph.
DeDakis had the damndest time trying to figure it all out. And if he was vexed, just think of what a burden it was for me? Usually, John’s a meticulous planner. He always seems to know where he’s going with the story. But “Bullet” was different. About half way through the book, when he’d begin a chapter, he had no idea how it would end. It was all up to me. Geez. Talk about pressure!
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
That would have to be Rochelle Grigsby. She’s the deputy bureau chief at the A.P. – my immediate supervisor. And nemesis. I swear — it feels like she’s made it her personal mission in life to set me up to fail. It would turn my insides into a pretzel if I had to be like her. We are polar opposites.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
By the end of the book, I was pretty emotionally and physically spent, but I think I come away from the ordeal as a stronger person. And definitely more introspective. This is the fourth time John DeDakis and I have worked together, but this time, he shook me to my core.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?
I reaaaally like working with John. I’m probably him if he’d been a woman. He’s already got another book in mind with me as his protagonist. If I could tell him anything, it would be to plead with him, “Dude! No more drama!” But, just as he knows me so well, I know that my plea will fall on deaf ears. He just loves to throw stuff at me to see how I’ll react. Hmmmmm. Maybe I could write a book in which I make my author’s life a living hell. Yeah. I like that.
Thank you for this interview, Lark Chadwick. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
I certainly hope so. And maybe you’ll hear me, too, on the audio book version.
John DeDakis, a former editor on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” is a writing coach and novelist living in Baltimore. His fourth, and most recent, novel in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense series is “Bullet in the Chamber.”www.johndedakis.com
Character Interview: Maxine Ford from Sally Fernandez’ political fiction ‘Climatized’
We’re thrilled to have here today Maxine Ford from Sally Fernandez’ new political fiction, Climatized. Max is a 45-year-old private investigator living in Washington DC.
It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so for this interview, Max. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
I wasn’t thrilled with sharing some of my darkest secrets, but on the other hand, I suppose it was necessary to keep the series moving and the readers entranced.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
On the whole my persona was captured accurately. I’m fortunate that Sally thinks and acts as I do in many ways, even though I consider myself a bit more of a risk taker and certainly more acerbic. However, I assume I’m still in the development stage.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
My intelligence and decisiveness.
Worse trait?
My intelligence and decisiveness…it oftentimes gets me into messy situations.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?
Megan Boone. Currently, she plays Elizabeth Keen in Blacklist. Once she dyed her hair blond she resembled me. Now she is back to being brunette, but her attitude…that’s me all the way.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
Mmm, of course. An old one and a new one. Stanton was my ex-lover and still is a dear friend who would protect me with his life. Then there’s Noble, the love of my life. Before that he was my boss. Life sometimes takes unpredictable turns.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
We weren’t even half-way through the book before I had two attempts on my life from a world-renowned assassin. So what do I do? Head off to Italy on a hunch, with a broken ankle. Don’t ask. It’s a long story.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
Did you notice the book title? It read a Max Ford Thriller. I’ve finally made it to the top and I’m not trading places with anyone.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
I’m not completely out of danger, but all ended well. Antonio is safe and Noble and I are together. However, the president was left in a bit of pickle.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?
Start writing and keep me true to form. But don’t forget to ask me for advice along the way.
Thank you for this interview, Max. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
I’m just getting started and I can only imagine what Sally has in store for me.
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Title: CLIMATIZED
Genre: Thriller
Author: Sally Fernandez
Website: www.sallyfernandez.com
Publisher: Dunham Books
Purchase on Amazon
About the Book:
She’s been an analyst, a spy, an investigator, and the deputy director of the States Intelligence Agency. After resigning her post at the SIA, Max Ford formally declares her independence when she bursts onto the Washington DC scene as a private investigator. While her new incarnation as PI indulges her penchant for sleuthing, her style remains unchanged. Seems Max is still brash, tenacious, tough—and unwilling to bow down to anyone, including elite and powerful politicians. Right out of the starting gate, Max finds herself embroiled in an unseemly web of mystery, murder andintrigue. When Senator Sherman Spark, a prominent Republican from Florida, is found dead in Lincoln Park, the police quickly rule the death a suicide. But Isabelle Spark, the late Senator’s wife, isn’t buying it and hires Max to prove there is something more sinister at work. Max quickly finds suspicious circumstances surrounding the Senator: two world-renowned scientists died days before they were scheduled to testify before the late Senator’s investigative committee on climate change initiatives. But when she realizes the connection to global warming, big money, deceit, and treachery, Max’s investigation accelerates in a most dangerous way. No sooner than Max starts to unravel the mystery, a third scientist dies under questionable circumstances. Then a fourth scientist goes missing—and this missing scientist could be the key to unearthing the motives behind the deaths. Against the backdrop of a ticking clock, Max and her partner, Jackson Monroe, launch a pulse-quickening quest to find the missing scientist, and find the truth. This twisty, circuitous path leads them to the powerful organization behind the killings. But Max Ford might find herself on the wrong side of a lot of powerful people, because what she discovers could have devastating, worldwide implications. And when that evidence is presented to the president, he will be forced to make a crucial decision: cover up a diabolical plot, or bring down a multi-trillion-dollar worldwide economy…
Suspenseful, spellbinding and sensational, Climatized delivers red-hot action, a sizzling storyline, and a scorcher of a plot. Briskly paced, steeped in facts, and resplendent with political intrigue,Climatized is an extraordinary—and extraordinarily provocative—thriller. Sally Fernandez turns upthe heat in Climatized, a tale that will leave readers breathless.
About the Author:
Sally Fernandez is a world traveler and political junkie with a vivid imagination. She and her husband divide their time between their homes in Florida and in Florence, Italy.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/SallyFernandezNovelist
Character Interview: Summer Silva from Anna del Mar’s romantic suspense, ‘The Stranger’
We’re thrilled to have here today Summer Silva from Anna del Mar’s The Stranger, her newest romantic suspense and the second book of her Wounded Warrior Series, following on the heels of the Amazon bestseller, The Asset. Summer is a twenty-nine year old architect living in Miami, Florida.
It is a pleasure to have Summer with us today at Beyond the Books!
Hi. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Thank you so for this interview, Summer. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Well, I’d like to start by saying that my trip to Alaska was sudden and unplanned, which explains why I wasn’t exactly prepared for the Alaskan weather and the Bering Sea superstorm that overtook me after my rental skidded on a patch of ice in the middle of nowhere and tumbled down a ravine. I mean. Black ice. Really? We don’t have that in Miami.
Why did you come to Alaska in the first place?
I would’ve never come to Alaska if my sister hadn’t run away with a guy she met on the Internet. But that’s Tammy for you and it fell on me to find her.
I know that, at first, Seth didn’t know what to make of me. But honestly, I didn’t know what to make of him either. He seemed…grumpy and not exactly friendly. All of that, combined with my…err…little secret, made for a bumpy beginning.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I’m sensible, dependent, dutiful. I love my family. I’m curious, driven and hard-working. I think I’m pretty smart as well and I’m a very good architect. I design plans, buildings, lives. That’s what I do.
Worse trait?
I can be a little fiery at times. And I have a lot of attitude. I’ve got this little problem that limits me sometimes. I’m what the Athabaskans call a “dream chaser.” But if you want to know more about that, you’ve got to read The Stranger.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
Are you kidding me? Yes, yes and yes! That’s really what the novel is all about. In The Stranger I fall for the stranger himself, the enigmatic Seth Erickson. When I first met him, I thought he was the most aggravating man in the world. I also thought he was delicious to the eyes. Come to find out, he had his hands full. He is a powerful Alaskan tycoon, the scion of his family’s extensive fortunes, fighting off a takeover attempt and dealing with his quarreling family.
Seth is also a helicopter pilot, a wounded warrior struggling to recover from injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan, a man haunted by his past and fighting his own set of demons. Seth is a total alpha, brilliant, blunt, systematic and precise, always cool and in command, a man who despises emotion and sticks to his icy logic… well, that is, until he met me!
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
The whole time I was in Alaska I was wondering if I would survive. Not only was there someone inexplicably trying to kill me, but the weather was challenging and summer is a rather brief season in Alaska. I’m essentially a tropical being and I didn’t know if I could make it in Alaska. I mean, Not only did I get stuck in a Bering Sea superstorm. I got charged by a bear. A brown bear. That would never, ever happen in Miami. Not even in my wildest dreams—and I have a lot of those. As to the crash, when the plane went down in the middle of the Alaskan Rage I thought I was dead. Finito. Over.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
I loved the ending, because I love Seth.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if she decided to write another book with you in it?
Give me some good gear from the start, lady, not a fashion coat and a pair of expensive heels, but something warm and heavy. And boots, give me boots that grip the ground so I’m not sliding all over. Tell me who I’m dealing with, a man haunted by his past, a sexy hunk, inside and out, a deliciously passionate soul whose icy exterior challenges the flame that burns in him, a brave, loyal, generous, kickass warrior who needed me as much as I needed him. Did I tell you Seth is sexy and mouthwatering gorgeous? I mean, that part I could see right away. The rest would’ve given me a head start.
Thank you for this interview, Summer. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
If Anna del Mar returns to Alaska, for sure you may catch up with Seth and I. If not, you’re off to Africa with Jade Romo and her scrumptious game warden, Matthias Hawking. Those two, you don’t want to miss.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
When her sister runs away with a guy she met on the internet, a warmth-loving Miami architect chases her reckless sibling to Alaska and finds her life in danger from more than the elements. Only a stranger, a wounded warrior who is also Alaskan tycoon with a quarreling family as complicated as her own and no time for a lady in distress—let alone one who walks on her sleep—can save her from disaster. Together, two strangers from different worlds and opposite spectrums of the thermometer must unravel the intrigues that threaten their lives to chase after a new dream, together, in majestic Alaska.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna del Mar writes hot, smart romances that soothe the soul, challenge the mind, and satisfy the heart. Her stories focus on strong heroines struggling to find their place in the world and the brave, sexy, kickass, military heroes who defy the limits of their broken bodies to protect the women they love. Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and the sea. Writing is her addiction, her drug of choice, and what she wants to do all the time. The extraordinary men and women she met during her years as a Navy wife inspire the fabulous heroes and heroines at the center of her stories. When she stays put—which doesn’t happen very often—she lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.
Amazon:
Carina Press:
http://www.carinapress.com/shop/books/9781459294301_the-stranger.html
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stranger-anna-del-mar/1123670965?ean=9781459294301
Kobo Books:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-stranger-69
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Anna_del_Mar_The_Stranger?id=j7T-CwAAQBAJ
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Embedded links:
http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_stranger.html
http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_asset.html
http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_brink.html
http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/home.html
Character Interview: Dana McGarry from Lynn Steward’s literary fiction What Might Have Been – Book Two in the Dana McGarry Series
We’re thrilled to have you here today Dana McGarry from Lynn Steward’s novel What Might Have Been, Book Two in the Dana McGarry Series. Dana is a thirty year old fashion buyer at a glamorous New York City department store. It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Beyond the Books!
Thank you so much for this interview, Dana. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
Yes, I was fairly portrayed. Lynn understood that I was stressed and conflicted about my desire to suddenly end my marriage last December when I discovered my husband’s affair, and she helped me work it out with a kind priest, who I met in London, and through dear friendships in New York. I have no regrets. We had many good years and fond memories, but the marriage was beyond repair. Lynn has also experienced challenges at work and she understood how important it was for me to create The English Shop, in the vein of the new women’s department at Brooks Brothers. It’s very frustrating when senior management is set in their ways, not willing to think outside the box: if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality? If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?
Lynn had the same problem, people underestimated her, so she did an excellent job painting the two sides of my personality: I am accommodating but at the same time ambitious and determined.
What do you believe is your strongest trait?
Fortitude and independence.
Worse trait?
Pefectionist. Too intense.
If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself)
Felicity Jones.
Do you have a love interest in the book?
Yes. Mark Senger, president of the Senger Display Company.
At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
When I met my boyfriend’s spoiled college age daughter and she was cool to me.
If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
My boss, Helen Kavanagh, the divisional merchandise manager. She was an obstructionist in book one, A Very Good Life, and she’s obstinate in What Might Have Been. She’s only in her late forties, but she’s inflexible and controlling. She resists my suggestions at every turn. I would not want to treat my staff that way and stifle their creativity.
How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
I am convinced that the right choices were made.
What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?
I would like an exciting career in the fashion industry, more romance, and a handsome and charming soul-mate!
Thank you for this interview, Dana. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
Yes you will! There are five volumes in the Dana McGarry series and the synopses for the remaining three are written. Lynn tells me that I will love the English influence and characters in the next book, so I’m looking forward to it! As you will learn if you read What Might Have Been, I’m an Anglophile!
Title: What Might Have Been
Genre: Literary fiction/women’s fiction
Author: Lynn Steward
Website: www.LynnSteward.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/What-Might-Have-Been-McGarry-ebook/dp/B00U8CR2KG
About the Author
Lynn Steward, a veteran of the New York fashion industry and a buyer on the team that started the women’s department at Brooks Brothers, created the Dana McGarry series, set at a transformational time in the 1970s world of fashion and in the lives of multigenerational women. What Might Have Been is the second volume in the series. A Very Good Life,Steward’s debut novel, was published in March 2014.
LynnSteward.com
Pinterest.com/LynnStewardny
Facebook.com/LynnStewardnyc
Twitter: @LynnStewardNY
Beyond the Books 