Interview with Fantasy Author Anna Del C. Dye

Anna has received many awards for her fantasy series including books she has not yet published. Anna is native from Chile and speaks both Spanish and English. She loves love songs, ruins, medieval places, and lace. She has taken medieval sword classes with her husband and enjoyed them immensely. She has a book drive every year to benefit different elementary schools close to her home, usually delivering 300 books to them.   

Welcome back to my blog, Anna. I think its awesome that you took medieval sword classes. I bet it was so interesting.

Thank you, Linda for having me back.

Please tell us about this fantasy series: The Silent Warrior Trilogy.

The Silent Warrior Trilogy is the gateway to my Elf series. The three books contain a new and completely original tale full of suspense, adventure, and medieval-style warfare. The reader joins in the continuing saga of Adren and the elfkind throughout the three books.

Book one, The Elf and the Princess

Menarm was a great and prosperous kingdom. But a bitter struggle of succession between twin brothers left the kingdom devastated, the people divided. Some stayed with Fenil, who had conquered the crown, others followed Renil to the wild lands of the north, founding a new kingdom.

Now Adren, the last princess of the vanquished realm of Menarm, finds herself alone in a world where women live in the shadows of men. Not only must she battle her enemies, but also a truth that could obliterate her last hope for happiness and bring dishonor to all those whom she hold dear. On her quest, she finds unlikely allies in a powerful prince and a defiant mercenary, only to be devastated by an ancient and wily elf. Will Adren survive this final assault?

Book two, Trouble in the Elf City

In the serene and beautiful city of the elfs, life has changed but little since Menarm was destroyed and the war ended. Three springs have passed and Adren, the last princess of Menarm, has settled into her new life. Her champion, the Silent Warrior, has not been seen since the battle at Wilapond.

Suddenly the peaceful life in her new kingdom is challenged by enemies the elfs are unable to fight. Disaster seems imminent for their whole race. Will she have to witness the destruction of this kingdom and once again find herself alone in the world? Or will the Silent Warrior come to her rescue and save them all?

Book three, Elfs in a Conquered Realm

On their visit to the vanquished Kingdom of Menarm, the elfs face many uncertainties. However, they are strong in numbers and sure of their purpose. Zyrthal, the young elf strategist, is given the task of finding the dead kingdom’s hidden treasures; but instead the elfs find ruthless mercenaries who capture the convoy and will stop at nothing to obtain the treasures for themselves.

Once again the Silent Warrior is sent to the rescue. Yet he has been battling demons of his own, and finds himself in great doubts of his performance as the champion of the last Princess of Menarm. The shadows in his heart double with the disappearance of the two half-elf princes from the dead kingdom. Will he succeed in rescuing the young boys and thwarting the mercenaries, or has the Silent Warrior fallen from Adren’s grace forever?

I love the cover to the Conquered Realm. It makes me wish I could visit this place. Where did you get your inspiration for this trilogy?

Lord of the Rings was what inspired the elf series. I started The Roilden Stones of Elf Mountain after reading Tolkien’s books. This book is the story of how the elfs came to Andoria and what happened to their race there. It explores how they define themselves and become the race they are in my series.

However, when the movies were done I wondered what kind of woman would Legolas fall for? She has to be special in many ways and Adren came to me so vividly that I had to capture her story on paper. The trip through her life was exciting, full of mysteries, war and at the end, love. That is how the Silent Warrior Trilogy came to be the beginning of my elf series.

When I finished book one I had so much more about Adren in my head that I decided to go for a book two, Trouble in the Elf City. It would be based on the revenge of the defeated Tahitans from book one. The same happened with book three, Elfs in a Conquered Realm. I couldn’t leave Menarm destroyed so it is reconstructed it at the end.

Since this is a fantasy, did you have to do any kind of research?

Not really. I like fantasy because it gives me the freedom to go beyond the medieval era and doesn’t trap me in facts. The only research I did was when I talk about elf medicine. I checked in an herbs book and it had all I needed.

Who is one of your favorite characters in this series and what do you love about him or her?

Adren would have to be the one. She grows up with elf stories though she is of mankind. She loves that race and later, through one of her mother’s stories, falls in love with the elf, Dellin, although she has never seen him. Their love is the most inspiring true-love story ever.

When her kingdom is destroyed, she has to learn much about life, customs and races outside the comfort of her own kingdom. Her life was not easy, but at the end she takes her rightful and honorable place not only next to her husband but, with the different races in Andoria including the elfs.

Thank you, Anna, for this wonderful interview. My husband is a real fan and loves your books. It's not only for teens, but adults also. I hope my readers will check them out.

Enjoy A Romantic Cozy Mystery: The Shamrock Case

There are many types of mysteries to choose from such as a cozy mystery, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, or the thriller. What is the difference? A cozy is an enjoyable story with a bit of humor. It can be slow paced but not boring by any means. The sleuth is always an intelligent and likeable woman. This genre is G-rated and focuses on the characters.

A thriller has non-stop action and doesn’t let up until the climax of the story. The hard-boiled mystery has violence, plenty of action, and is R-rated. The soft-boiled mystery falls in the middle of the cozy and hard-boiled and has light humor.

The Amelia Moore Detective Series is closer to a cozy than the others but is not a “who-done-it” mystery. Amelia Moore, the founder of the Moore Detective Agency, specializes in missing persons. Her cases have taken her to some very interesting places and put her in some dangerous situations, but she always solves the case. With the help of Rick Bonito, her business is flourishing.

When Amelia is hired to search for her client’s grandparents, the case takes them to Ireland. Kate must learn about her heritage. Who are her grandparents and could they still be alive after all these years? Why did her parents leave Ireland suddenly and move to America? Is there more to this case than meets the eye?

“Amelia and Rick have the makings of being a lasting couple that readers will adore and root for. The Shamrock Case moves along quickly. It goes by way too fast and I’m already missing the characters.” –Socrates Book Review

Yvonne, Socrates Book Review, felt as if she had visited Ireland as she wrote: “The author paints a vivid picture of the beauty of Ireland. I feel as if I just returned from a trip to Ireland myself. I could easily see the greenery and magnificence of the country. With each book, Clarke introduces us to another exotic location.  She definitely does her homework before she writes about these places.  Clarke knows both her characters and locations well and it shines through each word she writes.”

To read a Sample Chapter, visit http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/shamrock.html

About the Author

Linda Weaver Clarke travels throughout the United States, teaching people to write their family history and autobiography. She is the author of several historical sweet romances, a mystery/adventure series, a children’s book, and a new cozy mystery series. For more information, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com.

Here are the links for this cozy mystery:

Amazon  

Barnes and Noble 

E-books available at both Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Interview with Regency Romance Author Gianna Thomas

Gianna Thomas is an avid fan of Pride and Prejudice variations, fan fiction, what ifs. She has over 200 of these fascinating takes on Jane Austen's marvelous original work. While Gianna is an accomplished researcher and writer in the health field, this is her first variation as well as her first fiction book, and she plans on writing more in the near future. She loves a sweet, Regency romance, and Darcy and Elizabeth fit the bill quite nicely. Gianna has a wonderful daughter and lives in a small Texas town with her 5 cats.You can learn more about Gianna on her website at www.giannathomaspandp.com and her Amazon Author Central page at https://www.amazon.com/author/giannathomas.

Hello, Gianna. Pride and Prejudice has been done by various movie directors and has been changed a bit here and there. I even saw Bride and Prejudice, which was a new take on the story. It was fun to watch. I would love to hear your twist about this story.

Hi, Linda. Darcy Chooses puts several twists on the original Pride and Prejudice. One of the first twists is that the time of year is different. Bingley comes to Netherfield around the first of May instead of the autumn. This has allowed me to handle events in the book a little differently than Jane Austen did. Spring is my favorite time of the year, and I decided to make it Elizabeth's as well.  Another twist is that Elizabeth encounters Darcy before the Meryton Assembly, but I won't spoil the surprise as to the event that precipitates that meeting. Also, Darcy realizes that Elizabeth heard his rude remark, and he makes amends at the assembly.

Now this does not mean that there is no angst or misunderstandings. When you consider the personalities of our hero and heroine, and Elizabeth's temper, there will be problems. And, of course, family adds their interference as well, which stirs the pot even more.

One difference from other variations is that my book is illustrated with paintings done in the 1800's. Since one picture is worth a thousands words, and I want my readers to really get involved with this book, I felt that these paintings were appropriate. Darcy Chooses is a sweet romance that can be enjoyed by any age group.

I know your inspiration behind this book was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. But what was your motivation for writing it?

Coupled with my fertile imagination of 'what if I changed this, what would happen next?' helped in working out the plot. Not just one new twist, I have added several that should make my 'what if' interesting, fun to read and to reread in the future as well. Jane Austen's characters plus a few new ones, including remnants of the original P&P plot, helped fuel my plot into what, I hope, will be an enjoyable rewrite of an old favorite. Of course, the ultimate goal is for Darcy and Elizabeth to marry and live happily ever after. Along the way, I hope that readers will laugh, shed some tears at times, and enjoy this wonderful journey.

What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

You would not believe the hours spent on research. Just reading Regency Era fiction was not enough. I downloaded pictures of paintings; went to many different websites to learn the terminology used in the early 1800's; read the original Pride and Prejudice again to get a feel for the phrasing of conversations; got information on clothing, carriages, horses, dancing, balls and etiquette and read and reread my own writings to make sure, to the best of my ability, that it feels like the Regency Era. I have even checked out the years of origins for many words in order to ensure that I don't use terms unknown to that era. With the prequels for this novel, I had originally used UK and archaic spelling to give them more of a Regency feeI; however, my Regency editor pointed out that it could be confusing and would seem to be misspellings to many of the readers. She also pointed out that they did speak using contractions back then as well, so I chose to rewrite the prequels and write the novel with that in mind.  With these changes, the novel should appeal to the Regency Romance readers as well as fans of the Pride and Prejudice variations.

Wow! It sounds like you did a lot of research. That’s great. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

Although, I would not like to have lived around the 1800's, I am an avid reader of tales written in that time period. In spite of the lack of amenities, there is something special about that era. Then again, it just may be the magical quality that Jane Austen wove throughout her novels. If I can just tap into a little of her writing genius, I'll be happy. I'm a very passionate person who loves the P&P's and Darcy and Elizabeth, and I am writing about what I love. That love will show in my writings, and my desire is that my readers see that love as well.

Thank you, Gianna, for this wonderful interview. I hope my readers will check out your books.

Interview with "Young Adult Mystery" Writer, Author Iain Reading

Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations. He has published four books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of theYukon Gold, Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost, Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue, Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic.
For more information, visit Kitty Hawk World. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kittyhawkworld

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7276101.Iain_Reading

Welcome to my blog, Iain. This book is the first in a young adult adventure/mystery series. Please tell us about your novel.

This first book in The Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series lays the groundwork of the main character, a teenage pilot with her own seaplane from Vancouver Island, Canada. Her (apt) name is Kitty Hawk and being the somewhat optimistically ambitious girl that she is, she decides that she wants to go to Alaska and study humpback whales for the summer. She’s the perfect person to do it, she figures, because with her own plane outfitted with an array of video and photographic equipment she can cover a lot of area on a daily basis, recording and documenting the day-to-day lives of the hundreds of whales who spend their summers in the bountiful waters of south-east Alaska. But as the long and productive summer draws to a close she happens to notice a small boat that, for some reason, she can’t quite get out of her head. Something nags at her about it and she won’t be satisfied until she figures out what it is. And that is where her new adventure begins, leading her on an exciting rollercoaster ride across the beautiful landscape of the far north, through history and mystery, until she finally solves the case.

There are currently 4 books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series. Where did you get your inspiration for this series?

The ultimate inspiration for the entire series comes directly from the main character herself – Kitty Hawk. She is such a strong and determined character, complete with human flaws and uncertainties, that her stories just seem to write themselves.

What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

In addition to having visited each of the locations in the book, I also had to do a bit of digging around in my brain and books to find a way to weave together a story that contained the elements of geography and history that I was already interested in.

Tell us about Kitty Hawk. What is she like?

Kitty Hawk is an amazing girl. As you know already she is a pilot (with a name like hers, how could she be anything else?) and she flies her own seaplane. But what you might not yet know is what a spark she has for seeing the world. She is the kind of person with all the normal human self-doubts and fears but her ambition and curiosity forces her to push past those and get out and experience things for herself. Whether it’s picking up the phone and calling the handsome stranger she just met for a date, or sneaking around the wilderness in the dead of night on the trail of some gold thieves, she has a way of getting herself into some amazing situations. But fortunately she’s smart enough to always figure her way out of them again.

She does sound amazing. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

Not many people are aware that I am NOT a pilot. While I am familiar enough with the various operations and procedures of flying that I describe in my books, I am actually not licensed to fly. I am just an enthusiastic passenger sitting over in the co-pilot’s seat.

Hahaha. That is so funny. Hey, authors do tend to write about things they desire to do. Maybe that’s why you made Kitty a pilot. I hope my followers will give this book a chance and get it for their kids and themselves. Happy writing, Iain!

Interview with Mystery Writer G. X. Chen

G.X. Chen, author of The Mystery of Revenge, Forget Me Not: A Love Story of the East and The Mystery of Moutai, is a freelance writer who loves to travel. A graduate of Fudan University and University of New Mexico, she taught literature at Fudan as well as Shanghai Foreign Language Institute, before migrating to the U.S. with her 5-year-old daughter. She lives in Boston now with her husband.

To read an excerpt from her book, visit http://bookpublicityservices.com/mystery-moutai-chen.

Welcome to my blog, Ms. Chen. Please tell us about your novel.

It is a murder mystery; a fast paced and easy read with interesting characters in a plot of intrigue coupled with insights into the Chinese culture.

Where did you get your inspiration for this book?

The inspiration came about a year ago when I accidentally found out that one of my acquaintances had lied on her resume but nobody seemed to know about it. I used the raw material to expand into a 65,000-word murder mystery.

Wow! I always wonder what inspires the story of a book. What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

Not much. All the places I wrote about I’ve been; the lie I mentioned above is still on the web. Only things I needed to research were the dates and events as I wrote about the Cultural Revolution, which started in 1966 and went on for 10 years.

Who is one of your favorite characters in this story and what do you love about him or her?

I like both of my amateur detectives in the story, one is a young girl, a college student, and one is a young chemist. Ann is smart, driven and sometimes stubborn, and Fang Chen is a typical nerd but who is caring, generous and a loyal friend. In this world, everyone should at least have one loyal friend who cares about you and believes in whatever you do.

That’s so true. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

When I landed in the U.S., I had a 5-year-old daughter and less than $1,000 in my pocket. For more than a decade, I worked, sometimes two jobs, and raised my daughter all by myself. She turned out to be a great kid, graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. My friends told me I should write a non-fiction called “how to raise a successful kid without really trying”. I bet it could be a best seller.

I bet it would be, too. It sounds like you have done a great job in raising your daughter. Thank you very much for this interview, Ms. Chen. I hope my readers will enjoy getting to know a new author.