Good Morning Peepsickles!

Today I'm pleased to be hosting the very talented author, Carol David Luce with her new trilogy, Night Trilogy. First let me tell you a little about my guest.

Carol is an Amazon bestselling author of the “Night” books. NightWriter Carol Davis Luce writes standalone suspense novels with strong elements of romance. After publishing five books through a traditional publisher, she turned independent author with her 2011 suspense novel, Night Widow, and two short story trilogies. In 2012, her new release Awakening: Secrets of a Brown Eyed Girl branched out into women’s fiction. This tough, coming-of-age novel is a fictionalized memoir, loosely based on her childhood. She lives with her husband Bob, and their psycho cat in Sparks, Nevada. Her novels include: NIGHT NOVELS : Night Stalker, Night Prey, Night Hunter, Night Passage, Night Game, and Night Widow. Short-story trilogies: Broken Justice and For Better, For Worse.

During our interview I uncovered some interesting facts about Carol...here goes...

What attracted you to writing in the first place?
Writing was my second career in the second half of my life. I began as an artist. What attracted me to writing? I wasn’t satisfied with the ratio of romance to suspense in traditional thrillers, so I decided to write what I loved to read, suspense with a strong element of romance (contemporary Gothic). English in school was not a strong point, but storytelling won out over sketchy language rules. Then a funny thing happened. The longer I worked at writing, the better I got at this thing called grammar.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?
Romantic suspense. Although, after dipping my toe into the ‘coming of age’ women’s fiction genre, I may have found a second love.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
I had a quirky and somewhat challenging childhood. My new novel, AWAKENING: Secrets of a Brown Eyed Girl, echoes a large portion of my early childhood in Southern California in the 50s. An era when no one locked their doors and it was safe to let your child roam the streets—in most cases, that is. As a latchkey kid, being on my own a lot helped to fuel my already over stimulated imagination. From the time I was old enough to sit in front of the tube, I became fascinated with things that go bump in the night. TV shows that were grounded in a deep creep factor, and puzzlers. Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, and Science Fiction Theatre drew me in like maggots to a corpse. When I learned to read, I devoured mysteries, true crime books, and anything scary or twisted. I see the world differently than most people. I see menace in every corner. Always have. I scare myself.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from?
In real life, if something odd or unusual happens to click on that light bulb in the creative chamber of my mind, I start to play the “What if…?” game. What if a beautiful model is splashed in the face with acid? What if the suspicious death of a recluse leads to hidden bodies in a small mining town? What if a woman is stalked in her own home? What if a woman with psychic powers sees a brute of man abducting women off the street? See the pattern emerging here? Woman + jeopardy = Women in Jeopardy.  

Do you have any writing rituals or listen to “mood music” when you write? Where is your favorite place to write?
My creative brain doesn’t kick in until noon, so anything I try to write in the morning is garbage. I really get going around 4 pm—wine time. I like to think that my best writing comes with a glass of the red stuff (the Hemmingway School of writing). I’m most productive writing in my dining room with the TV’s white noise in the background.

Fame or fortune, which would you prefer?
A little of both. Famous enough to have my name recognized in the literary arena. Enough coin to continue to pursue my writing career full time.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you “grew up”?
A famous artist. I sold my paintings from a local gallery until I took up writing. I never went back.

If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?
I would love to be a successful singer. Unfortunately, I can’t carry a tune, not one decent note. And I have stage fright.

If you could live inside the world of a book which book would you choose?
It wouldn’t be a horror or suspense book. I’m a huge wuss when it comes to real life drama. I can dish it out, but can’t take it. Probably a mystery series, with myself as the cleverly shrewd female sleuth.

Give your fans three fun facts that they may not already know about you.
1. At birth, I had a collapsed lung and I squeaked like a mouse.
2. I first appeared on TV at the age of ten to give a one-year-old elephant a birthday party.
3. I played at a blackjack table in Reno where comedian Bill Cosby was the dealer. 

Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?
Chocolate, in hot fudge form.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
Only one thing: A Time Machine.

Who would you credit for helping you along the way in your writing journey?
Friends, family and writing buddies, of course, but my profound thanks and appreciation go to my awesome readers. I can’t thank them enough. I love connecting with them. I’ve met so many wonderful people through my books, and made some solid friendships. Without them, none of this would have happened. They are truly the wind beneath my wings.

What advice would I give to new authors?
You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: Read. Write. Develop a thick skin. Write in a category you love. One book isn’t going to get you far unless you’re another Margaret Mitchell or Harper Lee. So write. Write. Write. Before you put that wonderful book out there for the world to see (and pounce on), enlist several critique and beta readers to make sure it’s market ready. Pay to have it properly edited and formatted. Pay a copy editor to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Design a stunning book cover, or hire someone to design it for you. Write a product description that hooks the reader—make it sing. Oh, one more thing: write a damn good book

NIGHT TRILOGY

Three complete novels in one volume ~ NIGHT STALKER ~ NIGHT GAME ~ NIGHT WIDOW

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CDTEISQ/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Carol-Davis-Luce/253106338074036
Author Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CarolDavisLuce
Author blog: http://caroldavisluce.com/
Author Website: http://imagerystudios.com/carol
Goodreads author/book page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/139562.Carol_Davis_Luce
NEW! Women’s Fiction: AWAKENING: Secrets of a Brown Eyed Girl
 
Interviews/Articles:
INDIE REVIEW TRACKER: How Amazon Helped Me Sell 100,000 ebooks in Four Months
Nevada Magazine Featured Article: Murder, She Wrote: Sparks novelist Carol Davis Luce leaves readers screaming for more. Chris Platt.
Writer’s Digest Magazine: Author profile in “First Byline”.
Writer’s Digest Article: Suspense Writing That’ll “Kill” Your Readers.
From Sea to Shining Sea : A Gallery of Famous Nevadans—Carol Davis Luce, the novelist who “leaves readers screaming for more

Good Morning Peepsickles!

Today I am excited and thrilled to announce the release of the 5th Diana Rivers psychological thriller, 'CHILDHUNT'. I've been bombarded by friends and followers over the last couple of months, asking me when the latest book is due out and I can now say - here it is!

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this murder mystery and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Here is a short book description, and if you're tempted to treat yourself or a loved one to a copy,  then all the Amazon book links are below. It will be available on Smashwords, KOBO, APPLE and B & N in the next few days. ENJOY, and thank you, everyone for your fab support! I really appreciate it.

Faithx

CHILDHUNT

Two weeks before Christmas. The villagers of Agios Mamas, in Cyprus, are preparing for the season's festivities. Without warning terror strikes the heart of the village.

Two small children disappear...without trace... the frantic search is on. Who has been stalking the family for the last six years and knows their every move?

Why has this family been targeted? What is the kidnappers ultimate goal? Will local author and amateur sleuth, Diana Rivers and CID Police Superintendent, Adam Lovell find the children in time?

Join Diana and her friends as they try to unravel the horrific nightmare which has hit the sleepy little village.

AMAZON.COM        AMAZON.CO.UK         AMAZON.DE         AMAZON.FR      AMAZON.IT         AMAZON.ES          AMAZON.CA           AMAZON.CO.JP        AMAZON.COM.BR

Good Morning Peepsickles!

Today I'm delighted to host my good friend and writer, Seb Kirby with his new release, Regret No More. This is the follow up to Take No More, a novel I read a year or so back and thoroughly enjoyed.

I've read the first few eight chapters of the new novel --and I'm loving it! If Regret No More is as good as the first novel then Seb's got a winner on his hands!

But, before we get on with the book, let's hear a little from the interview I had with Seb last week...

Morning Seb and Welcome! What attracted you to writing?

I was raised with books but not in the usual sense – my grandfather ran a mobile library in Birmingham and my parents inherited a random selection of the books. They weren't much interested in them; they were piled up in a box room, gathering dust. I would disappear in there and resurrect much read classics. I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s always seemed a natural thing to want to do – to write.
What genre are you most comfortable writing?
I write thrillers and I write sci fi. That’s probably because those are the genres that I get the most enjoyment reading. I’ve written quite a lot of non fiction, as yet unpublished. I have a hankering to write comedy one day but that’s a hard call since you don’t know if what you write will be funny until you try it out on an audience.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
I had a tough upbringing in Birmingham. I think that gave me a lifelong understanding of what really matters in everyday life. But I received a good education that gave me a grasp of cultural tradition and the importance of maintaining it. I try to address both these aspects in my writing.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from?
Ray Bradbury put it best: ‘My stories run up and bite me in the leg - I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs away.’ I feel the same. The best ideas come when a story is in full flow and the characters take on a life of their own.

Do you have any writing rituals or listen to “mood music” when you write? Where is your favourite place to write?
I carry a notebook. I write whenever it feels right – on trains, on a flight, in a hotel room, at home.  I listen to jazz a lot but I’ve never been able to do that while I’m writing. I prefer silence and I’m lucky to live in a place that has real silence.

What’s your favourite place in the entire world?
That’s a tough one. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to travel and find places that resonate and that I want to return to as often as I can. With the exception of Ambleside (The English Lake District) all are cities: Florence, London, Venice, San Diego, Paris, San Francisco (in no particular order).

What was your favourite part of REGRET NO MORE to write? Which part was the hardest?
I enjoyed recapturing the ascent to Sandia Crest that I made some years ago aboard the Sandia Peak tramway outside of Albuquerque. I find those cable cars very scary. The view over the Rio Grande plain was memorable but the descent over TWA valley was something of a challenge.
What I found hardest was synchronising events in Austin, Texas with events in London. There’s a six hour time difference in Summer and it was challenging to make sure that the characters were doing what they were supposed to be doing at the right time of day – sleeping, having breakfast or dinner. I hope I got it right!

Give your fans three fun facts that they may not already know about you.
Not sure how many of these are fun but here goes: I try to walk 15 miles each week; I think Miles Davis was a musical genius; I’m a lifelong vegetarian.

Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?
It’s just got to be chocolate. I’m a chocoholic, so ‘more than 70% cocoa solids’ is the kind of off the wall talk that appeals to me!

So what’s next for you as an author?
I’m ready to develop my sci fi novel DOUBLE BIND with a sequel but the next thing on the list is to complete the James Blake trilogy. The full extent of the corruption merging from the Landos in Italy is a story yet to be told. The working title is FEAR NO MORE. I’m hoping to complete this before the end of the year, or sooner if the creative process goes well.

Thanks Seb! Okay, so let's have some details about the book, and most importantly - where you can get your copy! Book Synopsis below:
Simply click on the book cover below for either Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk: