Interview with Sheila R. Lamb, Author of Once a Goddess

Hi everyone! 

Today we are chatting with Sheila R. Lamb, author of the paranormal romance/historical fiction novel Once a Goddess. Sheila R. Lamb will be joining us for a live interview on Blog Talk Radio, Wednesday, April 4th, at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time. We hope you'll stop by and listen in. 

Hey, Sheila, and welcome! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?

Thanks so much for hosting me on ParaYourNormal. I'm a school librarian by day, and writer - well, much earlier in the day. I teach creative writing classes occasionally and am working on my MFA in creative writing.

How do you carve out time to write?  Carefully. I started a new job this past fall and suddenly every minute counts. But I tend to work best under a deadline.  Being in school also requires that I turn in a new story or chapter every few weeks. I used to spend a lot more time on Twitter and Goodreads before this whole job thing. :)

How did you decide to write a book about historical fantasy? I used to be a history teacher and I love Irish history. Brigid's story came about at first from an academic perspective. I wondered if she and St. Patrick co-existed  and discovered a long line of mythology of Brigid before Saint Brigid.

Which book are we talking about today and what is it about?  Once A Goddess is the first in Brigid's trilogy. This is story of Brigid as one of the Túatha de Danann, the mythical, supernatural founders of Ireland.

What inspired this book?  Brigid herself. I love that throughout myth and history, she is regarded as a Goddess, Druid and then Saint and did a lot of research following her transitions. As one of the Túatha de Danann, Brigid was known as a healer, blacksmith, and poet.

Tell us something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out by reading the book.

The Túatha de Danann were known through mythology as shape shifters - I didn't make that up. There is a famous battle (the Second battle of Mag Tuired) where it is said they turned to mist.

Is there a book 2 in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?  

There is. I'm looking forward to the second book, which will hopefully be released next year. Fiery Arrow tells Brigid's story as druid, growing up in fifth century Ireland. I use the device of reincarnation so that eventually, Brigid remembers of her past life with the Danann. In book two, she, a druid, must confront Patrick as he begins to Christianize the island.

Where can readers purchase your book?  

It's available through one of my favorite indie bookstores, FourSeasons Books

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble

May we read an excerpt from the book?

My father’s incantation had ended and it was our turn to speak quietly to each other. 

Danann couples spoke sacred words of magic at this point in the ceremony, words to bind them for a lifetime. Of course, I had been warned not to use those words, our secret. My promise was simple: to uphold the treaty.

Bres spoke first. “Brigid, our joining will be new to both our people and to this island. If you can’t bear the pressures that will be put on us, then you may walk away now.”

He knew I couldn’t walk away. He knew we were trapped together.

“There will be pressures,” I said. “However, the purpose of our union is peace. Not for my personal gain.” I paused. “Nor yours.”

Bres smirked at my implications and our eyes met, each daring the other to turn away first. 

So, this was how it would be. I knew in that instant that I couldn’t let him catch me off guard; I would have to think carefully before I spoke and always remember that cunning motivation hid behind his words. I would protect our gifts, our knowledge of the elements that surrounded us, with my life. The Fomorians would use that information to take the earth, the source of our strength, from us. And as mine was to protect, I believed that Bres’s mission was to discover.

With sickening clarity, I understood why Father and Mother had chosen me. I, Brigid, was quiet and reserved, able to turn to stone. Stone is what they wanted to give to Bres and the Fomorians.

Bres studied my face as though looking for fractures in my expression. I would not give in to him. Instead of showing my trepidation, I smiled and touched a forelock of his black hair that escaped the tight leather band that kept its length pulled back. He grinned and brought my hand to his lips, biting lightly. His gesture sent a chill down my spine.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

You can find me on Facebook or Twitter.   

Feel free to visit my website Pagans, Saints, and Potatoes at http://sheilarlamb.com. Sometimes I blog.

Winner! Kevin Paul's Clockwork Genie

The WINNER is ...

Kirsten Weiss!!

Kirsten, we don't have an email address for you, so please leave us a comment here or email us at parayournormalteam(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you! :)

Interview with Kevin Paul Shaw Broden, Author of Clockwork Genie

 Hi everyone! 

Today we are chatting with Kevin Paul, author of the contemporary fantasy/paranormal murder mystery novel Clockwork Genie.  Kevin Paul will be joining us for a live interview on Blog Talk Radio, Wednesday, March 21st, at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time. We hope you'll stop by and listen in.

Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this interview for your chance to win a copy of Clockwork Genie. Don't forget to leave your email address in the following format: parayournormalteam(at)gmail(dot)com. Now for the interview!

Hey, Kevin! And welcome! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?

Thank you and all of ParaYourNormal for sitting down with my genie friend and I.

As a child I discovered comic books and soon knew I wanted to create comics and super heroes of my own. They would eventually become FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY.

While taking art courses to learn how to draw muscular heroes as realistically as possible, I discovered what I was really doing, no matter the medium, was story telling.

This turned into short stories, the first appearing in my college newspaper, and on to scripts for comic
books and for television animation such as for the Japanese series MIDNIGHT HORROR SCHOOL (a series that has as of yet not appeared in America.)

I continue to have a passion for comic books and for animation, but a few years ago I took a serious dive into writing novels. As part of Nanowrimo I wrote a science fiction tale, but about half way through it, a complete different story idea came to me. I paused long enough to write down a page of notes and then finished the story I had committed myself to doing. Once November was over I jumped right into the new idea, a fantasy tale that eventually became my first published novel CLOCKWORK GENIE.

How do you carve out time to write?

I wish I knew. It was easier to find the time to write until about a year ago when I picked up a 'day job' with the scholarship foundation of my local community college. Truthfully, having a restricted amount of time has forced me to dedicate more of it to serious writing. When I have all the free time in the world, nothing gets done. Deadlines are good. No, really, they are.

What’s the biggest creative difference between writing a novel and writing/illustrating a comic?

Comic books are a visual medium and 90 % of the story is told in the pictures. If I'm writing for another artist, the description of the scene has to be made clear enough for the artist to understand, but not overly detailed that it takes away his/her own creativity when drawing it. When I am writer/artist on the comic I don't have to be as detailed as I already have a clear idea of what I want to draw and most of the story comes together as I start sketching the art. The story then has to be told in a 22 to 36 pages comic, usually with 6 to 8 panels per page, sometimes less. When Shannon and I write our webcomic FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary online, Each page has to tell its own story because people reading may not have seen the pages before it, and hope it will entice them to stick around for the next page a week later.

With comic books as my background, my novel writing carries some of the same style. I don't always
fully describe the details of a scene other than what is absolutely necessary for the story or to se the mood, and let the reader fill in the gaps with their own imagination as if they were the artists of our shared comic book. Am certain I have a lot to improve upon, and am still learning with each new story I write.

Which book are we talking about today and what is it about?

CLOCKWORK GENIE is my first published novel and is both a Contemporary Fantasy and a Murder Mystery, and in some ways it is also a Paranormal Romance. There may be no ghosts, vampires, or werewolves, but there is a very powerful magical genie that just learned her master has been murdered.

The story is about Cecilia Orchard who has been struggling on her own since graduating from college to earn enough money to pay the rent of her apartment. Her data entry job isn't great and she's always on the verge of being fired by a very nasty boss.

If that's not bad enough, Cecilia has just been informed she's the prime suspect in the murder of
a grandfather she never knew existed. Why did the cop that wants to arrest her have to be so darn
handsome?

Cecilia discovers she's the heir to a vast fortune, and then is given a golden pocket watch. She finds
herself the new master of a very powerful magical genie. The entire world could be hers at the mention of
a wish, but what does Cecilia really want?

You may also be interested to know that I painted the cover of the novel.

What inspired this book?

The original kernel of an idea has been sitting in the back of my head for quite a while, maybe back to childhood. Like many of my stories it grew out of a question: "If a genie is so powerful, why is it trapped in the lamp?" The idea morphed through the years, until it took the form of the golden pocket watch. Along with the relationship with its new master and the people around her, I explore that question and give one plausible answer.

From there the story grew pretty quickly, and I dumped the first drafted on to the keyboard very quickly. It would take several more drafts and rewrites, and introduction of other characters along the way until it became the book that now sits on virtual bookshelves.

Tell us something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out by reading the book.

I suppose what no one knows is that Cecilia is, minus the magic and millions of dollars, is me. As a writer with a pretty vast imagination, that if I was ever confronted by the supernatural or aliens, I would take it fairly calmly and matter-of-factly. So I took that idea and transferred it to Cecilia. She writes fantasy and mysteries like me, and so when she confronted by it. She's surprised by it but takes it coolly, or at least tries to.

Are there other books in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Last month I released my second novel, entitled: REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST. This story
takes me back to my first love of the masked heroes. Going back to the 1930s' Pulps the heroes grew out of and became the super heroes of the comics.

I am currently working on a sequel to CLOCKWORK GENIE. Without going into a lot of detail, our
heroine and her friends must deal with the consequence of the genie's existence. Wishes out of the past come back to haunt them.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Currently my books are only available online as ebooks.

CLOCKWORK GENIE can be found at most major ebook distributors, and some, to my excitement, not so major. Best to start off at Amazon.
Kindle: http://bit.ly/v5f7v2
Nook: http://bit.ly/smHLZX
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/trpoJd

REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST is also available on Amazon and soon at other locations.
Kindle: http://bit.ly/zg3PcN
Nook: http://bit.ly/xCaYri
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/xDv5pX

FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY - The webcomic that Shannon Muir and I have
been producing for the last ten years can be found at it's own website: http://www.flying-glory.com

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Certainly, here is an important scene from Chapter 4 of CLOCKWORK GENIE, after this everything goes crazy:

“Tastes like a tin can.” Cecilia said after the third bite of the microwave dinner.

As Cecilia ate, she kept reading each entry on the man who was supposed to be her grandfather. He owned a multinational corporation, which included many subsidiary companies in Los Angeles as well as New York. It went on and on. It was all just crazy.

“There is no way in the world that all this could be possible,” she said as she dropped the dinner
tray into the already overflowing trashcan beneath the kitchen sink. Cecilia felt confused and didn’t know what to do next. She picked up her purse from where she had dropped it on the couch and pulled out the cell phone. She scrolled through the contact list until she reached the right number and pressed Talk.

Her uncle Phil had always been there for Cecilia when she needed the extra support as she
struggled through college. She could always call him when life got too much for her. This was one of
those times.

The phone rang three times and then went to voice mail.

“Darn! Hi, Uncle Phil, it’s me. Can we chat one of these days? No rush, I’ve just got a question
about my dad…” Her voice trailed off when her eye caught the glimmer and sparkle of the watch as it gently swayed in the glass case.

After a moment of silence she realized she was still on the phone, “I’ll try to call you tomorrow.
Night. Love ya.”

Cecilia put the phone down and sat at the table. She stared at the watch for several minutes, almost mesmerized by it. Finally, curiosity got a hold of her.

“I’m probably knocking a thousand dollars off the value just by opening the case,” Cecilia said as
she did just that, “and ten thousand by touching it.”

She unhooked the chain from its support and examined the watch. The outer case had fine ornate engravings all over it and as she turned it in the light the patterns seemed to change, to dance. Sometimes it looked like writing, other times decorative floral patterns, and then again like mechanical gears of what must be inside.

“Has to be a trick of the light,” she moved away from the desk lamp to look at it under the fluorescents of the kitchen and yet again the pattern was different. She saw brushes and quills.

“So exhausted I’m seeing things. Wake up already Cecilia,” she said to her herself.

She was returning to the table to put the watch away when her finger came across the little
clasp and the watch popped open.

“Oh, no. I’ve broken it!”

The crystal face of the watch was perfect like a diamond. The hands pointed exactly at the right
time but suddenly spun around the dial and stopped on twelve.

Light flared across the crystal startling Cecilia and she fell back on to the floor, tightly grasping
the watch so it didn’t break.

“Tommy? I’m sorry, Tommy? Really I am. Tommy? Hey, where am I?”

Cecilia’s vision was blurred from the flash, but she could make out a woman’s form standing in
front of her, “Who’s there?”

“Who the hell are you?” the woman shouted down at Cecilia on the floor.

“I…” her vision cleared. Standing before Cecilia was a young woman; her hair was red like flames
of a campfire. Though dressed in an emerald green evening gown, she wore a leather bomber jacket over it. She was quite beautiful.

“Now this confirms it, I’m dreaming. I’ve gone insane,” Cecilia said aloud, “That woman from
those photographs is standing in my apartment. That … that Genevieve woman.”

“Of course, I’m Genevieve, that’s Tommy’s watch,” the woman said with a childlike voice yet
scolded like a parent.

“The watch?” Cecilia looked from the woman to the watch and back again, “This is my
grandfather’s watch.”

Genevieve gasped, “Your grandfather? How long have I been in there?” She looked about and
began to panic.

Cecilia gathered herself and stood up, and noticed fear in the strange woman’s eyes.

“You have the watch.”

“Uh, ya.”

“You have Tommy’s watch!”

“Ya, this was Thomas Granger’s watch, what of it?”

“Where is Tommy? Where is he?” Genevieve demanded, tears filled her eyes.

“Oh, God, you don’t know. I thought maybe the police had finally contacted you, or that lawyer
Kramer sent you to talk to me.”

“Tell me where Thomas Granger is!” Genevieve was shaking now; tears flowed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry to be the one that has to tell you this. Thomas Granger was killed yesterday.”

“Killed? No, no, no.”

“Ya, I’m sorry, but he was murdered. The police are still investigating. They’ll probably want to
talk with you. I should call Detective Lambert.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Genevieve said through her tears.

“Why would you be alone?” Cecilia was doing her best not to freak out, yet she seemed to be the
calmer head here. It was this figment of her imagination that was going nuts. Certain this was all going on inside her head; the stress of work had finally gotten to her. If her imaginary friend had just cracked, didn’t that mean she had already lost it herself?

Genevieve looked at the watch again, and forced away her tears as she looked towards Cecilia.
Suddenly the woman dropped to her knees and bowed her head to the floor facing Cecilia.

“Mistress,” she said humbly.

“What--?”

“Your wish is my command.”

 

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

The best place to find me online is my blog where I ramble on about writing, comic books, animation, and from time to time put up a book review: http://kevinpsbroden.blogspot.com/

You can follow me on Twitter: @Kevinpsb00

Thank you for this opportunity to explore what's Para in my Normal with you. Genevieve had a good time too.

Winner Announcement

And the winner for a copy of Blood & Spirits by Dennis Sharp is.....

Amanda!

Congratulations! Check back tomorrow for our interview with Denise Grover Swank.

Winner Announcement

This week's giveaway was for a chance to win The Birth of Jaiden by Jennifer Wright. And the winners are...

alexiapurdy
creativedeeds
Willow Cross

Congratulations to our winners! Jennifer will be in touch with you soon about your prize.

Thank you to those who entered the contest. Come back tomorrow for our next interview and a chance to win next week's giveaway.

Winner Announcement

Hey everyone. It's time to announce the winners of the giveaway for The Hambledown Dream.

This week's winners are...

Angi
Wulfie

Congratulations! We will forward your information to Dean, and he will be in contact with you about your prize. Thanks to everyone who stopped in and commented, and be sure to come back for tomorrow's interview and giveaway with Jennifer Wright.

And the Winner Is...

Hey everyone. Hope you all are staying cool from the wicked heat. Who's curled up in the air conditioning with their eReader? #us. It's so hot in our neck of the woods, we're about to have a heat stroke. #seriously It's too hot.

We're here to announce the winner of Belinda Boring's Without Mercy eBook copy. Hmmm, who won?

First, as always, we want to thank everyone who stopped by and commented on our interview. We are thrilled to see Belinda has so many fans and loyal supporters. #youguysrock

Now, for the winner. We want to say a big congratulations to....

Lissette Martinez

We will contact Belinda with your infomation so she can get your copy to you.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped in. Be sure to come back Monday for our next interview and eBook giveaway.

Interview with Sirenz Authors Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Welcome to our interview with co authors Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman. These ladies have written a fantasy novel about two friends who make a deal with the devil...if you consider the Greek god Hades as the devil. 

Along with this interview is a prize pack that includes a printed copy of the book as well as some swag. #weloveswag! So if you would like to enter the contest, leave us a comment with your email address. Now, on to the interview. 

~ * ~

Q. What’s your book about?

A. When two high school girls fall in love with one pair of on-sale designer shoes, there’s going to be a fight. Unintentionally Meg and Shar cause a tragedy to an innocent bystander that only Hades, Lord of the Underworld, can undo—for a price. Employed as his new sirens, they must complete a task or face eternity serving him.

Q. Was the storyline for Sirenz a mutual decision?

A. It had to be. We each drafted individual chapters but we needed a single storyline to stick to—or we’d still be working the book! We’d brainstorm together to get direction, go home and write, then come together again to edit.

Q. Are you your characters?

A. Yes and no. Both main characters have a bit of each of us. Meg (Nat’s character) is an earthy, vintage loving pixie—just like Nat. However, Meg is eco-friendly to an extreme, just like Char who’s really into recycling. And Shar, (Char’s character) is an outspoken, blond, exuberant shop-a-holic. Nat is the bigger and more savvy shopper, while Char is blond and exuberant. So the characters are an amalgamation and mix-up of both of us.

Q. How long have you known each other?

A. Funny you should ask—we were just trying to figure that out! Nat joined Char’s critique group back in 2004 or 2005, somewhere in there. So that would make it… 6 or 7 years or thereabouts.  It feels like we’ve known each other forever, but also, oddly enough, there are days when we feel like it hasn’t been that long. Time is weird like that.

Q. What is it like co-authoring?

A. Co-authoring has its challenges and perks. The challenges are different views, styles, visions, and schedules. You have to learn to work through all those—and there’s no “Co-Authoring For Dummies” book. We’ve prioritized the friendship over the book because if we weren’t speaking to each other, we couldn’t write the book anyway! The perks are you only have to write half the book, the other always brings a fresh perspective so there’s no writer’s block, you can torture their character in your chapter, and you always have someone to keep to the schedule and encourage you.

Q. What kind of writing schedule are you on?

A. At the moment it’s a bit of a shipwreck; between family stuff and promo for SIRENZ, there’s hardly been any time to tap out a few words, BUT when things are normal (as normal as things get with three kids and husband each), we work individually, then send chapters to the other to edit and add the next chapter. This back and forth goes on until we have five chapters, or a chunk as we call it, then we get together to go over chunk changes. A chunk can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on what’s going on (kids, activities, emergency trips to the beach for sanity, etc.). All in all, we work whenever we can.

Q. Are you a Plotter, Panster or Plotski?

A. Initially we were ‘pansters’ flying through scenes by the seat of our pants, and the book ran off on too many tangents. We put on the brakes and roughly plotted out what would have to happen in each chapter so the story came to the conclusion we wanted. We’ve since evolved into ‘flying plotters.’ We brainstorm like maniacs, pulling in all crazy and outlandish scenarios, then sit down and choose which one to follow as we plot, chapter by chapter.

Q. What advice would you give to writers?

A. We’ve tried to narrow it down to five: 1-take the time to hone your craft. This can be hard to do when you’re excited about a project, but so important. Practice really does make perfect—and it’s not a race to see who’ll finish first. You’re not in competition with anyone but yourself to write the best novel you can. 2-Be active online. Network with book bloggers, readers, editors and other authors, it’s a friendly community and the camaraderie is great. 3- Join a critique group or do beta-swaps with other writers because there’s nothing like another pair of eyes. Add to this to learn to take criticism, if you haven’t already, it’s extremely helpful and will make you a better writer. 4- Finish. Your. Novel. Sadly, most people don’t. 5- Never, never, NEVER give up.

Q. Describe your co-author in 3 words.

Char about Nat: free-spirited, unconventional, creative

Nat about Char: hysterical (as in funny), big-hearted, and boundlessly enthusiastic (I know that’s 4, but her enthusiasm bears description!)

Q. Any projects coming up?

A. Nat: Together Char and I are working on the Sirenz series, and plotting out a co-authored middle grade novel. On my own, I’m revising my Victorian fantasy and slowly but surely writing a new contemporary fantasy.

Char: Sirenz Back in Fashion edits, finish writing Sirenz 3, push for Sirenz 4; A MG novel I’m working on with my agent; developing a contemporary MG series with Nat; put other manuscripts on hold while these are completed.

Q. What would you be if you couldn’t write?

Char: Maybe be a book reviewer since I love reading, but I’d have to be dead not to write.

Nat:  Miserable probably. I’d have to write something—even if it was just for me. I’d need to keep my hands busy so I’d probably be knitting, spinning, making jam…

Q. Where can we purchase your book?

A. If your local indie bookstore or big chain store doesn’t have Sirenz on their shelves, ask for it and they can order it for you. (Mendham Books where we had our launch party has several signed copies for sale.)

Excerpt from Sirenz:

“I don’t want your soul. I want your service. You two will be my new Sirens.”

          “Your what?” I asked.

          “Greek Mythology, Shar,” whispered Meg.  “The Sirens were these bird women who sat on the rocks and sang.  Sailors couldn’t resist them, so they crashed their ships and drowned.”

          Meg and her occult studies.  Who knew they would come in handy?  She could converse with psychos.

          “Hello?  That’s a fairy tale—the stuff they make a TV series out of!”  It’s not real.  It’s not!  I refused to believe it, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that I was kidding myself.  I turned to Hades.

          “Fine.  Okay, let’s pretend that you’re telling the truth—hypothetically.  Why would you need new Sirens?  What happened to the originals?”

          Hades shook his head sadly.

          “Once Odysseus sailed past without succumbing to their call, they threw themselves into the sea and drowned.  The same thing happened when Jason and the Argonauts resisted them.  They didn’t take rejection very well.  So I kept replacing them. I need a steady workforce.”  Hades grinned and I felt sick all over again.

          “You mean, they died??” I was only 17 and not liking what I was hearing.

          “Every profession has its risks.”  He straightened his immaculate Jerry Garcia—signed—tie. “No one’s immortal but us gods.”

          “Get to the point,” Meg said.  “What would we have to do?” 

          “Oh it’s easy,” he purred, “You two will bring me a specified individual who executed an agreement with me, and which, shall we say, is about to expire. You lure him to an underworld portal which will send him to Tartarus, my kingdom.  In exchange, I will undo this terrible tragedy and you’re off the hook. A one shot deal. Simple, no?”

          “Too simple,” said Meg.  “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.  What happens if we can’t do it?”

          Hades looked sideways at us and grinned with a sly smile.

          “If you fail, you must reside with me. In the Underworld.  For all eternity.  And I’ll have another job for you—taking care of my pets.”

~ * ~

We want to thank Charlotte and Natalie for stopping by to chat with us about Sirenz and their journey in writing. Be sure to listen in on Wednesday at 3:30pm PST when we interview them on Blog Talk Radio.

Now's your chance to win the prize package we showed above. Simply leave us a comment with your email address and you will be entered. It's that simple. We look forward to hearing from you!