Tuesday 28 June 2011

A Healthy Dose of Satire

Lisa Scullard has been writing novels since the age of 18, and has managed to scrape by otherwise without any relationships or permanent career. She has one daughter from a holiday she can't really remember properly, and her main job so far was nightclub bouncer full-time for seven years.



Hi Lisa! Can you tell us about your first novel, Living Hell.
Set in the fictional small suburban town of Jericho, in a world which took a religious wrong turn several hundred years ago and is currently mostly non-practising Satanist, a group of Youth Club volunteers try to organise a Halloween party. In between dealing with the local Press's fixation on an unresolved suicide, and day-to-day blackmail, 19-year-old Kim hooks up with Hellraisers frontman Alastair Brash - and all HIS problems. Which look like they're only just starting.




What do you think readers will like about the book?
It's about that post-adolescent stage in your life when school was pretty much over but nothing real has come along to replace it, and everything's awkward. Your parent's aren't part of your daily life anymore, so you find ways to get by on your own, and try not to be sucked into other people's gangs, groups or cult-type things.

I think a lot of people forget about how funny everything is at that age – there are no commitments, mortgages or 'lifestyle' to keep up with, and pretty much everything is spontaneous and weird.

Also it's a great mystery/action plot following the aftermath of a Halloween party, which takes place over only four days. I wanted to keep the story focused and create interesting characters that readers would want more stories about in future.

What inspired you to write it?
I wrote Living Hell when I was 18, aiming at my own age group - all there was to choose from when I was a teen was Judy Blume, Enid Blyton or Willard Price. Nothing was edgy or racy enough, and it was depressing. Gollancz and Pan MacMillan loved it, but wanted me to change the target audience to adult. Pan Mac asked me to write a sequel, but that only got to first draft stage before the editor handling it left. It was three years' waiting wasted, and I lost confidence for a long time after that.

I lived in a small village with boy racers and bikers amongst the locals, with nothing to do at weekends except pubs or the sports centre in a nearby town - not even a cinema within 30 miles, and the last bus anywhere was at 5.30pm. I also had Graves' Disease and was going back and forth to hospital appointments in London, and having various beta-blockers tested on me, none of which were working, and I couldn't get a job. My brothers and I read Pratchett, Tom Sharpe, watched sci-fi and comedy, and I wrote stories as escapism.

Do you have any new works in the pipeline?
I've also just published Death & The City in hardcover, paperback and eBook - a chick-lit backlash against traditional romance/crime stories. It's satire, dark, and due to get darker in follow-ups. It's about a female bouncer with a personality disorder who has to bump off contract killers identified through her usual job. Her head office set her up with a wingman, and she doesn't want to be manipulated or tied up in romantic cliches that other women would assume was part of the scenario. It's a bit postmodern in that sense.

I'm doing some illustrations at the moment, and writing a sequel to The Terrible Zombie Of Oz, as well as continuing the Death & The City "Tales Of The Deathrunners" series. I haven't got into the sales side of it, I don't want to - would rather just wait and see if readers like it without being pressurised into buying.

Who are your favourite authors?
Terry Pratchett and Tom Sharpe - for pure irreverence and style of humour. The laugh-out-loud even if you know you shouldn't sort.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
While I was at school my only real ambition was to get married at 16, and have six children *fail* :) But at least I can say I've got further in writing fiction than I have in real life ambitions, even if I never sell many books :)

Lisa, you’re such a star. I already have two of your paperbacks on my bookshelf at home and you know I’m a big fan. It’s been a joy to have you here.

LIVING HELL was Lisa Scullard’s first completed novel, and is now available in both ebook and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords (Nook/Sony), Createspace (paperback) and Lulu (hardcover/dustjacket).

You can stalk find more out about Lisa here:
http://voodoo-spice.blogspot.com
On Twitter
On Youtube

Saturday 25 June 2011

A Heavenly Read

A dreamy Scottish hero, a feisty modern heroine and a paranormal twist. I’m talking about Cyndi Tefft’s debut novel, BETWEEN.


Lyndsey Waters finds herself at the gates of heaven, but that’s not what’s making her knees quiver. It's because her grim reaper comes in the shape of bonny Aidan MacRae, a Scotsman from the eighteenth century. It’s definitely lust at first sight. But this quickly transforms into something deeper as they are given the opportunity to share glimpses of each other’s lives.

The story has a well-paced balance of humour and pathos as we are taken on an emotional journey through the main characters’ memories of Scotland, Paris and Seattle. At one point, I thought this was going to be the main thrust of the story, but Cyndi Tefft manages to pack a few more surprises into this engaging tale.

There are strong themes of faith and family weaving throughout the novel and these fit in perfectly with the story. There's also a smattering of steaminess, but I'd say it's still a suitable read for young adults. Lindsay is a charming, funny, sympathetic main character and I’m looking forward to reading more about her in the sequel when it’s released!


Between is available to buy now:
Ebook: Smashwords, Apple
Print and ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

You can discover more about Cyndi Tefft here: Her BlogFacebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Hot New Author: Tallulah Grace

Tallulah Grace is a wordsmith specializing in romantic suspense novels that often include a touch of paranormal thrown in just for good measure. Today, she's talking to us about her latest novel, Fate.
        
Is precognition a prescription for happiness or disaster?
 
The good things in life are coming together for Kristina Collins. She’s found her ideal home, her career is on track for mega success and the man of her dreams has finally come back into her life.
 
In Fate, the first installment of the Timeless Trilogy, Kris Collins discovers the benefits and risks of having precognitive visions while being stalked by a serial killer. Her friends can’t help her, the FBI can’t save her; she must save herself.  

The Timeless Trilogy heroines, Kristina, Veronica and Cassandra, each deal with paranormal  abilities as they discover and rediscover eternal love.

Hi Tallulah! What will readers like about your novel?
The characters.  Kris, Roni and Cassie come to life in Fate, along with one (maybe two) love interests. The relationships continue to develop in the next two installments, Spellbound and Destiny. From the connection between the three heroines to the love each one discovers as the stories unfold, I believe that readers will enjoy a rapport with the women and the men who love them.

What inspired you to write it?
It wasn’t so much inspiration as necessity. I’ve known for years that there was at least one book rattling around inside my soul, but there was never time to write it. Turns out, there’s more than one. My alter-ego writes freelance business and how-to articles for private clients, so I’m familiar with research and stringing words together to make coherent sentences.

I was amazed to find that creating a work of fiction is completely different, at least for me. Developing the characters and adapting the story line is truly an organic thing. Quite often, I never knew what was going to happen until I started writing it. If I tell you that the characters told me who they were, you’ll probably think I’m crazy, but that’s exactly what happened.

Do you have any new works in the pipeline?
Yes, I’m in the middle of Spellbound, Book Two of Timeless Trilogy and have already written a bit of Destiny, the third installment. ‘Spellbound’ revolves around Roni discovering her true power and ‘Destiny’ focuses on Cassie’s past, present and future journey towards true love. All three books have a strong element of suspense, along with romance and a hint of paranormal. When I say paranormal, I’m not talking vampires and werewolves, at least not this time around. As much as I love a good vampire story, my books include more common paranormal abilities that any human might have. Kris is precognitive, Roni is filled with magic and Cassie learns more about reincarnation than she ever wanted to know.

Who are your favourite authors?
I love Kay Hooper, Elizabeth Lowell, Linda Howard and Iris Johansen. Nora Roberts is also a long time favorite.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
Tallulah Grace is one of my pen names.

And a gorgeous name it is too. Thanks so much for joining us today. Fate sounds like a fantastic read.

Fate is available now from Amazon.

You can find more information on Tallulah at her website:

Monday 20 June 2011

Music Journalist: Chris Morley

I’m doing something a little bit different today. Instead of a Hot New Author, I’m pleased to welcome music journalist and aspiring author, Chris Morley to the blog. Hi Chris! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

OK. here goes, my name's Chris Morley, I'm a 24 year old cerebral palsy sufferer and music journalist also trying his hand at writing, I have a part time job too but that's not so rock and roll, is it?

Have you always been a writer?
I can't say I've always been a writer, I've always enjoyed reading but its only really at college and university that I actually seriously thought about it, I started out writing for the music section of my university's student newspaper, and now write for MintSouth and I also had a brief spell as a scriptwriter/actor on a local radio soap opera ' Conway Street' with Express FM in Portsmouth for a few months after graduating, having also had some experience on hospital radio during my college years. But I guess as a serious writer I am but a novice, although I'm not really all that serious!

What inspires you?
What inspires me? Ooh, now there's a good question! I suppose in my work as a music journalist the music itself is what drives me on, I guess I've always felt a very strong attachment to it for some reason, I'm still trying to work out just how it got to that point but its always played a big part in my life, from my early days being introduced to the Beatles by my parents to my present state dabbling in pretty much anything, as a recent example I've been listening to a lot of the Velvet Underground and by extension Lou Reed, but I'll listen to pretty much anything, my taste is eclectic, my last album purchase being the Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi album ' Rome' ( think of it as the soundtrack to an imaginary spaghetti Western film) and thus far its my album of this year, coincidentally I'm listening to it now, although its impossible to imagine myself as some kind of Sergio Leone anti-hero in suburbia on a Sunday night! So obviously I have to cite music as a big inspiration.

Also film ( my degree is in Film Studies), I don't get to the cinema as much as I'd like purely because there's not much on these days that catches my interest, but should things pick up you'll more than likely find me angling for a trip, I record a lot of different films from the television which all have some influence on me, whether good or bad. Television in itself inspires me, if I find a good series that I can get into I'll gladly give over a few hours to it, I like comedy and science fiction in particular if they're done well.

I was pretty much hooked on the present series of ' Doctor Who' ( they've just had the mid-season cliffhanger prior to a two month break) and Steven Moffatt, who's the head writer, has done a great job of reinvigorating my interest in what was getting quite stale before the introduction of the Eleventh Doctor. Incidentally if Steven is reading this you could do worse for a possible future Doctor.......I guess I'm very much an audiovisual person, I'd say my sense of humour influences me, I hope my slight sense of eccentricity is coming through!

There’s a glimmer shining through, Chris. I’m a massive Doctor Who fan myself. Do you have any new projects in the pipeline?
New projects, you say....well, I intend to keep up my music journalism and continue with my entries to Paragraphs Of Power under the watchful eye of Suzanna Burke. Actually while I'm here can I thank her and certain members of the Night Publishing family- Catherine Chisnall, Samantha Towle, Paige Pendleton, Diane Nelson....they've tolerated me crashing their party, for now I am but a mere journalist, I am not worthy! And I'm not going to turn this into one of those rambling acceptance speeches they do at the Oscars, I promised myself I wouldn't cry!

Also if I were better at guitar I would consider a more practical music project, having had some experience in producing thanks to a university project in which I made a radio documentary on the local alternative music scene, in retrospect I can sort of see how Phil Spector went mad, not that I went as far into the abyss as he did! But it was quite enjoyable exploring that side of things, I guess the finished product came out sounding like a Public Enemy album, as I'd been listening to a lot of that kind of thing at the time and so wanted to meld music and speech together. Who knows, maybe if I do make a success of it as a writer that may open a few more doors.

Do you have a favourite place to write?
Most of my writing is done in my bedroom, to be honest! Mind you, I suppose there are worse places to do so, my reckoning is if Brian Wilson can manage to give the seemingly humdrum a new lease of life then so can I. Or maybe I'm just a little bitter that I couldn't come up with ' In My Room' first! Never mind. It's not much of a view, I can look out of the window and see people and cars passing by but it’s nothing too glamorous as it goes. Otherwise I have a notepad in which to write my ideas for various projects, unless I happen to be doing something else and then have a brainwave, in which case I do my best to store it until I can get my hands on anything with which to write.

Who are your favourite writers?
My favourite writer at the moment is Tolkien- I read the Lord of the Rings books a few years back, as well as The Hobbit, and have yet to make inroads into the Silmarillion and Children of Hurin, though I do at least now have copies of them after a recent spree in Waterstone's, I just admired the fact that here was a man who took so much care and attention in creating Middle Earth and really bringing it to life. I guess I just admire any writer who can put a lot into their work, whether it be fiction or whatever. I must also confess to a liking for Stephen Fry in anything he does, including his books, both fictional and otherwise, he's a bit of a national treasure. Best book ever written is too hard to answer as I've read so many so I shall move on! If I'm allowed to include musicians in the writing category I must include Lennon & McCartney, among oh so many others.......

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
There's such a lot that people don't know or haven't cared to find out about me, I shall have to rack my brains as to something interesting. Oh, here's one. I've met royalty, though I was only two so can't remember a lot of it, I presented Princess Anne with flowers when I was a member at a wonderful place called the Rainbow Centre. They taught me to walk so I owe them a lot, even if I had not a clue who Princess Anne was at the time and amused the parents present by asking if every woman in the room plus those who later walked in was her, I guess I was fonder of any kind of limelight back then. Either that or a great big show-off. I'd like to think though that even at that tender age I kept my cool.

Thanks for such a great interview, Chris! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your likes, loves and writing habits. Before you go, could you just tell us where we can find some of your writing?
My music reviews are to be found at MintSouth and a Google search for Paragraphs of Power should guide you to my other writing efforts, I can't remember the exact link at this precise moment!

Thanks again, and may I also congratulate you on having such an interesting name!

You may J

Thursday 16 June 2011

Hot New Author: Johanna Frappier

Today I’m excited to welcome my new best author friend to the blog – Johanna Frappier!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I live in Massachusetts with my husband, three children, and two cats.  We are in training to be alpaca breeders and are working on weekends to build our farm.  I watch the skies by night for UFOs and beg my favorite psychic friend for stories.


What will readers like about your book?                                                    I've always loved stories that weave in and out of silly, scary, grief, happiness…  I love when the emotion of a character is at one level, then without warning shoots somewhere else-just like in life.  So you’ll find a lot of unkempt emotion in FAIRY CIRCLE.  Just tryin’ to keep this fantasy real!









What inspired you to write it?
My mother raised me on Grimm’s Fairy Tales and fairy tales from all over the world.  But she especially loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and tsk tsked the modern vampires that have so many conflicting emotions. This is where she and I differed-I can’t get enough of the modern moody vampire! 

Also, when I was nine, my older brothers took me to see some Disney movie at the theater.  After my parents dropped us off and drove away we left the Disney line and I was escorted to the Poltergeist line…  The movie was almost sold out and there weren’t enough seats together. I had to sit with strangers because my six-year-old brother “would be too scared” to sit alone!  I don’t think I can put into words how much that film terrified me, but I can say, I’ve never slept a whole night through since!  I totally credit Poltergeist with the things that still go on in my head today. ;o)

Do you have any new works in the pipeline?
FAIRY CIRCLE is part of a series called, The FAIRY CIRCLE Series.  Currently, I’m giving FAIRY THIEF, the second book in the series, a going over for release on October 1, 2011.

Who are your favourite authors?
Ooooh!  I love:  Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Mary Stewart.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
When I went skydiving for the second time, I pulled my chute and zoned out.  When I was supposed to flare to slow myself down I was too slow getting about it and hit the ground hard.  Luckily, I only twisted my ankle.

You’re a braver woman than I am! Thanks so much for gracing us with your gorgeous presence and I hope squillions of people buy Fairy Circle.

Thank you for interviewing me, Shalini.  I must get back to my book.  It’s my new fave: HIDDEN.  

Yay!

Monday 13 June 2011

Award-Winning Author: Gerry McCullough

Today on the blog I’m delighted to be featuring award-winning author and poet, Gerry McCullough!

Gerry has been writing poems and stories since childhood. Brought up in north Belfast, she graduated in English and Philosophy from Queen's University, Belfast, then went on to gain an MA in English.

She lives just outside Belfast, in Northern Ireland, has four grown up children and is married to singer/songwriter and Media Producer, Raymond McCullough.


Hi Gerry! So what will readers like about your latest novel Belfast Girls?  

So far, I find they like the characters. Sheila, Phil and Mary, the three girls growing up in Belfast, are all very different. Sheila starts off shy and lacking in self-confidence. She’s the ‘ugly duckling’ who turns into a beautiful supermodel. Phil is bouncy, confident, popular with boys – but she lets herself be dragged into trouble by the man she loves, Davy Hagan. Mary starts off as a wild child, nearly dies of a drug overdose, and then has a spiritual awakening which turns her life around. People seem to be really interested in the girls and their lives and loves. There’s a lot of action, too, but that’s more of a bonus.



What inspired you to write the novel?

I’ve always written stuff, since my childhood. It seemed natural to write about my hometown, Belfast, and about the sort of things which I know something about.  Then, there’s so much misunderstanding about this place. I hoped I could explain a bit about the goings-on here to the rest of the world.  In a country where religion has so often been a dividing factor, Sheila, Phil and Mary are friends in spite of being from different religious backgrounds, and that’s not really as unusual as you might think. As for writing about girls growing up in Belfast, well, that came even more naturally to me, since that’s been my own life, growing up as a Belfast girl!

Do you have any new works in the pipeline?

I’m halfway through another novel, of a similar type to Belfast Girls, and I also have a collection of short stories newly edited by a professional which a local publisher here has shown some interest in. I have hopes for them, and for my new book, if I can ever find time to complete it.

Who are your favourite authors?

How much space do I have for this?  Let’s keep it brief – Jane Austen, Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, Terry Pratchett – better stop there!

And finally, can you tell us something about yourself that not many people know.

I hate desiccated coconut. Real coconut is a different thing, mind you. My father brought one home one year at Hallowe’en, and broke it up with a hammer, and I enjoyed my piece very much. But the desiccated stuff is just too dry, I suppose. Now, isn’t that interesting?

Haha! Now people know what not to buy you for your birthday. Thank you so much for joining us today, Gerry. It’s been a pleasure. Best of luck with Belfast Girls.



Belfast Girls on Amazon US
Belfast Girls on Amazon UK