Monday, March 31, 2008

Adam from In the Arms of the Enemy

What's his name? Why did you pick that name?

Jonathan Adam Blakely was a joint name picked by his father and mother, a tribute to his grandfather Jonathan Blakely and his father’s brother, Adam. It was a good name choice because it enables Adam to use his middle name when he goes undercover.

Give us a brief description of how he looks. Is
there anything unusual about his appearance?

Adam has a medium build with good muscle tone. Adam has just gotten his PhD from Cornell in Veterinarian Science. He rides a lot so he’s tan He has dark hair and dark eyes which Maggie calls brooding eyes. His eyes are wary, and he doesn’t seem to miss a thing. A good judge of character. Maybe. I describe him this way, because he’s a bit of a chameleon throughout the story.

Who does he love? Why?

He was married to someone he thought he loved, but found out she didn’t love him. They divorced a year before the story took place. He falls in love with Maggie because of her feistiness, her passion for horses and her sensuality. It doesn’t hurt that she has red hair and eyes the color of the Caribbean. He just likes her and feels like a heel when he has to be deceptive toward her.

Does this person love him?

Maggie doesn’t trust him. She starts having feelings toward him and those feelings go back and forth. She’s attracted but ambivalent.

Tell us about his family. Are they important to
him?

Adam’s mother died when he was a child. He adored his father and wants to follow in his father’s footsteps to run Blakely Stables in Kentucky. When his father is framed for the murder of a racehorse and the horse’s trainer and he dies from a fatal heart attack, Adam is devastated. As law enforcement close the case, Adam goes undercover and find the person who murdered the horse, the trainer and indirectly, his father.

Where is he from? Does his hometown affect his
behavior, thoughts and attitude?

Adam grew up on a horse farm in Kentucky.

No. Although Adam loves his farm, it’s his family that affects his behavior, thoughts and attitudes.

What does he want out of life?

Adam wants to continue his father’s legacy and run a successful thoroughbred breeding operation and racing stable.

What's his biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't a spoiler in the story.)

Adam goes to the McGregor Farm undercover as Adam Grant, playboy entrepreneur, novice horse owner. He’s not a great actor and his deception gets him into trouble.

Did you write more than one story about him?

No. I haven’t thought about a series with Adam and Maggie.

How would he describe you?

I think he and Maggie would describe me as the true villain, because I get them into so much trouble. .


Is there anything else about your hero that we need
to know? Feel free to share.

I wrote the answer to that question and deleted it. Why? Because I’d rather have you discover what Adam and Maggie learn. I don’t want to give it away.

Please provide your website link.

www.patriciaanneguthrie.com, www.paguthrie.blogspot.com, www.myspace.com/paguthrie


What is the link to buy your book?

www.lightswordpublishing.com, www.amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders, Half-books and other on-line vendors. This book may be ordered at any major bookstore.

Patricia A. Guthrie
"In the Arms of the Enemy." (Light Sword Publishing)
Dedicated to those horses lost to man's inhumanity and greed
and to those humanitarians who's mission is to save and protect them.

www.paguthrie.blogspot.com
,
www.patriciaanneguthrie.com

Friday, March 7, 2008

Lightning Days by Colin Harvey

Okay -- its time to tell us about that hunky hero in your book.

What's his name? Why did you pick that name?
His name is Josh Cassidy. I wanted an absolutely ordinary name, for an absolutely ordinary, unmemorable person. And if he heard you refer to him as hunky, he would be leaving by the nearest fire exit before you had finished reading this page….

Give us a brief description of how he looks.
About six feet tall, he’s actually very well-muscled but wears slightly oversized clothing to hide his physique. He’s blonde, slightly thin-lipped, and absolutely nondescript.

Is there anything unusual about his appearance?
He’s notable only for a slightly over-sized nose that’s been broken. Otherwise if you saw him in a crowd, you’d never notice him. That’s the way he likes it…
Who does he love? Why?
No one: He split up with the fiery Caitlin just before the novel started because he interrupted a holiday to return to work. She didn’t realize that the phone call came from the (British) Prime Minister’s Personal Secretary. One doesn’t turn down a summons from the PM – but he couldn’t tell her it was the PM.

Does this person love him?
Yes, but it’s irrelevant – at least until the end of the book, and if I told you any more it would be a spoiler, so I can’t. J

Tell us about his family. Are they important to him?
He has no family; mother was a junkie (she never knew who his father was – it could have been any one of several young men) who by some miracle managed to stay clean most of the time that she was carrying him. He lived with a succession of foster-parents until his teens. The one person who he came to care for as a mother died just as he was about to go to University.

Where is he from?
He was born in a squat in North London . Mother died from an overdose soon after giving him up for adoption.

Does his hometown affect his behavior, thoughts and attitude?
Probably. He’s deeply, deeply cynical, yet serves his country. When I read Stella Rimington’s autobiography (she’s the former head of the British secret service) I read how she considered people who believed in their country to be the ideal employee. Yet it seems to me that working for MI5 must inevitably embitter one, because of what one sees, and what one has to do in the name of patriotism.

What does he want out of life?
That’s a good question, and it’s something he wouldn’t tell me. He’s joked a few times ‘to survive long enough to collect a pension.’ I think he was joking, but I’m not sure.

What's his biggest secret?
I can only talk generally because to tell more would be to give spoilers, but to be honest, Cassidy’s biggest problem is Cassidy. He’s got so used to disbelieving everything and everyone that he doesn’t even believe in himself any more, and it almost derails him at one point.

How would he describe you?
Probably as someone who chatters a little too freely, and should keep his nose out of what doesn’t concern him.

Is there anything else about your hero that we need to know? Feel free to share.
He’s very intelligent, and his worst weakness is that at times he’s probably more of a thinker than a doer, and has seen too much for a man in his late-thirties. He served in the last days of the Northern Ireland conflict with the IRA and in various other operations, most of which are governed by the Official Secrets Act. He realizes that in order not to have a breakdown -as many in his profession do through living a false life- he needs a confidante to keep his sanity. But he always seems to pick someone who won’t be around too long, and won’t be talking too much beyond the immediate future. He is a very dangerous man to know…

http://www.geocities.com/colin_harvey

What is the link to buy your book?
As well as the link above, you can get an electronic version at fictionwise:
It was wonderful to meet him. Thank you for bringing him to meet us. By the way, do you have a picture of him that you'd like to share?
Don’t be silly! Cassidy is very adept at sliding out of the scene when it comes to photos being taken…


Novels from Swimming Kangaroo Books:
Lightning Days -- SF, Finalist for the USA Book News Awards
The Silk Palace -- "compelling" Library Journal
"Intrigues, betrayals, murders, love affairs, transformations, and
revelations," Bruce Boston, author of The Guardener's Tale

Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Picker by With Terry White

What's his name? Why did you pick that name?
Paul Bowen is the main character in The Picker. The
name sounded strong, one you could remember,
a good name for a man who wants to be a star.

Give us a brief description of how he looks. Is
there anything unusual about his appearance?

Paul is not a tall man, but he has heavily muscled
hands and arms from playing music since his
childhood. He has green eyes, red hair and is very
attractive to the female sex, he has a lot of
charisma or magnetism.


Who does he love? Why?
Paul has a passion for his music not people. He is a grass-roots
player of country music, unschooled, but completely
possessed by his love for the music. He loves various
women, but stays with none until he meets Sarah, a kindred
spirit who also loves country music. She turns his life around.
Paul also loves his father, some old people he met in the
hill country of the South, and the members of his last band,
but first and foremost he loves his music.

Does this person love him?
Many people love, or think they love Paul, but he is
very self-absorbed and he only realizes how much
others love him when he looses everything.

Tell us about his family. Are they important to
him?

Paul’s mother is a nag, she is never happy with her
son because she lost her two older boys to war. She would
keep him in the yard if she could. Paul’s father loves his
son and is proud of his abilities, but over the years he grows tired
over Paul’s irresponsible attitudes and tendency to run away
rather than face his problems.

Where is he from? Does his hometown affect his
behavior, thoughts and attitude?

Paul comes from a small town, which could be located
any where in the country. The small-town ideals seem
too confining to a boy with the nature of a dreamer. He runs
away, but always comes home.


What does he want out of life?
Paul wants to be recognized as the best singer
and songwriter in the world. Nothing else will satisfy
and his frustration drives the tale.

What's his biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't
a spoiler in the story.)

Paul can never access his deepest feelings except
through song. He keeps the world at arm’s length because
his mother abused him as a child.


Did you write more than one story about him?
I believe there are many stories about musicians and dreamers
to be told. Paul Bowen’s story in The Picker is complete.

How would he describe you?
I think Paul would see me a kindred spirit since I have been
a musician most of my life. I think he would want to be around
for a while and then he would move on.


Is there anything else about your hero that we need
to know? Feel free to share.

I think there are a lot of musicians out there who are like
Paul Bowen, I’ve met more than a few. They are driven by
their dreams, and while this is not the easiest life – what
artist’s life is? I think we have to follow our dreams, even
if the path is hard and there are many lessons that must
be learned.

Please provide your website link.
www.terrylwhite.com
Provide some links where your book is available.
The book will also be on Fictionwise soon.

You can find Terry L. White's books at www.ebooksonthe.net and amazon.com by typing her name in the search engines. Look for Runaway Hearts, Mystick Moon, Ancient Memories, The Last Priestess, Mustard Seed, Crazy Quilt, Hang Your Head Over, Imagine, Hell or High Water and more. Terry is also a bead artist and musician.