A self-Indulgent Author's Interview- Part 2!

A self-indulgent interview, continued...

Which book has made you laugh?

Would You Rather? by Heimberg and Gomberg

Which book has made you cry?

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Which book would you never have on your bookshelf?

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

What was your favourite childhood book?

Peat Moss and Ivy Meet Santa Claus.  It was a $2.99 book my mom picked up in the grocery store.

Which book would you give to a friend as a present?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Which classic have you always meant to read and never got round to it?

Pride and Prejudice

What are your top five books of all time, in order or otherwise?

No order:

1. Harry Potter series

2. The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner

3. The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle

4. Columbine by Dave Cullen

5. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Honorable mentions because it is SO hard for me to pick only a top five: The Cradle Will Fall by Mary Higgins Clark, Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult, 24/7 by Jim Brown, Red Rain by R.L. Stine, Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross, The Oath by Frank Peretti, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Honeymoon and Roses are Red by James Patterson, Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner, and The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.

What is your favourite time of day to write?

The afternoon/evening

And favourite place to write?

my green chair in my living room.  It used to be my grandfather’s.

Longhand or word processor?

Microsoft Word

Which fictional character would you most like to have met?

Pierce Quincy from Lisa Gardner's books

Who, in your opinion, is the greatest writer of all time?

I respect a lot of different writers for a lot of reasons.  I have to answer a few.  I respect R.L. Stine tremendously, because while Goosebumps may never be required reading for classes in schools, the man can churn out a number of books that is unfathomable to me.  I am a huge fan of Lisa Gardner’s intense research and fantastic plot twists, and she continues to blow me away.  I love Agatha Christie’s writing, and I think she is definitely an all-time great.

Which book have you found yourself unable to finish?

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

What is your favourite word?

Discombobulated

Other than writing, what other jobs or professions have you undertaken or considered?

Vet, veterinary technician, photographer, videographer, reporter, wedding planner, actress

What was the first piece you ever had in print?

I think an editorial I wrote about young marriage to the Athens-Banner-Herald when in college

I’d love to hear your answers to some of these questions!  Thanks for letting me indulge myself a little and ask these questions I’ve always wanted to answer!  Don't forget that by answering some of these in the comments of any of my posts today, you're entering to win a Chain of Command messenger bag.  The bag will be drawn on the afternoon of Feb. 4, and it will be announced on my Facebook Fan Page and Twitter.  Make sure you're following me on one of those to claim your prize:

Follow me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/colbymarshall

Like me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcolbymarshall

Love of Shadows Excerpt One

Hello Goddess Fish, thank you for allowing me to take part in today's party. Today I will be sharing with you all four excerpts from my new book Love of Shadows. 

Love of Shadows is the second novel in The Healer's Shadow trilogy, which began with Girl in the Glass. Set in an unnamed country the story follows the life of Judith and her Shadow Sarah. Their mentor and employer has just died as the book opens and Judith is struggling with grief, when she is arrested.

“Your second accuser, as I’m sure you will have worked out, was your mistress’ nephew. He claimed that you murdered her deliberately to get her money. A simple case of murder in the eyes of law, no fudge there.

“Both your accusers are men who if they found someone dying in the street would not stop to help, or rather they would – they would help themselves to whatever was in the dying man’s pocket. No, I don’t like either of them, but that doesn’t make their accusations wrong.”

He sifted through the folder and produced Elma’s legal will and her real one – the letter to me. There were nicotine stains on his fingers as they unfolded the fine notepaper my mistress always used for special letters. Holding it in one hand and the cigarette in the other, he read in silence. I had planned to keep the letter forever to remind me of her, lest I forget some day that that fine singular old woman had loved me. I knew that was in part why she had written it, knowing how much I doubted myself and others. I treasured it more than any money Elma could have given me and here it was an object of little interest in a police file, to be stowed in some drawer perhaps or worse waved in court as evidence to condemn. That young interrogator was nothing compared to this man, the Rottweiler knew how to worm under the skin without stunts or threats.

I am Zoe Brooks, a British writer and poet. I spend half my life in a partly restored old farmhouse in the Czech Republic, where I write all my novels and poetry. I aim to write popular books, which have complex characters and themes that get under the reader's skin.

I was a successful published poet in my teens and twenties, (featuring in the Grandchildren of Albion anthology). My long poem for voices Fool's Paradise is a finalist in the forthcoming EPIC ebook awards. More recently I have begun writing novels: Girl In The Glass - the first novel in a trilogy about the woman and healer Judith was published on Amazon in March 2012, followed by Mother of Wolves and Love of Shadows.

To buy the book visit:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009PCG602

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009PCG602

You can find out more about me on:

Blog: http://zoebrooks.blogspot.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/ZoeBrooks2
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ZoeBrooksAuthor

My Muses

This is a picture of Maxwell (gray) and Roxy (black). They are my babies, and my inspiration for naming the hero and heroine of "Better Than Catnip". While in the book, they're humans, my cats still think it's pretty cool to have characters named after them :)

http://www.ruthjhartman.blogspot.com/

"Better Than Catnip"

Roxy Williams adores cats. Always has. That’s why she devotes her life to running her stray cat shelter. But is that enough? Isn’t there a man out there who will love her for who she is? A special man who won’t try to change her or ask her to choose between him and her cats?

Max Weller has a problem. His son, Derek, must complete community service for fighting at school. The only available place is the stray cat shelter. But Derek is terrified of cats from a frightening childhood experience. How will they get through this traumatic experience?

Roxy and Max feel the strong attraction pulling them together as Max volunteers at the shelter, too. Will they be able to keep the spark alive? Or will Derek’s fears come between them?

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Catnip-ebook/dp/B007KL80OK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335670576&sr=1-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/better-than-catnip-ruth-hartman/1109557308?ean=2940014311403

Good Morning from Lyn

Hi! I’m Hywela Lyn, usually known by my second name, Lyn, and I write sweet to sensual futuristic and fantasy romance.

I’m so happy to be here today, which happens also to be my birthday, and I hope you enjoy your visit to the party. I will answer any comments, but it might not be for a while as we're having visitors this morning an then I want to open my 'pressies' after which we'll be attending the annual concert and Harvist Festival at our village chapel. Because of the time difference here in the UK though, it'll still only be lunchtime  in the US by the time I get back on-line!

 I'm also really looking forward to reading other posts and excerpts from all the great authors participating in this event.

www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com  

www.hywelalyn.co.uk 

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