Absolution Blog Hop - Stop 6

Hey Everyone, Welcome to the Absolution Blog Hop!
This is to celebrate the upcoming release of book 3 in the Cursed Trilogy, Absolution by Georgina Hannan!


Snippet: Daisy was nervous as she stood at the front door, waiting to be let in. She had already been there a week, and now was time for action. She had the photocopies of the articles and the letter in her bag. The maid who’d been at the café answered the door and welcomed her in. Daisy waited by the same door for Julie to finish her call. “Oh a visit would be lovely, it’s been such a long time. . . . Anyone strange? No, we’ve had no one strange.” Daisy frowned as she listened to Julie’s side of the conversation. Someone strange? The call ended, and the maid walked in, introducing Daisy once again. She greeted Julie politely and sat on the same sofa as before. "Lovely to see you again, child," Julie said as she briefly glanced in her direction. She won’t be saying that for long. “I’ve been looking in the library for information on my family and your family history—” Daisy started. "Oh yes, I was going to show you around the house. Follow me," she said. cutting Daisy off and striding into the hall. Daisy sighed but quickly followed her out of the room. Gives me a chance to nose around, I guess, she thought. “This is and always has been the main entrance hall. All the paintings you see on the walls are originals of my ancestors. The décor for this room has remained much the way you see it now, incredibly grand.” Daisy fully looked around. Julie was right—there were a lot of portrait paintings that Daisy had first taken little notice of. “Do you know the names of everyone in the pictures?” Julie laughed. She had a similar cruel laugh to Mary. Or was that Mary who laughed? “My child, of course I know. This is my life, my past. Unlike yourself, I know where I came from,” she replied before striding away to one of the doors nearest the front door. And yet she couldn’t name any specific person from her past when prompted. “Actually, Julie, I do know. I’ve done a lot of research. That’s how I know your family was briefly involved in my family history.” If she knew to what Daisy was referring, she didn’t let on. She just smiled a fake smile and opened the door to the kitchen. “This is the kitchen. Our maids have been working this kitchen for centuries. Unlike the hallway, this room has been updated and refurbished.” The room was impressive. It was the size of Daisy’s whole house, with a large island in the middle, two large basins by the front windows, and a door leading to a pantry and then to the garden. The other walls were taken up by cupboards, shelves, and two large stoves and ovens. I would not want to keep this clean, Daisy thought as she remembered her own kitchen. A maid entered through the back entrance and faltered slightly when she saw them in the doorway. “Sorry, ma’am, can I get you anything?” she asked, looking directly at Julie. She just shook her head and left the room. Daisy smiled at the woman she recognized from the café. Julie took Daisy to a few other rooms of very little interest. She wanted to see bedrooms, past information, secrets. Daisy had had enough of being nice to this lady. “Thank you for the tour, but other than to see the house, this hasn’t really helped me,” Daisy said. Julie smiled, but there was no warmth there. “Of course not, child. You have no idea what it’s like to live like this.” “Ah, but I do. I’ve been told exactly what it is like: confining, destroying, and heart breaking.” Julie didn’t respond, saying only, “Why don’t I show you the library, and then upstairs?”


 Blurb: Daisy was pushed to the limits and finally agreed to end the curse surrounding her family. However, her agreement forces her to face some of the hardest choices of her life, and she stands to lose more than just her sanity. Can she handle the choices? Can she end the curse without ruining someone's life-or her own?
 
Absolution by Georgina Hannan

Release Date: MONDAY 16TH JUNE 2014

Cursed Trilogy is available on Paperback & eBook at many stores including;

• Amazon
• Smashwords
• Waterstones
• Barnes & Noble
• Nook

Cursed Trilogy by Georgina Hannan

Please check out Georgina and her work using the links below:

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• Blog

Author Interview: Jo Barney author of UPRUSH

After a successful launch of Graffiti Grandma last year, Jo Barney is celebrating the publication of her second novel, UPRUSH, this month of May. Enjoy the book dialogue!!

D.O: Welcome back to Authors Curtilage book dialogue, Jo Barney. It's good to blog another interview on your book.


J.B: And it’s good to be back with you, Lola.


D.O: When this book story first came to mind sometime ago, do you have an idea it will grow into a full story you'll be publishing as a book today?


J.B: I have four long time good friends.  Their stories, fictionalized , of course fascinated me, the idea that our lives, so well-dreamed at graduation from college would turn out so differently than any of us imagined. 


D.O: UPRUSH. What event in the story gave birth to this catchy title?


J.B:  The book was first published as an ebook entitled The Solarium.  When you searched for it, you ended up in gardening sites or architectural webpages.  So when I got the courage to format and design this book, I realized that the Pacific Ocean was a major character in the story.  I looked up maritime terms and when I came to UPRUSH, I realized  I had found not only a title but the state each of these women, at the edge of a wave. 


D.O: What got you to write contemporary women's book?


J.B: I've always written about contemporary women. Even my thriller, Graffiti Grandma, was about a woman who found she could change her street and her life, as well as the lives of others.





D.O: What are the cultures from around the world that you explored in UPRUSH?


J.B: Well, there’s the San Francisco culture, the eastern Oregon culture, the mountain culture,  the beach life, and the free-flowing culture of a woman in love with a priest.  All these cultures are West Coast America. 

D.O: In the story UPRUSH, four old friends meet at a beach house for their usual coming together to drink wine, complain about husbands, or the lack of them. Can we meet this friends briefly?


J.B: We meet them intimately through the four novellas Madge, the writer, gives to her friends, and she then reads aloud to them when she explains her need for their help.


D.O: Madge, a writer, asks the other three friends to help her commit suicide. And she has good reason. What good reason could this lady writer have to want to end her dear life? Can you hint us a little or do you want the writers to find out themselves?


J.B: I suspect we all may arrive at a place at some point in our lives when going on seems impossible.  For most of us, going on meant we found a new route, but for Madge, there was no new route.  The readers will figure it out, possibly in tears because they have known someone like Madge. 

D.O: "Madge has a gift for them, no matter what:  her take on their lives over the past forty-something years, her last novel, stories which will change their futures" what are you trying to tell the readers here?


J.B: The theme of this novel  seems to center  not so much on Madge, but that women in their sixties (or older) are still in charge of their lives.  They have decisions to make, new paths to follow, new dreams to dream.  A message to women whose mothers may not have known this.


D.O: What proven writing techniques did you use to create memorable, characters that are psychologically rich, in the story UPRUSH?


J.B: Each of my characters is based on a woman I knew a long time ago and who I still know.  One is quiet, intellectual, one is a risk taker, one has dreams of a different life, and Madge, the writer, is a lot like me, only more sell-known.  I mined what I knew of these women, gave them mostly fictional lives, and when I wondered what each of them would do in an imagined setting, the real woman showed up. My friends, by the way, have all read UPRUSH and gave me the nod to go for it.


D.O: Your potential readers will like to read sample dialogue from UPRUSH, which captures characters' unique voices and emotional depth. I'm sure your old readers will like the same.


J.B: Okay here we go.

The three women left Madge and walked for a mile or so without speaking. The tide was coming in and at first, they concentrated on finding footing on smooth rocks being lapped by wavelets.

Then Lou stopped and looked out into the gray, unfolding ocean and said, “I’m in.”

Jackie couldn’t believe it. “What?”

And Lou repeated herself, not looking at them, calling into the muffled roar.

“Dammit! I’m in. I owe it to her.” Then she covered her eyes with her hands and swayed, her knees sinking.

Joan stepped to her side. “Good.”

The two of them wrapped nylon-clad arms around each other and buried their faces in each other’s collars. Jackie didn’t get it. Why in? What did they owe Madge? They were friends, of course, but friends don’t kill each other, did they? They might stand by a friend in trouble, sympathize, rub a little almond oil on the sore spots, so to speak, but . . . It was the almond oil thought that made her hesitate for a moment.

Then she knew. “I can’t help someone to die,” she said as she pushed through the cobweb of doubt that for a moment had clouded her resolve. “It isn’t right, you know. Not right.”

Her argument had nothing to do with Xavier’s religious view of suicide. It was about the way life just is. Life begins and it ends without our control. That is the way it has always been.

“What if Madge was your sister or mother? Would you be able to do it, whatever the ‘it’ is?” Joan and Lou loosened their holds on each other and turned towards Jackie, their cheeks red with cold and tears.

Lou’s lips barely moved as she whispered, “I have no sister. My mother died as she wished, in the arms of her God. Madge is a friend asking for help. I want to help her.”

“Migod, isn’t there another way to help? Like making her see that being surrounded by people who love her is the best way to go? For everyone? Or couldn’t she do Death with Dignity or something, like I’ve read about? Xavier calls it playing God, but Madge doesn’t have any religious reason for not asking her doctor to help, does she?”

Joan shook her head, looked away.   “Doesn’t work that way. You need a deadline, a diagnosis of imminent death to schedule your death like that. Madge could live for years.”

Jackie blinked against the sudden sting in her eyes, and she understood she was not talking only about Madge. She was also talking about a stolen man with no deadline, an empty room, a ragged wound where she had once felt his love as she had changed his diapers, as he said, “Thank you, Mother.” She walked away from the two women, against the wind, her shoes sinking into the wet sand, filling with icy ocean.D.O: Are the scenes in the UPRUSH story sculpted scenes which audiences will never forget and, how so?


J.B: The opening scene behind the point is one I hope is vivid and is repeated from a different viewpoint later; several scenes of the women in front of the fire, and the scene when Lou goes out to hide the rental car and then goes back to retrieve it are scenes which seem quite alive to me.

D.O: Okay. Are the UPRUSH plots the riveting plots which are tightly tied to the emotional growth of your character and, how so?


J.B: My characters have grown a lot by the time they meet at the beach house, forty--some years after graduating from college.  They don’t quite realize that they haven’t stopped growing.


D.O: UPRUSH is a contemporary women's book, but not lady literature; the characters are more like hens with a philosophical, ethical situation to solve.


J.B: Chicklit, an American term, is where the term henlit may come forn, at least in my own mind. Millions of women in this world aren’t chicks (or ladies); who have moved on to the concerns of a women even beyond a “woman of a certain age,” whatever that used to mean, Henlit.

D.O: It is generally believed that if women wait for too long, they are likely to get stranded. But despite the societal pressures to get married, some women would rather die than settle in with a man? What do you think is the source of the unwed female predicaments and, the cause for their decisions to remain unmarried?


J.B: For most women in their sixties being unwed is not a predicament. It is reality. Really, would you be interested, except for security maybe, in a man who needs a caretaker, housekeeper, diaper manager?  In my story, Jackie says “Yes,” The other women would probably turn away, even if it meant she could be married. Most of the women I know in their sixties and seventies, while lonely at times, have found that their woman friends fill in that void.


D.O: Why do you think some married despite their status, are still lonely in their bodies, souls & hearts?


J.B: Loneliness is a basic human condition. A condition that comes in up no matter what.


D.O: Do you have any advise for women both wedded and on unwed?


J.B: Wedded or unwed, you are still you.  Find out who that you is.

D.O: What do you want readers to see in your book?


J.B: No matter what our age, we still have control of our lives in the matters that count.

D.O: Thank you for joining us today, Jo Barney.


J.B:  This has been interesting for me to re-think my premise.


D.O: I'm glad the interview holds help. Good luck with UPRUSH.


J.B: Thank you.


Released Date: May, 20,2014


ISBN:9781496004369
  

Ebook ISBN: 1496004361


Publisher: Encore Press


Available in Print and Ebook


Buy Now!


AMAZON

FayeHall: Guest Post

Do you guest post to grow your blog or acquire more readership for your books? If so, Authors Curtilage is the right place to promote yourself & your content. In the guest post today, Lisa Poli talked about her journey to becoming an historical writer. Happy reading!!



When I first started writing historical erotic romances, I had no real plan as to exactly where their settings would be.  I mean, I know I wanted them set in Australia – but where? At the time I was in the midst of doing my family tree, discovering  so many new things about the little townships I now take so much for granted and look at so very differently after seeing what they have become.  Still it did start me wondering what things – lifestyles, behaviours, cultures – must have been like for my ancestors. This in itself spawned the still ever growing intrigue I have for the townships around where I grew up.

Having grown up in a small township in Northern Queensland, Australia, I spent most of my younger years hearing what those overseas thought and seen of my country.  I mean, did they really think we all had pet kangaroos and all walked around wearing hats with corks hanging from them?  Surely not!  But I was horrified to discover that so many people really did see Australians this way.  And it was this that finally made my mind up as to where my stories should be set. So began the unveiling of Faye Hall and the passion filled, mystery driven, suspense filled dramas that I write.  Each book Red Sage has contracted (along with the hundred or so half written still sitting on my computer) are set in a small township in North Queensland, Australia.  These townships now looked at as being so trivial, and near non-existent to the international eye, have had a breath of life put back into them, showing the great histories they once had.  These townships that are mostly now small mining or farming areas, were once great townships, full of as much history and glamor as those back in England or even early American settlements. Bearing in mind that my works are primarily erotic romance, I have still strives my best to stay true to the histories of these little towns.  I’ve also researched widely to be able to include certain things singularly Australian to try and bring my readers something so much more truthful than the stigma Australia is often given.I enjoy what I write, and I have found the research I’ve had to do for historical accuracy so intriguing.  I have learnt so much about my country by writing my books, and I hope that my readers have been able to learn and enjoy this with me.

My new release, She’s A lot Like You, will be available from Red Sage Publishing April 2014.  My debut book, My Gift To You, is currently available from both Red Sage and Amazon.

  

Get your copy of my book Now! 

 Reach me through the following social media links:

 Blog

 Facebook

 Twitter

 Goodreads

 Lisa's Bio:

Faye Hall's passion driven, mystery filled books are set in small townships of North Queensland, Australia during the late 1800's.

Each of her novels bring something symbolically Australian to her readers, from Aboriginal herbal remedies, to certain gemstones naturally only found in this part of the world.

Each of her books tells of a passionate connection between the hero and heroine, surrounded and threatened by deceit, scandal, theft and sometimes even murder.

These romances swerve from the traditional romances as Faye aims to give her readers so much more intrigue, whilst also revealing the hidden histories of rural townships of North Queensland.

Faye finds her inspiration from the histories of not only the township she grew up in, but the many surrounding it. She also bases most of her characters on people she has met in her life.


Faye was able to live her own passion driven romance, marrying the love of her life after a whirlwind romance in 2013. Together they are raising their 9 children in a remote country town in northern Queensland, Australia.

Book Blurb:

Willow Jameson knew nothing of her family’s past or their connection to the Morgan family when she first met Re Morgan.  All she seen was his ruggedly handsome appearance, his gentle words luring her into his strong embrace.  What she found was a passion beyond compare.
She couldn’t have foreseen the lies and family betrayal that would inevitably rob her of the man she loved and forever change her life.
TEN YEARS LATER
Willow returned to the town life she loved so much, no longer ignorant to those who had separated her from the man she’d loved.  She was back now to make those responsible pay for all they’d taken from her.  In her search what she found was the hardened man Re Morgan had become…
…a man whose mere glance reignited a passion she had thought long since forgotten.
Re Morgan had left a horde of jilted lovers in his trail.  When he seen Willow again across the crowded dance-hall, he wanted nothing more than to add her to this list.  Re wanted little more than a short, heated affair.
What he became involved in was far more scandalous than he could have ever imagined.

EXCERPT

 

Willow stood with her back to Re, never able to see his approach.  She didn’t even see the look of horror on his face...nor did he see the gleam of tears on her cheeks.  All he saw was her being held in Chris’s arms, her body only a breath away from his.  It was a closeness he knew was far from accepted in polite society.

It was a closeness he shared with her...had thought to only share with her.

Looking to his friend, Re silently pleaded with him.  He needed to hear him say it was all just a misunderstanding.  He needed him to put at ease the quickly growing doubt in his heart.

But he didn’t hear any of this.  All he saw was the obvious lust gleaming in the young man’s eyes.

Chris cocked his brow, as if it was obvious their reason for being together.  When Re looked at him, begging to know the truth, Chris’s smile turned into an obvious sneer. 

Slowly, he shrugged his shoulders.

“How could I refuse?” he muttered, his words almost a whisper.

Hearing this short statement through her distress, Willow knew someone had found them.  Raising her tear-covered face from Chris’s shoulder she tried to free herself from his unrelenting grasp.  Realising her struggles were useless, she turned in his arms to see who had approached them.  Only too late did she realize just how suggestive her position would look.

Her eyes’ meeting the hurt and pain in Re’s eyes, Willow knew instantly what he was concluding of what he was seeing. 

“Re,” she whispered, almost desperate.

His dark stare turned hateful. 

“Damn you both to hell!” he spat at them, immediately turning back to make a quick return to the estate house.

“Re,’ she again called after him, struggling against Chris’s tight hold.

When Chris didn’t let her go despite her struggles, she turned slightly and pushed him away with all her might.

“You son of a bitch,’ she spat at him, suddenly realizing this man’s intentions.

“I may be, madam,” he replied casually.  “Yet even you can’t deny what you wanted when you lured me out here.”

Her dark eyes narrowed with hate. 

“I hope you rot in hell, you bastard!”

Turning quickly, Willow ran after Re’s retreating figure.  She knew what he must be thinking, but he had to know she played no willing part in it.  He had to know the truth.

“Willow,” Chris called after her, slight anger in his tone.  “Damn it, you know you want this as much as I do.”

But she never turned back to him.  She only kept chasing the retreating figure of the man she loved.

_______________________________

Red Sage Publishing, Inc. © 2013 All Rights Reserved

Author Interview: Kenneth G. Bennett, author of EXODUS 2022

 Kenneth G. Bennett, author of the young adult novels, THE GAIA WARS and BATTLE FOR CASCADIA, talks about his new sci-fi thriller, EXODUS 2022. 

Kenneth, has made a living in advertising copywriter for 20 years, writing material for radio, TV, videos, the web, print, outdoor, etc., for clients such as Starbucks, Amazon, Volvo and Disney. Enjoy reading the interview with him...

D.O: Howdy Kenneth G. Bennett. Welcome to Authors Curtilage book talk.

KGB: Thank you. It’s great to be here! Thank you for hosting the interview and featuring Exodus 2022 on your site.

D.O: You are welcome. As the writer of "Exodus 2022" how do you feel about the story, the characters and their challenges?

KGB: I’m really excited about the story. I felt from an early stage that the idea behind Exodus 2022 was pretty fresh. I still feel that way and I’m hearing the same thing from ARC readers now. The feedback is very encouraging.

D.O: Okay. We all know that a theme is vital to every kind of story we tell, because it serves to explore an underlying truth or moral. What's the underlying theme of "Exodus 2022" about?

KGB:  The underlying theme is about the arrogance of the human race and the consequences of such hubris. We’re animals. We have the same DNA as every other life form on the planet, and yet we see ourselves as separate and “above” the natural world. We brutalize the planet and imagine that there are no consequences. But there are consequences.

D.O: Hmm. That's a very strong theme. So is "Exodus 2022“ meant to say something rather than merely entertain the readers?

KGB: Exodus 2022 is not a “message” book. It is (I hope!) a fast, fun, thrill ride that happens to deal with environmental issues. The publisher describes the book as an eco/sci-fi thriller.

"Joe Stanton begins suffering severe, unexplained hallucinations while vacationing with his girlfriend in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, the authorities blame drugs.
What they don’t yet know is that others, up and down the coast—from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound—are suffering identical, always fatal mental breakdowns."

D.O: What happened to those other people, Kenneth? Without giving so much away can you tell us how they arrived with the fatal metal break downs, or should we just leave this as a mystery for the readers to find out?

KGB: No, let's give the readers some hint.

D.O: Okay then, go ahead.

KGB: Like Joe Stanton, the other victims encountered something in the environment that caused them to begin hallucinating—to suffer exactly the same hallucination. We learn what the “something” is later in the story.

D.O: Briefly tell us a little about Joe's background.

KGB: Joe is a 28-year-old Episcopal priest. He’s smart, funny, athletic and passionate about wilderness and the outdoors. And he’s totally in love with his girlfriend, Ella Tollefson. As the book begins, he’s planning to propose to her, but then all kinds of nightmarish stuff gets in his way.

D.O: Joe is the lead character here, right?

KGB: Correct.

D.O: What is Joe's assignment in the story "Exodus 2022?"

KGB: At first Joe is just trying to survive and figure out what the hell is going on with his body and brain—why he’s flipping out, experiencing violent “visions”. As the story progresses, and he begins to understand what’s going on—the meaning of the voices in his head—he becomes a more active participant in his own destiny, and in the destiny of the planet.

D.O: What personality trait did you give Joe to survive "Exodus 2022?"

KGB:  Joe is mentally and physically strong and also easygoing. He has a great sense of humor and a rock solid belief in a power greater than himself.

D.O: Hmm. That's good enough trait for a lead. What is the transformational arc of "Exodus 2022?"

KGB: Several of the characters in Exodus 2022 undergo dramatic transformations. The overarching arc concerns human characters discovering that people—homo sapiens—aren’t the only game in town.

D.O: Every kind of storytelling has an influence. What are the three elements you've woven into this book that will move the readers, and influence their growth positively?

KGB: 1) A love of wilderness and all that is wild.  2) The power of love (in this case, the love Joe and Ella feel for each other)   3) The idea that non-human life is sacred and that we need to do a better job taking care of the planet—or risk catastrophe.

D.O: Hmm. Those are sublime! What age and group does this book appeal to?

KGB: Older teens and adults.

D.O: Okay. I must confess, I love the way you've written the story "Exodus 2022." Writing a book or a screenplay without formal training can be an uphill struggle, without support. Do you have any writing tips for the beginners?

KGB: I’ve made my living as an advertising copywriter for 20 years, writing material for radio, TV, videos, the web, print, outdoor, etc., for clients such as Starbucks, Amazon, Volvo and Disney. Creating and perfecting an ad campaign is hard but writing novels is way, way harder. It’s also way more fun. The best advice I can give:

-          Read as many different great authors as you can.

-          Read as much fiction as you can.

-          Read Stephen King’s ON WRITING and Elmore Leonard’s TEN RULES OF WRITING

-          Once you start work on your story, don’t stop. You’ll lose your momentum and passion.

-          Realize that the first draft is just the beginning and that much of the work happens as you edit, revise and rewrite.

-          Find a great editor.

D.O: We are glad to host you here today Kenneth G. Bennett. Thanks so much for choosing Authors Curtilage for your book promotion. I hope you'll come back again.

KGB: Thanks for having me! This has been a blast.

D.O: I'm glad!! [SMILES]

EXODUS 2022 is Available:

Amazon

Find Kenneth G. Bennett Online:

Kenneth's Website 

 Kenneth on Twitter

 Kenneth on Facebook

 Kenneth on Amazon

Author Interview: Philippe de Segur, author of MARVELOUS AFTER LIFE

It’s time to read about how another author worked hard and got their book published. Our guest today is Philippe de Segur, author of MARVELOUS AFTER LIFE. A major advance in how we see the afterlife through extraordinary paranormal narratives and 83 photographs of hereafter.


Phillipe de Ségur has always seen ghosts, but he had to nearly die before he found his true vocation as an effective and successful medium. Now called the ‘Medium-Photographer’ by television presenters, he saw his first dead person while still a boy. Had it not been for his own near-death experience in his early 40s, this ghost hunter might have continued in the safe but confining life of a French civil servant. Instead, he lost his fear of death and found his 'real' purpose, the missing element of his life.


In Marvelous Afterlife, he explains that he needed that brush with death to place his ‘sixth sense’ at the service of humanity. Calling himself a rational man who believes only in what he can see, he says technical advancements in sound and photography could help expand the little understanding the average person has about the paranormal. In ‘Marvelous Afterlife’, he shares with you his experiences and ‘paranormal adventures’ with his ability to photograph spirit entities in haunted chateau and houses.


D.O: Welcome to Authors Curtilage book talk, Philippe de Segur. I am pleased to have you with us today.


PS: Hello to Authors Curtilage book talk, Thank you, it's a pleasure , I am very pleased to share today on this subject with you.


D.O: Please tell us briefly about your book, "Marvelous After Life" and how it is different from other paranormal genre.


PS:  This is a book talking about my relationship with the deceased since my childhood. My life change due to a heart attack . Some reports highlighted me  "Marvelous After Life " brings photos to complement my stories and my testimony.


D.O: Mmm. Fascinating! What event had the most strong influence on your life that encouraged you to give this story a voice? 



PS: Probably my heart attack , my heart dropped as a result of muscular effort. I found myself over my body , I saw my wife doing a cardiac massage , my daughter phoned for help, my dog ​​pacing in my backyard . I was floating above it all. I felt good , relaxed. When I returned , I knew my life would be different.

D.O: Mm. Unusual. What obstacles did you face in trying to tell this story?

PS: The main obstacle, being in nature very Cartesian , I was afraid of being taken for an illuminated . I had the chance to have always been supported by the media who always congratulate me and highlighted me.

D.O: What was the time frame for writing this book?


PS: It's strange but It's take me only six days to write this book, Like I was guided to write . Since then I have written others but the delays are much longer and have to this day a little less success than the latter.


D.O: I understand you. I'm always guided to write even to act  sometimes. So I can imagine you whose gift is very awe-aspiring.

"Even as a child I saw things that few others could even imagine.
At any time of the day I came across people who were invisible to others, I saw them, but didn’t communicate with them at that time."
D.O: You see the dead. Don't you see this kind of gift as a load, typically a heavy one?


PS: Somehow I did. But, I don't think it is a choice. I have considered this gift as a burden for a long time when I was young, because I was afraid of what I was seeing.


D.O: So you are telling us on Authors Curtilage that this book is a true story and not a work of fiction?


PS: This book is totally true, as all the ones I write. I retransmits today the full stories I have lived always remaining as close as possible to reality. What I felt and lived totally and truly . There is no fiction in what I write , but I was contacted by some series designers for paranormal subject.


I understood it had been a ghost
"I had already experienced some emotional moments due to contact with them. When I was sixteen, my mother’s sister, Françoise, succumbed to a rare type of cancer and passed her last days in the terminal ward of a Marseilles hospital.
The two sisters were inseparable and my mother, who sensed her pain, spent every day with her. One evening, lying on my bed reading a comic with the door open to the landing, my eye was drawn to it as if something was about to happen. Even at that age, I was attentive to the slightest vibe.
At the exact moment when I least expected it, I saw my Aunt appear, she seemed to be heading for my parent’s bedroom.

It took a moment to sink in before I realized it was her ghost. I was petrified but stayed calm. I felt my heart beating and an instant later I saw her come out of the bedroom followed by my mother who, no doubt drawn by the expression on my face, stopped and said to me in a calm voice “did you see her?”
I replied “like I see you”, and she said to me “she came to tell us goodbye”.
An instant later the telephone rang, Françoise had died.
My mother had always been a medium although she never really practiced it; those were the only words we exchanged on the subject in thirty-nine years."

D.O: Mm. So your mum is a medium? Does that mean the spirit communication gift runs in the family?


PS: Yes, you may say that. My maternal grandfather and my mother were also medium, but they never exercise such as and I have live "normal " lives.

 I am the only one of three brothers to have inherited this "gift" . Yes, it is , I guess a birth gift.

D.O: What do we call you Phillipe, a psychic or psychic medium?


PS:  For me, there is only one definition which corresponds to a medium, he is a person who communicates with the deceased .


D.O:  In that case, I'm going to send you to my Grandma. [Smiles]


PS: No problem Darmie. [smiles]


D.O: Psychics and psychic mediums are souls that have come into this world to learn and grow just like everyone of us. It's the same for our books and screenplay characters. How did you grow emotionally in the story Marvelous After Life?


PS: I think you can live  several lives in the same . I had a turning point in mine. Today , it is true , I see things differently. When we pass closely near death, we go to the essentials. All this has actually made me grow, evolve and understand that an invisible world but real world is present all around us and has much to tell us....

D.O: By the end of the story Marvelous After Life, was Phillipe's emotional responses and personal values altered?


PS: I am more than just the usual protagonist. I tell this story in a way that the readers receive an intimate description of my life under my gift.

The book is concerned with the emotional truth about my gift, as experienced by me in various stages of my life.

D.O: How did you find your agent?


PS: I met him haphazardly thanks to a friend who had entrusted his books. My editor is now a friend who struggles to promote my books abroad especially in the United States because like me, he thinks he can meet the same success as in France .

D.O: Looking back, what are the elements you weaved together that helped you write a compelling story as Marvelous After Life?

PS: No literary is invented in this book, I simply relate my experience and in this case, it is easier to put words on paper then to write a novel. I share with MEM editions, the same focus. We want to actively participate in "seeding awareness" with respect and freedom for everyone. 

D.O: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us today?

PS: I would like to press the special feature of this book that highlights photos expertise by many scientists and research groups on the paranormal. This shows us that whatever the life we ​​lead, no matter where we are, who we are, we are never alone and  we can communicate with the world of the afterlife. 

D.O: It's be an honor hosting you today. Thanks for choosing Authors Curtilage for your book promotion.

PS: The honor is mine. Thank you for your interest in this book and the confidence you have shown in me. I wish to the Authors Curtilage readers  to find in this book answers to their questions. 

MARVELOUS AFTER LIFE is available here. Buy now!

Find Philippe Online

Author Interview: Alan Porter, author of GM

It’s time to meet another author and learn from their successful publishing journey. Today we meet Alan Porter, author of GM.

Geneticist Rachel Whitelock escaped the war in Zaire with a secret that could change the lives of millions. Now, eighteen years later, she is going back to oversee covert trials of the genetically modified crop that resulted.

But someone’s waiting for her, and he’s been waiting a long time for her to return what she stole from Africa.

Hunted across the jungles of Bengara, Whitelock must pull off a daring plan that could make or break her career... and change the course of a nation. 

D.O: Thank you for joining us today on Authors' Curtilage book talk Alan Porter, and welcome.

AP: Thank you, Darmie, it’s great to be here.

D.O: What obstacles did you face in trying to tell the GM story?

AP: For me, any work of fiction works best where there is enough ‘telling detail’ to make it convincing. For GM I needed to do huge amounts of research - everything from the possibilities of genetic engineering to how to fly a Schweizer 330 helicopter; from west African street cuisine to the weather in Goma at the end of August 1996. Most of that research only gets a fleeing mention - it acts as the spice of the novel rather than its main ingredient - but it is vital to get it right. So, getting those details sorted out was quite an obstacle to getting the book into a form that it could go to my editor.

Of course, research can have its up-side. Flying a helicopter fifty feet above the rainforest is a whole lot of fun!

D.O: Mm. I'm impressed by the efforts you put into this. Quickly let us meet Dr. Whitelock in GM?

AP: Rachel Whitelock is an entomologist and geneticist. That is, she works with insects and tries to modify their behavior through genetic engineering. In GM she has developed a strain of rice that causes pest locusts to destroy each other rather than surrounding rice crops.

Rachel is one tough cookie! She lived and worked in Africa in the 1990s and got caught up in the horror that was the Rwandan civil war. There she met someone who put her on the path that ultimately leads to the events of GM.

There are surprisingly few genuinely strong female leads in books and films right now. I did not create the character of Dr Whitelock as a deliberate attempt to redress this balance, but she does her bit anyway. She does not rely on the help of a man, she is probably the most unromantic woman you could meet and she can hold her own with some of the most dangerous characters in west Africa!

D.O: What is her mission in the GM story?

AP: She wants - needs - to use her talents to empower indigenous African farmers and make the kind of difference to the lives of people in the third world that financial-based aid rarely does. But creating the GM crop is only the beginning. She has much bigger plans, and she has to dodge a lot of bullets to bring that plan to fruition! Whether she goes about it in the right way is for the reader to decide.

D.O: How rounded is this story & how many years did it take you to tackle it?

AP: The story is rounded in the sense that we see Rachel following a path that she has been driven to follow for nearly eighteen years. She has one goal in mind, and nothing is going to stand in the way of achieving it. I think the reader is taken along that path very effectively - especially as her back-story is revealed gradually and we see that she almost has no choice but to act as she does.

The end, however, is not rounded at all! Originally I took Rachel to the point she had been aiming at all those years, then showed some of the aftermath of the decisions she had made. But that insulted the intelligence of my readers. So I cut the end. Now we follow her as far as her goal - that is up the point Rachel herself has calculated - but no further. She did not give a great deal of thought to the aftermath, and I wanted to leave the reader to make up their own mind whether what she does is right or not.

The book took a year to write from its initial conception to agreeing the final draft with my editor.

D.O: A year? That wasn't long compare to some story which will just refuse to get up for many years. Anyway, what changes has this story formed in your life as its writer?

PA: I used to write psychological horror novels. GM does have some horrific moments, but it is a much more ‘conventional’ thriller. This is a genre I will continue with now.

"They are meant to turn cannibal to defend their food supply, but they are not feeding anymore. Their sole driving force is to destroy. This is way beyond anything we predicted."

D.O: Who said this in GM? What is she referring to?

AP: This is Rachel Whitelock observing the first large-scale test of the GM rice crop in a hangar in Surrey. In small-scale tests the locusts that ate the baited rice turned cannibalistic, but only when Whitelock sees the experiment scaled up to tens of thousands of insects does the true effect become apparent. She knows for sure now that the crop she helped to develop will be able to make a significant difference in Africa.

This scene also hints at things to come once Whitelock arrives in Africa to run field tests, but to say any more would give too much away!

D.O: [Smiles] Okay then, hold it right there. Briefly tell us what the underlying theme of this story is about?

AP: Let me start by saying this book is not really about genetically modified crops at all! They feature, and they kick the action off, but the underlying theme is more about the clash of Western power with third world need. For decades the developed world has poured financial aid into Africa. And yet war and famine are still rife, partly because millions of dollars of that aid is siphoned off by corrupt governments to buy weapons and displace ‘inconvenient’ populations. Rachel Whitelock is convinced there is another way. It is left up to the reader to decide whether she is right!

D.O: Is this story based on someone experiences or a pure work of fiction?

AP: It is pure fiction, although I have spent time with aid workers in Africa and some of the events in the book are derived from stories they have told me. The genetically modified rice is pure fiction… probably!  Already cotton plants have been modified with Bacillus toxins to make them lethal to bollworms; cabbages have been genetically laced with scorpion venom to kill caterpillars; and tests have been run to develop hep-b and cholera vaccines administered through modified bananas. So a rice strain that can alter the behavior of locusts? Not yet, but it is only a step or two away...

D.O: What genre is this story?

AP: Broadly it is a thriller. That is a very wide genre, but it fits alongside writers like Michael Crichton and Frederick Forsyth.

D.O: Okay. What draws you to this genre?

AP: It’s what I like to read; I like to see and explore strong characters in tough situations. I am also committed to giving readers something a bit ‘different’. The first decade of the new millennium has seen commercial books and films become very bland and uniform. I enjoy tackling controversial subjects.

D.O: Okay. What do you hope people will take away from GM?

AP: First, they should enjoy it! If it makes the readers think in a different way about the third world, and the developed world’s attitude to it, that’s good. If it shows that there’s a whole lot more to a female lead character than her need for a man, perfect. But above all, enjoy it: it is a fast-paced adventure novel, not a political polemic!

D.O: All right then, Alan Porter, thanks for choosing Authors' Curtilage for your book promotion. I hope you'll stop by again for future promotion.

AP: I would be delighted to. Thank you.

GM is available worldwide in paperback and ebook:

BookShowMe 

Find Alan Porter Online

 

Author Interview: Morgan Straughan Comnick, Author of SPIRIT VISION

Follow the tour!

If God gave you a mission, would you answer His call?

The Lord has given Stary, a high school freshman, a mission: extinguish the evil residing in the murderer of two teens--Maren and Umbra. Stary never imagined that her strange visions meant that she was the Spirit Warrior for God and now with her powers activated, she must train to use them and try not to get caught by the murderer who has the ability to hide and conjure up the dark powers from the fallen angel himself--Lucifer. If Stary fails, not only will she lose her life, but Maren and Umbra will lose their entry into heaven and the world will be exposed to the madness of the murderer for the next forty years until the new Spirit Warrior is born.

Buy the book at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Smashwords

Interview with Morgan Straughan Comnick

Darmie Orem: What's your style of writing?

Morgan: I like to write using a lot of descriptive terms and imagery. I know I write a lot, but I try to make it flow so it is effortless, like how you breathe. I personally like books that have a little bit of everything, so I write that way as well; something for everyone. :)

Darmie Orem: What did you do before coming into the literary life? Make it very brief.

Morgan: I have dreamed of being a teacher since I was ten and I am still one and will always be in some form or fashion, no matter where my path takes me. They coincide fairly well most of the time.

Darmie Orem: What types of genre do you work within?

Morgan: Spirit Vision is a paranormal romance with mystery, high school life, and humor in it as well. I do not limit myself to one genre; I have way too many ideas for books all over the spectrum, but I like writing for young adults. I can bet that 90% of my books to come will be young adult, but I would like to compose an intermediate or juvenile work and write a few children's books as well in my life time


.

Darmie Orem: How did Stary's story begin? Was it an event which gave you the idea to write it, a character, or an image?

Morgan: Stary's story itself started after I decided I wanted to take a crack at writing a book, but I did not decide on the topic at first. I was exploring my school, observing things from the point of view of an author for the first time and it is amazing what I uncovered! I knew I wanted to write from the point of view of a freshman girl in high school since I was one; it made narration simple, relatable. I was into spiritual/ghost stories where humans helped them with a task at the time (I go through phases), so I knew that was my genre. I was in the bathroom and I was thinking of powers for Stary's powers and then I joked, saying, "Duh! Of course she can see spirits and see spirit writing; she would have spirit vision," and the title was born! The rest of the plot came to me in a rush within the next weeks. It was a pretty surreal experience, but I get ideas on a whim a lot.

Darmie Orem: How many years has the first chapter been growing in your mind?

Morgan: I have to write in order so chapter one was originally written close to ten years ago! 0.o Dang! Now I feel old! >.< It came to me fairly quickly. I watched anime where the heroines had symbolic dreams often, so that is what I intended for Stary to start off with. I have vivid dreams too, so I wanted to make it as detailed as possible, but the original version is much tamer than the one I have now! I added some more dark elements to it, but with the theme, it fits. Still, the three main parts are all the same.

Darmie Orem: What's the theme of SPIRIT VISION?

Morgan: "Hold on to what if." Maren and Umbra never give up to find a way to enter heaven even when it seems near hopeless. Stary never gives up on tracking a murderer, a task that could end her own life, in order to help her new friends. This pops up a lot in the book and this quote is so dear to me, I use it as my author quote on my business cards!

Darmie Orem: Do you make it a conscious choice to identify your theme before you start writing the novel or is it something which develops as the characters evolve?

Morgan: I think the characters reveal the theme to me. They lead me on every path the book takes. We fight over it and sometimes, they pout when I am stubborn, but it is like having your children in your head! You NEED them and in the end, it is THEIR tale you are sharing to the world. 

Darmie Orem: What is not quite right that your lead character has to fix? Please, briefly tell us.

Morgan: My lead character and narrator, Stary, finds out she is the chosen Spirit Warrior for God and she has the ability to see, communicate, and aide spirits and ghosts. In this case, she has been asked to track down the murderer of Maren and Umbra so she can take the evil out of the murderer and the spirits can move on into Heaven. This is a rule of Heaven to help save other innocent lives. This is a huge problem; I am not sure I could handle the task, although I would try!

Darmie Orem: Is there anything you wouldn't write about within your genres?

Morgan: Using religion and religious lore, I had to be careful because I did not want to offend anyone. This is a work of fiction after all. I was just careful with my wording. I also get red thinking about my characters in... 'adult situations...' Romantically, I know, as they age, things may happen and I will not deny it, but I will not go into graphic detail because, well, I get so...*blushes* Yeah, this is why I stick to young adult fiction and not the adult books with Fabio on the cover that my grandma loves! -_-;;

Darmie Orem: What are the elements in SPIRIT VISION that will keep a reader stay up all night reading, that will whisk him or her to faraway places and times, that will expand minds and inspire?

Morgan: How nicely put! :D Like I said, I put a little bit of something in there for everyone and I like putting twists and turns that the reader may not expect. I am told by many that the ending, although to me it was obvious, was real shocking! I think that is good. ^^ I also have different events going on, but they do tie together in the end: there is the mystery of the murderer, there is Stary trying to live a normal life and failing, there is Stary and who her romantic interests will be... A movie in your head I hope.

Darmie Orem: Shortly, what's the climactic end of SPIRIT VISION?

Morgan: Wow! I really do not like spoilers! But, I can tell you Stary, Umbra, and Maren do confront the murderer in an epic, to the death battle and several things are revealed. The ending also opens up the story to another book, which I am currently working on and plan to have out this fall! :)

Darmie Orem: Do you wish to be synonymous with fame and fortune in the publishing field?

Morgan: I am not going to lie; I would like to be a well-known writer and I could always use more money, but that is not my goal in writing. I want to share my stories with the world, have Stary's story loved by more people than myself, and inspire others to see that you should never give up on your dreams. If I get some fame and fortune from it, I will not complain. ;)

Darmie Orem: How many books do you plan to write & publish before you get off the ride of 
 literary life?

Morgan: For Spirit Vision, I have plans for a five book series, and I have ideas for at least three side books and a fan book. I have an anthology coming out this year as well and plan on another one in the not too distant future. I also have numerous ideas for other stories, all written down! If they ALL get published, I would say I am looking into over 200 books being published! 0.o It is a lot and I think I will write until I physically cannot any more or mentally, but I pray that never happens.

Darmie Orem: Morgan, will you write for us a short encouraging quote? [Smiles]

Morgan: :D Of course: I was always a super shy kid, a kid who worked hard at everything, but I always got second no matter what. It was never about a prize or praise, but I wanted to be good at one thing, I wanted someone to clap for me, I wanted to shine, just once. I wrote this poem a while back and I repeated it often like a mantra when I needed to get myself out of a tough spot and say, "You are good enough!" I want everyone to know they are good at something, they shine in their own way; we just have to find it and support each other's light.

"Someday...It'll be time

My time to show my light

Let my feelings glow in the night

and prove my heart can shine."

Darmie Orem: Hmm. Concise and sweet. Have you enjoyed this interview?

Morgan: Very much so! Thank you so much for having me, supporting my tour, and asking such excellent questions! :)

Darmie Orem: Thanks for choosing Authors' Curtilage for your Tour Stop for SPIRIT VISION presented by Paper Crane Books.

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About the Author: Educator of young minds by day, super nerdy savior of justice and cute things by night, Morgan Straughan Comnick has a love for turning the normal into something special without losing its essence. Morgan draws from real life experiences and her ongoing imagination to spark her writing. In her spare time, she enjoys doing goofy voices, traveling to new worlds by turning pages, humming child-like songs, and forcing people to smile with her "bubbliness." It is Morgan's mission in life to spread the amazement of otaku/Japanese culture to the world and to stop bullying; she knows everyone shines brightly.

Follow the author at: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube

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