Tena StetlerAuthor of Paranormal Romance/Suspense & Cozy Mysteries With Magic Spark!

May 7th Interview with Kerry Blaisdell Author of Debriefing The Dead

Give a warm welcome to Kerry Blaisdell, author of Debriefing The Dead which released TODAY!  Happy book birthday, Kerry! Psst…. Don’t miss the giveaway listed at the bottom of the post.

Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?

This book is truly the book of my heart. It’s for anyone who loves Indiana Jones *and* Stephanie Plum, Star Wars and Outlander, Harry Potter and Emma. I never fit easily into any “boxes” growing up — I always had diverse interests. I loved history and languages, and also math and science. I loved reading romance, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi and Great Literature. So, after several attempts at writing a “traditional” romance — trying to fit my words into whatever box that entails — I decided to write the kind of book *I* wanted to read. Lo and behold, it turned out others wanted to read it as well. I think many readers also don’t like to be pigeon-holed. If you’re one of us, this series is for you! It blends archaeology with early Christian history, romance with humor, magic and the Other with mystery and a story that, at its heart, is about family and finding one’s place in the universe.

How long have you been writing?

It sounds like a cliché, but it’s true: I’ve been writing my whole life. Some of my earliest memories are of dictating stories to my dad, who wrote them down for me, and then I illustrated them. I still have one that I wrote when I was four — it’s about a princess who decides the prince is a dud and runs off with the dragon instead. When I first met my father-in-law, he said something that stuck with me: You’re either a writer or you aren’t. There’s no middle ground. To quote another wise older man (Yoda, because I am not lying — I really am a Star Wars geek!), “Do or do not. There is no try.” For me, those two statements are/were a reminder that even when I was going through dry spells, and it seemed like getting published would never actually happen, I was/am still a writer, and I will always be a writer, whatever the future brings.

 

Do you see yourself in your characters?

Of course — I think that has to be a little true, of every writer. But at the same time, they ARE characters, with minds of their own. It’s annoying, actually, when I want them to do one thing, and they absolutely insist on doing something else! Then again, they’ve also saved my butt, time and again, because when I have NO idea where a story is going, they just do their thing, and voilà! I’m back on track.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

It depends. In summer, I love to work in my vegetable garden, and cook with the results. I also work out regularly, and I like to knit. And, of course, I read! I’m a teacher, so for three quarters of the year, I have limited “free” time, most of which I spend writing or on related activities. So “just” sitting and reading feels like a luxury. I listen to a lot of audiobooks now, which I can do while driving or working out. But it’s not the same, since I’m multitasking. It’s definitely not as relaxing!

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

The ability to sleep. Seriously! I’ve always been a light sleeper, but now I’m at an age where if I wake up, it’s hard to fall back asleep again. I toss and turn, and rarely wake feeling rested in the morning. But at the same time, I can’t sleep in, and am up by six or seven, even on the weekends. (I get up at 4:30 during the week, so I guess six or seven IS “sleeping in,” by those standards…  :)) My husband and (mostly adult) children can sleep through just about anything — including me trying to wake them up! I’m totally jealous!!

Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>

Favorite movie: Star Wars (how can titles be shortened to one word? LOL)
Favorite book: Anne of Green Gables
Last book read: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Favorite color: Purple
Stilettos or flipflops: Flipflops
Coffee or tea: Hot coffee, iced tea
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: All three!
Pencil or pen: Pencil

Favorite song: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata

Streak or not: Not?

Favorite dessert: Pie

Favorite junk food: Chips

Favorite thing to do to relax: Read!

Champagne or gin: Neither

Paranormal or Historical: Both

Wonder Woman or Top Model: Wonder Woman

Favorite TV show: Sneaky Pete

Hot or cold: Cold

POV: 1st or 3rd

I’d die if I don’t have: My family

Review or Not: ?

Tell us a little about Debriefing The Dead

Indiana Jones meets Stephanie Plum in Book 1 of The Dead Series. Set in France and Turkey, this paranormal adventure introduces Hyacinth Finch, a former grave-robber-turned-fence with a problem: She’s half dead, forced by Archangel Michael to steal a powerful relic from Satan himself. She’s also suddenly guardian to her young nephew, whose father’s Mafia family wants him back, at any cost. Running from the Mob, chasing demons, and fending off hordes of dead people—Hyacinth must learn to multitask, to survive her Life after Death!

The only thing Hyacinth wants is her life back. Literally. She and her sister were murdered by Demons, leaving her young nephew, Geordi, to his father’s family in the brutal Sicilian Mob. Then Archangel Michael offers her a deal: recapture a powerful rock the Demons stole, and she can live long enough to find Geordi a safe home. Refuse, and she’ll continue up (or down) to the Afterlife. So, slightly more alive than dead, she heads for Turkey and the Demons, taking Geordi, her mysterious neighbor Jason, and a sexy dead guy only she can see with her. But the hardest part won’t be battling Demons, meeting Satan, or dodging Middle Eastern customs—it will be later, when Geordi is settled, and Michael rips her away again. How can she abandon her nephew? Or can she outwit the Angel of Death himself, and stay with Geordi forever?

A Sneak Peek Between the Pages of Debriefing The Dead

I thought I’d gotten everything, until my fingers brushed against something hard, wrapped in cloth, and oddly warm to the touch. I grabbed it and heaved myself out of the crate, then examined the bundle. It felt like a rock, heavy and solid. Most of the items in this crate were broken pottery shards, from vases and the like. Hard, maybe, but not heavy. Careful not to touch the item’s surface, in case it was valuable after all, I turned it over and shook the covering loose.

Sure enough, it was a rock. Plain, gray, ordinary. About half the size of an American football, shaped like an irregular pyramid, with jagged edges and flat-but-rough surfaces. The only unusual thing about it was its warmth. Like Claude Rousseau. Which is maybe why, against my better judgment, I reached out and touched the very tip of the rock’s pyramid.

And then it shrieked at me, the agony of centuries piercing my ears till I thought my skull would burst, electric shocks searing through my fingers, hand, arm, ripping through my whole body, gripping my lungs and squeezing until I couldn’t breathe. I flung the rock away, covering my ears and dropping to the floor, shaking, gasping for air, while still it screamed, on and on and on and on, until I lay huddled on the concrete, red fire burning in my head, blackness filling my soul.

Then everything went silent.

Buy Links:  http://bit.ly/KBBooks   Amazon   The Wild Rose Press

More About the Author:

Kerry has been a writer since before she could read. Her father used to copy down the stories she dictated, most of which involved princesses who got bored with their princes and ran off with the dragon instead.

To this day, she likes surprising her readers. And she still likes dragons! She’s fascinated with the “other”—ghosts, psychic powers, mythical/ mythological beings—and with human relationships and interactions. She loves history, and how it connects with and influences our present and our future, and she also loves a good mystery. And science! But most of all, she loves stories—hers or someone else’s, telling them, listening to them, reading them. Which is why she’s thrilled to be here, writing them for you to (hopefully) enjoy!

She has a degree in Comparative Literature (French and Middle English—think Rabelais, Flaubert, and Gide, side by side with Chaucer, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and the Welsh Triads) from U.C. Berkeley, and a Master’s in Teaching English and Mathematics from the University of Portland. She lives in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest with her husband, two “kids” in their mid-to-late teens, assorted cats and dogs, and more hot pepper plants than anyone could reasonably consume.

To connect with Kerry, visit her website at https://kerryblaisdell.com, or go to http://bit.ly/KerrysVOML to subscribe to her Very Occasional Mailing List (to win free books and learn about upcoming releases).

Kerry will be hosting giveaways on her FB page on May 7th, Click to get entered http://facebook.com/kerryblaisdellbooks

It was wonderful having you with us today.  Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Debriefing The Dead!

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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Debriefing The Dead, Kerry Blaisdell, Paranormal Romance by Tena Stetler with 30 comments.