Jim Musgrave Talks About His Bad Guys

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

I prefer bad guys, as through research I've discovered there are simply more of them, especially the more heinous types--my favorite variety of bad guy!

How do you use your bad guys?

In my novel, Russian Wolves, the worst guy is named and patterned after real-life serial killer, Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo, the Rostov Slayer. However, the fictional detective who hunts him also gets drawn over to the "dark side," which makes this novel a totally "bad guy work," giving it an especially creepy quality.

In my horror novel, Lucifer's Wedding, I chose the perpetual bad guy, and in my political thriller, Sins of Darkness, I chose a collection of bad guys who make up a brainwashing group that programs Sirhan Bishara Sirhan to kill Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

Because I "cut my reading teeth" on authors such as Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs), I learned that writing about bad guys was a talent unto itself. When one reader I did not know said that my Chikatilo was the "most depraved and horrible character she had ever read about," I knew I was on the right track.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

I enjoy writing about them because I am very Freudian, and I believe we have a secret "death wish." Bad guys just fascinate our inner cravings.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

Andrei Chikatilo is my favorite because I like to think I gave him "redeeming qualities" that he lacked in his real life's history. Isn't this what made Dr. Hannibal Lecter so appealing?

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?

Dr. Lecter.

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

My bad guys have a dark sense of humor (what else?).

Please provide your website link.

http://www.contempinstruct.com/books/books.htm

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Wolves-James-Ray-Musgrave/dp/0977650316/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209569459&sr=8-1

The Best Friend From Searching For A Starry Night

My Best Friend’s Story

1 - Tell us a bit about your book.

Hi, I’m Samantha Ann Carlton, Sam to my friends.

My bff, Lita Jackson, and our friend’s funny Dachshund Petey help* me locate a lost miniature painting, a real replica of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” in the book, SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, A MINIATURE ART MYSTERY by Christine Verstraete. The book is coming out in May ’08 from Quake/Echelon Press. www.quakeme.com *(Lita helps; I won’t say what Petey does!)

2 - Tell us about the best friend - gender, age, appearance, how they came to be with the hero or heroine and anything else we need to know about them.

Lita and I have been friends since we were seven when she moved to Wisconsin from Mississippi. She is taller than me, (lucky her!) and slim, with curly black hair. She hates the curls, I say it makes her look like an Egyptian queen or like that pretty singer, Alicia Keyes.

3 - Who does the "best friend" help in the book?

Lita is always a big help to me and tries to keep me out of trouble. That doesn’t usually work, of course!

4 - Does the best friend have a specific purpose in the book?

She keeps me focused. Lita helps us get done faster and sometimes she sees things I miss. Without her, I’d really make a mess out of things! (Not that I don’t anyway!)

5 - How does your hero or heroine feel about the best friend?

I’d feel lost without her. I can’t think of us not being friends. That hits me when Petey digs up an old manuscript. It has funny words on it and what looks like an ancient curse. I told Lita it was no big deal. I didn’t realize at first how much it really freaked her out.

6 - How would your hero or heroine handle their problems or difficulties with the best friend?

I always hope things’ll take care of themselves. Not always a good choice, I learn.

7. What are the problems between the best friend and your main characters?

I like watching spooky movies, but Lita’s a big chicken, so I always tease her. We usually don’t argue, but this time she got real mad at me. She says I’m selfish. I do see what she means about me taking her fears, and sometimes her feelings, too lightly.

8 - Do you see the best friend ever having their own story?

Lita’s a real star and can do anything she wants. She’d be awesome in her own story!

9 - Was the best friend inspired by anyone you know?

Lita’s a one-of-a-kind.

10 - Is there anything else about the best friend that we need to know? Feel free to share.

My friend’s a real bookworm. All kinds of things make her think of some book she’s read. .She likes writing, too. That’s way too much like homework for me. But that’s okay. She’s still an awesome friend

11 - Please provide your website link.

http://cverstraete.com

Heroine From Outlaw in Petticoats

Tell us about your heroine --- the female lead in your book.

What's her name? Maeve Loman

Why did you pick that name? While doing the background on her father, I needed him to be Irish. So I looked up Irish names and after going back and forth with several, I decided Maeve fit the best with the hero's name, Zeke.

Give us a brief description of how she looks. Straight black hair worn in a bun while teaching and in a braid down her back while traveling the trails searching for her father. She's slender, blue eyes, and has the Irish temper.

Is there anything unusual about her appearance? When traveling, she dresses in an old shirt, worn riding skirt and has a six shooter holstered on one hip.

Who does she love? Why? She slowly falls for the hero, but fights the attraction kicking and screaming. Her father whom she adored left her and her mother when Maeve was ten. She's always felt if she loves someone too much, they will leave her and she refuses to go through that pain again.

Does this person love her? Zeke loves her to obsession. And has a hard time courting and romancing her to bring her around to his way of thinking.

Tell us about her family. Her father who adored her and she adored him, taught her how to handle a pistol then disappeared. The book is about Maeve and Zeke looking for answers to his disappearance. Her mother is an invalid who holds bitter feelings toward both Maeve and her father.

Where is she from? Maeve's family traveled around a lot due to her father's work.

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude? No, as I said, she has traveled a lot as a child and doesn't really call any one place home.

What does she want out of life? She wants to be independent and not fall in love. ;) But of course Zeke has other plans.

What's her biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't a spoiler in the story.) Her biggest secret is she really dreams of a life with a husband and children, but fears the hurt of being rejected again.

Did you write more than one story about her? Yes, and no. She is the heroine in the second Halsey brother book and has small roles the books following this one.

How would she describe you? A busybody. LOL Because I've dug into her and made her realize what she really wants.

Is there anything else about your heroine that we need to know? Feel free to share. Maeve finds a strength in herself that helps her find the happiness she deep down was looking for.

Please provide your website link. http://www.patyjager.com

What is the link to buy your book? http://www.thewildrosepress.com

It was wonderful to meet her. Thank you for bringing her to meet us.

Thank you for letting me share Maeve. You can read about another feisty heroine in the first Halsey Brother book, Marshal in Petticoats.

Beast Magic by Sapphire Phelan

What's his name? Ramses.

Why did you pick that name?

Because he is an South African werelion. :D

Give us a brief description of how he looks.

In human form, he has long, thick raven black hair, aristocratic, very feline face with high cheekbones and square jaw, and golden brown eyes. He also had a sensual mouth and a nose that almost seemed cat-like as the nostrils flared, wehn taking in his heroine's scent. He has a corded neck, a pair of massive shoulders, a chest with chiseled pecs, showing a man who surely exercised with weights to be that buffed. Hairless, his golden skin gleams and shows every luscious detail of his muscles.His chest tapers into a slim waist and a flat belly of iron stomach muscles. There's ah other parts impressive too. He screamsalpha male, every mouthwatering inch of him.

In lion form he has full black mane and golden fur.

Is there anything unusual about his appearance?

Nose almost cat-like and the golden-brown eyes.

Who does he love? Why? Shana Tory. Because she is his anisa, his mate, foretold by the Dreaming.

Does this person love him?

At first, she is frightened as she has dreamed about an African lion for years and finds he is real. But the attraction is hard to fight, and she falls for him.

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

His family is his pride of werelions in South Africa, plus other werebeasts in the Bushveld. yes, they are, which hurts him more when some of his pride goes against him in a war.

Where is he from?

South Africa--the Bushveld.

Does his hometown affect his behavior, thoughts and attitude?
He becomes even more assured and has pride in it, letting Shana see it.

What does he want out of life?

The woman he loves, the one the Dreaming showed him that was his true mate for life and the one who will bears his children.

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

Did you write more than one story about him? No, there'll be a sequel, but about another character in the story, a wereleopard. Though Ramses and Shana may make an appearance in it.

How would he describe you? As the Dreaming, for I wrote the story and gave him his mate. LOL

Is there anything else about your hero that we need to know? Feel free to share. That he is caring, anf that no matter that Shana and he may be different species, he believes in their love.

Please provide your website link.
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
http://www.myspace.com/SapphirePhelan

http://SapphirePhelansPassionCorner.blogspot.com

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Beast+Magic+by+Sapphire+Phelan

How to Submit Your Book

For anyone who would like to share information about any animal characters from their book, this is what I need from you:

Copy the interview questions below into a new file, answer each question from the character's point of view and save the file as an RTF file. Once the interview is complete, send the file and a jpg of the cover art to nikki_leigh22939@yahoo.com. I schedule these interviews as I get them. Let's find out more about an animal in your book...

1. What is the name of the book where we would meet the animal? What genre is it?

2. Who wrote the book?

3. What would the animal that of the author? You can tell us the truth.

4. Tell us a little about the animal. How would you describe their appearance? That's more than just cuddly and furry. Give us enough detail to get a clear idea of how they look.

5. What part does the animal play in the book? Are you the hero, the best friend, the side kick, the hero... ?

6. Is there a specific reason why the animal is in the story? Don't give us any story spoilers, but you can share some teasers if you want.

7. What time period does the animal live in?

8. Where is the animal from?

9. Do they live in the same place now?

10. Tell us about the place where the animal lives.

11. What special skills or abilities does the animal have?

12. How do those skills or abilities affect the animal's part in the story?

13. Tell us about the animal's past. Can you share one really good experience and/or one really bad experience? I know that bad experience can be tough, but it would tell us more about what they have been through.

14. Who is the most important person in the animal's life? Tell us about them.

15. Is that person in the story we're talking about?

16. How does that person impact the animal's life?

17. What do you see in the animal's future?

18. Is the author going to write another story that includes this animal? Or, is this book part of a series?


Its been great to talk with you. If you want to tell us anything else, feel free. Also, tell us about a website where we can learn more about you and where we can buy the book. If you have a picture of yourself, feel free to send it.

Meet Paige Andrews of Bartlett's Rule by Chelle Cordero

My name is Paige Andrews

1. What is the name of the book where we would meet you? What genre is it?

The name of the book is Bartlett's Rule and you meet me with the very first line, “He is a pompous ass!”

2. Who wrote the book?

Chelle Cordero wrote the book. She is a NY-based freelance writer who has been published in several regional and national newspapers and magazines and has a monthly column in 1^st Responder (trade publication in Emergency Services). She also previously authored a book Corage of the Heart and just signed another novel with Vanilla Heart Publishing, Forgotten.

3. What do you think of the author? You can tell us the truth.

Actually, she is kind of bossy. Chelle thinks that every women should be out there pushing for their rights and able to stand on her own. She claims to understand where I am coming from but, I don't know, sometimes she makes it look too easy.

4. Tell us a little about yourself. How would you describe your appearance? That's more than just really cute or drop dead gorgeous. Give us enough detail to get a clear idea of how you look.

I always thought I was kind of plain. I am of average height and average weight, I have long brown hair and brown eyes, really nothing spectacular. I do like the way I look, I just never really thought of myself as any kind of beauty. But when I am with Lon, he just has a way of making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

5. What character are you in the book? Are you the hero, the best friend, the side kick, the hero and heroine's child or someone else?

Well I guess I am the heroine of the book. The story is about how Lon and I meet and fall in love despite the obstacles in our path.

6. Is there a specific reason why you're in the story? Don't give us any story spoilers, but you can share some teasers if you want.

I work for By-Lines Publishing Company in New York City and my boss, Jeanmarie, wants me to try to convince this male-chauvinist, egotistical, sex-crazed and talented writer to come on board at our magazine.

7. What time period do you live in?

It's 2008 where I live.

8. Where are you from?

I grew up on a farm in upstate New York.

9. Do you live in the same place now?

No. I moved to New York City a few years ago with my boyfriend.

10. Tell us about your hometown and your current home.

I really had to get out of there, my hometown was so “small-town” and people were really very narrow-minded. I like living in New York City but it is so expensive to find a decent place.

11. Tell us how your hometown or your current home effects you, the things you do and how you feel about life?

I really like the fact that I enjoy a level of anonymity here in the city. No one needs to know my business, no one needs to know about the things I have done. I can go to work and back home, then I can just lock my door and feel safe.

12. What special skills or abilities do you have?

I seem to be able to “schmooze” with people and make them feel comfortable. Really that is why Jeanmarie helped me get into my position in publicity and why she likes to send me to meet with people that need persuading to business with us.

13. How do those affect your part in the story?

Obviously Jeanmarie liked my ability enough to send me to persuade Lon Bartlett to come to our magazine. Once I met him, well, you just have to read the story to learn more.

14. Are you happy with the story?

It does have a happy ever after type of ending, but a lot happens on the way there. There are a few times I even doubt it will end happily.

15. Do you have some ideas that the author should consider about the story? You can share them with us. We're all friends here.

I would really like to see Chelle use us in another story, not necessarily about us, but we got to share the stage with some other interesting people and I would just love to see a few of them build relationships. I guess I just want everyone to be as happy as Lon and me.

16. Tell us about your past. Can you share one really good experience and/or one really bad experience? I know that bad experience can be tough, but it would tell us more about what you've been through.

This comes out early in the story so it really isn't a spoiler - I am a rape SURVIVOR. Please do not use the word victim. I really don't like to talk about this, but I do tell Lon.

17. Who is the most important person in your life? Tell us about them.

Maybe this will sound shallow, but I really think I am the most important person in my life; eventually I share that distinction with Lon. I have to accept myself and learn to trust myself before I can learn to love Lon. There are people and influences around me all the time, but in the end, it is how I react to the events and circumstances that count. Charles Swindoll said “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”

18. Is that person in the story we're talking about?

Well… it's me.

19. How does that person impact you and your life?

I guess, with Lon's help of course, that I learn to believe in myself.

20. Do you have any children?

Not yet, but I really would like to eventually.

21. If you do, tell us about them. If you don't have any children, you can tell us why not - but, only if you want to tell us.

I just haven't gotten there yet.

22. What do you see in your future?

I see a future of happily married bliss with Lon and perhaps a few kids.

23. Do you think your author is going to write another story about you? Or, are you part of a series?

I sure hope so! I don't think Lon and I need another story but like I said before, there are folks in our story that deserve their own happiness. Chelle, anytime you want a few ideas, please, just ask me.

24. Do you like being a character in a book?

Yes, I feel sort of immortal.

25. If someone ever decides to make a movie based on your story, who should play you in the movie and why?

Goodness, let me think about this, Liv Tyler! If she isn't available, maybe Neve Campbell. Both of them are great actresses and pretty too.

Its been great to talk with you. If you want to tell us anything else, feel free. Also, tell us about a website where we can learn more about you and where we can buy the book. If you have a picture of yourself, feel free to send it.

The best place to buy the book is at the publisher's website, http://shop.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/main.sc But the book will also be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com, Borders.com, Target.com and some store book shelves!

Go to Chelle's website to learn more about me and the book (as well as Chelle's other novels) at http://chellecordero.blogspot.com/

Western Romance by Paty Jager

We want to hear about the bad guys, bad gals and villains in your book. Even if you don't have a murderer, thief or other "bad guy" there should be some negative force.

Who causes friction is the story? The friction in my story is several factors. One is a father who left behind an adoring daughter who grew up believing no matter how much you love someone they leave. So she plans to keep never give her heart again. This is the friction between the hero who has set his heart on this woman and the woman fighting her attraction to him. There are also a band of outlaws. Some just followers and others deranged.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals? I prefer any element that can make the reader wonder how will these people ever get together with all that is happening.

How do you use your bad guys? I use my bad guys to help the lead roles discover who they really are. And it adds action to the books not mention a little bit of humor now and then when you add bumbling bad guys.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult? The bad guys are actually fun to write. I always give one of them a trait that is a little endearing, yet make one be so loathsome or disgusting the reader can't help but boo or curl their lip when the character comes on the scene.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way? The world is full of bad people or bad things that happen to people. You can't write a book without adding that bit of the real world into the equation. If you don't have bad people or an unsettling event in a book it is too Pollyanna and the reader isn't going to believe the other characters of the story you are telling.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in? I'd have to say my favorite bad buy is Ezra Cutter in "Outlaw in Petticoats". He is slick and tries to be charismatic while holding the heroine hostage.

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books? That's a tough one. I don't think I've read a book where the bad guy was so memorable that I could name him or the book. But then I tend to read contemporary single title and historical westerns. I rarely read a suspense. I get scared too easily! LOL

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share. As in the real world most bad guys aren't too smart. And since I've so far not got into the head to a really deranged bad guy, I've made them all just a little bit bumbling, letting the reader know they will be caught because they aren't quite smart enough to get away with everything they plot.

Please provide your website link. http://www.patyjager.com

What is the link to buy your book? http://www.thewildrosepress.com

Thank you for telling us about your bad guys. We love to meet the "evil ones".

Sinbad's Last Voyage by Toni Sweeney

Tell us about your heroine --- the female lead in your book. What's her name?

Her name is Andrea Talltrees.

Why did you pick that name?

Andi is the adopted daughter of Vicente Talltrees, a Navajo Natural. I wanted something that sounded Native American.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.

Since Andi is adopted, she doesn't look native American, and this is one of the first things Sinbad questions her about. She's small, feisty--someone says she can lick all her one hundred and ten pounds in wildcats--blue-eyes and a wheat-blonde. She married Tran when she was sixteen and is now thirty-one and the fact that she's nearly two years older than Sinbad irritates her.

Is there anything unusual about her appearance?

Not to her people. She wears long skirts and shirts she makes herself, long buckskin boots (also handmade). When she has to change clothes into a disguise, she begs Sinbad to let her keep her boots because it took her three months to make them. She usually wears her hair in two long pigtails or a single braid down her back.

Who does she love? Why?

She thinks she loves her husband until she discovers his real agenda in coming to Earth but the moment she meets Sinbad sh'en Singh, she falls in love with him though she doesn't realize it. He's the total opposite of any man she's ever met--crass, outspoken, a criminal. Even Sinbad admits he's morally opposed to everything she's been brought up to believe it, yet there are little flashes of his secret self he reveals to her that make her realize most of his bombasting is a disguise, that a man who has been traumatized by what happened to his parents lurks inside the dependent front he puts on.

Does this person love her?

Sinbad loves her from the moment he sees her, but since she's married and in spite of being a criminal, he refuses to steal another man's woman, he hides his attraction behind insults, wise-cracks, and sarcasm. Eventually, the facade breaks, however, when Andi gets hurt and he thinks he's lost her and from then on--it's damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!

Tell us about her family.

The head of Andi's family is Vicente Talltrees. She has four foster brothers. Vicente was her father's best friend and when he enlisted in the Federation Armed Services, he asked Vicente to look after his wife and child. When Jon Pardee is MIA, Vicente goes to get Andi and her mother, finds Sheila dead of pneumonia and takes the little girl back to the Naturals' Reservation, raising her as his own. He spoils Andi, sheltering her, and generally letting her have her way.

Where is she from?

Andi and her people live in a valley that has escaped the pollution most of Earth is now under. She has a farm where they grow fruits and vegetables to be sold to the nearby Federation Military Base. The valley is located near Angel City, the remains of Los Angeles after the Great Quake of '89 dropped most of the lower part of California into the Pacific Ocean.

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?

The Naturals follow the ways of their ancestors of the mid-twentieth century. Not only Navajos but many Caucasians are members of the cult which spreads across what is called the Buffalo Commons of the Midwest. They are very religious and have strict beliefs about God, marriage, and fidelity. When Andi admits she loves Sinbad--while they're searching for her husband--she feels she's being unfaithful and when they actually consummate that love, she berates herself, insisting she should be stoned for adultery while at the same time knowing she can never let him go.

What does she want out of life?

At first, she thinks she just wants Tran back and her life on the farm to return to its peaceful self. One she meets Sin, she knows that her old life is gone forever. From then on, life has to be with him, whatever that means.

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

Andi doesn't have any real secrets. She's a fairly open person. Being taught to be truthful, she'd have to be. Associating with Sin, she finds hidden strengths within herself that she didn't know she possessed.

Did you write more than one story about her?

Andi features quite prominently in all the Sinbad stories, especially the second one, Sinbad's Wife, which is scheduled for publication this year. That follows the discovery of Sinbad's "secret," their marriage, and a violent separation when Andi's abducted by slavers and becomes their leader's concubine.

How would she describe you?

She's probably say, "I know people say we look alike, but--I swear--we certainly don't think alike! Slavers...criminals...moving to another planet! I'd never think to do that on my own!"

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

Andi meets some people she'd never otherwise get to know while she's tagging along behind Sinbad. Someone of them pop up in the other books, too. She has to think fast in some situations and put her own bravery to the test and I think she handles everything rather well--for a very sheltered, slightly spoiled little Natural.

Please provide your website link.

www.tonivsweeney.com

What is the link to buy your book?

www.lulu.com; www.doubledragonbooks.com