Meet the Hero From Dream King

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

I met my writer,Tara during one of my notrual journeys. This meeting lead to my adventure in THE DREAM KING. The story is a paranormal time travel adventure.

2. Who wrote the book?

My writer is Tara Newlands, an interesting cute woman from Arizona.

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

I think she’s a funny, clever, if not a bit strange woman who loves pizza and something called Cheeios. Mmmm, I don’t eat them myself. But, she seems to think they’re great. LOL

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.

Well, I’m a good looking guy. I really don’t think about my looks much, I like keeping in shape because I never know when I might be called on to slay a dragon. I’m 6’1, broad shouldered, lean but, not thin. Amanda, my help mate says I have got the more beautiful green eyes. It’s funny I never thought of my eyes has beautiful.

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?

I’m the hero of the Dream King.

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.

My former lover, Amanda disappeared after a rouge mage stole her from me. I’ve fought tooth and nail to find her.

7. What time period do you live in?

Well, I’m over 150 years old. I’ve lived in New York most of my life and currently I have a house in Phoenix, Arizona.

8. Where are you from? I was born in Long Island, New York.

9. Do you live in the same place now?

I still have my colonial outside New York City.

12. What special skills or abilities do you have?

I am a master magus gifted and skilled in mental persuasion, telepathy, shape shifting, etc.

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

My gifts aided me in the protection of the people I love.

14. Are you happy with the story?

Yes, I think that Tara did a great job presenting my story.

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.
I think the worst day of my life was the day Jonathan stole Amanda from me. I felt like I failed to protect them both. He was my friend, I should have told him how Amanda made me feel. It might have spared all of us a great deal of pain.

17. Who is the most important person in your life? Tell us about them.
Amanda is the important person in my life. In the 150 plus years I’ve been there. I’ve seen the best and worst that humankind has had to offer. Amanda grounds me.

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

She’s bought so much joy and happiness to my life. I’m grateful to have met her.
20. Do you have any children?

No
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.

It’s not that we don’t want them. We’re happily working on correcting that now. LOL

22. What do you see in your future?

I’ve working to develop the skills of my students because the world as great need for them. I’ve been given unsettling news after future events that could affect the whole life and my students and I must be ready to face them.

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

My story in the first in a series about my people and our leaders.

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

Yes, I like the thought of someone sharing in the life I’ve had and learning about my people.

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

Possibly, Clive Owen because he was really classy in the movie ‘Sin City.’ He reminded me of the lengths I’d go to protecting the people I love.

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.

My story is available now at Red Rose publishing at www.redrosepublishing.com and will be available at Fictionwise.com shortly. My writer, Tara is available to chat with at www.facebook.com/taranewlands , also at www.freewebs.com/taranewlands and www.myspace.com/taranewlands

Make Believe Lover by Ashley Ladd

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

Make-Believe Lover
Paranormal Erotic Romance

The animal is: Gizmo, a talking cat

2. Who wrote the book?

Ashley Ladd

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

Gizmo, of course, adores me! I'm his master and best friend and creator.

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.

Gizmo is a gray and black tabby domestic cat. He's large (overweight) and cuddly but sassy.

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

Gizmo is Becca's best friend and constant side-kick. He constantly gets her into trouble with his big, sarcastic mouth. He even brings evil dragons and evil armies down on her.

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.

Gizmo provides comic relief and also a sounding board for Becca, the heroine.

7. What time period does the animal live in?

Gizmo and Becca start out in contemporary times but are sucked into a medieval cartoon where the majority of the story takes place.

8. Where is the animal from?

He's from Planet Earth.

9. Do they live in the same place now?

No, Gizmo and Becca have been sucked onto the world of Templar.

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

Templar is a medieval world filled with an evil king, armies who fly on dragons, and is in dire need of a savior.

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

Gizmo speaks and understands English since he's been transported onto Templar and poses as an ordinary house cat and so is invaluable as a spy to help the good guys.

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

Since he can pose as an ordinary cat, he should be a wonderful spy. However, his big mouth keeps getting him in trouble.

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.

Gizmo's worst experience is when an evil dragon swoops down and almost eats him.

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

Becca is Gizmo's master and best friend. Together they are transported onto the mythical world of Templar where suddenly Gizmo can speak and won't keep his big mouth shut. Together with a rag tag band of locals, Gizmo and Becca are called upon to oust the evil King Heinrich, his army, and his evil dragons.

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

Yes, Becca is the heroine of the story.

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

Gizmo is completely devoted to Becca and will risk his life for her, as she does for him. If not for her, he would still be an ordinary, misunderstood cat on Earth.

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

Gizmo will probably be knighted and have to deal with a very irritating talking dog.

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

Yes to both! The sequel is in the works now and Gizmo is extremely excited to be back int he spotlight.


Ashley Ladd
http://www.ashleyladd.com
http://www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com
chinara@aol.com

An Excerpt From: MAKE-BELIEVE LOVER

© Copyright ASHLEY LADD, 2006.

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.

Available at:

http://www.ellorascave.com

They must have trudged five miles over the arduous hills when a thunderous sound startled her. A moment later, wide-winged dragons straddled by primitive warriors roared from behind a mountain.

Her hand trembling, she pointed at the sky even as she squatted down in self-defense. “Oh my God, Giz. Do you see what I see?”

The cat gulped and he covered his eyes with his paws. “If you see big flying dinosaurs, uh huh.”

When one of the gigantic winged creatures nose-dived not far distant, Gizmo threw himself to the ground, covered his head, and hissed, “Hit the deck and don’t make a sound.”

Way ahead of him, she flung herself to the rocky terrain.

A lyrical voice announced out of nowhere, “You have walked six point two miles, seven-thousand three-hundred, twenty-one steps.”

Cripes! Her bigmouth pedometer chose this moment to go off?

Yanking the lousy thing off her elastic waistband, she dashed it to the ground. “Thanks for nothing.” The least it could do was tell her how many calories she’d burned or sing a decent song, instead of that funky aerobic workout music.

One of the flying lizards picked that instant to spin and make eye contact. Baring its filthy, razor-sharp teeth, the beast swooped down from the air, swallowed her pedometer, and then plucked her from the ground.

The no-good gadget kept chirping from inside the monster’s belly, mocking her. At least, it had gotten its just rewards, having given away her location to the fiend.

Kicking and struggling with all her might, she screamed, “Gizmo!”

She clawed at her barbaric captor’s eyes. “Put me down!”

The armor-clad creep astride the dragon guffawed and clamped meaty vice-like hands around her wrists pinning them to her side. His malevolent beady-eyed gaze bore into her. “Keep this up, wench, and I’ll drop you here—from a thousand meters. Your pretty face will get all mangled.”

The dragon turned its reptilian face to leer and dipped its right wing so that she would have tumbled off if not for the brute’s slimy hold. Then it snorted a fireball in her direction that fried the bush a mere foot to her right.

She got the message that she was their guest—or their Bar-B-Q. “What do you want with me? I have no money. This is dollar-store jewelry, but it’s all yours.”

“You will inform the King whose army you are spying for.” He fingered her tousled hair and grunted. “What kingdom has blue-haired nymphs?”

Then he tugged at her psychedelic nurse’s tunic. “And what matter of outlandish garb is this? What form of material?”

Army? Kingdom? Nymph?

She glanced down at her hot pink, cotton-blend tunic that rained cats and dogs. Should she give him her employer’s name? In the war movies the prisoners offered their name, rank, and serial number. “I’m Rebecca Weiss, I’m an office manager for a pediatric clinic, and I’m not giving you my social security number and having you steal my identity.”

“Stay cool, Becca! We’ll get out of this.” Gizmo yelled from the back of another dragon as it pulled around them.

The man’s bushy uni-brow puckered. “You speak in strange riddles. You will be truthful with King Heinrich or you will be locked in the dungeon.”

Dungeons? Dragons? King Heinrich?

Meet Marilyn Meredith's Heroine from Kindred Spirits

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

What's her name?

Tempe Crabtree

Why did you pick that name?

Tempe Crabtree was my great-grandmother's name, unlike my great-grandchildren, I never had the privilege to meet her, though I did write about her in a book and heard many stories about her from my father. It seemed like the perfect name for my heroine.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.

Tempe is Native American, part of the Yanduchi branch of the Yokut Indians. (Yokut is a real tribe--Yanduchi is a made-up name though close to another tribal name.) She has long dark hair she wears in a single braid that she pins to the back of her head when working as a deputy. She's tall, 5' 8", smart and intuitive.


Is there anything unusual about her appearance?

Though she has dark skin and hair, she has blue eyes.

Who does she love? Why?

Tempe is very much in love with her husband, Hutch Hutchinson who is the pastor of the local church. Tempe was a widow raising a teenaged son when she met Hutch. He filled a huge gap in both hers and her son's life.

Of course she also loves her son, Blair, who she raised as a single mom from the time her CHP husband was killed when Blair was only 3.


Does this person love her?

Hutch was a widower and also lonely when he met Tempe. He loves her very much and is a true helpmate. He worries about the dangers of her job. And he often has a difficult time when she uses Native American mysticism as a means to find out the truth about someone or when she does something like calling back the dead.

Tell us about her family.

Her parents are no longer alive. But her Indian grandmother had a great influence on her life when she was a child. Now her family life revolves around Hutch and Blair, though Blair is away at college.

Where is she from? She was born and raised in Bear Creek, a mountain community in the Southern Sierra. (Sierra means mountain.) When her husband was killed, she returned to her home town, went to the police academy and became a deputy--eventually becoming the resident deputy of Bear Creek and its surroundings.

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?

Bear Creek is a small community and she knows most of the people who live there although more and more folks are moving up from Southern California--in some cases bringing big city crime along with them. As a teenager, she faced prejudice because of her Native American background. This prejudice she learned in an earlier book had been the reason she hadn't embraced her heritage.

What does she want out of life?

To be the best deputy she can be, to keep the citizens of Bear Creek safe, and to help the detectives find the person who committed the crime.

What's her biggest secret?

She doesn't have a single big secret. Often she keeps things from her husband in order to keep peace in her marriage--which often backfires.

Did you write more than one story about her?

Kindred Spirits in number eight.

How would she describe you? As a sweet little old lady who is a good listener. I've done ride-alongs with female police officers who have bared their soul to me and some of their problems have become Tempe's problems.

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

The detectives she often has to work with think that because she's an Indian, she can find out anything from other Indians. In Kindred Spirits they send her to Crescent City to interview relatives and friends of a murder victim she was a Tolowa even though Tempe has never heard of the Tolowa people. This drives her crazy, but is also the reason she gets involved in so many cases.

Please provide your website link.

http://fictionforyou.com

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.mundaniapress.com

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

Thank you, Nikki, for having us. Marilyn

NEW! Visit my blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
and the Stiletto Gang: http://thestilettogang.blogspot.com/

Best Friend From The Girl Who Fell

1 - Tell us a bit about your book.
“The Girl Who Fell” is a fantasy novel, set the Forest of Estraguil.

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.
Guile has two dear friends, and the three of them play music together, traveling through the forest as bards. Tirol is the eldest of the three and has mentored the younger musicians. He’s stern and serious, and plays an instrument akin to a marimba, but made of bone. Luthian is melfate – neither masculine or feminine, but something else. A talented percussionist with a keen sense of humour and a compassionate nature.


3 - Who does the "best friend" help in the book?
Guile is very much supported by his two close friends – the three of them support and aid each other.

4 - Does the best friend have a specific purpose in the book?
The trio create the musical magic that runs through the very heart of the narrative..

5 - How does your hero or heroine feel about the best friend?
Deep friendship and attachment, which endures even when memory has been stripped away.

6 - How would your hero or heroine handle their problems or difficulties with the best friend?
With patience and a determination to find the right way through any conflict.

7 - Are there problems between the best friend and your main characters?
There are, but I’m not prepared to post any plot spoilers!

8 - Do you see the best friend ever having their own story?
No. ‘The Girl who Fell’ is a very self contained book and I don’t plan to revisit any of the characters in it.

9 - Was the best friend inspired by anyone you know?
Not consciously, but the trio bear an uncanny resemblance to the band a friend of mine was in some years ago. The first gig of theirs I went to was very strange – because I knew them and had spent a couple of months writing about them, without having met them. I’d seen a few pictures, but they hadn’t been consciously on my mind when I was writing.

10 - Is there anything else about the best friend that we need to know? Feel free to share.
Nothing I could add without giving too much away.

11 - Please provide your website link. http://www.myspace.com/brynneth_n_colvin

12 - What is the link to buy your book?
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/chapters/TheGirlWhoFell_BrynnethColvin.shtml

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.

HOW TO SUBMIT

For anyone who would like to share information about one of the female 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 the woman in your book...

1. What is the name of the book where we would meet you? What genre is it?
2. Who wrote the book?
3. What do you think of the author? You can tell us the truth.
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.
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?
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.
7. What time period do you live in?
8. Where are you from?
9. Do you live in the same place now?
10. Tell us about your hometown and your current home.
11. Tell us how your hometown or your current home effects you, the things you do and how you feel about life?
12. What special skills or abilities do you have?
13. How do those affect your part in the story?
14. Are you happy with the story?
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.
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.
17. Who is the most important person in your life? Tell us about them.
18. Is that person in the story we're talking about?
19. How does that person impact you and your life?
20. Do you have any children?
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.
22. What do you see in your future?
23. Do you think your author is going to write another story about you? Or, are you part of a series?
24. Do you like being a character in a book?
25. If someone ever decides to make a movie based on your story, who should play you in the movie and why?

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.