Author Interview

 

Interview with Elaine White, author of “Runaway Girl”

 

Stephanie: First off, please tell us a little bit about your novel.
Elaine: Runaway Girl is a vampire novel with a twist.  It explores the hidden world of vampires from the inside.  Loyal vampire soldier Damian must put aside his personal feelings to reclaim the throne for the lost Princess Amelia.  Her soul has been divided between 5 human girls.  Damian must find the girls and reunite Amelia’s soul in order for her to claim leadership of the three united clans.  However, her brother Matthew believes that it is his right to rule and he will fight to succeed his father to glory.

Stephanie: What was your inspiration for this story?

Elaine: Originally, I wanted to write a story about a woman falling in love with a vampire.  Then somewhere during the writing process, the main character became the love interest Damian.  I realised that most of the vampire books/shows out there were either focused on a warrior male, or a teenage girl in love with a vampire.  I wanted to write a book about vampires, for teens and over, about the inner aspects of a vampire clan.  It grew from there.

Stephanie: How many books are in this series?

Elaine: There are six altogether.  The first is solely about vampires/human, with a brief glimpse into another world, called the Island.  Book two explores the Island more fully while Books three onwards introduce lycanthropes (werewolves) and hybrids.  The whole series is a mixture of exploring family connections, exploring trust and loyalty and what can change it, and delving into the way that the vampires interact with the other supernatural creatures they encounter.

Stephanie: I know in another interview, you stated you were a huge Buffy/Angel fan growing up. I was, too! Are there any shows/books in today’s market you simply HAVE to watch/read?

Elaine: I am a major fan of the Vampire Diaries show and the Twilight films.  I haven’t ventured into the books yet because I want to be able to go through the whole series in one go and I don’t have time for that at the moment.  I’m a complete crime fool! So the likes of CSI, Castle etc are musts.  I have really loved the Richard Castle books too.  To be honest though, I miss Buffy a lot.  It started everything for me.

Stephanie: Do you have a day job? If so, what do you do?

Elaine: Writing is my day job at the moment.  Due to health constraints I’m not fit for much more, but I would love to get a job too.  I had my heart set on Borders Books…combining music, movies and books was perfect to me.  Hopefully there will be a replacement somewhere.

Stephanie: What are some of your favorite books?

Elaine: I absolutely love the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.  I originally named me Amelia after her character, (when my Amelia was a much nicer person!)  I also love the Dark or Carpathian series by Christine Feehan.  I have always been a big Agatha Christie fan too.

Stephanie: Whenever I want to have a productive writing session, I MUST have coffee and music. What is something you MUST have during writing time?

Elaine: Absolute silence! It’s terrible.  TV, people talking, even music distract me far too easily.  To write a decent piece takes silence and comfort.  I like to be warm but not hot, have a good sized drink and some snacks nearby so I don’t have to move too far. Lol. Once I start writing, with those conditions, not much gets through to me.

Stephanie: Aside from this series, what else can we expect from you?

Elaine: Well, I already have the first four books in a crime series complete.  I’m still deciding whether there will be one or three more.  I also have a few college romances, a kidnapping story set in Colombia, and a Trilogy about a teenage fallen angel.

Stephanie: Is there anything else you’d like your fans/readers to know about you?

Elaine: Only that you never know what to expect.  I hate pigeon-holing people, so you probably won’t find me sticking to one genre.  I would love to hear from anyone about your opinions, takes, or reviews, whether they be good or bad.  They can only help me get better.

 

Thanks so much, Elaine! Wishing you the best of luck with all of your future writing endeavors! I know I can’t wait to read Runaway Girl!
Elaine’s book debuts Saturday, January 26, 2013. It is available in both paperback and ebook.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Runaway+Girl+by+Elaine+White&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3ARunaway+Girl+by+Elaine+White&ajr=1

 

A Zombie Hunter and The Boobie Doll: Short Story?

This was an attempt at a flash fiction (a story told in 1,000 words or less). It was rejected, but the publisher sent me an email and told me why. And just between you and me, I LOVE it when that happens! It's difficult to improve, if I never know why a piece isn't good enough.

I digress. For a flash, this story has too much going on, too many characters and a cliff hanger ending. Since this piece features some of my favorite characters, I have decided to extend it, finish the tale and turn it into a short story (maybe more).

If you’ve read my story ‘Duality’, you’ll recognize Caine as the zombie hunter. He finds himself on a rescue mission to ‘The Boobie Doll’, a zombie strip club in Vegas.

Please read and enjoy!

A Zombie Hunter and The Boobie Doll

By Stephanie Greenhalgh

Caine and Nolia sat under the large oak tree with their legs lazily intertwined enjoying the sunny afternoon. Nolia was completely engrossed in the latest Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse novel and Caine was knee deep into beating his time on advanced Sudoku.

Nolia’s phone rang. She grabbed for it lazily, but she bolted upright when the hysterical voice began ranting. The slender, athletic beauty clicked the phone shut and faced Caine.

“It’s Natalie’s sister, Lydia. She went to a cheer competition in Vegas. She was supposed to be home earlier today. She never got on the plane. Natalie called all her friends, but they all thought she left. She was coming home early for her mom’s surprise party tonight.” Nolia finished.

“Now what?” Caine questioned. He knew Natalie had already looked into a variety of avenues. As a seer, or oracle, she had many special ways to gain otherwise difficult information.

“She checked the looking glass and saw zombies.” Nolia looked Caine in the eye.

            “On it,” the tall, bald, buff, biker dude and resident zombie hunter muttered moments before picking up is Smartphone. When the phone buzzed back, Caine summarized quickly.

 “A couple of local grease balls were seen grabbing a blonde girl near the airport. They hang at a local club and zombie habitat, my favorite.” He grinned, “I’ll head out there and check it out. Think you could give me a magical lift, Doll?” He leaned in, brushed her neck with his lips, and gave her his best adorable lopsided grin.

“Yep, I think I have just what it takes to concoct the perfect Hickory Grove to Vegas portal.” She smiled and winked. Caine didn’t doubt the reigning queen of realm traveling. His girl had mad skills. The pair headed to Nolia and Natalie’s apartment.

A tall, blonde, leggy Natalie was bent over a looking glass. Nolia set right to work in her well equipped kitchen. Caine watched stoically. Natalie paced frantically, while Nolia expertly added eye of newt to an already simmering pot.  After a brief chant from an old tattered booklet, a swirling bluish cloud engulfed the breakfast nook. Nolia raised her eyebrows and nodded expectantly toward Caine.

“I’ll text soon, Babe.” Caine kissed Nolia hastily while giving her ass a quick feel. “Don’t worry, Natalie.” He jumped feet first into the swirling bluish blob and disappeared.

In Vegas, the portal burped and spit Caine out; he shimmied to a stop right in front of ‘The Boobie Doll’ strip club. He steadied himself and allowed his insides to slide back into their regular space. Once he settled, the zombie hunter cocked his head from side to side until his neck popped. “Well, all right.” Caine smirked cracking his knuckles and walking into a dark and seedy gentlemen’s club.

Caine somewhat enjoyed zombie habitats as long as you didn’t disrupt them; they could be amusing to watch. Caine stared at the zombie bartenders, patrons and strippers. One look at the gray goo flopping around on stage and Caine cracked up. He heard a commotion outside and the laugh froze in his throat. He ducked quickly and founded himself wrenched between a gelatinous male zombie getting a lap dance from a nasty, naked, lady zombie. Caine was certain she was losing her implants and maybe an eyeball.

“Get in there! ‘The big guy’ wants to talk to you!” A foul fat man grumbled as he yanked a pretty, little blonde by the hair. She kicked, screamed and contorted in an attempt at freedom from fatty’s slimy paws and leering eyes.

THWACK! The meaner, but quieter of the two goons, hauled off and smacked her upside the head. Blood spurt from her lip and she cried out in pain. “Easy now,” the chattier of the two added.

Caine clenched his fist and resisted the urge to jump over the tables and the dim-witted zombies to pummel the two fatties. But he wasn’t about to make a bonehead mistake of showing his hand, before he knew what exactly he was up against. Grudgingly, he allowed the two to drag the girl into the back room. He smooshed his way through the zombie horde and had a repulsive dance with one gooey stripper zombie before he weaseled past.

Caine got the door and listened carefully. He turned the knob slowly and carefully peeking into the room. A blonde girl sat gagged and tied to a chair.

“Lydia?” He whispered.

She nodded.

He crept in, freed her from the chair, threw her over his shoulder and tip-toed out the door. He came face to face with a very angry, mob of grayish, glutinous zombies.

“Well, shit. I knew that was too easy. Lydia, phone’s in my back pocket. Text Nolia, tell her I got you and we’re ready. Oh yeah, and hold on.” Caine laughed. The frightened girl nodded reaching for the phone.

Caine leapt up and kicked the first patron in the face. He took out half of them as they systematically tumbled like dominoes. Not the most intelligent creatures. He whipped out the miniature crossbow tethered to his arm and effortlessly took out three more with tiny silver darts to the neck. The female zombie behind the bar leapt over the bar and stood drooling with nails like talons in front of Caine. She was larger than the rest. She grunted and moaned as she lurched forward. Instinctually, Caine whipped around with a round-house kick, and Lydia flung her silver necklace just before Caine’s kick made contact. The kick and the silver propelled the giant zombie backward and took out the last four zombies like bowling pins. Caine bolted out the door. The bluish cloud swirled before him. He jumped and the two disappeared.

The big man came out from the back room. “Vegas mission accomplished. We were able to track the portal. Yes, we now know where the seer lives and who her friends are.” He said into the cell phone.

 

 

Latest Reads

In the past month or so, I have enjoyed spending some time reading. I’ve finished several novels/stories and thought I would share some of my thoughts about them.

 

The Julius House by Charlaine Harris.
To start, I love the Roe Teagarden series. I love the talented Ms. Harris. As a Sookie fan for many years, trying one of her other stories seemed like a natural progression. “ The Julius House” is the fourth in this series. These cozy mysteries are a quick read laced with humor and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoy watching Roe muddle her way through her latest turmoil.

 

The Darkening: A Zombie Awakening by Cynthia Melton
Cindy happens to be a friend of mine and I have enjoyed reading many of her stories. “The Darkening” is a post apocalyptic YA novella, which chronicles a young parentless family as they try to survive, not only life after a firestorm of meteorites, but also the awakening of  an entire zombie culture. You can’t help but love Chalice and Colton.

 

Power of the Moon by Tina Carreiro
As a fan of Ms. Carreiro and a supporter of indie authors, I just had to check out this novel. I love what she did with sexy vampire police officer, Cole, and ‘oddball’ strange girl, Mia. The heat between these two is enough to make a girl blush…several times. It’s not your traditional vampire meets girl tale. Definitely worth a read!

 

The Beach and Short Time by Jaye Francis
As part of my Goodreads group, I was given a free copy of “The Beach” for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Jaye Frances, as well as, the extra novella, “Short Time”, that came with it. Both were poignant, purposeful and full of meaning, which is not my usual genre. Normally, I prefer mindless fun reading versus thought provoking literature, but I honestly couldn’t put either down once I started. Frances lures you in right away with an intriguing plot and great character development. In “The Beach”, you watch Alan make choices and you want to help him, or warn him, but deep down your know his selfish and ‘idealism’ thinking will come with consequences. Although, I never guessed it would unfold the way it did. In “Short Time”, you don’t even know the character’s name, but he creeps into your mind. Her storyline flows easily and the endings leave you thinking! I look forward to reading more by Ms. Frances. In fact, I have already downloaded one of her other stories from Amazon.

 

Midsummer and Reflection (short stories) by Will Hunter
I enjoyed Will Hunter’s, “Midsummer”. He has a unique way of telling a story about a young couple that parted ways, but lost a bit of each other in the process. He throws in some interesting characters with a party as the backdrop. He definitely keeps the reader’s attention. I look forward to more from Mr. Hunter! With that being said, I absolutely loved “Reflection”. Up and comer, Will Hunter has quite a tail spinning talent. In “Reflection”, the reader finds an interesting protagonist/antagonist in Sabeth. She is certainly her own worst enemy! The storyline flowed easily and I couldn’t put it down until I found out how it ended. Then it haunted me for days on end. And I will definitely never look in the mirror the same way. If you like edgy, poignant and thought provoking, you MUST read this!

 

Current book: Uprising by Dawn Jayne
I LOVE this novel! In this unique world of angels, the reader can’t help but fall in love with the somewhat socially awkward loner, Rise. She is a Herald angel (the most powerful of all the angels) and has been created to replace Tyre, a Herald that has fallen from grace. I’m over halfway done and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the last of Tyre. I can’t wait to see how this tale unfolds!

 

Blog #2

Here it is blog #2. Truth be told: I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. That being said, I'll try to wing it! Here goes nothing!

 
I’m pleased to say there is some exciting stuff happening at the moment. I just finished the first draft of a new short story that will be out next month. What's special about this one you may ask? It's a prequel for my debut novella, which will be out in March.

 
Speaking of said novella, "The Twistedly True Tale of Ruby Hood", I have been working on the cover. It has been more fun than I ever could've imagined! I lucked out and stumbled upon the perfect cover picture! It was the very first picture I gazed upon (once I started looking) and deep down I knew it was perfect, but I had to check EVERY other picture loosely tied to Little Red Riding Hood. I like to compare it to trying to find that perfect black cocktail dress. A woman usually knows what she wants, but finding it tends to prove more difficult. I don't know a many women that buy the first ‘perfect’ dress they see...maybe I've just never been that lucky. I digress. The point is I HAVE A COVER! I look forward to sharing it, once it’s finished.

 
Ruby Hood has been keeping me busy on a multitude of levels and I have loved every second of it! All the best and happy reading!