Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wednesday Promo- C.J. Parker


Author Bio:

A native New Yorker, C. J. moved to New Orleans shortly after meeting her husband during Mardi Gras over thirty years ago. She and her husband now live on the outskirts of New Orleans with their very spoiled basset hound, Beau. She’s a member of EPIC, RWA and SOLA, a local chapter of RWA, writes paranormal suspense and time-travel romance.

Why do spooky things call to you?
Ever since I was old enough to listen, my mother loved to tell stories. She never ran out of them. My favorites were of ghosts and Shades, of all kinds of monsters and stories full of suspense. My writing interests are no different. I believe it’s being able to make up outrageous plots and characters but still be able to make them feel real to my readers. For the time it takes to read my books, the reader can step out of the ordinary everyday world they live in and step into one filled with shapeshifters, necromancers, firestarters and my newest character an Oracle with the ability to gather the spirits from a residual haunting to play out a crime. You can imagine how popular she is with the homicide detective who discovers her at a crime scene trying to find out who murdered her best friend.

What is the hardest part about writing paranormal?
Had to sit back and think on this one. I really don’t find any of it hard. Okay, research is fun, but sometimes I want to deviate from it and make my own rules. Researching the Oracle in Blue Visions (working title) took a bit of time. A lot of the things I’ve found don’t agree. So, I guess the hard part would be sticking to lore, but being different enough to set myself apart from others in the genre.

How long have you been writing, how long until you were published, and what kept you going?
I’ve been writing since sixth grade off and on. Seriously writing? Fifteen years. It took me ten years to get published. Now, I must add something here. I didn’t try to get published for seven of those ten years. Why? I was afraid of rejection. These stories are filled with bits of my heart and I didn’t want anyone ripping my heart to shreds. But I finally sent out ten packets with my query, synopsis and three sample chapters. Of course I tried all the top agents in New York. Of course they rejected me. Yeah, it hurt. I said more than once, “I quit!” But the characters wouldn’t hush. So I kept writing, and submitting.


I have two paranormal suspense novels, Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance and Fugue Macabre: Bone Dance both from Sapphire Blue Publishing. I also have a time-travel romance, Misty Dreams, from The Wild Rose Press available Noveber 20th, in both e-book and print.

Blurb from Misty Dreams

Dreamer, Elita La Rue, has always romanticized the stories in her great-great-grandmother’s journal and memorized the photographs of two gunfighters--Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Lucan. If only she could turn back the hands of time to 1876! Playing dress up in her father's theme town, Duke's Wild West, is as good as it gets until a handsome gunfighter appears out of nowhere claiming to be Seth Lucan. Elita is willing to believe his outlandish story in hopes he'll make all her fantasies come true.

Seth Lucan is tired. Tired of being mistaken for his outlaw brother, and tired of dodging bullets. When he arrives in Deadwood, his hopes of making enough money to start over are shattered when he discovers the town has not only become a cesspool of thieves and murderers, but the Lucan name and troubles have followed him. Now he’s faced with a new barrage of bullets, a high-strung lady with a wild imagination, and no way out.

A strange mist emanating from the old blacksmith’s shop may answer both their prayers. Will love be enough to save them from the consequences?

Excerpt:

Elita shifted her gaze as movement near the end of Main Street caught her attention. She wasn’t sure if the mist at the base of Murphy’s Blacksmith Shop was smoke or fog from the nearby woodland. The apparition crept forward as quietly as a night owl in flight and surrounded her in a glowing canopy of silence.

Elita’s head grew light and her heart raced. Murphy’s log structure became translucent, fading from view. She shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, the structure was gone. She froze to the spot where she sat and her heart tried to jump from her chest. Slowly, log-by-log, the blacksmith’s shop reappeared as mysteriously as it vanished.

When the burning in her chest became unbearable, Elita realized she’d been holding her breath and released it in a rush of pent-up air. At that moment she saw the strange man. Wearing a black shirt, buckskin vest and trousers neatly tucked into Cavalry-style boots, he sat majestically atop a brown and white spotted horse strutting toward her. He stopped a few feet in front of Elita. Cross-draw pearl handled .44 Colt revolvers jutted from a bullet-studded belt worn about his narrow hips. In the mist he appeared more ghost than human.

He swung his right leg over the saddle horn and slid to the ground. He scanned the town as the fog dissipated.

“What do you want?” Elita was stunned to hear a little voice in the back of her head plead, Please say me.

Misty Dreams can be ordered from The Wild Rose Press (www.thewildrosepress.com) and www.amazon.com as of November 20th.
Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance & Fugue Macabre: Bone Dance can be ordered from Sapphire Blue Publishing (www.sapphirebluepublishing.com) and www.amazon.com

11 comments:

Helen Hardt said...

Nice to meet you, C.J.!

Carole St-Laurent said...

Great interview. Always inspiring to read success stories - and ghost stories too!

Emma Lai said...

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? Congrats, C.J.!

CJParker said...

Thanks so much for your comments. I was afraid no one would show up. LOL
CJ

Dawn Chartier said...

Misty Dreams sounds great!! I look forward to reading it.

Dawn
www.dawnchartier.com

NancyCL said...

Great interview, Char! I always told you, you were a wonderful writer and were going places! I'll be able to say, "I knew her when!" Way to go, my friend...

Mary Ricksen said...

Hi C.J. great blog. Your book sounds just great. I have to have it!

CJParker said...

It's great getting to meet everyone. Thanks for coming, Nancy and Dawn. Hmm, I was wondering, would someone like to win a copy of Misty Dreams?

Blood Oranges said...

I can't wait to read this one! Good Luck

Jeannine Garsee said...

Great interview! :) xx

Cate Masters said...

Great excerpt CJ! I love a good romantic ghost story. Best of luck with your release!