Vampire Chicago #1
Urban Fantasy, Noir, Detective
Date Published: November 25, 2020
Publisher: Indies United Publishing, LLC
Former ADA Alastair Maddox pursues Prohibition Chicago’s most dangerous monsters after witnessing the deaths of his parents and grandparents as a boy. When a former colleague in Chicago PD comes to ask Alastair for help, he comes face to face with the mysterious Alexandra DeLane. But something’s off. DeLane is way too calm and her eyes are the color of blood. After she escapes, Alastair goes on the hunt only to find himself the prey of an ambitious and mysterious mob boss who plots to have him murdered. The problem? Alastair doesn’t stay dead and comes back as something else. Something more dangerous and straight out of a horror novel.
Author Interview
What book do you feel is under-appreciated? How about
overrated?
Oh man. I feel anything by the old
masters (say early 2000s, late 1990s) are grossly underappreciated. Especially
when it comes to mystery and urban fantasy. In today’s world, I feel Twilight
is horribly overrated. I don’t remember reading this book, but I certainly
don’t think it should be considered as the template for paranormal romance
(hello? Dracula, anyone? Wuthering Heights? Rebecca?).
If you could dine with any literary character, who would it be and why?
Harry Dresden, Peter Octavian, Magnus
Bane and Jack Fleming. This would be a party. These are some of the best
written characters it’s been my pleasure to get to know. They’re believable and
flawed with very real underlying ghosts. Sadly, a lost art nowadays.
Jack Fleming’s 1920s. I’ve always
adored the 1920s and after spending so much time with them while writing BloodLaw,
I’m prompted to read The Great Gatsby again.
Caffeinated Druid Lady
Ummm, I’m not sure really. I guess it
would be “Cycling” and limiting the amount of read throughs I do. Unlike many
authors, I don’t murder myself with 10+ re-reads. I do three max and let my
editor handle the rest. Cycling is writing about 700 – 1000 words, then going
back and re-reading those, fixing what I see needs fixing, then moving on. I
don’t know many who do that and some who might look at me like I’m nuts.
Holy Cats! “Cast a Deadly Spell.” I ran
into it by accident, but oh my gosh, if you’re a noir or urban fantasy nut and
fan of Fred Ward (“Tremors” with Kevin Bacon), you have to give that a try.
That and “ChinaTown.” Both are absolute favorites and deserve more attention.
Especially for noir and urban fantasy authors.
Two
months. I can finish an 80,000 word novel in two months.
How do you select the
names of your characters?
They
select them. I just get out of their way.
Ehm,
my animal isn’t a “creature.” It’s Harry Dresden and Dean Winchester. Has been
for a long time now.
Cast a
Deadly Spell
ChinaTown
Devil’s
Advocate
Aliens
Jaws (first
one only)
What fictional character
would you want to be friends with in real life?
Magnus
Bane and Harry Dresden. I’d have one on each side, there would be drinks, and
one wild party, lol (keep your mind out of the gutter, please, sheesh).
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
a. Stop the
cookie cutter characters and the same tired stories. Please. For the love
of god, please. Have mercy on the bookblogger in me. I can’t take
anymore!
b. Throw “I’m
going to be like…” in the trash where it belongs. So, what if you aren’t
JK King or Stephen Meyer Rowling. Be the first you, because that’s what
makes you different.
c. Work! You
can’t whine if you don’t market your rear end off. This is a business.
Treat it like one and you will be successful.
d. Don’t think
book one is the only one. I still get scathing reviews on my first two
books, but you know what, I don’t really care. I’m still writing. I’m
still publishing. You can do this!
e. MURDER THE
WRITE TO MARKET MENTALITY! This breeds imposter syndrome and over-used
plotlines. Find YOUR target audience (which might not be on Amazon) and
grow that network.
Tell us 10 fun facts about yourself!
- I drink too
much coffee (5 – 6, sometimes 10 a day)
- I stay up
until 4 and 5 in the morning, mostly writing
- I cuss
copious amounts when I’m gaming…lol
- I try not
to DNF books. It has to be pretty bad if I do.
- I’m a practicing
Hedge Druid and Ovate (aka herbalist)
- Love to
cook! I have a kitchen witch altar in my kitchen!
- Yes, I sing
in the shower
- I make my
own spices and sauces with herbs from my garden
- I’m a
gardener
- I do
research and take classes for fun and to avoid boredom
If you could live in any
time period, what would it be and why?
Roaring
20s. It’s the perfect embodiment of light hiding a world of darkness. It’s
bright and fun and full of stories!
Horror (Yes, I write it too)
Old urban fantasy (no alpha female, BA
witches for me, thanks, sick of them)
Dark fantasy (IE Glenn Cook)
GrimDark (IE: Drizzt)
About the Author
Blaise started her journey in writing at the age of the fifteen with her first unfinished urban fantasy novel based on a popular video game series known as .Hack. From there she moved her journey into designing characters and doing concept art for various paying clients. In her older career, Blaise moved into working for the Indie Gaming industry where she did concept art for the company HollowRobot and their debut game, Johnny Reboot and various other clients. Sadly, the game didn’t go anywhere and Blaise found herself losing interest in what she had done for fifteen years.
In 2017, Blaise embarked on her first ever NaNoWriMo challenge where she finished the Paranormal Shifter Romance, Blessing of Luna which she indie published. It has then produced a second installation into the Wolfgods series titled Bane of Tenebris. Both have recently been picked up by BlackRose Writing.
Both of these books gave birth to the first of Blaise’s three businesses. The first, FyreSyde Publishing, a small press, has recently opened its doors to authors and works alongside them in the ever difficult challenge of book marketing. A running joke is Blaise considers herself an “odd duck” in the sense that she loves the marketing phase more than the writing phase of production. Her other two businesses include full-time freelance ghostwriting and the independent bookstore, GreenWood Grove Booksellers.
After falling in love with the Dresden files by Jim Butcher and later Saints & Shadows by Christopher Golden, Blaise found a new love for Urban Fantasy. Reading the beloved Vampire Files by PN Elrod prompted Blaise to initiate her next phase and begin producing paranormal detective and noir novels. Now she combines the two and loves every minute of it.
She currently lives in the hometown of Bonnie & Clyde with her husband, two adorable kids, two cats and a dog.
Contact Links
Preorder Links
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
this looks like a great read!
ReplyDelete