Wings of Hope: An interview with Hillary Peak

Today I'm talking with Hillary Peak about her tale of a daughter, a father, and an eventful life, WINGS OF HOPE.

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1) Tell us about your book.
It is a story of hope, written during the loss of a parent. Jules moves across the country when she learns her father is dying. Since her parents were divorced, she hasn't spent as much time with her father. During the time they have left together, she learns about her dad's life, and he works to give her life lessons that will carry her through adulthood.

2) What inspired this book?

My father had a fascinating life. He'd always talked about writing a memoir, but passed away before he ever got around to it. When I was pregnant, I wanted to have all his stories to share with my child. I started writing them down, and the result was this novel.

3) How much was this book influenced by your relationship with your own father (if at all)?
Just a little. My parents were married, so I had him around all the time. However, my father and I shared being ambitious. He never talked to me about it, but when he was gone, my mother told me about how much he saw himself in me. I used the book as a mechanism to explore that.

4) You cover a lot of ground in this book as it effectively covers the entire life of a man through the bulk of the 20th century. That said, what's the fundamental theme running through the book?
Hope. My goal is for the reader to walk away inspired to try to do the thing they've always desired to do the most.

5) How much research did you have to do for all these various historical memories?

Not much, the stories were my father's own true stories.

6) Thematic darkness and discontent seem to define much of modern literature these days. Books focusing on the positive and hopeful are often even dismissed as "old-fashioned." Even young adult and middle-grade literature is increasingly defined by dark plot and concerns, with people saying its important that people face the "reality" of existence. What are your thoughts on darkness in fiction and whether or not that reflects the reality of existence?

Reality can be dark. We all have times where life is bleak. I read a lot of young adult literature. It seems sad to me that we focus on the darkness in life rather than the light. I think that the reality of existence is what we see. We can choose to see the worst in people and in life or we can choose to see what is good, what is hopeful. There's always going to be sadness and hardship, but there's always happiness, joy and love as well.

7) Can you tell us about any of your other projects?

I am working on a legal thriller called JUSTICE SCORNED, a legal thriller with twists and turns including a secret natural nuclear reactor, a Department of Energy Special Response Team and a murder that is far more than it appears. “Today, I received a black world.” Randall Taylor tells his mentor as he pulled the tiny globe out of his pocket. It is black on black, with the oceans matte and the landmasses glossy. Randall’s certain he is going to receive all the money and power he seeks, but long sought after revenge puts him in prison instead.

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Thanks, Hillary.

If you'd like to see more from Hillary, you can check out earlier stops in her blog tour.

You can also find her at her blog, www.hillaryepeak.com.

WINGS OF HOPE can be purchased at Amazon and Smashwords.

A Dangerous Time--Tudor England: An interview with historical fiction author Barbara Gaskell Denvil

Today I'm talking with Barbara Gaskell Denvil about her novel SUMERFORD'S AUTUMN, a historical adventure set during the Tudor period.

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1) Tell us about your book.

SUMERFORD’S AUTUMN is a colourful historical adventure with a wide scope. The storyline follows the Earl and Countess of Sumerford and their sons - four brothers, who each have entirely different characters and entirely different aims. The youngest son is the hero, but he has to face many adversities including arrest, imprisonment and torture before finally finding peace. The book is set in England during the last years of the 1400s, when King Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, sat on England’s throne. I have interwoven different storylines including romance and humour, and conspiracy and treachery to the crown is a large part. The politics of this period were terrifying and many faced execution. But life in general was equally fraught with danger, and my characters deal with many such challenges.

2) What inspired this book?

I read a fascinating book (by Anne Wroe) on the so-called pretender Perkin Warbeck. I found his story absolutely tragic, and by the time I finished the book I was convinced that the whole subject has been far too easily dismissed by historians. Very little research has ever been done on the various claims against the emerging Tudor dynasty, and indeed the reign of the first Tudor King Henry VII has rarely appealed to the public. (His son Henry VIII was far more colourful) But the man later dubbed Perkin Warbeck actually claimed to be the younger of the two princes in the Tower, and had some exceedingly good reasons to say so. He had huge royal backing from abroad, and his story is much too impressive to be easily overlooked. Yet most historians have laughed and looked the other way. Why? Henry VII was a master of propaganda and altered history to suit his own ends. Perhaps he altered this too, just like everything else. I wanted to know more. So I started with this historical research, and then wrapped a much larger story around this kernel.

3) What went into developing your lead, Ludovic?

I tried to start with a balance between believable and likeable characteristics, (heroes who are just too perfect are never so interesting) and combine this with those attitudes which we believe were accepted in the 15th century. But once having established the first basic foundations of personality, my characters somehow seem to invent themselves. I begin with a very vague outline, and gradually they creep into my heart and begin to talk to me. They come alive over the weeks and in the end I feel I am simply obedient to their demands. They live in their own right – I just create the story around them. Ludovic is now so real to me, I would instantly recognise him if I met him, and would know just how he felt in any circumstance. He grows through the book, another natural aspect of character I enjoy – where a character matures and develops due to the actual challenges he faces through the pages.

4) In historical fiction, language is always a difficult thing to manage. Too much period accuracy can alienate modern readers but too little can damage the historical atmosphere. How did you approach language in your book?

This is such an interesting question, and the answer could fill another book. However, in general I start with the simple knowledge that the genuine language used in those days (my book starts in 1497) would be almost entirely incomprehensible to us now. It would be absurd to try and write a modern book using the real language of that period. Therefore – since I cannot copy the real period usage – why try and do half and half? I therefore use normal modern language – and certainly avoid those awful ‘foorsooths’ and ‘fie, my lords’ which were popular in some fiction of the past. However, there are pitfalls. It sounds equally ludicrous to put in modern slang, modern psychology and technological terminology, or other words which are just too inappropriate. So I try to keep a fair balance, but within sensible limits. I do keep strictly to the names of that era, and the name Ludovic, for instance, was not common then but was certainly known.

5) The Tudor period has consistently remained one of the most popular English historical periods, inspiring loads of novels, movies, and television series. Why do you think people find the Tudor period so fascinating?

Henry VIII is more colourful than any believable fictional character could be. His marital difficulties and his presence have been represented to us in such detail and so many times, huge, fat, bright red hair, dangerous, horrifying and yet resplendent. Then of course his poor wretched wives were a mixed bunch with extremely interesting complexities. His children were nearly as colourful as himself, Edward VI, Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I, and his reign introduced some amazing progress and developments including the toppling of Roman Catholic power in England. Much less, however, is generally known about Henry VIII’s father, the man who began everything with his invasion of England in 1485, culminating in the Battle of Bosworth and the death of King Richard III. My book is set during the reign of the first Tudor King Henry VII. A man much feared, and equally as dangerous in a different way to his son.

6) If you could meet any historical personage from the period covered in your book, whom would it be and why?

Definitely King Richard III. My book actually starts a few years after his death, but the truth about what happened to the so-called princes in the Tower, whether they were murdered or not, is integral to my plot. I would absolutely adore to meet up with Richard III, to see just what he was really like and hopefully to discover the truth about some of those endless mysteries surrounding his actions and behaviour. Was he an exaggerated villain? Or was he a decent man making a fair attempt at doing his duty according to the beliefs and standards of the time? I would actually love to meet anyone of that period in history. The late medieval fascinates me and I should just adore to live a few days in those narrow dark streets and really understand the life and times, hear the gossip and explore the truth.

7) What is the most surprising thing you learned when doing research for this book?

I started researching this historical period nearly ten years ago and my first discovery was that King Richard III just could NOT be the villain he had been painted. That inspired me to research more and more, and now I try to immerse myself in historical discovery whenever possible. My next big surprise was when I researched the so-called Perkin Warbeck figure for this new book – and my conclusions are a major part of the plot.

8) Tell us about your current projects.


I have written the first draft of another historical adventure BLESSOP’S WIFE – set a little earlier this time during the actual reign of Richard III. This still needs to be edited and polished, but I hope to publish it later this year. It delves into many mysteries of the period, including the beginnings of political espionage. It is wonderful, as an author, to start falling in love with a whole new cast of characters. I am certainly fascinated by my new hero Andrew. For one thing he is neither grand nor noble, and I find it a pleasant change not to continuously write about the medieval aristocracy. The working classes and the poor are just as interesting.

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You can see more from Barbara at her website, http://www.bgdenvil.com/.

SUMERFORD'S AUTUMN is available for purchase at Amazon.

Family, love, and art: an interview with Uvi Poznansky

Today I'm talking with artist and author Uvi Poznansky about her novel APART FROM LOVE.

1) Tell us about your book.

My novel is an intimate peek into the life of a uniquely strange family:
Natasha, the accomplished pianist, has been stricken with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her ex-husband Lenny has never told their son Ben, who left home ten years ago, about her situation. At the same time Lenny has been carrying on a love affair with a young redhead, who bear a
striking physical resemblance to his wife, but unlike her, is uneducated, direct and unrefined. This is how things stand at this moment, the moment of Ben’s return to his childhood home, and to a contentious relationship with his father.

2) What inspired this story?

Over a year ago I wrote a short story about a twelve year-old boy coming face to face, for the first time in his life, with the sad spectacle of death in the family. Stunned, Ben watches his father trying to revive his frail grandma. Later, Ben attempts the same technique on the fish tilting upside down, dying in his new aquarium.

I set the story aside, thinking I was done with it. But the character of the boy, Ben, wouldn’t go away. He started chatting incessantly in my head, keeping me awake at night. So I asked myself, what if I ‘aged’ him by fifteen years? Would he still admire his father for ‘blowing life’ into the old woman--or will he be disillusioned at that point? What secrets would come to light in the life of this family? How would it feel for Ben to come back to his childhood home after a long absence, and have his memories play tricks on him?

What if I introduce a girl, Anita, a redhead who looks as beautiful as his mother used to be--but is extremely different from her in all other respects? And what if this girl were married to his father? What if the father were an author, attempting to capture the thoughts, the voices of Ben and Anita, in order to write his book?

3) You've mentioned in the past that you've had difficulty describing what you're story is about. So, I put that dreaded question to you in a slightly different way: what sort of fundamental themes do you feel your story conveys?

You’re right! At first I found it difficult to sum up the complexities of the story. I suppose I was too close to it. Which is why I truly admire the work of several Amazon Top reviewers, who reviewed the story with such ease, and rated it five stars out of five.

The fundamental theme in Apart From Love is a struggle, a desperate, daring struggle in each one of the characters--Ben, Anita and Lenny--to find a path out of the conflicts between them, out of isolation, from guilt to forgiveness.

Finding that path is not easy, because at present, they are ‘apart from love’. As Anita puts it, “Why, why can't you say nothing? Say any word--but that one, 'cause you don't really mean it. Nobody does. Say anything, apart from Love.”

And as Ben puts it: “For my own sake I should have been much more careful. Now--even in her absence--I find myself in her hands, which feels strange to me. I am surrounded--and at the same time, isolated. I am alone. I am apart from Love.”

4) The aims and purposes of art are always a hard thing to pin down, no matter the format. What do you feel is the fundamental purpose of art? 

To me, the purpose of my art is to give expression to something I care deeply about, marking it on paper or in some other medium) for others to see, hear and absorb, so they may find a reflection of my thought or emotion somewhere deep in themselves, in their memory, in their fears, their hopes.

In the case of writing, I can tell when I succeed in conveying what I wanted to express. I have read my stories in front of audiences, and by the end of the story a deep silence greets me. Here’s the way Lenny, the father in APART FROM LOVE, explains it:

“What I wish to open up is not me, but my characters—all of whom are parts of who I am—giving her the opportunity to know them, to come live in their skin, to see, hear, touch everything they do. Just, be there, inside my head for a while, which I admit, may be rather uneasy at times. If—if she cared to listen, which I doubt, she would allow me to pull her inside—so deep, so close to the core, that it would be hard to escape, hard to wake up.”

5) Do you feel there is a difference in the fundamental ability to execute the aforementioned purpose of art among the various art forms (visual, written, musical, et cetera) forms? Why or
why not?

Yes, I think there is a difference between visual art, and written or composed art forms. There is a fundamental difference between the ways we sense the world through the eye as opposed to the ear. The brain allows you to absorb a picture all at once, but a story--word by word, and a piece of music--note by note.

So when the subject at hand is too overwhelming, when words fail me, and I wish to convey the same feeling through my art, this is when I pick up my paintbrush. Other times, I chase my characters around with a pen.

6) Authors create characters from a variety of influences, but it is not uncommon to drawn upon their own experiences and psychology. Traditionally, this leads to characters that are, in some sense, similar to the author. You went a slightly different direction with your female lead. Can you tell us a bit about her creation and the process behind it?

At first I decided to model Anita as the diametric opposite-of-me. By which I mean a lot more that just her use of language (talking in sentences laden with 'like' and the dreaded double-negatives.) Anita, I decided, would be a bold and spontaneous girl, anything but repressed. Unlike the way I was brought up, she would be promiscuous.

Her voice would be shockingly direct: “In my defense I have this to say: When men notice me, when the lusty glint appears in their eyes, which betrays how, in their heads, they’re stripping me naked—it’s me they accuse of being indecent. Problem is, men notice me all the time.”

To my surprise, Anita started to invade my mind! She ended up taking center-stage in the story, not only because of how attractive she is, but most of all, because she serves as a strong contrast, both to Ben and to Lenny. She is a strong female protagonist trying to survive the complexities of this strange family.

7) Tell us about the POV structure of your novel. Why did you decide to use that sort of framework?

The dual points of view--he said, she said--gave me an opportunity to illustrate that we all view reality differently. Sometimes the same events, see from different angles and through difference experiences in life, are interpreted in an entirely different way. Which makes it a challenge for my characters, Ben and Anita, to find a path to each other.

8) Can you explain to us what you mean by "paint with a pen, write with a paintbrush"?

My art strives to tell a story, and my stories strive to bring you into the scene being painted. Sometimes a figure in one of my paintings haunts me, keeps me away at night, talking in a clear and distinct voice, and it would not stop until I write what she is saying, either in poem format or in a story. And sometimes it flows the other way around: the voice in the poem or in a story is so vivid in my mind that I have to flesh it out in a painting or sculpture. A good example of that is my poem From Dust, and for each verse in it, I created a sculpture where the pose expresses the text. See one of the sculptures here: http://uviart.blogspot.com/2012/03/from-dust-you-gather-me.html.

9) Given what you've just told us, can you tell us about your visual artistic influences and what influences they may have had on your choice of literary themes, character, and plots?

I love so many writers from around the world, and each one has had a different influence on me. To name but a few, I love Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, The Odyssey by Homer, Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, The Price by Arthur Miller, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.

Using a broad brush I would say that poetry teaches me to cherish the beauty of language, its sound and rhymes, which is something I use often in my writing. Arthur Miller and other playwrights teach me to listen to dialog, and to make the most of it.

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Thanks, Uvi.

You can read more from Uvi at http://uviart.blogspot.com/ and also see her artwork at uviart.com.

APART FROM LOVE can be purchased in physical or electronic formats at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and electronic formats at the iBookstore.

Do you know the truth? Can you see the truth? An interview with Michael Lorde

Today I'm talking with thriller author Michael Lorde about BLIND VEIL, a conspiracy thriller with sci-fi elements.

Tell us about this book.

BLIND VEIL begins as a story about a mild mannered rancher in the West, in the 1960s. While the plot of this story is not about civil rights, the turmoil of the times is mentioned in the first few set-up chapters. The social stress that occurred in those times is the reason why this man decides NOT to report a violent rape and murder that occur on his land… but that’s just the beginning. The murder ultimately affects the rancher’s nephew forty years in the future. We fast track to the present, where we find his nephew Simms (now a grown man in his forties working as an Officer for the New York City Police Department). Simms is a Patrol officer and very well respected. He works hard, cares about people, protects the citizens of the city and brings home a paycheck. All of that, changes in one day when he takes his new boat onto the water for a well deserved break. He ends up on board two other boats, and neither by his choice. As Simms world spins on its end and out of control, the reader is dragged through every crazy event right along with him. This officer of the law breaks many rules as he tries to keep alive, in an effort to make sense of things that his mind cannot believe. This psychological thriller is the first in a series. The second book is due out in December.

What inspired this book?

The idea came to me all at once. There were very few gaps to fill in. My stories generally find me rather than the opposite. I don’t sit down trying to think of a story line. Before I can finish one book, two others pop into my head. It feels like a gift when I get them. 

 
I’ve started and written books before, but this one just screamed out for me to publish it. I’d just left a job that required I work mad hours, and so the timing was perfect for me to pursue publishing. That decision has changed a multitude of things in my life, all for the better.

Tell us about your lead.


Lamont Simms is a really cool guy. He’d decent, and he respects people. He’s the epitome of a great cop. He was raised by his aunt and uncle on a ranch, but never really wanted to live out his life surrounded by nothing but land and sky. He joins the U.S. Marines and then the New York City Police Department as an officer. The guilt for having made his decision to leave home and abandon his uncle never really leaves him. The one thing he clings to above all else is his job. He loves being a cop. So what happens to a man who loses, through a single event, what identifies him most and what always will? He doesn’t have it easy. That’s for sure.

You have a background as an investigator. Did that influence any aspect of this novel?


It did. I was able to pull a whole lot from it and to bring the authenticity of my experience in police work and conducting investigations into the book. I hope when readers get to know Lamont, they’ll be thinking about their local law enforcement officers more in terms of the cops being men and women an that’s is a job. It doesn’t completely define who they are (though cops are almost all protective by nature). I think sometimes people forget that because of all of the media, television and big screen hype.

Why did you choose to write a suspense novel with science fiction elements rather than something a bit more straight-forward?

The story came to me all at once, as they usually do. I rarely try to change plots as I’m writing them. I knew the whole book before I even started typing, so the sci-fi element was already in it. What separates this novel from some of the sci-fi novels I’ve read is that Zork Bwork isn’t living on the Star Millenium with the Globulas in a world that I need to learn about in order to understand the plotline. I like science fiction. I’m a fan and I read it, but I don’t read the ultra detailed types of sci-fi books. They are way beyond my level of writing or my level of reading for that matter because when I read, I read to escape into the plot and not to decipher it. Some sci-fi readers flourish with their heads in those detailed pages. I don’t. I like it best when elements of science fiction are brought into our world.

In BLIND VEIL, this guy is in our world, and… WTF is suddenly going on? It’s not a typical sci-fi novel; it’s a thriller novel with sci-fi elements. To me there’s a huge difference. I hope I will continue to receive messages and mail from readers who don’t necessarily read, and still loved BLIND VEIL. The novel offers a lot of excitement. People have written to me telling me how believable it is, and I love getting those messages. Those readers make me feel like I did it right and hit the target I was aiming for, and I’m glad they’ve enjoyed it.

Dark conspiracy-laden plots really seem to resonate with readers regardless of genre. Why do you think people find reading about these shadow webs so interesting?

I think everyone on this planet wants to believe there is more than what we can see in front of us. That’s why people study science and religion as well.

Do you have particular literary influences?

That’s a tough question. I read every day as a kid. Now, between writing and squeezing my reading in between edits, I don’t have the opportunity to read as much as I used to. I think probably everything I’ve read has influenced me. I don’t think it’s changed my writing style, though. I think we all have our own voice, no matter how much music we listen to. I’ve always liked Stephen King, Tolkien, wow… there are too many to name, but mainly I enjoy the works of authors who have a dark element or two to their plots. My storylines always have a dark element lurking somewhere.

Please tell us about your other planned works.


I currently have three books in edits. I’m working on the sequel to BLIND VEIL (due out in December). I’m halfway through another, a book that pertains to the dark sides of each of us. This one has my focus a great deal right now. The main character is quite a trip, and more arrogant than most folks can imagine. He’s nothing at all like level headed Simms. All my books are fiction. That’s what I have planned for this year.

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Thanks, Michael.

About Michael Lorde:

Michael  was raised in a rural town in upstate New York and has two sons and two daughters.  After living in a warmer climate for nearly thirty years, Michael has since moved back north with the youngest daughter of the four.  They are dog lovers and have two.  BLIND VEIL is Michael’s debut novel.

Purchase links:

AMAZON:  http://ow.ly/aQWPe
BARNES AND NOBLES:  http://ow.ly/aQXj7
AMAZON UK:  http://ow.ly/aQYiS
SMASHWORDS:  http://ow.ly/aQYdA

You can connect with Michael at:

His webpage
TWITTER:  @BlindVeil
FACEBOOK:  http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichaelLorde
BLOG:  http://ow.ly/aQYDk
GOODREADS:  http://ow.ly/aQXxE

Who is the hero? Who is the villain? An interview with romantic suspense author Kristine Cayne

Today I'm talking with Kristine Cayne about her romantic suspense DEADLY ADDICTION.

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1) Tell us about your book.

DEADLY ADDICTION is the second book in my Deadly Vices series. It’s the story of a half-white native man who teams up with a white policewoman to restore policing to his native community. Here’s a short description:

Rife with crime and drug abuse, the Blackriver Reservation is a powder keg ready to blow. Fed up with white interference, a radical sovereigntist sets off a chain of events that can only end in catastrophe. Two people, Rémi Whitedeer, a proud warrior, and Alyssa Morgan, a maverick cop, join forces to save a nation.

2) What inspired you to write this book?

I grew up in the Montréal area, where there are several native reserves. About twenty years ago, there was a huge altercation between the native populations and the provincial police that resulted in the Canadian Armed Forces being called in. Hard feelings still exist on both sides. The other aspect that drew me to this story is that although I had grown up within a few miles of one of the reserves, I knew virtually nothing about these amazing people.

Regarding the unpoliced reserve aspect of the story, one of the reserves in the area did disband their police services several years ago and has remained without a force ever since. This has led to even more difficult relations with the provincial police, because reserves fall under their jurisdiction if the reserve does not have a police service of its own. I thought all of this made for a fabulously intriguing story with opportunities to learn about a little-known people and explore motivations on both sides of the issue.

3) Tell us about your leads, Rémi and Alyssa?

Rémi Whitedeer is a police officer turned substance-abuse counselor who dreams of restoring order to his tribe. The tribe has been without law enforcement since their previous police force was disbanded four years earlier on charges of corruption. Matters are coming to a head though, as crime is escalating, and tensions are rising between the various factions on the reserve. As the mixed-race cousin of Chaz Whitedeer, the Guardians’ leader, Rémi is caught in a no-man’s land—several groups lay claim to him, but all want him to deny his white blood.

Alyssa Morgan is a sergeant with the provincial police (Sûreté du Québec). In her previous assignment, she infiltrated the Vipers to take down the leader of the outlaw biker gang responsible for her brother’s death. She got her man, but her superiors think she went too far. Her disregard for protocol and her ends-justify-the-means ethics have branded her an unreliable maverick. To salvage her career, she accepts an assignment to set up a squad of native provincial officers on a reserve.

Together, Rémi and Alyssa must find a way to bring policing back to the reserve. But fed up with white interference and his cousin Rémi’s growing affection for Alyssa, radical sovereigntist Chaz Whitedeer sets off a catastrophic chain of events.

4) Your book deals quite heavily with both Native American substance abuse and radical politics. Did you do a lot of research on these issues?
Substance abuse does have a role in my book. It is a big problem on most reserves and reservations, especially those with high poverty rates. However, many native communities are taking an active role in dealing with these issues and offering services to help those affected.

The political issues, I researched in-depth. I read reports and studies on the Akwesasne and Oka Crises (1990) both from the native and the military perspective. I watched documentaries, read fictional and non-fictional accounts. But most importantly, to understand the current political situation within the Iroquois, I went to Kahnesatake and spoke with various tribe members. I was fascinated to learn how divided the Iroquois are. And most of those divisions stem from the past. For example, there are tensions between people who believe in the traditional political system—the Longhouse—and those who support the government-imposed political system—the band council. However, the Canadian government only recognizes band leaders and will not negotiate with traditional leaders. Furthermore, because of residential schools and conversions by Christian missionaries, many natives are Christian, creating another divide. Traditionalists follow the Longhouse and its code of ethics and traditions.

One interesting note to be made here: in the Montréal area, since the Crises in 1990, there has been an upsurge in conversions to the Longhouse both politically and spiritually. In addition, many communities are now offering children education in their native languages and providing language classes to adults. A clear effort is being made to return to their roots.

5) This is the second book in the Deadly Vices series. Will people who have not read the first book be able to slide into this one without too much trouble?

Yes. The books are loosely connected through the friendships of the characters. When characters from the previous book are mentioned, I’m careful to introduce them in such a way that the reader knows who they are in relation to the hero/heroine of the current book.

6) Racial and ethnic elements in stories can bring with them potential controversy. Are you concerned about anyone taking issue with any of your depictions of Native peoples in this book?
Yes and no. I’ve done my best to represent in as truthful a manner as I could the great diversity among First Nations people. I have characters who are band council members and supporters, moderate traditionalists, radical traditionalists, Longhouse followers, Christians, etc. Some people will feel that Chaz Whitedeer is a hero, and that’s okay. Which character, Rémi or Chaz, the reader views as the protagonist and the antagonist will depend on the reader’s own beliefs. Many traditionalists will find that Rémi was not a hero because as Chaz says, he put his personal needs above those of his people. Of course, Chaz says this in a much more colorful manner.  Others will think Rémi is a hero because he did follow his heart. He didn’t give in to the demands of those around him. He had the courage to go his own way. It’s all a question of perspective.

7) What ingredients do you think make for the best thrillers?

Personally, I think the best thrillers are those that make us think. They shouldn’t be so far out there that the reader is detached from what is happening. The reader needs to feel it is believable enough and plausible enough to be real.

The other aspect they need is a great villain. To me a great villain is one where I can understand his or her motives. I might even feel that in their shoes, I might experience some of the same feelings. I wouldn’t go so far as to destroy a community or kill people, but I might be able to see why this person would think it necessary to achieve his goal.

8) Tell us about your other works?

I’m currently working on a short story/novella for an anthology coming out this spring. I’m also working on Deadly Betrayal, the third book in the Deadly Vices series. This book will take us to Afghanistan, where Kaden Christiansen, a character introduced in the first two books, will be forced to face some truths about his past and his present.

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Thanks, Kristine.

If you'd like to see more from Kristine, please check out her website http://site.kristinecayne.com/.

DEADLY ADDICTION can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.