Saturday, September 22, 2007

COMMENT on this post for a chance to win a copy of The Love of Her Death by Luna Carrol.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Encouraged by her mother, Luna Carrol began writing and story telling at the early age of ten. Add the creative atmosphere of an
understanding mother and a
grandmother that believes in home remedies and “things not seen” to a love of history and classic literature, Luna was destined to find comfort in the pages of books. No longer satisfied by reading the stories of others, Luna strives to write stories that are original and thought provoking as well as romantic.

After her attempt at the practical by receiving a degree as a Paralegal, Luna returned to the university and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Education, which she laughs and calls a History degree with employment possibilities. Now she spends her days teaching History and Language Arts and her nights writing. She enjoys finding new ways to write about history and famous legends, as well as exploring the darker aspects of the human psyche. The one thing she doesn’t want to write is a predictable tale.

Ms. Carrol is published with Midnight Showcase and Tease Publishing. She is a member of RWA and serves as Pan Liaison for her chapter, Carolina Romance Writers in North Carolina.

Previous Works:
“To Stay Forever,” August 2006, Midnight Showcase
“My Soulless Mate,” in Strange Desires, August 2007, Midnight Showcase

Coming Soon:
"My Viking Bride," in Legends of Love, July 2007, Midnight Showcase
“Roamin’ Love, July 2007, Midnight Showcase
“To Write A Love Scene,” in Demons, Dungeons and Devilish Delights,
2007 Midnight Showcase

Luna's upcoming releases with Tease:
Soulful Journeys Series Begins with The Love of Her Death
Ebook release: August 15, 2007 Print Release October 15, 2007

Tarot Series: The Death Card; Mine, Heart and Soul. October 15, 2007

Visit her on the web at www.lunacarrol.com or add her as a friend at Myspace http://www.myspace.com/lunacarrol.


INTERVIEW:

Why did you become a writer? Was it a dream of yours since you were younger or did the desire to write happen later in your life?
I first attempted to write at the age of 10 or 12. I thought I would write a sequel to Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. However, it wasn’t until my father died that I truly started writing with the intention of being published. It’s as if his death was a catalyst, or perhaps my writing served as a form of therapy. Whatever the reason, I was 32 when he died and I began writing seriously.

What do you love about being an author? Is there anything you dislike?
I love many things about writing, but the first answer that popped in my head when reading this question is how I can become a part of any life and in any situation I want. A writer is limited only by his or her imagination. I like that freedom.

How do you balance your personal and writing time?
Balance? What’s that? (She says while laughing.) Truth be told I’m not very good at this. I take it day by day and do my best to stay ahead of my publishers’ and readers’ demands. As long as I stay ahead nothing becomes too stressful. Please don’t ask my family how successful I am. I’d rather tell my version of this story. (Laughing)

How do you write? Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story?
Sometimes the characters come first, sometimes the plot. I never know where an idea is going to come from or when it will hit. Most often the first thing that pops into my mind is the conflict. It starts with something like, “What if “X” was in a situation like that? And, oh my God, what if she or he met “Y” right then!” I know when I have a good idea, in fact so does everyone else in the room. (Laughing again.) After this loud moment in my home I will write down a pretty detailed blurb of my idea. Since I do write ahead I have to return to these ideas later and continue writing what I’m working on.

What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you write?
Fantasy and paranormal. Fantasy because I love a touch of magic and make believe, I always have. Even as a child I lived in fantasy worlds. That must be why I was horrible at math. I can still hear my math teacher asking me to stop staring out the window and answer the question in front me. (Laughter) But I loved my Literature classes and History classes. Fuel for thought.
I write paranormal stories because I’m weird. (Big grin.) It’s true. My imagination never stops. Why write or read something that you can experience by walking out your front door? I want to entertain and be entertained. I write my paranormal stories in an effort to write what I haven’t been able to read or experience. I grew tired of thinking how the tragic villain would have made a better lover than the weak and pasty faced hero. My favorite stories are those that make it hard to distinguish who the villain really is. Real life conflicts are complex, and real life villains aren’t without reason. How could a reader not feel sympathy for a vampire, even if he does kill virgins nightly, when they see how lonely he is and how he fights his urges as much as possible? Perhaps he chooses only murderers and rapists to be his victims. Uh oh, I feel a plot growing. (She starts laughing again.)

Now that doesn’t mean I want to write things you can’t believe. Just the opposite. I want to write fantasy and paranormal stories in such a way that the reader sees himself or herself in the story and closes the book wondering if something like that could really happen. I do this by incorporating some form of history or believable legend to support the plot.

What is the biggest misconception about being an author?
*blink* There are misconceptions? Wow. I thought we all made the big bucks and met all the famous movie stars in Hollywood, offered movie deals, and lived in exotic places. You mean that’s not true? (Chuckles). Seriously there are quite a few misconceptions. The one I’ve been the victim of most often is the belief that writing comes easy and that it isn’t real work. One story involves hours of work, multiple edits and revisions, and more promotional efforts than I ever imagined.

This is a real common misconception for writers in the romance industry, and especially in e-book publishing. For some very odd reason people think if you’re published over the internet that it must not be real writing. I can’t tell you how badly that burns my britches. (Smiling at her own choice of words.) I’m published in both e-book and print now and I have respect for both. That’s the way it should be. Writers should respect other writers. Unfortunately that just isn’t the case. E-book authors have yet to receive the credit they so dearly deserve.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?
Both. I love history and so I love to use historical people. Take My Viking Bride for example. That’s a story based on the legend of Alwilda, a woman that became a Viking in order to flee her marriage. I don’t know if she was real or not, but many people believe the legend.
Now I better say this. I love to use the names of my friends and family in the stories that I write. That’s just my way of saying, “Hey, I really love this person.” Those characters may have the name of a real person, but the character itself is completely fictitious.

Out of all the characters that you've written, who is your favorite and why?
Hmmm, well I guess I have to say the one I’m working on now. I’ll say that two weeks from now, and two years from now. My favorite character is whoever I’m writing at the time. If I did my job right, when I complete a story that character is fully realized and I can move on. It’s time to create something new and fall in love all over again.

If you were writing a script for the big screen, who would you want to act in your movie?
I’m extremely picky about actors and actresses and I suspect most writers are. A writer is, by nature, an observer of human nature. I can spot phony acting. That being said I would choose someone like Clive Owen or Gerard Butler for the hero. They’re believable as well as handsome. For an actress I would choose Charlize Theron, hands down. She’s beautiful and extremely talented.

What would you want readers to take away from your books?
That varies from book to book, but I suppose the overall theme in my books is this, love conquers all. I love happily ever afters, but more importantly I like making my hero and heroine work for it. If I write my stories correctly then my readers will have that wonderful feeling of satisfaction after reading them. For a few minutes, after closing that book, my readers should feel that maybe love is worth fighting for, and it can conquer any problem. (Laughing again) Oh no, I sound like a hopeless romantic, don’t I? I guess I am.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers in regards to writing a book?
Write the story that you love. That’s it. If you love it and write it because you love it, someone else will love reading it. Everything else can be learned and you will learn it if you stay in this game long enough. Grammar, point of view and passive writing are terms you will hear a lot about, but if you have a great story then there is a publisher for you out there.

Who are your favorite authors?
My interests stretch far and wide with regards to reading. I love Sherilyn Kenyon and Karen Moning in romance, but I also love Frank Miller and Tolkien. However as much I love those writers, I’m a nut for the classics. My personal library is filled with works like The Faerie Queene, Shakespeare’s Complete Works, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Thomas Malory and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

What are you reading right now?
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

My books can be purchased at Midnight Showcase
www.midnightshowcase.com
Or my Tease Publishing works can be purchased through Fictionwise,
Amazon.com, and local bookstores. Please check out their website for more details. www.teasepublishingllc.com



ABOUT THE BOOK:

BLURB:

What happens if you are on a train destined for HELL? That is what happens to Donnice Jordan. Each stop of this train of horrors introduces her to new characters with just enough life in them to remember their most lustful and depraved needs. Murderers, rapists, and deranged psychopaths would like to do more to a warm and willing body than just hold it.

The conductor, Colin, is used to being able to check his emotions with the baggage. Now he finds himself having to protect her from the passengers and his own hunger for souls. Can he protect her when his own desires could mean her final death? (Psst…there is a happy ending, sometimes even for the dead.)


EXCERPT:

She awoke before her alarm went off. The bed was so soft, and the sheets smelled so fresh and were so smooth against her bare skin. She would have to buy more of the fabric softener that smelled so nice. She smiled. Maybe she’d stay in bed all day. The store would just have to do without its pincushion today.

“Good morning, Donnice.”

“Who?” She spun off of her side and into a sitting position. Her legs immediately tangled in a sheet.

Colin smiled. He sat in one of the wing-backed chairs. The very chair she remembered sitting in last night.

“How did I get here?” Where…? Oh, the train. She wasn’t at home at all. She had been dreaming of being at home. Talk about wishing something was a dream.

She moved her legs and felt the softness of the sheets. Pulling the sheet open, she peered in and saw her naked body. She jerked the sheet back to her body and tucked it tightly around her.

“Where are my clothes? Who took them?”

“A woman with curiosity. Who would have figured that?” Colin crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

“Jerk. Answer me.” She tucked the sheet around her even more.

He smiled brightly. “You were asleep when I found you.”

“You!”

“Me.” Casual responses in stressful situations annoyed the shit out of her. Did people do that just to annoy others, or were they trying to be cute? Either way, they pissed her off.

“I don’t want you to undress me. Where are my clothes now?”

He examined the cuff of his pants casually. “I heard no complaints from you last night.”

“What?” Pitiful. Her question was weak and barely heard even by her.

“In fact, you curled up right inside my arms after I laid you down.”

Trying as hard as she could, she couldn’t remember that. No, she did remember something pleasant and a protective set of arms. “You’re lying. You have to be.”

“No, I’m not. I found you in this chair and carried you to the bed.” He lowered his leg and leaned forward. “Naturally, I couldn’t allow you to sleep in a corset. Very uncomfortable. So, I undressed you. Piece by piece. I held you in my arms and watched you sleep.”

“That’s freaky.” She couldn’t think of anything more eloquent to say at the moment.

“Why?”

“Cause it shows how really weird you are. Loved ones do that for one another, not near strangers and certainly not dead people. And don’t even get me started on the fact that you want to kill me!”

“And you’re an authority on dead people now?” How easily he side stepped the killing her part.

“I know what I’ve been told by people who would know.”

“Tell me, did these other people tell you that there were dead people who still have sex?”

That question caused her to pause. Dead people weren’t supposed to even talk let alone have sex. “Well, I know what I’ve been told, and I thought you didn’t have any feelings for me. Why the interest in my comfort?”

Nothing anyone had ever told her about the dead applied to this bizarro train ride. In fact, nothing she had ever believed seemed to matter here. Having sex with total strangers! Who the hell was she anyway?

“That’s what I do here.” He looked puzzled now. “But I can’t understand how you found my private car.”

“Yours?”

“Yes. No one has ever been here before. What were you thinking of before you entered this car?”

“Listen. This is all fascinating, but I’m not comfortable talking to you from your bed and in the nude.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I would have thought you would trust me after last night.”

“Why? What happened?”

He chuckled. “I told you all that happened. The fact that I didn’t seduce you is what I had hoped would convince you to trust me.”

She gave him that look. The look that meant someone was pushing the edges of the reality envelope. “Get real. You didn’t seduce me in an effort to seduce me? How dumb do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re dumb. I don’t understand you at all.” Now, he sounded a tad sore.

“I would thank you, but I still don’t think I like you undressing me.” He would just have to get over it. She couldn’t be too concerned with the sensitivity of a man who just undressed her.

He stood. “There will be a party tonight.”

“A party? On a train? A train destined for…”

The train’s whistle blew, and Colin smiled.

“It will comprise of about three cars. You’ll see. We make things happen here.”

“Why? If all these people are evil and doomed, why have a party?”

“For someone who doesn’t want to be judged by others, you sure don’t mind being a judge.” He stared accusingly at her.

She narrowed her eyes.

“However, it was requested by a passenger who doesn’t have far to go.”

She looked at the blanket jumbled up at her feet. “Do I have far to go?”

“You’ve already been farther than most, but, for all I know, you may not see the party tonight.”

The breath flew from her lungs. Looking to Colin, she saw no emotion, just the flexing of his jaw. Of course, he checks emotions with the baggage. That’s all they are to him. Baggage. Just like her.

“I’ll decide about the party later. Right now, I’ll just stay in bed.”

He arched a brow.

“Alone.” She pulled the sheet up over her shoulder and turned her back to him.

She heard him move closer. One finger trailed down her spine and stopped just above her ass.


REVIEW:



"Luna Carrol is now on my list of authors to watch. I just have to say: WOW! What a tantalizing book. While reading The Love of Her Death I felt as though I had stepped into The Twilight Zone with Rod Sterling’s seductive voice narrating and his cigarette billowing smoke. I could just hear him… “Imagine if you will, the next time you’re waiting to board a train, you might want to take a good look before you climb aboard, or you could end up like Donnice Jordan on number 13, which only stops to pick up its passengers on their way to The Twilight Zone.” Luna Carrol has such a talent for the written word and the imagination to go with it. This read was a thrill; my socks were knocked off and I read it in one sitting. Even though I didn’t even start it until 1 am, there was no way I was going to put it down until I found what was going to happen at the end of that ride. Who needs sleep? I know that I have never seen a conductor who looks like Colin. If I had, I can assure you I would have remembered. A word of warning, if you ever do come across someone who does look like him… BEWARE you might not only lose your soul but also your heart! ALL ABOARD!"
-- Barb, Twolips Reviews


The Love of Her Death by Luna Carrol
Book One of Soulful Journeys
ISBN-10: 1-934678-20-1
Publisher: Tease Publishing
Release Date: September 2007
Genre: Paranormal Romance
$4.99 from www.teasepublishingllc.com


Purchase The Love of Her Death by Luna Carrol HERE!!!