Currently I call home, the prairies, located in central Manitoba, Canada. In 30 more days, I’m moving to the mountainous region of Alberta, Canada, where I plan to call that place home for many years to come. Ah! Peace and tranquillity.
What is your book about?
Back-story:
Amelia DeBoine is a descendant of a coven of witches who escaped the witch trials on the east coast of North America. Sailing on The Merchant Widow, the ship ran aground on the shores of Shadow Bay, Oregon in 1735 during a violent storm.
Amelia, the high priestess, meets four fellow coven members at a hidden underground river beneath the hull of The Merchant Widow. She removes the face from her recently murdered husband, George DeBoine, and carries it back to her home to stitch it onto a patchwork quilt alongside victims dating back to the shipwreck. George DeBoine haunts Amelia through a magic hand mirror. Amelia DeBoine dies of a sudden heart attack leaving no one to succeed her within the coven.
Story:
Gabrielle Stone arrives in Shadow Bay on July 8th, 1979. Seven and a half years earlier, her grandfather, George DeBoine was listed as missing and is now presumed dead. She learns she’s the true sole heir to his estate including the marital home of his late wife Amelia. With the help of Brian Caulder, her lawyer, and love interest, Gabrielle settles into her suite at The Moon River Inn. She reclaims her forgotten name and life with a new sense of belonging, only to have them shattered when she discovers the real reason she was summoned to Shadow Bay. She must declare her title as a white witch, and bring down The Ladies of the Higher Realm who’ve terrorized the town for nearly two-hundred and fifty years, and defeat the evil Catherine Caulder, who has plans for her, that not even she could fathom.
If you gave some of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?
“Finally we managed to get our writer on the end of the keyboard to do it our way! Jeeze, what a chore that was! Then, she did it well.”
Do you have plans for a new book?
Yes, I do. My next book is titled, “Parallel Lines.” Here is a mini synopsis, although subject to many alterations, as this is a work in progress.
It began when I was a child. Ghosts were a part of my normal daily life. I, James Whittinger, could see them everywhere, living among us—these see through people that lived alongside us, and for the most part no one noticed. But I did. As I reached my late teens, I too found the ghostly apparitions fading away into the unknown. It happened sometime around my fifth wedding anniversary, to my wonderful wife Melissa. I was getting ready for bed, and thought I saw a movement in the corner of the room. We had just bought this house, our dream home, and settled in nicely. I turned my attention to the corner and stared into it, willing myself to see something. I don’t know why I did it, I only know for some reason I had to try.
Anyhow, there I sat on the edge of my bed, my wife sound asleep and it happened. The room changed in front of my eyes. No longer was I sitting on my bed—it belonged to someone else. Did I get the fright of my life when the woman standing, combing her hair, screamed, seeing me in her mirror. She was terrified and called me a ghost. Can you believe that? Here I am in a stranger’s room in full body and I’m the ghost. It was then it donned on me. We live along parallel lines that each and every one of us has the ability to cross over—an epiphany of sorts. But with that also comes complications that I hadn’t thought through.
Complications that had dire implications for the living and I wanted to be the first to tell of my discovery, to shout it out to the world, we have a better place to live. An escape from this world into a place of peace without the powerful control we all live in today. Will I succeed? Or will they lock me away as one of the insane, only to discover somewhere in the future, I was right. And the world was wrong. What if I was wanted on both sides, by the living and the dead? The dead want to cross into the living. Will they succeed?
What inspired you to write your book?
Wow! What can I say, other than writing has always been, and always will be a part of my inner core. I began with poetry, then short stories, and now into full length novels. Quite honestly, I just love to write. My book, “Reflection’s of Death,” began with an idea, involving and elderly woman serial killer, a patchwork quilt, and the rest told itself, evolving into what became the novel it is today.
Would you like to be contacted by readers to do book reviews?
Yes! My greatest joy in writing is hearing from readers.
How did you come up with the title and cover design?
The title was changed from, “Shades of Glass,” to “Reflection’s of Death,” and I must give credit to my first editor for that. His suggestion was, “Deadly Reflections.” I liked it, but wanted my own idea, so the new title was born.
Have you based any of your characters on someone you know, or real events in your own life?
That was not my intention, however, readers who know me find my protagonist is much like me, and I based my villain along the character of Cruella DeVille, from 101 Dalmatians, only my Catherine is much nastier. My characters developed as I wrote the story. They would suddenly appear, and I would say, “Oh, who are you? And what part are you playing?”
I don’t think my characters are based on any real events, although the scenes were from vacation memories of my favourite spots.
What books have most influenced your writing most and why?
I cannot really pin that question down to a select number of books, as reading engaged me since I learned. All stories I found fascinating in a number of different ways. I would have to say, my mentors are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, are some that come to mind off hand. Way to many favourites to name.
Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?
Dean Koontz is the one author I would love to meet. I have written to him and asked many questions about the business end of writing. He has a signed copy of my first book and sent me a copy of his newest at that time as well. “Relentless.” He has been an invaluable teacher and mentor for me.
Do you prefer eBooks, paperbacks or hardcover?
I like hardcover, but when it comes down to it, paperback is for me. eBooks, not at all. I prefer holding a book in my hands while reading. Old school, I suppose.
Have you ever read a book more than once?
No, I haven’t. I have tried, although I found several years later, once I began reading the story, I remembered it to well. When writing my own story ..., oh, let me count the number of times. *Grins*
Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version?
Harry Potter. As much as I enjoyed the books, the visual feast of the movie surmounted my imagination.
What book are you currently reading?
During the course of learning to write good fiction over the last ten years of my life, fiction books have had to take a back seat for enjoyment purposes. I study them for grammar, punctuation, and the dynamics of story. I did find out recently through my dearest man, I could read history and more educational type books. So, I am now reading, and thoroughly enjoying, “Khrushchev Remembers, The Glasnost Tapes.”
What book do you know that you will never read?
Will I never read a book, I cannot answer for sure. There is a pretty good chance I won’t ever pick up a Louis Lamoure, or a Harlequin Romance.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest and why?
Kimberly Bennet, wrote, “Twisted Delights,” A book I read for the purpose of reviewing. She has a wonderful imagination. Another is “A doll’s Story,” by Lez Lewis, another new author I thoroughly enjoyed.
Is there anything you would change in your last book and why?
Not a thing, I’m happy to say.
Who designed the cover of your book?
I chose my book cover through Wordclay, where I first published for print. Then added the wording. I did change the cover slightly for the eBook version.
Do you have a book trailer?
Yes I do. http://youtu.be/5rArRWrqtts
Do you have any advice for other writers?
The best advice I can give is re-write, re-write, re-write. Exhaust your pages, and when you get to the point when you can’t stand to look at another word within your manuscript, you’re done!
Biggest challenge is in not giving up. It’s a long hard road, and equally rewarding once you arrive.
Where can your readers follow you?
My blog: http://taressaklays.wordpress.com/hope-re-birth/
My book's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Taressa-Klays/112284114611
My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4556434
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Thank you for dropping by, please leave a comment and say Hi. Patti Roberts
Paradox - The Angels Are Here.
Book trailer Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IovcxyZTFuU
Amazon US - http://t.co/GkEnR05
Amazon UK http://amzn.to/eVQP0V
Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27156
facebook - http://tinyurl.com/3woe84l
twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/PattiRoberts7
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