Guest Author Kim Cox

Please help me welcome guest blogger, author Kim Cox. Kim’s book, GET OUT OR DIE, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, etc. Here’s the blurb:

Since the news of her first case, Lana Malloy's Private Investigating/Mediator business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband and learns of a frightening new ability she wasn't aware she possessed--an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she's not careful.

Lana struggles for control when she encounters the angry ghost who doesn't want to leave, and who doesn't want the occupants of the house to stay. Will Lana be able to control the situation, or will the ghost sense he can overtake her? Does she have other abilities she can rely on to save her?

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer?

I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with my husband, who is a chainsaw artist. We have three dogs, two Westies (West Highland White Terriers): Scooter (Male) and Harley (Female), and one Yorkie/Maltese mix: Candi (also Female). I have two sons and two grandsons.

I think many things have inspired my writing, from my dad always telling his stories when I was a child, to my love of reading in my late teens to early twenties. Whatever I'm doing, there are circumstances, what-ifs and characters popping into my head, vying for my attention. Writing is an outlet for my odd and sometimes morbid imagination.

Tell us what GET OUT OR DIE is about?

GET OUT OR DIE is the second novella in the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series. Lana Malloy is a psychic private investigator who is on a mission to help the dearly departed, even when they don’t realize they need help.

In the first novella, HAUNTED HEARTS, Lana sets out to solve her first case—the twenty-year old cold-case and double murder of her great aunt and her great aunt’s fiancé. If she succeeds, they’ll spend eternity together; if she can’t, they’ll be stuck as Haunted Hearts. With the help of the ghosts and a new love interest, she is able to find the murderer.

In GET OUT OR DIE, the success of Lana’s first case has spread throughout the local Charleston area and her business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband where she learns of a frightening new ability—an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she’s not careful.

Soon after, she encounters an angry ghost who doesn’t want to leave, and who doesn’t want the new occupants of the house to stay. Will Lana be able to control the situation, or will the ghost sense he can overtake her? And if that isn’t stressful enough, Tony is pressuring her to set a wedding date. Will she marry Tony, or will this dangerous case make the decision unnecessary? Will other abilities surface to save her?

Find out with the release of GET OUT OR DIE on July 1st.

There will be four more books in this series: The Wedding Crasher (September 2015), Christmas Cruise (November 2015 tentative release date), Demi's Serial Case and Haunted by Her Past (both are planned for a 2016 release, starting in May).

If you were casting the movie version of GET OUT OR DIE who would you choose for the leading roles?

I've actually been thinking about this a lot lately.

For Lana Malloy, I would choose Angie Harmon - Detective Jane Rizzoli from Rizzoli & Ilse television. I also have a picture of Madolyn Smith Osborne (as she appeared on Urban Cowboy, portraying the other woman with John Travolta) is on my characterization notes for her.

For Tony Calabria, I would choose a young Andy Garcia.

For Great Aunt Lucy (plays a small part in this book) – a younger Betty White. Lucy has a recurring role in the books.

For Ellie Ramsey – younger Sally Field.

For Dan Ramsey – young Ryan O'Neal.

For Adam Kelley – Patrick Dempsey (one of my favorite actors).

For Dave, the accountant – I see a comedian, perhaps Jim Gaffigan, although overweight with beard and mustache.

For Demi Lancaster (Lana's best friend and police detective) - Gabrielle Union. Demi Lancaster is a recurring character.

Are you an outliner or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I'm a little of both. I started out as a seat of my pants writer, but as I've gotten older, I have a hard time remember the simplest things such as eye or hair color. Plus, I'm a visual person, so images help me see what they look like.

Generally, I start with an idea of the story and the characters and I write two to three chapters, sometimes more. Then I go back and map it out by writing a little about each chapter or a synopsis, and I do a Characterization sheet where I list appearance (along with photos), traits and characteristics, and family and background. I also research things that I need for the book such as location, medical information, psychic information, ghosts, serial killers, etc.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I've always been a type of Jane of All Trades, Master of None. I've held jobs as a textile worker in different capacities (knitter, spinner, quality control, dye house tech, sewing machine operator, scheduler and production planner), a waitress, a cashier at a convenience store and fast food restaurant, maid, and my very first job was in an ice cream parlor. I've taken courses in cosmetology, nursing, accounting, teaching, medical office, office systems, and web technologies. I would have to say I would be either a teacher or a technology geek in a field such as Web Design. I need some type of creative outlet. I can't see myself as doing one thing forever, but can do multiple things at once. Right now, I dabble in Web Design and I create cover art for my books. I have created the four completed covers for the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series.

Tell us about a hidden talent you have that most people don’t know about?

I guess my hidden talent is being able to adjust, adapt and learn any job set before me. I catch on easily.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Lemon pepper chicken wings or pizza. Oh, and strawberry ice cream if it has bits of strawberry in it. I also love spaghetti and lasagna, almost anything Italian.

What’s your favorite non-writer-related website?

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but probably somewhere to shop. I hate shopping and do as much as I can online.

To find out more about Kim Cox and her book, visit these links:

Kim Cox Author's Site

Two blogs: Kim's Musings (includes book reviews) & Kim's Author Support Page (page dedicated to supporting other authors, some original posts and some reblogged)

Find Kim at the following Social Sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Google

Goodreads

Pinterest

Linkedin

Also, please join my Newsletter and be the first to find out about Kim's new releases, giveaways, and prizes.

OBSERVANT ORACLE Now Available for Pre-Order

OBSERVANT ORACLE, a short Lottie Baldwin mystery story, is available now for pre-order: http://tirgearrpublishing.com/…/Delisi…/observant-oracle.htm Reserve your copy now!

Observant Oracle By Elizabeth Delisi

Who murdered the Cheyenne State University student? Can deputy sheriff Harlan Erikson solve the case quickly enough to keep his fiancée, impulsive psychic Lottie Baldwin, from snooping on her own?

Guest Blogger: David O’Brien

Please help me welcome guest blogger, author David J. O'Brien. David’s new book, The Ecology of Lonesomeness is available from Tirgearr Publishing.

Here’s the blurb:

Kaleb Schwartz isn't interested in the Loch Ness Monster. He'd enough cryptobiological speculation about Bigfoot while studying the Pacific Northwest forests. He's in Scotland's Great Glen to investigate aquatic food webs and nutrients cycles; if he proves there's no food for any creature bigger than a pike, then so much the better.

Jessie McPherson has returned to Loch Ness after finishing university in London, hoping to avoid the obsession with its dark waters she had when younger and first discovered lonesomeness. She knows any relationship with a scientist studying the lake is a bad idea, but something about Kaleb makes her throw caution to the depths.

When Kaleb discovers Jessie's lonesomeness refers not just to the solitude of the loch, he's faced with an ecological problem of monstrous proportions. Can he find a way to satisfy both the man and the scientist inside himself, and do the right thing?

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer?

Well I was born and raised in the suburbs of Dubin, Ireland, and studied science in UCD. I have a degree in Environmental Biology and a PhD in Zoology. I studied deer, one of my favourite animals. I still dabble in deer management, but for money I mostly teach. I met a girl during my doctorate who was on her Erasmus year in UCD, and I went to Madrid when I was finished instead of going off to continue academia. I found I liked teaching and teach science and English now in Pamplona, where we've ended up.

I started writing poetry when I was a teenager. I was given a little notebook and I just started scribbling in it - an addiction to stationary started me off, I suppose!

I always liked reading, but I didn't write any stories until I was around sixteen. One of them was very long, and I kept expanding it. Over the course of a few years it became my first novel, Leaving the Pack. I think my style of writing is better suited to novels than to stories. I can condense ideas in poems, but once I have a character or two, it takes me a lot of time to really get to who they are, and it seems a waste to just give them a story when so many deserve a novel.

Tell us what The Ecology of Lonesomeness is about?

It's about the urge to find wonder in our natural world, to rewild our environment with the animals and forests that they should have, and would have if it weren't for people killing and cutting them. It's also about the need to find companionship and love, and taking chances on relationships which might seem doomed when only viewed logically, with the head rather than the heart. The balance between keeping secrets and revealing ourselves to loved ones, and trusting someone with secrets is also a theme, and how much we are willing to sacrifice of our own life-plans and ambitions in order to hold on to love.

If you were casting the movie version of The Ecology of Lonesomeness, who would you choose for the leading roles?

I wish I knew more of these young actors and actresses that are in their twenties. If Kelly McDonald were still in her twenties, she'd be perfect as Jessie. In fact, I thought of Kelly McDonald's voice when I wrote Jessie's dialogue. Carey Mulligan has got the right looks - with black curly hair, if she could pull off the accent,.

As for Kaleb, well, Nicholas Hoult would be around the right age and build - blue eyes, tousled dirty-blonde hair.

Are you an outliner or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I try to be an outliner, but I tend to write scenes as they pop into my head and then try to stitch them together later. Most of it fits into the general outline of beginning middle and end that I have in my head, but often the middle is a swamp of quicksand and mush that I have to whack my way through with a machete before it makes sense. A few scenes never fit, like jigsaw pieces that belong to a different puzzle and are in the wrong box. So they get put away into the slush file. Then I make pieces that do actually fit properly instead.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I think I'd be a teacher with lots of free time to go hiking and do more gardening. But really, I can't imagine myself not writing something, especially poetry, which I still (have to) do.

Tell us about a hidden talent you have that most people don’t know about?

I don't know if it is a talent, but I'm a good listener and, just like my characters in this novel, I can keep a secret, forever.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Comfort, as in after a long night, would be diet coke and macdonald's quarterpounder and fries. It's a left-over from my youth, when I worked in a restaurant for a summer at the age of sixteen. I hardly ever eat there now, except when I am in Ireland on holiday. In Spain the food options are much better. As a diabetic, I have too much guilt to really enjoy the Ben and Jerry's ice cream that would be nicer...

What’s your favorite non-writer-related website?

I really like Upworthy.com. It gives snippets and links to videos that the traditional media usually ignore regarding social justice and science and other more quirky stuff. The idea is that it spreads links to stuff that was uploaded to the Internet to edify us, for a good reason. I have it on my Facebook feed and I often share the stories.

To find out more about David and his book, visit these links:

Tirgearr Author Page: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/OBrien_David/index.htm

Website: https://davidjmobrien.wordpress.com/

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/David-J.-OBrien/e/B00M60M6Y0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidJMOBrien

Practical Passion

Check out my post about PRACTICAL PASSION, my spicy romance that's available now:
http://aqpauthors.blogspot.com/

You'll find an excerpt, and a little about how I came up with the characters.

I hope you enjoy it!