I just wanted to post a quick message to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and your families have a wonderful day, eat well, and enjoy spending time together. And remember the true reason why we celebrate this day. While some may have spent the last week camping out in front of Best Buy (and decide to spend “Thanks”giving there) to save a hundred bucks or so on a TV, those who know the true meaning of Thanksgiving will be spending it with family, catching up on things, playing games, watching movies together and just enjoying the time.
Warm blessings to you and try not to eat too much turkey and pie! 🙂
I’m excited to announce my first guest author at SharkbaitWrites.com, the lovely and very talented Carolyn Arnold. Carolyn just released her latest FBI thriller Eleven last week (on 11.11.11 to be precise) and has taken her book on the road with a promotional blog tour. Today she’s taken time out of her busy schedule to sit down and share a little bit about herself and her latest book. So grab yourself a beverage and make yourself comfortable. We’ll be back after this promotional video of Eleven.
My interview with Carolyn Arnold:
Carolyn, thank you for stopping by to visit SharkbaitWrites.com to help promote your new book Eleven. I have been anticipating its release since I first watched your promotional trailer back in September. I know you have worked hard at promoting it and have had your eyes set on the 11.11.11 release date for what seems like an eternity. Before we get into talking about Eleven, I have a few general questions.
Aside from being an author, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve been married for fifteen plus years to my best friend, and am a “furry baby momma” to two beagles, Max and Chelsea, who are two and a half years old.
When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?
I used to write as a teenager and thought it would be amazing to write a full-length novel, but it wasn’t until over four years ago that I rediscovered this passion. From this point, writing became a huge part of my life and now I can’t imagine life without it.
What one author inspired you the most to begin writing novels? What specifically about that author inspired you to write novels?
As far as one author who inspired me to start writing, I can’t say for sure. As I mentioned I did have a desire to write a novel as a teenager – maybe writing is just something I’m meant to do?
However, as writing has become an integral part of my life two authors have influenced and inspired me. This is David Baldacci and Sandra Brown. Both of these authors have inspired me in different ways.
Baldacci writes rich character description, background and motivation. I learned from his example words used to develop and strengthen characters is not only a good thing but integral.
Brown pushes the edge of where I would normally dare venture and I love that.
When you’re not making the keys smoke on your keyboard, what do you like to read?
I love mysteries and thrillers.
When you write your novels do you use outlines, note cards, and intricate planning, or are you a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer… a “pantser”?
Panster! Before I start I have an idea how it’s going to end, but the journey there is with my characters. Before I set out to write, I interview them and get to know them. I find this process helps immensely in rooting out backstory. I also know them better from the first word I write in the book.
Now on to your latest novel…
Eleven published on 11.11.11. Tell us the significance of the number 11 in your latest novel?
Eleven factors into the number of intended victims. Eleven is also the number of incisions the killer makes in his victims. Essentially the number and its representation factor symbiotically into the plot of the novel.
I love the television series “Criminal Minds” for one. Second, there is this small abandoned home outside of the city I live it. The idea for underground burial chambers just hit me when I saw it one day.
With that said, I’m going to give you the spot light to tell us about your latest thriller Eleven…
Eleven Rooms. Ten Bodies. One Empty Grave.
Brandon Fisher never expected this when he signed up as a Special Agent for the FBI. Working in the shadow of Supervisory Special Agent Jack Harper of the Behavioral Analysis Unit his career seemed set. But when the team is called to a small rural town where the remains of ten victims are found in an underground bunker, buried in an unusual way, Brandon knows he’ll never return to his normal life.
With one empty grave, and the case touching close to home, he fears he’s become the target of a psychotic serial killer who wants to make him number eleven. Only thing is, everything Brandon thinks he knows is far from the truth.
Carolyn, this book sounds awesome! I am definitely going to be adding this one to my collection. I look forward to seeing this book rise to the top of the Amazon best sellers list. It has been a great pleasure having you as my first guest author at SharkbaitWrites.com and a part of the Eleven Blog Tour.
Rob, thank you for having me as a guest on your site.
Brief Author Bio:
Carolyn Arnold is the author of several novels in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres. TIES THAT BIND, the first in a police procedural mystery series surrounding Detective Madison Knight, was her debut novel and published May 2011.
Carolyn was born in 1976 in the rural town of Picton, Ontario. While her passion for writing dates back to her teen years, it wasn’t until 2008 that she completed her first novel. She lives with her husband and her two beagles in Southwestern Ontario
A note to my guests: Thank you for visiting SharkbaitWrites.com and I hope you enjoyed my interview with Carolyn Arnolds. Be sure to visit Carolyn’s web site by clicking here, and if you haven’t done so already, you can get your copy of Eleven here.
Cara Michaels, a friend of mine that I met on Twitter, hosts a weekly flash fiction challenge every Monday called #MenageMonday on her Defiantly Literate blog. On Monday, October 24, I had the pleasure of participating in this weekly event as a judge. It was the first time I participated in such a thing and I have to say it was very enjoyable. Choosing the winners was not easy; there are so many great writers out there and it was a heck of a lot of fun reading the stories as they were posted throughout the day. You can read those stories, the prompts, and see the winners here:
Sadly I missed out on the Halloween version of #MenageMonday last week, but I made a point not to miss out on this week’s fun. So, yesterday afternoon I decided to take a stab at this week’s challenge judged by the talented flash fictioneer (of course it’s a word!) Maureen Hovermale. Cara’s photo prompt was probably the most difficult part of coming up with a story, but here’s what I came up with:
David woke up with a throbbing headache. He lifted himself off the cold floor he was laying on, looked around, and realized he was in a holding cell at the Sheriff’s Department.
“You okay, bud?” A cellmate asked noticing the bruises, black eye and abrasions on David’s face.
“I’ve had better days.” David responded as he slowly sat next to his cellmate.
“So, whatcha’ in for?” The cellmate asked with a slight shove.
The last thing David remembered was the tattoo. What did it say? Vivre Libre? “To tell the truth, I don’t remember getting arrested.”
“Damn! You must have been wasted! Or judging by your face, you really got the shit kicked out of you.”
Now David remembered. The woman. The legs. The tattoo. The diamond necklace.
David explained, “I tried to mug a woman coming out of a club and…” Then he saw the woman walk by the cell. He saw the tattoo on her ankle… and the badge that she wore on a lanyard hanging from her neck. “Turns out she was a cop.”
David’s cellmate laughed at the risible turn of events, “Say what you want, dude. You got your ass kicked by a woman!”
***
This was the first time I had ever participating in a flash fiction challenge and it definitely will not be the last. It was a lot of fun being a part of #MenageMonday both as a judge and as a writer. So, be sure to keep an eye out for future 100-200 word flash fiction shorts written by yours truly in the coming weeks. Better yet, if you are a writer, be sure to take a stab at it yourself. It’s not only fun, but it also helps get those creative juices flowing in the old noggin.
Lastly, I’d like to congratulate this week’s #MenageMonday champ, Antonio Angelo, for wearing the crown for two consecutive weeks! Also, congratulations to this week’s Judge’s pet, Jen DeSantis, for having the best use of Judge’s prompt.
As always thank you for visiting my humble establishment online. I hope you enjoyed your stay, and if you did be sure to subscribe to my blog site by either clicking on the FOLLOW tab or by entering your email address in the box on the left margin.
October has come and gone. The ghouls, ghosts and goblins have retreated to their caves, lairs, and second dimensions. Mounds of Halloween candy begs to be eaten and dentists worldwide are rubbing their hands together because of the inevitable cavities that are certain to follow. October has been fun. Hours upon hours of scary movies on AMC, SyFy, and Chiller filled our days with chilling stories of psychopathic murderers, vengeful spirits, and hungry monsters. Serial killers such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger have now gone to rest until next year’s ghoulish season of the witch. Many of you are shedding tears of joy because you can finally get a decent night of sleep after endless nightmares from watching too many late night horror flicks. Others are shedding tears because… well, because someone ate the last Snickers bar in the candy bowl!
All kidding aside, I always look forward to October because it starts the beginning of cooler weather and the start of the holiday season (or unholy for those who cringe at the thought of Halloween). I have to admit I’m not a “huge” fan of Halloween (my home’s decoration consisted of a single ceramic Jack-O-Lantern and a small lighted Halloween sign) but it is fun to see how people really get into it. Plus, since I’m a fan of the horror genre, it only makes sense to like Halloween, too. This year I have had the privilege of meeting a number of horror authors that have also helped get me into the Halloween spirit; authors such as R.A. Evans, Jason McKinney, Erik Gustafson and A.J. Aalto to name a few. All four of them are very talented authors, and if you haven’t already done so, be sure to click on their names to visit their web sites.
Cooler Weather and Paranoid Turkeys
The cooler weather that usually comes along with October is a big deal for me since I live in South Texas, especially after suffering through record breaking triple digit temperatures this past summer. We have a nice cold front blowing in this week that will drop the temperatures down to a chilling upper 30s. It’s something that I welcome since I always enjoy the colder temperatures, but not enough to warrant a move up north though. The colder temperatures remind me of two things: Thanksgiving and Christmas, my two absolute favorite holidays of the year.
The passing of Halloween 2011 is also very significant for another reason… the turkeys are now running for their lives! The nightmare is just beginning for them! I can see the turkey community taking cues from Chik-fil-A and starting an “Eat More Ham” campaign. Gobble! Gobble!
A Season of Thanksgiving… and Marketing
November also sparks the beginning of a new season, a season of thanks and the official beginning of the Christmas retail marketing frenzy. We haven’t even enjoyed our Turkey dinners yet and we’re seeing commercials enticing me to buy, buy, buy! Although, now that I think about it, wouldn’t Victory Lane: The Chronicles – Pursuit of a Dream make a great addition to someone’s eBook collection this Christmas?
As we inch closer to Thanksgiving Day (okay, I know my Canadian friends have already celebrated Thanksgiving; they get to have Thanksgiving and Halloween all in the same month!), let us remember all of the things we are thankful for, even when life throws us a curveball. What is it that makes our lives such a blessing amidst the trials and tribulations of hard times and misfortune? What helps us open our eyes each and every day and say it’s a wonderful day? So, what is it that you are thankful for? What is it that gives you strength to ride the through the storm? Is it family? Is it friends? Is it God? Whatever it is remember to never forget about that, and also remember that Thanksgiving Day is just one day out of the year to remind us that we all have a lot to be thankful for. We just have to open our eyes and hearts to realize it sometimes.
I know it’s a bit early in the month to get that in depth about Thanksgiving, but honestly recent events in my life (including losing a job that I absolutely loved and a recent death in the family) have reminded me that life is too short to let any day go by without truly counting the blessings in my life. I hope you do the same.
The Turkey Apocalypse
With that said, I hope you have a wonderful day, enjoy the remainder of those sweets in the candy bowl (Save the Snickers for me!), and look out for those vigilante turkeys! It’s just a matter of time before those turkeys have had enough and decide to strike back. The nearby town of Cuero has a turkey processing plant and is also known as the “unofficial” turkey capital of the world, and after years of Turkey Fest celebrations in October it’s just a matter of time before the turkeys revolt and go on a crusade across Texas. This may very well be the last time we enjoy turkey for Thanksgiving! I know. I know. Thanksgiving without turkey? The horror!
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