EKKO Mysteries has long admired hard working authors, which is why we started the EKKO Mysteries Author Spotlight Series, focusing on emerging authors and their stories.

This time we bring you

Margo Bond Collins, author of,

Waking Up Dead

Was there a moment or specific event that made you commit to writing?

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a writer, for as long as I can remember. The first story I remember actually writing down was basically fan-fiction of The Wizard of Oz. I wrote it in long-hand in a yellow legal pad. I’ve been writing ever since.

What is the working title of your book?

Waking Up Dead

Where did the idea come from for the book? What genre does your book fall under?

I wrote Waking Up Dead, a paranormal mystery, when I lived in Alabama for a few years. I remember driving to work one morning and seeing just a wisp of fog move across the statue in the middle of the town square. The statue was of some Civil War figure, and thought that it looked oddly ghostly. In between teaching classes that day (I’m a college professor in my other life), I started writing Callie’s story.

How would you describe the pace of the story?

It’s a fast-paced murder mystery. Callie, the ghostly protagonist of the novel, witnesses a murder, and everything takes off from there.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Callie: Jennifer Lawrence

Ashara: Kat Graham

Maw-Maw: Ruby Dee

Stephen: Chris Hemsworth

Clifford Howard: Adoni Maropis

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When Callie Taylor died, she expected heaven or hell; she got Alabama.

Is your book self-published, published or represented by an agency?

It is published by Solstice Shadows Publishing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Six weeks—the first novel I ever wrote was during National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org) and I’ve used that method ever since!

How have your friends and family influenced or helped you in the writing process?

Absolutely! The feisty grandmother Maw-Maw in Waking Up Dead is actually largely based on a combination of my own grandmother and great-grandmother--the only real difference is that they were white and from Texas rather than black and from Alabama. Otherwise, she talks like them and acts like them. It's my great-grandmother's voice I hear in my head when I write her dialogue, my grandmother's movements I see when I picture her walking around. Physically, I imagine her looking a bit like Ruby Dee in the television movie version of The Stand. But her attitude? That's straight from my own family!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

That’s a tough one. The narrator is pretty snarky, especially when she’s out of her depth, so it’s kind of like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum mysteries—except there’s a paranormal element. It’s got a paranormal element that is perhaps reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton’s early Anita Blake novels—except it’s only one ghost and (as far as Callie knows) there are no vampires or shapeshifters or other monsters. Ultimately, I think I drew on a lot of the mysteries and urban fantasies I’ve read and mashed them all together in one book!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I read tons of urban fantasy and love just about any kind of fiction with a paranormal element; there was never any doubt that what I wrote would have a supernatural slant. But I didn’t know that Waking Up Dead was going to be a mystery until I had written the first few chapters—I tend to start with a character and then see what happens. Once I knew I was writing about a ghost, I knew I wanted to see the world from her point of view. And what she saw when she watched Molly die made her need to take action.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Here’s the book blurb: In Waking Up Dead, when Dallas resident Callie Taylor died young, she expected to go to Heaven, or maybe Hell. Instead, when she met her fate early thanks to a creep with a knife and a mommy complex, she ended up in Alabama. Now she's witnessed another murder, and she's not about to let this one go. She's determined to help solve it before an innocent man goes to prison. And to answer the biggest question of all: why the hell did she wake up in Alabama?

What is your favorite response from a reader?

I love it when readers contact me to tell me they started the book and then couldn’t put it down. One of my favorite Amazon reviews says “I crawled into bed last night intending to just read the first few chapters before bed, and ended up, well after midnight, bleary-eyed but satisfied at a ripping good read! I really couldn't stop till I finished and found out how it all ended.”

Great interview! Kudos to Margo for her hard work!

Where can readers find your work?

Buy Waking Up Dead on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Dead-ebook/dp/B00FOXWLM8/

Connect with Margo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins

Email: mailto:MargoBondCollins@gmail.com

Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin

Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy

Interview with Sam Whitehouse

In the on-going process of delivering great reads to the public, EKKO Mysteries has developed the EKKO Mysteries Author Spotlight Series, focusing on emerging authors and their stories.

Check out this inspiring interview with Sam Whitehouse,

author of The Keys of Time.

From The Prophecy of Three Quartet

Was there a moment or specific event that made you commit to writing?

Ever since I knew that people wrote books, I wanted to do the same. I wanted to create worlds and characters like my favourite authors, but be able to have full control over them. And it always felt like the right thing to do. I suppose some people know they want to be a doctor or a veterinarian, just knew that I wanted to be a writer.

What is the working title of your book?

The book is published on Amazon Kindle so it is no longer a working title. The series was originally going to be called Merlin’s Three, but ultimately I decided upon The Prophecy of Three Quartet, and then sub-titles for each of the four instalments. The first one being The Keys of Time.

Where did the idea come from?

It stemmed from a love of myth and legend, particularly Arthurian legend (merlin, round table etc) which has always sat on a line between fact and fiction. I thought it would be cool to explore that line. Greek mythology seems to get a lot of attention and I thought it was time Arthurian legend was given a chance.

What genre does your book fall under?

I would say fantasy is the main genre but there is a little YA urban thrown in there too.

Great mix. How would you describe the pace of the story?

I try, in everything I write, to drag the reader into the action and so I like to have a pretty fast pace. But I do like the occasional page or two where there is a quiet moment where the characters can develop. If I succeed in making the reader feel a part of the story, then I am happy.

If a movie were made, which actors would you choose to play your characters?

I would like the three main protagonists, Simon, Evelyn, and James, to be played by relatively unknown actors, so someone is given a chance to make the character their own. But Falamir - Simon, Evelyn and James’s mentor - I think would be a great role for either Gary Oldman who plays Sirius Black in the Potter movies or perhaps Liam Neeson. I think Helena Bonham Carter or Angelina Jolie would be great for Morgana.

Can you tell us about your book in one-sentence?

Limitless power, time-travel, dangerous magic, an evil witch, and an impending magical apocalypse: not exactly the life of your average teenager.

Are you self published, published or represented by an agency?

I decided to self-publish so that I could have full control over the series and where it went. I didn’t want anyone to tell me where I had to take the plot or characters.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft took me about five months to write. But with creating, planning and plotting then editing the first book took around three years. It has been a long journey. 

Well done. How have your friends and family influenced or helped you in the writing process?

They have offered advice on what works and what doesn’t, they read through paragraphs and offered ways that I could improve some of the plot points. But most of the time I worked in the world of The Prophecy of Three on my own. I was a bit protective of it and didn’t want anyone else knowing about it but me. But if anyone should get credit for helping, it is my Grandad. He was the one who read me stories when I was small, fuelled my imagination and made me want to write.

What other books would you compare The Keys of Time to?

I think it would sound big-headed to compare my book with any other. But the story does share traits with Harry Potter and Percy Jackson in that unsuspecting characters have daunting destinies thrust upon them. But that is what I like in a story. To throw an unwitting character into a situation that is beyond anything they have experienced before.

Just what readers are looking for. So... who or what inspired you to write this book?

My Grandad was the one who first sparked my interest in books. He read my hundreds of stories when I was little, most of them time he would make them up himself. But this book specifically was inspired by my love of myth and legend and wanting to create my own fantasy world that I could control and allow readers to explore.

What might pique the reader’s interest? 

It blends modern day with ancient myth and legend. I think fans of Percy Jackson should find it a cool read. Oh, and there is time travel, insidious creatures, battles, witches, an impending magical apocalypse, and a talking ferret called Puck.

What is your favorite comment from a reader?

One reader said they felt as if they knew the characters and that they were living the story alongside them. As I’ve said before, if I can make the readers feel like part of the story, then I am happy.

What can we expect in the future from an author like Sam Whitehouse?

I am currently hard at work editing Book 2 of the Prophecy of Three Quartet which will be called The Demon’s Hunt. I am also writing the third book in the Prophecy series and writing the first in a new YA sci-fi trilogy, which I plan on offering to agents and publishers. One thing that is for sure is I will never stop writing. Writing is as ingrained in me as my own blood. 

Where can we find your work?

You can find it on Amazon Kindle: Just type in The Prophecy of Three the Keys of Time and you can pick up a copy. If you want to read some short stories and sneak peeks you can check out my blog at: http://sam26051994.wordpress.com/. Or if you want to get to know me and my writing you can follow me on twitter @SamProphecy or head over to the Prophecy’s official facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Theprophecyofthreequartet.

Kudos to Sam for this interview and for his hard work!