Welcome to the Release Day Blitz for Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson. Get to know her and her new book and then enter the giveaway below. Thanks for stopping by!
What was the inspiration
for 'Shattered Circle'?
This is the 6th book in the series, so it is mostly the natural outgrowth of the overarching plot that is unfolding. However, the are some true-to-life events that occurred that became intrinsic to a subplot. You see, in my series the wærewolves have made a turn-of-the-century cold storage building into their den. Since the novels are based in and around Cleveland, Ohio, and since I live not too far from there, I can do research easily. And there are so many interesting structures there, like the Cleveland Cold Storage (CCS) building. In recent years the structure, which sat just off a section of highway where I-90 and I-71 ran together, has been little more than a billboard for local hospitals. In my world-building, the wærewolves and other non-humans have not been entirely accepted into society so this older, unused building on the outskirts of town made geographical sense. CCS had no windows, so it was perfect for the wærewolves to kennel in during full moons. Recently, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) fought with the owners to take the building and tear it down to make way for a new I-90 project, and the CCS was destroyed. So, I’ve added ODOT wanting CCS into my storyline, and have them negotiating not to kindly with the wærewolves. Those scenes are key, and they worked brilliantly to showcase not only character traits of Johnny, the upcoming wærewolf king, but the choices and reasoning behind them.
Which character spoke to you the most during the writing process?
I’m not sure Goliath spoke to me most during the process, but he certainly had the most interesting thing to say this time around.
If you could turn your book into a movie, who would you choose to play each role?
I almost hate this kind of question. I used model photos for my files, choosing a person who looks like the character in a pose and setting that conveys their personality and attitude. When I start assigning actors, it’s harder for me to not make the character act like my favorite role that actor plays. That said, I’ve had this question so many times that I dug around, asked some folks, and after some consideration came up with this standard answer:
PERSEPHONE ALCMEDI: Kristen Kreuk
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JOHNNY NEWMAN: Jake Owen (I
know, he’s a country singer. But he looks right to me.)
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MENESSOS: Chris Pine (I have never seen him with long curly hair or a thin beard, but I think he could play the character…)
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There are too many recurring supportive cast members to list, but those are the three main characters.
What other projects do you have in the works?
I am working on an unrelated UF novel, and I have a 2nd unrelated novel in the research stage. I am also currently collaborating with another author with mostly SF credits. We are writing a more mainstream novel, with a slight few fantastic elements. I’m very excited about all of these projects, but I’m eager to get back to Persephone’s story as well.
If you could become a paranormal creature, which would you choose and why?
I’d have to pick wærewolf. They have a lot of strength and vigor, and they are not restricted to night hours like vamps are. Their only restriction is one night a month. That’s easy as far as fantasy creature restrictions go.
Are you a night owl or an early bird?
I’m in between. I like late mornings. If I can sleep til 10 am and stay up until 1, that would be perfect for me.
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
Always! It’s been an on-going dream since I was little. When I was eight, I wrote a 'Harlequin' romance for my mom because she read so many of them. I illustrated it and even put the little symbol on it if I remember correctly. I continued to write increasingly long stories over the next several years and started on novels my senior year of high school.
What do you find inspirational for your writing?
Everything! Life influences me, people I meet, places I go. I think about stories and new ideas all the time. I have a nice folder full of ideas.
What and who are your current favorite books and authors?
Not too long ago I read the non-fiction book “The Art of Choosing” by Sheena Iyengar. I read it for research but enjoyed it as way more than research. In fiction, I really enjoy James R. Tuck’s Deacon Chalk series. All-time fiction favorites are Ellen Kushner's "The Fall of the Kings" and Jennifer Roberson's "Sword Dancer."
What is something readers may be surprised to know about you?
My IQ is two standard deviations above average, my college GPA was 3.59, and I hate sappy chick-flicks.
Anything else you would like to share?
Here’s how readers can find out more or contact me:
My website has been recently revamped: www.authorlindarobertson.com
WEDNESDAYS I post at: www.word-whores.blogspot.com
About
the Author
Linda
Robertson is the mother of four wonderful boys, owns three electric
guitars, and is followed around by a big dog named after Bela Lugosi.
Once upon a time she was a lead guitarist in a heavy metal cover band
and has worked as a graphic artist. She still composes and creates
art, when time permits. Linda currently writes and rocks in northeast
Ohio. Visit her at AuthorLindaRobertson.com and @authorLinda
Shattered
Circle
Persephone
Alcmedi
Linda
Robertson
Mass
Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher:
Pocket Books
ISBN-10:
1451648936
ISBN-13:
978-1451648935
JUST
YOUR AVERAGE MEGA-WITCH. . . .
It’s
tough being a modern woman, but Persephone Alcmedi has it worse than
most. Being the prophesied Lustrata has kicked her career as a witch
into high gear, and juggling a wærewolf boyfriend who is about to
become king of his kind and a seductive vampire who bears her magical
Mark isn’t easy either.
Still,
Seph’s beloved foster daughter, Beverley, is causing more trouble
than these two men put together. The young girl’s been playing with
a magical artifact that’s far more dangerous than she realizes. Now
Seph must summon help from a mystical being so potent that even
vampires fear him . . . and the cost of his aid may be more than
she’s willing to pay. Seph, Johnny, and Menessos face threats from
all sides—and a few from within. Will the forces of destiny cement
their tenuous supernatural union, or shatter it forever?
Read an excerpt:
Liyliy, a vampire-harpy, had tried to kill me a few hours ago, and the struggle left me exhausted and sore. That was the reason I was still abed at nearly two in the afternoon. When my satellite phone blared the opening riffs of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon,” it startled me, instantly reminding me about all the sore muscles I had.
Mid-reach, I stopped. That was Johnny’s ringtone.
He had tried to kill me, too.
My hand shook as my finger jabbed the Answer button.
“Hello?”
“Red . . . I’m so sorry.” Johnny’s voice was barely audible.
I sat up and deliberated whether to play deaf and repeat my “hello” as if I hadn’t heard him. I considered being a jerk and hanging up. I even contemplated ripping him a new one.
Instead, I remained silent.
Two days before, minutes after I’d performed the forced-change spell on him and his loyal pack mates, Johnny had attacked me. He’d always retained his manmind while transformed, but that last time he didn’t—he’d been pure animal. The only reason I was still among the living was because I’d pumped ley line energy into him like a human Taser.
“Red?”
He’d frightened me to my core. The unshakeable faith I’d had in him had been shattered by an emotional earthquake. Damage was done. My fear felt like betrayal.
But . . .
Could going through the forced-change spell repeatedly have an undesired effect?
No. I was sure the whole terrible incident could be pinned on the fact that my mother, Eris, had revoked the tattooed bindings she’d placed upon Johnny eight years ago. He suddenly had access to all the power and potential she’d locked away from him. That was surely a disorienting, difficult situation.
I’d helped him dig up the clues, helped him achieve that goal. Hell, I’d even been a part of the reversal spell. So some responsibility for the consequences was mine to bear.
“Persephone?”
He rarely used my full given name; he usually called me Red, as in Little Red Riding Hood to his Big Bad Wolf. Or Seph like nearly everyone else. I had to respond.
“I’m here.”
“Then say something.”
Pushing back the covers, I stood and began to pace. “I don’t know what to say.”
He paused. “Can you forgive me?”
I wasn’t sure.
Part of me said I couldn’t allow his attack to be a personal issue because of the fateful trio that Johnny, Menessos, and I forged by binding ourselves magically. The other part argued that no matter the circumstances, attempted murder was very damn personal.
It all happened because Johnny had surrendered to his destiny. His unique ability to transform at will made him the Domn Lup—king of the wærewolves. It was a position with power, prestige, and perks such as a Maserati Quattroporte. Johnny knew his royal place was unavoidable, but he’d fought it and hid from it a long time. He’d finally pushed forward because it was beneficial to our triple union, but kinghood was costing him his dream of being a rock star.
It had been my fear that he’d lose who he was in the course of this alliance of ours. More than ever, it seemed this fear was being borne out.
On the other corner of our triangle was Menessos. He now bore two witches marks—mine, of course. That made him my servant. When Heldridge, his former right-hand man, learned of my authority over Menessos, he tattled to the highest vampire authority, the Excelsior. To protect us against the personal grudge of the truthseeing vampire-harpies sent by VEIN to make formal inquiry, Menessos had allied himself at great personal expense with someone dangerous—a “nameless” guy I had aptly dubbed Creepy.
The secrets he’d wanted to hide from VEIN—secrets even I didn’t know—were apparently safe, but our little who-marked-whom secret was out. Menessos lost his haven and his status as Northeastern Quarterlord. Johnny had accepted great power and lost a lifelong dream. Menessos had lost great power and accepted serious personal risk. It didn’t seem fair.
And what about me?
In the last several weeks I’d learned that I was the longprophesied Lustrata, the Witches’ Messiah, She Who Walks Between Worlds, She Who Will Bring Balance, blah blah blah. As this news spread throughout the nonhuman communities, some scoffed and some believed. I was fine with the scoffers; it was the believers who were dangerous. They wanted to know if I truly possessed the power that accompanied those titles. Yeah, I was a magnet for nasties who either a) wanted me dead to be sure I didn’t have that power, or b) wanted to try to force me to wield power for their gain.
I guess I’d accepted the endless complications of my status and was well on my way to losing all scraps of naïveté.
At that thought, I stopped pacing. As I stared into the nothingness of a darkened corner, it felt like my innocence had slipped from my grasp and I was watching it skitter across the floor, waiting for it to come to a stop so I could reclaim it.
I wasn’t sure it was worth the effort to look for it. Or perhaps it would be impossible to find if I made the effort. Maybe it had rolled into some crack, never to be seen again.
I heard Johnny breathing through the phone.
It wasn’t Johnny who had rescued me last night.
When I defeated Liyliy, Menessos had been there to bring me to the haven. Sure, Menessos had a hand in creating the monster she now was. And it was he who had imprisoned her, creating her need for revenge. But it was me and my marks upon him that had brought her to Cleveland. When she pursued me from the haven—according to the Offerling I’d spoken to—Menessos had sent everyone out to search for me.
Had Johnny even known I was missing?
It was shitty of me to compare the two men in my life, but I couldn’t help myself. Though Menessos had drunk my blood numerous times, he hadn’t tried to kill me.
Yes he did! He nearly killed you not long after you first met.
We were strangers then, I argued with myself. Now, we know each other well.Better, perhaps, than you should. . . .
Defiantly, I ignored my conscience’s scolding. I will not regret what I did last night. During the predawn hours, reeling from my encounter, I’d kissed Menessos.
Fine, but clearly you were able to forgive him.
That was true. Considering this, I felt hope. I sighed heavily into the phone. My whispered answer was, “In time.”
“There’s so much I need to tell you.” Johnny’s voice was raw, and the rev of an engine punctuated his words. I wondered where he was going. And I wondered if I should tell him about kissing the vampire.
It hadn’t been a peck.
When our lips had touched, I felt the promise and power of a more intimate union. He’d definitely felt it. It wasn’t only the power of the marks between us that had been kindled.
“I don’t know where to begin,” Johnny said.
His voice drew me out from my memory of a passionate moment with another man. Guilt swelled around my heart . . . but not remorse. What am I going to do?
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