Today my BUZZ GUEST is Danielle Riedel a Champagne Book Group author. Danielle’s first book in the SHATTER series is SMILE AND WALK AWAY.  

Danielle has taken the time to answer some ‘normal’ and ‘not so normal’ questions for us today.
 
‘Normal’ Questions

1. You’re first book is out. What is it called?

My debut novel is called Smile and Walk Away.

 2. What is it about?

Velma Bloom is a 25-year old, Vassar educated waitress with a rebellious streak and a long list of vices. On the same day she’s reported missing, police discover the corpses of two Russian men in the basement of a suburban home. Detectives first think they’re dealing with two separate and simple cases: a runaway girl and a Russian Mafia conflict. But why is Velma Bloom’s car, the only trace of her, parked in front of the house with the two dead men?

Rookie detective Jackson Duran is assigned to lead the search for Velma. His refusal to dismiss a possible connection between the missing woman and the murder scene lead him to some alarming discoveries. Armed with a far-reaching and dark imagination, a penchant for breaking rules, an obsessive personality, and a few bottles of Johnny Walker, Duran relentlessly pursues answers- even after he realizes he’d be safer without knowing them.

 3. Is your book the first in a series?

This book is the first in a series called Shatter.  When I finished writing Smile and Walk Away, I had complete outlines done for another two books. The more I continue to write, the further I realize I can take things. I often surprise myself with what comes into my head, and sometimes I give myself nightmares. That’s when I know I have something really worth writing.

 4. Do you have a book inspiration story to share with us?

This series has been incubating for more than a decade. I was in college when Velma Bloom first appeared on paper. At the time, she was an ancillary character in a kind of warped, Freudian psychodrama. She resurfaced in my mind years later and I decided she should be promoted to protagonist. I dove in to writing her story. Life and day jobs got in the way, and the book kept getting moved to my back burner. Then, a little over two years ago, a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at age twenty-five. She was a wonderful human being and had planned to do so much good for the world. Between becoming painfully aware of my own mortality and not wanting to dishonor her memory by wasting what time I have, I felt a fire being lit under me. I started writing between three and five thousand words a day. A couple months later, I had a complete first draft of the project I’d been allowing myself to put off for the last fifteen years.
 
‘Not so normal’ Questions

1. If you could invite any 5 people (i.e. cartoon character; famous person; rock band; poet; artist; living or dead) for a meal together, who would they be?

My selfish answer to this question would be a group of people who would bring a combination of intellect, humor, and appreciation of fine wine: Mel Brooks, Dr. Frasier Crane, Carol Burnett, Vincent Price, and Tyrion Lannister. However, for the good of the world, there is a different set of five people I would bring into a room together. The first four would be Liudmyla Mykhailivna Pavlichnko (the Russian sniper also known as Lady Death), Inigo Montoya, Aeon Flux, and Arya Stark. The fifth would be an unarmed Mike Pence.

 2. You have a mystery to solve. What magical creatures or persons are on your team?

If I had a mystery to solve, the first person I would enlist to help me would be my own fictional character, Detective Jackson Duran. He has his quirks, and he can be a bit anti-social at times, but I like the way he thinks. He makes his own rules.

 3. You have an imaginary friend that only you can see.  What does he/she look like? 

He is an immortal version of my first cat. He’s a big boned orange tabby. Every night, he snuggles with me in bed until I fall asleep. He then sneaks out to enact vigilante justice until morning.

 4. Would you rather encounter an alien or a ghost? 

I would rather encounter an alien than a ghost. Assuming the ghost would be the ghost of a human, there would only be so much we could learn from them. An alien, however, could lead to scientific advancements we’re as of yet unable to fathom. Why are they here, how did they get here? What research have they done? Could Earth’s scientists and theirs compare notes to the end of deepening everyone’s understanding of the universe?
 


Wow! Great answers. As for the alien part, might I recommend the awesome series ANCIENT ALIENS. It’s totally worth the look.

YOU CAN FIND DANIELLE AT:
Website -> www.danielleriedel.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DanielleRiedelAuthor/
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/DanielleERiedel

LET'S GENERATE A BUZZ! Authors, artists, and poets if you would like to be a BUZZ GUEST on ‘FAE AND WITCHES AND GHOSTS—OH MY!’ please DM me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kay_latour or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kaylatour/
 
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 Stories and recipes from that magical island - Sicily!

 

Diane has taken the time to answer some ‘normal’ and ‘not so normal’ questions for us today.
 
‘Normal’ Question Spot

1. You just released a novel. What is the name of it?   

The Bastard of Saint Genevra

2. What is it about?  

The Bastard of Saint Genevra is a story of family secrets revealed.  It is a sweeping tale of three women that spans half the world and nearly a thousand years.  Elena steps off a plane in Trapani in search of her birth mother. Genevra undertakes a spiritual journey that begins with an unexpected pregnancy.  Cristiana gives up her child and leaves her half a world away to return to her life and family in Sperlinga. It is an exploration of what mystical connections ties these three women together.

3. If you could have anyone take something away from having read your novel, what would it be.  

That secrets kill families.There are no secrets that are worth keeping.

4. What are you working on right now?   

I am doing a final edit on a book called The Rose: A Hirsute Horror.  It is a psychological horror about a man powerless to leave his apartment in a building with hallways stalked by a monster.

5. Do you have a book inspiration story to share with us?  

I think it is more of an “author inspiration” story.  Like so many people, I had always wanted to write a novel, but the thought of writing one to conclusion seemed so daunting, especially as I was a working single mother, that I had pretty much given up on the idea.  One day, when I was 48, I heard Sylvia Olsen as she was giving a talk to a group of teens.  She said that she had published her first book at age 50.  I thought to myself, if she can do it, so can I.  I entered the Three-Day Novel Contest, wrote Greenwich List, and it was published 16 months later, on my 50th birthday.
 
‘Not so Normal’ Question Spot

1. If you could invite any 5 people (i.e. cartoon character; famous person; rock band; poet; artist; living or dead) for a meal together, who would they be? 
 
Sorry, it can’t be five.  I can’t decide on five.  Merlin (yes, the wizard), JK Rowling, Stephen King, Craig Ferguson, JRR Tolkien, and Oscar Wilde.  This took some thinking.  There were other people that, if I could have met them individually, I would have listed them, but as the guests at a literary dinner party, I think this would make an interesting group. Rowling, King, and Wilde are obvious.  Craig Ferguson is a decent novelist, knows how to get people talking, and is (I suspect) a lot more intelligent that he would have people believe.  Merlin could shed light on the Arthurian tales – plus I think it would be interesting to hear what an old-time druid would think about the literary scene now, especially since the druids were very much against anything written down. I would also love to host a dinner party of world changers – Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Viola Desmond, Charles Dickens, Malala, and the Dalai Lama – but that would be an entirely different meal.

2. What magical place that you’ve read about would you like to visit?   

#1 is Hogwarts, of course, and then Narnia. Oh, and the Shire.

3. Would you rather have the ability to read minds or see into the future?   

Oh, neither. I don’t want to know what other people think about me and I don’t want to really know what is going to happen.  That isn’t to say that I don’t like getting my tarot cards read, but I want there to be an element of surprise in what is coming up.  If I could have an ability, I’d like to be able to see into the past – what it was really like.  What did it look like?  What did people talk like or dress like or believe.  And if it couldn’t be that ability, I’d like to be fluent in every language – real or imagined – that there is.

4. You have an imaginary friend that only you can see.  What does he/she look like?   

I’ve had a number of imaginary friends in my life.  When I was little, it was an imaginary bear named Teddy (I know, super original, right?) who travelled all over the world with me on horseback.  When I was a teen, it was Elton John.  Not so imaginary, just imaginary in my life.  And in my twenties…. Well, let’s just say he had a monster chest, great abs, and….  Nope.  Not saying anymore.  :)

 


Love your answers! And it makes sense that you would choose the ability to see into the past over seeing into the future given you are a historical fiction author. I too love history. It’s so interesting and there is so much to learn from it.

YOU CAN FIND DIANE AT:
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/dianegallagherwritings/
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/diane_writes  @diane_writes
Website -> https://dianegallagherwritings.com
Goodreads Author -> https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8092262.Diane_Gallagher
Goodreads THE BASTARD OF SAINT GENEVRA -> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34565584-the-bastard-of-saint-genevra

LET'S GENERATE A BUZZ! Authors, artists, and poets if you would like to be a BUZZ GUEST on ‘FAE AND WITCHES AND GHOSTS—OH MY!’ please DM me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kay_latour or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kaylatour/
 
 
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