Monday, September 14, 2015

Interview + Giveaway: Blood Sky by Traci L. Slatton

UFI welcomes Author Traci L. Slatton. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview? 

I am an avid UFO-phile. The Mother Ship is coming, Live Long and Prosper. Also, I love conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorists are telling the best—most compelling—stories today. This partly comes from my personal theory of story. That is, what is story? Story is an argument for a specific value. We live in a time when “values” are eroded, but the value behind a conspiracy theory is that individuals have the right to know the truth and to choose freely. Hence the structure of the great Conspiracy Theory, be it that the moon landings were hoaxed or that the US government is behind 9/11, is that “they” are preventing us from knowing the truth and choosing freely. Besides, who knows? Some of the theories may be factual.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time? 

I have a daily practice of yoga. I enjoy it, but it’s more than that. My time on the mat is a centering, grounding ritual for me. It’s a time and space for coming back to my breath and my being. I also love going to movies, hiking, traveling, and playing with my daughter and our dogs.

My husband is a famous figurative sculptor, and we see a lot of art. That’s fun, too.

What is your Favorite part of writing? 

There are moments when “I” disappear and the story flows through, like light through a clear pane of glass. Those are the moments I live for.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write? 

I must sit at my computer and do it. Despite the fact that every page is agony.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres? 

Edgar Rice Burroughs and Anne Rice.

How would you pitch BLOOD SKY, BOOK 4 OF THE AFTER SERIES to someone who has not heard of it before? 

Would you gamble everything to save everyone you love?... In a time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test…

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that BLOOD SKY  is set in? 

The world has been ravaged by a global ecological cataclysm. Lethal mists have arisen and scourged the planet, devouring people and structures. Survivors roam, looking for food and safety.

Do you have a favorite scene in BLOOD SKY ? 

I do. I like the poker game in Outpost City. I grew up playing poker with my mother and grandmother at the kitchen table, and I still enjoy a great hand of seven card stud.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

Out of all of my books, there are three characters I have most enjoyed writing. One is Alexei, the mad Russian sociopath who bedevils the main characters in the After Series. He’s off his rocker, but he possesses his own sly logic. So that’s a fun challenge. Another character I enjoyed writing was Alia, the fallen angel in my historical novel BROKEN. Alia falls from grace, and she chooses to land in Paris in 1938, on the very eve of the Nazis marching in to occupy the city. She was soul weary but enlivened by what she knows about the soul, tolerant and mirthful and self-indulgent, and very sensual. She was fun to write.

I also enjoyed creating Luca Bastardo, the main character in my first novel IMMORTAL.

The hardest character to write was the Nazi Gestapo officer in BROKEN, Obersturmfuhrer Knochen. I fought my natural revulsion in trying to create someone truly evil who wasn’t a stereotypical villain.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you? 

Thank you for asking, and for having me on your blog!

Having finished BLOOD SKY, I’m currently working on a novel called THE YEAR OF LOVING. It was entitled THE YEAR OF LOVING A YOUNGER MAN, but then the protagonist went and got herself involved in a love triangle with a younger man AND an older man, and her best friend has cancer, so I realized it was THE YEAR OF LOVING. I’m also researching the siege of Montsegur and the Cathars for a historical novel.
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Traci L. Slatton is the international bestselling author of historical, paranormal, and romantic novels, including IMMORTAL (BantamDell) and BROKEN; the award-winning dystopian After Series which includes FALLEN, COLD LIGHT, FAR SHORE, and BLOOD SKY; the bittersweet romantic comedy THE LOVE OF MY (OTHER) LIFE; and the vampire art history romp THE BOTTICELLI AFFAIR. She has also published the lyrical poetry collection DANCING IN THE TABERNACLE and THE ART OF LIFE, a photo-essay about figurative sculpture through the ages. Her book PIERCING TIME & SPACE explores the meeting ground of science and spirituality.

Find Traci and her books
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Blood Sky
The After #4
Amazon

In a time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test… Deep in the badlands of Outpost City, in the Dark Horse saloon, a poker game is being played. The stakes are life and death—for the world.

What can Emma afford to lose? Will she gamble on herself, or on Arthur?

Will love find a way when the apocalypse closes in? A mystical odyssey, a haunting love…

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/moBlcXPG33o
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