Author Interview & Book Spotlight: Berman's Wolves by Gretchen SB

Berman's Wolves
Gretchen SB

Genre: Urban Fantasy

About the Book:
When a scientist runs an experiment on three separate college campuses that goes horribly wrong, several hundred students find their lives altered forever. They must learn to adapt to their new lives as Werewolves. Immediately after the incident a government program was put in place to keep track of these unwitting subjects. After a year the program falls apart as those in charge argue on how to proceed.
Without the programmers constantly looking over their shoulders the werewolves have now started to organize themselves. Creating their own hierarchy and alliances.
Jack is the Alpha of Pacific Northwest University's pack F. He thought the government had finally taken a step back and let him and the other Alphas run their packs. Recently, however, he has been hearing rumblings about the programmers wanting to reinstate the program. He thought they were just rumors until he finds out one of his pack is being threatened by several of the lab assistants that took part in the original experiment. Now Jack must scramble to find allies and hunt down those threatening his pack. The more he goes looking the bigger the plot becomes.

PRFL would like to extend a very warm welcome to Gretchen SB, author of Berman's Wolves. Gretchen, can you tell us where you're from, and where/whom did your love for writing come from? 

I am from the Seattle area. I love my books to take place in my area because I love it here so much. I also do it because in Washington State we have forests, deserts, farms, and cities. Pretty much everything I want to have in my books thus far.

Can you say that your journey to publication was difficult? If so, what were the hardest moments to get through?

I think that the journey has had lots of obstacles from when I first decided I wanted to publish to now. I have been lucky because nothing was so hard that I could not pick up and move around it. As for what was the hardest, that would be when I lost most of my work six months ago. That was incredible disheartening. I work on trying to see every book I publish as a victory over the guy who stole my lap top.

How do you overcome I-suck-it is, that little voice in your head that tells you your writing isn’t good enough?

I’ve overcome it?!?!?! No one told me. J For me what it came down to is that writing is what I truly want to do with my life and publishing was the only way to find out if people did indeed like my work. I still hear that little voice all the time but on the plus side it means that every good review I see sends me over the moon.

What is your dream vacation?

I don’t think I have one. There are lots of places I want to go like Greece and Egypt but I want to see them all equally. Really I want to go anywhere that I can see the history of human culture.

Describe your writing style in five words.

Random, Sarcastic, Urban, Paranormal, Fantasy.

What movies are you currently excited to see?

EXPENDABLES 3!!!!

What are you currently reading?

I have been reading a lot of Chick Lit that I downloaded onto my Kindle for free from Amazon. I love free books. J

If you weren’t a writer, what other careers would you pursue?

I would like to be a Yoga Instructor of a College Instructor teaching Comparative Religion or Mythology or something along those lines.

If you could create a holiday of your own, what would it be called?

It would be Customer Service Appreciation Day. It would be a day where we recognize the people working in the thankless Customer Service jobs. It would be celebrated by Customer Service people getting to say the things they have really wanted to say the rest of the year. *Evil Laugh* Think of the mayhem.

For people who haven’t read your novel, how would you summarize the plot?

This is a book about a scenice experiment that turns several hundred students in to Werewolves. The government steps in to control the situation but that soon falls apart because those in charge argue about how to proceed. The book takes place after all of this when the Weres are trying to take control of themselves. At the same time there are ex-scientists trying to get control of the Weres for their own purposes.

What are two of your pet-peeves?

1)      People that are rude to Customer Service personal. I just do not understand it.

2)      When people suck on or lick their fingers when they eat. I don’t know why but it is one of the grossest things to me.

To you, what makes a good story?

Well-developed characters.  I love when the characters are three dimensional because then the decisions they make throughout the book seem more natural and easy to understand. I find I get more invested.

What usually turns you off about a story?

When there is any kind of sexual assault. It bothers me with both books and moves. I will turn the movie off or put the book down. I might just be crazy but there is something about having that subject matter in an entertainment format that makes me queasy.  It almost seems belittling to me. But that is just me.

If you could collaborate with any author, who would you choose, and why?

Oh my goodness, I don’t know…..There are so many wonderful authors out there.

What is on your night stand?

My PJs, a hair clip, a hair tie, a lamp, a cheesy romance book, and my phone when it is plugged in.

What is your favorite book?

I don’t think I have one. There are lots of books I love. I guess it depends on where I am and what my mood is.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Gretchen. We really enjoyed the visit. Good luck and great sales with Berman's Wolves. 

About the Author:

Gretchen happily lives in Seattle, Washington where she spends her time creating new characters and situations to put them in. She also enjoys cheering on her local sports teams, even though it sometimes seems they are allergic to winning.
Gretchen has spent most of her life in Washington state. She graduated from Central Washington University with a BA in History and a BA in Philosophy. Though there was a brief stint after college where she lived in Florida and worked for the mouse (Disney World). She loves that Washington provides a large range of activities, from Shakespeare in the park to rodeos.
She has had a love of reading and telling stories as far back as she, or anyone else, can remember.  Currently, she loves to read the same genres she writes. She also loves exploring her home state. At the end of her adventures she unwinds by curling up on the couch, knitting while catching up TV shows via Netflix.

Author Contacts:
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