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:
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway & Spotlight: Lady of the Dead by Gretchen S.B.

Lady of the Dead
Night World Series
Book 1
Gretchen S. B.

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Number of pages: 262
Cover Artist: Gretchen S. B.

Guest Post from author Gretchen S.B.:

Changing the Mental Linens

For most of the writers I know, writers block hits when they are working on a story. You will be somewhere in the middle when everything will come to a screeching halt. It seems like there is nowhere for the story to go. Or worse your train of thought unravels and a large section of story will have to be scrapped.

I do not get that form of block often, for which I am thankful because it is a killer. If I have to scrap bits of a story I will drag my feet as long as I can. I almost always get a block between projects. I find I will have finished a story, done the edits and be content with how it ended up. Then the time comes to start a new project and I will find my creative well dried up. Does this happen for anyone else?

I am actually facing this problem currently. I have finished Lady of the Dead and I am so happy with how it turned out. Now it is time to edit my next book and I feel like a small child. I am distracted by everything, it is so hard to focus. I know that once I am in a groove it should be smooth but I just can't start.

This is where Changing the Mental Linens comes in. I find, and I recommend it to anyone battling the dreaded writer's block, that if I change my physical location it will clear my head. Whether it be sitting on the balcony or leaving the apartment and going to Starbucks (which has the added bonus of feeding me coffee addition). I see it as taking the linens and shaking them out. Changing the energy of the environment I am writing in. Most of the time that change is like a breeze zipping around my mind and blowing out all the cobwebs.

Try it next time you hit the creative wall and let me know what you think.

Book Description:
A Lady of the Dead only comes along once in a century. Gwen knows this makes her valuable but she hates the constant supervision of her Warrior guards. Her increasing power has gifted her some independence until rumors of war spook her guards enough to report to the King Cesar has been King of North America through several wars and rebellions. When one of his generals informs him these new rumors involve the Lady of the Dead he flies to Seattle himself it investigate, posing as his second-in-command. The instant attraction he feels to Gwen becomes increasingly hard to ignore.Will Cesar be able to protect Gwen while battling his lust? Will Gwen stay with her warrior guards or will Cesar’s dominating nature push her to switch sides? Hidden alliances begin to surface in Lady of the Dead.

Excerpt:

“The Night World stole me from reality. No, a better way to put it is that the Night World weaned me from the normalcy of what most people would consider the real world,” Gwen began by way of explanation.

“That’s an interesting and very selective memory of events you have there,” Viking said, raising a blond eyebrow at her. “In fact, that is not how I remember it at all.”

Gwen glared. “Storebror, are you going to let me tell my story or are you going to be a nuisance?”

Viking smiled but before he could say anything he was interrupted by Raider, his second-in-command.

“Viking, the boy asked her about her past, let her tell it her own way so we can get on with the game. You know how the new guards become so enamored with our Lady of the Dead. Let the boy get it out of his system.” He laid his cards on the table, folded his arms and nodded at Gwen to continue.

Gwen rolled her eyes. She hated that title and Raider knew it. She had tried desperately over the years to convince the Warriors sent to guard her to call her by her name instead of the title, that really creeped her out. Gwen did not just talk to the dead, but to the entire Spirit World. She wanted to meet who ever had come up with that title and kick him in the balls.

Sighing, Gwen turned to Kegan, one of the new men sent to guard her. The fact that he still used his birth name told Gwen that he was less than two centuries old. When Warriors became older, they tended to make up their own names, like Viking and Raider.

“Anyway, I was seven and once again helped out of the house by my Fairy friends…”

Kegan waved a hand. “Fairy friends? There’s no such thing as Fairies.”

Gwen glared at him until he looked away. Yeah, he was definitely young. Older Warriors would not give in that easily. Gwen looked at Raider.

“What is it with you men and interrupting?”

Raider grinned at her. She had known him since she was seventeen, ten years now. Gwen had harbored a minor crush on him when they first met, but had found out what he was in his first life and the feelings had faded. A first life is what Warriors called their first century; everything after that is considered their second life. Raider’s first life consisted of raiding tombs in the 1700s. The young Gwen had been crushed that the gorgeous man before her was not only far too old for her, but a professional thief as well.

Raider kept his light brown hair a little shaggy and his sharp jaw clean-shaven. His broad nose showed signs of a bad break. The break must have occurred very young because at thirty a Warrior’s body became too strong for scarring like that.

When Raider did not respond to her, Gwen continued. “A small child is not going to understand that a being from the Spirit World is not a Fairy. My Fairy friends and I went to play down by Green River; they knew the paths to take to get all the way down to the bank. I was playing in the water when some of the Fairies picked me up and started dunking me.” Gwen did not like the next part. She still had nightmares. “At first it was fun, but then I was under too long and I needed air. The Fairies would not let me up to breathe. They were trying to drown me.”

She knew her voice was emotionless. Though it had been the first traumatic experience in her life, it was not the last. The attacks only grew worse as she aged.  When Viking’s hand slid onto her left arm, Gwen knew he was thinking of those later attacks as well. His one little gesture calmed her down. She was safe now. Viking always made feel her safe, even when the odds were against them.

Shaking her head to clear it, Gwen continued her story. “Suddenly I was up in the air and huddling against this huge chest. He was yelling at the Fairies, speaking in a language I didn’t know. Nevertheless, I knew he was there to help me. I could feel that he was a good guy. He made the Fairies leave and has protected me ever since.”

Smashwords


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.
She has loved 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.

Author Contacts:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway Details:
4 Free eCopies of  Lady of the Dead by Gretchen S. B.

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