Cinsearae Santiago

Title: ABRAXAS: Seeing Green (Book 4 in the ABRAXAS Series)
Release Date: 2009
Author: Cinsearae Santiago
Author Website
Publisher: Lulu Press
Buy Link
Genre: Dark Paranormal, Romance, Horror
Blurb: Edward lies in a coma in the hospital, with Christine having a sneaking suspicion Ryan has something to do with Edward's current condition. Ryan continues to act strangely possessive of Christine to the point where it becomes too scary for her. Edward's spectral form constantly cries to Christine for help, leaving her with many sleepless nights... and to make matters more trying for her, Christine's best friend stops by for a visit, unknowing of her situation. (This is part 4 in the continuation of The ABRAXAS Series at http://BloodTouch.webs.com/abraxas.htm )


Welcome Cinsearae and thanks so very much for agreeing to the interview.
Thank you so much for having me here, Rie! A pleasure to join you!


Can you tell us the journey you embarked upon to your first publishing contract?   
It hasn’t been an easy one, but when you love what you do, you keep plugging away! J I’ve only been ‘out there’ for about six years or so, and I’m still learning the tricks of the trade, as they change so rapidly. My first publishing contract came with Forbidden Publications, which unfortunately folded. I had entered a couple of writing contests, which garnered two contracts from them. As of now I self-publish, which has been going well, but I still like the feel of being with a traditional publisher, so I never cease looking and hoping to land a contract again in the future. I recently had one of my short stories published in a horror comedy anthology from Damnation Books, titled “The Zombie Cookbook”, and two more short stories to appear in anthologies this year through Library of the Living Dead Press, so the opportunities are still out there! J


Which author(s) inspire you and why?
Poe has been my first and favorite author. I’ve always enjoyed his dreary, dreadful writings, and the period style of his writing. I also enjoy King’s works, as his imagination is tireless!

Do you have a favorite book that you’ve written, and if so, what is your favorite scene? 
I think it might be the very first book. In ABRAXAS:The Beginning, after Christine calms down a bit after realizing what she has become, she sets out to find her attacker. When she does, she tries breaking his neck. Not only does she twist his head to the point where it’s completely backwards--and yes, he’s still alive--she hurls him into the street, and his head gets run over by a taxicab. The cab also starts a chain accident, and Christine is in morbid shock knowing she started it!

Your favorite book by another author?
It think it would have to be Pet Sematary, by Stephen King. I read that when I was twelve, (and it was the first book of his I had ever gotten my hands on!) and boy, did my imagination fly off the handle with that book!  Since then, I was hooked. Another one of his books that’s a favorite of mine is Rose Madder. (I’m not sure if the Creepshow comic book counts, but I love that one too.) J

What book(s) are reading right now? 
Right now, I’m working on Gregory Macguire’s books (Wicked, Son of a Witch.) I’m enjoying his take on the whole Wizard of Oz story!


If you could choose one author to co-write a book with who would it be?
King definitely. (But if Poe were alive, then it would be him.) J

What type of research do you do for your novels?
I haven’t really done any research on any of my books until The Show Must Go On since that’s my first ‘period’ piece, and still a WIP, due out early this spring! Even so, I didn’t have to do much research, lol. Not a big fan of doing that! (History wasn’t my biggest subject in school, unless it was something I was personally interested in learning about--like ancient Egypt or the Elizabethan era.) J So, since I write a lot of ‘modern’ paranormal/vampire/horror stories, I fall back on all the movies, documentaries, and non-fiction books I’ve read on the subjects. Also, current events play a part in helping develop my stories.

What do you think makes a good horror story?
First, you don’t need a bunch of blood and gore. I think folks have become too desensitized to the violence, real-life or fictional, especially in gore-fest movies you see these days. Sure, it’s fun to put in, but ONLY when necessary. I prefer the tension that builds up to the climax. The subtle things that will make you look over your shoulder or makes your hair stand on end. Things that make you think twice about talking to a stranger, betraying someone’s trust, or coveting something you know isn’t yours. And most of all, what makes you terrified to walk alone in the dark.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?  
I don’t have a schedule. It would never work out well for me, lol! My writing is sporadic, so when the mood hits me to write, I write until I simply can’t anymore. On my ‘dry spells’ I’m always doing something else creative that’s not writing related, until my muse comes back for another visit. J I like writing in the very early morning, when it’s nice and quiet and the busy energies of the world are at a low. Either then, or very late at night. J

What was one of the most surprising things you learned writing your books? 
That I really do have lots of other people in my head with their own voices, stories, and plenty to say! I wonder where the heck these people came from? LOL!


How do you satisfy your muse when things get rough while writing a book?
Lots of walks in nature and cemeteries, plus taking lots of photographs in the process! This has become one of my favorite pastimes, and folks can see the fruits of my labor at my photo gallery, http://cinsearaesgalleries.webs.com as well as my official website http://bloodtouch.webs.com ! J 

How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
I think being a lover of all things creepy, quirky, vampiric, paranormal, and Gothic is what got me started. It’s no surprise I love Halloween, and I love the old classic movies that starred Vincent Price--mostly Roger Corman’s movies based on a lot of Poe’s works. J As a child, being overly-sheltered and bored as hell with everything ‘normal’ forced me to find ways to entertain myself, so writing and reading creepy books became some of my best escapes.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I’m either jewelry crafting or tinkering around with Photoshop, creating digital art. Folks can find some of my art on my web gallery, too. J


Before we say goodbye, could you tell us about your latest release and maybe give us an excerpt?
Absolutely! ABRAXAS: Seeing Green picks up right where the last book leaves off. Christine and the Abraxas Clan have just finished dealing with a psycho woman who’s a necromancer to boot, plus happened to be a former flame of Ryan’s. She tried passing off a child (that she created through demonic means) as his son, hoping to worm her way back into his life and push Christine out of it, so the Clan squashes her crazy plans--but not before some negative, demonic energies get a hold of Ryan, and slowly start to possess him. The demon feeds off of Ryan’s weaknesses, his main one being Christine, turning Ryan’s petty jealousies into something much more dangerous…
EXCERPT:

I got to the foyer and raced up the staircase. Dumb move! I should have ran out of the mansion! I felt as stupid as those girlie victims in horror movies who always ran up instead of out whenever they were trapped in a building or house, all the while being chased by some undead, crazy, serial killer. Common sense would have told anyone to leave. I guess it has a tendency to allude you when you’re in a panic.

       From a short distance away, I heard Ryan growl again, making the hairs on my neck rise. I didn’t know what his problem was--aside from me smacking him with my energy--but I didn’t want to use my more forceful powers on him either. Who knew what would happen to him, or what affect it would have on me.

      He bounded up the stairs by twos, grabbed my ankle, and I fell on the steps with a thump. He clambered over me, and flipped me over so I would be facing him. He held my wrists down. That solid, gross, zombie-like color was gone from his eyes, but his irises remained bright green. He wore his usual suspicious look and smirked, raising an eyebrow at me, giving a slight sniff of arrogance.

      “Going somewhere…my dear?” We were nose to nose.

      “I--I--” I stammered. The hard edges of the steps were really biting hard into my back and arms.

      “Did you honestly think these little games you and Kiera were playing around the house would work? Did you really think you had me fooled?” His grin grew wider.

      How long did he know? “So…we were both trying to play each other for fools. Whoop-de-fucking-do,” I replied in a snide tone.

      “A sad and pathetic raggedy bunch of so-called vampires can’t stop me,” he hissed. “You, who’s too afraid to use the powers you’ve been given, and your ‘mate’ being just as bad, while being absolutely sick in love with you. You both couldn’t have been an easier target.”

      “Target?” I echoed. “What the hell are you talking about?”  

      Demon Ryan's eyes flickered an even brighter shade of green. Any more and they’d look neon.

      “That stupid witch had abilities I already possess. Hanging around her was starting to prove useless, until I found out she knew your mate, Ryan Price, who has powers I’ve always dreamed of possessing. The powers of Abraxas.” He took a deep breath, calming down. “Then I discovered you share the same power!” His grin widened. “One of man’s biggest sins is jealousy, and once I realized how much he covets you, it was all too easy to invade him.” He ran his cheek against mine, and I heard him inhale deeply. God, nothing could describe how badly this was freaking me the hell out. I wished I had something nearby to knock him unconscious with.

      But then he distracted himself. “I love the scent of your skin. Like cherries and blackberry wine…” He ran the tip of his tongue around the edge of my ear, making me shiver. But it wasn’t Ryan’s tongue; it was too slender, too snakelike. Good thing I couldn’t see it---I might have screamed.

      “I can see why he’s so passionate about you,” he continued, pulling back slowly. He looked into my eyes, then, very predator-like, he covered my throat with his hand. I gasped, the knot in my stomach tightening more. He tilted my head to the side slowly, exposing my neck.

      “I could kill you right now with a flick of my wrist,” he whispered. “But it would be such a waste…”

      The look on Demon Ryan’s face was very calm and almost seductive. Now holding my shoulders down, he leaned forward, licking me from the base of my ear, then down my carotid artery, and around to the hollow of my throat. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it would explode.

      Slowly, his tongue slid up the middle of neck. I grimaced. He continued going under my chin, following the curve of it, then brushed my bottom lip. I closed my eyes, too afraid to---

      Don’t look Christine, don’t look!

      Sometimes I wished I listened to my inner-self.

      It took all the strength and will I had in my bones not to shriek, as I caught a glimpse of that forked, blood-red, snakelike tongue retracting itself back into Ryan’s mouth.

      “I want to taste you, Christine,” he whispered softly, his breathing quickening, the look in his eyes deadly as he tightened the grip he had on my shoulders.

      I panicked, fearing the worst. Snakes could smell with their tongues, and I half-wondered if he was smelling my blood under the surface of my skin.

      I swallowed, then bravely gave a half-hearted laugh. “You’ve done that---quite a few times now.”

      “I want...to taste...a different essence,” he replied, and before I realized it, he flashed a pair of fangs and dove for my jugular. 

(Additional excerpts and free downloads plus free short stories from the ABRAXAS Series can be found at http://bloodtouch.webs.com/abraxas.htm or http://bloodtouch.webs.com/sneakpeeksmorereads.htm!)

Spotlight Author: Dorien Grey

Title: The Secret Keeper

Release Date: 12-10-09

Author: Dorien Grey

Author website: Dorien Grey's World (www.doriengrey.com)

Publisher: Zumaya Boundless

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com

Genre: Mystery

Blurb: One aging millionaire, one dysfunctional family, lots of greed, a book of poetry, a possible murder, and a missing will, and a young man with a secret he doesn't know he's keeping provide the recipe for book #13 of the Dick Hardesty mystery series.

 Welcome back, Dorien, and thanks so very much for agreeing to this interview.

The pleasure is mine. I'm delighted to have the chance to talk with your readers again.

Can you tell us the journey you embarked upon to your first publishing contract?

I suspect my "journey" began the first time my mother took me to the library and allowed me to pick out a book by myself. It's been a slowly evolving process ever since.

Which author(s) inspire you and why?

I think just about every writer who has written a book I read and enjoyed has inspired me in some way. Like many authors, I'm a sponge when it comes to soaking up the ideas of others.

Do you have a favorite book that you’ve written, and if so, what is your favorite scene? 

To ask me to name my favorite book is rather like asking a mother which of her children she likes best. I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of the other books by singling one out.

Your favorite book by another author?

Hands down, Robert Lewis Taylor's "Adrift in a Boneyard."

What books are reading right now?

At the moment, I'm reading Gregg Herron's "Murder in the Garden District."

If you could choose one author to co-write a book with who would it be?

Robert Lewis Taylor. Or maybe Dostoyevski (now THAT would be a book!). Or Dickens. Or Ray Bradbury.

Did you have any research done for the erotic part in your novels?

No research is required in writing what one knows.

What do you think makes a good erotic romance story?

Being able to effectively convey the characters' emotions. As for the "erotic" part, I go along with those who point out that the mind is the greatest erogenous zone, and I have great faith in the reader's ability to fill in the blanks without much "insert Tab A into Slot B" instructions from me. Too much explicit hump-and-moan takes the reader pretty much out of the equation.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I never sit down with a stopwatch. I write as often and as much as I can before life, always standing behind me tapping its foot impatiently, demands I get up and do something else.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

I'm often rather surprised to find I feel much more strongly about a subject than I'd previously been aware. And I've definitely learned that in a battle between whether the book will do what I want it to or whether I will do what the book tells me to, the book wins 9 times out of 10.

How do you satisfy your muse when things get rough during writing a book?

I give it a glass of milk and a cookie and, while it is otherwise distracted, I go back ten pages or so and start rereading. By the time I've reached the point where I ran into the problem, it usually resolves itself easily.

How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?

You mean like growing up homosexual in a blatantly heterosexual world? I guess you might say it's not only colored but saturated my writing. I'm far from an in-your-face activist, but I've spent most of my writing life trying to subtly show straights that gays are not an alien species, and what unites us far outweighs our differences.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Since I'm usually always writing something....books, blogs, emails, etc....I don't have nearly the time I'd like to have to read. I watch a lot of TV at night after writing all day, and I do like to get out into the real world as often as I can: a movie, coffee with friends, an occasional cultural event. I am still circulating my petition for a 48 hour day.

Before we say goodbye, could you tell give us an excerpt from "The Secret Keeper"?

I'd be happy to!

EXCERPT:

As soon as Jonathan left for practice and Joshua and I had cleaned up from dinner, I said, “Let’s go take a walk downstairs for a minute. I want to take a look at Uncle Jonathan’s truck.”

Joshua, who never passed up an opportunity to go somewhere—anywhere—waited impatiently by the front door while I rummaged through our top dresser drawer to find

Jonathan’s spare set of keys.

Since Jonathan always backed the truck in, the minute I unlocked and opened the door to the garage and switched on the light, I saw the hole, almost directly in the center of the

windshield, just to the left of the driver’s seat as seen from the front. I moved up for a better look. Though it was warm in the garage, I felt a definite chill.

“Where are we going?” Joshua asked.

“Nowhere,” I said. “I just want to look for something.”

Wanting to keep him from getting into any mischief or wandering into the alley while I was about it, I said, “Tell you what—why don’t you sit in the driver’s seat while I look.”

“Can I drive?” he asked excitedly.

“You can pretend-drive,” I said, “but don’t touch any of

the buttons, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, unconvincingly.

I let him in the driver’s side and moved around to the passenger door, stepping partly into the truck to check for what I was afraid I was going to find. And I found it—a small round hole in the upholstery about a foot to the right of the driver and in line with but slightly lower than the hole in the windshield.

Luckily, the truck had a split seat, so I was able to pull the passenger’s side forward without disturbing Joshua. He couldn’t reach the brake or clutch pedals, or anything on the

dashboard, without leaning far forward, which of course he tried to do until my loud “Ahem!” stopped him in mid-motion. He returned to moving the steering wheel rapidly back and forth and making “brrrmmmmmmm” sounds.

Returning my attention to the issue at hand, I saw a dent in the back wall of the cab and, searching the floor, spotted a flattened blob of metal—obviously, a bullet.

Leaving it where it was, I put the seat back, got out of the truck, closed the door and went back to the driver’s door.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

“But we just got here!” Joshua observed plaintively. Reluctantly, he turned to get out of the truck, and I lifted him down to the floor.

“You’re a good driver,” I said, tousling his head, and he beamed.

We then left the garage, closing and locking the door behind us.

When we returned to the apartment, Joshua ran off to his room, and I went right to the phone phone to call Marty Gresham’s number at police headquarters. I knew he wouldn’t be in, but left a message for him to call me the minute he arrived in the morning.

* * *

I had just come out of Joshua’s room after Story Time when Jonathan came home.

As was our usual routine, we sat on the couch watching a little TV before going to bed. During a commercial break, I broached the subject I’d been thinking about since Joshua and I left the garage.

“You know, I’ve been thinking. Maybe now’s a good time to make a trip back to Wisconsin to see your dad and your sisters.”

We’d talked several times about his desire to take Joshua back to visit family. He hadn’t been back since he came to us, and while he spoke to his grandfather and/or aunts every month or so, Jonathan didn’t want them to become just voices on the phone.

“You deserve a little time off,” I said. “You said the other day that work was a little slow at Evergreen. Your boss would probably be willing to have you take some time off. You’ve got some vacation time coming, and now would be a perfect time to go, while you don’t have any freelance jobs.”

He was quiet for a few moments, thinking. “It would be nice to go back home for a while,” he said at last. “I’d like you to meet my family.”

I smiled. “I’d like that, but I think I’d better stay around and hold down the fort. Besides, this is a family thing.”

“You’re family,” he said.

“I appreciate that,” I said, “but this will be your first trip home with Joshua, and I’d just be a distraction. I’ll go with you next time.”

“But it won’t be a vacation without you,” he objected.

“You’ll have another week coming,” I said. “We can all go somewhere together then.”

“Well, I don’t know. I just don’t like going anywhere without you.”

“I know, and I’ll miss you, too. But I definitely think you should go.”

He looked at me suspiciously. “Something else is going on here. Tell me.”

He deserved the truth. My trying to protect him with evasions and half-truths hadn’t worked, and he was right to resent my trying.

So, I told him.

“Look,” I said, trying to appear as casual about it as I could, “if—and that’s a big if—you’re right about Clarence Bement’s not having committed suicide, that means somebody killed him. And if whoever did it knows you and Mr. Bement talked a lot, it’s not impossible he may think Mr. Bement told you something he shouldn’t have.”

“But he didn’t!”

“You and I may know that, but the guy who called you to come out to a deserted stretch of road doesn’t.”

“So, it wasn’t a stone that broke my windshield.” It was more a statement than a question.

I shook my head. “Afraid not.”

“And if I hadn’t swerved to avoid that pothole—”

I reached over to take his hand, entwining our fingers.

“But you did,” I said, “and that’s what matters.” I squeezed his hand. “Look, we can’t be sure about any of this. The window could have been an accident and your being fol-

lowed a coincidence.”

“But you don’t think so.”

“Hey, I’m a private investigator. I see bad guys lurking behind every tree whether they’re there or not. But just to be safe, I want to look into it further, and I’ll be able to do that a

lot easier if I don’t have to worry about you while I’m doing it.”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Trying to protect me. I do appreciate it, but I really can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, Babe, and that’s not the issue. It’s not even a question of just you and me. We have Joshua to think about now, too. Just in case there is a real problem here, we can’t let him be involved. I can’t help but worry about you and try to protect you—that’s what I’m here for. So humor me. Look on it as my being selfish—by protecting you, I’m protecting myself. You’d do the same for me.”

He smiled. “Of course I would. But I’d try not to be so obvious about it.”