1. Can you tell
readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this
particular genre?
I’ve been a fan of all things paranormal since first reading
fairy tales. I moved from Rapunzel
and Snow White to The Haunting of Hill House, to of
course, Dark Shadows. So of course,
you can tell that the stories I create in my head all have a paranormal theme,
from shapeshifters to witches to vampires and more.
- What inspired you to write this book?
The characters in
this book have been living in my head for a long time. I’ve lived in a number
of small towns, and been a news reporter in several of them. I quickly learned
that there was the town the “average person” knew and then there was the real
power. So I invented my own small town where instead of just a little politics
and scandal, you never know if your neighbor is a werewolf, or a witch, or a
vampire. The map of the town is loosely based on Evansville, IN, one of the
favorite places I have lived. If you’ve ever been to Evansville, you might
recognize some of the settings. The main characters live down the block from my
old home. I won’t say exactly which street, but I did go to Google maps and
picked out exactly which houses Ana and Leslie live in.
- Please tell us about your latest release.
The small town of Rivelou is hiding secrets, and they are
about to claw their way to the surface.
Ana Dugan used to enjoy her nighttime walks through her
quaint college town, but all of that changes when a handsome stranger rescues
her from an attack. She’s not sure who she should be more afraid of the four
legged beast who attacked her or the two legged one who saved her. She narrowly
escapes, but soon learns that others weren’t so lucky. When another man enters
her life claiming he’s there to protect her she’s not sure who she should
trust, the wolf or the hunter.
- Do you have a special formula for creating characters'
names? Do you try to match a name with a certain meaning to attributes of
the character or do you search for names popular in certain time periods
or regions?
I have a few different techniques for choosing names. I have
found a great website, fantasynamegenerator.com, which gives me ideas. I just
cruise the site until I find a name that suits the particular character. Also,
since several of my characters have a French background, I researched French
names. Many of my characters also have names that have special meaning for me.
“Fontaine,” for example, is the last name of a great-great-great grandmother,
and Bertrand is a variation of my grandfather’s name, Bertram.
- What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you
share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
As Ana crossed
Roosevelt Avenue and headed into her own neighborhood, the streetlights ended
and the sidewalk became lighted only by an occasional porch light or walk
light. She loved walking home from her night classes at this time of the year.
The air, while it could not yet be called crisp, had lost its summer sultriness,
a welcome change from the blistering heat of a Midwest summer.
And these walks
home after her night classes were one of the few times during her week when she
could be truly alone. No bosses, no teachers, not even Sophie chattering away
in her ear. She’d been a mom long enough not to feel guilty at enjoying a a
little time alone without her child. Her thirteen-year-old daughter was the
light of her life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy a little time by
herself, too.
As she headed
down Harlan Street, farther from the more heavily trafficked avenue, the street
became even darker. It was too soon for most of the leaves to have fallen, they
were just beginning to turn red on this last week in September and they were so
thick on the trees that they hid the full moon. Part of the charm of the old
neighborhood was the beautiful, large old maples and oaks, but their roots also
tore up the sidewalks. Ana tripped on one of those cracks, and shook her head
in disgust. How could she always trip in the same spot, night after night? It
wasn’t as if she hadn’t memorized the bad spots in the sidewalk after years of
walking this way.
She smiled; only
one more year of classes and, with luck, she wouldn’t be taking this same walk anymore.
She would have her teaching degree, be able to quit her job as an admin at the
university, and start a new life with her daughter, maybe somewhere else. She
would enjoy teaching, preferably high school, but she’d take whatever grade she
could get to start. Sophie would miss her friends; they would both miss their
family. They’d come back a lot to visit. She was sure of that—her family,
particularly her grandfather, would certainly insist on it. But it would be
nice to start over. Of course, Jonathan, her ex, would probably object if she
moved even to the next county. The one good thing she could say for the man was
he always fulfilled his obligations to their daughter, even if it was only
because he thought about running for political office someday and didn’t want
to ruin his reputation with the other lawyers and judges in Rivelou.
She shook her
head as if to change the direction her daydreams had taken her and sidestepped
another large crack in the sidewalk. She wasn’t going to let thoughts of
Jonathan ruin a lovely evening. Maybe after Sophie was in bed she’d have a
chance to get outside again and enjoy the full moon and beautiful weather. She
wouldn’t indulge herself in a run; she couldn’t leave Sophie alone, but some
time out in her backyard to appreciate the full moon would be good.
She stopped and
looked around, working to regain her pleasure in the evening, when she heard a
low growl nearby.
A dog? No one on
this block had a dog big enough to make that sort of sound. That growl had
definitely come from something larger than Mrs. Ahearn’s yappy little
Pomeranian. She began to walk more quickly. Only a half block until she turned
onto Sycamore, then another half block until she arrived at her own home.
The growl came
again. She tucked her purse more securely on her left shoulder, her computer
bag on her right, and doubled her pace. There were no lights on at any of the
houses on that part of the block, and of course, the moon took that moment to
hide behind a cloud. She took a deep breath and tried to walk at a steady pace.
She wouldn’t run, even though she could hear the animal behind her as she
rounded the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her own porch
light on, as well as that of her neighbors, Joe and Lindsey, who kept Sophie
evenings when Ana had class. Only a few more steps to safety.
She was almost
in front of her own door when she heard the rush of paws with nails clicking on
the sidewalk. With a howl, the animal knocked her down.
- Can you tell readers a little bit about the world
building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal
world?
As I mentioned before, Rivelou, the town where my books take
place, is a typical Midwestern small city…but when you scratch that ordinary
surface something strange is going on. Many of the residents are leading a
double life. Who is a werewolf? Who is a witch? Who knows the secrets that some
very important people in town are keeping? In Rivelou, you never know just
who…or what… you neighbor is.
- With the book being part of a series, are there any
character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the
first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?
While all of the books stand alone, there are several
recurring characters. You will find that people who are minor characters in The Patient Wolf become central in my
second book, The Artificial Witch.
- Do you have any weird writing quirks or rituals?
Chocolate and Coca Cola. I have a firm believe that
chocolate increases creativity. And Coca Cola, well, that’s my favorite form of
caffeine.
9. Do you write in
different genres?
I have written non-fiction for many years. I have published
four books on the art of writing, publishing and marketing books.
10. What are your
guilty pleasures in life?
I’ve already mentioned chocolate and Coca Cola. My third
guilty pleasure is reading any type of romance, particularly paranormal
romance.
11. What was the last
amazing book you read?
As an editor and publisher I have the pleasure of reading
great books before anyone else. Rise of the Red Harbinger by Khalid Uddin will
be published on June 6. It’s a great traditional fantasy. It’s a first book by
an unknown author and I’m so proud to be bringing it to the public. And yes,
you can pre-order it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Harbinger-Drowned-Realm-Book-ebook/dp/B01DZ63YPI/ref
12.Where is your
favorite place to read? Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot?
Maybe I should list this with guilty pleasures. My favorite
place to read is in bed. That’s why prefer my e-reader. I can read late at
night and not wake up my husband.
13. What can readers
expect next from you?
The second book in my series is titled The Artificial Witch. It features one of the minor characters in The Patient Wolf, Shannon Kelly. She’s a
cop and a young widow. I liked her so much I decided she deserved her own
story. I’ve completed the first chapter, and I hope to have it finished before
the end of the year.
14.Where can readers
find you on the web?
I’m all over the web! I can’t believe I have so many
websites. My personal website is KarenHodgesMiller.com. But as a publisher, I
have several other websites, OpenDoorPublications.com is where I talk about my
editing, publishing and marketing services. CantPutItDownBooks.com is the site
for my fiction imprint. It features lots of fun books and several authors who
are starting to make names for themselves. And finally, there is
WinterWritersWeekend.com, which is our annual bootcamp for authors.
You can find me on Facebook, and on Twitter at
@Publisher_KHM.
15. Would you like to
leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?
Here’s a little piece I like that won’t give too much away…
It
had been a long time since Ana had been dropped at the door by a date. She felt
awkward. Should she shake his hand? Give him a kiss on the cheek?
Apparently
Chris had the same doubts. He laughed nervously. “How come I feel like a
teenager leaving his date in front of her parents’ house, wondering if her dad
is going to come out on the porch with a shotgun?”
“Well,
Joe and Lindsey are a bit overprotective of me, as I said, but I don’t think
you’re in any real danger,” she smiled.
“That’s
good to know. Because I’ve been wanting to do this since yesterday.” He leaned
in and touched his lips to hers in a soft, slow kiss, as if he had all the time
in the world; as if Mrs. Andres wasn’t peeking out her curtain to see what was
going on, as if Ana didn’t have a curious eighth grader and two over-protective
friends waiting just on the other side of the door.
She
let go of all those thoughts, enjoying the kiss, and let her body relax. Chris
must have felt the change because he deepened the kiss as she gave in and just
enjoyed it. Her body dissolved against him, every thought leaving her mind as
she surrendered to sensation: He tasted like coffee and mints, he felt strong
and solid, and he smelled delightfully of soap and, well, man. Her knees
wouldn’t hold her and she leaned against him even more, so he had to catch her
when the front door suddenly opened and Sophie’s voice called out, “Hi, Mom. I
got an A on my algebra test today.”
“Sophie!
Come inside! Give your mother a few minutes of privacy,” Lindsey’s voice rang
out.
Chris
backed away a step, still holding her waist as she got her balance.
“Well,
now I really do feel like a teenager caught kissing his date. How come it is
turns out to be just as embarrassing to be caught by the girl’s daughter as it
is to be caught by her father?”
“And
you have lots of experience with that?” Ana asked, laughing.
“A
little bit.”
“You’ll
have to tell me all about it on Saturday then.”
“I’m
sure we can find something more interesting to talk about than my teenage
romances. But right now I think you’d better go in. I see the curtains
twitching. And I don’t think it is just Sophie watching.”
He
gave her another quick kiss on the cheek and turned her toward the door. He
watched as she walked up the steps and into Joe and Lindsey’s house, then
turned away, humming to himself. He hadn’t expected to enjoy his time in
Rivelou so much. Coming here had been an obligation to his sister more than any
real belief he would find out something useful in this small town. It had been
a few years since he’d had any romantic interests in his life.
Chris
hadn’t, exactly, given up on romance, he had just not pursued it. Once women
found out what he did they either ran from him, figuring he was a crackpot, or
they were too interested because they were more than a little cracked
themselves. He wasn’t interested in women who thought he was a real life
ComicCon hero. What he did was serious business.
Yes,
Ana Dugan had definitely sparked his interest with her combination of guts and
insecurity. She covered up her sense of humor and wit. She’d been unappreciated
for far too long, he thought.
As
Chris walked away, his thoughts moving from Ana to his business in Rivelou and
back again, he forgot to be vigilant. He didn’t notice a dark shape growled
softly to itself in the bushes beside her house as it watched him with glowing
eyes.
The Patient Wolf
Wicked Urban Fantasy
Book One
Karen Hodges Miller
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Can’t Put it Down Books
Date of Publication: May 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9972024-2-7
Number of pages: 160
Word Count: 42,225
Cover Artist: Genevieve Cosdon
Book Description:
The small town of Rivelou is hiding secrets, and they are about to claw their way to the surface.
Ana Dugan used to enjoy her nighttime walks through her quaint college town, but all of that changes when a handsome stranger rescues her from an attack. She’s not sure who she should be more afraid of the four legged beast who attacked her or the two legged one who saved her. She narrowly escapes, but soon learns that others weren’t so lucky.
When another man enters her life claiming he’s there to protect her she’s not sure who she should trust, the wolf or the hunter.
About the Author:
Karen Hodges Miller’s fascination with werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, and all things supernatural began with the childhood classics. She gobbled up everything from The Haunting of Hill House to the Narnia series, from Dracula to Rebecca. As a writer, however, she stuck to non-fiction; working as a newspaper and magazine reporter and editor and in 2004 opening her own publishing company.
She has written several books for authors on the subject of writing and publishing. The Patient Wolf is her first fiction novel and of course, it features a very sexy werewolf.
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