Character Interview with Evaline from Bloodlines by M.L.Mastran #paranormalthriller

Question:     So welcome back Evaline! A lot has happened since book one came out.  Can you bring us up to speed without giving away any spoilers?

Evaline:       Well its good to be back and yes, you could say the story keeps getting more intriguing. This time I am fully part of the family but I’m still learning how to live this life among humans instead of as one of them… 

Question:     Now that’s interesting you say that.  You weren’t ever really an ordinary human, were you? Can you remind our readers what happened in book one that made you not like everyone else?

Evaline:       Well for one, I inherited my grandmothers’, on my father’s side, her gift of premonitions and foresight.  I had always had these dreams that seemed to tell me something.  They really started to get heavy when my brother Jimmy disappeared.  There were some bad people involved that I won’t get into but to make a long story short, he got into trouble. I knew something was wrong when I kept dreaming about him; but in the dreams Jimmy was always leading me away from the danger until it caught up with us. Come to find out, it was all tied to some ancient family secret that apparently is in my bloodline. 

Question:     If you can quickly recap from book one, where does Mason and the rest of his family fit into this?

Evaline:       Well in an attempt to get away from a bad situation in Sacramento, I decided to move back home to Dunsmuir. This actually came up when my aunt was killed in a car accident. I have two younger cousins that are like a brother and sister to me and Jimmy, so I came back. Mason and his family were running a restaurant, bar type place right outside town called the Blue Dawn. My cousin Kristy works for them.  Mason and I met when I was bringing Kristy to work one day.  He and I seemed to connect right away…in a way neither of us understood.  Anyway, come to find out, Mason and his family were very much apart of what was happening with myself and my brother Jimmy.

Question:     You mean they were part of this secret?

Evaline:       Correct. 

Question:     Also recapping parts of book one, when did you realize Mason and his family were different?

Evaline:       Well, there were little things along the way.  For one, he seemed to always know when I was in danger. Not sure of its an intuition thing or what but he always knew.  He is remarkably strong, and I soon noticed he would do things like smell the air and move a bit faster than normal. I kept dreaming about a wolf and I always felt safe around the wolf, even when danger was coming.  In the dreams, there was a strong familiarity with the wolf and somehow, I knew it was Mason.  They also liked their meat very rare as I found out one day when I got to play football with all of them.  We had a grill out afterwards…There were a couple other instances but everything kinda came out one night at the Blue Dawn when Kristy was attacked by a man at first then I saw the biggest wolf I had ever seen standing where the man was. It took me a while to realize it was a wolf too.  A lot bigger than a regular wolf.  Anyway, when I got to Kristy, she was bleeding really bad and when I looked at Mason and the others, their eyes had this same glow and then I saw it. They changed and attacked the other wolf. The rest is history.

Question:     Okay so real quick before we get into book 2.  You weren’t bitten and apparently females are hard to come by in your world. So, what exactly turned you?

Evaline:       Well it’s something in the blood.  You either have it or you don’t.  At first, I thought because I got pregnant that is what did it but it wasn’t.  Mason and I have a very deep love that I can’t describe but it was the passion that turned me.

Question:     Interesting as most of the myths, a bite is the most common way.

Evaline:       Yeah well there are myths and there is reality. (smiles)

Question:     Okay so back to book two.  Where are you guys now? What’s happening?

Evaline:       Book two is about confrontation and revelation.  Where book one was a lot of world-building so everyone understands the world I live in, this book is heart pounding from the get-go. So much happens to us. You find out how Mason and his family came to be, which was heartbreaking.  Our family expands just a little too and we have to leave Dunsmuir temporarily. I find out a lot about my family history which is also pretty painful to say the least.  We also find out more about the individuals responsible for Jimmy.

Question:     You mentioned we find out about Mason and family. Is there time jumps in this book?

Evaline:       Yes. I’m showing what happened through the memories I can see from Mason and the others. As family, we are all connected and can share memories, so it makes it easier for me to show you.  There are several time jumps during the first few chapters between the present and 1783, which is when it happened.

Question:     Now I need to ask you a delicate question. We saw the question raised in book 1, but it goes much deeper in this book. You differ from the rest of the family in your thinking on whether your kind are evil or damned.  Can you expand a bit on that and what we can expect about that in this book?

Evaline:       Well, again as we know what the myths tell us, werewolves in lore are deemed demonic and are usually associated with the beast or the devil.  When it happened to me, I didn’t feel that was so. I certainly didn’t feel any allegiance to the devil in particular. I had no desire to attack humans or eat anything other than deer or beef. I was raised Catholic and always believed in my faith.  Isaac, on the other hand, who is Mason’s older brother and our leader, felt much different about it, which subsequently trickled to the rest of the family, including Mason.  They saw themselves as cursed and vowed to never damn anyone to this life.  This is why none of them were married or even dating when I came along.  That is also why I was a hard pill to swallow for all of them.  Anyways, I never understood why they saw themselves as cursed until I was allowed to see what happened.  I can’t say too much until you read it for yourselves but just know it was a very different time and the mindset of the people at the time was much different than today.

Question:     Okay just a couple more questions. You mentioned this book is pretty heart pounding and there are confrontations.  Are there major werewolf fights we can expect?

Evaline:       Oh yes and rightfully so.  We are put in quite a predicament.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Question:     Do we get closure with what happened to Jimmy? I mean the threat that killed him.

Evaline:       Somewhat. There’s a new threat that we are currently dealing with that I can’t get into.

Question:     Okay. I understand.  Real quick I wanted to ask about your cousins.  How are you managing to keep Laine and Kristy in the dark about what you are?  I mean you have to look a little different to them.

Evaline:       That’s a sensitive subject, particularly with Isaac. His first impulse was to move us out of the area when I was turned but I pleaded he not do that.  I have managed to keep them out of it, but I do think Kristy knows something is definitely off.  It’s tricky. I love them so much and they represent my human family but in order to keep them safe, there’s always the question on not if we should go but when.

Question:     Which brings me to my final question.  You said when you have to go…. werewolves are not immortal correct?

Evaline:       No, we are not but we age differently than humans do. We think it’s a year for every century or maybe a bit less but something like that. So, the point remains, I will change appearance very little in Kristy and Laine’s lifetime. So again, it’s a matter of when we have to leave.

Question:     Okay Evaline that’s all I have. I want to thank you so much for your time in talking with us.  Readers make sure you check out Evaline in Bloodlines, the second book in the Albion Moon Chronicles available now in both e-book and print. If you have further questions please direct them to M.L.Mastran.

Bloodlines
Albion Moon Chronicles
Book Two
M.L.Mastran

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

Date of Publication: March 13, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-0878-5801-2

ISBN: 978-1-0878-6379-5

Number of pages: 200

Word Count: 70, 528

Cover Artist: Michelle Nelson, Graphic & Interactive Design

Tagline:  The Fight was only the beginning, now its war!

Book Description: 

Evaline and Mason expand their family as an old threat hides in the shadows.  As we dive deeper into the backstory of the MaCowans, we see how it’s all connected to Evaline’s story.  

When the old danger finally resurfaces, it forces Evaline and company to new shores.  Armed with a plan, they soon find out it’s not as simple as they thought.  New revelations about family secrets emerge only to send Evaline into a tailspin.  

As they finally confront the danger, the family must contend with the prospect that they may not survive unless an unknown ally steps in.  Meanwhile, just as the old threat is dealt with, a new, more menacing danger sets its sights on Dunsmuir.

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Excerpt:

She got her keys out of her jacket pocket then exited the home onto the porch. Before going down the steps, she stopped. A shiver coursed through her body; the same feeling as when one was being watched. She peered down the street and saw nothing amiss. Same thing for across and the other side.

Her gut swirled, telling her to turn around. The tree across the street looked different, but she couldn’t quite figure out why. Its leaves and branches stirred in an unnatural way, seeming to dance on their own against the breeze.  Every hair on her body stood up at once. The deep silence bothered her—no crickets chirped, nor owls hooted, and there was no sway of the trees or tall grass; the night was calm. She decided to get the book then go inside. After unlocking the car with her key fob, she opened the car door, stretching her arm over and into the back seat.

“Where are you?” she mumbled.

She didn’t see it moving all around, whatever it was. Given the surrounding movement, undoubtedly it wasn’t just one.  The tree trunks seemed to come alive as the tall grass across the street shifted. Silent like shadows, they moved, staying just enough out of sight. Kristy found the book underneath the front seat.

She got out of the car then scanned nearby her. Nothing. Kristy hurriedly closed the car door and turned toward the porch. She peeked over her shoulder. An involuntary gasp escaped her. Shadows darted toward her. She got to the steps and froze. Her eyes widened, and her heart pounded in her chest. The pit of her stomach churned. Not shadows, animals. She could now hear the low growls from the animals around her. But what were they?

She blinked and, just like that, a man stood in front of her. He wasn’t wearing any clothes and had a gleam shimmering in his eyes.

She wanted to scream, but the man caught her attention.

“Uh uh uh,” he said as he put his finger to his lips and then in one breathe, he whispered, “Shhhhhhh.”

His fingernail was long and black with a slight curve at the tip. The man grinned, with glowing eyes and wild should-length hair, but he had a trimmed beard. A voice inside her head was screaming to run as she frantically looked for an escape. Her adrenaline pumped as she saw a chance to get away and tried to take it but before she could do anything, something grabbed her from behind and clenched her tight, it was difficult to breathe. The man neared and stopped, only inches away.

In a harsh, low tone, he said, “If you struggle, it will take less than a second for him to squeeze the life out of you. Don’t.”

About the Author:

Nothing captures the attention of M.L. Mastran more than writing a good story with amazing characters and a history arc that made the history books. This is the Albion Moon Chronicles in every sense.

On the flip side, M.L. can also journey to another world completely and pull the same elements with fantasy and make the reader yearn for more. Her uncanny ability to blend genres makes her unique to the literary world and an absolute reading joy. From the first moment you open the page, curiosity will pull you in and keep you engrossed in the story as you take the voyage with the characters to different places and times; to experience the events as they unfold.

Whether being told from a one character perspective or several points of view, her stories will unfold in your mind like a movie playing in your head. This is what pushes M.L to write her stories. It’s the thrill of the read and the drive to carry readers away that will make this trip to the literary world of imagination all the sweeter.

M. L. was born in Scranton Pennsylvania but was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, which is also where she currently resides with her husband and son.  Since a young age, she has always had a passion for storytelling.  Anything that was of interest to her she could find a story with however, it was her stories of experiences such as walking in an old cemetery, to riding a roller coaster to walking the lonely isles of an old junk yard that seemed the most precious.

M. L. has an undergraduate degree in Communication but also majored in History, which is what her Master’s Degree is in as well.  She also started on her PHD in History.  This love of history is very evident in most of M. L.’s stories. While studying for both degrees, she wrote numerous works for the academic audience.  Many of which were presented and published for both student and professional audiences, but at home she would continue to dabble with her love of fiction.  It was the challenge of creating a new world and characters that would make for some great stories.  In fact, she found out very quickly, strong characters drive the story and make it worth the journey.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mlmastran

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