This Blog Content Has Been Moved - Update Below

This blog has been moved along with quite a few other blogs. The complete list of my promotional blogs and the links are listed below.

Update January 23, 2009 - I have made some major changes to the blogs I'm offering and I am updating this list to reflect those changes. These changes should make it easier to find information and give additional exposure to every one who submits information about their books and themselves.

ANY published author is welcome to submit these questions and answers to promote their books. To use any of these blogs - click on the link, click on "how to submit" in the top corner of the blog and follow the instructions. I ask that you send the questions and answers as an RTF file. It is also good to send a jpg file of your book cover - no PDF files for the cover art. When you complete the interview, send to nikki_leigh22939@yahoo.com with the interview title in the subject line and I will add you to the list for that blog.

I have divided the blog lists for fiction and non fiction books to make it easier to find the ones you need. I've added several new blogs lately - so if you've been here before - there are some new options.

Two quick updates -

The print edition of Book Promo 101 is complete and available. The print book is oversize 8" x 10" and the layout is gorgeous. The manuscript for Book Promo 201: Promote Online With Web 2.0 is with my publisher and will be available in early 2009 -- there will be updates posted. If you would like details about the contents of this book, visit http://www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_201.htm

I offer a wide array of promotional services to authors. Feel free to take a look at the possibilities and contact me with questions. If you are interested in something that you don't see listed, let me know and we can talk. For a list of these services visit - www.nikkileigh.com/promo.htm

I offer a wide assortment of virtual book tour options and the current list is located at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/virtual-blog-tour-options.html - there are a number of options and price ranges or we can talk about other options. I'm also planning to add more services in late winter and early spring 2009. If you would like to be added to my mailing list to get the latest updates, send me a message at nikki_leigh22939@yahoo.com

Promotional Blogs for Fiction Books

Share your furry writing companions - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-submit-information-about-author.html

http://itsallinthesetting.blogspot.com/ - Details about story setting.
How to Submit – http://itsallinthesetting.blogspot.com/2007/07/its-all-about-setting.html

Animals in Your Book - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/

How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-submit-your-book.html

Villains in your book.- http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit – http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit_7729.html

Heroine in your book.- http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit_134.html

Hero in your book.- http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit.html

Best Friend - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit_28.html

Share Book Details - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
How to Submit – http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-submit.html

http://frombookstomovies.blogspot.com/ - From Books to the Movies
If a movie was made about your book, which actors and actresses would play the main characters? This is your chance in case a movie of your book and it can be a lot of fun.
How to Submit – http://frombookstomovies.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-submit.html

Interview a Male Character - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-submit_6392.html

Interview a Female Character - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-submit_1859.htm

In Detail With Nikki Leigh - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
Give potential readers more information about you and your background.
How to Submit – http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-submit.html

Before I Was Published - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
Tell us about what you did before you were published and especially include anything that relates to your books and your writing.
How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2008/02/tell-us-your-story.html

http://currenteventsinbooks.blogspot.com/- Can you tie a topic or element from your book with current events? This is the place to submit them. Send them to me and I'll review them.
How to Submit - http://currenteventsinbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-submit.html

Do you have interesting promotional ideas and suggestions that you would like to share with other authors? http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com

How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-submit-your-promotional.html

http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/ - Share your book cover.
How to Submit – http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/2007/07/judge-book-by-its-cover.html

http://startatbeginning.blogspot.com/ - Share your First Chapter
How to Submit – http://startatbeginning.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit.html

Promotional Blogs for Non-Fiction Books

Share Book Details - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
How to Submit – http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-submit.html

Share your furry writing companions - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-submit-information-about-author.html

Animals in Your Book - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/

How to Submit - http://fictionalcharactersindepth.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-submit-your-book.html

In Detail With Nikki Leigh - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
Give potential readers more information about you and your background.
How to Submit – http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-submit.html

Before I Was Published - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com
Tell us about what you did before you were published and especially include anything that relates to your books and your writing.
How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2008/02/tell-us-your-story.html

http://currenteventsinbooks.blogspot.com/- Can you tie a topic or element from your book with current events? This is the place to submit them. Send them to me and I'll review them.
How to Submit - http://currenteventsinbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-submit.html
Do you have interesting promotional ideas and suggestions that you would like to share with other authors? http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com

How to Submit - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-submit-your-promotional.html

http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/ - Share your book cover.
How to Submit – http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/2007/07/judge-book-by-its-cover.html

http://startatbeginning.blogspot.com/ - Share your First Chapter

How to Submit – http://startatbeginning.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-submit.html

I reserve the right to refuse to post any submissions, but so far I haven't needed to turn anyone away. I did edit a couple of first chapters to maintain a PG-13 rating for my visitors. That could be one of the reasons why some have such a long waiting list. All the blogs are listed on my Blogger profile which is located at - www.blogger.com/profile/00985309338453728557.

Nikki Leigh
Author of the Book Promo 101 Series
www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm
Author Promotional Services - www.nikkileigh.com/promo.htm

Witch Hunts on the Internet by Yvonne Walus

Who causes friction is the story?

The villain in "Witch Hunts on the Internet" (Echelon Press, 2008) is a 40-year old man posing as a 16-year old in teenage chat rooms. He is chiefly after their photos (for his own nefarious purposes), but he wouldn't refuse a face-to-face meeting, either.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

Generally, I find bad guys are a lot more fun (e.g., Sawyer in LOST), but the one in "Witch Hunts on the Internet" is bad through and through. He's an example of a villain you truly despise.

How do you use your bad guys?

Bad guys are like spices: too little makes a bland mix, too much is unpalatable. I try to aim for an interesting mix with enough conflict and pace... and, of course, a moral at the end of the story.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

It's easier than writing good guys. Good guys are boring.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

No matter whether your villain is a thief, a murderer or an abuser, the reason behind his personality makeup always fascinates me. What made him the way he is today? Why can't he change? Does he want to change? What are his secret dreams and hopes?

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

I have a lot of sympathy for the Boss Out Of Hell in "Murder @ Work". It's honestly not his fault his temper is quicker than the speed of email transmission. And he is dead for most of the book, too!

http://www.echelonpress.com/direct/buy-yw-maw.htm

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?

Sawyer from LOST... ok, I'm repeating myself here, but I do find him hot. That whole bad-boy-makes-good aura makes my toes curl! Of course, it could simply be that he looks like Josh Holloway...

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share.

Sometimes the good guy (or gal) have to do things they are not too proud of in order to stop the villain. That's certainly the case in "Witch Hunts on the Internet", where the protagonist has to ask herself the following poignant question: "How far are you willing to go and what rules are you willing to break in order to protect your child?"

Please provide your website link.

http://yewalus.kiwiwebhost.net.nz

What is the link to buy your book?

http://echelonpress.netfirms.com/Echelon/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=445&osCsid=dda12e13d4dfb931da8112d20306716e

Forever Tonight by Tarra Newlands

Who causes friction is the story?

Theodore who is a bad ass alien with attitude.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

I like write bad guys and girls at times. I think its a release for the shadow self we all sometimes have.

How do you use your bad guys?

In my books, I use bad guys different ways. In my first book the Dream King, Jonathan whose the bad guy is also a man flawed and looking for redemption. In Forever Tonight, I painted Theodore as a soul less creature who would kill you as soon look at you.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

I find it hard at times, but then my shadow self pitches in. Its the old saying 'meet a jerk get to work'.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

I think writing bad guys is a release from acceptable behaviour.

Who is your favourite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

I like Jonathan in The Dream King. He's bad, but with a reason and searching for a way to redeem himself.

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share.

Bad guys can be sexy, but dangerous. Look, but don't touch. LOL

Please provide your website link.

http://www.authorsden.com/taranewlands or http://www.myspace.com/taranewlands

What is the link to buy your book?

http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?cPath=23_73&products_id=187http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook70906.htm?cache

Jim Musgrave Talks About His Bad Guys

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

I prefer bad guys, as through research I've discovered there are simply more of them, especially the more heinous types--my favorite variety of bad guy!

How do you use your bad guys?

In my novel, Russian Wolves, the worst guy is named and patterned after real-life serial killer, Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo, the Rostov Slayer. However, the fictional detective who hunts him also gets drawn over to the "dark side," which makes this novel a totally "bad guy work," giving it an especially creepy quality.

In my horror novel, Lucifer's Wedding, I chose the perpetual bad guy, and in my political thriller, Sins of Darkness, I chose a collection of bad guys who make up a brainwashing group that programs Sirhan Bishara Sirhan to kill Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

Because I "cut my reading teeth" on authors such as Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs), I learned that writing about bad guys was a talent unto itself. When one reader I did not know said that my Chikatilo was the "most depraved and horrible character she had ever read about," I knew I was on the right track.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

I enjoy writing about them because I am very Freudian, and I believe we have a secret "death wish." Bad guys just fascinate our inner cravings.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

Andrei Chikatilo is my favorite because I like to think I gave him "redeeming qualities" that he lacked in his real life's history. Isn't this what made Dr. Hannibal Lecter so appealing?

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?

Dr. Lecter.

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share.

My bad guys have a dark sense of humor (what else?).

Please provide your website link.

http://www.contempinstruct.com/books/books.htm

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Wolves-James-Ray-Musgrave/dp/0977650316/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209569459&sr=8-1

Western Romance by Paty Jager

We want to hear about the bad guys, bad gals and villains in your book. Even if you don't have a murderer, thief or other "bad guy" there should be some negative force.

Who causes friction is the story? The friction in my story is several factors. One is a father who left behind an adoring daughter who grew up believing no matter how much you love someone they leave. So she plans to keep never give her heart again. This is the friction between the hero who has set his heart on this woman and the woman fighting her attraction to him. There are also a band of outlaws. Some just followers and others deranged.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals? I prefer any element that can make the reader wonder how will these people ever get together with all that is happening.

How do you use your bad guys? I use my bad guys to help the lead roles discover who they really are. And it adds action to the books not mention a little bit of humor now and then when you add bumbling bad guys.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult? The bad guys are actually fun to write. I always give one of them a trait that is a little endearing, yet make one be so loathsome or disgusting the reader can't help but boo or curl their lip when the character comes on the scene.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way? The world is full of bad people or bad things that happen to people. You can't write a book without adding that bit of the real world into the equation. If you don't have bad people or an unsettling event in a book it is too Pollyanna and the reader isn't going to believe the other characters of the story you are telling.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in? I'd have to say my favorite bad buy is Ezra Cutter in "Outlaw in Petticoats". He is slick and tries to be charismatic while holding the heroine hostage.

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books? That's a tough one. I don't think I've read a book where the bad guy was so memorable that I could name him or the book. But then I tend to read contemporary single title and historical westerns. I rarely read a suspense. I get scared too easily! LOL

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share. As in the real world most bad guys aren't too smart. And since I've so far not got into the head to a really deranged bad guy, I've made them all just a little bit bumbling, letting the reader know they will be caught because they aren't quite smart enough to get away with everything they plot.

Please provide your website link. http://www.patyjager.com

What is the link to buy your book? http://www.thewildrosepress.com

Thank you for telling us about your bad guys. We love to meet the "evil ones".

Sinbad's Last Voyage

Tell us about the villains in your book.

We want to hear about the bad guys, bad gals and villains in your book. Even if you don't have a murderer, thief or other "bad guy" there should be some negative force.

Who causes friction is the story?

There are three negative forces in the book: The first are the Albegensians who attack a deep-space freighter and destroy it, starting a war with Terra, thus setting the backdrop for the story. The second is the Federation itself, which has a habit of incarcerating anyone with an opinion contrary to theirs. The third is Andrea's husband Tran, the reason she meets Sinbad. Tran is an Albegensi and has been arrested simply because he's a member of the planet which attacked the Terran vessel, arbitrarily accused of being a spy.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

I've written about both and I've made them as mean and evil as I can! It's fun to have someone who can say and do the things one might have always wanted to but society says one can't because of retribution.

How do you use your bad guys?

In this case, Tran doesn't appear to be a "bad guy" at first. He's simply an innocent victim who was from the wrong place at the wrong time. It's only when he escapes from Detention and leaves the planet and ignores Sinbad's messages to wait so he can bring Andi to him that things become suspicious. The fact that he's heading toward a planet known to be a hereditary enemy of his own people is strange, also. He brings about Andi's meeting with the man who'll change her life forever, as well as Sin's meeting with the woman who'll make him see that all Terrans aren't to be hated.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

It was fun!

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

My villains can say and do what they want, to whoever they want, whenever they want. I'd never do anything like that, but it's fun to pretend for a little while that I'm someone who can. Of course, they always get their "come-uppance" in the end, but it's a great ride while it lasts!

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

I guess I'd have to say Mircea Ravagui in my unpublished novel Shadow Lord. Not only does Mircea get away with murdering Marek Strigoi's father, stepmother, little brother and sister, but he manages to get the hero sent to Hell for a hundred and twenty-five years!

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?

I'd have to say Blackie Duquesne from the Skylark of Space by "Doc" Smith.

Please provide your website link.

Www.tonivsweeney.com

What is the link to buy your book?

www.lulu.com; www.doubledradonbooks.com

Thank you for telling us about your bad guys. We love to meet the "evil ones".

Under Lock and Key by Rebecca Benston

Who causes friction in the story? In my Rona Shively Stories mystery series, my main character, Rona Shively causes a lot of her own friction. She just gets into things that spell trouble. Generally, though, I try to make the villain someone the reader would never suspect. As in the first book, many people were surprised to find that the bad guy was...well...I can't really say. That kind of gives it away for those who haven't read it. In Under Lock and Key, I pulled a major switch with one of the main characters as well.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals? I don't know why, but my villains tend to run in pairs. Usually, a man and a woman are the perpetrators of evil.

How do you use your bad guys? My bad guys are usually causing trouble for some poor, unsuspecting soul. Rona Shively is that equalizing force brought in to help the underdog out of some terrible circumstance.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult? I like writing them, but I really like writing their demise. It makes me happy to see the bad guy get punched in the nose or something equally painful.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way? I don't know, maybe it's because my bad guys tend to have some of the qualities that really cause me stress. Some are a composite of the people in my life who have caused me a significant level of grief. So, I guess it's my way of inflicting a harmless dose of revenge.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in? I enjoy my first villain the most because he was such a jerk. You really never saw it coming because you already hate him when you figure it out. He starts out as a creep, almost becomes likable and then you realize that your first instinct was the one you should have trusted.

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books? One of my favorites has been Kyle Craig in the James Patterson's Cross series. He just doesn't care who he kills. He's so sinister.

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Sometimes, people are just bad. It's not likely that any of my bad guys are just having a bad day, they're usually significantly flawed and will deserve whatever Rona might do to them to bring them down. I hope you enjoy watching things unfold.

Please provide your website link. http://www.theronashivelystories.com

What is the link to buy your book? http://www.theronashivelystories.com

The Last Free Men - by Jack Everett & David Coles

The Last Free Men - by Jack Everett & David Coles

We want to hear about the bad guys, bad gals and villains in your book. Even if you don't have a murderer, thief or other "bad guy" there should be some negative force.

Who causes friction in the story?

Iavolina. She is the wife of the Commandant of Fort Throp, a real fort close to Hadrian's Wall which, almost two thousand years ago separated Scotland from Britain. Iavolina is a spoiled Roman girl who, we can surmise married her ageing husband Septimus as a way to family money. Unfortunately, she had not reckoned with life on Rome's North West frontier; she took lovers and since her latest seemed too good to miss, she left the provincial little marching fort. After causing a great deal of mayhem - all of which furthered the story - she makes a totally undeserved fete.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?

No preference

How do you use your bad guys?

To add conflict to the story, to add another thread, to give an alternative viewpoint.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?

Yes, we enjoy it.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?

Creating an evil character or even a merely bad individual is a challenge because the narrative still has to be enjoyable as well as gripping the reader and making her want to continue When it comes out right, the effort is really worthwhile.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?

Our favourite bad guy is called Calupsis; he is the leader of what is left of King Arthur's Knights after chivalry has been entirely forgotten. He is pretty horrible. Calupsis appears in the young adult's fantasy novel Merlin's Kin, available as an eBook from Mobipocket.com. (A few paperbacks are still available … email us from our websites.)

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?

Undoubtedly this is the anti-hero Cugel in Jack Vance's “Dying Earth” fantasy books: “the Eyes of the Overworld” and “Cugel's Saga”.

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share

As good guys are not wholly good, so bad guys are never all bad. However, it's difficult to find anything of a redeeming nature in either of our books that we mention above; both are made bad by their own self-serving nature. It's worth noting that only some of our bad guys end up with their just deserts.

Please provide your website link.

http://www.davidBColes.co.uk
http://www.JackLEverett.me.uk

What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.virtualtales.com/StoryProducts~tn~Last+Free+Men.html

Thank you for telling us about your bad guys. We love to meet the "evil ones".

On Borrowed Wings

Who causes friction in the story? In ‘On Borrowed Wings’ there are two protagonists who particularly cause trouble for the others. Merchant and head of the household Gardar and his thrall Thyri, are both interested in power, control and getting their own way. Leif, heir to the household becomes an additional problem as the book develops because of his predatory sexual tendencies and lack of care for others.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals? I don’t think gender matters at all where villains are concerned. What seems more important to me is that they should have convincing motives for their actions, rather than just being evil, two dimensional plot devices.

How do you use your bad guys? The bad guys create challenges for the more sympathetic characters. Their plots, machinations, betrayals, underhandedness, unfairness and cruelty force the other characters to act. Without at least a few trouble-makers in the mix, there wouldn’t be much of a story.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult? I really enjoy writing them – giving vent to the darker aspects of my imagination and trying to make the characters convincing, and perhaps even likeable at times.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way? I love all my characters, even the horrible ones. Trying to get into the head of someone who behaves in despicable ways is always interesting, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to make them believable. I think most people consider themselves to be in the right, and most have a rational for what they do, an excuse or a justification, so I’m always looking for those to explore.

Who is your favourite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in? Gardar remains my favourite. He’s a singularly selfish and egotistical person, capable of making people fall in love with him even while he’s doing dreadful things to them. He’s violent, cruel and manipulative. He’s also very clever indeed, which makes him quite an adversary for the hero and heroine. Even though he’s quite a nasty piece of work, he isn’t inhuman, and has his own tragedies that make it difficult to entirely hate him.

Who is your favourite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books? I remain very fond of Severus Snape from the Harry Potter books (although his status as a bad guy is complicated.) ‘Rebecca’ from Du Maurier’s book is an awesome villainess.

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share. Although Gardar comes from quiet a violent culture (based loosely on the Vikings) it’s also an honourable one. What makes him especially unpleasant is his lack of honour – that he would cut down an unarmed man, bring dishonour to members of his family, use his power for sexual coercion and so forth. He has a lot of unpleasant secrets which emerge during the story.

Please provide your website link. http://www.bryncolvin.mysitre.orange.co.uk

Partially Human by Dwayne Anderson

Who causes friction is the story?
While many characters do give Joshua a hard time, none trouble him so much more than Veranda Oltzon, a woman who is so prejudiced against people who are different, she kills them.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?
I really don’t have any preference.

How do you use your bad guys?
They go against everything the hero stands for and they represent what the book condemns. For example, “Partially Human” is a story about accepting yourself and others for who they are and not rejecting them for being different, Veranda Oltzon represents human ignorance and prejudice at its worst.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?
It’s hard to say. It all depends on how much of their character development you’ve got.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?
Most villains, you grow to hate so much, you just can’t wait for the final confrontation for him or her to get just desserts. Other villains you come to take a liking to and feel sorry for them when they take their last breath. Veranda was a woman disillusioned by rejection as a child which ultimately affected her in a way that was so negative, she was beyond salvation, and ultimately got what she deserved in the end, so you both hate her, yet in the end, you feel sorry for her because of her negative experiences, yet she was unable to “let it go”.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books? Which bad guy and which book are they in?
This is only my third book so far and I haven’t created that many villains to choose from. So far, I have no favorite, but perhaps later.

Fraterfamilias by Peter Ferrer

We want to hear about the bad guys, bad gals and villains in your book. Even if you don't have a murderer, thief or other "bad guy" there should be some negative force.

Who causes friction is the story?
The most dangerous character in the story is a Homicide cop named Charlie Rains. He's in a bad place in life, which makes him vulnerable to manipulation by someone very, very scary who wants him to gather information about one of the book's main protagonists, Alan Kedward. But Charlie also finds himself sympathizing with Alan. It puts him in a tug of loyalties between his blackmailer and Alan that endangers everyone.

Do you prefer bad guys or bad gals?
Bad gals, definitely. I want to read about tough gals who are willing to do bad things to get what they want, just like men. Do the bad things outright rather than manipulate men into doing them or dither over whether or not to do something bad that needs to be done.

How do you use your bad guys?
I have never believed in "villains", per se. In real life, everyone is the hero of their own story and the villain of their story is whoever tries to stop them from doing or getting what they want in life. Alan Kedward, for example, is trying to cover up for his brother, Paul Farrell, who murdered four people in Paris. So, depending on whether the POV belongs to Alan or the investigators pursuing his brother, he's either a good guy or a bad guy. Sure, he's in a lot of the book and a lot of the book is from his point of view. But that was true of the villains of Eye of the Needle and Day of the Jackal, too.

Do you enjoy writing the bad guys or do you find it difficult?
No, it's a fun challenge. You just keep in mind that no matter how scuzzy this person is, that person is the hero of his or her own story. It's the effect of his or her actions on others in the story that determines whether or not he or she is a villain. You should never write a character with whom you can't sympathize. It backfires and makes the reader dislike you for betting on the character. There's nothing more annoying than an insufferable protagonist.
And anyway, most of my protagonists are pretty bad, depending on how you look at them.

Whether you enjoy writing them or hate writing them, we'd like to know why you feel that way?
I think that people who are backed into a corner don't act "nice", and that a lot of times, people can do horrible things to others under the cover of being nice and polite. I find that the underdogs who have to do "bad" things to survive are far more fascinating than clean-cut heroes who don't have to question the rigid moral codes by which they judge themselves and everyone around them.

Who is your favorite bad guy in any of your books?
I'd have to say Charlie Rains. He's wonderfully conflicted. He's only a bad guy in this story. Doesn't mean he'll stay a bad guy. He's no Renfield in Dracula. The guy isn't weak, just in a bad place. He's capable of redemption.

Which bad guy and which book are they in?
Fraterfamilias.

Who is your favorite fictional bad guy -- that's not in your books?
Brian de Bois-Guilbert in Ivanhoe and Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Weren't they gloriously bad?

Is there anything else about your bad guys that we need to know? Feel free to share.
Keep an eye on them. They don't always stay bad. The good guys don't always stay good, either. It keeps things interesting.

Please provide your website link.
http://www.geocities.com/rpcv.geo/other.html

What is the link to buy your book?
http://www.virtualtales.com/StoryProducts~tn~Fraterfamilias.html

Thank you for telling us about your bad guys. We love to meet the "evil ones".
You're welcome!

Judi Moreo and Kim Baccelia - Virtual Tour Stops

Promotional Interview with Judi Moreo

This is the first author promotional interview that I've posted on my Self Promotion blog on the Inspired Author site. This is the first interview in a series that I'm doing with Kathleen Gage. She is posting some on her blog and I'll be posting all of the interviews on my site. To read about Judi Moreo's promotion - visit

http://inspiredauthor.com/v3/promotional-interview-judi-moreo-0

~ and ~

Kim Baccellia - Young Adult Author - Earrings of Ixtumea

Join Nikki Leigh and Muze as they interview young adult author Kim Baccelia about her book - Earrings of Ixtumea. This is the opening question of the interview - Nikki & Muze – I was reading the synopsis for your book and was intrigued by the inner struggle that your character faces. It’s also interesting that she is confronted by the same cultural problems in the fantasy world. Can you give us some information about how you came up with this idea and what sort of problems she deals with in the story?

Kim –As a bilingual teacher in the later ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, I saw a lot with my second language students. I taught in a LA county school district, close to East LA. I also was researching my own family history at this time. I was bothered how each year my students would draw themselves blond, blue-eyed, and fair skinned.

Click here to learn more about Kim and Earrings of
Iztumeahttp://muzesmusings.blogspot.com/

Nikki Leigh – Fiction Author – www.nikkileigh.com
Book Promo 101 – www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm
“Coastal Suspense with a Touch of Romance”