DSP Publications Presents: Genre Talk with Carole Cummings and Elizabeth Noble, and a Giveaway!

Welcome to our first post of the year, folks, and what better way to kick things off than with our very own Elizabeth Noble! Elizabeth’s here today with her new Mystery & Suspense/Paranormal novel Quarry, book to of The Vampire Guard Series, and released just this morning from DSP Publications. So before we get things rolling (and there’s a giveaway, but be patient!), let’s have a look at what Elizabeth has brought us.

Quarry
The Vampire Guard, Book Two

The members of the Vampire Guard—Jonas Forge, spy and soldier turned cop; computer hacker extraordinaire Blair Turner; Declan, thief, con man, and ex-pirate; and medical examiner and werewolf Dr. Lucas Coate—face a dangerous and elusive enemy.

And this time, it’s personal.

Over the course of three hundred years, a man has touched each of their lives in ways they are only just realizing. When a hunt for a psychotic killer in the present resurrects memories and clues from the past, they discover how they have been affected and are bound by the existence of a ruthless vampire criminal. Now, while preventing a heist at a high-tech art show and thwarting several large-scale explosions, the team must employ their unique blend of science and supernatural abilities to put an end to the machinations of the man toying with their lives.
This time, he won’t slip through their fingers.

This time, it’s more than a case. It’s a hunt, and Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas won’t stop until they’ve captured their quarry.

Where to purchase Quarry: DSP Publications, Amazon.

Carole: So, hello there, stranger! ;) Last time you were here, the guys kind of took over, and I seem to recall you spending some time on the other side of a locked door for some reason. (*whistles innocently*) So since the guys are behaving elsewhere this time, why don’t you tell us about your genre.

Elizabeth: Quarry is listed as mystery suspense and paranormal on DSP Publications website. Because vampires and werewolves are the main characters of The Vampire Guard series I think the series fits into the scifi/urban fantasy category as well. There is a lot of spy action and high techy tech gadgets to go along with the mystery.

Carole: Quite a mix you’ve got going there. Tell us more about Quarry.

Elizabeth: Vampires and werewolves have the ability to live very long and colorful lives. There are a lot of interactions, some good, some not so much. I took the opportunity to weave the events with one man who touched each character’s past to tell a story within a story.

Carole: I know Code Name Jack Rabbit, book one of the series, used various characterizations as quite effective and really well done analogies to some of today’s social issues. So how do you define “diversity” in your writing, and how did you explore it in this book?

Elizabeth: There are many ways to define diversity and show it in a story. Giving each character a unique personality, different interest and backgrounds is but one method characters become diversified. In this series, I have the extra added advantage of my characters being long lived people. There are three species, humans, vampires and werewolves in this version of the world. They live together and interact in different ways. There are prejudices between the three and that’s something which comes into play during the story. Using the three different ‘humanoid’ species afforded me the opportunity to create characters who were born centuries earlier. In turn that gives them a completely different perspective on today’s world. There is a vampire who was born in 18th century France in a romantic relationship with a werewolf born in this century. A woman born in a small, remote society of Siberia hundreds of years ago is partnered with a human man from Australia.

Carole: Quarry is being published through DSP Publications, Dreamspinner Press’s imprint for genre novels that don’t necessarily focus on or even contain romance. Tell us about the relationship in Quarry and why it doesn’t fit the accepted definition of Romance in the M/M genre.

Elizabeth: Quarry doesn’t focus on one relationship, but several. There are four main characters, and yes, they are two sets of couples and interact with each other as such. However, they comprise a team, so while there are love relationships there are friendships as well. The relationships in Quarry, and the entire series are layered and complicated. I’ve always enjoyed books by Michael Crichton, he’s one of my favorite authors. His books feature a group of closely knit people with unique and diverse skills who work together to achieve a goal, usually in a highly dangerous situation.

Carole: Tell us about the evolution of this story. What was its earliest incarnation as a concept and when did it begin to take the form of Quarry?

Elizabeth: Most of my books begin their journey the same way, with an idea for a scene or two. Since this is a series, most of the characters were already created and fleshed out. Even when that isn’t the case, my usual MO is to work out at least the basics of the plot. I knew I wanted both the good guys and the bad guys to use high tech tools. An art heist is central to the plot, but I didn’t want just any art or any heist. I found the concept of using silicon computer wafers as art. Older computer components have become collector’s items and this was a perfect fit!

Carole: You’ve been publishing your work for quite a few years now. How has your writing changed since you published your first book?

Elizabeth: I’d like to think my writing has improved in the last five plus years. My process has streamlined and improved greatly. I’ve gone from working on several projects at once to concentrating mostly on one. I feel my writing has branched out and I’m not afraid to try new things as an author.

Carole: Do you write in different genres?

Elizabeth: I do and I don’t write in different genres, or sub-genres if you will. I also write a number of romance themed novels but my concept seems to always fall into some sort of mystery to be solved. My books always have some element of suspense and action/adventure intermingled with the story. My back list has urban fantasy/paranormal romance, BDSM, mystery/suspense and scifi/fantasy.

Carole: Wheeee, sounds awesome! Thanks so much for agreeing to take a turn on the other side of the questions today, Elizabeth.

And thank to you, Awesome Readers, for joining us. We’ve still got that giveaway to get to, but first, please enjoy the following excerpt from Elizabeth’s new release, Quarry!

EXCERPT

“But the fact remains, Blair might have seen this guy, and he might have seen Blair. We should prepare for him recognizing Blair,” Forge said. “That’s a situation with the potential to go south fast. I think we can all agree we want this asshole’s killing spree stopped.”

“I was picking up garbage and making sure the venue stayed tidy and litter free, I doubt our thief even noticed me,” Blair said. He grinned at them. “Let alone would remember me. I was a geeky student, now I’m a cool superspy.”

“Still geeky,” Forge teased. Blair offered him a small smile and instantly felt better.

“We can’t depend on the thief not remembering, and it’s still a base we need to cover,” Lucas said. Declan and Forge nodded their agreement.

“I’ll need a paper and digital trail in case the thief looks me up,” Blair said. He pulled out his phone and typed out a text. “Sophie will help me get something set up fast. If our thief does remember me and checks my background, I’ll appear as nothing but a fan of the art.”

Declan held up a finger. “Add some details that might make you a potential partner. Remember, one man we know was likely working with our thief is in custody. At some point he might need to replace that man. Your father was worried some of your activities when you were young were going to get you tossed in jail. Why don’t you build on his concerns to add to your ‘résumé’?”

Forge nodded. “That’s an excellent idea and will give you more credibility with the thief if we need to go that angle.”

“Will do,” Blair agreed.

“On the reverse side, you might be able to identify our perp,” Forge pointed out. “There is a chance you saw him or her and maybe even interacted with them.”

“Don’t forget, anyone we are suspicious of we can now take a picture of.” Blair grinned and held up his phone.

“Let’s catch a thief!” Lucas quipped. He rubbed his hands together and glanced around. “I always wanted to say that.”

“Let’s catch a murderer,” Forge added and bumped Blair’s elbow with his own. “If he was responsible for your father’s accident, let’s make sure he pays, one way or the other.”

For the first time since his father died, Blair felt like he might get a few answers.

About the Author

Elizabeth Noble lives by the adage “I can’t not write”. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to write them down. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage. Using a real love of scifi and urban fantasy highlighted by twisty plots she crafts stories taking place in a slightly altered version of our world.

When she’s not chronicling the adventures of her many characters Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She shares her little brick house with an adorable canine princess and her tabby cat side-kick. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Indians!) and gardening. She can often be found working in her ‘outside office’ listening to classic rock and plotting her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.

Elizabeth received several amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received honorable mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Her novel Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the 2015 Rainbow Awards in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

Where to find Elizabeth Noble’s books: DSP Publications, Amazon, Google Play, Barnes&Noble, Kobo

Where to visit Elizabeth Noble: Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter

And now for the GIVEAWAY! Elizabeth is very generously giving away two—two!—copies of any ebook on her backlist, including 2016 releases and bundles! :o You can win a couple ways. Please click on the Rafflecopter link to find out how. A winner will be chosen on January 25, 2017, so until then, good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Thanks for joining us, everyone! If you’d like to keep tabs on Genre Talk and never miss a post, hop on over and like our Facebook page, join our Facebook group, and check out our web page.

We’ll see you next time on Genre Talk when we welcome Rick R. Reed back to the hotseat to tell us about his upcoming Fantasy/Horror release A Face without a Heart. Until then, that’s all for this week, and thanks for spending some time with us!