Fraterfamilias by Peter Ferrer

1 - Tell us a bit about your book.

Fraterfamilias by Peter Ferrer (pseudonym for Judith Doloughan and Paula R. Stiles).

It's a mystery/SF thriller set in pre-9/11 New York. Quiet architect Paul Farrell, wanted for four murders in Paris, walks into a hail of police gunfire at JFK. Suicide-by-cop. Case closed. Then Paul's eccentric Russian brother, paleoanthropologist Alan Kedward, steals the body, putting Interpol and a disturbed NYPD homicide cop back on the case together. But Paul is still dead--isn't he?

2 - Tell us about the best friend - gender, age, appearance, how they came to be with the hero or heroine and anything else we need to know about them.

Alan Kedward has a graduate student named Bobby Corazon. She's in her early twenties, Puerto Rican and from a very broken home. Alan is the first person to care what happens to Bobby since her policeman father died when she was four. He's become her mentor in academia, and in life. He sees potential in her that no one else wants to see.

3 - Who does the "best friend" help in the book?

Bobby helps Alan, which gets her into a huge amount of trouble.

4 - Does the best friend have a specific purpose in the book?

Yes, she's the only person that Alan can turn to and trust at the beginning of the story when his brother does something terrible.

5 - How does your hero or heroine feel about the best friend?

Bobby is absolutely loyal to her academic advisor and even has a bit of a crush on him. But that doesn't stop her questioning his actions whenever he does things that she thinks are screwy. A lot of what Alan does looks pretty screwy, so she has a lot to say.

6 - How would your hero or heroine handle their problems or difficulties with the best friend?

Alan is torn between his loyalties to his brother and to his grad student. He makes light of Bobby's objections, but in the end, he refuses to abandon her. This gets him in a whole lot of trouble.

7 - Are there problems between the best friend and your main characters?

Not really. She mainly interacts with Alan for most of the book. She does stand up to a villain all by herself, though. Successfully, too.

8 - Do you see the best friend ever having their own story?

I don't know about her having an entire book to herself, but I do see her having her own storyline within a book not far down the road.

9 - Was the best friend inspired by anyone you know?

Oh, yes. Judith and I each had certain characters that we created and that were particular to our respective experiences. Bobby was one of mine. I modeled her (in general) on my own experiences in graduate school. Unless you come from a family of academics, getting a higher degree can be incredibly difficult. Without those family connections, you have a hard time finding the support you need to find the funding and do the research, not to mention maintain your concentration long enough to finish. People outside that culture tend to both envy and disparage it, while those inside the culture don't necessarily want to welcome you with open arms. This is especially true for women and minorities, who are not traditionally well represented in academia. People think that the "Ivory Tower" is an easy place to be, but they forget that you have to get in there, first. Bobby and Alan's relationship reflects the harsh realities of academic culture for grad students like Bobby and lower-level instructors like Alan, the apprentices and journeymen of the academic guild.

10 - Is there anything else about the best friend that we need to know?

Feel free to share.Bobby is a tough cookie. I liked writing her. Even though she got some good resolution in this book, I'm hoping to give her more to do in the future. She's just somebody trying to pull herself up by her own bootstraps instead of whining about her lot in life and inflicting her pain on everyone else. I like that about her.

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

12 - What is the link to buy your book?

http://www.virtualtales.com/StoryProducts~tn~Fraterfamilias.html

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

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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 – http://www.nikkileigh.com/
Book Promo 101 – www.nikkileigh.com/book_promo_101.htm
“Coastal Suspense with a Touch of Romance”

One Night in Boston

1 - Tell us a bit about your book. One Night in Boston is a contemporary romance novel that takes place over a single day and night. Twenty-four chapters equal twenty-four hours for the main characters, former lovers who meet up after ten years apart and realize they still have feelings for one another.

2 - Tell us about the best friend - gender, age, appearance, how they came to be with the hero or heroine and anything else we need to know about them. Eden Browning has known our heroine, Maggie Doyle, since elementary school. The two girls grew up together, went to NYU together, and were joined at the hip until Maggie moved to Rhode Island to start her own business and Eden ended up working as an assistant to a high-powered attorney in Boston. Eden is a heartbreaker: beautiful, bold, and sensual. She’s small in stature, has long blonde hair and perfect makeup, and can wind any guy around her little finger. She also takes charge of situations where Maggie tends to waffle.

3 - Who does the "best friend" help in the book? Eden helps out Maggie, who is searching for the stepbrother she lost contact with long ago. Later in the story, Eden also helps both the stepbrother, Dillon, and the hero, Jack. She is one of those characters who has a way of

managing and manipulating situations while remaining entirely likable.

4 - Does the best friend have a specific purpose in the book? She helps Maggie both with the details of finding her stepbrother and with the emotional turmoil that Maggie faces once she finds Dillon and after she meets up with Jack. She also has a major role in the ending of the novel.

5 - How does your hero or heroine feel about the best friend? While Eden might be a little flighty at times, and while Maggie feels that Eden doesn’t take life as seriously as she should, deep down she adores Eden for sticking by her.

6 - How would your hero or heroine handle their problems or difficulties with the best friend? As the quieter and more mature friend in the relationship, Maggie would probably just let things blow over. Eden’s a tough woman to fight with.

7 - Are there problems between the best friend and your main characters? Only in the respect that Eden can’t understand Maggie’s hesitance in going after what she really wants.

8 - Do you see the best friend ever having their own story? Maybe. When my line editor read the final version of this novel, she asked if I had planned a sequel with Eden as the main character. I took that as a positive sign that readers will get to know and love her, and want to see more of her!

9 - Was the best friend inspired by anyone you know? I’m lucky enough to have 2 close friends who have many of the same personality qualities as Eden. So, yes.

10 - Is there anything else about the best friend that we need to know? Feel free to share.

11 - Please provide your website link. http://www.allieboniface.com/

12 - What is the link to buy your book? http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/one-night-in-boston