Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Guest Author Day with Gail Z., Martin/Morgan Brice

Please give a warm welcome to one of my favorite authors around, Gail Z. Martin as we chat about her latest Deadly Curiosities book, Inheritance and others that she writes under this name as well as her Morgan Brice pen name. So let's get started....


Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: I like to write spooky, exciting adventures to take readers away from their problems and let them escape the real world for a little while.

Q: What started your interest in writing?

A: I’ve always loved to read, and there were stories I wanted to read that no one had written, so I decided to write them myself.

Q: What is your book(s) about?

A: Inheritance is part of my Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Cassidy Kincaide can read the history and magic of objects by touching them. She and her allies in Charleston, SC keep the world safe from supernatural threats. In Inheritance, Caribbean ghosts terrorize Charleston and start racking up a body count. Then Beckford Pendlewood, the heir to a powerful family of dark warlocks, shows up raving about a bound demon locked in a lost box and begs sanctuary. Can Cassidy and her friends find the demon box, stop the killer ghosts, and break the Pendlewood curse before Beckford’s murderous cousins and the vengeful demon destroy them all?

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: We’re finishing up the next Wasteland Marshals novella for Falstaff Books, and I’m also working on Loose Ends, the next Morgan Brice book in my Badlands series about a psychic medium and a skeptical cop hunting supernatural killers in Myrtle Beach.


Q: What do you do when you’re not writing?

A: I love to read, I’m a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural, and I enjoy hanging out with family, friends, and our dogs.

Q: What genres do you write in?

A: I write epic fantasy, urban fantasy and more as Gail Z. Martin, and urban fantasy MM romance as Morgan Brice. I also co-write several series with my husband, Larry N. Martin, which range from steampunk to comedic horror to near-future post-apocalyptic. I’ve been published for about 12 years at this point. I’ve also been part of more than 40 anthologies in the US/UK.

Q: Is there anything you would tell aspiring writers?

A: Never give up. It always takes longer than you think it will, but persistent people see their dreams come true.


Q: If zombies attacked what kind of supplies would you want?

A: A machete and a shotgun with a lot of ammo!

Q: For readers who haven't tried your books yet, how do you think your editor or loyal readers would describe your books?

A: I write series with plenty of supernatural chills, lots of action, and relatable characters who stand by their friends and the ‘found family’ they’ve created to fight evil and save the world.

Q: What do readers have to look forward to in the future from you?

A: I’ll have books coming out in all my current series over the next year, and on the Morgan Brice side, I’ve also got some new series I’m looking forward to having readers meet.

Q: Writer’s block—real or hype?

A: As my friend John Hartness says, there’s no such thing as ‘plumber’s block’. In every other job, you get up and go to work, even if it’s not your best day ever. So if you are writing books for a living, you’ve got to work around days when your brain is sludgy or you’re tired or you’re stuck. Usually, I find that doing some research helps me figure out the missing piece, or I do an outline of the chapter where I’m having trouble. When I get stuck, it’s because I don’t have a clear enough mental image of where the story needs to go. So that’s what works for me.

Q: Do you prefer to extensively plot your stories, or do you write them as they come to you?

A: Every writer does it differently. I write a book overview, and then break it down into chapters, and figure out what has to happen in each chapter to move the plot forward. That usually ends up to be multiple pages long, depending on the length of the book. I know writers who write bigger outlines and smaller outlines. It’s whatever works for the individual. Even with an outline, there are ideas that take shape as you’re writing that you didn’t expect, and that’s really fun.

Q: What advantages or challenges does a writer in your genre face in today’s fiction market?

A: We have more ways to reach readers than ever before, and more books on the market for readers to choose from. That is great for authors being able to get their books published, but it’s also daunting, because it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. So it really puts the emphasis on authors making an effort to connect with readers and stay in touch through social media, newsletters, and conventions.

Q: Has there been any characters that started off as supporting characters, but then developed into a more prominent character?

A: That happens a lot, especially when a character really takes on a lot of personality and you start to see how they can play a bigger role. It’s one of the fun parts of writing, when a character speaks up and wants to do more!

Q: How do you like to relax after a day writing?

A: I like to read, cook, travel, hang out with friends and family and our dogs, and watch a little TV. Pretty normal stuff!


Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: SOL Publishing
Series: Deadly Curiosities, book 4


Book Blurb:

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curio shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them, and she teams up with friends and allies who use magic and paranormal abilities to get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.

Caribbean ghosts terrorize Charleston and start racking up a body count. Then Beckford Pendlewood, the heir to a powerful family of dark warlocks, shows up raving about a bound demon locked in a lost box and begs sanctuary. Can Cassidy and her friends find the demon box, stop the killer ghosts, and break the Pendlewood curse before Beckford’s murderous cousins and the vengeful demon destroy them all?


 Excerpt from Inheritance by Gail Z. Martin, (C) 2019 All Rights Reserved


“I have a problem antique I’d like you to take a look at.” The man on the other end of the call sounded rattled. I recognized his name—Alfred Stone, from Stone Auctions—but I didn’t think we had ever spoken, let alone met.
“What kind of ‘problem’ does it present?” I asked. A number of possibilities came to mind. “Questionable provenance? Not sure how to authenticate?”
“I think it’s trying to kill me.”
Well, damn. That kind of problem. “All right, Mr. Stone. Try to stay calm.”
“I just told you, it’s trying to kill me. I heard you…know…about these things. Please, help me.”
Across the store, Teag Logan glanced up to make sure everything was all right. I nodded, and he went back to helping a customer.
“I can come now. Are you at the showroom?”
“Yes. Thank you. And…please…hurry.”
I ended the call and sighed. This might be the first time Alfred Stone had an antique try to kill him, but that made it just another day here at Trifles and Folly.
I’m Cassidy Kincaide, and I own Trifles and Folly, an antique and curio shop in historic, haunted Charleston, South Carolina. The shop has been in my family for more than three hundred years. While we’re known as a great place to buy high-quality antiques, the shop is also a cover for the Alliance, a coalition of mortals and immortals who save Charleston—and the world—from supernatural threats. I’m a psychometric, which means I can read the history and magic of objects by touching them. Teag is my assistant store manager, best friend, and sometimes bodyguard—and he’s also a talented Weaver witch. Sorren, my business partner, is a nearly six-hundred-year-old vampire. Together with some other friends with very specialized abilities, we do our best to keep the world safe from dark magic and things that go bump in the night.
“Problem?” Teag asked when the customer left.
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Alfred Stone just called—from the auction house. He says he’s got an item that’s trying to kill him.”
“You want me to go with you?” Teag pushed a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. His skater-boy haircut and skinny jeans made him look younger than his late twenties. “Maggie can handle the store.”
On cue, Maggie—our lifesaver of a part-time associate—waved to agree from the other side of the store. She was sporting a new bright pink streak in her short gray hair, and it matched her sweater, a reminder—as if I needed one—that she believed in taking risks and living large.
I reached up to slick my humidity-frizzy strawberry blond hair back into a ponytail and shook my head. “Let me go see what the problem is, and I’ll figure out what to do from there. It’s not far away, in case I need to give a shout.”



Author Bio

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, SOL Publishing, Darkwind Press, Worldbuilders Press and Falstaff Books. Recent books include  Sellsword’s Oath, Inheritance, Wasteland Marshals. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance including the Witchbane, Badlands and Treasure Trail series. Recent books include The Rising, Flame and Ash.

Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Together with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron & Blood, Storm & Fury (both Steampunk/alternate history), the Spells Salt and Steel comedic horror series, the Joe Mack Shadow Council series, and the Wasteland Marshals series. Her stories have appeared in more than 40 US/UK anthologies.

Find her at www.GailZMartin.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at DisquietingVisions.com blog, on Instagram www.instagram.com/morganbriceauthor  and on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin. Never miss out on the news and new releases—newsletter signup link http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj Follow her Amazon author page here: https://www.amazon.com/Gail-Z-Martin/e/B002BM8XSQ On Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gail-z-martin And get a free complete short story, Catspaw, here:  https://claims.prolificworks.com/free/UAjd6

Available in paperback, and in ebook on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks and other sites.

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