Interview with author, Lorrie Unites-Struiff

Today I welcome Lorrie Unites-Struiff!  She is on her Authors Supporting Authors Virtual Tour.  Please leaver her a comment to be entered to win a copy of her book at the conclusion of her tour and also a journal and booklight.

Lorrie, Welcome to Immortyl Revolution.

Hello Denise and readers. I’m so happy to be here. Thank you for hosting me, Denise, and allowing me to tell your readers about my new novella.

What age group is your work geared toward?

I’ve geared Gypsy Crystal toward all adult readers who enjoy a good thriller.

Into which genre would you say your work falls and why?

Gypsy Crystal is a paranormal/thriller/romance.  The paranormal-- Rita is a homicide detective who wears a mystical amulet handed down through her Roma maternal bloodline. The crystal helps her see in a dead persons eyes, the last person they had seen when alive.
The thrills--A serial killer dubbed “The Ripper” is on the loose in her town and targeting prostitutes. FBI agent Matt Boulet is sent to lead the task force. Chills and thrills follow the two as “The Ripper” leads them on a wild and dangerous chase.

The romance—Rita has a yen to tangle the sheets with Matt. Does he feel the same?

Tell us a little about your book.

Gypsy lore and mysticism play a large part in my novella. Too many secrets are kept.  Rita has a secret. She wears a crystal amulet that protects and aids her on the job and the streets of her city.  FBI agent Matt has a secret. He knows who the serial killer is but will not reveal to Rita or the task force the man they must hunt down. He gives the task force odd instructions and informs them he has orders from his superior that it is a “strictly a need to know.”  Rita’s family has secrets. One that Rita will find very hard to swallow.  When all the secrets are exposed, the hunt for the killer becomes the most dangerous Rita will ever know.

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Rita’s friend, Della, is my favorite character. Della has a take-no-crap attitude and is loyal. She’s a tough cop on the outside yet has a soft inner side that she tries to hide. Through humor, we see both sides of her. She may get a story of her own in the future.
What other writers would you say have influenced your work and why? What are some of your favorite books in the genre?

I read a great many thrillers and so many authors have influenced my work, it would take two pages to name them all. At the moment, I am ready to dig into Dark Deceptions by Dee Davis.

What is your writing process like? Do you do a lot of background research? Do you plot every detail or do you prefer the characters to move the story in new directions, or a combination of both? Do you belong to a critique group and do you find this helpful?

My writing process is “write when I can.” I try to take two solid hours a day to write, but it doesn’t always work out. I get caught up in background research and can spend many hours rapt in the information I find. I don’t plot my stories, I play with them in my head until the story line seems exciting and the characters come alive. Then I begin to write and hope for the best. After a few drafts, I run the story by my critique partners to pick apart for logic flaws and some hard hitting critiques. I have a wonderful group to depend on. They tell it like it is and I love them for that.

Do you have any advice for young or beginning writers?

Only what all authors tell beginning writers. Don’t give up. Keep butt in chair. The only way you learn is to keep writing, join critique groups, and don’t give in to the frustration of rejections.  I will suggest starting with short stories first, before a novel. Short stories give you a good foundation and less rewriting than first novels.

Who is your publisher and where are your books available? Are there e-books and hard copies

available?

I am published with Eternal Press/Damnation Books in both e-books and hard copies.  You can order direct from the Eternal Press http://www.eternalpress.biz/searches.php?category=top and from Amazon.



What is your website and/or blog where readers can learn more? Can they friend you on Facebook or other sites?

Check my website for more info and reviews of Gypsy at http://struiff.wordpress.com/.  I have a personal page on Facebook, please friend Lorrie Struiff.  You can join my Gypsy Crystal fan page on Facebook.

Are there any upcoming signings or appearances you'd like to mention?

None. But doing this virtual blog tour will keep me active and to follow the tour, I’ll be posting my appearances on the Gypsy fan page on Facebook.

Lorrie thanks for joining me today!

Here is a blurb and short excerpt from Lorrie's book.
Everyone has secrets.

Homicide Detective Rita Moldova has a secret, a crystal amulet from her Roma bloodline that allows her to see the last image a victim had seen in their eyes before they died. Now, a ritual killer is terrorizing her town and the crystal’s magic has suddenly stopped doing its job.

FBI agent, Matt Boulet, is sent to lead the task force and gives the group strange orders. Worse, Rita senses he is holding back a deep, dark secret about the killer.

When she confronts her seer mother’s advice, she learns another secret about their clan that she finds impossible to swallow.

Rita swims through a whirlpool of confusion as the investigation continues. Can Rita deny the lore of the ancients? Can she deny her growing feelings for Matt Boulet?

(Excerpt)

Detective Rita Moldova peeked around the corner to make sure the hallway was empty. Making a quick right turn, she slipped into the autopsy lab to have a few minutes alone with the body. She tucked her white shirt tighter into her jeans and zipped her windbreaker to stay warm in the chilly room. The harsh odor of formaldehyde hit her nostrils and stung her throat.


Her heart twisted at the sight of the young, auburn-haired woman lying on the stainless steel table. A white sheet covered her to the navel; bruises blemished the once pretty face. Contusions marred the pallid skin from elbow to shoulder. The gash on the front of her neck gaped, exposing open veins and torn tissue.


Rita flipped her thick, dark braid back over her shoulder, snapped on one latex glove, leaned over the corpse, and peeled back an eyelid. In her bare hand, she clasped a star-shaped crystal hanging from the gold chain around her neck, an endowment from her maternal Roma bloodline. The crystal heated in her palm, warm energy pulsing up her arm to her shoulder. The face captured in the victim’s eye coalesced and stared back. Rita drew in a sharp breath. Bobby Driscoll! She had known him since high school, and now he worked as a uniform in her precinct. What the hell was going on?