NEW RELEASE and INTERVIEW
Beneath Manhattan Skies
by Emma Meade
Beneath Manhattan Skies in currently on tour with Bewitching Book Tours. The tour starts here today with my interview with the author. Please made sure you visit all of the other stops on the tour as well. This beautiful cover was designed by Najla Qamber.
Description
November in New York is cold but full of possibility for college freshman Erin Harris. When her twin brother, Nick, shows up on her doorstep for a surprise visit, Erin is delighted. Unfortunately, Nick’s arrival coincides with the discovery of a body outside her apartment building, a body drained of blood. Right away, Nick assumes vampires are involved. He’s not exactly their biggest fan since Erin dated one in high school.
Juggling nosy roommates, a first date with a gorgeous guy from college and a brother on a Van Helsing kick is enough to keep any nineteen year old girl busy - And then Erin’s old flame walks back into her life.
Is Erin destined to be caught up in supernatural shenanigans, or will she choose a different path?
Beneath Manhattan Skies is a standalone story, following the character Erin Harris from Under the Desert Moon.
Excerpt
Nick and Erin kept a lookout for anyone of the supernatural persuasion, a difficult task since Erin doubted vampires went clubbing with the words I want your blood printed on their shirts. What had James and his maker in common? Agility, gracefulness, a predatory sway. It should be simple to spot one. Yeah right!
They had zero proof the vampire or vampires responsible for both deaths even frequented the place, if it’s even vampires, she reminded herself. But if the cops were interested in the club, then it was the only lead Erin and Nick had.
“If we do see a vampire, what next?” Erin asked.
“We follow him.”
“And then what? Ask if they'd like a bloody beverage? A diet Coke with a splash of O Negative?
“We kill them.”
“Oh, of course. Because we both know how easy that is … And how exactly do we do it, oh intelligent one?” Erin spoke as low as she could over the tuneless house music. “Do you have a stake handy?”
“Yes.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
Nick unzipped his coat and pointed at his inside pocket. Erin checked to see if anyone was looking before she did a quick search. Something long, wooden and narrow. A stick.
What the hell?
“I made it a while back. Just in case.”
“Just in case,” Erin parroted. “Just what exactly have you been up to in Boston?”
“Relax.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Van Helsing, but I wasn't aware my brother had become a vampire hunter.”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“You talk about it later. I'm going to the bar.”
Before Nick could protest, Erin stormed off. She hadn't known Nick to keep a secret from her, ever. But not only had he been carrying out research of the supernatural persuasion behind her back, here he was walking around with a homemade stake in his pocket, hell bent on some stupid vampire hunting mission.
Erin berated herself for coming to the club. If she and Nick came up against a vampire, the odds were not in their favor. Once again, the question came unbidden. Where are you, James?
Review
By Dii
Remember your high school flame? Did you get over him? For Erin Harris, getting over James wasn’t all that easy, okay, no one has quite held a candle to him, even though she now lives in Manhattan and is a college freshman with a bright future and great friends. James was a vampire, ageless, gorgeous and dangerous. Erin knows she should maybe take a chance on new romance with someone like Tommy, the hot guy with the motorcycle who is attracted to her. Vampires were in her past, right, a secret tightly kept from the unsuspecting human world, right? They were until a body shows up outside her apartment, definitely the victim of a vampire draining. Is it a warning? Coincidence? Will she finally run into James again, as he’d promised so long ago? There is evil on the streets of New York and not the human kind, and it’s time to find out who is behind it and what they want. Together, vampires and humans will set a trap, but who will they catch?
Beneath Manhattan Skies by Emma Meade is a refreshing, angst-free paranormal mystery/romance with some great characters and a smooth flow that avoids too much heavy darkness. Sure, you’ll find some great vamp vs. vamp fighting, and our human heroine is gutsy, willing to risk her life to save her friends, but I loved how she wasn’t so taken with the “vampire love of my life” thing that she wasn’t at least open to other options, like maybe a human? This is fast read, with a hint of mystery, a hint of romance, some well-defined characters and of course, the hot vamps! It helps when you have friends who accept the world you show them, too! Could it be because it was Manhattan?
I completely enjoyed Emma Meade’s writing style and the world she created for me to get lost in!
Interview with the Author
Hi Emma, thanks for joining me today to discuss your new book, Beneath Manhattan Skies. Hi Lynda. Cheers for having me.
Which writers have influenced you the most? Many authors of the Point Horror series got me hooked on the supernatural and horror genre. I devoured those books as a kid. As a young teenager, I then collected every L. J. Smith book I could get my hands on. Anne Rice, Virginia Andrews, and Stephen King quickly followed.
What age group do you recommend your book for? Teens and upwards.
What sparked the idea for this book? Beneath Manhattan Skies catches up with the character Erin Harris from my previous novel, Under the Desert Moon, as she makes her way in The Big Apple. When I completed Under the Desert Moon, I thought Erin’s story was finished, but I often wondered how she would get on in New York. She’s a small town girl with big ambitions. Would she survive and thrive in such a big city? I found my answers when I wrote Beneath Manhattan Skies, which can be read as a standalone story.
Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel? I have a general idea for a story, but usually it’s a character who drives that idea forward.
What was the hardest part to write in this book? Having Erin make a tough decision when it came to her love life. I felt for her.
How do you hope this book affects its readers? Mostly, I just want people to enjoy it and have some fun while reading this novella. Beneath Manhattan Skies is not a serious book. It’s a fast-paced slice of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction with some romantic elements.
How long did it take you to write this book? About a month. I started it over Christmas break last year. With two full weeks off work, I had the time to sit down and really get into it. Of course it took many more months of editing and revising before I was happy to send it out into the world.
What is your writing routine? I don’t really have one, I’m sorry to say. When I do commit to writing, I usually curl up on the couch, sit my laptop on the armrest, make sure I’ve got a hot cup of tea nearby and off I go.
How did you get your book published? Beneath Manhattan Skies is self-published via Smashwords, Amazon, and hopefully very soon CreateSpace.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer? Read a lot, write a lot and remember Google is your friend. Research literary agents, publishers, what’s going on in the industry, writing tips, etc. Do your homework.
What do you like to do when you're not writing? Chill out with family and friends, enjoy a dinner out with the girls and a good chat over a glass of wine, sit back and listen to music and relax by watching some Vampire Diaries or The Big Bang Theory.
What does your family think of your writing? They’re supportive and proud, I think.
Please tell us a bit about your childhood. I grew up with three sisters and my mother and father in a loving home. I was lucky to have a second home in my grandparents, Maureen and Paddy. We lived in Cork, a city in Ireland, and though I moved away to Galway for a time for college and work, I’m back in Cork again.
Did you enjoy school? No. J I didn’t come out of my shell until college. College opened up the world to me.
Did you like reading when you were a child? Yes. I always had my head stuck in a book.
Who were your favorite authors as a child? The writers of the Point Horror series like R. L. Stine, Diane Hoh, Caroline B. Cooney, and Richie Tankersley Cusick. I also devoured all the Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High books.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Probably when I was in primary school. I was one of the few in class who loved being assigned short stories for homework. Mine usually featured ghosts, aliens and vampires.
Did your childhood experiences influence your writing? My father loved books and films and music, so I grew up with an appreciation for the arts. I can’t say I’ve ever truly experienced a supernatural event, yet I write mainly paranormal themed stories.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? I do get some lovely emails that make me smile when they mention they connected with a character or a particular love story. Readers of my blog, Emma’s Ramblings on Supernatural Fiction, are particularly friendly people.
What can we look forward to from you in the future? Since I adored The X-Files growing up, I would love to sink my teeth into an alien tale, one day!
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Emma. It's been a pleasure chatting. These were great questions! Thanks a million for having me on your blog.
About the Author
Emma Meade writes paranormal fiction. She lives in rainy Ireland and loves all things supernatural. Stephen King's The Stand is one of her most loved books and she's lost count of the number of times she's read L. J. Smith's trilogy, The Forbidden Game.
Books, DVDs, and TV show box sets take up lots of space in her home, and she collects all the Point Horror books she can get her hands on.
Writing supernatural stories and watching marathon re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are some of Emma's favourite ways of escaping reality.
Emma is the author of several short stories including Dark Whiskey. She has also written Under the Desert Moon and Beneath Manhattan Skies.
Links
Amazon US paperback - not yet available
Amazon UK paperback - not yet available
