Arlene Webb is a published author with Shadowfire Press. She's been described as having an unique voice, with an under current of intellectualism in her novels. Her stories range from science fiction to fantasy and historical and no two are even remotely alike. She has an interesting way of visualizing the world and bringing it to her readers that will leave a lasting impression with all who read her work.
Please, help me give a warm welcome to author and prose artist, Arlene Webb.
Arlene, please tell us about yourself.
My life is filled with the mundane, a loving dysfunctional family, and I’m happy. Enough said or I won't have anything to tweet about.
Why do you write?
70 % boredom. 28% obsession. 2% narcissism.
What were your early influences in writing?
From Mark Twain, Nancy Drew and Hardy boys, and even the bible in my childhood. I read whatever I could get my hands on. TV shows like Dark Shadows and Wizard of Oz helped too.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
Please, help me give a warm welcome to author and prose artist, Arlene Webb.
Arlene, please tell us about yourself.
My life is filled with the mundane, a loving dysfunctional family, and I’m happy. Enough said or I won't have anything to tweet about.
Why do you write?
70 % boredom. 28% obsession. 2% narcissism.
What were your early influences in writing?
From Mark Twain, Nancy Drew and Hardy boys, and even the bible in my childhood. I read whatever I could get my hands on. TV shows like Dark Shadows and Wizard of Oz helped too.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I still don’t know what I want to be, but I do know I have to write and I felt like an honest to god author when SFP said yes, they liked my stories.
What kinds of research do you do for your work?
Google. Daydream. Pester friends and family with strange questions.
What are you favorite scenes to write?
The ones that don’t make me smack myself in the forehead.
Do you have a favorite character?
Malcolm (Splintered Energy) has been with me since the first tumble onto pages. He’s the most competent of the lot and can be a right bastard. Caron (Incoming Alert) is a sweetheart though and he makes me smile when I think of him. Myles Logan (Ashes) has to be my greatest achievement as a writer. And…looks like I should have answered, no to a favorite.
Do you have any favorite lines in your novels?
Many, but here’s a few from opening chapters:
“Good lord, son. Can’t you just find pretty seashells like normal people?” Aaron. Splintered Energy
‘Seriously, zombies, vamps and giants aside, there had to be enraged villagers here, ready to castrate the first one found covered in floral blood.’ Joel. In Lieu of Flowers
‘A dying buzzard? More like a deathly ill, midget flamingo.’ Lyle. Ashes.
‘My vine would never hire a scum-toad lawyer to chew him free, strangle me dead, or creep off in pursuit of petunia.’ Settia. Rebel.
‘3.14159-26535…what the geek? Tedious math pie only confused him further.’
Boyron. Incoming Alert
“No one eats of a man here, except in a very pleasurable way without any loss of flesh.” Gareth. Eostre’s Hare.
“I love trouble, I crave trouble, I eat trouble for every meal.” Cu. Joy’s Creation.
'In my father’s arms, I became a man.’ Rijo. Father’s Embrace.
What are the hardest scenes to write?
All of them.
Please, tell us about your books.
Here's the link to purchase any of my books, published with Shadowfire Press: http://shadowfirestore.com/
~In Lieu of Flowers~ Tormented by flowers, stalked by non-existent fiends, will a youth with an overactive imagination ever find happiness?
A young man struggles with his overactive mind, dealing with helping in a family business he hates, and falling in love with a woman attached to another man. When one calamity leads to another, he learns his version of reality is not to be trusted.
~Rebel~Can an untamed lover distract from the desire to bring down the human race?
When the unforgivable happens, a mother's determination that her little ones blossom becomes an obsession. With a plan and the will, all she needs now is the means. A lowly hero agrees to help. His price? A moment of fun in the dark. When tendrils tighten and he's smitten, he's ready to sacrifice his all to prolong that moment. Many sentient creatures lose their heads when falling in love, yet no one ever expects the glorious aftermath to be quite so painful.
~Circle in the Sand~
Fallen angels, a handsome blue-eyed officer... How can a female geek concentrate?
Black glass? Oops. Marbles aren't the clue. How many times will our heroine pull the trigger before she gets the password right? And, how the hell can she pound the keyboard with a sexy cop breathing down her neck. Tight in the clutches of a powerful angel, entangled in the arms of the law, it's hard to separate right from wrong when little brat siblings are at stake--and even more difficult when knees go weak, the screen blurs, and heartbeats detonate with terror and attraction.
Under the Mistletoe
Alek's New Year's Eve plans didn't included being drained by a life sucking fiend.
New Years Eve and parties everywhere, but Alek--security and handy guy--is stuck at work in the department store taking down the holiday decorations.
His coworkers are jerks, and it seems as if every wacko in the neighborhood has descended on the store. Worse, the mistletoe is hanging way too high for anyone but him to deal with.
Just when Alek thinks he's going to be able to escape in time for a little celebrating, his life takes a deadly turn and instead he's attacked by a thirsty parasite. Then the parasite exterminator arrives in the form of a dark handsome hunk and things go from weird to downright bizarre. Can you really find love Under the Mistletoe, or is it a killer lying in wait?
~Father's Embrace~There's nothing Rijo won't do to feel his father's arms around him.
His love of life strong, his love for family even stronger, a young wolf suffers one loss after the other. When a terrible fate befalls his only surviving sibling, Rijo chooses to continue caring for her and the monster that she has become.
Unfortunately, the alpha male in his life thinks otherwise, and Rijo is torn between helping his sister and defying his father. When two strangers enter their territory, he struggles against all odds to protect her, and then deal with the calamity he brings upon his father and himself when he fails.
With determination and affection that transcends bigotry and fear, Rijo will become whatever it takes to put things right with his father.
~Eostre's Hare~
When Garreth finds Gwas he has no idea what's in store for them.
Gwas can outrun a horse, knows how to hide and steal, but he's ignorant of the ways of men. The last thing he expects when he is rescued from a miserable existence by a blue eyed, blond haired angel is to be promised as a Druidic sacrifice to Eostre.
Maura knows Gareth is no angel but she adores him with a passion that time and loneliness can't dent. She opens her heart when Gareth brings her the abused orphan known only by his title, Gwas, meaning servant. The love between the three of them grows so strong Gareth will defy man and gods to embrace it.
The clash of old and new religions puts their lives in peril, but when hatred and murder confront enduring love, winter gives way to spring and a colorful myth is born.
~Joy's Creation~
It's all in a day's work for Dr. Cu to help emotionally challenged people find what they need in life. But who's going to help Dr. Cu find what he needs? Certainly not his mother or father. His mother is much too busy with her own life of lust and the endless parade of perfect men who move in and out of her life. And his dad spends his time making war, and being jealous of his mother's men.
Forced to attend yet another of his mother's Valentine's Day parties, Cu is thoroughly fed up with the entire thing, until he stumbles across a sultry beauty that's too much for him to resist.
Do you have a writing tip to share?
Don’t start. If you ignore that tip, don’t give up.
Tell us more about your latest release. Shadowfire Press put out a call for an Easter submission, and I became obsessed with how a myth began. Even with an egg symbolic of the renewal of life, and the rabbit revered for its prolific nature, it seemed almost as hard to imagine how Harvey came to be hopping down a trail as a fat man in a red suit could slide down chimneys. I couldn't sleep after I learned of monstrosities between neighbors in pre-medieval Briton, and I hope I gave voice to men long dead, showed how enduring love can be.
How about an excerpt?
In the year of the Lord, 612 AD
Blood trickled down his face and splattered off his chin. Bright red droplets marked leaf and grass, the sharp aroma increasing the lust of the beasts behind him. The baying of the lead hound vibrated closer and closer. Gwas’ left foot came down hard, and then the right. He tucked his head low to avoid another branch cracking open his forehead as adrenalin surged and panic fueled his heartbeat.
He twisted to the left, toward the light and out of the dense thicket. They’d have to risk the footpath. The little hare frantically hopped on his heels, unable to reach top speed while dodging roots, foliage and blasted rocks. Gwas yearned to scoop up his friend, curl into a ball and fight his shivers under a clump of brush, but giving into terror would guarantee they’d die in a very painful way. The race to survive seemed more than excruciating enough on its own.
His lungs burned like he’d swallowed a sharp sword. The hurt brought tears to his eyes as he fought against his need to breathe. Bitty’s lean brown body could readily absorb the force between earth and ground produced by running at extreme speed, but Gwas was only a clumsy human. What he had in common with his four footed friend was, so far, a short existence.
#####
We will be giving away an e-copy of Eostre's Hare. Please comment and mention which holiday blurb you like the best: Under the Mistletoe, Joy's Creation, or Eostre's Hare. We'll pick a winner from the entries left under the interview posted on three blogs: Para-fanatics, Backward Momentum or Take it to the Stars. One entry per blog, three chances to win the e-book. Deadline is Midnight of April 21st. Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you're the lucky winner. Good luck.
Thank you, so much, for having me on your blog!
