Check out this interview with Author Cinta Garcia De La Rosa's character Little Nani, from her children's book 'The Funny Adventures of Little Nani'

Today's interview is with Cinta Garcia De La Rosa's character Little Nani   

1. Hi Little Nani.  So please tell me.  How do you feel being the main character of a book?

         I feel really good, since I love being the protagonist. In that way I can do whatever thing I like to do. In this case, I walk around meeting people and doing magic. Since I am the main character, I can participate in all the adventures and I don't miss any of them.

2. Who is the most interesting side character you've met and why?

Mr. Bookaboo, because I had never met a ghost before. It was very funny because I could see things through him. He loves books and reading, and that is something that fascinates me.

3. Do you think anyone in your world is crazy? How do you deal with this?

Everybody in my world is a bit crazy! I deal with that pretty well, since I am crazy too. In that way, we have lots of fun.

4. What is your favourite pastime?

My favourite pastime is baking muffins, even though sometimes the results are not the expected ones...

5. What's your greatest strength?

I think my greatest strength is that I am always positive, so I try to see the bright side of every situation. By doing that, I can help more people to feel good.

6. What's your greatest failing?

My greatest failing is that I am lazy as far as studying is concerned, so I didn't study all the spells properly. The result is that I never know if my spells are going to turn up right or wrong.

 

7. If you could change one thing about another character in the book, who and what would it be?

I would change Thunder's character. Thunder is a super-fast turtle, but he is grumpy most of the time. I would like to make him less grumpy and more smiley.

8. What makes you happiest?

Helping people when one of my spells works.

9. Can we look forward to reading about you again anytime soon?

Sure! My creator, Cinta García, is already writing the second book, titled "Little Nani and Her Friends". I will live more funny adventures, but this time she said I will encounter new animal friends. She is also writing a series of short stories featuring me and other characters from Book 1; these stories are "choose-your-own-adventure" ones and she hopes people like them, since she used to love those stories when she was a kid. I think it is going to be fun.

10. Where can readers find your book?

My book can be found on Createspace, Amazon (US), and Amazon (UK).

AUTHOR BIO

     Cinta García de la Rosa is a Spanish teacher who always dreamed of being a writer. So she writes, every day, compulsively. Always active, she is also an avid reader, a blogger and a book reviewer. Her first writings were in Spanish, but, since she got her BA in English Studies, she decided to start writing in English. Now, she feels more comfortable writing in English than in her mother tongue. She has just published her first book “The Funny Adventures of Little Nani”, a collection of stories for children, with illustrations and other surprises. She is also working in other projects: a collection of short stories, the Groovy Cool Adventures Project, and a novelette based on the British Regency period. Apart from writing and reading, she enjoys meeting new people, dancing, and traveling.

     You can find her at the following sites:

Facecbook: Cinta García de la Rosa (Author) 

Blog: Cinta's Corner.

Web: Website.

Youtube: book trailer.

Words from the Author~

Cinta, can you please tell us a little about this new book.

My book, The Funny Adventures of Little Nani, is a children's book that can also be enjoyed by people who call themselves grown-ups. Little Nani's adventures are real fun and they transport you to a magical world where everything can be possible if you keep a positive attitude. Let's know a bit more about Little Nani.

Thanks so much for introducing your character to us, Cinta.

Check out this interview with Author Diane Rapp's character, Kayla Sanders!

I'd like to introduce Kayla Sanders.   She is the heroine of the High Seas Murder series by my very talented friend and Author Diane Rapp.   

Murder Caribbean-Style and Murder On A Ghost Ship are published, and Murder For Glacier Blue is scheduled for release in 2013. 

Kayla Sanders is a successful travel-guide author but also investigates crimes for Constellation Cruise Lines with her fiancé Steven.  She’s blonde with bright blue eyes and freckles, about five-six, and twines her hair when she’s nervous.  Raised in California, Kayla looks more like a farm girl, healthy, robust, with freckles, and well-toned muscles.  She walks confidently, preferring comfortable tennis shoes to high heels, and jeans or shorts to tailored slacks or skirts.  Kayla is intelligent, able to analyze a situation quickly, and doggedly follows a course of action she believes is correct.

So Kayla,  how do you feel about being the main character in a series of mystery novels?

(Blushing)  I enjoyed the adventure, but it’s difficult to see my life in print and on e-books.  In the first novel, Murder Caribbean-Style, my ex-lover falls dead at my feet and I must discover who killed Patrick.  I learned a lot about his past, and it’s not easy to examine your failures in a relationship.  In that adventure, people also see me fall in love with Steven and…(She blushes again and lowers her gaze.) Can we change the subject now?

How long did it take to explain your predicament to the author, Diane Rapp?

She understood me right away, perhaps because I resemble her real life daughter—who worked on the cruise ships and married an Englishman.  Of course her daughter doesn’t solve murders for a living now.  Diane and I talk while she’s dreaming.  We don’t argue about the plot, (she grins and her blue eyes sparkle) because I get my way.

Do you think anyone in your world is crazy? 

In the second novel, Murder On A Ghost Ship, the ghost acts crazy.  “The Lady” forced me to see visions about her days on the ship to pass messages along.  She also threw a mean temper tantrum.

How did you deal with this? 

It was really spooky, let me tell you.  I didn’t believe in ghosts at first, but then I realized she needed to prevent another murder.  Solving her murder was the key to stopping the haunting, but it was touch and go.

Who is the most interesting side character you’ve met?

Jason is the most intriguing character in the second book.  He’s a real spy who can change his physical appearance and personality in the blink of an eye.  Steven admires his abilities and emulates him.  I liked him and Natalia was smitten by the guy.  He’ll be in our next adventure—the wedding cruise to Alaska.

Why did you choose your current profession?

The profession chose me.  I worked as a purser on the cruise line but discrimination prevented me from getting the promotion I deserved.  Next thing I knew, I was out of a job and working as a typist in Colorado.  I wrote a tour guide because I knew ports in the Caribbean.  While promoting my book, I took a free cruise on my old ship.  After Patrick died, I realized my friends and I were suspects.  I set out to solve his murder and became an investigator in the process.

What is your greatest strength?

Loyalty.  I’m a steadfast friend.  If someone is in trouble I’m the first one to offer support and help.  You can always count on me.

What is your greatest failing?

Curiosity and stubbornness, according to all my friends, and they’re probably right.  If there’s a puzzle to solve, I just can’t leave it alone.  That’s an asset for an investigator.  I’m also pretty good at coaxing people to tell me things.  (She flashes an innocent smile.)  I guess I don’t seem like a threat.

If you could change one thing that the author wrote about your life, what would it be?

I’ve always wanted to be part of a big family with sisters and brothers to care about me.  That’s why I enjoy living on board a ship.  People on the crew are like a big family, but I miss having a place to call home when I’m not on a ship, especially during holidays.

Do you have a favorite character in the series?

Well I love Steven but my favorite character is Natalia.  She’s a knockout, looks like a young Cher, and performs a mind reading act on the ship.  She claims to be the descendant of Rasputin, but her Russian accent vanishes when she’s among friends.  Natalia can actually see the future when she touches someone.  It spooks her.  She wouldn’t let the ghost speak to her because she was too afraid.  I guess that’s why “The Lady” connected with me by default. 

What makes you happiest?

Solving crimes and traveling.  It’s a satisfying feeling to unravel the clues and discover the culprit.  I used to enjoy piecing puzzles together and now I do it for a living on the high seas.  It’s great!  I also get to work with the love of my life, Steven.  He’s so cute and sexy.  I just hope this wedding cruise won’t be spoiled by another murder.  But it is a murder mystery, isn’t it?

Will the new adventure be published soon?

Diane took a cruise to Alaska to gather information and I’m whispering to her while she sleeps.  Those other characters interrupt but I’ll keep working with her.  It should be an interesting story.  There’s an art heist, a bunch of crazy golfers who want to play golf at midnight, bears, eagles, fantastic scenery in Alaska, and a murder to solve.

Where can readers find your books?

The books are available in Kindle format and as print editions on Amazon.  Diane’s author page is http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Rapp/e/B005H7HNEW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

You can also learn more about Diane’s books at her QuickSilver Novels website www.quicksilvernovels.com.  She has a blog, reviews of other books, and links to all of her books.

Thanks to Diane for introducing her character to us. :-)

~About the Author~

I met Diane soon after I first published. She is an extremely brilliant and creative author.  Although it's Diane's very giving personality that stands out most to me, trust me when I tell you... her novels absolutely rock.   If you enjoy fantasy or sci-fi, she'd have you right away.  If you're like me, you won't be able to put them down until you've read the last page.  Her novel's- all the ones I've read, are well worth checking out.

Below, is more detailed information on this author.  You can also search on amazon under Diane Rapp, to get a view of all her books that are currently available.

Diane Rapp became an entrepreneur when she started her own dog grooming salon in Santa Barbara, California. She spent the next thirty years as a small business owner; she sold real estate, started an office supply store in Telluride, Colorado, and performed free-lance advertising design.

During all those years Diane wrote stories as a cure for insomnia. She wrote short stories about dogs for a German Shepherd Dog Club newsletter, and then expanded to full length novels. After Diane and her daughter Laura co-authored a travel guidebook entitled Cruising the Eastern Caribbean (four editions were published by Hunter Publishing), Laura gave Diane the idea of writing a mystery set on cruise ships in the Caribbean. The first novel of her High Seas Mystery series is "Murder Caribbean-Style" (now available in print edition and Kindle), the second book in the series is "Murder on a Ghost Ship" (available in a print edition and Kindle edition). A third novel (featuring a wedding cruise to Alaska) is scheduled for release in 2013.

Diane's new science fiction series, Heirs to the Throne is set on the planet Drako. Originally colonized as a recreation planet the monarchy revolted against technology and closed the planet to off world visitors. When fugitives from civilized space land on the planet, they encounter superstitions, hatred, and eminent danger. The crew must adapt to a feudal society without using modern tools or weapons. Fortunately the leader of a pack of telepathic wolves decides to help them, and they learn how to use their own special abilities to survive. All three books in the trilogy are complete. "Howl of the Wolf," "The Havenshire Resistance," and "Dragon Defense" are available as Kindle editions on Amazon. The print editions will be available soon.

Check out today's character interview from Author Rosemary McCracken's book 'Safe Harbor'

Interview with Pat Tierney from Safe Harbor         

How do you feel about being the main character of a book?

When Rosemary decided to make me the central character of Safe Harbor, I was puzzled. I'm just an ordinary, fortysomething woman. Widow, mother of two girls, business woman. Nothing special. But Rosemary thought people would be interested in my story.

It all started that afternoon in late December. I was finishing up some paperwork in my Toronto office when a woman barged in and asked me to look after her son. I was gobsmacked. “I'm a financial advisor,” I told her, “not a daycare worker.”

“I didn't think you'd turn Tommy down.”

“Whatever made you think that?” I asked.

And then she told me that Tommy was my late husband's son.

Who is the most interesting side character in Safe Harbor and why?

I met Jude Seaton only once, on the day before her death. The day she barged into my office and turned my world upside-down. When I refused to take her kid, she simply walked out of my office. Left me with a seven-year-old boy and a backpack filled with his clothes.

The next day, Jude was found murdered in her home, and the police said little Tommy might be the next target. They said the killer might want him out of the way too. Tommy had nowhere else to go. He was in danger. I couldn't let anything bad happen to him, could I?

How do I feel about Jude now that some time has passed? Well, it's pretty difficult to hold a grudge against somebody who's dead. And somebody who died so horribly…and long before her time.

The more I've learned about Jude, the more I've come to like her. She was a strong, independent woman, passionate about what she cared for. We had a lot in common. And at some point it hit me that she had been terrified that her son was in danger or else she never would have approached me. She had no one else to turn to, so she came to me.

I'm a mother, too. I know how it feels to be willing to give up your own life in a heartbeat to save a precious little life. And when I started seeing Jude as another mother, a mother who was trying to save her child, well I couldn't hate her anymore.

Do you think anyone in your world is crazy? How do you deal with this?

I sometimes think my housekeeper Farah Alwan is crazy - or at least seriously off-kilter. She's a romantic young woman, filled with thoughts of finding a rich husband, having a beautiful home and lovely clothes. The kind of woman I am trying to raise my daughters not to be.

But I have to remind myself that Farah comes from a different world. She arrived in Canada a few years as a refugee from Iraq. If her family hadn't had flee their country, they would have arranged a good marriage for her. She was brought up with the expectation of being a wife and mother, and running a fine home. And that's not going to happen now that she is in Canada. The Iraqis her family knows in Toronto work in factories and as shop clerks. I've tried to talk to Farah about going to school, finding a career. But, so far, she's not listening.

Why did you choose your current profession?

I taught high school English for a few years until my older daughter was born. My late husband, Michael, was a financial advisor with a large investment firm, and his enthusiasm for his work was contagious. After Tracy was born, I took courses, got my accreditation and then joined Michael at the branch he ran.

And I've never regretted changing my career. I love my work. I enjoy helping my clients get their financial houses in order. It's important work that I do and I take it very seriously.

If you could change one thing that the author wrote about your life, what would it be?

I don't know why Rosemary had to put all that stuff in about Devon, the new guy in my life. I was pretty embarrassed to read it. Those sex scenes…not that they were graphic, but she could have left them out. After all, it's not like Devon is Mr. Right. He's just Mr. Right Now.

What's one thing you're glad that you had the guts, courage or strength to follow through with?

I had my capacity for love and acceptance tested in Safe Harbor, and I think I passed the test. I didn't turn my back on Tommy, and that may have saved his life. And now he's a big part of my life.

What's your greatest strength?

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. That's something I learned from the events of Safe Harbor. I wasn't going to take Tommy because I didn't believe Jude when she told me that he was in danger. And he was.

My daughter Laura calls me “the world's biggest pushover,” and she's probably right. But I think you have to err on the side of generosity.

What's your greatest failing?

I'm a worrier. I worry about everything, which makes bad situations twice as bad. I worry about them beforehand, and then I have to live through them.

Can we look forward to reading about you again anytime soon?

Rosemary has just completed the first draft of Safe Harbor's sequel, and she's now doing a rewrite of it. She's sent me off to rural Ontario where I supervise the opening of a new branch of my investment firm. Another murder takes place up there, there's an outlaw biker gang and couple of women who run a grow-up. I hope Rosemary keeps her nose to the grindstone and gets the book out sometime in 2013. But she hasn't even come up with a title yet.

 

Where can readers find your book?

Safe Harbor is available as an ebook and a paperback on Amazon.com; also as a paperback on Amazon.ca and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author~

 * * *

Rosemary McCracken is a freelance journalist and fiction writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. Safe Harbor, her first mystery novel, was shortlisted for Britain's Debut Dagger in 2010 and was published by Imajin Books this spring.

Check out Safe Harbor's trailer at http://youtu.be/yw-cWCB-NFE.

And visit Rosemary on her website and her blog.

Check out today's character interview with Francesca Sittoni of the novel Willow Vale

Today's interview is with the main character FRANCESCA SITTONI of Author Alethea Williams novel WILLOW VALE- 

How do you feel being the main character of a book? I would not call myself shy, but I am a simple country woman. So it is surprising and a little disconcerting to find my story in a book and a representation of what readers have come to think is my face on the cover, and on various places on the Internet for everyone to see. In my time period, following the First World War, people might have one or at most a few pictures taken of themselves.  Now people’s faces show up everywhere.  

Who is the most interesting side character you’ve met and why? If I said anyone other than my daughter Elena was the most interesting I would never hear the end of it.  Elena is a good girl, but has a testa dura as they used to say in Val di Non where she was born.  It translates literally as “hard headed,” but really indicates a forceful personality.  Elena is only four years old, but in the book her character serves to explain much of what is foreign and inexplicable about America to me when I am lost and confused by this new country.

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Oh, early bird, definitely.  I came from a farm background in the Tyrol area between Austria and Italy.  I found a position as housekeeper to an American homesteader, Kent Reed.  One can’t lie in bed snoozing while the cow is demanding to be milked, the chickens and cattle and horses to be fed, and breakfast to be gotten for little Elena, the Mister, and any hired help he has.

Why did you choose your current profession? My profession chose me.  There were few enough jobs for women in 1925, but virtually none for an immigrant with a shaky grasp of English.  The ad Kent Reed placed in the paper for a housekeeper and cook was a godsend to me in my time of worst despair.  It gave me hope for the future and reaffirmed that I had done the right thing in emigrating to America, the shining land of opportunity.

How long did it take you to explain your predicament to the author? The author grew up next door to her grandmother, a Tyrolean woman whose history mirrors mine in many ways.  Alethea Williams, the author, was always sorry she let so much time slip away before becoming interested in researching her grandmother’s journey toward becoming American.

 If you could change one thing that the author wrote (or told) about your life, what would it be? As I said, I am a simple country woman.  But many readers have expressed the opinion that the book about my life was too short, and I agree.  There are numerous incidents the author left out, which I think are interesting enough to have been included, or that helped shaped my character and made me the person that I became.  Even simple country women have hidden histories.

What is your favorite pastime? I sew, clothing and quilts, on my treadle machine and by hand.  But my very favorite pastime is perusing the newspaper.  I like to keep up on what’s happening in my new country; I find politics both fascinating and repellant.  But the best part of reading is the improvement I get to my vocabulary and English grammar skills.

What's your greatest strength? My greatest strength is persistence.  Much of life consists of being told no, of having to avoid or overcome obstacles placed in our paths either deliberately or indifferently by other people.  Sometimes, in order to succeed, I have to keep approaching the problem from different angles.  Never give up, is my motto.  (Hmm, I wonder if Elena might get some of her hardheadedness from her mother?) 

If you could change one thing about another character in the book, who and what would it be? I would make Agnes Broadbent younger if I could, so that I had more time to get to know her.  When I met her she was old, bent with arthritis and unable even to ride.  When she was young, as I understand it, she was a force to be reckoned with on the homestead she built with her husband, Harv.  Even just once, I would have loved to see her streaking by on horseback, the wind tangling her hair.  I can almost hear her laughter echoing across our green valley to this day, and I wish I had been around witness to it.

What makes you happiest? Seeing the results of our labor and building a life with Kent on our Wyoming ranch as a legacy for our children, gives me the fulfillment and happiness I always sought. I was heartbroken to leave the green valley of my birth in the Dolomite Mountains, but Willow Valley, Wyoming is as close as I could ever come to replacing Val di Non.

Where can readers find your book? 

Readers can find my story, Willow Vale, at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Vale-ebook/dp/B0075R4IH2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1347203760&sr=1-1 

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/willow-vale-alethea-williams/1108091581?ean=2940014614160 

 or at the publisher, Jargon Media LLC: http://www.jargon-media.com. 

 

 

Author Alethea Williams writes about Wyoming. Willow Vale is her first published novel.

 

If readers wish to know more about this author, you can find her at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AletheaWilliams.author?ref=hl 

Twitter: @actuallyalethea

Blog: http://www.actuallyalethea.blogspot.com

Check out today's interview with Author JJ Toner's main character- Detective Inspector Ben Jordan

Today, my guest is Detective Inspector Ben Jordan, who is the main focus of Author JJ Toner's Ben Jordan Thriller series. 

What is the main premise of the second book you’re featured in?
 

This book 'Find Emily', is about the search for a missing schoolgirl, covering a span of just over 24 hours.

How do you feel being the main character of a book?

It’s spooky. It makes me second guess everything I say. Every time I open my mouth to speak, I worry that my words might appear in print.

What is the most interesting suspect you’ve interrogated and why?

Suspects are not “interesting”. The way they respond to interrogation shows their guilt or innocence, and that is interesting. In my experience the tough guys are the biggest cowards, the white collar criminals the most difficult to crack.

Who’s the most disturbed suspect you’ve had to deal with?

Anyone who mistreats a child must come top of that list. I have had to deal with a lot of really nasty people like that. But calling them “disturbed” is like making an excuse for their behavior, and I don’t go along with that. Perverts are perverts in my book. I’ve no wish to understand them.

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

A night owl. The piano keeps me up all hours.

Why did you choose law enforcement as a career?

That’s a long story, and one that hasn’t reached its end yet. I had a difficult childhood. My father abandoned me and my mother when I was three. I never found out why, and we never discovered where he went. He left the house to buy cigarettes and simply vanished into thin air. I think a subconscious desire to get to the bottom of that mystery was the reason I joined the police force.

How long did it take you to solve your most current case?

In FIND EMILY, we knew we had 24 hours to find her. It took just a little longer than that.

If you could work in any profession outside of law enforcement, what would it be and why?

I’d love to earn my living as a professional musician. There’s nothing quite like the feeling I get at the end of playing a piece as the music fades, leaving nothing tangible -- just an imprint in the memory of the listener.

If you could change one thing that JJ Toner wrote (or told) about your life, what would it be?

He thinks I’m a hopeless drunk, but I’m not. Not really. My binge drinking is never compulsive. Oh, and he has an annoying habit of removing expletives from my dialogue.

Can we look forward to reading about you again anytime soon?

I can’t answer that question. You’d have to ask JJ. He’s Watson to my Holmes. He decides what to write and when to publish.

Is there a secret you’d like to let readers know about you, that isn’t in the book?

My grandfather, my father's father, was a shipwright in the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. He worked on the Titanic.

Where can readers find your first and second books? 

St Patrick’s Day Special:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JPEGKG

 FIND EMILY:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0097PLBXE

JJ Toner

http://www.jjtoner.net

 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR-

JJ Toner- In 1995, after half a lifetime of plausible excuses, JJ Toner began to write. Encouraged by some modest early success with his short stories, he went on to write novels. His first novel found a home on the garden compost heap; the second and third are historical fiction both waiting for extensive edits. Thus far he has published his fourth novel, St. Patrick's Day Special, his newest novel, 'Find Emily' and an anthology of shorts. He lives in Ireland with his wife and youngest son.

-Thank you so much for your time in allowing me to do this interview, Detective Inspector.  Please be sure to thank JJ Toner as well, for getting us in touch with one another.