Thursday, October 20, 2016

Straight Chatting from the Library: Heather M. Walker


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Heather M. Walker will be awarding a hand painted set of two wine glasses, painted to resemble stained glass and a ten card tarot reading (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE INTERVIEW


Tell us about your book in ten words.

Angels, demons and spiders in a parallel reality dream world.

what are you reading now?

I am reading The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R Kiernan. I haven’t gotten very far into it yet, but so far I am loving it. I adore Caitlyn’s writing style. She is intimate and deep with her characters, and creates them with tender care and attention to detail to make you feel as if you are right there in the story, and that you know the characters as if you are their family. A lot of publisher’s wont touch a book if it is written in first person, as it is a highly difficult perspective to write from, and getting the tense correct is also hard to do effectively and well. Caitlyn R Kiernan seems to be able to do this as if she were born to do only this. She is an amazing author who I truly enjoy reading. I have read several of her books, and so far my favorite is The Red Tree. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes a thrilling journey in their reading time.

Do you have any bad book habits?

Yes, sadly I do. Sometimes I find myself making an expression in the book that a character from the book might be making. Or I will read a bit out loud, or even say aloud something to one of the characters, if I feel highly into what is going on. It is not unusual for me to say something like, “Are you kidding me? Why did you do that you idiot?” Or “But I thought you loved Jerry, why are you hitting on Sam?” I really get into my reading, it is a passion of mine. I can see the scenery, the people, I can smell the smells and feel what the characters feel. One book that highly affected me was Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. Now, Lestat isn’t the nicest character ever, but when Luis was cruel to him towards the end of the book, it made me so mad and upset that I threw the book across the room. You might say I take my reading pretty seriously. It is hard not to immerse myself in my reading life.

E-Reader or print and why?

Print, no doubt. While it is pretty cool that you can carry hundreds of books with you in one small device, and awesomely convenient to be able to read on demand when you order something, there will never be the same experience with a real, physical book. There is just something special about opening a brand new book, the tangibility of the crisp pages, the smell of the fresh ink. I like an immersive experience, and little things like this matter to me. Also, if my e-reader goes dead, or if it goes on the fritz, there goes my reading time, my money, and the book. A real book won't go dead on you, or malfunction. I also get a weird thrill out of adding another book on my shelf. While it takes up space, it also gives me happiness knowing that it will always be there whenever I want to read it.

One book at a time or multiples?

One book at a time. For me it is like eating an exquisite meal. Enjoy it in small bites, think about what you have read, how it makes you feel, how you see the characters, what you think they are feeling or thinking that might be going on inside them that the writer might have chosen not to express. Would you want to rush a fine dinner, or would you want to mix dinner and dessert both together? Not me. While some people have the capacity to be able to do so, I cannot. I give those that can much respect. For me though, I tend to get confused as to what is happening in each book, and this gets more frusterating than it’s worth. The only exception in this case is if I am reading a nonfiction book, like The Sense Of Being Stared At and Other Unexplained Powers Of the Human mind by Rupert Sheldrake (which I highly recommend) and a fiction book. My brain has an easier time of separating the two books if they are so completely different.

Dog ear or book mark?

Well, I might catch some flack for this, but dog ear. To some, it might show a lack of respect to the author, and be seen as a careless destruction of your own property. While book marks are wonderful, and often depict inspirational and motivation quotes and have gorgeous art work on them, they can so easily slip out and become lost. For me, dog earing is a sign that a book is enjoyed and well loved. I don’t really do so to mark my place in a book, but I do it to show a particular page I loved reading the most, so I can easily come back to it and read it again, feel the emotions that the author lovingly penned. If you come to my home and see a book with multiple dog eared pages, know it was a book that was well loved and much enjoyed, and that it wasn’t an act of rebellious destruction on my part.

Favorite book you have read this year?

That has to be The Scarlet Gospel by the amazing Clive Barker. I am a horror fanatic, and Clive Barker is by far one of my favorite authors. He also writes amazing fantasy as well, Weave World, >Arabat, and Imajica being cases in point. The Scarlet Gospel pushed the boundaries of what the mind can handle, and I applaud barker so much for doing that. If he comes out with a book I will certainly be reading it.

Do you loan your books?

Absolutely! If I love a book I want to share it with others. If they keep the book, that is fine with me as well. I have no problem buying a used one on eBay or on Amazon. In fact, sometimes I prefer to buy used books. I find it pretty cool when others write in them, with questions or comments. It feels like an interaction with them. Books are another world in and of themselves. Why not share them with other brave explorers?

READ THE BLURB


In the deep south of Doltree, Georgia, not everything is what is seems. Long accustomed to life as an outcast, the beautiful and demure Annaleah Grace has learned to stand apart from the crowd with dignity. Being the daughter of a white witch and a white witch herself, living in a town of devout Christians, has earned her more than a few raised eyebrows.

When she meets the handsome, yet snarky, Professor Bainbridge with whom she will be teaching at the local University, everything in her life abruptly changes. Something about him seems intimately familiar to her in a way she can’t totally identify. Even though he’s brusque and intimidating, Annaleah is drawn by his otherworldly eyes and foreign mannerisms.

With the help of angels, both Holy and fallen, she discovers just how unique she truly is. Dreams become a meeting place between this reality and the next, and Professor Sebastian Bainbridge’s true identity is revealed.

When her dreams begin to be more than dreams and she wakes up with Georgia red clay she walked through during a nightmare still wet on her feet, Annaleah knows something intense and powerful is going on, and that somehow, Professor Bainbridge is part of it. She is determined to embrace the profound destiny that awaits her and the Professor, even if that means taking up a sword to fight the Devil himself.

READ AN EXCERPT


Sebastian caught Annaleah neatly in his arms, and encircled her in his wings, holding her so close she felt she could melt right into him and together they would burn as one being. Tears came to her then, spilling down her cheeks and falling onto her breasts, a silver light coming from them as they fell. Sebastian opened his wings then and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look into his mirror eyes. As she saw herself in them, glowing and alive and beautiful, it felt so very right. Sebastian wiped the tears from her eyes, slowly, gently and with great care. His eyes never left hers as he bent his head down, until right before the moment when he caught her lips with his, and everything in the world ceased to exist but their kiss. In that sacred, glorious moment, as their lips pressed together, she was pierced to her heart with all-consuming adoration, and from behind her she felt a great motion, as if she had moved something with a great weight on her back. Confused, and a bit shocked, she broke the kiss, turning to see what was happening behind her.

Sebastian laughed despite her apparent confusion and said, "Oh Annaleah my darling, did you forget?"

Feeling a bit betrayed by his laughter when he could plainly see her distress, Annaleah asked, "Did I forget what?"

At this Sebastian outstretched his magnificent wings to their full height and length, blocking out the sky and the moon hanging therein.

"Your wings Annaleah; you forgot you had wings."

MEET THE AUTHOR


Heather was born into a military family, and has lived everywhere from Mountain Home, Idaho, to a small town in England called Bloxham. She eventually settled down In LaGrange, Georgia with her partner of 15 years, Billy, her 7 year old daughter Makaylah, and her 4 indoor cats. She considers herself first and foremost, a mother. She enjoys being a writer, a jeweler, a glass artist, a painter, and avid crafter. It has been her life long dream to publish a book, and she has lovingly worked on The Otherling in its various stages for almost 3 years. Heather loves to read, mostly horror, fantasy and occult books. She studies angelology, mysticism, Wicca, psychology and the human mind. Her writing goal is to create a book that comes to life in her reader’s hands and minds, and places them there in the middle of the story. It is her deepest wish that The Otherling, as well as her other written works, will accomplished this, and make a home in the hearts of all those who read her words.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherMWalker6
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011566055965
Blog: http://heathershappyhaven.com/
Buy the book at Amazon (only $0.99!), Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.

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