Friday, February 26, 2016

Author Interview with Viola Russell

      Today I would like to welcome author, Viola Russell to Carly's View. Viola is that author of  BUCKANEER BEAUTY, FAIRGROUND MYSTERY, AND THE DOCTOR AND THE WAR WIDOW.


    ·  What made you decide to become a writer?—I wanted to write since I was a child.  The first book that really ignited my imagination was “Black Beauty,” but “Little Women” really set me on fire.  My mother read the book with me, encouraging me to read before we discussed a scene.  I thought I was Jo.  I totally identified with her and loved the way she followed her dream.
          
·         Who are some of your favorite authors and why?—I love mystery writers James Lee Burke and C. S. Harris, but I also love many classical authors like Charlotte Bronte and Thomas Hardy.  Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorite characters, and Hardy’s setting sets me on fire.  Rugged England ignites something primal in me. I also love “1916” by Morgan Llywelyn. The Irish struggle intrigues me.

·         If you could be any character in any book, who would it be and why?—If I could be a character in any literary work, I would be Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing.” I love her fire and wit.

·         Do you have any hobbies you would like to share?—I belong to a German heritage organization, and I’m involved in studying German culture—movies, language, etc. I also study a lot about my Irish heritage as well.

·         Tell me about your first kiss? Was it magical or not so magical?—I don’t even remember my first kiss, but the first time my husband Ben and I kissed, it was magic.

·         Do you have another career besides writing? If so, what is it?—I am an English teacher, and my students have inspired me in more ways then I can count.

·         What’s an item on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?—I want to travel to Germany and Italy.  I also don’t want to die before I write all of the books in my head.

·         Tell us the best vacation you have ever been on.—Being in Liverpool and seeing all of the musical and historical sites was amazing.  Galway, Ireland is inspiring. More recently, the trip my husband and I took to Alaska was amazing. Alaska truly is the last frontier.

·         Where do you find the inspiration for your books?—My historical fiction is very close to my heart. For example, “Buccaneer Beauty” was the story of a real Irish heroine, Grace O’Malley.  I wanted to give her story justice.  I wrote “Love at War” (which will soon be re-issued) after my mother’s death.  I read the letters my uncles had written home during WWII, and I became fascinated with the period.  I began writing, and the characters took on a life of their own.

Is there anything else you would like to share with your fans?—I love writing mysteries, romance, and historically-based novels.  The written word holds amazing power.

       AUTHOR BIO 
·         Viola Russell is the pen name for Susan Weaver Eble.  A teacher by day, Viola Russell pens her novels at night and on holidays. She adopted a pseudonym (her grandmother’s name) so that her students would not find her, but they, ever tech savvy, discovered her identity. She lives in New Orleans with her amazing husband Ben and sweet dog.
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·                   AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS  
       

      Blurb for “A Fair Grounds Mystery”:
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·         When a body is found in a New Orleans cemetery, homicide detective Lt. Etienne Baptiste and his partner, Sgt. Duane Morrow, are called to investigate.  They discover that the dead man is Jimmy Landry, a former NOPD officer who was then working as a private investigator.  This murder is personal; Landry was family.  The detectives soon learn that Landry may have died because of a cold case he agreed to investigate.  The trail of clues then takes them to a long ago death involving a race horse trainer, Seamus O’Flannery, as well as a dangerous but more recent case involving suspected murders committed by NOPD officers during Hurricane Katrina.  O’Flannery’s lovely and determined daughter believes someone murdered her father, and as the body count rises, Baptiste and Morrow suspect she may be right. Becoming involved in the Katrina deaths could place their careers in jeopardy since the federal government is still investigating those murders; however, a contract killer may put Baptiste and Morrow in even more danger. How are the murders—separated by years—connected? Who will survive? “A Fair Grounds Mystery” is a tale of thrilling suspense and mystery.
         
         EXCERPT FROM BOOK

      When a body is found in a New Orleans cemetery, Homicide Detective Lt. Etienne Baptiste and his partner, Sgt. Duane Morrow, are called to investigate. They discover that the dead man is Jimmy Landry, a former NOPD officer who was then working as a private investigator. This murder is personal; Landry was family. The detectives soon learn that Landry may have died because of a cold case he agreed to investigate. The trail of clues then takes them to a long ago death involving a race horse trainer, Seamus O’Flannery, as well as a dangerous but more recent case involving suspected murders committed by NOPD officers during Hurricane Katrina. O’Flannery’s lovely and determined daughter believes someone murdered her father, and as the body count rises, Baptiste and Morrow suspect she may be right. Becoming involved in the Katrina deaths could place their careers in jeopardy since the federal government is still investigating those murders; however, a contract killer may put Baptiste and Morrow in even more danger. How are the murders—separated by years—connected? Who will survive? A Fair Grounds Mystery is a tale of thrilling suspense and mystery.

    BUY LINK FOR BOOK
  For A Fair Grounds Mystery:


For Buccaneer Beauty:


BUCCANEER BEAUTY is the story of Grace, Graínne, O’Malley, the beautiful daughter of a powerful Irish chieftain and a conventional mother. At the age of eleven, Graínne cuts her hair and sneaks aboard her father’s galley ship, determined to follow a life at sea and to seek the company of a handsome Scottish gallowglass, Bruce Donnel. Graínne proves herself a budding warrior when Spanish marauders invade her father’s vessel, but her parents have other plans for her. Though she proves an able sailor, Graínne is forced to marry Donal O’Flaherty, another powerful chieftain. Though enamored of Bruce Donnel, she nonetheless obeys her parents and proves an able helpmate to her violent and rash husband, continuing her own adventures at sea while raising children and supervising her husband’s home. Her heart, however, still belongs to a handsome Scot who she can never have.

For The Doctor and the War Widow:

 http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-War-Widow-Viola-Russell-ebook/dp/B014V72XHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456541436&sr=8-1&keywords=viola+russell


Harley Michel is a war widow and high school teacher, still mourning the death of her husband in Iraq ten years previously. Her mother has recently died, which leaves a gaping hole in Harley’s life. She finds herself directionless and lonely. When her colleagues goad her into entering the world of Internet dating, Harley reluctantly accepts the challenge; however, a series of disastrous dates leaves her disillusioned until she meets Abisi Sharif, a handsome and widowed doctor of Egyptian origin.

The attraction between them is immediate, but ghosts from the past threaten their happiness, their stability, and their future. The memory of her husband haunts Harley, and a vengeful woman from Abisi’s past resurfaces, intent upon creating havoc in their lives. Can their love survive the past and survive into the future?


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