Archive for August, 2012
TITLE: Redemption
SERIES: The Penton Legacy #1
AUTHOR: Susannah Sandlin
PUBLISHER: Montlake Romance
PUBLICATION DATE: June 12, 2012
ISBN: 1612183549
PURCHASE BOOK: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
**Copy provided by author for an honest review.
GOODREADS SUMMARY: For vampire Aidan Murphy, life has never been so desperate. The vaccine used to treat a global pandemic has rendered human blood deadly to his kind, leaving them on the brink of starvation and civil war. In tiny Penton, Alabama, Aidan establishes a peaceful community of vampires and unvaccinated human donors. He dares to hope they can survive until his estranged brother descends upon Penton and begins killing the humans. Determined to save his town, Aidan kidnaps an unsuspecting human doctor and finds himself falling in love for the first time in nearly four centuries. Dr. Krystal Harris thought she was coming to Penton for a job interview, but Aidan Murphy has other plans. Infuriated by his high-handed scheme to imprison her in the small town, Krys can’t ignore the attraction between them. But is it love? Or does her dangerous, charismatic captor want only to bend her to his will?
She-Wolf Review
If you’ve read any of my PNR/UF reviews, one thing you will notice is that I tend to wax poetic about the same things. If I really enjoy a particular book, it almost always has to do with the world-building. Any book that sucks me into a unique world, takes a hold of my imagination and doesn’t let me go, is a winner on all counts. And I loved the world Sandlin opens the door to in Redemption. In fact, I loved this book. It hit many of my book crush points – unique world, relatable heroine, and great couple chemistry. The vampire world of Penton, AL is an interesting one and I invite you all to check it out with me.
One thing that makes the world so interesting, and, quite frankly, a bit scary, is this idea of starving vampires. Vampires in and of themselves are scary but do you really want starving vampires running around? And that’s exactly what we have in the world of Redemption. A vaccine created to end a pandemic in the human world has had catastrophic effects on the vampire world. This vaccine has made most human blood poisonous to vampires. Unvaccinated human blood is hard to come by and highly valued. Enter Aidan Murphy, master vampire and founder of Penton, AL, a small enclave of vampires and their unvaccinated human familiars living quietly and peacefully together in mutually beneficial relationships. Humans in Penton are obviously aware of vampires and are there of their own free will, giving their blood to, and bonded with, vampires of the town.
Aidan had founded Penton on the idea that humans were the equals of vampires. Respect them for keeping you alive, he preached. Treat them as family. Don’t act like monsters.
In return, human familiars have a safe place to live, nice houses, and small town comfort that can’t help but make one feel secure. This idea of the rest of the vampire world, outside of Penton, gives a great sort of looming presence to the story and adds a sense of insecurity to the reader. I mean, a vampire paradise can’t last forever, right? But I’ll get to that in a minute.
The vampires themselves are also interesting. There is Aidan, Irish and at least four centuries old, brooding, lonely, hiding a lot of hurt in his past; Mirren, a huge, physically intimidating vampire whose history as an infamous assassin or henchman is only hinted at here, is Aidan’s right-hand man; William is also a member of Aidan’s circle of trust and son of Matthias Ludlam, a ruthless member of the Vampire Tribunal who wants to bring down Penton and get his son back; there is also 12-year old Hannah, a child-vampire, wise beyond her years with the gift of sight. This is a tight circle, all bonded to Aidan and with a mental connection to him that opens up communication but also allows him to draw on their energy. And vampires use both physical and mental means to battle one another.
I really enjoyed this world. I loved this idea of a small town experiment, of powerful, closely knit vampires and humans, living together, trying to create a new way to relate to one another in peaceful coexistence. I found it interesting that many of the human familiars were recovering addicts, given a new lease on life in Penton, an idea I hope is developed more. I also loved the jocular, caring, yet intense relationships between the vampires themselves and their human familiars. It was such a well-conceived community and I was immediately drawn into it.
Penton also needs a doctor. Enter Krys Harris. I loved her as a heroine. She comes from an abusive past – her father was both physically and mentally abusive; she is swimming in medical school debt; a loner. And she wants to work in rural medicine. Krys agrees to an interview but one thing leads to another and Aidan’s desperation for her help in an emergency situation leads him to kidnap her and hold her in Penton against her will while she treats the wounds of a human patient. The attraction between Aidan and Krys is undeniable.
Something intense flared in his eyes, and her heart thudded as he slid a palm up her arm.
“Do you know how extraordinary you are? I—“ He paused, then shook his head and started back down the hall. “Come on, let’s walk.”
Damn. She really, really wanted to hear the rest of that sentence.
Krys has to fight to escape while also fighting her attraction to him. For me, what makes Krys so relatable is the fact that there’s a constant battle between what she wants to do and what she should do. Given her past, the last thing she wants to do is submit to a man, to feel controlled and manipulated. But there is something about Aidan…I think we’ve all had those moments of trying to decide what our hearts really want versus what we feel we should be or do.
…it felt as if her life has been stripped bare, and she wasn’t sure who Krystal Harris was or what she wanted, except that it couldn’t be a life defined by another controlling man.
This struggle was real and well-developed. And Krys does not back down from trying to escape when the opportunity presents itself. She did not go quietly into that goodnight, if you know what I mean. The resolution to her struggle was not an easy one and I loved that about her.
Now, let’s get back to the end of the vampire paradise. As I said before, one of the great things about this book is the feeling of threat to this idyllic Penton community. That immediate threat comes in the form of Owen Murphy, Aidan’s brother. These two have a twisted past and hold serious grudges against one another. Owen is sent there by Matthias to bring Aidan, and Penton, down. If there is one weak point in the book for me, it’s Owen. I didn’t find him scary or threatening enough. Owen did a lot of waiting around on the outskirts and I just never really felt he was a real danger to Penton. The Vampire Tribunal, on the other hand, is the threat I’m really interested in seeing developed. There is only so long powerful but hungry vampires are going to sit on the wayside and watch Penton thrive. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what that battle is going to be like.
Redemption had everything I like in a good PNR – great romance, interesting world, and a complicated heroine. And I thought about Penton for a long while after finishing Redemption. I even Googled it to see if it was real town. Not that I expected to really find vampires there or anything. Nope. Not me.
4.5 Howls – Excellent and highly recommended!
About the Author
Susannah Sandlin is the author of paranormal romance set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night! A journalist by day, Susannah grew up in Alabama reading the gothic novels of Susan Howatch, and always fancied herself living in Cornwall (although she’s never actually been there). Details, details. She also is a fan of Stephen King. The combination of Howatch and King probably explains a lot. Currently a resident of Auburn, Alabama, Susannah has also lived in Illinois, Texas, California, and Louisiana. Her novel Redemption won the paranormal romance category in the 2011 Chicago North RWA Fire and Ice contest, and is the first of three in a series that debuts this year.
Please visit Susannah at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
As part of the Wolf Girls Blog Tour, I am excited to welcome J.K Coi to SWR! She is the author of Run Wolf, one of 17 stories about she-wolves featured in the new anthology Wolf-Girls: Dark Tales of Teeth, Claws, and Lycogyny. J.K is here to discuss werewolves, writing and strong heroines.
SHE-WOLF INTERVIEW
SWR: Can you tell us about the Wolf Girls anthology and your story, Run Wolf? What can readers expect from both?
Wolf Girls is so much fun to read. Such a great variety of stories, I’m amazed by the action, imagination and wolf awesomeness packed into those pages. I only hope that readers think the same about my contribution to the anthology.
SWR: How did you get involved with the anthology?
I saw a posting somewhere for submissions. Honestly, I had no intention of sending anything because I already had way too much work on my plate, but the call put a bug in my ear and the idea kept growing until I had to write something. That’s just the way it works sometimes.
SWR: Run Wolf had a “Most Dangerous Game/Running Man” feel to it. Was there something specific that influenced the story’s plot and world-building?
It started with one sentence… Kill or be killed, wolf. What’s it going to be?
The rest just kind of flowed from there.
SWR: Can you tell us a bit about Gwen, the main character in Run Wolf, and what makes her a strong she-wolf heroine?
Gwen is a wolf in a society that knows about wolves, but hates them. Kind of like a True Blood sort of situation. She’s had to work within the rules put on her by humans her whole life, and try to take care of her younger brother too so she’s suppressed her wolf side, until now when she has no choice but to accept her wolf.
But the trick is controlling the wolf once she’s let it out…
SWR: What are some of the werewolf tropes you wanted to avoid or embrace and why do you think werewolves have become so popular recently?
I agree that werewolf stories have become really popular, maybe it’s because werewolves are about men and women with hidden strength. It’s about becoming more than you are … on an epic scale!
SWR: What are some of your favorite werewolf stories?
I love werewolf tales of all kinds, but my favourite is and always has been An American Werewolf in London.
SWR: What is your process for writing a short story as opposed to a full-length novel?
I think it’s really important in a short story to cut to the chase quickly. Immerse the reader in your world and your characters without worrying about too much background. I like to think of a short story as if I’m watching the most important scene of a longer movie. The one where everything is on the line, things are exploding, lives are in danger. It should still have a beginning/middle/end, but those markers are a little more flexible.
SWR: Who are some influential writers that have inspired you and what’s the last book you read that you would recommend?
I think Stephen King writes some of the best short stories ever told. He has a gift for giving the reader everything they need in a short – and yet he can also write truly compelling long fiction too. I guess that’s why he’s a master.
Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of young adult, and I really recommend Anna Dressed in Blood for good young adult horror. I also just finished reading Night Circus and it was fantastic!
SWR: You write under two names. What can readers expect from J.K Coi vs Chloe Jacobs?
JK Coi writes chilling horror and dark, emotional romance for adults, while Chloe Jacobs writes fantasy for young adults. Of course, my writing style is similar for both, but there are distinct differences when focusing on writing for different audiences.
SWR: Tell us about some of your upcoming projects?
I’m excited because in September, the second book of my Seasons of Invention series is being released from Carina Press – this is steampunk with a dark emotional edge.
In book 1 we met Jasper and Callie, a married couple who had suffered a horrible tragedy that left Callie with mechanical limbs, and resulted in the two of them being drafted as spies for the war office. Book 2, Broken Promises, takes Jasper and Callie on a wild adventure as they try to catch a villain who wants to kill the only person who can help Callie fix the dangerous problems she’s having with her new prosthetics.
Here’s more information about the book…
SWR: Thanks so much for the interview, J.K!
Thank you for letting me visit, I had a fantastic time!
THE WOLF GIRLS ANTHOLOGY
TITLE: Wolf Girls: Dark Tales of Teeth, Claws and Lycogny
EDITOR: Hannah Kate
PUBLISHER: Hic Dragones
PUBLICATION DATE: June 29, 2012
ISBN-10: 0957029217
PURCHASE BOOK: Publisher
GOODREADS SUMMARY: Feral, vicious, fierce and lost… the she-wolf is a strange creature of the night. Attractive to some; repulsive to others, she stalks the fringes of our world as though it were her prey. She is the baddest of girls, the fatalest of femmes – but she is also the excluded, the abject, the monster.
The Wolf-Girls within these pages are mad, bad and dangerous to know. But they are also rejected and tortured, loving and loyal, avenging and triumphant. Some of them are even human…
Seventeen new tales of dark, snarling lycogyny by Nu Yang, Mary Borsellino, Lyn Lockwood, Mihaela Nicolescu, L. Lark, Jeanette Greaves, Kim Bannerman, Lynsey May, Hannah Kate, J.K. Coi, Rosie Garland, R.A. Martens, Beth Daley, Marie Cruz, Helen Cross, Andrew Quinton and Sarah Peacock.
About the Author
J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts. When not writing, she loves to paint and create beautiful things with stained glass.
Visit J.K. at her favorite spots:
TITLE: Breed
AUTHOR: Chase Novak (aka Scott Spencer)
PUBLISHER: Mulholland Books
PUBLICATION DATE: September 4, 2012
ISBN: 0316198560
PURCHASE BOOK: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
GOODREADS SUMMARY: Alex and Leslie Twisden lead charmed lives-fabulous jobs, a luxurious town house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a passionate marriage. What they don’t have is a child, and as they try one infertility treatment after the next, yearning turns into obsession. As a last-ditch attempt to make their dream of parenthood come true, Alex and Leslie travel deep into Slovenia, where they submit to a painful and terrifying procedure that finally gives them what they so fervently desire . . . but with awful consequences.
Ten years later, cosseted and adored but living in a house of secrets, the twins Adam and Alice find themselves locked into their rooms every night, with sounds coming from their parents’ bedroom getting progressively louder, more violent, and more disturbing.
Driven to a desperate search for answers, Adam and Alice set out on a quest to learn the true nature of the man and woman who raised them. Their discovery will upend everything they thought they knew about their parents and will reveal a threat so horrible that it must be escaped, at any cost
She-Wolf Review
If the name of the blog didn’t give it away, I’ll give up the secret–She-Wolf is a particularly avid fan of both Mercy Thompson and the Alpha and Omega series. In both series, the lupine tendencies of “brother” and “sister” wolf, are transmitted to their human counterparts. And any reader of paranormal fiction with a proclivity for werewolves worth their salt, would also know that wolves mate for life. Why does this matter, you ask? It matters because of the simple fact that I was asked to write this post because I happen to be the She-Wolf’s mate for life. And like any good mate, I take my duties seriously. And when the She-Wolf says “Read this and give me a review in under 1200 words”, I snap my paws together and say, “woof!”
I’ll start with a caveat. I’m no big fan of horror. I tend toward science based sci-fi. Arthur C. Clarke being at the top of my list of favorite sci-fi writers. So, when I was asked to review an advance copy of Breed by Chase Novak (the pen name for Scott Spencer), I was apprehensive. I have very little background or interest overall in the genre. And, after reading the sticker on the cover offering a quote by the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, who hailed Breed as “the best horror novel I’ve read since Peter Straub’s Ghost Story”, I was even more apprehensive.
Why? Mostly because…I’m sort of a punk. As a kid, when the scary movies came on, I would always watch just to prove to my older brothers that I could hack it. Unfortunately, I suffer the emotional scars to this day. At age 7, I begged my folks to let me see Poltergeist. Before the movie ended, I had to be physically removed from the theater as a result of my bloodcurdling and hysterical crying. And the waterworks went on for the next week. Such jaundiced-intestinal behavior continued into my adulthood. Once, while on a business trip with a layover that lasted longer than the Mesozoic-era, I picked up Mr. King’s The Shining for shits and giggles. Well, after it scared the shit out of me, I wasn’t giggling. I mean, who comes up with killer topiaries…really!
With that preface, despite my apprehension, I loved this book. Novak has created a wonderfully devious take on the “urge to breed” and “rear young”, or as we refer to it when it involves upright, two-legged mammals, the biological imperative to procreate and become parents.
We begin with Alex and Leslie Twisden. Alex is a topnotch lawyer from old New York money. Leslie is many years his junior, beautiful, classy, not from money, but not a gold-digger either. The love is genuine and powerful. And like most married couples, the bond of companionship naturally leads to the desire to make a family. And like many married couples, the trouble begins when love proves not enough to produce a pregnancy.
Novak perfectly captures the anxiety, angst, anger, self-loathing, desperation, and depression that is every fruitless couple. Making all the more believable the actions they take to remedy the situation. A chance encounter with a once equally barren, now suddenly pregnant couple, leads the Twisden’s to seek fertility treatments from a Dr. Kis in Slovenia.
This gets to one of the best things about this book…it’s drop dead funny. Novak deftly mixes wry, sometimes laugh out loud humor, with some truly jarring and at times frightening imagery - the scenes with Dr. Kis being some of the funniest and most bizarre of them all. From his mad scientist look, to his drug addict assistant, Reggie. While waiting for Dr. Kis, Alex and Leslie inquire as to the nature of the fertility treatment:
“Obviously I would lose my job if I were to tell you what materials the doctor uses, but he does want you to know that he has had great success—great, great success—using the tissue of some of the most vigorous and fertile beings on earth.”
“Beings?” Alex asks.
“Yes,” says Reggie. “Living things.”
“You seem not to want to say mammal. What kind of being are we talking about?”
“It’s the results that matter,” Reggie says. “Lions, tigers, bears—do you really care?”
You could say it’s all downhill form there, and for a moment it is. But ultimately, Leslie and Alex achieve their goal. A family. Two beautiful children, twins, a boy and a girl, Adam and Alice. But the treatment that brought all of their dreams to life, also brought with it unimaginable nightmares that they don’t even understand themselves.
Novak moves quickly ahead to the twins on the cusp between youth and adolescence. Naturally, a time of great change. A time, in many ways, that is very frightening for both children and their parents. And in the case of the Twisdens, a time of frightening realization for parent and children.
This realization, leads Adam and Alice, not on a “quest to learn the true nature” of their parents, as the book jacket suggests, but to flee for their lives from the parents they suspect may not have their best interests at heart, or may not be able to help themselves from hurting them.
That in and of itself was horror enough for me. The idea, as a child, of being scared of your parents. And as a parent, being scared of yourself, and what you might do to your children. Every parent looks at their newborn child and says, “I could just eat you up!” Well, Novak’s Breed may make future parents think twice before putting that thought into the universe.
Written in the present tense, Breed reads like a great screenplay…the action rolling out in front of the reader in real-time. The relationships between the main characters are real and believable, making the core tension in the book, the danger posed to children by their own parents, even more palpable.
There are a bevy of key side characters: the well-intentioned school teacher and his gay lover who shelter Adam; the gang of feral children living in Central Park who shelter Alice and who help illuminate the mystery surrounding Dr. Kis and his magical fertility drug.
But at the heart of the story are the parents and their children.
If there were any disappointments, it was that at one point, you realize that much of the book is one long chase scene. And while the conclusion of that chase is in some ways satisfying, it did at times seem to drag, or beg for a speedier resolution. And the ending, in my book, wanted for more finality.
While I don’t think Breed will bear any offspring of its own, Novak has given birth to an original and terrible tale, one that I think will enjoy much success.
4 Big and Hairy Howls!!! Way UP!
4 HOWLS – Excellent and highly recommended
About the Author
Scott Spencer (b. 1945) is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of ten novels, including Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper, both of which have been nominated for the National Book Award. Two of his books, Endless Love and Waking the Dead, have been adapted into films. He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Williams College and is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone. Spencer lives in upstate New York. You can follow him on GOODREADS.
TITLE: Free Fall
SERIES: My Immortals Series 4.5
AUTHOR: Carolyn Jewel
PUBLICATION DATE: April 1, 2012
ASIN: B007QUOA9E
PURCHASE BOOK: Amazon | B & N | Smashwords
GOODREADS SUMMARY: Attorney Lys Fensic has spent her life controlling a psychic power that kills. Her ability to lock herself down falls apart when her ex, a mage, sends enslaved demons to kill her. In a psychic free fall, she turns to tough guy Telos Khunbish for help. But is he a mage as she’s always suspected or is he something far more dangerous?
She-Wolf Review
Back in May, author Carolyn Jewel offered review copies of her novella, Free Fall, to interested bloggers. The premise seemed intriguing, so I was excited when I received a copy. Though there were some fuzzy plot details, the novella’s world-building is interesting and complex and the main characters have great chemistry.
This is a fast paced, well-written story. Jewel starts it off with a high level of tension and keeps the emotions up throughout. Free Fall opens with the main character, Lys Fensic, almost paralyzed by fear – fear of her ex-boyfriend and fear of her own mysterious powers. When Telos, a colleague who Lys turns to for help, enters the story, the comfort and security he is able to bring her is almost palpable. And the chemistry between these two is off the charts. There is a fairly substantial and very steamy love scene towards the conclusion of the story. And let’s just say Telos is not what he seems. Jewel lets him take his true form and I thought this was a bold and well-handled choice. I also appreciated that Jewel added some diversity into the characters as Telos is not your typical blue-eyed, blonde haired paranormal hero. Finally, the world-building is definitely interesting and makes me want to read more of her series. There are mages, demons, and witches; rules are in place and enforced with regards to how demons relate to humans, and mages are powerful and have the ability to enslave demons. This world is dark and dangerous. And very interesting.
Free Fall is part of Jewel’s My Immortals series. I didn’t realize this when I first started the novella (even though it is clearly stated on the first page, doh!) and I do think it might have helped to have some background in the world. The pace moves so fast that there were moments I felt a little fuzzy about what was going on. Lys is running from her abusive boyfriend and I was unclear as to exactly who he was and what he was capable of. He also has a talisman she wants back and I never fully understood its importance or what it signified. The way Telos reacts to learning about the talisman lets the reader know that it has power and I think if you know this world, that power may be understood. Finally, Telos and Lys are great together, but it would have been nice to have a bit more depth and development to their relationship beyond the obvious lust.
Make no mistake, this is a well-written PNR novella that I think accomplished its job – it whet my appetite to read more from the My Immortals world. And while Free Fall had some issues, it was an enjoyable read.
3 HOWLS – Good but with some flaws.
About the Author
Carolyn Jewel was born on a moonless night. That darkness was seared into her soul and she became an award winning author of historical and paranormal romance. She has a very dusty car and a Master’s degree in English that proves useful at the oddest times. An avid fan of fine chocolate, finer heroines, Bollywood films, and heroism in all forms, she has three cats and a dog. Also a son. One of the cats is his.
Stop by and visit Carolyn at her favorite spots:
Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Maria @anightsdreamofbooks. Click the button above to see what other covers are being featured this week.
This week’s Shelf Candy features the beautiful cover for Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan. The artist is UK-based Simon “Pye” Parr, head designer for Solaris Books. The cover is perfect – the explosion of feathers, the blood splatters for wings, and the the shadowy figure in the center all let you know this is a dark urban fantasy with angels that aren’t necessarily playing harps. It’s a standout cover, so I was excited when Pye agreed to visit the blog and answer some questions about his work, the process for designing the Blood and Feathers cover, and what his motto is for leading a more reflective life.
SWR: When did you know you wanted to become an artist and what were some of the major influences that put you on this path?
The only thing I ever remember wanting to do really is draw things. The ‘things’ have changed over the years, in fact, for a lot of my favourite projects I haven’t done much ‘drawing’ either… still, it feels like the same process to me, which is the important thing. Major early influences were things like The Beano, 2000 AD, Games Workshop, He-Man, Starcom toys, Star Wars, Hokey B movies, that kind of thing. These days I like to think my tastes are a little more sophisticated, but I’m just lying to myself.
SWR: How did you get involved with creating cover art and how long have you been doing it?
When Rebellion founded Abaddon books, I was working as the graphic designer on 2000 AD, and the job of putting the novels together was given to me. Several years after that I took on the design work for Solaris Books too. What started out as just plonking text on other peoples art has slowly changed to helping to write briefs, choosing and giving feedback (along with the editor and publishing manager) on cover commissions, and now having a go at it myself.
I’ve been producing art for covers for about 3-4 years (the stuff that’s actually worth looking at anyway) but I’ve been working with other peoples art and photography for magazines and books for my whole time as a print designer (12ish years).
SWR: Looking at your portfolio, I love the diversity in your work – from very designed graphical treatments to classic looking sci-fi. How would you describe your style and how has it evolved over the years?
I’m not sure the diversity of the things I work on is always a strength tbh. I get very frustrated putting portfolios together because no 2 pieces of work I’ve done match anything else! I sometimes wish I got to do more work in a single vein as I could really give myself a chance to develop something that’s really recognisable as mine, rather than always jumping from one thing to another.
On the other hand, that’s a very stupid thing to moan about – I’ve been really lucky to work on such a wide range of stuff. Not many people get that chance, and I’d be a bit of a dick to whinge too much about it. ‘Oh man, my life’s so hard, I get to spend my days colouring things in, drawing monsters/space/robots and reading comics – can you imagine my constant suffering?’
Anyway – stylewise, I dunno, I suppose I used to try and draw everything, just because I had the opportunity to do so and was over-excited. These days I’ll use any technique I can to make something look half-decent, and I play to my strengths with layout rather than having the most beautiful technique.
SWR: You are a cover artist and a designer. How are these roles different and which do you prefer?
In some ways they’re very similar – you use the same bits of your brain to make things look pretty – but I think, as a designer you have to look at things in a slightly more dispassionate way than an artist does, i.e. your job is to look at something and decide how you can make it better without taking away from it. Working out how to add information into an image without either reducing its’ impact or making your message irrelevant. You can be brutal to a piece of art to make it more punchy in ways that the artist would never consider (or want you to do). This isn’t intended to be disrespectful in any way, you just start to see things as a means to an end, whereas for the artist a lot of the time, the finishing of their picture IS the end, it’s perfect as it is. Quite often they’re right too – but you wouldn’t sell many books or magazines if half the covers in the shop had no words on. I find for example, designing text to go over an image I’ve painted myself to be quite difficult. There’s always little bits in the picture you’re quite proud of that you wont want to hide, but a designer wouldn’t think that way, they’d hack off the bottom of a picture if the text looked better there, or blow up a small part of the image to make a new cover entirely if it was stronger in some way.
I can’t say I prefer doing one over the other though. They’ve become so intrinsically linked in my head I can’t separate them anymore. A picture doesn’t seem finished to me without some typography somewhere, and a bit of type can be a work of art on it’s own. My favourite way to work is a bit half and half, where both parts are done simultaneously and I think about the type when I’m laying out the artwork. That way the art is done with more of a design-perspective and I don’t get all caught up in painting small parts of the picture in beautiful, irrelevant detail that it’s then heartbreaking to cover up. Unfortunately it’s exactly those parts of a picture that make being an artist so satisfying, and you have to care that much about the little things to come up with anything worthwhile.
SWR: What makes a good book cover?
I wish someone would tell me that, I could make a fortune!
I don’t think there’s any right way to come up with a good book cover. Some of my favourites are wildly different in style. If you can get across the feeling or sentiment of a book clearly and quickly, whilst leaving enough mystery for someone to think ‘Hey, that looks cool, what’s going on there and why?’ then you’ve done a good job.
Blood and Feathers cover painting.
SWR: How did you get involved with the cover art for Blood and Feathers?
The US cover for Regicide by Nicholas Royle
I think Lou, the author, liked my cover for Regicide by Nicholas Royle, which I’d done a few months before and asked Jon at Solaris if I could do hers too – which was wonderful of her. It’s really nice to know that people you’ve never met (at the time) are aware of your work and appreciate it. Sometimes once you’ve sent a book off to the printers you feel you might as well have fired it into the sun for all the customer feedback you’re aware of.
Blood and Feather cover splats.
SWR: Had you read the manuscript prior to creating the art, and, if not, what kind of direction did you get from the publisher? What was the single most important thing you wanted to convey in the cover?
I’ve worked on hardly any books where the manuscript has been finished when I start the artwork! I generally get to chat to author about what they want though, which I think is important, and I’ll read a synopsis or chapter breakdown. This is a better way to work I think, as you can get a feel or theme for the whole book rather than concentrating on a single character or scene.
Lou (and Solaris) were very keen to avoid a ‘hunky brooding angel/vampire guy’ style cover and come up with something a bit different. I suppose that’s why they asked me to do it, as there’s loads of artists who are far better than me at that kind of photoreal stuff anyway. We really wanted to hint at an urban fantasy setting, but avoid any romance crap like the plague.
Blood and Feathers Mockups.
SWR: I love the explosion of feathers and the wings made of blood, which is unexpected. What was your approach or process to creating the cover and what were the challenges in creating it?
The first thing I did was bang out as many different roughs as I could for Lou and the Solaris guys to check out. They brief was pretty loose so I wanted to get a clearer idea of what they liked quite quickly. I thought early on that it would be cool to swap the most obvious elements around, so have wings made of blood not feathers, but then I spent a long time working out how to do the angel’s body. I was thinking it would be cool to actually make a whole figure from feathers and have it fading out to a feathery black mess in places, but then I saw Joey Hifi’s cover for Blackbirds (which is awesome) and thought it’d be far too similar. It knocked my faith in the concept for a little while, as I had a hard time thinking of how I could do something as cool as that without looking like a rip-off. I’ve got to thank Lou here really, ‘cos just as I was really getting into a state about the whole thing, thinking about starting from scratch, she convinced me to stop being an idiot and just get on with it. From the start she was very enthusiastic about the rough that turned into the final cover and I’m glad we stuck with it. In the end I think the main thing that was annoying me (apart from how to paint the angel and at what size) turned out to be the type straight across the middle of the page – as soon as I moved it the whole thing started to work a lot better.
The feathers in the image were all done digitally in illustrator and photoshop, but the angel and all the textures were done in red ink with a brush and a straw then added afterwards. I had quite a fun morning blowing blood splats all over my studio ’til i got the right shape.
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any one book, past or present, what would that book be and why?
Frank Herbert’s Dune. Unlike most people it was the movie that made me read the books – I watched it as a kid and have always loved it. Since then of course I love the book just as much, but the pictures in my head will always be informed by the film. I’d like to try and break that and come up with an interpretation of my own. Also (with some exceptions), a lot of the Dune covers have been utter crap. It’d be nice to see if I could come up with something to do it justice.
SWR: What side projects, passion projects, or upcoming cover art would you like to share with us?
Judge Dredd Day of Chaos T-Shirt Art
I’ve do a lot of quite big oil paintings of cars, some of which are for sale at the moment in my local pub – unfortunately because of that I don’t have any decent pictures of them, so here is an image that I did for 2000 AD as part of the ‘Judge Dredd: Day of Chaos’ teaser campaign for CBR (comic book resources) a few months back. It was meant to go on a tshirt but that got canned and nobody ever got to see it!
SWR: Finally, I am a Game of Thrones fanatic. Every family has a motto – the Starks have “Winter is Coming,” the Lannisters have “Hear me roar.” What is the Pye motto?
Ha! I’d like to say it’d be something badass, profound or interesting, but unfortunately I think “Leave it ’til tomorrow” says everything you need to know about me…
And just for fun, the Pivot quiz…
What is your favorite word?
Cretinous.
What is your least favorite word?
‘Piece’, specifically when used to describe music or art. Gah! Just typing it annoys me.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music, cars, countryside. Beer. All at the same time obviously.
What turns you off?
Public transport. tv adverts, tescos.
What is your favorite curse word?
Twat! it’s nicely percussive, but not so vulgar that you can’t use it inoffensively.
What sound or noise do you love?
My wife laughing at the telly or radio or something when I’m busy working upstairs. It reminds me there’s something going on in the world beside what I’m doing, and also slightly assuages the guilt I feel for ignoring her existence for days at a time.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Any random repetitive one that I can’t place. This drives me nuts and I cant think about anything else till I find out what it is and sort it out – like in the car when you get a rattle, or when you’re lying in bed and can hear a drip coming off the roof.
Also: the voice of that bloke who does the voiceovers in the breaks between shows on BBC one in the evening. He sounds like he’s constantly happy and smiling which winds me up.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Architect/Rally driver
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything involving customer service.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
‘Yes, your great grandma is here, and no she doesn’t know about all that stuff you looked at on the internet.’
SWR: Thanks for coming by the blog, Pye!
Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan, Published by Solaris, July 31, 2012
You can find Blood and Feathers at the following links
(and it’s worth getting the paperback just to see this cover):
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
About the Artist
Simon “Pye” Parr is Head of Design for the British sci-fi comic series, 2000 A.D., Solaris and Abaddon Books. And he likes to draw and paint stuff.
Please visit Pye at his favorite spots:
I’m excited to welcome author Laura Bickle to blog! I had the opportunity to review her upcoming YA release, The Hallowed Ones, as one of the blogs participating in the book’s Bewitching Book Tour. As you know, I truly enjoyed The Hallowed Ones. It is a disturbing, at times frightening, dystopian tale set in the Amish community, with a strong young heroine. Read my review here.
Without further ado, please welcome Laura!
***
The Rituals of Writing
By Laura Bickle
Ritual is meant to open a dialogue with the unknown.
At least, this is what I tell myself.
In times in which gods were considered capricious and cruel, grand ceremonies and offerings were created to appease these volatile powers. A bull might be an acceptable sacrifice to inspire a harvest goddess to yield a good crop of corn. Or a human heart might bring a war god to one’s side and ensure victory.
In more modern times with gentler unseen forces, rituals persist. We speak the words and retrace the steps so many others have accomplished before us. I felt that when I was a child and left cookies for Santa. And there was, of course, a letter…I wanted him to know that I was thinking of him. And I reallyreally wanted a Wonder Woman doll – the one that flew and also turned into Diana Prince.
And I don’t think creative pursuits are much different.
I start, always, with a blank page that scares the living daylights out of me. I could well and truly manage to screw it up. Doubt is my default state at the beginning of a project. The page is empty, and I’ve got no idea where the work is going to come from. Maybe ether. Something out there that’s formless and totally invisible to my everyday life.
In reaching out to this squishy unknown, I find that I need some ritualized procedures. They comfort me. They assure my cranky subconscious that the work will come to fruition the way I’ve planned. I’ve used these steps before. I’ve gained good results. By repeating my tracks, I fall into a familiar rhythm that stills the fear of looking into uncharted territory.
When I begin a project, I start with an idea notebook. Usually, it’s a pretty journal that I hope inspires the work. I scribble notes and ideas in it. Outlines. Thoughts for what should happen in the next scene. Pictures and meanderings. I have several pages in this notebook before I even dare open a word processing document. I draw these pages around myself like a security blanket.
I sit down before the computer. Usually, I want the desk cleared. I light a candle. That signifies to me that I’m ‘seriously working’ and that it’s time for my subconscious to wake up and come to the party. Plus, it smells nice. I’m not above trying to bribe myself to work. Usually, if I get a monstrously big jar candle, I’ll be done with a book by the time it burns out. It measures progress in some primitive way.
I stare at the page until a hook comes to me, some kind of statement that will hopefully trap the reader’s interest. Once I have that, the words begin to trickle in. In my own routinized fashion, I record my daily word count on my calendar. I do well with habits. A writing habit gets things done, and a word count calendar helps me keep the momentum going. It also generates a good deal of guilt, which is a powerful motivator.
One would think that rituals poison creativity. I don’t think so. Rituals signify to me that it’s time to go to work, and to work reliably. The also serve to soothe me, to give me a well-worn path to the story. They give me the guts to march up to the door of the unknown and knock.
I think that’s the key. Starting over and over. And I do it with journals and pens and a candle that’s supposed to smell like sea glass. I’m not sure that sea glass has a smell, but I sure enjoy the candle.
Maybe ritual isn’t so much about communicating with the unknown as it is about soothing myself into starting.
What kinds of rituals to you have in your life? They can deal with anything – sports, work, art, cooking, getting up in the morning. Do they bring you comfort or signal a shift into another state?
***
Please check out Laura’s new YA novel, THE HALLOWED ONES. You won’t regret it.
GOODREADS SUMMARY: Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
About the Author
Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats. The Hallowed Ones is her first young adult novel.
Visit Laura at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS
(Please click the button above to visit the other blogs participating in this tour.)
TITLE: The Hallowed Ones
AUTHOR: Laura Bickle
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
PUBLICATION DATE: September 25, 2012
ISBN-10: 0547859260
PURCHASE BOOK: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
GOODREADS SUMMARY: Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.
She-Wolf Review
I don’t read a lot of YA. Sure, I’ve read Twilight like millions of others, and for the most part I enjoyed it. Then I read Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely and realized how truly wonderful YA could be. The few things I read after that didn’t meet expectations, so I don’t read a lot of YA. That is until I was given the opportunity to review Laura Bickle’s The Hallowed Ones. A paranormal story set in the Amish world? I couldn’t resist. And I am so glad I picked this one up. It is truly a wonderful dystopian tale that transcended the YA genre and pulled me in with a heroine that I adored and a world that went from calm to frightening in a blink of the eye.
The Hallowed Ones tells the story of Katie, a 17-year old Amish girl on the brink of adulthood, looking forward to her Rumspringa, the time when Amish youth go out into the wider world to experience it before deciding whether or not to permanently adopt the Amish faith and lifestyle. But a mysterious “Darkness” befalls the outside world, and Katie is forced to stay within the confines of her community and delay her much-anticipated plans for freedom and exploration. Through a series of events, the Outside starts creeping into Katie’s structured and safe Amish world. Not only is Katie forced to face frightening changes, but she must also deal with the changing relationships she has with her best friend and possible fiancé, Elijah, her parents, and her community. It is a story of conformity and rebellion, faith and doubt, love and death, youth and adulthood, all within a disturbing dystopian landscape.
“…I sensed that my time was measured. I wanted to wring every last experience out of it like juice from an orange, to feel, to touch, and to taste the juice as it ran down my chin. I did not want to lie down and wait for death like Ginger and the others, with their veil of ignorance drawn around them and surrendering their will to live to others.
I wanted my life to matter.
And I wanted to choose how it mattered.”
What drew me into this story was Katie. I loved her very real struggles, both within herself and with her loved ones. For the Amish, obedience is key. And while Katie is devout she can’t take the step towards blind obedience. She always questions and does what she feels is right, not what she is told is right. Katie battles with expectations, with being who she is versus what others think she should be. I also loved that while Katie struggled with some very adult issues, particularly when it came to her family and her faith, there was still something young about her. She collects Wonder Woman comics and drinks Coke, her first acts of rebellion. Bickle kept such a great balance with her that while you feel her maturity, her youth is never forgotten.
The brilliant thing about this book is setting it in the Amish community. It is so isolated that the Outside, for the most part, is kept outside. Katie figures out what is happening when she sneaks off into town for medicine. It’s there that she discovers what has become of the world. And what is out there waiting for them. There are hints of the horrors that make their way into the community but we never see it full force until something happens that shakes them to their core, and, even then, it feels like a piece of a larger horror that awaits them. This is fantastic because it keeps something at bay, builds anticipation, and makes you anxious to know what’s happened out there but too scared to want to see it. As Katie tries to warn her people of what is waiting, no one listens. They all blindly follow the Bishop who basically runs the town from a position of religious authority and refuses to acknowledge what is staring him in the face. Alex, an Outsider she takes in and nurses back to health, and the Hexenmeister, a religious mystic, are Katie’s only allies.
The isolated setting also puts focus on the relationships between the characters. It often was not the violence of the Outside that was disturbing but the reactions of the people Katie has known all her life that were unsettling. From the Bishop to Elijah, those she trusted became just as frightening as the shadows. The threat of exile and therefore certain death for Katie were always on the edge of my mind towards the end of the book. I’ve also never read a scene where the destruction of a cell phone seemed like the ultimate in cruelty.
Towards the end, this book was tense. Really tense. I raced through the last few chapters. There was a bit of a twist which, honestly, I saw coming well before the reveal but it still created a creepy scene, reminiscent of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. There was also an unanswered question for me – Alex’s explanation for what happened to the world is scientific and medical, but the short-term solution, and the one protection from the horror, is wholly faith based. Katie asks how and why this is and so do I. But I guess I just have to wait until the sequel…which is going on my auto-buy list. This is a highly recommended read. Oh, and I am totally going to read more YA now.
4 HOWLS – Excellent and highly recommended
About the Author
Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats. The Hallowed Ones is her first young adult novel.
Visit Laura at her favorite spots:
(Please click the button above to see what other blogs are participating in the tour)
Today, as part of the Bewitching Book Tours, I am excited to welcome the dynamic writing duo, Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall, authors of the very original Cowboy and Vampire series. With the release of the second book, Blood and Whiskey, they are here to discuss their unique partnership, their brand of vampire, and why Natalie Portman would be the perfect Lizzie Vaughn.
SHE-WOLF READS INTERVIEW
SWR: You two have a unique story and writing partnership. Can you tell us a bit about how you met and started writing together?
You bet. It’s a two-part story.
Chapter one: The origins of eternal love
We met working in an organic veggie restaurant in Portland. We were both married to other people at the time. Sparks flew, but that was the extent of it. Several years later, both our marriages had independently cratered and we reconnected, hard. Cue the romantic music and sexy montage of compromising positions, candlelight and falling rose petals. That lasted about a year before imploding. After a bitter break up, we spun off into decaying solo orbits and spent two years moping around in dual self-isolation. We came to the near-simultaneous realization that we were perfect for each other — our neuroses fit together like a twisted hand in a demented glove — and that we likely had made a near-terminal mistake.
Chapter two: The origins of undead buckaroos
We decided to try again, this time with ground rules (similar to the Marquess of Queensberry rules for boxing, only hitting below the belt was allowed). Rather than letting the heat between us burn everything to ash, we decided to write a novel together, figuring we could bleed off the destructive energy into a creative pursuit. We arranged a meeting on neutral ground — a truckstop in Madras, Oregon; equidistant between our homes. There, over veggie burgers and soggy fries, we came up with the concept of The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance. We wanted a topic that combined our interests — Clark is into the West and Kathleen is into the intersection of spirituality and science — and we sketched the plot out on the back of a paper placemat in crayons. The rest is still-unrealized history.
SWR: As partners, what is your writing process? Is there something that one person is better at than the other and vice versa?
Our process is pretty simple. Whichever one of us is the least exhausted takes the lead. Aside from that, we are methodical “plotters,” working out the story line and character development in advance. Then we “assign” ourselves chapters, hunker down and crank out the words. We both work in communications, and Kathleen was a journalist, so we are good at deadline writing. Of course, we manufacture our own deadlines, but so far we haven’t disappointed ourselves.
In terms of styles, Kathleen is better at the emotional side of things, capturing the inner landscapes of our characters and their motivations. Clark is better at the dialogue and physical plane, the landscapes the characters move through. Between the two of us, we make one decent writer.
SWR: For those readers who have not yet read The Cowboy and the Vampire books, can you briefly describe the series and what they can expect?
At heart, The Cowboy and Vampire Thriller Series is a simple love story. When you strip out all the vampires, the kinky sex, the pants-wetting horror and blood draining, the racial tensions between vampire species, the quirky, good-hearted people inhabiting the modern west, the gun-blazing action, the dark humor, the spiritual and religious elements, family sacrifice, friendships tested, an ode to anarchy and questions about food choices, it’s a classic love story.
And also a vehicle to introduce the world to Rex, the sweetest, most loyal, longest-suffering cattle dog of all time.
SWR: What makes your vampires different? And what were some of the vampire tropes you wanted to avoid or embrace in these stories?
Our first book came out in 1999, well before the current crop of angsty northwest vampires and sexpot southern vampires. To be clear, we owe them mightily for the resurrection and re-release of The Cowboy and the Vampire, and for the success of Blood and Whiskey, but before the field was quite so crowded, we came up with a take on vampires that blended religion and science with some of the more familiar elements. Specifically, our vampires:
- aren’t affected by holy water or any religious symbols
- are terminally allergic to sunlight
- don’t have fangs
- do need blood to live
- die — full biologic and neurologic shut down — every dawn
- are resurrected each night
- spend the time in between death and life residing in The Meta, at least their souls do, which is a giant energy field, an external consciousness, where life begins and ends
- are much stronger than humans, and death-resistant when it comes to normal sources of trauma (guns, knives, clubs, garden shears, etc.) — they’ve been around longer than humans and evolution has favored their kind
- can be killed with wooden stakes
- are locked in a brutal civil war between the two species
SWR: I love the covers of the two books. Their vintage feel sets them apart from others in the 
genre. Who is the designer and were you able to play a role in guiding the design?
Thanks so much. We are very pleased with them and more importantly, they seem to really catch the eyes of potential readers. A designer on staff with our publisher (Midnight Ink) came up with the cover for The Cowboy and the Vampire re-release. It replaced the original cover which was more “artsy” with an embossed cowboy boot. We liked them both, but the new cover has served us well so when Blood and Whiskey was in the works, our new publisher (Pumpjack Press) wanted to keep it in the same artistic family.
We were closely involved with book designer Brett Lloyd who no doubt was thrilled by the constant, nagging role we played in the design. Seriously though, he’s good at it and we can hook you up.
SWR: You released the second book, Blood and Whiskey, this year. Do you already know the arc for the series and how many books it will take to complete it?
We have two more books planned in the arc and hope to release book three early next year and book four after that. Both are plotted out and we’re in the process of “assigning” the chapters for the next in the series, tentatively titled Undead Asylum. All the books will fit together into a connected arc, but each will stand on its own.
SWR: I couldn’t help but picture Grace Kelly as Lizzie. What would be your dream cast for The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Movie (or HBO series)?
Wow, Grace Kelly would be AWESOME! So would a series.
Here’s our casting call for Blood and Whiskey:
Lizzie: Natalie Portman; pretty, tough, and able to move from scared to resolute quickly.
Tucker: Ryan Reynolds; he’s the right combination of funny and handsome, but we’d have to “Western” him up a little.
Elita: Maggie Q or Angelina Jolie; whoever plays Elita has to take joyous abandon in being evil, and then be bored, beautiful and bitchy the rest of the time.
Lenny: Jim Parsons (from Big Bang); a quirky survivalist is a little bit typecast, but he’d be hilarious.
Dad: Viggo Mortensen; but he’d have to promise not to steal the show.
Rurik: Chris Hemsworth; can he do a Russian accent? Who cares. He shares his bed with Elita and Virotte.
Virote: Minka Kelly; she has to beautiful and doomed.
Rex: We’d like to hold auditions for Rex with our new pals at Texas Cattle Dog Rescue.
SWR: Who are some influential writers that have inspired you and what’s the last book you read that you would recommend?
We are both rabid readers but, not surprisingly, we read from opposite sides of the coin. Kathleen prefers fiction, Russian fiction, specifically. Clark sticks with mostly nonfiction, using it to feed his creative work. For example, he just finished The Oyster: The Life and Lore of the Celebrated Bivalve and is now pondering a vampire-like creature similar to starfish with slow, inexorable, suction-tipped arms that never let go and the ability to extrude it’s stomach to digest victims wherever they may be hiding (yep, that’s what happens to oysters). As far as a recommendation, however, he suggests Design in Nature, a fascinating look at the constructal law which may govern everything from how rivers meander to social evolution.
Find us both on Goodreads to see our other favorites and to get connected. We love to see what others are reading and check out their reviews of favorite books.
SWR: Do you have any upcoming projects that we can look forward to?
We’re hard at work on two more books in The Cowboy and Vampire Thriller Series, and we have plans to start a paranormal detective series in the noir tradition (para-noir!), and we each have solo projects in the works. But don’t worry, we rely on each other so completely, there’s really no such thing as a solo project any more.
SWR: I am a big fan of Game of Thrones where every family has a motto – the Starks have “Winter is coming” and the Lannisters have “Hear me roar!” What is the Hays-McFall motto?
Our rallying cry is probably “To the liquor store!” But our family motto is something along the lines of “Stronger together,” which recently edged out “Writing isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
SWR: Thanks so much for the interview!
Our pleasure. Thanks for having us on today.
MEET THE AUTHORS
You can stop by and visit Kathleen and Clark at their favorite spots:
