Author Interview & Mega Giveaway - John Brinling

I'm pleased to announce two premiers for us - an author interview, and an international ebook giveaway...in fact John's been very generous and is giving away 10 copies of both The Ghost of a Flea and The Watcher to reviewing followers. Now closed.

Please welcome John Brinling, author of four mixed genre Indie published books and screenplays. 

John, how long have you been writing for?

I have been writing all of my life. I wrote my first novel when I was sixteen.  “Black Dawn.”  It dealt with segregation and the KKK. Whatever happened to it I don't know.

What have you been doing since Black Dawn?

Since then, earning a living has preempted long periods of my life when I wrote very little.  My wife and I are both in data processing (IT nowadays) and we usually work long hours when we are on a contract, which meant I spent little time writing fiction when gainfully employed.  The birth of my daughter offered me another excuse for not writing, but that's what it was: an excuse.  Writing is hard.   But it's in my DNA and I keep returning to it, despite some part of me that prefers the lazy life.  However, not writing is unthinkable, and I am constantly exploring ideas even when I'm not committing them to paper.

I lived and worked in Europe for seven years.  I met my wife In Italy where we both worked for the same company, and were married in 1975.  The contract we were working on ended that year and we took two years off to live in England, in a 300 year old farmhouse in Wiltshire.  It was in that farmhouse that I wrote “The Ghost Of  A Flea,” as well as another book titled “Quarantine,” which is a science fiction thriller.

When you're not writing, what do you like to read?

I like fast moving stories.  Action/adventure/mystery.  My favorite authors are Ian Fleming, Alistair MacLean, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Robert Parker, JK Rowling, Robert Ludman, etc.

What are your favorite characters?

My favorite character is Atticus Finch, though James Bond and Harry Potter are close seconds

Could you tell us more about your inspiration for Ghost of the Flea?

The Ghost of the Flea has a strong autobiographical component.  I was a programmer/analyst.  The office ambience in the novel is similar to life in my New York office, although the intrigues were of an entirely different nature.  I had a good friend who lived in Sparta. I lived for a time near the George Washington Bridge.  The building manager was an Irishman, who became a good friend, and an integral character in the book.

How did you come to self-publish?

I had an agent back then who marketed both this and "Quarantine" , and came very close to selling them to both Doubleday and St. Martins.  Unfortunately he died before completing the sale and I put the books on a shelf and forgot about them for 35 years.  Only this year did I resurrect them and publish them on Amazon's Kindle and Smashwords.

Have you got any other books planned?

I have several other books in the works. One titled "Alone," which I thought I had lost but just rediscovered in hard copy, so I have to read it into digital for updating and editing. I also need to change the title since it has now been used by a best selling author. The book deals with a man who suffers a head injury and is slowly slipping into a vegetative state.  The effect of his suffering is reflected in the actions of his family and friends and how he  tries to affect what is happening to them, as he comes to grips with the growing realization that he will never get well. 

 

I have a mystery series also in the works called "The Valley Mysteries," which may end being my tour de force because of its sheer length.

I also have a bunch of screenplays that I'm trying to market.  I put one of them out on Amazon to see how it would be received.  Its titled: "Chromosome 47."

Who are your favorite characters from Ghost of Flea?

Roger, who becomes a man during the course of the book, and his paramour Peggy.  I also like the villain, who will go unnamed. 

Giveaway has now ended,

To Enter The Ghost of a Flea Giveaway:

Any Follower can enter - this is international.

By entering the Giveaway you are ageeing to review the ebook (blog/goodreads etc).

Twitter - @cloverhillrevie

GFC

Networked blogs 

Enter The Watcher Giveaway further down!! 

Who is your favorite character from The Watcher? 

Janet, the heroine who is confined to a wheelchair, and her detective friend who falls in love with her.

Book Excerpt for The Watch:

The horror was starting again....

Just like last Tuesday and the Tuesday before that.
An unnatural quiet outside the hundred year old Connecticut
farmhouse. A sullen, all too familiar, resonance of previous
encounters.
Janet Stapleton gripped the arms of her wheelchair tightly,
her belly detecting its coming before her other senses, a low-grade fear more akin to disquiet than outright terror.
A shimmer of tears came to her bright hazel-blue eyes.

She arrived without warning and hovered over the death scene like some avenging angel, yet never ventured in close enough for him to see her clearly, get a feel for who she was or what she was doing there.
She posed a serious threat and had to be disposed of. His work needed to be done in secret and no meddling voyeur could be allowed to interfere.
But how could he find her?
She only appeared when he killed. Only arrived during the last few seconds of the sacrificial act.
For a moment tonight she'd actually thought to follow him home. Then, abruptly, pulled back, afraid, knowing he was on to her and she would die.
He grinned. It was only a matter of time until he identified her, until she felt the cold steel of his switchblade, and joined the others in hell!
Of that he was sure.
There was no way he could fail.
Not with his father's guidance.

 

To Enter The Watcher Giveaway:

Any Follower can enter - this is international.

By entering the Giveaway you are ageeing to review the ebook (blog/goodreads etc).

Twitter - @cloverhillrevie

GFC

Networked blogs

Giveaway has now ended.

Kind thanks to John Brinling for taking part in the interview and giveaway :)  The Giveaways close on 30th November.

More on the Ghost of Flea....

The Ghost of a Flea is a mystery/suspense/action/ thriller that tests the endurance and love of a man and a woman, and threatens the security of a great city. It is a tale of greed, passion and death centered on a painting of haunting beauty and mystifying significance.  “The Ghost Of A Flea,” painted by William Blake 200 years ago.

 

Book Synopsis:

Time: 1975.

Location:  New York City.

The murder of Roger’s musician friend, Gideon Whiting, turns Roger’s world up-side-down.  His wife, Natalie, lies to him.  His best friend, Ted, lies to him.  His boss and U.S. Senate candidate, Charlie Holt, lies to him. And Lieutenant Tarrington, a homicide detective, is convinced Roger killed Gideon—but is Tarrington who he claims to be, or is he lying, too?

Peggy Curtis, the blond bombshell who dropped into Roger’s life one snowy night after he left Gideon’s apartment, might be the only person who can unravel the Gordian knot facing Roger, yet she has serious credibility problems, and is the last person he would want to rely on with his life and freedom on the line.

The drug cartel masterminding much of the chaos seeks an address book it thinks Roger took from Gideon.  As their ruthless pursuit intensifies, the police learn of the book and join the chase.  The problem is, Roger doesn’t have what they want and he must get it before they decide he is expendable.

In a climax not unlike the best of today’s action thrillers—Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, others—Roger and Peggy face-off against the surprise mastermind of the drug cartel in a fight to the death!