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Dragonfriend – Roger Eschbacher

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Roger Eschbacher I would like to introduce Author Roger Eschbacher, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for the book, "Dragonfriend."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Roger, congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion. Please tell me about your book, Dragonfriend. Thank you, Stephanie. It was a very pleasant surprise to win the BRAG Medallion and I'm honored to be a recipient. Dragonfriend is a middle-grade fantasy adventure novel set in the days of King Arthur. The twist is that it's a side story to the main Arthurian legends and told through the eyes of a young page, Leonard, whose plan to help his knight get a seat at the Round Table goes horribly wrong. In an effort to set things right he goes on a dangerous quest, befriends a horde of cantankerous dragons, and does battle with a vile demon who has taken over Camelot. What were some of the research involved? I did a lot of online research about mythical creatures, Celtic/Welsh mythology, and Arthur and his knights. In general, I've always been fascinated by various western mythologies and the Arthurian legends – having read numerous books over the years – and so was able to draw on those…

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Authors' Chat

A Beautiful Glittering Lie – J.D.R. Hawkins

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: J.D.R. Hawkins I would like to introduce Author J.D.R. Hawkins, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "A Beautiful Glittering Lie."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Your story takes place during a crucial time in our history. Could you please tell me about your story? In the spring of 1861, a country once united is fractured by war. Half of America chooses to fight for the Confederate cause; the other, for unification. In north Alabama, the majority favors remaining in the Union, but when the state secedes, many come to her defense. Such is the case with Hiram Summers, a farmer and father of three. He decides to enlist, and his son, David, also desires to go, but is instead obligated to stay behind. Hiram travels to Virginia with the Fourth Alabama Infantry Regiment. Although he doesn't intentionally seek out adventure, he is quickly and inevitably thrust into combat. In the meantime, David searches for adventure at home by traipsing to Huntsville with his best friend, Jake Kimball, to scrutinize invading Yankees. Their escapade turns sour when they discover the true meaning of war, and after two years of service, Hiram sees enough tragedy to last…

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Authors' Chat

Requiem – William Gordon

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: William Gordon I would like to introduce Author William Gordon, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for the book, "Requiem."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com William, congrats on winning the B.R.A.G. Medallion for your book, "Requiem", please tell us about your story. Requiem is the first in a five-part saga tracing the fortunes of a family from the Victorian age until the present day. Under the umbrella title Byland Crescent each book in the saga will concentrate on a successive generation. The story tells of Albert Cowgill's rise from poverty in the squalid slums of Bradford in West Yorkshire, to become one of the leading figures in the textile industry. When he and his family move into Byland Crescent in the genteel seaside resort of Scarborough, it seems as if they have it all, and that their contentment will be endless. However, betrayed sometimes by their own passionate nature and at other times affected by events they cannot control, their lives are turned upside down, and the onset of World War 1 signals the requiem for a lost generation. You write about a daunting time in history, what were some of the research involved? Did you discover anything…

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Authors' Chat

The Grave Blogger – Donna Fontenot

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Donna Fontenot I would like to introduce Author Donna Fontenot, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "The Grave Blogger."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Donna it is a pleasure to be interviewing you. Congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion. Please tell me about your book, The Grave Blogger. The pleasure is truly mine! Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you and your readers. Winning the BRAG Medallion was a thrill that I'll never forget. The Grave Blogger story centers around Raya, a freelance writer and blogger who researches cold cases for true crime websites. During her research, she stumbles upon a 20-year-old case dubbed the "Bayou Family Slaughter" case. The newspaper account of this horrific crime immediately causes a psychological reaction in Raya, with disturbing sights and sounds reverberating through her mind. Though they feel very real, Raya is unsure if these are memories or hallucinations. Determined to uncover the truth, she heads to the scene of the original crime - the small South Louisiana town of St. Felicity - to investigate the Bayou Family Slaughter case. When she arrives, Raya gets help from Nick Simoneaux, a young St. Felicity detective…

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Authors' Chat

The Coach House – Florence Osmund

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Florence Osmund I would like to introduce Author Florence Osmund, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "The Coach House."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Thank you Florence for the pleasure of an interview and congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion. Please tell me about your story, "The Coach House." "The Coach House" story begins in 1945 Chicago. Newlyweds Marie Marchetti and her husband, Richard, have the perfect life together. Or at least it seems until Marie discovers cryptic receipts hidden in their basement and a gun in Richard's desk drawer. When she learns he secretly attends a mobster's funeral, her suspicions are heightened, and when she inadvertently interrupts a meeting between him and his so-called business associates in their home, he causes her to fall down the basement steps, compelling Marie to run for her life. Ending up in Atchison, Kansas, Marie rents a coach house apartment tucked behind a three-story Victorian home and quietly sets up a new life for herself. Richard soon learns her whereabouts and lets her know he is not out of the picture yet, but ironically, it is the discovery of the identity of Marie's real father and his ethnicity that unexpectedly…

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Authors' Chat

Sons of the Wolf – Paula Lofting

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Paula Lofting I would like to introduce Author Paula Lofting, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "Sons of the Wolf."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Paula, congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion and I'm delighted to be interviewing you for the second time! You have written a story that involves one of my favorite persons in history, Harold Godwinson and you have introduced people in your book that I'm not familiar with. Please tell your audience about your story. Hi Stephanie, thanks very much for allowing me to tell your readers about my book. Sons of the Wolf is set in 11thc England in the years leading up to the Norman Invasion. Many people know the date 1066 heralded the end of Olde Engla-lond and swept in new masters from across the sea, the dawn of the Norman Age in Britain.  Much has been made of the 'Usurping Godwin' whose comeuppance on the field of battle was delivered by the 'righteous' William of Normandy.  But do they know the story from the English point of view? In Sons of the Wolf, the preceding events that influence both sides are explored and in the sequels that…

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Authors' Chat

Gross – Lee Davis

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Lee Davis I would like to introduce Author Lee Davis, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for his book, "Gross."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Lee, thank you for the opportunity to interview you, please, tell me about your book, Gross. No-no-no, thank you! First I'll point out to readers that this particular book is subtitled Doctor Deathworm Rises, which may help avoid confusion as there is currently another entry in the series (in comic form), with another on the way. This book picks up shortly after Donald, a very lost and confused child, has come to understand the nature of his origins, which were covered in the previous comic entry, Through Demon Skin. Donald was sent to Earth by his father from his chaotic home world in hopes that Donald receive a human upbringing, knowing that Donald is destined for great things in the bridging of worlds. The same dimensional fissure through which Donald was sent is also responsible for an alien corruption that has seeped into the land, infecting it. Sensing Donald's presence and the light of righteousness that the boy defiantly seeks, along with the threat to the chaotic infection that he poses, the corruption is constantly…

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Authors' Chat

Oleanna – Julie Rose

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Julie Rose I would like to introduce Author Julie Rose, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "Oleanna."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Julie, please tell us about your story, Oleanna. Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are the last of their family working their farm deep in the western fjordland. A new century has begun, and the world outside is changing, but in the Sunnfjord their world is as small and secluded as the verdant banks of a high mountain lake. The arrival of Anders, a cotter living just across the farm's border, unsettles Oleanna's peaceful but isolated existence. Sharing a common bond of loneliness and grief, Anders stirs within her the wildness and wanderlust she has worked so hard to tame. When she is confronted with another crippling loss, Oleanna must decide once and for all how to face her past, claim her future, and find her place in a wide new world. Who or what inspired you to write this story? The book was inspired by the lives of my great-great-aunts and the lives they led after they lost so many of their family members—to death, and to emigration to America. Oleanna is set…

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Authors' Chat

Thwarted Queen – Cynthia Haggard

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Cynthia Haggard I would like to introduce Author Cynthia Haggard, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for her book, "Thwarted Queen."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Cynthia, thank you for the pleasure of an second interview and congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion.. You write about an interesting time in History. What inspired you to write Thwarted Queen? I was watching a BBC documentary in which Tony Morrison was talking about the Princes in the Tower, who disappeared in July 1483, and were never seen again. He mentioned that British historian Michael K. Jones had been going through the records of Rouen Cathedral and had discovered that Richard Duke of York, Cecylee's husband, was absent for a period of five weeks in the summer of 1441. This was important because Edward IV, the father of the Princes in the Tower, was born on April 28, 1442, and thus this raised the whole issue of whether King Edward was illegitimate. I did my research, and the more I looked into it, the more I became convinced that Edward IV was illegitimate, because it explained so many things about the subsequent behavior of his relatives. My question as I started…

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Authors' Chat

Peggy Pinch – Malcolm Noble

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Malcolm Noble I would like to introduce Author Malcolm Noble, the winner of the BRAG Medallion for his book, "Peggy Pinch."Read the entire interview at: www.layeredpages.blogspot.com Thanks for including me in your blog, Stephanie. It certainly needs to be a regular stop for anyone interested in the world of books. You have a knack for interviewing authors who have something to say, so I guess I feel a little out of place! Malcolm, thank you for this lovely interview and my apologies for the delay. Please tell me about your book, "Peggy Pinch." It's a murder story set in an English village at the time of the General Strike. Peggy Pinch, the policeman's wife, knows that any investigation by Scotland Yard will uncover village scandals that will discredit her husband, so she sets out to solve the murder herself. It's my favourite. What inspired you to write this story? I had already published eight Timberdick Mysteries and I wanted to break out a little. However, I felt a different book would disappoint the readers who had been with me from the beginning, so I started out by writing a back story for one of the minor Timberdick characters…

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