Category Archives: Contest
Inside an Asylum with Denise Agnew
Please join me in welcoming the multi-talented, award winning author, Denise Agnew, as she talks about her trilogy which take place in an asylum.
Denise is also giving away a paperback of one of her books. (Contest details below.)
Selena: Thank you for joining me, Denise. Let’s get right to the heart of this interview and your biggest quirk (okay, maybe not a quirk for you, but anyone who loves spooky movies is quirky to me).
I know you love scary movies. Is there a movie that makes your goosebumps sprout goosebumps?
Denise: Glad to be here, Selena, and isn’t your comment about quirks is a little bit of the pot calling the kettle? 
Movies don’t generally scare me, but I will admit that the trailers for The Exorcist still make hairs on my body stand up. The two spooky movies I found the scariest weren’t horror movies. Seven and Silence of The Lambs were extremely disturbing in that scary way. Two of my favorite classic horror movies are The Exorcist and The Shining. Slasher flicks mostly bore me. Okay, exception to that would be the Scream franchise. I love the way those movies don’t take themselves too seriously.
Selena: You’re an eclectic writer; historical, suspense, paranormal, sexy stories with hot heroes and strong heroines, holiday themed stories and even sexily sweet stories. What makes the Asylum trilogy unique, compared to your other books?
Denise: These books are definitely romances, just as all my stories, but I threw in the kitchen sink with this trilogy. I was trying to do a lot of things in three books.
Paranormal elements are foremost. What if evil grew in a place and over the decades it became larger and no one understood it or where it originated? After that you have social the elements with regard to each era and the horrifying challenges each heroine encounters that have as much to do with the times they live in, and are as much a part of the stories as the paranormal elements.
The heroine in the first novel is overcoming odds that don’t seem possible to overcome, and in the second novel I wanted to build the sense of dread that must have existed at the time when World War I was raging and the Spanish flu was decimating the world.
In the third book I drew in some of the craziness I see infecting the world in the present day and the fear I see overwhelming people. I don’t mind bringing up ignorance, bullying, prejudice and the many ways people display it. In each book I’m illustrating that every era has its challenges, and that no one era has the be all or end all on difficulties. I loved putting the characters through these challenges while I watched them fall in love.
Selena: What is your go-to snack while in deep writing mode?
Denise: Yogurt. Easy to snarf down!
Selena: Another quirk that I know about you, is that you love Halloween. I know, I know, pot calling kettle…but seriously, why do people love Halloween? I’ll have to delve into that for another blog. So tell us, what is it about this holiday that intrigues you?
Denise: It’s steeped in the pagan and the mysterious and paranormal. It has always called to me on a deep level. I’m a paranormal investigator and that time of the year seems to be an excellent time to explore the unknown. It has always been my favorite holiday, and I have so many fond memories of it. Every October I spend a ton of time watching all my favorite spooky movies and sometimes even writing a spooky story. Fall is my favorite time of the year.
Selena: What I love most about your writing is that you are always creating outside the box, especially with this trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though you know I’m not a fan of spooky things, but this wasn’t spooky or eerie at all…okay, some parts were edge of the seat worthy, but they were so well done and I was totally immersed in the romances in each book.
During your research for the Asylum trilogy, was there anything interesting that happened during the research, or something you discovered that left you speechless.
Denise: Thank you, I know it’s not your type of reading, which makes the fact that you enjoyed them that much sweeter.
Researching the past always means I’ll learn something intriguing. I love history. When I researched World War I and the Spanish flu for the second book, it surprised me how deeply affected I was by the suffering people endured in that era. It makes a lot of what most people complain about today pale in comparison. It makes me tremendously grateful for all I have and how wonderful my life really is.
Selena: If you could go back in time and have lunch with Edgar Allan Poe, what one question are you burning to ask him?
Denise: I’d ask him if he every wanted to stop writing and just chuck it all into the garbage. I love his work, and I figure he was delightfully twisted, as so many writers are.
Selena: We are twisted, but in a good crazy way that makes sense to us and to our readers.
Tell us something nobody knows about you?
Denise: This is something that a few people know about me. I’m an empath but didn’t really figure that out and accept it until about ten years ago. It’s very helpful in some ways and a pain in the ass on other days. I learn more about being an empath every day.
Selena: If you had your own talk show, which three guests would you like to have on, and why?
Denise: Oooohhhh…very good question. I’d probably interview Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Linda Howard. Dean Koontz because he’s one of my favorite writers, he’s funny, and I like how he took control of his publishing career and didn’t allow the publishing world to take control of him. Stephen King because I loved his book On Writing. Linda Howard because I’ve enjoyed many of her books, and she’s also a very funny lady.
Selena: If you could assign a soundtrack to the Asylum trilogy what would it be?
Denise: I actually have a soundtrack made up which consists of a lot of different music that fits sections of the book. All of it is scary/gloomy/creepy or romantic, depending on the individual book. I assign certain songs as “love themes” or “love scene” type music as well. I used some music from Woman In Black for example, as well as Fernando Velazquez’s Shiver soundtrack. But I also used some James Newton Howard music, When A Stranger Calls soundtrack and a whole host of other stuff.
Selena: If you could assign a soundtrack to your life, what would it be?
Denise: That’s a super hard question. It would probably be a huge soundtrack made out of 70′s, 80′s music and a ton of classical music from different eras in time. I love music from a lot of different time periods, so it would be a mixed bag. Top Gun soundtrack, Elton John music, and even disco. Hey, I’m dating myself.
Denise A. Agnew is the author of over 57 novels. Romantic Times Book Reviews calls her romantic suspense novels “top-notch,” and she’s received their coveted TOP PICK rating. Denise has written paranormal, romantic comedy, contemporary, historical, erotic romance, and romantic suspense. Archaeology and archery have crept into her work, and travels through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have added to a lifetime of story ideas. A paranormal investigator, Denise looks forward to exploring the unknown.
Amazon links for the Asylum Trilogy:
Contest:
Answer the following question in the comment section of this blog and your name will be entered into a draw to win a Paperback copy of one of Denise’s books.
“If you could assign a soundtrack to your life, what would it be?”
The Naughty New Year Blog Hop!
Naughty New Year Blog Hop
To kick off the new year, I’ve joined in the The Naughty New Year Blog Hop, courtesy of Just Romance Me. You’ll not only meet a group of talented authors and link to a string of fun blogs, but you’ll have a chance to win:
7″ Kindle Fire HD
Gift Certificates
Paperback and E-books
The blog hop has already started and goes to December 30th 7:00 EST.
By commenting on my blog, your name will be entered into a draw to win a $10.00 gift certificate.
For this blog hop, I am re-posting an interview I did with the characters in my current release, What A Girl Wants, for those of you who haven’t had a chance to meet them and ask them a question.
Even if you already met them, you can still ask Maddie and Alex anything you want, as I’m sure they’ll be only too pleased to answer your questions.
Please welcome the hero and heroine, Alex Donovan and Maddie Saunders as they sit and talk to me about their experiences in this book.
Selena: Thanks for jumping out of the book to join me today. Maddie, let’s start with you. What was your journey like in What A Girl Wants?
Maddie: The plane trip from to Hawaii was uneventful—
Alex: I have to interrupt here. Uneventful? Is that what you call it?
Maddie: Come on, Alex, even you have to admit it was classic. Besides, you laughed at the prank I pulled on you. Anyway, as for your initial question, Selena, I enjoyed the adventures you created for us, especially the humorous moments. Of course, what’s a romance without heartache, physical pain, angst and a ton of conflict?
Selena: Are you complaining about all that?
Maddie: Me? Never. I’m not a complainer, especially to my creator who has total control over my destiny. I may be a little impetuous—
Alex: A little?
Maddie: Okay, maybe more than a little. But as I told you off the pages, Alex, Selena gave me those traits. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Selena: Your turn, Alex. How would you describe was your journey in this book?
Alex: There’s no other book I’d rather have been created in, even with all the pain we both went through. Maddie’s right, the humor helped a lot, especially when it got real serious and sorrowful.
Selena: If you each had a free day and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?
Maddie: You created me, Selena, what do you think? *wink* Okay, seriously, I do love my career as a travel journalist, and I’ve been to a lot of exciting locales, but coming home and staying put for a few days, sitting around in my comfy lounging pants and a certain someone’s sweatshirt I pinched from him, no make-up and hanging out with my friends, enjoying a glass of wine and chatting about our adventures is always a blast.
Alex: What Maddie said. There are some things we both agree on, that’s one of them.
Selena: Alex, what’s your philosophy on life?
Alex: Live without regrets.
Maddie: Life’s a beach and then you have sex on it. Not that I’m a nymphomaniac or anything, but, after all the angst, conflict and pain and the dysfunctional family you created for me—again, it’s not a complaint, just stating a fact—I have to rely on my sense of humor and not take everything so seriously…not like someone else I know.
Selena: What scares you?
Maddie: Needles. However, what’s really scary is when you get so anal about editing and polishing and not moving forward fast enough. It wasn’t a lot of fun when you left me in a certain position for months, I got a cramp. I am eternally grateful you finally finished the scene. Good thing I have a lot of stamina and I’m a patient gal.
Alex: You, patient? Since when?
Selena: What about you, Alex, what scares you?
Alex: Besides the fact that sometimes I can get inside Maddie’s head and figure out what she’s thinking. Reckless cruelty, corruption, hypocrisy and knowing there are kids out there who desperately need help, but the system keeps letting them down.
Maddie: I agree with Alex. I just tend to bury those things, because some of what he said has affected my life and the people I care about. All those months in draft mode, having to deal with that, until you finally yanked the story out of draft mode, stopped editing and helped me overcome my fears.
Alex: Uhm, Maddie, you’re still petrified of needles.
Maddie: Uhm, Alex, you’re still scared of assisted showers.
Alex: I wouldn’t say scared. I think we need to move on before you give away too much of the plot.
Selena: Which of your character traits is most important to you and why? Maddie, you first.
Maddie: My persistence and my quirky sense of humor. I had no choice, the way my life was written, if I didn’t find the humor in it, I’d be on a therapist’s couch for life.
Selena: What’s your biggest fault?
Maddie: My persistence and my quirky sense of humor. It did drive Alex crazy at times.
Alex: It caused me bodily injury, Maddie.
Maddie: Don’t blame me, I didn’t write the scene that way. Although, knowing me, I probably would have suggested that scene, but without the injury of course.
Selena: Alex, your turn. Which of your character traits is most important to you and why?
Maddie: Can I answer that for him?
Alex: Selena already knows what you’re going to say. That I’m uptight, suspicious—
Maddie: A perfectionist, a health food-freak—
Alex: Thanks for your help, Mads, but I can finish answering this question. My integrity, having and living by an ethical code of sound moral principles. I’m self-disciplined, as an investigative reporter this is essential, so I pride myself on my ability to remain focused, alert and possess a lot of self-control.
Maddie: Well, there is all that of course. However, as for your self control—
Alex: What’s your next question for me, Selena?
Selena: What’s your biggest fault?
Maddie: Can I please answer this one?
Alex: Not a chance, Doll. Disclaimer: for any women out there who takes offense to me calling Maddie doll, there’s a good reason why I sometimes call her that.
Maddie: There is, you can find out about it in chapter one.
Alex: To answer your question, Selena, I’d say my biggest fault is that I can sometimes be stubborn and moody.
Maddie: You think?
Selena: Tell our readers what your favorite foods are.
Maddie: Chocolate and bacon. Not together….at least I haven’t dipped any bacon in chocolate as of yet. Those two things are in a food group of their own and are guaranteed rocket ships to delectable cloud nine.
Alex: Food that won’t clog my arteries.
Selena: Alex, what do you admire most about Maddie?
Alex: Her persistence and sense of humor. She’s quirky, unique, self-reliant. She’s a strong woman who says out loud what most people think in their heads, this can be a problem, but I’ve gotten used to it over the years. I do admire how she hasn’t let what happened in her past define who she is today.
Maddie: Thank you, Alex, but I don’t say everything out loud that I’d like to say, for example, I haven’t told everybody that you can’t carry a tune and that when you—
Alex: I don’t think Selena wants you to give away so much of the plot.
Maddie: Well played, Alex.
Selena: Maddie, what do you admire most about Alex?
Maddie: He’s not perfect and he doesn’t wear a cape or leap off buildings, but he does have a lot of hero qualities that I admire. Namely; his integrity, loyalty and ethics. Even though I love to pull a lot of pranks on him, on the whole he’s showed a lot of patience. Don’t let that get to your head, Alex, I said on the whole, you did get cranky more than once. Now, about that self control he talked about—
Alex: Thanks for having us, Selena.
Maddie: Thanks, Selena. Can I make a little request before we sign off?
Selena: Sure.
Maddie: Can you please hurry up with your current work in progress and not only because Alex and I make an appearance. I really do want to know what happens to the hero and heroine of that book, and of course, I’d love to wave hi to the readers who read our journey in What A Girl Wants.
Selena: I’m going as fast as I can. Now, get back into that book you two.
Maddie: Mmmm. Chapter sixteen would be a great place to tuck back into—
Alex: One track mind.
Maddie: That’s how I roll, Babe. *laughing*
Alex: Not funny.
Maddie: Oh, come on, that was hysterical how you earned the nickname, Babe.
Alex: Let’s get back into the book before you give away too much of the story. Thanks again, Selena and everyone.
Maddie: Ciao, Bellas, off to my book signing….(walks away with Alex, saying….”I’m getting better at different languages, aren’t I?)
Alex: Mads, they can still hear us.
Maddie: Oops, you’re right, can’t give away too much of the plot.
***
Good luck in the blog hop and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
