Interview of Author Cammie Eicher

Today it's my pleasure to present an interview of romance author Cammie Eicher.

Today I'm pleased to present romance author Cammie Eicher.

Latest Book: Blood Oath, a Shadow Ancient tale
Buy Link: http://www.blogger.com/www.resplendencepublishing.com

BIO:
Cammie Eicher is a native Buckeye, transplanted from northwestern Ohio to northeastern Kentucky theoretically because of a job change but actually because she couldn't take one more Lake Erie winter. A graduate of Ohio's Bowling Green State University, she edits a weekly newspaper and is a columnist for its sister daily. Raised in a household with a teacher grandmother, poet father and teacher/historian mother, Cammie grew up on tales of local and family lore, including learning her ancestors had once been serfs in Transylvania, and that a tombstone in the town cemetery was a drop-off point for local booze during prohibition. Cammie now lives with a large Sheltie who herds everything, a tabby/Siamese cat who doesn't take orders from anyone (especially not a dog). She also frequently visits her two grown children in order to leave the lights on and the refrigerator door open, all the time sighing, "Ah, revenge."

She can be contacted at cammieeicher@windstream.net or by writing her at P.O. Box 63, Greenup KY 41144.

Q: What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why?
A: Getting started. I have a rough form of the book in my head when I begin and I can bang out those first four or five chapters like nobody's business. And then ...

Q: What part of the book is the hardest for you? Why?
A: The ending. I hate to end the story of these characters, and I like being immersed in their world. Hmmm … maybe that's why I write linked books that use the same characters.

Q: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
A: My favorite in Blood Oath is Giorgio, who I've treated badly in the other Shadow Ancient books. He's gotten through life on his looks and attitude, but was badly scarred by an attack of liquid silver. And since vampires heal so quickly, he's a rarity in their world. Watching him look at life from a different perspective is interesting.

Q: What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?
A: I read, do word find puzzles and serve as my church choir director. Plus I belong to several community service groups. I like to stay busy. Whether it's truly a romance or not – the ending's not happy – I adore “Gone With The Wind.” I read it every couple of years or so and love it every time.

Q: You’re on a remote island with a handsome man, a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?
A: Seriously? Save the computer work until I've worn that poor handsome guy out.

Q: What genre would you like to try writing in but haven’t yet done so? Why?
A: I'd really like to try young adult. I guess it's because I'm around teenagers a lot, and I remember how much I loved to read at that age. I was so excited when I found one with characters like me.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Chats, or Twitter. Which do you like best and why?
A: I'm Facebook all the way. I love staying in touch with my friends and extended family and seeing what everyone is up to. And there are some great pictures on there, too.

Tell us where to find you!
http://www.cammieeicher.com
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
 and Facebook. Check my webpage for my blog and coming events.

BLURB:
The Ancient world is in chaos. The body of famed model/talk show host/vampire Nekia is discovered by short-lifers after her execution.
The Prophetess, seer of the Ancients, is dying.
A cabal of Ancients determined to maintain the status quo is willing to kidnap and kill to do so.
The high elder orders vampires to gather together in their homelands and hide. And for the first time in his four hundred years, Giorgio Montrosa is in love. Yet there’s nothing he can do to protect his beloved Leykin, an enforcer-in-training, when an assignment puts her in the hands of madmen.
Because sometimes even being the biggest, baddest enforcer of them all isn’t enough.

EXCERPT:
Louisville, Kentucky: July 23, midnight

“Death.”

“Death.”

“Death!”
The single word echoed through the solemn chamber as the elders gave their recommendation one after another. When the last “Death” had faded, Misha Tsarentza rose to face the small audience.

“So shall it be,” he pronounced, his fist slamming against the massive desk with a crack.

A council enforcer wearing heavy leather gloves approached the defendant, a slim twist of silver chain in his hands. Before he could bind the woman’s hands, Nekia lifted her chin, met Misha’s eyes and said, “I ask that the Prophetess be summoned.”

A shocked gasp fell into the silence. That was the ultimate appeal, and the ultimate insult to the council of elders ruling the Ancient world. Each clan had one seat, selected from within their own ranks, and the council’s decision was law.

Yes, the accused had the right to ask for the council’s decision to be considered by the Prophetess, the vampire society’s most powerful member. But from her position inside the chamber door, Leykin wondered how anyone, even this evil creature, could have so little respect for her clan mates. Ancients didn’t beg for life. They stood tall and accepted the fate bestowed by the council. Her clan would forever share Nekia’s shame, not only for her act in murdering the previous high elder, but her cowardice as she faced tribunal.

Darkness shaded Misha’s voice as he stared at the beautiful woman in front of him and growled, “The request shall be granted.”

Before the enforcer could stop her, Nekia stepped forward. Addressing the council as a whole, she spoke two words that brought the elders to their feet in outrage.

“I accuse.”

Leykin glanced across the room at her lover, Giorgio Montrosa, the council’s chief enforcer. The scars on his face stood in deep relief as anger bought a flush of color to his linen-pale face. He stared straight ahead, hands tight at his sides, as if willing himself not to rush to Nekia and slice off her head himself.

Leykin whispered to him through the empathetic link they shared. She knew how hard he fought to control his rage. He was, after all, the one who had risked dying of silver poisoning to save the girl, Karina.

That terrible night still came to her in dreams sometimes. Karina, a child of the high elder’s clan, of pure Ancient blood but appearing human. Mistaken for Misha’s goddaughter, stolen in a plot for power by Nekia and her acolyte Colin Fluet, Karina had been trapped inside a silver-lined cage in a tobacco warehouse.

If Giorgio had not built up immunity from an attack of liquid silver that nearly killed him years earlier, he would have died that night. Sometimes, when the dream changed to nightmare, he did. Leykin woke gasping for breath, red tears staining her pillow, until her conscious mind pulled her from the dream world and back into reality.

“Whom do you accuse?”

Misha’s harsh question broke through the babble of elders’ conversation and quieted the room. Shoulders squared, Nekia said, “Danforth Harrington. He forced me to act against my natural will and should share my punishment.”

Leykin had only met Harrington, who served as the senior U.S. senator from Louisiana, in passing. Giorgio knew him well, and hated him.

Misha called. Giorgio stepped forward. “The execution is stayed until the Prophetess arrives and an investigation against the newly-accused is finished. You will see this order is obeyed.”

Although Giorgio bowed in acquiescence, Leykin could tell by the rigidity of his stance that his fury remained unabated. His loyalty to the council and to the high elder in particular was complete. He would die to protect any or all of them.

His investigation against Nekia had been perfect, the case airtight. She knew if Harrington had been involved in the former high elder’s death, he would be standing in this room right now. Giorgio would watch both their heads roll and take great pleasure in the sight.

She followed the small contingent as Nekia was led out of the chamber, down the elevator and into a well-armored sedan waiting on the lowest level of the parking garage beneath the tall building. The gloved enforcer held her arm in a tight grip as she was placed in the back seat. Enforcers took their places on both sides of her before Leykin closed the door. The space between the elevator door and the vehicle was less than two feet, but security couldn’t have been greater if the transfer had taken place in an open field.

Leykin relaxed as the car sped away. Most of the time, she loved her job. She was lucky Misha had assigned her to Giorgio for training, and even more fortunate that no one seemed to know — or if they did, didn’t seem to care — about her growing relationship with the council’s chief enforcer.

She’d been attracted to him from the moment they met. The age difference didn’t matter, even though he was past 500 and she had just marked her first century of life. Maybe part of their connection was that in a people for whom family was of utmost important, they’d both been raised by someone other than their parents. Giorgio had been orphaned and raised by his clan. Leykin had been placed with the woman she called Granmama shortly after her birth and grown up in Minnesota, a cold and rural place few Ancients chose to call home.

“Do you need a ride, Leykin?”

She turned to see the high elder and his personal enforcer, the eccentric short-lifer named Belle, behind her.

“I have some errands,” she said. “I’ll take a taxi.”

“You’re certain?” Misha pressed. “My driver can assist you after he takes me home.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine.” She bowed, a gesture of respect she belatedly remembered. Ancient protocol wasn’t big back in Minnesota.

“As you wish.”

Once the high elder was gone, she pressed the up button and stepped into the elevator. She got off at the lobby level and went outside. She liked to walk when the night was at its darkest. She loved the glow of neon and the emptiness of the streets of Louisville. Kentucky had never been high on her list of places to live before, but she was beginning to love the state.

The same way she was beginning to love Giorgio.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for letting folks who love action-packed fantasy suspense know about Blood Oath.