I want to welcome Barb
Caffrey. First I’d love you to introduce yourself.
Thanks for having me! I'm a writer, editor, and musician
from the Midwest . I play three musical
instruments (saxophone, clarinet, and oboe), I hold two college degrees, and
despite being a music major, I wrote for both of my college newspapers.
I've written since I was about ten years old, and have
stories in a number of anthologies – GIFTS OF DARKOVER and FIRST CONTACT CAFÉ
being the latest. And I'm a huge baseball fan – my favorite team is the
Milwaukee Brewers.
Tell us about your
latest release.
AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE stars Bruno the Elfy (originally known
as Jon), a short young being from a magical race in a parallel universe. His
people, the Elfys, send him to our California
because they've detected unusual mage currents…but while that's true, that's
not the whole truth—they really want him out of the way because they're afraid
of his prodigious power. Once he's in Knightsville ,
California
How will Bruno and Sarah get Roberto out of there? And what
will they do when they find out they're both actually on the verge of
adulthood, not young kids at all? (Hint, hint: It makes a few things about
their romance less troublesome.)
Now I have a few
questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us
writers.
1.) Who is your
favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show.
And why?
My favorite villain is Dennis the Dark Elf. My late husband,
Michael, helped me create Dennis…he's a hissable villain of the old fashioned
kind, and gets all the best lines.
2.) Who is your
favorite character out of your books? Why?
That one's easy. Bruno is my favorite character. He has an
indomitable spirit. He's deeply romantic. And he has a great sense of humor.
(Plus, I'm a sucker for sweet, age-appropriate romances.)
3.) What do genre do
you write? What made you pick that one?
Mostly, I write humorous urban fantasy. I like it for two
reasons: First, it allows me to write something that I hope will make people
laugh. And second, it gives me a lot of leeway, plot-wise.
4.) What are you
working on now?
I just sent the sequel to AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE to my
publisher, Lida Quillen of Twilight Times Books. It's called A LITTLE ELFY IN
BIG TROUBLE. (Yes, I intended people to think "Big Trouble in Little
China.") And I am finishing up my rewrite of a non-Elfyverse transgender fantasy/romance,
CHANGING FACES, which is about two clarinetists.
In addition, I'm working on a novel set in my late husband's
Atlantean Union military science fiction universe. But I'm still in the very
early stages of that.
5.) What got you to
start writing?
I read a great deal, and had read most of the books in my
school's library by the time I finished third grade. And I started to
wonder…could I tell some interesting stories, too?
Of course, my first stories were all about baseball. But
later, I turned to poetry, then science fiction, and finally fantasy…while I've
continued to write a little of everything, what I'm best at is funny urban
fantasy.
6.) Where do you get
your ideas from?
Most of the time, I have some sort of inspirational dream.
Or I read something that makes me think. Or maybe both. (Actually, I'm not sure
where my ideas come from. But I really do dream up a few of 'em.)
7.) What would people
who read your work be surprised to find out about you?
My first love wasn't writing at all. It was music.
8.) Do you have any
special talents?
I play three musical instruments well (saxophone, clarinet
and oboe), two fair-to-middling (piano and trombone), and I compose music.
9.) What was the one
piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck
with you? Why?
Persist. Persist. Persist. And keep on persisting.
This stuck with me because it rang true. You have to keep
trying. You can't give up. And you have to keep writing, keep honing your
craft, until you finally manage to come up with something workable. Something
others will hopefully enjoy.
I believe strongly in the power of persistence, coupled with
the power of hard work.
10.) If you could talk
to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what
would you talk about?
I'd like to talk with Gautama Buddha about the nature of
suffering. I'd like to find out if he believes anything close to what Viktor
Frankl believes, as explained in Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning. (In other words, is suffering intended to
make us better, wiser people? Or does it just exist for no reason whatsoever?
Frankl clearly believes that suffering must be worth something, which is why
talking to the Buddha would be so interesting—the man who came up with
"All life is suffering" must have something to say, surely.)
11.) What song would
you say describes your life?
"All You Need Is Love," the Beatles. (Note I'm not
a huge fan of the Beatles, but this makes the most sense.)
12.) If you could come
back as any animal – what would it be?
A lion, or perhaps a tigress. (This is assuming my husband
comes back as the same animal. Otherwise, I don't want to be bothered.)
Short blurb:
Bruno the Elfy believes he’s very young, has no power, and has no enemies.
He’s wrong.
Quickly sent to our Earth (the Human Realm) and told to watch for magic, Bruno must unravel the lies, keep his mentor from being tortured, and—oh, yeah—figure out why he’s so strongly attracted to young, Human Sarah.
Because his life depends on it.
Excerpt:
"Now, that’s odd," Bruno said as he looked frantically for Roberto and Sarah. He saw neither of them.
Cautiously, he went up to the door and knocked. Surely this was the correct protocol? As he wondered, Sarah opened the front door.
"Shh," she whispered, putting her forefinger to her lips. "My parents are fighting with Roberto. Get in here before they notice you, too!"
"All right," Bruno said quietly as he felt himself being pulled inside. Sarah closed the door softly behind him and motioned Bruno to follow her.
As he went through the front room, he faintly heard Roberto’s raised voice. Roberto was saying, "Now see here, madam," but just as Bruno had been ignored, Roberto was apparently being ignored, too.
"Oh, Elfy," Sarah’s mother said in a high-pitched, carrying whine. "I just have to take you out today. Get into that uniform we bought you."
"But—but—but—I’m not—" Roberto sputtered.
"What do you mean, Elfy?" her mother said. "You’re not what? Interested? I don’t care, you’re going!"
"What’s going on?" Bruno whispered.
"Like I said," Sarah whispered back, tossing her long, black hair, "My parents are fighting with Roberto. Fortunately for us, they’re all upstairs in the attic, so I can get you inside without being seen."
"But—but—but—" Bruno tried, knowing he sounded like Roberto.
"Please, Bruno, wait for later?" Sarah pleaded. "I know you have a lot of questions. So do I, and I’m sure Roberto does, too. Not that I care."
"What happened?" Bruno asked again.
"I can’t tell you right now," Sarah said, looking around. She motioned for silence.
In the distance, Bruno heard Sarah’s father say, "Why doesn’t that outfit fit anymore, Elfy? Did you witch it?" in a threatening tone.
"No! Like I’ve said, I’m not the same Elfy as before!" Roberto’s desperate voice shouted.
"Well, we know all Elfys can change their shapes just as easily as they change their names," the woman said, loudly enough for Bruno and Sarah to hear. "I think you’re the same Elfy, and even if you’re not, which you are, I say you’re going out with me today! And that’s final!"
"Sarah, what—?"
"We don’t have time," Sarah whispered urgently. "They’re about to take Roberto out and show him off to their friends, and they’ll be coming down here anytime. Please, I’ve got to get you inside my room before then!"
"All right." Bruno let himself be pulled toward Sarah’s room. As they went through the kitchen, he realized how hungry he was.
"Can we stop for food?" he whispered.
"No," Sarah said.
They heard footsteps and voices on the steps.
"Quickly! Get in here!" Sarah pulled Bruno through the kitchen, toward her bedroom. "We have about half a minute, no more. I’ll go and distract them until they leave. I definitely don’t want them knowing they now have two Elfys to torment, rather than just one!"
"That’s a good point," Bruno mused softly, just as Sarah pulled him to her door.
"Get in, quick! I’ll make sure they don’t come in here."
"You said before they never do," Bruno interrupted.
"True, but there’s always a first time. Anyway, since they didn’t see you, hopefully they will not sense you either. Now, get inside!" Sarah pushed him inside the door.
Bruno whirled, but wasn’t fast enough to stop Sarah. He did, however, hear her say through the door, "I’ll be back as soon as I can. We’re really in for it now."
Bruno went and sat on Sarah’s bed, running his hands across Sarah’s elaborately embroidered bedspread, even more confused than before.
What in all the worlds and time was going on here?
Buy links:
Amazon (US): http://amzn.to/1p6xvQjAmazon (
Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/m8o49ad
Social media links:
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Barb-Caffrey/e/B00H8EROC8Blog: http://elfyverse.wordpress.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/barb.caffrey.1
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BarbCaffrey
Google-Plus: http://plus.google.com/101403408003727584589/posts
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2843982.Barb_Caffrey
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