Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Interview - Omnipotent Blood by CM Michaels



Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release. 

Omnipotent Blood is the second of four books in my Urban Fantasy Sisters in Blood series. The supernatural world expands in this installment, with Angels, Demons and witches joining the fray, which made it really enjoyable to write. The book blurb is below:

Having survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke dreads the thought of spending decades in exile while she waits for the media firestorm from the superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing Boston, she discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than humans. 

Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away, becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell’s forces to war.

But not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful bond Brooke has formed with her family. Or the unlikely alliances they’d forge in an attempt to save her. Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her from fully embracing the darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming more control of her mind with each passing day. It’s a race against time, and the whole world is at stake.

Is there a theme or message in your work that you would like readers to connect to? 

At its heart the Sisters in Blood series is about self-discovery, overcoming the challenges that we encounter and embracing the fact that life can take us in totally unexpected directions. We all have hidden abilities inside that will never be uncovered if we are too afraid to explore and try new things.  I was especially delighted to read the Fantascize.com review for Omnipotent Blood (excerpts below) because it praised the depth of the storyline.

"I felt like I was discovering a new type of folklore, complete with fantastic descriptions of terrifying and amazing creatures." "Michaels explores complex issues such as sexuality, faith, and sacrifice without pretense or artificiality. His characters are realistic, complete with their flaws and mistakes and genuine emotions. Michaels puts trust in his readers' ability to suspend their disbelief, and in turn he presents them with a compelling, enthralling narrative." "Readers of Omnipotent Blood will find that it continues to resonate with them long after they finish reading." Fantascize.com 

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you? 

Let’s see, I played college football at Saginaw Valley State University which is where I met my amazing wife, Teresa. We had a management class together and went on our first date on my 22nd birthday twenty-three years ago. 

One of the reasons the series is set in Boston is that I've been a diehard Patriots fan since I was six years old. I wasn't able to attend a game in person until 2010, but we did visit the old Sullivan stadium on a family trip when I was nine, arriving just after midnight. In a truly "Wally World"esque moment, my parents talked a guard into letting us into the stadium :)

One of the traits I share in common with Emily (the protagonist) is a profound love of nature and wildlife. My wife and I have visited Yellowstone National Park three times and plan to renew our vows there someday. Hiking and animal photography are among my favorite hobbies.

When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you have any hobbies or guilty 
pleasures? 

My wife and I love hiking and viewing wildlife. We have been to Yellowstone National Park four times. Someday I’d love to retire there. After twenty years of marriage we still go on a date night ever Saturday, which typically consists of catching a movie and eating at one of our favorite restaurants. I am a lifelong New England Patriots fan, back to the early seventies, and played football in both high school and college. I grew up playing sports, hunting and fishing with my three brothers and our dad. And I am an avid reader, of course. I may have to build a new wing onto our house soon if I keep devouring novels at my current pace J

Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that you haven’t tackled yet? 

I am currently working on my first fantasy romance. While I enjoy writing in both the Urban Fantasy and Fantasy genres, I find Urban Fantasy to be a little easier. By being rooted in the “real” world, it provides the author and reader with an established foundation to tie the magical / supernatural elements into. Whereas if your world is full of carnivorous jasperia vines, soul stealing mist clouds and all manner of unique creatures, you need to get the reader’s head around these elements in addition to introducing the main plot and your central characters. On the other hand, Fantasy writing provides a blank canvas for the author which is incredibly endearing to me. I hold Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight) in high regard as a Fantasy Author and have learned a great deal from her writing. 

What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled upcoming releases or works in progress? 

I’m currently working on a fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race, which features a female Olympic swimmer who is captured and taken to a foreign world full of mermaids, griffins, fae, elves and other strange creatures. I’ll start writing book three in the Sisters in Blood series soon, as well.

What is in your to read pile? 

Both the Sea Haven and Drake Sister’s series by Christine Feehan, A Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, Prince Lestat by Anne Rice and The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.


Omnipotent Blood
Sisters in Blood
Book Two
CM Michaels

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Freya’s Bower

Date of Publication: October 6, 2015

ISBN: 978-1617981654
ASIN: B015S1FTPG

Number of pages: 294
Word Count: 117,529

Cover Artist: LLPix Design


Book Description:

Having survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke dreads the thought of spending decades in exile while she waits for the media firestorm from the superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing Boston, she discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than humans. Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away, becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell's forces to war.

But not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful bond Brooke has formed with her family. Or the unlikely alliances they'd forge in an attempt to save her. Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her from fully embracing the darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming more control of her mind with each passing day.

Amazon        Amazon Paperback     BN       BN Paperback

Excerpt:

As she drew closer I got a good look at her face. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I’d seen her before—the creepy room service girl at the hotel who’d held my wrist for about five seconds after I’d taken my glass of wine. “Am I supposed to believe that you just happened to show up here? A hundred and fifty miles from the hotel you work at?”
She grinned, securing her thick, wavy hair in a ponytail. “Of course not—although I don’t actually work at the hotel.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm toward the wreckage. “Who do you think caused the accident?”
This whole encounter was freaking me out. Fuck being discrete. I visualized her flying backward into the snow bank. In an instant the strange connections formed in my mind, physically linking me to all of the cars, people and debris that surrounded me. I didn’t want to hurt her—not yet, anyway—so I only pushed hard enough to send her sailing about fifteen yards into the ditch.
She laughed as she climbed to her feet, shaking the snow off her designer outfit. “It’s been a while since I’ve been knocked on my ass. Impressive.”
I’d never felt so dumbfounded in my life. Even if this psycho bitch was used to fighting my kind it was unlikely she’d ever crossed paths with another telekinetic. She was acting like I’d crafted a wiener dog out of a balloon at the fair. “What the hell are you?”
“I need you to come with me,” she said, making no effort to respond to my question. “And since you seem to be immune to being bound—I’ve been trying ever since you got out of the car—you’re going to have to consume my blood first.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Where the hell were Sienna, Raven and Sandy? Ruby’s escalade might be shielding them from seeing the encounter, but even if it did, I wasn’t exactly being quiet. And Ruby was staring right at us.
“Your coven sisters can’t see or hear you.” She’d apparently guessed my thoughts by the direction I was looking. “A simple illusion. To them you appear as if you’re still sitting in the passenger seat like you were told.”
“How—”
“Enough!” Her voice boomed with unnatural power, causing me to take an involuntary step backward. “I have no desire to harm you, child, but you are coming with me. Now.”
With all of the abilities that I had been given, I never thought I’d have cause to feel afraid again, but watching her approach me like I was nothing but a petulant child made me shiver. There was no way to fake that type of unwavering and absolute confidence.
Still, she couldn’t possibly know I was far stronger and faster than the vampires she was accustomed to. Like every redneck bar brawler, she’d finally messed with the wrong person. I shifted my feet into a more athletic stance and began to study her movements, searching for a weakness to exploit. My muscles tensed in anticipation. “Take another step toward me and I’ll rip your fucking heart out.”
She lunged.


About the Author:


C.M Michaels grew up in a small town in northern Michigan as the youngest child of a close-knit family of seven. He met his wife, Teresa, while attending Saginaw Valley State University. Together they’ve provided a loving home for several four-legged “kids”, including Sophie, their eternally young at heart, hopelessly spoiled Spaniel.

He has always enjoyed writing, and still has fond memories of reading his first book, a children’s novella, to local grade schools when he was 14. C.M. is currently working on the third book in the Sisters in Blood series along with a Fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race.

An avid reader since discovering Jim Kjelgaard novels in early childhood, his favorite authors include Kelley Armstrong, Peter V. Brett, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine and Laini Taylor. When he’s not writing, C.M. can be found curled up with a good book, watching movies or hitting the hiking trails with his wife.

C.M. currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.




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2 comments:

C.M. Michaels said...

Thank you so much for hosting me today and giving me the opportunity to tell your readers about myself and my latest release, Omnipotent Blood. I really enjoyed answering the interview questions :)

Unknown said...

Awesome interview. I'm a huge fan of C.M. Michaels. Omnipotent Blood and Dangerous Waters are both fantastic reads that suck you right inside. I can hardly wait until Kerrigan's race is released!