Friday, September 25, 2020

Interview with Author S Peters-Davis



Tell us about your newest book.

SPD - Oblivious is the 4th book in the Kendra Spark Series. A bit about the characters: Kendra is a famous suspense-thriller author who can also communicate with ghosts. Her best friend, Jenna, went to the east coast after college and now works as a criminal analyst under her father at the FBI. And then there’s Derek Knight, Special Task Force FBI Agent, and who’s in an evolving relationship with Kendra.

Jenna is ghostified in the first book, but her spirit stays earthbound, and that’s also when Kendra gets wrapped up in helping on cases due to her ability to communicate with the murdered victims (if she’s lucky). Plus, Kendra now translates Jenna’s conversations to the others on the FBI task force team, including Jenna’s father. 

Derek, Jenna, Kendra, and several others have formed a close-knit, special task force for the supernatural occurrences going on in the world. 

In this book, they’re dealing with a Voodoo priestess, Sassy, who went rogue and turned evil witch of the dark arts. She set her sights on the FBI Special Task Force team, specifically those that took down the Queen B, Sassy’s cartel sister and head of the mob, even as a spirit.
Each book deals with evil spirits and people, dangerous situations, and terrifying possibilities.
And they are a blast to write;)

Writing isn’t easy. What was the most difficult thing you dealt with when writing your newest book?

SPD – A series of books carries threads of storylines throughout, but some get stitched up after each book. Holding all threads together through to the end proved difficult for me at first, and there are plenty of those snappy strings going off in different directions. Keeping them intact has been a bit of a chore for me, but I’m getting better at organizing and following them right away so I can track all of them.

Tell us a little bit about your writing career. 

SPD – I’ve always been enchanted with writing, early years on. But I didn’t become serious until about eighteen years ago. I took some online courses, went to writing conferences, joined writing organizations, had an English professor as a writing mentor, and was a member of several writing critique groups, along with reading a library of books on the craft of writing. I still read books on writing, take courses, and watch podcasts – there’s always something new to learn.

They say Hind-sight is 20/20. If you could give advice to the writer you were the first time you sat down to write, what would it be?

Don’t be hard on yourself for not figuring out a specific audience and genre to write – it takes time for that to surface sometimes. I started with writing children’s stories, went to young adults, which I stuck with for many years (and am now rewriting those books into New Adult novels). I tested out erotica and enjoyed it for several years, but I wanted more. So, I’ve been writing mainstream and New Adult paranormal suspense romance. 

Test out different genres until you “feel” the right fit…sometimes it takes a while to get there.

What was your most difficult scene to write?

My most challenging scene, as it took me the longest to get right, was a scene where Jenna gets captured and imprisoned in the dark plane. Kendra must rescue her from the dream plane, and a guardian angel can watch over but not assist as the angel might get trapped there. Derek ends up there to help – his first time in that paranormal state. Thank goodness he showed up because the spirits there can kill or possess humans. I worked on that scene for days, thinking of things I needed to add or eliminate.

Are themes a big part of your stories, or not so much?

There’s a theme for each story, but not because I put it there. I concentrate on plot, characters, and setting. Then the theme or the “why” of the story comes to light like magic.


Who is your favorite character from your own stories, and why?

Kendra Spark and also Bri Lancaster – I resonate with both of these women in different ways, but the major one is their ability to see ghosts. When I was around five or six, I saw a ghost several times. A scary woman was reaching for me. Later, I found out she was my deceased grandmother. Fear eliminated the ability to see ghosts, although, I sense when someone is near;)

Most writers were readers as children. What was your favorite book in grade school?

My grandparents had the Nancy Drew Mysteries and also several of the Hardy Boys Mysteries, and I binged on them:) I was drawn to supernatural, sci-fi, and mysteries and read lots of books, too many to remember.

What are your plans for future projects?

I’ve started writing another paranormal romance, Mystic UnRealized, scheduled to be released in November of this year. Another stand-alone novel for March 2021, A Kendra Spark Series Novel for June 2021, and another Ghost Guardian Series Novel November of 2021. Yes, I’m going to be a busy author, and it feels good.

Is there anything you would like to add before we finish?

Yes, stay safe and healthy, you know the rules for the COVID19 virus. Don’t be a target:)

Oblivious, A Kendra Spark Novel
Kendra Spark Series
Book Four
S. Peters-Davis

Genre: Paranormal, Suspense-Thriller, Romance
Publisher: BWL Publishing, Inc.
Date of Publication: May 16, 2020
Kindle 9780228614197
ISBN 9780228614234
Number of pages: 267
Word Count: 55,500
Cover Artist: Michelle Lee

Series Tagline: Kendra sees ghosts, and then her BFF, Jenna, becomes one. The two friends and FBI agent Derek Knight fight for justice to the victims of heinous crimes.

Book Tagline: Kendra, Jenna, and Derek, specialized FBI force of the supernatural, face-off with a Voodoo Priestess turned evil witch, carrying a vengeance…

Book Description:

Kendra communicates with ghosts. She’s gone from a best-selling suspense-mystery author to an FBI asset on a secret mission team.

Jenna, an FBI criminal analyst and Kendra’s best friend, died in a fatal accident, but she continues to work for the team with Kendra’s translations.

Derek Knight, an FBI Special Agent, leads the FBI-Violent Crimes Unit-Sensitive (better known as Supernatural) Investigations team to fight evil entities disrupting the Earth plane.

A Voodoo Priestess turned evil witch of the dark arts steps in with a vengeance…

The world changes for Derek now that he sees the dark spirits. But defeating them is no simple task, especially when one resides inside someone on his team.

Oblivious much?


Excerpt:

 

The twenty-minute drive took about twelve. When I pulled in, an old silver Chrysler LeBaron was parked outside the pole barn. I grabbed the Glock out of my glovebox, then got out to check the inside of the car. Sassy Blaze lay in the backseat, looking dazed. I opened the door to make sure she was alive. Her pulse registered slow, and shaking her didn’t awaken her.

“You’ve got bigger problems than Miss Witchy-Pants there.”

I cracked my head on the door frame of the car and a stream of vanilla scent invaded my olfactory. “Good Gods, Jenna. Give me a little warning.” I sneezed.

“Crazed Gun-Slinger Darla is inside, waving a gun at Kendra’s head. She wants to know where Bertellia and Estevez are.”

I ran to the back-porch door and quietly let myself inside. Female voices.

Jenna stood at the open doorway, leading into the great room. She waved me closer then placed a finger to her mouth for quiet.

I peeked inside. Darla. Her eyes crazed and hair wild, she reminded me of a psychopath.

“You’ll make quite the vessel, or you’ll end up dead weight. We’ll see how good your ability really is, Miss Kendra Spark. You’ve been a real sliver in my spine, and I will never forgive you for the annoyance you’ve been to Bertellia and Estevez. I can no longer reach them, so you’ll have to share what you’ve done to silence them. What sort of prison have you confined them in?” Darla’s voice came across shrill, heavy on the southern accent, I’d never heard her sound like that before.

I stepped inside the house. Kendra sat on the couch, staring toward the fireplace. Darla, eyes wide, stood behind her, pointing a gun at Kendra’s head, and then they both looked my way.

“Well, Mr. Knight, you’re finally here. Miss Kendra remains pretty much speechless, so I’m hoping you can answer my questions about where Bertellia and Estevez have gone.” Darla waved her gun at me, her arm jerky and wild, then she pointed it back at Kendra. Darla’s fingers squeezed Kendra’s shoulder. “Where are they?” A grimace of malice crossed Darla’s face, something else from her I’d never witnessed.

“What’s happened to you, Darla?” I shook my head, holding my weapon down at my side, out of view. “Did your aunt do something to influence this behavior? Why are you talking with an accent? That’s not you at all.”

“I’m going to shoot this woman if you don’t tell me what I want to know. For the last time, where’s Bertellia and Estevez?” Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her lips pinched into a snarl. Her grip tightened on the pistol held at Kendra’s temple.

Jenna screamed, “Her tells say she’s gonna do it, Derek.”

The house phone rang, startling Darla. Kendra dropped sideways onto the couch cushions. I took that moment to aim and shoot. I hit Darla’s shoulder. Her gun flew to the floor in front of the sofa, and she fell backward with a thud. I rushed the couch and vaulted over the top, landing next to her. She lay on the floor with her eyelids fluttering, the bullet entered on the right side just below her collar bone. I gently rolled her to see the backside. The wound looked like a through-and-through. I pressed my hands on both sides of her body to staunch the blood flow.

Suddenly, a dark shadow in the form of a blurry faceless mannequin emerged from Darla’s body and ran toward the open porch doorway. Darla passed out in my arms, and the shadow disappeared.

About the Author:

S. Peters-Davis writes multi-genre stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller, especially when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren, or enjoying time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.




BWL Publishing Inc.: https://bookswelove.net/






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