Author of: Illuminate-Alive, She Cried....By Jamie Haden

Hello Jamie:  It is a pleasure visiting with you on your wonderful novel that has just come out...

What or who Inspired you to write “Illuminate-Alive, She Cried?”­  
       

My daughters inspired me to write Illuminate-Alive, She Cried, the second book in The Talisa Santiago Series. A couple years ago, I was doing research on Native Americans in the public library when I asked my oldest daughter to check out a book. She said there was nothing she wanted. I laughed and told her I would write a novel for her to read. Twelve weeks later, I gave her Spirit Seeker.  

  interviewer:  Wow! that is most interesting!
 

How did you come up with such interesting   characters for   this novel?

The characters in Illuminate-Alive, She Cried are a mix of many different people I have met throughout my life. Talisa Santiago, the protagonist, was definitely the most difficult character for me to write. I had to separate myself from her, let go of my own moral philosophies and beliefs, and allow Talisa to experience life and love in the way that seemed natural for her, not necessarily natural for me.

interviewer:  The name Talisa is most interesting.

          Who is your favorite authors and why?

I would have to say Harold Robbins and Milan Kundera, two opposites for sure. Robbins because The Betsy was the first book of fiction I read as a kid. I snuck it from my dad and kept it in a brown paper bag. As for Kundera, I picked up The Unbearable Lightness of Being in a used bookstore in college. I had never heard of him, or the book, but as soon as I read the prose, I was hooked. 


                  What is Jamie most Thankful for in this world we live in?

                  I am most thankful that my daughters are healthy and safe.
 
                                          Tell us about you and your husband....

I met my husband when I was eighteen in Myrtle Beach, SC. We were college students from West Virginia working there for summer break. Five years later, we eloped and ran off to Tennessee. We've been married for nineteen years. David is my best friend.
.

                                                    What are your hobbies?

I love to play around with black and white photography, and try different wines. We have a few cellars, and are always on the lookout for a new Burgundy (my favorite) Bordeaux or Barolo. I think it would fun to open a little wine shop/bookstore.
 

                               interviewer:  This sound good to me!

           How would you describe each of  these  words (as related to your novel)?    
             love,   friend,   great grandmother(gg),  grandfather, tricksters & shaman?

In one word:

 

Love- difficult,  Friend-safety,  Great-Grandmother-awakened,   Grandfather-holy, Shaman-wisdom,   Tricksters-everywhere

              interviewer:  Wow!  I like those....
 

                            What genre(s) do you like to read apart from your novel?

        Literary, Fantasy, and Hardboiled Fiction. I'm obsessed with Noir. I can't get enough. 
 

           Here is a Excerpt from Jamie's novel....."Illuminate-Alive, She Cried"

ENJOY!   ENJOY!

Dakota and Talisa are alone on the beach talking. Talisa has just learned her life is in grave danger and she must leave the island for one year. Dakota speaks first:

"My old man explained there were three types of spirit people. The first he called healers, mediators. When a healer fell into trances, their soul would leave their body and venture into other realms, different realities. Some of them were channels for the spirits and acted as mediums."

 

"Shape-shifters can travel the same way, can't they?"

 

"Sure, but we are of dual nature. We fully possess two souls, that of man and animal."

"What did Dad say about the third type?' I asked even though I knew the answer.

"Spirit seekers held a special place in his heart, and he called them the eyes of the world. These visionaries walked the earth to seek sacred knowledge. Spirit seekers didn't need to experience a trance to soar far. They had unique abilities."

"What?"

"You tell me."

"It wasn't easy for me. My mother and I left the desert when I turned seven years old. We moved around a lot, always to the water, and she refused to talk about my past, my heritage, or anything Native. I never fit in anywhere, just another outsider. Nasty kids teased me, made jokes. Life proved to be difficult. Then a year ago, out of the clear blue, Mom announced we were moving to Silence, an island off the coast of North Carolina. She said we would be at the mercy of the sea. No cars allowed. People actually got around on golf carts and dirt bikes. I had no idea what to expect."

 

"I can only imagine how you must have felt."

"Dakota, the islanders on Silence looked like me, moved like me, thought like me. It was surreal to say the least."
 

"Talisa, we knew you were coming. Jag's dad is a ghost dancer; he saw it long ago."

"You, Jag and Miguel knew a dark secret about me, one I didn't even know myself."

"We helped you, trusted you."

"I am a spirit seeker; I have the gift of vision."

"You can see things none of us can see."

"But I have no idea what I am supposed to see, or what life has in store for me."

"No one knows what life has in store for them."

"Tonight I have to leave the island because my life is in danger. Starting over somewhere new is never painless."

"It will be easier this time around."

"I feel as if I am lost all over again." I wiped my hand across my eyes.

"If you're lost, maybe you'll be found."

"I can't protect myself against those who lurk in the night. Unlike you, I am fully human," I said.

"Are you, Talisa, are you fully human?"

I ignored his question and looked away.

            interviewer:  This is good!
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NOW I KNOW YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT THAT IS ALL ABOUT....YOU MAY ONLY

FIND OUT BY PICKING UP THIS WONDERFUL NOVEL...  Illuminate-Alive, She Cried AND YOU WILL FIND OUT FOR  YOURSELF HOW GOOD  and well written THIS READ IS!

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                         Jamie.....  What is on the agenda for Ms. Jamie Haden for 2013-14?

I hope to finish the next book in the series, An Unimagined Life.   Thank you so much!

 

Jamie you are more than welcome.  It was a pleasure  and for anyone who would like to contact
Jamie.......                                      

                                    Please feel free to contact Jamie  Haden at the following.....

                                                      email          jlhaden@ec.rr.com

                                                      blog     jamiehaden@blogspot.com

                                                      Webpage  www.jamiehaden.com

                        ALSO JAMIE......... I see you have a Blog Tour coming up?

             
                                                             Info for Tour:

     http://www.greatmindsindependentpublishing.com/#/illuminate-blog-tour/4567908016

        Again,  thank you sharing your novel with us and if you haven't picked up this good       read please do so...You will not be sorry!

A Interview with Ms. Leanne Herrera on her book: "MIRROR BOUND"

Hello........... Ms.  Leanne Herrera....

It is a pleasure to visit with you. I  am doing this interview for Great Minds Think Aloud.   I have just finished reading "Mirror Bound" and was very excited about  reading your novel.
May I ask  what or who inspired you to write this novel? My great grandmother I think inspired me. She passed away when I was about 13 years old. She was a wonderful southern woman. I sort of modeled the farm, house and Ma after her. Anna is who I always wanted to be or at least many aspects of her is who I wished I could be. The picture on the front of the book of the little girl, is a picture for a photography class in college. I always thought there was a story that went with it, and I was right.

How did you come up with these wonderful characters? I guess I should read ahead. I power write, so when a character is needed to fill a spot in the book, I would think about what characteristics I wanted this person to have and then I modeled her off of someone I knew.

Who is your favorite author and why? Oh this one is so easy. I am a total die hard fan of Chloe Niell. She writes the Chicagoland Vampire series. So, of course I want to be the main character Merit. She is a fighter and a scholar, outspoken and sarcastic, everything I always wanted to be.

What does 'Life' really mean to Leanne? Life is about the choices you make and the people you love. Life is not about religion, sexuality, politics or who has the most money. It is about the journey you take, the people you learn from and what you can teach those you are going to leave behind.

A little about your family......children...grands... I am the mother of three girls. my oldest is 19 years old and a wonderful mother to a very special two year old little girl. ( who happens to be in PICU right now). My second child is almost 18 and I am of course the most embarrassing mother in the world to her, she is my girly girl. My youngest is almost 15 and also happens to be the little girl in the photo on the cover of this book.

      from interviewer....she is a beauty!

What are your hobbies? anything that is creative, I knit, draw, paint, throw clay, make rag rugs, sew, write. If I am not doing that, you will probably catch me on facebook or playing games in my spare time.

      from the interviewer....which ones?... I  love Slots!

How would you describe the words?   Secrets...Death......  Kentucky....Powers......Love.... and Chickens....as in your novel?(smile) Wow, this is a hard one. Secrets in this book, are a family thing. Things that are kept hidden until just when it is needed the most. Death in this book is a way of passing things on to the next generation or the next one to take the wheel so to speak. Kentucky, that is rolling hills, well water that you pump with a handle, farms and neighbors who help neighbors because that is just what you are supposed to do. Powers for Anna, really is the knowledge and the elements that are passed to her from family and friends. If you want to know what it represents for me, it is the stories and the knowledge that is passed down from one generation to the next, how you learn from it and how it helps you defeat the big bad ugly that can try to attack you in life. Love, I have been married for 20 years. I still love him as much if not more than I did when we first married. Love to me is not just the passion that you have in a new relationship, it is the willingness of the person to stand and hold you when you need it, they make you smile when life is so sad, and to yell at you when you do something really stupid. Love is also being with someone you just cannot imagine life without. Chickens, I personally have no issue with chickens really but, Anna needs to get rid of them right in the beginning, they represent part of the past for her, they are part of her insecurities. That and they are just really kind of gross. lol.

What one thing would you take away from your written novel and add? Well if I had to take away something, I think I would like to take away the deaths, I hate when someone dies during a book. Oh,  I could add so much more detail, like more depth of the dream world, and maybe a prologue about Ma and Pa's life, but definitely more detail of all the things she was going through in that storage room. I love antiques.

What is Leanne most Thankful for in this world we live in? I am most thankful for my family, my children (even when they are standing over me while I am writing and bugging me on purpose to be funny) mean absolutely everything to me. I am extremely thankful for them and for my wonderful granddaughter. I would die for any one of them.

How would you rate your novel “Mirror Bound” and why? Hmmm, well I am not going to say it is excellent, because I just do not have that kind of ego, and everything can be be improved. I think it is better than fair. So, I guess that leaves me with good.

What gender would you love for your novel to attract and why? Growing up I was very insecure, I did not stand up to the bullies in my life, at least not until later. I would hope that no matter what gender reads it, they would realize that sometimes you have to stand up for what is right.

What's on the agenda for Ms. Leanne Herrera .....2013-14? Well,  I am working on another book and I have another one to release sometime later this year. I am hoping, I will have a lot of time to write, a lot of time to enjoy my family and a lot of time to laugh.

I would just like to thank you for granting me this interview and I must say I really enjoyed reading "Mirror Bound" and I would recommend it to all who would love  a good paranormal romantic read.  You will not be disappointed! 

Thank you once again for sharing with us about  "Mirror Bound" and you just keep on writing!