Magic and love might save them, but can they survive each other?
We welcome author Pam B. Morris on tour today with her book, Smitten Image. Get ready for some high-tech, futuristic, romantic fun! Welcome Pam!
We welcome author Pam B. Morris on tour today with her book, Smitten Image. Get ready for some high-tech, futuristic, romantic fun! Welcome Pam!
First, please tell us a little about yourself.
I was born
and raised in Montana, grew up camping, fishing, skiing, riding horses in the
mountains. I am passionate about books and the more the better. I read
everything, I journal and blog and write, I draw and paint, knit and garden. I
graduated with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Library Science.
So I became a librarian and worked in bookstores. I’m married with two
children, grown up and brilliant. Smitten Image isn’t the first book I’ve
written but it’s the first one to get published.
What has been your greatest
challenge as a writer? Have you been able to overcome it?
My greatest
challenge is putting my work out there. I only did it with Smitten Image when
my writer’s group made me suck it up. So I overcame a bit of my insecurity, but
it’s still an obvious smear very visible on my sleeve!
Is writing a full-time career for
you? If not, how else do you spend your work day?
I would
love writing to be a full time career. Painting just doesn’t pay. I have
Meniere’s Disease, which is a degenerative disorder of the inner ear that
causes ringing and extreme vertigo. The kind you can’t get out of bed with. So
I found it impossible to keep a scheduled job, especially in the winter. And I
refuse to be disabled. So writing is where I have to make money. Eventually.
If you had to sum it up Smitten
Image in 30 or less words, what would you say?
In Smitten
Image, the mix of imagination, love and magic bring chaos to a drifty artist’s
life after she drinks a love potion that awakens fantastical powers inside her.
What inspired the idea behind your
book?
I wanted to
write a story from an artist’s perspective, with magic and portraits coming to
life. And it needed to be humorous, have unexpected themes and plot twists and
a love component.
Do you have a favorite character in
Smitten Image? Who and why?
Madame
Bagasha is my favorite character. She’s Romany, ancient and the most powerful
witch in the New Chicago Cohort (a witch’s consortium). She advertises on late
night television, has a “900” number for predictions, but her shop is a world
unto itself and shifts from place to place around the city. The Madame is very
wise with a great sense of humor, knows
a lot about spells and yet she hasn’t a clue what to do with Lily.
Without giving it all away, please
tell us a little something about how Lily Barnett is going to get through their
biggest challenge.
Very badly
and with more than a few blunders! Lily has an artist’s escapist temperament
and lives in her imagination, not reality. She longs for love, thinks it will
ground her. So she drinks a love potion which, of course, does just the
opposite. She must learn to control the catastrophic, unpredictable magic the
potion unleashes before it destroys her and those she loves.
What is your favorite scene in
Smitten Image?
I have a couple.
But one of my favorites is when Madame Bagasha and her apprentice Nila try to
teach Lily how to control her magic and cast spells. It all goes hilariously
wrong and was great fun to write.
What kind of research was involved
for Smitten Image?
I spent a
lot of time researching the contexts and history of magic, the properties of
various stones and gems and some herbology. I also had to dabble in quantum
physics and aspects of science looking for some way magic could plausibly be
released into our environment. I came up with the magnetic pole switching from
north to south… and then speculated what that would do to the earth and our
world of technology.
What has been your greatest pleasure
in writing this book?
Writing the
humor, especially in the dialogue. And coming up with funny, flip sides of
serious scenarios. I like to think I’m witty.
What do you have in store next for
your readers?
A
paranormal fantasy set further in the future of New Chicago about an apprentice
pleasure succubae (courtesan) trying to get out of the family business and a
space jumping spy willing to die to keep her alive.
What has been your greatest pleasure
or personal success as an author?
Finally
knowing I write well enough and tell a grand enough tale that people will love
it.
What type of heroine do you like
best?
An odd
ball, creative, is constantly fighting her personal demons and who’s magic is
as much a curse as a gift!
Who or what has most influenced your
writing?
Reading so
many books, of all kinds, all types from literature to sci-fi to steam punk. I
love the flow of great writing, imagery and characters that you cling to. So I
owe whatever writing skill I have to all the author’s I’ve read, even the poor
ones.
Is there a genre you wish you could
write, but haven’t made the plunge? Which one and what appeals to you about it?
I would
love to write space opera and really great science fiction. But I’ll never
grasp the science of astronomy, physics and quantum mechanics enough to do it
as well as the masters.
What is the best piece of writing
advice you’ve received?
Write the
next book. And never stop.
Favorite place?
Home
Best Christmas present?
My daughter
and she was late. But I got my son for my birthday!
Favorite author?
William
Shakespeare. Cliché, I know.
Favorite smell?
A baby’s
head.
Favorite series?
Lord of the
Rings, by Tolkien.
Favorite movie?
Much Ado
about Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.
Favorite dish?
Anything my
husband, a real live chef, makes!
Favorite color?
Royal Blue
Favorite quote?
“I am
Fortune’s Fool!” from Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare.
Your best trait?
I’m a
nurturer.
Your worst trait?
I’m a
procrastinator.
Is there anything else you’d like to
share with your reader’s today?
A hearty
thank you for taking an interest, for reading, for buying books and sharing my love
of writing with me today.
The Book
In high-speed, high-tech New Chicago, 2039, magic has gone viral. Lily Barnett, a brilliant but drifty artist wanders into a strange magic shop where she impulsively guzzles a love potion. Erratic and unpredictable powers awake inside her. Her houseplants turn ravenous and strings of flamingo lights spout poetry. When she paints a portrait of her perfect man, he steps free of the canvas and stalks her. Desperate, she turns to her best friend, Daniel, for help.
But Daniel has problems of
his own. He’s a telepath who must shield thoughts, emotions, and desires
or go mad. He wants Lily, desperately, but knows his passion will drive
her away and that his friendship is of more value to her than his love.
As Lily negotiates the
catastrophic blends of her fear, imagination, and chaotic magic, Daniel
must fight against his own impenetrable reserve and the psychic gifts
he’s always despised.
Magic and love might save them, but can they survive each other?
Get the Book
The Author
As soon as I could read, I
fell in love with books. Born and raised in Montana, I live in the
Bitteroot Valley with my husband and near our two grown, intelligent and
creative kids. I grew up skiing, fishing, camping, went through 4-H
raising and training colts- got bucked off more times than I can count.
Pretty much the perfect life... until puberty. Always shy and
self-conscious, I lived to escape into stories. And wrote. Always.
I have a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Library Science from
Montana State University and became an elementary school librarian in
Bigfork, MT where I finally hit my stride.
I'm an artist, love to draw, paint, create funky art out of wire, fabric and cloth; gardening, cross country skiing, mountains, horses and herons. I'm not a traveler, love movies, science fiction, string theory, space opera, fantasy fiction and classical literature. My favorite author aside from Shakespeare is Neil Gaiman. My favorite bands are The Decemberists (they broke up) and The Barenaked Ladies (they sort of broke up too). Absolutely love soundtracks.
I have Meniere's Disease, a degenerative disorder of the inner ear that causes mean vertigo at times. Diet, exercise and medication keeps it mostly under control. Bird watching and building snow sculptures helps. Also sleeping. Love my crazy, vivid dreams.
An Excerpt
Flipping on her VPEG
player, Lily donned her paint smock, snatched up her pallet and brushes
and disappeared into alizarin crimson, the perfect color to bring the
sensuality of her male nude to life. Such a brazen red would highlight
the man's strength, the masculine line of his jaw and chin, his
confident brow. Oh yes, his vigorous, male features definitely needed
more attention...
Hours passed while songs shuffled in her comp-deck
and Lily lost herself inside her work, brushing paint in long, sensual
strokes across the curve of a manly shoulder, over the shadow of his
collarbone, emphasizing an arched cheekbone or the sweet curve of his
mouth. She breathed in linseed oil, tasted licorice and worked her
magic. The nude took on a vitality of his own, arm stretched upward
towards the light, face lifted in anticipation. His face looked nothing
like the model she'd sketched in her drawing class Monday night but
that always happened, her own inner vision replacing a less substantial
reality.
When at last she stepped back and stretched to
relieve cramped muscles, Lily felt a jolt of pleasure at her creation.
The painting worked composition wise, the greens and purples an
ambiguous dark behind his skin of crimson and gold glowing with
virility. She dropped her brush in a jar of waiting paint thinner,
tugged free other paintbrushes she'd absently stuck in her hair and
realized a hot bath would ease her aching bones and perhaps cool the
tingling excitement she felt after stroking paint over male muscles.
She had pulled her paint smock off over her head, skimmed out of her t-shirt and unzipped her jeans when she heard a loud sucking sound behind her. Turning, Lily watched in horror as the figure in the painting moved. Just a twitch of a hand at first, a stretch of an arm. Then in one violent lunge the man tore himself free of the canvas and stepped onto the floor, real, animated, looking around her apartment with every naked inch of his skin gleaming in fresh oil.
She had pulled her paint smock off over her head, skimmed out of her t-shirt and unzipped her jeans when she heard a loud sucking sound behind her. Turning, Lily watched in horror as the figure in the painting moved. Just a twitch of a hand at first, a stretch of an arm. Then in one violent lunge the man tore himself free of the canvas and stepped onto the floor, real, animated, looking around her apartment with every naked inch of his skin gleaming in fresh oil.
It's my lucky day to have you on the blog Pam! I love how much readers have been enjoying the book over the tour. Nicely done my fellow Montanan! :) You keep teasing us with talk of your previous books--when do we get a sample?
ReplyDeleteThank you, MK, for hosting me today and for the marvelous tour. Being reclusive by nature I feel a bit over-exposed but in a good way and I've had so much fun. About previous books I've written? One is trying to find a home. The rest, well, the less said the better!!
ReplyDeleteMadame Bagasha sounds fantastic. I can see why she's your favorite character. The research you did sounds very interesting, a lot of things I'd be interested in doing. I also have Meniere's Disease but not as bad as yours. I'll have like a 2-3 day episode where I'm so dizzy I'm sick or may have a month with issues but then go months without problems. So I feel for you there.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and this sounds like a great read. Good luck!
Great excerpt, Pam! Thanks for letting us get to know you a little better! Good luck with your book - it's on my list to pick up!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading Smitten Image and I loved it! I really enjoyed all your characters and hope to hear more from Nila and Grayden. I really enjoyed the descriptions of Lily while she is painting or getting lost in color. I know where she's coming from! Thanks for a great read Pam. I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteThe hero in one of my books is an artist. So fun. Great post.
ReplyDelete-R.T. Wolfe
www.rtwolfe.com
Hi, Pam! Love the premise of this book - good luck!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eliza, for stopping in. The quirkier the character the better for me. And I am so sorry you have Meniere's too. More people suffer from it than folks think. Enjoy the time you have, is my motto. Now that I'm well, older, the dizziness is a daily thing, but I can still function (except riding a bike is disasterous!) I eat next to no salty stuff, rarely drink alcohol and take valium... it helps desensitize the nerves in those defective tubes. It so works! Sinus issues complicate things too. Good luck, I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so thrilled, Diane! Aren't artists the funnest characters? To hang out with in real life too! So appreciate you loved it! Really!!
ReplyDeleteRT, nice to see you here. And thank you for stopping by. Artist's are all such individuals, I love how we can mold them! Or not!!
ReplyDeleteKristina, thank you so much for taking the time to stop in. You are always such great support to all of us. And you're blogs are wonderful. So glad we're Crimson sisters!
ReplyDeleteHey Crimson Lady, thank you for sharing your story!
ReplyDeletePam you rock!! This interview is great! I am so glad we're on this journey together!
ReplyDelete