Hi Tsk Tskers! We're breaking new ground today as we have our first
interview and review for a male author on the blog...strange we know, as
there are many good ones out there. We were asked to be part of the No
Good Deed tour for the wonderful Bill Blais.
What we've got for you is a fun and informative interview with Bill--he
was so great! We loved his answers and felt we really got to know what
makes him tick. We hope you feel that way too. Following the interview
will be both of our reviews of his thrilling paranormal/suspense novel. A
bit of a different read for us...more suspense than romance...still
full of the paranormal stuff we love, including a strong, snarky and
reluctant heroine. So, sit back and enjoy the ride as we introduce to
you, Bill Blais and the world of Kelly McGinnis in No Good Deed.
Kelly McGinnis has spent her adult life
trying to do the right thing, but as a newly down-sized mother of twins and the
wife of a man living with Muscular Sclerosis, she also knows that trying isn’t
always enough.
While interrupting a scene of police brutality, Kelly unwittingly releases a
real, live demon. After she manages to kill the creature through gut instinct
and blind luck, she is approached to join a secret group of demon hunters who
reveal an underworld of monsters and magic. Kelly’s mill town upbringing proves
an unexpected asset and the pay more than covers her husband’s treatments, but
the work begins to undermine her sense of right and wrong as she struggles to
maintain her ‘normal’ life.
When she encounters Umber, a compelling incubus with an unexpectedly human
story, Kelly learns that the truth is far stranger and more terrifying than she
imagined.
About the Author
Bill Blais
Bill Blais is a writer, web developer and perennial
part-time college instructor. His novels include Witness (winner of the Next
Generation Indie Book Award for Fantasy) and the Kelly & Umber urban
fantasy series. Bill graduated from Skidmore College before earning an MA in
Medieval Studies from University College London. He lives in Maine with his
wife and daughter.
Where to stalk the author:
Want to know more about Bill Blais???
Check out our interview with him below....
TSK TSK: No Good Deed is
written from Kelly's point of view. How difficult was it to write from a
female's perspective?
Bill: Actually, not as hard as I expected it to be, but that was
mainly because of something I read about Maya Angelou many years ago.
Apparently, before she writes a book, she writes down every last thing she can
think of about each of her characters, from goals and fears to quirks and
tastes.
When I first read that, I was impressed with her dedication,
but didn't think I needed to go through all that. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Years later, and much wiser (at least in that respect), when
I started working on Kelly I wrote everything I could about Kelly, which inevitably
moved outward to her family and such. This took a while, no question, but not a
second of it was wasted effort.
Of course, it also helped that I used elements of people I've known in creating
her character, giving me a foundation to work from. Their voices, attitudes and
physicality all gave Kelly a more solid reality than I could have generated out
of thin air.
TSK TSK: Have you thought
about writing a YA novel? What would it be about?
Bill: The short answers are 'Yes', and 'I can't tel l you', but
the longer answer is that the desire to write YA didn't really hit me until I
my niece hit that reading age and it got me thinking, but nothing really came
of it for a while, since I was focused on these other books, until I was struck
with something just as I drifted off to sleep, forcing me to turn the light
back on and scribble away in my journal until I got it all out.
Unfortunately, it's been on the back burner while I've
worked on several other stories that got to me first, but I've continued to
return to the original idea, which is my best indicator that a story has legs.
Now all I need is time. The plot has already been hashed out and roughly outlined,
though, so I may well get a start on it in the next year or so, once Kelly & Umber 3 and All Prophets #2 are done.
Okay, so the longer answer was longer, but probably not much
more satisfying. Sorry about that.
TSK TSK: If you could be any
fictional character, who/what would you be?
Bill: There a bunch of flip answers, but the honest answer is none
of them. I have an incredible life with an incredible wife and our incredible
new baby girl. How could I possibly trade that away?
TSK TSK: So you've jumped the
Pond to Maine, is there anything you miss about London? Anything you don't
miss?
Bill: Oh, my. We miss almost everything, I think. London is a
truly fabulous city. Yes, it has its problems (the last year has been a hard
one, I know), but we enjoyed every moment we were there. We were ridiculously
fortunate to live just down the street from the Notting Hill Tube Station, we
did most of our grocery shopping in the mornings on Portobello Road (we got our
very first Christmas tree together there!), and we jumped on and off the
double-deckers to get to University during the week. Oh, and the scones! The
Cornish pasties! The Indian food! Jogging in Kensington Park with William and
Mary (the geese) and their goslings. The theatre (scared silly by the amazing
The Woman In Black years before the movie)! The heartbeat-rumble of the tube in
our sleep. The afternoon light on the white-stone buildings rising over the
flat's adorable little backyard.
Um, yeah. We miss it.
Two things I don't miss, though: 1) the truly stunning
amount of paper announcements plastered on every conceivable surface, and 2)
blowing my nose and seeing black (sorry, you asked).
TSK TSK: Do you plan for the
future or take life as it comes? Has that changed since you daughter came onto
the scene?
Bill: I'm a Libra, and these kinds of questions always catch me
up, since we are always in search of balance but never quite reaching it. Generally
speaking, I try to plan for the future (sometimes to excess), but I certainly
have my 'as it comes' moments. If our new daughter has changed anything, it's
only to make each of those sides more extreme. I am working hard to make my
writing life into a productive occupation to help provide for our family, which
sometimes distracts me from paying attention to the truly important stuff, like
this
TSK TSK: What is your favorite
thing about being a dad?
Bill: The smiles of both my daughter and my wife. My daughter's
smiles remind me of the wonder in the world, and my wife's smiles remind me how
loved and fortunate I am.
TSK TSK: What is the first
thing you tell your students about yourself?
Bill: "I'm probably not like your previous instructors."
For most of them, it's downhill the rest of the way, as I talk about the
importance of execution, and not just ideas, that I'm a stickler for grammar in
academic writing, and, perhaps most heretical of all, that a 'C' means average
work in my class. I'm not terribly popular.
TSK TSK: Do you know what you
want to do when you grow up, or are you living the dream?
Bill: After I hit Algebra and gave up the foolish idea of being a
math genius, I realized words were my arena. It took almost 25 years to make a
serious, deliberate decision to follow through on it, but I'm working on that
dream right now (thanks, in part, to the great folks on this tour, like you!).
TSK TSK: Is there one book or
author that inspired you to become a writer?
Bill: I suppose Tolkien's The
Lord of the Rings was the first time I thought consciously of writing a
book myself, but I don't know
TSK TSK: Is there a character
in your book that you just don't like?
Bill: Not really. There are some despicable (and actually
horrendous) characters, but there are pieces of me in all of them. I suppose
it's fair to say that there are parts of me that I don't like, but there's
something about each character that strikes a chord in me. It doesn't mean I
'like' these characters, but it's kind of like saying I don't like being sick.
If I were never sick, how could I possibly know what healthy was like?
(Like I said, I'm a Libra)
TSK TSK: What or how long did
research go in to writing No Good Deed?
Bill: More than I expected, actually. I started the book because I
wanted a real-life hero, so I couldn't skimp on the monsters, either. I did a
lot of research into myths across cultures and times to give the terrors of
this series more 'reality'. The same goes for
TSK TSK: Are you an antique
collector or do you like visiting auctions?
Bill: Actually, I really know nothing about antiques. Or knew,
anyway, before this book. The idea of using an antique shop seemed like a great
synchronicity when I was putting together the outline, but when it came time to
write those scenes, I realized, like the monsters, I didn't want to fake it
here. That said, my research was entirely armchair-based (with the occasional
splash of Antiques Roadshow, if I'm honest), so genuine antique dealers may well
have issue with certain things.
TSK TSK: Do you listen to
music when you write or have a certain routine that you must follow?
Bill: Music is very often an integral part of my writing. The
exact music can vary, but I usually work well with moody movie scores
(soundtracks can be good, but music with words can sometimes get in my way)
like most of Hans Zimmer's work, played on loop. For high energy fight scenes,
on the other hand, I often use a single song (Marc Broussard's
"Home", for example), but also played on loop.
Thankfully, I have a space above the garage for my writing,
so my wife and daughter are spared
the repetition.
TSK TSK: What can we look
forward to in book 2?
Bill: Darker. Faster. Wilder. More terrifying and more personal.
And, of course, more Umber.
To be honest, this is not the story I thought I was going to
write. When I finished NGD, I thought I had a good setup for a long-term,
episodic kind of series, but when I started thinking seriously about Hell Hath
No Fury, the only storyline that worked, the only one that made sense, was one
that took me completely by surprise and pushed things far ahead of what I'd
intended.
Looking back, it was certainly the correct choice, but it
wasn't easy.
TSK TSK: What do you do for
fun or any hobbies?
Bill: I'm a homebody by nature (code for lazy), and I love
puttering in the yard or around the house with my wife (and now our daughter!),
but I need exercise and last year I participated in a couple mini-triathlons
and a 100-mile bike trek, which were a lot of fun. I'm also (slowly) learning
piano, and teaching myself French so our little girl will be bilingual (my wife
already speaks it).
On to the Reviews...
Shelley's Review
Wow! What a roller coaster ride. No Good Deed starts off with Kelly
struggling to keep it together as she loses her job to downsizing and
fights to find a way to help support her family and regain her sick
husband's health. Despite these struggles, Kelly has a family life most
people would envy...loving and supportive husband, sweet, happy and
healthy kids--inspite of the occasional daredevil stunt or
horseplay--all is well in her world. Except for Shawn's declining health
and their now lack of a second income and health insurance.
An out of the ordinary and unbelievable circumstance finds her at a
antiques shop, where she quickly discovers nothing is as it seems, all
things are possibly and damn...the money is good. But it comes with a
price and sacrifice. Desperate times call for desperate measures and
Kelly is thrust into a world she never considered existed and she finds
herself part of team fighting evil. Demons to be exact. But what are
they fighting for? Where do these creatures come from? And...who are
they really working for? Well, Kelly finds a few of her answers through
sweat and tears and a lot of research. Still, she has a questions and
concerns about what she's gotten herself...and her family into. She has
to keep her real position a secret from everyone, including her
husband--which of course brings on its own bag of guilt, yet she can't
turn away from the opportunity to do everything she can to help her
family and maybe do some good in the world.
But like I said, not all is as it seems. As Kelly gets more confident in
her strengths and her position on the team, new circumstances and
questions arise, leaving her more confused about her choices, her own
actions and what her boss, Mr. Larocque and his team are really all
about. The fact that most of this story centers around what hides beyond
the guise of an antique dealership...how perfect a front is
that...makes for an intriguing and entertaining leap into the unknown.
This story packs action, emotion and a whole mess of terrifying
creatures into a whirlwind of a tale. We ride along with Kelly and feel
her fear, her confusion and her need to protect those she loves. She has
to make decisions we all hope we never have to make, quickly, and then
deal with the fallout. And boy is there fallout...and regret and more
guilt. But Kelly really has no time for that. She's got more to learn,
strength to gain and a world to save.
No Good Deed is full of the horror we love, unexpected characters and
twists that even in the end, leaves us wondering where the story will go
next...how Kelly and her family will survive...will she continue with
her team...and just who is this Umber that she has an unexplained
connection to.
Blais gives us a heartfelt and brave look into the frightening world of
demons, with a few lessons along the way. Dark, suspenseful and rich
with description and knowledge of demonology--this is a tale told like
no other. The fact that Kelly and her family are so lovable makes it a
joy to follow her onto the darkness. And I'm anxious to continue her
journey and find out what lies ahead and what role the mysterious Umber
has to play in Kelly's future. If you like horror and suspense, No Good
Deed is worth a look...but don't look too hard, what you find might just
scare the hell out you...
Kathryn's Review
When I started No Good Deed, I wasn't really sure where it was headed. I knew that it was centered around Kelly and how she had a normal life with struggles like anyone else, but just like real life, everything can change in the blink of an eye...Just like the title..No Good Deed goes unnoticed here....
And you are probably wondering what this change is that I speak of could be? Well, lo and behold, Kelly is introduced to the world of paranormal and a group of people that are contracted to round up these specific creatures.
What makes this story so interesting is that you are living Kelly's life with her. Dealing with the everyday struggles that a person faces when making these tough decisions. Does she tell her family what she is doing? Does she keep doing it because she may ultimately die and abandon her family? And you know what else is tough about this, she has a wonderful family. But, the lure of a salary that can take care of her husband with his extensive medical bills makes the decision up for her.
So, we follow Kelly through training, tutoring on the demons that she will encounter, and even on assignments that she has been thrust upon, all the while thinking that she is settling in to this new career...
Well, in walks a surprise character that now throws a wrench in to all that Kelly has learned. Does she believe this person? What will happen on her next assignment if she isn't sure about herself?
These questions are all answered with an ending that I didn't see coming. With suspense, mystery, action, and an interesting cast of characters, No Good Deed is a book that you will want to pick up and read today!!
We both give No Good Deed:
=FLAMING HOT
Want to get more....
What did y'all think? Great guy, right?! We think so. And we hope we've
enticed you to check out this first book in the Kelly and Umber series.
We want to thank Bill and Annabell of Illuminated tours, for asking us
to take part in the tour. We appreciated and enjoyed getting to know
Kelly and her team and look forward to finding out what happens in book
two.
Thanks for stopping by!
As always, HAPPY READING!
Kathryn and Shelley
Tour
Set Up By Illuminated Tours
