Interview with Madeline Sheehan and Claire C Riley, authors of Thicker Than Blood

Thicker Than Blood

Claire C Riley

Madeline Sheehan

A true friendship never dies. 

Leisel and Evelyn lost everything. Husbands. Families. Friends. Lives that made sense. All they had left was each other, and a friendship that could withstand anything…

Even an apocalypse.

Until one fateful night, the marginal safety they’d come to rely on comes to a vicious and brutal end. With the help of Alex & Jami, both unlikely allies, Leisel and Evelyn are able to escape their shattered sanctuary only to find themselves face-to-face with a much altered, much crueler life where they have to find the way—and the will—to stay alive in a world they no longer recognize.

Traveling across a broken and infection-ridden country; the road-weary group are pitted against endless violence, improbable circumstances, and the ultimate loss.
Everything comes at a price—especially safety, the cost of which could very well strip them of the one thing they’ve tried so hard to cling to: their humanity.

Yet along with all the trials they’re forced to endure, there’s also hope in the form of love. Having loved Leisel from afar, Alex attempts to put the pieces of her fractured heart back together.

But in such a savage world, is there room for love?

In a place of nightmares-made-reality, where the living should be feared far more than the dead, an unbreakable friendship and a love amongst all odds can mean the difference between life and death.

There are friends…

And then there are Leisel and Evelyn.

A few weeks ago I reviewed zombie apocalypse horror novel, Thicker Than Blood, and it was so much more than just zombies and kicking ass.  It explored the friendship of two women that was, well, Thicker Than Blood.  It was a fantastic book, and I highly suggest you read it.  Today I have a mini interview I did with both authors, so I hope you enjoy that!!

Thicker Than Blood by Claire C Riley & Madeline Sheehan (Review)

Title: Thicker Than Blood
Series: Standalone...ish
Authors: Claire C Riley, Madeline Sheehan
Published: January 2015
Format: ebook received for review
Pages: 366/Goodreads

A true friendship never dies. 

Leisel and Evelyn lost everything. Husbands. Families. Friends. Lives that made sense. All they had left was each other, and a friendship that could withstand anything…

Even an apocalypse.

Until one fateful night, the marginal safety they’d come to rely on comes to a vicious and brutal end. With the help of Alex & Jami, both unlikely allies, Leisel and Evelyn are able to escape their shattered sanctuary only to find themselves face-to-face with a much altered, much crueler life where they have to find the way—and the will—to stay alive in a world they no longer recognize.

Traveling across a broken and infection-ridden country; the road-weary group are pitted against endless violence, improbable circumstances, and the ultimate loss.
Everything comes at a price—especially safety, the cost of which could very well strip them of the one thing they’ve tried so hard to cling to: their humanity.

Yet along with all the trials they’re forced to endure, there’s also hope in the form of love. Having loved Leisel from afar, Alex attempts to put the pieces of her fractured heart back together.

But in such a savage world, is there room for love?

In a place of nightmares-made-reality, where the living should be feared far more than the dead, an unbreakable friendship and a love amongst all odds can mean the difference between life and death.

There are friends…

And then there are Leisel and Evelyn.

Of course you knew I wanted to read this book.  I had to.  I've read both authors before, and they are fabulous - so a collaboration had to be just as fab, right?  Right.  And the book lives up to the hype.  Unfortunately, this book took me forever to read - due to my own scheduling.  It really burned me up, because I just wanted to jump right back into this world and find out what happens next!  Thicker Than Blood did a fantastic job of keeping me captivated.

A Little Bit Of Time With Madeline Sheehan, Author of Unbeautifully

Unbeautifully

Madeline Sheehan

Warning: This is not a story about fate or destiny. This is a story about pain, sorrow, and suffering. This is an impulsive whirlwind romance between two lovers that are not meant to be together. Theirs is not a world with sunshine and roses. Instead, their love blossoms in a secret world full of crime, violence, and death. Their story is about what can be born from nightmares.

Danielle “Danny” West is the daughter of Deuce West, President of the Hell’s Horsemen Motorcycle Club. A sweet and beautiful girl, she loses her way, searching for things that are always out of her reach. Erik “Ripper” Jacobs is the Sergeant of Arms in the Hell’s Horsemen. Once a man who always had a smile on his face, his life takes a turn for the worst when a tragedy befalls him, leaving him scarred and broken. During a midsummer night, Danny and Ripper’s paths cross, forever changing their lives. Hastily, their lust turns to love until another tragedy forces them apart. On a journey that is marred with ugliness and chaos, Danny and Ripper must discover if their unforeseen connection can find the beauty in their world.

This is Danny and Ripper’s story.

Everything has beauty. Even the ugly. Especially the ugly.
Because without ugly, there would be no beauty.

For today's post I got to pose a couple questions to author, Madeline Sheehan.  Nothing big and fancy, just something simple and easy.  So that is what today is about.  Have you read these books? Tell me how much you love them!  They are on my short list, but I'm not one of the lucky ones yet.  Thanks for coming by today!

How do you get into the right mindspace to write a book like this, and is it easy to get back out of?

          You know…  Maybe I’m a little crazy but its not hard for me to get into the mindset to write damaged characters, it is however hard to get back out.  After a day in the head of Deuce, I’m often left feeling less than okay, and ready to down a bottle of Prozac.  But that’s the beauty of writing, you get to be whoever you want whenever you want!

Who would you pick to play the main characters?

Deuce: Josh Holloway

Eva: Mila Kunis

 

Danny: Hillary Duff

Ripper: David Beckham

 

Where did the idea come from to write this series?

          I have absolutely no idea. Seriously. I was working on the second book in my PNR series and needed a break, but not writing is never an option, so I pulled up a new Word Doc. and…Undeniable fell out of my brain.  I’ve  never written a book so fast, or enjoyed it so much as I did Undeniable.  

***Mini Excerpt***

The first time I fell in love it was with a pair of blue eyes and a wide dimpled grin.

“Your old man loves ya, Danny girl,” He whispered. “You never ever forget that, yeah?”

I never did. And I never thought I could ever love any man as much as I loved my father. But as we grow, we change, we begin to make our own decisions and thus become independent and self sufficient and start turning away from our parents and turning to others. We form friendships, strong bonds and ties and begin experiencing life outside of the bubble we grew up inside of. 

And we fall in love…a second time.

The second time I fell in love it was with a badly scarred face, the stuff of nightmares; the sort of disfigurement that mothers steer their children away from. Ugly, jagged slashes marred the skin from the top of his skull, down over his right eye, an eye that had been dug out of his face with a serrated blade. The scars continued across his cheek, over his lips and down his neck, ending at the top of his shoulder. His chest was a hundred times worse; scar tissue as far as the eye could see.

“Baby,” He said gruffly, “Man like me got no business with a girl like you. You’re nothin’ but fuckin’ beauty and I’m a whole lot of fuckin’ ugly who’s already halfway to hell.”

But he was wrong.

Everything has beauty. Even the ugly. Especially the ugly.

Because without ugly there would be no beauty.

Because without beauty we would not survive our pain, our sorrow, and our suffering. 

And in the world I lived in, the world he lived in, a secret world within the world, a world of of constant crime and cruel, cold, death, there was almost nothing but suffering.

“You may not be beautiful the way you were before,” I whispered, placing my hand on his hard chest. “But you’re still beautiful. To me.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Bit Of Time With Madeline Sheehan, Author of Unbeautifully

Unbeautifully

Madeline Sheehan

Warning: This is not a story about fate or destiny. This is a story about pain, sorrow, and suffering. This is an impulsive whirlwind romance between two lovers that are not meant to be together. Theirs is not a world with sunshine and roses. Instead, their love blossoms in a secret world full of crime, violence, and death. Their story is about what can be born from nightmares.

Danielle “Danny” West is the daughter of Deuce West, President of the Hell’s Horsemen Motorcycle Club. A sweet and beautiful girl, she loses her way, searching for things that are always out of her reach. Erik “Ripper” Jacobs is the Sergeant of Arms in the Hell’s Horsemen. Once a man who always had a smile on his face, his life takes a turn for the worst when a tragedy befalls him, leaving him scarred and broken. During a midsummer night, Danny and Ripper’s paths cross, forever changing their lives. Hastily, their lust turns to love until another tragedy forces them apart. On a journey that is marred with ugliness and chaos, Danny and Ripper must discover if their unforeseen connection can find the beauty in their world.

This is Danny and Ripper’s story.

Everything has beauty. Even the ugly. Especially the ugly.
Because without ugly, there would be no beauty.

For today's post I got to pose a couple questions to author, Madeline Sheehan.  Nothing big and fancy, just something simple and easy.  So that is what today is about.  Have you read these books? Tell me how much you love them!  They are on my short list, but I'm not one of the lucky ones yet.  Thanks for coming by today!