Polar Day
by Julie
Flanders
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The
midnight sun bakes Fairbanks, Alaska as residents gather for the annual summer
solstice baseball game. Amidst the revelry and raucous shouts of “Play ball,” a
spark alights and a jogger bursts into flames. Detective Danny Fitzpatrick,
still reeling from his near death at the hands of vampire Aleksei Nechayev,
watches in horror as the man burns alive.
Someone
is burning Fairbanks and its residents and leaving nothing but smoldering
embers behind. As the city sweats under a record-breaking heatwave and
unexplained fires claim more victims, Danny and his colleagues struggle to find
an arsonist who can conjure fire out of thin air.
To
Danny’s horror, the only one who may be able to help him stop the arsonist is
his nemesis Nechayev. Will the vampire help in the hunt for a witch?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Danny flipped through the channels, stopping when he came to
a Seattle Mariners game that had gone in to extra innings. They were playing
the White Sox in Chicago and Danny felt a slight tug at his heartstrings as the
familiar sight of Cellular Field filled the flat screen television. The time
difference made it difficult for him to catch Sox games live. It was a welcome
surprise to find one that was lasting so long into the Chicago night that he
could watch it live as it happened.
It was dark in Chicago, but of course the sun was still high
in the sky here in this strange frontier he had chosen as his new home. He
squinted from the sun beaming through the window and cursed himself for not
shutting the blinds before he sat back down. Next time he got up for a beer he
would need to do that.
Danny rested his hand on his dog's head as he finished one
beer and started another, the bottles now lining up on the end table beside
him. His eyes grew bleary as Sox's gentle snoring mingled with the sounds of
the faraway baseball game. When yet another inning ended and the game went to a
commercial, Danny closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the couch.
The noise of the television grew fainter as he slipped into
sleep and his mind flashed images of fangs and bloodless bodies in an endless
landscape of snow. As Danny drifted farther into unconsciousness, the snow was
overtaken by fire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's learn a little about author Julie Flanders!
Before
I get to the questions I just want to say thank you, Sue for being part of my
tour and hosting me today! I really appreciate the opportunity to be here at
your blog.
What
is your writing environment?
I
write stretched out on my couch with my laptop on my legs. My cat and my dog
stretch out with me and they are my writing buddies. I know lots of people love
to listen to music when they write but I really need the room to be quiet or I
can’t concentrate. No tv or music for me while I am writing.
Who is your perfect hero/heroine and why?
This
is a hard question to answer and my first thought was I have no clue! But after
thinking about it I came up with Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I
was a huge fan of that show and Buffy represents a perfect heroine to me
because she did so many heroic things and, as her tombstone said, “She Saved
The World A Lot,” but she was also undeniably human. She made big mistakes and
sometimes acted like a typical self-absorbed and selfish teenager. She often
whined about being the chosen slayer while also relishing the power it gave
her. To me Buffy was a normal girl who was thrown into an extraordinary
situation and rose to the occasion. Those are always the best kinds of heroes
and heroines to me.
What authors have caught your interest lately and why?
Recently
I started reading Michael Connelly’s books and am really enjoying them. I got
started on them because I happened to watch The Lincoln Lawyer movie and I
didn’t even realize that movie came from a book. I liked the movie so I looked
up the books and since Connelly has been writing since the 1990s I have plenty
to read!
What type of book have you always wanted to write?
For
a long time I wanted to write a book with a vampire. I fell in love with the mythology
of vampires when I watched Buffy way back when. I am not a big fan of the
lovestruck vampire stories though so I’ve wanted to write a story with a
monstrous vampire. It was a thrill to have my first book Polar Night be just
that!
Top 3 things on your bucket list?
1.
Take a long driving vacation all over the American West.
2.
Learn to swim – it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life that I was afraid
and quit lessons twice when I was young
3.
Have a home and yard big enough to accommodate several dogs and cats and maybe
even some other furry friends. My condo is only big enough for two. J
How did you get the idea for this particular novel?
Polar
Day is a sequel to Polar Night so the idea came from there. I didn’t intend to
write a sequel initially, but I found I wanted to go back to the characters.
Polar Night centered around the winter solstice so I thought it would be fun to
write this story around the summer solstice when Alaska has nearly 24 hour
daylight. From there it was easy to make the leap to fire.
What is your favorite scene in your new release?
One
of the first scenes in the book takes place at the Midnight Sun baseball game,
which has been a Fairbanks tradition since 1906. The game is played every year
on the summer solstice and doesn’t begin until around 10:30 at night.
Artificial light is not needed since the sun is out for nearly 24 hours. I love
baseball and it was fun to learn about this tradition so I enjoyed writing the
scene and trying to place myself there with my characters.
What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?
I
am working on a short story for an anthology my writing group is putting
together. I am fortunate to belong to a speculative fiction group called
Untethered Realms and we plan to release the anthology in the fall. The title
of the anthology is Mayhem in the Air so all of the stories touch on that
theme.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I
love to read and watch television. I am addicted to way too many series! I also
love walking my dog in the various parks in my area. I am a sports fan and love
watching football, basketball and baseball.
What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?
When
I was in my twenties I worked as a social worker in a psychiatric hospital. I
worked on call and handled psychiatric emergencies, primarily suicide risks.
One night I was called to the county jail and asked to perform an assessment on
a mentally ill man who had allegedly murdered his girlfriend. I made a critical
mistake and allowed him to get in between me and the door of the cell and before
I knew it he had cornered me and nearly strangled me. Fortunately one of the
police officers was able to intervene. That was the most frightening night of
my life.
Thank
you again for interviewing me and for hosting me here, Sue!
You are so welcome Julie! ~Booklover Sue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Julie Flanders
is a librarian by day and a writer all the rest of the time. She is also a
television show addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones and The
Walking Dead and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the Ohio State
Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds. Julie is an animal lover and animal rescue
advocate who shares her home with her rescued dog and cat. She has written
about the joys of pets for outlets such as Cat Fancy, Thrive in Life, and Best
Friends Animal Society. Visit Julie at julieflanders.net.
My Links:
Website: http://www.julieflanders.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulesFlanders
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JulieAFlanders
Barnes and
Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/julie-flanders
Giveaway:
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview...loved the bucket list!! :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love the excerpt. Sounds like a great book
ReplyDeletenice interview
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring me today, Sue! I really enjoyed answering your questions. And thank you all for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteJulie's bucket list. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI liked the interview and learning about the book...thank you!
ReplyDeletei enjoyed reading the blurb and excerpt
ReplyDeleteI love the little interview.
ReplyDelete