Author: Bill Blais
Published: March 9, 2012
Synopsis: 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 Book:
Give me the blurb for the book in 140 characters or less:
Bill Blais: Mother and wife takes on demons and magic while trying to balance her normal life, until she learns she may be fighting on the wrong side.
Do you have a favorite character? Why is she your favorite?
Bill Blais: I do, but it's the obvious one: Kelly (the protagonist). I really like her as a person, even when she frustrates me, because she's (I hope) very multi-dimensional. She makes most of the choices in the series (my job is to pay attention), continually surprising me and pushing me to rethink my expectations, and this also excites me for the series going forward.
What do you hope readers will get from your book?
Bill Blais: A fun time, first and foremost, and perhaps characters and a story that readers will keep with them well after they've finished. I'm not expecting to change the literary landscape, but I think Kelly is an 'unusually' accessible heroine and I hope the story is exciting and challenges expectations of the genre.
About the Author:
What/Who inspires you?
Bill Blais: On a personal level, that's my wife. It probably sounds trite, but it's the simple truth. She inspires me to reach for the stars and be the best I can be. Story-wise, I'm inspired by courage in adversity, underdogs, and things outside my own (rather mundane) experience.
Hardest aspect of writing? Best/Easiest?
Bill Blais: Starting a book. God I hate that. The knowledge that I am about to pour months of my life into something with no guarantee that the end result will be worth anything at all, usually provides 2-3 weeks' worth of procrastination.
I have two favorite parts: 1) discovering the stories that my characters reveal to me, and 2) revising. The first is probably self-explanatory, but the second is no less exciting to me (perhaps even more so). Revision is where I really dig into the craft (or try to, anyway), working with turns of phrase, word choice, plotting and all the other pieces in a more objective manner and constantly trying to produce the best result possible. This can drive me (and my wife!) insane, of course, and the first one nearly did, but I'm getting better with each book, and that's pretty darn fantastic.
Who is your writing hero?
Bill Blais: For a living writing hero, it's Nora Roberts, hands down. I'm not necessarily a huge fan of her work, but she does the work, day in and day out. I'm not an 'inspirational' writer, myself, and her work ethic is something that resonates with me.
About the Future:
What’s next for you?
Bill Blais: Well, I'm finishing up a more 'traditional' fantasy novel called Another Night at the End of the World, which should be available this summer. Then comes The Road to Hell (the third Kelly & Umber novel) due out this winter, followed by the second book in the All Prophets are Liars series, scheduled for next summer. A science fiction novel is also nearly final, which may appear somewhere in the midst of the above (in case I get bored).
One outrageous goal for the future?
Bill Blais: To be less long-winded. If this doesn't seem outrageous enough, you should see my first drafts…
Do you have any advice you'd like to share with other aspiring writers?
Bill Blais: Write something new every day and read something new every day. It's boring advice, but the best advice usually is. I am by no means a master of the craft (see answer to previous question), but I am constantly trying to get better. Reading gives me exposure to new voices, techniques and experiences, and writing, well, like anything else, it only gets better with practice.
Randomness:
Sweet or salty?
Yes, please (I eat just about anything).
Beach, plains or mountains?
Mountains.
Online, letters or in person?
In-person, with letters coming a close second.
Ebook or print?
Print. Ebooks are awesome, obviously, but I was raised on print and I still love the physicality (and the fact that they never run out of power).
Author Bio:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Give me the blurb for the book in 140 characters or less:
Bill Blais: Mother and wife takes on demons and magic while trying to balance her normal life, until she learns she may be fighting on the wrong side.
Do you have a favorite character? Why is she your favorite?
Bill Blais: I do, but it's the obvious one: Kelly (the protagonist). I really like her as a person, even when she frustrates me, because she's (I hope) very multi-dimensional. She makes most of the choices in the series (my job is to pay attention), continually surprising me and pushing me to rethink my expectations, and this also excites me for the series going forward.
What do you hope readers will get from your book?
Bill Blais: A fun time, first and foremost, and perhaps characters and a story that readers will keep with them well after they've finished. I'm not expecting to change the literary landscape, but I think Kelly is an 'unusually' accessible heroine and I hope the story is exciting and challenges expectations of the genre.
About the Author:
What/Who inspires you?
Bill Blais: On a personal level, that's my wife. It probably sounds trite, but it's the simple truth. She inspires me to reach for the stars and be the best I can be. Story-wise, I'm inspired by courage in adversity, underdogs, and things outside my own (rather mundane) experience.
Hardest aspect of writing? Best/Easiest?
Bill Blais: Starting a book. God I hate that. The knowledge that I am about to pour months of my life into something with no guarantee that the end result will be worth anything at all, usually provides 2-3 weeks' worth of procrastination.
I have two favorite parts: 1) discovering the stories that my characters reveal to me, and 2) revising. The first is probably self-explanatory, but the second is no less exciting to me (perhaps even more so). Revision is where I really dig into the craft (or try to, anyway), working with turns of phrase, word choice, plotting and all the other pieces in a more objective manner and constantly trying to produce the best result possible. This can drive me (and my wife!) insane, of course, and the first one nearly did, but I'm getting better with each book, and that's pretty darn fantastic.
Who is your writing hero?
Bill Blais: For a living writing hero, it's Nora Roberts, hands down. I'm not necessarily a huge fan of her work, but she does the work, day in and day out. I'm not an 'inspirational' writer, myself, and her work ethic is something that resonates with me.
About the Future:
What’s next for you?
Bill Blais: Well, I'm finishing up a more 'traditional' fantasy novel called Another Night at the End of the World, which should be available this summer. Then comes The Road to Hell (the third Kelly & Umber novel) due out this winter, followed by the second book in the All Prophets are Liars series, scheduled for next summer. A science fiction novel is also nearly final, which may appear somewhere in the midst of the above (in case I get bored).
One outrageous goal for the future?
Bill Blais: To be less long-winded. If this doesn't seem outrageous enough, you should see my first drafts…
Do you have any advice you'd like to share with other aspiring writers?
Bill Blais: Write something new every day and read something new every day. It's boring advice, but the best advice usually is. I am by no means a master of the craft (see answer to previous question), but I am constantly trying to get better. Reading gives me exposure to new voices, techniques and experiences, and writing, well, like anything else, it only gets better with practice.
Randomness:
Sweet or salty?
Yes, please (I eat just about anything).
Beach, plains or mountains?
Mountains.
Online, letters or in person?
In-person, with letters coming a close second.
Ebook or print?
Print. Ebooks are awesome, obviously, but I was raised on print and I still love the physicality (and the fact that they never run out of power).
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 Find the Author:
Website (http://www.billblais.com/)
Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1372793.Bill_Blais)
Twitter (http://twitter.com/onemoredraft)
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBillBlais)
Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Blais/e/B002BLNB7K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1)
Purchase the book on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Kelly-Umber-Novel-ebook/dp/B007IXY6UC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340728224&sr=1-2&keywords=No+Good+Deed) and Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/169916).
Read a Sample Chapter (http://www.billblais.com/books/no-good-deed/no-good-deed-excerpt/) of No Good Deed.
Tour Set Up By Illuminated Tours (http://www.bottledupmemory.org/no-good-deed-tour.html)
Where to Find the Author:
Website (http://www.billblais.com/)
Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1372793.Bill_Blais)
Twitter (http://twitter.com/onemoredraft)
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBillBlais)
Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Blais/e/B002BLNB7K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1)
Purchase the book on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Kelly-Umber-Novel-ebook/dp/B007IXY6UC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340728224&sr=1-2&keywords=No+Good+Deed) and Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/169916).
Read a Sample Chapter (http://www.billblais.com/books/no-good-deed/no-good-deed-excerpt/) of No Good Deed.
Tour Set Up By Illuminated Tours (http://www.bottledupmemory.org/no-good-deed-tour.html)
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