author interview--Stolen Secrets by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

Ahoy me hearties!
As we reach the hind end of the Winter Tempest we are steering a course through the literary seas to the mysteries and intrigue of exotic lands and warmer times. Today we drop the anchors to welcome seasoned Author Elizabeth Alsobrooks aboard The Whimsical Herald. Elizabeth Alsobrooks has a PhD and is a lover of history, mysteries, ancient texts, and mythology. It’s time for high tea on the high seas and our latest Author Q &A with Elizabeth to discuss her newest release in the Illuminati Series, ‘Stolen Secrets’. Stolen Secrets  is a genre-bending read that includes elements of mystery ,thriller, paranormal and romance.

“She looked up and into soft blue eyes the color of an English sky in springtime. They seemed filled with tenderness and genuine concern . . . Such beautiful and intelligent eyes, focused upon her with eager intensity. A woman could lose herself in those pools. Many had, she was sure of it.”

WELCOME ELIZABETH ALSOBROOKS!
Q-The mysterious and notorious Illuminati  Organization figures prominently in your novels. What is it about the Illuminati that intrigues you and when did you first become aware of its existence and significance?

​I've known about it for decades. I'd tell you how many, but then I'd have to kill you--in a book, of course! I do talk about it more in my following author reading video, however. 

Q-What travels and pilgrimages have you gone on that inspire your books?

Oh my, now you are digging deep. I have to say that the catacombs, stonehenge, the highlands of Scotland and Ireland filled me with so many ideas and such an intense sense of possibility, mystery, and wonder.  One of the settings in The Tree of Life, is set in Sedona due to a vacation my daughter, Krystal, took me on last year when she came to visit me from MI.

Q-What mentors have you had along your journey as a well respected and popular author?

Pulitzer-nominated author Thomas Sullivan has been a friend and mentor for nearly 3 decades. I met him when I was acting as the author liaison for a literacy fundraiser. I have also been lucky enough to have a close-knit critique group of women who I met at a Mid-Michigan RWA meeting almost 3 decades ago. Even though I've moved to AZ I still keep in touch with some of them, and two of them are fellow TT authors, Loralee Lillibridge, who has a Western Contemporary Romance, Cowboys, Castles and Cradles, coming out soon, and Nancy Gideon, whose PR and Social Media for Writers is coming out in paperback soon. 

Q-How do you come up with your characters in Stolen Secrets? What qualities do you have in common with Lady Isabella Valentine?

I generally brainstorm a story idea and then people it with characters I feel the story is about. As I write, and I'm a pantser, as the characters come to life they tell me what's happening. Lady Isabella has my sense of adventure. I love exploring new places and discovering hidden treasures.

Q-Who inspired the swoonworthy  male character in Stolen Secrets?

Do I need to say anything more?

Q-Your visually rich descriptions draw the reader into the story very quickly. Was writing a craft you studied or does high impact storytelling come naturally to you?

I have a degree in English, so I certainly read my share of literature, but I think I learned the most about writing by teaching others to write creatively for decades--which included teaching them how to read like a writer, paying attention to what the writer did to make them, the reader, react emotionally.

Q-What is your best one liner of advice for aspiring authors?

Write what you love to read, if you want readers to love what you write.

Q-Who encouraged you to publish your first book?

I had a lot of encouragement, but if you want to know who pushed and prodded me to just get it down on paper and get it done, it was Nancy Gideon. She's the most prolific writer I know and the many fans of her By Moonlight and House of Terriot series are very happy that she is. As one of her Beta readers, I can only say, they've got some tall, dark and dangerous coming.

Q-What early personal experiences contributed to your love of writing?

My love of reading, from under the covers with a flashlight to up in a tree to hide out from my siblings and get some quiet time, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on.

Q-Who are some of your favorite authors?

The above, of course, but when I was young, I read The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, then Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer. Jayne Eyre in Joseph Campbell's hero's journey was the topic of my first college paper.  I fell in love with the classics, from Beowulf, Chaucer and Dante to Shakespear, Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Edgar Allan Poe, Asimov and Joyce.  I read Anne Rice's vampire series, almost anything from Dean Koontz, and James Rollin's Sigma Force series inspired the action/adventure you will find in my work.

Q-Which scenes in Stolen Secrets were the most challenging to write? Can you give us one of  your favorite quotes from the novel?

Easy, the love scenes. It's a romance, so they really matter and since I most often write Urban Fantasy I don't write as many romance scenes, especially with full-on sex, as most romance writers. I'll have to think on my favorite quote.

Q-What future projects are in the works now that your latest novel Stolen Secrets has been released?

Since you were kind enough to ask, I'm well into Book II of my Iluminati series, The Tree of Life and it will be out later this year. To keep up on my progress follow my blog for weekly snippets: www.elizabethalsobrooks.com/blog

SCIENTISTS, COLLEAGUES, ALLIES, AND LOVERS, BUT . . . IMMORTAL ENEMIES.
    ​In book two, the Clans still struggle for control and domination, but the prominent characters are the Vargas Dynasty's lead geneticist, Dr. Kirin Vargas, and a mysterious stranger from a long-lost tribe of ancient warriors whose modern knowledge and technology threaten to crumble the very foundations of civilization and bring even the royal family to their knees.
     Dr. Rodrigo Silva, AKA Rio, has some dark, mysterious secrets, and none of the Vargas Clan knew the ancient line of black jaguar shapeshifters had survived undetected for thousands of years, guarding their secrets with powerful magic and  developing their telepathic abilities until they rival those of the ancient gods themselves. Ironic, considering they were responsible for his family's curse. And now Kirin dares to ask him for help? 

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Elizabeth with Hudson, her VP of Social Media

Now that her children have flown  from the nest and remain in the frozen North (AKA Michigan) Elizabeth has retired from her "normal" day jobs and lives with her personal editor, Hudson (AKA Maltese),  and her husband, Kenton (AKA Irish-Scotsman), at the foot of the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountain Range in Oro Valley, AZ. 

She loves to entertain friends and family from colder climates, or hike the mountain trails, jog, or ride  her bike on the miles of walk/bike paths, sit on her patio watching the local wildlife visit her pond, sipping coffee and reading, writing, editing, or brainstorming plots and  enjoying the grandeur of her breathtaking mountain views. 

Her love of mythology and  ancient literature and history were the backbone for her series, and the Sigma  Force series by James Rollins inspired the fast-paced adventures (He recently  told her at a literacy fundraiser that he found that flattering, as no one had  ever told him he was inspiring before!).  The result is an  action-packed URBAN FANTASY novel series, with its basis in timeless romance, truth, superstitions, mythology and conspiracy theories. 

​Keep up with her at: www.elizabethalsobrooks.com 

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Preorder Now!

Offered an enormous sum by an anonymous benefactor for the acquisition of an ancient ceremonial relic, a sum that would keep the antiquities shop in Cairo her father left her afloat while she continued her own archaeological pursuits, Lady Isabella Valentine was distracted rather than tempted, then suspicious, when the dashing young Bedouin slipped in just before closing and promised her a deal she couldn’t refuse--for the very same relic. Despite his sensual appeal, she did refuse him, sending him away.
 
Prince Mukhtar, son of Sheikh Abdul Kummel al-Rahman, leader of the Hassana, is on a sacred Illuminati mission for Queen Isis to retrieve something stolen from one of her temples over a thousand years ago. This mortal disbeliever though an enchanting English rose, however beautiful she might be, is clearly in the power of the Usurper and must be persuaded to help him, one way or another. But neither of them know of the evil power they are up against, or what hidden dangers await them in the tomb of the high priest.

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The Whimsical Herald would like to congratulate Author Elizabeth Alsobrooks  on her release of STOLEN SECRETS: Illuminati Spinoff Romance Book 1, and thank her for joining us in the cabin at the Captain's table to regale us with the inside scoop on her intriguing release!

For now we must cast off, so ‘Anchors Away!’ ye land lubbers 'til we approach landfall  and explore our next literary lagoon!

--Patricia Mattern, Mistress of Madness and your host

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