Ramsey's Book Review
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Welcome,
Cynthia Vespia, to Ramsey's Reviews 2nd Annual Halloween
Bash. I am looking forward to reading more about Cynthia and her
books. Come on in and sit for a spell and enjoy reading about her
latest releases. Thank you, Cynthia for taking the time to be with us
today and tomorrow.
There have been some exciting changes. The Original Cyn, that's me, will be debuting a plethora of new and newly revised projects. Favorites like The Crescent will be getting a facelift and coming over to Kindle, etc. while new projects will be released within the next few months. Stay tuned to www.cynthiavespia.com and www.facebook.com/cynthia.vespia for all the details.
When and Why did you begin writing?
I started writing around age 8. I used to read a lot and I was fascinated with the worlds that authors created. It was a bit of an escape for me. I got serious about writing in high school when I read Dean Koontz. He quickly became my favorite author and I knew I wanted to have a writing career from that point forward.
You have great taste, I too began reading Dean Koontz at a very young age. Right then I knew I liked thrillers and the paranormal. I guess he is the reason I later took an interest in horror as well, even though Stephen King helped some too. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The ideas for my novels come at random. I may be watching TV or reading something and it just pops into my head. I have gotten ideas in yoga class; on a trip to the mountains; and even in the shower. I try to always have a pen and paper nearby.
Malicious intent. Seriously, the more cold-hearted the killer is the higher the stakes. But I also believe in the psychological aspect of any type of horror. If they are just slasher stories for no apparent reason that isn't really going to fly. You have to have great pacing too. Hitchcock was a master at the craft. The psychological tales are a lot scarier to me than blood and guts.
What is your favorite scary movie or book?
My first instinct is to say Misery...for both. Again, it is psychological. And as an author it is a scary, scary thought to wind up in that predicament. I'm sure that is why Stephen King wrote it.
What makes you interested in the genre your write?
I write fantasy and contemporary thrillers. It is what I like to read. Fantasy has always fascinated me because it is complete fabrication but at the same time tried-and-true characters and mythological creatures that are well known. Elves, orcs, centaurs, etc. And when an author can come up with their own classification, or language like Tolkien did, that is just brilliance at work. Then on the flip side you have the thrillers which when I write them they are everyday people who wind up in extraordinary circumstances. I refer to them as real life situations you could find yourself in but hope to God you never do. But in writing it is always fun to ask "what if."
When you were a child, what creature or story scared you the most? And did it propel your creative muse to write about it later?
I've never liked ghosts. Sometimes strange things occurred in my home and they were really unexplainable. Now here I am with my thriller Life, Death, and Back that touches on that very subject so I guess, yes it fascinates and alternatively scares me at the same time to think there are spirits still lurking around.
Do you remember ever coming up with anything so wild that you scared yourself, leaving you to wonder where that came from?
Yes! I'll go back and reread some early stuff I did and think "who wrote that?!" Some of it is very dark and twisted.
Where do you as an author draw the line on gory description and/or erotic content?
It has to fit the story. I never just throw in sex or violence just to sell books. If a novel doesn't call for a particular scene to be overly descriptive then I leave it at that and the reader can fill in the blanks. Sometimes less is more.
Could you share some of your blurbs or exerts with us?
Certainly. Here now is an excerpt from Life, Death, and Back:
CHAPTER
I
The
first sojourn from life to death was very much the epitome of birth.
Brilliant flashes of light were aglow all around bathing snapshots
of memory, minute but hardly trivial.
When
the ride stopped and the suspension of disbelief released him, Bryan
was curious to find his own corpse stretched out at his feet. It lay
on the grassy lawn in front of his office building, twenty feet from
where he had initially been walking.
The
corpse, his corpse, stared up at him through one wide eye. Sightless
now it still echoed the feeling of shock that he had felt the very
moment the vehicle had struck him.
Though
he wanted to look away from the tragic scene utter terror and
confusion gripped him still. Pedestrians and motorists surrounded
the accident and sirens wailed in the distance. He was
oblivious to it all.
All
Bryan wanted to do was crawl back inside his body, stand up and say,
"Hey, look at me, I'm fine. Not a scratch." Then there
were strong impulses pulling him into the belief that this was just
a nightmare. At any moment he was going to respond with a shudder
and a cold sweat but he would wake, frantic at first, until he found
himself in bed next to his lovely wife, Holly.
He
hadn't bothered to wake her that morning. She was radiantly aglow in
her pregnancy as she slept. It was their very first child and they
were overjoyed to be experiencing this miracle after only one year
of marriage.
Bryan
had kissed her on the cheek and gone on his way to the law firm. His
place of business was another joyful experience to be able to share
with Holly. Bryan was the youngest of his class to seek and sustain
a substantial position within a reputable law firm. Of course it
helped that his father had owned and maintained the firm since Bryan
had been a boy. But now it was his own, inheriting it when his
father had passed away just two years after Bryan had graduated from
law school.
It
was an unusually cloudy day in Stanford, but nevertheless Bryan was
in an upbeat mood. Whistling as he crossed the street to his offices
he had never even seen the drunk driver's vehicle coming. Perhaps he
had not wanted to. As the saying goes he had been looking upon the
world with rose-colored glasses up to that point. No harm could
befall him, he was indestructible. Throughout life Bryan had truly
felt blessed, now it was all gone. In an instant his entire life had
been snuffed out. His promising future was no more. All that was
left was another casualty in the war of drinking and driving. He was
no longer Bryan Adam Caleb outstanding lawyer, loving husband,
expectant father, and genuine nice guy. Now he was just another
statistic.
But
Bryan didn't understand what was happening. If he was dead, why was
he still on this Earth? What happened to the other side? So many
unanswered questions tore through his mind.
He
refused to believe it.
As
paramedics encompassed the accident scene Bryan turned and ran. His
mind was in frenzy and he just needed to get away, get some space to
determine what in the world was going on.
His
pace quickened to the point where he felt as though he had wings and
could lift off. Finally he came to a stop at the end of the
block and to his surprise he was not at all fatigued. His leg
muscles did not ache and he was not breathing heavy. In fact, he was
not breathing at all.
Still
in disbelief he went to check his pulse for some sign that he was
still alive. His fingers passed straight through his arm. There was
no solidity to his wrist at all. He tried two more times with
nothing but the same result.
Bryan
looked around frantically for help. With his head on a swivel,
something above him caught his eye. Lights gleamed up in the sky
like as though a great crystal was wedged between two clouds
precariously placed for the sun to shine off it.
He
stood awed looking at the magnificent colors waning in every
direction. It brought him a smile and a sense of peace. After a
moment he even thought he glimpsed his loving father's face high
above beckoning him to come forward and join him.
The
lights shone brighter and began to descend down towards him. Bryan
stood stock still as they came closer and closer. The bright glare
was such that he had to close his eyes but the pleasant images still
remained. He felt his feet lift off the ground and he began to rise
up with the jubilation.
Many
wondrous memories were encompassing him now. Simple joys he new as a
boy, more substantial and rich emotions of love and faith and virtue
that he'd experienced as a man. Those worlds of days long
since past were uniting on a grand scale and lifting Bryan up higher
and higher into ecstasy the likes of which he had never known
before. But with this cataclysm of extraordinary peace came
relevance and a fear.
This
illuminated structure of memories was a portal allowing him access
to the other side. It was the ever after, bounty and life
everlasting would be soon to come. Bryan's time here on Earth had
been full but was now over. But he wasn't ready to leave yet.
"No,"
he stated. His voice was low at first as he still clung to the
tranquility of the descending portal and the majesty of what it
was.
He
tried hard to shake it off, feeling indifference of a strong nature.
Something was wrong. He did not belong here, not now. There was too
much left for him to do. He did not want to leave his unborn child
fatherless. The Caleb Family Law Practice was on a steady rise;
Bryan needed to leave his legacy before he left this Earth.
As
his will to stay grew stronger and stronger he shouted "No!"
more defiantly than before and this time it broke him away from the
suction of the light.
To
find out what happens, order your copy of Life,
Death, and Back right
now.
Where can your fans go to find more information about you and your books?
I'm online at www.cynthiavespia.com or www.facebook.com/cynthia.vespia
Is there anything else additional you would like to share with your readers?
I love hearing reader feedback. That's why I write. Some people are only in it for the money. I write for the reader so thank you.
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