Welcome Mira author Toni Andrews as she stops by EtS on her CRY MERCY tour

Posted by Susan Blexrud on June 30, 2009 · 25 Comments 

Please welcome Toni Andrews, Mira author of Beg For Mercy, Angel Of Mercy, and Cry Mercy. 

 

Thanks for having me. And thanks, readers, for checking out my post.  Please leave a comment – one commenter will be randomly selected to win a copy of Cry Mercy!

 

ETS – Thanks for chatting with us at ETS blog today!  Can you tell us a little about yourself?  Starting with your epiphany that popped up during your idle time?  J

 

I was living in Miami, in a beautiful home which I supported with my high-paying job as a business analyst.  I had a closet full of designer suits and shoes that would make Carrie on Sex in the City proud.  I carried a briefcase, a PDA and had a Bluetooth surgically attached to my ear.

 

Then, as my website says, my life changed one day when I was sitting on the toilet.

 

You’ll have to go to my site, www.toniandrews.com, to read that story, but I later found out that the story isn’t that uncommon, at least the pre-bathroom epiphany part.  So many people end up in accidental careers.  They wanted to be a writer, or an actress, or an interior designer.  But, one day, like me, they found themselves broke and needing to pay the rent.  So they got a job—what their parents probably called a real job—somewhere with benefits and insurance and paid days off.

 

Then they got caught up.  A few promotions, a transfer or two, and, viola, they were me, wearing $300 sunglasses and carrying platinum frequent flyer cards for three airlines.

 

I have three pairs of those sunglasses sitting on my bookshelf, all broken.  My budget requires that I wait until my next advance or royalty check to get them repaired, never mind replace them.  And you know what?  I’m sooooo much happier now.

 

Although I do miss flying first class.  Coach is for short people who aren’t trying to edit a chapter on their laptops.

 

ETS – I’ve always found the bathroom a great place for deep thinking.  Seriously!  I came up with an outrageous plot in the bathtub once.  So anyway, I was intrigued by your booktrailers.  There are SO many booktrailers floating around YouTube…and yet yours stood out.  Very to-the-point, simplistic and intriguing!  Can you tell me about your heroine, Mercy Hollings?

 

They’re simple because they’re home grown—my book trailers are made with images from the book cover, with pictures and music I can get for free.  I need to rely on language and timing to make them compelling. I think I succeeded with Cry Mercy.

 

Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/75vl4s

 

They’re not in the same class as some of those that are professionally scripted, shot and edited, with real actors and studios.  But, in their own way, they’re just as effective.  I’m considering starting a side business doing them for other authors, for a fraction of what the others cost.  Because they’re fun!  I love doing them.

 

The first line of the first Mercy Holling book, Beg for Mercy, is “I’ve never been certain I’m human.”  Mercy doesn’t really know who or what she is.  She was abandoned at birth and then, when she started displaying paranormal abilities as an adolescent, given up by her adoptive parents. 

 

The woman’s got some serious intimacy issues.

 

Mercy’s oldest and, arguably, strongest special talent is the ability to compel people to obey her.  This sounds like the coolest superpower ever until you think about it for five minutes.  First, it presents some serious ethical challenges.  Second, it gets away from her sometimes, especially when she loses her temper or has too much to drink.  Both of which she does fairly frequently.

 

ETS – Your booktrailer for Angel of Mercy literally gave me goose bumps.  How did you come up with the premise for that novel?

 

Angel of Mercy deals with abused and exploited children. This is a topic you don’t see a lot in genre fiction, because of what one reviewer called “the squirm factor.” 

 

It was actually the distastefulness of the topic that attracted me to it.  I figured that Mercy, who grew up in foster care, would have seen plenty of bad things done to children.  She herself escaped, because of her unique defenses.  But she came away with a very special hatred of those that prey on the most helpless members of society.  Being forced to face these demons would be particularly hard on her.

 

And isn’t fiction the art of figuring out a character’s worst case scenario, and then doing it to her?

 

ETS – McDonald’s or Burger King?

 

Neither.  I hate fast food. I’ll go through the drive through of either one in a pinch, but it’s purely fuel.

 

My mother was a pure scratch cook, who took gourmet cooking classes.  She didn’t teach me how to cook, but she sure taught me how to eat.  I had to learn in self defense, since I don’t actually like Kraft macaroni and cheese.

 

 

ETS – What authors did you grow up reading?

 

When I was very small, I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett and Margaret Sidney.  I was thinking about both recently, when I talked about how there was a period of time when books were “dumbed down” for children.  Nothing truly bad could happen to a child or to his or her parents.  But in the books I loved so much, the children overcame terrible circumstances and triumphed in the end. I always say that this is one of the things that made the Harry Potter series so popular.  Rowling doesn’t insult her readers’ intelligence.

 

By the time I was nine or ten, I was reading mostly adult books.  We always went to the library once a week and brought home a stack of books for the whole family.  My parents were extremely strict about most things to do with behavior and what they considered proper behavior for a well-brought-up child.  They never, however, censored my reading, although Mom did try to encourage me to intersperse the popular novels with a few classics. 

 

We moved to a small town in Florida when I was seven, and I encountered racial prejudice for the first time.  I didn’t understand why some people, including teachers in the recently integrated public school, thought I shouldn’t play with Angela Jackson, who was obviously exactly like me.  We were both tall, skinny, good students and excellent at jacks and jump-rope.  Her skin color was no more relevant to me than the fact that another friend had red hair or green eyes.  My mother was horrified and, I learned years later, had a little chat with the school principle. I played with Angela as much as I wanted after that. J

 

I started gravitating toward books with themes about prejudice and social injustice. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird in fourth grade and then Steinbeck’s books, including The Grapes of Wrath.  Then, I’d put one of these down and pick up a thriller or romance novel.

 

I still read all over the map, from Pulitzer Prize winners to racy beach reads. And I learn from both.

 

ETS – Your covers are gorgeous.  Did you collaborate with the cover artist, or did the covers come as a surprise?

 

With major publishers, the author has little or no input on covers.  We fill out an information form and hope for the best.  Although my agent negotiated consultation rights, I’ve never exercised them.

 

I started out by telling them that the series features the ocean, and that Mercy is a woman with long dark hair and dark eyes who usually wears black.  When the first cover came, I was thrilled, and have been content to let them continue in the same vein.

 

ETS – What is your writing process like?  Do you plot things out first, or just run with an idea?

 

I’m a plotter.  I may be THE plotter—as a business analyst, I developed a love for charts, graphs and systems.  I also learned that, for projects,  planning things thoroughly in advance can save bucketloads of time and grief in the future.  This has held true in book writing as well.

 

I’ve been known to plot a book in a color-coded Visio flowchart. 

 

 

ETS – Who are your auto-buy authors?

 

James Lee Burke, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Crusie, Jim Butcher…

 

What’s with all the J’s?  I never noticed that before.

 

Also, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, Jeffrey Deaver, Ken Follett, Patricia Cornwell, Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen…

 

Are we getting an “all over the map” feel here?

 

Too many more to list.  I’m a BIG book lover.

 

ETS – What can we expect to see from you in the future?

 

More Mercy books.  I’m working on a women’s fiction novel right now, which is being looked at by several publishers.  My agent calls it Sex in the City meets The First Wives Club.  I’ve also got a romance making the rounds.

 

ETS – If you could shape-shift into any animal, what kind would you be and why?

 

A cat belonging to any member of my family.

 

ETS – What advice would you give aspiring writers?

 

This is a question that I’m asked so often that I created a blog entry last year, with my seven pieces of advice.  Here’s a link: http://toniandrews.bravejournal.com/archive/12/27/2008

 

ETS – Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us!

ETS – You can find out more about Toni and her books by visiting her Website, www.toniandrews.com

More links:

Book Rx, Toni’s “Book Doctor” service: http://toniandrews.com/BookRx.htm

Where to send your Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to get a signed book plate for your copy: http://toniandrews.com/CryMercyTour.htm

Toni’s TV show: http://toniandrews.com/SoManyBooks.htm

 

Links to purchase the book:

 

Mira Books (discounted while they last!) http://tinyurl.com/oe8tkd

Amazon Link:  http://tinyurl.com/CryMercy

Amazon UK Link: http://tinyurl.com/prh6ej

Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/pxrx9f

Indigo Books (Canada): http://tinyurl.com/qcycaf

Rendezvous Romance (Australia) http://tinyurl.com/r4g56z

 

 

Filed under book give away, Guest, Interviews, readers, writers · Tagged with Angel of Mercy, Beg for Mercy, Cry Mercy, Cry Mercy Tour, Mira, paranormal romance, Toni Andrews, urban fantasy