Interview with mystery author CJ Carson

Mystery author CJ Carson is here today to chat a bit about her new paranormal, Murderous Envy.

During her virtual book tour, CJ will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
From a very early age, CJ Carson has been inspired by a great story, but what has brought her to this juncture in her life and inspired her to put pen to paper are the many rich experiences and opportunities her life has put in her path.

Her love of learning and new adventures has afforded her opportunities to reinvent herself many times over.

While working in the medical field, she became a licensed massage therapist, attending a number of classes to learn energy work. She then went on to become a Polarity Therapist and Reiki Therapist.

As an artist, she has explored many modalities that have taken her on many a journey.

Her acting has brought her into the world of theatre both on the stage and behind the scenes.

Painting introduced her to a group of artists that shared her passion for bringing a scene to canvas.

Her love of singing afforded her the opportunity to travel twice to Europe as a soloist with conductor Sonja Dahlgren Prior and a chorus out of Boston. Sonja, affectionately known as Sunny, inspired her to do something she never dreamed possible.

But something CJ Carson has always wanted to do is write. As a young student in high school, she had a teacher who implored her to pursue a writing career, but life had other plans for her first.

Now she is finally introducing to the world her first published work, Murderous Envy from her trilogy, Veils of Parallel Times.

Please tell us about your current release, Murderous Envy from your trilogy The Veils of Parallel Times.
Allie Callahan had her whole life mapped out; run her family’s marketing firm, make her first million, and get that next big contract. Destiny had another plan. After a catastrophic event forces, her to rethink her life’s path, Allie discovers that the heritage she’s tried so hard to deny is about to lead her in an entirely new direction. Unable to ignore her grandfather’s Native American heritage, Allie embarks on a journey that will test her fortitude, strength, and courage, but it will also bring her the one thing she never thought possible – love.

What inspired you to write this book?
The inspiration for this book came from my life experience in energy work. Although the book is a work of fiction, my experiences in the healing arts were the motivator for the story.

 

Excerpt from Murderous Envy:
THE STREETS WERE SILENT AND DARK as I pulled up to the front of the office building at ten fifty-five and parked. Leaving my car, I approached the building and unlocked the front door. Entering the lobby, I proceeded down the dark hallways, lit only by random floor lighting. Getting to my office suite, I opened the door, walked through my assistant’s adjoining office, and into my office. At my desk, I flipped on the desk lamp. I took my dinner out of the brown sack and placed it on the side desk. Once I settled in with my dinner and laptop, I began writing my summary for tomorrow morning’s meeting.

I took the first bite of my sandwich. Oh, yes, this is home to me, I thought, as memories of visits to George’s little shop and those precious moments, sitting across from my grandfather, in our favorite booth, drawing on the back of a paper placemat, eating French fries, and drinking chocolate milk came flooding back to me. In my mind’s eye, I saw his soft approving smile. I remembered the way he could make me giggle. Sometimes, he would say the most profound things to me, knowing I would only understand what he meant when I was grown and had experienced life with all its trials and tribulations.

Not long before my grandfather’s passing, he looked deep into my eyes and said, “Someday, I will be one with the earth again, but I will be all around you in the breeze, watching and guiding you with the eagles and our ancestors. I know, at this young age, these words are lost in translation, my little bird, but I am conversing with your spirit and it will teach you this in time. The key to your spirit is locked in your heart where your gifts reside.”

The buzzing of my cell phone pulled me back to reality. I picked it up and read a text from a number I didn’t recognize.

How are you?

Needing to get to work, I ignored it.

A few seconds later, it buzzed again.

I said, how are you?

Getting annoyed, I blurted, “What the hell?”

It buzzed again.

I said how are you, bitch? You look a little tired to me.

Then, it rang.

Annoyed, I answered it. “Who is this?”

There was no answer, but heavy, angry breathing. Then, silence.

As I got up from my desk to move to the office door, I heard the breathing again, but it was not just coming from the phone. It echoed from my assistant’s adjoining office.

In a split second, panic like I’d never known lodged in my throat.

 

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am currently working on Murderous Interruptions, the second book in the trilogy.

In this book, Allie Callahan continues to be challenged by her nemesis who is a challenging and formidable adversary.

Allie finally accepts and embraces her ancestral gifts to stop her archenemy who would have her destroyed for his own lust of power. Explore the depths of her relationship with this rival in this life and beyond the veil.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
From a very young age, I have always enjoyed writing. It wasn’t until I began to meet with and become inspired by a group of writers from The Carolina Forest Writers Group that I realized that my dream of publishing my work could be possible.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Retired from my previous occupation, I am now writing. I find that I spend a minimum of thirty hours a week writing and about that much time marketing as well.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I sometimes wake up early in the morning with an idea in my head and I am compelled to get to my computer as quickly as I can to get it all down in a document while it is still fresh in my mind.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a singer and an actress. As a child, I had a whole neighborhood of friends, and we spent many hours making up plays and performing for our parents and other neighbors.

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