Author Spotlight -Excerpt from Redemption For the Devil

Jillian has offerd to share this excerpt with us from "Redemption for the Devil." She's also giving away a cruise magnet and a copy of the ebook. One winner will receive the ebook, the other the cruise magnet. Leave a comment on any post over the course of Jillian's week on the blog with your email address. Winners will be announced here on the blog and on the Desert Breeze Connections Loop on the following Monday, 1 August.
Smiles!
Moderator Steph

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The two men Rena talked about noticed them and crossed the floor to where Peg and Rena stood. The taller one said, "I'm Devlin Cosgrove and this is me mate, Liam Cormac. And you ladies are..."

"Ooh, Peg, they's from your homeland. Hear that accent?" Rena said with glee.

Peg made eye contact with the two men. "Where do ye live?"

Devlin sketched a bow. "We hail from Dublin, Miss Peg. You?"

She said, "Cork."

Liam lifted one eyebrow and said, with a leer, "Let me guess. Your friend called you Peg. But you're really Miss Mary Margaret Whatever, nice Irish Catholic girl, go by Peg to seem informal but wouldn't open your legs for a man without a wedding ring, right? That sum it up?"

Peg gasped, stunned that a man she'd just met made such a statement. She wasn't so shocked as to be paralyzed, though, and she smacked him across the mouth, the sound carrying a bit even in the loud room. "How rude you are. You're not a nice man."

"Never said I was, did I ma'am? I can tell by the dress you have on, the thick stockings and the long hair braided on top of your head that you're wound tighter than the ropes holding this ship to its berth. I've been around the Catholics enough to know how rigid the women can be. Good luck to the man that tries to pull your dress over your head." With that last comment, Liam bowed at them, stalked off across the room and straight to a girl with bobbed hair and in a flapper-style dress.

"Well, Gor! What an ass your friend is," Rena said to Devlin.

Devlin said, "Ignore him, he's a bit uncouth. He's back in society after a three or four year break. Forgot how to talk to women. Especially the Catholic ones, Protestant yob that he is."

"Was he in prison?" Rena asked in a whisper.

"Not for me to say," Devlin replied with a shrug. "Now, what's your name?"

"I'm Rena Comstock."

"Rena, will you dance with me?" asked Devlin.

"Sure I'll dance. I love the Charleston." She turned to Peg. "You don't mind, do ye?"

"No," Peg said. "Go, have fun."

Peg headed to the bar and ordered a straight Paddy's Irish whisky, neat. She leaned on the wall near the bar to enjoy the drink. Taking a deep breath, she savored the smell of the liquor. Her da's favorite brand.

As she savored her first sip of the elixir, Liam walked over. "You must really be from Cork to be drinking Paddy Flaherty's whisky. Straight." He indicated her glass. "It'll grow hair on your chest."

"Did ya think I was lying about where I lived?" Peg snarled at the man she'd smacked just a few minutes prior, stunned at his audacity in approaching her again. Her hand itched to make contact with his face again.

"Can't trust many folks these days, Mary Margaret."

"Why are you here? You dismissed me as not worth your time. Why are you talking to me now?"

"I merely came over for a refill, Mary Margaret. Can't I be neighborly while I wait for my drink?" He leaned his elbows on the bar.

Author Spotlight - Jillian Chantel talks about her favorite authors

My favorite writers are an eclectic grouping. Kind of. There's an underlying theme but it may be hard to fathom at first glance. There are four writers that are on my must-buy list. Most of them have been favorites for a very long time- most dating back to the 1980s.

My absolute first love favorite is Martha Grimes. She has been writing her series of mysteries named after British Pubs since the 1980s. Her hero and his best friend are solid, nice guys that I'd love to share a pint with at any pub on Earth. Their lives are peppered with lots of quirky, oddball characters that are so endearing, it's criminal. These mysteries are interesting and fun.

My second favorite writer is Dean Koontz. Back in the early days, he was much more about horror, but he was also always about good overcoming evil. As he's gotten older, he's toned down the gore but he's ramped up the evil. His antagonists are extremely clever and downright satanic. But there's always a message of faith and hope in his books. That makes me want to read them to watch the protagonist outwit the force of evil. And it doesn't hurt that Dean is a master of witty dialogue. His characters always face their trials with good humor.

Thirdly, I love to read John Sanford. He has a couple of series going and they are excellent. These stories are more gritty and edgy. The main characters are in law enforcement and solve complicated crimes all while bantering with each other.

The last author I have on my must-buy list is Harlan Coben. I've been reading him since his first release and he gets better and better with each book. And, again, witty repartee between his characters.

So, the thing that ties these authors together in my mind is their wit and great dialogue. It doesn't hurt that they have elements of crime in the stories as well. These are also big draws for me.

Author Spotlight - Jillian Chantel talks about her favorite movies

My favorite movie is a tough question, really almost impossible to answer. I'm an avid film buff and I adore all the old ones the most. I'm a huge Hitchcock fan as well as a Cary Grant fan. The films they made together almost make me swoon in bliss. I also love the Thin Man movies and any of the other 1930s screwball comedies. The fast pace of the dialogue makes me grin like the Cheshire cat standing on his head. It's such fun to watch those actors play verbal ping pong. I like to try to write snappy dialogue like that.

I also adore period movies, like Sense and Sensibility and Emma. The imagery and scenery are always outstanding, to say nothing of the houses and clothes.

And who doesn't love Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro and all their tough guy movies? Both of these guys have gritty down pat. One of the hottest movie scenes ever is in Sea of Love with Pacino. He's very versatile and I never tire of watching him.

Movies are actually my muse, I believe. I'm what's called an auditory learner and learn best by hearing things. Listening to dialogue in movies makes me feel inspired to write my own, so to choose a favorite is very hard for me.

I think if you held my feet to the fire and I had to pick, it would be Notorious with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. It's definitely one that bucks the romance genre- the heroine marries the bad guy. And Claude Rains plays the role to perfection. It's a toe-tingling, dark movie and I recommend it highly- very atmospheric.

Author Spotlight - Jillian Chantel talks about her passion for writing

I write both contemporary and historical fiction. I love history and always have. Many have called me a history buff and I'm almost unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit in that category. I have tons of knowledge in the old noggin about all kinds of different eras.

When I first started writing, I focused on contemporary because I'd heard horror stories of the "historical police" coming after writers that used the wrong phrases, improper slang and even the incorrect kind of underwear for the heroine. It made me quake in my lace-up Victorian boots and I vowed never to take on that challenge and be hauled off to whatever hoosegow was waiting for research-poor writers or even writers that knew the era, but were a little less careful than they should be.

So, I moved along in my happy little contemporary world, spicing up my stories with things I learned as a lawyer and hanging around with cops and US Marshals, which is a fun job if you can get it. I was blissful and content in this little cocoon I built around myself.

Enter Liam Cormac, an Irish devil with a sneer, a nice strong thigh (one of my weaknesses) and a wicked grin (when he chooses to use it). He wouldn't take no for an answer and there I was, in the middle of writing a historical. I glanced around my room, looking for those other police, the ones that aren't as fun to hang with as my buds in my legal job. Uh-oh. Was that one over in the corner? Whew, no. It's just the pesky cat wanting to be fed.

Anyway, if you need me, I'm hiding in the closet. Let me know when it's safe to come out.

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Jillian Chantel

STEPH: I don't know much about Redemption for the Devil. Can you tell me a little more about it?

JILLIAN: It’s a story, based in 1920s Ireland, of a young man who thinks he has nothing left to live for once his family disowns him for his role in the fight for Irish freedom from the English. He undertakes what amounts to a suicide mission and meets the heroine. Once he meets her, he's torn between his duty and his desires.

STEPH: How long did it take to write?

JILLIAN: The first draft took 21 days. It was my NaNoWriMo book for 2009. The edits took longer, of course. The hero in this story came into my head in October 2009 and said, "My name is Liam Cormac and you are going to tell my story." This is very much Liam's book.

STEPH: Did you do a lot of research for the novel?

JILLIAN: Not per se. Having both an Irish and English background, I love this period of history and have several books about Michael Collins and the fight for Irish Freedom. Since I read the biographies and history books, I had a lot of the knowledge in my head already. I've been blessed with a great memory for details and things I've been exposed to; therefore, the research required for the story was just a refreshing of my recollection. I was very wrong about one thing- that was when the Empire State building was constructed so I had to find another New York landmark for the hero to see under construction. Fact checking is very important.

STEPH: Where did the inspiration for the story come from?

JILLIAN: I think it was all the information I have in my head from loving this era on top of that pesky Liam not leaving me alone. He really wanted his tale to be told.

STEPH: If your story was going to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?


JILLIAN: That's tough because the people I would cast are older and not even of the same generation as each other. LOL. I had a young Alan Rickman in my head as Liam and Maureen O'Hara as she was in The Quiet Man as Peg. I think I better leave the casting to Hollywood.

STEPH: OMGOSH! I ****LOVE**** Alan Rickman as an actor. I'm sooooo there!!


STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

JILLIAN: The theme is definitely redemption and forgiveness. Mostly forgiveness of self. This is definitely Liam's journey to forgive himself for something he perceives as a wrong when he was a young man and how he learns to cope with that and feel redeemed in his own eyes.

STEPH: What do you want readers to take away from the novel when they finish it?

JILLIAN: I think I would like them to take away a feeling that it's never too late to make something worthwhile of your life. And I also hope they take away a feeling of love for this story. It was such a pleasure to write and I hope people enjoy the journey with these characters.

Young Alan Rickman
STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

JILLIAN: I have the Kindle App for my Ipad and Ipod, Ibook apps and I have the Sony reader as well.

STEPH: What's the last movie you saw?

JILLIAN: Midnight in Paris

STEPH: What's your writing space like?

JILLIAN: I write in the living room. I started writing when my kids were little and I can't write in the quiet. I have to have noise so in the living room works for me. If it gets too crazy, I put on headphones and listen to music..

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booktrailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izodnXeyzDI