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Cristelle Comby is giving away a signed copy of book titled Danse Macabre.
Author Interview
- Woohoo! You are a published author. Describe a strong character trait you possess, good or bad, and how it helped you become a published author. I’m very determined, and I don’t give up easily. Once I have decided something, I stick to it.
- Sometimes an author begins writing a story before they are aware of its genre. Did you choose your genre, or did it choose you? I chose the genre first. I knew I wanted to do a PI story. Then I created the characters, and then came up with ideas for their first case.
- The plot thickens, or does it? Which one are you, a pantser or a plotter? Plotter definitely. I start each book by writing a long detailed outline. I have to know where the story is going, before I start writing the first word.
- Fear 101: As writers it is our duty to make our characters face their fears. Have you ever included one of your own fears in a storyline? No, not yet. I don’t have any irrational fear though. I don’t really like snakes, or heights, but I’d still jump out of a plane with a parachute if I had to, or pet a snake.
- Fear 102: Yes, deadlines are terrifying. Have you conquered the juggling act between writing and the rest of your life? What do you do when it feels like the balls are dropping all around you? I’m one of these people who work very well under pressure. I’m well organized and good at prioritizing. The rush of adrenaline induced by a deadline gets me working faster.
- Switch positions with one of your main characters in a scene. What is the outcome, disaster or divine intervention? It so depends on the scene, and the character. I think I’d have a hard time being in Egan’s shoes any day of the year. I’d bump into every furniture and probably break something within the first ten minutes. Handling Neve’s life would be easier, I guess. I wouldn’t mind doing a bit of sleuthing. I think I could be good at it.
- Where is your favorite place to write? Add that one comfort food that you can’t do without. I love writing in bed. It’s all warm and cozy. I don’t really eat while writing — because I need my fingers — but, I often start a writing session with a bottle of Coke, for the caffeine boost.
- Writing inspirations?All the many TV Shows, movies and books I’ve seen/read in my life. I’m a sucker for a good detective story.
- You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? Well, that would be Mister Jim Butcher, and I’d want to know the plot to his next ten books. And also maybe, if he has James Marster’s phone number (he’s the one who narrates Butcher’s audiobooks).
10. I’ve gone mad – why don’t you come with me? Some people just don’t understand us writers. Name a quirky, writer-thing you do that friends wish you didn’t. They don’t always get it when you’re in “writing-mode” and you just have to stay inside, one your own, and write, write, write all afternoon.
Danse Macabre
by Cristelle Comby
Blurb:
Private investigators Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan are hired to succeed where the police have failed, to safely return home a missing ballerina. With no lead to pursue and no idea who could be behind the young woman’s kidnapping, they soon find themselves at a loss as to what to do.
To make matters worse, the heart of England seems to be caught in the middle of a little Ice Age. With snow endlessly falling and Tube lines either too cramped up to use or out of service, it is a pain to do any legwork in the huge metropolis.
Oh, and because trouble never comes alone, there may also be a serial killer on the loose in the streets of East London…
Excerpt:
Mrs Doughton called the agency this morning, with urgency in her voice, and asked for a meeting that very afternoon. She requested Egan and I come as soon as we could, for a job of the utmost importance. She refused to divulge more information over the phone, but my curiosity was piqued. I promised her we would honour the appointment — besides, we didn’t have any other clients banging down our door.
We stop at the front door of a typical Victorian terrace house and I press the doorbell. The door swings open, before I have a chance to remove my finger from the button, revealing a slim woman in her forties with short curly hair, high cheekbones and tired eyes. I note in passing she’s long overdue for a root touch-up to hide the silver strands eating their way down her brown hair.
She’s wearing a wrinkled blouse and a pair of jeans. She beckons us in, with a quick, nervous gesture. ‘Ms Neve, Mr Egan, please come in.’ She leads us to the living room of the small house and has to remove papers from the settee to make room for my colleague and I to sit down.
My stomach clenches as I catch sight of the documents: missing person posters. I only catch a glimpse of the documents, but the word MISSING printed in bold and capitals is impossible to ignore and they show a picture of a young girl with dark wavy hair.
Mrs Doughton drops the leaflets on a nearby table, already filled to the brim, and turns back to face us. I nod at the notices she just put away. ‘Your daughter, I presume.’
‘Yes,’ the woman says in a tired voice. She sits down, looking both exhausted and distressed.
‘She disappeared last weekend. I… I have no idea where she is.’
Egan frowns and asks, ‘Have you contacted the police?’
‘Of course I have. It was the first thing I did, Sunday morning, when I couldn’t reach her,’ she replies, her hands twisting in her lap. ‘I called all of Isa’s friends, the other dancers, her teachers, everyone in our family… everyone I could think of.’
She takes in a breath, bites at her lower lip. ‘No one’s seen her, not since Friday afternoon. At first I assumed she’d spent the night at a friend’s, but when I still couldn’t reach her on Sunday… She’s never been gone so long, and she always calls me back.’
She shakes her head, and worries her lip again. ‘The detectives think she ran away. I tried to tell them she wouldn’t—’ she clenches and unclenches her hands nervously, ‘—I tried and tried to tell them my daughter isn’t like that. No matter how it looks, she wouldn’t leave me. It’s been just the two of us since my husband died three years ago. Isa wouldn’t leave. She just… she wouldn’t.’ Tears fill Mrs Doughton’s eyes and she seems ready to fall to pieces.
Damn it, I hate jobs like this one. I force an amiable smile, lean forward, and try to get the poor woman’s full attention, to draw her away from the brink before she falls apart on us. ‘Tell us more about your daughter. How old is she?’
In response, Mrs Doughton reaches for one of the missing person posters and places it in my hand, while she dabs at her eyes with a tissue.
I find my answer underneath the smiling face of a young brunette with a cheery smile and her mother’s dark eyes. I read the words aloud, for Egan’s benefit: ‘Isabella Doughton, age 24.’
Author Bio and Links:
Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where she still resides.
Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English is fluent.
She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.
Danse Macabre is her third new-adult novel, and she’s hard at work on the next titles in the Neve & Egan series.
Links:
Website: http://cristelle-comby.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Cristelle
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CristelleComby
Thanks for having me!
Happy 2015,
Cristelle
It’s a pleasure, Cristelle! Congratulations on this exciting release. 🙂
Thanks for hosting!