Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven
Please welcome author of Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven
Robin Ray author of Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven
by Robin Ray
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GENRE: Mystery/Sci-Fi
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INTERVIEW: Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven
What or who inspired you to start writing?
Writing is a release for me, transports me another world. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are an inspiration because those stories are fantastic and conjure a faraway world in my mind where wizards and warlocks, unicorns and faeries exist
What expertise did you bring to your writing?
The ideas for my stories come from everywhere – the news, the interaction of people on the street, my own past, and the movies. As far as expertise goes, there are a few things I’m knowledgeable about – driving a taxi, nursing, driving across the US, playing in rock bands, living in Hollywood while writing screenplays, autism, and living in different countries. The bad or negative things I’m also knowledgeable about because I’ve experienced them, unfortunately, are child abuse, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse and mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression and PTSD.
What expertise did you bring to your writing?
The ideas for my stories come from everywhere – the news, the interaction of people on the street, my own past, and the movies. As far as expertise goes, there are a few things I’m knowledgeable about – driving a taxi, nursing, driving across the US, playing in rock bands, living in Hollywood while writing screenplays, autism, and living in different countries. The bad or negative things I’m also knowledgeable about because I’ve experienced them, unfortunately, are child abuse, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse and mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression and PTSD.
What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
The last band I played in was MOON, a rock/ska/reggae outfit from Seattle. We played many gigs, have several live videos on YouTube, and have released albums which can be found on Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby, Spotify, and anywhere digital music is sold. I also released a solo dance pop album a few years ago called Quartermoon that is available everywhere. The album took me a year to write and produce because I played all the instruments, sang all the vocals (including creating an 18-voice choir for one track) and engineered the album myself.
As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
My future plan is to just keep on writing. Because I like experimenting in different genres, I’d like to write a children’s book or graphic novel. I definitely had fun writing my one non-fiction book so I’d like to write another one soon.
If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your leading roles?
Oh, this is an easy question since I already do write with certain people in mind. Det. Gregory Angelicus would be played by Will Smith. His sidekick, Tony Lopez, would be played by Bruno Mars. The angels, because they can be stoic and no-nonsense, would be a good fit for Peter Stormare. Actors for the past rock stars could be played by any current actor who resembles them.
When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
I didn’t receive any encouragement to submit by novel for this tour. I’d planned to do it for months but never had the funds. In fact, that’s probably my biggest deterrent to writing. I can sit here and write story after story, but if I can’t pay to get the word out, my work just sits around collecting dust. Unfortunately, I was homeless for years – and still am – but now that I’m receiving disability, I can go ahead and start promoting my stuff.
Do you outline your books or just start writing?
I outline. It’s a necessary evil, especially in my books which have technical elements or cover a lot of ground from city to city, state to state, or country to country. Outlining is also necessary because I draw diagrams of areas (villages, mines, islands, etc) and I have to map where each character is at a certain point in the story. Plus, outlines give me an idea of where to space events such as scares or kills so they’re spread out over the course of a book and not clustered in a few chapters.
Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?
I like camping. I even once turned my back on society and lived down by a river in the woods for four days. Yes, you can say Chris McCandless was a hero of mine. Anyway, I’ve always had a strong affinity for nature, so the themes of forests, trees, woodlands, beaches and parks shows up relatively frequently in my works. Since I also worked as a nurse, from time to time, I’ll write about a character seeking help in an ER somewhere. I’ve also been a musician for years, so every so often, music will pop up in some context or another. Last, but not least, is my great fascination for fine dining. I am a foodie, but now that I’m a vegan these days, I unfortunately have to turn my back on my favorite dishes such as curried goat, curried squid with vegetable fried rice, Peking duck and other delicacies. You can tell from my books I have a great culinary interest because I’ve brought it up many times. “Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven” is a prime example of that.
Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book?
My next project is called “Obey The Darkness: Horror Stories.” It will contain three novellas and fourteen short stories. I’ve tried to cover a wide range of horror tropes, so you’ll find sci-fi horror, fairy tale horror, supernatural horror and other genres in the book.
What is your favorite reality show?
COPS. It’s the only show I watch, really. Criminals make me laugh. Whenever a cop pulls them over or encounters them in the street, they always come up with far fetched, crafty, non-believable explanation for why they did the things they did. My favorite? “These are not my pants,” when they get discovered with drugs in their pockets.
Thanks for inviting me to your blog.
BLURB: Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven
No one ever “re-dies” in Heaven; unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to singer Amy Winehouse. Her death, an unprecedented event in Heaven’s history, has thrown a once docile world into unfortunate chaos. Because of the new uneasy alliance between angels and citizens, a freshly-arrived detective in the rock & roll town has been tasked with investigating the prime suspects, the members of the 27 Club – Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. To make matters worse, a powerful angel from one of the upper levels of Heaven will soon arrive to make her ten-year inspection, a task that fills the other angels with dread since she has the power to banish anyone of them to the underworld. So, with time running out, the PI and his newly acquired sidekick, both aided by rock legends such as Eddie Cochran, Mama Cass, Kurt Cobain, Karen Carpenter and others, must quickly uncover the mystery that threatens not only to close Heaven’s doors forever, but promises to send a ripple effect through the entire universe that can rip it apart.
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EXCERPT: Murder in Rock & Roll Heaven
Plants of varying shapes and sizes sprouted everywhere, some just knee high, some as tall as mango trees. Rows of narrow pipes across the ceiling misted the foliage every minute. A few customers were sampling some of the edible flowers while others were reading manuals or informational tags about the unusual plants. Towards the back, the good PI spotted an employee who was busy pulling off the dead leaves from several botanical specimens. The clerk, he noticed, was very colorful with her psychedelic bamboo slippers, purplish pants, flowery blue and white tunic, rows of bangles on each wrist, several beaded chains around her neck, and a pink strip of cloth enmeshed in her long brown hair. As Gregory neared her, he could hear her humming along to the music playing over the virtual speakers high up in the corners of the center.
“Excuse me,” he introduced himself, “I was told Janis Joplin works back here.”
The employee turned and glanced at him. “You found her, babe.”
“Hi, Janis,” the PI introduced himself. “I’m Gregory Angelicus. And…”
“Oh, Lord,” she moaned, flinging the twigs in her hand down. “Another angel. What’d I do now?”
“Oh, no,” he stated quickly, “I’m not an angel. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“About what?” she asked, eyeing the intruder with suspicion through her circular yellow sunglasses.
Gregory looked around momentarily. “Is there some place we can talk?”
“Sure,” she answered, crossing her arms. “You’re standing in it.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Robin Ray emigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad & Tobago at the ripe old age of 12. Already steeped in the rich culture and mysteries of his native land, it would only be a matter of time before he, too, became a musician and storyteller. After a short stint at Iowa State University, he became a nurse for practical purposes but never abandoned his musical and literary aspirations. Eventually, he did play guitar in several bands, committing himself to localized tours and album releases. Leaving the music world behind, he delved headfirst back into his second love – writing. To date, he has authored six screenplays, two novels, seven novellas, around fifty short stories and many poems. Thus far, he’s published six books – five fiction and one non-fiction, all available in paperback and e-book formats. His latest novel, Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven, can be purchased from the following Amazon link.
https://seattlewordsmith.wordpress.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1720363.Robin_Ray
The book is on sale for only $0.99.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Robin Ray will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
“http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2401
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