Blog Tour: Shadow of the World by Gregory Carrico #99cents

Hello, everyone! I’m thrilled to be sharing with you Shadow of the World, a new book by an author friend of mine, Gregory Carrico. Not only that, but Greg has a treat for us today–an interview with Elaine, a character in this amazing novel.

Description
In this gritty “Dark Knight” meets “The Wire” superhero series, an ex-con tries to overcome his blackouts and memory loss with the help of his prison psychiatrist. Along with his returning memories, he finds evidence that his daughter and grandson are in grave danger from a brutal killer with a grudge. But he also discovers a side to his personality that only comes out during his blackouts: a superhero with telepathic powers. As he finds himself in a complex world of betrayal, dangerous alien biotechnology, and a dimensional rift to a world of waking nightmares, can he bring together the fragments of his broken mind in time to save his family, or is everything he thinks he knows just another figment of a deluded killer’s imagination?

Is there an actress or model or woman you see playing Elaine in a movie? 
Saoirse Ronan is a bit young, but she has the right look. Audre Tautou or Kiera Knightly from about ten years ago would work, but my 1st choice would be: Sarah Bolger, the Irish actress who played Mary in The Tudors.

Here’s an image link:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/14/article-0-0DBDE00B00000578-910_468x655.jpg

A Character Interview with Elaine
1. Hello Elaine, welcome out into the world, did you have any problems sneaking past Mr. Carrico?
A. Hello, and thank you. Getting past Mister Carrico isn’t tricky, but I do tend to over-plan. On one hand, he doesn’t sleep as much as he should. But when he does, he’s out for the count. My super power-that’s how we’re supposed to refer to our abilities-can be pretty helpful when I don’t want to be noticed.

2. Can I get you some coffee, tea, soda, or something a little harder to drink?
A.Oh, that would be great. Earl Grey? Sweet, please, with a drop of cream. Is it just me, or does the bergamot oil after-taste remind you of Fruit Loops?

3. Now, how have you been handling life since the debut of Episode 1 of Sand: The Shadow of the World?
A. Believe it or not, I’ve been busier than ever, and that should send chills up your spine. There has to be some seriously bad stuff going on in the world for me to burn the candle at both ends. The work we put into the first episode is behind us, but that was, like, totally just the beginning for us. With everything going on in episodes two and three, I haven’t had time to let it sink in.

4. Any major paparazzi run ins? 
A. <laughs> Paparazzi? Actually, yes. But it’s not the way you’re thinking, I guarantee it. I was at a hotel where a certain politician was trying wait out a certain scandal. Let’s just say someone tweeted something they shouldn’t have and dozens of the vultures were circling the place in minutes. It was a shame, but it worked out great for the job I was doing at the time.

5. Do Wayne or Sam have a tendency to hog the spotlight now that the book is out? 
A. Wayne doesn’t have to hog the spotlight. It follows him like a lost puppy. Sure, he comes across all “I just want to be normal,” which personally, has never made a bit of sense to me. I mean, who wants to be a secretary or work in a call center when you could be a freaking super hero? Anyway, Wayne used to be a big-shot detective in the old days. He closed some pretty high profile corruption cases, made a few friends and a bunch of enemies in high places. He’s so used to the spotlight, when he sees one, he assumes it’s there for him. He can’t help it. Sam is pretty invisible when it comes to that sort of thing. That’s how he likes it.

6. The story is bringing back the Serial Novella, how do you feel about that concept?
A. I thinks it’s about time. I like to read as much as the next girl (I can just hear Mister Carrico cracking inappropriate jokes about how girls can’t read or drive. Sometimes he is positively palaeolithic. Don’t worry, he’ll get his due), but who has time these days? I’m even working in my sleep half the time! I love the idea of a reading a good story in one sitting without having to use vacation days to finish it.

7. How would you define your personal role in the story? 
A. My personal role in The Shadow of the World is sort of a mother figure for Wayne, which is a little creepy. I’m literally half his age. But he is in a tough place, and I am his psychiatrist. We have some history that he hasn’t remembered yet, too, and I think I’m happy keeping it that way. No, before you ask. Not romantic history. I mean, look at me. I’m a twenty four year old forensic psychiatrist super hero. I’m not that hard to look at, either. I could do much better than a brooding, slightly mad, ex-cop my father’s age. But we don’t get to see very much about me on a personal level yet. Mister Carrico is pretty tight lipped with letting information slip out.

8. How would you characterize your pivotal role in the tale being told?
A. It’s my job in this episode to get Wayne to remember. Sam and I are going to be relying on him pretty heavily in future episodes, and he needs to break through these mental blocks and blackouts or he won’t be firing on all cylinders. I’ve unexpectedly had to step into a leadership role with… my employer. So a lot of what I’m doing is the less glamorous, behind the scenes stuff; you know, getting the band back together, making sure the instruments still work, getting everyone to the show on time, so to speak.

9. Who do you think is hotter, Wayne or Sam? (If neither, say so… and the next question would be: Do tell, what is your perfect man like?)
A. Personally, neither is my type, but if I had to pick just one to keep on a deserted island, it would be Sam. Hands down. I like the strong, silent type, and he’s a reliable “just do it” sort of guy. Plus, he’s got kind of a Idris Elba thing going on. Not too shabby.

My perfect man? When I’m awake, right? Hmm… He’s there when I need him, gone when I don’t. Makes the plans, but doesn’t mind when I change them. Physically fit, and as improbable as it sounds, with my IQ or better. Sorry, but sexy without smart is like Louis without Vuitton, or a hipo with no campus.

10. Does it ever get hard to maintain your femininity, needing to be strict and commanding in the workplace?
A. Ooh, good question. That’s actually very important to me. My role and the jobs I get are based on my abilities—sorry, super powers. Different people will see me in very different ways, depending on what I need to get out of them. If they need sophisticated and in command, like Wayne, that’s what they’ll get. If they need a young, vulnerable or incompetent little girl to make them feel brave, guess what? That’s how they’ll see me. The only way I get to actually be myself most of the time is with fashion, and no matter what role I have to fill, I’ll do it with feminine grace and style. Of course, I don’t think being strict and commanding is necessarily mutually exclusive with being feminine. If done properly, a woman can be both. I’m one who doesn’t mind tweaking the traditional perceptions of femininity as it suites my needs, so by my own definition, I’m always feminine.

11. Are you always a worker bee, or do you like to let your hair down and party?
A. I’m very careful about letting my hair down. I was never one to go wild, but like everyone, I do have ways of letting off steam and enjoying myself.

12. What do you do when you let your hair down?
A. I have two major ways of indulging my Id. As I just hinted, I love shopping for clothes. I have a couple of favorite stores and designers, but in my secret, non-super fantasy, I think I’m a pretty fashion designer. I’ve even worn a few outfits of my own design out in public with very minimal ridicule. After a really stressful weak, when scissors and sewing needles aren’t enough, I go the range and blow away paper bad guys. It beats a drunk groping at a nightclub, any day.

13. Between you and me, do you have any top secret information you can share from Episode Two? Trust me Mr. Carrico will never know you said a thing.
A. Um, all right. As long as it’s just between us. Mister Carrico is tentatively calling the next episode “Phantom Shift,” against my advice. Sure, it sounds kind of cool, but it refers to a very dull technical process in self-replicating dinucleic, or dual-core as I like to call them, particles we’ve reverse engineered from alien matter in our secret laboratories under the hosp… well, you don’t want to hear about that. But you see what I mean, right? It’’s very boring stuff if you’re uninitiated in the ways toteccan particle physics and isogen multi-phase power cores, which is everyone who doesn’t work in our lab.
<looks at her blinking tablet>
Thanks so much for having me here today. It’s nice to get away from the grind for a while, but duty calls. That was excellent Earl Grey, by the way. I’ll see you in Episode Two!

Meet Greg!

Gregory Carrico is a former dental practice management consultant and software trainer. Abandoning his dream of working the daily grind until death, he was forced into the thankless life of a fiction writer. Now an Amazon.com Best Selling horror and science fiction writer, as well as a 2013 HFA Author of the Year Finalist, he finds a small degree of succor in crafting despicable bad guys and then tricking readers into caring about them.

When not creating new worlds and plotting their destruction, he advocates for adopting rescue dogs, and politely urges slower drivers to get out of the passing lane.