Photo Credit: Kimberly Hunter
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she has written action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 40+ books, anthologies, and compilations in print in 30 countries.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved Si-Fi, fantasy, and Gothic. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life in writing?
Read a lot! Read analytically. Take every writing course you can manage. And put your hands on the keyboard and write! Write a LOT!
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I was in my twenties, after higher ed. The book stank. I didn’t know it stank but it did. It took a lot of years taking classes and studying to learn what I was doing wrong and how to fix it.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life in writing?
Faith – go to school and get a degree and a job and a career. Then try to make a living writing. It’s hard. Not many people are successful enough to make a living writing. I wrote full time and worked full time and commercially published 20+ books, for 25 years, before I was an overnight success.
What was your unforgettable moment while writing FLAME IN THE DARK?
No single moment stands out. But watching Mud grow and Nell develop were a delight!
Which character have you enjoyed getting to know the most over the course of writing the SOULWOOD Series?
Mud. Hands down! Nell is fun but she is grown up and already full of conflict and the contradictions that make a character both wonderful and tricky to work with. Mud is a kid and she might do anything. The surprises of developing and growing her character are delightful!
What is your greatest adventure?
I love to while water paddle, really juicy Claws II and Class III rivers.
TEN QUOTES FROM FLAME IN THE DARK
1. I was alone. On a county road before dawn. I should be afraid. I should open my coat and have my hand on my service weapon. But I was mad. And if anyone tried to hurt me right now, pulled over in a car and tried to abduct me, I’d drain them into the earth and feed the land. And feed myself. And that thought was scary.
2. “You are precisely the right person to address the issue of paranormal beings who’ve committed first- degree murder and/or hate crimes with the highest -ranked vampire in Knoxville. And it will be an opportunity to rebuild bridges that you set fire to when you referred to all Mithrans as smelling ‘maggoty,’ I believe?”
3. “Nell,” Tandy said. “You’ll be fine. Just remember: be polite, and never, ever meet her eyes.”
4. “Ming of Glass,” I said. “I’m honored to speak with you. I’m Special Agent Nell Ingram of PsyLED.”
As if to remind her, Yummy said, “The one who called us Maggots, my master.”
5. “We got another one. Knoxville PD just got a ten-eighty-one code. Multiple shots fired into a restaurant. Secret Service is on- site, which means the senator was there. Sending the address to your tablet and your cell.” Her voice rose to follow me down the hallway. “Abrams Tolliver’s family is inside. His security team is pinned down. Wear your vest! Take an AR-15 and a comms unit. More info as I have it.”
6. Shots sounded. Two, close together, followed by a third. Before the first two echoed, I was on the pavement underneath Occam. Fear blasted through me. Fear of being held down. Fear of being controlled. Memories of fighting for my life. I could take his life . . . Bloodlust slammed through me. On instinct, I elbowed him in the gut, rolled, and hit his jaw with the heel of my other hand. A fast two-strike reaction. Spook School training. Fighting my need. “Get off me!” I yelled, kneeing him hard.
7. “Are you Special Agent Ingram?”
I flinched. Whirled. Pulled my service weapon. All at once. A female uniformed cop stood near me, crouched low between vehicles, as if to avoid shots fired. I swallowed a pillow-sized fear, clogging my throat. I was breathing fast, my pulse beating in my temples and the back of my neck. I pushed down the bloodlust and managed to speak almost normally. “I’m Ingram.”
8. “Over here.” The uniformed cop jerked on my sleeve, pulling me against a marked vehicle. She pointed to a black limo across the street. “In that one.” It wasn’t a long limo, but a short one. The vehicle looked heavy, as if armored. “Don’t expect me to get any closer to the fangheads,” she said. “I like the blood in my veins where it belongs. Maintain cover position until we clear the street and the buildings.”
“Thanks,” I said, “and I feel the same way about vampires. But you don’t say no to Ming of Glass.”
9. “I’ll be glad to give Yummy a ride, but if traffic stalls us on the highway and she burns up, you’un’re paying to have my truck fumigated. I hear it’s mighty hard to get out the burned vamp stink.”
Yummy made a strangled sound that might have been laughter.
10. “Hell, Maggot. Can’t you afford a new car? Doesn’t PsyLED provide you a car? Does it have a radio?” She punched the buttons and twisted the knobs.
“Probably. Eventually. And yes. But it stopped working last week. Buckle up.” I slid her a sideways glance and pulled into the light five a.m. traffic as she complied. “No working radio. We’ll have to talk,” I said.
“About maggots?”
I laughed. “About life. Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m sure you have a dossier on me. Read it.”
“My time’s valuable.” I let my words glide into church-speak.” You’uns ain’t important enough to me to read it.”
Yummy burst out laughing and twisted around in the seat so her legs were splayed, one knee angled at me. “I like you, Nell.”
“Hmmm.”
1. I was alone. On a county road before dawn. I should be afraid. I should open my coat and have my hand on my service weapon. But I was mad. And if anyone tried to hurt me right now, pulled over in a car and tried to abduct me, I’d drain them into the earth and feed the land. And feed myself. And that thought was scary.
2. “You are precisely the right person to address the issue of paranormal beings who’ve committed first- degree murder and/or hate crimes with the highest -ranked vampire in Knoxville. And it will be an opportunity to rebuild bridges that you set fire to when you referred to all Mithrans as smelling ‘maggoty,’ I believe?”
3. “Nell,” Tandy said. “You’ll be fine. Just remember: be polite, and never, ever meet her eyes.”
4. “Ming of Glass,” I said. “I’m honored to speak with you. I’m Special Agent Nell Ingram of PsyLED.”
As if to remind her, Yummy said, “The one who called us Maggots, my master.”
5. “We got another one. Knoxville PD just got a ten-eighty-one code. Multiple shots fired into a restaurant. Secret Service is on- site, which means the senator was there. Sending the address to your tablet and your cell.” Her voice rose to follow me down the hallway. “Abrams Tolliver’s family is inside. His security team is pinned down. Wear your vest! Take an AR-15 and a comms unit. More info as I have it.”
6. Shots sounded. Two, close together, followed by a third. Before the first two echoed, I was on the pavement underneath Occam. Fear blasted through me. Fear of being held down. Fear of being controlled. Memories of fighting for my life. I could take his life . . . Bloodlust slammed through me. On instinct, I elbowed him in the gut, rolled, and hit his jaw with the heel of my other hand. A fast two-strike reaction. Spook School training. Fighting my need. “Get off me!” I yelled, kneeing him hard.
7. “Are you Special Agent Ingram?”
I flinched. Whirled. Pulled my service weapon. All at once. A female uniformed cop stood near me, crouched low between vehicles, as if to avoid shots fired. I swallowed a pillow-sized fear, clogging my throat. I was breathing fast, my pulse beating in my temples and the back of my neck. I pushed down the bloodlust and managed to speak almost normally. “I’m Ingram.”
8. “Over here.” The uniformed cop jerked on my sleeve, pulling me against a marked vehicle. She pointed to a black limo across the street. “In that one.” It wasn’t a long limo, but a short one. The vehicle looked heavy, as if armored. “Don’t expect me to get any closer to the fangheads,” she said. “I like the blood in my veins where it belongs. Maintain cover position until we clear the street and the buildings.”
“Thanks,” I said, “and I feel the same way about vampires. But you don’t say no to Ming of Glass.”
9. “I’ll be glad to give Yummy a ride, but if traffic stalls us on the highway and she burns up, you’un’re paying to have my truck fumigated. I hear it’s mighty hard to get out the burned vamp stink.”
Yummy made a strangled sound that might have been laughter.
10. “Hell, Maggot. Can’t you afford a new car? Doesn’t PsyLED provide you a car? Does it have a radio?” She punched the buttons and twisted the knobs.
“Probably. Eventually. And yes. But it stopped working last week. Buckle up.” I slid her a sideways glance and pulled into the light five a.m. traffic as she complied. “No working radio. We’ll have to talk,” I said.
“About maggots?”
I laughed. “About life. Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m sure you have a dossier on me. Read it.”
“My time’s valuable.” I let my words glide into church-speak.” You’uns ain’t important enough to me to read it.”
Yummy burst out laughing and twisted around in the seat so her legs were splayed, one knee angled at me. “I like you, Nell.”
“Hmmm.”
Nell Ingram has always known she was different. Since she was a child, she’s been able to feel and channel ancient powers from deep within the earth. When she met Jane Yellowrock, her entire life changed, and she was recruited into PsyLED—the Homeland Security division that polices paranormals. But now her newly formed unit is about to take on its toughest case yet.
A powerful senator barely survives an assassination attempt that leaves many others dead—and the house he was visiting burns to the ground. Invisible to security cameras, the assassin literally disappears, and Nell’s team is called in. As they track a killer they know is more—or less—than human, they unravel a web of dark intrigue and malevolent motives that tests them to their limits and beyond.
Praise for Faith Hunter’s SOULWOOD Novels
“Urban Fantasy fans will love Nell Ingram and her unique way of handling life and those around her.” —Smexy Books
“Vivid storytelling, intricate plot, and high-stakes tension.” —RT Book Reviews
“Faith Hunter does a masterful job in writing this suspenseful exciting story, and has created a wonderful new heroine in Nell, who continues to grow into her powers.” —The Reading Café
“From start to finish, this book is packed with action.” —Will Read for Feels
“An interesting and quite unique main character in an already fascinating and broad world.” —Fangs For The Fantasy
“Incredible world-building, complex, multi-faceted characters, and fast-moving plot create a book that begs to be devoured in one sitting.” —Romance Junkies
“Masterful storytelling that is rich and saturated with detail!” —The Genre Minx
“Urban Fantasy fans will love Nell Ingram and her unique way of handling life and those around her.” —Smexy Books
“Vivid storytelling, intricate plot, and high-stakes tension.” —RT Book Reviews
“Faith Hunter does a masterful job in writing this suspenseful exciting story, and has created a wonderful new heroine in Nell, who continues to grow into her powers.” —The Reading Café
“From start to finish, this book is packed with action.” —Will Read for Feels
“An interesting and quite unique main character in an already fascinating and broad world.” —Fangs For The Fantasy
“Incredible world-building, complex, multi-faceted characters, and fast-moving plot create a book that begs to be devoured in one sitting.” —Romance Junkies
“Masterful storytelling that is rich and saturated with detail!” —The Genre Minx
You can purchase Flame in the Dark at the following Retailers:
And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you FAITH HUNTER for making this giveaway possible.
Winner will receive a Copy of Flame in the Dark (Soulwood #3) by Faith Hunter..
It does sound like a wild and intricate fantasy! I expect it would be action-packed!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter will love this! Fingers crossed!
ReplyDelete