Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama: Virtual Book Tour, Interview, and Giveaway: Blood Phoenix Imprinted by Alisha Cotanzo

Urban Fantasy with satirical, horror, and romantic elements

Date Published: May 9, 2017

Publisher: Transmundane Press, LLC

With an old war raging between vampires and shifters, Ria must learn to refocus her life if she's going to survive.

Her renegade fight was just the beginning. The queen is recruiting new soldiers. Ria's going on vicious missions with her battle buddy. And her explosive abilities are malfunctioning at inopportune moments.

So now, Ria must forgo her selfish desires to compartmentalize her life, but what's she to do when she can't save everyone she wants to? One girl may not be capable of taking down an empire. Good thing Ria's got help.

Interview:

How did you do research for your book?

The research for this book was a mix of learning about swords and using them for hand-to-hand combat and scouring the internet for images of local NY settings. My favorite bit of research came when I decided to use the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que as the scene for Ria’s first mission to observe a pack of wolves she’s meant to murder. Having grown up in Syracuse, NY, I wanted to showcase one of the iconic places from my city. To be sure I had the details to fully capture this place (like the mural on the side, the line of Harley’s out front, and the chalked out smoking pig on the air vent in the diner section), my dad brought me there for lunch, where we got the most mouth-watering BBQ burger. I jotted five pages of notes in my traveler’s notebook, and we bonded with our waiter, who was a fellow writer.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

I gain inspiration from a multitude of places—my past, my friends, my husband, and of course, the books I’ve read (I like to slip in references to a lot of other stories to ramp up the satirical and humorous elements). But most of the time, ideas slap me in the face when I’m exhausted and unable to think. It’s funny what the mind does when we’re busy working.

Do you have another profession besides writing?

I do. I am an editor at Transmundane Press and an English Professor in Oklahoma.

Do you write every day?

Boy, I try to, but I tend to pile too much on my plate, so if I don’t plan myself some writing time, I tend to fall behind. I’ve recently begun a summer boot camp for writing. Let’s see if it works. J

Favorite meal?

Okay, this is way too specific. My favorite meal comes after a long, fifty-four-hour train ride from Oklahoma to New York, where my family picks up a pretty greasy me. After my shower, we order from Dominick’s Italian Restaurant in Syracuse. I always always always get chicken riggies and a chocolate cannoli. Yum! Plus, it’s the first meal I share with my family when I come on my yearly visit.

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?

A lot of my favorite funny moments come in class when my students have a bit more freedom to goof off and build community. During a lesson in reading aloud to their groups, Elijah—one of my class clowns—calmly asks me if I knew about Dr. Seuss’s past. He tells me about how Dr. Seuss cheated on his wife before he found out she had cancer and died. The moral, he said, was, “One bitch, two bitch, dead bitch, new bitch.” The entire class stopped, looked at him with a bit of mortification before we erupted in laughter. I cried. He was disappointed when I wouldn’t count it as his turn to read.

Favorite Vacation Spot?

In 2011, my husband and I took a three-week honeymoon in lieu of having a wedding. We spent a week in London with some friends, a week in Scotland, and a week in Ireland. Besides getting to see the highlands of Scotland during twilight as we drove across the country to our hotel (we got there at 1:30 am), the giant, red bed and breakfast we stayed in was magnificent, and the owner tried to sell it to us. If I had the 400,000 she was asking for it, I would have jumped at the opportunity. Down the street from her home was a street of vendors—just one—and a body of water. A little ways off was probably one of the most breath-taking sight of my adult life, literally. The Cliffs of Moher was vibrant, cold, and windy, even in July, plus I bought my husband a unique wedding ring while we were there.

About the Author

Alisha Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently teaches English. She's the author of BLOOD PHOENIX: REBIRTH, BLOOD PHOENIX: CLAIMED, BLOOD PHOENIX: IMPRINTED, and LOVING RED, and co-editor of DISTORTED. UNDERWATER, and AFTER THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. She’s currently editing her new 2017 fire-themed anthology, writing about Ria’s father, and crafting her new YA novel for its 2018 release. In the meantime, she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government, and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.

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