The World of the Written Word

Stay tuned after my review of Cameron's Law and interview with author Mia Darien for info about her latest book.

Cameron's Law (Adelheid #1)

by Mia Darien

My rating on a 100-point scale: 91

My recommender:

Masquerade Tours

My short and sweet synopsis:

A law is passed making all preternatural creatures public citizens, but that doesn't mean it's safe for them to come out into the open, as Sadie Stanton is bound to be reminded time after time.

My short and sweet review:

Though this text isn't technically perfect, it is an adventure worth the time. I enjoyed it and know many others will, too.

I recommend to:
Fans of supernatural fiction, specifically that involving vampires and werewolves.

Suggested restrictions:

I don't suggest for anyone under the age of 13 for gore, etc.

Links for Cameron's Law:
Get it for FREE from Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
Get it in print from Amazon or Createspace for less than $5.
It's also available as an audiobook for $2 here.

Check out the second in this series here, the third here, and the latest here.

My interview with the author:

Hello Ms. Darien, and welcome to my book blog! I noticed you have a blog as well, and a very interesting website. Tell us, what do you typically blog about and what other interesting things can we discover on your site?

Image from Amazon.com.

Thanks for having me! These days, most of my blog posts are author and character interviews with my fellow authors and their respective characters. I've been doing those for over a year now and they're a lot of fun, I think. Otherwise, I try to keep my site simple and informative: (there are) pages for each series and my stand-alone works, (an) archive of interviews, biographical information, a page where I keep a record of what I'm writing/how far I am and what I'm reading, and a page on freelancing services (that) I offer for self-publishing authors.

Cool beans. The first of your Adelheid series, Cameron's Law, is free on Smashwords and Amazon. Will it always be free? Do you have any other works offered for free? If so, from where?

Yes, I intend for it to always be free. It's my gateway to the series, and I think I've had (a) good response from that. Otherwise, my only works for free are some short stories that I released before Cameron's Law. They are available from Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, but not Amazon. It's not easy getting a book free there and I focused that effort on Cameron's Law.

Awesome! There are a few freebies to choose from there. I will be reading more of them soon. Those will definitely give readers a taste for your writing.

Tell us a little about the main character in Cameron's Law. Is she based on anyone from real life? If so, will you disclose their relationship to you? Why or why not?

Sadie is a vampire coasting downhill to the century(-old) mark, but (is) not there yet. She's not actually based directly on anyone, but a (there's) little bit of me in her sarcastic personality. Her name however, is taken from my family. Sadie was the name of my grandmother's mother and Stanton is the name of my paternal grandfather.

That's interesting. What inspired you to write Cameron's Law in the first-person? Are all the others in this series from a first-person perspective? Why or why not?

Yes, all the stories in the Adelheid series are in first-person - I like to say, first-person Sarcastic. I love writing in first-person, because I get to inject more humor that way. I think so, at least. And it's more visceral to me. I've always enjoyed reading first-person when (it's) done well, so I like writing it (too). And each book changes narrators, so we get more in-depth looks into different characters in the series. Plus, in first-person, you can take the reader more easily along with what's going on in the character's head: if they're going a little crazy, the reader comes (along) for the ride.

Image from barnesandnoble.com.

You have a whole page devoted to the Adelheid series on your website, but can you describe it here for us in just a few sentences please?

Well, obviously it gives the descriptions and links for each book, along with some snippets of reviews available on Amazon/Barnes & Noble, then a link to my Guide to the Preternatural, which is also in every book, and two posts about the genesis of the series (back when I started writing it as a teenager and it wasn't Adelheid then, how it changed to be what it is) and why it's set in New England.

Um... Oh! Haha. I meant for you to describe the series for us. (To help keep you all from misunderstandings like this in the future, read this. The above was partially my bad, I think, since I should have placed "on your website" nearer to "page," which was what the prepositional clause was modifying. Though, looking at the answer, it was more of a group-effort mistake, since Mia's describing the page devoted to her Adelheid series and not her website in general.) But, never mind.

What else do you write besides vampire novels?

Primarily romances set in a variety of fantasy sub-genres, from post-apocalyptic/erotic to sci-fi to historical to modern fairy tale. There is also an epic fantasy trilogy that will some day be done, (even) if I have to lock myself in a tower to do it.

Hm, okay, cool. A lot of the time, vampires and adult sex scenes are inseparable. How do you feel about this?

I can enjoy a good vampire sex scene as much as the next paranormal junkie, but I don't think they're inseparable. I don't have any in Adelheid. I try to keep it PG-13-ish.

You're doing a pretty good job of keeping it decent. I appreciate that, since I'm not too crazy about erotica, but do like paranormal.

How do you research for your writing? Do you love or loathe the research aspect of writing?

Depends on what it is, honestly. I started researching the fairy tale of Rapunzel for my next Turnabout Tale and ended up on a wiki page about the plague. So, research can be fun, and frightening.

Rapunzel and the plague. I feel like I'm missing something there. Interesting. Maybe Rapunzel actually died instead of being stolen by a witch? Anyway, moving on.

What's your all-time favorite book? I know, a very difficult question for some of us, but try to narrow it down to at most three.

When saying "all time," I have to go to the books I've actually read more than once because I adored them that much; one I actually wrote quotes from that I carried around with me. So... Being a Green Mother by Piers Anthony, The Firebringer Trilogy by Meredith Anne Pierce, and The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, because Logan Ninefingers is epic.

Sadly, that's all the questions I have for you now. Thank you for stopping by and good luck in all things written!

* Note: Singular words or two in parentheses above were added by reviewer Faye Hollidaye.

Author bio:
Mia Darien is an indie author of speculative fiction, and a New England Yankee transplanted into Alabama clay. No matter her geography, she continues to stubbornly and rebelliously live the life of her choosing along with her family and pets. She doesn’t miss the snow.

Visit her website at miadarien.com, and check her out on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.

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About Written All Over Her:

Synopsis:

One word can change the story of your life forever.

Abduction. Torture. Surrender.

Eleven months from her adolescence have framed thirty-one years of Detective Nykk Marlowe’s life. Despite the trauma of her past, and the unique physical scars it left her with, she’s built a career as a detective for the Adelheid Police Department.

Her personal life might only consist of caring for her sister and a pet rabbit, but she accepts that.

She accepts that she’ll never be able to be like “normal” people, even the supernatural ones. As long as she can keep the past where it belongs, she’s okay.

But when the body of a teenage girl shows up with the same scars that Nykk sees in the mirror every day, her “okay” life gets turned upside down and she’s forced to confront the past she’s been looking away from for sixteen years.

And when it turns out there’s already more than one victim, the pressure’s on to stop the killer before any more girls are tortured, mutilated, and murdered.