Hereafter
Afterlife Book One
Terri Bruce
Genre: Paranormal
Contemporary Fantasy
Publisher: Mictlan Press
Date of Publication: January 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9913036-0-1
ISBN: 978-0-9913036-1-8
Number of pages: 369
Word Count: 111,000
Cover Artist: Shelby Robinson
Book Description:
Thirty-six-year-old Irene Dunphy didn't plan on dying any time soon, but that's exactly what happens when she makes the mistake of getting behind the wheel after a night bar-hopping with friends. She finds herself stranded on earth as a ghost, where the food has no taste, the alcohol doesn't get you drunk, and the sex...well, let's just say "don't bother." To make matters worse, the only person who can see her-courtesy of a book he found in his school library-is a fourteen-year-old boy genius obsessed with the afterlife.
Unfortunately, what waits in the Great Beyond isn't much better. Stuck between the boring life of a ghost in this world and the terrifying prospect of three-headed hell hounds, final judgment, and eternal torment in the next, Irene sets out to find a third option-preferably one that involves not being dead anymore. Can she wipe the slate clean and get a second chance before it's too late?
Excerpt:
"Come." Samyel gestured, indicating that they should follow him. "We must go."
"Go? Go where?"
"Away. Inside. Or they will see."
"Who will see what?"
The dark glasses revealed nothing as he stood impassively for a moment. "Everyone."
Samyel was attracting a lot of attention. The crowd moving around them was giving him a wide berth, and he was the focus of a lot of strange looks, which just confirmed that he wasn't dead-people could see him. Irene knew that it looked like a seven-foot tall man in a trench coat and dark glasses was talking to himself in the middle of the sidewalk. It wouldn't be long before the cops came to investigate.
Irene gestured for Samyel to lead the way. "Fine. Let's go."
Irene heard another choke of protest and glanced at Jonah. There was a silent exchange of mouthed words, pantomimed gestures, and angry, exaggerated looks.
"Don't be crazy," Jonah hissed. "You can't go with him!"
"You're the one that always wants to stop and talk to every weirdo we meet," she countered.
"And what do you mean 'you'? We're both going."
"Uh uh," Jonah said. "This is your idea. If you get murdered, I'm not saving you."
With an exasperated look, she motioned for Jonah to follow and set out after Samyel, who was nearly out of sight. Jonah reluctantly followed. Irene gave him a wry look as they trailed, side by side, a few feet behind Samyel. "You know, at some point, we're going to have to talk about your propensity for picking fights with people bigger than yourself."
"What's propensity?"
"A really bad habit that you should stop."
Jonah's expression turned unreadable for a long moment, as if he was debating with himself, and then he looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets and bowing his head to stare at the sidewalk as they went.
"I've changed the password, by the way, so you can't do that again," he said darkly.
She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt. "Jonah, listen to me. It's not that I don't appreciate you trying to protect me. I do. Even when it's annoying and misplaced, like with Ernest. You're the bravest, sweetest guy I've ever met, but I'm dead. You're not. I'm already probably going to Hell for dragging you along on this adventure. Don't add being the cause of your death to my list of crimes, okay?"
The tips of his ears had turned pink and his head was down, shoulders hunched. Then, to her surprise, he suddenly looked at her, his eyes inquiring as he searched her face. She didn't know what he was looking for, but he was gazing at her so earnestly that she blushed.
Author Interview:
What inspired you to write Hereafter?
What's unique about Hereafter, and where the idea came from, is that I started from a place of, "What if all the stories of the afterlife were true?" I love mythology and when you trace stories back, you can sort of see how they all converge and spring from a single point of origin. So I thought about afterlife mythology and customs-all these myths and stories are so different; how could they possibly be connected? If I traced them all back to that single point of origin, what would that make the afterlife look like? And so, that's what I've done with this series-combined all the myths and legends into a single, cohesive, and hopefully believable explanation of what awaits us after death. :-)
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I never had a specific goal to be a writer, but I've always written; in grade school, they had us write a story every year, which we then made into a book - we printed it neatly on nice paper, drew pictures to accompany the story, and then sewed it all together with a cardboard-wrapped-in-wall-paper for covers. I think that was my favorite thing we did all year, and I still have those stories (thanks Mom for keeping them!). It wasn't until 2001, however, that I really set out to write a novel "for real," and that's when I started working steadily toward becoming a professional author.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
It's funny, but I don't actually remember reading when I was young. I have very vague memories of reading "See Spot Run" kinds of stories at school-I remember sitting in a circle in the reading corner and reading the text, but it's all very vague and disjointed. I don't remember that point where I started reading on my own or what kinds of books I read. My earliest reading memories start around fourth grade-I was reading two grade levels ahead so they let me free read while the other kids were in reading lessons. That was when I discovered Anne of Green Gables-the teacher has the set on her desk and I was allowed to read that instead of the lessons.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
I'm an eclectic reader; I read from almost all genres. My favorite genres tend to be contemporary fantasy (like The Time Traveler's Wife, The Night Circus, Neverwhere, etc.), historical fiction, and historical romance, but I have favorite books from almost all genres.
What is your favorite book?
Naming a single favorite book is like trying to each a single potato chip! However, two of my favorites are T.H. White's Once and Future King and Tennyson's Idylls of the King. I reread them both once per year, usually around my birthday. I also love Pride and Prejudice, The Three Musketeers, Jane Eyre, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, and The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
Again, it's hard to pick just one, but I can say that I've read almost everything by Georgette Heyer and Terry Pratchett, so I guess they rank at the top.
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
You know, I don't know that I would go back in time. The past is fraught with a lot of peril-as a woman, anything outside the modern age and suddenly I have no rights; I can't vote, can't work outside the home, have to wear horrendous layers and layers of clothes, am considered property, etc. And then there's the lack of sanitation, superstitions (not keen on being hung for a witch), and bigotry/discrimination. So, yeah…I think I'll stay in 2014. :-)
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
LOL-it's torture! Dorothy Parker said, "I hate writing; I love having written." That is me to a T!
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
I always have at least one cat-I can't imagine my house without them. At the moment, I have three cats-Pooka, a very un-catlike cat (who is the model for the cat in Hereafter and Thereafter), Bix (named for jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke) and Djanga (named for gypsy guitarist Djanga Reinhardt). All three of them are rescues from shelters.
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
How can I pick just one?! I love cheesecake, crème brulee, Spam, Indian food, Bachman Cheese Jax-LOL, it's an eclectic mix, I know, but seriously, I like food (and yes, Spam was on that list).
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Oh, I'm terrible at giving advice! There's so much good advice out there already that I doubt I can add anything of substance to it. So I guess my advice is to go read the advice that is out there, find a group of writers to hang out with (whether in-person or online), and learn as much as you can about both the craft and business of writing. Also, know your worth and believe in yourself. When you allow others to determine your worth (by feeling that you'll only be a "real" writer if you get an agent or a traditional publishing deal or that the quality of your writing or worth as a writer is based on the reviews you get), then you're giving away your personal power and closing a lot of doors for yourself. You're giving control of yourself and your decisions to other people. Don't do that.
About the Author:
Terri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her second novel, Thereafter (Afterlife #2), will be released May 1, 2014.
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Facebook Party Full of Prizes
Help celebrate the re-release of HEREAFTER back into the wild at the Online Release Party January 21st from 12:00 pm EST (noon) to 12:00 am EST (midnight). Join Terri and over a dozen special guest authors-including Alma Alexander ("The Secrets of Jin-Shei") , Gail Z. Martin ("Chronicles of the Necromancer"), Barbara Ann Wright ("The Pyramid Waltz"), and Jennifer Allis Provost ("Copper Girl")-for games, giveaways, and other shenanigans.
So please stop on by and bring your friends-the more merrier! Facebook Party!
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