Today I had the pleasure of interviewing author Christy Parks about her writing and her book ‘She Who Hunts (Hunters)’.
Q Can you tell us a bit about yourself.
Christy Parks: This has always been one of those strange questions because I never know just how much people want to know. I can tell you I’m the proud mother of three awesome kids and married to a real rock star. Seriously. He plays in a very popular local band, Johnny Rock-It, and The Double Wide Symphony. Besides chasing after my kids and rocking out to 80s hair metal, I’m constantly dealing with my small zoo. We share our home with two large dogs, two cats, five chickens, and a very large Iguana. Our home is never boring.
Q: Do you remember the first story you wrote?
Christy Parks: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I first learned to read I would constantly rewrite the stories to how I wanted them to end. Even Charlotte’s Web got an alternate ending.
Q: Were you inspired by someone or something?
Christy Parks: I’ve always loved to read, but Anne Rice’s vampire books really introduced me to the world of the paranormal in my early teens. I’ve been addicted ever since.
Q: What do you love about writing a story?
Christy Parks: Escaping to another world. While I’m writing I feel like I’m watching a movie play out before my eyes. I get to know all these really cool characters, and walk with them through their lives and live in their world. I heard another author refer to it as playing God, but sometimes I feel more like a spectator than a creator.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your book ‘She Who Hunts (Hunters)’ and the main characters Tenna Massey, and Jason?
Christy Parks: Tenna has been shoved into a world she turned her back on after her parents were murdered. Jason, a Skinwalker, is helping her through her training, protecting her, and falling in love with her spirit. Between the two of them, they are quite a force to reckon with!
Q: I understand this is part of a trilogy. Why did you decide to turn this into a trilogy?
Christy Parks: I originally planned on it being a trilogy, but now it’s spinning further in my head. There’s just so much of Tenna’s story I don’t think I could contain it all in one book. Besides the novels, there will be short stories I’ll be releasing for free with a little insight into the various characters’ lives.
Q: Are you working on the second and third books at the moment?
Christy Parks: Yeah, I’m working on the second book, and two of the short stories as we speak. But, with the release of the first, I’ve been spending a lot of time getting it out I haven’t had as much time to write as I would like.
Q: Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Christy Parks: Never give up. Read. Write. I read every single day, sometimes genres I love, other times books on writing, marketing, etc.
Q: Which author inspires you?
Christy Parks: Wow, there are quite a few, actually. I can say one of my favorites of Rachel Vincent, and I really love JR Ward.
Q: Where can people go and read your work?
Christy Parks: At the moment the book is only available on Amazon for your Kindle, but will be available on all other e-readers within the next few weeks.
Q: Where can people find you on the internet?
Christy Parks: The stalking possibilities are endless. I’m active on Facebook (authorchristy.parks), Twitter (@clparks05), and Goodreads (www.goodreads.com)
Below is an excerpt from the book She Who Hunts (Hunters)!
Part of Chapter 1
“Tena.” I glanced up at my attorney. “We’ll wait another ten minutes and I’ll see if the judge will let us proceed without Paul,” Claire said. She flipped through my file on her lap.
A coppery taste of blood distracted me. Pulling my thumb from my mouth I inspected the skin around my nail – it was raw, bloody from the chewing I’d done on it since the moment we’d climbed into her car for our trip to the courthouse. With a quick swipe on my pants I wiped my thumb clean. By the end of the day I will be officially divorced. My heart ached at the thought. I did not want this to happen. I wanted Paul to return to the man I fell in love with. But he wasn’t. He would never be the same man again. In fact, saying he was a man at all was a stretch.
My vision blurred, my eyes stung a little. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the moisture away, and took a couple of deep breaths. Claire’s hand landed on my knee. I glanced down at her bony fingers; she held my knee down, keeping it from bouncing. A quick glance up to her face showed her lips turned up at the corners. Thank God my attorney just happened to be my best friend.
Claire winked, then turned her attention back to the files on her lap. “Do you want me to see if we can get it continued? Maybe reschedule it?”
I shook my head, a red curl came loose, the hair flopping into my face. Pushing the curl behind my ear, I turned my gaze to Claire. “I’d rather just get this done. Just see if I can sign some papers or something and go.”
My hand moved to the center of my chest, and I began to rub in little circles. I seemed to constantly be trying to massage the heartache away to no avail. Claire peeled my hand from my chest, squeezed it between her own hands, then dropped it before getting up. She disappeared through a door to the left of the judge’s desk.
I focused my attention on my poor mangled thumb while waiting for Claire to reappear through the door. That is until the skin on the back of my neck began to tingle. First it was nothing more than the little hairs standing on end; then came the sensation of insects crawling around under my skin. “Oh shit,” I breathed.
Fear kept me from turning my head, or even opening my mouth to warn everyone. A demon was in the room. And the energy coming from the back of the room was extremely familiar to me. It was Paul. I inhaled deeply, focused on the energy around me, tried to sense his mood.
A bailiff walked toward the aisle between the wooden benches, his hand sliding under his suit jacket. I followed the bailiff with my eyes, watched as he headed past me, then turned only my upper body to look behind me. Paul stood in the doorway, a pistol in his hand hanging down by his thigh. I had never seen a pistol like this one, nor did I plan on asking him about it.
Paul’s hand raised.
The bailiff yelled, “Get down!”
I froze in place. I figured this day would eventually come. The fact I knew about the demon inside of Paul earned me a death sentence. Yeah, I was fully aware of what was possessing the man I married, and unfortunately, it was well aware of me, too.
Paul’s hand pointed in my direction, that strange looking pistol in his grip. Everything had slowed, my brain accepted my time had come. Whatever demon had taken over my husband’s body was going to kill me. Only one clear thought rang through my head: I knew that prophecy wasn’t about me. The muscles in Paul’s forearm twitched, his finger pulled on the trigger, and a loud pop echoed.
Someone slammed into my side, knocking me to the ground. My breath whooshed from my lungs with the impact. A heavy, warm weight held me down as a series of thunderous pops echoed throughout the room. Everyone began to panic, screams erupted from every direction, and a second series of booms erupted. A second shooter? Is the bailiff shooting at Paul?
Then…silence. My own labored breathing rasped in my ears. My heart thundered behind my rib cage, the heavy beats blurred my vision with each pump of blood. The weight on top of me shifted, the body moving to the left of my hip, yet still pinning my upper body down. I stared at the grimy, musty carpet, my nose only inches from the cheap nap. The harder I tried to suck in a breath, the harder it seemed. The weight on top of me pressed my ribs into the ground, my lungs weren’t able to expand to take in a full gasp of oxygen.