PSF Interview & Giveaway: Adrian Phoenix “Black Dust Mambo”

**Visit Tynga’s Reviews today for her PSF Interview & Giveaway with Stacey Kade author of THE GHOST AND THE GOTH**

Please welcome Adrian Phoenix today.  Adrian is a writer of Dark Urban Fantasy including The Maker's Song series and the brand new Hoodoo series debuting on June 29, 2010 with BLACK DUST MAMBO.  Adrian is answering all my questions today (like what exactly is hoodoo?) and giving away LOTS of books.  Details below.

Adrian Phoenix has had stories published in several magazines and anthologies. She currently lives in Oregon (with three cats, of course), but travels to New Orleans, the city of her heart, whenever possible.

 

 

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Interview

ATUF: How does this new series differ from The Maker’s Song series?

AP: This series is a bit lighter, more humorous, and focuses on hoodoo, loa, loup garou, and magic instead of gorgeous vampires and fallen angels and twisted killers. BLACK DUST MAMBO even offers a wet boxers contest.

ATUF: The main character, Kallie Riviere, is “a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice.” I've heard of voodoo before, but what exactly is hoodoo?

AP: Hoodoo is folk magic, basically. It’s also known as “rootwork” by practitioners. The main difference between it and voodoo is that voodoo is a religion, with priestesses (mambos), priests (houngans) and devoted practitioners who participate in ceremonies to summon the loa (natural spirits and those of the dead), while Hoodoo is a system of folk magic following the same belief system as Voodoo, including the same gods/loas/saints.

With hoodoo, there are no priests or priestesses or ceremonies, just root doctors and root workers (also known as conjurers) working out of their homes and/or botanicas. Root doctors/root workers are consulted by members of their neighborhoods and communities for spells/cures/potions when ill (or feeling a tad cursed or full of bad luck) as often as a person would visit the local pharmacy.

Laying tricks and foot magic, breaking/making hexes, creating natural medicines and cures for illnesses of all kinds--heart, body, and soul. Poppets (voodoo dolls) are made for positive purposes as well as negative. To keep love and passion alive, to disperse negative energy and draw in positive. Candle magic. Divination with cards and shells and bones

ATUF: BLACK DUST MAMBO takes place in New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou. How much of the story and characters are influenced by this setting?

AP: Pretty much all of it. The story starts in New Orleans at annual carnival for magic practitioners and ends in Bayou Cyprés Noir. Many of the characters are from the area and lived there most of their lives.

ATUF: What sort of paranormal creatures can we expect to run across in Kallie's world?

AP: All kinds, actually – ghosts, loa, loup garou, the occasional zombie, swamp creatures and other paranormal critters TBD and, whenever Kallie heads into the Big Easy, a vampire or two.

ATUF: I love the title of your book. BLACK DUST MAMBO immediately conveys so much about the key elements of your story. How did you come up with it?

AP: Thanks! I started off by looking at various types of hoodoo potions and terms, then took a quick look at blues songs about hoodoo (there are a TON of very cool songs dating back to the 1930s) and the first title I came up with was BLACK DUST HOODOO BLUES. My editor felt (rightly) that it was a little long and not sexy enough, so then I came up with the current title.

ATUF: If BLACK DUST MAMBO were ever made into a movie, who would your dream or, to keep things interesting, nightmare cast be?

AP: Great question, and one I don’t have an answer for. Only one actor pops into mind – Rupert Everett for Lord Basil Augustine.

ATUF: What other projects can we look forwarding to reading from you soon?

AP: Book Four of The Maker’s Song, ETCHED IN BONE, will be out the end of February 2011 and BLACK HEART LOA will be released in July 2011, followed by Book Five of The Maker’s Song.

ATUF: What are some of your favorite titles/authors in the paranormal genres?

AP: I love Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series; Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP series and her new YA series, Shade; D.B. Reynolds’ Vampires in America series; Kim Harrison, MelJean Brook, Marjorie Liu’s Iron Hunt series, Mark Henry, Jaye Wells, Jeanne C. Stein, Kelly Gay, Devon Monk, are all authors I enjoy. Right now I’m reading STREET MAGIC by Caitlin Kittredge and enjoying it very much.

ATUF: I'm a cover art junkie. What can you tell us about the cover art for BLACK DUST MAMBO? Do you know who the artist is?

AP: It’s a great cover, isn’t it? I’m very happy with it. The artist is Steve Stone. My editor asked me for background input on this one, and I suggested the swamp shack, the candle in Kallie’s hand, and the blue bottles (for luck) hanging from the tree.

ATUF: Can you tell us about your favorite scene in BLACK DUST MAMBO?

AP: Choosing a favorite scene from BLACK DUST MAMBO is a tough request because I have so many! Let’s see . . . I think I’ll go with the wet boxers contest at the carnival in New Orleans and Kallie’s job of dousing the male participants with warm water. 

ATUF: In honor of Paranormal Summer Fest, can you describe your perfect Paranormal Summer read? And where would you love to be vacationing while reading it?

AP: I would love to be draped along a velvet and brocade fainting couch in the French Quarter, surrounded by purring cats, with a tray of bon bons and good wine at hand, while I read a story full of action, humor, heartache, heated love scenes, and compelling characters that I never want to stop reading about.

ATUF: Thanks so much for stopping by Adrian.  Come back anytime!

Visit Adrian online:

• Website
• Blog
• Myspace
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads

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Want to read more from Adrian Phoenix?

The Maker's Song
1. A Rush of Wings
2. In the Blood
3. Beneath the Skin

Hoodoo
1. Black Dust Mambo

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of Adrian Phoenix

3 signed copies of BLACK DUST MAMBO, a bottle of hoodoo attraction oil & a handmade hoodoo mojo bag for love or protection or success, and a complete set of signed The Maker’s Song books (A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, and Beneath the Skin).

 

Release date: June 29, 2010

Book Description

"There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain't going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse . . ."  

Kallie Riviere, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance's annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching -- the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju -- a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.

Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer -- even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie's search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated -- back home to Bayou Cypres Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie's aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from BLACK DUST MAMBO

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES

1. Open to Internationally
2. Fill out the form below
3. Entries for all Paranormal Summer Fest giveaways must be received by Midnight MST on July 4th.  All the giveaways winners will be announced on July 6th.

I would greatly appreciate if you shared this giveaway on your blog or favorite social networks.  And please say hi to Adrian. Thanks!

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