Categories: contests • free read • paranormal books


Posted by Amy - June 13th, 2009 Comments 23

Can you have a scary paranormal novel without vampires, shape-shifters or other creatures? Author Toni Andrews’s Mercy Hollings series shows that you certainly can! Toni visits the Paranormal Romance Blog to tell you about the latest book in her series, Cry Mercy (on sale now from MIRA Books), what makes her heroine’s power so frightening, AND has a book for a lucky commenter….

by Toni Andrews, author of Cry Mercy

I don’t do creatures.

Don’t get me wrong, I loves me some vampires.  Ditto sexy werewolves (or were-creatures of your choice), demons, shape-shifters, demi-gods and whatever other mythical being you can imbue with a set of rippling abs and a pair of soulful eyes.

I just can’t write them.

I think it’s because, as much as I enjoy reading about all things supernatural, I don’t actually believe that I’m going to run into any of these various critters the next time I decide to take a solo trip through a dark alley or a stroll through the forest at midnight. When I’m awakened in the night by an unexplained thump, I don’t automatically think “werewolf.”  Outside of the confines of a book page or a movie screen, creatures don’t scare me.

But the idea that the innocuous-looking soccer mom across the room might secretly be reading my mind I can totally buy.  And, considering some of the weirdness that crosses my thoughts, that scares the crap out of me.

Mercy Hollings, the protagonist in my series, isn’t a creature.  She may or may not be 100% human but, as she says in book 1, Beg for Mercy, “the X-Rays and blood tests are normal.”  Sometime just before puberty, Mercy developed the ability to compel people to obey her.  This would have been much cooler if she’d known it was happening or that she could control it.

Think about it-do you have adolescent children?  The last time one of them had a temper tantrum, what did he or she suggest that you do?  Something as benign as “Leave me alone” could lead to dire circumstances if it was uttered on a busy city street.  I often hear the next door neighbors’ kids fighting, and the girl has been known to recommend that her brother perform some anatomically impossible acts.

See, that scares me.

Mercy turns 30 in Cry Mercy, the third book in the series and a June release from Mira.  She may be able to control her ability better now than she did at twelve, but it still gets away from her at times, especially when she loses her temper. Which she frequently does.  Or when she drinks. Which she frequently does.

She’s also becoming increasingly telepathic which anyone else (including her sidekick, Sukey) would think is terrific. Mercy, however, sees this new ability in a different light.  If she’s already having trouble controlling what she says, what’s it going to be like now that she has to control what she thinks?

Then there’s the ethical dilemma.  Just because you can read someone’s thoughts, should you?  It’s like opening up someone’s email or reading their diary-you know you shouldn’t, but it’s hard to resist.  And as for compelling others to obey, what’s to stop you from suggesting the bank teller stick a couple extra hundred dollar bills in your cash envelope? And, once you start down that road, where does it end?

Scary.

Contrary to what the members of a certain mind-control group believe, I do not have Mercy’s power of persuasion. (Seriously, there’s this mind control organization, some members of which have read the Mercy series and believe it’s thinly veiled autobiography.  They also think Chris Angel is not a magician. I kid you not.) I’m not telepathic and I don’t see dead people.

Ooooh, now that’s scary: seeing dead people.  Like telepathy, or Mercy’s press, I can buy into the idea that 1) ghosts exist and 2) some people can see them.  That thump in the night that’s not a werewolf?  It might be Grandma Andrews, who is said to haunt the cottage where I live. I’ve not actually met her.  I think the cat’s seen her, though.

Hmmmm. Perhaps in an upcoming installment, someone in Mercy’s world will see some dead people.  Also, I’m planning to introduce a new character in book four who’s telekinetic.  And totally hot, of course.

So, tell me, what scares you?  Leave a comment, and you might win a copy of Cry Mercy.

If you wish to comment without registering, you may use the username and password “Anonymous”. Just be sure to leave a name/nickname so we know who you are!

For more information about Toni and her books, check out these links:

Toni’s web site: http://toniandrews.com/

Where to send your Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to get a signed book plate for your copy: http://toniandrews.com/CryMercyTour.htm

Toni’s Blog: http://tinyurl.com/ToniBlog

Toni’s TV show: http://toniandrews.com/SoManyBooks.htm

Cry Mercy Trailer: http://tinyurl.com/75vl4s

Book Rx, Toni’s “Book Doctor” service: http://toniandrews.com/BookRx.htm

Tagged with: • • •
contests, free read, paranormal books