Reader’s Entertainment caught up with author Deborah LeBlanc while she was on the road and somehow convinced her to answer our “interesting” questions. lol
Thank you Deborah for finding the time to chat with us! Let’s go right to the Q&A!

Question: Who are in your top 10 spaces on MySpace?

DL:
I have MySpace set on random top friends, so today my top 10 are:
1. Stephen King
2. Dean Koontz
3. Lorrie Jones
4. Georgia Ghost Hunting Society
5. NJ Horror
6. Vanessa
7. Mike Marrano
8. Harry Shannon
9. Ella
10. Scott Nicholson

Question: Using the Twitter method of answering (140 characters or less) tell us why you decided to be a writer.

DL: I come from a long line of storytellers and, aside from making up special stories for my daughters when they were young, writing was the only way I knew to tell my stories.

Question: In one paragraph tell us about Literacy Inc. and why it should be important to society at large.

DL: Literacy Inc is a non-profit organization I founded in 2007, and its primary mission is to fight the growing rate of illiteracy in America’s teens. If anyone’s interested in finding out more about the org, they can visit www.literacyinc.com

Question: What professional organizations do you participate in?

Arggg, too many! Let’s see….
Horror Writers Association
International Thriller Writers
Sisters in Crime
NINC
Writers Guild of Acadiana
Mystery Writers of America
National Association of Women Writers
Louisiana Oil Marketers Association

Question: If you could meet one of these people who would it be and why-
Elvis Presley
Stephen King
Eleanor Roosevelt
Barack Obama
Mickey Mouse

DL: Elvis Presley—Elvis! I’d love to find out what all that hunk-a-hunk of burnin’ love was all about.

Question: Many of your books take place in the bayou. What makes the bayou such a perfect backdrop to your tales?

DL: I don’t know of any creepier, more mysterious, more daunting place than the swamps…there are some deep, dark place in the bayous of south Louisiana that many folks have never seen. And many places some people have attempted to explore…and never returned..mwaaahaaa!

Question: Using the Twitter method of answering what is the one bit of advice you’d give to an aspiring writer?

DL: Oh, this is an easy one. That advice is to: read, read, read…write, write, write…and NEVER give up!

Question: Are you on Facebook, and if so what do you do there?

DL: Yep, I’m on Facebook, but to be totally honest, I’m still trying to figure out how to work my way around that site!

Question: If you could only read one blog, what blog would you read?

DL: The one I read religiously is Circle of Seven’s blog. It’s informative, insightful, and always up on the latest and greatest regarding book marketing and promotions.

Question: Where do you get the majority of your research information for books you write?

DL: It depends on the topic, of course, but my research information usually comes from some of the oddest places. Some of my research adventures have included being locked in a casket, sneaking into an abandoned insane asylum, working in embalming rooms and autopsy suites, crime scenes and purported haunted locations. I’m an avid paranormal investigator, so I always come across great fodder for stories.

Question: Have you ever written something and scared yourself? Tell us about it.

DL: Unfortunately, no. Even in every day life, I have a tendency to get involved in and/or witness some pretty bizarre situations, like ghost hunting, crime scenes, working with the dead in funeral homes, etc, so it takes something REALLY off to frighten me. The challenge is, with writing anyway, when I write about something REALLY off, something that would frighten me, it usually comes across to the editor as over the top.

Question: You’re stranded on an island all by yourself. You were able to save 5 things to bring with you. What are they?

DL-
1. A knife
2. paper
3. pencils
4. pictures of my kids
5. chocolate!

Question: Most books are made up of cross genres. What genres would you say the majority of your books are?

DL: Hmm, my books have been called everything but romance and westerns. If I had to give them a cross-genre title, I’d say the two closest would be paranormal suspense or supernatural thrillers.

Question: What was the last online game you played?

DL: I’ve never played an online game…honest!

Question: Tell us where the top 3 places online are where we can find you.

DL: Only two really….my website and my MySpace page, answering messages.

Question: What is your current book that is out or about to come out? Tell us about it in one paragraph.

DL: WATER WITCH, and it’s about a dowser who goes to a small town in Louisiana to help locate two missing children who are feared lost in the swamps. What she finds, however, is the source of every horrific nightmare that’s invaded the town since the early twentieth century.

Thanks for joining us today!

To find out more about Deborah LeBlanc go to www.deborahleblanc.com

Reader’s Entertainment caught up with espionage/thriller writer Haggai Carmon this week to talk about his new release, Chameleon Conspiracy and find out more about what makes this series, and this author, unique.

Question: Using the Twitter method of answering (140 characters or less) tell us what makes your series different from others of the same genre?

They’re different because I’m an insider. My thrillers are partially based on the real adventures I had while working undercover for the U.S. government for two decades.

Question: Dan Gordon gets into a fight with John Rain, who would win and why?

They’d probably be on the same side, but if they did get into a tiff? Thus far, Dan Gordon has always prevailed in a war of minds. He’s smart, conniving and daring. In physical confrontations, he uses his past training in Israel’s Special Forces and the Mossad. John Rain may be a professional killer, but he has a conscience and Gordon would figure out how to tap into it and get away long before Rain could add D.G. to his long list of professional accomplishments.

Question:
Using the Twitter method again, tell us why your book is called The Chameleon Conspiracy

Dan Gordon’s hot on the tracks of a fraudster whose changing identities earn him the nickname Chameleon – in fact, he may just be more enemy sleeper agent than common criminal.

Question: Where is your favorite online community and what brought you there?

Facebook for U.S. spies, officially known as A-Space. It’s fairly new, and I’m no longer undercover, so I don’t have the luxury of access, but the fact that over a dozen U.S. intelligence agencies whose approach to information-sharing has always been ‘need to know’ are pooling their knowledge and expertise online to get to the bottom of cases faster is very cool.

Question: If you tell us about your official Spy Club, do you have to kill us? If not, tell us about it!

Hey, I’m Haggai Carmon – not Dan Gordon (or John Rain). The Spy Club’s for fun – it’s an online all-things-spy zone where enthusiasts can get their fix of real international espionage news and info on spy gadgets, movies, codes and contests. If you join the club at www.dangordonspyclub.com, you’ll be entered in a competition whose winner will get to name a significant character in one of my next thrillers. You’ll also receive periodic spy updates in your inbox.

Question: What kind of readers follow your series?

That’s a tough one, but so far, I would say: members of the intelligence community who tell me that my thrillers are truly reflective of their world, people who like spy stories, students of all ages and people young at heart or in age aspiring to eradicate evil doers.

Question:
What is it about your books that you think appeal to women?

Dan Gordon, of course. Seriously, though, he may not be a debonair James Bond, but he’s real, smart and direct, and I think that appeals to the women who read my books. While traipsing around the world, Dan Gordon does not spend his evenings with promiscuous women, nor does he get drunk every night. Instead, he calls his children, writes up his reports and has a beer.
There are indications that he’s also looking to find the warmth of intimacy with just one woman.

Question: If you could ask the president of the United States one interview question, what would it be?

You’ve just finished your second term as President, the U.S. is once again thriving economically, we have a national health care system in place, and you’re on vacation, far removed from all things cerebral – even the
BlackBerry is off. What book do you cart along to the beach?

Question: Name 5 cities you have personally visited that you consider some of the most beautiful in the world.

Jerusalem, Moscow,Berlin, Budapest and San Francisco.

Question: If you had to write your own tagline for your series what would it be?

Enlisted in the war of minds, Dan Gordon takes on the Forces of Evil?

Question: Using the Twitter method tell us what is the main hook of your current
novel?

The thrill of my current book lies in how scary it is to be a spy in Iran,where every benign-looking person could be an agent of a savage internal security police.

Question: Have you ever received threats because of your books?

The only threats used are mine against those who ask me silly questions that show that they have not read my thrillers.

Question: If you were asked to write an anthology with two other authors and you could choose who those authors were, who would you choose and why?

Robert Ludlum and John Le Carré because their fiction is in touch with reality. Their novels, very much like mine, feature a lone wolf in a struggle against powerful and evil adversaries.

Question: If you could be any super hero who would you be and why?

I live in reality, and there were no super heroes in my vicinity, on either side of the fence. Intelligence work means filling in the blanks in a huge puzzle. That takes patience, endurance, persistence and dedication. I wish that could be done by someone who came from a different planet or was stung by a spider. That said, being able to read people’s minds would be rather helpful.

To learn more about Haggai Carmon and the Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller Series, watch the book video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0fHsFp3-i4 and also visit www.SleepWithOneEyeOpen.com

Other places to find Haggai-

www.SleepWithOneEyeOpen.com

http://DanGordonSpyClub.com

www.TripleIdentity.com

www.RedSyndrome.com

www.ChameleonConspiracy.com

Great interview! Thank you!!!