‘Debut Author Spotlight’ is a Saturday feature at Book Chick City. We will be showcasing a debut author each week from the genres of horror, urban fantasy and paranormal romance. We will give you all the relevant book information as well as an insight into the author.

THE AUTHOR

Mark Henwick was born in Africa and left out in the sun too often. An early interest in philosophy and psychology was adequately exorcised by tending bars. And while trying to enroll in a class to read Science Fiction full time, he ended up taking an engineering degree which splendidly qualified him to move into marketing. That in turn spawned a late onset career in creative writing.

Sleight of Hand is his debut novel.

THE BOOK

 RELEASE DATE: Aug 2012 | PUBLISHER: Self-Published | GENRE: Urban Fantasy

“Vampires are the flickering illusions of Hollywood. They don’t exist. We do. We are the Athanate.” For Amber Farrell, post-military life as a PI has its ups and downs: She’s been hit by a truck. She’s being sued by a client. Denver’s newest drug lord just put out a contract on her. The sinister Athanate want her to come in for a friendly chat. And it’s only Tuesday.

Enter Jennifer Kingslund: rich, gorgeous—a tough businesswoman who’s known for getting what she wants in the boardroom and the bedroom. Someone’s trying to sabotage her new resort and destroy her company—and she wants Amber to find out who. The answers lead Amber past Were and Adept, right back to the Athanate—and a centuries-old war that could threaten not just Denver, but the nation that Amber swore to protect and serve. And all sides want to claim her for their own…

THE INTERVIEW

What’s SLEIGHT OF HAND about?

In present day Denver, the human population are unknowingly about to host the Assembly of the Athanate, the body that keeps the peace between the two great warring factions, the Basilikos and the Panethus.

Like the rest of the city, PI Amber Farrell doesn’t know that. Yet. What she does know is she needs to keep her head down after busting a major drug smuggling operation. And worse than that, she knows that the vampires, as she calls the Athanate, are interested in her because she was bitten by one and left for dead a couple of years back. She hasn’t turned. Yet.

All in all, it’d be handy if she had a nice quiet case.

No chance of that. The rent needs to be paid and Jennifer Kingslund, a gorgeous and prominent businesswoman needs someone to find out who’s been trying to sabotage her business. There’s a weird element to the case, and she’s been recommended to talk to Amber…

Amber takes the case and finds nothing in Denver is quite as it appears.

Amber must tread a fine line, facing down sexy werewolves and dancing with powerful vampires. As the stakes get higher, can she keep Jennifer alive, let alone close the case?

Tell us a bit more about the hero/heroine in SLEIGHT OF HAND

Amber Farrell kicks ass. This isn’t an ability that was handed out at the local store. She spent ten years in covert special operations in the army, before the nightmarish attack that destroyed her unit and left her for dead. So she’s out of the army…but they might have different ideas about that.

As the book opens, Amber is frustrated; with the threat of a vampiric infection in her blood, her family life is under strain and relationships are out of the question. But she finds moving on is more complicated than staying where she was.

How did you research SLEIGHT OF HAND?

I stayed in Denver and found places there and in the nearby Rockies that made specific scenes come alive for me. I talked to enthusiasts about big, ugly guns and learned to do 180 degree brake turns on dust roads in an old car.

And I spent a lot of time on the internet!

Is SLEIGHT OF HAND the first in a series or a stand alone?

Sleight of Hand is book 1 in the Bite Back series. Book 2, Hidden Trump, is in the editing process.

When is your favourite time to write?

The cool and quiet of the very early morning. I go through a half-asleep period before I get up where dreams and thoughts about the book overlap. It’s not just that I sometimes see the way past a problem, it’s the way itself, the flavor of it, that I need to get onto the page.

Where is your favourite place to write?

Anywhere with good light, shade and fresh air.

What was the last book you read and enjoyed?

The Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis. I bought it for research about Indo-China and loved the dry wit.

Which authors do you admire?

I like to be immersed. Herbert’s Dune. McMaster Bujold’s Curse of Chalion. Harrison’s Rachel Morgan. Briggs’s Mercy Thompson. Vaughn’s Kitty Norville. Tolkein. Zelazny’s Lord of Light. Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness. Too many.

Describe yourself in five words

I can’t possibly do that.

What’s next?

Book 2, Hidden Trump, is in editing and will be published soon. A short story to cover Hacha del Diablo, where Amber was nearly killed. A novella to tell the story of one of the other characters. Then Book 3 and so on.

GIVEAWAY!

Mark is kindly giving away THREE (3) eCopies of Sleight of Hand. For entry into the giveaway please answer the following question then fill out the form below: What’s the name of Amber’s old army unit?

This giveaway is international and ends 20th October 2012

Oops! We could not locate your form.

MARK HENWICK ONLINE

Website | Blog | Goodreads | Facebook

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