Interview & Book Giveaway with K. Celeste Bryan

My guest today is K. Celeste Bryan, aka Kat, author of Where The Rain Is Made, a time-traveling historical. She's answered my questions about the book, and she's very generously giving away TWO COPIES in a contest.

Patricia Altner of Patricia's Vampire Notes reviewed the novel and says:

"While the novel Where The Rain Is Made has a lot of passion, it also has a gripping, original plot not to mention well wrought characters. Ethan Gray is a time wanderer chosen by the Sacred Council of the modern world to take the knowledge he has gained in his studies of the Cheyenne and return to the mid 1800s when his people faced so much danger from the whites and had suffered so much at their hands."

The publisher's summary uses the word "savage" like it's on sale two-for-one at the racial stereotypes store -- authors have no control over these things -- so I'll summarize the story myself. Ethan Gray, a museum curator, is also a time-traveler. In the persona of Meko, a Cheyenne warrior, he leads the fierce Dog Soldiers. When Meko falls in love with a captive, Francesca Duvall, he's faced with multiple problems. Does he abandon his life in the present, or does he abandon the woman he loves? Francesca loves Meko, but how will she feel about the academic Ethan?

To enter the contest for one of two copies of the book leave a comment telling us what time period and place you find interesting for a time-travel book. I know I've been thinking about San Francisco's racuous and dangerous Barbary Coast for a story. The contest runs through Sunday night and winners will be chosen in a random drawing.

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MARTA: Hi, Kat, and congratulations on the release of Where the Rain is Made. Can you tell us a little about the story?

KAT: I’d love to and thank you for having me today. Where The Rain Is Made really turned out to be a book of my heart. For some reason my youngest son became very fascinated with the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers when he was 12. We spent countless hours in the library reading everything we could about them. Several years later, my head was filled with information about their way of life, their customs and beliefs. What better way to put it to use than to write a book about their tumultuous, violent era. Thus, Where The Rain Is Made was spawned.

Many people have commented about the fascinating history, which I think is wonderful. If readers can walk away with new knowledge about a topic, I think the author has fulfilled a purpose. And, of course, many have asked about the title and where it came from. The Native Americans didn’t have a word for heaven, but at times called it the place where the rain is made. I thought it was particularly fitting since time-travel is also incorporated into the novel . . . and shapeshifting.

Where The Rain Is Made has received numerous five-star reviews, so I’m very pleased about that. You can read all of them on my blog or at my Author Home.

MARTA: Why do you think readers find time travel stories so appealing?

KAT: Because it’s something we’re not supposed to be able to obtain, and I think readers have an innate curiosity about distant realms and intriguing pasts. The fascinating thing about books is that we can travel anywhere by merely turning the pages. To be able to travel into the past or into the future adds another element, an escape scenario if you will. And again, they’re introduced to foreign worlds, whether it’s Scotland or a sci-fi futuristic.

MARTA: What’s the most interesting thing you found out in your historical research for the novel?

KAT: How very tragic the life of the plains tribes was. I remember reading a true life account from a journalist who was present when all the tribes came together to sign the last treaty. The Native American really had no choice; it was either sign or be wiped out by the Government. According to the newspaper, the Dog Soldiers rode in dressed in all their finery. Their bodies were painted in the colors of war, as were their horses. Snake rattles and war shields glistened beneath the hot sun. They weren’t there to cause trouble, but rather to make a statement that they would fight to the death, until the last Dog Soldier was wiped from the earth. This, of course, is what ultimately happened. I found that admirable if not beyond courageous.

MARTA: Answer quick – dogs or cats, margaritas or wine spritzers, bank robbery or illegal gambling, Gerard Butler in “P.S. I Love You,” or Gerard Butler in “Dracula 2000”?

KAT: Dogs and cats – one of my weaknesses. Wine spritzers and illegal gambling. Gerard Butler in “P.S. I Love You.” I’m a romantic at heart, although I love romance with the element of paranormal.

MARTA: What’s next for you and where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

KAT: I would love to write a sequel to Where The Rain Is Made, and many reviewers/readers have asked me to. Now if I can just find the time. I also write for New Concepts Publishing and under another name for Phaze Books, Noble Romance, Ravenous Romance and the Dark Roast Press. Now you know what I do with the majority of my time.

You can find me on the web under K. Celeste Bryan and Kat's Kwips & Rants, my author blog. Please stop by and enter my contest to win free books or follow me on my blog to find out what I have coming out next.

MARTA: Thanks for being a guest at Vampire Wire!

KAT: Thank you for having me. I love your blog, the design, layout and content.

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Watch a trailer for Where The Rain Is Made:



If you'd like to enter the contest for two copies, leave a comment telling us what historical time/place you'd like to see in a novel.