Blog Tour: The Judas Kiss (Angella Graff)

Judas? Kiss haunts him 2 millenia into his unending existence. Torn between petty gods and their hunger for power, a faithless police officer slips further into machinations that have already cost the life of someone he loved. Mark?s story finally begins to unfold in the newest volume of Angella Graff?s well received series: The Judas Curse.
Just as Detective Ben Stanford is ready to put the past at rest, he?s pulled down once again into the chaos of gods, theology, and mystery. Told that his sister is alive and the two immortals, Mark and Judas, have been kidnapped by the treacherous goddess, Nike, Ben must find a way to rescue the pair before she can harness their powers.
While Mark waits alone, forced to write out the story of how their powers came to be, and Judas lay tortured by the angry Goddess, a reluctant Ben must enlist the help of an unwilling being from the ancient Norse Pantheon.
Time is ticking, and the hard-headed detective must use everything he learned in the past to prevent another disaster, which could potentially wipe-out the human race.

Title: The Judas KissAuthor: Angella Graff
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Excerpt: Mark’s Story
Booksellers: Amazon, Createspace

Angella Graff was born and raised in the desert city of Tucson, Arizona. She married and became a mother very young, and after getting started with her family, began her University studies where she found her passion for creative writing, history and theology.
She now resides in Tucson with her husband Joshua, three children, Christian, Isabella and Adia, and their three cats, Archive (Ivy), Lasciel and Fix. She prefers to spend her days writing, gardening, and reading non-fiction theology theory books. Angella is also an avid, if not fanatic fan of Doctor Who and BBC Sherlock, which tend to dominate her dry, sarcastic humor, a lot of which is apparent in her writing.
Currently Angella is working on an Urban Fantasy series called The Judas Curse, involving extensive research into Mythos, Christianity and history. The first book of The Judas Curse, The Awakening, was released November 2012.

For more information, visit Angella’s website, Amazon page and follow her on Facebook, Twitter andGoodreads.

What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

My inspiration came from my studies in Theology. When I was at the U of A, we were studying the Gospel of Thomas and the first line said, “These are the secret teachings of Jesus as written down by Judas Thomas the Twin.” And it made my brain go into over-drive thinking of the creative ways I could use Judas as a twin.

I’m also massively addicted to all forms of mythos and theology, so getting to incorporate the pantheons I’ve loved as a child, like the Egyptian, Norse and Greek, is really exciting.

 Who is your favorite character in the book?

That’s a tough one. I love all of them in their own respect. I really don’t think I can choose a favorite, mostly because there are different times in the day when I’ll be feeling one more than the other. I’m really enjoying writing about a character that makes his appearance in a big way in book three, introducing not only a new story line but a new type of winged species, hint hint. 

Which came first, the title or the novel?

The egg! I mean… the novel. I’m really just absolute rubbish at coming up with titles. It took me forever to come up with The Judas Kiss, and I’ve changed the title to book three twice now, so it’s definitely the story that takes shape long before the title does.

What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

This one is much easier than the character question! Mark’s backstory was by far the thing I was most proud of. It was not only my favorite thing to write, but I got to channel my inner historian and delve into the history of two-thousand years ago, which was something I’d been dying to do for a long time. I think it came out fantastic and gives the book a very unique twist.

Thinking way back to the beginning, what?s the most important thing you?ve learned as a writer from then to now?

Probably learning how to take even the harshest criticisms constructively. At first I took every nitpick of my book personally, like they were saying I was a crap author, but now I learn to pick apart their reviews and use them for the future in ways to better my writing and my writing process. That’s not to say it still doesn’t sting a little, but the sting doesn’t last nearly as long.

 What do you like most about the cover of the book?

Well the art, for one, is fantastic. My cover artist does hand-drawn art to the author’s specifications, so I got to design my own cover, and her input and vision when I described to her what I was looking for, when I saw it, it was even better than I imagined. It’s such a simple piece, but conveys the emotion of the book raw on the cover. I just love it. A shout out to her! Aisling Art on facebook!!

What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2013?

Oh hmm that’s tough. Right now I do book reviews but I’m not reading a lot right now only because I’ve been so swamped. My two most anticipated releases are by Phillip Hall, it’s the sequel to Memories of the Dead, and then the book coming out by S.L. Lewis, the sequel to The Guardian and the Dream Crawler, though honestly I’m not sure if his will be out this year or not.

 What was your favorite book in 2012?

Ah that’s a tough one because I read so much last year. I’d be hard-pressed to pick just one. 

 What?s up next for you?

Well, May will mark the release of book three for The Judas Curse series titled, Cry, Nike! And hoping to have that out early to mid May. Also around that time I’ll be releasing the first book of my new Children’s Series, Alexandra Fry, Private Eye. It’s a middle-grade paranormal fiction about a girl who is a PI for the ghosts of some of history’s most famous—and sometimes notorious—characters. The first book is called The Lion’s Heart, and it stars a young Queen Elizabeth I.

 Is there anything that you would like to add?

Just to say thank you to my wonderful blog host, and to everyone who participated so far in this blog tour. It’s been a fantastic experience so far and I hope everyone who checks out the book will enjoy it!

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