APRIL 3, 2013
SOUL MEANING BOOK TOUR: CHARACTER INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY AT LAURIE’S THOUGHTS & REVIEWS
And week 3 of the Book Tour continues with a character interview with Anna Godard and the giveaway with Laurie Jenkins at her Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews Blog!
http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.co.uk/
Character Interview Anna Godard
Hello and thank you for having me!
Today, I am pleased to sit down with Anna Godard, one of the main protagonists from my novel Soul Meaning, the first book in the supernatural thriller seriesSeventeen. This takes place at the Bastian compound in Virginia, when Anna had a short break from her work in the lab.
AD: Good morning and welcome! How are you today?
Anna: I’m fine, thank you for asking.
AD: Our readers don’t know a lot about you. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Anna: I was born in Prague, in 1800. My mother was Lily Godard, a Bastian noble. I don’t know who my father was.
AD: Lily Godard? Wasn’t she the daughter of Tomas Godard, the Bastian noble who used to be the former Head of the Order of Bastian Hunters?
Anna: *nods* Yes. My mother died when I was still an infant. My grandfather raised me.
AD: I’m sorry for your loss. Do you have any other family?
Anna: *a soft smile crosses her face* I do actually. Although I became aware of his existence only recently.
AD: What do you do within the immortal society?
Anna: I try to stay out of the affairs of immortals as much as I can. I am currently a Professor of Molecular Genetics and a research scientist at the Functional Genomics Center in Zurich.
AD: And before that?
Anna: I used to be a physician and a surgeon. I originally trained at the University of Paris in the 1800s.
AD: Oh. So, that’s why you were able to patch up Lucas and Reid when they were injured outside Vilanec.
Anna: Don’t remind me. I still shudder when I think how close we were to losing both of them.
AD: Can you tell us how you ended up in this secret Bastian compound?
Anna: *lips twist in a wry smile* It’s a long story.
AD: All right. Why don’t you tell us how it started then?
Anna: Well, it probably began two years ago when Frederick Burnstein, the Head of the Crovir R&D Section, approached my former colleague Professor Hubert Strauss with a $10 million dollar research grant.
AD: You are close friends with Professor Strauss?
Anna: *nods* Yes, Hubert and I were good friends. We worked together at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris in the 1980s and 90s. We also went out with each other for a while.
AD: What happened after Professor Strauss obtained the grant?
Anna: Hubert’s field of research was advanced cell cycle control and DNA transposition. More specifically, he was looking for potential genetic therapies for cancer. A few months ago, he told me that he had…succeeded.
AD: *gasps* You mean, Professor Strauss found a cure for cancer?
Anna: Yes. But he also made another breakthrough. The potential ramifications of his second discovery are even more staggering. *frowns* It’s the reason why I’m here.
AD: Where is Professor Strauss?
Anna: *runs a hand through her hair* Hubert is dead. He was killed by Burnstein’s men in Paris.
AD: Goodness, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you look exhausted.
Anna: *grimaces* Yes, well, that’s thanks to the idiot in the isolation chamber downstairs.
AD: Er, you mean…
Anna: Yes, Lucas. God, I still can’t believe he did that! *mutters something in Czech* I know I told him to get me something from that lab, but he didn’t have to go that far.
AD: *looks down guiltily* I’m sorry.
Anna: Why?
AD: Well, it’s kinda my fault that tunnel collapsed and the canister holding the infected blood sample cracked.
Anna: *eyes narrow* Is it now?
AD: Hmm, yes.
Anna: …
AD: *clears throat* I hear that Lucas taught you how to use a gun. Is that correct?
Anna: Yes, he did. Reid also helped.
AD: What went through your mind the first time you saw Lucas?
Anna: *smiles ruefully* On the first two occasions I saw him, my grandfather and I were being chased by Crovir Hunters. All I recall is the single-minded determination in his eyes.
AD: Oh. And what about the third time?
Anna: The third time I met him was a few days ago, at the safe house outside Prague. It was a…strange encounter, to say the least.
AD: Strange how?
Anna: Well, for one thing, Lucas had just sur— *pauses* Let’s just say something truly miraculous had happened.
AD: Anything else?
Anna: *shifts in the chair* I also felt this instinctive…pull towards him. I can’t explain it. I have never felt something like it before.
AD: When you say pull…
Anna: *flushes slightly* It was almost as if—
*The door slams open and a woman in a white coat rushes in*
Anna: *tenses and turns to the stranger* What is it? Is he awake?
*The woman nods mutely*
Anna: *glances at me distractedly* I’m sorry, I have to go!
AD: No, I understand. Good luck!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this meeting with Anna. If you want to know what happened next, read Soul Meaningand tell me what you think! King’s Crusade, the second novel in the series, will be out May 2013.
Happy reading, writing, and blogging!
AD Starrling