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Tell us a bit about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n I hail from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I work full-time as a respiratory therapist. When I\u2019m not working with my patients, I\u2019m enjoying a fright flick or working on horror and science fiction tales. I often bring my medical background to the printed page, and my short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. I\u2019ve published Night to Dawn<\/em> magazine since 2004. My published books include two novellas, Life Raft: Earth<\/em> and Close Liaisons; <\/em>also Twilight Healer, City of Brotherly Death, Infinite Sight, Steel Rose,<\/em> and my latest, When Blood Reigns<\/em>. I maintain a presence on Facebook, The Writers\u2019 Coffeehouse forum, and Twitter. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you\u2019ll find me.<\/p>\n Tell us about your most recent book.<\/strong><\/p>\n When Blood Reigns<\/em> is the sequel to Steel Rose. Steel Rose<\/em> opens with protagonist Alexis searching for a cure for her debilitating illness. Her search lands her in open combat with zombies and renegade aliens, but her weakness prohibits her from using most weapons. Yeron, a Kryszka doctor, develops a drug to control her arthritis, and a romance develops between them. The Kryszka soldiers and zombies who break into the hospital are hungry. So very hungry.<\/p>\n When Blood Reigns<\/em> continues the story with Alexis, Yeron, and other survivors of the zombie invasion forming a posse to search for the Kryszka underground laboratory responsible for manufacturing the chemical which induces a zombie-like state in humans. In the process, they face assaults by hordes of zombies. She doesn\u2019t realize until too late that the renegades have been tracking her every move. Although Alexis is an adult, she has growing to do if she wants to survive, and through both books, she learns painful lessons about love and war. She must also face unpleasant truths about herself.<\/p>\n Who is the villain or antagonist in your story and what is he\/she like?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are several villains, but the main villain of protag Alexis is Laurel Grant. In Steel Rose<\/em>, she was a fellow respiratory therapist, and she hated Alexis for acting like \u201cMiss Perfect.\u201d Because she suffers from a chemical imbalance, she hears voices and has an imaginary demon visitor named Abaddon. She\u2019s a serial killer, going after people when directed by Abaddon. She teams up with Kryszka renegade Woehar. Instead, Woehar splices DNA from a dinosaur-like Kryszka creature into her. By the latest book, When Blood Reigns<\/em>, Laurel becomes half-monster, with a constant hunger for human flesh. In her warped mind, Alexis is responsible for her problems, and Laurel vows to get her.<\/p>\n Is one of your main characters a supernatural creature that is traditionally considered \u201cevil?\u201d If yes, how does this character break that traditional stereotype?<\/strong><\/p>\n Although my novel is primarily science fiction \/ horror, there is one supernatural character\u2014the ghost of Zoltar, Yeron\u2019s father. Most people fear the supernatural, but Zoltar watches out for Yeron and his lover Alexis. Sometimes he\u2019ll counsel them about dangerous people or situations, and might intervene to save their lives. Protag Alexis regards him as an angel.<\/p>\n What do you think are the heroic qualities your villain\/antihero\/supernatural creature possesses? <\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the DNA fusion\u2019s effect of making her part-monster, it does correct her chemical imbalance, so Laurel\u2019s hallucinations stop. The part of her that is still human can now judge right from wrong, and she comes to hate Woehar even more than Alexis. When Woehar hands her a wounded or sick prisoner, the human in Laurel wants to find a way to help the prisoner. Of course, her bloodlust always overrides any helpful intention, but the desire to help is there.<\/p>\n Is there any respect between this character and the hero\/heroine of your story?<\/strong><\/p>\n Nope. Alexis has always taken patient care seriously. Laurel\u2019s tragedy of errors at the hospital has caused several deaths, and this thoroughly disgusts Alexis. That and Laurel\u2019s lax grooming and body odor. Most health care workers are stressed, so when they see aberrant behavior among fellow peers, it will never cross their mind to send the person to a doctor. Instead, the offending employee gets a warning or dismissal. What\u2019s more, Alexis was close friends with their supervisor and a prominent doctor, who assumed a protective stance over her disability. Their friendship toward Alexis made Laurel insanely resentful, and she assumed that Alexis complained about her work, which she did.<\/p>\n What was the most difficult part of writing about this character?<\/strong><\/p>\n I thought of Laurel as a horrible person, but a good instructor pointed out that there is good and bad in everyone. How could a serial killer like Laurel have any good traits? The best\u00a0 I could do was make her sympathetic, and this I did by taking the reader through her abusive childhood, particularly in Steel Rose<\/em>. I also gave her a love of animals \u2013 there\u2019s a scene where she buys her dog special treats. She also has a chemical imbalance, which provoked her aberrant behavior, and instead of sending her to a doctor, people just backed away. I feel sorry for Laurel now, but by the second book, it\u2019s too late to help her.<\/p>\n Author:<\/strong> Barbara Custer<\/p>\n Genre<\/strong>: Horror \/ Science Fiction<\/p>\n Marked for death, Alexis accompanies her lover, Yeron, and four survivors of a zombie invasion on a search for the renegades who created a chemical that induces a zombie-like state. On the way, ravenous flesh-eaters attack Alexis\u2019s team; one survivor turns on her. She realizes too late that the renegades have been tracking her every move. When officials capture her, she becomes deathly ill. Can DNA splicing save her? Will Yeron\u2019s attempts at rescue jeopardize all their lives?<\/p>\n Other books by Barbara include Twilight Healer, City of Brotherly Death, Infinite Sight, <\/em>and Steel Rose<\/em>; also novellas Close Liaisons <\/em>and Life Raft: Earth.<\/em> She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page, and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you\u2019ll find her.<\/p>\n To contact her, e-mail her at barbaracuster@hotmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Visit her at:<\/p>\n Website<\/a><\/p>\n Facebook<\/a><\/p>\nAbout the Book<\/h2>\n
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Title:<\/strong> When Blood Reigns<\/p>\nAuthor Bio<\/h2>\n
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Barbara lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she works full time as a respiratory therapist. When she\u2019s not working with her patients, she\u2019s enjoying a fright flick or working on horror and science fiction tales. She\u2019s published Night to Dawn <\/em>magazine since 2004.<\/p>\n