Talking Turkey

Nighthawk here with a special guest, The Thanksgiving Turkey.

Thanksgiving not only comes earlier in the year in Canada, it was celebrated in what would become Canada 43 years before the Pilgrims sat down to give thanks near Plymouth Rock when Martin Frobisher threw a thanksgiving dinner in Newfoundland.

Neither Frobisher nor Pilgrim likely had turkey on their menu. If they did, it was nothing like the bird we roast now. Now the turkey is a holiday icon, so much so that Thanksgiving is also known as Turkey Day.

Our guest is that iconic bird. Welcome.

Gobble-gobble.

How do you feel about your role in this holiday?

Gobble-gobble-gobble, gobble-gobble.

Your role as an icon must keep you busy. There's Canadian Thanksgiving in October, the American Thanksgiving in November and you often have a starring role at Christmas too. How do you feel about that?

Gobble, gobble-gobble.

Well. That just about says it all.

To all our Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving. To our American friends, Alison and I will be thinking of you.

Sandy Beach from Which Exit Angel

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks. Tonight we have Reverend Sandy Beach from Chris Redding's Which Exit Angel.


Seriously, Sandy Beach?

My parents were avid surfers so they loved the beach. Having the last name Beach was a bonus. And they had a great sense of humour.


Obviously. What church are you reverend of?

I run a non-denominational church. Everyone is welcome. Sometimes  I preach about God and The Bible. Other times I preach about how to be a good person. Right now, I'm not sure what my faith is.


Why are you questioning your faith?

I'm not sure. I've just seen so much bad in the world. I don't know how there can be a God if he lets this evil happen.

Can you question your faith and accept the existence of angels at the same time? How did you meet the angel?

She's investigating the murder of another angel. It blew my mind for sure. She didn't look like an angel at all.

That does sound like a lot to take in. But there's more, isn't there? You two are trying to stop the Apocalypse.

The forces of good and evil are using the Earth as a battleground. The bad guys are tired of being relegated to Hell so they are going to fight the angels for control of the world.


I guess I better let you get back to work. I'm not in favour of apocalypses and have a great admiration for those who stop them.

For more on Sandy Beach, read Which Exit Angel by Chris Redding who you can also follow on Twitter @chrisredding.

Interviewing the Interviewer

Hi, I'm Alison Bruce. I produce Nighthawk Talks. Before we go off on a run of new releases, I thought it was about time we put our host in the hot seat.

Nighthawk, you are actually raven, isn't that true.

True. My father wanted to call me Quoth but my mother said I already had too many relatives by that name. Mom was a bit of a rebel.

What attracted you to be a radio interviewer?

To be honest, I wanted to be a cop, but I didn't meet the height requirements. I did train to be a PI but people tend to be suspicious of ravens. That put me at a disadvantage.

But aren't all private investigators viewed with suspicion?

Seriously? Real private investigators blend into the background and don't arouse anything. That's why I prefer to interview fictional PI's. They're much more exiting and I like eye-candy as much as the next bird.

So, you became an interviewer to meet hot guys?

Maybe. A little bit. I meet some very interesting women too. We strong women have to look out for each other.

True. Why radio? Why not a video show?

The easy answer is that my producer is too cheap. Seriously, we're talking book characters here. Every reader has their own image of what they are like. It's better that way.

You've been watching Grey's Anatomy reruns again, haven't you?

Seriously?

Exactly.

Stay tuned next week when Nighthawk interviews a character from Rosemary McCracken's BLACK WATER.

Taxed

Even birdbrains need to do their taxes eventually. Come back next week when I've finished pulling my feathers out.

From Rowena Through the Wall

We've had a couple of the men from Rowena Through the Wall in the studio, tonight we welcome the ravishing Rowena Revel.

When Rowena falls through her classroom wall into a medieval world, she is kidnapped twice, married – sorry I’ve lost count how many times – and has enough sexy men after her to fill a Chippendale calendar.

That’s me: Rowena Revel, twenty-something, long auburn hair, medium height, medium weight, really bad luck with men. Degree in Veterinary Science, terrific on a horse. Oh, and I can talk to animals.

Like Doctor Doolittle?

Doolittle? Isn't that the guy with the reality show on the Animal Network? Some young chicks told me he didn't understand a chirp! Believe me, it's all cheep tricks with that charlatan.

How does it feel to be the object of so much attention?
Did I mention having bad luck with men? First Steve back home; great looking financial trader with the empathy of a weasel. Then Sargon, the king beyond the wall who just takes what he wants, and finally Cedric, the sexy sociopath – yikes! And there’s more…

More? Yikes! How did you get yourself into this predicament?

I walked through a wall. No, really – a portal opened up in my classroom wall, and I found another world on the other side of it.

Now I ask you – who wouldn’t be curious enough to walk through that wall?

Hey, I’ll be looking for my own wall after we wrap. Still, this must have put a crimp in your career.

My career? There is lots of work for an animal doctor in a land where horses are the main mode of transportation. Indeed, I use my gift for reading the thoughts of animals all the time in Land’s End.

And your love life is active...

In Land’s End, I actually have one! Things were pretty boring before, and – to be honest – I’m the sort of female who likes a lot of loving. So…I’m not complaining. It’s been one wonderful adventure.

What else is better in Lands End?

I would say I am a more generous person now – less quick to judge others. In truth, I had to do things to survive that sometimes conflicted with my own morals. It made me realize that civilization is a veneer, and our feeling of moral superiority is due to the times we have been fortunate enough to live in.

What’s worse?

Women from medieval times had an incredibly tough life. I have so much more appreciation for simple things, such as flush toilets, sanitary items – you get the picture. But truly, the thing that smarts the most is how little control a female had over her own destiny.

Also – I would have thought a world short of women would value women more. Instead, I found females have less power, and less control over their own lives. It makes me worry for places in our time where gender selection before birth has resulted in a shortage of female babies.

What’s next for you?

Now there is the million dollar question! Even I don’t know yet. My friend and author Melodie Campbell tells me the next book will answer this. As you can imagine, I am anxious to know…

Any advice for people seeking their own walls to walk through – assuming they get more than a bruised nose.

Everything comes down to survival. What do you need to do to survive in a different world? Sometimes it means accepting that different times demand different behaviour, and if you insist on maintaining 21st century morals, you may not live long in a more primitive world.

Any final words?

Just my favourite line - even though it was my student who said it: “Is that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”


Rowena Through the Wall, published by Imajin Books, is available through Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Smashwords
Warning: This book is not a sweet romance. It is a sexy, funny, rollicking adventure with a spunky heroine and the medieval men of her dreams! Continues in Book 2.

Find out more about Rowena and her author, Melodie Campbell at: funnygirlmelodie.blogspot.com and www.melodiecampbell.com