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~T.L. Gray
Welcome to author T. L. Gray.
Biography:
T.L. Gray’s debut novel “The Blood of Cain” was released October 2009 from Fireside Publications. The sequel, The Arcainians, is due for release early 2011. T.L. Gray is an active member of the Carrollton Creative Writers Club, Deeper Life Christian Center, and is a contributing writer for Impact Times Magazine. The author lives in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of West Georgia. When asked as a child what she wanted to be when she grew up she replied, “A Queen”. Since that title isn’t available within a democratic republic, she has settled for the label of “Author” instead.
T.L. Gray is currently working on two non-fiction projects (Joyful Mother and the Mary Perry Hudson Memoir) with the International Arise Conference Founder, Mary Hudson of Keith Hudson Ministries.
Thanks to T.L. Gray who has agreed to a short interview and then has a book giveaway!
Interview:
Night owl or early bird?
Definitely an early bird. I’m up at 6am, getting my heart pumping and my synapses firing. By 6pm… I’m no earthly good to anybody except for making dinner, playing games with the family, taking a hot bath, watching a little television or reading a good book; sometimes many of these things at the same time. Sometimes I can’t sleep because my brain won’t shut off and keeps me up at all hours in the morning. But even with that, come six o’clock I’m doing my aerobics and hitting the tread mill and by eight I’m on the computer. Adrenaline helps me focus.
What fictional character would you most like to meet?
That’s easy, Cain. Not because I’ve written about him, but because I’ve fell so deeply and passionately in love with the character I came to know. He stole my heart. He stole my compassion. He helped me see myself better and the people around me. If there’s hope for Cain, then there’s hope for anyone. I took a one-dimensional damned character and humanized him – having him become relatable, and in turn found a hope I didn’t realize I was missing. As for the Biblical Cain – I’m not sure I’d want to meet him. I’d be curious about him, but it would be hard to separate him from my fictional character.
If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
To fly. In my dreams I can do some amazing things like breathe under water, read minds and travel at the speed of thought. But, the most vivid of these dreams is the ability to fly. I can feel the air swirl around me, under me and through me as it lifts me from the ground. That is something I’d like to experience firsthand.
When you were 12 years old what did you want to be when you grew up?
Have you read my bio? A queen. I also remember wanting to be a journalist or an exciting archaeologist like Indiana Jones. I got to be a journalist when I worked as a newspaper reporter, and I still have a love for history and ancient artifacts which I sprinkle throughout all my books. I’m still working on the Queen thing.
What is one book everyone should read?
Oh, there are so many to choose from. However, there is one book I always turn back to and I re-read at least every other year, and that’s Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Like the Harry Potter series, Austen was able to transport me out of my current reality and plop me right into the middle of a fantastic story, helping me lose myself for a small period of time. In many events throughout my life, this book has been relevant. Though I already know the ending, my heart still feels every emotion as I progress through the pages and relate with Elizabeth Bennett. We all could use a Mr. Darcy in our lives.
If you could meet one person who has died, who would it be?
Sir Isaac Newton. The knowledge and wisdom this man’s brain projected was astounding. I love science and history… would be fascinated by his endless discoveries. I adore outcasts and heretics, so we would have been good friends. Uh-Oh, I think I’m letting my inner geek show a bit.
What inspired you to write about Cain?
Cain is one of the most intriguing characters in the Bible. He was the first born son of humanity, the first murderer, the first and only person to be directly cursed by God, the only person to have ever been ‘marked’ by God, but then not much else is said about him. The Bible is silent on the mark, the curse and even if Cain died. I went around for about a year and just asked random people what they thought about Cain, his curse, his mark and what they think happened to him? What I found is pretty much most people didn’t think much about him at all. They all acknowledged he was a bad man, but it’s like he was separate from everybody else, more heinous, more evil. We often pick characters we can relate to, especially from the Bible, drawing inspiration from their triumphs, lessons from their failures and so forth. But, with Cain I never heard anyone give or say anything relatable to him, yet I saw him a regular human being and for one moment put myself in his shoes and questioned how he was any different than me. Was I capable of doing the same thing? I realized I was, and in that realization Cain became human to me, full of emotion, full of fears, full of hopes like the rest of us. Thus, a new character was born. The basis of a new adventure had already been laid with all the mystery that surrounded this man, and from there my imagination soared. I don’t change the history or the facts as they have been given in the Bible. I don’t interfere with the religion of this character. I just tell the ‘rest of the story’ as I see it and I myself can’t believe some of the things that have evolved from it. But, I’m not going to tell you all those tidbits. You’ll have to read the book to find out about their secrets.
Visit T.L. Gray's Website
Believing himself unique, Teagan’s world gets turned upside down when he meets an unruly family of immortals seeking their father and maker, none other than the world’s first murderer, Cain. Everything Teagan thought he knew about himself is transformed when he learns how vampires came to be and for what purpose he was made.
For everything, there’s a price to be paid, Teagan wonders if he’ll be strong enough to pay it.
**End of interview
