Horror Month Presents: Rhonda Hopkins

So, I'm going to let Karen Perkins giveaway of the signed paperback play out for a little longer--I'm enjoying your horror stories too much!
But on with tonight's post. 
Rhonda Hopkins, writer of many different things--but all things creepy and horrorful. We're going to get to know a lot about her work between today and tomorrow, but tonight we'll go with The Consuming, her most recent book.

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The Consuming Book Cover

The Consuming By Rhonda Hopkins

Serena knows her late uncle wasn’t crazy. So when she inherits his sprawling Carolina mansion and leaves the big city to restore both his home and his name, she uncovers a mystery that could cost much more than her sanity. As the house slowly reveals its dark secrets, and the extent of her peril becomes evident, she’ll settle for escaping with her life—if it isn’t already too late.

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A Excerpt From The Consuming

The next few days passed in a blur of activity. I sanded and painted. I stocked the pantry with food. I showed off my culinary skills which Devon seemed to appreciate. I’d catch him watching me several times a day with a goofy grin on his face. I probably had a matching one when he caught me watching him. We took advantage of every opportunity to touch one another, however briefly.

I finally moved my few belongings to the house and checked out of the hotel. Relieved at not having to go back and forth, I unpacked, made the bed and spread out all my items on the now immaculate bathroom vanity. I’d stopped checking every time I thought I saw movement in the mirror. There was never anything there. It had to be the way the light moved on the surface at different angles.

I was happy but tired and thankful Devon had suggested a movie and late dinner, so I didn’t need to cook.

After he left, I showered, washed my hair and shaved my legs. I stood in front of the sink, one white towel wrapped around my body and another on my head. I fluffed my hair with the towel and then used it to wipe the steam from the mirror.

A woman with sunken cheeks and sallow, rotting skin stood behind me. I screamed as I spun around. There was no one there. The towel slipped from my hand and into the pool of blood on the floor, the white fabric soaking up the red. I screamed again and ran to the door. As I reached it, I turned back to see if ‘she’ was following me.

My stark white towel lay on the floor undisturbed. There was no blood. I blinked and stopped screaming. I moved cautiously back toward the counter with all my familiar items. No crimson stains marred the towel. I picked it up. Turned it over. Looked at the floor. Nothing. I straightened and turned slightly to the left and from the corner of my eye could see no one but me in the mirror. I faced it head on. Again there was nothing but my reflection.

I thought about getting in my rented Navigator and leaving. But the vision of me dressed in a towel and driving from North Carolina to Miami, almost made me giggle. Almost, but the adrenaline from the frightening encounter still coursed through my veins.

As I searched for clothing, I thought about all the reasons, I couldn’t have seen what I saw. I reached for every possible explanation. The lighting was bad. I’d been doing more physical labor on a daily basis. I was too tired. Too hurried. Too emotional. Too … ‘fill in the blank.’

I dressed as quickly as possible, applied mascara and lipstick with a shaky hand and combed out my wet hair. Foregoing the blow dryer and curling iron, I walked outside to let my hair dry in the sultry breeze and waited for Devon.

“Eager to see me, are you?” He brushed my lips with his, then stood back and really looked at me. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just got cold in the house.” And that was true. After hallucinating the decaying woman, my teeth chattered and I couldn’t get warm. It seemed the cold spots were getting worse in the house. “We really need to figure out what’s wrong with the A/C.”

“I’ve looked at it, but I’ll see if I can get someone who knows them better than I do to come out to check it in the next couple of days.”

“We both know you’re not likely to find anyone local, so let’s just skip that step and call someone in from Asheville. I’ll pay their fee.” It was a good thing I made good money as an architect and lived simply. The money I’d saved was helping to cover the restoration and my living expenses.

He nodded and opened the car door for me.

When we returned to the house, I was a little apprehensive. Okay. A lot apprehensive. But, I refused to be scared by an over–active imagination brought on by the inescapable rumors of the townspeople.

Okay, spooky huh? Let's get to know about her, and trust me, you don't want to miss this interview!

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Get To Know Rhonda Hopkins

Name: Rhonda Hopkins                                                                       

Website: http://rhondahopkins.com                                                                               

Other contacts/social media sites: 

Facebook Author Page: http://facebook.com/RhondaHopkins.Author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rhonda_Hopkins

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/rhondahopkins

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rhondarhopkins

Google+: https://plus.google.com/101178105814937271110/posts


Link to your Amazon page and or any other place that your books can be purchased:


Amazon Author Central Page http://amazon.com/author/rhondahopkins


Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Mansfield, Texas - a very small town of about 12,000 at the time. It's in North Central Texas near Fort Worth.

What made you start writing?

It seems I've always written. But one of my first memories was in second grade when I wrote "How the Raccoon Got His Mask" for a school assignment. I think that probably fuelled my imagination.

Is it something that you have always wanted to do?

Like I said, I think I've always written for the most part - for my own pleasure.  There were a few years in there where life was so busy I didn't have time for it. I missed it and kept saying I was going to write a book one day. A friend encouraged me to do so and the rest is history as they say. Until then, I don't think I'd ever seriously considered writing for publication, but once I decided to write that first book, I knew it was what I wanted to do.

What is your favourite genre to read, and do you have any favourite books or authors you would like to recommend?

I love reading and I read a little of everything probably. But my favourites are horror, paranormal, suspense, YA and romantic suspense.

My absolute favourite author is Dean Koontz. But I also enjoy Stephen King, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Lisa Jackson and many more. As for indie authors - Greg Carrico, TW Brown, Stacey Joy Netzel, Christine MacKenzie and Cate Dean are a few of my favourites.


Do you ever base your characters on anyone that you know, or are they solely from your imagination?

I often base characters on people I know, using mainly their personalities. I'll change names and physical characteristics. It's funny though because even when I've let people read something that was influenced by them, they don't recognize themselves. I think that's human nature.

My antagonist in ILLUSION OF SAFETY Is a mixture of different people I've come in contact with while doing court investigations. Of course none of them (that I know about) have gone on a murder spree.

And my main character in the COURTING JUSTICE series is a little like me, but she's a much better person than I am. She's who I strive to be. J

But I also use my imagination quite a bit. It's fun making up characters and giving them quirky personalities - watching them interact with one another.

           About your book‘s.                            


Tell us about your latest book. The story/plot.

THE CONSUMING, is a paranormal short story.

Serena knows her late uncle wasn’t crazy. So when she inherits his sprawling Carolina mansion and leaves the big city to restore both his home and his name, she uncovers a mystery that could cost much more than her sanity. As the house slowly reveals its dark secrets, and the extent of her peril becomes evident, she’ll settle for escaping with her life—if it isn’t already too late.

What gave you the idea?

I originally wrote The Consuming as a writing exercise. I was given the first line and had to come up with a story. It was almost like magic. I saw that line and the story just unfolded. I wrote 12,000 words in one sitting. Then I went back and edited it down to 8,000. That story received second place in a local contest.

When I decided to publish it, I rewrote it from scratch and added another 2,000 words. I like this version even better.


What genre is it?   

THE CONSUMING is a paranormal short story about a haunted house.

Who is your favourite character? And why.

Hmmm…I guess I'd say Serena, the main character, is my favorite. She's strong, independent and capable. And when she's up against it - she faces her fears. Although I really like Devon too, he's smart, strong and sexy. J


And worst?

Max, the attorney for Serena's grandfather's estate is a nice guy but scared of the house and more interested in keeping himself safe than helping Serena. He has information about the house that he won't impart because he's afraid of being labeled a nutcase like her grandfather.


What are your hopes for it?

I just hope people enjoy the story and my writing.


What’s the project that you’re going to be working on next?

I'm working on a romantic suspense series called COURTING JUSTICE. The main character is Tori Matthews and she's a family court investigator in Fort Worth, TX.

The first in the series is a novella length suspense - PREDATOR.

With one young girl dead and three missing, Fort Worth detectives Greg Matthews and Caleb Simmons are fighting against the clock to catch a predator. One of the missing girls is a pawn in a nasty custody case assigned to family court investigator, Tori Matthews. Could the cases be related? Teaming up with her brother and his partner, they’ll stop at nothing to find the missing girls before another child is lost forever.

PREDATOR is due out at the end of September and the next novel in the series, ILLUSION OF SAFETY will be released in December.


What’s the best piece of advice that you have been given in regards to your writing, and by whom?

One of my friends, Kay Rifkin, got tired of hearing me say I was going to write a book one day. So she went to a local college, got a catalogue for continuing ed courses, highlighted the writing ones and told me, "It's time." And it was. Thanks, Kay! You're the best!

The next best piece of advice I received was to give myself permission to write a crappy first draft. Just finish it and then worry about editing it. I'd probably still be stuck revising the same old chapters trying to make them perfect. I can't remember who told me this, but I've since heard it from several different sources. And it's something I tell new writers that I see doing the same thing I did. 

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So for a chance to win one of two eBook copies of The Consuming all you have to do, is go LIKE  her page https://www.facebook.com/#!/RhondaHopkins.Author?fref=ts and tell me what your favourite type of supernatural is. That's it.
 
 
Happy reading!
 
Claire ♥