Interview with C.S. Hale, ALL BAGS GO TO CLEVELAND

What are your favorite TV shows?

I have about 70 set to record on my DVR. As an elementary teacher, I always have grading to do, and it doesn’t seem like such a chore if I’m watching something while I grade. I recently fell in love with The Last Alaskans. I love shows that show creativity, such as Project Runway and the baking championships on the Food Network. I love mysteries such as Vera and Endeavor. NCIS became a favorite after my dad died in 2008. It had been one of his favorites, and I can’t believe that I didn’t check it out until after he was gone. I had watched Grey’s Anatomy since the first episode but stopped last year when it became too political for me. I watch TV to escape. I don’t need to see the woes of the world on the small screen as it sits in my classroom every day. And I will cry the day The Blacklist goes off the air. Raymond Reddington is one of my favorite characters of all time. Talk about your byronic hero! Just when you think you’ve figured things out, they change again.

 

What is your favorite meal?

I don’t have one. I love food and what I crave changes depending on my mood and the season. All Bags Go to Cleveland allowed me to indulge that through semi-foodie Dave. I could wander Union Square Market and have him cook for me any day. Or the Belgian place. *drools* Angela’s favorite Belgian restaurant is next door to the hotel I stayed at in NYC. My niece finally became embarrassed that we ate there so much. I even subjected my oldest son to meals there when we went to NYC for his audition to the Royal College of Music. He ended up choosing a different school, but the trip was worth it for the food.

 

If you were to write a series of novels, what would it be about?

 Well, I currently have four series. Two are still in the drawer (an urban fantasy series where those who have had near-death experiences are stalked, and a fairytale retelling series). My Bánalfar series follows a woman from 400 years in the future who is forced to crash land on an alien planet that it is against the law to contact as they have only a medieval Earth level of development. And Cleveland is the first of three books that follow the lives of gremlins (not the furry things from the movie) and other magical creatures. I’m already at work on Ghost Chilis Are Real and will follow that with Angela’s cousin Julia’s story.

 

Is there a writer you idolize?

If so who? I love writers who can create worlds that you can absolutely lose yourself in. C.S Lewis was an early favorite. Katherine Kurtz greatly influenced who I am as a person, as well as my world view. I can get utterly lost in a Stephanie Meyer novel. Janet Evanovich and Darynda Jones are great when you need to laugh out loud. C.J. Redwine builds fabulous worlds but leaves a path of death in her wake. Seriously, there are memes about her and everything. (Love you CJ!) And my critique partner Bethany Adams does the most amazing deep POV. I wish I could write like her, but she doesn’t know how she does it.

 

How did you come up for the title of this book?

Cleveland was born at a writer’s conference where I was seated next to agent Andrea Brown’s husband. We had been talking travel and he asked, “Why is it that when your luggage is misdirected, it always goes to Cleveland? Why do all bags go to Cleveland?” I knew immediately that there was a book there. His question was begging to be a title. Three days later, I had the answer to Dave’s question and gasped out loud as I was driving through a roundabout.

 

 

BLURB:

 

Angela Grimalke appears more blonde bombshell than the gremlin she is. But there is no denying her supernatural truth after her clumsiness gets her fired from her modeling career. Forced to work for her family’s upscale airline, she spends her days slinging luggage and wishing her parents would get off her back about finding a nice gremlin guy to settle down with. 

 

Relationships were the last thing on her mind, not that her family would accept that. 

 

For Dave Ford his frequent business travel made it next to impossible for him to find a woman who could tolerate his chaotic schedule. Which is why he appreciates Angela. Neither of them are looking for love, but Dave feeds Angela's addiction for chocolate while she provides him with the chaos to keep him on his toes.

 

However, as Angela’s parents bombard her with a parade of "eligible" gremlin men at their weekly family dinners, she finds herself torn between who she longs to be and her family’s expectations. Will she give in and live the life of magic they want for her? Or risk it all by to confessing to Dave that she isn’t human?

 

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FVDJL54

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Catherine “C.S.” Hale has been writing fantasy since she could hold a pencil. When not holed up in a comfortable corner writing all her books out by longhand, she can be found somewhere by the sea, enjoying tea and pastries.

 

Website: cshalebooks.com

 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CatSHale

 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorcshale

 

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