VBT – HUNGRY BUSINESS

Hungry Business: A Short Story
by Maria DeBlassie

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GENRE: Gothic, Horror (Cozy)

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BLURB:

From the multi-award-winning author of Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic & Daily Conjurings comes a cozy Gothic short story about searching for connection in a world that’s forgotten the power of everyday magic.

Looking for love can be deadly…

You know how it goes. You go out, hoping to meet someone. You wade through your fair share of brainless automatons, lifeless bodies, and ravenous undead good at passing as human.

The more you go out, the less hope you feel and the colder your body gets. But you keep at it. All you need is one beating heart to match your own before yours stops pumping altogether. How hard can it be to find one living, breathing human in a city full of bodies?

Dating.

It’s hungry business.

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EXCERPT

The things you do for love.

Like talking yourself into thinking that the lifeless body across the table from you has his own kind of charm. Surely his gray pallor is only a trick of the light. His skeletal frame might even be considered athletic. You try not to look at his chipped and bloodied fingernails as you force down your mediocre steak tartar. Sadly, that room temperature appetizer will be the hottest thing on the menu tonight.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her first book, Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic & Daily Conjurings (Moon Books 2018), and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning & Living are about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and the life of a kitchen witch. When she is not practicing her own brand of brujeria, she’s reading, teaching, and writing about bodice rippers and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there. Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at http://www.mariadeblassie.com.

Social Media Links:

https://linktr.ee/mdeblassie

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7rY-gLkSH-w8uuVyrhVALA
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17535853.Maria_DeBlassie
https://www.facebook.com/EnchantmentLL
https://twitter.com/EnchantmentLL
https://www.pinterest.com/mdeblassieell

The book is $0.99 during the tour

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Business-Short-Maria-DeBlassie-ebook/dp/B08L48MVHD

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Maria DeBlassie will be awarding a free ecopy of Hungry Business to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Enter to win a copy of the short story – a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Q & A With….

Tell us about you as a person.

I always joke that sometimes I feel like a fiction character trapped in a writer’s body. I like to think of myself as the heroine of my own story—corny, I know! But it helps me be intentional about the kind of life I want to live. And it helps me to feel bold. Introverted writer Maria might not take a certain risk. But a book heroine? Damn straight, she would! So take the risk and dare to allow to dream a little bigger.

If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?

How about with one very un-famous person for one day? I wouldn’t mind learning from the kind of old witchy crone that lives at the edge of the woods and has learned the secrets of the universe.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

Hungry Business is about how dating is the zombie apocalypse of the soul. Seriously! Who hasn’t been on a string of terrible dates that make you feel like it’s the end of the world? But it’s as much about healing your relationship to yourself as it is about dating. Sometimes we can go numb, start feeling soulless, when we’re simply going through the motions of what mainstream society tells us we should be doing in order to Live Our Best Life. But when we pull back, pull in, and reconnect to self, that’s when the magic happens.

What is your writing process?

I’ve learned that I need time to sink into the realm of the imagination. I need time in the kitchen or garden—or both—before I’m ready to delve into my stories. Other times I need yoga or twenty minutes of reading to help me unplug from the outside world. This is my transition time, like that moment right before you fall asleep to dream your dreams. Then I write.

Tell us about your main character:

The protagonist in Hungry Business is a total gem, one of sincere people looking for love in all the wrong places. She’s got a lot of heart and a lot of hope. But she’s also afraid that if she stops looking for love in the conventional ways, she’ll never find it. That if she stops and stays home and tends her internal life, she’ll only be left with loneliness. In reality, when she stops doing the things that make her feel soulless, the magic finds her. That’s part of what she has to learn in the story.

If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.

That’s a tough one! I’d go for an indie unknown to help make the story feel more real and a little less Hollywood.

What are you working on next?

Readers can enjoy more cozy Gothic short stories like Hungry Business, in the coming year, plus my second book, Practically Pagan ~ An Alternative Guide to Everyday Magic, which will be release September 24, 2021. The title says it all: it’s a practical guide to conjuring a more magical life!

What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?

Sit down. Write. Then write some more until you have a story that’s ready for the world. Then develop a social media and get to know fellow artists and writers—once you build those relationships, you develop a supportive a lively network of readers and appreciators. Digital covens are real! We help each other get the word out about our art.

What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?

Another tough question! I’m usually reading a handful at a time. I’m reading Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall, a queer occult detective novel; The Chocolate Kiss by Laura Florand, a romance about a Parisian kitchen witch; and Tarot: No Questions Asked: Mastering the Art of Intuitive Reading by Theresa Reed, to deepen my own tarot practice…I could go on, but that’s a pretty decent look at the range of books I’m reading at any given time.

Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?

Well, I’ am a bruja. I believe in everyday magic, the power of the universe, the seen and the unseen, and the daily spells we cast without thinking—the wishes, thoughts, and actions we cast out into the world to bear fruit. When we’re more intentional about this energy, we can direct it towards hope and healing. I also hoard way too many mason jars, have my own witchy herb garden, deal the tarot, and know that storytelling is one of the deepest forms of magic.

You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?

Hmmmm…maybe to be like those super cool abilities like being able to be at peace when the world storms around you. Is that a power? Feel like it’s something I’m still learning how to do, so if I ever achieved that kind of equilibrium it would feel pretty magical!

List 5 things on your bucket list:

Be able to Latin dance without feeling self-conscious at first
Learn how to say “no” without apologizing
Live in a hobbit hole as cool as Bag End
Become proficient enough in the tarot that I don’t have to consult my books to do a reading
Fulfill one of those cheesy snowed-in romance novel plots

Where can readers find you on the web?

If readers are interested in delving into the realm of everyday magic and ordinary gothic, they can find me at www.mariadeblassie.com.

Any final thoughts?

Thank you so much for this lovely interview! It was delightful to chat!