RELEASE DAY BLITZ: Dreamthief by Tamara Grantham

Olive Kennedy, Fairy World MD. (Book 1)

by Tamara Grantham

This is a Crimson Tree Publishing Title

Release Date: September 1st, 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Tour Dates: September 1st - 12th

Visiting Faythander is a nasty business. Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. Despite her empty bank account, she takes pride in her job as Houston's only Fairy World medical doctor. She's never failed to cure a client—until now.

Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an ancient being called the Dreamthief. To complicate matters, she may be losing her heart to someone who can't love her in return. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much.

 

CHAPTER ONE

I don’t believe in karma. Once, I gave twenty bucks to earthquake victims, thinking hey, maybe tomorrow my luck will change, maybe I can pay the utilities this month without sacrificing my grocery money. The next morning, my car broke down. Transmission. Nine hundred bucks. Don’t get me wrong, I still think we ought to help others, but not because we expect the universe to pay us back.

I do believe in magic. Not magyk. Not Magick. Not the stuff that Wiccans or warlocks practice. I believe in the old stuff—the real, honest-to-goodness, straight-from-fairy-world kind of magic. Am I crazy? Maybe, but not because I believe in magic.

#

I knocked on apartment 31C off Champion Forest Drive. Standing on the porch with my hands in my pockets and my breath coming out like puffs of cumulus clouds, I wished the guy inside wouldn’t have taken five minutes to open up. Houston was a damp place in November.

The door cracked open.

Elmore stood a little taller than me, with a paunch belly and pale skin. He was in his mid-twenties, but if he were young enough to attend high school, he would have been labeled a nerd. He ran his hands through his greasy, uncombed hair as he stared at me through thick-rimmed glasses. His T-shirt read 100% Pure Middle Earth.

“You the shrink?”

“Yes.” I’d stopped correcting people a long time ago. If they wanted to call me a shrink, let them. I’d been called worse. “My name is Olive Kennedy. Dr. Hill sent me.”

He looked at my purple Doc Martens, my dark, reddish hair cropped in a bob, and then stared at my slightly pointed ears. His brow creased. “He said you were a shrink, not a Ren fair geek.”

Ren fair geek? Look who’s talking.

Elmore took a step back. “I’m sorry you came all this way, but I’m feeling awful today. Maybe you ought to come back next week.” The door started to close, but I held it open.

“If you’re not feeling well, don’t you think I should see you now before you get worse?”

“I’m getting better.”

“You just said that you’re feeling awful.”

“I am.”

“Then may I please come inside?” I asked.

“I’m not sure you can help me.”

“We won’t know until I try, right?”

“Are you sure you won’t mess me up even more?”

“Elmore,” I said, “Dr. Hill trusts me. There’s a reason he sends me to all the patients he can’t cure. Because I can.”

Elmore gave me one last glare and then opened the door. I adjusted my backpack and stepped inside. It smelled of sour laundry, and it looked how I’d expected. An Advanced Dungeons and Dragons poster hung over the couch, collectible AT-ATs and homemade lightsaber hilts cluttered the end tables, and overstuffed shelves stood along the walls. I spotted a few Star Trek collections, Dr. Who DVDs, and the typical Robert Jordan books. His décor looked promising, although I wasn’t sure he qualified as my patient. If I didn’t find what I needed, I would prove to be a liar. Worse, I wouldn’t be able to help him.

“Mind if I have a seat?” I asked.

He nodded at the couch.

I placed my backpack on the floor and sat across from him.

“I hope Dr. Hill told you I’m a hopeless case,” Elmore said.

“He didn’t use those words exactly.”

He barked a cheerless laugh. “Did he tell you that I’ve suffered with depression since I was twelve? He’s prescribed every drug in the book. I’ve attended therapy sessions, I’ve been in and out of the mental hospital more times than I can count, and the panic attacks won’t go away. I really don’t know why you’re here.”

He clasped his hands, and that’s when I saw the scars. Elmore’s file said he’d attempted suicide twice. Raised keloids crisscrossed his wrists.

“My methods aren’t like the other doctors,” I said.

“I’ve heard that before. You’re all the same.”

“Are we?” I brushed back clumps of hair to draw attention to my freakish ears. This worked half the time. “I’m not much different from you.”

He shrugged. “Not bad. But my friend Whitmore’s prosthetics look better.”

Score zero for me. “I’m sure they are. Mine were incredibly cheap.” As in completely free—a donation from my elven daddy’s DNA.

Dreamthief by Tamara Grantham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started off with really getting into the book, but I felt at times that it was a little long and drawn out when I read it the first time around, and I thought I should read it again and so I did. Yes, there were some drawn out parts but I overlooked them because the action that took place made the book extremely interesting and addicting. I felt that the characters in the story were strong and the story-line was awesome. Like I said, the action did keep me in suspense. I loved the main character in the story. She was courageous and I was drawn to her straight from the beginning. I absolutely loved how the story started out. As a matter of fact the beginning is what sucked me into this twisted world of Faythander. The other characters in the story were awesome too. I absolutely loved how the character was able to help the patients in the beginning. I laughed, cried, and made me mad at times in this story, like the character could even get a break. I also thought that the story was predictable and I had some of it figured out before I even finished the book. This author did a fantastic job of writing the story all in all and I really want to read it a third time, but I know I need to move on. It is well written and a story I won't forget anytime soon. It is a MUST READ story and I highly recommend it.

The author has a mystical and magical way of luring you into the story and keeping you from wanting to put the book down despite the drawn out parts. All in all, it’s a fun read.

The author provided me with a digital ARC copy of the book for review purposes only. No remuneration was exchanged.

View all my reviews

Most of my favorite authors are indie or self-pubbed, what made you decide to go that route?

We have something in common, because most of my favorite books are also from indie authors. I started out trying to go with a traditional publishing house, so I queried agents for four years. I got some requests for pages, and even a few full manuscript requests. I attended writing conferences. At one conference I had all three agents request my book, but I eventually got rejections from everyone. After doing some research, I realized that my inability to snag an agent might not entirely be my fault. The industry was changing. Self-published and smaller press-released books were gaining steam. These authors were not taking a huge profit pay cut, and they were successful with their sales. I looked into several methods of publishing and found my dream publisher. Clean Teen Publishing did beautiful covers, they had a professional online presence, and most importantly, their authors were selling books. I submitted Dreamthief, my novel about Olive Kennedy, a Fairy World psychologist, to two publishers. One day later, I had two manuscript requests. And the next day, I had two offers. I signed with Crimson Tree Publishing, the adult imprint of Clean Teen Publishing, on November 8, 2014.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? 

Vikings don’t wear horns.

Which of your characters are you most like? Least like? 

I like Kull the most, and to be honest, I don’t dislike any of my characters. Even the mean guys were fun to write, maybe even more fun than the good guys.

Do you have a particular writing habit?? 

I usually try to write 1,000 words a day. If I’m editing, my goal is to edit 30-50 pages, although this is subjective as some scenes take longer to edit than others.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? 

I took several, week-long, brutal writing classes from William Bernhardt, so I definitely consider him my mentor. While the classes were tough, I learned more about writing in those few weeks than I would have learned on my own.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? 

Tifani Clark’s Soul Saver Series is a definite fun read.

What is the hardest part of your writing? 

Having enough time.

Do you have any advice for other writers? 

Write every day.

Describe yourself in three words. 

Motivated, religious, sleep-deprived

I know characters are like children but if you could chose, who’s your favorite from your books? 

Kull. He’s just too much fun. He’s a big Viking brute warlord with a teddy bear heart, but don’t let him hear I said that.

Any song or songs that could basically sum up the overall mood of your writing? 

My writing tends to be humorous with some gritty and dark undertones, so Mad World, Chasing Every Breaking Wave by U2, and almost any song by Imagine Dragons tends to reflect my writing style.

Do you plot out your books or just freely write them and let the characters tell you what to do next? 

I plot religiously. Otherwise, my characters would end up in the wrong places, and I’m not a fan of having to rewrite scenes I’ve already written.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider the biggest influence in your writing? 

A blend of Jim Butcher and Ilona Andrews.

What are your current projects? Can you share a little of your current work with us? 

I just finished my Dreamthief sequel, Spellweaver, and I’m moving forward with the third Fairy World MD novel. Spellweaver should be released in January 2016. They were all a blast to write, and I look forward to seeing how others react, because I’ve got a few surprises planned.

Thank you so much, Tamara for stopping by and letting us get to know you!! It has been fun!!

Tamara Grantham was born and raised in Southeast Texas. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. After marrying her husband David, she followed him through his training to become a burn surgeon. Tamara and David have five active, sweet, and almost always well-mannered children, ages zero to ten years. Their two pets, June and Chester help to keep the house lively (in addition to the children.)

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