Another cool book to talk about today, CJ Barry's Unmasked. I talked a bit with CJ, and here's what she had to say:


JK: (I loved the line about how if the computer couldn't multitask, Tori would change it into a male!)

Yes, I confess, I am a big Star Trek fan. I liked the old stuff, but I really loved Next Gen. As for why the female voice, hmm... I never really thought about it. In Unleashed, I gave Zain's computer a male persona so I've done both. Torrie is surrounded by men who give her a hard time, so it would be appropriate for her to want her computer at least to be on her side!


JK: Torrie's a fabulous character. How'd you come up with her?

She showed up at the end of Unleashed to help my heroine save Zain. Torrie is Zain's sister. She was one of those characters who walked fully formed into my head. I wanted a heroine who was fearless and tough as she would be with six brothers! No doubt about it, she is a force to be reckoned with, but I also wanted her to have a big heart that she hides beneath her skills and weapons. I love writing women with a mission, and she had it. At one point, Qaade calls her "a warrior without a war". So I gave her one. :-)

JK: What are your favorite movies?

How much space do you have? LOL Let me see. Princess Bride, Galaxy Quest, Young Frankenstein, Forrest Gump, Star Wars (yes, all of them), Independence Day, Moonstruck, Indiana Jones, X-men, Spiderman I&II, The Bourne Identity, LOTR trilogy, What's Up Doc. Is that enough? I love movies although you can see from my line-up that I steer clear of the bloody ones. Ick.


JK: Favorite TV shows?

As much as I love movies, I'm not a big TV fan. In fact, most of the time you can find my TV turned to the Food Network. I love Iron Chef (the original) and Good Eats. I also like watching the Discovery Channel with my son, Ryan where we find Extreme Engineering, Monster Machines, and a lot of excellent documentaries. I catch CSI once in a while, but frankly, I have no idea what shows are on what nights. I gave up watching TV long ago when I started writing and I guess I just never got back into it again.


JK: Your five favorite foods?

Only five? You realize, I live on the Food Network, right? Okay, I guess it would be peanut M&Ms, king crab legs, escargot, havarti with dill cheese, and Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream. Did I hit all the major food groups? Eh, close enough.


JK: Have you ever in fact traveled in space? How about Oliver? Has he done any space travel? (And are you sure about that answer???)

As a matter of fact, when I was a kid I used to sit in the backyard at night hoping that I would be abducted by aliens. Unfortunately, I could never seem to flag them down. I don't know about Oliver. Sometimes I wonder if they aren't feeding him.


JK: What was the inspiration for Unmasked? Do you recall how you came up with the story?

As with most of my stories, it started from a nugget I found while researching history. Although I understood Torrie's role, I didn't have much on my hero except that I wanted him to be a space pirate. So I read a lot of books on Pirates of Caribbean in the 1700's. One of the paragraphs mentioned how pirates detested the slave trade. They viewed slavery as a direct threat to their fairly democratic way of life (one man, one vote). So many times, if they boarded a slave ship, they would kill the crew and free the slaves. A few slaves were even taken on as part of pirate crew. As soon as I read that, it all clicked into place. I knew what my pirate's purpose was.

From there, it was a matter of pitting Torrie's views against his views. I had an opportunity to take this issue and portray it from many angles using various characters who were representative of the players in the slave trade. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this book and tackling such a difficult subject. More than any other book I've written, this one stole my heart. :-)


JK again...sounds great, doesn't it!? And check out this blurb about the book:

To the merchants he plunders, he's the Ghost Rider of the Dead Zone. To sector law enforcement, he's a wanted pirate. To the slaves he rescues, he's the savior, laghato. To one determined female, Qaade Deter is serious trouble. Torrie Masters had heard of the legendary raider, but she'd never expected to encounter him. Nor would she have expected that beneath his black mask lurked an enticing man destined to challenge her in ways she couldn't shoot her way out of. But a great threat has emerged-one that's left no choice but for them to join forces. Entrusted with the fate of thousands, Torrie has discovered Qaade's impossible dream. Only she has the power to help him. Only she has the power to see him UNMASKED.

If you want to check out an excerpt, visit http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/SpecialFeatures.cfm?Special_ID=1923

And check out the great reviews!

"Wow! What a story! Bravo!" -Best-selling Author Robin D. Owens

"Applause for this gutsy tale that steals your heart. Barry's best, simply her best!" -Deborah MacGillivray, The Best Reviews 4 1/2 STARS!!

"This awesome book roars out of the starting gates and never looks back. Along with telling social commentary, it is chock-full of danger, adventure, and romance-a terrific keeper!" -Romantic Times Magazine

More infor? Visit www.cjbarry.com

// posted by Julie Kenner @ 7:42 AM