Author Interview - Mary Ann Bernal

Joining me in the studio today, is Ms. Mary Ann Bernal.  She is an author, a TV celebrity, and supporter of all things military.

Mary Ann, tell me a little about yourself:

I am the author of The Briton and the Dane novels and an avid history buff whose area of interest focuses on Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain during the Viking Age.  While pursuing a degree in business administration, I managed to fit a few creative writing classes and workshops into my busy schedule. Unfortunately, it took decades before my “Erik the Viking” novel was ultimately published.




                                


You said you were an avid supporter of the military?

Yes, I am a very passionate supporter of the United States military.  I have been involved with letter writing campaigns and other support programs since Operation Desert Storm.

Thank you for that.  As a veteran, its nice to feel appreciated.  What is this I hear about a "celebrity" status?

Celebrity?  Hardly.   I have appeared on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS television affiliate in Omaha, and I was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for my volunteer work. I have also been a featured author on Triangle Variety Radio, The Phil Naessens Show, and The Writers Showcase, and have been interviewed extensively by American and European bloggers.

I would definitely call that "celebrity!"  So, you live in Omaha?

I do currently reside in Omaha, Nebraska, but I am a New York “expat.”

So, leaving New York was on your bucket list?  What other things would you like to cross off that list?

1.  Getting my pilot’s license
2.  Riding in a hot air balloon
3.  Parachuting with my nephew, retired US Ranger
4.  Attending the Indie 500
5.  Spending a week walking the ruins of Pompeii
6.  Visiting Stonehenge during the summer solstice

7.  Exploring Cornwall,  starting at Tintagel

8.  Sightseeing in Málaga - especially the locations referenced in The Briton and the Dane Concordia
9.  Volcano hopping in Hawaii
10. Visit the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark

Sounds like you've got a great life planned out.    Lets hope for a long, fabulous life!

Now...who is Mary Ann Bernal?  Give me a few insights, not the normal bio stuff, but the things that really make you...you.

1.  I was born on a Navy base.  GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!   

I really can't agree with that, but go on.

2.  I drive a Honda with 85,000 miles and still going strong.

3.  Nancy Walker (actress best known for appearing on the TV show Rhoda) and I almost collided on a sidewalk in Manhattan.

4.  I hung out with the First Class flight attendants on a trip from Texas to New York and was introduced to Mickey Mantle who, of course, was flying in First Class.

5.  Tom Jones touched my hand during a concert at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.

6.  I was the only female in an accelerated program created for US veterans pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree.

7.  My favorite color is teal, worn by my favorite football team (Miami Dolphins)



8.  While in Bermuda, I had a motorbike accident and severed my right calf muscle.  When brought to the clinic, I assisted the doctor, who was also from New York, as he stitched my leg since his nurse had yet to arrive at the office.

Tough...obviously that military upbringing!


9.  Being a proud Trekker, I have attended Star Trek conventions in New York City and have been to the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, and can be found on the Voyager bridge next to Captain Janeway.




10.  I fought off a mugger in the Parking Garage at LaGuardia Airport.

Wow!  All of that and an author to top it off.  Fantastic!   Do you have any links you'd like to share to your work?

Webpage
http://www.maryannbernal.com

Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/BritonandDane
http://twubs.com/britonanddane

Blog
http://maryannbernal.blogspot.com/

Amazon Links:
The Briton and the Dane:  Timeline
Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/The-Briton-Dane-Mary-Bernal/dp/1494864622/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1393369128&sr=8-1

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Briton-Dane-Mary-Ann-Bernal-ebook/dp/B00I4WFUOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393369096&sr=8-1&keywords=The+briton+and+the+dane+timeline

YOUTUBE - TRAILERS
The Briton and the Dane: Timeline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijK8NgFL4Ks

The Briton and the Dane:  The Complete Trilogy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH1qSGHOSMA

The Briton and the Dane: Concordia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDPaiQqmaIs






Fantastic! Thank you Mary Ann for stopping by.  I wish you great success and "LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!"

Become a TIME ASSASSIN

Welcome to April!

Nope, no jokes this year, just a contest!

I am opening up the floor to the fans of the TIME ASSASSINS series and asking, what is you favorite historical event?  What would you like to see in the third TIME ASSASSINS book?

Submit your favorite "historical event" for a chance for that event to be spotlighted in the third book of the TIME ASSASSINS series.

Submit the event and a brief explanation of why that event is your favorite. If chosen, I will write the history of that event and include it in the third installment of TIME ASSASSINS:... TALES OF THE GUILD.

Your historical event should occur between 800 ad and the present.  Click on the link below to the facebook event and simply write your event.

Those selected will receive a signed copy of ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT, due out the 22nd of April.

I'll be accepting submissions the month of April and will announce the winners the first week of May!!

Good luck to all of those who enter!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/237312809808158/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1

 

If you were a Time Assassin...

I've been pondering, what would I do/where would I go if I were an Assassin at the futuristic Assassin's Guild?

Would I visit the JFK Assassination?  How about Pearl Harbor in December 1941?  Watch as Charles Lindbergh launched his historic trip?  Maybe find my way to NASA to see the Apollo 13 repair.  The possibilities are almost limitless.

As I prepare the research for the third and final Time Assassin's novel, I can't seem to narrow down where I would like to visit.  The world is a big place, and there are literally centuries of historic events to choose from.  How do I narrow that down?


I ask for your help, of course...and make it a contest!

Yes, you have the opportunity to see your "favorite" historical event uncovered in the final Time Assassins novel.  And, perhaps a "walk in" part in the event!!

So, for the month of April, I will be open to submissions for your favorite event, or any event that you'd like to know more about.  It can take place anywhere in the world, but only from 800 bc to present to fit into the parameters of the Time Assassins universe.

Submit your event and tell me why you picked it.  That's it.  That's all you have to do to possibly get a part in the final Time Assassins novel.  Too easy, right?

At the end of April, Dark Dragon Publishing and I will be 3-5 winners.  The winners will get a signed copy of ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT, due out in late April!


Submit your entry to rkylehannah@gmail.com.

Good luck and thank you for supporting Time Assassins!

 

Cover reveal and a little teaser from ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the cover for the upcoming ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT, due out around the 4th of April!

 

 

First Excerpt from the book, ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT. Stay tuned to https://www.facebook.com/RKyleHannahWriter over the next few weeks for additional excerpts!

Assassin 101 stood, right arm stretched before him, his hand held toward the white o...paque void of the time stream. He moved his hand in a small circle and the sensation of crawling ants assaulted his fingers and palm. He pulled his hand away, rubbing it to rid himself of the static tingle. His eyes stayed focused on the static currents of the vortex as they discharged and swirled.
He turned to the Control Room Director, Mr. Tomlinson. “A little stronger than usual, isn’t it?”
Mr. Tomlinson, dressed in his usual yellow, full length smock, adjusted his glasses and typed a query into the data pad held in his right hand. He stole a glance at the open time portal and the slight swirl of the maelstrom beyond as he typed. He vaguely heard a technician across the room state that the mission was a go. The pad beeped and displayed the results of his query. Tomlinson’s brows arched noticeably and he whistled softly. “Sunspot activity is creating a sharp increase in static charge.” He smiled weakly as he focused on the Assassin. “You could make the skip today, but you’ll definitely feel it.”
“Hell, I feel it every time.” Assassin 101 gave a half-hearted smile, feeling less nonchalant than his remark. He again held his right hand to the Time Skip Door. A small, blue bolt of electricity leapt from the vortex and pricked his finger. He jerked his hand back, shook it, and then sucked on his finger to kill the pain. He failed. “Damn.”
“It’s your call, Assassin. We can postpone this until the sunspot activity has decreased.” Tomlinson typed in another query on his pad, received a response and looked up at the Assassin. “Seventy-two hours.”
The Assassin took a deep breath. “No. We’ve had four delays already and the Council is anxious to get underway.” Assassin 101 straightened his leather jacket and ran a hand through his hair. “We finally have a location and, sunspots or not, we need to take care of the situation.”
Pointing at the door with his left hand, Tomlinson replied, a little more condescending than he meant. “This is a door to time. He will still be in Ecuador in seventy-two hours.”
Assassin 101 smiled. “You’re not the one being called into the Council Chambers to be asked ‘Why haven’t you left yet?’” He sighed, shaking his head. “Sunspots or not, I’m going. It’ll be worth the pain just to get away from the Council for a few days.”
Tomlinson looked at the pad again then back to the Assassin. He turned the pad to show the readout. “Are you sure?”
Assassin 101 studied the pad, sighed again, and then shifted his vision around the room for a moment of reflection. The yellow painted walls surrounded the horseshoe shaped time-skip control consoles. Tomlinson’s office sat atop a set of stairs at the base of the horseshoe, the office’s large bay window presenting the Time Skip Director a commanding view of the consoles. Control monitors covered one entire wall, several of them showing historical events; other missions currently underway. The Assassin paused and watched the monitors for a moment.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” He smirked and turned to face the door again.
The Assassin took a deep breath, straightened his clothes in anticipation, closed his eyes, and stepped into the vortex. A waterfall cascade of air washed over him as he entered the time stream. The wave of air quickly changed to tingling electricity as he picked up speed; freefalling through time. The static discharge consumed his body; a million ants crawling along his skin. Assassin 101 exiled the sensation to the recesses of his mind and the electrical current faded, temporarily subdued. His mind focused on the time skip and he opened his eyes.



Assassin's Gambit Reveal party

Tomorrow, March 17th, is St. Patrick's Day...and the day chosen for the cover reveal for the second book in the Time Assassin's series:  ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT.

If you haven't joined the reveal party, click here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1552640184960239/1561477917409799/?notif_t=like

Once the cover has been revealed, I will be posting small excerpts, teasers if you will, from the book every few days all the way up to the book release on the 4th of April.

So, stay tuned to my facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/RKyleHannahWriter to find out more information about the upcoming release and to get the first look at the teasers for ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT.

Oh, if you haven't read TIME ASSASSINS yet, you still have some time before the sequel comes out.

 

Assassin's Gambit

Greetings everyone...been awhile.

Well, after returning from my final deployment, I took a few months off to enjoy family and friends.  But now...its back to the grind.

And what is a great way to get back into that grind...how about a cover reveal party!?!?  Join me on the 17th of March as I talk with fans and reveal the cover for ASSASSIN'S GAMBIT, the second book in the TIME ASSASSINS series.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1552640184960239/?ref_notif_type=plan_user_joined&source=1

I'll be releasing little excerpts from the book over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, check out the back cover:

Saving the future

By preserving the past.

 

Pulled forward in time by the Guild of a distant future, Assassin 101 is tasked with tracking down a rogue agent before he can return to his time. What he finds is a web of espionage bent on destruction and domination. To complete the mission, Assassin 101 must confront an unimaginable foe and in the process of saving the Guild, a family secret makes the Assassin doubt his own future. 

Sebastian Caine, a certified genius and top level Apprentice, has duped the Guild into complacency and killed his fellow apprentices. Sentenced to death for his crimes, he escapes into the past. A peaceful life at sea is everything he desires, until he meets Catherine. Plans for a new life with the woman of his dreams hinge on drastically changing the timeline.  The Guild has no choice but to send two agents to retrieve Caine.

Rick Brewer has been a guinea pig for Guild scientists since his capture. The only light in his life is his friendship with the woman who had hunted him down. Brewer, along with Assassin 97, is sent to retrieve Caine. Brewer’s growing affections towards her becomes more pronounced as they bounce through the Renaissance in search of Caine. When Assassin 97 is captured and tortured by Caine, Brewer must choose how best to help her.

To rescue Assassin 97, Brewer and Assassin 101 must violate Guild law and, with it, accept possible execution.  Can Assassin 101 save his wife and his future, or will the Guild leave her to history?