Today I’m going to be
interviewing Ingrid Carmichael. She’s
the main character in Beth Cato’s amazing steampunk novel BREATH OF EARTH—which
will be released August 23. The story is an alternate history that takes place
in San Francisco in 1906.
Ingrid, how about if you describe yourself
for us?
About five and a half feet in height, and of
a generous figure, like my mama. My complexion most resembles my father,
though--rich brown in tone, and black hair that defies bobby pins and clips. As
for my personality, well, I try to be a decent sort of person, though when I'm
angry, things happen to... crack if I'm holding them. Warden Sakaguchi teases
me about my warfare against dishes.
What’s your profession?
I'm secretary at the Cordilleran Auxiliary. That place sounds fancy, I
know, but all it means is that I serve up gallons of coffee and tea for the
geomancer wardens and adepts at our building in downtown San Francisco. Not
only is it the wardens' center of business for the region as they work with the
earth's energy, but the building is also a boarding school for young geomancers
in training.
I should add that I do more than serve drinks, too. I directly work with
Warden Sakaguchi to manage his appointments and paperwork. I assist the
housekeepers all the time--my mama used to be head housekeeper there. I help in
the classrooms as needed, too. Really, I fill in most anywhere.
Do you have a special skill?
I'm... just a secretary. You insist on an
answer? Well, I'm fluent in Japanese and English, but most anyone is these
days, with Japan and America allied as they are. I can also bake up a wonderful dried apple
pie. My mama's recipe.
What is your biggest dream/wish/desire?
That hardly seems like a fair question. As a woman, I'm supposed to want
marriage and a litter of children underfoot. Hmph. While I wouldn't mind a good sort of man
in my life, I really wish I could be more useful at the auxiliary. Work as a
teacher, perhaps. Not that such a thing will ever happen.
What’s your darkest secret?
What sort of nosy question is that? Do you
ask everyone that sort of thing? My secret wouldn't be a secret if I announce
it to just anyone who asks! You--oh, damn--drat--this cup cracked in my hands.
It happens. I'm strong. All the housework I do. Here, let me get a rag.
What’s your favorite pastime/hobby?
I will give this small secret away: I read
those pulp novels. You know, the sorts with dashing men on the cover, and
likely some fainting female in a state of mild undress. Oh, they are silly
books for certain. I roll my eyes a good bit. I can't help but buy more of
them, though.
Describe the craziest thing you have done.
Mama used to encourage me to do all sorts of
things that society would judge to be crazy, but Mama was also a suffragette.
She believed I should be able to do most anything a man can do. I can ride a
horse, do basic repairs on an autocar, and even shoot a pistol. We used to go
down to Mount Diablo to practice shooting.
Boots, sandals, slippers . . . what kind of
shoes do you wear?
Lace-up boots, most often, or perhaps dress slippers if I'm accompanying
Warden Sakaguchi to the opera. I really detest wearing shoes, though. I much
prefer to be in my sock feet. Yes, I'm quite the rebellious woman, aren't I?
Who is your favorite fictional character?
I do love Hank in Mark Twain's Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It's ingenious, how he engineers kermanite steam
engines in the medieval period. What, you don't remember that? Perhaps we read
different versions of the book?
Thank you Ingrid for
stopping by. I'm so excited about BREATH OF EARTH and can't wait to get my hands on it when it comes out next week!
BLURB:
In an alternate 1906,
the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation—the Unified
Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first target is a vulnerable
China. In San Francisco, headstrong Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of
powerful geomancer wardens who have no idea of the depth of her power—or that
she is the only woman to possess such skills.
When assassins kill the wardens,
Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is
far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on
the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose Earth’s powers to
masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The
danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching
American and Japanese, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies,
transforming the city into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor
will set it off. . . .
Forced on the run,
Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her powerful magic has
grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance
of world power rests.
BUY LINKS—pre-order
today!
BIO:
Beth Cato is the author
of the Clockwork Dagger series from Harper Voyager, which includes her
Nebula-nominated novella WINGS OF SORROW AND BONE. Her newest novel is BREATH
OF EARTH. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona
desert, where she lives with her husband, son, and requisite cat.
Follow her at BethCato.com and on Twitter at @BethCato.
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