Book birthday bash for Death Is a Bitch

By Cate Masters

For a writer, the stuff of myth and legend is treasure. Pure story gold. Heroes and heroines who don't simply embody the archetype, they invented it.

Immortals particularly intrigue me. Existing since the dawn of time tends to lend interest to a character, doesn't it? By definition, an immortal would still exist in present time, and I love nothing better than placing an ancient character in a modern setting.

I am not, however, a fan of stereotypes. I think I broke a few in my stories, particularly with Death Is A Bitch. The figure of speech provided the story title, and sparked the story idea. Too many times, Death's personified as a Grim Reaper, a scary hooded figure with a scythe, with maybe a glimpse of a skeleton beneath. Mythology generally depicts Death as male. But I loved the idea of a strong-willed, intelligent heroine with a serious work ethic. She has to be serious, with that huge workload.

Why did any harvester of souls have to be cold and unfeeling? My Death has a soft spot for children and the elderly. Maybe losing my parents in recent years influenced this. I liked to think any Angel of Death provided comfort to my Mom and Dad along their journey to the afterlife. I played with the names a bit in these scenes - my Dad's brother, who died just before him, was named Harry. My Dad's name was Joe, so I used the female variation of Jo for Harry's wife.

Raised Catholic, I avoided religious references, for obvious reasons. Every religion has its own version of Death, and I respect everyone's personal beliefs. Thankfully, fiction allows each writer great leeway in portraying characters as befits the story. For me, that's the only goal -- telling a good story. To me, angels are merely another type of immortal. Why shouldn't one immortal fall in love with another? Eternity's a long time to spend alone.

One year is less than a blip in eternity for Death, my character, but for the first anniversary of the book, Death Is A Bitch, it's an occasion to party! Bet you never knew Death was a party girl, did you?

Join the party!

Come and wish Death a happy one-year book birthday! If you're on Facebook, join Death and me on Saturday, August 3 at 1:00 p.m. EST for some fun trivia and of course giveaways!  Sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/events/417270428391691/

Giveaway:

I'll give one commenter on this blog an ebook of Death Is A Bitch - just tell me what kind of immortals intrigue you enough to pick up a book. Don't forget to leave your email address!

If you've read Death Is A Bitch, I hope you enjoyed it (and please leave me a review on Amazon or Goodreads!). If you haven't yet but would like to, you can find it here:

Decadent Publishing||Amazon||B&N

Blurb:

   Eternity can suck when it’s all work, work, work. Death harvests souls even when they stack up faster than pancakes in an all-you-can-eat-buffet. No wonder she can’t shed the Grim Reaper rep.

   As the patron angel of death and dying, Azrael works closely with Death but is dying for true intimacy. She’s the only immortal who’s ever aroused such powerful emotions in him. One taste of her leaves him needing her like humans need air and food, but will a demon’s lies leave a bad taste?

   No one escapes Death – except King Sisyphus. Twice. With the help of Damien the demon, Sisyphus tries again, and she’s determined to have justice. Some say Death’s a bitch, but only when she has to be. But will the price of justice be a broken heart?

Read the excerpt, reviews, view the Casting Call (who I imagined as these characters), the book video and more at:

http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2011/04/death-is-bitch-dark-paranormal.html