Indie Author Spotlight – Elizabeth Alsobrooks and “Illuminati: The Book of Life”

As promised, here’s another great indie writer you ought to know about – Elizabeth Alsobrooks, author of “Illuminati: The Book of Life”

Now that her children have flown from the nest, Elizabeth lives with her two new babies (AKA Maltese) and husband, Bobby, at the foot of the beautiful Catalina Mountain Range in Oro Valley, AZ.

She loves to hike the mountain trails, ride her bike on the miles of walk/bike paths, sit on her patio sipping coffee and reading or brainstorming plots and enjoying the grandeur of her breathtaking mountain views.

Elizabeth calls herself a pantser on steroids. The first book of her Illuminati series flowed like a psychic muse channeled it from her fingertips to the keyboard. She wrote 120,000 words in 45 days. “After the first couple of chapters, the characters took over. They knew what they wanted and what they were willing to do to get it.”

Her love of mythology and ancient literature and history were the backbone for her series, and the Sigma Force series by James Rollins inspired the fast-paced adventures (He recently told her at a literacy fundraiser that he found that flattering, as no one had ever told him he was inspiring before!). The result was an action packed URBAN FANTASY novel series, with its basis in truth, superstitions, mythology and conspiracy theories.

A friend compared Elizabeth’s series to what it would be like if Ford and Jolie stepped through the Stargate using the Da Vinci code as a compass, tried to kill each other, and ended up colliding with a love as seemingly hopeless as Romeo and Juliet. Elizabeth claims she pictured a blond “The Rock” as the hero when she was writing, but that Jolie, with lavender eyes, would fit her heroine just fine. It was difficult for her to claim a genre (pigeon hole) for this work. There is a love relationship, but it’s all about the family relationships, dysfunctional and otherwise, and the timeless struggle for power. There are very strong female leads in this story, and the men are macho enough to hold their own.

In the above picture, Elizabeth was in New Orleans on a tram with author friends Nancy Gideon and Laurie C. Kuna, doing research for book II in the series. Travel, exploring and research have always been her idea of a good time!

That’s Elizabeth.  You can read more about her at her website, Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter.  Now, about her book…

Ljluka Vargas, immortal prince and the cool-headed enforcer for the Vargas Dynasty, must go up against his most intriguing enemy, the mysterious Nalini. She intends to beat him to the secret archaeological site of The Book of Life which contains the genetic secrets of their ancient ancestors.

In order to escape the cruel domination of her family and gain freedom for her mother, Nalini assumes the role of assassin. In her rival, the sleek and deadly Luc, she finds a different kind of danger. She’s supposed to eliminate him, but that would foil destiny’s plan for them to be together.

It’s a race from power-hungry D.C. cabinet rooms through the secret realms of the Vatican, from cloud forests and desert sands to the caverns of the Underworld as mankind hangs in the balance. For whoever possesses the Book of Life has the potential to rule the world, offering or denying immortality to the human race.

You can buy the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  You can watch the book trailer on YouTube, and read a breif excerpt from the book here.

Last, but certainly not least, Elizabeth has a little treat for us – an interview with her heroine, the assassin Nalini:

Why have you agreed to be an assassin, Nalini?

Nalini: I had no choice. It’s the only way for me to escape the harem and free my mother from the beast.

What beast are you talking about?

My father.

Your father is a beast?

I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t wish to discuss it further.

Okay. How do you feel about your first mission?

I thought nothing of it at first, but that man, Luc, there is something different about him. Something unsettling.

You sound as if you won’t be able to defeat him.

He did win the first battle. They say it’s not possible, that no one has ever won a fight against him. But I must. I must.

Are you afraid he might kill you?

No. I’m not afraid to die. There are worse fates.

What is your deepest, most secret wish?

For my mother and I to find somewhere that we can be safe, and happy.

Where would that be?

If only I knew that, we would already be there.

What are your plans?

At the moment, I am planning to find the Book of Life. I must beat Luc to the site.

Do you think you will be able to do so?

Yes. My mother has seen in a vision that I will hold the book in my hands.

In a vision? Does your mother–

Enough! I must go. I can’t tell you any more.

To find out the rest, check out the book.  You won’t be disappointed when you do!

 

 

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