The Cards of Life and Death

What would you do if you could ask a writer questions and have them answered? I was so lucky to have Colleen Gleason (international best selling author) do just that. I found out about a book she wrote called The Cards of Life and Death. I happened to know Colleen through a writing association (RWA is an invaluable asset) so I sent her a quick tweet that her book had popped up on a Tarot discussion. Then I asked if she would do an interview. Man, is she fast. It’s like she a professional writer or something.

Oh wait. She is. Not only does she write as Colleen Gleason, she also writes as Joss Ware. This woman is a talented storyteller and you would be doing yourself a favor to read her books. I read my first Gleason novel, The Rest Falls Away, after getting a signed copy at an RWA event a few years back. WOW. Regency vampires with a real twist that took my breath away. And she is multifaceted as well. But let me stop raving about Colleen and let you hear from her yourself.

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1. Do you read tarot yourself?

Colleen: I have read books about Tarot and have always been fascinated by it, but I don’t really read cards. I find the entire concept fascinating, though, and I believe that a person who understands the elements of each card can open his or her mind and truly find guidance.

Thought I don’t read Tarot, I do use Oracle cards for daily guidance and affirmation. I think it’s because they are simpler for me to understand. 😉

2. Why use tarot in this story?

Colleen: As I mentioned, I’ve always found Tarot fascinating, and I believe there is some truth to it. But the core of the story came when I learned that cards should be wrapped in black, and protected from other people using them. It got me to wondering what would happen to a deck of Tarot after its owner died…and what if that owner wanted to send a message. Thus I came up with the idea of a “haunted” deck of Tarot, where the ghost/spirit of the owner (or even the cards themselves) are trying to send a message to a young woman who is filled black and white logic and doesn’t believe in psychic messages.

3. Do you have a deck you prefer?

Colleen: I own the Angels Tarot which I think is beautiful, and I used the the Rider-Waite deck images to describe the cards in my book The Cards of Life and Death. I’d like to get a steampunk Tarot deck because I’m sure it would be lovely.

4. Have you ever used tarot to help plot a story or create a character?

Colleen: I’ve tried! I started a class that was for writers who wanted to use the Tarot for this purpose. But I didn’t have time to finish the class, and sort of let it go.

I’m sure I will again some time, because I feel that the Tarot can help to open your mind to the subconscious–and I wholly believe that all my stories area already planted and flourishing in my subconscious….I just have to find them.

5. What surprised you the most about writing this story?

Colleen: How well the cards fit in with the story itself; how well the cards could represent what was happening to the main character Diana. It was effortless for me to figure out how the cards, which were giving her messages she tried to ignore, could fit in and represent character development. I really enjoyed using that element, and I hope that Tarot readers enjoy the story–and that I didn’t make any glaring mistakes! 😉

Here’s a bit about this terrific story from Colleen Gleason.
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The Cards of Life and Death

A small-town summer romance spiced up with moonlit boat rides, handsome neighbors, and a haunted deck of Tarot cards….

Diana Iverson is a sharp, up and coming malpractice attorney with a logical, scientific mind and a handsome fiance–until the rug is pulled out from under her feet and her life is upended.

When her crazy Aunt Belinda dies, leaving her a big old house in Maine along with a box of Tarot cards, Diana takes the opportunity for a summer get-away away from the rat-race of Boston and the painful memories there.

She doesn’t expect to meet up with Ethan Tannock, the handsome neighbor next door who seems to be some sort of eccentric ghost-buster–along with his big, black Labrador Retriever.

But when the old house becomes the scene of vandalism and a number of break-ins, and it begins to appear as if Aunt Belinda’s death was not as it seemed, Diana finds that life isn’t always black and white and filled with logic.

And then there are Aunt Belinda’s Tarot cards…which seem to be trying to tell her something from beyond the grave.

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GOOD NEWS! The Cards of Life And Death (Kindle version) is on sale for .99 cents until Sunday! This is the second book but I believe it can be read as a stand alone. I am warning you now that you will want to read more of her work.

And check her out as Joss Ware at http://www.joss-ware.com. I recommend starting with Beyond The Night and not stopping.

I’d like to thank Colleen for doing this super fast interview with me. I’m so sold on her work that I will give away a $10 gift card to Amazon to buy one of her books. All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment on this post. If you want to get an extra entry, just share this post on Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest. Then tell me in a separate comment with a link to the share. So you can get four entries. Contest ends Friday at midnight PST. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday’s Tarotscopes.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!