Whoever You Are by Donna Marie Lanheady
September, 2012 by DML
Paperback, 180 Pages
Review Copy

What defines you…

Are you defined by your family, your career, your accomplishments? What happens when something you think defines you changes?

Emily McGinn, a recurring character from Where Secrets Lie, believes she knows exactly who she is and where she belongs in the world, until she receives an inheritance from an unknown benefactor. Uncovering the source of the inheritance leads Emily to discover buried truths undermining what she thought was a straightforward life. As the truths alter Emily’s perception of the people closest to her, her perception of herself shifts as well. Set in the unique foothills community of Boulder, Colorado and its environs, Whoever You Are questions not only how we define ourselves, but also how we define family and whether we bear any responsibility for the actions of those who came before us.

Hi Sandra! Welcome to the blog, please tell us about yourself.
I live in California with my husband Tom, daughters Heather and Melissa and cats Cocu and Oreo. I teach high school English and Social Studies. I love reading, hiking, chocolate and attending science fiction conventions. My newest pleasure in life is seeing my books for sale on Amazon and Nook, and reading reviews from people who have read them.

What inspired you to write Daughter of the Goddess Lands?
I’ve loved reading prehistoric fiction ever since Jean Auel published The Clan of the Cave Bear. And when novels in that genre began focusing on the meetings—and clash—of diverse cultures (especially patriarchal vs. egalitarian) I really got into them. But I often found these novels disturbing, not (to the surprise of everyone who knew me) because of the brutality and violence against women, but because of the lack of women taking charge and defeating the bad men on their own. Often, all they did was outlive the bad guys. Realistic enough, but in fiction, I want more. I also wanted the bad guys to stay in the story long enough to learn they had been defeated by women, and have some kind of reaction to it. I wanted a book where good people faced serious threats and difficult choices—and won in the end. So I wrote Daughter of the Goddess Lands.

What song would you pick to encapsulate your book?

What three indie books would you recommend to readers?
Zero Time, by Teresa Fenley, an engaging tale of ancient astronauts with an interesting take on the much-hyped Mayan calendar-end of the world craze. Worth Ambition by Lee-Ann Philips is a great murder mystery with an equally great lesbian love story. And finally, The Gumshoe, the Witch and the Virtual Corpse, by Keith Hartman is a laugh out loud funny near-future story that takes on…just about everything and everyone.

Can you share any future plans?
Shadow of the Horsemen, the sequel to Daughter of the Goddess Lands, came out in July. I just finished putting together a collection of short stories, which includes a novelette set in the same universe those first two books, and should be released in December. My next project is an historical fantasy set in Bronze Age Ireland. It’s about the roan, shape-shifting seals who are gentler and, IMHO, more interesting than their better known cousins, the selkies.

Sandra Saidak graduated San Francisco State University in 1985 with a B.A. in English. She is a high school English teacher by day, author by night. Her hobbies include reading, folk music, attending SF conventions, researching prehistory, and maintaining an active fantasy life (but warns that this last one could lead to dangerous habits such as writing). Sandra lives in San Jose, CA with her husband Tom, daughters Heather and Melissa, and cats, Cocu and Oreo.

Ghost Town is the hottest amusement park in the country, offering state-of-the-art chills and thrills involving the paranormal. The park's main ride is a haunted mansion that promises an encounter with a real ghost. When Maia Peters visits during her senior year of college, she's not expecting to be impressed. Maia grew up as the only child of a pair of world-renowned "ghost hunters," so the paranormal is nothing new. In fact, the ride feels pretty boring until the very end. There, a face appears from the mist. The face of Jordin Cole, a girl who disappeared from campus a year ago. Convinced what she saw wasn't a hoax and desperate to find answers to Jordin's disappearance, Maia launches into a quest for answers. Joined by Jordin's boyfriend--a pastor's kid with very different ideas about the spirit realm--Maia finds herself in a struggle against forces she never expected to confront.