INTERVIEW WITH LORETTA KENDALL (Running with the Orc)
Supernatural Central Short and Quick Interview
1. Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
Daisy Larue is a burlesque comedian who is taken from a casual day out having coffee from her favorite barista to being kidnapped, taken from earth to another realm, and forced into captivity by a brooding orc horde. With multiple attempts at escape through the portal through which she came, and punished in more ways than one, she is still a fierce, independent woman who doesn’t let her circumstances define her. She’s an unapologetic smart mouth who fights for what she believes in with sarcasm, quick wit, and a bit of comedy influence.
Inspired by comedian Carisa Hendrix, aka Lucy Darling, Daisy is classy and sassy when she needs to perform, and casual and cool on her days off stage. Her experience on stage gives her an edge that keeps the orcs laughing, and her way of making the best of a bad situation.
2. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
Yes, although I try to steer clear of what goes bump in the night, I have seen lots of things that make me believe things we don’t quite understand. One of the most memorable was when I was working with a local acting troupe, and we were doing a USO show for a reenactment event. One day, my group was practicing our pinup-inspired singing act, and we were inside the museum where the event would be held. My cousin and I were alone in the building that was known for paranormal activity. When we were heading to the bathroom, the water came on by itself. We were told it happens often, and my cousin had already had experiences there. After we turned off the water, we heard voices and footsteps upstairs, but we were the only ones in the building.
The Scott County Museum in Indiana was once called a poor house or poor asylum, designed to house the county's poor and homeless population in exchange for work. According to the museum, it is rumored to be haunted by its former residents. Witnesses have reported hearing footsteps on the second floor, a baby crying, unexplained smells and shadows, lights that turn off and on by themselves, and even full-bodied apparitions have been reportedly experienced in the building.
It still gives me the shivers.
3. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
I’m currently writing a ghost romance novella that will be free to read on my website, coming this spring/summer. It was a side project before I dived back into creating a new series of monster madness.
In the coming novella, Cherry Adler was the star dancer of the Cherry Bomb, an 80s family-owned nightclub. After she’s met with an untimely death, years later, the club’s newest handsome DJ, Thorne Sterling, will be the only person who can solve a decades-long cold case. The beautiful ghost haunting the club leads him on a dance he’ll never forget in a pop culture-themed spicy romance with a lot of mystery.
This rom-com will prove that even in death, Cherry still knows how to steal the spotlight and get her man.
Running with the Orc: Excerpt 1
The club was packed, the drinks were flowing, and Daisy LaRue was about to go on stage for another night of comedy burlesque when…
“You have to see who’s here. I can’t believe it. He came. He never comes into the camp unless someone trips the alarm leading to the portal.”
I watched the woman from my world, Claudette, curiously. “Who?”
She didn’t respond, but quickly pushed me to the edge of the stage to look out through the curtain. When I caught a glimpse of what was sitting in VIP, the gasp that came from my lips rattled me, and I quickly slammed the curtain shut. With a heavy breath, I pinned myself to the nearby wall and hoped like hell he didn’t see me. My heart was racing, and I couldn’t believe he was here. I hoped I would never have to lay eyes on that man again—that stupid, green-skinned, gorgeous man.
“Bramwell Gronk,” I breathed, barely able to contain the sudden fear that fell over me.
“The leading commander of the orc army,” she noted with a little too much cheery swoon for my liking. “His warlord horde was the group who brought you back here… twice… no, three times… Wasn’t it? The warlords typically don’t—”
“Show up unless hunting us when we try to escape to reach the passage. Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”
Damn her for stating the obvious. The last time we met, he swore he’d kill me if he ever saw my face again. His words were I’ll take care of you. Yeah, I’m sure he would, in a dark, primal ritual where he’d rip my heart from my chest as his men bellowed war chants to the rhythm of my still beating thumper, right before he took a big bite to claim his barbarian hierarchy.
That gnarly scar on his face from forehead to jawline is the reason I landed in an oubliette for two weeks… Or was it a month?
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