Bound by Blood
A Night Shift Novella by Margo Bond Collins
Urban Fantasy, Horror
Release Date: November 10, 2014
Character Interview: Dr. Lili Banta
1.
Lili, quick. Describe yourself in seven words or less!
Filipino-American, Texan, doctor,
epidemiologist, scientist.
2.
Tell us something about your current hometown.
I recently moved back to Houston. I
went to medical school in Maine because I wanted to get as far away from home
as I could—but eventually, I was ready to return. I'm staying with my mother—my
Inay—until I find a new place. That might take longer than I initially planned,
because my ex-boyfriend just called me in to consult on a strange case at his
hospital.
3.
What's the strangest thing that has ever happened to you?
When I was a child, my grandmother
warned me about the aswang hunting the children at my school. An aswang is a woman
who turns into a monster at night and attacks women and young children. I didn't
believe in them . . . but I might be changing my mind.
4.
What's your favourite food?
I love the traditional dish adobo
from the Philippines. My grandmother—my Inang—made it with chicken and
peppercorns, cooked in soy sauce and olive oil, and lots and lots of garlic. At
the last minute, she took it out and pan-fried it to get the edges just crispy enough.
Mmmm.
5.
Can you tell us a little about what to expect in Bound by Blood?
When I get called in to consult on
Will's case, we're all surprised by what we discover. I don't want to give away
too much, but my past and Will's present case are all tied together in ways we
never expected.
6.
Can you tell us something about yourself we don't learn from the book?
My father died when I was very young—I
don't even remember him at all.
7.
What is your author Margo Bond Collins like?
She’s kind of quiet until you get to
know her—she likes to sit back and watch for a while before jumping into any
kind of social situation. But then it’s hard to shut her up! She grew up in
Texas, and after living all over the country, has come back to North Central
Texas, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and a bunch of pets.
8.
Name five items in your purse or pockets right now.
Two IDs: one for the CDC in Houston,
the other for Houston General Hospital. My car keys and cell phone. A scrunchie
to tie my hair back. A pen. And that's pretty much all my lab coat pockets have
room for!
9.
If you had one chance to change anything about your life, what would it be?
I
wish I had believed my grandmother—that I had figured this out before someone
got hurt . . .
Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real...
As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.
Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city's children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.
But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected....
As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.
Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city's children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.
But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected....
_____________________________________________
Excerpt
But the word still ricocheted through my mind.
Aswang.
Until yesterday, I hadn't thought of the term in years—not since I'd left Houston for med school in Maine, determined to get as far away from home as I could.
But this resurgence of the same, odd illness that had swept my city years before was apparently also dredging up the old stories from deep in my subconscious: the aswang, a vampiric woman who lived a quiet life by day and fed on children in the night, flying back home on bat-wings just before dawn.
My unconscious mind had clearly also expanded on the idea, casting me in the role of aswang and adding schizoid conversations with a chorus of internal voices.
Great. I'm insane in my dreams.
And I'm a monster.
Shuddering, I wiped my hand across my gritty, raw eyelids.
_____________________________________________
Buy Links
_____________________________________________
About the Author
_____________________________________________
Connect with Margo
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
_____________________________________________
