About The Books:
Title: THE AWAKENING (Cait Lennox:
Femme Fatale Series Prequel)
Author: Roderick Donald
Pub.
Date: July 7, 2019
Publisher: Roderick Donald
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 304
A violent bashing; a life destroyed. But why has such
an obscure occurrence touched so many lives?
When twenty-three-year-old Cait’s lover is brutally
and randomly murdered, this violent assault has far-reaching effects not only
for Cait, but also for her baby boomer parents, their close friends and
business acquaintances, plus their millennial children.
In her darkest moments, Cait’s shamanic mother
introduces her daughter to the Otherworld, a Druidic realm that
parallels the world around us. Cait’s ancient bloodline whispers to her enticingly
from the other side, bestowing amazing paranormal powers of insight and
perception upon her—the
power of The Gift.
But will Cait accept this strange multi-dimensional
world? Or is it just New Age mumbo-jumbo?
The
Awakening is a contemporary urban adventure peppered with a
touch of the paranormal. It’s an insightful tale about family, friendship,
love, sex, beliefs, and personal growth. It follows Cait’s personal journey,
along with that of her family and close friends as they change, grow, and adapt
to the challenges placed in front of them after this random and senseless
attack.
This must-read tale is the
scene setter for Cait's later exciting adventures as her amazing paranormal
powers of insight and perception grow and develop.
Start reading the first book in this exciting series
today!
Title: THE
MIND CONTROLLER (Cait Lennox: Femme Fatale Series Book 1)
Author: Roderick
Donald
Pub.
Date: July
7, 2019
Publisher: Roderick
Donald
Formats: Paperback,
eBook
Pages: 302
A
lover brutally murdered; a violent kidnapping; a female scorned. And no
closure. Insights from the Otherworld shed light on a case going
nowhere.
When
twenty-three-year-old Cait is violently kidnapped by her lover's murderers, her
once-pleasant life is shattered. She's haunted by terrifying, evil
nightmares-apparitions that are really a calling card from the Otherworld.
The
cops are making zero headway locating the perpetrators, so she takes matters
into her own hands. Cait demands payback.
But
first she must overcome her scepticism. In the face of overwhelming odds, Cait
unknowingly transforms into a dangerous femme fatale; a ruthless
Otherworld being with the power to read minds and control the world around her.
Will
this be enough to conquer the vile beast pursuing her in her prophetic visions?
If
you love contemporary urban fiction, mystery and action, exotic Asian locales
and paranormal forces you'll devour this second book in Roderick Donald's
page-turning series.
Download The
Mind Controller today!
Title: THE
ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE (Cait Lennox: Femme Fatale Series Book 2)
Author: Roderick
Donald
Pub.
Date: August
2019
Publisher: Roderick
Donald
Formats: Paperback,
eBook
Pages: ?
Find
it: Links
coming soon!
It’s time to panic. The
Gatekeeper is about to cut you’re beating heart out and steal your soul . . .
When Cait’s younger
brother Dec is mortally injured by a terrorist’s deadly car bomb during a
chilled-out family holiday in Sicily, Italy, she is totally devastated.
Distraught. And determined to chase down the perpetrators. But happy-go-lucky,
congenial Cait is not a person to cross. Especially when it comes to family.
They’re sacrosanct, and the line in the sand was crossed when the bomb
exploded.
Cait demands payback. And
retribution.
But how? She’s in a foreign
land, the odds are totally stacked against her, and she’s on her own. Or is
she?
Voices from the Otherworld—Cait’s ancient Shamanic grandmothers—are constantly in her ear as she
wanders between this and the Otherworld, coaching her, guiding her, protecting
her. An innocent fourteen boy who was ritually sacrificed, his soul then stolen
by the evil Otherworld beast Soran, the Gatekeeper of Lost Souls, constantly
haunts Cait as the child drifts aimlessly in an ethereal no-man’s land, half
way between Heaven and Hell, searching for release and a life in the next
dimension.
Then Sergeant Tony ‘Ice’
O’Donnell enters Cait’s world: terrorist hunter, trained killer, assassin. A
fractured SAS soldier of fortune and an Australian Security Intelligence
Organisation field agent who operates on the edges of legal. Together they
stumble across a secretive and dangerous sect dating back to the Crusades: The
Brethren of the True Believers. Ruthless tyrants and captains of commerce and
industry who are under the control the Gatekeeper.
Somehow this is all
inter-related. But how? Will Cait manage to locate the terrorists and extract
the revenge that she so desperately wants to mete out? And will she beat the
odds and save the next child to be ritually slaughtered?
Cait’s paranormal powers
of insight and perception are pushed to the max. But will this be enough to
survive the mayhem and onslaught?
Now on to the interview!
Hey Roderick! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m
glad you could stop by for a chat! THE CAIT LENNOX: FEMME FATALE Series sounds
AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
Hi there, and thanks for the
chance to have a chat. I’ve put my thoughts down below in answer to your
questions.
Cheers,
Rick
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about the THE CAIT LENNOX: FEMME FATALE Series and
the characters?
Great question.
This series was a long time coming and grew
organically after my first book, The Awakening, was penned over a seven-year
period from 2011 onwards. I was travelling constantly at the time both onshore
and offshore for my work as a Senior Technical Writer in the Oil and Gas
industry and found myself with extended periods of downtime between
destinations—in airport lounges, alone in my digs, wherever in the world I happened to
be, or during my two weeks off every month.
And that gave me the luxury of free time. A
rare commodity these days! Gradually The Awakening emerged, except it
was titled With the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wing back then. However the
book was shelved and never published, as I felt there was a bigger story hidden
amongst its pages somewhere, so I left it to percolate for a few years.
Fast forward to 2018 and Cait started calling
me from the pages, softly at first, then building to a yell as she screamed “Let
me loose. I’ve got a journey to pursue”. And that was the embryonic start
of the Cait Lennox: femme fatale series. I knew she had a great story,
but so did the other characters in The Awakening, so this book was subsequently
rewritten as a prequel—a scene-setter and a place to introduce the actors who were important in
Cait’s life and who would reappear from time to time in later books after she
discovered her paranormal powers.
Cait was never meant to be the lead player in
the prequel. Rather, all the characters, from her immediate family to her
millennial friends, and extending out to their close and long-term associates,
were all given a voice. In many ways, a chapter or two was devoted to each
person, as opposed to just concentrating on Cait.
So the final version of The Awakening saw
the novel transition into a backstory for all the main characters in Cait’s
life, with the single linking factor being the ripple-effect of Rishi’s death
on each player.
Then after Cait experienced a few passing glimpses
of the Otherworld in The Awakening, she emerged as the lead
character in book #1, The Mind Controller, and the Cait Lennox: femme
fatale series was born. This is where she was exposed to, and then finally accepted,
her amazing paranormal powers. And it’s why The Awakening has been kept
as a prequel; a character back-story you might say.
For those of you who would like to find out
more about Cait and who she was actually based on in reality, I have detailed
all this and more in a blog that you can access here.
How many more
books are planned for the series?
Book #3 of the Cait Lennox: femme fatale
series is in the pipeline as you read this. I have a really gripping and
exciting story running around inside my head that is gelling the more I think
about it. I’m currently narrowing down locations around the world that the
story will be set in and fine tuning the plot enough for me to hopefully put
something down on paper within the next month or so.
Rest assured, Cait’s amazing paranormal powers will continue to grow and mature as she
seamlessly moves between current reality and the Otherworld. So in book #3 you will see more of Cait
trying to go about a normal daily life but as is her way, also
being sucked
into a new and dangerous adventure.
You see, trouble just seems
to follow Cait around, and unfortunately those who dare
to cross her usually
either suffer the consequences, or end up dead.
But even at this early
stage I can let you into a secret. On the recommendation of
fractured ex-SAS
soldier of fortune, Tony ‘Ice’ O’Donnell, she is picked up by ASIO as
a
specialist undercover operative. Cait ends up their go-to person when all else
has
failed and they are at a dead end with a case going nowhere.
This new book will be the
usual mix of paranormal fiction in a normal reality. You’ll
see Cait turn into
a kick-ass female with attitude as she joins forces with Ice to take
out the
bads that regular law enforcement can’t touch, can’t explain or simply can’t
account
for.
Expect to see some of the
characters in The Awakening make an appearance again,
with the likes of
Irish, Steve and Kylie maybe dropping by. And of course G, Jools and
Dec will
be there. You may even be given an insight into Cait’s ancient Shamanic
lineage, and find yourself back in the time of the Druids in Cait’s visions.
Then book #4? Well, let’s
get book #3 written and published first! Cait will continue to find herself
constantly evolving as she follows her Otherworld destiny, so who knows
where she will end up? Whatever, Cait and Ice will be in the thick of it. You
will be able to easily follow their trail by simply stepping over the dead bodies
and carnage that lies in their wake.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
Absolutely!!!
This is such a commonly asked
question by people who know me: “Am I in the book this time?”, or as recently
as a few weeks ago when I was contacted by a friend, “Tony reminds me of a guy
we used to sail with. Is he based on XXXXX?”, or “I can really see XXXXX in
Sean. Is that him?”.
In fact, there are snippets of many people
who have crossed my path as I have wandered the world over the years. Some of
the characters are more recognizable than others, but they’re certainly there
in a mixture of fiction and fact. Often it’s an exaggerated avatar, or a
mixture of personality traits. I really have fun developing my characters, and
as you no doubt realize, they’re always evolving or revealing snippets of
themselves.
And Cait? Well, I have to say that there are
resemblances to my daughter in her that are all too familiar to be able to
dismiss outright. As I mentioned before, if you would like to delve deeper into
Cait’s real life background and leanings, then read the blog about her here.
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
Loved Cait of course! She’s such an enigma.
One minute she can be innocent and care-free, the next she turns on dime and is
a ruthless assassin. Even I don’t know where she is going to end up sometimes,
as she has such a strong-willed character that she leads herself. In many ways,
I’m just the scribe who is recording her adventures.
And G and Jools. They are just so real, so
normal, with life’s unexpected issues crossing their paths and altering the
flow of their lives. Together they are a proxy for modern life in Australia in the
twenty-first century. They love each other and their family dearly, but are
also independently minded and aware of the world around them. They deal with
life’s setbacks, are pleasant and caring, intelligent, well-travelled,
sagacious . . . but they’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. They
both have their faults, idiosyncrasies and dark secrets that they keep hidden
in a box that has been shoved to the back of their memory banks.
In many ways, G and Jools could actually be
my wife and myself and our two millennial kids. Or maybe our next door
neighbors. Or any one of a dozen couples who come to mind. But more
realistically, G and Jools are an amalgam of all of these characters. And then
some more.
So yes, I really found it easy to build the
story around the Lennox family. They were a no-brainer!
The characters I least liked were also the
ones whom I loved building up from the jig-saw traits that I had sitting in my
head. They represent all the frustrations that I have with certain people. I
mean, how could you possibly like Small-Man-Syndrome Tony, or Paul’s wife Kaz
from The Awakening. Or Frog or Boss-man from The Mind Controller?
Or maybe Three Fingers Marco or Tareq from The Assassin’s Apprentice? They
were just the most horrible people, but unfortunately in many ways they are
actually real as well. People like them exist in the big, wide world. I gained just
so much satisfaction from constructing their personalities. It was almost
cathartic.
What is your
favorite passages/scenes in THE CAIT LENNOX: FEMME FATALE Series?
There are many, but if I had to narrow it
down to a single passage of text, it’s from The Assassin’s Apprentice when
Ice is looking at Cait, his soon-to-be new partner:
“O’Donnell looked on from the distance and
smiled. He’d chosen well. His new field operative was a natural. Normally he
prided himself on being a good judge of character, but he had been way off the
mark with Cait. Maybe that’s why Cait’s getting through to Aziz. Because she’s
not what she seems, he thought to himself.
This girl’s an enigma, he realized, someone who manages
to hide her true character under the guise of being an innocent, complicit and
seemingly naive young girl. How wrong he was. And rue the day that other people
make the same mistake.
Cait was as dangerous as a lioness in a cub’s skin.”
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
Research? I pay particular attention to transporting
you, my readers, to the place—the moment— so you’re are actually there alongside the characters in the story. I want you
to smell the cordite of a gunshot as a bullet wizzes past just inches from your
head; feel the gritty sand between your toes as you walk down a deserted beach;
taste the bitterness of a freshly brewed coffee; feel the heat on your back of
the burning Sicilian sun.
All this is just so important to me, and I
hope a real strength in my writing style. And to get the moment correct it
requires research. And then more research. And drawing down on my own
experiential memory bank. I actually travelled to, and lived in, Sicily for a
month to make sure that I had all my facts down off pat in The Assassin’s
Apprentice. I have visited SE Asia many, many times and have lived there on
numerous occasions, so I hope the realism of travelling from Pakse in Laos to
Siem Riep in Cambodia was an overload of bells and smells for you.
In fact, to date I have travelled to and
lived in 67 countries, so all the places in the world that I set my tales in
are also places that I have visited and know well. I hope that this fact alone
brings a realism to my stories that many other authors can’t provide.
Who is your
ultimate book villain?
There are many, but I find myself drawn to
the bad-ass characters who not only have an edge and who are fractured in some
way or another, but who also have a hidden softer, well-meaning side to their
nature. And unfortunately many of these characters are males, which in many
ways is why I chose Cait as my lead instead of her brother, Dec.
So characters such as John Wick, Jack
Reacher, John Milton and Beatrix Rose drawn me in, but also in my laconic Australian
way I like the underdog characters who are totally flawed and often quite
hopeless, but they get things done. My character ‘Irish’ in The Mind
Controller is a great example.
What inspired you
to write this series?
As mentioned previously, having
sufficient time on my hands that allowed me the privilege of a bit of serious
navel gazing was a good start. Then once the story-telling snowballed and started
rolling down that proverbial literary hill, well, the inspiration was
self-generating, until it arrived at a point of obsession. And that was the
point of no return. After that precipice was crossed I couldn’t eat, sleep or
drink without contemplating the story of the current novel I was working on.
And this inspiration to pen what was in my
head would last for months on end. I frequently found myself boring my wife, my
family, and even my friends by sitting behind a screen for hours wherever I
happened to be at the time: on vacation; out to dinner; at family gatherings,
BBQs and social get togethers with friends; even at the movies. Wherever. If something
popped up in my head—as it frequently did—out would come my computer or my iPhone and I would tap away.
Lightning Round
Questions
What are you
reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
Two Mark Dawson thrillers: The Cleaner and
Twelve Days, and there are a few paranormal stories that I have my reading eye
on.
Twitter or
Facebook?
FB, although I’m not excessive about it.
Because I’m now involved in cyber security and counter terrorism in real life,
I can’t really have a personal page, so it’s either my FB Author Page, FB
Messenger, or nothing.
Twitter? Not a huge fan but I’m on it.
Favorite
Superhero?
Not really a superhero, but you can’t go past
Rick Deckard in Blade Runner (love Ridley Scott), although I kinda like
Wolverine as a mythical character.
Favorite TV show?
Don’t watch much TV. I far prefer Netflix or
Stan as series draw me in, and I hate sitcoms or similar with a passion. It’s a
bit wrong, but I loved Breaking Bad, enjoyed Bloodline, like Shetland, just
started watching the new series of Poldark, finished Lambs of God last night, and
more recently enjoyed The Loudest Voice.
Sweet or Salty?
Neither unfortunately. I’m a savory type of
guy, with lashes of uber hot chili somewhere in the dish, and washed down with
a cold beer or a bottle of good Aussie shiraz.
Any Phobias?
Not heavily into excessive heights, and
snakes aren’t exactly my favorite reptile.
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
Kashmir, by
Led Zeppelin. I found it on my iPhone buried amongst my 1500-odd songs and now
it keeps rattling around in my head. I even heard it as a flash back tune on
the radio in my car the other day. How uncanny.
2019 Movie you’re
most looking forward to?
John Wick 3
Thanks so much Roderick for answering my questions! I can’t wait for
everyone to read THE CAIT LENNOX: FEMME FATALE Series!
About
Roderick Donald:
But first, call me Rick – all my friends do!
Rick is the creator of the
breakout contemporary paranormal Urban Fiction series detailing Cait’s dramatic
journey from a happy-go-lucky, 23-year old millennial to a powerful and
ruthless femme fatale.
When Rick initially wrote
The Awakening in 2011 it was a stand alone book. However, as soon as he finished
it he sensed that there was an even bigger story wanting desperately to emerge,
so he put the book aside to percolate and it was never published.
Then one day, in a
blinding flash of the obvious seven years later, Cait started screaming at Rick
from the pages of his novel: “Let me loose. I’ve got a journey to pursue”. Her
remonstrations led to the second book in the series, The Mind Controller, being
written over a three month period in 2018. To tie the two books together, The
Awakening then required revisiting and totally rewriting. All up, it took a
further four months for Rick to put the whole series together from nose to
tail.
While the first two books
were being prepared for publication, a third book in the series quickly
followed as Cait had another adventure to embark on. The Assassin’s Apprentice
is a nail-biting urban adventure where Cait’s powers of insight and perception
are stretched to the max. as she travels the world, chasing down the murderous
and illusive secret sect, Brethren of the True Believers.
Book number four is
currently gelling in Rick’s head and will be out in early to mid 2020. Cait’s
amazing paranormal powers continue to grow and mature as she seamlessly moves
between current reality and the Otherworld. On the recommendation of fractured
and secretive ex-SAS soldier of fortune, Tony ‘Ice’ O’Donnell, she is picked up
by ASIO as a specialist undercover operative. Cait ends up their go-to person
when all else has failed and they are at a dead end with a case going nowhere.
Rick is a bit of an
adventurer, a sometimes adrenalin junky and a world traveller (67 countries and
still counting). He’s into competitive bay sailing, ocean racing, road bike
riding, scuba diving, natural health and keeping fit. Rick lives in Melbourne,
Australia, with Sandi, his wife of many years, and is the proud father of two
thirty-something millennial children. There are also two beautiful young
grandchildren in the mix who Sandi and Rick spoil to excess!
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive signed finished
copies of their choice of book in the CAIT LENNOX:FEMME FATALE Series, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
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