Today we welcome Jo Denning to The Writer's Life e-Magazine! Jo is the author of the urban fantasy crime thriller, Dead Blood City. This interview is part of her Dead Blood City Blog Tour by Pump Up Your Book. Enjoy!

Jo Denning is the author of the Saoirse Reilly series. She has spent her career as a behavioral health therapist supporting kids and teens who struggle with addiction. Jo began writing supernatural crime thrillers as a way of processing the traumatic things she has seen and heard. Her characters may be supernatural but their stories, their fear, and their pain are real. So, too, are their triumphs over impossible odds.

When she’s not writing, Jo enjoys baking, drawing, and watching trashy reality TV. She makes her home somewhere in the contiguous United States with her husband, one fluffy cat, and one barely domesticated cat.

Her latest book is the urban fantasy crime thriller, Dead Blood City: Saoirse Reilly Series Book One.

You can visit her website at www.JoDenning.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, TikTok and BookBub.

TWL: Welcome to The Writer's Life! How did you come up with the idea to write your book?

Jo: I began writing Dead Blood City while working in a psychiatric hospital at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the death of a thirteen-year-old patient by suicide. The magic and monsters in this story are metaphors for the very real evil and darkness that exists in our world. The painful experiences of these characters are things that real people go through every day. Unfortunately, treatment is not always enough to help them escape the darkness inside their own minds. In a way, Reilly's story is my own story of trying to save a child from a cruel fate. I did not succeed. Writing this novel helped me come to terms with my own guilt.

TWL: Can you give us a short excerpt?

Jo: This is an excerpt from the first chapter of Dead Blood City, When Time Stands Still. I wanted to illustrate the power dynamics between these two characters and what an unhealthy therapeutic relationship looks like. I think some people miss the second point because many portrayals of psychotherapy in popular media are of unethical therapists providing poor services.

“I don’t know what else you want to hear. I killed him. I’m not sorry, and I’m glad he’s dead. That’s all I’ve got, okay?”

My voice was a whip crack in the otherwise silent room. A hot flush prickled up my chest in stark contrast to my pale skin. I pressed my palms against the plush chair and dragged in a breath. My gaze fixed between the brows of the man seated across me, so I didn’t have to look him in the eye.

He was unfazed like always. His eyes burned through my skull, manicured fingers steepled under his chin. When he spoke, he used my given name like we were family.

“Saoirse, we have discussed this.” His lilting brogue washed over me as he tried to lull me into compliance. “I ask you these questions only for your benefit. To support you in processing this unfortunate hazard of your work.”

“You mean the unfortunate hazard of my work where I shoot some guy eight times in the chest?”

I was being unfair and difficult and kind of a bitch. But maybe defiance and sarcasm would demonstrate my fitness for duty.

He clicked his tongue. “I want to help you, but you must be honest with me. I, for one, would feel much safer knowing you are supporting your fellows of the Boston Police Department. Help me help you to return to active duty.”

“Look, Doc. Doctor Somerled,” I amended at the quickly concealed annoyance in his hazel eyes. “I just…”

I stopped on a frustrated huff, running my hands over my face and through my auburn waves. Somerled stared down his aquiline nose at me. I tried to bring my eyes to his, but they skittered away at the last second.

Stalling, I surveyed the back office of his Beacon Hill brownstone. The room had one exterior door and a bay window. He was closest to both. The desk next to us was an impractical thing with a leather blotter over marble and spindled wooden legs. Painted floral designs twisted across the glossy mahogany surface. Knowing the good doctor, it cost more than my car. A throne-like chair sat behind it, all tufted red-brown leather and brass nailheads. Dark damask wallpaper caged me in—suffocating.

His thin lips parted, ending my reprieve. “Perhaps we should attempt the visualization exercise again.”

“I don’t want to.”

All bluster withered away in a wave of sick panic. Hands on the chair, I grounded myself and gasped in a stilted breath.

I didn’t meet the doctor’s eyes. I couldn’t.

Instead, I stared down at my nails, gnawed to the quick. I said nothing more and stood to peruse the biggest bookshelves I’d ever seen outside of a library.

It was just an excuse to put some distance between us.

TWL: What part of the book was the most fun to write?

Jo: Any scene featuring Domenico Alderisi. Despite his many, many flaws, he has been something of a fan favorite. He is a fav of mine, as well. (Spoiler: They're all my favs.) Charming and vicious, he is a complex character with a backstory that makes you want to forgive his every wrongdoing. But that would be a mistake.

TWL: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

Jo: Dead Blood City was originally supposed to be a campy mystery with a wise-cracking protagonist. But it would still be about an alcoholic detective rescuing a kidnapped girl from being murdered. Yes, for some reason, I thought those things would go together. I thought writing a story like that would lift my spirits during a trying time for the world. I am satisfied with the direction Dead Blood City ultimately took as it feels like a more genuine portrayal of these characters.

TWL: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

Jo: Hush Hush City, the sequel to Dead Blood City, will release in spring of 2023. The next book in the Saoirse Reilly series explores other lesser known vampire myths as Alderisi struggles to maintain control of his territory. We also learn more about the mysterious Dr. Emrys Somerled. He and Reilly make an unlikely pair as he helps her develop her psychic abilities. Even with all that on her plate, Reilly must investigate the dysfunctional family of a recently murdered Boston Brahmin.

If you’re looking for a fix before then, check out my short story collection Shattered City on Amazon. These stories act as something of a prequel for Dead Blood City without spoiling too much of the plot.

TWL: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

Jo: It may be a difficult battle but your life is worth fighting for.

TWL: Do you have any final words?

Jo: I am shocked and amazed by the reception Dead Blood City has received. Over a hundred readers ordered a copy within the first month and that number continues to grow as time goes on. It may not seem like much compared to the best-selling authors but I never imagined so many people would read this book. I am grateful to every reader and reviewer. Thank you so much!

When I was typing away at work, in waiting rooms, at airports, and on my couch, I often wondered if there was any reason for it other than my own vanity. It turns out the reason for writing Dead Blood City was twofold. I wrote this book to continue my journey of self-forgiveness. I also wrote this book so that others might continue that journey. I hope that you, too, will read and grow.

Title: Dead Blood City (Saoirse Reilly Series Book One)
Author: Jo Denning
Publisher: Leabhar & Fola Publishing House
Pages: 333
Genre: Urban Fantasy Crime Thriller

Book Blurb

“Drowning might be like going to sleep. It would be nice to sleep forever – leave everything behind in the waking world.”

Detective Saoirse Reilly commits to finding a missing child before dying by suicide. While investigating the kidnapping of Delaney Bascom, she is snared in the supernatural underbelly of Boston, Massachusetts. She will have to face her demons if she hopes to bring the girl home.

Reilly has the dubious support of Emrys Somerled, a forensic psychologist with a cellar full of secrets, and Domenico Alderisi, an impossibly youthful club owner with a bad habit. Meet these suspicious characters and more alongside Reilly as she begins to see the world for what it really is.

The blood moon is coming.

Will Reilly save the girl and find a reason to live?

Book Information

Release Date: January 21, 2021

Publisher: Leabhar & Fola Publishing House

Soft Cover: 979-8985167405; 333 pages; $14.99; E-Book, $3.99; Free Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mHuRSM