Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Tours virtual book tour for B. Berry’s Supernatural/Urban Fantasy novel How To Kill Gods & Make Friends! Today, I am excited to help kickoff the tour by sharing an interview with the main character of the book, Vivienne!
You can find our interview below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, links to purchase a copy of How To Kill Gods & Make Friends for yourself, and a chance to win a copy in our giveaway! Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule here or at the top of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
How To Kill Gods & Make Friends by B. Berry
Series: Your Local Guides to the Supernatural #1
Genre: Supernatural/Urban Fantasy
Intended Age Group: YA to NA
Pages: 448
Published: August 19, 2022
Publisher: Digital Dream Press (Self Published)
Blurb:
Vivienne may have a past record of experimenting with deadly magic, but when her psychic best friend lets her know about an apocalypse scenario on the horizon, she has no alternative but to play the hero. Her life as a freelance exorcist can wait.
Now she must wrangle together an unlikely crew to stop an ancient, angry god from being summoned into their realm: the surly Isaac, a spellwriter who can bend the rules of magic and holds a grudge against her, and Christine, a young ghost trying to break the rules of reality to turn into a luck spirit.
Together, they’ll stop an apocalypse. Somehow.
See Also:
Witches And Ghosts And Psychics, Oh My! • How To Put The Romance In Necromancy • This Bad Boy Can Fit So Many Subplots In It
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7KBNGFR
Author Direct: https://www.bberrywrites.com/shop/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-kill-gods-make-friends-b-berry/1141988862
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61718128-how-to-kill-gods-make-friends
Character Q&A
What music do you listen to?
A lot more anime music than I should probably be admitting to on record. But it’s fun and catchy! And if I’m watching the stuff anyway, may as well jump in completely.
What are 3 items you can’t live without?
“My bag” would cover most of that, but I know that’s cheating! I’m still including it, though.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you’d like to have with you?
Again: my magical pocketspace messenger bag that holds more than you or I could imagine. Is it cheating if it’s magic that I actually own? That said, it can’t hold food in it, and I’m not sure about my odds of hunting with a knife. But who would pick a single food item to bring with them to a deserted island?
Wait–can I say an enchanted broom so I can just fly away? That seems like the best bet. Or my bag. I can probably make do with either.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who are in the wrong but still act all fake friendly and stuff in public. I know why they do it, because getting called out sucks ass, but it’s still annoying as fuck.
What do you do in your free time?
Free time, what’s that? I know this is probably about hobbies and stuff, but I’ve run out of “free time” in recent years. I help Nat out at her potion shop a lot, and I sleep more than the average person. I do like reading, and dating the cute manager of a bookstore has certainly helped heap new books on my head, but it’s hard to sit and devour a novel in an afternoon like I used to do, you know?
What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?
The fact that my cat, Sunshine, is huge and likes to step on my tits in order to demand breakfast. He’s really loud, too.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
“Don’t touch that”, as given to me repeatedly, by many people, concerning many things that I don’t touch. I inevitably touch most of them. But it’s still really good advice!
What do you carry in your bag?
What don’t I?! This bag was specially enchanted by my best friend, so it’s a portable pocket to empty space! It can’t hold living things for very long outside of warded jars, but this bad boy can fit so many notebooks in here. And weapons. And candles. And scarves, though I keep losing them. And ingredients for writing magic circles, or general spellwork, and probably a few super old potions that I forgot about that hopefully won’t explode anytime soon.
What’s your favorite animal?
I’m contractually obligated to say Sunshine, my cat. Well, he’s not my cat, but I take care of him these days. He’s basically my cat. And he’s pretty great–when he behaves.
What do you think about [other MC(s)]?
Am I allowed to count off on my fingers here? I’m gonna.
Nat is one of my best friends, and she’s really great, but also… kind of weird. All of my friends are weird, though. I know she’s hard to read, but she’s a good bean, and I’d trust her with my life. Also a great cook, and doesn’t complain about being the pack mule at cons.
Mark is a dick, and also one of my best friends. And let me tell you, it is hard to be best friends with a clairvoyant! Mindreaders are extra annoying, so he’s just a really annoying guy, and I love him to bits. A big trouble magnet, though.
Isaac is a dick. Not one of my best friends. Once in awhile, he’s funny enough to excuse the general assholishness, but we really keep him around because his magic is useful and it’s better to keep an eye on him than not. Sam is pretty great, though. Nicest demon I’ve ever met.
Christine is the cutest little thing, and her trouble magnet powers are probably partially due to that. I don’t see why the world wants to kill Bambi in the shape of a teenage ghost, but it does, and she and Emil can be a handful because of it. But they’re kids, and they’re learning, and I was like that too, once upon a time. They’ve grown on me.
Do you have a favorite saying?
As much as I’d love to be one for a day or story arc, I’m not an anime character with stock dialogue. Although I guess I like to share my Supernatural Hunter Tips a lot? Of course, there’s a lot of those, so still doesn’t count.
What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas–or Winter Gift Giving Holiday! I was raised Catholic, so Christmas still gives me a lot of family feelings and memories, but I still like it a lot. Plus, my friend is an amazing cook and loves to go all out for holidays, and we invite everyone to her place, and I like shopping for gifts for people. The winter sucks, but warming potions mix pretty well with cider, we’ve found.
If you could go anywhere in [the book’s world], where would you go and why?
I’ve never been much of a traveler, I guess. Hard to answer? I go to the goblin market often enough for shopping trips, so inter-realm travel is already crossed off my bucket list, and has lost some of its charm. I guess… Getting out of the city and seeing the country would be nice. I’m still not sure where, but somewhere with a tiny ass town, no skyscrapers, no covens, just a place with a bed and breakfast and cows and chickens or whatever shit they have in small towns. I don’t know!
What do you do to relax?
Sleep. And drink.
What is your favorite food?
My friend Nat makes these amazing mashed potatoes, so those, hands down! She makes me help her, so I exchange labor for food, but it’s worth it every time.
I also drink a lot of pomegranate smoothies, ever since I found that place near the bookstore that sells them. I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite, but they’re good, and I’m used to drinking them?
What is your favorite season?
Spring, but the warmer parts of spring! Summer is too humid, but I like warm and hot weather, because I always run cold. Spring smells nicer, too.
How would you define happiness?
Friends. My friends are my family, and I know we’d do anything for each other. (And have.) That sort of warm, fuzzy security is happiness for me.
What are you passionate about?
Black magic! Okay, first off, the term “black magic” already has a bad rap because of how magic was introduced into the New World along with chattel slavery and there was a lot of conflation between traditional practices and the stuff that made the white settlers go “ew gross scary!” but black magic is just another type of magic and deserves to be seen as such. It’s really not evil, gross, scary, or anything else! I’m really good at necromancy, not to toot my own horn, but I totally am. Do you know how hard it is to summon a working wraith? And I have the circle damn near memorized, thank you very much. There’s a lot that can be said for working with death and what are seen as “dead” things–though outside of ghouls, zombies, and maybe wraiths, most things weren’t ever “alive” to begin with so how can they actually be dead? Another misconception about black magic! Necromancy isn’t a bad thing, it’s just another field that sorely needs more research done into it, but do the covens give grants for that? Noooo, of course not, because icky black magic will raise demons! I’ve never summoned a demon in my life, thank you very much, and I don’t plan on it, because I like my life, and I’m here to teach others that shepherding ghosts into passing on, and figuring out how to write spells to make wraiths do cleaning chores, and learning about the various uses of grave dirt are not bad things! And that only brings me to–[CUT FOR LENGTH]
How do you feel about your government?
…I’m mean, I’m American, so the overall government sucks. Or did you mean the magical government? There isn’t one, but y’know–the covens. They also suck. It’s easier to play nice with them, and there’s perks to that, but they still are a little too judgy and quick to point fingers. So sounds pretty governmental to me.
If you could change one thing about [the book’s world], what would it be?
Well, obviously, I would want my best friend to not be dead anymore.
What’s your biggest secret?
I don’t like this question. I don’t think I should give that kind of information away in an interview, do you?
What do you hate?
Kelpies, now. I’m never forgiving that one for biting out a chunk of my hair and making me get a haircut to even it out. My hair doesn’t grow out that fast! And it’s too short to tie back anymore!
What’s your biggest fear?
That I’m not “me” anymore. Pretty existential, huh? Hard to explain, too, without a novel of information to share with you. But I just… have to believe that I’m still me, no matter what. There’s literally no other choice, right? If I’m not me, then who would I be?
What do you think your best quality is?
My awesome fount of magical knowledge, tied in with my equally awesome ability to research damn near anything!
I also have an amazing rack.
How would you describe the world you live in?
Magical and bureaucratic in equal parts. One is significantly more fun than the other. I’ve learned how to tiptoe around the powers that be, and that makes life a little easier, but there’s always nasty reminders that they’re still there, no matter what. But the magic is damn cool.
About the Author
B. Berry is an author, probably, and in her spare time, she enjoys petting cats, playing video games, reading, the Foxtrot, and a lot of things that aren’t writing. Having written shockingly consistently since grade school, she brings with her a strange amount of experience with multiple genres and styles, and an even stranger fascination for less than mainstream novel ideas.
She is also far better at writing stories than at writing author descriptions.
Website: https://www.bberrywrites.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bberrywrites
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4997885.B_Berry
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/B-Berry/e/B079C3MR7W/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bberrywrites
Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/43fac55aaca5/welcome
Giveaway
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