Please tell us a little bit about yourself. 

Hi, I'm Patricia T. Macias and I was born in San Jose, California. I'm married to a wonderful man, Jose Arturo. We have been married for thirty years. 

I have three awesome kids. My eldest is my daughter Erica, and then I have two boys. My middle son is Andres and my youngest son is Ricardo. I'm in love with my grandchildren and enjoy their escapades. I graduated from the University of Phoenix in 1999. I have a full time job. I write in the evenings and weekends. I enjoy reading romance and paranormal novels.  I also enjoy spending quality time with family and friends. 

What do you want your readers to know about your books?

I want my readers to know that this book is the first one in the De La Cruz Saga. The De a Cruz Saga is a romantic thriller (with several erotic moments). 

The first novel is Hot & Spicy. This novel is about Jose Enrique De La Cruz. He is the eldest of the thirteen cousins. This book is an awesome book of passion and suspense! 

The bachelor, Jose Enrique battles the deadly Mexican cartel to protect his amor and la familia encountering romance, tantalizing ecstasy, and danger.  

The saga takes place in California. Each novel is about one of cousin's unique love story. The Mexican traditions are strong in the De La Cruz familia and the cousins struggle to honor their customs. The De La Cruz familia encounters conflict and threats from the Mexican cartel. The De La Cruz cousins fight to stay true to their integrity and beliefs in their struggle with the Mexican cartel. The familia is assisted by the Navy Seals, FBI, and other government agencies. The De La Cruz's must overcome heartaches and obstacles before achieving their happy ending.  

These novels are written in Spanglish (very, very light Spanglish). The glossary is located in the back of the book. I believe it is an enjoyable and easy method to learn basic Spanish. 

Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I do have a day job. I start writing after having dinner in the evenings. On the weekends I dedicate my time to writing after I do my chores.  When I’m off work and have the entire day to write, I do get ready, have breakfast and then I write.

What is your writing routine once you start a book?

I start to brainstorm and organize the story into outlines. I develop each character’s personalities, interests, and personal love story. I keep on track and create cohesive plots by using a calendar as a timeline. I start writing and writing. I have all of the characters talking and directing their story in my mind.

What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
My family attempts to not bother me, but they also claim that they want me to take a break from writing. They do come and interrupt. They do want some attention, lol. 

What truly motivates you in general in your writing? 

My characters motivate me and the story that I feel compelled to write.

Where do your ideas come from? 

To be honest I dreamed this story over and over for several weeks until I realized it was a story and characters living in my dreams. I bought my laptop and started to write. 

Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre? 

Yes, I want to write paranormal romance.

What has been your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge has been the marketing of my novel. I’m learning and thoroughly enjoying promoting, meeting interesting people, and blogging. I truly wish I had started to write earlier in my life.

What does your husband/wife think of your writing? 

My husband is thrilled with my writing and amazed. He is very encouraging

How many books have you written, how many have been published?

Hot & Spicy is my debut novel. Hot & Forbidden is my next new release. I’m working on my third novel Hot & Enchanting that will hopefully be out in December 2012. 

Please tell us about your latest book.

Hot & Forbidden is tantalizing and exciting. This novel is about two of the cousins, Nicolas De La Cruz and Daniella De La Cruz falling in love. The forbidden is always enticing. How does Nicolas and Daniella deal with their forbidden love? Why is their love forbidden? How can they overcome the obstacles without losing their love? La familia has a secret. Can this be the key that will set their love free? 

Do you have a favorite book among your own books? Do you have favorite hero or heroine?

Oh yeah, I love Hot & Forbidden.  I love Nicolas De La Cruz. Nicolas is hot, sensitive, and captivating. He’s also compelling, intense, and passionate with Daniella De La Cruz. 

What book has been the easiest or hardest to write?  

My first book Hot & Spicy was the most difficult book to write due to the fact that I didn’t know where to start. I was compelled to write the cousin’s story since their stories interlocked.  Hot & Spicy is the first book of a twelve book series. The other eleven books were written concurrently and are three quarters completed.  Well the second book Hot & Forbidden is complete. I’m working on the third book Hot & Enchanting. 

Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

Aw, that’s an amazing question. You would think that I would control the character, but it’s amazing how you start writing, and it’s like if their thoughts, feelings, and actions are coming to you.  I think that I start off with a general idea and then it merges with what the characters are feeling, thinking and the direction that they want to go. Lol, I feel its lots of fun.

Where can we find more about you and your books?

http://ptmacias.com/ http://ptmacias.blogspot.com/   http://romancefantasymagic.blogspot.com/  

www.amazon.com/author/ptmacias.com https://www.facebook.com/ptmacias.DeLaCruzSaga

Twitter   @pt_macias   https://www.facebook.com/pages/PT-Macias/319871778087970

http://youtu.be/n5p8k_pZ36A

Underdog is being featured on Flurries of Words!

Underdog is featured on Flurries of Words! http://flurriesofwords.blogspot.co.uk/
The California Prison System houses a mixture of Mexican cartel members, Mexican mafia, Bloods, Crips, and thousands of other street gangs fighting for control and the author turns this story into a pulp thriller of true crime.

Glenn Langohr's interview for LOCKDOWNPUBLISHING by fellow true crime author R.J. Parker

Thursday, 12 January 2012Interview with Glenn Langohr Ex-Prisoner, Christian, Author





I was speaking with Glenn Langohr, the author of five true-prison books: Roll Call, Upon Release from Prison, Drug Debts, Race Riot, and Gladiator, the latter three known as the Pelican Island Diaries. Glenn spent ten years in various level 4 prisons in California. It was during this time that he wrote his first book, Roll Call.


Glenn openly admits that he is an obsessive-compulsive addict, in recovery, saved by God's Grace, who researched the U.S War on Drugs so deeply, that he met and did business with Mexican Cartels, outlaw bikers and street gangs until the criminal justice system interrupted him. It was during his 10 years in prison that he wrote every morning at 4 AM, before the politics and survival in a variety of California level 4 prisons took over. Upon his release from prison, Glenn married his dream girl ballerina, Sanette, who was very much involved in her church. His vision is to help other prisoners write and publish their art and stories and God is blessing him in this direction daily with Lock Up Diaries and other works.


Question: Glenn, you have five books published by your company, Lockdown Publishing; what is the sequence of your books? I know Roll Call was your first, but which books follow, in order?


Answer: I wrote Roll Call during an eleven-year prison sentence. Upon my release from prison, I stayed at the Laguna Beach Friendship Shelter, a transitional living environment, and that’s where I began writing the sequel to Roll Call, Upon Release From Prison. After that came A California Pelican Bay Prison Story Vol 1 Race Riot, Vol 2 Lock Up Diaries, and Vol 3 Gladiator.


Question: In your books, you go by the name of BJ; is there a reason you didn’t use your own name in these true accounts?


Answer: I strive to write to find God’s will. When I write about myself, I get too invested in how I might look to people. Separating myself from my character is better for my writing and shows a bigger picture than just through my own eyes.


Question: What, or who, inspired you to write in prison?


Answer: God did…. That prison sentence was my fourth. It started in 1990 when my addiction to drugs turned into selling them. Three more prison sentences into the 1990s, I finally got out and decided to start a limo business which I named Prestigious Transport, just as the storyline goes in Roll Call. While starting the business I was going to church and got really close to the Lord. The terror attacks of 9-11 broke down the transportation business, and with my business failing, and a relationship falling apart, I started using drugs again. Facing a twenty-year sentence, every day in my cell I visualized what happened and how I lost my first ever taste of legitimate success. I realized God was blessing me and I overlooked it. I asked for his forgiveness in tears and He washed over me with love and peace. For the next week, I paced my cell back and forth and decided I was going to write everyday to get better at it. God filled me with faith and I knew it was going to pay off! Writing helped me see the spiritual nature of addiction, and I knew I would be able to help other people who were struggling understand addiction and the criminal justice system.


Question: What was the time frame of your incarceration, and when were you finally released?


Answer: In 1990, I did a sixteen-month prison sentence; then another one in 1993. In 1996, I got busted for dealing again. This time Orange County tried to label me a “Cartel level” dealer and added a “Fortifying” charge – which is the beginning of calling you an organized criminal under the R.I.C.O. act. I had to become my own attorney to defend those trumped up allegations and avoid a twenty-five year sentence. I got out in 1999, but I went back in 2002, and was incarcerated until September 2008.


Question: In Roll Call and Upon Release From Prison, there’s an ongoing story about a detective Pincher who became a drug addict; is that part fictional, and if not, what happened with the detective?


Answer: Going back to the trumped up charges, there was an overzealous detective who I named Pincher in Roll Call and Upon Release From Prison. There was also a great detective who investigated thoroughly and wrote his reports truthfully; I named him Maltobano. I did get a little fictional with Pincher becoming a drug addict….


Question: What is your opinion on the Hunger Strikes in 2011 and the victory for inmates rights?


Answer: Having been overzealously prosecuted, and knowing the California Prison system the way I do, I know that it breeds bigger criminals by locking up low level offenders, and addictions are bred into afflictions that are much harder to escape. I want to see more justice and rehabilitation for prisoners. The hunger strike is the first time in California that different races and gangs have come together for a common purpose, in this case to better their future and stop fighting. California has the most prisoners in the nation and the worst recidivism rate in the country. Seven out of ten released prisoners go back to prison within three years. We need to examine that and find ways to help prisoners turn their lives around while incarcerated. It will benefit the community more than current tactics.


Question: What is your opinion on the three-strike law and the fact that California has reduced the number of inmates to almost half? Where are all those prisoners going? Are they employable?


Answer: The three-strike law in California was propagated over a terrible sex crime near Santa Barbara. A little girl, Polly Clause, was the victim. Instead of focusing on sex criminals and other violent criminals, the three strikes law focused on drug addicts, petty thefts – a prior charge can be as petty as stealing a piece of pizza – and residential burglaries. Polly Clause’s relatives came out in support of changing the three strike law to focus on the right violent criminals and even warned the public in commercials that the California Prison Union would spend millions of dollars for ten times the amount of commercial air time to lie to the public that child molesters, rapists, and murderers, would be released if the law changed. It wasn’t changed. I was in prison while this was transpiring, and in Roll Call, I was able to show the public all of this, even to write about where the money to support the Prison Union’s campaign came from.


As for the prisoners being released from California prisons... The prisoners are being released because of a Supreme Court Ruling from Justice Scalia and others that with the prison population in California so overcrowded: approximately a quarter million inmates confined to what is supposed to hold about 160,000, it is Cruel and Unusual Punishment. The vital statistics indicate - 1 inmate was dying every 8 days to lack of medical treatment! Now the way California is responding is to take prisoners who are considered non-violent, non-sex crimes and non-arsons, and let those prisoners back into the county jail. Back to Roll Call and my life living through the 3-strike law. Those Polly Clause commercials where Mr. Clause was telling the public that the prison union was going to lie to the public... It’s ten years later, and besides some Harvard Lawyers who have backed up what I am saying in Roll Call, this also shows we were incarcerating too many of the wrong people. As for prisoners being employable upon release… The economy and the job market are in the dirt. Now, add the felonies a released inmate carries, the pressure to find a place to live, find a social life, deal with a possible overzealous parole officer, sheriffs department and court... It isn't easy. No wonder in California 7 out of 10 inmates end up back in prison within 3 years. We need to bring the community together to tie Church's, support groups, non-profits, job placement, more homeless shelters, and more compassion. We were headed that way until the recent budget cuts in California wiped it out. In my opinion, California created this mess a long time ago, when the most import thing seemed to be to lock every one up and keep the cost of real estate at a premium. That tough on crime was smart on crime.


Question: So Glenn, where do you see yourself five years from now? More books in the future and if so, what topics?


Answer: I want to be producing the number one rated TV show in five years, but I’ll be happy with whatever my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has in mind for me. This time, I am going to stay in His will for me and serve Him.


Glenn Langohr can be contacted at the following websites:


Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00571NY5A
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rollcallthebook
Blog: http://rollcallthebook.blogspot.com
Email: rollcallthebook@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/glennthomascalifornia


Glenn's books are at: Glenn's Author Page on Amazon

Glenn Langohr has taken over the criminals and penology categories on Kindle!

Upon Release is the number 1 rated inspirational drug war novel on Kindle in the criminals and penology categories! A California Pelican Bay Prison Story-Race Riot is number 3, Lock Up Diaries is number 5 and Gladiator is number 8! God is Great!
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00571NY5A

Drug war and Lock Up Diaries of prison stories only 99 cents this month!

ROLL CALL by Glenn Langohr 120,000 words/ 4 seasons- similar to Breaking Bad and Son’s of Anarchy with a redemptive twist. ISBN 978-1-4392-4608-5 14.99 paperback .99 kindle e-book
Roll Call shines a light at the dark, hidden underbelly of the U.S War on Drugs. The author takes the admonition from the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, “God doesn’t want you to eat of the tree of knowledge because he doesn’t want you to become as smart as him”, and relates it to the modern drug war, showing how the American justice system has turned illegal drugs into forbidden fruits; leading to a roller coaster ride through drug cartels, street gangs and outlaw bikers, all trying to get their piece of the action. Add a good detective squeezed out of the loop by an overzealous detective, a robust prison union calling bad shots, and a handful of drug criminals trying to find their conscience; and you have the perfect recipe for a revolutionary uprising; bound by blood, all leaving the reader wondering, who are the real criminals? Kirkus Discoveries- “A Master Director, modern pulp thriller- A harrowing down-and-dirty depiction of the War on Drugs, sometimes reminiscent of Solderburg’s Traffic, by former dealer, California artist Langohr”

Sequel to Roll Call- Upon Release- 70,000 words Blockbuster e-book 2.99
Overzealous Narcotic Detective Pincher, on paid leave and under investigation, starts using drugs, and then is hired again as a Narcotic Detective in L.A where he steals heroin from the evidence locker until he is reeled in by the Mexican Mafia and the Hollywood Madam.
B.J struggles not to look back at the Criminal Justice System that tried to kill him. Inspired to help prisoners turn their lives around through art, he works for the church helping orphans until he’s on the run again. Add a beautiful ballerina who marries B.J, a prison protest to help the voiceless, and the temptation to do a massive drug run from Mexico, and you have the perfect recipe for a Spiritual revolution, where compassion is missing, all leaving the reader wondering; who are the real criminals?

A California Pelican Bay Prison Story- 18,000 words e-book 99 cents
A penetrating look inside of one California's most volatile prisons.
B.J, a drug dealer serving time, takes the reader on a never before seen, inside look at a California level 4 prison. The inner dynamics between prison guards, gang investigators and the Warden are on display along with the political climate between races where a war is brewing between the Mexicans and Blacks with the White race caught in the crossfire!

Lock Up Diaries- A California Pelican Bay Prison Story- 20,000 words e-book 99 cents
A depiction of life inside of prison and a look at the political landscape between races, segregated by cell after being released from the Pelican Bay SHU in California. The amazing details of prison life - code words that prisoners use, explanations of how they communicate from cell to cell - really make you feel you have entered a different world, or like you are watching a movie about prison life. The story shows how race riots that can kill prisoners can be started for very small and seemingly unimportant reasons, and how violence permeates every aspect of prison life.

Gladiator- A California Pelican Bay Prison Story- 13,000 words e-book 99 cents
B.J and the Mexican Mafia in action behind bars in a California level 4 prison