Toot's is proud to spotlight
Author
Paty Jager
Author Spotlight: Paty Jager - Includes Guest Post, Book Blurb & Excerpt
Author Bio
Award winning author
Paty Jager is a member of national and local writing organizations. She not
only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. With sixteen novels and
several short stories published, she continues to have characters cavorting in
her head.
You can learn more
about Paty at
Website; http://www.patyjager.net
Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager
Twitter;
@patyjag.
Hi Paty, Thanks for being here at Toot's!
Thank you for having me here today!
Your newest book is called Secrets of an Aztec Temple. What type of research did you have to do for the book?
When I started researching for the second book of
the Isabella Mumphrey action adventure series, Secrets of an Aztec Temple, I didn’t realize how interesting the
research would be. I knew next to nothing other than what was taught to us in
elementary school about the Aztecs, and all I knew about Mexico City was the
fact it is the capital of Mexico.
Mexico has a very rich and colorful history. Anything interesting you uncovered or added to your story?
The valley that hosts Mexico City once harbored one
of the highest populations of the Aztecs. Following a story from the gods that
told them they would find a home when an eagle perched on a prickly cactus
eating a serpent, the Aztecs came upon the lower basin where Mexico City now
sits and built several communities in the middle of the swampy area.
The swamp-like conditions at first kept their
enemies away, but as the cities grew and more people needed fed, the Aztecs
learned to dry out the swamp and make farm land. A great temple was built and
enemies were sacrificed on the long steps. There have been many scholarly
debates about the reasoning behind so many sacrifices. Some say it was to
appease the gods, others say it was the Aztec’s way of showing their strength
by publicly killing the captured enemy. Whatever the Aztec’s reasons, they spilled
so much blood on the stones that even to this day when the temple was found in
tunnels under what is modern day Mexico City, the stone steps are stained with
red.
This fact of an important temple in Aztec history
sat under the city and the city was rampant with drug killings that I chose
Mexico City for the setting of Secrets of
an Aztec Temple.
How does Mexico play into your story?
Isabella Mumphrey is an anthropologist who
specializes in Native American cultures. I needed a significant Aztec place to
send her to which would play on her strengths. Having the temple be an integral
part in Aztec sacrifices only made it the more appealing. ;) And since Tino
Constantine, the hero, is a DEA agent out to get revenge on a drug lord, the
vileness of the drug culture that is going on there right now was the perfect
backdrop for him.
Secrets
of an Aztec Temple - Blurb
Revenge is not always sweet…
Isabella
Mumphrey can’t leave a puzzle alone. This time she attempts to use her anthropology
knowledge to uncover who is stealing priceless artifacts from an Aztec Temple
in Mexico City. She believes the discovery will prove her worth to the World
Intelligence Agency.
Tino
Constantine is also in Mexico City. He has infiltrated a drug lord’s
organization to find enough evidence to not only prove the man’s illegal
activities, but to bring him down for numerous deaths. Namely those of Tino’s
family.
But
when the love of his life, Isabella, strolls into his enemy’s home, Tino is
challenged with the choice of saving her or fulfilling his revenge.
Buy Links:
Windtree Press http://windtreepress.com/product.asp?itemid=17
Secrets of an Aztec Temple - Excerpt
Garza’s teeth curled back in a feral smile as he nodded his head. “I like your thinking, but I wish them alive. I need to set some rules the two pendejos need to learn.”
“Does Cezar know where they are?” Garza’s right hand man had been missing for the last hour. Tino suspected he was gathering information on the whereabouts of the brothers.
“Cezar is escorting a special guest here. But Hector has been following the two and called to tell me he lost them in the colonias.”
“I’ll start there.” Tino turned to leave.
“Rodriguez. If you cannot bring them in, do not show your face here again.”
The threatening tone punctuated what he already knew. If he didn’t bring the Alvarez brothers back he would be hunted down and killed because he’d witnessed and participated in illegal activities.
“I will be back with your guests.”
Tino exited the office congratulating himself at having made it to Garza’s inner sanctum, but now realized there were two more doors that would need breeched before he could find the evidence to bring in the Drug Enforcement Agency.
His mind wandered to how to find the Alvarez brothers and make his way up in status to gain entry into the room behind the bullet-proof door. He stepped out onto the front portico. Cezar walked alongside a woman who carried herself in a familiar way.
Tino’s blood iced with fear as he recognized the long hair, button nose, and wire-rimmed glasses. Another glance at the woman he knew so well and the ice melted, simmered, and quickened his heart. What brought his querida to the drug lord’s Mexico City compound? Dread, desire, and regret collided as he blindly slammed into a cement pillar.
Thank you for having me on your blog today!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I really liked all the information about the Aztecs. Love all your books, Paty!
ReplyDelete