Diamonds and Death, Jackie Uhrmacher stops by

One of my favorite book bloggers in the whole bloggity world is Jackie Uhrmacher. In the most secretive of ways she wrote and released a book. She has blogged for Bitten by Books, and now makes her bloggy home now at Wicked Little Pixie. I'm so excited and pleased to welcome Jackie Uhrmacher to Tombstone Tails.
Hey Jackie thanks for stopping by! Congratulations on the book.

So tell us how did Love you to Death come to be? How did you keep it such a secret? Amazing ninja powers? 
Love You to Death was created during a horrible, horrible divorce. I was young and dumb and I’d just turned 21 (I think Garbage wrote a song about me). My friend, Rachel, convinced me to vent my frustrations but coming up with as many ways as humanly possible to kill a husband. We had shark attacks, nuns with guns – if it was twisted, it was on the list. After a few weeks, the story changed from, “Kill them! Kill them all!” to “Hmm…what if one of these psychotic ladies actually fell for her prey??”

This is going to age me, but those first gruesome, bloody, soul-freeing deaths occurred almost nine years ago. E-publishers and self-publishing existed, but they were relatively unknown avenues for me to travel down. I thought the only way to publish a novel was the traditional way – query – so, right after I wrote it, I did the normal author thing – I shopped it and shopped it and shopped it. At a con, I even got a bite from an agent. He loved it, but said it needed about 40,000 more words. Love You to Death would have, well, died under that word count. It’s not meant to be a full-blooded novel. It’s a short, but fantastic, trip into the psyches of the Modern Bride – young and snarky with a smile that slices into the very heart of you.

It was only a secret because it’s so damn old, LOL. I’d like to say the secrecy was due to an inherent ability to cloud the possibilities from the human eye, but really, it’s a case of a zombified book that has risen from the grave freshly edited and hungry for flesh.

Is there a little bit of Jackie hidden deep within the the book? Any wishful thinking?
Only the bad parts.  I have two ex-husbands who, on several occasions, I’ve thought about helping shuffle off this mortal coil, but alas, one went underground and the other is the father of the best thing to ever happen to me.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? 
In the beginning it was rage and pain. You can tell because the first part of the book, while laced with humor, has a much more sinister feel than the end. My inspiration to resurrect the book was my mom. She was one of the most hard-headed, you-will-do-things-my-way-or-else, caring and funny individuals I’ve ever met. When I first wrote Love You to Death, she was still able to hold objects long enough to enjoy it and she pushed, constantly, for me to publish it. She couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just do it myself. She made me promise her that I’d “get off my ass and publish the damn thing” so I did on her one year death-versary.  

What kind of music do you listen to while writing? What does your playlist look like?
My playlist looks like a schizophrenic wrote it. There’s Otep, Florence and the Machine, Awolnation, Toadies, Garbage, Everclear, Middle Class Rut, Type O, Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Camille Saint-Saens, Kings of Leon, Sia, Massive Attack…basically I like to be lulled into a calm state then jarred out of it by the deep tenor of hard rock.

I'm guessing the title is no accident. Are you a Type O Negative fan?
“…They say the beast inside of me’s gonna get ya, get ya, get…
Black lipstick stains her glass of red wine
I am your servant, may I light your cigarette?...”
Mmm…yes…Peter Steele was, and always will be, a god amongst men. The song was meant to represent this book. Jill, the protagonist, is a dominant through and through but with Marcus, there’s that lying fear…am I good enough for you?

How do you squeeze writing in with a full time job and a son to raise?
Insanity. No lie. I’m also a full-time student. Huzzah! Pass the booze!

Was there a specific book you read as a youth that made you say " I want to do this"? 
Oh so so many. Christopher Pike and RL Stine or to blame for me actually doing it though. I started reading them in elementary school and had to write stories like them.

Lightning round

What are you reading right now? Soul Kissed by Erin Kellison – AMAZING!

What are you listening to? Django Unchained Soundtrack

Favorite male fronted band? Prior to seeing them in concert: Everclear. Now: Awolnation

Favorite female fronted band? Prior to their last album: Garbage. Now: Halestorm

Vodka or whiskey? Vodka straight up with a beer chaser

Coke or Pepsi ? Coke for decorations and Pepsi to drink

Tattoos or no tattoos? Tattoos! I got my first one at the age of fifteen. Mom was LIVID!

What's next for Jackie? 
I need to find my own Pinkie so I can take over the world!!
Bookwise I have a few things in the works. I have a novella written in the same world as Love You to Death I’m editing and one partially-finished about a woman who has to eat souls to survive.

Where can we find your book? 
It’s available in print and as a Kindle copy from Amazon and it’s available as a Nook copy from Barnes and Noble.


This was pretty awesome, Jackie thought my sig line was a question and answered it. I have decided to include it and also do so in future interviews. Thanks Jackie.
What kindness does not risk destruction? 
The retracting of the cat’s claws against your neck while you sleep.