“Treat Me Kindly” is a supernatural murder mystery that takes place in current times.  Mild mannered Matthew Sharpton is having the worst existence possible.  He lives in his parents’ basement after his fiancee upgraded to a better man.  To make his father happy, he goes to a charity auction hosted by the company the old man works for.  While there, he ends up bidding on a beautiful bird and taking it home.  It’s here that he discovers that this isn’t an ordinary bird.  The bird has the ability to turn just as human as Matthew — minus the thinning hair.  The woman is more than happy to belong to Matthew as long as he does one simple thing. “Treat Me Kindly.” 

Meanwhile, Alex Sampson is a detective assigned to a case where Frank Marko, an ex-rockstar, has been found dead in his home.  The only evidence is a small butterfly that was found by the body.  The strange thing about the butterfly is that it’s an extinct species.  After some investigating, Alex discovers that the butterfly came from the same charity auction that Matthew attended.  The whispered promises of “rare” and “exotic” animals ring a deadly truth as more people in the city are killed in bizarre ways, the only evidence being some sort of remnant from an animal. 

This sounds different from anything we’ve heard. What genre is it?
I think an easier question would be, “What genre isn’t it?”  I would say that it’s a supernatural murder mystery with elements of horror.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Readers who are into dark fiction.  Readers who like a good crime thriller, but who also don’t mind stories with gritty, supernatural elements that fit in with modern times.

Tell us a bit more about your main characters
Alex Sampson:  The detective working the murder case of ex-rockstar, Frank Marko.  He tends to be sarcastic and easy going, but can get serious when the job calls for it.

Gwenyth Sampson:  Alex’s older sister who’s in charge of the company that holds the charity auctions.  Unlike her little brother, she’s stylish and sophisticated, enjoying the finer things in life. However, her business oriented mind always takes a break when around Alex.

Nicholas “Nick-Nack” Ryker:  Alex’s good friend and colleague at work.  He’s the intelligent geek who tends to find the missing pieces to the cases Alex is assigned to.

Matthew Sharpton:  He goes to the animal auction in place of his father and ends up taking a bird home.  With him, you learn that the animals hold an interesting talent, they can turn human just like us. Currently lives in his parents’ basement after his failed engagement, he finds a reason to better himself when he gets the bird, Jazzmyn.

***There are also quite a few important animals in the book, but
it’s best to learn about them when reading***

How would you like the reader to feel as they read the last word of your book?
When a reader reads the last word, I want them to feel like the end is as good and realistic as it can be.  It’s not entirely happy, but it’s not sad either.  The characters have to deal with the events of the story and will try their best to cope, just like people do everyday of their lives.  We don’t always get the perfect ending, but we do keep going regardless of the hardships ahead and try our best to keep some form of a smile on our faces.  I also hope readers realize that it’s best to treat everyone and everything with respect, no matter who or what it is: animal or human.

How true.
“Treat Me Kindly” is the phrase that the animals in the book use.  They’re more than happy to stay with a person, as long as they are treated with love and respect.  It doesn’t have to be a perfect relationship, but the animals shouldn’t be mistreated or abused.  I feel like this is the same for people: we all wanted to be treated well.  The fact that these animals can turn human drives this point home (I hope).

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I just so happen to have a bio handy:

At the age of nine, like most kids, Briana Lawrence had a dream. She wanted to be the best “WRITTER” in the whole wide world. Her fourth grade class laughed and wondered how one hoped to become a “writer” if they couldn’t even spell the word. Back then her stories were created with crayons and construction paper. As she grew older they progressed into notebooks and colored ink pens of pink, blue, and purple. When she lost her older brother, Glenn Berry, in a car accident, she stopped writing.

Dreams, however, have a funny way of coming back.

Before she realized it she was grabbing her notebook and pens again. She would write stories that ranged from high school romance to her imagination running wild with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and the other characters of Dragonball Z. This continued throughout college where she would always end up writing about the space exploits of the pilots of Gundam Wing and other works of fan fiction. Soon she realized that she wanted to do more than that. Her head was full of ideas, full of original characters and worlds that she wanted to share with others. Thus, she stepped into an English Major with some Women’s Studies on the side.

She graduated Iowa State University in 2006 and moved to Minneapolis with her partner. Here, she tried to get into graduate school, but things didn’t pan out the way she wanted. She ended up working retail, her dream becoming buried by Black Fridays and other busy times of year. Once again, however, that dream returned. She went from immersing herself in geeky fan fiction to actually writing about the geeky things she loved for several anime and video game review sites. However, it was her discovery of National Novel Writing Month that made her go back to creating her own characters and plots.

Now, here she is, an author in the writing world.

Tell us about the you that we can’t find in your official bio.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, so long as that beach leads to a keyblade and I can use it to fight thousands of heartless and nobodies.  I am proud to admit that I am a huge geek.  Video games, anime, comics, I enjoy spending my free time with a video game controller, or marathoning a new anime, or sitting in a movie theater watching a man with a red cape fly through the air.  Along with this geeky paradise I live in, I also enjoy crafting.  Currently, woodburning and painting are my two loves, and you’ll often see me at a Midwest convention with coasters and other woodburned items.  I also love to cosplay.  Recently, my love for Disney has returned full force, so you might catch me in Princess Tiana’s gorgeous green dress.

How can we follow you online?
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BrianaLawrencesPenAndPaper
Tumblr:  http://brichibiwritesthings.tumblr.com/
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7055998.Briana_Lawrence

Have you written any other books that we should read next?
I have a short story in a gay romance anthology for Dreamspinner Press called “Press START to Play.” Besides that, I don’t have anything else out, but I have upcoming works. I have a joint story with my partner called “Hunters: Seeking the Storyteller,” that should be out later this year This one is more of an urban supernatural adventure story of sorts, not nearly as dark as my book. I also have a supernatural gay romance story called “Double Hue” coming out soon. It, like “Treat Me Kindly,” has horror elements and is a murder mystery.

What’s next?
Everything is next.  The whole world is next   As I work to advertise my current book, I’m working on the upcoming works.  The contracts are signed and ready to go, and while they’re being signed with small publishers, those companies have big hearts and really work to get my books out there.  But I also have to work just as hard!  I’ve already mentioned “Double Hue” and “Hunters: Seeking the Storyteller,” but I also have an outline ready for a sequel to “Treat Me Kindly.”  Also, since “Hunters” is a planned series, the second book rough draft is done.