Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Thea Harrison to the blog today.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison is the pen name for Teddy Harrison. Thea has traveled extensively, having lived in England and explored Europe for several years. Now she resides in Colorado. She wrote her first book, a romance, when she was nineteen and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter.

She took a break from writing to collect a couple of graduate degrees and a grown child. She experienced waitressing as a teenager, has worked as an activist for a non-profit consumer rights organization, has been a receptionist, an office manager, a penniless graduate student, a director of development and research, and a single mom. Her graduate degrees are in Philanthropic Studies and Library Information Science, but her first love has always been writing fiction.

Her paranormal Elder Races series began May 3, 2011 with Dragon Bound, which won RT Book Review’s Book of the Year Award, and the Romance Writer’s of America RITA in the paranormal romance category.

All five of her full length novels in the Elder Races series have won Top Picks from RT Book Reviews. Book two in the series, Storm’s Heart, and book four, Oracle’s Moon, hit the USA Today bestseller’s list, while book three, Serpent’s Kiss, hit the New York Times extended bestseller list. Her fifth book, Lord’s Fall, hit both the USA Today and the New York Times extended lists.

She adores animals and currently resides with two small dogs that have very large personalities.

Q:  What is one of your favorite Myths/legends to write about?

A:  When I started to write my reply to this question, I realized it wasn’t going to be a simple or easy answer!  I’ve had so much fun with the world building in the Elder Races series.  It’s almost impossible to pick just one.

I really enjoyed taking the Oracle of Delphi and putting it into a modern context for Oracle’s Moon.  When I turned my attention to the witches’ demesne in Louisville, I wanted to make sure it felt as rich and developed as the rest of the world building I’d done for the other demesnes and mythological creatures.  That story was fun for a lot of reasons, because I also really enjoyed building the Djinn society based on Middle Eastern legends.

Another favorite has been developing the Elves, in Lord’s Fall and continued in Kinked.  And a third was when I created my own version of Vampyres in Serpent’s Kiss.  I have two more Vampyre stories that I’m dying to tell.  When I get excited about a story, it’s hard to wait for the right time to tell it!

Q:  You’ve been gifted (or cursed) with the ability to shift into another form by a witch. What kind of shifter are you and why?  (All creatures, including mythological, apply.)

A:  Awesome question!  I think I have two answers for that one.  If it was a gift, then I think it would have to be something winged and strong.  I think there’s something to be said for being as fearless as a harpy, although I’m quite sure I wouldn’t win any popularity contests!

If the ability was a curse and meant to be nasty, the witch would probably turn me into my phobia—a spider!  That would be the meanest, nastiest thing anybody could ever do to me!

Q:  Since Aryal is a harpy and considered an immortal Wyr, how did you approach her character development in order to make her believable and someone that readers can identify with?

A:  I’ll be honest, I was worried about writing Aryal.  I really didn’t want to compromise her identity.  Aryal has strong emotions but no real morals in the abstract sense, no true compulsion to do what is right for its own sake.  She’s abrasive and dangerous… And I had to figure out how to also make her sympathetic.

My first decision was to not be in a hurry to write her story.  I wanted to take the time to show her character from a couple of different points of view.  The reader first sees Aryal from Pia’s perspective in Dragon Bound, but then in Storm’s Heart I was able to show Aryal from Tricks’ point of view, someone who loved her.  I also wanted to make sure that humor came into the mix.  Still, the real test came when I sat down and actually started writing Kinked.  Then I had to get close enough to her to write her as a main POV character.  It helped that I had so many established relationships and characters to work with—such as Grym, Dragos and Graydon—and the world-building in place.  With that in place, I could concentrate on developing Aryal herself.  I’m very grateful to my editor Cindy Hwang for providing such a supportive platform to write Kinked.

Q:  Do you have an Elder Race Bible to help keep your facts start?  If not, how the heck do you keep your facts start?

A:  So far I’ve had two things in my favor—I’ve got a bit of a freakish memory for detail when it comes to writing, and I also have fantastic beta readers who are good at spotting issues.  Still, the world has become big and complicated enough that I’ve got someone working on a series bible right now.  It’s over a hundred pages by now and should be done by the end of the year.

Q:  Who was the harder character to write Aryal or Quentin and why?

Neither character was as hard as I had feared they would be when I started Kinked.  Still, Quentin was easier.  I felt more confident writing his character, and I felt the stakes were pretty high on getting Aryal’s character right.

Q:  Was there anything about Aryal that surprised you as her story unfolded?

A:  I think I probably had the same experience as a writer that several readers have had so far in reading the book—I was surprised at how much I ended up liking and enjoying her.  I wouldn’t want to rush out and befriend a real-life Aryal, but I think she’s pretty cool between the pages, and I’m really looking forward to writing more about her.

Q:  In the event of an apocalypses (zombie, alien, solar flare or 4 horsemen) which of your characters would you like to team up with?

A:  I would absolutely like to team up with Dragos—as long as I was someone he valued, otherwise he might ditch me in a heartbeat.

Q:  What is next for the Elder Race series?

A:  I’m now contracted for books 7-9, so I’m writing Graydon’s story which will be released around August of 2014.  The main characters have also been decided for books 8 and 9, and I’m eager to get to those stories!

I also wrote a self-published project, a novella entitled Dragos Takes A Holiday, which releases November 25^th.  I loved spending time with Dragos and Pia, and their little son Peanut gets his POV debut.

It’s been a pleasure to visit with you.  Thanks for having me!

*****

Kelly’s review of Kinked: 

TITLE: Kinked
SERIES #: Elder Races #6
CHARACTERS: Quentin Caeravorn & Aryal
AUTHOR: Thea Harrison
PUBLICATION DATE: Nov 5, 2013
ORDER LINKS: Amazon| B&N 

Two opponents must confront the cause of their obsessive fury in the latest Novel of the Elder Races…

As a harpy, Sentinel Aryal is accustomed to dealing with hate, but Sentinel Quentin Caeravorn manages to inspire in her a burning ire unlike anything she’s ever known. Aryal believes the new Sentinel to be a criminal, and vows to take him out as soon as the opportunity arises. But the harpy’s incessant wrath has pushed Quentin to the limit, and forces him to make a deadly vow of his own.

To put an end to the conflict, Dragos, Lord of the Wyr, sends them on a reconnaissance mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur. Forced to work together, Aryal and Quentin’s mutual antagonism escalates. Each fight draws forth more passion—culminating in an explosively sexual confrontation. But when their quest reveals real danger, Aryal and Quentin must resolve their differences in ways beyond the physical, before the entire Wyr is threatened.

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kelly
NUMBER OF STARS: 3 1/2
REVIEW:
Aryal has been on a mission since the moment she met Quentin. She wants to air out all his dirty laundry and then kill him. But Aryal has been finding that a little difficult she can’t find anything on him.
Quentin has avoided getting close to anyone for so long, that even sex is a hand off act. But Aryal brings something to the surface that he doesn’t like or can control.
Forced together to work on a mission these to are either going to kill each other, come back to no jobs, or learn to work with each other and finally bury the hatch.
Which one will it be.

I enjoyed this story, it was not love until the end. I really enjoyed watching Aryal and Quentin fight each other, the attraction and fate. But there were parts and pieces of the story that were a little boring for me but overall it was a good story. Lots of action, lots of drama and lots of words that I don’t have a clue how to pronounce. 🙂

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

*****

Giveaway Time!!