Books-n-Kisses:Hi Aiden, Hi Kelly, Welcome to Books-n-Kisses.I am so glad that you both agreed to sit down and talk with me today.
Aiden: Lisa says you love vampires and we are vampires.
Kelly: I still can’t get use to hearing that. We are vampires. I am a vampire.
Books-n-Kisses:Can I get either of you anything before we get started?
Aiden: Don’t suppose you have any blood handy?
Kelly: Aiden! Forgive him. He’s joking.
Aiden: Lisa said she likes vampires.
Kelly: He’ll take coffee and so will I. Thank goodness vampires really don’t live on blood and blood alone. I don’t know what I’d do without my pizza and Starbucks.
Books-n-Kisses: Okay, let’s get started then
Book 1
Q1) Aiden, can you give us a little of your history?
Aiden: I was a human bitten by a vampire with blood lust and left for dead.
Kelly: Blood lust happens when a vampire drinks too much blood.
Aiden: We’ve evolved. We need no more than a monthly feeding. When we overindulge, it’s like a drug. We are stronger and faster, on a high, so to speak, but we are also violent killers.
Kelly: He was saved by one of The Wardens who are like the law of the vampire world.
Aiden: Right. I was given the opportunity to hunt down and kill monsters or die myself. I was all about killing monsters.
Q2) Kelly, What was your first reaction when you learned what Aiden was?Where you ever scared?
Kelly: I’m a coroner so I see dead people all the time. Not much scares me but I suspect if I hadn’t already felt the good in Aiden before I found out it would have been harder to accept. It’s some of the monsters he hunts that rattle me though. Wolves infected with a rabies like virus. Vamps with bloodlust. They scare me. (Looks at Aiden) It scares me that he hunts them.
Q3) Aiden, this one is for you.How has your life changed since Kelly came into it?
Aiden(Taking Kelly’s hand): I actually care if I live or die when I go into battle. I realized after Kelly came into my life that a hundred years of battle had taken a toll. I’d stopped caring if I woke up the next day.
Book 2 Aiden & Kelly’s Book
Q4) Have either one of you wondered what life would be like if Aiden had never walked into Kelly’s office?
Aiden: I’d still be miserable
Kelly: I’d be dead. The vampires I’d exposed for killing innocent humans would have killed me.
Q5) Kelly, tell us something about Aiden that he would not let Lisa share with us in your story?
Kelly: He likes bubble baths.
Aiden: Only when you’re in them.
Q6) Aiden, same questions.Tell us something about Kelly that she would let Lisa tell us in your story?
Aiden: She can convince me to do about anything. Including bubble baths.
Kelly (laughing): You know you love them.
Aiden(kisses her forehead) I love you.
Q7)Kelly, has Aiden leaved up to his promise to let you bite him?
Kelly (smiling): Now he begs for it.
Aiden(laughs) Who begs?
Q8) Umm, how do I ask this?Umm are things ever a little awkward with Troy after… well you know?
Aiden: He’s gone. He took off and not because of anything that happened between the three of us.
Kelly: We’ll find him Aiden.
Book 3 Troy’s book
Q9) So speaking of Troy…How is he doing?I know his story is next do you think that your little brother is ready for all the attention?
Aiden: Troy is in trouble and has been since a wolf bit him and he began some odd hybrid vampire wolf mixture. Or I guess that’s what’s happening. Vamps are immune to the wolf virus so I just don’t know. Al I know for certain is that Troy is in deep deep trouble and I don’t know how to help him.
Kelly: We’ll find a way to help him.
Aiden (scrubbing his jaw) : I wish I believed we really could.
Kelly (takes his hand): I’ll believe enough for both of us
Q10)What do you think the one thing the readers should take away from your story?
Kelly: That there is always hope – for you, me, and (giving Aiden a pointed look) even Troy
Q11) Is there anything else either of you would like to add?
Kelly: There’s some interesting things happening in the werewolf civil war. Check out Wicked Werewolf Night to find out just how intense it’s getting. December 13th!
Books-n-Kisses:Aiden, Kelly, again a huge thank you for stopping by my blog so that we can learn a little more about you and your book.And can I say that Aiden, you are my favorite of the brothers and love that your lady love is names Kelly.*winks at Kelly* It is a really good name.
One of an army of human soldiers injected with alien DNA, Michael is a legend within this new race, split between good and evil. Untamable, he has walked on the dark side and returned to the light. Feared and misunderstood, he leaves everything behind, including the one woman destined to be his mate.
HE IS HER ENEMY…AND HER DESTINY…
Fate leads Michael back to Cassandra Powell, for she holds the key to defending his comrades. With their loyalties divided between duty and the people they love, only together can Cassandra and Michael overcome insurmountable odds to save humanity from the wrath of a madman.
But no ordinary woman can control a creature such as Michael, and only one thing is clear—the world will never be the same…
The Hero: Michael
He is sin and satisfaction, lust and damnation, a lethal weapon created from the greed of man. A human soldier injected with alien DNA, he is one of many, yet none are like him, a legend within this new race, split between good and evil. Untamable, he has walked on the dark side, returned to the light, but it matters not, for he is feared, misunderstood—lethal in all ways possible. Women desire him, lust for the mysterious warrior, hungry for the raw passion that touches his every breath. Men envy his stature, his power; they lust to control him. But there is no controlling a creature such as he, no taming the primal fires within him. He is the past, he is the future.
Sterling Jeter has remarkable powers and has shown himself to be just about indestructible. But beautiful, brilliant Rebecca Burns knows that even a Super Soldier needs comfort, and so much more…
But she can see that deep down, he’s just a man…
Sterling and Rebecca’s teenage romance was interrupted, but years later the heat between them flares back to life. Even though it endangers everything they’re fighting for, it’s impossible to resist picking up right where they left off…
The Hero: Sterling
He was created, molded, formed from life, love, and misery…
Lethally daring. Ruthlessly passionate. He invites death to his door. Welcomes it with each breath he draws, each step he takes. And thus he is danger. A volatile storm that will sweep across the calm realms of humanity and shake it to the depths of its core.
Zodius #3: THE DANGER THAT IS DAMION Sourcebooks Casablanca (May 2012)
General Powell from book 1 has returned and he’s developed a way to create and control a new generation of female GTECHs. He plans to use these women to bring both, the Renegades and the Zodius soldiers, back under his command. The world will be his. Now, Damion, a Renegade, who readers met in book two, will be pitted against one of those soldiers, a woman destined to be both his Lifebond and his enemy. Damion will become her only hope of salvation and their trust in each other the only chance they have to save the world from a madman.
*I have had the extraordinary pleasure of already meeting Damion and let me tell you Damion is Dangerously HOT!!!!!! Can’t wait to read the final version*
My name is Kathleen S. Allen and I write books. I also write short stories, poetry, lyric essays and whatever else I can think of! I decided to try my hand at a romance. Although many of my books have romantic elements in them, I haven’t written one that has romance as the main story line.
The name of my book is: THE CRAZY NURSE.
Here’s the blurb:
Molly, a new nurse on the psychiatric unit, falls in love with her manager John Whitefeather. His heart has been broken and he resists his attraction to her…at first. Afraid of getting hurt again after letting his guard down John leaves without a word. Molly quits her job and moves to San Francisco to take care of her brother who has AIDS. When they run in to each other again can they make their relationship work or is it too late for them?
From the novel:
He came out of the bathroom looking clean, and shiny. He had on a different pair of gray sweats, these were clean, and his chest was bare. His hair still hung loose around his shoulders, but, at least it was clean now. Molly hadn’t realized how beautiful long hair could be on a man. Especially this man. She looked quickly away before John could see her desire for him on her face. But, she didn’t look away fast enough, he saw the passion in her eyes, and it thrilled him.
The story takes place in a large urban hospital in the Midwest but quickly progresses to San Francisco. I wanted to write what is known as a medical romance with medical elements in it so Molly’s—the main character—brother has AIDS. Both the main characters, Molly and her love interest, John are psychiatric nurses. I wrote this novel before I actually worked on a locked psychiatric unit as a nurse and my colleagues joked that I based the story on them! A couple of them even wanted to know which character they were! I told them I wrote it before I got the job—I have since left it—but I don’t think anyone believed me! Guesses were made about who the love interest could be, a resident? One of our physicians? Another nurse? Finally, I told them that the characters were more of a combination of staff I interacted with on the unit and that seemed to pacify them! Although I am no longer working on the psychiatric unit I am still friends with colleagues and they still ask me who the love interest is based on! Uh, he’s more of my ideal man, except for the whole I-can’t-be-in-love-so-I’m-going-to-take-off scenario. I adore long hair on a man so I had to make him have long hair.
My experience with writing romance tells me two things. First of all, I can write a romance, especially a medical romance and second of all, writing a romance is hard! It’s hard to get the right nuances and it’s hard to not let the characters slide into stereotypical behavior. I recently wrote and published a murder mystery and that was hard to write but the romance is right up there!
Will I write another romance? Perhaps. Right now I am in the process of editing a faerie vs. human young adult fantasy novel called LORE OF FEI that is being published in April, 2012 by Muse It Up Publishing. My literary agent is shopping around a contemporary young adult novel and is looking at my latest novel, a young adult historical novel. I am also getting ready to do NaNoWriMo beginning November 1st. This is the competition where you write a 50K novel in 30 days. Your daily word count is 1,667. I did it last year and “won” with LORE OF FEI. My novel this year is about a 19th Century woman who falls in love with a man who may or may not be vampire. I’ve written about faeries, werewolves, dragons, unicorns, witches, ghosts and one short story about a vampire but never an entire book. It should be fun!
I also just joined a local children’s lit/YA book critique group and we are meeting next month. I have a critique partner I value online but I feel that meeting and socializing with other authors is important.
I am trying to be a writer full time so I am looking for writing gigs along with doing my fiction writing. My dream job would be to teach creative writing at a college. I do have a Master’s in English with an emphasis in creative writing but most colleges want either a MFA (Master’s in Fine Arts in writing) or a Ph D in English/Creative Writing. I am teaching an online workshop next year in March, 2012 for Novelists at Work on how to write a young adult novel. I hope to be able to do more of those.
Thanks for having me as a guest blogger today! You can find me here:
Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome the wonderful Joan Swan to the blog today. I am SO EXCITED to share Joan and her debut novel Fever with my followers.
Author Bio:
Joan Swan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist, and a double Kiss of Death Daphne Du Maurier finalist. She writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist, and her first novel, FEVER, debuts with Kensington Brava February 28, 2012. BLAZE releases October, 2012.
Currently, Joan works as a sonographer at a one of the top ten medical facilities in the nation, and lives in magnificent wine country on the central coast of California with her husband and two daughters.
Kelly: Welcome Joan. Joan: Hey, Kelly!!!!!!! Love that shirt!! **For those without webcam it says “I ‘heart’ Delilah Marvelle<scribbled out by moi> Joan Swan”** Sorry, D, you know I love you, but…you have to share.
Kelly : Can I get you anything before we get started? Coffee, tea, water?
Joan: Good God, I could use a Margarita. Midori. Blended. Brain-freeze thick. Sugar, no salt. Triple tequila. Por favor, bonita…or is it Bonita por favor?
Q1) Joan, your bio pretty much covers who you are. So tell us something off your bucket list.
Joan: I have to admit—I didn’t see The Bucket List, but the way I understand it is that is a list of things you want to do before you die. I’ve been so very blessed with a keeper of a husband for 21 years and two absolutely fabulous, intelligent, healthy daughters. My parents are still happily married and healthy well into their 80’s, my 3 sisters and 1 brother are all happily married with healthy children and my husband and I have been lucky to have had stable jobs that have paid most of the bills.
And because I know how fragile life is and how lucky we have been, what’s at the top of my bucket list at the moment? Quitting the day job so I can stop looking, touching and examining strange men’s mangled private parts. I mean, seriously? The fact that I can still write hot sex scenes after that sh…stuff is a testament to my warped mind!
Q2) Tell us about your typical writing day. Are there things you have to have?
Joan: The only thing routine about my writing these days involves breakfast at my neighborhood McDonald’s, email, Twitter, blog posts and lots and lots and lots of procrastination. It’s an unfortunate pattern I’ve developed over the past few months that I plan to change.
Maybe tomorrow.
Q3) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Joan: No. Just about every other profession under the sun. Never an author.
Q4)Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?
Joan: The authors I would consider favorites have changed as I’ve changed. Before I wrote, I wasn’t as demanding as I am now. I admire the writing skill of Dean Koontz, Sandra Brown, Harlan Coben, Tami Hoag and Ted Dekker. For decades I’ve loved Suzanne Brockman, Barbara Delinsky, Kat Martin, Joanne Ross, Cindy Gerard. I’ve more recently fallen in love with Darynda Jones and just discovered Robert Crais. My critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, has inspired my writing with her strong story structure and amazing talent for world building.
Let’s talk about The Phoenix Rising Series:
Q5) Book one Fever will be coming out in February 28 2012. Tell us a little about this book
Freak love this cover this man is HAWT!!
Joan: FEVER is the first of the Phoenix Rising series.
The overarching series plot broils around a government conspiracy after the explosion of a military warehouse injuries a team of seven hazmat firefighters, killing one. The contents of the building, extremely confidential and dangerous radioactive chemicals used by the Department of Defense in secretive scientific experiments, have inflicted the team with various paranormal abilities. Abilities the government wants to study covertly. Abilities the team wants to understand and expose. With military advancement and national power at risk on one side and personal health and freedom at stake on the other, each group is fighting for precious stakes.
FEVER is about one of the seven firefighters, Teague Creek, convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, framed by a government threatened by his prying questions into the warehouse explosion. Teague has been denied an appeal, lost the daughter he lived for, and the career as a firefighter he loved. With no hope left, he plans an escape. But his plan goes wrong when the woman he kidnaps as leverage to get his daughter back turns out to be someone else. And this woman quickly clues into the abilities he tries to hide, creating a bond neither can afford while they’re on the run from both the cops and undercover operatives who want Teague silenced. This time, permanently.
Q6) Book Two Blaze is scheduled for Fall 2012. Can you share with us anything about this book?
Joan: Blaze is rather special to me. I’m not sure why, but the main characters, Luke and Keira, just seemed to speak to me. Maybe because it’s a reunion story – I am such a sucker for those. Maybe because both Luke and Keira are tortured in so many ways, which is also a character element that pulls me in. I can also see advancement in my writing skills and storytelling abilities in this work which I’m proud of. Whatever the case, this story remains very vivid and close to my heart.
Blaze takes place several months after Fever concludes. While the immediate threat to Teague has been remedied for the time being, the team is clearly not out of danger. And when a member of the government’s team makes a bad decision and messes with the wrong team member in just the wrong way, all hell breaks loose. Again.
Blurb: When a simple child custody retrieval turns into a Waco-slash-Jonestown rerun in the remote Nevada desert, former firefighter turned ATF agent Luke Ransom is paired begrudgingly with his ex, Keira O’Shay, also a former firefighter but now one of the FBIs sharpshooters. Thrust into the depths of a conspiracy they’d suspected, but couldn’t prove, they uncover a deeper, darker force at work, one that is somehow linked to the destruction of their former firefighting team and the development of strange paranormal abilities every team member has struggled with since the mysterious warehouse fire five years before that changed their lives forever.
What neither Luke nor Keira have forgotten in their time apart, is that their paranormal abilities are enhanced by the power of their relationship. Keira’s clairaudience blossoms with empathetic qualities and even a touch of clairvoyance. Luke’s gifts come back full force and not only is he immune to burns, his skin is impenetrable, his bones unbreakable. Each utilize their powers toward the success of their mission, but don’t expect the bond their interconnected powers create in their relationship.
And when the shadow agency that has been tracking them decides they’re getting to close to the truth, repressed passions and unspoken regrets won’t be the only thing keeping Luke and Keira apart. Now, they’re in a race not only to save a child’s life, but to save each other’s as well.
Q7) Book 3 is Inferno. Can you share more about this book?
Joan: Inferno is my heartbreaker. The one firefighter killed in the original warehouse fire that started this whole nightmare, Quaid Legend, was the new husband of another firefighter on the team, Jessica Fury. Watching her husband die ripped Jessica’s life apart. She’s lived without him for five years when the team discovers proof of life in Blaze. Quaid has spent five years living in a cell, being tested like a rat. The governments experiments have wiped out his memory. He trusts no one. He remembers no one. Which of course causes heartache and huge conflict when the team, and Jessica, finally get him back.
Blurb:JESSICA FURY once had everything to live for. Now, she lives for one purpose: revenge.
Five years ago, Jessica witnessed the death of her newlywed husband, QUAID LEGEND, when their hazmat firefighting team stumbled upon an illegal chemical stash in a government warehouse set aflame. Since her recovery, Jessica has slowly pieced together a plan to implement payback, and she’s just one piece of information away from achieving that satisfaction when she receives the biggest shock of her life: Quaid may still be alive.
Recent events involving other members of her team in BLAZE turn up evidence that Quaid has been held as a prisoner in a secret military laboratory. Jessica utilizes her scrying abilities—using an item to view events at a distance or in the future—to help find and free Quaid from the custody of the shadow government agency, only to discover that all the experimental testing he’s undergone over the years has wiped his mind clean, and he has no memory of her.
Utilizing the clustered paranormal abilities they developed within Quaid, the government scientists have created a powerful weapon for the U.S. military. When his former firefighting team rescues him from the secure facility, the government goes on an all-out mission to retrieve what they consider an extremely valuable element to national security.
With their past shadowed and their future threatened, Jessica and Quaid face the ultimate battles of freedom–one for life, one for love.
One of your prizes
Q8) Do you see the Phoenix Rising Series going beyond these three books?
Joan: Absolutely. There are 7 original members of the hazmat team: Teague, Luke, Quaid, Kai, Seth, Keira and Jessica. In book one, FEVER, I introduce the heroine’s brother, Mitch, a smartass, headstrong, brilliant attorney. I definitely see Kai, Seth and Mitch having their own books. And who knows what other strong characters will popup within those stories demanding their own book as well. Of course, the government is endless fodder for the roll of villain.
Q9) How did you come up with the idea for the Phoenix Rising Series?
Joan: Here’s the short version:
The kernel of an idea for a straight romantic suspense came from working as a sonographer and scanning a large population of prisoners. “What if a hospital employee was taken as a hostage in an escape attempt?”
When the hero in that story turned out to be a fireman, I knew he’d have a team—firemen are never loners.
My critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, suggested I make Teague’s team members future heroes in a series. At the time I’d only written stand alone single titles and couldn’t fathom writing a series.
After the manuscript was rejected by a dozen agents, Elisabeth suggested I add a paranormal element to tailor the book to the current market.
I rewrote the manuscript with the paranormal element, which also meant changing the plotline. And it sold. The Phoenix Rising Series was born.
Q10) What is next for you?
Joan: I’m pretty excited about what I’m working on now. It’s another paranormal, but ventures deeper into the genre, exploring witchcraft, demons and true evil. It’s complicated, dark, gritty and sexy. Very fun!
Q11) I love to know what authors are reading. What have you read recently or what new release are you most looking forward too?
Joan: I actually read quite a bit, but not in the traditional way. Since I work 4 hrs from where I live, I spend a lot of time listening to audiobooks. I always choose the unabridged versions and if I particularly love a book, I often buy the Kindle or print version as well.
I just finished my first Robert Crais book, The Watchman. Really, really loved it—the poetry and freshness of his prose, the pacing and tension, but especially the amazing character arcs. I recently went on a Karin Slaughter binge where I read her Will Trent series one after the other, I just couldn’t get enough. Another strong character driven suspense. I’ve also become an avid fan of Darynda Jones’ Charlie Davidson series and can’t wait for Third Grave Dead Ahead to release.
Q12) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Joan: Yes! I’m having a BIG give away to celebrate FEVER’s availability for preorder and I hope everyone will enter! I’m giving away a week’s stay at a 2br/2b condo in Lake Tahoe with a value of over $3000! All you need to enter is your name and email. No strings, no gimmicks! Escape & Enjoy Mega Giveaway: http://www.joanswan.com/escapeandenjoy.htm.
Books-n-Kisses: Joan, Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to sit down and talk with me about your upcoming releases.
Joan: Thank YOU, Kelly! So glad we connected on twitter and can’t wait to meet you at the next conference! Thanks to all your readers who came out to chat with me today!
You can order your copy of FEVER at the following locations:
1 winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift card and a Fever Bookmark
and
The Grand prize is an author copy of Fever & a Fever Bookmark (please note winner of the Grand Prize will have to wait until close to the end of the year or early in 2012 for book to become available)
Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country, is asked to investigate the owner of a notorious club reportedly siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. It’s a direct violation of the Clan Code of Conduct, but one look at Dominic Bright and Meriel’s willing to make a deal. One taste of the sexually feral outlaw witch, and she’s eager to go further: he’s her bond mate, a legal conduit into the world of Clan witches and their magic.
Playing by the rules isn’t Dominic’s style, but bonding with Meriel—night after explosive night—is. However, Meriel has unwittingly invited someone else into her world: Dominic’s mother, a dangerous and poisonously influential magic addict whose lust for death and power corrupts all she touches. Now her shadow is closing in on Meriel, her Clan, and the man Meriel loves, and it’s casting them all into the inescapable heart of darkness.
My thoughts:
Meriel is a great heroine.She is tough as nails, yet sweet, take her job very serious, yet is always fair and some day will be the leader of her clan.But Meriel is missing something, not something, someone, her bond mate.Without him she will never ascend to the witch she needs to be to lead. Not knowing if her bond-mate will be the love of her life or only a mate to increase her power Meriel has not been a hurry to find him.Until she is told of an intruder in area that is using her clan’s magic to protect his club.When Meriel gets to the club that last thing she ever expected was Dominic Bright.Her bond mate.
Dominic Bright, is a tough talking, royal pain in the butt alpha type, that deep down is sweet and protective.Dominic believes that he doesn’t needs anyone or anything that is until the clan that he has been stealing magic from sends out a witch to talk to him.The minute he sees Meriel talking to Simon he knows something is going to change.He doesn’t know what it is about Meriel, but she is going to be his one way or another.
Dominic & Meriel are so perfect for each other.They know when to coddle each other and when to take a step back, even if it takes Dominic a little longer to learn.But when threatened by the mother that Dominic never knew.Both Dominic and Meriel will do everything in their powers to protect each other and the witches in their clan.
I really enjoyed this story. I love the new world that Lauren has created for us in the Bound by Magick series.My only fault with this book is that I think Dominic’s mother get off way to easy. I would love to have seen her suffer more.I look forward to Chaos Burning (bk2, scheduled for June 2012) which is Simon’s book (YUM).If you have not read a Lauren Dane book I would highly recommend you check her out. And if you would like pre-order Heart of Darkness click HERE
I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Lauren Dane for sending me Heart of Darkness to read for review.
Hi Jacki, Welcome back to Books-n-Kisses… I am so honored that you are here on Adam’s release day. Shall we share Adam & Jasmine’s story?
A little more about Jacki:
Jacquelyn Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of Seduce Me in Dreams, the Nightwalkers series (Jacob, Gideon, Elijah, Damien, andNoah), the Shadowdwellers novels (Ecstasy, Rapture, and Pleasure), and the Gatherers novels (Hunting Julian and Stealing Katherine). She lives in North Carolina and has been writing romantic fiction ever since she picked up her first teen romance at age thirteen.
#1 Tell me about Adam: Details…hotness level? Hair color? Eyes color? How tall? How old? Shoe size? Weakness? Deepest secret?
Jacki: On a scale from 1 to 10, Adam is definitely a 12! He has shoulder length wavy walnut brown hair. Eyes of the deepest blue. Standing 6 foot 10 inches tall with a shoe size of 12…he is hotness personified. Adam’s greatest weakness also happens to be his greatest strength and that would be his love for his brother Jacob. His deepest secret would have to be that he is not as infallible as he would lead others to believe he is!
#2 Do you have any photos of Adam? Naked maybe??
Jacki: Ha ha, I do believe that Jasmine would have all our heads if I gave up one of those. But I do have one of him shirtless if you’re interested.
Ummmm HECK YA!!!!!
Reading world I would like to introduce for the 1st time EVER
ADAM!!!!
OMG!!!! This Man is FINE!!!!
*clears throat* Ummmm were where we? Oh yeah, asking Jacki questions about Adam & Jasmine’s book.
#3 Did Adam and Jasmine cooperate while you were writing their story?
Jacki: They cooperated as much as they were able to! Since they were not cooperating with each other the entire time it made certain parts of it extremely difficult but it all worked out in the end.
#4 What was the most difficult part about telling Adam & Jasmine’s story?
Jacki: Knowing how resistant my editor was going to be about certain events that took place in the story.
#5 In the Nightwalker series who has been the biggest baby about their story being told?
Jacki: I would have to say Gideon, mainly because it was so hard to write such a cerebral character. He was kind of a know it all JThank God Magdelegna took him down a peg or two.
#6 Who in the Nightwalker series has been the happiest to have their story told?
Jacki: Noah. He waited so long for his HEA. He was so sad and so lonely and stoic about it all at the same time.
#7 Of all the characters in the Nightwalker Series who is your favorite and why?
Jacki: Isabella, she was the first. She was so open and didn’t take any shit, but she was sweet about it if she could at all manage it.
#8 Ok, back to Adam. Without giving too much away tell us a little more about Adam’s book.
Jacki: Well, people are going to be very angry with me for some it and they’re going to love me for some of it. I tie up a lot of the loose ends that people have been asking for.
#9 So Jacki *wiggles eyebrows* Please tell me how you come up with these steamy, hot sex scene in your books? What kind of research do you do?
Jacki: I can assure you that if I used sexual research from my life over the past ten years you would be bored to death! However, I did have some interesting twenties, early thirties to draw from.
#10 And how many of those steamy hot scenes will we have in Adam’s book?
Jacki: Just enoughJ
#11 Will that evil Ruth finally get hers? I so wanted to kill her in Damien. If you don’t bump her off I might have to track her down and do it myself!
Jacki: Trust your author…Muahahaha
#12 How do you dream up your bad guys? Maybe from people you know? Evil stepmother? Bully from high school?
Jacki: D. All of the above! I had a lot of villains in my life form which to choose. (Though more evil stepfather than mother.)
#13 What is the one question that you are asked repeatedly that you totally hate to answer? *Looks worried & thinks to self “sure hope it is not one I asked in this interview or the last!”*
Jacki: I can’t stand being asked questions that I’ve already answered on my FAQ page on the website. When it’s there right in front of their faces. I kind of find that irritating.
#14 So, I know you are not 100% sure if Adam is the FINAL book in the series, as you are great at avoiding that question. So I will not ask. But, how do you feel when you finish a series? Do the characters ever show up later and demand that you tell more of their story?
Jacki: I’ll let you know as soon as I finish a series…LOL
#15 I won’t ask what is next (in this series) but you can whisper it to me if you want. I won’t tell a soul.
Jacki: At this point the details of that are still undetermined. However, I do have a few new things in the mix for the Nightwalkers and as soon as the particulars are ironed out I’ll be shouting it from the mountaintops.
Books-n-Kisses: Thanks Jacki, again for taking time out of your very busy schedule to stop by Books-n-Kisses to talk to me about Adam. I really enjoyed learning more about Adam & Jasmine.
Once last question Jacki, what do you say we do a giveaway a copy of Adam to one lucky person?
Jacki: Absolutely, It would be my pleasure. In fact, lets make it two!
Books-n-Kisses: Jacki, You are the BOMB!!!!
Here is a little snippet of Adam’s book to wet your appetite:
He changed form in the blink of an eye, morphing from man to a deluge of water that dashed against her face and body. But unlike normal water he did not cascade off of her and fall to the ground. Instead, he flowed over her supple body, slowly washing over and around her, covering her inch by inch. He felt the smoothness of her skin beneath his touch, the weight of her breasts…tasted the hard points of her nipples.
She gasped in shock when he first hit her, but that shock quickly changed to something deeper and far sultrier. The sound that erupted from her as he flowed over her was nothing short of purest sin. He took satisfaction in it.
And even as he covered the most intimate inches of her skin with his exploration, he knew he was going too far. It had gone too far the moment he had sat in the brush to stare at her as she bathed. But this, what he was doing now, it was a whole other level of perversion, and as glorious as she felt, he knew he was stepping way over the line.
Want to learn more about Jacki and her books? Check her out here:
Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Patricia Leever to the blog today. We are looking forward to learning a little more about Patricia and her new book Cat O’Nine Tales.
Patty: Hey Miss Kelly, I’m glad to be here!
Q1) Please tell us a little about yourself {will add author photo at posting)
Patty: I’m a stay-at-home mom of four, five if you count my husband of 20 years. Nah, seriously though, he is super supportive and stands behind my work 110%. I’m a serial hugger, I wear my geek on my sleeve and make no excuses for it. I have an affinity for zombies and writing is my passion, the one thing that I have an innate need to do.
Q2) How do you find time to write with four kids?
Patty: LOL! I get asked that a lot, but it’s a completely legit question. Well, I multi-task my ass off. I write anywhere and everywhere. I even wrote on the tray paper at a sandwich shop once. But on top of that, I have notebooks all over the house and I used to carry one with me until my husband got me a phone the I could put Word on so I always have something with me to jot ideas on because if I don’t get them down on paper (or in the phone) right when they hit, they’ll be gone forever. Sometimes though, I just like the feeling of writing my idea out on paper.
Q3) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Patty: Not always, when I was a kid I wanted to be a coroner. Yeah, I was a weird kid LOL! However, I did always have an overactive imagination and I have always written, I just never put the two together. My grandma did though, she used to tell me that she thought I would be a writer one day and when she passed, we found a drawer full of everything I’d ever written from creative writing assignments to poems. She used to ask for a copy of everything I did, I never knew why until then.
Q4) Tell us what your typical writing day is like
Patty: After I settle World War III, aka the insanity that is getting four kids up, dressed and off to school, I sit down for some coffee, watch a bit of the news to unwind and open up my head and see what spills out onto the keyboard. Sometimes it’s like opening up the floodgates and some days I’m lucky if I can squeeze out a drop or two.
Q5) Who are some of your favorite authors and how have any of them inspired you?
Patty: One of my faves is Paula Quinn and she inspired me to give Historical Romance a shot. I love her work and I own everything she’s ever written. Also, Victoria Michaels, one of my fellow Omnific Publishing authors, she is a great friend of mine and a mentor of sorts for me. I call her my own personal Yoda.
Q6) Let’s talk about your new book Cat O’Nine Tails. Tell us more:
Patty: Cat O’ Nine Tails is a Historical Romance set in the age of pirates. Aeron Lynch is our heroine, a female pirate that uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants, but make no mistake; she can kick your ass into submission if she needs to. Orrin Walsh is an infamous pirate hunter that has been tracking her for years but she always manages to stay one step ahead of him. When they finally wind up on the same island they find that the pull between them is more than either one of them expected.
Q7) How did you come up with the idea for this story?
Patty: I have always love pirates and I thought, what fun would it be if instead of the man swooping in and ravishing the unsuspecting beauty, what would happen if the tables were turned? When that little kernel started inside my head, Aeron was born and she wouldn’t be ignored, I had to write her.
Q8) What is up next for you?
Patty: After the blog tour I’m going to be working on getting my second piece ready to present to my publisher. This one is Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance about a 134 year old demon hunter named Evelyn Wright and the company she works for, The Lebriga Corporation.
Q9) I like to know what authors are reading. Tell us what book you just finished that you love or what upcoming book you can’t wait for.
Patty: Oh! Elizabeth Hoyt just came out with a new book in her Maiden Lane series, Scandalous Desires! I’ve been DYING for this book ever since I read about “Charming” Mickey O’Connor in book 1, Wicked Intentions. He’s an Irish river pirate, RAWR! Not to mention I just love the way that Elizabeth writes.
Q10) Is there anything else you would like to share?
Patty: Please check out patricialeever.com for updates on future projects and giveaways and you can get a copy of Cat O’ Nine Tails over at my amazing publisher’s site, omnificpublishing.com! Also I’d like to thank my awesome marketing associate Traci for setting this blog tour up, she rocks!
Books-n-Kisses: Patty, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down and talk with me. I am looking forward to reading your book Cat O’Nine Tales.
Patty: Thank you Kelly! It has been a pleasure chatting with you!
Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome DJ Westerfield to the blog today. We are looking forward to learning a little more about DJ and her new experimental novel.
DJ Westerfield was born in Texas and has lived most of her life in various southern states with a few years in the north to round out her accent. She is a lover of stories in every form, but specifically the written word. When she isn’t making up her own stories she helps others make their own better. She has worked as a freelance writer, editor, and graphic designer.
Q1) Please tell us a little about yourself
DJ: I am a thirty-@#$# year old wife, stepmom, sister, and auntie. I have been a freelance writer, editor and ghost writer for several years. I recently founded Curvalicious Living Magazine(http://curvaliciousliving.com), where I am editor in chief. In my “day job” I am a court advocate for victims of domestic violence.
Q2) Tell about your Idea to Novel Experiment
DJ: I am attempting to take a novel from idea to published novel in 6 months. And I am doing it publicly by blogging about it.
Q3) Tell us about the Voodoo Moon
DJ: Voodoo Moon is set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world I call the ParaNorm World. After a worldwide cataclysm and wars that broke down society and changed the landscape of the world, a new society had to take shape. The magic users and paranormal beings that spent centuries in hiding and were relegated to myth and legend had to come out of hiding to save the world that shunned them. Now witches, vampires, werebeasts and normal humans live side by side in a society that was built by merging technology and magic.
In the ruins of old cities new ones formed. New governments rule. Within the walls of the autonomous city-states that have risen up life is safe with Peacekeepers on every corner. Or it should be. Beyond the walls in the outer-zones is where the outlaws live. Right?
Fiona Moon is a member of the elite Black Blade Guard. She hunts down the worst ParaNorm outlaws and is no stranger to the OZ. But when powerful ParaNorms start going missing inside NashCity she realizes there may be something nasty lurking within the city walls. When the crime hits close to home, Fiona must seek help from the one man that embodies everything she despises.
Q4) What is your goals for this experiment?
DJ: The Plan:
Sept & Oct: Pre-write the book using the Story Cookbook (I’m a little behind, but I think I will be ready to go by Nov. 1)
November: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month): Write, write write. At least 50K words
December & January: Revisions and edits
Feb: Readying for publication on Feb. 29, 2012: LEAP DAY
I figured Leap Day would be a good release day since I am taking a big leap by trying this, and I think readers and fans are taking a leap of faith by following my progress and then reading the book. It’s a leap I appreciate and am going to do my darnedest not to disappoint!
Q5) How did you come up with this idea?
DJ: The idea came about as a way to motivate myself to seriously participate in NaNoWriMo, and focus on getting a full length novel written. I figured the pressure of writing the book publicly would make me stick to it this year. I also think it’s a good way to show just how my book for writers, The Story Cookbook: An Organized Approach to Fiction Writing, can be used to help develop a book.
Q6) What is a typical writing day for you like?
DJ: There really isn’t a typical day. Mostly it is me hiding somewhere and carving out a few hours at a time between my day job, magazine job, and other responsibilities. Like most other writers, I have to keep another job to pay the bills. It can be hectic but, obviously, I love it!
Q7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
DJ: Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Jayne Castle, Ilona Andrews, Jeaniene Frost, Jessa Slade, Janet Evanovich, Marlene Sanchez…the list goes on
Q8) Best piece of advice you would give to a budding author?
DJ: Just do it. Writers write. Don’t let anyone discourage you. And most importantly don’t let YOU discourage you. The biggest reason I decided to motivate myself to write this novel or risk very public humiliation is because I didn’t want to be one of those people that kept saying “someday”. I have written many short stories and novellas (under pen names I no longer use), but I kept putting off writing something mainstream to break into what I really wanted to do, write full length novels. I kept letting life, other projects, and my own procrastination get in the way. Then, in August I lost my mother. She was only 55. She was also a very talented writer and she always wanted to write a book. But she always said she didn’t have time and maybe someday when she had time, could focus…the excuses were limitless. But her time wasn’t. I’m determined I’m going to live my dream and do it well enough for the both of us. So, now that I’ve depressed you, that is my advice: Live your dreams while you can…if life gets in the way, find a way to get around it.
Q9) Have to ask because I am nosey. That is in your to be read pile that you are dying to read next?
DJ: I just loaded Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews onto my Ipod and am looking forward to cleaning house later so I can listen to it!
Q10) Is there anything else you would to add?
DJ: I want to thank you for having me here today. I also want to thank all of the readers who will follow the writing of Voodoo Moon, as well as the writers who will join NaNoWriMo and write alongside of me.
Books-n-Kisses: DJ, again huge thank you for stopping by the blog to day to chat about you and your books. I look forward to following your progress on your blog and finding out if you are happy with how your experiment turns out.
Jacob the Enforcer belongs to one of the many Nightwalker races that thrive on the dark of night. He has a job to do for his species and it’s rather straightforward. He polices his people. During the full moon their animal urge to mate overcomes them, and if they stay within their race they never need to encounter the Enforcer. But if they cross the line and turn their lust to another species…say humans…it’s Jacob’s duty to prevent them and then to punish them severely for it. As this ‘madness’ grows worse and worse for his people, there is hardly a family who hasn’t felt the brutal sting of Jacob’s justice. Punishment is so dire and so feared, Jacob can call very few others his friend and the life the Enforcer leads is a very solitary one.
Then one night during a hunt for one of his own, he encounters the first human woman who will tempt him in all of his 622 years of life. Isabella is a simple Bronx gal who works at her local library, lives with her sister and owns a cat.
She hardly expects a night of moon gazing to change her life forever and send her falling for a man like Jacob in all kinds of outrageous ways. Heck, she certainly doesn’t expect that he isn’t exactly a ‘man’… although he sure looks like one, smells like one and boy-oh-boy does he feel like one!
As for the Enforcer, Jacob finds himself tempted beyond reason, needing Isabella to the point that he begins to strain against every law he has always upheld.
But before long the couple finds themselves fighting for their lives against evil, Jacob’s brethren, and even their own desires for each other. How can they find the way to resist one another before Jacob faces his own punishments…or before Bella ends up dead, torn up from the animal passion inside of him that she, as a human, is too frail to ever endure?
They’re called the Nightwalkers—proud, ancient beings who live in the shadows, existing just beyond the human world. But there are also dangerous humans who hunt them—necromancers who use the blackest magic to manipulate them. And for a Demon named Gideon, the battle against these evil forces will soon be all too personal.
HAS A HEALER, HE KNOWS HER BODY. BUT IT’S HER HEART HE WANTS.
For a thousand years, Gideon has healed his people. And as the oldest surviving male of his race, his wisdom has always been respected without question.
But Gideon knows that even he is vulnerable to the powerful, primitive desires that befall his kind during Hallowed moons—and nine years ago that truth was hammered home when he found himself claiming Magdelegna, the Demon King’s sister, in a wild embrace.
Horrified by his lack of control, he left her wanting and furious—and then exiled himself for the better part of a decade.
Now, with necromancers threatening his people—and Magdelegna nearly their victim—Gideon must face another truth. He and the beautiful, stubborn Magdelegna are destined to be together, to share a love as deep and old as time itself. But first he needs to regain her trust. Then he’ll have to save her life.
They are called the Nightwalkers, an ancient race devoted to protecting the world from the darkness of the Necromancers. And their proudest warrior is Elijah, a man who bends for nothing and no one…until one woman brings him to his knees…
SOME FEELINGS YOU JUST CAN’T FIGHT
He is known as the Warrior Captain—a master of every weapon, a fierce soldier sworn to protect his kind from violence. Powerful, relentless, merciless, Elijah has always won every battle he’s ever taken on—until now. Ambushed by Necromancers, he is left for dead only to be rescued by a woman who could very well deliver the final blow…Siena, the Lycanthrope Queen.
For over a decade, an uneasy peace has existed between the warring Lycanthropes and Elijah’s people, and he’s not about to let his guard down now around their queen.
But Siena’s will is every bit a match for Elijah’s own, her sleek and sensual nature waking a hunger within him that he cannot deny. Now, the Warrior in Elijah is consumed with a different battle—winning Siena’s heart by giving her pleasure beyond all boundaries. What starts as attraction and arousal soon burns into a passion with consequences that will echo through the ages for both their people. And as would-be enemies become inseparable lovers, another threat approaches, one with the power to destroy them all…
They are the Nightwalkers, mysterious beings who dwell in the shadows of our world, and Damien, the Vampire Prince, is among the most powerful of them all. But one woman will tempt him with a desire unlike anything he has known, and together they will face a terrifying and relentless foe…
HE’D NEVER LOVED.
BUT SHE WAS IRRESISTIBLE.
As reigning Vampire Prince, Damien has tasted every pleasure the world has to offer—consorting with kings and queens and delighting in sensual adventure. Now, tired of such pursuits, he devotes his energies to protecting his people.
The war between human necromancers and Nightwalkers has escalated, and when the enemy makes a daring move, kidnapping Syreena, a Lycanthrope Princess, Damien boldly follows. He succeeds in rescuing her, but is unprepared for the erotic longing her lush sensuality awakens in him.
Gifted with rare abilities, Syreena grew up in a cloistered setting and was forbidden to form attachments to others, yet the connection Damien feels with her is immediate, intoxicating, and impossible for either to resist. But claiming Syreena as his mate could have shattering repercussions for every Nightwalker—and leave their enemies more dangerous than ever before…
The Nightwalkers have lived in the shadows of our world for centuries, gifted with abilities few humans can comprehend. For Noah, duty is all—until he meets the woman who is his destiny…
SHE WILL TAKE HIM
BEYOND HIS WILDEST DREAMS.
As Demon King, Noah is dedicated to protecting his kind from their human and Nightwalker enemies. Yet for six months he has struggled with vivid dreams that threaten his very sanity. Every night he’s tormented by images of a woman both achingly real and tantalizingly beyond his grasp. And his bone-deep need leaves him no choice but to force her to leave the life she’s known and enter a world beyond her imagining…
Every day, Kestra risks her life in perilous missions that veer just shy of the law, but she instinctively knows that the imposingly sensual figure before her is a danger unlike any she’s ever faced.
Kestra has sworn never to trust or need another man, but Noah’s lightest touch scorches her with fevered desire, branding her as his mate, blinding them both to the terrifying truth. For within the ranks of their own people lies an adversary growing in number and power. And nothing and no one will be safe again…
Haunted by magic, beset by evil, the Nightwalkers face their darkest hour yet. And when they unthinkable happens, only one legendary male has the power, the will, to save them: Adam….
FOR 400 YEARS HE WAS LOST TO HER, BUT HE IS HERS TONIGHT…
From their first tantalizing touch, Jasmine knows he is different. What other lover could unlock her tight control; flood Vampire senses jaded by a lifetime of decadent self-indulgence? Centuries ago, when he disappeared without a trace, she had given up hope of ever fulfilling the promise of incomparable passion. But here he is, against the very laws of nature, ready to bring down their most vicious enemy, ready to bring her blood to the boiling point…. If she will only let him.
Watch my blog on Tuesday, Jacki will be here we are going to be talking Adam and I have you 1st look of what Adam looks like… And let me tell you it is
Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome the wonderful JK Coi to the blog today. We are looking forward to learning a little more about JK and her books.
J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts.
JK: Hi Kelly and everyone! I’m so happy to visit today!
Kelly: Can I get you anything before we start? Coffee, Tea, Soda?
JK: Actually, it kind of sucks, but when this posts, I’ll be on an operating table (don’t worry, it’s not serious, but I’m kind of out of commission for a couple of days). Still, I might have some lukewarm broth if you’ve got it LOL J
Kelly: I am sorry to hear that, hope that it all goes well. Are you ready to get started.
JK: Uh oh, this is the hard part, isn’t it?
Q1) Please tell us a little about yourself
JK: There isn’t too much to tell. I’m as normal as they come. Wait, don’t look over there…um, that closet doesn’t open. No, you don’t hear anything coming from it, I swear. Really. *grin*
Q2) Tell us a typical writing day for you
JK: I have a full-time day job so I write during my lunch hour, and then after work – once the dinner dishes are all cleaned up and my son has been put to bed – I sit down again and write (as long as I don’t pass out from exhaustion). It’s tough sometimes because I’d love to have more time to devote to my writing, but at least for now this is the way it goes.
Q3) Have you always wanted to be an author or what made you become an author?
JK: I remember writing when I was in high school, and I did some writing in University too, but I really didn’t think about it as serious until I wrote my first full length novel (after my son was born). When I told my husband I was finished writing a whole book, he said “Great. Now what?” (so enthusiastic LOL) It was at that point I first started researching the publishing industry, and now….more than 10 books later, here I am!J
JK: Falling Hard is the book I love. I love that Gabriel is broken. I love that Amelia doesn’t know how to fix him. I love that the two of them rage against each other in an effort to hold on to some semblance of control…even when everything is spinning out of control.
Here’s the official blurb:
After a life filled with tragedy, rocker Gabriel Gunn thinks he’s finally getting the better of his personal demons. Then he’s attacked after a concert—and rescued by a warrior goddess brandishing a sword and white wings. As hard as it is to believe in an angelic bodyguard, Gabriel must face an even more impossible truth: he carries the devil’s soul within him.
Amelia has been watching over Gabriel for years, using her angelic powers to prevent Lucifer’s return. Now she must also protect him from warring angel factions with their own agendas. Amelia would do anything to avert another angelic war, even sacrifice her own emotions to avoid temptation. Yet with Gabriel she feels things she no longer wants to deny, and pleasure she never imagined.
But the closer Gabriel and Amelia get, the stronger Lucifer becomes. Will Amelia be forced to kill the man she’s come to love to stop the war she’s always feared?
Q5) Will we ever see any more of these characters or is this story done?
JK: I haven’t had a chance to write more in this world yet due to other commitments, but the intent is there and I hope to start with Cass’s story.
Q6) How did you come up with the idea for Fallen Hard?
JK: The idea for this book started with one scene (a scene that was later deleted from the book, but can be found in the Extras page on my website:www.jkcoi.com) And after I’d been introduced to Amelia I realized how important music was to the angels, and knew it would only make sense for Gabriel (with the dark angel’s soul) to be a bad-boy rock star J The rest of the book developed from there. It grew and changed directions a few times as I wrote, but I always knew how it was going to end.
Q7) Tell us a little about your story Caged in the in the Agony/Ecstasy Anthology, coming December 2011 from Berkley Heat (love this cover)
JK: Caged is awesome! It’s dark and angsty and hot and mean and sexy and brutal. But definitely on the Agony half of the scale.
Q8) What is your current work in progress?
JK: I’m currently working on book 2 in my steampunk series. The first book is FAR FROM BROKEN, which is going to be released in December as part of Carina Press’s holiday anthology, and book 2 is tentatively titled BROKEN PROMISES and continues Callie and Jasper’s story.
Q9) Have to ask because I am nosey. What is in your to be read pile that you are dying to read next?
JK: If you think that’s being nosey, you haven’t seen me interrogate a prospective babysitter LOL! On my TBR pile, I have Touch—the Upper YA debut from Jus Acardo, and I also have the Steampunk Bible and Meljean Brook’s Heart of Steel
Q10) Is there anything else you would like to add?
JK: Only thank you so much! I promise to get here to address any comments and questions – although that might not be today (unless you want some pretty wacked-out drug-induced crazy comments LOL)
Kelly: JK, again huge thank you for stopping by the blog to chat about you and your books. I hope the readers enjoyed. What do you say we do a giveaway of an e-copy of Fallen Hard?
JK: Sounds wonderful! I’d also love to give a set of my romance trading cards!
Want to learn more about JK? Check her out on her website HERE
Books-n-Kisses is pleased as punch to welcome the super, super sweet Meljean Brook to the blog today. We are going to be talking about her newest releases Demon Marked, Heart of Steel and her novella “Ascension” that can be found in Angels of Darkness.
Meljean was raised in the middle of the woods, and hid under her blankets at night with fairy tales, comic books, and romances. She left the forest and went on a misguided tour through the world of accounting before focusing on her first loves, reading and writing–and she realized that monsters, superheroes, and happily-ever-afters are easily found between the covers, as well as under them, so she set out to make her own.
Meljean lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter
Kelly: Hi Meljean, so glad that we could meet up again and talk some more. Welcome to my blog.
Meljean: Thank you! It was awesome meeting you at Jan’s Paperbacks in person, and I’m so glad you invited me over.
Me & Meljean 🙂
Kelly: can I get you anything? Coffee, Tea, Cookie?
Meljean: All of the above, please
Kelly: *hands Meljean coffee and plate of cookies* Shall we start?
Meljean: I am ready for anything (almost.) *grin*
Q1) For those who don’t know you. Please tell us a little about yourself
Meljean: There’s not much to tell, actually. I’m a nearing-middle-aged, redheaded, superhero-loving, fangirl-squeeing dork who loves to tell stories.
Q2) Have you always wanted to be an author?
Meljean: Yes and no. I wanted to be a dancer when I was six. I also wanted to be a lawyer, a doctor, and a history teacher. I did imagine myself as a Harlequin author when I was very young (I started early) but didn’t really think of it seriously until I was in my twenties and I realized that writing was the one occupation I really, really loved more than anything else and could imagine myself doing forever.
Q3) Who are some of your favorite authors?
Meljean: This minute they are China Mieville, Peter Beagle, Dean Koontz, Jorge Luis Borges, and Italo Calvino. By the time I’m done with this interview, I’d probably list someone else. Usually it’s who I’ve been thinking of the most lately.
Q4) Who do you feel influenced your writing style?
Meljean: All of the above, plus some. I notice little things slipping into my writing after I’m read someone with a very strong voice, but after a while, I don’t notice them so much. I’m not sure if that means I’m working them out of my writing or working them into it.
Let’s talk books:
Q5) Your newest release is Demon Marked (#7) in your Guardian Series. Can you tell us a little about the Guardian novel series?
Meljean: It’s a series about the struggle that Guardians (humans who have been given angelic powers) have with demons, who are the evil baddies from Hell. There are a few other players that can skew good or evil, but it’s primarily all about the Guardians’ fighting to keep demons from taking over the world.
Meljean: Oh, I love the cover, too! It’s one of my very favorites. This was a departure from my usual pairings – I often have Guardians or vampires as my heroes and heroines, but for the first time in several books I have a human male and a woman who simply doesn’t know what she is. The process of discovering what happened to Ash and why she can’t remember anything was a really fun ride. It was one of those books that was simply a blast to write, and felt much lighter and funny than some of my darker books.
It’s also one of those books that can be read by someone who is new to the series. I know coming into the Guardian series seven books in can seem intimidating, but Ash and Nicholas don’t really know what’s going on, either, and you can learn along with her.
Q7) You just had a story come out in the anthology Angels of Darkness. Can you tell us more about that story?
Meljean: This was another fun pairing between a Guardian who was introduced in Demon Marked – a down-to-earth Guardian warrior named Marc – and the blue-skinned Guardian who loved him and left him almost one hundred and fifty years ago. They are investigating a series of vampire deaths in a community in Marc’s territory, but the seemingly obvious perpetrator isn’t quite as obvious as they think.
Q8) Do you know what is next for the Guardian Series
Meljean: The last book in the Guardian series is coming up, and I know is one that many readers have been waiting for: Michael and Taylor’s story. I’m planning a few epic battles and – I hope – a romance that will blow readers away.
Q9) Tell us about your next novel Heart of Steel which is book 2 in The Iron Seas Series.
Meljean: This is my year for really fun books, I think. Archimedes is a treasure hunter who – for those of you who read The Iron Duke – airship captain Lady Corsair left in some rather dire straits the last time we saw him. But he’s back, and he wants the sketch she stole from him … and he wants her, melt her heart of steel, too. This is a hero who desperately *wants* to fall in love. He couldn’t have chosen a more dangerous object of affection, however.
Q10) Tell us about your short story “Rescue Me” that will be found in the Agony/Ecstasy anthology (released Dec 2011)
Meljean: This is unrelated to any of my other work, and is a story about a woman who has been put in a perilous position and has to get out of it…and she saves herself in a rather unusual way. (It’s a really short story and I don’t want to get too much away.)
Q11) What is your current work in progress?
Meljean: I’m currently working on the third Iron Seas novel. I keep calling it different things, however, so I don’t have a title yet. I do know that it’s set in Iceland, features a giant whale, virgin cults, mechanical trolls, and a hero who wears spectacles.
Q12) I love to know what authors are reading. What did you just finish that you totally loved or what new release are you most looking forward to?
Meljean: I’m looking forward to tackling my TBR pile, because I haven’t read much lately. So pretty much every book that was released this year … I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t read anything that wasn’t related to research or that was a non-romance in so long it makes me want to cry to think about it.
Q13) What is the best piece of advice you would give to a budding author?
Meljean: Write what you’d love to read – not just because it’s easier to maintain your excitement on a story for the months it takes to write it, but because your excitement *will* shine through to the reader. There’s nothing worse than reading a book that feels like the author was just going through the motions. So write the stories you love to read, and other readers will probably be excited by them, too.
Q14) is there anything else you would like to add?
Meljean: Just that I’m so thrilled that everyone has been enjoying the series – and if you haven’t tried them yet, I hope you love them!
Books-n-Kisses: Meljean, it has been a pleasure to get to sit down and talk with you again. I look forward to seeing you in Bellevue, WA at the end of the month too. I hope my followers fall in love with you like I have. So what do you say we wet their appetite a little and giveaway a copy of Angels of Darkness?
Meljean: I’d love to! I’m happy to give away five (5) copies to commenters.
Books-n-Kisses: WOW!!!! Meljean, Thank you!!!
Giveaway time:
Please use form below to enter for a chance to win one of five copies of Angels of Darkness.
They soar through the night, unearthly creatures of legends and lore. Four masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above, and the darkness below in four all-new stories of angels and guardians, and good and evil.
