Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Jess Raven & Paula Black to the blog today to talk about their book Becoming Red.

Jess, Paula, can you please share with us a little about yourself

I (Paula) was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, where I live with my wonderfully supportive husband and children. My passions, other than writing, are reading, travelling and good food. I’ve been fortunate in my life to have seen quite a lot of the world, but my favorite places to escape to are the worlds in my head.

Jess: I was born and raised in Manchester, England. I live with my mum, who as well as being one of my best friends, is my biggest fan. When I’m not working, I’m reading or writing, and I love to travel, when I can. Anywhere and everywhere.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Paula: To this day, I have notebooks filled with poems and short stories written from when I was about nine years old. I rarely look at them and hardly a soul has ever seen them, but I could never quite bring myself to throw away that childhood dream. As so often happens, life took over. I went to college to study medicine, met my husband and we both embarked on extremely busy medical careers. It was only when I had my own children, and the opportunity to stay home to raise them, that I got the chance to finally revisit that early creativity.

Jess: Always. Words have been in my head since I knew how to form them, and the minute I could write my thoughts, no surface was safe. Napkins, menus, schoolbooks and (much to the dismay of my teachers) that blank page at the back of exam papers. Those are just some of the weird  places. My mind wandered into other worlds a lot. I had more characters in my head as a child than I had friends. My life and writing has always been tightly intertwined, and my jobs have always allowed time for world building.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Paula: Ha! It’s not really that interesting, and I’m sure a lot of writers do it, but I always laugh when I find myself mimicking the facial expressions of the characters I am writing. If I were to set a webcam to record my face while I write, I would no doubt curl up and die of embarrassment.

Jess: I don’t know if it’s a quirk, but I talk while I type. Constantly. I speak dialogue out loud; I growl when a character does, whether it’s me writing or Paula. I’ll speak lines I’ve written to make sure they sound right. I can’t write in silence. Having the TV on makes me quieter, but it won’t shut me up.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

We have just released Becoming Bad, the second book in our Becoming series. It’s an adult paranormal romance set in Dublin, Ireland.

In book one, our heroine, Ashling, discovered that the black lake beneath Dublin’s medieval city holds a secret. Imprisoned there for millennia, an ancient race of demi-gods have found a way to the surface and are preying on humans to feed their sexual appetites. Hunted to near-extinction, these half-men, half-beasts have been without a single female to breed a new generation. Until now. All her life, Ashling DeMorgan feared her dreams. She kept her head buried in ancient mythology, because the real world seemed so much scarier. On returning to Dublin to settle her invalid grandmother’s affairs, Ash discovered a city plagued by the same wolf-like creatures that killed her mother. Their bite is like sexual heroin and Ash has been bitten. Now she is trapped in a waking nightmare, with the monster who ordered the death of the only man she’s ever loved. Made to doubt if she ever really knew the assassin-turned-guardian who stole her heart and gave his life for hers, Ash finds herself betrayed by her own changing body. In a dangerous world of suspicion and divided loyalties, Ash must come to terms with what she is becoming. Worse still, her infuriatingly arrogant captor may just prove to be her most unlikely ally in what will become a life and death race for survival.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

Jess came to me with a dream that she was little red riding hood, all grown up and being pursued through a forest by huge, predatory male, and when he caught her and pinned her to the ground, he shifted into his wolf form.

I rarely get to have those kind of sexy dreams. I’m usually woken pre-dawn by my kids diving all over the bed. But I did take them on a tour of Dublin city to discover its Viking origins and listened to the tale of an immortal Irish hero who supposedly dwells beneath the city and is her protector.

Those two elements combined to create our reluctant hero, Connal Savage.

Dublin city was originally founded by Viking invaders, and given the name of ‘Dubh Linn’ because of the black lake on which they moored their longboats. I’ve always found the idea of the black lake to be mysterious and evocative.

The Becoming world draws on a mix of ancient Irish and Norse mythology, with sexy alpha-male vikings, Celtic goddesses and the Fomorians (a mythical, semi-divine race, variously described as grotesque beasts and as beautiful men.) Add a smattering of Little Red Riding Hood transported to an edgy, urban setting and the addictive, drug-like sexual effects of the Fomorians’ bite on humans and you get some feel for the story.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

Right now, we are in the early stages of working on the third book of the Becoming trilogy, which promises to be an even wilder ride than the first two.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

Paula: I imagine that most authors are like me: much less interesting in real life than they are in the worlds of their imagination, but if he weren’t long dead,  I’d love to have met Oscar Wilde. Barring dead people, I’d have to say Joss Whedon. What an incredible talent and imagination, and he seems like he’d be a lot of fun to know.

Jess: Joss is a god, his creativity knows no bounds. Hmm, I would probably have to say, if we’re going for living people, Neil Gaiman or Stephen King. The way they write the darker sides of humanity has always amazed me and people could learn some things from Gaiman’s Sandman. As to dead people, Jane Austen, without a doubt. Girl had a hell of a way with words

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Paula: Be patient before you publish. Seek honest opinions (not your friends and family). Edit, re-edit and edit again. Do it for the love of it, never for recognition or financial gain, and when the inevitable criticisms come, never forget why you started writing to begin with. Believe in your story and others will believe it too.

Jess: What Paula said. There isn’t much more to it than that. Maybe stock up on your favourite comfort food and pillows for when you get frustrated. Don’t give up. Even if some days it feels like getting down words is harder than pulling teeth from a werewolf, keep going. Write. Write a letter, write a poem, write your thoughts, just keep the words coming and your world will get back on track.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

Paula: The most important thing I want to do before I die is to see my children grow up into happy, healthy secure adults. Everything else is frosting on the cake.

Jess: I want to survive a zombie apocalypse. Walking Dead style. Before or after Mr Darcy broods at me and sweeps me off my feet. I’m not picky.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

Paula: I am very much looking forward to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Styxx. The concept of twins has always fascinated me, and I’ve always been partial to a strongly written anti-hero.

Jess: Ditto. I want to know how she redeems him. Acheron broke my heart with his back story, and Styxx has always been in shades of grey as to whether he’s cruel. I’m thinking not. He just needs a hug.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We’d just like to thank Books-n-Kisses for hosting us on your blog and for the great interview questions. It’s been a true pleasure and we’d love to meet with you again soon.

Where to find the Jess & Paula:

www.RavenandBlack.blogspot.com.

Twitter: @RavenandBlack.

Facebook page: Raven and Black.

*****

Becoming Red

(Book One)

Amazon |Smashwords   | Paperback Becoming Red 

‘You got me back. You always said you would.’

Ash DeMorgan, graduate, orphan, ice maiden, has long since consigned the fairytale nightmares of a troubled childhood to the realm of fantastical childish imagination.

Now, lured back to Dublin, the scene of her tragic past, Ash encounters a city pulsing under the dangerous sexual influence of a new street drug the locals call Rave. Nothing is as it seems. Ash is about to discover that her nightmares are real, ancient Irish myths are larger than life and roaming the streets of the medieval city, and she has become the prey in their erotic hunt. A step back into her past is about to become a high adrenaline race for survival.

Connal Savage, outcast, assassin, and living, breathing hunk of ancient mythology, has lived a thousand years servicing a debt of revenge. Dead inside. Until he encounters his boss’s granddaughter, an infuriating woman who threatens to lead him to hell with all his good intentions, who manages to chip away at the hard encrusted defenses of a lifetime spent at war and burrow herself deep into a part of him that hasn’t breathed for centuries. He is about to discover that when it comes down to the wire, when you’re bargaining with the Grim Reaper for the life of the one you love, you will do anything…

*****

Becoming Bad

Book two

Amazon  | Smashwords   | Paperback Becoming Bad

How do you fight the monster when it is inside of you?

The black lake beneath Dublin’s medieval city holds a secret. Imprisoned there for millennia, an ancient race of demi-gods have found a way to the surface and are preying on humans to feed their sexual appetites. Hunted to near-extinction, these half-men, half-beasts have been without a single female to breed a new generation. Until now.

All her life, Ashling DeMorgan feared her dreams. She kept her head buried in ancient mythology, because the real world seemed so much scarier. On returning to Dublin to settle her invalid grandmother’s affairs, Ash discovered a city plagued by the same wolf-like creatures that killed her mother. Their bite is like sexual heroin and Ash has been bitten. Now she is trapped in a waking nightmare, with the monster who ordered the death of the only man she’s ever loved. Made to doubt if she ever really knew the assassin-turned-guardian who stole her heart and gave his life for hers, Ash finds herself betrayed by her own changing body. In a dangerous world of suspicion and divided loyalties, Ash must come to terms with what she is becoming. Worse still, her infuriatingly arrogant captor may just prove to be her most unlikely ally in what will become a life and death race for survival.

MacTire, king of a once formidable race, has lived his life in the shadow of a half-brother who took everything from him. Connal Savage seduced his mate and engineered a genocide that all but exterminated their species. Finally, he has a chance at retribution. Connal’s woman is his for the taking. But are the bonds of brotherhood so easily severed and are the ghosts of the past ever truly dead and buried, or will they come back to haunt him?

GIVEAWAY:

We would be delighted to offer two winners ebook copies of both books 1&2 of the Becoming Series (we can provide Smashwords coupons either directly to the winners email or to you, to pass them on to the winners)