Book Blast & Interview: Defiant by H.G. Lynch @HGLynch @sparklebooktour

 

 

PRESENTED BY

 

 

 

Title: Defiant

Series: Blaze Trilogy

Vol or Book #: 1

Author: H.G. Lynch

Audience: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format: Ebook

Publisher: Vamptasy Publishing

Cover by: H.G. Lynch

Editor: Catherine Stovall

Pages: 136

ASIN: B017XWM0TG

Date Published: 13/11/15

 

 

Sometimes Love Burns.

The intelligent loner, Anson, soon learns this when he falls in love...but the girl he wants isn't what she seems. Poppy is part of a secret organisation of vampires trained to fight werewolves.

She's been sent to recruit Anson, and if she fails, they'll both have to outrun the rulers of her society...or face death together.

 

 

AMAZON / GOODREADS

 

 

He raised his hand and gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist, drawing my palm down his face to his lips. Light as the flutter of a butterfly wing, he kissed my palm and each of my fingertips. It felt so thrilling, my whole hand ached to bury itself into his bright hair, and I was distinctly aware of how close we were standing. All I would have to do was lean up on my tiptoes and my mouth would meet his. His cobalt eyes fixed me in place, I couldn’t look away, though I knew I should. I wanted this so badly, but I couldn’t have it. If I kissed him, I was afraid I’d shatter into a million pieces, and only he would be able to put me back together.
 

 

H.G. Lynch is a Scottish Paranormal Romance author, avid reader, and cat-lover. She spends most of her days writing, while wrestling her cat, Sooki, off her laptop. She believes that chocolate cake can save the world, and is highly caffeine-addicted. She loves horse-riding, Star Trek, and snow.
 

 

   

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / GOODREADS

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

When I was younger, I wanted to be a veterinary nurse. It wasn’t until I was fifteen that I decided I wanted to be a writer.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

Probably after my fourth book got published. Before that, I sort of just felt like I was playing at being a writer.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

A year and a half. I went to several different publishers before one picked up Born Dark and it was published about four months after I signed the contract.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

I have social anxiety, which means that I struggle with day-to-day interactions with people. It makes finding a suitable job very hard. I do however make my own jewellery and sell it in my Etsy store.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

Defiant is my latest release, and to summarise it, I’d probably say: Sometimes true love means breaking society’s rules and running with your heart, no matter the cost.

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

Vamptasy Publishing, an imprint of Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly, publishes my books.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

It depends on the story. Sometimes it can take months. Sometimes just a few weeks. For example, my first book, Born Dark, took six months. Run only took three weeks.

What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I’d like to try my hand at Sci-fi as I’m a huge Star Trek fan, but I will definitely be writing more Paranormal Romance. That’s my true calling.

What genre would you place your books into?

Paranormal Romance with a slight Horror twist

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

I’ve always been an odd duck. As a kid, my imaginary friend was a ghost. At seven years old, I wanted to be a vampire when I grew up. I’ve always believed in the paranormal and been fascinated by it.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

Reid Ashton from my Unfortunate Blood series is my favourite, partly because he was my first character and partly because he’s a very unique and heartfelt character, despite his cockiness. He has a very special place in my heart.

How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?

I started writing seriously at fifteen, after reading L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries novels. I start with fanfiction because I loved Vampire Diaries so much (I read the first four books twelve times in three months) but quickly moved on to my own original works.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

It depends on my mood and the story I’m writing, but usually I’ll sit by the fireplace with my laptop and make a playlist that I think fits the atmosphere of what I’m trying to write.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

Yes. It absolutely makes my day when I read a good review for one of my books, and sometimes when I’m feeling down and feeling like giving up on writing, seeing the wonderful things my readers have said is the only thing that keeps me going.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

Story first. Title later. I never know exactly where the story is going to go so I can’t put a suitable title on it until it’s done.

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

Baby name websites mostly. I especially like Irish and Scottish names. Most of my books are set in Scotland, even if it doesn’t specifically say so in the book.

Are character names and place names decided after their creation?

Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them? I like to picture the place or character, outline his or her personality, and then find a name that I feel fits.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

I tend to find that the characters develop themselves as I write. They tell me who they are and what they want to do – I just write it all down.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

I’d say the one thing I’ve always tried to do with my stories and characters is to make them unique and let them be who they are, even if it means they make mistakes and get into trouble. I firmly believe you should always be whatever and whoever you want to be. Don’t conform to society just because you think you should. If you want to have green hair and a tattoo of a rat on your arm, go for it. If you want to dance on rooftops in the rain, do it. If you’re bisexual, or gay, be proud of it. Ignore the haters. There are people out there who will love you for exactly who you are.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

I prefer to read paperbacks There’s nothing like the smell of ink and paper.

What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. I’ve only read it about six times.

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Harry Potter is a good example of it working. Beautiful Creatures is an example of it not working.

Your favorite food is?

Macaroni cheese

Your favorite singer/group is?

Nickelback

Your favorite color is?

Red

Your favorite Author is?

Cassandra Clare

Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Idol of Glass by Jane Kindred @JaneKindred

 

 

Idol of Glass

Looking Glass Gods

Book 3

Jane Kindred

Genre: Dark fantasy with erotic

and romantic elements/LGBTQ

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Date of Publication: October 27, 2015

ISBN: 978-161922-373-8

ASIN: B0118ZFO4W

Number of pages: 268

Word Count: 91,000

Cover Artist: Kanaxa

Book Description:

Madness didn't destroy her; atoning for it might.

Ra has ruined everything. Returning to life through “renaissance” was her first mistake. Magical excess was her second. Now she must face the consequences of her reckless conjuring. Her beloved Ahr is dead by her hand, and the comfort she’d found in gender-rebel Jak seems lost to her forever.

Ra takes solace in punishment—and in communion with her punisher, the mysterious and merciless MeerShiva. But Shiva has spun a skein of secrecy over centuries—secrets about Ra’s origins and the origins of the Meer themselves. And as the secrets begin to unravel, someone else’s magic is at work from the hidden realm. Someone with the ability to redraw the fabric of the world itself.

As the picture becomes clearer, Ra must face some harsh realities: not everything is about her, and punishment isn’t enough. She must stand before Jak and try to atone for what she’s done. But seeing Jak will reveal one more secret Ra never saw coming—and one that may mean her own undoing.

Product Warnings: Contains scenes of intense BDSM, non-binary genders, and a preponderance of kick-ass women.

Amazon ARe BN BooksaMillion iTunes Kobo Samhain

Even spattered in dried blood and pieces of the dead man’s flesh, they cut a striking pair of figures on the dunes of the falend. Jet and dark poppy, their hair hung down their backs in the colors of atrocity. Light caressed them, knowing they were more than human, rippling iridescent over their tresses like quicksilver in the presence of the divine.

As in the youth of her former life, Ra was attired in the manner of a Meeric prince, the plain kaftan of black silk muting much of the violence that covered her.

MeerShiva was less subtle, the pearl-embroidered train of her sheer citrine gown, from the same ancient era, dragging behind her, caked in mud from the heath they’d left behind. They were two livid strokes of pigment on the canvas of sun-blanched sand.

Satisfied with the decimation of the remains they’d dumped in the marsh outside the small trading post beyond Mole Downs, they had simply walked away, and continued walking until they’d left the high country altogether. Coming down out of the mound-riddled moors and across the lowland heath, they followed the Filial River toward the east, past the falls that plunged beneath the bluff at the wasteland’s edge, and into the high desert north of the Anamnesis delta, until at last even Meeric sensibility demanded rest.

The palette of the sky behind the scattered stars held the deep lack of pigment that came with the hours after midnight, and they were in the center of nothing, a vast stretch of arid land that separated mound country from the Deltan lowlands. With a few murmured words, Shiva raised a single tower around them, round and made of stone, with windowless walls that stretched up over them into immeasurable heights. Meeric conjuring was often merely out of whim, influenced by the current state of mind and body. They lay on a floor of heather, an anomalous afterthought, with barely a pause between waking and sleep.

§

Jak lay at Geffn’s side, staring at the ceiling. They shared a bed for comfort, though nothing more. The question of their long estrangement had been settled once and for all in the formal dissolution of their bond after Ahr’s body had been consigned to the elements in the Bone Fire. During all that ceremony—the harvest rites marking the turn of the year, the final parting with Ahr, the unbinding rite in which Jak and Geffn had cut the red braided strings they’d worn around their wrists to symbolize their union and set each other free—Jak had been in a state of stasis. Unable to feel anything, unable to fully comprehend the loss of Ahr, despite the grand Deltan memorial.

In mound culture, funeral rites were less dramatic. Haethfalters didn’t believe in the necessity of the destruction of the body by fire to free the spirit for its next life. Hadn’t, at least, until Ra had come, having effected her own cremation from the grave in order to hasten her return, “renaissanced” as a fully formed adult in an instant on a cold winter night. But that was an exception to the rule. Ra’s renaissance was devilry and madness, and Jak should have recognized it from the start.

Haethfalters practiced a form of sky burial, building a platform for the deceased and laying the body out in the elements to be excarnated by carrion birds. Burying bodies below ground was impractical in a place where the ground was frozen half the year and where underground real estate was at a premium for their souterrain dwellings. When the bones were picked clean, they were taken and placed in the family’s burial cairn—a place that didn’t require such deep digging, and which they had to dig only once, during the warmer months.

They’d used the sky burial platform as Ahr’s crematory, and Jak had watched his elements spiral up into the warm autumn wind. Smoke and embers and ash. It hadn’t seemed real. It hadn’t seemed like Ahr’s body wrapped in fragrant oils and spices and covered in flower garlands. It hadn’t seemed like anyone’s body at all as the platform was consumed in bright flames against the dusk sky. It had all been too surreal.

But there’d been no denying the reality once the urn was placed in Jak’s hands. Within the unassuming clay vessel was all that was left of Jak’s dearest friend.

Jak had led that final ceremony, the procession to the family cairn, the slow march alone down the dank steps beneath the circle of stones, accompanied by Oldman Rem’s mournful highland fiddle from above, to place Ahr’s vessel in the narrow vault that normally held the bones of the dead. By custom, and not belief, Jak murmured prayers to the ancestors—Jak’s mother, Fyn, and Fyn’s parents, whom Jak had never known—and then tried to say good-bye to Ahr somehow. The finality made it impossible, and Jak dropped onto wobbly knees before the vault and wept.

Ahr was family to Jak, and no one had questioned his interment under the cairn. Family, after all, was a broad term in mound society, having little to do with blood. In the niche beside Ahr’s were the bones of Fyn, the last person Jak had said good-bye to here. And on Fyn’s other side lay the remains of Geffn’s brother, Pim, who’d died before Geffn was born. They were all connected to Jak in one way or another. But kneeling there among the sputter of tallow candles as the sobs receded into sighs, Jak had felt the wrongness of it. Ahr was a Deltan. His ashes didn’t belong below the highland moor.

Jak sighed, still staring up at the stone ceiling. There was still so much damage in Haethfalt from the rains. It was a terrible time to leave. But Jak couldn’t let this wait until spring.

“I have to take him home.” Jak spoke in the darkness beside Geffn. “I know I’m needed here to help rebuild, but Merit deserves to know. They were lovers. He should have the ashes.”

“You do what you need to.” Geffn squeezed Jak’s hand atop the blanket. “The moundhold will be here for you. Whatever you decide to do will be all right.”

But it wasn’t true. It would not be all right. Nothing could ever be all right with so much gone wrong.

 

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

Yes. Since I wrote my first short story in grade school, I’ve wanted to be a writer. I toyed with the idea of going to medical school, but the studying got in the way of writing novels.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

If you mean a professional writer, I guess that would be when I sold my first short story. But I’ve considered myself a writer since I started writing.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

I had written six novels and a novella before any of them were accepted for publication. I started querying on the first novel in 1999 and the second novel in 2000. It was a novella I wrote in 2005 (The Devil’s Garden, the prequel to Looking Glass Gods) that was finally published in 2011, the same year my first novel was published a few months later—which was actually the third novel I’d written. (My second novel, which I’d started querying on in 2000, became the Looking Glass Gods trilogy that was published this year, of which Idol of Glass is the third part.)

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

My day job is editing for a multinational consulting firm. Not nearly as interesting as writing erotic paranormal romance and romantic fantasy.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

My latest book is Idol of Glass, in which a reincarnated goddess seeks atonement for crimes committed in madness brought on by absorbing too much pain from others.

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

The Looking Glass Gods series is published by Samhain Publishing.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

I try to write 1,000 words a day, which means it takes me about three months to complete a novel. Pre-work is usually a week or two, and I don’t usually plot out the whole story in advance.

What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I have a book in a slightly different genre coming out in December, The Lost Coast, which is m/f gothic paranormal romance. My next m/m fantasy romance, The Water Thief, comes out in March 2016.

What genre would you place your books into?

Most of my books are romantic fantasy or paranormal romance.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

I write in the genres I’ve always enjoyed reading.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing since I was 11, and I was inspired by the books I read, particularly The Chronicles of Narnia, which was the first fantasy series I started reading at age 7.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I don’t have a hard-and-fast ritual that I have to follow, but I like to burn candles while I write, and I need it to be quiet. Very, very quiet.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I read them if I come across them, but I no longer seek them out. I used to check Goodreads obsessively to see if anyone had reviewed my books, but I don’t find it useful, because everyone’s taste is different and personal. I tend to take the bad reviews to heart despite the good reviews that outnumber them, so it isn’t healthy for me to keep looking for external validation that will just be crushed by a single, snarky DNF.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

Usually, the book idea and the title come to me at the same time, though recently, I’ve been having a lot of trouble coming up with titles.

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

Again, they usually just come to me as I write, but sometimes I’ll want names that go with a particular language or culture, so I’ll search on baby name websites or sites related to that culture.

Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?

It’s mostly a simultaneous process.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

The characters tell me who they are as the story progresses.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

I wouldn’t say they’re hidden, no.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

I have a slight preference for paperbacks just because I like to have a physical object to hold, but I enjoying reading just as much when it’s an ebook. I usually can’t afford to buy hardbacks, and they’re heavy, so while they’re a much nicer physical object to own, they’re not as much fun to hold and cart around.

What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. I’ve read it dozens of times. I think I enjoy reading about men who are tied up. ;)

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

It depends on how it’s done. If people get hung up on putting every moment of a book on film, it isn’t going to work. The Harry Potter books are probably the best translation to film that I’ve seen. The worst in recent memory is the obviously money-motivated stretching of The Hobbit into three movies. By the third one, it was absurd and tedious.

Your favorite food is?

Chocolate, the darker the better. Extra points if it’s cake.

Your favorite singer/group is?

My current favorite is Daft Punk. Longtime favorites are Kate Bush and Prince.

Your favorite color is?

Purple. (See Prince.)

Your favorite Author is?

Shakespeare.

 

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Jane Kindred is the author of epic fantasy series The House of Arkhangel’sk, Demons of Elysium, and Looking Glass Gods. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.

http://www.janekindred.com

http://www.janekindred.com/blog

https://twitter.com/JaneKindred

https://www.facebook.com/janekindred

https://www.goodreads.com/janekindred

https://plus.google.com/+JaneKindred

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https://www.youtube.com/user/meershiva/videos

Book Blast & Interview: Season Of The Witch by L.J.K. Oliva @writermama

 

Season Of The Witch

Shades Below

Book 1.5

L.J.K. Oliva

Genre: urban fantasy/paranormal romance

Date of Publication: Oct. 1, 2015

Word Count: 99,733

Cover Artist: Amy Mateyka

Book Description:

Something wicked this way comes...well, more wicked than usual.

Georgia Clare needs help, and fast. As the lone survivor of—and witness to—her coven's brutal massacre, she's felt the killer hunting her. There's just one problem: the rest of San Francisco's witching community wants nothing to do with her, and the one man she can turn to doesn't do witches.

Darius deCompostela has done his best to steer clear of subversive affairs. A private investigator and reluctant medium, the last thing he wants is to advertise his existence to the things that go bump in the night. But then Georgia knocks on his door, and try as he might, he can't turn her away.

It's just one case, after all. It's not like it's going to change his life…

Add it on Goodreads

It was her third night in a row of frozen pasta for dinner. Not that she was counting.

Georgia popped the top off yet another bottle of Corona and took a long draw. She leaned back against the counter. The microwave hummed behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at the digital clock on the unused stove. Sighed.

Nearly six o'clock, and still no sign of deCompostela. The pang of disappointment in her chest chafed at her pride. She should have known better than to believe he would stop by. He'd already made it abundantly clear he thought she was out of her mind.

Truth be told, the possibility had occurred to her. It had been a week since the new moon, and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of...it. Whatever it was. If not for the lingering scent of blood in her nostrils, she could almost believe she'd hallucinated the whole thing.

The microwave beeped. Georgia took one last drag of beer, then set her bottle down next to the two that had preceded it and opened the door. Fragrant steam rushed out; a heady blend of tomato, basil, and MSG.

Georgia reached in and grabbed the microwaveable plastic bowl, hissed and yanked her hand back again. She scanned the kitchen for something she could use as a potholder. Finally, she settled on a bunched-up paper towel.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she pulled out the pasta bowl. Georgia tensed, turned...

...Just in time to see her living room window explode inward in a hail of glass. She let out a startled shriek. A massive, dark creature suddenly occupied the space where her coffee table used to sit.

Everything else seemed to happen in slow-motion. The creature straightened, shaking shards of glass off its dull black fur. Its ears twitched towards her. Its lips peeled back from its razor-sharp teeth.

Georgia's chest seized. Recognition slammed through her. The creature snarled. Any lingering doubts she'd been harboring instantly evaporated.

It was here.

Georgia blindly hurled her steaming pasta bowl in the direction of the living room and bolted from the kitchen. She looked over in time to see it connect with a loud splat squarely between the intruder's eyes. The creature howled and clawed desperately at its face.

Georgia didn't wait for it to recover. Her altar. If she could just get to her altar, she could banish the ugly fucker and buy herself some time.

The creature was planted in the dead center of the straightest path across the living room. Georgia veered wide. She had almost cleared the front door when it flew open in a barrage of splinters. Someone barreled into her. They both sprawled to the ground.

The new intruder landed on top. Georgia hissed, bucked, clawed at anything she could reach. Her mystery assailant scrambled off her.

"Jesus Christ, would you calm down, you crazy—what the f*ck?"

deCompostela. Georgia didn't let herself pause to feel relief. She rolled to her feet, grabbed his hand and dragged him after her. They dove behind her sagging couch just as the creature regained its bearings. It threw back its head and let out a roar that shook her remaining windows.

Darius sniffed. "Is that tomato sauce?"

Georgia didn't answer. Her focus was squarely on her altar again. It was still too far away. "Wait here."

"What—"

She leaped to her feet. The creature's eyes locked on her. Georgia swallowed the terror that welled in her chest and sprinted for the altar. She skidded to the floor in front of it like a baseball player sliding into home, yanked open one of the drawers and fumbled for the first items that came to mind.

The creature roared again. A blast of superheated air hit the back of her neck. Georgia braced for the feel of teeth around her throat.

"Right here, ugly!"

She turned in time to see Darius' massive fist catch the creature square in the nose. The creature yelped, then retaliated with a swipe of an even-more-massive paw. The blow swept Darius clear off his feet. He flew backwards and hit the wall with a dull crunch, then sagged to the ground with a wheeze. Flecks of paint and drywall fluttered to the floor around him.

But he'd bought her the time she needed. Georgia held up her black candle and flicked her Bic lighter to life. She touched the flame to the wick. The creature's eyes widened.

"Black, the color of protection. Black, the color of night."

The creature snarled. Darius heaved himself to his feet and surged forward. He wrapped his arms around the creature's hind legs and held tight.

"Black, the color of silence. Black, the color of stillness."

The creature swiped at Darius again. Its paw caught empty air where his head had been just seconds earlier. It tried to move. Darius' arms visibly tightened. Muscles bunched under his suit jacket.

"With black I banish thee. With will I banish thee." Georgia poured intent into her words. Her voice grew heavier, fuller. "Return to the night. Return to the silence. Return to the stillness. Be gone from this place."

The creature let out a strange yelp-hiss as invisible forces compelled it to obey. Darius released it and scrambled backwards.

Georgia lifted her chin. Magic crackled through her veins, tinged her vision black. "Be gone from this place," she repeated. "With black and with will, by my power and by the power of the Lady, I banish thee. So mote it be." She blew out the candle.

The creature vanished in a swirl of acrid black smoke. Its final, infuriated roar echoed through the small apartment.

Georgia finally allowed herself to breathe again. For the first time, she realized she was coated in a fine film of glass and wood slivers. She reached up to dust herself off, at the last minute thought better of it.

Instead, she turned to Darius. He had hauled himself onto her sad excuse of a sofa. His hands were planted on his knees. He stared at the spot where the creature had last stood.

Georgia crossed her arms and cleared her throat. She waited until he looked up at her, then arched an eyebrow. "So. Do you believe me now?"

 

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

While I've always enjoyed writing, I never expected to be a writer. When I was younger, it was just something I did to amuse myself and the select few friends I allowed to read my work. I probably should have seen it coming, though, because I really didn't have any other career aspirations. I knew I wanted to do something where I wouldn't get bored, where I could let my geek flag fly and live an interesting life, but I had no idea what that might be.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

In addition to writing, I'm also a stay-at-home mom to a young son. Believe me, that's a job.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

My latest book is the first companion novel in my urban fantasy series, Shades Below, and is called Season Of The Witch. In 20 words or less: a desperate witch approaches a private investigator/reluctant medium for help investigating her coven's murder. Hijinks and sexy times ensue.

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

I self-publish (go, indies!).

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

It depends on the book. For the most part, I've whittled my complete turnaround down to about 5 months, however, Season Of The Witch ended up taking about 8. For one thing, it was twice as long as anything I've ever written before. Also, the story took a turn I wasn't expecting about halfway through the book, so I had to completely recalibrate. I think the end result was totally worth it, but it made things a little stressful at the time.

What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I'll be continuing with my Shades Below series well into the foreseeable future. I'm introducing new characters, new monsters, and new twists, as well as revisiting the characters from Book 1 (A World Apart), Lena and MacMillian. I'm really excited for where things are headed!

What genre would you place your books into?

These books are in solid urban fantasy territory, but they do have a streak of paranormal romance running through them as well. ;-)

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

My favorite books over the last few years have overwhelmingly been urban fantasy. I've also grown really passionate about mythology, monster lore, and various religious traditions. I find the stories we've told ourselves throughout our history incredibly fascinating, and bits and pieces of them definitely show up in my books.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

That's a bit like asking a parent who their favorite child is, but if I had to choose, my favorite character is probably Jesper MacMillian. He's a transfemoral amputee (translation: his right leg has been amputated above the knee), and he's trying to relearn how to live his life. At the same time, he has been thrust into a leadership position in his community that he doesn't want and isn't prepared for.

Also, he handles the subversive world the way I would like to think I would: with healthy skepticism, but also a realistic acceptance that the world is a big and strange place, and it's perfectly conceivable that he might not know everything that goes on in it.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

With a four-year-old running around, I don't really have the luxury of a set routine. I make coffee (pretty much my only non-negotiable habit), plant my butt where I can see if my son's about to knock over the TV, then try like hell not to get too distracted by the Internet.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I do. I know everyone says you're not supposed to, but I TOTALLY DO. My books don't have a whole lot of reviews yet, so it's not too ridiculous (or so I tell myself). I never respond - even to say thanks - but I love hearing what people think of my books.

I'm convinced reading my reviews has also improved my writing. I've gleaned some great insights about my strengths and weaknesses as a writer by paying attention to what people say about my work. Plus, hearing directly from readers just what they liked (and didn't like!) about my books helps me craft books that people are likely to find appealing in the future. It's like my own little form of market research.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

I usually choose a title first. Full disclosure: I already have the entire Shades Below series titled, mapped, and plotted. I'm crazy like that.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

While I would love to think I have that much control over my characters, truthfully, I don't really decide anything. The voices in my head pretty much drive the bus, and I run along behind, cleaning things up as we go.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

Depends on what I want the book for. I love eBooks for my pleasure-reading material; I can take an almost unlimited number of books with me wherever I go. For research material, however, nothing beats curling up in one of my office armchairs with a good hardback.

What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?

Ooo, that's such a mean question, haha! I definitely don't have just one favorite book. My recent favorites are Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series, and Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. I cycle between them constantly.

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

I think it depends on the book. If a book is very visual and fast-paced with a linear plotline, I think transfers can totally work. It seems like the books that don't transfer well are books that take place mostly inside the characters' thoughts. It can be the most brilliant book in the world, but you can't have a movie where the actors just stand around thinking at each other for 67-or-so minutes.

Favorite book-to-movie transfer? The Lord of the Rings series, hands-down. While they left a lot out of the movie that was in the books, the end result ended up being very true to the overall tone of the books, and the characters and storyline just sparkled.

Least favorite? Exodus: Gods and Kings. Seriously. What even the f*ck.

Your favorite food is?

Chilled shrimp cocktail, served with a good, spicy horseradish cocktail sauce and a squeeze of lemon. I could eat that stuff for DAYS.

Your favorite singer/group is?

IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION! In general terms, I love classic rock, indie rock, mullet rock, and the blues.

Your favorite color is?

Blood red.

Your favorite Author is?

It's a tie between Karen Marie Moning and Stacia Kane.

 

 

 

L.J.K. Oliva is the devil-may-care alter-ego of noir romance novelist Laura Oliva. She likes her whiskey strong, her chocolate dark, and her steak bloody. L.J.K. likes monsters… and knows the darkest ones don’t live in closets.

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Book Blast & Interview: Dying in Pleasure by Lady Ristretto @LadyRistretto4u

 

 

Dying in Pleasure

Lady Ristretto

Genre: paranormal/historical erotica

Publisher: Lady Ristretto

Date of Publication: April 1, 2015

ASIN: B00VHIM7UA

Number of pages: 385

Word Count: 102,000

Cover Artist: Ebooks Covers Design

Book Description:

Lucia, the daughter of the richest family in Pompeii, disappears one night. The mystery goes unsolved and life moves on. The lives of Pompeii's citizens intertwine: Ibis, a prostitute running the whorehouse owned by the Aedile, a city official, gets murdered by his wife Lucy. Lucy falls in love with Narcissus, the most treasured gladiator in Pompeii. The Aedile's daughter, Julia, marries Rust, the man suspected to have murdered Lucia. Maro, Lucia's slave, holds the families together and eventually discovers Lucia when she reappears in Pompeii twenty years later, and as a witch.

The events in Pompeii converged and lead to its ultimate, inevitable destruction. Only Lucia can help the city and save lives. In a ceremony requiring possession by a god, murder, and necromancy, Lucia discovers what is going to happen. But not everyone manages to get away.

Dying in Pleasure brings to life the long dead city of Pompeii, showing its citizens as vibrant, eccentric pleasure seekers. History, pain, violence and ritual blend in a pansexual orgy that is both exciting and extreme from beginning to end.

Available for Nook and Kindle

LUCIA REFERRED to her patron goddess as Father. It was more respectful, a gesture insisted upon to mirror and mock Lucia’s upbringing: the Roman father is the family’s absolute authority. His power is unquestioned. The lives of his family are to do with as he wishes. In essence, he is the god of the family.

Lucia howled in rage on the hills; it wasn’t a wholly unique incident, but it wasn’t uninspired by Rust and Maro either. Lucia had grown accustomed to venting her rage in loud spectacles in nature. Her Father was pleased and Lucia could hear Her approval. She liked Lucia to explode: to remain pent up, repressed, and quiet not only kept the emotions in, it kept her power in.

Lucia wanted to wander the fields and find Father in the wilderness, but she was nervous to stray too far from the villa. On the edge of the woods, now darkening in dusk, Lucia could smell Bacchus out there; He was running toward her at full speed, like an animal galloping toward its prey. She could hear blood engorge His Penis, and the sound was a storm in her ears. If she stepped into His wilderness, He would fall upon her. Father would think the action, the willingness to enter the realm of another god, as disloyalty, a kind of cheating, and give Lucia up to His angry hunger.

Walking the opposite direction, Lucia started on the road back toward the city, to the necropolis she had visited during the night. The trip had been fruitless—the dead shrinking in terror from her like beaten dogs. She was used to fear, but nothing this intense or reckless. The dead were insulting in their terror, shrieking silent obscenities at her. Rather than taking it badly, and snuffing out what little power their trapped souls possessed, she walked away silently and curious.

Lucia returned to the entombed urns, and felt them quake from her approach. Normally, having received such hostility and unwillingness from the dead to be helpful, Lucia would respond with threats and violence. Perhaps seduction was more in order.

In the language of the dead, Lucia said, “Don’t be afraid. I need your help.”

In their language (with Latin accents from the freshly deceased, who still retained memories of Latin), they replied in an overlapping, echoing gaggle of sounds: “Keep away.”

“I only want to speak with one of you.”

“Away,” they whimpered dusty, silent heaves.

“One of you approached me. One of you has been haunting my dreams. One of you brought me back to Pompeii. I want to speak with her. If you help me find her so I can speak to her, I will do you no harm. I swear by my Father.” Lucia, of course, didn’t use the term Father to the dead—she used one of her goddess’s real name, the name in the language of the dead. It made the dead shake, the necropolis stones tremble. Her seriousness startled them; she was trapped by her oath, and they knew her Father would make her keep it.

They had no choice really but to answer her, for by refusing would bring her wrath down upon them. They echoed and reechoed, chanted one word which became for them a plead for peace: Ibis.

Repeating the name to herself, Lucia let Ibis bring her to her. There was a small entombment on the east side where the dead poor lodged. The tombs were less than tombs, less than places for remembering, inhabited by people who were hardly regarded in their lifetimes; but these were ghettos for ashes also thought too powerful to allow in the city, or cast aside in a rubbish heap. Dead beggars, madmen, slaves, whores, and gladiators there trembled at Lucia’s approach. Her voice thundered Ibis and the souls swept aside as if by a blast of wind, leaving Ibis alone to face her. Invisible, but a clear, solid form to Lucia herself, Ibis stood facing this woman she knew in life only as a legend.

Lucia glared through Ibis’s formlessness and forced the soul of the dead prostitute to assume a physical form. Only so Lucia would have something to look at and speak to. Even Lucia preferred to have a face when having a conversation: Lucia treasured the luxury of normalcy and insisted upon it whenever dealing with the dead—no matter what pain it caused. Ibis winced in the cramped confinement being in her former shape.

“Tell me what you want.”

Ibis’s mouth moved, and Lucia knew it would require a few moments for Ibis to accustom herself to her form again. She sighed impatiently: she had no patience for the dead, and their suffering, struggles, and pain angered and annoyed her. At first, speaking with the dead had been a horror. Repetition made it an annoyance, and sometimes Lucia wondered if her severe irritation was only self-protection.

Ibis was especially bothersome to Lucia. In form and in formlessness, Ibis was stained as murdered souls are.

“Help. Julius,” Ibis said with trembling lips. She spoke not normally, but in a shrieking rage. The stones quivered.

Lucia sighed. “Julius who?”

“The Aedile.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Tell. Him. Go. To. Rome.”

“I have no time to be running errands for you,” Lucia said.

“Please. Please.”

“I have been begged by more pathetic souls than you and if you annoy me more I will extinguish you.”

“Then why speak to me at all?” Ibis asked.

She advanced on Ibis but Ibis didn’t move. Lucia found herself staring closely into the pained face struggling to hold itself together. Lucia could see how Ibis’s pale cheeks swarmed in flesh colors like millions of bees. There was even a small buzz of energy. It was more disturbing that Ibis didn’t flinch. Lucia wasn’t accustomed to seeing the dead this close. Lucia arched her eyebrows. It was rare to find a dead soul with the ability to think quickly. “You brought me to Pompeii for a reason. I thought it was for something more important than carrying messages.”

“I didn’t bring you,” Ibis said. “You came on your own. You wanted to come home.”

Lucia opened her mouth to argue, but couldn’t find anything to say. She felt shame, as it was entirely possible it was true.

Ibis said, “Help Julius. Something horrible will happen to him.”

“I don’t care about the Aedile.”

“Something horrible. Something horrible.”

Lucia stepped back as Ibis began to cry. Ibis’s tears were bloody.

Normally, this would not be enough to move Lucia. She had heard more virulent entreaties and extinguished these souls who asked for less. But as Ibis cried—an unusual occurrence for a soul—the other dead echoed her “Something horrible”. Then it became a chant of “horrible horrible horrible”, not just in this necropolis, but all over Pompeii. As if all the dead were chanting to Lucia.

This had never happened before, and Lucia felt afraid.

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

When I was in third grade I wanted to be a baker. I don't remember why. I think I really liked cake. Then in high school, I wanted to be a florist for a while, because it was artistic. I had taken a career test and a florist came up as well as a journalist. The results really confused me. My junior year I became obsessed with Indiana Jones and decided I wanted to be an archaeologist. But at the time I graduated high school, I decided on English. I had had my first one act play produced by a professional theater and I think that motivated me to change my major.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

I always made the distinction between being a writer and being a professional writer. I decided to be a writer with serious determination to become a great writer when I was sixteen. But I didn't start calling myself a writer until grad school. I figured that once I got my MFA in playwriting, I was officially a writer.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

I started out as a playwright actually. At sixteen, I was writing all kinds of different things, but plays were the easiest. At seventeen, I had a one-act play produced by a professional company. It was an awful piece of crap and I don't even have the script anymore. But it was incredible encouragement and kept me from giving up. As far as novels, I didn't have my first published in April, 2015 and that was self-published.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

At the moment, I'm unable to work (I'm living in foreign countries where I'm not legally allowed to work), but for about ten years I worked in coffee. I worked for Starbucks and Barnes & Noble cafes that serve Starbucks coffee. I loved it. I love the performance elements, helping people choose drinks, then seeing the incredible pleasure a drink I made gave them. I always worked with fantastic baristas and luckily I'm still friends with many. If I could work right now, I'd hit all the coffee houses I could. The jobs never pay well, and I shouldn't really work them because of it, but I ADORE them so. There were terrible elements, but the job taught me how to deal with stress and to learn, deeply learn, that there are things which are out of your power. There's only so much you can do. Crap happens. And really, it's just coffee.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?.

It took me ten years to write Dying in Pleasure. My other projects, such as full length plays which is comparable to a novel, could take as short as a month. Each is different and I try really hard not to freak out if it takes a while to polish a piece.

What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I've recently developed a genre called Action Figure Erotica. The only rule to the genre are that the main characters must have been made into an action figure at some point. Minor characters can have been figures as well. History and location aren't important. For example, I'm currently have a novel in progress on Tablo called Medusa Gets Her Hair Done. Medusa and the goddess Kali are traveling through contemporary America to find someone to remove her snakes. They meet Cthulhu and a zombie H. P. Lovecraft, Kali describes a relationship she had with former president Howard Taft. It's supposed to be a mix of time, historical characters and myth in fun, erotic way. Imagine an adult playing with toys. I have a novella which is to appear in November called Lincoln Eats Pie at the Kali Cafe. I have a third novella which is to appear at the beginning of 2016 about Marie Curie on the Titanic.

What genre would you place your books into?

I think primarily erotica. But I branch out dramatically: historical, supernatural, science fiction. And now Action Figure. I still adhere to realism. By that I mean, I still have somewhat linear chronology with characters based upon traditional psychology.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

It was what naturally came out. I'm completely fascinated by sex. The stories which interested in me most involved relationships with vivid sexual dynamics. In plays, my characters had eccentric sexual lives, but I was never able to stage them completely. But in novel form, I can do whatever I want without worrying about how actors are able to handle doing certain acts or audiences walking out during a performance.

As for historical, sci fi, and supernatural: those are the genres I experienced the most as a kid and learned how to write in. My father, brother and I would watch Star Trek and Twilight Zone and analyze the writing. My dad was also into UFOs and ghosts and all of us loved history. It was only natural that I would dive into those genres.

Actually, my mother got me involved in soap operas as early as pre-school. I remember coming home and eating lunch and watching General Hospital. The romance of Luke and Laura was profoundly important to me at that young age. That was probably the beginning of my interest in erotica.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

I think my favorite character from Dying in Pleasure is Maro, the slave of the Holconia family. He is so intelligent and wise that the Holconias refuse to make a decision without him. He was the tutor to two of the main characters, and he has sexual relationships with both. And both relationships are twisted (yet erotic). In the world of the Roman Empire, he has red hair. This would have been very rare. He's very formal and composed, yet engages in spontaneous sexual activities with a gladiator in a back alley. He has power, yet with Lucia Holconia Polla, his true owner, he is her subservient dog. His contradictions and impulses fascinate me. I listen to him and everything he says interests me. I must admit also that he is based upon someone from my past. That must add to my love of him.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

In theater, I was taught never to read reviews during performance. Bad reviews could cause us to second guess our choices and make changes. Actors are notorious for this. It is better to respect our choices and not allow other people, who may in fact be wrong, to dictate what we do during performance. I've adopted this philosophy with novels. I don't want to be motivated by an outside opinion to write in a certain way. There are people I trust to criticize my writing in an effective way. That's all that matters to me.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

I'm terrible with titles. I hate them. I choose them after I'm finished and usually come up with a dozen before I choose one. There's so much riding on a title. And there are titles I hate such as one word titles, which are so vogue right now. Summing a novel up in one word is lazy to me. I could easily have named my book Vesuvius or Pleasure, but I don't feel those do them justice. At least Dying in Pleasure has interesting word play in it.

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

With this book I had to do extensive historical research and pick authentic Roman names. The main family in the book, the Holconia family, is based on a real family in Pompeii. They had a statue at a crossroads of an ancestor. The location appears in the novel, and the ancestor is one of the main character's dead father. All the locations are actual places in Pompeii. I've been to Pompeii and walked the streets my characters would have walked. It wasn't easy. The streets are steep and made of cobblestones. When I was there it was raining and the stones were slippery.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

These are all organic choices. Very rarely do I decide a character is going to have particular attributes. When I first started writing in high school, this process really frightened me. I would write and get caught up in what was going on. I would let go completely and let my mind take control. I felt like I stopped writing and started taking dictation. It really scared me. I thought I was going crazy. It almost seemed like a spiritual experience, as if I was traveling out of my body or my body was being taken over. It's no wonder the ancient Greeks and Romans believed in artists becoming possessed by Muses. It's as good of a description as any to explain the artistic process.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

Yeah, and it shocked me: sexuality, religion and sadomasochism are all forms of the same thing. That thing is pleasure. It also leads inevitably to destruction, that we are too wrapped up in pleasure to save ourselves or we march headlong into destruction because it too is part of pleasure.

That was entirely unintentional, yet it's so present it's embarrassing.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

Ebooks are easy to transport, hardbacks look great on shelves, but with paperbacks you can have a true physical relationship with a book. I love cracking spines and establishing physical points in the story that were important to me. I love folding down the corners of pages and having a faint record of all my stops along the way in the book. I love the way the spines of thick paperbacks start to spread and curve with age and no longer are flat. They seem to be living creatures that absorb the actions of a reader.

What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?

Alain Robbe-Grillet's Jealousy. It's a very avant garde novel about a man's obsession with the idea that his wife is having an affair. There's only two or three scenes, and he describes them over and over and over searching for details. When I finished the first time, I turned immediately to the first page and started it all over again. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The novel blew my mind open to the possibilities because it's so out of the box. It's nothing like contemporary novels and few people would like it. All of my books are in storage because I'm traveling, but I have a copy of Jealousy with me.

Your favorite food is?

My homemade spaghetti sauce. Italian food is my comfort food, and my sauce is perfect. It doesn't always come out as perfect, but the idea of it is perfect. I always feel soothed when I have it.

Your favorite singer/group is?

Linkin Park. It's wonderful angry white boy music and their most recent albums have had wonderful political ideas.

 

Lady Ristretto spent the beginning of her career writing under her real name and as a playwright. She has a BA in English from UCLA and an MFA in playwriting from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Her plays were produced in Illinois and Texas, and her most popular work, Wonderland in Alice: The Uncertainty Principle was produced in New York off off off Broadway.

Her first book, Dying in Pleasure, had been a full length play that was rejected as her thesis play: the professors on her committee felt it was too misogynistic and violent for undergraduates to stage. Always stubborn and obsessed, Lady Ristretto spent years rewriting the play into a novel and has recently published it as an ebook on Amazon and Nook. Lady has recently become obsessed with cricket and deeply wishes America would form a formidable team which is worthy to compete in the World Cup.

http://www.ladyristretto.com

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https://tablo.io/lady-ristretto

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http://selfpublishersshowcase.com/lady-ristretto/

https://www.goodreads.com/ladyristretto

Book Blast. Interview & Giveaway Portia by Christina Bauer @CB_Bauer @sparklebooktour

Presented by

 

Title: Portia
Series: Angelbound Offspring
Vol or Book #: 2
Author: Christina Bauer
Audience: Adult 18+
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: E-book and Paperback
Publisher: Ink Monster LLC
Cover by: Art by Ana Cruz, Graphics by Paddy Donnelly
Editor: Ink Monster LLC
Pages: 250 pages
ISBN: 9780990635246
ASIN: B00W2A9Q0G
Date Published: 10-27-15

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike her famous older brother Maxon, Princess Portia isn't known for killing demons or attracting admirers. The reason why is simple: a spell was cast on Portia, and the magic has marked her to one day transform into a dreaded Void demon. To fight this horrible fate, Portia’s spent her life hiding in libraries and learning magic. But when the Void demons threaten to destroy all the after-realms—and the handsome dragon Emperor Tempest offers his help—then Portia suspects that her future holds more than just a demonic metamorphosis. Fate is calling the bookworm princess onto the battlefield, and it’s a fight against both deadly enemies and her heart’s desires.

 

   

AMAZON / GOODREADS / NOOK / IBOOKS / KOBO

 

 

Chapter One

 

I am so late.
My heart beats at double speed while I rush up the staircase to the Ryder mansion. After pulling open the fancy wooden door, I step inside a large and empty foyer. Well, it’s almost empty.
The President of Purgatory is waiting for me. Not good.
Even worse, her mouth is pressed into a thin and frustrated line. No question why she’s unhappy. My lecture on Magic Across The After-Realms should’ve started twenty minutes ago.
“Portia, you’re finally here,” she sighs. “We were getting frantic.”
The President’s known for being tough on crime, graft, and well, everything really. But she’s also my grandmother. When it comes to family, Gram’s a softie who worries like crazy. I should know, being a softie myself. I give her a quick peck on the cheek. “So sorry, Gram. I got caught up.”
Gram’s tail sways warily over her right shoulder. No shock, there. Every quasi-demon in Purgatory has a tail. Gram’s variety is long and black with an arrowhead-shaped end and a mind of its own. Currently, that mind totally suspects that I’m up to something.
Good suspicion, actually.
“What are you working on this time?” asks Gram. “Is it dangerous magic? Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“No, it’s not dangerous at all,” I say.
Which isn’t entirely true.
My cheeks redden with guilt, but I can’t exactly admit that I was up all night trying to track Void demons by casting spells with an enchanted canopic jar. It’s super-tricky stuff. I could’ve ended up with a Void demon in my living room, and I’m not what you call battle-hardy.
 

 

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. An avowed girl geek, Christina loves creating immersive fantasy worlds with action, adventure, romance, and kick-ass female protagonists. As part of her work in Ink Monster, Christina has co-developed the ‘Heroine’s Journey,’ a blueprint for telling female myths inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and golden retriever Ruby.
 

       

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / GOODREADS / AMAZON / PINTEREST

Instagram Username : CHRISTINA_CB_BAUER

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1. When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

I don’t know that I’ve ever accepted that title. I consider myself a storyteller and an entertainer. For me, the ‘writer with a capital W’ falls in the same category as ‘literature with a capital L.’ I work my ass off on everything I create, but there’s a whole writing world out there that I still don’t totally feel tethered to.

2. How long did it take to get your first book published?

My first book was published with an Indie publisher out of the state of Washington. I’m an entrepreneur, and even their indie style made me give up too much control for my taste! It wasn’t until years later that I felt ready to make another go of it with Ink Monster and my current partner in crime, Aileen Latcham! Owning my own show has been a much better fit for me!

3. Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

My day job is in software marketing for a company called Zerto, which makes disaster recovery software. I’ve spent twenty years selling electronic files through partners, and that experience has directly played over into the business side of founding Ink Monster publishing. I’ve been able to bring over a lot of my high-tech experience to that side of the house. It’s one of the reasons why Ink Monster focuses solely on ebooks.

4. What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

Portia. It’s the story of a girl, a quest, and a hot dragon Emperor.

5. Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

Ink Monster has moved more than a half-million ebooks in two years. Not sure when/if we’ve crossed the line from being self-published to being an official publisher, but I’m not sure it matters so much, either. We’re having a ball and creating stories that people love. What else is there for a writer?

6. How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

Before I started Ink Monster, I’d say 2-3 years. It was tough! Now that I have my fellow writer monsters around me, it’s much easier. We work as a team to plot things out using a beat sheet methodology and are pretty rigorous throughout the process. Now, I run about six months.

7. What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I’m currently working on a new fantasy-romance series called Beholder. After that, I have a rotating schedule of paranormal romance, sci-fi romance, and fantasy romance worlds set up to go. I’m planned out through 2020. Lots of my ideas are here on my Pinterest boards.

8. What genre would you place your books into?

Fantasy-romance.

9. What made you decide to write that genre of book?

It writes me, if that makes any sense. Like I said, my stories go I my head 24-7. I write get them out on paper as soon as I can to make room for new ones.

10. Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

Right now, I am in serious love with the dragon Emperor Tempest from Portia. He showed up in the second book in the Angelbound series and wouldn’t get out of my head until I wrote his story. Hopefully, when you read the book, you’ll see why.

11. Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I go to my favorite Starbucks and hit my favorite table (back corner.) The employees there know me and save my spot. After that, I turn on my headphones, crank my tunes, and write the shit out of whatever I need to get done. That’s where I am right now!

12. Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

Every single one. My readers give phenomenal feedback and insights. You are a critical part of the team!

13. How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

Four words: work my ass off. I have a complex set of rules here:

• Language basis for the culture
• Set up societal structure
• Build out key stuff on Pinterest with reference art

I love/hate this part of writing. Sometimes I wish I could snap into an already-created world, but that loses some of the fun for me. I like to tweak our current world in some way and see how people react. For Angelbound, there’s the essential question: what if in the next life, they know as little as we do now?

14. Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?

I build out the names last. For example, the thrax demon fighters in Angelbound have a history where they come out of Roman times. So, Latin became the basis for all their naming structures. The Furor dragons were an offshoot of ancient Greece, so everything there is based on Greek naming. It goes on and on.

15. Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

Oh, I decide what the characters are gong to be like, all right. Then, they kick my ass and tell me what they want to be. For example, I wanted Portia to be a playgirl at one point. She was having none of that bullshit. She wanted to be a bookworm and researcher, thank you very much. That’s all part of the fun!

16. Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

I don’t know if transfer is the word. I studied screenwriting before I wrote my first book, and it’s a different kind of storytelling. There is so much you can convey with costume, set, tone of voice and so on that’s hard for a writer to get on a novel’s page. Meanwhile, books have the advantage of allowing us inside someone’s thoughts. In any case, my hands-down favorite adaptation of a book to a movie is Blade Runner. Ridley Scott added so much to the original work, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick.

17. Your favorite food is?

A burger, medium-rare with cheddar and fries. Yum!