Exclusive Excerpt, Author Interview & Giveaway! Br0th3rly, Famous on the Internet #1 by Alina Popescu

Fighting his relentless love for Trevor, the guy he was raised to consider his brother, has been Tristan’s mission in life. 

To distance himself from Trevor, even after discovering they weren’t really related, he left for college at sixteen. Moving into the city, building a new life, and running an anonymous blog about what he considers sick, twisted feelings might make Tristan famous on the Internet, but it isn’t enough to get over his obsession. Every time he goes home, a quick glance at Trevor brings it all flooding back. 

When commitment-phobe Trevor announces he’s got a serious boyfriend during one of Tristan’s rare visits home, the adoring kid brother will be forced to run once again. This time, however, Trevor doesn’t stand back and watch him leave. 

Instead, he follows him, making it nigh on impossible for Tristan to keep his love a secret for much longer.

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We ate without saying a word, too busy devouring the food to think about any exchange between licking our fingers and foodgasmic moans. The burger was delicious, and I polished off my plate of fries in no time, washing it down with the beer. The moment we were done, the waitress, Margie, whom I’d known as a fixture here since I was in diapers, placed two more beers on the table and took our plates away. Without us needing to order, she returned with pie: pecan for Trev and strawberry for me.

“Enjoy, boys,” she said with a warm smile. That closeness tugged at my heart. I’d missed this place every day since running off to college. I missed how warm the interactions were, how being a regular meant coming to the same place for a decade at least, how everyone knew us, and how it was all safe and familiar. I was better off staying away. If I hadn’t left, I would have either fessed up everything or killed myself. Somehow, I knew I would have been broken either way.

When we were done eating, the pie plates polished off and new beers brought to us by Margie, it was time for conversation. Our outings were a bit of a ritual by now. We’d eat together, be awkward together for a bit, then chat about nothing in particular as Trev got progressively more inebriated. I’d drink far less, not because I couldn’t handle more, but because I was always terrified I’d say or do the wrong thing. Either way, by the time we were done, Trevor would be drunk out of his mind and I wouldn’t be very far behind him, yet sober enough not to blurt anything incriminating. We’d stumble home, moving through the town streets following an awkward, winding trajectory.

We were stuck in the awkward phase for now, neither of us finding a way to break the ice. Trevor was usually the one to get things started, but he seemed to be at a loss tonight. Maybe it was my fault; I had been particularly harsh this time around. I knew for a fact I’d hurt his feelings a few times since coming home, and I hadn’t been there for long. I made a vow not to do that anymore, no matter how much I wanted to snap at him and the world for making such stupid rules.

Today I am very lucky to be interviewing Alina Popescu. Not only is she a talented writer but she’s also a fellow Romanian.

-Welcome, Alina! Congratulations on your new release.

-Hi Mikky, it’s a pleasure to be here, and I’d like to start by thanking you for having me. I love running into other Romanians in this great big book world we live in ☺

-Tell us a little bit about yourself.

-The first thing you’ll notice about me, other than my impressive height (5 feet tall), is my addiction to coffee :D I am a writer, traveler, and dog person. Or dog-owned human, however you like to put it. 

-What made you decide to start writing? Was this something you always wanted to do?

-I have been in love with books all my life. I started reading on my own at five and then at ten I started my first novel. It was co-written with a guy I had a major crush on (older boy). It wasn’t the first story I’d ever written, but it’s surely the first one I remember. After that summer, I just kept going on my own, and despite some longer breaks after high school, I really never stopped writing. By writing, I mean stories of course, I’ve been doing other kinds of writing throughout my university and corporate years ☺

-What authors inspired you and made you want to write your own stories?

-It wasn’t one particular author that inspired me. I loved books and discovering new stories and thought my own were worth telling. Every book I read makes me a better writer and a more voracious reader. I read across genres, and I always thought I shouldn’t limit myself to reading what I write. 

-Which one of your books is your own personal favorite and why?

-I don’t have a personal favorite. I love them all because I am so very involved with my characters. I put a little bit of me (or almost everything, if we’re talking my character Alexa from the Bad Blood trilogy) in every story, and while writing it, the characters are so present in my mind, it feels like the bond will never be broken. I am however completely immersed in the project I am working on at the time. That usually tends to consume me and for a limited time, it’s my favorite story ever. 

-What are your habits when you write? Do you listen to music or do you prefer to be surrounded by complete silence?

-I am not really particular about my surroundings. I can have music or quiet or just the sounds coming from outside my window. I do seem to write better with coffee nearby, some music, and my laptop. That one I am particular about, I have to be typing on my laptop, no phone or tablet or real paper. My keyboard and I have a deal :D

-Top 3 books from your “Favorites” list.

-Hmmm, I can’t pick an all-time favorite top 3, I love too many books! I could go with top 3 from childhood, I guess. These were my favorites from when I was about 10-11: Winnetou by Karl May, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, and I, Robot by Asimov. Yup, not exactly girly reads, I know!

-What’s your advice for every aspiring author out there?

-Write the stories you’d want to read, and then share them with the world when you’re ready. If it’s not something you’d love reading, then why bother? There will be people who will love them, and then there will be people who won’t, but that’s just how it goes for any creative endeavor.

-Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview, Alina and for sharing your thoughts with us.

My pleasure, I loved chatting with you and hope to see you again soon!

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and she has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm. Born and raised in Romania, she finds her inspiration in books of all genres, in movies, and the occasional manga comic book. She is a proud geek who needs her fast Internet and gadgets more than she needs air.

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Excerpt, Interview & Giveaway! Broken Records, Spotlight #1 by Lilah Suzanne

Los Angeles-based stylist Nico Takahashi loves his job—or at least, he used to. Feeling fed up and exhausted from the cutthroat, gossip-fueled business of Hollywood, Nico daydreams about packing it all in and leaving for good. So when Grady Dawson—sexy country music star and rumored playboy—asks Nico to style him, Nico is reluctant. But after styling a career-changing photo-shoot, Nico follows Grady to Nashville where he finds it increasingly difficult to resist Grady’s charms. Can Nico make peace with show business and all its trappings, or will Grady’s public persona get in the way of their private attraction to each other?

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~*~

Grady presses his lips flat, looks up at the ceiling again to gather himself, sniffs and nods, then tugs Nico’s foot closer by his ankle. “Do you think... If we’d met at a bar. Or through a friend of a friend. Or the gym.” Grady’s thumb strokes the tender skin of Nico’s calf beneath the hem of his pants. “If we had just been two regular guys? We really could have been something.”

There’s a question in his voice, a hesitancy that maybe Nico would have rejected him eventually anyway. Nico scoots across the cramped bunk, crowds against Grady, shoulder to shoulder. “Well, we never would have met at the gym because I would have taken one look at you and gone home to mourn the body I’ll never have by consuming gallons of ice cream.”

Grady bumps his shoulder. “Shut up, you’re gorgeous.” He tips his head against the wall and grins. “If I’d first seen you at a bar I probably would have humiliated myself by trying to win you over with bad karaoke and shameless flirting.” 

Nico’s eyebrows raise. “You mean to tell me you’ve been holding back on me? You have a level of flirting that’s even more shameless?” 

“Oh yeah. You ain’t seen nothin’, sweetheart.” 

“That is truly terrifying.” 

Grady laughs, bright and uninhibited. Nico is so relieved to hear it, a moment of light in the darkness. Grady’s hand rests on Nico’s knee, Nico watches his own hand brush his fingers there, but he doesn’t linger. 

“We aren’t, though. Just two random guys.” 

Grady’s fingers flex, curving over his kneecap. “No.” 

Nico exhales harshly. “I have never wanted to be a groupie so badly.” 

Grady shoves at his leg. “Come on, you didn’t really think that I would do that to you—” 

“In my weaker, more insecure moments?” Nico scrunches his face, embarrassed. “Yeah, I did.” 

“You think that little of me, huh?” He says it with a teasing grin, but Nico’s heart sinks. 

“No, Grady. I think you’re…” A million adjectives flash through his head: beautiful, amazing, stunning, compassionate, kind, generous. A supernova. He settles on, “Really special.” 

Grady gives a skeptical lift of his eyebrows. “Uh oh. I’m really special, huh?” 

“I’m so, so into you and it’s…” He cringes at the words but it’s true, “It’s not you, it’s me.” 

“Oh lord.” Grady laments with a laugh. “Not that, please.” 

“I’m the guy on the sidelines. I’m the one who makes everyone else shine. I don’t belong there, in the spotlight. I like that at the end of the day I can go home and just walk away from the cameras and the red carpets and the scrutiny. And you—you’re a star. And you can have anyone.” 

Grady turns, the cramped space of the bunk making his limbs bump and nudge and curl around Nico’s body. During Grady’s shows, in the moment just before he starts singing the opening line of “Broken Records,” there’s this pause, this moment suspended in the air when the audience is silent and waiting and doesn’t even dare to inhale because in that moment, Grady’s soul is laid bare. He looks at Nico just like that and Nico can’t breathe around it.“I don’t want anyone,” he says, voice low and serious. “I want you. How do you not get that?”

~*~

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Lilah Suzanne author of Broken Records. Hi Lilah, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Was there a basis for you story? A previous experience or something else?

 I started with the idea of wanting to set a story in the South, with a Southern character, and a love story that felt a little more hard-won than my last books. Everything else fell into place after that, with a little trial and error. But no, I don’t really have much experience with being a country music singer or a stylist. Though of course my past experiences always find a way of sneaking in there, whether I want them to or not!

What skills do you think a writer needs? Stubborn defiance? 

It feels like the main thing keeping me going some days... I really think the most important thing is perseverance. Any other skill can be learned and practiced, but the drive to keep going no matter what? I believe that’s what separates successful writers from unsuccessful ones. Keep going! That’s my mantra.

What for you is the perfect book hero?

 I tend to like heroes who make the choice to do good and be good, rather than tortured souls who do the right thing out of regret or obligation or being chosen. A kind heart is essential for me.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

 For me, writing a story feel so urgent, it’s like this clawing need to get it out on to paper as quickly as possible. So I really struggle with slowing down, giving the story a chance to settle and breathe and take my time with the moments that need to simmer slowly.

Tell us about your favorite childhood book.

 I can’t possibly pick one favorite! I was a book junkie as a kid, reading at least three at a time, riding my bike to the library to load up my backpack with books. Let’s see, I recently reread Charlotte’s Web, which was one of my very favorites and I have to say it really holds up. The writing is lush and it’s the perfect little story about those last magical moments of childhood.

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer, she has also authored a children’s book and has a devoted following in the fan fiction community. She is also the author of Interlude Press books Spice and Pivot and Slip. Broken Records is Book One in Lilah’s Spotlight Series.

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Excerpt, Author Interview & Giveaway! House Of Royals, House Of Royals #1 by Keary Taylor

If you loved BRANDED, you won’t want to miss HOUSE OF ROYALS, Keary Taylor’s newest dark, romantic read.

Every town has its history and skeletons, but Silent Bend, Mississippi’s are darker than most. Ruled from the shadows by the House—the immortal Born and their aging, enslaved Bitten—everyone knows not to go out after dark and that the police will never look into crimes involving blood.

Alivia Ryan didn’t know the man who claims to be her father through a will even existed until she inherits the Conrath plantation. Instead of the sleepy house she expects, she finds a mansion and a staff who look at her with fear in their eyes.

Ian Ward tried to kill Alivia the first time they met, and then insisted he train her to defend herself against the House, who he claims will try to manipulate and take her in for their own political reasons. And the growing attraction between them will threaten their lives—Ian is a sworn enemy of the House.

In Silent Bend, people disappear, the threat of a demented King and the legend of his resurrecting Queen hang over everyone’s heads, and proving loyalty means far more than blood. You’d better watch who you trust in this town…

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~*~

“What are you doing here?” he hisses, pulling me close. His lips tickle my ear. His hand on my waist slips low and his fingers dig into my skin just a little.

The breath catches in my chest and every nerve ending in my body goes crazy. The music surges, and this night suddenly feels too big for me to breathe. 

“I’m not lying down and taking a fate I didn’t ask for,” I manage. My fingers cling hard to Ian’s shoulder. I can feel the muscles beneath his clothes tense and tighten. And suddenly, I’m back to the days at his cabin, when he’d come walking out of the shower with only a towel and I pretended not to look. I know what his bare skin looks like, and I’m craving another glimpse.

“They won’t care about a show of good faith,” he says. “Do you have any idea what this party is even for?”

My silence is his answer.

“They throw this party once a year and offer massive amounts of alcohol so that people won’t remember the blackouts that come from being fed on.”

My eyes dart to that door at the back of the room. The blood on the woman’s shoulder. The blood in the corner of the man’s mouth.

“They’re feeding on the party attendees,” I say.

Ian nods. His scratchy cheek brushes mine. “The bite numbs and makes you forget, but people tend to realize they blacked out. A party like this with this much booze, you brush it off. It’s the one time a year they feed freely upon the townspeople. It’s the only way to keep people from asking too many questions.”

It’s terrifying and horrifying, and I’m suddenly wondering if the man was asking me to dance as my turn to be fed upon.

“It’s bad, but I have to do something, Ian,” I breathe.

“Walking into the fire isn’t the way to do it,” he whispers into my ear.

~*~

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I’m Keary Taylor, and I’ve been self-publishing since early 2010. Since then I’ve released 15 titles and I’m loving every bit of this industry! I write in a few different genres, but paranormal seems to be my most loved. I currently live in Utah and spend my summers on a little island in Washington State with my husband and our two kids! I love traveling, jamming out to music, and have the sugar taste buds of a four year old!

Tell us about your latest book, HOUSE OF ROYALS.

This has been such a fun series to write! Alivia comes to live in Mississippi after a father she didn’t know leaves her his massive estate. She arrives to find a town that’s terrified of the dark and her very last name brings all kinds of fear to their eyes. She’s about to learn of a completely hidden monarchy where the politics get bloody and deadly.

Where did you get the inspiration for HOUSE OF ROYALS?

This story actually evolved from a very different one that I had been trying to write for three years. It was similarly set in the South, in a sleepy, creepy town, but the supernatural basis for it was voodoo. I did a lot of weird research, had massive outlines, but every time I worked on it, I had to stop for one reason or another. I just couldn’t write that version of the story. I joke and say it has a curse on it, but I’m not really joking… One day the thought just popped into my head that vampires would totally fit into this town instead, and the rough monarchy I’d been setting up in the original version worked even better in the vampire version! And House of Royals just poured out of me.

What celebrity would you chose to play the main character(s) in the movie rendition of your book?

I would have Lily Collins play Alivia Ryan. She totally fits the soft, shy girl Alivia starts out as, but captures the hidden wolf within. Ian Ward would be played by Liam Hemsworth (I know, this surprised me too, I’m a hardcore Chris loyalist). And Rath would be none other than Lenny Kravitz!

What do you have coming out in the future?

I’m plowing through this series! Book two, HOUSE OF PAWNS releases December 15th, and then book three, HOUSE OF KINGS, comes out in March of 2016. And the series will continue in the fall!

Keary Taylor grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now resides on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two young children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night. She is the author of THE EDEN TRILOGY, the FALL OF ANGELS trilogy, and WHAT I DIDN'T SAY. To learn more about Keary and her writing process, please visit www.KearyTaylor.com.

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Excerpt, Author Interview & Giveaway! Out of Chances, Face the Music #4 by Shona Husk

 

Shona Husk’s sexy new adult series about emerging rock band Selling the Sun concludes this month with a story about a woman who doesn’t want to connect, a man who’s forgotten how and the friendships that save our lives.

Dan Clarke knows he doesn’t have a problem, regardless of whatever his band members, his friends, his family and everyone else thinks. Drinking isn’t keeping him from doing what needs to be done, and it helps keep the anger and pain of his ex-girlfriend’s betrayal at bay. If only she would stay away as well, but, since the band’s return to Fremantle, she’s everywhere-on the phone, in his apartment, at his parents’ house-begging for another chance, reminding him of how good they had been together, holding him hostage to the past. It’s no wonder he needs a beer now and again.

Indigo Matthews is all about control: she trains hard, she works hard and she plays hard. Men are for fun, not forever, and she will never end up like her mother, trapped and miserable. A huge Selling the Sun fan, Indigo knows when Dan wanders into her bar that he is a conquest that she has to make. But their connection is stronger than just sex, and regardless of her credo Indigo finds herself going back for more. Then truths about Dan’s life start to emerge, and Indigo finds herself in the one position she swore she’d never find herself.

A DUI, a drunk one night stand and an ultimatum from the band bring Dan’s life to a halt. Picking up the pieces is something he can’t do alone, and there’s only one person that he trusts to give a damn. The one person that he hurt the most. Indigo.

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~*~

At the man’s table she stopped, hip cocked to the side. ‘My buddy over there says that you’re no one famous. I think you are.’

He smiled, but it was cautious. ‘Who do you think I am?’

‘I have five bucks that says you’re the bass player from Selling the Sun.’ There was no money on the table, and the guy she was working with didn’t give a damn, but that didn’t stop nerves from pushing her heart harder or her hands from feeling a little slippery on the tray.

‘And if I am?’ He leaned back and his smile broadened.

‘A free beer?’ She put the one he’d ordered on the table.

He nodded. ‘I am.’

‘Prove it.’ Anyone could say that they were.

‘Drivers licence okay? Or do you require a full hundred points?’ He was still smiling as though this was a game. ‘But that will only work if you know my name. Do you?’

‘What kind of fan wouldn’t, Dan Clarke?’

He lifted one eyebrow as he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open, covered his address with his thumb and showed her his name. Daniel Sean Clarke. ‘Happy?’

She nodded, more than happy. Her happy was doing its own happy dance. Now for part two of her daring plan. She’d never slept with any one close to famous, and while she’d fancied Dan from the audience of the concerts, he was here now, right in front of her. She could reach out and touch him. She resisted. Just. ‘What are you doing later?’

‘How much later?’ His blue eyes took on a guarded look, as though he wasn’t sure where this was going.

She didn’t buy that for a moment. He’d broken up with his girlfriend and he must get hit on all the time. Indigo checked her watch. An hour and a half left of her shift. That was probably too long, yet there was no way she could have him out the back of the pub in the middle of the afternoon—no matter how appealing that seemed right now.

‘I finish in ninety minutes.’

‘And then?’ He drew a line in the condensation on his glass, his gaze firmly on her. He was waiting for her to make it clear. Maybe he wasn’t that interested. She could walk away, opportunity taken and declined. But he hadn’t said no.

So she gave a shrug as though the outcome didn’t matter. ‘We do whatever two consenting adults feel like.’

‘Are you hitting on me?’

‘Did I not make it clear enough for you?’ Did he not want to be hit on or was he not as smart as he appeared? She didn’t like either of those options.

Then he smiled and gave her a slow, lingering look that seemed to take in everything, from the top of her head down to her ass. ‘Just checking … I get that free beer while I wait?’

She nodded. She’d kind of promised him that anyway. Was he more interested in the beer than her? She drew in a breath, ready to blow him off at the first sign of rejection. Get in first before she got hurt was her motto.

Dan picked up the glass and took a sip, his gaze still on her. ‘Well, I guess the only question left is your place or mine.’

Do you plot or just follow your muse?

A little of both. I like to know my characters and the main plot points before I start writing, but how I get to those main points is a mystery and there is often a bit of scene shuffling in the middle to get it all together.

Coffee, tea or wine?

Hot chocolate. I don’t like coffee or teas (except peppermint tea) and I don’t drink very often—I don’t mind a good chocolate martini, I have had bad ones ☹

Where did the idea for this story come from?

Out of Chances is book 4 in the series. When I wrote book 1 (Out of Rhythm) I know all the characters really well, but I hadn’t planned on writing their stories (of course when Escape Publishing asked for them I said yes). Dan was in a difficult situation. And I could’ve forced the story to take another route, but I haven’t shied away from writing real issues in this series (it’s NA and people are finding their adult feet, mistakes are made and people have to move on, that’s life). Dan was a complex hero, although some people may not see him as heroic at all, he does grow and change and realize his mistake which shows a strength of character.

Where is Fremantle, WA and why there not somewhere more well-known?

Fremantle is near Perth Western Australia. I chose to set the books there instead of Sydney or Melbourne because I love Freo (as the locals call it) and it has a great live and local scene. Lots of great bands got their start there, so it seemed like a good starting point for my fictional band Selling the Sun.

You seem to like heroes that are a little broken…why?

I don’t like my heroes or heroines to be too perfect. Flawed people are always more interesting—and we are all flawed in our own way. Even though I might write paranormal or sci-fi I want the characters to be relatable. When writing contemporary romance I want the reader to feel as though the character could be a friend or their neighbour or someone they went to school with.

What’s next?

I’m working on Ripley’s story (he is one of Dan’s friends). I’m also working on the sequel to Desire to Fall (science fiction romance), which is getting quite dark.

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SHONA HUSK is the author of the Shadowlands, Court of Annwyn and the Face the Music series. You can find out more information about Shona at www.shonahusk.com or follow her on Twitter @ShonaHusk, or Facebook www.facebook.com/shonahusk

Face the Music, a contemporary romance series, finishes in November 2015 with Out of Chances.

New SFR series coming soon with Desire to Fall.

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Excerpt, Author Interview & Giveaway! Looking Out For Fangs, Cloverleah Pack #7 by Losa Oliver

Josh moved from the huge San Antonio pack to join the men at Cloverleah looking for a bit more adventure, and the chance to meet his mate. He’s quick to adapt to the much smaller pack, and even his status as one of the few beta wolves in a group full of Alphas. A chance visit from the Atlanta coven has him meeting the man he was waiting for. It was just a damn shame he was unconscious at the time. 

Vadim D’Arcy should be the Regent of the Atlanta coven, but he gave up his position years before when a personal tragedy had him hiding away in his huge mansion. Forced into a situation where he had to escort a cursed vampire to Cloverleah, he realizes pretty quickly that Josh is his true match. The only problem is, he doesn’t want one. 

However threats on the pack, and two interfering Fae soon nudge the two men back together. Fighting other wolves, and even vampires is becoming commonplace for the Cloverleah pack. But a dark magic user just might have the last laugh. Can Vadim fight his personal demons long enough to keep his mate safe, and will Josh be there for him when he does? Or will a combined attack from the coven and the pack in Atlanta bring the entire Cloverleah pack to its knees?

Warnings: This is an m/m erotic romance featuring a sweet but staunch beta wolf, an old as sin vampire and all your other favorites from Cloverleah. HEA and no cliff hangers guaranteed.

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Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Lisa Oliver author of Watching Out For Fangs, which is book 7 in the Cloverleah Pack series. 

Hi Lisa, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi there, I am so excited to be here, thank you. My name is Lisa, as you know and I am the author of the Cloverleah Pack series, the Bound and Bonded series and a whole stack of other books in the M/M genre. I love to write about shifters, and other paranormal creatures who live among us. All of my books are based on the true mate trope, and this one is no exception. In this book we meet Josh, who hasn’t been at Cloverleah very long, but he really wants to meet his mate. His mate meets him, and leaves. Why? Because Vadim is a vampire who is older than sin, with a lot of guilt hanging over him about his past. Of course, because this is my story the two men do get together, and while Josh is teaching Vadim that it really is okay to love again, they also have to face problems like another attack on the pack, and Josh’s mother. 

Where do you find your inspiration?

I have no idea. My stories are never planned, they just come to me, and I write them down. I read an awful lot of books in the genre, but friends who have read my books also point out that there is a lot of “me” in them too and I noticed that when writing this one. 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have been able to put words down on paper since I was four years old, but I didn’t become a writer as a job until probably sixteen years ago. I didn’t write my first novel until November 2013 and for me, that is when I became a true writer. I now write full time and doubt I will ever do anything else. 

Do your characters become like real people to you?

Definitely and I love them all, for different reasons. I choose my characters from pics of hot men I find online (got to love the research), and then they become real in my head – they find their voice and let me know how they want things to go and I just tag along, writing madly. 

If you weren’t a writer, what else would you like to have done?

I am not very good with people, so I would have probably become a reclusive artist. Art is my other passion. I love to draw and paint, although I don’t do either of them very well, and my favorite thing to do is go for long drives and take pictures of rural scenes. 

What do you want your tombstone to say?

“Off on another great adventure.”

“Everett was known as your favorite, yet you have set him free, compelled him to leave you and never return. You have met your true match, my son.” Not a question, but a statement of fact. Vadim opened his eyes, knowing he could never lie directly to his mother. He nodded instead, as his brain once again focused on Josh. What would the young wolf be feeling, knowing that Vadim had bonded with him without permission and then rejected him as a mate? Maybe some of the pain he was feeling was coming from his mate, even if they were separated by miles. That idea didn’t make him feel any better. 

“The wolf you healed?” This time his persistent mother was asking a question so Vadim nodded again. 

“And you didn’t think to stay and protect him?”

Letting out a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, Vadim said slowly, “I came here to protect him, from this coven and the Atlanta pack.”

“That didn’t work out too well for you now, did it?” Eloise had a small smile on her face as though a lot happier now she knew the reason behind the loss of Vadim’s fabled control. “What are you going to do?”

Vadim would have shrugged but that was a little hard to do with his arms strung up, so he was forced to speak instead. “Wait out my punishment. If I am released in time I will go home and sort out my affairs. Either way I anticipate it will all be over for me in six weeks as I haven’t fed for a while.”

In a strong flowing movement Eloise stood up, gliding over to where Vadim was chained, her gown settling around her feet in a soft mist. The finery of the pale blue looked incongruous against the dirty concrete floor.

“You would die rather than accept your true match? Why would you do such a cruel thing to your wolf? Is he that disfigured from the attack on him that you cannot look past it?” Vadim realized his mother was not only shocked, she was hurt as well, and damn it all, Vadim didn’t like it when the lovely woman was upset. So he answered as honestly as he knew how.

“Josh is beautiful, mother,” Vadim assured her softly, remembering all too well the lovely features of his mate’s face. They would be scorched in his brain until he took his last breath. “He is a loyal fighter, a beta wolf, with tanned skin and light hair that glows like a halo in the sun. There is nothing wrong with him at all.”

“Then why?” Easily asked, harder to answer.

“Because I made a promise, mother, surely you can understand.” Vadim’s voice hardened. “My true match, my mate, he’s a wolf and he deserves to be loved with an open heart. To be held and cared for, to be protected and cherished in the way of a wolf, not bonded forever to a vampire with no heart.”

Lisa Oliver had been writing non-fiction books for years when visions of half dressed, buff men started invading her dreams. Unable to resist the lure of her stories, Lisa decided to switch to fiction books, and now stories about her men clamor to get out from under her fingertips. 

When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it, is to promise her chocolate. Lisa will do anything for chocolate.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers. You can friend her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor), catch up on what’s happening at her blog (http://www.supernaturalsmut.com) or email her directly at yoursintuitively@gmail.com.

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Author Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway! Enduring Night, More Heat Than The Sun #7 by John Wiltshire

You’d have thought that Ben and Nikolas would have learnt that their romantic holidays inevitably end up as disasters. A short break on the polar ice sees them trapped in a nightmare of murder and deceit. Neither of them, however, foresees the long-term impact that endless winter has on their relationship. They return with a metaphorical darkness that threatens everything they have created together. Desperate and fearing for Nikolas’s life, Ben makes a bargain with a surprising ally. For the first time, Nikolas meets an enemy more powerful than he is. But fortunately, not as sneaky…

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Prologue

The view from the window hadn’t changed since the last time Ben had studied it—one grey, depressing wing of the building, the car park below, and some scraggly trees, still bare in January. Farther away, he could see the roofs of some houses, and perhaps, if he let his imagination run away with it, the distant hills of Bodmin moor. He didn’t speculate in the realms of fiction much these days. He brought his gaze back to the utilitarian architecture.

The seagull was back, perched on the sill, as it had been day after day. Sometimes, it tapped the window with its beak. Ben was never sure if the gull wanted in, or for him to open the window and join it outside, flying or falling. Freedom either way.

Secretly, Ben thought the gull was an albatross. It was so vast, so impressive, that it seemed inconceivable that it could be an ordinary gull blown in from Plymouth Sound and sitting on the grimy ledge. The first albatross perhaps to make it to England, tossed on ocean currents all the way from the Chatham Islands, lost, alone. If it was, then it was in good company. Ben had never felt so lost or so alone, and he had spent a fair proportion of his life being buffeted by metaphorical winds far stronger than those that prowled the vast oceans of the world.

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing John Wiltshire author of Enduring Night

Hi John, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Tell us about your book.

Hi, yes, it’s called Enduring Night and is the 7th in the More Heat Than the Sun series about Ben Rider and Nikolas Mikkelsen published by MLR Press. The boys had a hard time in Book 6. Nikolas badly underestimated Ben, and Ben took his eye off the ball, just wanting their lives to be easy and fun. In Book 7 they are still suffering from the after effects of these errors. They decide to go on a Polar Night romantic holiday. As the title implies, all doesn’t go well.

How difficult was it to get into the main character’s head?

To be honest, after seven books, not difficult at all. The trouble I seem to be having these days is getting out of my characters heads when I need to surface and do other things. My life doesn’t seem quite as exciting as theirs, I have to confess.

Is this book a standalone or do you plan on visiting it again?

Book 8, His Fateful Heap of Days, is already written and with my editor. And I have no intention of ending the series there. 

Why did you choose to write M/M stories?

I think they chose me. I wrote my first aged ten. It was very much guys on a camping trip having to share sleeping bags to keep warm type of drivel—very innocent. But I’ve never been interested in women and their concerns. I prefer the world of men. I actually don’t choose books to read with female protagonists, and if one slips in for romantic interest, I always think how much better the story would be if she were male.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I occasionally teach at a writing class, and I tell my students that writers are readers first. I’m a voracious reader in all genres, except m/m, ironically. I never consciously copy a plot outline, of course, but inspiration inevitably seeps in. Then real life lends themes too. I’ve lived in eight different countries so far, and had some odd adventures in my time—from nice things like dining with a Prince to not so nice like being bombed. So I still have lots to draw on for plots ideas. One of my novels coming out this year, Ollie Always, was inspired from my more recent travels—emigrating to New Zealand and all that followed from that drastic step. The book I’m currently writing is set in a small Devon village, and every character is real (only disguised, because I’d like to go home some day and don’t want to be lynched).

John is English, an ex-army officer, who emigrated to New Zealand and now spends his time surfing and procrastinating on YouTube.

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Author Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway! Small Wonders by Courtney Lux

A pickpocket who finds value in things others do not want, Trip Morgan meets and becomes involved with Nate Mackey, a down-and-out former Wall Street professional who looks eerily like a child in a photograph Trip found years before. 

It’s part of a collection of stolen trinkets he’s collected since he arrived in New York. He keeps it all close and works out a life he could have if he could ever let someone keep him long enough for him to build up a treasure trove of small wonders all his own.

In confronting their own demons and finding value in each other, Trip and Nate may find that their relationship is a wonder of its own.

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Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Courtney Lux, author of Small Wonders. 

Hi Courtney, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi and thank you for having me! I am a Minnesotan-turned-New Yorker, and I am actually a part-time writer. I got my B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and I’m finishing an M.S. at New York University in Communication Sciences and Disorders, so I live a bit of a double life. While working my way through graduate school, through a series of a lot of late nights and days spent in coffee shops, I wrote my first novel, Small Wonders.

Small Wonders is the story of Trip Morgan, an individual who ran away to New York City from a hard home life in the south when he was only sixteen. Trip is living with an eclectic band of roommates and he makes a meager living working as a busker, and, at times, as a casual sex worker in order to keep surviving in the city. Trip entertains himself pickpocketing inconsequential items off people, but when he “accidentally” lifts a wallet off of Nate Mackey, a 26-year-old working in finance, he is struck by the uncanny resemblance of this man to a child in a photograph he found years before. Trip and Nate meet and form a sort of unconventional relationship and really work to navigate both themselves and one another.

Tell us something no one else knows about your characters.

Trip is a fairly secretive guy, and he can come across as rough and crass the majority of the time, but when he relaxes and lets his guard down, he has the ability to be a very different person. He loves to tease the people he cares about, he’s silly and light-hearted and up for anything. 

Nate can be really goofy. He’s very collected and cool on the surface and he can be pretty uptight, but given a little gin, the right company and the right situation he can be silly.

Have you ever written something that made you cry?

Usually while I’m writing, I’m so focused on the technical aspect of evoking that emotion in someone else through the words that I won’t cry while I’m writing, but I’ve definitely gotten emotional thinking about the subject before or after I write it.

Have you ever co-written with someone before?

I haven’t, but I’ve always wanted to! I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson a couple years ago, which was a collaboration between David Levithan and John Green, and it was such a fun concept and seemed like such a cool way to write. It’s double the creative power, someone to carry half the word count and a built-in person to go talk to when you’re feeling stuck. I’m sure there’s a lot of added work to the process, too, but it seems like so much fun.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

The hardest part of writing this story for me, and really any story, is the “down time”. Obviously a story isn’t just an endless trail of big plot points, there needs to be a build and a developmental process to those points and, in addition, I feel that for characters to feel authentic and human, they need to have some times where they’re not necessarily doing anything of particular consequence. Including those moments while also constantly keeping that build in mind and really orchestrating everything is always a bit of a juggling act.

Name your four most important food groups.

Grains, fruit, coffee and Diet Coke. It’s a little horrifying how much of my diet consists of Diet Coke and granola bars.

Today, he has encountered no southerners and only a few tourists from elsewhere, and he'd be okay with that if it weren't for the rain. It comes fast. One minute it's sunny and lovely and easy pickings, and the next the sky's gone black and people are running from the park with street-vendor umbrellas popping open over their heads or shopping bags held up as makeshift shields. Trip switches to catchy pop numbers and more recent music, but it's no use.

Some days this works. People take pity on a not-quite-twenty-something singing in the rain. Older women especially seem to take in the auburn hair stuck to his forehead and his relatively petite stature and read hungry young desperation in him. They offer him sympathetic smiles and a few soggy dollars. 

Other times, playing in the rain has the opposite of his intended effect—strange boy with strange eyes playing his guitar as if he doesn't know the rain is there. Those people see the darkness in him: a boy with a chip on his shoulder that makes them nervous. Those people give him wary looks and a wide berth. Trip's not sure he blames them.

He's a little put out and a lot cold, so he sells his umbrella for a few dollars before shouldering his guitar and closing the lid on his coffee can to set to work at his other favorite occupation.

He'd been a decent pickpocket in his younger years, but now, after a lot of practice, he's a better thief and a good runner when he needs to be. Not that he steals anything of particular worth. He finds value in treasures scrounged from the bottoms of pockets.

Loose change, hair binders, halves of Vicodin, broken cigarettes, crumpled matchbooks. All of it has a purpose, a certain sense of importance. He envies women and their big purses. They've got whole bags of riches waiting to be exhumed. Though, more likely than not, those little trinkets will remain forgotten and neglected in the bottoms of Marc Jacobs clutches and Target sale hobo bags.

Other people don't see it—the value in these things. Maybe that's why he steals from them. Nothing they'd miss: a worn dollar here, a business card there. He keeps it all close and works out a life he could have if he could ever let someone keep him long enough for him to build up a treasure trove of small wonders all his own.

For now, he will live with worn shopping lists, broken crayons and ticket stubs he lifts off of others. He keeps them in a beaten-up bag that is more duct tape than canvas and lets them build up stardust. Then, in those lonely hours of the night, he scatters them across the floor and works them into constellations to which he assigns stories. Some he writes down; others, he forgets before the next day. It's not a financially savvy task, but it's his favorite, and it passes the time as well as anything else.

Courtney Lux is a Minnesotan-turned-New Yorker whose love for the city is rivaled only by her love for wide, open spaces. She is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison and a soon-to-be graduate of New York University. When not playing writer, Courtney is an avid reader, constant dreamer, and lover of dogs, wine and being barefoot. Small Wonders is her first novel, and is the recipient of a Publishers Weekly starred review.

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