Author Interview, Review & Giveaway! Haven's Creed by Parker Williams

An act of violence destroys his family and ends the life he knows. To escape his haunted past, he joins the military, where, as a sniper, he is trained to kill with precision and detachment. When a covert organization offers him a new purpose, he becomes Haven, an operative devoted to protecting the innocent when he can and avenging them when he cannot.

After ten years of battling the evil in the world, the life no longer holds the attraction or meaning it once had, and he’s ready to walk away. Then he meets Samuel, a young man forced from the age of twelve to work as a sex slave. If ever a man had a need for Haven, it is this one. 

Yet nothing about this growing relationship is one-sided. Sammy gives Haven a stability he’s never known, and Haven becomes the rock upon which Sammy knows he can depend. 

When Sammy reveals something about the enemy Haven has been hunting for months, Sammy fears it will destroy what they’ve built and he’ll lose his home in Haven’s heart.

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Today I’m very grateful to be visiting Mikky’s World of Books! 

Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

My name is Parker Williams (or Will Parkinson if you prefer). I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my husband, our four dogs, and three cats.

Haven’s Creed is a huge departure from anything I’ve ever done in the past. Haven is not a nice man. He’s an assassin whose job it is to protect the innocent when he can, and avenge them when he can’t.

What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your writing?

The first time? That it didn’t suck!

Honestly, though…a man named Michael Thompson wrote to me to tell me how much Pitch, the story of Taylor and Jackson, meant to him. How it reminded him of his life. His letter was so poignant, it made me cry. (Though I will deny that part if anyone asks me.)

Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that impact your writing?

I’m a part-time writer. I also run Pride Promotions, a tour service that promotes other authors. I’d really like to be a full-time writer, and have about twenty stories in various stages of completion. Want an example? ☺

This is from a story called ‘Of Love and Corndogs’

Darwin sat at his usual table and scanned the restaurant, anxious to see Roy, his favorite server. He frowned when the young man who approached the table looked nothing like the raven haired beauty that Darwin had grown accustomed to seeing twice a week for the last six months. He tried to school his features, not wanting to hurt the feelings of the slender blond with the wide smile who drew near.

"Good evening, Mr. Kincade. My name is Richard and I'll be your server for this evening. Would you like to start with a drink?"

"Where's Roy?" Darwin growled. His cheeks heated when Richard stepped back, looking every bit the kicked puppy. Darwin winced. He knew better than to snap at people. He scratched his cheek before he glanced up. ”I’m sorry. It's been a long day. Please forgive me. I assume Roy isn't working tonight?"

"Roy quit a couple days ago,” came the hesitant answer.

Darwin's gut clenched. He'd been coming to Asiago simply to see Roy. The truth of the matter was the food was merely palatable. Seeing Roy had become the highlight of his week, and now he was gone. "Did he say where he was going?" Darwin knew a hint of whine escaped, but goddamn it, he'd been in lust with Roy.

"He and his wife moved to be closer to her parents."

Nausea rolled through Darwin. He hadn't even considered Roy might not have been gay. Such a fool he was.

"Would you like that drink?" Richard asked.

"Yes, please. A shot of Johnny Walker Blue, neat."

Richard gasped and then covered his mouth. "Sir, that costs--"

"I damn well know the cost. Bring me my drink."

Again, Darwin's anger had gotten the better of him. The stress of the day, coupled with his disappointment with Roy being gone had left him on shaky ground. Blue eyes shimmered in the dim lighting, and Darwin worried the young man might break into tears. "Again, please accept my apologies. I should probably go." He reached over and grabbed his briefcase, ready to stand up, when Richard held out a hand and graced Darwin with a genuine and disarming smile.

"No, please. Stay. Let me get you that drink, okay? I'll let you know the dinner special when I come back. My grandma always said any day can be made better with a good meal.”

Without waiting, Richard hurried off in the direction of the bar. Darwin fumed. Not only had he made a fool of himself tonight, but he'd also hurt the feelings of someone he didn't know. Though Richard would be right to refuse to service Darwin, he ran to get a drink. As much as he wanted to believe it the attentive attitude came down to getting a decent tip, Richard seemed to be too earnest for that. Darwin sighed and put his briefcase back on the leather seat. His mother would be so disappointed in him.

The crystal glass thunked against the table and startled Darwin when Richard set it down. The amber liquid rippled gently. Darwin picked it up and gazed into the glass. He'd thought about downing it in one go, relishing the burn that would inevitably follow, but he hated to lose control. He took a deep, steadying breath

"Richard--"

"Ricky."

"Excuse me?"

"Most people call me Ricky. You can, if you want."

Darwin smiled at him. "Ricky then. I'm very sorry. I'm out of sorts, and it's not fair to you that I'm being so...."

"Antagonistic?"

Darwin pulled back and looked at the young man, who was now giving him a cheeky grin. "Okay, we'll go with that."

"I'm sorry I'm not Roy. I'd only met him when I got hired here. He was a great waiter, and I doubt I can fill his shoes. If you prefer, I'll find you someone else."

Darwin grinned. This Ricky definitely hadn’t been at all like he expected. Roy had been standoffish, a little cold, but very professional. Ricky? A breath of fresh air. He had a style all his own. "No, I think you'll do just fine. Tell me about the dinner special."

"Tonight we have a truffle braised tenderloin served with whipped Dauphenaise potatoes and honey glazed carrots."

"And what did you think of it?"

"Excuse me?"

Darwin tapped his index finger on the table. “I assume you tried it, so what did you think?"

Ricky bit the corner of one lip, then glanced around, before he leaned forward and whispered, "Honestly? I thought it was pretentious. Give me a corndog any day."

Darwin burst out laughing, which drew unhappy stares from the tables nearby. It wasn't as if he cared. "What's a corndog?"

Ricky blinked a couple of times. "You don't know what a corndog is? Seriously?"

"Well.... no. I don't know that I've ever had one. Do you think they can make me one here?"

Ricky snorted. "Chef Michael thinks that corndogs aren't even real food. He claims he wouldn't feed them to his Pekinese. So, no, you definitely won't find them here."

Darwin glanced up at Ricky. A nice, easy smile. Loose limbed. He had none of the trappings of a Asiago waiter. "Then can you tell me where to find a good corndog?"

"The best ones in town are at the mini-putt course over on Klein."

"Mini-putt?"

Ricky cocked his head. “You're kidding, right? How do you not know these things?"

Darwin sat back and grinned. Ricky had no idea who he was, and he found it oddly refreshing. He leaned forward and put his chin on the palm of his hand. "I lead a sheltered life, apparently. So if I want a corndog, I need to go to the mini-putt place. Okay, I'll do that."

He stood up and began to move toward the door when the owner rushed to his table. She scowled at Ricky, which didn't set well with Darwin at all. "Mr. Kincaid, is something wrong?"

"No, everything is perfect. I like this young man," he said, waving a hand toward Ricky. "He's refreshing."

The condescending look Louisa gave Ricky told him she didn't agree. "If he's done anything to upset you—“

"Wait. Why would you think he upset me? If anything, I was the responsible party. Ricky did nothing wrong at all. He talked me into a nice drink, and that's all I needed for tonight.” He turned to Ricky. “I’ll stop at the bar to pay for the drink. Thank you for a most entertaining meal.”

He reached into his wallet and peeled off two one-hundred dollar bills, which he tossed on the table, then started for the door again. He turned and saw Louisa's body language. She was tense, her gaze fixed on Ricky, who bit the corner of his lip. Darwin found that didn’t set well with him at all. He called out, "I'm coming back Monday. Can you please reserve me a table and note that I want Ricky as my server?"

If she'd had a mouthful of water, she'd have spit it everywhere. "You want...him?"

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

She moved forward and put a hand on his back as she guided him to the door. Darwin forced himself to remain calm. He didn’t like being touched by people without his permission, and this woman had already gotten his dander up. "Well," she said slowly. "Ricky is on probation. He hasn't exactly been working out. He's slow, and has been argumentative with customers."

"Yet he was perfect with me. Perhaps it was the customers and not the server. Maybe you should consider that. I expect him to be here Monday. If he’s not…”

Darwin left the threat unvoiced. Louisa knew who he was and what he could do if he wanted. He left the woman standing there, huffing like a wild beast, as he stepped out of the restaurant into the cool Chicago night. He gazed wistfully back at the front of the restaurant while he called his driver. Roy was gone, but...Ricky seemed as though he'd be very interesting, too."

"That was fast, Dare."

Darwin grinned at his oldest friend. "They didn't have what I wanted for dinner tonight. The new waiter suggested something, and I find I really want to try it."

Henley's puzzled expression delighted Darwin. He'd been friends with Henley since they were kids, and he rarely frazzled the man. He wondered what the man would say when he told them where they were going. Henley opened the door to the limousine, then closed it after Darwin slid in. He returned to the driver's side and started the car.

"Okay, where to?"

"We're going to the mini-putt course on Klein for a corndog."

At that moment, Darwin wished he had his phone out to take a picture. He'd frame it and hang it in the house so everyone could see Henley looking at though his jaw had unhinged and was now resting atop his polished shoes.

Yes, Ricky could be an inspiration to me.

What interested you about the theme of this book?

Confession time: Haven’s Creed was written as a pressure release valve. I used to work with a woman who drove me insane. She was, without a doubt, one of the worst people I’d ever had the ‘pleasure’ of dealing with. She had always been great with the guests, but with the other staff? Awful. Rude. Condescending. And the biggest problem would be the fact she ran hot and cold. One minute she’d be cheery and happy, the next she would like rip your face off if she could.

I took to writing to deal with her, and from those plots of evisceration came Haven’s book.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Editing. In fact, I call them ‘Dread-its’, because I just hated doing them. I realize it makes for a better book, but I just don’t wanna. (Yes, there’s a whine in there.)

Name your four most important food groups.

As a vegan I’m going with Joey’s Fabulous Tofu Steak, any Gardein product, Daiya cheese, and lots of water.

Mr. Williams, I wasn’t aware you had a dark side. Interesting. 

It’s been a while since I’ve read something dark and Haven’s Creed was the perfect story to make up for the lost time.

Parker managed to pull off beautifully a genre totally (as far as I’m aware) new to him.

The story is full of suspense, action, mystery and situations that will chill the blood in your veins.

In other words- perfect.

Haven is not exactly a hero but he’s not a villain either. Depends on how you look at things. He goes where he’s sent, does his job and returns to a solitary existence time and time again.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Until the day when everything starts to change.

Enter Sammy, a very interesting character. 

Let’s talk a little bit about his and Haven’s relationship because I have a feeling that it will be the cause of many mixed feelings.

I’ll be honest and admit that, what they have, it’s not completely healthy BUT, it’s perfect for them. Here’s why.

First of all, Sammy’s desire to be in control is completely understandable. After so many years of utter slavery, having, finally, an opportunity to be the master of his own destiny brought to the surface that part of him that has never lost hope and that no one has managed to break.

Every minute he spent outside the house of horrors and every nice word he’s received has been exactly what kept him from giving up and what his wounded soul needed to keep hoping that, someday, someone will come and set him free.

Then, there’s the hate he feels for the one who was supposed to love him unconditionally but, instead, chose to discard him like a useless rag.

He might not express it all the time, but it’s there and hate can be a powerful thing, strong enough to take over every other rational thought.

Like I said before, his attachment to Haven is not exactly healthy, but they’re not normal people either.

The rules don’t apply when it comes to them.

Sammy is everything Haven needs to escape the harsh reality of his life even for a few hours and, in exchange, Sammy draws his strength and confidence from from the knowledge that he’ll always be safe as long as he’s standing by his lover’s side. 

They need each other to heal and to be normal, or, at least, as normal they can possibly be.

If you go in hoping this will be a hearts and flowers kind of romance, let me tell you now that this definitely ain’t the book for you.

It’s dark, it’s violent and it will mess you up.

Haven’s Creed is the story of a man who’s been turned into a soulless killing machine and whose acts of violence will leave you breathless, while the other man’s story will break your heart over and over again. 

You will either love them or hate them, there’s no way in between.

My advice to you is to try and keep an open mind while reading this book. Before jumping on the “this is crap” wagon, keep in mind that there’s nothing normal when it comes to either Haven or Samuel. 

You can’t judge based on what YOU would do or what YOU think is right.

And, who knows, they might still surprise you in the end. 

Another add to my “Favorites” list. MWOB highly recommends it.

Happy Reading!!

Parker Williams believes that true love exists, but it always comes with a price. No happily ever after can ever be had without work, sweat, and tears that come with melding lives together. 

Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Parker held his job for nearly 28 years before he decided to retire and try new things. He enjoys his new life as a stay-at-home author and also working on Pride-Promotions, an LGBT author promotion service.

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