Interview with Jessica Aspen and a Giveaway!

Alexis: Today we have author of twisted fairytale romance, Jessica Aspen. Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win her giveaway!

Jessica: Hi Alexis! Thanks for letting me guest on your blog and talk about Prince by Blood and Bone. I had fun answering your questions and I’m excited to be giving away an e-copy of book one, The Dark Huntsman, A Fantasy Romance of the Black Court.

Alexis: That sounds great! So when did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Jessica: When I was very small I remember finding out that people actually wrote the books that I loved my mother reading to me. It was a revelation, and I instantly added author to my list of career choices that before had been mommy and artist. I’ve managed to achieve both mommy and author but sadly, my artistic endeavors will never earn career status.

Alexis: But writing is an art, so technically you have already achieved both :-) What made you chose your title for this latest release?

Jessica: This is the second book in the Tales of the Black Court series of twisted fantasy romance, so I had a real challenge thinking up a title. In the first book, The Dark Huntsman, Logan’s uncles are talking about the evil queen and one of them says, “She’ll ride him, Angus. Ride him ‘til he’s tied to her by blood and bone.” I knew that the queen had cursed her own son, Kian, and the idea of a curse that permeated a person to the bone stayed with me. When your own mother turns you into a monster, it’s horrible, but despite the overwhelming rage of Kian’s beast he’s a prince to his very marrow. Hence, Prince by Blood and Bone, the title to my version of Beauty and the Beast.

Alexis: I love that. Which authors inspire(d) you?

Jessica: To write this book? Well, I’d have to say all the fairy tales I’ve ever read, especially George McDonald’s classics and the yellow, red and blue books of fairy tales. Jim Butcher’s urban fae series, The Dresden Files, and Laurel K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series both got me thinking about modern life and the fae. But as for which authors inspire me in general, I read far and wide from Jane Austin’s romances to JF Penn’s dark thrillers.

Alexis: That is quote a spread of writers. Everyone has their own writing process…how they come up with ideas, how they name their characters, how they choose the setting. Can you describe your writing process?

Jessica: Each book has been a little different. While The Dark Huntsman wasn’t my first book published, it was the first book I finished. It was a seat-of-the-pants novel. It took a few years and lots of edits to iron out all the learning curves, and since then I’ve learned the value of at least a skeleton plot when writing a long novel. But I still don’t really know or understand my characters until I’m in the middle of writing them.

            Most authors do this the other way around, they use character sheets, interview their characters, and know everything about everyone before they start writing. I know where my plot is going. I know the ending and the fairy tale I’m structuring the story around. I know all the big events, or at least I think I know them, sometimes they change during the writing. But my characters only truly reveal their hearts when I’m in the middle of writing their big scenes, the heartbreaks and they successes tell me why they are feeling and reacting the way they do, so I can’t do a complete character work-up until after the rough draft has been written.

            As for names, for this series I’ve been depending heavily on traditional Celtic names for my fae characters. Prince Kian’s name comes from the Irish story of Cian, but I was worried about the tendency of readers to pronounce the C as an S, so I changed it to a K. The legendary Cian is reputed to have shifted into a boar as a means of escape, so it worked naturally that my Prince Kian’s Gift would be shapeshifting. Though the legends inspire me and infuse my writing in a myriad of ways you won’t find many similarities in my story to the Irish legends, but you will find many similarities to the classic tale, Beauty and the Beast.

Alexis: I have to admit, that is my favorite fairy tale. What are you working on now?

Jessica: I’m writing book three of The Tales of the Black Court, Broken Mirror. This book completes the cycle of the three MacElvy witches who fall afoul of the Black Queen and find romance with enemy fae. While I plan to write more books in this series of twisted fairy tales and more about the Black Court, I also plan to keep the series arcing in trilogies so the book after Broken Mirror will be book four in The Tales of the Black Court, but will also start a new trilogy arc.

            In the meantime, I just released a new venture this week, a contemporary ghost story called Ghosts of Christmas Past. It’s a short, spooky Christmas story, nothing like my twisted fairy tales but writing fantasy can get very involved. Sometimes it’s nice to step into the modern world. Of course, then I’m refreshed and ready to tackle the next one, so on to Broken Mirror!

Alexis: Check out the blurb for Prince by Blood and Bone!

Prince by Blood and Bone

A Fantasy Romance of the Black Court

A rebellious prince, a reluctant witch, and a mysterious prophecy

twisted together in a tale of Beauty and the Beast

Trapped in an underground palace Prince Kian must remain a beast, or give in to the queen’s plan to strip him of his powers. But Kian refuses to submit to his mother's evil plan and is determined to escape both his prison and his curse—even if it means dabbling in witch's magic.

On the run for most of her life, Bryanna MacElvy has never learned to use her healing Gift. When she’s pulled by Kian’s spell into his prison, the prince sees the golden witch as his salvation. Refusing to let her, or to accept she is incapable of curing him, Kian offers her a terrible bargain—heal him, or give up her freedom forever.

Their lives entwined by fate, the prince must learn to love a human and Bryanna must learn to trust herself—or risk losing their freedom, his powers, and their passion, to the evil of the Black Queen.

Dare to enter Jessica Aspen’s world of steamy, fantasy romance in book two of her fairy tale trilogy: Tales of the Black Court

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About Jessica

Jessica Aspen has always wanted to be spirited away to a world inhabited by elves, were-wolves and sexy men who walk on the dark side of the knife. Luckily, she’s able to explore her fantasy side and delve into new worlds by writing paranormal romance. She loves indulging in dark chocolate, reading eclectic novels, and dreaming of ocean vacations, but instead spends most of her time, writing, walking the dog, and hiking in the Colorado Rockies. You can find out more information and read about Jessica’s paranormal romances at http://JessicaAspen.com

To sign up for Jessica Aspen’s new release email please go to: http://eepurl.com/zs4Sj

To learn more about Jessica visit her here:

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Join the Jessica Aspen mailing list! Get the scoop on new releases, sales, plus the chance to win ARCs and participate in special giveaways.  When I send you an email, there’s always something in it for you! http://eepurl.com/zs4Sj

Alexis: Don’t forget for a chance to win an ecopy of the first in this series, The Dark Huntsman, be sure to leave a comment. Good luck!

CRUISE INTO EDEN coming into port next month!

I know, it’s almost a month away, but I’m so excited about my next book Cruise into Eden to be released in early September. Why? Because it is a first for me in a couple ways.

First, it is a novella. I am not known for writing short, so when my friend challenged me to write shorter than 300 pages, I was reluctant to give it a try. I like a lot of story with my erotic romance and I wasn’t sure I would be satisfied with, say, a 100 page book. I even talked to my agent about it, and she raised her brows in doubt before asking what classical fiction I would use as inspiration. Since a short story inspired a full length novel for me, she wanted to know if I would use a haiku :-)

Actually, her joke helped as it gave me the idea of looking for a poem to use and I found the perfect one. Then I asked for advice from other erotic romance authors who write short all the time, much shorter than mine turned out, and they were very forthcoming. I couldn’t have done it without them.

Second, this story is a first for me because it will be my first series, the Eden series. Yes, since I couldn’t get EVERYTHING I wanted into the story, I decided to make it a series, and once that decision was made, the writing just flowed, but not just the writing. Heroes and heroines for future books started populating my mind until I finally set-up a spread sheet to keep them all straight! So I’m happy to say that the second book in this series will be out in the spring of 2015.

If you want to be the first to see the cover or receive a sneak peek inside this release or any future books, be sure to sign-up for my updates at http://eepurl.com/D3MqT

 

Squeeee! I’m so thrilled! Seriously, I can’t sit still :-}

Always, Lexi

Hell On Wheels

     For those of you who know me, I’ve been married for a long time (33 ½ years to be exact although sometimes it doesn’t seem that long….other times…well, you know) and I have to admit this (Shhh! Don’t tell my DH), not only do I love my husband, but I like him, too. If we weren’t married, we’d still be friends.

But I digress. He was off visiting friends out of state earlier this week and he had a great time.

       And I missed him. It was very quiet here with just me and the dogs (my DH can talk a blue streak….sometimes, there’s just no shutting him up…ask anyone who knows him).

           So what did I do with myself while he was away? For one thing, I indulged my passion for both history and westerns last Friday and Saturday. AMC ran a marathon of Hell On Wheels before the season premiere on Saturday night. This is a fabulous series about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad (some of it is based in fact. Other things? Not so much). Still, it’s a great series and I’ve been watching it from the beginning. There are characters based on the real life people I’ve done so much research on (railroad barons like Collis Huntington and Charles Durant) and the phrase, “Hell on Wheels”, which I knew from my research, was used to describe the collection of gambling houses, dance halls, saloons and brothels that followed the rail workers as they built the railroad across North America. This show depicts it exactly as I’ve always seen it in my head.

            Did I watch it? You bet. As much as I could. There’s something about this period in history that draws me (and I’ve always had a deep fascination for trains!).

            If you have the chance and you love history (as well as westerns), watch an episode or two of Hell on Wheels. You’ll be hooked!

 As always, happy reading (and watching)!

Marie

Interview with Mary Behre and a Giveaway!

Alexis: Today we have Paranormal Romantic Suspense author Mary Behre who is giving away a signed copy of Guarded. Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win this great book!

So Mary, when did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Mary:  I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a child. I was a voracious reader and loved getting lost in stories. I also had a huge imagination. I would pen stories in the back of my notebooks during class instead of paying attention to the teacher. Shhh…don’t tell them that. :-)

Alexis: My lips are sealed. What made you chose your title for this recent release?

Mary: Guarded aptly describes the heroine on multiple levels. She guards herself against getting too close to people. Everyone she’s ever loved has left her or died and she has no desire to face that kind of pain again. She’s also a telepathic veterinarian who communicates with animals. When animals begin to disappear from a local zoo, Shelley decides to guard the remaining ones by solving the mystery herself.

Alexis: That really is a great title and I so wish I had Shelley’s abilities. What are you working on now?

 

Mary: Aside from promoting the release of Guarded, I’m writing the next book in the Tidewater series, Energized (working title). Spirited was about Jules Scott, the oldest of the three sisters. Guarded is about Shelley, the middle sister. Energized focuses on Hannah, the youngest of the trio. Where Jules sees ghosts and Shelley talks to animals, Hannah’s crift (cursed gift) is of psychometry. She can touch a metal object and see into the mind of the person who last touched the object. Like the first two books, Energized is a paranormal romantic suspense.

Alexis: I love these ladies! I’m sure with such creative romances, that you have a ton of fans. What has been your most memorable fan experience?

Mary: A woman found out that I was doing a book signing in her grandson’s town. She mailed her copy of Spirited to me with a lovely note so I could sign the book and give it to her grandson to return to her. I keep that fan letter pinned to my bulletin board. I love receiving fan letters and get excited each time I receive a note, a Facebook post, a tweet, or an email. :-)

Alexis: Time to get personal, to the really important stuff. What is your favorite treat? Why?

Mary: My favorite treat is the gluten-free cupcakes made by this tiny bakery in Kensington, Maryland. I was in Kensington for a book festival back in April. My husband went into the store to ask about gluten-free cupcakes and the owner told him to come back in an hour, she’d make some fresh for me. They were the best cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Whenever I want to celebrate big, I make a point of going into the shop and picking up one of those divine creations!

Alexis: Oh, those sound heavenly. That place is a rare find. Your husband knows how to treat you well :-) Thank you so much for visiting Happily Ever After Thoughts. Do you have a question for our readers so they can have a chance at winning Guarded?

Mary: Yes. Okay readers, it’s your turn. What’s your favorite treat?

Alexis: While you are thinking about that check out this excerpt from Guarded.

Excerpt from Guarded

“Dev, the last time Jules and I saw each other—”

“You were both children.” Dev scooted closer to her on the couch and took her hands in his. “I don’t know everything about what went on with you two, but I remember enough to know the last time you saw her was hard. On both of you. Shells, give her a chance. I’ve gotten to know her. She’s a great person. A lot like you. And I know she misses you.”

“She does?” There was no missing the doubt and confusion in her eyes.

“She does.” He nodded. “Give yourself a chance. You deserve to know your family. Take it from someone who will never get an opportunity like this. What you have here is a gift. Grab it with both hands, Shells.”

The touch of her cool, delicate hands between his much larger ones sent a jolt of awareness through his body. From the way her eyes widened, she must have felt it too.

Shelley sucked in the right corner of her bottom lip. The sight of it thundered straight to his tightening groin. “All right. I’ll go with you to Tidewater, tomorrow. But that ocean view had better be spectacular,” she joked.

“Satisfaction guaranteed.”

“Thanks, Dev.” She beamed at him, then cleared her throat and pulled free from his touch. “Your girlfriend is one lucky woman.”

“Shelley, that relationship ended a long time ago. I . . . uh, don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You broke up? I’m sorry to hear that.” But the smile on her face and the dilation of her pupils belied that statement. She licked her lips and leaned closer to him. Her soft fingers entwined with his rougher ones again. “Really sorry.”

Awareness rocketed through him.

“Don’t be. I’m not.” And, oh God, her lips were right there. The scent of Shells, vanilla and sugar, teased his senses. His mouth watered for just a taste. Dev craved a taste of her, just a sample. Slowly, giving her time to pull back, he lowered his head.

Buy Links:

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About Mary Behre

Mary Behre, author of the Tidewater series, is the lone female in a house full of males and the undisputed queen of her domain. She even has the glittery tiara to prove it. She loves stories with humor, ghosts, mysteries, and above all else, a good romance. When not writing, she enjoys reading, gluten-free baking, and hanging out at the beach with the most important men in her life, her family.

Website: http://marybehre.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/MaryBehre.Author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaryBehre

Email: mary@marybehre.com

Alexis: Don’t forget to answer Mary’s question about your favorite treat for a chance to win Guarded.