Feast Giveaway & Interview

Feast: Harvest of Dreams
By Merrie Destefano
Paperback: 320 pages
Also available on Kindle
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Released: June 28, 2011

Summary: Madeline MacFaddin ("Mad Mac" to fans of her bestselling magical stories) spent blissful childhood summers in Ticonderoga Falls. And this is where she wants to be now that her adult life is falling apart. The dense surrounding forest holds many memories, some joyous, some tantalizingly only half-remembered. And she's always believed there was something living in these wooded hills.

But Maddie doesn't remember the dark parts—and knows nothing of the mountain legend that holds the area's terrified residents captive. She has no recollection of Ash, the strange and magnificent creature who once saved her life as a child, even though it is the destiny of his kind to prey upon humanity. And soon it will be the harvest . . . the time to feast.

Once again Maddie's dreams—and her soul—are in grave danger. But magic runs deep during harvest. Even a spinner of enchanted tales has wondrous powers of her own . . .

I'd love to see inside Merrie Destefano's head. I imagine it would be brimming with fairies, dark creatures, brave loyal dogs, beautiful flowers, luscious forests, and all of the characters from her books. Feast is dark, yet hopeful. It's about loss, but also about love and acceptance. There are moments of intense courage and moments of profound danger. Reader's will love the imagery, the characters and the author's beautiful style of writing.

Merrie and I became acquainted on Twitter before her first book, Afterlife, was published. She's such a kind and generous author who always takes time for her fans and other writers. I love her style of writing in both books, though it's rather different in each one. Merrie made time to answer a few questions for me, and I wanted to share them with you today.

Brenda: Did you create the world for Feast before you started writing the actual story, or did it develop as you went along?

Merrie: In almost all of my books, I figure out certain elements beforehand, but the bulk of the story is born during the writing. I don’t enjoy writing if I have already created a complicated, blow-by-blow outline. For me, the fun is in the journey. That said, I knew Ash’s story very well—both his back story and his world—but most of this was discovered while writing the first version of the book. I wrote 150 pages of this novel, threw it out and then started over. In that process, I learned a lot about who and what the Darklings were.

Brenda: Your writing is so descriptive and full of emotion...did this come naturally or did you develop it as you went along?

Merrie: Thank you! I honestly think that each book has its own unique voice, based on the characters, the story, and the setting. I wanted Feast to have a lyrical, fairy tale feel, so I tried to give a comparable voice to the book. In Afterlife, I was going for more of a gritty, noir, almost detective-thriller style, so the voice in that book was a bit different. During my final edits, I try to pay close attention to areas that might need more description. For instance, I may need to bulk up a scene if it doesn’t seem to fit the tone in the rest of the book.

Brenda: This book is much different than your first one, Afterlife, so I'm wondering which idea came first and how different was writing Feast?

Merrie: Wow, that’s a tough question. Afterlife must have come first, but it was originally a completely different book. The book progression went approximately like this:

1. White Burn (unsold novel, first version of Afterlife, set on Mars)
2. Once to Die (unsold novel, second version of Afterlife, set on earth)
3. Voices (unsold, unfinished, very scary novel)
4. First 10-20 pages of Feast written while writing Voices.
5. In the Beginning (another unsold novel)
6. Afterlife
7. Feast

Now, for the second part of your question: How different was writing Feast? Quite a bit different. Feast is set in the current day, in a setting near where I live, so I had very little research regarding setting and the world-building wasn’t nearly as complicated as it was in Afterlife.

Brenda: Once you rest up from promoting Feast, what's on schedule? Have you already started a new project, or is a sequel in the works for either of your books yet?

Merrie: As far as writing goes, I’m currently working on an e-book novella that would be a prequel to Feast. It’s titled Cursed and I hope to have it out soon. I also recently finished another book, but I’m still working on the edits. Right now I can’t say very much about it, except that I think it’s an incredible book and I can’t wait for it to get published. And I would love to do a sequel to Feast. I have so many story ideas about the characters involved and I just loved the setting.

Brenda, thank you so much for having me on your blog today! I really enjoyed all of your questions.

A FEAST GIVEAWAY!
Merrie is giving away a special package to one of my commenters that includes a signed copy of FEAST, plus some cool swag of bookmarks and buttons. This is a picture of the prize:

To Enter: All you have to do is leave Merrie a comment or question. Be sure to leave your email in the comments (you can put it as such: email at email (DOT) COM if you wish.) I'll use the random number generator to pick a winner on Monday, July 11th. You'll have all weekend to comment.

~Brenda

My First Cowboy Romance

I met Sandy Sullivan at a chat for XOXO Publishing, where she said to me "Most of my books tend to deviate toward western or cowboys. Gotta love a man in tight Wranglers." I confessed to her that I had never read a cowboy romance, and a couple days later she generously offered to send me one of hers. I was a little hesitant because I've read mostly paranormal romance, but I had promised myself to broaden my horizons. Now, Sandy is a prolific author, and I had a really hard time choosing a book. I finally decided to go with Texas Lady, which sounded like a sweet and sexy historical romance. A gal has to go slowly into the world of horse riding, sexy cowboys.

I really enjoyed Texas Lady. It was a sweet story with a little mystery and adventure mixed in with the romance. I also found out after reading it, that it was Sandy's first novel. I must say from looking at her book page she seems to have gotten more bold and steamy in her other books:) I think Texas Lady is a wonderful romance for any age past 16 or so, and of course those of us who passed that age awhile ago.

I asked Sandy some questions about cowboy romance, figuring she wouldn't mind me picking her brain about one of her favorite topics.

Brenda: Why cowboys, Sandy? I know there are the tight Wranglers and all, but what else drew you to writing about cowboys?

Sandy: I've always been a lover of horses and westerns. I loved watching the old westerns on TV and men like John Wayne and others, seemed so sexy to me. The smells of horses, hay and barns are some of my favorite scents, too, so cowboys just kind of come along with those. The other thing about cowboys is they always seem so gentlemanly. You know, holding the door for you, pulling out your chair -- that kind of thing and I just think that's sexy as hell.

Brenda: Texas Lady had an old fashioned feel to it, but I noticed your Wilder Series looks pretty steamy and maybe not quite so old fashioned. Do you think a novice cowboy romance reader like myself could handle it?

Sandy: If you like erotic, then you could handle the Wilder family. It's very hot, but also has the sexy cowboys and a good old fashioned love story in there, too. Even my erotic romances are based around the love of two people, they just have really hot sex!

Brenda: I know you are working on a cowboy shapeshifter short story for a Halloween anthology. I must tell you I am bursting with excitement to read your take on shifters. How did it go? Do you like working with the paranormal aspect? Will we be seeing more supernatural goodness in boots and spurs?

Sandy: It was funny how this cowboy shifter came about from the chat on XOXO. The story is called Cat On The Prowl and the hero is a shifter, a mountain lion shifter, but he's also a cowboy and the first time the heroine sees him, he's in chaps. His name is Gabriel and her name is Suzanne or Suzi. I love paranormal and I may have to start a longer piece with a shifter. I've got so many irons in the fire right now, I don't really have time. Wild Wyoming Nights has quite a bit of paranormal in it though it's not shifters, it's ghosts.

Brenda: Do you remember the first cowboy romance you read yourself?

Sandy: I read several Louie Lamour stories, but I don't remember one specifically.

Brenda: I have to tell you that when I think of cowboys and romance I think of the musical Oklahoma. I've always loved it. What are some of your favorite Western movies?

Sandy: Anything John Wayne.

Brenda: Thank you so much for introducing me to cowboys in romance. I'm really looking forward to your shifter short story, so I don't have to keep having thoughts of Jeff from Texas Lady turning into a large, sexy wolf.

Sandy: I'll keep that in mind the next time I write a cowboy story. LOL I might just have to make my hero a wolf shifter. I do have two more cowboy pieces coming out in the next couple of months. Gotta Love A Cowboy is due out with Passion In Print in October and Hot Summer Love - Cowboy Style is due out with Whiskey Creek Press in November. Keep your eyes peeled to my website at http://www.romancestorytime.com/.

You can find Sandy's books, including Texas Lady, on her website at:http://www.romancestorytime.com/Books.html

Interview & Contest With Kate Douglas

After I read Hellfire, and realized what a talented and prolific author Kate Douglas was, I couldn't resist asking for an interview. I thought everyone would enjoy picking her brain along with me:) P.S. Don't miss the contest at the end of the interview. ~Brenda

You have written an amazing number books including erotic and paranormal romance. Did you start out writing erotic romance or was it something you felt would appeal to readers, so you gave it a shot? Were you nervous the first time you wrote a steamy sex scene?

I actually started out writing contemporary romance and have four books with Hard Shell Word Factory that were published in 1999-2002. They’re still available, and continue to sell—the bestseller of all of them is Cowboy in My Pocket, which is a romantic comedy that sort of makes fun of category romances—it’s got the cowboy hero, marriage of convenience, amnesiac heroine...it’s really fun. My original goal was to write for Harlequin, but I didn’t have any luck with them, which is why I started writing for the early epublishers. I heard about Ellora’s Cave and, since I’d always liked the sexy stories, decided to give it a try. My first erotic romance, Lionheart, was submitted in 2001 and I got an email from the editor about an hour later telling me they wanted the story. I still have a number of stories with EC, including my StarQuest series. Lionheart was the first one in that series.

I’ve always loved the steamy stories and have never been at all nervous writing them. In fact, I was on a panel years ago at a Romantic Times convention up in Reno where we were asked to read some of our erotic writing. I read an extremely graphic, über-explicit oral sex scene, first person from the woman’s point of view—you could have heard a pin drop in the room, but I got my point across—if you’re not comfortable with the words, the language or describing the sexual acts themselves, you can’t write it effectively.

Hellfire is a paranormal romance but it's rather gritty like urban fantasy as well. I loved the characters, and your world building. How did you start developing the story at first? Did you take detailed notes, and fill in as you went, or did the entire world "pop" into your head?

I’m a true panster. I don’t plot. I did have a brief synopsis for HellFire, since I’d had to write one to sell the series to my publisher, but once I signed the contract I tossed the synopsis and just wrote what came to me. The original series began with a conversation with my agent:

Agent: Kate, you need a big book if you’re going to move beyond the erotic market.

Me: (to myself: big book? What the HELL does she mean by a big book...big theme?) Okay, how about good vs. evil? (said with a snicker)

Agent: Great! Send me a synopsis!

For some reason, the idea of demons infesting garden gnomes got stuck in my head, and that’s about all I had when I started writing the first book in the series, DemonFire. Oh, and I knew I wanted a dog—LOL! I loved giving away stuffed wolves with my Wolf Tales books, so I wanted a dog so I could give away stuffed dogs, and that’s how I ended up with Bumper, who’s a cross between a pit bull and a poodle. HellFire grew out of the first book—Ginny Jones was merely a secondary character who felt terribly real to me, and once I started writing Alton the Lemurian, I wanted to keep him around for awhile, so they became my hero and heroine for HellFire. That’s how I do a series—when I connect with a character in a book, I generally carry them over to the next story. The hero in StarFire is the veterinarian who appears in HellFire. Dawson Buck was not meant to be a main character, but I really liked him and decided to give him his own book...and the stars of the final book in the series, CrystalFire, are Taron the Lemurian, and Willow, who finally gets her own body so she doesn’t have to continue hitching space with Bumper:)

I once ran across a blogger that was "creeped out" when she found out some authors were her parent's age, because they shouldn't be writing sexy stories. I laughed at that because I was turning 50 at the time. Do you feel there is an age boundary for romance writers? Would it matter if the writer was 20, 50 or even 70?

Good lord—I’m sixty. If that creeps my readers out, that’s their problem! I didn’t even sign with NY until I was 55, and I fully intend to keep writing for a lot longer. Author Anne McCaffrey, who writes absolutely wonderful science fiction, is 84and still writing—and she’s a Wolf Tales fan, which I absolutely love, because I’ve been a serious fan of hers for a long time. If that blogger thinks people her parents’ age aren’t having sex, she’s got her head buried in the sand. You have to remember—those of us in our sixties were young during a pretty unique time in our nation’s history—after The Pill (yes, in all caps!) and before AIDS and herpes. Sex was not scary for us—it was just a lot of fun. Age doesn’t slow you down in the bedroom—attitude might, but luckily I don’t have that problem, and neither does my spouse.

Writing sexy stories isn’t limited by age—only by imagination. I can’t imagine not writing—I love what I’m doing and really enjoy the fact that my readers look forward to my new stories as much as I look forward to writing them. It’s a wonderful life and I’m very lucky to be doing what I do.

Thank you so much for your time. I loved Hellfire, and can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Thank you! And for readers who are enjoying the series, there’s another story coming out September 7 in the NOCTURNAL anthology with Jacquelyn Frank—Crystal Dreams is connected to the DemonSlayers and is about a young woman named Marigold Moonbeam Schwartz who not only discovers she’s a witch, but that the sexy guy who’s just saved her life from demons—which can’t POSSIBLY exist—is from the mythical world of Lemuria. It’s a fun story and one I think readers will enjoy—plus it’s packed in with great stories by Jacquelyn Frank, Jess Haines and Clare Willis.

KATE'S GIVE AWAY
Kate is graciously giving away a book to TWO readers who can choose from Demonfire, book one in the Demonslayers series, Hellfire, book two or Nocturnal, the new anthology she mentions above.

Please leave Kate and I a comment, which book you would like if you win, and IF your email is not associated with a Google profile leave that in the comments. I will randomly choose the winner on September 7th. Thanks everyone!

You can learn more about Kate and her books on her website at http://www.katedouglas.com.

Review, Interview & Contest With Liane Merciel

The River Kings' Road
A Novel of Ithelas
Author: Liane Merciel
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Pocket (March 9, 2010)
Author's Website

Summary: The River Kings’ Road takes us to a world of bitter enmity between kingdoms, divided loyalties between comrades, and an insidious magic that destroys everything it touches...

The River King's Road is a dark medieval fantasy with complex characters, political intrigue, magic, both good and evil, plus a smidgen of romance. Liane Merciel's writing is rich and descriptive, bringing us into her original world of Ithelas.

I'd like to take a minute and explain my thoughts on reading medieval fantasy. The reader has to have a different mindset when reading traditional fantasy. It isn't as fast paced and "in your face" as urban fantasy or many paranormal romance books. Authors of medieval fantasy create worlds and plots where political and religious factions are often complex. The good guys are not always as easy to define, nor are the bad guys. There are usually many characters acting simultaneously in different parts of the world. Reading fantasy such as The River Kings' Road takes a lot of thought, and sometimes I found myself going back to a paragraph to make sure I understood correctly. (Why do you think Tolkien had so many appendixes?)

I found the characters in this book very interesting, and thought provoking. In our normal lives, loyalty to family is almost a given, but in medieval times power, and control often meant every man for himself, or herself as the case may be. Love, morals and loyalty are often set aside to gain power. This book shows us some of the pitfalls of setting aside one's morals without
considering the complete consequences. You can't play with evil, and come out unscathed.

At the same time we see the plot through the eyes of Odosse, a single peasant girl with a baby she loves dearly, and a companion who only looks out for himself. I loved the character of Odosse. She is strong, loyal, and brave because of her love for her child. She can never think of giving up because it will mean giving up his life as well. I found myself cringing when Odosse was referred to as ugly. A girl with such a loving personality, who is quick thinking, witty and brave could never be ugly in my eyes. Awkward perhaps, but never ugly. I understand the author wanting her to be normal with no advantages, but it still made me inwardly cringe.

Liane Merciel's description of the evil witch, and her created minions had me quaking in my boots. This witch is seriously dark and evil. The author created a unique take on what I
can only call medieval zombie lore. Creepiness and terror comes through in all the scenes with the witch.

The romance aspect of The River Kings' Road comes from the scenes with Bitharn and Kelland, who grew up together as cloister children. Kelland was called to be a Knight of the Sun, but she was not. Bitharn trained on her own, refusing to leave his side. Their part of the story is my favorite because of their love for each other that has to remain unspoken.

If you are a fan of dark urban fantasy or historical romance I think you will enjoy reading The River Kings' Road. The second book is titled Heaven's Needle, and will be released in March 2011. I will be waiting for it's release to learn more of Odosse and Bitharn as they struggle to find love in their lives in a dangerous and complex world.

INTERVIEW WITH LIANE
As a so-called “Army brat,” Liane grew up in Germany, South Korea, and several different parts of the United States. She now lives in Philadelphia, where she practices law. She is an alumnus of Yale University and the College of William & Mary Law School. She is of Korean and European heritage. I emailed her immediately after finishing The River Kings' Road to ask her a few questions that were on my mind.

I loved the character of Odosse and wondered if you had any thoughts on her future? She seems to be destined for loneliness, yet the personality you gave her would make her a wonderful partner for someone. I'm not asking for spoilers, but wondered how you felt about her and the idea of her finding love?

Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. :)

Unofficially my prediction is that eventually she'll find the person who's right for her. I think she's too generous in spirit to remain alone, and too sensible to fall for someone unsuitable a second time. But it's unlikely that we'll see Odosse again, so the official answer is that it's up to each reader to imagine what becomes of her after the events in RKR. Your answer is as good as mine.

I know the second book in the Ithelas world will be released next year. Will you try to wrap up many of the situations, or will you keep a third book in mind as you write?

I guess it depends on your definition of wrapping things up. Each book is designed to be a more or less self-contained story. The main plot of each one ends within the covers of that book, although there are links to things that happened before and things that will come after.

For the most part I try to leave characters at a comfortable stopping point, but there's never a completely definitive "happily ever after." Real life doesn't work that way, so I'm of the view that fiction shouldn't either. The characters' lives will go on after the story (well, unless they died), whether or not we follow them. So there may be a little ambiguity, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a wrap for them.

HEAVEN'S NEEDLE, the second Ithelas book, takes place in a different part of the world and involves a mostly different cast of characters. Two of them are carried over from RKR, but the rest are new, and their concerns are largely distinct from those that drove the first book. Similarly, the third book is intended to follow some familiar faces from RKR (Brys Tarnell, for one), but others will be new to that story, and again, their concerns will be mostly distinct. There are connections between the books, but it should be possible to read each one as its own separate arc.

That's the goal, at least.

What made you choose medieval fantasy rather than an urban setting for your novel?

It's just where I'm drawn. I started out in medieval fantasy; it's what sparks my imagination most often and most strongly, and I've been working in it long enough that by now it feels like second nature. While I enjoy reading urban fantasy and am a fan of many writers now working in that genre (love Carrie Vaughn's Kitty books and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson novels), it's not where my inclinations lead as a writer.

Urban fantasy looks like a lot of fun and maybe someday I'll take a shot at it, but for now I'm content to just read the marvelous books being produced by other people... and keep writing about witches and castles and swords!!, oh my.

THE CONTEST
Sarah at Pocket Books has graciously allowed me to give away one copy of The River Kings' Road. As always, I have a discussion question for you to answer in the comments as your entry.
Have you read medieval fiction? Do you think more books should feature heroines that are normal women vs. warrior women?

The contest will end April 4th, 2010 and I will post the winner on April 5th, 2010. The winner will be chosen using the Random Number Generator. If your email is not linked to your profile please leave it in the comments.

~Moonsanity

Stacia Kane Answers My Pondering Questions

After I finished Demon Possessed by Stacia Kane I had a couple of questions for her. I sent them too late for the Blog Tour, but knew you all would enjoy the answers.

Be sure to enter our contest to win a copy of her latest book: Demon Possessed. You can enter here.

1. About 25 years ago I attended a couple of charismatic church meetings out of curiosity. At one, the minister made people in the front row "laugh in the holy spirit", and at another a man who lost an eye could still "see" with it. (I couldn't make up something that good.) When I was reading Demon Possessed I have to say you captured the essence of those attending Reverend Walther's meetings with humor, but also some serious observations of the people who believed they were possessed. Did you do any research on these type of meetings?

It really depends on what you mean by research! A few years ago I saw a TV special on fundamentalist "exorcists" and found it really fascinating, and actually made some notes during it with an eye toward using it one day. But that was about it, really; because it's a subject that interests me I've watched other programs on it and did a little hunting around online, but I also didn't want to get too terribly close to any "real" events. I didn't want to make fun of people who have serious problems and/or real faith in such things, so I tried to stay respectful while still expressing that I don't think such events are always safe--in fact there have been deaths recorded during them--or necessarily the best way for people to deal with their problems.

2. I couldn't find it on your blog or FAQ so I have to ask, how many books would you like to write in the Megan Chase series? I know it depends on the publisher, but if you had your wish how many do you think you would like to see published?

Well, right now there are three, and I think that's a pretty good number. :-)

Thanks!

I really appreciate that Stacia is honest about her Megan Chase series, though I loved it and hate to see it end, I know she must have some wonderful new books in mind for us next time. Is till need to buy here Downside Series with is dark fantasy, one of my favorite genres. Here are the books she has published to date:

Megan Chase Series
1. Personal Demons (2008)
2. Demon Inside (2009)
3. Demon Possessed (2010)

Downside Series
1. Unholy Ghosts (2010)
2. Unholy Magic (2010)
3. City of Ghosts (2010)

She also has a story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, which I need to pick up as well.

If you are out and about where Stacia will be please stop by and visit her for me, since I won't be able to make it:

Frolicon, April 1-4, Atlanta GA
Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, April 28-May 2, Columbus OH
Dragon*Con, September 6-10, Atlanta GA

~Moonsanity