Mia Darien's Blog, page 12

Ten Questions with… Lisa Eugene

It’s November, and I’m back with more author and character interviews! My first visitor of the month is Lisa Eugene, author of erotic suspense romances such as Strictly Business, Steal My Heart and the newest, Surrender My Love!

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Author Bio: Lisa Eugene lives on Long Island, NY with her husband and three rambunctious kids. She’s been a nurse for over twenty years and is still practicing. Between juggling a full time job and being a soccer mom, she enjoys a good romance.

You can find her books at Amazon, as well as All Romance and iBooks!

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Hmmm….loving, friendly, anal…lol, generous, crazy!

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? I mean the really bad one we all have that you’re trying to hide in the back of closet now that you’re published?

First story was in grade school. It was about a little girl who was curious about where babies came from and went to the zoo to ask the stork. She finds out the truth and then asks the stork to tell her parents, because what they told her had been incorrect. Gosh! I haven’t thought about that in years!

3. What inspires you?

I believe in true love and passion. I want everyone else to believe in it too.

4. What distracts you?

A really hot man walking down the street…no, seriously. But also, I like to enjoy the little things in life. So, I might be driving to work and see a field of beautiful flowers, and I’d have to stop (which I have absolutely no time for) and take a picture.

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

Oh this is a no-brainer. I LOVE Les Miserables. Yes, I’m a die-hard, crazy fan! Seen the Broadway Musical 27 times! It’s the only thing I listen to in my car (my children know they have to listen, or walk).

I know every word of every song in the musical, and when I watch it, I secretly hope that a cast member will pass out so I can go on stage and sing with Javert (I think every hero I’ve written is him) (did I also mention that I can’t carry a tune to save my life..lol).

I love the dichotomy of good versus evil, and the dark passion of this musical. I’ve read the book several times.

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About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

My books are all erotic, medical suspense novels. I don’t really consider my books a series, but there is a general theme woven between them. Some of the characters appear in all the novels. There is always a gorgeous hero, of course, and an intelligent, independent heroine. I like the combination of mystery with erotica. The mystery is what usually drives the story and brings the couple together. They work together to unravel the mystery, come to depend on each other for their very survival, and must develop trust and respect along with the intense sexual connection that evolves.

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these stories?

I like developing the relationship between the hero and heroine.

3. What would your characters say about you? Be honest!

Hmm…that I love giving them conflicts they must overcome, that I enjoy putting barriers in their path to love.

4. Who would play your favorite character if they made a movie of their story?

This is a tough one! Don’t really have a favorite character. So far I have three heros. They are each distinct, but similar in appearance. I think I’m in love with them all…I mean love them all(grins). They are each my fantasy man…lol Maybe Matt Damon if I had to pick someone to play one of them.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

My third book, Surrender My Love will be out soon. I’m very excited. It’s an erotic medical romance novel that brings together two very different people. They are people who never let their true selves be seen by the world, but can’t hide their flaws from each other. They learn to depend on each other, and come to realize what’s important in life. There’s also an exciting mystery that must be solved.

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Thanks for joining us today, Lisa, and good luck with your stories!

From Mia’s News Desk

Well, folks, it might be inevitable. My son is so big into Lego building right now that I might have to write a Lego story!

Just kidding… sort of…

Anyways!

Here’s a follow up to some of my latest posts, and a bit of other news. News aside from Lego stories.

Here, Kitty Kitty is available and we’re running all over the web and social media with it! The giveaway is still going on for another few days, so  check that out over at Facebook. The intrepid Dariel Raye is handling that one.

Meanwhile, one of our other authors, A. Star (also known as Diantha Jones) has been letting us run a little amuck at the Masquerade Crew website. Jessica Nicholls reviewed a back title from each other anthology author, including my Steel Wings, and Abigail Owen talks about why she likes writing about the paranormal. You should definitely check those out, and show my Here, Kitty Kitty comrades some love.

For those of you who’ve read Sanctuary, the sequel–featuring Lydia and Flynn-is now available! You can find links here.

In Adelheid news, for some while now, my short story Cats & Dogs featuring Madison was available as an exclusive for signing up for my mailing list. I have now decided to release it for sale, through all the usual outlets, but you can still get it for free via the mailing list! It and Family Matters are classified now as a separate series, known as Adelheid, Between the Tales. Those links are available on the Adelheid page.

Author and character interviews will start back up in November! I’m looking for more authors and characters to interview, so please email me if you’re at all interested. If you’ve been interviewed before, you’re welcome to return for a new character interview!

Any of my fellow writers out there going to do NaNoWriMo this year? I wasn’t able to participate last year, but I’m going to have a go again next month. I’ve got the fifth Adelheid story plotted out and ready to go, just waiting on the starter pistol on November 1st! This will be Vance’s story, as he was voted most popular to come up next, and will travel into a seedy underbelly of Adelheid.

My sub-site, Boom Baby Reviews, is undergoing a bit of a face lift. As much recent craziness in my life calms down, I will be getting back to writing reviews. My blog there is also now part of Masquerade Tours, so you’ll be seeing author interviews and guest posts. I hope to join other tour sites soon. I’m open for review requests, so check it out if you’re interested in submitting a story. I also have a new Twitter and Facebook just for BBR. So…check it out.

And…I think that’s enough for one day, don’t you?

Mia

“Here, Kitty Kitty” is Now Live!

I know that my fellow authors have already been hard at work spreading the word and I’m late to the party, but I have a good excuse! I’ve been moving house. ;D I am here now, however, to let everyone from my circles know that our anthology is live, and I’m thrilled! Go check it out!

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What is it about the tiger that so captivates? Or about the jaguar that enchants? Why are we so drawn to the lethal grace of the large feline predators of the world?

Get ready to purr, growl and roar along with six paranormal romance authors in this anthology of love and shapeshifting kitties. After reading these six unique tales, from the sexy to the sweet, you’ll be guaranteed to be saying… Here, Kitty Kitty…

[Amazon] [Barnes & Noble] [Smashwords] [CreateSpace--Print]

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Once again, I want to thank my fellow authors who joined me in this anthology. It was such fun, and there are some great stories, and for a great cause! My hat off to you: A. Star, Jessica Nicholls, Dariel Raye, Abigail Owen, and BR Kingsolver. Thank you!

Cover Reveal & Coming Soon: “Refuge”

I know it’s been quiet around here, but Mia has been just busy, busy, busy! Here, Kitty Kitty comes out this weekend! Yay! I’ll also have new interviews rolling out next month, and… and! Do I have any Sanctuary fans out there? I hope so, because the sequel is done and will be out very soon! In fact, the release day is October 9!

I know, I know… This cover reveal is very late, but I really have been busy! And now I’ll be hitting the promotion trail for both Here, Kitty Kitty and for Refuge! In the meantime, here is the cover and blurb for Refuge, the latest in the Stories from Sanctuary City series!

Even in a world torn apart and reconstructed in shades of grey, some things are still outlined in black and white. Lydia and Flynn, people living amongst the grey of a ruined life, discover that their whole perspective on the world and its people is about to be tested, and that things are going to have to change.

“Here, Kitty Kitty” to be released 10/6!

First off, my apologies for the silence of late but Mia has been SO busy that it’s just been insane! BUT! But, one of the things that has kept me busy is getting this anthology processed and in line for release. I’m now thrilled to say that there is a cover! There are blurbs! There is a release date! There is a giveaway! Rock on, right?

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This paranormal romance anthology features not one, not two, but five fantastic authors! And because I just had to get my nose in there, there’s also me. All profits–yes, 100% of the proceeds–will be going to the EFRC, the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, and will help them take care of lots and lots of abandoned, abused, and otherwise previously homeless big cats.

Want to know more about the stories of kitty shifters you can read in this book? Here you go!

His Jaguar Princess by A. Star–Featured Cat: The Jaguar

The Story: Jaguar shifter Selene Peters can’t deny her feelings for the tycoon Lucas King. Somehow, he’s penetrated her barriers and become more than just a client, but loving a human is dangerous and she fears her past repeating itself. Could he help her overcome the past or will she sacrifice her happiness and succumb to it? Not if he has anything to say about it…

The Author: A. Star is a pseudonym of Diantha Jones, who was born the day thousands of turkeys sacrificed their lives to fill millions of American bellies on November 22 which also happened to be Thanksgiving Day (Her mother says she owes her a turkey). She is a Journalism graduate who wants to be a career novelist (of books, not Facebook posts). When not writing or working, she is reading on her Nook, being hypnotized by Netflix or on a mission to procure french fries. She is the author of The Oracle of Delphi series and Mythos: Stories from Olympus. Under A. Star, she has released Invasion, and future releases include the Love & Steampunk series, the Purr, Inc. stories, and more.

You can find A. Star (Diantha Jones) around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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In Our Nature by Jessica Nicholls–Featured Cat: The Mountain Lion

The Story: When Mira’s privacy and independence are threatened, she can be very nasty. Daniel is an expert on American mountain lions. His assistance is requested after an ‘incident’ on Mira’s front lawn. When the two meet, they recognise each other in more than one way.

The Author: Jessica Nicholls is originally from Northern Illinois. She lived in the Northwest of England for just over ten years, where she studied and had her children. Currently, Jessica lives in the Middle East with her husband and two now school age (yay!) kids. Running, reading and watching films are her favourite hobbies. Writing the type of stories she would enjoy reading (anything dark and weird or romantic, or a combination of those) is a passion.

You can find Jessica Nicholls around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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Divine Passage by Dariel Raye–Featured Cat: The Panther

The Story: Kimani, a breeder with the power to preserve the human race, must depend on her guardian, Ahkil, a black panther shifter with more than one reason to distrust humans, but his secrets could change the course of her life forever.

The Author: Dariel loves books, animals, and all things paranormal. Dariel has written articles for The News Item of Mobile, and Black Health Magazine of Atlanta. A classically trained pianist and vocalist with a degree in piano and vocal performance and a master’s in counseling psychology, she completed studies for a Ph.D. with the exception of her dissertation, and finally stopped due to kidney failure/dialysis. She is presently writing a shifter romance series, “Dark Sentinels,” and two Nephilim series, “The Alerians” and “Children of Cain.” Lives with two large dogs and a passel of black cats. To learn more about Dariel and her books, visit her blog.

You can find Dariel Raye around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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The Distance Between by Mia Darien–Featured Cat: The Siberian Tiger

The Story: She’s traveled thousands of miles, looking for a safe place. He’s brought her thousands of miles, looking to not be lonely any more. But they both have secrets. Can they bridge the distance between, and find what they’re looking for in each other?

The Author: Mia Darien is an indie author of speculative fiction, and a New England Yankee transplanted into Alabama clay. No matter her geography, she continues to stubbornly and rebelliously live the life of her choosing along with her family and pets. She doesn’t miss the snow.

You can find Mia Darien around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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Hannah’s Fate by Abigail Owens–Featured Cat: The Mountain Lion

The Story: Cougar shifters have allied into groups, together in a rocky alliance to protect themselves against other shifters. Hannah Keller becomes the targeted Mate for Kyle Carstairs, the treacherous soon-to-be Alpha of another group. Meanwhile, Nick Jensen, her childhood hero and longtime secret crush, has returned home with hopes of claiming Hannah for his own. But will he be in time to rescue her from the Carstairs’s schemes?

The Author: Award-winning author, Abigail Owen was born in Greeley, Colorado to a high school English teacher and a social worker. Abigail was raised in Austin, Texas and now resides in Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are the center of her universe. Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by obtaining a degree in Technical Writing. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

You can find Abigail Owen around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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Full Moon by B. R. Kingsolver–Featured Cat: The Jaguar

The Story: The full moon can get a girl stirred up, especially with a handsome cowboy paying her way too much attention. If it wasn’t for those damned werewolves causing trouble and getting in the way…

The Author: BR Kingsolver is the author of the Telepathic Clans series (The Succubus Gift, Succubus Unleashed, and Succubus Rising) and Broken Dolls, a paranormal thriller. I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, among writers, artists and weird Hispanic and Native American myths and folklore. I’ve lived all over the U.S. and earned a living doing everything from making silver and turquoise jewelry, to construction to computers. I currently live in Baltimore and Albuquerque.

You can find B. R. Kingsolver around the web at the website, Facebook and Twitter!

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This book will be widely available in digital formats on October 6, and in paperback shortly there after!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: “Broken Dolls” by BR Kingsolver

Today, I’m happy to post a cover reveal and share an excerpt from BR Kingsolver’s upcoming paranormal suspense novel, Broken Dolls. Check it out! After the cover, there’s also a short excerpt!

You can pre-order this story at Barnes & Noble or Kobo, and it will be available widely on September 29!

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Private investigator RB Kendrick makes her living nailing cheating spouses, digging up other dirt to help in a divorce, finding long-lost relatives, and occasionally sniffing out criminal activity and fraud.

When she takes a job to find a missing girl, she has no idea she is headed for the most dangerous case of her career. Usually, her ability to read minds gives her an edge. But when the people she’s hunting are also telepaths, that advantage is limited.

The search takes her into the dark underbelly of telepathic society, where anything, and anyone, is for sale. She discovers that telepathic women and girls are being trafficked as the ultimate sex slaves.

With people trying to kill her, she’s on the run, not knowing who she can trust. Will she find the missing girl, or become a victim herself?

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Broken Dolls

A novel of paranormal suspense

set in the world of The Telepathic Clans

Chapter 1

For the third night in a row, the office light went off at 7:30. Three minutes later, the man I was following walked out the front door of the building wearing his jacket and carrying his briefcase. He turned right, walked two blocks and turned right again. Another block and he walked into a pub. He sat at the same table and ordered shepherd’s pie and a pint for the third night in a row.

Following this guy was getting very old.

I tried the shepherd’s pie the first night, lamb stew the second. Looking at the menu, I decided on the steak and kidney pie. I didn’t have high hopes it would be much better than the previous meals in this place. I wished he’d find a pub with a cook who knew how to cook. Congealed grease is not one of my favorites. If this assignment lasted much longer, I was going to start billing a hazard surcharge for the food. Lousy fish and chips three days in a row for lunch, and terrible shepherd’s pie three days in a row for supper. No wonder he was thirty pounds overweight.

He took the Tube to the train and walked in the front door of his house at 10:00, again for the third night in a row.

By the time I got off the train back in London, it was almost 11:00. It would be after midnight when I got home and I needed to be back at his place at 7:00 in the morning.

I ducked into the Hilton to see if I could get a bed for the night. Passing the lounge, I spotted a good-looking Yank drinking alone. Scanning his thoughts, I learned he had finished his meetings for the week. He was looking forward to spending the next three days exploring London without the wife and kids before flying back to the States on Sunday.

I proceeded to the loo and changed clothes in one of the stalls, pulling the travel dress from my bag and shaking it out. I loved that dress. You couldn’t wrinkle it with an iron. I replaced it in my bag with my sweater and jeans, shimmied into it and changed shoes. After unbraiding my hair and pulling a brush through it, I drifted back into the lounge and had the barman pull me a pint.

Sitting at the table next to the Yank, I sipped my beer and tried to act bored. It didn’t take me long to attract his attention. It never does. There were a dozen people in the room, and every one of them was watching me. My problem is getting men to leave me alone.

Reading his mind and emotions, I could tell he was excited. I boosted my Charisma and added a bit of Empathic Projection to send him feelings of lust. We retired to his room before I even finished my drink.

He was attractive, tall and dark haired with a fit body, but I had to be up early in the morning. I slipped into his mind and triggered his sleep center. I called the front desk to leave a wakeup time and place my breakfast order. Then I showered and slipped between the freshly laundered sheets on the other side of the king-sized bed.

Breakfast the next morning was the best meal I’d had all week, and I had a bounce in my step as I boarded the train. At 7:00, my assignment walked out of his front door and headed to the train. I braced myself for another boring day.

Sitting in the coffee stop across the street from his building, I mused on why his wife thought he was worth keeping, let alone why she thought someone else would want someone so boring. But she was willing to pay, and my rent was due.

It would have been so much easier if he were a norm. I could just read his mind and know if he was screwing around. I’d give her my report, charge her a thousand pounds, and be done with it.

As distasteful as following cheating husbands is, I’d rather be sitting there reading a book than selling my high-end services. It wasn’t so bad when I was paid ten thousand pounds to seduce a norm. But with another telepath, unless his shields were leaky, I couldn’t be sure if I was seducing a cheater or inducing an honest man to cheat. That was part of why I charged twenty-five thousand for that service. The price discouraged a lot of women, and if it didn’t, I made enough to deal with my guilty conscience.

I met the wife of my assignment for lunch on Saturday.

“Meg, I haven’t seen anything that would indicate he’s cheating on you,” I said. “He’s working ten hours a day. He goes straight to work in the morning, and in the evening he has dinner at the pub and goes straight home.”

His wife was pretty and thirty years younger than he was. I wondered what he’d done to win her in the first place.

“Something doesn’t feel right. I know he’s hiding something. Can you stay on the job another week?” Meg Whitman asked.

“Yes, but I need the money in advance. I’m burning all of my time keeping him under surveillance. Not to be offensive, but I’ve had clients try to back out of payment when an investigation doesn’t produce any results.”

She pulled money out of her wallet and paid me, cash, no arguments. How many people carry five thousand in cash? She’d paid cash up front the previous week as well.

“Miss Kendrick, I’m not crazy and I’m not paranoid. Is there any chance he’s carrying on an affair at work?”

“I’m not seeing any evidence of it,” I said. “I can see through the window of his office all day, and I’ve checked his schedule. His presence is accounted for. But I will admit, sometimes an illicit affair may be an occasional meeting. For all I know, he may already have an assignation planned for two weeks from Monday.”

I thought back on that conversation the following Thursday when he left his office at 3:00 in the afternoon. He walked five blocks to a hotel, bypassed the front desk, and took the elevator to the fifth floor. I got on with him, but got off at the fourth floor. Pelting up the stairs, I opened the door to the hall in time to see him enter a room. A woman, older and plainer than his wife, kissed him and closed the door.

To my surprise, she was a norm. Now, I’m not prejudiced, but it’s generally acknowledged that sex with the most repressed, homely telepath is a lot better than sex with the most beautiful, passionate norm. A telepath shares their emotions and sensations with a sexual partner, enhancing the experience in a way a norm never could. There had to be something else going on there besides the physical aspects of sex.

I extended my awareness, and entered her mind. I had to be careful, because he was in her mind, too. She definitely thought he was the best lover she’d ever had. It didn’t take long to figure out why he wanted her. I withdrew, feeling a bit sick.

Shit. How was I going to break this to his wife?

I called Meg Whitman and arranged to have lunch with her the next day. We met in the town where she lived. She chose a nice little café with checked tablecloths and a fresh carnation in a bud vase on every table.

“Your husband is meeting a woman named Gloria Watson at a hotel called the Western Grand. They get together twice a month on Thursday afternoons. She’s a norm and he met her on the Internet,” I told her. She got a bit pale and her mouth set into a grim line. Her eyes got a little glassy.

“Why? Do you know?” she almost whispered.

This was the hard part. I’d hoped she wouldn’t ask, but they always do.

“They’re having sex. Sex that most people would consider rather kinky.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “So he’s going to this woman for something he doesn’t think I’d do.”

“Meg, it’s something you can’t do,” I said. “He uses compulsion on her. What she remembers isn’t what happens.”

The blood completely drained from Meg’s face and she looked sick. “Does he hurt her?” her voice came out thin and shaky.

“Yes, and other things. Are you sure you want to know everything? I don’t consider myself squeamish, but it’s really something I’d rather not talk about. It’s in my report.”

“That bad, huh?” She wiped her mouth with her napkin, her hand shaking, and taking her purse excused herself to go to the ladies’ room.

There aren’t any laws against using compulsion on an innocent norm, primarily because norms don’t know it can be done. It’s frowned upon by telepaths. Of course, all of us know how to do it, but using it on a sexual partner is essentially rape. Considering Meg’s husband’s perversions, it would be difficult to find a willing partner.

We parted ways. If she wanted more details, they were contained in the report I gave her. I urged her to burn it before she read it. I put the really nauseating part in a separate appendix to make that easier. She might burn it, but I was pretty sure she’d read it first. We’re like normal humans in a lot of ways.

Ten Questions with… Violet Ivy

After a few weeks of quiet, I’m pleased to present a new day’s edition of Ten Questions with Mia. Today’s guest is a non-fiction author, who is here to talk about her rather intriguing memoir. Please welcome Violet Ivy!

Note to Readers: Given the adult audience these books are intended for, this interview does reference adult topics of a sexual nature. Nothing explicit, but if it doesn’t suit you, you’ve been given advanced notice.

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Author Bio: Violet Ivy grew up on a small wheat and sheep farm in the outback of Western Australia. A spray of freckles across her nose, pigtails streaming down her back as she swam naked in the local creek to cool off during the endless summers.

Who could have predicted her transformation into one of the world’s most elite, international escorts? The wanton woman satisfying the needs and desires of the most affluent men and women of the globe.

Life was not always easy for Violet. Hers is a rags-to-riches story from the seedy brothels of the mining town Kalgoorlie to attending the Kentucky Derby and the Oscars on the arms of the most influential men on the face of the planet.

Violet continues to work in an industry that can either make or break it’s players. She has had to learn how to adapt and hone her expertise to climb to the top of her game. Based in Melbourne, Australia, where sex work is legal, she travels to far flung places, (if the money’s right), as either a courtesan or a fetish Mistress, fulfilling her clients’ needs and desires. Encouragement from friends and family to share her adventures led her to begin a series of books exposing the realities behind the veil of the oldest profession in the world. She introduces her readers to myriad bizarre, scary and hilarious people and situations she comes across in her travels.

Author Site: http://www.violet-ivy.com

You can find her books from the following vendors: Lucky Girl: How I Survived the Sex Industry at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, BookLocker & Book Depository, and Sex and Sexuality – The Interviews at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, BookLockerBook Depository & . (There is a special running presently for the ebook at $2.99)

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Loyal, hardworking, loving, generous, honest.

2. What drew you to start writing?

Some of my closest friends know what I do for a living and they love to hear naughty, funny or bizarre stories about what I get up to behind closed doors. They encouraged me to share my experiences with a wider audience, hence Violet Ivy the author was born.

3. What inspires you?

Relationship wise my parents. They were married for 54 years until my father passed away earlier this year. That’s a lot of hard work, love, compromise and devotion.

With my writing I’d have to say my editor Graham Whittaker. His many years of knowledge and experience and his ongoing generosity in teaching me to be a better writer never cease to amaze me.

Financially would be my upbringing. I grew up poor. I never want to go back to that and I’ll never have to. I’ve earned a lot of money over the years but not wasted it. I have three degrees and a masters and have bought several properties. It’s not what you earn but what you do with it that counts.

4. What distracts you?

Any excuse for a red wine with friends. I’m not difficult to convince. And Facebook. How easy it is to lose an hour or more just catching up with people on that?

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

The Young Victoria – a woman barely old enough to wear the crown, finding herself in an institution that wants to push and pull her for everyone else’s benefit. And the beautiful love story with Albert, how, after his early passing, she laid his clothes out every day until she died at 81. That’s love. Not sure about the Prince Albert piercing though. I’ve come across a couple of these and it makes for uncomfortable sex.

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About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

Lucky Girl – How I Survived the Sex Industry

The intimate autobiography of an international call girl. Scary, funny and bizarre stories recorded for your amusement, edification or simply for interesting dinner conversation.

The sex industry is clouded in mystery. It has to be to some extent or it wouldn’t survive. But in this age of internet porn, buying pubic hair trimmings online and wife swapping parties it’s about time the veils of mystery were taken down.

For moralists, let’s visit the chicken and the egg scenario. Which came first the prostitute or the client? If there were no clients then obviously there would be no sex workers. But what if there weren’t any prostitutes? Would guys wank themselves silly to porn? Harass their post-menopausal wives? Frequent bars trying their luck? Or hassle the secretary and risk being charged with sexual harassment? Would statistics for rape be on the increase? Is prostitution a necessary evil in our society? Don’t mindlessly believe and quote information spoon fed to you by friends, family or the media. Make an educated decision.

Although it was never my intention to get into this industry, I’ve travelled the world, had incredible experiences and bought several properties. I won’t have to rely on the government pension when I retire.

My closest friends are co-workers, madams and clients. Brilliant people who I would never otherwise have had the good fortune to meet. I will never regret my decision to enter this field. It has not always been a bed of roses, but when I compare it to what my life might have been; cleaning job, shitty boss, marriage, perhaps divorce, mortgage, kids, living in the burbs, scraping by to give my kids a better life than I was destined for, I feel that I have been rescued…..thank God.

Money doesn’t make you happy? Tell that to someone thrown out of his house because he can’t make the payments or the mother who can’t afford Christmas presents for her kids again this year. I’ve been poor. Money equals choices. Options of how to travel on this journey we call life. Did I make some mistakes? Sure! But there’s not too much I’d change. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Money gives security. Poverty causes ulcers. Financial hardship can also make you compromise yourself in ways that being a sex worker never will.

This industry eats its young and damages those not strong enough to cope. Every worker has a different personality, head space, upbringing, personal history and therefore experience. This book is a glimpse of mine. I am not advocating anyone join the profession. That is a personal choice.

When I started out I could never have imagined what my life journey would look like or where I would be now. I don’t even know where in the world I will be in twelve months. What I will be doing? Who I might be bonking, caning or smearing with hot wax? Exciting isn’t it? Carpe diem – seize the day. I’m a lucky girl.

Sex and Sexuality – The Interviews

Hold onto your hat. This interview book contains some ‘out of the ordinary’ friends I have met in my travels. And I mean way out there. It’s amazing how mainstream these people look when they are on the bus travelling to work. None of them have two heads or gills. And you would never pick their fetishes. It’s only when they choose to reveal them to another that their true nature is exposed. I meet a range of people due to my involvement in the sex industry. There is no way I can be judgmental after some of the kinky stuff I have done and enjoyed. Stones and glass houses. As long as everything is safe, sane and consensual.

When I began this project I had no idea how much fun it would be to investigate sex and sexuality from other viewpoints. It’s been very educational too. Some of these people I already knew and others I sought out for their unique take on different facets of intimacy or simply what gets them off. All the names have been changed of course but their interviews, as bizarre as some of them seem, are one hundred percent real. The interviewees include a sex-change bondage and discipline Mistress, a real life slave, male clients, another high class escort, a brothel madam, a street worker, a man who loves transsexuals and carrots up his arse, a gay guy and a bisexual girl, a paraplegic and a nudist amongst others.

Read about their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and difficulties with regards to expressing their sexuality. Some just want to get laid as often as possible by any means. Others are attempting to find true and lasting happiness. The rest have specific needs that they struggle to meet. You may find a little piece of yourself in each of them.

This book could have been written a hundred times with different people being interviewed. Everyone you pass on the street has their individual preferences and past experiences. There are as many stories as there are humans in the world.

I am indebted to the interviewees as I could not have written these pages without their input. The real message of live and let live comes through the pages of this book. A lot of what is involved in their lives happens behind closed doors. A Mistress does not go into the local pub, in full leathers with a whip, looking for someone to flog. If that is your thing you have to actively seek it out.

Some of these interviews were easy to get. Others required me to search, beg, pay, travel, bribe and use any other means at my disposal to get the interviewee to accept my request. Enjoy reading their perspectives and maybe even learn a thing or two. At the very least you won’t be short of dinner party conversation for a while.

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these books?

The positive feedback from readers. I’ve had so many emails asking for a sequel to Lucky Girl. Of course I have so many more stories to tell that it’s definitely in the works. I’m travelling back to London to work at the fetish establishment shortly and then it will depend where I go in the world after that as to what happens with my life next. I never know what’s around the corner.

3. What do you hope readers gain most from your work?

I was spotted on the street the other day and a guy asked me if I was ‘Lucky Girl’. Not Violet Ivy but I figured it was close enough. If I can become a household name perhaps my message will get through. Although I like the idea that I’m entertaining people it’s also important that I dispel at least some of the ignorant and unpleasant myths that surround the sex industry.

4. What have you gotten out of your writing?

Being a very social person I’ve made life-long friendships with people from all areas of the sex industry; clients, Madams, Mistresses, courtesans, strippers, topless waitresses, pole dancers and slaves. As a writer that circle has grown to include authors and readers of many genres, not just my own. Social media brings new and interesting characters into my life every day too. It’s a shame I didn’t put pen to paper years ago. My books are selling in places I never thought would appreciate a Melbourne girl’s story; South Africa, Canada, Brazil, USA, UK, India. It’s just amazing.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

The next book to be released January 2014 is Cougar.

In this book I interview both to reveal their thoughts on this subject and their lifestyles. What exactly is a Cougar? Or a cub for that matter?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last twenty years you will know what a Cougar is. The short answer is an older woman who is attracted to, and has intimate relations with, much younger men, the cubs. The actual age differences involved are a bit blurred depending on who you speak to.

It’s been said that Cougars ‘prey’ on men young enough to be their sons. I can tell you from personal experience there are times when I wish my outfit came with a large fly swat accessory to keep these cubs at a distance. It seems almost impossible to go out for a drink in a bar without some twenty three year old trying to pick me or one of my friends up.

Is it true that Cougars are not interested in a relationship but simply a sexual conquest? Some Cougars certainly enjoy the fact they are physically appealing to men who are considered to be in the prime of their virility, but it is a case by case scenario. Each Cougar, and cub for that matter, has a different agenda.

Possibly the first and most famous introduction to this phenomenon in modern history was the groundbreaking film The Graduate. It depicts a middle-aged woman, Mrs. Robinson, (Ann Bancroft), who seduces a recent college graduate many years her junior, Benjamin Braddock, (Dustin Hoffman).

Research shows that relationships where the female is older are on the rise. Real-life Cougar relationships include Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon and Barbara Hershey and Naveen Andrews.

Cougared.com and dateacougar.com are a couple of the many dating sites specifically set up for this type of couple and they claim to have thousands of members.

Certainly different cultures vary on their views of relationships with age disparities. How seriously these couples are taken, how much of an age difference is acceptable, ethics and laws. Age of consent for example. In our culture a wealthy guy in his sixties can easily attract a girl in her twenties. The mature guy is considered enviable, rich and powerful. The younger woman a gold digger. A mature woman in the same scenario is just seen as a sad, aged cradle-snatcher. Trying to recapture her youth and so forth. The younger man is rarely condemned. Does it seem to anyone else that it’s the female who is judged negatively in both of these situations?

Armed with my Dictaphone I recorded these interviews. Read, enjoy, be educated, shocked, surprised. These are real life people who not only do not see anything wrong with the age difference but actively seek it out. And not one of them seemed unhappy about their preferences.

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Thanks for visiting us today, Violet, and good luck with your books!

Adelheid Micro-series: Part Two, Dakota

Today’s post is part of an Adelheid “micro-series,” which is four flash fiction pieces, one for each narrator of currently available Adelheid novels, that link together into one story. I’m doing these as part of my blog tour. You can read the first installment, which is Sadie’s, here: Codi Gary’s Books from August 12. And the third part, which is D’s, will be on Bookaholic-ness tomorrow, August 17!

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Dakota

 

It was my great, damned luck that I would be in the only room in the whole freakin’ town that had locks run on electricity. In fact, the locks were a combination of an old-fashioned key and electricity. Because it was a prison, and it was built for all sorts of non-human inhabitants.

Being the kind natured woman that I am (stop laughing), I was helping the cops out and escorting my most recent capture into the cell for them. He was a pretty weak ass sorcerer, cryokinetic (water and ice), but he was also a slippery crackpot and that’s why the cops asked me to find him and bring his sorry butt in. He had an uncanny talent for hiding, and that had nothing to do with his supernatural abilities.

The reason I knew my luck was so lousy was because when the power went out, the cell went into lockdown and there was no opening it. I was stuck in the damn room with the guy I’d just hauled in. Not that I was worried. There were anti-magic wards and his crimes weren’t violent, just white collar stuff, but big money enough that he still came on my radar.

No, I wasn’t worried. I was annoyed as hell.

Backup generators whirred from the basement and faint emergency lighting came on, but I doubted I’d be able to get the door open until things went back to normal or someone specifically came and got me. I looked at the guy standing on the other side of the room. My preternatural abilities could see through the dark, but I doubted his could. He looked afraid.

Good. It would make him behave.

“Don’t think about trying anything cute, got it?” I didn’t need to say it, but I just felt like it. Needed to take my annoyance out on someone, after all, right?

He swallowed audibly and sat on the floor.

I sat down too, and…my phone rang.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. The power was out, I was trapped, but my phone still bloody worked so people could still call and bother me? That just ain’t right. “What?” I demanded upon answering.

“Always a pleasure to talk to you too, Dakota.” It was Sadie. My kinda-sorta boss, and my kinda-sorta friend. Though I’d be drawn and quartered before admitting that out loud to her.

“I’m kind of busy. What do you want?”

“Feel like taking out some of that not-so-repressed anger?”

“Always.”

“Want to find a demon in the dark?”

I snorted. It was almost a laugh. Well, it was a laugh from me, but not everyone who heard it would recognize it as such. “I would love to, but you know what? I’m kind of trapped in this fancy cell your boyfriend helped cook up here at the station.”

There was a long pause. “Arrested?”

Pulling the phone from my ear, I glared at it. “No,” I snapped when I put it back. “I was bringing in a capture. No one to worry about.” I looked at him. “Just here until they get me out, but I’m curious how y’all managed to screw that one up. What did wonder boy do?”

I heard her voice a little away from the receiver, like she was talking to someone else in the room. “She’d like to know what you did wrong.”

“When the power went out, Bill stumbled and scuffed one of my runes of power,” I could hear his reply, though it was quieter from the distance. “I couldn’t see it in time to remake it and the damn thing got out. I need to know where it is so I can go there and reharness it. It can’t go to any other realm, or even back home, without me.”

“I guess you’d better find it then,” I drawled. “How dangerous is it?” Sadie relayed the question.

“It’s not as violent as some, but there could be trouble. Best get it home soon. This breed is attracted to magical power. It’s gonna love Adelheid, sitting over the leylines like it is.”

Something triggered in my brain and I found myself reluctantly pressed to help. “Will it be attracted to creatures of power?”

Again, the question was relayed and then came the answer. “Yes.”

I snorted, again darkly amused. “Then you better get your ass to the Coven House, son, ’cause they got the mother of all demon bug zappers in their basement.”

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hanks for reading! Part three will be at Bookaholic-ness on August 17.

News From Mia’s Desk

As I don’t have any interviews to post this week, I thought that it would be a good time to update you about what’s going on with Mia’s writing right now! I have some exciting news that I’m glad to share.

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For fans of Sanctuary, the sequel–featuring Lydia and Flynn’s continuing story–has been drafted. I’m making the final tweaks now. It will soon be edited, with cover art, and released. Expect this in the next two months. I hope that folks who liked the first will equally enjoy Refuge! After the release of this one, books three and four will follow new characters in the same world, though Lydia will be in both stories in some capacity, big or small as fitting the tale itself.

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Anyone who keeps track of my “Am Writing/Reading” page or who reads my interviews will know that I’ve been working on this epic fantasy forever. It’s threatened to pull me under a few times, but today I realized that I’ve challenged myself outside of my writing self. I had originally planned a trilogy, with a cumulative 270K words (90K per book) but that takes a writer whose style is more verbose than mine.

I’m a succinct teller of tales, and I don’t want to stretch beyond myself.

I want my readers to read a story that’s still true to me, and not me being something I’m not. I’ve decided that since the three books were following one plot/story anyways (one story split into three pieces), that I’m going to write one long book and put my aim to something more in my style. I also believe this will keep my from stressing it so much and make it so I’m able to finish it and get it to my readers, because I’ve been working on it for years, from plotting to writing now.

So, I’m excited now to be more realistic and hope to get this story to you all before, you know, the end of the world.

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Adelheid! This is my big one and I know it is. I’m still on the marketing trail following the release of book four–gearing up for another blog tour starting Monday– but I’m not one to let the grass grow too long, and I’ve already begun writing book five. I’ll be taking it slow, focusing on my epic fantasy and other projects, as well as traveling in September, but after I get back from familial visits, I’ll dive in hard and work on Vance’s story. Got some stuff with that one that I’m excited about.

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Very strangely, as time allows, I may actually be writing my first Young Adult story! If it works out, it’ll be released under a pseudonym, but I like my concept so while YA hasn’t usually been my cup of tea, I’m kind of looking forward to giving it a shot! Watch this space for that in the future, as that’s a project that’ll fit in “as time allows” for right now.

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Finally, and the project I’m most excited about right now for a lot of reasons, is this: I’m organizing an anthology of romance stories involving cat form shapeshifters, called Here, Kitty Kitty and featuring myself and five fellow authors, some of whom you’ve met here on this blog!

All profits from this book will be going to charity, to benefit the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Indiana. I’ve always been enchanted with big cats, especially tigers, and I’m hoping this does well and provides people with romantic, entertaining paranormal tales! This book will be featuring, as I said, myself, alongside Dariel Raye, A. Star, BR Kingsolver, Abigail Owen and featuring a new voice in Jessica Nicholls.

Watch this space for news as it progresses! Right now, we’re hoping for a late September release.

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That’s all from here! I’m excited about all my projects, and hope that you will be too!

~Mia

Character Interview: C.A. Verstraete & Becca from ‘GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie’

Hey, look it that! Another fabulous author from Darlings of Decay! And she’s brought a guest, Becca, from GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie. Welcome to you both!

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Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?

Becca: Hi, I’m Rebecca Herrera Hayes, but call me Becca. All my friends do. The book is really about my life.

In GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie by C.A. Verstraete, Becca’s life changes forever the day her cousin comes home. She’s infected with the Z (zombie) virus via an accidental scratch.

Now as a part Z, Becca has to cope with weird bodily changes and habits no girl wants to be noticed for. She tries to protect her family from the full Zs while she and her other cousin Carm search for their missing mothers. Most of all, Becca hopes to find something, anything, to stop her deadly transformation…. before it is forever too late.

Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

Becca: I’m 16, and live in what I’d thought was a little “nowheresville” town in Wisconsin—until the zombies came. Made me glad I lived in a small town instead of a big city like Chicago or Milwaukee. Then my cousin Spence brought home a little surprise. I got scratched and became infected with the Z virus. Thought I’d be finishing school and maybe even do something different like run for prom queen. No way now. My life really takes a turn I never expected.

Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.

Becca: She’s okay. Kind of has some weird ideas, ya know?

Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?

Becca: If I’d written the story, I wouldn’t turn the main character into a part-Z (zombie). I mean, the author has me tripping all over my feet. She says I walk sometimes like-like… a female Wolfman? Ugh, and my eye. Sheesh. Ya know, I’d always wanted to be different. Now I was. But there is one good thing in this story—Gabe. Sigh. He’s a part Z, too, but he looks so-so normal yet. He says I don’t have anything to worry about and he likes how I look. I didn’t think I’d like him, but I do, even if he tells these bad jokes. But I still wonder how he can be interested in someone like me?

Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?

Becca: It was awesome chasing the Zs and showing my scaredy-cat cousin Carm how to shoot them like you were playing paintball. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be that happy and I’m usually not, but it’s them or us. No way am I going to let any of them hurt any of my friends or mi familia.

Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.

Becca: Things do get scary. Fighting Zs is not always that easy. Some freaky stuff happens, but I have hope, too. You got to have hope. Like my cuz always says, Stay Positive. I try to do that. I do.

Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?

Becca: She won’t tell me much, but I hear rumors that me and Gabe, the hunky part Z whom I meet in the book and get to know better, do have a future together. I’m really happy about that. He’s been there with me through the good and the bad stuff. But she hinted at some problems. Like I haven’t had enough already? I hope she gives me a break.

Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?

Becca: Ooh, I’d pick JLO, but she’s too busy maybe. I think Selena Gomez is really cute. I wouldn’t mind her filling my shoes at all. As long as she keeps her hands off Gabe. I’m not sharing. He’s mine.

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Author Bio: Christine Verstraete is an award-winning journalist and author whose stories have appeared in several anthologies including Timeshares and Steampunk’d from DAW Books, Darlings of Decay and The Corner Café: A Tasty Collection of Short Stories. Her new book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, releases Aug. 1.

Author Site: http://www.cverstraete.com/

Author Blog: http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

Buy Link: Amazon US

Buy Link: Amazon UK

Buy Link: Barnes & Noble