Thursday 31 October 2013

Nicole Forcine's Rap Sheet Interview

Nicole Forcine is here today to give us a little insight into the mind (and past) of Esteban Jonathan Mendoza from her book This Little Whatever.


 Jonathan Mendoza used to live an even crazier life, partying with his tight-knit traveling performance troupe whenever he wasn’t on stage belly dancing. When his sick mother begged him to change his lifestyle, he agreed to try to live sober, but that change is hard. Neither is it easy to stop staring at Dean Winters after he nearly knocks the man over before a performance.

A former recluse, prone to panic attacks after surviving a traumatic accident, Dean isn’t Jonathan’s usual type. Still, Jonathan is irresistibly attracted to him, and decides to cure the itch with a one-night stand. But that night, he’s shaken by Dean’s kindness and consideration—something he’s not used to in a lover or a friend. His best friend, Rachel, who co-owns the troupe with Jonathan, sees Dean as a threat to their friendship and to the troupe—the dream they’ve worked together to build. She reveals a cruel and possessive streak that could do much greater damage on both fronts, and Jonathan realizes he will have to choose between the nomadic life he’s lived and the man who is stealing his heart.



Available from Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4162&cPath=55_918




Wednesday 30 October 2013

Anne Barwell's Rap Sheet Interview


Anne has decided to share some of her new character Simon Hawthorne from her novel, Shades of Sepia, due out from Dreamspinner Press early 2014.

A serial killer stalks the streets of Flint, Ohio. The victims are always found in pairs, one human and one vampire.

Simon Hawthorne has been a vampire for nearly a hundred years and he has never seen anything like it before. Neither have any of others who make up the team of supernaturals he works with to keep the streets safe for both their kind and the humans who live in this city.

One meeting with Simon and Ben Leyton finds himself falling for a man he knows is keeping secrets, but he can't ignore the growing attraction between them. Ben has only recently arrived in Flint, and finding it very different from his native New Zealand, but there's something about Simon that makes Ben feel as though he's found a new home.

After a close friend becomes one of the killer's victims, Simon is torn between revealing his true nature to Ben, and walking away and avoiding the reaction he fears. But with the body count rising and the murders becoming more frequent is it already too late to prevent either of them from becoming the next victim?


To start is off, she has shared a little snippet from the story:

Simon Hawthorne flipped through the papers in front of him, and scowled. "Tell me again why I have to do this?" he grumbled. "I've been working for the Supernatural Council here in Flint since before some of its members were born and every ten years they still insist we fill out their forms. Nothing has changed in the past sixty years, why should it now?"
"There you have it," Lucas Coate pointed out. "Some of them weren't around the last time you did this. Hell, I didn't know you the last time you did this." He seemed amused by the whole thing, and especially Simon's reaction. "The council is on the old fashioned side like…"
"Like me?" Simon snorted. Although he'd been born in the late nineteenth century, it didn't mean he was a relic from that age. While he admitted he wasn't fond of some of this new fangled technology he still used it when there was no choice. "I'm nothing like them, Lucas." He remembered that Lucas's father was on the council. "No offense."
"None taken." Lucas shrugged. "I kind of like that you're not. It's one of the reasons I hang around you guys."
"Some of these questions are a bit personal," Simon noted. "And the rest they probably already know."
"Think of it as a cathartic exercise," Lucas suggested. "Self awareness is supposed to be good for the soul and all that."
"I'm already self aware, thank you. I've had enough practice at it to last me several lifetimes."
Lucas handed Simon another set of forms. "If you don't want to share what you've written, tear it up, start again, and just give them the answers they already know." He shrugged. "After all, isn't that what you usually do? I'm off to annoy Forge now." He tapped the extra pile of papers under his arm. Forge was another member of their team. He was also a vampire like Simon. "I figure if the council wants to make me their errand boy, at least I'm going to enjoy it."
"Of course you are." Simon retrieved his fountain pen and uncapped it.  He glanced toward the door but Lucas was already gone. "Bloody werewolf," he muttered, getting up to refill his coffee.


Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand.  She shares her home with two cats who are convinced that the house is run to suit them; this is an ongoing "discussion," and to date it appears as though the cats may be winning.

In 2008 she completed her conjoint BA in English Literature and Music/Bachelor of Teaching. She has worked as a music teacher, a primary school teacher, and now works in a library. She is a member of the Upper Hutt Science Fiction Club and plays violin for Hutt Valley Orchestra.

She is an avid reader across a wide range of genres and a watcher of far too many TV series and movies, although it can be argued that there is no such thing as "too many." These, of course, are best enjoyed with a decent cup of tea and further the continuing argument that the concept of "spare time" is really just a myth.

http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/
http://annebarwell.wordpress.com/
http://coffeeunicorns.wordpress.com/
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_426

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Phoenix Emrys's Rap Sheet Interview

Thanks for joining us today for Phoenix to give us a little background info on Gil Donigan, her character from The "L" Bomb. 


Gil Donigan has made a career of treating the word “love” like something from an NFL playbook. Then he meets Devon Drake, and for the first time says “I love you” and really means it. Devon immediately bolts, and that was the last thing Gil expected. But maybe he had it coming; he got as good as he’d ever given. Karma's a bitch, he thinks, but he’ll take the hit like a man. His new game plan? Shake off the heartbreak and move on, but Gil may need to rethink his recovery when Devon turns up on his doorstep with an enigmatic box, begging for a chance to explain.

Available from Dreamspinner Press:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4159

Saturday 26 October 2013

Mia Kerick's Rap Sheet Interview

Read what Mia Kerick has to say about her character Kai Manter's past from the book Intervention, out from Harmony Ink on October 10th.

 As a musician at the popular college cafĂ© Coed Joe’s, high school senior Kai Manter is never lacking for male attention. Out, proud, free-spirited, and sexually aware, Kai sets his sights on his darkly Gothic and undeniably bad-tempered coworker, Jamie Arlotta, a freshman at the local arts university. Sporting long hair and alluring hippie style, Kai expects his interest will be reciprocated, with satisfying sex as the end goal. That’s what usually happens. But Jamie’s lessons in life have been harsher. Having been sexually abused by his older stepbrother for several years, Jamie has grown an impenetrable outer shell meant to keep the world at a safe distance.

Kai is angry at first when he takes the brunt of Jamie’s bad temper, but after Kai accidentally discovers the abuse Jamie has suffered, he wants to fix things. Kai’s plan is based on what he knows best—music—and he stages a “musical intervention” to let Jamie know he’s not alone and things can get better. When Jamie’s perspective changes and he emerges from his shell, Kai changes, too, gaining a whole new understanding of what sex can be when love is there too.

Available from Harmony Ink: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4286&cPath=55_658


Friday 25 October 2013

Chris T. Kat's Rap Sheet


Chris T. Kat fills us in on the criminal past of Jeff Woods from Attachment Strings.

Detective Jeff Woods and his partner have a new case. Someone has been making threatening phone calls to the mayor’s daughter, vowing to kill her disabled child. Though there have been accidents at the girl’s school—enough to take the threats seriously—the facts are few, and leads are sparse.

Needing a breather from the burden of the case, Jeff heads to a bar, where he meets Alex Fisher. Alex isn’t his type, but he’s young and cocky and perfect for a one-night stand. Or two. Soon Jeff starts thinking about how difficult and lonely it is being a cop, and that maybe Alex could fill a void in his life. But Alex has his own obligations: a disabled brother who is the target of threatening letters.

Jeff isn’t sure he’s ready to play house or overcome his prejudices, but he begins to think Alex might be worth it. Caught between his growing affection and his inner demons, Jeff struggles to focus on the case and protect Alex and his brother as the danger builds.

Available from Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3951