Tinnean's Rap Sheet Interview

Please help me welcome Tinnean to my blog today to give us a little glimpse into the mind of Mark Vincent as well as an excerpt!

It’s 1996, and Mark Vincent, senior special agent of the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security, has been assigned the task of assassinating the head of a terrorist organization in Europe. When the mission goes south and he’s ordered to take a vacation, he goes to Paris, and in a little bar called Le Petit Homme, he sees a man who intrigues him. However, like ships passing in the night, they go their separate ways, only to meet again the following morning, where, over breakfast, the man introduces himself as Louis.
 Is it too much of a coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps not, but Mark is intrigued and, unable to resist, he gives his name as Rick. A comment of Louis’s leads Mark to assume Louis hustles for a living, so Mark decides to “rent” him for the week. Unbeknownst to Mark, Louis has his own reasons for going along with the charade, which leads to… the start of a beautiful friendship.








Excerpt:

On January 7, 1996, it started snowing in New York, and it snowed like a son of a bitch for the next two days. Trust me on this… I was there at the time.
Since I was in a hospital room at Good Sam in West Islip, I had my cell phone in etiquette mode, and when it vibrated in my pocket, I knew it was a message from work. No one else called this number. I took it out and checked the text message.
Yep, it was from the WBIS, the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security.
I grinned at the man lying in the bed, determined not to let him see how concerned I was about his condition. He was hooked up to more machines than a body should have to be.
My old lady was a Grade A lush who had a tendency to hit the bars and bring home whoever caught her fancy. The guy would stay with us for a day, a week, a month, maybe, and then she’d boot him out. For some reason those men always treated me well and stayed in touch. One was a scoutmaster who taught me French, as well as how to fence. Another was a Portuguese fisherman who showed me the best way to scale a fish, how to handle myself in a knife fight, and how to crochet. According to Tio Ze, a man didn’t have to be defined by labels.
The man in the bed, an expat Brit, not only introduced me to various methods of self-defense, but he’d seen to it that I had a decent education, even after he left. He got me out of the shithole that had been home from the time I was six and sent me to a military academy on Long Island. His name was Bert Greenley, but I’d always called him Uncle Bert, or UB for short. When I’d learned he had cancer and shit insurance, I’d made sure he had the best doctors and the most up-to-date treatment, even though I knew eventually it would just be palliative.
“I have to take this call, UB.”
“Go ahead, son,” he rasped. Lately, his British accent had become more noticeable, possibly due to his illness. I wondered if his accent had anything to do with my old lady’s attraction to him. Now that I thought of it, most of her men weren’t from the States to begin with.
I rested my hand on his arm gently. My own father had disappeared from my life when I was about five. Four? Time had a tendency to blur.
 “I’ll be right back.” I strode out of the room, took the stairs down to the lobby, and went out to the parking lot, which was how I discovered all the snow. “Fuck.”
This hadn’t been in the forecast when I’d flown up to Long Island a couple of days earlier, so I hadn’t brought along gloves or boots, and the bomber jacket I wore was more suitable for higher temps.
The snow was already halfway to my knees, but this wasn’t a phone call I could make in a public area. I worked for an agency no one outside the intelligence community knew existed, and those inside the intelligence community wished didn’t exist.
I trudged to my rental, got in, and turned on the ignition so I could get the heater going and thaw my toes. Goddamn, it was cold! I rubbed my hands together, blew on my fingers, and hit one on speed dial.
“Mr. Wallace’s office.” I wasn’t surprised both he and his secretary were in on a Sunday. If I hadn’t had to see UB, I’d have been in as well.
“It’s Vincent.”
“One moment. He’s been expecting your call.”
In less than a moment, The Boss—and yeah, that was with caps—came on the line.
“I have a job for you, Vincent.”
“Yes, sir.” This wasn’t an ideal time, but nothing, not even the man in the hospital bed, who I cared about, came before the job. 

You can buy The Start of a Beautiful Friendship from Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_386

Parker Williams (and KC Wells) Rap Sheet Interview

Please welcome Parker Williams (and by extension, KC Wells) to my blog today. Parker has filled out the interview for their character Jeff, from the to-be-released Someone to Keep Me and Damian's Discipline in the Collars and Cuffs Series.

An Unlocked Heart and Trusting Thomas are available now from Dreamspinner Press:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=54_907

Since the death of his submissive lover two years ago, Leo hasn’t been living—merely existing. He focuses on making Collars & Cuffs, a BDSM club in Manchester’s gay village, successful. That changes the night he and his business partner have their weekly meeting at Severinos. Leo can’t keep his eyes off the new server. The shy man seems determined to avoid Leo’s gaze, but that’s like a red rag to a bull. Leo loves a challenge.

Alex Daniels works at Severinos to scrape together the money to move out on his own. He struggles with coming out, but he’s drawn to Leo, the gorgeous guy with the icy-blue eyes who’s been eating in his area nearly every night.

Leo won’t let Alex’s hesitance get in the way. He even keeps him away from the club so as not to scare him. And as for telling Alex that Leo is a Dom? Not a good idea. One date becomes two, but date two leads to Leo’s bedroom… and Alex discovers things about himself he never realized—and never wanted anyone to see.

Christmas is a time for goodwill to all, but Collars and Cuffs co-owner Thomas Williams receives an unexpected gift that chills him to the bone. A Dom from another Manchester club asks Thomas for his help rescuing an abused submissive, Peter Nicholson. Thomas takes in the young man as a favor to a friend, offering space and time to heal, but he makes it clear he’s never had a sub and doesn’t want one.

Peter finds Thomas’s home calm and peaceful, but his past has left him unwilling to trust another Dom. When Thomas doesn’t behave as Peter expects, Peter’s nightmares begin to fade, and he decides he’d like to learn more about D/s life. A well-known trainer of submissives, Thomas begins to teach Peter, but as the new submissive opens up to him, Thomas finds he cares more for Peter than he should. Just as he decides it’s time to find a permanent Dom for Peter, they discover Peter’s tormentor is still very much a threat. With their lives in danger, Thomas can’t deny his feelings for Peter any longer. The question now becomes, can Peter make it out of the lions’ den alive, so that Thomas can tell his boy that he loves him?

Lex Chase's Rap Sheet Interview

Lex Chase is here today to give us the inside look into Rook, one of her heroes from her Checkmate Series.

The first time Hogarth Dawson sees superhero Memphis Rook, he comes to Hogarth’s rescue by cracking the heads of two thugs like eggs into a skillet. Hogarth is utterly smitten, but he soon discovers the superhero Power Alliance has ejected Rook for failing to protect a civilian.

Hogarth devises a plan that will reinstate Rook and might even earn Hogarth a place in Power Alliance roster. But what he expects to be a simple few missions rescuing kittens and helping little old ladies cross the street turns into a shocking reality of citywide chases, foiling robberies, and facing his ex. Then Hogarth discovers the beating Rook saved him from wasn’t a chance attack. It’s possible Hogarth is just a pawn in Rook’s game….

Even after eleven months of keeping the mean streets of Axis City safe, superduo Checkmate—Hogarth Dawson—and his boyfriend, Memphis Rook, still receive the cold shoulder from the Power Alliance. Undeterred, Hogarth brings his intense focus to bear on Rook, and after Hogarth makes an accidental marriage proposal, it becomes all too clear Rook isn’t quite at the same place. But before life gets awkward, duty calls.

Booted-off female contestants of the romantic reality show Single and Super are being found in comas, and Checkmate needs to get to the bottom of it. As part of Rook’s plan, he cleans up his bad boy image and goes undercover as a bachelor looking for love among twenty-five frenzied women. Against Rook’s wishes, Hogarth sneaks onto the set as a cameraman to investigate the case on his own. With questions unanswered between them, emotions run high, distracting them and feeding a trap of their own making.

Three years ago, superhero Memphis Rook saved Hogarth Dawson’s life, and now the two can’t imagine being apart. Sort of.

By day, they’re a loving couple. By night, they’re the superhero duo Checkmate.  Since that’s too much time in each other’s personal space, Rook and Garth decide they need friends outside of each other. Garth finds friendship with a D&D group comprised of the social misfits Chad—who has crammed himself so far in the closet he might never find the door again, Jackson—who’s so mysophobic he’s afraid of his own germs, and El Jefe—who has all the social grace of a brick.

With an epic dose of peer pressure, the group urges Garth to go to Tolkicon, the biggest comic convention in Axis City.  When the supervillain league the Coalition of Calamity appears and takes the convention hostage, as the only real superheroes around, it’s up to Garth and Rook to save the day. With Rook as one of the hostages, Garth knows it’s time to nut up or shut up about being a hero.




http://lexchase.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Lex_Chase
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LXChase

Buy link:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=913

Andrea Speed's Rap Sheet Interview

Andrea Speed is here today to give us a look at one of her most popular characters, Roan, from her Infected Series!


In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

The murder of a former cop draws Roan into an odd case where an unidentifiable species of cat appears to be showing an unusual level of intelligence. He juggles that with trying to find a missing teenage boy, who, unbeknownst to his parents, was “cat” obsessed. And when someone is brutally murdering infecteds, Eli Winters, leader of the Church of the Divine Transformation, hires Roan to find the killer before he closes in on Eli.

Working the crimes will lead Roan through a maze of hate, personal grudges, and mortal danger. With help from his tiger-strain infected partner, Paris Lehane, he does his best to survive in a world that hates and fears their kind… and occasionally worships them.

You can get the whole series through Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=54_367

Kim Fielding's Rap Sheet Interview

Kim joins us today to give us a little peek into her character Colby Thomas Anderson from The Tin Box.

William Lyon's past forced him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office. Unlike William, Colby is cute, upbeat, and flamboyantly out. Although initially put off by Colby’s mannerisms, William comes to value their new friendship, and even accepts Colby's offer to ease him into the world of gay sex.

William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.


Available from Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4196&cPath=55_603

LJ LaBarthe's Rap Sheet Interview

LJ LaBarthe has joined me today to fill us in on the criminal past of her character Liam from her Archangels Series. I must admit, Liam is one of my favourites, so I was very excited to see that she had chosen him. 

You can find the whole series here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=598

With the next three books, The Wind-Up Forest, The Crystal Lake, and The Bone Cup, out this year.

Archangel Chronicles: Book One

You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael.

For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major problem: an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun.

 Archangel Chronicles: Book 2

Seventy years after it began, the war between angels and demons is over. Archangels Gabriel and Michael reunite at last, but a dangerous new challenge stands in the way of their happiness: someone is kidnapping angels and selling them as trophies on the black market. When Raphael, Archangel of Healing, goes missing, his tearful lover joins with the Brotherhood of Archangels and their lieutenants to rescue him.

Without Raphael’s healing touch, disease spreads quickly through the world’s human population. The situation only worsens when the angel Agrat is kidnapped: the number of sex crimes begins to rise and her husband, Gabriel’s lieutenant, loses himself to his grief. As they mount a rescue mission, Gabriel and Michael’s relationship will be put to the test. With the threat of the world dying around them and tragedy looming overhead, can Gabriel and Michael keep love and hope alive?




Archangel Chronicles: Book Three

Newly bonded Archangels Michael and Gabriel are torn from their idyllic island retreat by the singing of hymns heralding stunning news: Gabriel’s ancient foe, Semjaza, has escaped from his prison in the stars and now seeks revenge and utter conquest.

With the wisdom of Archangel Raziel to guide them and help coming from the most unlikely of quarters, Gabriel and Michael join with the Brotherhood of Archangels to hunt Semjaza down and finish him once and for all. Because Semjaza's return to Earth doesn't threaten just Gabriel and his loved ones—it threatens the whole of humanity.

But even more danger lurks in the shadows, threatening the Brotherhood from within. If Gabriel and Semjaza finally face each other in single combat, will Gabriel survive the contest, or will Michael lose his one true love?

Raine O’Tierney's Rap Sheet Interview

Raine is braver than a lot of people would be, and has opted to fill out her rap sheet interview as herself rather than one of her characters.

To learn even more about this up and coming author you can visit her here:
http://raineotierney.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
https://twitter.com/RaineOTierney

Please let it be known that my lawyer, Chiaki Yasuo, has advised me not to comment on any ongoing investigations. In fact, she feels strongly that I shouldn’t even be giving out information concerning planned crimes of passion and past errors in judgement . When I told her how EXCITED I am about Cate Ashwood’s new Hope Cove Series and my desire to be part of her rap sheet promotion, the look in my lawyer’s steely eyes momentarily softened and she said, “Well, in that case… NO.” But I’m stubborn and Chiaki Yasuo isn’t real, so I’m doing the rap sheet!

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

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

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

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 café 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

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