A Warrior's Witch Blog Tour: Interview with Stacey Kennedy

Hi Everyone and welcome to this stop on the A Warrior’s Witch Blog Tour. I am so happy to have Stacey Kennedy here on my blog today.

AsianCocoa: Welcome, Stacey! Please tell us a little about your book, A Warrior’s Witch.

Stacey Kennedy: First thanks for the interview!!  Now, a little bit about A Warrior’s Witch—I think I’ll let the blurb speak for itself:

Decades old guilt collide with a murder, igniting a battle in a warrior’s soul to choose between love and duty…

Murder has brought Talon, Master of Guardians, as well as Zia, his witch and Master of Witches, to Chicago. The manner of death appears to be a suicide, but Talon is far from ready to close the case. To avenge the Guardian linked to his past, he agrees to take on the assignment, and find her killer.

As they dive deeper into the investigation, they find themselves entering a world where BDSM is the norm. A lifestyle that Zia is uncomfortable with and, rattled by this new development, she is more than ready to return to the Otherworld. But their investigation quickly takes an unexpected twist when they discover that they’re not only hunting a killer but also someone who is controlling supernaturals in Chicago.

Their mission not only brings danger, but also forces Talon to deal with decades old guilt that corrodes his soul. Every event that unfolds only deepens his fight and pushes him to face an ultimate choice—what is more important—his duty to the Otherworld or the witch he holds closest to his heart?

AC: Describe yourself, Twitter style in 140 characters or less.

SK: I’m an avid lover of the paranormal romance, urban fantasy and erotic romance genres. If I’m not plugging away at my next novel, tending to my two little ones, I’ve got my nose deep in a good book. I live in Ontario, Canada with my husband.

AC: How long have you been writing?

SK: I started writing the first Magical Sword book in April 2009, and I haven’t stopped!

AC: In the book, Zia says that she and Talon could never have a youngling together because they are a different species, Witch and Guardian. But Nexi is a mixed being of Guardian, Witch and Fae blood. How did that happen?

SK: To understand, you’d really have to read Nexi’s stories. But to put it simply, she’s special. Because of Nexi’s mother being part fae, it allowed for the species to intermix, something that is unheard of. Those reasons are why Nexi is a mixed being, and why she is given the magical abilities she carries. Without the fae magic, Nexi’s existence would have been impossible.

AC: Will there be a book about the vampires, Zade and Iyana? Will there be any more BDSM elements coming up in future Otherworld books? (Please!)

SK: LOL! Like that element, did you?  Yes, Zade and Iyana will be the next Otherworld Romance I write, which I’ll start sometime in the fall. Since Iyana had a liking to BDSM, I would imagine—without giving away any secrets here—that a few elements of that world will come into play in their book.

AC: How many books do you plan on writing in the Otherworld series?

SK: In truth, I have no idea. I’m not a plotter when I write. I never know what is going to happen until I’m there doing it. So, as long as new characters show up and want their story told, I keep writing them.

AC: If you could trade places with one of your characters who would it be and why?

SK: Easy answer, Rynn. Why? Because I am in love with Briggs (The Blue Bloods), and want him all to myself.

AC: Tell us about some of your quirky habits.

SK: I only have one quirky habit, but it drives my hubby nuts. I don’t refill ice cube trays—EVER! I know I should, yet I leave them empty every time. We’ve been married long enough now he’s used to it, and accepts my laziness.

AC: What was the last amazing book that you read?

SK: Right now, I’m reading Katie MacAlister’s, The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons. Her dragon books top my favorite list. How can they not? You get humor, mystery, danger—all packed together with sexy dragons! Yes, please!!

AC: I know you’re a busy mommy and wife but other than writing, what other things interest you?

SK: I love the outdoors. Camping, canoeing, hiking—all of it! In the summer months, I take off July & August from writing to spend it with my kids! And we do LOTS of these kinds of things. I also take this time to catch up on my reading! I might like to write, but I like to read just as much.

AC: Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers? Any other new projects in the works?

SK: I’ve got one project I’m VERY excited about. It’s another spin-off from the Otherworld. This time it’s Ryker & Sabi’s story. They’ll likely have 3-4 books all of their own, and I must admit out of any story I’ve ever written, the series is my favorite. The first book, TAINTED BLOOD, is complete and currently in edits. It will release at the end of July 2011. Here’s a little look at it:

*Tainted Blood Cover*

Earth Witch, Sabi has been gifted with the ability to see premonitions of the darkness that threatens human lives.  Safe in the Otherworld she adjusts to these new visions…which isn’t going so well.  Luckily, she’s got the sexy Guardian, Ryker to help her work through these visions.  He’s intent to show her how to distance herself from them and help her gain control of life.  Not that it’s really helping.  These visions are leaving her crippled and unable to help pinpoint the killer’s locations to stop these acts from happening.

If that’s not enough to deal with, she soon begins to see vampires on a killing rampage in San Francisco.  Vampires are being born and left to fend for themselves, resulting in innocent lives being taken while they’re in the throes of blood lust. But as Sabi’s visions begin to kick up a notch, personal matters need to be put aside.  And as the mystery begins to unravel, Sabi will begin to see that these visions are getting far more dangerous and that humans are not the only ones at risk―she is…

Stacey Kennedy is an avid lover of the paranormal romance, urban fantasy and erotic romance genres. If she isn’t plugging away at her next novel, tending to her two little ones, she’s got her nose deep in a good book. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband. Be sure to drop her a line at her website, she loves to hear from her readers.

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Be sure to follow the tour for your chance to win Stacey’s new book, Tainted Blood.

Next Tour Stop: June 24 – Awesome Sauce Book Club 

Save My Soul Book Tour: Interview with Zoe Winters

Welcome to the Save My Soul book tour. I have the pleasure of having Zoe Winters here on the blog for an interview. Hi Zoe and thanks for joining me.

AsianCocoa: Please tell us a little about your book, Save My Soul.

Zoe Winters: Save My Soul is about an incubus who has been trapped in a house in a small southern town for 50 years. Anna Worthington has dreamed of owning this house since she was a child, so the possibility that it might be haunted... or possessed doesn’t stop her. In fact, she’s willing to do just about anything to get Luc out of her barbie dream house. Hijinks ensue.

AC: Describe yourself, Twitter style in 140 characters or less.

ZW: I’m really bad at Twitter. This is both a statement of fact and probably something I would tweet about myself.

AC: How long have you been writing and self-publishing?

ZW: I’ve been writing seriously since junior high. (Yeah, it sounds silly to say I was serious about it back then. But I was. I was sending short stories to magazines and writing middle grade novels in 7^th and 8^th grade.) I’ve been publishing since November 2008 when I released my debut novella, Kept.

AC: Your Zoe Who? videos are so funny. Episode 8 is my favorite. Do you plan on making anymore videos?

ZW: Maybe. Probably not. I don’t know. LOL. And thanks! They were a lot of fun to make. I’m just horrible at sticking with things like that or podcasting long term.

AC: Save My Soul was my introduction to the incubus. I loved Luc and so did Scarlett the cat! Are all creatures attracted to incubi?

ZW: All female creatures. Incubi are meant to feed from human females but anything female is going to feel a little of the charming spillover. Male creatures, on the other hand will be territorial and jealous.

AC: I know you’re working on the third book in the Preternatural series. Can you tell us a little more about it?

ZW: The third book is a bit of an ensemble cast book. It’s got romance in it, of course, but it’s sort of walking that line where you almost don’t know what to look at if that makes sense. There is more than one thing going on but it all ties together. Most of my plots are generally fairly linear and “one-track”. I’ve got 5 POV characters which is totally new territory for me. And it was one of the things that made it hard to start the book because I’m just not sure how readers will react to me breaking the pattern of two POVs.

I’ve got Z and Fiona, the main H/h. Z is a panther therian who has basically gotten stuck with this wolf pup he can’t really care for because they aren’t the same species. And Z is such a bachelor. He just doesn’t know what to do with a kid.

Fiona is an agoraphobic witch who hasn’t left her house beyond the mailbox in years. She’s got a special gift that allows her to understand the language and needs of animals. So she becomes useful to Z, and Z is very... well, he’s Z and he’s a little morally gray, not in a mean or evil way but just in a Z way. Kind of in a cave man way. He does live in a cave after all.

Then I also have Cole and Jane as POV characters they were the H/h in Mated, the third novella in Blood Lust (and one of the most popular couples). Some big stuff happens in their relationship and this book starts setting some huge things in motion, the effects of which will start to be seen later in the series, probably by at least book 6.

The fifth POV character is Cain. He was the villain in Save My Soul, but in this book (which has no title yet), we get to see a little bit of how he interacts with his own people. To humans, he’s someone to really worry about and steer clear of, but to his own kind, it’s different. He actually cares about his people. This book sort of serves as his “save the cat” book, which is where we (the general “we”, not my multiple personalities) take a villain and show him start to change or show different sides of him so readers in this case will accept Cain as the hero of book 4, which is his and Tam’s book. And let me just say... Tam has really been holding out on us. You’ll see what I mean in book 4.

AC: You have not revealed the title of the book yet. What is your process in coming up with the titles to your books?

ZW: Hehe. I haven’t revealed the title because I haven’t thought of a good one yet. I’ve thought about “Catalyst” because so much gets set in motion in this book. But, then I also know that if the title isn’t “romance-y” it’ll be harder to reach the demographic and sell it. I don’t want a gimmick-y title, though. I might run a book-naming contest if I can’t figure something definite out soon. And generally a title just comes to me. And it fits. And we’re done. This time, not so much.

AC: If you could trade places with one of your characters who would it be and why?

ZW: Tam. I’m jealous she gets Cain. He’s my favorite. He really shouldn’t be, but he is. He would definitely tell me I was a stupid trollop for going home with him. (Something he says to a woman in book 3.)

AC: Tell us about some of your quirky habits.

ZW: I don’t think I really have any quirky habits. But then the crazy think they are sane. This is probably a question for someone who knows me well. :P I’m sure they could come up with quirkiness.

AC: What was the last amazing book that you read?

ZW: Matched by Ally Condie

AC: Other than writing, what other things interest you?

ZW: Spinach dip and clothing stores that smell like the ocean (usually these stores are found near the ocean).

AC: Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers? Any other new projects in the works?

ZW: Well, I’m working on books 3 and 4 back to back because what I’d like  to do is release the books close together, maybe two weeks apart. I think it might really drive sales and rankings. The drawback is it means it will take a little longer to get book 3 than it would if I was releasing books like a normal person would. (Maybe we can make this the answer to my quirky habits.) The plus side is that as soon as you finish book 3, book 4 is right there. (Or, well, it depends on how fast you get it and read, but a two week waiting period is pretty awesome for a book!)

Author Bio: Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. She lives with her husband and two cats, and her favorite colors are rainbow and clear. For more information visit:

Zoe's Website / Zoe's Blog

You can purchase Zoe Winters' novels at:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble 

Check out my review of Save My Soul

 

 

Next up on the tour is: June 12 – Just Another Book Addict