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Blurb:Welcome to the Zen Lounge, twenty-one floors of customizable carnal pleasures to fulfill your wildest fantasies. Even in the year 2192, it shouldn't exist but Voryk Kade simply couldn't ignore the urge to take a closer look. What he finds is a woman bent on ruining everything he'd ever believed to be true. She holds the key to all of Voryk's darkest, neediest desires and despite her silence, provides the proof behind his belief that there is something far seedier going on under the high-end gloss of professional eroticism.
Enlisting
the help of his closest friends, Voryk's only goal is to keep Nexlana safe,
naked and his. Unfortunately, she was already someone's favorite pet and when
Master comes calling, it’s with a vengeance and the intent of never letting her
slip away again. Haunted pasts continue to resurface, only Nexlana's might be
far deadlier than any of them could have guessed—connections between her,
arson, an assassination and a cold case no one ever wanted to delve into again.
To stop the worst case scenario from taking place, they must finally figure out
just who in the hell the Master really is.
1.What is your story's heat level? How do you approach the
sex scenes?
Steaming hot, but then, I'm probably a little biased. There's possibly less sex scenes in my book
then in others, but they are definitely memorable! Sex scenes, just as any
other scene, depends on the characters.
I don't have any set ritual or preparation for them. Typically, they develop just as organically
as the rest of the book, but sometimes I have to really tap into my creativity
in order to amp up the heat level, and keep the scenes from feeling too cliché.
2.How do you maintain
activity as a writer when sitting at a desk all day?
I got in the habit of walking every day, but since winter
came around I've been slacking on that. I always have housework or grocery
shopping that needs to be done, so I do step away from the desk throughout the
day.
3.What is it that you
loved about the main characters in your story?
I love Voryk's unapologetic personality and Nexlana's
unyielding, inner-strength. Mostly,
though, I love that they wouldn't let me complicate things between them. Neither one of them over-analyze or fight
against their feelings too much. They
are fiercely together and they will tear the world down to keep it that way
(even when Voryk has his idiot moments).
4.What do you feel is
your strongest type of writing? Humor? Angst? Confrontation scenes? Action?
Sex? Sensuality? Sweet Romance? And why?
Oh, boy. I'd like to think I'm equally great at all of the
above, but the truth is probably that the humor, action and sensuality comes
much easier than the rest. My characters
tend to be naturally sarcastic (can't imagine why), and I love action too much
to ever leave it out, which means the angst is always there, as well. Writing the confrontational scenes, though,
can be just as difficult as constructing truly outstanding sex scenes.
5.Are you social media
savvy? If so what do you suggest for others? If not, why not?
I was never social media savvy before, but I've always been
computer literate and that makes it easier.
My suggestion to others would be to make sure you have a presence
wherever there's a platform readily available, but don't burn yourself out on
the small stuff like Pinterest and Tumblr.
Focus your attention on places where you can actually interact with your
readers, like Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter and your blog. Be yourself, but in a more professional
manner than you would be with your close circle of family and friends. Before you hit “send” or “publish” on
anything, remember that once it's online, there's no getting rid of it.
My biggest problem with social media is that it takes up a lot of time and when I'm going really
well with my writing, I tend to ignore it. So, I'm still struggling to find a
much better balance between the two and all of the rest of life, on top of
it. In this day and age, though, social
media is not only vitally important for building and maintaining your fan base,
it is the best marketing strategy you have at your disposal and 90% of it's
free, so why wouldn't you use it?
6.What are some things
from your life or things you have observed that you've infused into your
stories?
Definitely my relationships with my family and friends. We are a crazy, eclectic bunch and I'd have
to say that most of my humorous material comes from them or my interactions
with them. I have shamelessly written my
friends into some of my characters and they're okay with that. My passions like music, art, ancient cultures
and mythologies also play a huge part in my books. The things that I admire about others and
wish I could claim as my own. It's
really all about the characters. No
matter what inspires my particular works, I guarantee it shows through them, be
it the main protagonists or sub-characters, because without the depth and
complexity of the players and their interactions, the stories are just...blah.
7. If you had an
unlimited budget, where would you like to visit for story-related research?
I would be a jet-setter, ha!
There are so many different places, cultures and mythologies that are
tied up in my various works that it would take me ten years to visit them all
just to research first hand. Currently
those places include Iceland, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Vegas and
Greece. Oh, and Minnesota. I know, where do the dots connect? I guess you'll have to keep reading my books
to find out!
8.Any fun facts about
the research for your book?
The Zen Lounge is possibly my least researched book
ever. I really didn't want to focus too
much on the technical jargon when the story seemed far more important to
me. I could have expanded on many
things, but I had to decide what was most important with a word count
limit. I did have to research names of
things to make sure they weren't already being used – which, my alien metal
Geiloflex had to be changed from its original name, Hydroflex, because of
trademark issues.
9.Finally, tell us a
little about your newest release!
My new release is an Erotic Romance set in
2192. Not so far into the future that
it's 100% SciFi, but enough to allow the provocative pleasure temple, The Zen
Lounge, to even exist. Voryk Kade is a
sex jaded multi-billionaire with a dark past and unusual friends. When he meets Nexlana at the Lounge, his
world is turned on its ear, and not in a good way. With the help of his friends, Hilo and Gryph,
Voryk will tear Matron City apart in order to have Nex all to himself and keep
both of their haunted pasts from rising up to give his worst enemies the
ammunition necessary to crush them all. The Zen Lounge really has a bit of something for everyone, full of sensuality, high-tech, crime, suspense, witty banter and of course, those deliciously naughty sex scenes!
Excerpt:
Closing her eyes for a moment, she shuddered, and then
grabbed Voryk's hand and placed it on her throat, running it down toward her
chest.
“Yes, it's warm,” he said aloud what she could not.
When her eyes opened on his, Voryk noted that his blood was
also very warm. Under the palm of his
hand, her heart beat a little faster. In
her ethereal eyes, a familiar beckoning called out to him, igniting his own
need. Taking the wine from her, Voryk
leaned forward and returned it to the table.
This time, he didn't sit back.
Her pulse throbbed beneath his fingertips, as he turned his head just so
and buried his face in the silky texture of her hair, in the scent of it. Slowly, he ran just the tip of his nose over
the soft flesh of her throat, his fingers curling around the nape of her neck
before he grazed the same line of flesh with his lips.
Her pulse skittered and raced, stirring his blood even more,
kicking his desire into a sizzling temperature.
He loitered at her jaw, using lips, tongue and teeth. Though she was silent, her breath was warm
and choppy in his ear. Leaving a trail
of kisses across the hollow of her cheek, Voryk found her mouth. That mouth, he thought again. God, that mouth.
Buy Links:
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirstabel, thank you for having me here today!
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThank for the great interview.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Mary, thank you for reading and commenting!
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