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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Interview The Zen Lounge by @AuthorACMelody

A.C. Melody lives in Washington State, is the proud mom of two amazing sons – okay, so they're typical boys and always keep her on her toes!  Stemming from a family of artists and musicians, she thrives in all things creative and would call a day without her MP3 player and coffee a day of reckoning.  When she's not writing, reading, drawing or cheering on the sidelines at football games, A.C. Also enjoys gardening, which has honed her ability to dodge raindrops into an enviable skill.
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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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Red Sage Publishing
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 Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC and a digital copy of The Zen Lounge during the tour!

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