Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Road to Hell series welcomes author DRAVEN ST. JAMES
Please welcome
Author Draven St. James onto the Road to Hell. Draven St. James is the author
of Grey’s Hidden Fire.
Now, it’s time to
create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Draven St. James’s wicked secrets
while on the Road to Hell. LOL Yeah, you
wish! ;-D
Grab your
favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and
enjoy getting to know Draven St. James…
~~~
GRACEN: Tell me three things about yourself that we
cannot find on the internet or in your bio?
DRAVEN ST.
JAMES: Wow, so you want me to know what
lies behind the public façade, huh?
Well, the first night I went out when I turned twenty-one I attended a
fetish ball. That was definitely an eye opener!
I’d do just about anything for a slice of cheesecake dripping with
cherry sauce. I suppose, lastly, a good
eighteen year scotch goes a long way toward soothing the nerves of a bad day.
GRACEN: What
hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?
DRAVEN ST.
JAMES: There are times when I’m not
writing? Oh, in those rare moments I’m
generally researching or spending time with my family and friends. I think a
huge part of the joy of writing is having a fantastic excuse to go do crazy
things in the name of studying a certain topic for my books.
GRACEN: Do you
have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning
the writing process?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
First and formost I must have my coffee in the morning. Without my coffee my characters just cannot
get it up. That is primarily my only
writing quirk.
GRACEN: If you
were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I’d send all the kids to Disney land and slip a powerful aphrodisiac to the
adults so that while they were all getting their sexy on I could become the
ruler of the world. J
GRACEN: If you
could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what
would it be?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES: Never be afraid to write what you love.
GRACEN: What
genre do you write and why that genre?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
Grey’s Hidden Fire is M/M contemporary.
I write in that genre because I love the fact that men have both
powerful external and internal emotional responses. There resides so much
action and passion without filters. It is rough and raw without apology.
GRACEN: For those
who are not yet familiar with DRAVEN ST. JAMES, can you please give us some
details about the book and/or series?
DRAVEN ST.
JAMES: Grey’s Hidden Fire will be part
of a series on firefighters who deal with the prejudice of finding love and
being gay in their profession. I plan
to branch off into related fields but I’m going to let my characters develop
with each book and lead me there.
GRACEN: Do you have any new stories in the works and
can you tell us a bit about it/them?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I have a m/m paranormal book in the works. I also have a sequel to Grey’s
Hidden Fire working its way through my mind and onto the screen.
GRACEN: If you
could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be?
Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you
want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.
DRAVEN ST.
JAMES: Unbound.
GRACEN: What, in
your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other
stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up
your books.
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I think my story has a unique twist in that it is about one man discovering is
sexuality late in life with the introduction of one particular man into his
life.
GRACEN: What’s
the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I dressed in dom gear and went to fetish night to try to get an idea of what
those interactions were really like off of the page.
GRACEN: Of all
your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I’m going to take the easy answer here because I love all my characters. I
couldn’t write them if I didn’t. Now, I am looking forward to developing some
of them maybe a little more. Outside of
Grey and Mica, I am having a great time
developing Simon’s story. He’s just a fun quirky character and to put depth and
deminsion within his personality has been exciting. I love molding characters
because when their personality are complete the story almost folds around them.
GRACEN: If you
had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would
it be and why?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
I think I’d like to meet Mica. He just has those qualities of being both
serious but with a wicked sense of humor. I believe he’s one of those people
you could get into a lot of fun trouble with.
GRACEN: Which of
your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
Oh, I would never want to meet the villains, but to name them would kind of
give away the story. So you’ll just have
to read the book to understand why! J
GRACEN: If you were interviewing yourself, what is
the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that
question?
DRAVEN ST. JAMES:
Why do I write?
I write because
my mind is constantly buzzing with worlds and people who are shouting their
stories. I think that some people get bored in life and need an escape from the
humdrum of it all. I have always wanted to provide that for others. I have a
degree in psychology, so I suppose it is just in my nature to want to lift
peoples’ spirits and help them find their bliss.
GRACEN: Thanks so much for joining us, DRAVEN ST.
JAMES! It’s been a treat getting to know
you better!
Website: http://dravenstjames.wordpress.com
Buy Link: www.loose-id.com
BLURB:
Grey's
entire life is wrapped around his job as a firefighter. It is all he has ever
wanted. That is until his new coworker Mica Cruz saunters through the door with
his smoldering dark looks and dimpled grin. Suddenly he finds himself wanting
to get to know what Mica looks like out of his gear and between the sheets.
Mica has
one rule…keep his work life and his personal life separate. It was easy enough
to follow until he meets Grey and finds that his rule can't stand up to the
fire that Grey ignites. There's one big thing standing in the way of all of his
lust filled musings. Grey is straight.
In a profession where being gay is often kept quiet Grey must come to
terms with his growing attraction to Mica. How much is he willing to sacrifice?
Can they come together before someone's hatred threatens to destroy them both?
EXCERPT:
Mica walked
into the dark room that contained two bunk beds. Grey’s huddled form made a
silhouette against the darkness on one of the lower bunks, and Mica stretched
out on the other. Grey’s shifting sent the sounds of a creaky mattress across
the small space.
“Are you
gay?” Grey’s words shattered the silence with their quiet intensity.
Mica felt
like all the air had been sucked from the room. No one had ever out-and-out
asked him if he was gay. He was fairly certain it was because he didn’t look
like the stereotypical gay man. He also didn’t act like what his
coworkers had always described as a gay man. He wasn’t effeminate. They were
never cruel, but there was a level of mocking when they spoke about the topic.
The reaction to the answer to this one question could screw his whole world up,
but he didn’t feel like he could lie to Grey.
“Yes,” he
responded in a low voice. He held his breath and waited for some kind of verbal
or physical explosive response. There was nothing, just the soft sound of
Grey’s breath.
“Was I any
good?” Grey asked.
Mica sat up
and stared into the darkness, his mouth hanging open. “What?” he asked in a
loud whisper.
“In your
fantasy, I must have been pretty good, right?” There was humor in the other
man’s voice. Humor, but not ridicule.
“Yeah, you
were pretty good,” Mica conceded. He lay back on his bed and laughed softly.
“You were really good.”
“Is that
what you are? Dominant?”
“What do
you mean?”
“I…” Grey
hesitated. “Are you a top?”
Mica
snickered and smiled broadly at Grey for having the courage to ask that kind of
question. “Yes and no.”
Grey
chuckled. “How does that work?”
“I wouldn’t
mind bottoming for the right guy,” Mica confessed. He had never said that to anyone.
He had actually never bottomed, but if given a chance with Grey…he’d be
tempted.
“Oh…” Grey
murmured.
Mica glared
hard into the darkness. He wished he could look into Grey’s eyes, see what was
in Grey’s mind. It was damn difficult to judge what a man was thinking simply
by the tone of his voice. Grey didn’t seem to have much of a problem with
Mica’s being gay. If anything, he sounded intrigued.
“I take it
you’re straight?” Mica asked.
The weight
of the silence was heavy. Had Grey gone to sleep that quickly? Mica wanted to
get up and turn on the light, but he didn’t think Grey would appreciate it. It
would feel too much like a spotlight during an interrogation.
“Yes,” Grey
admitted. Although the brief moment of hesitation was curious.
“Thank you,
then, for not freaking out about earlier,” Mica said into the void. His face
heated at the words. He wanted to add to that, but he didn’t know what to say.
Apologizing for using someone to get off was a new thing to him. In his early
days of coming out he’d had his one-night stands with no apology. Somehow this
entire situation held a higher level of intimacy. Maybe it was the sharing of
secret thoughts in the dark.
Grey
shuffled. “Mica?”
“Yeah?”
“What was I
doing?”
Mica’s eyes
widened. He couldn’t have heard that right, or he’d processed it incorrectly.
“Huh?”
“I mean,
what was your… What was the whole fantasy?”
Mica had to
sit up to hear the whispered words. “In the shower?”
“Yeah.”
Grey sighed. “I mean, I know I was…I mean…in the end…sucking…”
Mica could
practically feel the heat of the other man blushing across the room.
“Are you
seriously asking for the setting of my jack-off session?” Mica chuckled.
“Well, when
you say it like that…” Grey’s voice filled with discomfort. “I guess it was an
odd question. Never mind.”
Grey
sounded mortified. Mica didn’t know what drove Grey to ask the question, but
Mica wanted to share the fantasy with him. After all, Grey had asked. No one
could fault him for handing over information that had been requested.
Mica lay
back and closed his eyes. “You came into the locker room as I was taking off my
T-shirt. You wanted to know if I needed any help cleaning up, or if I had any
pain from the fire.”
He paused
to see if Grey would stop him. If Grey had changed his mind about wanting to
know Mica’s hot fantasy. A fantasy where Grey was the star. He heard nothing
but Grey’s breathing. “Are you with me?”
“Yes.”
If Mica
hadn’t been listening so closely, he wouldn’t have heard the response.
“Okay, so I
told you my shoulder was really hurting from when I pushed against the door
frame to make it outside. You came up behind me and ran your fingers over my
shoulders, massaging. I could detect the faintest touch on my neck, where it
felt like you’d kissed me. My cock twitched, and I barely managed to keep from
groaning. You felt my body tense, so you pulled away and turned me around. You
asked if I was okay, if I needed any other help.” His voice became hoarse with
arousal.
“That’s
when you looked down and saw my cock, rock hard against my briefs. You reached
down to lightly stroke it through the fabric and asked if I required help
taking care of any other special needs.”
Grey
chuckled softly and said, “Sounds like a line from a porn video.”
“Well, it
is a fantasy. Give me a break.” Mica laughed. “Anyway, of course I was shocked
by your offer, but so fucking hard because your hand was stroking my dick that
I nodded. You pushed my briefs down and wrapped your fingers around my cock.
Your hand felt amazing. It was so warm and rough. I rocked my hips into it.”
His cock leaked. The arousal was ten times what it had been in the shower.
Describing the fantasy for Grey was hotter than he could have imagined.
“And?” Grey
asked, his voice ragged.
Mica
propped himself up on his elbow. Was it his imagination, or did Grey sound
turned on?
“Then you
swiped your finger over the head of my dick, getting a drop of precum. You
brought it to your lips and sucked it off. You told me it tasted sweet and
salty and that you wanted more.”
Grey’s
breath came faster from across the room. Holy shit. Just the thought of
Grey getting hot from the fantasy was enough to make Mica’s cock throb.
“Then
what?” Grey whispered.
Hellprints:
Draven St. James,
Gracen Miller,
Grey's Hidden Fire
Friday, June 21, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The Road to Hell series welcomes author Pyxi Rose
Please
welcome Author Pyxi Rose onto the Road to Hell. Pyxi Rose is the author of The
Ninth Taghairm: Redemption.
Now,
it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of
Pyxi Rose’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL Yeah, you wish! ;-D
Grab
your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax
and enjoy getting to know Pyxi Rose…
~~~
GRACEN: Tell me three things about yourself that we
cannot find on the internet or in your bio?
PYXI
ROSE: I am addicted to spicy chocolate especially from this little chocolate
store called Chocolate Fetish in Asheville, NC. My favorite sound in the world
is the deep hum of a cello. And I have Pendulaphobia, the fear of swinging
things. Weird, right? But in all seriousness, they trigger some intense panic
attacks.
GRACEN:
I have to admit, I’ve never heard of Pendulaphobia, but hey I have a muse that
dominates me, so maybe we’re both a little weird. ;-) What hobbies and
interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?
PYXI
ROSE: For me, reading is normally what I am doing when I am not writing. I also
enjoy a good run and I do enjoy reviewing other Indie authors.
GRACEN:
Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before
beginning the writing process?
PYXI
ROSE: Okay, don’t laugh. Promise? Okay. I write everything and do mean
everything in longhand before typing it up. It is a habit I haven’t been able
to break and I like to think it’s better this way. I catch all the little
things my mind overlooks when I am caught up in the moment of writing.
GRACEN:
Wow! I’d never get a book written if I did the longhand stuff. I’m impressed
you manage. When I do this, my brain thinks faster than I can write and I
forget stuff. If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?
PYXI
ROSE: *Mwhahaha* I’ll never tell. ;)
GRACEN:
If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember,
what would it be?
PYXI
ROSE: Make no apologies. In the end, only you are responsible for your acts.
GRACEN:
Good advice! What genre do you write and why that genre?
PYXI
ROSE: I write Dark Paranormal Romance/New Adult. The reasoning behind that
genre is anything can happen. The possibilities are endless when dealing with
the paranormal and there is something truly liberating in that.
GRACEN:
I agree! The paranormal genre is only limited by your imagination. For those
who are not yet familiar with Pyxi Rose, can you please give us some details
about the book and/or series?
PYXI
ROSE: Certainly! Redemption is the first book of nine about Scottish Oracles
called Taghairms. With Redemption, we start with the last of the line of
sisters and she is different from the others. For a crime of retribution, she
is cursed to have the soul of an immortal but to live and die as a mortal only
to be reincarnated and do it all again. With each lifetime more horrific than
the last, she remembers every detail and she suffers it waiting for her deity
to grant her forgiveness. Secrets are revealed and lovers met and in the end,
not all are left standing.
There
are nine Taghairms, sisters bound by blood and breath, and each will get a
book. It is a very dark paranormal romance, light on the romance and heavy on
the violence. It isn’t for everyone. J
GRACEN:
Oooo…I love the concept. Very intriguing! Do you have any new stories in the
works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?
PYXI
ROSE: I am in the process of the first draft of Book Two of the Taghairm
Chronicles and I am working on a standalone PNR about the reversal of roles of
angels and demons. That one I started as an exercise to force myself to write
every day, but now it is this amazing story of loss and healing when everything
is falling apart around you. I can’t wait to share that one with the world!
GRACEN:
If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it
be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase
you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.
PYXI
ROSE: ‘Without darkness, there would be no light.’ My writing is extremely dark
and it touches on the evils of human nature, but there is redemption for even
the darkest of hearts.
GRACEN:
What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from
other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to
pick up your books.
PYXI
ROSE: For one, my supernatural element is based on Scottish folklore and while
that isn’t really unique, the Taghairms are a supernatural being that hasn’t
been done before. Secondly, my characters are believable. They are flawed and
they make grave mistakes along the way, but even in the most wicked of them,
there is good in all of them. For me, that is what makes it stand out. My
anti-heroine, Talula is a strong leading lady and she isn’t out to be rescued.
I like that. Too many women in fiction are shown in a weak light. I think we
need to change that.
GRACEN:
I love a strong heroine. A weak one turns me off! What’s the weirdest thing
you’ve ever done in the name of research?
PYXI
ROSE: *snort* What a question! Honestly, nothing too weird. I actually have met
a few good friends in my search for a translator for my Scots Gaelic. You think
I can write off a trip to Scotland in the name of research?
GRACEN:
Hmm…I think it’d be fun to try. Of all your books, which character did you have
the most fun creating and why?
PYXI
ROSE: Right now? Has to be Faolchú from the next book in my series, The Eighth
Taghairm: Affliction. He is this Scottish surly werewolf that is all kinds of
attitude and snark. I think I might be in love. Very fun to write from an
egotistical male’s POV. J
GRACEN:
Egotistical males with god complexes are soooo
much fun to write! If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your
characters in real life, who would it be and why?
PYXI
ROSE: Gadin Wilde, my southern vampire. His character is actually based on
someone I cared dearly about and someone I still miss very much. J
GRACEN:
What a nice way to honor that person. Which of your characters would you never
want to meet under any circumstance and why?
PYXI
ROSE: Frige. Hands down…no contest. She is a wicked bitch and a powerful one at
that. Yeah, definitely wouldn’t want to meet up with her in a dark alley. No
way. LOL
GRACEN: If you were interviewing yourself, what is
the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that
question?
PYXI
ROSE: Favorite and most influential book/writer for me of all time?
Wuthering
Heights is probably one of the most read books in my library. The darkness in
Bronte’s work has bled through to my own words. Wuthering Heights is one of
those books that sticks with you. It’s the brutally honest and raw side of
human nature and while it is darkness, there is beauty in that. I go through a
paperback copy a year, not because I am violent with my books, but because I
take it everywhere and my purse isn’t that easy on the books. LOL My last
paperback copy is held together with a rubber band. This past Christmas, a dear
friend of mine surprised me with the most beautiful hardback copy of it. This
one will not go into the purse of death. J Thank you so
much for having me! I am a big fan of yours and I am still kind of fangirling
here. J
GRACEN:
Sad to say, I’ve never read it, but I know it’s a classic. Aww…thanks for the
compliment, but no need to fangirl for me. I’m just like you, Pyxi, a southern
girl with a dream to write amazing stores.
Thanks
so much for joining us, Pyxi Rose! It’s
been a treat getting to know you better!
Bio:
Pyxi Rose is a single mom, writer, and lover of all things
literary. She lives in the PA Mountains but her heart and soul will always be
in North Carolina. She also enjoys reviewing books for other indie authors in
her spare time. When she is not doing that, she is chasing after her
wonderfully weird little boy, Wander Stone. Her debut novel, Redemption, will
be the first book of nine in a darker paranormal series about Scottish Oracles.
You can find more about her work on her blog at http://thetaghairmchronicles.blogspot.com.
Blurb:
The Ninth Taghairm:
Redemption
Book One of the
Taghairm Chronicles
There are far worse fates than death, but that is a truth
Gadin Wilde knows all too well. He had to come to terms with his immortality
from a sire that relished in the kill. He had eventually grown to accept the
fact he was one of the damned; a vampire, an irredeemable beast driven by blood
and blood alone. That was until he met the very complicated and alluring Talula
Delphina and was shown another way of existing. In a blink of an eye, his whole
world changed.
Cursed with a fate worse than death, Talula is destined to
watch the world die. Punished with the cruelest form of immortality, she knows
all about the devastation of death and the agonizing pain of rebirth. For
almost thirteen hundred years, she has relived its vicious cycle time and time
again. For a crime of retribution, her soul bares the mark of immortality, but
suffers it in a mortal shell.
So when the dark and sensual, Gadin began hunting her, she
welcomed the prospect of being his prey. After all, there are far worse ways to
die. But nothing could have prepared her for the fire he lit within her.
And as their passions grow more intense, powerful forces
fight to keep them apart. Will their love be enough to overcome their fated
paths? Or will the secret crime Talula committed centuries ago, be so damning
that Gadin won't be able to forgive her?
AMAZON BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DDVMAN8/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Excerpt (Talula’s POV)
He sighed and started to pace. I watched him intently, this
beautiful, amazing creature in my living room. He awakened things in me that I
thought I wasn’t allowed to feel with my cursed soul. A vicious yearning
rumbled deep in my chest as I watched him wear a path in my hardwood floors.
And suddenly he stopped to face me, eyes aglow, as a smile lit his flawless
face.
“Yes?” I asked amused at how impossible this all was. The
yearning, the unmistakable burn I haven’t felt since Aeron. And that need was
growing stronger by the minute as I held his gaze. I quickly turned away,
afraid my face would give me away instantly. Looking down at my arms, I could
see my blush slowly spread over my whole body.
“How did you do it?” He asked, fangs growing slightly in
anticipation. Confusion washed over me, tapering the lust back slightly.
“Do what?” I asked, downing my wine and setting the empty glass on
the bar.
“Kill this monster . . .” His voice quiet; his dark eyes now
focused on me. My face had to be the color of my wine by now. I was dizzy
suddenly not understanding why he would want that knowledge.
“Does it really matter? I killed him in a matter in which he
deserved,” I answered shrugging, but I could see my answer wasn’t what he was
after.
Pouring the last of the wine in my glass, I made my way back to
the couch. We sat in silence as he gathered his thoughts. My thoughts were only
of him though. Finally he broke the silence.
“I ask you because if I could find some common sin between us,
then maybe I could finally . . .” His voice trailed off, as he knelt at my
feet. I now understood why he needed to know my darkness.
“Feel less of a monster?” I finished for him as tears pooled in
his eyes. I gently wiped them away.
“Gadin, all souls sin. Without those mistakes life would be
unbearably boring, huh?” I smiled lovingly and he returned the gesture. And
suddenly his lips were on mine. The passion I felt earlier returned and spread
like a wild fire all over my body. Gasping between kisses, we tumbled to the
floor in a tangled mess. Pushing and pulling together clumsily, desperate to
get closer to one another. He scooped me up to move to the couch but in the
process of his eagerness, he knocked my wine glass to the floor. The sudden
sound of glass breaking brought us both back to earth. We stared at the
shattered glass as if we were seeing it for the first time.
“This is wrong, Talula,” He whispered as he pulled away from
me.
My heart was pounding, still running on that delicious wave of
warmth.
“Gadin, this is so far from wrong,” I begged, my voice shaky. The
tears were already filling my eyes in mourning of our broken embrace. This
can’t be the end of that wonderful sensation of heat. The one sense this body
lacked. This can’t be the end of something that hadn’t even had a chance to
begin. I looked over to see his beautiful face mirroring my conflicting
emotions. I knew the want was still there but he had reined it in. I sighed
loudly in exasperated disappointment.
“I haven’t felt anything like this in a very long time. I didn’t
think I was capable of it in this body. But when you touch me . . . it’s like a
jolt of electricity shocking me awake from a long slumber. It’s like someone
has lit a match underneath my skin, all heat and absolutely no pain. I can’t
explain it, but all I know is that I want it. No, I need it, Gadin,” I pleaded with him, desperate to drown in this
overwhelming sensory overload. He sat there on the other end of the couch
silently. Maybe I imagined the need in his eyes; maybe I just wished it so. I
sighed suddenly feeling drained and wounded. I got up and started to clean the
broken mess on the floor, tears blurring my vision.
“I’m sorr-Shit!” I had started but sliced my hand
wide open on the broken glass, blood pooling in the mix of spilt wine and
pieces of glass. Everything stilled as Gadin caught my scent and a low growl
escaped from his lips. Any self-control he had exhibited before was now gone. I
got my wish. I was now the prey.
Stalker Links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheTaghairmChronicles?fref=ts
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/taghairmpyxi
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/PyxiRose
Personal Blog:
http://thetaghairmchronicles.blogspot.com
Review Blog:
http://trudysallthingsbooks.blogspot.com/
Email:
Taghairmpyxi@gmail.com
Cover Artist’s
Webpage: http://www.strongimageediting.com/
Editor Webpage: http://www.lookingglassediting.blogspot.com/
Publisher:
http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/
AMAZON BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DDVMAN8/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Hellprints:
Gracen Miller,
Pyxie Rose,
Redemption,
The Ninth Taghairm
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