Interview with Tory Michaels

Today we welcome Tory Michaels with her new release  Blood-Mage Rising.

Lovely to have you here Tory, make yourself at home J

More than happy to make myself at home. Any time I can just snuggle down somewhere, I’m good.

Are you ready for my nosy questions?

Be gentle! Well, you don’t have to be that gentle. Just no barbed whips or anything. J

 *puts toys back in  locked box with a sheepish smile*

Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Let’s see, as of this writing, I’m the mom of 4 (that I know of – given one’s still freshly baking in the oven, I don’t know yet if there’s more than one, so it might be 5 or more come November). I work as a paralegal in a corporate law firm, and live in North Florida. I miss genuinely cold winters.

I’ve been writing off and on my entire life, and have an awesome hubby who, though he doesn’t read my stuff (he doesn’t really read much at all), tries to support me in other ways.

Ummm, hrmm, I love music, movies and books!

Congrats on the pregnancy, Tory. How exciting!

Q. What made you write ‘this’ story?

Blood-Mage Rising came after I wrote a book titled Blood Dreams which had Chris and a half-incubus named Marcelo. Marcelo turned out to be more Beta than Alpha, and took a backseat to Jordan both in the tension between Chris and him, and plot/hero-wise. ::baffled look:: So, deciding that it wasn’t going to fly, I went back and decided to revisit the timeline introduced in Blood Rage, except this time the story was coming from Chris and Jordan’s perspective. Rising was not supposed to include the prelude to romance. Sex, yes, but actual emotional love? I didn’t think my sociopath was capable of it.

After the first draft, my beloved JD (awesome reader who absolutely despises Anthony for some reason) and I got to talking. There’d obviously been a couple sex things between Chris and Jordan and I raised the question, “Do you think he’s capable of love?” She practically smacked me over the head. She was right. So I rewrote it with the idea of introducing a romantic subplot. I couldn’t bring them to a HEA ending in Rising, so it is officially an Urban Fantasy, rather than Paranormal Romance. There’s just too much history between them to eliminate the mistrust in a single book. Book 3 however will finish their romance.

`

Q. Were you always going to write a series?

Mm, Blood Rage was a stand alone as it was originally written (and man that was BAD). Then somewhere in the revisions, I added in the larger plot about someone trying to stir up trouble for the vamps and the dream-walker was born. Since Dara and Anthony weren’t the mystery-solving types, they’re much more into the PR aspect of things, I needed couples who could deal with finding answers. And so Chris/Jordan developed and I have an idea for Book 4’s couple (Ronnie, who’s introduced in Rage and passes briefly through in Rising).

Q. Tell us about your cover.

Well, the couple in the forefront are Jordan and Chris. Mr. Abs in the background is Ares, the dream-walker. No face on Ares, as his identity isn’t revealed until literally the last page of the book (well, maybe next-to-last, depending on how it ends up in formatting). Jordan’s very proper in his dress, so I love the suit and the expression, ever-so-skeptical and just a bit amused, seemed perfect. Chris, well, Jordan has a tendency to pop in on her when she’s in the midst of either bathing/showering, or just getting dressed, so having her partially naked really fit. Mr. Abs…who doesn’t like a little bit of beefcake with their covers? Heh.

Indeed!

Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us

When I’m in the groove, I will write every second I get, getting up at like 4-4:30a to write for a while before work, go in to work early so I can work in the peace and quiet there, during lunch and then after the kids go to bed (though that part’s more rare than the rest of it. I’m usually too tired in the evenings).

Right now, I’m just floundering, trying to find the right start point so my routine is something like this: get up, supposedly to write. Check email, check Facebook, Amazon (gotta keep on top of those rankings, don’t you know?), Goodreads and Google Reader for all the blogposts. I might get a bit written (most days until lately, not so much).

Q. What inspires you?

Movies can do it, a picture of a particularly hot guy filling in for my main character, music.

Q. If you weren’t a writer what would you be?

Pretty much what I am, a full-time legal assistant & mom. Maybe less determined to get up at the crack of dawn and maybe less of a social media whore. Then again, maybe not.

Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?

Absolutely. Jordan wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a sociopathic monster. Yet he’s (if you set aside the aforementioned sociopathic homicidal, somewhat misogynistic tendencies toward everyone except Christine), he’s actually a surprisingly well rounded man. Art, music, sports. The works.

Chris surprised me when she turned up with magic. I toyed with her as the true mastermind behind the Dream-Walker War, but I had multiple crit partners who threatened me with dire consequences if I tried to make her truly evil.

Where would we be without our crit partners eh?

Q. What could not do without when you’re writing?

A computer of some sort. Seriously. I can’t write by hand any more. I lock up worse than I do when trying to write a sex scene.

Good point. I can't write by hand either. Even I can't read it, lol.

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors out there?

If you love it, don’t quit no matter what.

Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?

Hopefully still writing, biting my nails as my oldest gets his driver’s license.

Q. Do you have a favourite quote?

I’m not really a quote person, but I have a few.

1)      From Star Ocean, a video game: “It’ll all work out.”

2)      From Blood-Mage Rising: Chris to Jordan: “In your dreams, MacNaught.” Jordan: “In my dreams, Chrissy, you’re naked, handcuffed and on your knees.”

3)      From Dungeons & Dragons RPG time: “Oh, the Dungeon Master would never throw a great wyrm red dragon (a very big, strong evil dragon) at us 4^th-level (very weak) characters. I attempt to disbelieve!” And the  party promptly dies. (you probably have to have played D&D to get this one, I know).

Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Ugh.

Just Ugh, eh. I hear you.

Q. What other books can your readers look forward to?

At the moment, I’ve got 2 more in the Dream-Walker War series, and then hopefully the second, future-set series in the same world. Keep toying with the idea of a naught fairy tale (Little Red Riding and the Hood?), and I keep thinking about the pure fantasy series I’ve had haunting me for years. But right now, nothing immediate.

Q. And finally can you share an excerpt with us?

Happily.

Blurb:

   In the eighty years since the Great Awakening, humans and non-humans have lived side by side, relatively at peace.  In an attack that leaves his wife dead, Jordan MacNaught is caught up in the start of a war meant to turn the other races against the vampires. He knows beyond a doubt the vampires of yesteryear are not involved in the attacks. They're all dead, except for him.

     Jordan asks for Chris Javert's help in hunting those who murdered his wife. She's no stranger to hunting vampires. After all, she nearly destroyed Jordan when she ended the reign of his Aristocrats in Europe two hundred years ago.

     Despite doubts about Jordan’s innocence, Chris joins forces with him, the man who once tried to kill her, to save the inter-species pace from the new Aristocrats before war consumes them all.

“You should consider joining me in Miami for the weekend. See what Celtic has to offer in the coming year.”

“Eww, hell no.” Chris could think of worse things to occupy her time on the weekend than spending it at some fancy jeweler’s convention – being buried alive topped that list – but not many. “I made arrangements for fresh supplies to be dropped off some time tonight, so you shouldn’t go hungry or anything.”

“Maybe I should tag along.” He retook his place on the bed to finish flipping through the album. Her eyes widened at the horrific notion. “Ares might figure out you’re still alive and send another minion your way.”

“The only reason he got the jump on me was because we didn’t know he was out there. Now we do, so I’ll watch my back. I don’t need a keeper.” Least of all you. God knows what trouble you’d get me into. Sex would be involved, no doubt. Hot, yummy, all-encompassing sex. Chris mentally smacked her libido until it whimpered and slithered back into her subconscious.

“That’s debatable. But very well. I’ll be back on Sunday night some time, and we can pick up the chase then.”

“There’s no ‘be back’. You’re staying in Miami. This isn’t a hotel, and you’re not a welcome guest.” Chris yanked the zipper shut on her bag and checked the contents of her laptop case to be certain she had included all the appropriate cords. “There’s less reason for you to stay now than there was twelve hours ago. Reset clock and all that.”

“Some might say there’s even more reason for me to stay,” Jordan said lightly, catching hold of the hair that fell over her shoulder to tug her closer. “We both enjoyed ourselves. As there are no emotional or legal connections elsewhere, why shouldn’t we continue doing just that?”

Was he trying to suggest they, like, date? No way, no way in hell. “I want you gone until I find some other lead on the Aristocrats to follow.”

He gazed up, eyes sharp as he studied her. “Yes, well, we don’t always get what we want, Chrissy.”

“Stop calling me that. I’m gonna deck you one of these days.”

Jordan trailed the tips of her hair just below the scar on her throat, tickling the skin. “By all means, try. The only outcome from that will be you, flat on your back, with me buried inside you.”

Woohoo! Chris cleared her throat. It didn’t help, as she discovered when she squeaked instead of snapped, “Only in your dreams, MacNaught.”

“In my dreams, Chrissy, you’re naked, handcuffed, and on your knees.”

The aforementioned knees threatened to buckle because she had no trouble conjuring the image up, and for one insane moment, she wanted to try it. Close as they were, she didn’t miss the gleam in the leaf-green eyes staring into hers. He didn’t say anything immediately, didn’t have to, as he leaned up and nipped the side of her neck. The sting sent a tiny shockwave through her body, and she grew damp.

“Clearly I’m not the only one who likes the idea.”

“I better go,” she croaked. Screw the whole show no fear crap. “Gotta get to the airport. Later.”

Buy Links


Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Mage-Rising-The-Dream-Walker-ebook/dp/B007TDNNQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334224202&sr=1-1

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Mage-Rising-The-Dream-Walker-ebook/dp/B007TDNNQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334266141&sr=8-1

Bookstrand http://www.bookstrand.com/blood-mage-rising

All Romance http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bloodmagerising-772824-139.html

Evernight http://www.evernightpublishing.com/blood-mage-rising-by-tory-michaels/

Find Tory on the web 

Facebook (Personal): www.facebook.com/authortorymichaels

Facebook (Series): www.facebook.com/thedreamwalkerwar

Twitter: @torymichaels

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/torymichaels

Website/Blog: www.torymichaels.com

Email: torymichaels@live.com

Thanks so much for stopping by Tory. Come back soon J

I enjoyed being here.  Thanks for having me.