Monday, 9 June 2014

#Authorinterview Unholy Matrimony Blog Tour #giveaway @RoanePublishing

Happy Monday, folks! I'm delighted to be hosting Sonny Zae today on his Unholy Matrimony Blog Tour. He's here today, answering my nosy questions.




Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am possibly the most normal, down-to-earth person you could ever meet.  But of course, you may have already guessed that.

What made you write ‘this’ story?
It was a story idea that sounded too warped to be true.  Sonny the Scoundrel is the ultimate love-em-and-leave-em ladies man, or so he thinks.  With a character like Sonny, most story ideas revolve around one central concept—which is, how can I torture him this time?  For this one, I decided to torture him by having him meet a young woman who is his alter ego, a woman as beautiful and charming as he is, and as smart and cunning and lacking in morals.  He falls in love, of course, but such a match simply cannot last, can it?




Tell us about your cover.
The cover shows Sonny and Ariella in a tender moment, when they have managed to be alone together.  Note the stocks in the background.  Sonny is in for some painful sex, of that you can be certain.  Will he take it like a man, or scream like a rabbit in a trap?  If you guessed he'll take it like a man, you're reading the wrong story.

Describe a typical day’s writing for us
Drink coffee, doodle on pad of paper, and watch other people working.  It goes on like that for eight or nine hours.  Sometimes I even make some progress.

What inspires you?
Fear, panic, and a deadline.  And stimulants.

If you weren’t a writer what would you be?
No doubt I would have fallen into something disreputable, such as being a mechanic, realtor, or lawyer, shunned by friends and family.

Do your characters ever surprise you?
Oh, yes.  They are stubborn, unpredictable, and often go off-script and do whatever they please.  I have had frequent problems with characters I've introduced for only a single scene that hang around for the rest of the book, begging for food, getting underfoot, and demanding to be the star of the story.
Then there's Sonny, a problem in the opposite fashion.  He can't be bothered to get up and be active before noon.  Even if I succeed in rousing him before midday, he is surly and uncooperative.

What could not do without when you’re writing?
Caffeine and other stimulants.  And a tenuous grip on reality.

What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors out there?
Don't quit your day job.

Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?
Moving from country to country, trying to evade Sonny and Grandpap, who will be intent on moving in with me and eating me out of house and home.  I will give up all family and possessions to avoid such a fate.  Unless my writing career is an utter failure, and then they will move on, looking for other unfortunates to prey on.

Do you have a favourite quote?
Sonny:  Grandpap says nothing straightens people out like a good hanging.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?
Sure, but not often.  I find that if I start writing without worrying too much about where it is going, I can usually get the words flowing.  Now, I may have to throw them all away, but I do get them going.  If nothing else, I can pick a fight with Sonny, in hopes that I can anger him and he'll go off and do something stupid that I can write about.

What other books can your readers look forward to?
I am currently working on another Sonny novella-length story entitled LOVE ELIXIR ANTIDOTE, where Sonny nicks a love elixir from Grandpap.  Quite predictably, he misuses it, with humorous results.  Grandpap refuses to help Sonny out of his jam, finally relenting when the situation becomes dire and Grandpap can no longer stand by.  Unfortunately, there may not be an antidote, and Grandpap and Sonny may have to go to extreme lengths to save Sonny's hide.
In addition, I am working on a full-length novel that is a sequel to WIZARD SEEKING TROPHY BRIDE, my first full-length fantasy novel—and the genesis of all Sonny the Scoundrel stories.  In book two, Sonny, Grandpap, and a few others from their world happen upon a magical portal to another land.  They pass through, on the trail of riches, as the other wizard in their traveling party claims to have re-created Grandpap's original alchemy wand of many years past—then dropped through the portal in surprise when the portal opens in front of him.  Unfortunately, after they crawl through it, the portal closes, stranding them in a strange land, and they must find the alchemy wand before they can return home.

And finally can you share the blurb and excerpt with us?
BLURB:
Sonny is so handsome he doesn't need magic to get what he wants—except when he gets into trouble.  And he'll do anything for love or money—except work.  So the thought of marriage represents the worst of all possible worlds, a danger he avoids at all costs.  His plans for getting rich the easy way—by stealing—go awry when he meets Ariella.  She is not only lovely to look at, but as cunning, slippery, and greedy as he.  Better yet, she becomes highly stimulated at the prospect of helping him hijack a treasure.  But in addition to helping him steal goald, she might just steal his heart.

EXCERPT:
"This feels so right," Ariella whispered in a voice so low it seemed she was talking to herself.  "It must be wrong … it must be."
"You are talking nonsense," I replied, pausing in my fevered fondling.  "Why do you say that?  Even though our relationship is based purely on our shared love of coin, we share so many positive traits.  We are both ravishingly beautiful, a joy to gaze upon.  We are both well-bred, springing from the best families, your sire a wealthy merchant and my grand-sire a powerful and important wizard.  We dress elegantly and enjoy all the finer things in life, such as good food, good wine, and watching the peasantry muck about in the mud and filth just to have enough to eat.  And we both admire the skill required to separate fools from their undeserved coins."
"That is true."  Her hand caressed my head, her fingers sliding through my extravagant head of hair and cupping the back of my scalp.  "But I want it to be wrong!  Do you not?"
"If you want it to be wrong, then I am the man for you."  I would say anything to preserve her current willing mood.
"But what of the future?  What happens after tonight?"
"After tonight?"  I let the hem of her frock drop, aware of her sudden shift in mood.  Was this the moment she tried to set the hook and reel me in?  "Do you wish to see me again after tomorrow?  I wouldst be agreeable to such an arrangement.  Tell me, what is bothering you?  Do you truly wish to wed?"

You can buy this gem here:

Roane Publishing
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble (Coming soon)
KOBO (Coming soon)
Smashwords
Unholy Matrimony

Thanks so much for stopping by today, Sonny. Anything else you'd like to share with us?

My full-length novel, WIZARD SEEKING TROPHY BRIDE, is the story of Grandpap the wizard's grand scheme to obtain a young and beautiful trophy bride.  Sonny is properly suspicious at first, not trusting any of Grandpap's schemes and wary of being roped into any activity where he could end up doing Grandpap's work for him.  But when Grandpap grudgingly agrees to pay Sonny an equivalent amount of goald as Grandpap will have to pay in dower in order to obtain a fair maiden, Sonny agrees.  To bring in eligible young women, they stage grand pageants of beauty, with young women competing to marry the ancient wizard.  Sonny feels there is something amiss with all of the strange goings-on surrounding the pageant, then falls for the unlikeliest of pageant contestants.  Unfortunately, Grandpap appears to be falling for the same woman.  Ultimately, Sonny may have to choose between the girl and the goald.
The book is available for the Amazon Kindle at Wizard Seeking Trophy Bride.
A companion short story featuring Sonny the Scoundrel is BATTLE FOR THE DRAGON'S EGG and can be read at Sorcerous Signals at http://www.sorceroussignals.com/DragonsEgg.html.

Giveaway:


 To celebrate the release, we’re giving away an eCOPY of UNHOLY MATRIMONY, as well as a $10 Amazon Gift Card. 




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