Just Imagine

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Welcome to my blog! Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and read what's on my mind. I've a vicious sense of humor, an apprecation for romance and a mad addiction to writing.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Unattainable Men, Enchanted Beverages & Mischievous Time-Twisters. Fairy In The Flesh by Katalina Leon.



Wow, is this month flying by! But, as always, there’s tons of fun to be had here at A Writer’s Mind. In fact, today I’m thrilled to feature Katalina Leon, author of Fairy In The Flesh, a paranormal erotic-romance, time-travel. So kick back, relax and enjoy!

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
ISBN: 9781419945557
Number of pages: 85 pages
Word Count: 40k

Cover Artist: Syneca

GIVEAWAY! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter after this post for a chance to win one of two $15 Amazon gift cards.

Book Description


Maya Rousseau’s fantasy vacation in Avignon France heats up when an eccentric enchantress tricks her into drinking mojo-laced absinthe.

An unexpected encounter with the green fairy causes Maya’s reality to have a serious melt down. She travels back in time and wakes up naked in the bed of her favorite bad boy Bohemian artist, the tall, dark and mysterious André Bosco. There’s nothing wrong with that except it’s 1903.

For André it’s love at first sight. He begs Maya to become his cherished model, muse and lover. The chemistry and shared passion between them is overwhelming. André’s a generous-hearted dream man but there’s a catch. Every hour they spend together bonds them tighter and time is running out. The same powers that flung Maya back to 1903 are preparing to snatch her back.

With a hundred and ten years separating these soul-bound lovers it’s uncertain if they can find a happy ending without the help of a little magic and La Fée Verte.

Note: Story contains super hot sex with an unattainable man, enchanted hallucinatory beverages, mischievous time-twisters and green fairies.

Find Fairy In The Flesh at Ellora's Cave

Let's hear from Katalina...


Fairy In The Flesh is a very personal book. This particular fantasy scenario is one I would dearly love to find myself confronted with. The subject is close to my heart for several reasons. My heroine Maya Rousseau is an artist who falls in love with another artist’s work long before she actually meets him. This exact scenario happened to me in real life and I’ll share a little about it.

First I have to back up a little, between high school and college, I took time off to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be an artist but I wasn’t getting much support from anyone for such an impractical plan. Even I knew it was impractical and I still couldn’t resist the draw of art because I had so much passion for it. Perhaps I wasn’t the greatest talent in the world but I had real honest to god passion. My first job in high school was working in an artist supply store, where I got familiar with quality art materials, the vendors and the artist who used them. A high number of respected professionals frequented the store and I was always alert to go out of my way to speak with them. My time in the store provides a practical education. Everything about art and artist’s materials was exciting to me. 

My other passion was wanderlust. I wanted to see the world and even wished I could time travel and see the world as it was. Getting out and about meant escaping suburbia. I took odd jobs waitressing, doing drywall, designing logos etc… Anything to earn extra money. An older friend gave me her ID card that said I was 5’7” and twenty-one. I was in fact 5’2” and seventeen. (I never got called on it!)  I’d work somewhere just long enough to earn plane fare to someplace interesting. I’d buy a ticket and go there alone, find work, go to a museum, see how other people lived and come home. I loved the freedom. I wasn’t in trouble and I wasn’t a troublemaker, I just craved adventure and challenge. I went further from home each time until I found myself traveling through Southeast Asia by myself at nineteen. My mother had recently passed away so she wasn’t worried about me, but when I think of what I put my poor dad through I cringe.

Deep down I just wanted a different life and if I could have found one in a different time frame I would have jumped at the opportunity.

I started thinking seriously about applying to art school.  I found myself at an art exhibit of graduating students at the Art Center College of Design. The school was drool worthy but too expensive for me, and it was admission by portfolio review only. I was a bit in awe. Then I got to the gallery, all the work was quality and very interesting in its own way but one piece really stood out to me. It was big, bright and gorgeous. It made me happy to look at it and in my mind I thought, “Of all the artwork in this show this painting is the most like what I would paint.”

I left the gallery feeling energized and the painting clung to my thoughts. In fact I got a little obsessed with it and made a special trip far out of my way to see it again before the show came down. I liked it even better the second time I saw it. I also noticed it had been sold.

Months later, I was invited to a graduation party for this student group. Guess who was there? I meet the artist and I was wowed. I thought he was super cute and miles away from what I was expecting. He was modest, quiet but when we started talking we had everything in common including he liked to travel and backpack alone in exotic places too. He also felt familiar and I realized even though he was older than me I’d seen him in passing back in high school. We’d been crossing paths for years, but I needed to see his artwork to truly recognize him as the big soul he was. Making eye contact and talking with him that day was a scary and uncomfortable (for me) experience of love at first sight. At that time I had big plans for the next ten years of my life that did not include marriage and settling down. All my solitary dreams and wacky future schemes were trashed that day, thank god.

I did have the wits to recognize I’d met my match and future husband but I was suspicious of how easily it had happened so I avoided him for nearly six weeks hoping the delusion would wear-off. It didn’t, and I eventually went begging for a coffee date to clear my head. Unfortunately for me, he was as great as I remembered. He immediately stopped what he was doing to go out for coffee with me and tried to give me another painting. We talked about art, exchanged books to share another day and I soon started modeling for him.

Fairy In The Flesh is pure fiction but while you’re reading it I hope you’ll remember a few of the dreams you might have put on the backburner and at least enjoy the fantasy of what if… 

About the Author


I’m an artist, an author, mother and wife. I write for Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id Publishing and a couple new publishers to be announced soon. I try to bring a touch of the mystical and a big sense of adventure to everything I write because I believe there’s a bold, kick-ass heroine inside all of us who wants to take a wild ride with a strong worthy hero. 

Find Katalina and Her Books...





Friday, September 13, 2013

Romance. Suspense. Paranormal. The Beckoning of Broken Things by Calinda B.



Welcome! Today it’s my pleasure to interview Calinda B, author of The Beckoning of Broken Things, The Beckoning Series- Book 2. 

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Sumner McKenzie, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-9839126-8-2
Number of pages: 342
Word Count: 92k
Cover Artist: Calinda B


GIVEAWAY! Calinda is graciously giving away several prizes. One lucky reader will win a $15 Amazon gift card. Three lucky winners will win an eCopy of The Beckoning of Broken Things. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below to be entered for a chance to win.

Book Description


Is Marissa Engles crazy? Or is she a paranormal Light Rebel who can shape form from the electricity buzzing through her veins. Her aunt and sister think “Crazy.” The locked mental facility they’ve put her in thinks “Delusional.” 

She’s so drugged up, she can’t tell if they’re right. Only her new pal, Rafe Caldwell, another mental patient “inmate”, thinks she is what she says she is. And he intends to find out more – lots more. 

The only problem is her missing soul bound lover, Daniel Navid, who commands the darkest of the dark. But as they say, if the cat’s away…

Let’s Inteview!


SKY:  So nice to have you over, Calinda! What inspired you to write this book?

CALINDA:  Before I start, I’d like to say ‘thank you’ for having me here! 

As for inspiration, honestly, there were a couple things that made me write this book besides the fact that I’d already decided Beckoning would make a great series. First, a good friend said that he didn’t like my heroine, Marissa Engles, at first in Book I. I asked him why. He said she had all these abilities and she needed to use them more and not doubt herself. He also suggested that some of my characters needed therapy. I decided to start the scene in a mental hospital, with Marissa questioning her own sanity, and her sanity being questioned by those around her. I showed her evolving as a character. I think we all get a chance to grow and evolve past our limitations, even a super hero.

Second, I had a painful act of betrayal happen to me by a dear friend. It really set me on my heels. I was angry, hurt, sad, bewildered for months and months. I decided to channel my anger into Marissa Engles. She’s had things done to her and she gets to find out later what the consequences are of hers and others’ actions. She’s done things impulsively only to find out she might have fared better if she’d looked first before she leapt. In Broken Things, she starts off angry and suspicious. Throughout the book she takes back her power and gets much, much stronger. The friend, who had his doubts in book I, Beautiful Things, really liked her in book II.

SKY:  How did you come up with the title?

CALINDA:  As a result of the aforementioned “act of betrayal” I felt pretty broken. And yet facing the broken parts allowed me to heal in amazing ways. I thought it a fitting title, then - the way broken things can beckon to your soul and to others, allowing you to face dark truths and heal.

SKY:  If you could spend an hour in real life with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

CALINDA:  Oh, this one’s easy! I’d spend a lot of time with Daniel Navid. They guy’s hot. Wait - I think I went for the cheap and easy answer. I think it would be cool to hang out with the sorcerer Tom and find out more about what he knows. He’s a treasure trove of abilities, what with his falconry, his ability to assume different forms and his honesty and lack of judgment about the world around him. I’ll just bet we’ve only scratched the surface of his unique skills.

SKY:  Tell us a little bit about the conflict in your story. 

CALINDA:  There are a few threads of conflict weaving their way through the story. Marissa struggles to determine if she’s truly nuts. She’s only recently restored her powers and it’s a lot to deal with. She’s conflicted by her feelings for fellow mental hospital patient and “guy with a lot of secrets,” Rafe Caldwell - he’s becoming a friend but he wants so much more. She fights with her morals - Daniel Navid, her lover, did bind their souls throughout time without consulting her and now she has to figure out if that’s the right thing for her. Should she act on Rafe’s desires? Are they really her desires? She struggles with the dirty tricks that Daniel’s father does to her, in his attempts to thwart her. 

She wants to make her own decisions in life and not be bullied or bossed. I hope readers will be able to relate to some of the personal conflict Marissa is faced with.

SKY:  Tell us about your book cover and how it relates to your story.

CALINDA:  Marissa’s a Light Rebel and she wields a kick ass, luminous sword that can, of course, maim and kill, but also cut to the truth of the matter. It’s the perfect blade for dealing with the supernatural world she lives in. The guy in the background in shimmery shadow form is Rafe, the Stealth Numen. He can move between the worlds of light and dark as he carries out his work as a deadly assassin. 

SKY:  Are you currently working on another story? If so, we’d love some details. 

CALINDA:  Working on a Standalone novel called Headspace. It’s about a woman - Vienna Katrina Pearson - who can sense the fantasies of men, manifest them, and make them think they are having actual sex with her in her virtual world, which she calls Headspace. It’s set in the future in Seattle. She has oodles of virtual sex with willing partners in her Headspace, none of whom will ever know who she is. In the real world there’s a slight twist - she’s never been able to orgasm. She’s got a great friend named Jonas who wants to leave his girlfriend to be with her and give her the orgasm - or lots of them. It feels a little risky to be writing about a touchy subject like being non-orgasmic but I’m exploring it in what I hope is a safe and compassionate way. 

I’ve also got several chapters into A Wicked Ending, the 4th in the Wicked Series, as well as musing on the 3rd in the Beckoning series - the Beckoning of Badass Things. I can tell you Marissa’s going to kick some serious booty in book III. Look out!

SKY:  What sort of personality does your hero have?

CALINDA:  There are two heroes. Rafe Caldwell is aloof, capricious, sweet, sensitive, works with Marine-like precision when he has a job to do, sexy as hell, funny and kind. He deals with life in a kind of straightforward, no-nonsense manner. No need to get all sentimental about it. The other hero, Daniel Navid is arrogant, powerful, cocky, loyal, and passionate, did I say powerful - he wields more power than anyone on the planet. He is a one woman kind of guy. Doesn’t play around with women or women’s hearts. Rafe has sex with whomever, wherever, however. No commitments or thoughts of commitment. There’s a very unique catch to that as you’ll see if you read Broken Things ¬- it’s not like he wants to have sex with anything that moves - it’s just that he, well…never mind, I don’t want to give anything away.

SKY:  What sort of personality does your heroine have?

CALINDA:  Well, in book I she started out as a sad, quiet, introspective artist. She’d lost her parents as a teen and disappeared into her art. But she’s finding her power; she’s finding her truth and becoming more outspoken, more real, and more honest with herself. She’s funny, passionate, quirky, loves to explore and take risks and chances. She’s a rebel in her own way. She believes in getting to the truth of things. She’s getting feisty and fun, the more powerful she becomes.

SKY:  What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write in the future?

CALINDA:  I love to write paranormal romances with a high level of heat. I started to write Headspace as a plain old romance, no paranormal or abnormal anything, but I couldn’t do it. I choked. It was scary strange. I definitely walk to a different beat and have to follow my own path, wherever it takes me. A lot of my gay friends are encouraging me to write an M/M romance. I’d like to have a go at that. I’m reading a book called Hot Head by Damon Suede. It’s an M/M book and wow, does it sizzle! I really like to weave suspense into my books, too, and hope to improve at that.

SKY:  Tell us about your favorite writing environment. Is it indoors, outdoors, a special room, etc.

CALINDA:  I live on a peninsula in the Pacific Northwest. My home overlooks trees and a huge, colorful yard of flowers. A vast body of water, the Hood Canal, is across the street. The Canal is ringed with the Olympic Mountains. Our house is three stories and I feel like a bird or a cat, as I gaze out the windows. My favorite place to write is the front room. It’s got huge arched windows and I can see water, the osprey tree, soaring eagles and osprey, crows and hawks, and endless skies. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and such a place of restoration and inspiration. The natural world inspires and thrills me. I’ve always found my peace there.

SKY:  Super interview, Calinda! Thanks so much for joining us today.

Short Excerpt


“So tell me how you feel.”

I must be pretty heavily sedated because when the therapist asks me that question, the word “feel” comes out sounding like it’s a slide. I’ll just bet if I could climb on top of that slide, I’d be able to slip from the room and not have to answer that stupid question. I shake my head. What does she mean, how do I feel? I feel like been given something like heroin or Clonazepam or Secobarbital or some other mind-numbing agent. I feel like I weigh a thousand pounds, and I’m looking at her through thick glass walls and she’s talking to me through some kind of filter made of seven layers of dense foam. I feel like…wait, I know. I’m in here because I’m different. I’m sitting here with what feels like two hundred pounds of cotton between my ears because they don’t “get” who and what I am. They think there’s something wrong with me. They all think I’m broken.

She pushes up her glasses on her nose and taps her pen on the arm of the brown leather chair in which she sits, like a prim, porcelain doll. “I’m waiting.”

“Are you talking to me?” 

Her face is wrinkled, like an Amish Apple Doll. Her dyed brown hair needs a touch-up. White and gray roots serve as a flag to her age. She smiles, a crisp, stiff smile like peanut brittle. “I don’t see anyone else sitting across from me, do you?”

I picture taking her smug smile in my fingers and snapping it in two, resulting in my own satisfied smile. 
“Where’s Daniel?”

“Who?”

“Daniel Navid. My soul bound lover.”

She frowns and scribbles a few notes in the black binder sitting on top of her lap. She smoothes her blue tweed skirt. Clears her throat. Tries again. “How do you feel right now, Ms. Engles? Your sisters were pretty concerned about you when they brought you in here.”

“Where, exactly, is here?”

“You don’t know?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t ask the question.”

The therapist nods, as if I’ve just said something profound. She gestures to the room with her certificates of accomplishment and education lining the beige walls like little soldiers. “Well, you’re at the Brookstone Center for Healing, in Bellevue, Washington. Do you know where Bellevue is?”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve lived in this area all my life. I live over in West Seattle, two bridges away from Bellevue. Of course I know where Bellevue is.” I reach up and rub my eyes, trying to clear the spider webs, mud puddles, and sludge clouding my mind. 

“Do you know what day it is?” The peanut brittle smile appears again.

I want to smash that smile with a hammer. “Yeah, it’s today. And yesterday was yesterday. And tomorrow’s going to be tomorrow.”

She taps her pen. Scribbles. Frowns. Scribbles some more. “So you don’t actually know what day it is.” She says that as a statement, not a question.

“Let’s see, two days ago I was in Brazil, and it was Thursday. That must make today Saturday. What do I win?”

“What were you doing in Brazil?”

I pause and squint at her. This is a trick question. “I was visiting a friend.” I was kidnapped by a demented sorcerer. I stabbed his dead, but not really dead, girlfriend’s chest, and she exploded and her crystal dagger pierced the old man’s heart.

“I see.” 

“And how did you get back from Brazil?”

“I flew.” On a beautiful winged creature known as a Coati-lumina. Her name is Chiara, and she allowed me to claim her a few nights ago. She’s huge and brilliant, and she shines like diamonds. “Where’s Daniel?”

“There was no one at your home but you when your sisters stopped by. They were very worried about you. Said you were having a completely delusional conversation with them. Do you remember what you said?”
I incline my head and study her. Another trick question. “Maybe.”

“Can you tell me what you said to them?”

“Will you let me go if I do?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m afraid we need to keep you here for a while. Your sisters were very worried.”

“You already said that.”

“And they decided that a good psych evaluation was in order.”

“Oh, they did, did they?” I’m going to murder them. I’m going to strangle the daylights out of them. In my mind, I pick up a pricey sable paintbrush and paint them as tiny fragments of skin and bone, being blown to smithereens. “What gives them the right to have me evaluated?”

“Your aunt still holds guardianship. She was the one who ordered this.”

Aunt Topaz. “I’m 26 for God’s sake. I’ve lived on my own since I was 18. I think I get to be my own guardian, don’t you?”

“In this case, no. When someone is…when someone is ill…” She pauses, frowning. 

She was going to say mentally deranged. They all think I’m delusional because electricity flows through my veins, and I can burst into brilliant light and paint things with my mind and will them into…

“When someone is ill it falls to the guardian or parent.”

I don’t think that’s true but can’t argue it right now. My head is so heavy I need a crane to keep it upright. I purse my lips trying to remember something about my aunt. This goddamn drug is making it hard to think. 
My mouth is dry. I want to leap into a lake and suck it into my throat in one long swallow. Think, Engles, think. And then it all came back to me, like someone shot a memory cannon through my head, blasting open my brain. My dear Aunt Topaz hid my abilities away from me when I was 15. She and Daniel’s father, Armando, cast a spell over me and wiped my memories clean. And now she put me here? Armando and Aunt Topaz are definitely on my to-do list. I just don’t know what to do - yet. My hands squeeze tight, capturing my anger. I restored my Light Rebel skills with Tom the sorcerer’s help. He taught me how to hunt like a predator before taking me on an ether trip to discover what happened. When I showed Daniel my newly restored light, he…I swallow my arousal and blink back tears. 

Daniel. He’s a Night Numen and commands the darkest of the dark. He can wave his hand, rip the atmosphere in two, and draw foul creatures from wherever the hell they live. Thinking of his handsome tan face, stubble-covered jaw, eyes that are hypnotically blue, 6’1” muscular body, dark hair that falls in his face when he’s on top, his bronze skin, his hips, his legs, his hands…thinking of him makes me seriously horny, even with this drug-filled, muzzy-headed haze between my ears. And then I get a little mad. I mean, a couple of weeks ago he did bind my soul until the end of time to his without asking me, but it might have been for my own good. Might have. Not sure. Still a little miffed. We’ll sort it out by and by. I really need to see him. I need to get out of here - now. “I want to go home. I want to talk to Daniel. I need to see Daniel. I need to take care of my dog, Sober Dober.” I nod, satisfied with this statement, certain that it will yield results.

“I don’t know who Daniel is. Your dog is being well-cared for by your aunt.”

I lunge to my feet, or at least I want to lunge. It turns into more of a lurching wobble. “Aunt Topaz has my dog? That’s just wrong. Aunt Topaz hates things that are messy. She detests mess and color and light and…” And Sober has brand new sparkly wings. They’re training wings. He’s not very good with them yet. He got his wings when I restored my light. But I don’t say that. I dare not say that. I’ll be in this place for a million years if I tell her my dog has wings.

About the Author



An award-winning web designer and certified SEO specialist, Calinda B has worked in the Internet industry as a web page designer/developer since the early 1990's. She has also taught web site design and computer graphics at community colleges in Northern California. In addition to writing, Calinda B creates fine art and music, and enjoys scuba diving, kayaking, and bike riding. Calinda B makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with the love of her life and her two cats. She is currently working on the fourth book in The Wicked Series, tentatively entitled A Wicked Ending, or the third book in The Beckoning Series or maybe those are done and she's working on.... She loves to write and does it daily.



Twitter: @calindab1




a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Smooth Talking, Onyx Eyes and a Razor Wit. Pure & Sinful by Killian McRae.



Today, I’d like to welcome over Killian McRae, author of Pure and Sinful. Pure Souls- Book One, a paranormal romance. So cozy in and check out a great interview!

Publisher: Tulipe Noire Press 

ASIN: B0096SYZMG
ISBN-13: 9780983979784


Book Description


When it turns out your ex was actually a sexy demon sent by the devil to seduce you to evil, you'd think the next guy, no matter what he's like, couldn't be a worse decision. Enter Father Marc Angeletti, a smooth talking piece of forbidden fruit with onyx eyes and a razor wit, and Riona Dade may as well start packing her luggage for damnation now. But come Hell or... well, Hell, Marc, Riona, and demigod Dee Zitka have a mission: serve as a Pure Soul and vanquish Lucifer's minion scum from the face of the Earth to protect humanity from evil. 

Oh, and don't get seduced into sin yourself, because a fallen Pure Soul is one of Lucifer's biggest thrills. As long as Riona and Marc can keep things professional and north of the sheets, no problem, right? 

Yeah, that worked out great in the Thornbirds, too...

Interview Time! 


SKY:  what inspired you to write this book?

KILLIAN:  Actually, the first chapter of Pure & Sinful was originally conceived of as a short story for an online contest judged by a published paranormal author. (I got an honorable mention.) I always felt like the characters had legs and that I could use that scene as the launchpad for a novel. I was so delighted when it all came together.

SKY:  How did you come up with the title?

KILLIAN:  I was looking for something that would both represent the book’s humor and be a play on words. As the warriors on the side of good are referred to as Pure Souls, I was playing around with titles that included Pure. Originally the titles was “It’s so Pure & Sinful,” but after further consideration, I thought that too needlessly wordy.

SKY:  What made you choose the main setting for your book?

KILLIAN:  I chose to set the first book in the series in the Greater Boston area for two reason. One: I just really liked Boston when I visited a few years ago. Two, because of its ties with Puritanism and the Witch scares, Eastern Massachusetts carries with it an orientation towards the supernatural. Plus I wanted an excuse to make jokes about the Big Dig and the Red Sox. 

SKY:  Tell us a little bit about the conflict in your story. 

KILLIAN:  One of the backbones of the series’ mythology is that most measures of morality are relative. Outside of big universals no-no’s like murder, one’s moral truth is a self-determined thing. Hence, my hero and heroine, while fighting on the same side of the battle, are doing so from two different towers of the same castle. Being that my hero is a priest, his moral boundaries are set by his vows to the Church. The heroine has no such boundaries, so when they begin to feel some affection for one another, things can quickly get out of hand. If the priest gives into his temptation towards the heroine, he’ll condemn himself to Hell, and thus give evil another touchdown.

SKY:  Are you currently working on another story? If so, we’d love some details. 

KILLIAN:  I’ve already released the second book in the Pure Souls series, and I’m getting ready to start writing the third. Without giving too much away, I’ll let readers know book three involves Dee dealing with his Daddy issues, Ramiel making some fate-changing decisions where Persephone is concerned, and Riona coming to grip with the fact of what her role is. Other than that, I have an adult contemporary romance releasing in September 2013: Have Gown, Will Wed. It’s the story of a powerhouse CEO living in San Francisco who decides she wants to get married and hires an employment agency to find her a spouse.

SKY:  It’s time to promo. What is your favorite marketing tool? 

KILLIAN:  I’m an audiophile myself, so my favorite vehicle is doing anything audio. i.e. I actually recorded my first novel in its entirety and released it as a free audiobook. I also love doing interviews for podcasts and speaking to/with groups, either virtually or in person. Yes, I’m one of those odd people who loves being in front of a crowd.

SKY:  Are your book/books available in audio? In other languages? If so, give us more details about where we can get them and what languages they’re in.

KILLIAN:  The first book in the Pure Souls series (along with my historical romance, A Love by Any Measure) is indeed available in audio via iTunes, Audible and Amazon. I was really lucky to get Sienna Beckman to be the reader. She nails the sarcastic, snarky, and sexy characters perfectly. At this time, neither Pure & Sinful nor Once You Go Demon is available in translation.

SKY:  What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write in the future?

KILLIAN:  My first book was actually a speculative fiction novel. (If you’re not familiar with Spec Fic, it’s a genre’s genre, combining suspense, mystery, science fiction, and often history). All my other novels have been romances, but even there I’ve put out paranormals, a historical romance, and now I’m bridging into contemporary. I do have another science fiction and a political thriller on my writing wish list for 2014. I enjoy writing romance, but I fear falling into a pattern for formulae. 

SKY:  If you could make changes to a story you’ve already written, which would it be and why?

KILLIAN:  My first book was a speculative fiction, but because I already had a soft offer on it from a romance publisher, I rewrote the end to give the characters an “HEA” and make everything turn out pretty happy. My original intention for the ending was completely different. I had planned an epic, knock ‘em down/drag ‘em out showdown between two sides of the battle. I sometimes wish I could go back and re-release that book with the more science fiction-friendly end I had envisioned.

SKY:  Great interview, Killian! Thanks for joining us today.

About the Author



Killian McRae would tell you that she is a rather boring lass, an authoress whose characters’ lives are so much more exciting than her own. She would be right. Sadly, this sarcastic lexophile leads a rather mundane existence in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

She once dreamed of being the female Indiana Jones, and to that end she earned a degree in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan. However, when she learned that real archaeologist spend more time lovingly removing dust with toothbrushes from shards of pottery than outrunning intriguing villains with exotic accents, she decided to become a writer instead. 

She writes across many genres, including science fiction, fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.




twitter: @killianmcrae







Monday, September 2, 2013

How Did One Night End With I Do Instead of Hell No? Take Me by Diane Alberts.



I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Today I’m thrilled to welcome over Diane Alberts, author of Take Me, book four in the Take a Chance series. Be sure to check out the fabulous interview below!

Publisher: Entangled: Ever After
August 26, 2013
ASIN: B00EGJE4PS

GIVEAWAY!!! Leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of either Try Me (Take a Chance #1),  Love Me (Take a Chance #2) OR Play Me (Take a Chance #3) in eBook format. One winner chosen. Contest deadline is Friday, September 6’th at 12 AM EST.


Book Description


Married in the morning…

Professional heartbreaker Mike Worth thrived on the chase—and dancer Morgan Collins represented the ultimate prize. But there was no way he was going to throw away his single-man status…not even for an elusive redhead with sparkling eyes and mile-long legs. So how did he let one drunken Vegas night end with I do instead of hell no?

Morgan’s life revolved around her career and she had no intention of letting a man interfere—even if Mike made her question all her rules about love. At his urging, she reluctantly agreed to give their spur-of–moment marriage a chance. But once their trial-honeymoon ended, would she choose to follow the dance and leave her unforgettable husband behind?

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Let's Interview!


SKY:  Welcome, Diane!

DIANE:  Thank you so much for inviting me here to chat about my last Take a Chance, TAKE ME. This book was so much fun to write for me!

SKY:  My pleasure. I absolutely love hearing that you had fun writing this book. When an author says that then there’s little doubt readers will have just as much fun reading it! That said, you have me super curious about, Take Me, so let’s chat it up! What inspired you to write this book?

DIANE:  Well, I love Mike. He was in PLAY ME, and he’s such a fun character. I had already been debating writing his story, and then my editor called me and said, “You HAVE to write me Mike’s book. I have the best idea for it, too!”

From there, we plotted and chatted and the rest is history! A few weeks later, his book was written!

SKY:  How did you come up with the title?

DIANE:  Without talking too deeply, there’s a crazy night in Vegas, and they do something…insane for Mike. And the term TAKE ME comes into play quite nicely. ;)

SKY:  What made you choose the main setting for your book?

DIANE:  All the other books revolve around Vegas, so it kind of had to take place there, too. BUT I chose Vegas originally because crazy crap happens there, and that’s what I needed for some of the books in the series. ;)

SKY:  If you could spend an hour in real life with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

DIANE:  Mike because he’d be HILARIOUS. 

SKY:  What sort of personality does your hero have?

DIANE:  He’s a guy’s guy, to put it simply. Loves women but doesn’t want to settle down. Not a whole lot of dirty baggage. He just likes being…well, Mike!

SKY:  What sort of personality does your heroine have?

DIANE:  She’s very independent and has a lot of goals in her life that don’t include settling down. Once again, she’s not tortured or anything—just busy!

SKY:  Did you enjoy writing one scene above all the rest? If so, share.

DIANE:  Hmm, yes! The morning after THE NIGHT. I had a whole lot of fun playing with their reactions and how they would be thinking on that particular morning. But, honestly, this book was just so much FUN all around. I’m not kidding! I had a blast.

SKY:  How long have you been writing? How long have you been published?

DIANE:  I started writing in January 2009, and I had by first book come out in October 2011. It’s been a fun, crazy journey! I couldn’t be happier!

Thank you so much for letting me come here and chat about TAKE ME.

SKY:  You’re very welcome, Diane. This book sounds great! It’s definitely going on my TBR list. 

About the Author




Diane Alberts has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author.  Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another.

She is a multi-published, bestselling author with Entangled Publishing, Swoon Romance, and Decadent Publishing. She has, as of this date, four books with Entangled Publishing, one book with Swoon Romance, and five older books with Decadent Publishing. Her February release with Entangled Publishing, ON ONE CONDITION, hit #18 on the Barnes and Noble Bestseller List, and TRY ME, hit #76 on Amazon. Her Swoon Romance novella, CAPTIVATED BY YOU, hit #31 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list. Diane is represented by Louise Fury from the L. Perkins Agency.

Visit Diane's Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

 DON'T FORGET!!! GIVEAWAY!!! Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of either Try Me (Take a Chance #1),  Love Me (Take a Chance #2) OR Play Me (Take a Chance #3) in eBook format. One winner chosen. Contest deadline is Friday, September 6’th at 12 AM EST.