Hi, folks. Help me welcome Tory Michaels to my blog. This week, I’m doing something slighlty different – I’m having a blog swap! For the newbies, that means while I’m hosting Tory here, she’s hosting me on her blog. So be sure to hop over to Tory’s Blog and check out my interview.
Tory is a fellow Evernight Publishing author, whose debut novel, Blood Rage, came out on 8th February. Here’s a blurb to give you a little taste of what the book is about:
The Dream-Walker War, Book
BLOOD RAGE
Series: The Dreamwalker War
Genre: Paranormal/Suspense/Urban Fantasy/Shifters/Vampires
For eighty years since the Great Awakening, humans and non-humans have lived in relative peace together. The peace is threatened when three bodies turn up less than a mile from the Bureau of Non-Human Affairs in Tampa, all bearing the signature of vampires who once terrorized Europe.
The Bureau’s chief liaison to the vampires, Dara MacKechnie, learns that the Tampa victims are not alone when her ex-lover, and head of the vampire’s Great Council, Anthony Caldwell comes calling.
The pair discovers the lie that separated them two centuries ago only banked their passion, not extinguished it. Dara must decide whether she can trust Anthony with her heart a second time as they try to head off the war that threatens all they hold dear.
BUY LINKS:
Evernight Publishing | Amazon | Amazon UK | Bookstrand | All Romance eBooks
Since our book release dates are just a few days apart, we thought it would be fun to answer similar questions, so here goes:
1) How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing (stereotypically) my entire life. Seriously, aiming for publication (if you don’t count the novel I wrote when I was 15), about 2.5 years.
2) How many balls do you juggle on a daily basis, and how do you manage to keep them all in the air (usually), (ball = work, writing, family, etc.)
Day job (legal assistant), family (hubby, in-laws, twin 10 m/o girls, 5 y/o boy), and supposedly writing? I don’t, though my best friend seems to think I do. But assuming I do keep them going, I guess 8 or 9, if you count everything individually.
What choice do I really have? The voices won’t be quiet (except right now as I’m trying to find the good starting place for the next WIP), the babies seem to think they need to eat, and someone has to provide health insurance. I just do it. I’d really like to sleep 8 hours straight for a week. I haven’t managed that since before the twins were born.
The real test is going to come in May when my in-laws, who’ve been with us since 3 days before the girls were born, move back to Tennessee. MIL has been primary cook and major house-cleaner since she came in, along with her daycare providing.
3) When is your next release due out and can you tell the audience about it?
Blood Rage came out a week ago, and Blood-Mage Rising is due out next month(date unknown as yet). You can find tons of stuff on Blood Rage on my site, so let’s talk more about Book 2 here.
Blood-Mage Rising takes place over the same 1-week period (actually a little shorter than that) that Blood Rage does, covering some of the same events. BMR, however, is being approached from the point of view of Christine Javert (a bit player in Rage) and Jordan MacNaught (medium-range player). It’s due out at some point next month (exact date still unknown).
The Dream-Walker War, Book 2
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.
Barely convinced of his innocence, but determined not to let the interspecies peace she helped foster die, Chris joins forces with the man who once tried to kill her to stop the Aristocrats before it’s too late.
While Rage is about the romance between Anthony & Dara, Rising is much more about the beginning of the war, and hunt for the Aristocrats who are leaving bodies all over the place. However, I’d be lying if I said there was nothing between , as Jordan and Chris begin to realize there might be more than just antagonism (and sex) between them.
4) What is it about the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre that you like so much?
I like being able to use the familiar “real world” and twist it just a bit. Rage and Rising both take place in the modern world, so I can do a lot of referencing to past events, though at least for the past 80 years (since the non-humans announced their existence), there are decidedly small differences between our world and the world of the Dream-Walker War series. For example, vampires in particular were a part of the acknowledged war effort in World War II – Anthony worked briefly with the Nazis, helping avoid vampire-based spying efforts, while he was in France for a few months. He hated their policies, but needed to be free to move around in France for a brief time.
The reason I trend more toward UF in my work is because I don’t like being locked into the “happily ever after” ending with boy getting girl. Jordan, the villainous hero of Blood-Mage, isn’t exactly your typical hero, but while he’s not going out of his way to redeem himself, he is going to learn how to love someone else and get their love in return. This simply couldn’t happen in the short period of Blood-Mage Rising (which takes place contemporaneously with Blood Rage). He makes strides toward getting a HEA/HFN ending, even ending on a peaceful note, but he simply hasn’t made it there.
5) Do you think you’ll move to another genre, and if yes, what to and when?
For now, unlikely. I’ve got a futuristic series in mind, but it’s still paranormal/urban fantasy-ish. If I do, it’ll probably be into pure fantasy. I have some dragons and their riders still kicking around in my head. Sooner or later they’ll demand attention.
6) Silliness 1: Sweet or sour?
More sweet than sour, but lemon drops are pretty high on my candy-likes, and they’re both!
7) Random silliness 2: Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?
To quote someone who answered this question on my blog, “vanilla is not a flavor.”
FAN INFO
How can people contact you?
Gee – ya think I’m Tory Michaels?
LOL. Tory, I’ve had fun with this quickie interview. Thanks for stopping by my blog and I wish you luck in your sales and everything else that comes with being a published author. 
As I mentioned earlier, I’m answering similar questions on Tory’s blog, so after you leave a comment here, go over there and leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of Most Eligible Bachelor.
Cheers,
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