Elin Gregory

My guest today is Vicktor Alexander, an author perhaps best known for his best selling series of books about The Tate Pack – wolf-shifters located on a ranch in Texas – but with many other strings to his bow.

Welcome Vicktor and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions.

Welcome, readers, and keep your eyes open for a question you can answer in comments to go into a draw for a copy of Vicktor’s most recent release, Impossible.

~~~

Elin: Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?

Vicktor: Hhmm now that is a loaded question. LOL. During the school year I am a student but I also own half of a publishing company The Rooster & The Pig Publishing (Now accepting submissions!) I am also at the point where I am drafting up a business proposal/plan for another business: a nightclub called Triune. I am also drafting proposals for three non-profits: a group home for at-risk teens, a housing program for low income families, and a charity organization for third world countries. So when I’m not writing I have plenty to keep me occupied.

A little about myself… Ummm I like to laugh and make others laugh. I come from a big family. I am a nerd (I love listening to the History Channel for fun). I have an adopted daughter whom I call Chipmunk. I am big on philanthropy and being an advocate of causes I am passionate about. I love music. I love old time movies. Frank Sinatra, Reba McEntire, The Temptations and Michael Jackson are my favorite artists. I’m single and I’m at the point in my life where I’m ready to have more children so I’m looking into that.

Elin:When you aren’t writing, is there any other creative activity you enjoy? Have you ever written about it?

Vicktor:I used to love making book covers, drawing, and painting. I can’t really do those things but I still love imagining them. I also used to choreograph contemporary dances and to this day I still get images in my head of dance routines when I listen to music. I love singing and I think I make almost all of my characters or one of the MCs have some aspect of my other creative side. Richard, from Unthinkable, is a dancer. Tommy, from Inconceivable, is a performer. Alex, from Impossible, is a singer.

Elin:Can you name any author/authors, past or present, who have been a great influence on your work?

Vicktor:Mary Calmes, Stormy Glenn, Toni Griffin, Amy Lane, Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, John Donne, Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, Terry Macmillan, Zane, Sistah Souljah, Lori Wick, Susan Mallery, Brenda Jackson, Eloisa James, and Stephanie Laurens just to name a few. LOL.

Elin:What are you reading? Something to be clutched to the bosom or tossed aside with force? Fiction or non-fiction?

Vicktor:I am currently reading Jana Downs’s Marked series. It’s BDSM so I am in a very, very happy place. It’s very good and being a part of the Lifestyle it’s very well written. It’s fiction and paranormal which I love. I tend not to stick with things that make me want to toss them aside with force. I’ve read a few books that made me do that though. My poor Kindle. LOL.

Elin:Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Vicktor:I plot stories and my muse (Tommy from Inconceivable: Tate Pack series) laughs at me because things happen as I write that I am always surprised about. Impossible turned out a lot more angsty than I’d originally intended it to be and The Alpha King turned out a lot more sexual and romantic than I thought.

Elin:Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them?

Vicktor:My characters are pretty set in stone when I start writing them. They come with their favorite color, favorite foods, and a whole mess of emotional and sometimes physical baggage. There has been once or twice when one of them has surprised me (Alex: Impossible Tate Pack Book Six) because they do something that surprises me but that’s rare. Usually Tommy gives me the skinny on everyone when they show up.

Elin:Do you have a crisp mental picture of your characters or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

Vicktor:Oh no, I know exactly what they look like. Down to birth marks and acne. LOL. That sounds nasty. Blake from An Angelic Meeting, for example, I know exactly how chubby he looks and about that mole he has on his left hand. I can see them all as clearly as if they were standing right in front of me.

Elin:Do you find there to be a lot of structural differences between a relationship driven story and one where the romance is a sub plot?

Vicktor:I don’t know that I’ve written a book where the romance is a sub plot but I’ve read books like that and it does seem that the interaction between the lovers is limited and not as fleshed out as it would be in a romance driven story.

Elin:Putting together your ideal team of men – drawing from all and any walks of life, fictional or non-fictional – who you would want to come to your rescue if menaced by muggers/alligators/fundamentalists?

Vicktor:Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood, The Doctor from Doctor Who, Derek Morgan of Criminal Minds, a Marine named CJ (my ex), and my bio uncle E: those are all some badass men.

Elin:Villains – incredibly important in fiction since they challenge the main protagonists and give them something to contend with beyond the tension of a developing relationship. What sort of villains do you prize? A moustache-twirling nightmare or … ?

Vicktor:I love the villain that has been creating havoc behind the scenes. They befriend the MC, act as a true friend, maybe even dates them, but all along they are plotting to take them down. The one who surprises the reader because you never suspect them.

Elin:What are you working on at the moment? Can you discuss it or do you prefer to keep it a secret until it’s finished.

Vicktor:I am currently working on a contemporary, interracial, transgender, supernatural romance entitled Raising Shawna. It’s about Shane, a former drug addict turned prosecutor, who adopts a young girl named, Shawna, who is the reincarnation of his dead twin brother, Shawn, and Tucker, Shawna’s psychologist.

Elin:Could we please have an excerpt of something?

Vicktor:Of course! Here’s an excerpt of Impossible and then one of Raising Shawna:

Impossible:

ALEX stepped into the front door of his family home and coughed at the acrid scent of smoke that still hung in the air. He looked around the room, sadness cutting off the air to his lungs. He saw his father’s favorite black barcalounger, placed diagonally to the black embroidered couch which sat next to his mother’s favorite pink sectional. The chaise that Alex loved to lounge on while his parents and siblings watched television lay undisturbed beneath the window, the last book he’d been reading lay on the floor. He looked around the room, his eyes taking in the pictures on the walls, the knick-knacks and toys strewn about that showed evidence that a family lived there. Had lived there. The family was gone now. Torn apart because of his powers, because he was a freak, an abomination.

He sighed tearfully as Ross’s arms wrapped around him tightly, feeling the fractured pieces of himself being held together by his mate’s embrace. His eyes burned with unshed tears, and Alex lowered his head as he took in a shaky breath. He could do this. He had to do this—for his siblings, for his parents, and for his mate. He couldn’t mate Ross knowing that if he got mad enough he could set Ross on fire and kill him just as he had his parents.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” Ross’s deep voice washed over Alex’s senses, calming him instantly.

Alex nodded his head, trying to calm himself before swallowing thickly. He stepped out of Ross’s arms and headed upstairs to his room without a backwards glance. Walking down the hallway, Alex kept his head down, determined not to look at his parents’ bedroom, no matter how much the need clawed at him. Stepping into his own bedroom, he headed for his closet and pulled out the six suitcases inside. He placed them on his king-sized bed and opened the zippered lid of each one before turning to his dressers. He gave Ross a small smile as he proceeded to pull out Alex’s clothes, shoes, and movies that were in the closet and on top of the dresser.

They worked without speaking, occasionally brushing against each other, whether purposefully or not, Alex didn’t know, though he took comfort in the small brushes of his mate’s hand. Hours later, the sun had set and they were carrying boxes and suitcases filled with Alex’s belongings, as well as things for his siblings and things he wanted to keep to remember his parents by, out to Ross’s SUV. Once the house was pretty much devoid of anything familiar or homely, Alex stood at the front door and allowed his eyes to sweep the interior of the house. There were no more pictures on the walls, no more little touches to show that a family had lived there, but still the ghosts of memories filtered and flowed through the walls and rooms of the house. He saw himself lying on his stomach playing board games with his siblings. Sitting on the couch reading to them from a book. He saw his parents, cuddled together in his father’s chair, making out like teenagers. He could almost smell his mother’s famous lasagna cooking in the stove and hear the squeals and giggles of his sisters taking a bath together upstairs.

Alex sighed and brushed away the tears rolling down his cheeks. Ross’s arms wrapping around him soothed him, and Alex relaxed back into his arms. He closed his eyes as Ross pressed his lips against Alex’s temple and inhaled deeply. The intoxicating scent of his mate wrapped around Alex like a soothing blanket, and Alex felt a lump rise in his throat. He felt conflicted. A huge part of him wanted to bask in his lover’s embrace, while another part wanted to fall to its knees and cry out to the heavens over the loss of his parents. Deciding to take the comfort from Ross’s arms that he so desperately wanted, Alex turned in his arms and buried his face in Ross’s neck, inhaling Ross’s masculine fragrance.

“Come on, love, let’s go,” Ross’s words vibrated his throat and Alex smiled as he felt the words against his face. He nodded and stepped away from his mate. Alex followed Ross from the house, refusing to look back. He pulled the door closed and locked it behind him.

Now what? He knew that he would be going back to Ross’s new place for a while, and they would go and get his siblings back from the West Coast Council, but what was he supposed to do with his family home? He was pretty sure he couldn’t sell it as it was, with the charred remains of his parents’ bedroom and the house still smoky, so he would have to have the house repaired before he could sell it. Or maybe he would just have the whole structure torn down and sell the land. The thought of another family living in the exact same house where he’d experienced such happiness and tragedy made him feel nauseous.

Shaking himself out of his inner musings, knowing he didn’t have to make a decision right then, Alex found himself standing right in front of the open passenger door to Ross’s SUV. Looking up at his mate, Alex smiled faintly and climbed in without a word. The closing of the door sounded final, as if Ross were indeed closing the door to a chapter of Alex’s life. He shivered faintly. He could do this. He could be mated, get his siblings, and return to the Tate Ranch to live, because he was pretty sure that was where they would end up.

He wasn’t nervous about seeing Ton again—and with his new mate. Alex was happy for his old boyfriend. Very happy, as a matter of fact, but the idea of returning to Texas caused butterflies to ram into each other in his stomach. Pressing a hand to his stomach, Alex exhaled. Everything was going to be okay. He knew it would.

“Ready?” Ross asked from the driver’s seat next to him.

Alex looked at him and nodded his head with a smile. “Let’s go.”

With those words, they drove towards Ross’s home and towards the beginning of their lives together.

~~~

Raising Shawna:

“So, how can I help you, Mr. Occena?” Dr. Ames asked.

Shane sighed and ran a hand over his head. “I have a friend, Bernard, who is transgender as well. I was wondering if you thought it would be a good idea for him to spend some time with Shawna and talk with her?”

Shane watched as Dr. Ames’s brows furrowed as if he couldn’t understand why Shane was there asking him that particular question. Shane knew it wouldn’t take the doctor long to see right through his lame attempt to find a reason to see the man and scrambled for something else to say.

“Because, see, I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hinder her natural development. I mean if she feels as if she’s a boy trapped in a girl’s body. I thought that if Bernard talked to her about the process, about how hard it is, that maybe she’d be more informed. I mean, I know she’s young and everything, but maybe if she got the information now—“ he started rambling.

“No-no, I understand. I think that’s a great idea,” Dr. Ames interrupted him.

Shane sighed. “Oh, okay. Great. Then that’s what I’ll do then. Thank you Dr. Ames,” he said with a grateful smile.

“Tucker,” the doctor said with a grin.

“What?” Shane asked, raising his eyes from the table to look into the other man’s gorgeous blue ones.

“My name is Tucker. I think you should call me that. Dr. Ames sounds way too formal and after the phone call we had just last night, I think it’s appropriate that you call me Tucker,” Dr. Ames—no, Tucker—said with a smile.

“Oh, well, Tucker then,” Shane said and sighed before smiling back at the man. “And I think you should call me Shane.”

Tucker inclined his head. “Shane it is.”

Shane nodded his head and smiled. They sat in silence for a long time and finally, when Shane thought the silence would get overwhelming, Tucker spoke. “So, want to tell me why you’re really here, Shane?”

Shane laughed. “Is it really that obvious?” he asked.

Tucker chuckled. “Just a little. I mean, we could have had this conversation over the phone.”

Shane nodded. “I know what we said on the phone last night, but I admit I wanted to see you. Hear your voice,” he shrugged. “I know that nothing can happen between us as long as you’re Shawna’s psychologist and I agree that it would be in her best interest for us to not see each other at this juncture, but the heart wants what the heart wants and mine wanted to see you. It appears that I’m weak,” he admitted with a sardonic smile.

Tucker laughed again. “I completely understand. If you hadn’t stopped by today I probably would have engineered a reason to call you tonight,” he stated without embarrassment.

Shane nodded and sighed. “This is bad,” he said.

“So bad,” Tucker said. “So maybe we should just say goodbye and try to limit our interaction to sessions with Shawna?”

Shane nodded. “Agreed,” he said and stood to his feet. Tucker followed him and they walked to the door. Shane turned to thank the doctor and found himself frozen in place by the darkening of the older man’s gaze. He was aware of the older man pushing the door closed behind him and then he was being pulled into the bigger man’s arms.

“If you want me to stop, I need you say something now, Shane,” Tucker said, his voice deep and husky.

Shane shivered at the lust he could hear in the other man’s tone and said nothing. His eyes slid closed as Tucker lowered his head. Shane pushed himself up on his toes as he closed the distance between their lips. The first touch of their lips caused him to moan. It was a soft kiss, an exploratory one. When Tucker lifted his head, Shane whimpered. He wanted to feel the other man’s lips against his own and he was rewarded a fraction of a second later when Tucker’s lips pressed against his own again, this time the kiss was harder, more passionate than the one before. Shane wrapped his arms around the older man’s neck and pressed his hard cock against the man’s stomach. He felt Tucker’s hands on his ass and moaned when the man lifted him to wrap his legs around Tucker’s waist. He felt the wall pressed against his back and opened his mouth wider for Tucker’s tongue.

Their tongues dueled for dominance and Shane submitted and let Tucker take possession of his mouth. The older man controlled the kiss, sucking Shane’s tongue into his mouth before nibbling on his bottom lip. Shane felt lightheaded and his senses swam as he felt himself toppling headfirst into bliss. All of those backroom blowjobs and one-night stands hadn’t prepared him for this mind-numbing, all-consuming passion that had enflamed his body. He wanted to crawl inside of Tucker and never leave. His head fell back as Tucker’s lips trailed down over his chin, down his neck and to the point where his neck met his shoulder. Shane hissed as he felt Tucker bite the flesh there before sucking on it hard. It took a lot for a mark to be left on his darker colored skin, but it seemed that Tucker wasn’t going to stop until he saw the mark of his claim on Shane’s skin.

Shane trembled at the sound of Tucker’s growl as the man palmed his ass and brushed a finger over the crease of Shane’s slacks. His cock twitched and spit out a drop of pre-cum to wet the front of his boxer briefs and Shane moaned. He pressed his hands to the back of Tucker’s head and lifted the man’s lips back to his own. Their kiss was soaring out of control and before Shane was aware of what was going on, he felt himself laid out on the table of the conference room and Tucker’s hands were pulling his shirt out of his pants.

Before they could give into their lust any further a knock on the door startled them apart from each other.

“Dr. Ames?” a female voice sounded from the other side of the door hesitantly.

Tucker groaned in disappointment and laid his head on Shane’s shoulder. His warm breath panted against Shane’s neck and Shane shivered even as his cock twitched behind his zipper. He wanted Tucker’s lips back on his own, and yet, he knew that what they were doing was wrong.

“Yes, Alicia?” Tucker asked after lifting his head.

“Your next patient is here,” Alicia said.

Tucker’s body lifting from his own, sent a draft of cold air washing over Shane’s prostrate form and Shane shivered again. He pushed himself up into a seated position and attempted to push his shirt back into the waistband of his slacks. He studiously kept his gaze away from Tucker’s as the doctor attempted to right his own clothes. He didn’t know what to say to Tucker, didn’t know if he should say anything, so he didn’t. Once they were both presentable, Shane walked towards the door again.

“Shane?” Tucker’s voice sent thrills down his spine and Shane froze but didn’t turn around.

“Yeah?” he said.

“I’d really like to see where this can go. I can refer Shawna to another psychologist,” Tucker offered and Shane shook his head.

“No, I-I mean I would love to see where this is going also, or where it could go, but Shawna seems very comfortable with you and I don’t want to do anything to damage that,” Shane said.

“I understand,” Tucker said. “Well, if you ever change your mind, let me know okay?”

Shane nodded and hurried out of the door. He needed to get home, get back to Shawna and remind himself of why he just had to turn down what could have possibly been the greatest thing to happen to him since adopting the little girl. He’d take the rest of the day off work if he had to, but he had to get away from Tucker before he did something else that he would regret.

~~~

Impossible

Blurb:

Alexander Dieson always knew that he was different. Yes, he could shift like the other wolf shifting cowboys on the Tate Ranch, but he could also make fire and a host of other things. When his parents move him to California from Texas he resolves himself to spending a life alone.

Ross Barber discovers the scent of his mate hours after the younger man moves away with his family. He spends ten years searching for Alex and finally finds him just after Alex’s life has been completely turned upside down.

Ross promises Alex that he will help find his mate’s missing siblings but in the process of their search they learn the truth about Alex’s DNA and are completely shocked by the way their lives and the Tate Ranch changes because of it. And when they learn how high up the plot to kidnap and sell paranormals actually goes, the Tate Pack will never be the same.

Available from:

http://www.roosterandpigpublishing.com/new-releases
http://www.bookstrand.com/impossible-mm
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-impossible-1219147-145.html
http://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Tate-Pack-ebook/dp/B00DE50SQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372873271&sr=1-1&keywords=impossible+vicktor+alexander

You can follow Vicktor in all these places:

Website:
http://www.vicktoralexander.com

Blog:
http://www.authorvicktoralexander.com

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/VVeeB

Yahoo Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VicktorAlexander

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/VicktorAlexanderB

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/VicktorAlexander

Readers’ Question: Of which publishing company is Vicktor a part owner? Answers in comments please and don’t forget to add your email address.