Elin Gregory

It’s Tuesday – or Tiw’s Day which is worth celebrating because Tiw, Anglo-Saxon god of ass-kicking, was the only one in the pantheon with the brass bound cojones to put his hand in the mouth of the Fenris Wolf. Commonly known as Lefty, Tiw was an all round hero, and we like heroes, don’t we.

Someone with a more than passing acquaintance with heroes is Amy Lane my guest today in celebration of the Foolish Encounters Anthology, which will be available tomorrow from Wilde City Press. Please stick around to read the excerpt and comment for a chance to win a prize.

Hi Amy, thanks for answering my questions. Could you tell me a little about your story in the anthology?

This is just a short– it’s the beginning of what could be a beautiful relationship, featuring a curious, upbeat delivery guy and a computer programmer who has been working from home just a little bit too long.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

I have got a long catalog! What’s important to remember is that this story fits in with my happy, lighter work– If I Must, Turkey in the Snow, Christmas With Danny Fit, and DoOver. It’s happy, sexy, and flirty– and I don’t do that with no strings attached very often, so it’s pretty special.

What are you working on at the moment?

The second half of the fifth (or is it eighth?) book in an epic urban fantasy m/m/f menage series that I started ten years ago.

Please could we have an excerpt?

Green hovered in the air and watched as the last batch of werewolves went sailing to the lake. They had not, as Cory suggested, combined forces and set their penises on fire while making them bleed out the asshole. (She’d been particularly cranky, and he couldn’t blame her, but still… bloodthirsty, his beloved, oh yes she was.)
But he knew the time was nearing when they had to take definitive action. They could not continue to live under siege when they were so close to having the means to defeat this enemy—one way or another.

Nicky touched down on one of the oak trees and changed form, sitting on the branch with his bare feet dangling beneath him. “Have you noticed,” he asked musingly, “that they don’t visit when the vampires are here?”
Green looked up and smiled at him, at his playfulness and his helpfulness, and his desire to be whatever they needed of him.

“I have,” he said smiling back. “I think they’re afraid.”

“Well, they should be. As far as they know, all of our vampires belch power and cook RV’s.” Nicky executed a cherry drop, landing at Green’s feet, and Green was so charmed he wrapped his arms around Nicky’s shoulder and placed a series of tickle kisses on his neck. Nicky laughed and turned into his embrace, standing on his toes so they could kiss in earnest, and Green closed his eyes to savor. Oh yes—Nicky was a blessing. He loved them all, and all he wanted from any of them was to be loved in return. He didn’t have the depth or complexity of Cory or Bracken—but Green had the feeling he’d made his peace with that. He was content to be simple, to give them affection, to take it as it was offered, and to take joy from every small moment.

Green would celebrate a lover like that to the moon and back. Nicky Kestrel was not the love of a life that spanned two millennia, but he was absolutely a lover for now—and now Green needed what Cory had needed: to, just for a moment, forget the depth of his fear for the people he loved.

Nicky opened his mouth under Green’s kiss, and Green fell into it happily. Who could know three years ago? The timid, slightly phobic young man who had been tragically forced into Green’s bed had turned into a sensual, happy lover. Green pushed the kiss, backing Nicky into the tree behind him, and Green ran his hands from Nicky’s neck down the outside of his arms, and then circled his slim hips with his long-fingered hands.

Nicky bucked against him, aroused almost instantly, and Green chuckled against his neck.

“Goddess, that’s good. What was that for?” Nicky gasped.

“Suddenly very much in love with you, lad—is that a problem?”

Nicky smiled sunnily. “I am so horny. Can we do something about that? You and me? Hell, throw in Bracken and Cory and my day is complete. Can we? Huh?”

Green nodded and continued to nibble on that flushed, pale neck.

Author Bio:

Amy Lane has two kids in college, two gradeschoolers in soccer, two cats, and two Chi-who-whats at large. She lives in a crumbling crapmansion with most of the children and a bemused spouse. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and m/m romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

Links:>
website: http://www.greenshill.com
blog: http://www.writerslane.blogspot.com
Twitter: @amymaclane
FB: https://www.facebook.com/amy.lane.167
Amy is also on Pinterest

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Ho hum another Monday! But to sweeten the pill here is another interview from a series provided by authors who have contributed their work to the Foolish Encounters anthology, out on Wednesday from Wilde City Press.

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a prize.

My guest today is Tinnean!

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

This might turn out to be longer than you wanted, Elin. Last year, Marc asked for wacky prompts for April Fool’s Day. I was working on the second book in my Mann of My Dreams series, and I drew a total blank. I didn’t want to leave Marc hanging, though, so I asked a friend for help. She came up with the idea of birds spying on terrorists, which seemed amusing. However, when it turned out I’d actually need to write it, I drew a total blank. One day, while I was walking through my complex, a sudden thought came to me: suppose I kept the birds, or at least a winged species, and changed the terrorist to humans who had left Terra millennia ago? Yeah, that was the ticket. And voila, Blue and Green Persuasion was born.

Could you tell me a little about it?

I’d love to! Humans had damaged one planet too many and were once again searching for another world in which to live. At the end of their resources, they find a blue and green planet like nothing mankind has ever colonized before. Hart, the chief scout, was born with a genetic advantage: given a few words in any language, he would be able to speak and understand it. When he’s sent out in his scout pod the Sarah O. to explore, he comes across a sky-dweller, a humanoid creature who’s able to glide through the beautiful blue skies.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

Sure, and thank you for asking! They Come By Night is the latest book I’ve had published by Dreamspinner. It’s a paranormal that takes place on an Earth slightly different from ours in that there are beings living among us, vampyrs, werewolves, and… dragons? The main character, Ty Small, is a sabor, someone whose destiny in life is to feed vampyrs. He’s very well compensated for that, and in addition, he falls in love with Adam Dasani, equerry to the vampyr king. Of course there’s always a fly in the ointment, and in this case, it’s Juan de Vivar, a disgruntled vampyr who’s unhappy not to be able to claim the vampyr throne and feels possessing Ty is all he needs to make the position his own.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I’m working on Greater Love Hath No Man. Originally this was a short that told the story of a character I’d introduced in another story, and it takes place in Great Britain between 1948 and 1976. James Trevalyan, heir to an old title, knows he won’t be spending his days in idleness. He comes from a long line of men who have lived to serve king and country.

Please could we have an excerpt?

This is from Blue and Green Persuasion:

Hart brought the Sarah O. to a gentle landing. “What’s the gravity?”

This planet’s gravity is 9.80665 meters per second squared.

“That’s good to know.” It meant once he stepped outside the pod, he wouldn’t be crushed or float away. “Thank you, Sarah.”

You’re welcome, Hart.

A glance at her gauges showed him the radiation level was human normal and the UV rays wouldn’t bake him to a crisp. It would be safe for him to leave the pod. Movement drew his attention, and he spotted some small, furry creatures through the view screen. He leaned forward to study them. They were about thirty centimeters in length, with a black stripe down their backs. Hart twisted the knob that activated the exterior audio, which would allow him to hear them.

They made a barking sound as they raced toward what must be their warrens and dove into them. The barks were simply vocalizations warning of danger; there was no other communication. These could be a form of nourishment, and his mouth watered at the thought of roasting one over an open fire.

“Sarah, analyze the atmosphere.”

Yes, Hart. She set to work.

Author Bio:

Tinnean has been writing since the 3rd grade, where she was inspired to try her hand at epic poetry. Fortunately, that epic poem didn’t survive the passage of time; however, her love of writing not only survived but thrived, and in high school she became a member of the magazine staff, where she contributed a number of stories.

It was with the advent of the family’s second computer – the first intimidated everyone – that her writing took off, enhanced in part by fanfiction, but mostly by the wonder that is copy and paste.

While involved in fandom, she was nominated for both Rerun and Light My Fire Awards. Now she concentrates on her original characters, and recent novels have received honorable mention in the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Awards.

A New Yorker at heart, she resides in SW Florida with her husband and two computers.

Ernest Hemingway’s words reflect Tinnean’s devotion to her craft: Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it.

She can be contacted at tinneantoo@gmail.com

She can be found on Live Journal http://tinnean.livejournal.com/
On Twitter @tinneantoo
On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Tinnean

If you’d like to sample her earlier works, they can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/tinnssinns/Welcome1.html

Buy links
Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5954
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/They-Come-Night-Tinnean-ebook/dp/B00S6ZT3I6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426812216&sr=8-1&keywords=they+come+by+night+by+tinnean
Are: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html

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Sunday – just the day to cwtch down with a good book and a Toblerone! But first please read this interview with the next author to contribute to the Foolish Encounters anthology, soon to be released by Wilde City Press. Just click on the cover to go to WCP’s website to learn more.

Or you could stay here, read the interview and comment to get a chance to win a prize!

My guest today is Tali Spencer

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

I wandered into a Facebook conversation one day where authors and readers were talking about creepy shifters and I quipped that spiders might be fun. Because spiders. I’ve toyed with spider stories for years. Arachnids are really quite admirable when you think about it, though not especially sexy. But they’re beautiful in their way. I used to play with tarantulas as a kid growing up in El Paso, Texas, and still love to watch web-weaving spiders in my garden. So when Marc asked me to write a spider shifter story for the anthology I thought it would be fun. I set the story in Wisconsin where I was born and called it “Well Hello, Eight Eyes.”

Could you tell me a little about it?

I went for the odd and wrote a contemporary fantasy. “Well Hello, Eight Eyes” starts out with Tanner, a young man deep in grief who risks going out on Lake Michigan despite knowing there will be storm. The storm destroys his boat and Tanner gets washed up on an island. The islanders are less than friendly but one of them—cute, quirky, and gay Cory—takes him in. Before long, they hit it off and Tanner decides to pursue the attraction. But Cory is acting mysteriously and there’s this small matter of spiders…. Actually, the spiders are a BIG matter!

Could you please tell me about your other work?

Most of my work is science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on character-driven plots. I like to have fun with the genre and some of my books are tongue-in-cheek. Thick as Thieves, for example, features a giant barbarian who uses a unicorn horn in an inappropriate way and ends up a bit sex-crazed. Some of my other work is much darker, like Sorceror’s Knot, which has violent themes. My free stories include a fun contemporary set in an Italian-American bakery, and I feature erotic serial science fiction on my blog.

What are you working on at the moment?

After a horrific year health wise, I’m putting finishing touches on the follow up to Thick as Thieves. I’m also writing two more books in my Uttor series. In addition, I’m vetting a completed epic fantasy for submission to my publisher.

Please could we have an excerpt?

Certainly, here’s a short piece from “Well Hello, Eight Eyes”

At least the fire burning in the stove was warm and cozy. Keeping the rest of his body securely covered, Tanner unbent his legs and thrust his bare feet out from the folds of the blanket and extended them toward the radiating heat. He didn’t expect Cory to jump from the sofa and back several feet. What the hell—
Cory’s eyes were wide and scared, his hair sticking up in a hairdresser’s nightmare. Catching Tanner’s look of surprise, he looked slightly abashed.
“Are your feet cold?” He moved toward the other room, probably his bedroom. “I don’t have slippers for you. My feet are small. But I have some big socks. I layer them in winter. They’re warm.”
“No, I don’t need socks. I’m just warming my feet at your nice fire. Stop being so jumpy and just sit down, okay?”
“Okay.” Still looking embarrassed, he edged back to the sofa. Gingerly, he perched on the edge. “I’ve never had a stranger in my house.”
“I can tell.” Tanner leaned forward, half expecting Cory to leap up again. “Why are you being so twitchy? Were you in combat or something? Iraq?”
That prompted a short laugh and a shake of Cory’s head. It was dry now, red with warm golden lights. “No. I… I’ve never left the island. I just… I’m careful. Maybe too much, but it’s because I’m different. I’ve always been different, different from people like you. Fragile.”
Tanner fought a grin. “You don’t look fragile.”
“I don’t?” Cory looked pleased. “How do I look?”
“Kind of cute. And hot, in a boy next door way.” He hadn’t been seeking a reason to go there, but… it was true. Cory’s big green eyes and shy smile, boyish freckles, and compact body were definitely cute, and the boldly colored plaid shirt only added to his vibrant appeal. In fact, his bounding energy was kind of adorable when it wasn’t startling the hell out of houseguests.

Author Bio

I am fascinated by swords, mythology, and everything ancient and magical. Sword and sandals? I’m in! But I also love bodice-rippers, Regency romances, magical realism, pulpy detective stories, cozy mysteries, and South American literature.

Though I grew up as a bit of a nomad, I currently live in Pennsylvania with my husband and travel whenever I can. Every destination yields a story or three.

When not writing, I read everything (really, everything), experiment with food, and take long walks with my loving, if slightly neurotic, poodle.
You can follow Tali on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

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