Five Question Friday will Rachel Firaseck

I'm so happy to have Rachel Firasek visiting my blog today to talk about her new release Passion of the Soul: Piper's Fury. I love your cover. An amazing effect and the eye - WOW! How did you come up with the title?

Well, the book is about Piper. She's mad a lot. So, it was naturally Piper's Fury as a working title. Then, I changed it to Passion of the Soul: Piper's Fury when I realized that I needed a series name. The book was just too big for one story.

Oh, so we get to see a lot more of Piper. Awesome!

What's the most rewarding thing about being a published author?

I'm not sure yet, I've been a published author for less than a  month. I guess I'm still settling in. If I had to say right now what is the most rewarding, it would have to be the reaction of my family. I swear it's like we wrote the book together and  I guess we did. :)

I can relate, totally. What's the hardest thing about being a published author?

Learning to graciously accept praise. It's not that I'm ungracious, but I'm an introvert. When strangers come to tell you how much they love your book most would beam and say thank you. Not me, I draw a line in the dirt, drop my head and hunch away. I'm learning how to fight that impulse and just smile and say thank you.

I have a feeling you'll fall into it better than you think:) Give it another book or two. Okay, now for the important questions.

Elvis Presley or Justin Bieber? 

Elvis, baby, he was the king of hot! I used to watch his movies on the Saturday matinees when I was a kid. Loved the King.

You said it! Robert Redford or Brad Pitt?
Brad all the way. I never could stand RR. Don't know why. Maybe it was the hair. The strawberry blond male never did it for me. lol.

Okay, those are fighting words. Robert Redford is my dream guy. If your book wasn't so amazing, I'd have to hurt you! LOL! Just kidding (kind of).

Bahahaha, that's what makes us all so different. In all honesty I think my dislike for him came from my Momma making me watch his movies at a time when all I wanted to watch was Johnny Depp on 21 Jumpstreet. lol. Now there is a man that makes me shiver. I know, gross right? lol

No, not at all. I was a Johhny Depp/21 Jumpstreet fan myself. Okay, you're totally redeemed.

I hope you've brought along your book blurb and an excerpt.

BOOK BLURB:

It's an empath thing...

Using your "powers" to help the Dark Hills Police Department hunt down serial killers doesn't leave much time for dating. Not that Piper Anast is complaining. The last thing she needs is some guy brushing up against her and pumping his pornographic thoughts into her head.

When she meets Bennett Slade, a sexy, tormented vampire, Piper stumbles headlong into a telepathic connection with his missing daughter. She can't leave the kid to the evil surrounding her unwanted visions, nor can she resist her draw to Slade. He's the first guy she's been able to touch vision-free in, well, forever.

As she and Slade close in on the evil creature holding his daughter, Piper's powers morph into a deadly fury. To save Slade's daughter-and herself-Piper must face down demons she never knew she had and trust the one thing she keeps from everyone.

Her heart.

EXCERPT:
I climbed the stairs two at a time and at the top, he glanced over my shoulder. “Alone. Sorry, man, it can only be the two of us. Your energy could mess with the magic.”
“I...very well.” Slade’s mouth curled into a frown, he hesitated at the three steps up and turned with a snarl. His neck tensed, the muscles knotting under his shirt. So, he didn’t like the thought of me up here with Luke alone, well good.
We entered the bedroom Luke used. He ripped the comforter and sheets from the bed. “Lay down.”
“What?”
“Look, this goes a lot smoother if you quit asking the infuriating questions, which by the way make you sound like a moron, and just do what I say.”
Immediate rage, a rage I couldn’t control leapt from my skin and knocked him against the closed door. I held him pinned, levitating a foot from the floor. He gasped while I forced my energy into him.
He gritted an incantation. The energy shifted on me. The return blast lifted me up, launching me the last few feet to the bed. Air burst from my lungs on the landing. His body followed the energy, covering me with his weight.
“Learn how to control yourself, or I will teach you how to in a way you won’t like. I will not tolerate your abuse anytime you get pissed at me. It’s going to happen and unlike Slade, I will not temper my words.”
I panted from the exertion and the raging anger at having my power used on me. “Get off me. I don’t like to be touched.”
“Maybe you haven’t been touched by the right person--yet.”

Okay, I'm hooked. Thank you so much for stopping by today. Congrats on the new release and wishing you many more. For those of you who were hooked after reading the excerpt, here's the buy link:

Amazon

Welcome Teresa D'Amario and Tigress by the Tail

I'm so happy to have Teresa D'Amario here to talk about her book Tigress by the Tail.  When I saw her cover and book trailer I was sold on this book and I know you will be too. So without further adieu, here's Teresa.

Tell us a random fact about your book.

Lance, the hero, is the youngest brother, with four other siblings, including one sister.  He takes a lot of flack from them about not being a very good wizard, a situation he handles tongue in cheek.

(Kim chuckling) He and my sister could probably swap war stories about being the youngest, not that I terrorized her or anything. Tell us a random fact about you.

Random fact.  Well dang, I think all my random facts are out there.  Let's see, my real job is working with computers and internet.   No, I'm not one of those "Make money here" people.  Instead, I help folks with their DSL service.

Talk about job security. Helping people with their Internet. How did you get the idea for your book?

Actually, the start of Tigress by the Tail was a nightmare I had.  It was so vivid and terrifying.  I actually had to soften the dream, or I wouldn't have had much of a book since all the characters died in the end.  It was so emotional I couldn't NOT write it.  To date, it's the ONLY one of my books that came from a dream.

That sounds pretty intense. I'm glad you listened to your inner voice and wrote your experience down. If the dream was anything like the cover, I bet it was powerful.

What was your first impression of your cover when it arrived in the email? Did you pet the screen for a while?

In this case, because I hired the cover artist personally, so I knew what to expect.  I'd actually chosen the image from something she'd already created.   So it's probably best to judge from that image, the first time I saw it.  I was so thrilled with it, I made it my wallpaper on my computer, which I only usually change every so many years. :D  I was most fascinated with the merging of animal and woman, and how smoothly it was handled! So it's absolutely awesome. :D  And yes, it's framed, as are all my covers!

LOL! Mine too. What does your book cover say about your book? What special feature does it point to that tells the reader to snatch this up right away to read?

Actually it doesn't say much about the romance of this book, but I think the blurb handles that perfectly.  Instead, it concentrates on the wildness of the heroine.  It shows both her animal side and her true human side, which are war at times in this book.  We all have two sides to our character.  We humans aren't really that much different from Cassie, and that is what draws people to her story, as well as to shifter books in general.  It's where the characters let out their wild side.

So tell me a little about your cover artist?  Do you know if he or she has a webpage? If so, do you have the link?

My Cover Artist is Patricia Schmitt. She signs her work as "Pickyme", so I call this my Pickyme cover.  (actually, Leopard's Key is also a Pickyme cover).  She is one of the best in the business, in my opinion.  I can't say enough about her.  There's not a cover she's made that doesn't make me want to snatch that book up right away - and have!   She's pure awesomesauce.  Here's a link to her site:

http://pickyscreativetouch.daportfolio.com/gallery/300323

What feedback have you gotten back from readers?

Everyone loves it!  Just like I do. :D  The people who read the original release of this book all say how it captures the essence of Cassie, the heroine of Tigress By the Tail.

I know you can count me in that group:) Also, you have the MOST amazing book trailer. We HAVE to share it with everyone.

Here's the book blurb for Tigress by the Tail:

Lance is a Wizard. He’s not a great wizard, but he’s all right. Descended from a long line of wizards, his brothers taunt him for being slow to learn. And as the youngest, it’s his due course to accept such teasing. Life is good, and normal. For a wizard that is.

Cassie is a Shifter. A tigress to be exact. Raised by her father after her mother’s death she’s as well adjusted as any shifter can be, and still live in the human world, hiding who and what she is.

Bliss comes to a screeching halt the night Satanist kidnap Cassie and her best friend to use as sacrifices to bring forth their Dark Lord. When Cassie literally collides into Lance, she begs him to help them escape their captors, despite the dangers. The couple work together to save the life of Cassie’s friend, only to discover a shocking passion driving them closer together at a time when both should be devastated. But when Lance overhears Cassie’s father threaten his life, he heads for the hills. Cassie follows, determined to clear up the confusion. But evil is still afoot and Cassie is taken by a secret government organization dedicated to the eradication of all things magick. Is Lance willing to put his life on the line for a woman he believes is out to kill him? Especially when he realizes the organization that’s taken her, is the one he works for?

~ Romance Junkies

Ms. D’Amario rocks.  I absolutely loved THE MOON:  TIGRESS BY THE TAIL.  It contains everything I love in a book, sex, good vs.: evil, great plot and lots of action.  Any paranormal fan that passes this book by just doesn’t know what they are missing. 

WOW! Great cover, amazing blurb, and smokin video. You are on fire, girl! You guys better get it while it's HOT HOT HOT!! Here's Teresa's buy links for Tigress by the Tail.

 Amazon

1 Place For Romance

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing Tigress by the Tail with us. Teresa has graciously offered a PDF copy to one poster and she's been so wonderful to work with and I've had so much fun having her visit my blog, that I'll throw in a PDF copy of my new release Wayward Soul as well. So leave a comment to be entered.