CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Tripp Fox!

Oh my God! He’s here! I do a freaky hand jig. Tripp Fox is here! I punch the air. On my blog! Tripp Fox! And … he’s … staring at me like I’ve lost the plot.

I send him my sweetest smile. “Hey.”

He nods his head my way saying nothing.

“Thanks for coming today, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you here, and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you’re here and …” I should shut the heck up coz I sound like a moron. My breath erupts past my lips. “If I could have any man, it would be you, Tripp. On my blog. I mean. Yeah. Um … so thanks for coming.” Get on with it already. I deep breathe in, slow exhale out. “Maybe we should get down to your reason for being here?”

“That would be good.” He props a foot up on his knee, his dark blue t-shirt tight across his chest.

My attempt to not stare falls a little short. I order my gaze back to his face. “So … Lexi … you two serious? Like proper together with no chance of breaking up?”

“None. No chance. Nada.”

Damn!

“That would be awfully stupid given everything I went through to get her to marry me, wouldn’t it?” He winks his baby blues at me.

“Yeah … I guess so. Talking of everything you went through … you’re kind of a romantic, eh? For a tough guy.” I practice a wink of my own.

“A romantic?” He turns his head away, a smile creeping onto his lips. “Maybe.”

I laugh. “No maybe about it, babe …”

“Babe?”

I shrug him off as I continue, “I’ll just bet every lady out there would appreciate a little Tripp in her Fox.”

He belts out a laugh that continues with his mirthful smile.

My own lips twitch as I wave back and forth between us. “You see what I just did—meh, forget it. So … about your gifts.”

“What gifts?” His mirth turns rueful.

“You do a bang-up job of hiding. Or sneaking around. Being evasive. And not getting caught.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His head shakes back and forth slowly but there’s a definite gleam in his eyes.

I smile. “As far as your gift you know nothing of is concerned, in Lexi, you met your match as well as your opposite, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I certainly met my match. I wouldn’t say we’re total opposites.”

 

If you say so … “I’m all for the chalk and cheese when it comes to relationships.”

“Chalk and cheese. Where are you from anyway?”

“Um … England. You like my accent?” I wink. “But, anyway, apart from the whole soul-matey-type connection you guys seemed to have going on, what was it about Lexi that drew your attention that first night on the beach?”

He sits up and leans forward, his hands clasped, expression serious. “Have you ever walked out onto the beach for a breath of fresh air and found a woman in the one spot you love to sit? Because it’s hiding behind some dunes and no one can see you? If someone were in your spot, wouldn’t you have thought there was a reason for it?”

“Yeah, I’d think it was because they’re inconsiderate.” I snort. “I kid, I kid. Let’s just go with the assumption that you think everything through way deeper than I do, eh?” My eyebrow twitches up.

“I usually do.”

I narrow my eyes. He’s jesting with me … right? “Okay, before we go, let’s toss a couple quick Q’s out about what the future may hold for you. Now you’re married, do you visualise yourself settling down?”

“Settling down?” He shakes his head. “No way. I’ve got the crown jewel of opportunities sitting in front of me. I just have to convince Lexi that treasure hunting is safe and ethical. I figure as long as we donate a portion of what we find to … say … the Smithsonian, I’ll convince her.” He winks again.

I let out a sigh. “I guess, Tripp, what I’m really trying to ask is: Will we get to see more of you?”

“Do you want more of me?”

I lick my lips. “Do you even need to as—” My head whips up when the door clicks open to reveal a woman with dark, wavy hair. Lexi. I try not to notice how pretty she is. Though my lips really want to curl, I force them into a smile. “Lexi, right? Don’t worry, we’re nearly done here.” I give my attention to Tripp again. “So … what exactly can we expect from you … two in the future?”

When Tripp holds out his hand, Lexi takes it and manoeuvres in next to him on the opposite seat. “What are you two talking about?”

He turns back to me, a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. “I’m just telling her the story of us.” 

I arch a brow, ordering myself not to growl at their entwining fingers and the way he gazed at her—just for that instant their eyes met—with total adoration and the moulding of her body into his with all the relaxed air of utter familiarity …

“Isn’t that kind of boring?” Lexi asks, drawing me back. “I mean who cares about us?”

 Well … duh … annoying attractive woman … “Everyone, actually,” I say with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you all enjoyed the interview. For those of you intrigued enough to want to know more, here’s the cover (image is linked to its Goodreads page) and blurb:

(From Goodreads …)

Lie, cheat or steal, no one can catch Tripp Fox. Except one woman.
Lexi Shepherd’s knack for finding whatever is asked of her isn’t sheer luck. It’s a gift from the Greek god Zeus.
That Lexi doesn’t use her ability to search for “Mr. Right” comes from one of many personal rules she has set for herself. Number one is not to let fate dictate her future.
Falling in love with Tripp breaks all the others.
Despite her principles, Lexi’s unable to stay away from the bad boy, and she finds herself toeing the grey line of the law for him.
Zeus, though, didn’t give Lexi and Tripp their talents to make their relationship a simple, easy alliance. He designed it to be exactly the opposite. Impossible. Always.
With their separation, Lexi expects Tripp to forfeit love in favor of destiny. He, on the other hand, intends to beat Zeus at his own game. With a plan in place, Tripp challenges Lexi to take the one action no one else can.
Find him.
The question isn’t can she … but will she?

*Sigh* I so love this book. Okay, in all honesty, I so love Tripp Fox, but trust me: he IS a good enough reason to stick this one on your to-read list.

Thank you all for visiting. You can find out more about Hide & Seek HERE and Aimee Laine on her website, FB page, or Twitter.

JUDGE JULIE: DEATHMATCH RESULTS!

Now you may recall on November 1st, I announced the head-to-head challenge between two great writers: Jocelyn Adams and Emi Gayle (Aimee’s Laine’s YA double). Well, now the time has arrived to let you know how they fared.

First off, let me say, that these are two of the scariest contenders on the face of the planet. I watched them during the kick off. Their words counts shooting higher. The mature (*snort*) banter between them on Twitter … in fact, whaddayaknow? I just happen to have a few samples of said banter:

Um … like I said: scariest (and mature) contenders ever.

Anyway, a little over two weeks after NaNoWriMo began (the motivator for the challenge), Jocelyn sent me her 50k words to verify, announcing herself finished.

As judge, it was my duty (*snort*) to check the word count. I also had to ensure she hadn’t sent me a bunch of sloppy c***.

It turns out she hadn’t.

On the maturity level of our two contender’s: I had a sneak preview at Jocelyn’s Adams stories waaaaaaaaaaaay before they’ll be released and you’ll all get to see them, nu-nu-nu-nuuuuh-nuh!

So … without further ado, I hereby announce the winner of the second official Judge Julie contest:

JOCELYN ADAMS!

I am pretty certain if you hop on over to Jo’s blog today, you shall get to read her post of gloatsomeness. Just as, if you pop over to Aimee’s (or Emi’s), you shall see her post where (as the rules state) she bows down to Jo’s awesomeness and blarts a little over the fact she now owes Jo a bar of chocolate she could well have been eating herself.

Should I take this moment to mention that Aimee is a little miffed (due to being on a cruise for the 2nd week of the challenge that caused her to vomit everything but words) and is already hinting at a further challenge between the deadly duo? So look out for more Judge Julie’s in the future.

In the meantime, join me in offering cheers and commiserations.

Wheeeeeee! Congrats, Jocelyn.

INTO THE UNKNOWN GIVEAWAY!

There is an AWESOME giveaway happening today over at the blog of J. Taylor Publishing for FIVE … yes, FIVE copies of Into the Unknown.

This great anthology contains short stories by me (duh!), Aimee Laine & Jocelyn Adams, each one told from the pov of the male character in each of our debut novels (Darkness & Light, Little White Lies & The Glass Man), and is not due out until DECEMBER 1st, so winning a copy would ensure you to be one of the lucky few who READ IT FIRST!

Here’s the blurb, so you can decide if it sounds like something you’d enjoy:

Three men never expected love to wreak so much havoc in their lives.

In Marked, Darkness & Light’s Sean Holloway is on a mission—to find the perfect gift for the woman of his dreams. When all conventional choices turn out to be the wrong ones, each failed attempt convinces Sean his self-imposed task is impossible. But in the world of the Holloway Pack, anything is possible if it can be kept a secret.

In Misguided, Little White Lies’s Wyatt Moreland is hot on the trail of a wanted man when a rumor about his fiancée halts his progress. His desire to keep her safe wars with her need to be involved in his work and could derail their entire wedding unless he finds out the truth before she does.

In Tempted, The Glass Man’s Liam Kane made a promise to the fae he loves never to use his power to harm others. When a horrific event angers him, the energy boiling inside seduces him into walking a dark path. He has but one choice: resist his own nature or give up the one he loves.

Will the three men make the right choices? Or will their actions destroy their futures with the women they love?

And if you’re still not sure, why not head on over to BurningxImpossiblyxBright for a butchers at Ambur’s review and her thoughts on Into the Unknown.

So … sound like your cup of tea? What are you waiting for then? Go enter!

LOOKIE, LOOKIE WHAT I GOT! #pressieforme

I had NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO intention of blogging today but something happened this morning to make me a little excited and prompted me to say oh, to heck with it and write one anyway … just so I could share!

So …

There I was, Marigold’s on me hands, suds up me arms, slippery plate in me fingers, when I hear’s the squeak of me letterbox and the thud of something right weighty landing on me hall floor.

I should have waited until I’d finished the washing up to go check.

However, self-containment has never been one of me strong points.

So I whizzed into the hall. Almost collided with Mr B’s mountain bike, as well as almost got speared by the handlebars. And spotted the package.

Brown.

With my name on it.

Shocking, I know.

After I’d stared at it for 0.0000004 seconds, I snatched it up and started to peel away the tape before I’d even got to the living room. By the time I returned to the kitchen table, I pretty much knew exactly what it was.

Was it something I needed?

Goodness, no! Where’s the fun in those kinds of parcels?

It was something I WANTED, dammit! Something I had made rather a lot of noise about wanting to a certain someone.

It appears my (extremely unsubtle) hints paid off because it was that certain someone who sent it to me … as only SHE could.

Yep, that’s right. After whining and jigging and griping, I have my VERY OWN PERSONALLY SIGNED PAPERBACK COPY OF LITTLE WHITE LIES BY AIMEE LAINE!

Wooooohooooooooooo!

And here’s the pics (rubbish ones taken using my BB) to prove it:

Um … yeah … do me a favour and only look at the book on that pic, coz otherwise you’ll see the corner of my Jem & Sean novella I’m currently writing, and I’m pretty certain I shouldn’t be letting you see that yet (sssshhhhhhhhhhhh!).

MASSIVE thanks to Aimee! Mwah!

So … whatcha think? Hehehehe.

What little parcels of goodness have you received in the mail lately?

DEATH MATCH RESULTS!

On July 24^th, I posted JUDGE JULIE! to announce a challenge that had arisen between a couple of my favourite authors: Jocelyn Adams and Aimee Laine. They each had around the same word count remaining to write for their current NiP’s, and decided to race each other for the finish line.

So, what did I do?

Well, declared myself judge, of course!

Why so?

Out of the kindness of my heart? Because I knew someone impartial needed to moderate and I had purely selfless purposes for agreeing to the job?

Of course not!

I had totally underhanded and ulterior motives for naming myself Judge Julie!

1)       I’d get to boss these two dominants about! That—trust me!—is a rarity!

2)       I got to make the rules for the challenge as sensible—or ridiculous—as I wanted!

3)       I knew I’d get to make the loser bow down to the winner! Ha! Yet more submissive behaviour bestowed upon them ::cue evil laugh here::

4)       This is my biggest and best reason and it shall take some explaining:

I knew what these ladies were working on. I have read and LOVED both of their debut novels: Little White Lies (out now) by Aimee Laine, and The Glass Man (October release—yep this lucky blighter had an ARC!) by Jocelyn Adams. And they both just happened to be writing the sequels to these two novels. Yay me! So, whoever won … I got to be the first to see a 1^st draft copy of what the public has to wait a loooooooooooong time for! Once again: Yay me!

Anyway, after much battling and distracting and attempts to intimidate, the first submission was sent for me to check over for its validity as the winning tale.

Yes, I have in my hands a FIRST DRAFT copy of Shadowborn, which will become the second Lila Gray novel to entertain the world on its release.

And yes, I have skimmed through it, and paused to read more than I should have, and YES, I have read the ending and sat with a stupid grin on my face whilst doing so.

Jealous?

Yeah, you should be!

So, without further ado, the winner is …

Due to the awesomeness of what I have this morning perused, I am mucho happy to announce …

JOCELYN ADAMS!

You WHUPPED Ms Laine’s a$$.

Following the rules of the challenge (made up by me! Ha!), Aimee now HAS TO announce her defeat in a blog post and bow down to Jocelyn’s brilliance. Oh, yes, she does! Chortle. And, whaddaya know? You can view said ‘Bowing down’ blog post HERE!

You can also view Jocelyn’s ‘Post of Triumph’ HERE at her blog—don’t forget to congratulate her whilst commiserating (no guffawing please—it’s not polite) Aimee.

This has been SUCH fun!

How about you? Have you ever gone head-to-head in a challenge? Did you win? Or were you a (gracious/ungracious) loser?

SEAN HOLLOWAY MEETS … AIMEE LAINE!

Sean Holloway!

Tameable?

I thought so.

Until he went and snuck off to yet another author interview.

And what’s more?

He’s kicked me off the comments section for the rest of the day!

To find out what Darkness & Light’s Sean Holloway gets up to when he’s out of my control, visit Aimee Laine’s Blog!

JUDGE JULIE!!!!

Chortle.

In case you’re wondering, Judge Julie is ME. Ha!

Why? you ask.

Well, there is a challenge afoot and … well … someone needs to keep the participants in line.

When two of my writer friends, Jocelyn Adams and Aimee Laine, boldly and publicly challenged each other in a race to the finish line in writing their current NiP’s the fighting talk commenced between the deadly duo.

Of course, they asked me to participate, but thanks to the edits due Book #2 of the Holloway Pack Stories (and the fact I type at, like, half the speed they do), I politely declined …

BUT a judge was still needed.

So … as judge (chortle) I get to make up some rules.

1)       The author canNOT write garbage. Each and every word must be relevant. No waffling (who d’you think you are? Me?)!

2)       You must both post your current word count in the comments section of this blog post, as well as your intended/estimated goal.

3)       You may each use whatever distraction techniques you deem necessary to give yourselves an advantage.

4)       You may toss complains my way about your challenger’s stalling methods, but you may NOT ask me to step in and mediate on them. I fully intend to remain impartial.

5)       Once you have written a bone fide conclusion to your novel, you will send the finished article to me via e-mail. I will check the word count, and I will also skim through to validate that you haven’t written garbage and that you have a worthy ending.

6)       Whoever sends me their finished novel first AND has me declare it a worthy product will be announced the winner!

7)       The winner will get to revel in their greatness in whatever way they choose.

8)       The loser will be expected to a) write a blog post bowing to the brilliance of the winner, and b) send chocolate (weighing no less than 100grams) to the winner.

RIGHT … LET THE GAMES COMMENCE!

What a great motivational tool this could turn out to be, eh? What ideas have you come up with to spur your fingers into action?

AN INTERVIEW WITH … WYATT MORELAND!

I have a small list of favourite authors. One of them is most definitely the delightful Aimee Laine, especially after reading her debut novel: Little White Lies. Because of this, when I was given the opportunity to participate in Ms Laine’s blog tour I was mucho happy to oblige.

So … today on my blog, I have a guest that I’m very excited to introduce to you all. Straight from the debut novel by Aimee Laine: Little White Lies, I’d like to introduce y’all to Mr Wyatt Moreland.

Me: ::Swings in swivel chair to face him:: Hi. Why don’t you make yourself at home?

Wyatt: ::Leans back, crosses one ankle over his knee and rests an arm across the back of the couch::

Me: You mind answering a couple questions before we start?

Wyatt: Isn’t that why we’re here?

Me: ::Keeps straight face and refuses to bite:: Name?

Wyatt: I have one.

Me: ::Lips twitch:: Age?

Wyatt: Old enough.

Me: ::Giggles:: You married? ::Wink::

Wyatt: ::Smile::

Me: You know I’m just testing you, right? Like they do with those lie detectors?

Wyatt: ::Smile::

Me: Okay, seriously now. I have a few quick-fire questions. You sure you’re ready for ‘em?

Wyatt: After what I’ve been through? I’m ready for anything. ::Nods::

Me: What was the name of your first girlfriend?

Wyatt: ::Scratches head:: Um … Cheryl. I think. It was a long time ago.

Me: Name one item you never leave the house without?

Wyatt: ::Slaps his side, near his hip, so his palm thuds against an object:: Especially now, what with Charley’s … ::cough:: … change.

Me: What do you do for a living?

Wyatt: I’m a Field Agent for the FBI. ::Leans forward:: But if I told you everything, I’d have to kill you, so we’ll leave it at that. Good?

Me: Ha! You’re … not serious, right? ::Clears throat, mumbles: maybe he is:: Okay, just answer one more question on that, and I’ll let it drop. Why FBI? What made you choose that career path?

Wyatt: When you want to find someone, and it requires that you cross state, country or even continent lines, you gotta be a part of a big operation.

Me: Interesting. ::eyebrow quirks up:: Got any hobbies or hidden talents?

Wyatt: ::Smirk:: Those are best left between Charley and I. ::wink::

Me: Ha! ::Chortles:: What’s your greatest fear in life? ::Leans forward and drops voice to a conspiratorial whisper:: What are you most afraid of?

Wyatt: ::Leans forward as if to whisper:: Not having Charley in my life.

Me: ::Sits back up:: What irritates the p**s outta you? What truly gets your goat?

Wyatt: People who ask too many questions. ::Wink:: Actually, it’s people who aren’t genuine. Who think they should be something other than who they truly are.

Me: If you had to sum yourself up in one word, what would that one word be?

Wyatt: One word? Seriously? One? Damn. Um … adaptable?

Me: Blonde or brunette?

Wyatt: ::Smile:: Brunette.

Me: Teen Charley, or adult Charley—if you had to pick one, which would it be?

Wyatt: No contest there. Adult Charley.

Me: Talking of Charley, I’m surprised she’s let you wander off to the blog of some unknown female. ::Stares nervously about at all the people in the room because Charley could be any of them:: She lurking around here somewhere?

Wyatt: Only I’ll know the answer to that one. ::smile::

Me: Oooookay ::Shifty eyes:: Well, I think that’s a wrap. A huge thanks to Wyatt for joining me today.

If you would like to learn more about him, then I guess you’re just gonna have to read the book, peeps—check out Little White Lies.

 

When the government needs a body double for a covert operation, they hire shape-shifter Charley Randall. For two centuries, she’s played every part from foreign dignitary to office drone. The role she wants most, though, is one she’s denied herself three times already.

FBI Agent Wyatt Moreland believes Charley’s photographic memory is the key to his latest assignment. He’s oblivious to the true extent of her abilities, but he can’t deny the sense of déjà vu at their introduction.

Unlike Wyatt, Charley knows this isn’t their first meeting.

It’s their fourth.

The girl he vowed to love, sixteen years before, stands in front of him in her true form – one he’ll never recognize.

With each reconnection, Charley loves him more, though she realizes this is her last chance to explain. Only absolute truth can bring them happiness, but can Wyatt forgive her deceptions? Or will lies tear them apart forever?

You can get your own copy of Little White Lies at your local bookstore | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AllRomance | BooksOnBoard

Or to find out more about the author, visit Aimee Laine’s Blog.