A Fae Knight's life belongs to the
Monarchies. For Reagan, a life is a small price to pay for the princess she
loves.
From the moment she laid eyes on
sweet Ceri, Reagan knew she would be lost forever. A Sidhe Royal, though, could
never return such feelings for a War-Child...
As the daughter of the Fae Goddess of
War, Reagan was sworn into service to the Sidhe monarchies before she was born. Her contract forever binds her
to the beautiful goblin princess, Ceridwen. When an unseen enemy threatens the
Fae Courts, Ceridwen is caught in the attack, and Reagan must fight to the ends
of the earth to save her. But will this battle tear her away from her princess
forever?
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We came out on the other side of the
park, across from the Terrace, in time to see the three Princesses and Erin
emerge from the restaurant patio, bright with conversation. There were
flittering butterflies—or at least, what mortals would take to be butterflies—drifting
playfully around them. Pixies, three of them: one dusky lavender, one a pale
coral orange, and one pristine white.
It happened in a perfect storm of a
moment. Ceri distracted me, my head perhaps too busy with all Finn had said.
She captivated me, such a joy to behold, and in the beautiful noonday sun all
the pretty kindness of her face radiated, brimming with unspeakable serenity.
She walked between Nina and Neri, laughing at something Nina told her. Erin and
Puca scampered ahead, the latter bounding and barking at the coral-colored
pixie with seamless dog-like excitement.
We had no reason to expect danger. I
brushed at the snowflake-white pixie, who flew up very close to tug prankishly
at my hair, trying to shoo it away as I watched the girls enter the street at
the light change.
Then—almost too late—I realized the
little creature wasn't trying to play with me.
It wanted to get my attention.
That's when my hackles raised and my
spine stiffened. I sensed it—a brief split-second warning, a flutter of heat in
my stomach: my portent of ill to come. Finn noticed me react and in turn he
lunged to be ready. I saw it first, though, coming up the street too fast,
swerving between lanes, and heedless of the light: an old, rusted, ugly car,
something enormous and boat-like, full of dents.
Careening straight for the Ladies.
We moved quickly. I have said I am no
hand at magic but this is why: as the adrenaline rushed through my limbs, I
surrendered to a surge of unearthly power. I launched myself into the street
like a charging beast, lunging violently through the knot of strolling
pedestrians, and avoiding collision with wildly preternatural speed. Finn, even
bigger and broader than I, danced through the started people with the precision
of a practiced gymnast.
Erin stumbled, caught off guard as she
saw us rushing at her; at the same time a blue truck waiting to turn noticed
the oncoming sedan and sped up to get out of the way.
I grabbed the handmaiden and swept her
to one side, bringing my hand down on the truck's bumper hard enough to dent it
as I forced it to a stop. A second vehicle, a utility SUV leaving the park, saw
the rust-bucket coming and swerved to the right to avoid being hit; Finn
squared himself in front of it, seizing the grill in both hands before it could
barrel through the crosswalk. I bounded up over the hood of the truck and
managed to grab Nina and Ceridwen out of the way of the oncoming car.
Neri, though, froze, caught in an
instant of paralyzing shock. The rust-bucket screeched, desperately trying to
squeal to a stop... and instead going into a skid.
Author Interview Questions:
1. How did you start
writing erotic romance?
I
read too many erotic romance novels that ended up disappointing me. It already
seems like romance and erotica aren't taken very seriously as literary
genres... and the authors of these novels weren't taking their work seriously
either. I wanted to write something that was not only
erotic and emotional, but had a strong story and solid plot as well. As I wrote Lotus
Petals, I discovered I really enjoyed the freedom and creative potential of
writing erotic stories.
2. Plotter or
pantster?
I
plot, mostly, though I don't like to use outlines or other more 'structured'
methods. Most of my scenes come to me in
little nuggets, and I sort of 'massage' them into a plot. While I was looking through stock imagery to use for my Goblin Fires book trailer, I saw that the model I used for Finn—Reagan's
half-brother—also modeled in an image of a man with the body of a snake. It put
one of those little nuggets in my head, and so when I write Finn's story,
things might get a bit... snaky.
3. What are three
things you have on your writing desk?
Sometimes
it depends on what I'm writing. When I was writing my supernatural western series, I kept a deck of
Nordic Rune Cards near so I could shuffle and draw them while I worked. These
days it's usually a large iced tea, the controller for the TV (even if I'm not
watching anything I seem to need background noise to work), and my iPod.
4. Favorite food?
I love Macaroni and Cheese,
especially if it's sharp cheese or white cheddar.
5. Tell us a little
about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you?
Goblin
Fires is the story of Reagan, a rakish lady Knight in love with her goblin
princess Ceridwen. For me, Reagan turned
out to be incredibly satisfying to write. I could really get into her
headspace, really feel through her. Her
half-brother Finn, though, made for a very fun, scene-stealing character, and I
really adored writing him, too. I'm excited to write his story next.
6. I write because I
have stories to share, and my biggest dream is to know others might enjoy
hearing them as much as I enjoy telling them.
7. What is your
favorite type of character to write about? I like to vary my characters and
try out new things, though by this time I've got so many in my head there are,
of course, some very similar personalities. I have to admit I'm a fan of the
independent "warrior" woman, like Rhiannon (from Lotus Petals) and Reagan both are. That doesn't mean I don't write other
characters, though: Sarayana, my dragoness from Equinox, is infinitely more feminine and Talaith, Reagan's
paramour, is much more a thinker and a schemer.
I'm always looking to stretch my boundaries, but I think the gals like
Rhi and Reagan are definitely my most comfortable types.
8. What is the
sexiest scene you ever wrote?
I'll
answer this question differently depending on my mood, and how I'm feeling like
defining sexy at any given moment. In
this case, though, I have to say that, at least from the writing standpoint, the final scene
in Goblin Fires really made an
impression on me. I don't want to give away too much, but for me, on an
emotional level, that scene really stands out.
Of
course if we're just talking straight-up, X-rated, no-holds-barred sexy, I'm
going to say the experimental "tentacle" story I wrote. But that's all we'll say about that one for now...
9. What advice would
you give new authors in the erotica/romance field?
Don't
limit yourself to stories reflecting your own fantasies or lifestyle. Be open
to possibility of writing a something new and different, something you haven't
experienced and maybe never even considered. Do some research, talk to people
'in the lifestyle' (whatever that lifestyle might be). For years, I wanted to write a
story about a polyamorous trio, a concept I thought of as 'a perfect love triangle'. I'm
not poly myself and have never really felt the desire to explore the lifestyle
in my own relationship, but I knew there could be a really wonderful story there, if I took
the time to learn, ask questions, and discover new things.
10. What is next on
your writerly horizon?
Well, I've got a bit of a
juggling act going on. Readers of Lotus
Petals have been looking forward to the sequel and I've been trying to
polish that one up and get it to
my editor. After that,
I've got Finn's story to work on (and I've been looking forward to getting into
my half-elf male's head). I've got two short stories, part of the Flirts line for Breathless Press, and
for the longest time I've been wanting to get out a story about a deep
Master/slave, BDSM relationship. So there's a lot on my drawing board, so to
speak! The first two are my priorities,
but I go between projects as I reach different points.
Social and buy links:
Buy link on
Breathless Press: http://tinyurl.com/ohhk644
Brantwijn's
Facebook Page: http://tinyurl.com/qf2bzwk
Foreplay
and Fangs blog: http://brantwijn.blogspot.com/?zx=6ba3380c7201b326
Foreplay and Fangs on
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/q2cmnep
Find Brantwijn on Google+
And on Goodreads
Say hi to her on Twitter
Author bio:
They say you should never meet your heroes, but
Brantwijn Serrah says otherwise. At a Los Angeles book signing in 2012,
Brantwijn met one of her all-time favorite authors of urban fantasy, Jim
Butcher, who couldn't have been kinder or more encouraging to her as an
aspiring novelist herself. As it turned out, the book he signed for her that night gave her the first
spark of inspiration for Goblin Fires,
the story of a goblin Knight hopelessly in love with her princess.
When she isn't visiting the worlds of
immortals, demons, dragons and goblins, Brantwijn fills her time with artistic
endeavors: sketching, painting, customizing My Little Ponies and sewing
plushies for friends. She can't handle coffee unless there's enough cream and
sugar to make it a milkshake, but try and sweeten her tea and she will never
forgive you. She moonlights as a futon for four lazy cats, loves tabletop
role-play games, and can spend hours watching Futurama, Claymore or Buffy the Vampire Slayer while she
writes or draws.
In addition to her novels, Brantwijn has had several stories published in anthologies by
Breathless Press, including the 2013 Crimson Anthology and 2014 Ravaged
Anthology. She's also had a short story
published in the Cleiss Press Big Book of
Orgasm and the anthology Coming
Together Through The Storm. She hopes to have several more tales to tell as
time goes on. She has author pages on
GoodReads and Amazon, and loves to
see reader comments on her work. Her short stories occasionally pop up at Foreplay and Fangs, her blog at http://brantwijn.blogspot.com.
Thank you for having me today!
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