New Cooper POV: Out of Town

Tucker Looked Pensive

We arrived in Pike just past sunset. A place without suburbs or even a school, the town was small and rough. Rednecks would thumb their noses at such a dirty shithole. Yet, we had business there, and Pop wanted things handled.

Next to me, Tucker looked pensive, nervous even. My brother wasn’t a thinker. He didn’t pout or brood. When upset, he freaked out and made the problem better or worse. Either way, Tucker never thought shit out. Now, he was deep in his head.

“What the fuck?” I asked, smacking his arm.

“You’re all quiet and emotional and shit.”

“Maddy went to the lady doctor to check on the baby.”

“Is everything okay?”

Tucker nodded as we walked towards the bar. “Yeah. Baby’s doing good, but it’s a girl.”

“And that’s a problem, why?”

“I don’t know what kind of dad I’ll be with a girl. I can be fucking rowdy.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Little girls need a soft dad who doesn’t scare the shit out of them.”

“Your kid is going to grow up knowing you. She won’t be surprised by your bullshit. She’ll think you’re great, even when you suck. Kids are stupid that way.”

Tucker grinned. “I really wanted a son. I figured if I did a shitty job that it wouldn’t be as noticeable on a boy.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Maybe, but I’m nervous about having a girl.”

“You’re going to do a shit job whether it’s a boy or girl.”

“Probably.”

Ruffling his blond hair, I smiled. “I bet she’ll be a cute little fuck, though. Blonde baby princess. Just think of all the pink.”

Tucker grinned. “Sawyer is a pretty cute kid, and she’s a girl.”

Smile fading, I shook my head at his stupidity. “Let’s just do this thing.”

By the time we entered the bar, Vaughn and Judd were already drinking beers. Both guys had their game faces on and the place tensed in their presence. I nodded at them and headed towards the back office where Zack waited.

My guy in Pike had gotten the bright idea at one point to have someone tattoo stars all over his face. It was fucking difficult to take a guy seriously who looked like a little kid drew on his face while he was passed out.

Zack shook my hand. I doubted he ever shook my pop’s hand, but I was new to the leadership role, and he was kissing my ass.

“I didn’t think you’d bring your guys like this,” Zack said, leaning against his desk and crossing arms covered in more stars.

“You said someone was fucking with our shit. I took it seriously.”“Ye

ah, they burned out two meth labs but also hit the courier. Killed him and took forty grand.”

“Anyone else die?”

“Two meth heads. Oh, and a kid at the meth lab. The fuckers probably didn’t know he was inside. Not that it matters. Kid’s still dead.”

“How old?” Tucker asked, all sensitive now.

“I don’t know,” Zack said with a shrug. “It was sleeping in a crib. Whatever age that is.”

I glanced at Judd and Vaughn. The older enforcer looked indifferent. Judd’s cold eyes never showed a hint of concern over a dead child. Vaughn’s expression was easier to read. He always looked on the verge of violence, and I wondered if he would punch Zack soon. If he did, I wouldn’t stop him.

“How do we know it’s the Devils?” Tucker asked Zack who was staring at Vaughn and waiting for the punch.

“We don’t. Could be anyone.”

“No, it couldn’t,” I muttered. “They’ve been testing us for years. It’s them.”

“How’d they know about the courier?” Zack asked.

Even Tucker knew we weren’t sharing our mole concerns with Zack. I ignored the question and turned to the enforcers.

“It’s getting dark. Tomorrow, get a look at the damage.”

Judd nodded and walked out. Vaughn considered hitting Star Face Fucker but decided to follow his buddy and get another beer. Zack likely realized he lucked out because he exhaled hard.

“You’re not doing what needs to be done here,” I told Zack and his relief faded. “The Devils are hitting weak spots in our organization. This is your spot, and that means you’re weak. What the fuck do you plan to do about that?”

Tucker shifted next to me, and all of his impending daddy softness was gone. He looked like the guy who would bash a person’s head in over a misunderstanding.

Zack didn’t have an answer. He just put his hands out and waited.

“We’re moving new people into your territory to take over the operation,” I told him. “You will report to them. You’re their bitch. You fuck this up, and there’ll be nothing left of you for your parents to bury. Not a fucking star will remain. Do you get that, Zack?”

Nodding wildly, he looked relieved again. He wasn’t going to die at that very moment, and a guy like him didn’t think about the future. If he was alive from minute to minute, it was a good day for him.

Tucker and I joined Judd and Vaughn at the bar. After getting a beer, I glanced at a few women who were eyeing Judd and Vaughn.

“You two are tense as shit,” I said. “Go blow off some steam.”

Judd wasn’t tense but nodded. Even remaining on the stool, he would shack up with a chick later then walk away before the sun was up. A good hard fuck would settle down Vaughn, but he didn’t want to give up his rage.

"Chill,” I told Vaughn.

“That kid is dead because of me.”

“No, that kid is dead because of your fuck uncle and his club. You know why you left and I do too. Let’s not have this conversation again.”

Vaughn grunted his irritation and then glanced around the bar.

“There are enough horny chicks at that table for the three of us. Tucker’s balls don’t belong to him anymore.”

“Maddy is all I want,” Tucker said and then finished his beer and burped. “She’s my girl and hotter than sin. All other bitches can die for all I care.”

“He’s a poet,” Vaughn said to me, and I grinned. “You want to play with the cute blonde over there, boss?”

Glancing at the giggling girls, I thought about Farah. The whole drive to Pike, I tried not to worry about her. Mostly, I tried not to think about her smile and those brown eyes. I didn’t need the distraction, but she was in my thoughts anyway.

“Naw, I got me a girl now too,” I said, thinking those giggly blondes would be a poor substitute for the chick I wanted.

“Is everyone whipped now?” Vaughn grumbled.

Judd frowned. “I’m right here, fucker.”

“At least, I know you’ll never give your balls to some pretty girl and start talking about flowers and poetry and shit.”

“Can you imagine?” Judd muttered, shaking his head.

“No, I really can’t. Good thing too. I’d be dangling in the wind by myself.”

Judd and Vaughn weren’t getting married and having a couple of kids. I knew that much about them. Of course, I thought that about myself until Farah. I thought I might get old and fuck around for a few decades and then pick me a jailbait wife and make my heirs.

As Tucker got drunk and dreamed of his pregnant girl and their cooking princess, I thought about Farah. The enforcers talked up the giggling blondes and eventually left with them. I stayed with Tucker until he was drunk enough to be entertaining. After conning him into dancing like a fool, I helped him stumble to the hotel.

Through it all, I thought to call Farah, but never did. She was fragile in too many ways, and the work I was doing wasn’t about feelings and shit. It was about blood and fear.

Despite knowing that, I fell asleep thinking about Farah laughing at my charming moves and the look on her face when she jumped off the deck into the river. If I could spend the rest of my life looking at that face, I’d be one satisfied fucker.

Bijou Babbles About Damaged and the Beast Giveaway

Have you heard of Three Chicks and Their Books? Yes, I bet you have. If not, they're an awesome blog showcasing hot romance novels. Three Chicks is on Facebook too, so be sure to follow them to learn about new sexy releases.

Three Chicks and a Blog are having a Damaged and the Beast GIVEAWAY! Hell yeah, that's cool. I'm so happy to be featured on their awesome blog that I'm getting all Farah over here. Wipes tears.

They've also written up a lovely review for Beast. Be sure to check it out.

Thanks to Three Chicks and Their Books for this opportunity!

Bijou Babbles (7.24.13)

Hey, everyone! I know I suck. I planned to have the blog done last weekend. Unfortunately, I get blinders on when I’m finishing a project. One book down for a pen name, a few more to go for another pen name, then it's Bijou time! 

So I figured I would do the question/answer thingamajig again. Here we go!

 

What is the order of the upcoming books?

 

Damaged and the Cobra (Lark/Aaron)

Damaged and the Outlaw (Raven/Vaughn)

Damaged and the Dragon (Bailey/Nick)

Damaged and the Saint (Harlow/Saint)

 

Why will Cobra and Dragon be novellas?

 

Right now, I don’t think I can write a full length novel for either couple. This could change during the writing process. I never plan word counts. I take the same philosophy as Johnny Cash while recording You Are My Sunshine. When he finished early, a musician told him the song was shorter than usual. Cash said when a song was done, it was done. He never forced it.

 

I am the same way with my books. I don’t add filler to make a book longer or hack out stuff to make it shorter. I just write until the story feels complete to me. My book lengths fall anywhere between 60,000 and 100,000 words. It just depends on the story and characters.

 

So if Dragon and Cobra end up falling into novel length, they’ll be novels. I’ll let the characters tell their stories and see where the word counts fall.

 

Bailey sucked a lot less in Knight. Was that your plan all along?

 

Yes and no. As I wrote before, I never expected everyone to hate her so much. I figured I would have to ditch Bailey and it's why I changed the third novel to Vaughn and Raven. So many readers warmed to Bailey that she gets her book again. Let's just hope she behaves, so I'm not forced to punish her again.

  

Who the hell is Raven and why should we care?

 

Raven is Lark's older sister. She a tough little bitch who ditched town to get away from her stepdad and loopy mom. In Cobra, she'll return to town. Unlike the Smith sisters and even Lark, Raven isn't really fragile, though she is damaged and lost. She'll be a different type of heroine for me in many ways, so I hope she fits into Ellsberg.

 

Who are the couple in Damaged and the Saint?

 

I wasn’t planning on writing a fourth full length book, but I didn’t like ending the series with a novella. I wanted everything tied up nicely for all of the characters. In Vaughn’s book, we’ll meet Harlow. I really mean it when I write “we” because I don’t know her until she comes alive on the page.

Anyway, I have a little of her back story and an idea of her personality. As for the H, I’m imagining a badass from outside Ellsberg who arrives to do a job for the Johanssons. In the end of the book, he’ll take Harlow with him. Her departure from Ellsberg will parallel us leaving too.

 

When will the next book be released?

By the end of August, my Bijou books will receive much needed love. I plan to write Cobra, Outlaw, and Dragon in one push. Ideally, Cobra will be ready by late September. Outlaw will follow around Halloween and Dragon by Christmas.

 

What are your pen names and will I like any of your other books?

 

I write urban fantasy, young adult paranormal, and zombie horror as Angela Horn. I write Christian romantic fantasy as Dakota Shepherd. I plan other pen names for other genres.

 

I can't say if enjoyment of the Damaged series will translate into liking my other books. The Vivi Rios series has a romance at its core, but it’s more like Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series with one couple in the story arc. I will say the Damaged books are the darkest I’ve ever written.

 

For more info on future books and series, check out my personal blog.

 

What’s with your Denny’s obsession? Do you own one?

 

Nope, but I do call one my second home. I write, read, brainstorm, and play at one. When I started taking my writing hobby seriously, I dropped by the local Denny’s and wrote notes. Eventually, I became a regular and now it’s my Cheers. Don’t worry though. Lark is the last heroine in the Damaged series to work at the restaurant. Can’t promise there won’t be more shout outs to my home away from home in the future though.

 

Is it difficult to write so many different genres like romance, Christian fantasy, and zombie books?

 

Not really. In the end, they're all people. Whether it’s fallen angels fighting for redemption, silly warrior sisters fighting for enough money to take a vacation, a teen girl and her dad fighting the living dead, or a damaged guy and girl fighting for happiness, the stories all boil down to characters reacting to one another.

 

I have said romance is more difficult for me because  there’s nowhere to hide. If the main character sucks and her love interest sucks, I can’t hide these facts behind monsters. In fact, I’ve read urban fantasies where I hated the chick and loathed her love interest. I kept reading the series because the world was interesting even if the characters weren’t. In romance, the characters are stripped bare and have nowhere to hide.

 

How old is Judd?

 

I didn’t really consider Judd’s age when I started writing. I only knew he was older. It’s probably why I didn’t actually mention his age. Oops. Judd is ten years older than Tawny, making him 27.

 

That's it for now. If you have any questions for me, let them rip. I love hearing from readers. You chickadees are why I’m scrambling to get the next books out. Normally, I’m quite lazy, but I love how happy my books make so many readers. How can I not want to give you more as soon as possible?

 

Until next time, stay cool and happy reading!

 

 

Cooper Johansson's POV: Meeting Farah

Coop the Poop

Another year, another obnoxious fucking first day surrounded by idiot freshmen. Even when I was a freshman, I was sick of their shit. It wasn’t the new place or experiences that made the fuckers annoying. Some of these people went to high school with me. They knew Ellsberg like I did but still wanted to feel as if every moment was special because they were starring in it. Now, I had to watch it all over again.

The upside to freshmen was the arrival of new girls to bang. Sitting in Spanish class, I saw a few I’d already hit, a few I wanted to nail, and a few I would avoid if I wasn’t too wasted to know better. Hell, the blonde with the ocean blue eyes had stalker written all over her. Yeah, I needed to watch the booze when that nutter was around.

An exotic beauty sat in the front row. Indian maybe. At least, her family was likely from that region originally. Now, she was sitting up front like all nerds. The effort to get into her panties wouldn’t be worth the payoff. Girls like her wanted romance, promises, forever. I’d have to meet her damn parents just to get to second base. No way would she put out before my one week rule either. I wasn’t interested in any great challenges regarding getting laid. Easy worked just fine for me.

The girl at the door wouldn’t be easy. The startled look on her face when she realized the class was packed told me she wasn’t a fun girl. I doubted anyone anywhere ever called her the life of the party. She looked a step up from shy, but ten steps down from frigid. No way would I get into her pants within a week. Might even have to talk about feelings and shit.

Proving my first opinion of her, the brunette sat up front like a dork. She was hot though and I wondered if it was worth sweet-talking my way into her panties? Probably not.

The instructor walked in and introduced himself as Manuel. All of the instructors were supposed to use their first names. They didn’t get to call themselves professors either. Some douche pissed off Mom years ago so changes were made to keep the faculty from being pompous assholes. Now, it was Manuel, instead of Professor Rodriguez.

As class droned on, the guy two seats down from me kept turning around and glaring at the wall. I was pretty close to smacking him when I first saw the frigid chick glance back at me. Casual like she was looking for something in her bag, she sized me up. She was hotter than I thought.

Whenever she glanced back in her super secret, subtle way, I pretended not to notice, but I liked watching her bend forward. She hid her tits behind a baggy shirt, but they were a good handful. As I thought about what they might feel like in my hands, she whispered her damn answer for Manuel. My dick twitched in my jeans, and I knew I was going to fuck her. I just prayed it wouldn’t involve too many lies or marathon talking sessions.

After class, I was still thinking about her when I met up with Aaron for a sandwich. Two doors down from our tattoo place, he sat in a corner booth, working on his sketches. The guy was always drawing shit, but it was why he was so good. Even old grizzled bikers came up and asked about my tats. Aaron was an artist, but he never let himself get soft. Twice over the years, he’d punched me hard in the face, and both times I felt it.

Aaron glanced up and grinned. Whatever he saw on my face made him rolled his blue eyes.

“Who’s your next victim?”

Smiling, I ignored his comment until I ordered my sandwich. Once I was sitting across from him, I shrugged.

“Two on the radar. A super hot blonde who was talking up Skye today. Gotta feeling she’s a player, and I’ll need to hit that before every guy in school stinks her up. The other is going to be a pain in the ass, but she’ll probably be more appreciative of my hot moves.”

“You’re a charmer, man. No one can take that from you.”

Rolling my eyes, I devoured half of my sandwich and wondered about the hot blonde. Finally, I returned to Aaron who was ignoring me.

“You know your problem?” I told him.

“I pussy out by using napkins?” Aaron muttered, glancing at where I wiped away a smudge of mayo.

“You let one bitch tear out your heart, and she wasn’t even that hot. Now, you got this idea that every bitch will shit on you. Look around, though. Plenty of girls will do you nice.”

“I’m satisfied with the amount of nice I get. Thanks.”

“You fuck them, but you’re a softie. You want love and crap. You want another chick to steal your heart and make you fucking stupid. I don’t support that really, but I know it’s what you want. Why not give it another shot with a bitch that ain’t a bitch?”

Aaron shrugged. “After the bitch did her bitch move, I realized I’m young enough to blow off a few years…fuck a decade without it mattering. I’m not looking for more.”

“That's a mistake. A guy like you with all your artsy shit needs a girl to write poems about.”

Aaron gave me a lazy grin then flipped me off. “I’ll give another girl a chance to shit on my heart when you do the same.”

“Dude, I’m not planning to have feelings until I’m forty.”

“Never know. Maybe that cute blonde will seduce you with her many talents, and you’ll become her bitch by the end of the week.”

“What kind of talents?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You would marry a woman based on her blowjobs.”

“Fuck you. I want a woman who won’t screw up our kids. You know how damn stupid my kids will likely be. I need someone who won’t make it worse. Blondie might suck great cock, but she’s got lazy mom written all over her.”

“So you do notice those things,” Aaron teased.

“I notice everything, man. I’m perfect, remember?”

Aaron proceeded to draw a very realistic sketch of me eating shit. So impressive, I planned to give it to Bailey as a Christmas gift.

After Aaron returned to work, I headed home for an hour with the weights, a half hour swimming with Sawyer, followed by a quick bite with the family. I planned to eat out before hitting a party where blonde hottie would be looking to score. I was looking to score too, meaning everyone would be happy.

Denny’s was quiet in the evenings, and I wanted to get a week’s worth of school shit done before spending the next few days relaxing like I was still on summer break. Without waiting to be seated, I found a spot in the corner for the laptop.

My mind wasn’t on the required reading I had downloaded onto the laptop. My mind and cock were both imagining the blondie with her cute ass and coy smile.

Standing at the table, the waitress was like background static. Denny’s was definitely not a place to flirt with chicks. The uniforms were horrid and hid any assets the poor bitches had to offer. Finally, I looked up mostly out of pity.

It took a special kind of woman to look so sexy in such an ugly outfit with her hair messy and her makeup missing. Her lips were pursed in irritation, but her eyes were tired. With her all worn down, she seemed a hell of a lot less frigid. I checked out the temporary name tag on her baggy black shirt.

Farah.

“Spanish class,” I said, nearly in shock that my number two booty target stood before me.

“Yes.”

“Freshman.”

“Yep,” she muttered, looking nervous or bored. “Do you know what you’d like?”

“Yeah,” I said, studying her every feature and wondering how she managed to look hotter than I remembered. “The Slamburger with seasoned fries. I’ll want dessert so don’t bring the check yet.”

“How do you want your egg?”

“Medium,” I said, noticing some bitch eyeballing Farah. I gestured behind her. “That girl is hating on you.”

Farah turned towards the bitch who literally sneered. “That’s my table.”

“You were on break, and he wanted to sit here.”

“Fine, well, I’m back,” Bitch Piper said, grabbing Farah’s pad.

My target stepped back, looking clueless at what to do. When the bitch asked about my order, I shut down the whole switcheroo shit.

“Nope. I’m keeping this one,” I said, pointing at Farah. “We have Spanish together. Don’t we, baby?”

“Yes, but…”

“No, but,” I said, thinking she was a dipshit. “If you want, I can talk to the manager and see if he gives a shit what this one here thinks?”

The chicks stared at me for a minute, likely wetting their panties a little. Finally, the bitch handed Farah the pad and stormed away.

“I’ll put this in for you,” she said as if nothing just happened.

“I don’t get a thank you?”

Farah forced a smile that only worked because of those beautiful lips of hers. “Thank you.”

“Ah, that’s right. You don’t know how well I tip hot girls from my Spanish class. Once you do, your thank you will sound more sincere.”

"Sorry.”

Hearing her tone and seeing the panic in her eyes, I couldn’t help grinning. “You look like you’re gonna cry.”

“You’re being scary. I assumed you wanted me to cry.”

Smile widening, I leaned back in the booth. “Please, don’t go crying on my account.”

“Let me put this in for you.”

Watching Farah walk away, I imagined what her ass looked like out of those lame shapeless pants. When I saw her walk out of class earlier wearing jeans, I was distracted and never got a good look at what she was packing.

Even with the laptop on and waiting to be used, I couldn’t take my eyes off Farah as she wiped down tables. I knew she knew I was watching her and I loved how flustered she was by this fact.

When she returned with my food, I decided to end the suspense for the beauty and just let her know I was interested.

“I have a cousin named Farah,” I said. When she gave me a cranky smile, I added, “She’s a bitch.”

Farah’s smile turned odd. Like she was terrified and trying to hide it. Or maybe she was pissed. Either way, her smile looked all sorts of weird.

“I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes,” she said, backing away.

“Don’t you want to know my name?” I asked, never taking my eyes off her.

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“You don’t sound genuinely interested.”

“I’m not begging if that’s what you’re waiting for.”

Fuck. I loved the way she said those words. Farah’s professional waitress bullshit wavered a little, and I saw the irritated chick underneath. It was quite a sight.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you beg,” I said, and she frowned. “Cooper.”

“Anyone ever call you Coop the Poop or Poopy Coopy?” she asked, teasing me in a way chicks never normally dared.

“No,” I muttered, wondering if she had a guy.

“Not to your face anyway.”

Seeing something amazing flicker in her eyes as she messed with me, I suddenly wasn’t interested in the cute blonde. “No, not to my face.”

“I guess there are benefits to being scary.”

Right then, right there, I knew I was making this girl worship me. I also knew when Farah finally lowered her uppity guard that she would come apart in the most perfect way. I needed to see past those walls and figure her out.

Most of all, I wanted her to give me that teasing grin again. Not once or twice, but a lot. I’d never had a girlfriend in the real sense, but Farah might stick around longer than the others. Maybe she would keep me entertained like other girls never did.

For the next hour or so, I made chitchat with Farah. Each question raised another wall, pushing me farther away. Her reluctance to give in right away pissed me off, so I pushed too hard. I asked questions I knew she didn’t want to answer. I pushed buttons she wanted untouched. I was a dick, and she looked at me like I scared the shit out of her.

Yet, Farah teased me with her pork talk before suddenly shutting things down when I asked to see her over the weekend. Girls only shut things down like that with me when they had a man or knew a man they wanted to have. The way she blew me off sent my temper flaring. Fuck her for teasing me when we both knew she wanted what I was offering. Hell, if she did have a guy, she might as well speak up. What was her fucking problem anyway?

I was ready to find me the cute blonde and forget all about Frigid Farah. I had it all planned out in my head how I didn’t give a single shit about this fucking girl with her big brown eyes staring up at me like I was an asshole. Seeing her lips pursed in thought, I figured she would use them to suck off another guy who had the patience for her hot and cold shit.

Then, Farah wiped whip cream from my chin, and I knew. No matter how frigid she was, there was no walking away. I wanted to know this girl and make her know me.

“Sorry if I seemed cranky earlier,” she said, suddenly running hot again. “Moving here has been stressful, but maybe when things settle, you might still want to show me around.”

Entranced by that stunning tired face, I ran my thumb across her full bottom lip. Immediately self-conscious, she wiped her mouth quickly.

“Did I have something on my face?”

“No,” I said, deciding if she wanted to play hot and cold that I could too. “I might sit next to you in class next week. If I do, try not to be a bitch about it.”

Those big brown eyes lost their warmth, and I watched her shut down right before me. It was like Bambi after he lost his mommy. Seeing her brokenhearted in a way I didn’t know how to cope with, I just grinned and hoped she smiled too.

“I’m teasing you. Don’t be so serious. Life is short and all that.”

“Why next week and not tomorrow?” she asked, giving away her interest in me again.

“I’m done with school for the week. I never attend Friday classes either.”

“Good for you.”

Unable to help myself, I reached out and rubbed her bottom lip again. I held her gaze and hoped she was imagining all of the fun we would have with those lips. Farah stared into my eyes like she hoped to hypnotize me. Fuck if it didn’t work too.

After leaving a twenty dollar tip, I walked out to my Harley and never once considered hitting the mixer. The cute blonde was off my radar. Every girl other than Farah wasn’t my concern. I wanted this one beauty, and I always got what I wanted.

Indie Angie Interviews Bijou Hunter...No Really

***Interview originally posted on the Indie Angie blog.***

Bijou Hunter is a brand new indie author. I should know since I created her a few months ago. Her first novel is the New Adult romance titled Damaged and the Beast. Let’s get to know more about her and why she exists.

Indie Angie: Why romance?

Bijou: Why not? Stop being such an elitist, Ang.

Anyway, I had written books heavy on romance including Ain’t No Angel which is somewhere between PNR and UF. When I was writing Blue Sacrifice, the plot was pretty romance heavy and I wondered if I could create a contemporary romance. No paranormal elements at all, just boy meets girl with a HEA. I’d been trying to push myself as a writer in the last year so I wanted to take a stab at a straight romance. No hiding behind vampires, zombies, or angels.

Indie Angie: Why New Adult?

Bijou: Most of my books feature MCs who fall into the age range of New Adult, but I just considered them adult. I know many people don’t even view New Adult as a real romance subgenre, but those two words have an appeal these days. Yeah, I sold out.

I do think the age range that falls within the New Adult designation is an exciting time in a person’s life. We change a lot during those years, allowing for angst that would seem stupid for thirty year olds.

Indie Angie: Why the pen name?

Bijou: When I find an author I like, I run out and buy more of their books. I don’t think the audiences for my two writing names would mesh well though. Damaged and the Beast is so different from what I normally write and I worried readers who loved the book might think my Angela books would be similar. Same with readers of the Angela books not necessarily jiving with the Bijou stuff.

Indie Angie: Cooper isn’t your normal kind of love interest. Did you sell out again?

Bijou: Sell out or stretch myself? Probably both. For my paranormal books, I rarely write the OTT alpha. I think only one guy could fall into that category and he had supernatural reasons for being a jerk. I wanted to see if I could write the bad boy/manslut that I usually avoid and make him likable. Did I manage it? Some readers would say, “Hell yeah!” Others likely think, “File a restraining order on that asshole!”

Indie Angie: So are you a romance slut now?

Bijou: I honestly didn’t know if I would write more romance. I did hope to write a second Damaged book, but even that was in the air when I published the first one. Having received positive feedback, I started writing the second book following Farah’s sister. I’m also working on new ideas for more romance books and series.

Indie Angie: I thought you loved paranormal. How cold are you to just leave it behind?

Bijou: Back off, Ang! You're not the boss of me!

Besides, I’m still a paranormal junkie and intend to finish the Blue Davison’s series as soon as the second Damaged book is complete. I’ll also finish my other paranormal series.

In the end, what I write long term will depend on the ideas I have and the feedback I get. Thinking as a professional author, rather than a hobby writer, means I can't write books simply for my pleasure. Yet, I do have a few paranormal ideas I’m dying to write even if no one ever buys them. For now, I’m leaving myself open to wherever my creativity takes me.

Get your copy of Damaged and the Beast at Amazon.

Follow Bijou on Twitter and Facebook.

Feedback from Readers: Part 1

Here are a few complaints I’ve seen from readers of Damaged and the Beast. Let’s see if I can clarify a few things.

Why does Farah cry so much?

Well, fine readers, I'm an emotional person and it seems I infuse my characters with my personality traits. If you think Farah cries over every little thing, let me list a few of the reasons I’ve cried recently:

1)   I lost my pen.

2)   I found my pen (tears of joy).

3)   My cat dissed me.

4)   I lost my pen again.

5)   I was bored.

6)   I was lonely.

7)   I found a different pen and it made me think of the pen I’d lost.

8)   I was frightened by a loud sound.

9)   My cat did something cute (tears of laughter).

10)  And finally, I was hungry which brings me to the next complaint…

Why is there so much damn eating in this book?

Again, it’s all about me and my crazy. I like food. I like to eat. I'm obsessed with those competitive cooking shows. My response to celebrating anything is, “Let’s go out to eat!” Plus, meal time is a big opportunity to talk with family and friends. So when I wanted something to happen in the book, I decided to have food around.

Why is Bailey such a bitch?

Originally, Bailey was such a bitch for a side reason I edited out. Then, she was just a bitch because I found her bitchiness entertaining. I also hoped for her to experience character growth over the first two books so readers MIGHT be interested in Bailey finding her HEA. At this rate, I might just have to off her instead. :P

Why does Cooper let Farah walk for so long before picking her up?

He’s an immature baby playing chicken and he lost.

I thought Farah wanted to be a teacher then she blows off her dreams for some sexy asshole. I call bullshit!

Calm down and nice bullshit calling, BTW. Farah does become a teacher. Her epilogue takes place a few years in the future when she’s still in college working on her degree. The epilogue for Tawny’s book will take place five years in the future and give a glimpse of Cooper and Farah. At that point, Farah will be teaching.

Finally…

Why did your book have to suck and disappoint me?

That I can’t answer because we all love and hate different things. What I can do is wish your next read is a great one!