Damaged and the Cobra - Chapter One

Chapter One - Lark

Even when my heart was breaking, I smiled. No matter if I was sad, angry, or scared, I had a smile plastered on my face. My older sister Raven called it a coping mechanism. She heard the term on Oprah and it sounded right, but all I knew was I smiled even when inappropriate.

My grandfather once slapped me for smiling. At my little brother’s funeral, he hit me in front of everyone and said it wasn’t the time for my silly smiles. Raven screamed at him and punched his neck because she wasn’t tall enough to reach his face. She even tried climbing on a chair to hit him. By then, people were freaking out. My mother was crying and my grandmother ran off because she was afraid of my grandfather’s temper. The preacher struggled to settle everyone down, but it was no use. The funeral was ruined. Through the chaos and my tears, I kept smiling like I couldn’t stop myself.

There were very few things capable of making me genuinely smile since Raven ditched town six months earlier. Since then, I’d made new friends like Bailey Johansson who was loud and rough like Raven. I had also bonded with the Smith sisters. During Farah’s wedding, I found something really worth smiling over.

His name was Aaron.

While I never went as far as writing his name on my folder in class, I did think about doing it. Ever since I met him at the wedding rehearsal, I was forever wondering about Aaron. The first time he walked into the room and I noticed the cobra tattoo up his neck, I was fascinated. My interest only grew when I saw him smile and his blue eyes lit up in the most beautiful way.

Over and over, I tried to talk to Aaron at the rehearsal dinner. I planned to make another move at the wedding reception, but he brought a date.

Hopes dashed, I returned to my dull life in Ellsberg. My newest friends were living these wild lives with sexy men. Well, not Bailey who couldn’t keep a man past a few hookups. Even with her crappy romantic options, she was miles ahead of me in the exciting life department.

All I did most days was work the morning shift at Denny’s before hurrying to my two afternoon classes at Hampton College. I could only afford two because I was paying my way through college. Despite my irritation at how long it would take me to get a degree, I knew it could be worse.

No one in my family ever finished college or even worked in an office. They were all waitresses or janitors. My mom did marry a rich man with a business, but she had to give up a lot to keep him. I didn’t plan to end up like her.

I wanted an office job and a man who wouldn’t tell me what to eat and how to dress. I wanted to be strong and free. Even if I ended up alone forever, this would be better than being someone’s slave.

My sister refused to be a slave too, yet she had horrible taste in men. So Raven bounced from one loser to the next. Now, she was in California with her latest turd. While I missed Raven more than I could express to her or anyone else, I resented how she left Ellsberg. Most days, I blamed my stepdad Larry. When I was honest, I blamed Raven for leaving me behind.

No longer alone, I had a chance at a new direction in my life. Hopefully this new direction might one day include the gorgeous and artistic Aaron Barnes.

The one downside to my friendships was agreeing to activities I didn’t enjoy. Like bowling.

Bowling had always bored me. Raven and I had been in a league for a while with the girls from our roller derby team. On more than one occasion, I faked an illness to get out of it. I sucked at bowling and didn’t find it the least bit entertaining. Yet, I readily agreed when Farah invited me to join the crew at one of the local alleys.

Tucker Johansson called us the crew now. Everyone was pairing up and he seemed relieved about this fact. Claimed it felt good not to be the only whipped guy around. He made this announcement again while rubbing his girl Maddy’s pregnant belly.

Nearby, Cooper refused to admit he was whipped. However, he looked pretty domesticated with Farah on his lap feeding him nachos. She even wiped his mouth like she was practicing for when they had kids.

Judd and Tawny stumbled in late. With his dark hair tussled and her cheeks flushed, I sensed they stopped on the way for a quickie. Yep, everyone was in a state of bliss except for me. Oh, and Vaughn who was the only one who really liked bowling.

Ignoring all the whispering couples around him, Vaughn taught me to bowl while I faked like I cared. We were both on the outs and I suspected he wanted to find a new buddy now that Judd was attached to his angel. Every time Tawny laughed, Vaughn’s frown darkened.

“You should be happy for them,” I said as he guided me towards the alley.

“I am. Fucking overwhelmed with happiness. Now, pay attention.” When I flinched at his tone, Vaughn sighed. “It gets boring when your best friend is busy mating like a rabbit.”

“My best friend ditched me too, so I found new friends. Maybe you should too.”

“Crap no. Sounds like too much effort.”

I grinned. “You could play with Bailey. Here, she comes.”

Vaughn didn’t even glance at the arriving blonde who threw her hands in the air.

“I got dumped again! Men suck! I hate them all!” she cried, enjoying a hug from Tawny. “Who wants to set me up now?”

“I thought you hated men,” Tucker mumbled with his mouth full of a hot dog.

“I do, but one of them has got to work, right? Everyone in the world gets someone good, but I get shit. It’s not fair. I’m nicer than anyone ever.”

This comment elicited laughter from the crew including Vaughn who took my bowling ball and rolled it for me.

“Look,” he said,” you got a strike. I’m an excellent teacher.”

“Best ever.”

Vaughn and I eyed each other, thinking the same thing. Could we make a go of it and become a couple like everyone around us? We came to the same conclusion. Never going to happen. While I thought Vaughn was gorgeous, I felt the same way about the Johansson brothers and Judd. Besides gorgeous, they didn’t interest me. Only Aaron interested me, but I couldn’t have a single conversation with him.

Vaughn glanced over at a happy Bailey who loved all of the attention and pity she received after getting dumped. He was thinking if he could make something with her. Based on his eye roll, she wasn’t an option either.

Noticing Vaughn’s fresh tattoo on the back of his forearm, I had an idea.

“Where did you get your tat?”

“Aaron’s shop. You want to get a tat?” he asked, grinning as if this was hilarious.

“I have one,” I said, rolling the ball into the gutter. “It’s not finished though.”

“How come?”

“My brother interrupted the tattoo and I never had the money to get it done again.”

“No, I meant how come you’re such a bad bowler? Is it genetic?” he asked. “Like do you come from a long line of people who can’t make a ball roll in a straight line?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“I try, Pixie Dust.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“How come?” he said, grinning wider now.

“I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Chicks love when I give them nicknames. One of them got a tattoo of the name I gave her. Do you want to know where she put that tat?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Is it expensive to get a tat at Aaron’s shop? I hear he’s good and I’d like someone to fix it that won’t make it worse.”

“Let me see your tat!” Bailey cried, suddenly behind me. “Wait, it’s not on your ass, is it?”

“No.”

“Hooch?”

“No.”

“Titty tas?” Glaring at her, I waited until her smile faded. “Are you really mad?” she asked, panicking now.

“No, I just wanted to mess with you.”

“Oh, well, thank you for that learning experience.”

Vaughn and I laughed, but Bailey was busy yanking at my shirt to look for the tattoo.

“It’s a tramp stamp,” I said to keep her from pulling up my shirt in a public place.

“Oh, I have one of those. Mine is classy though. It’s Hello Kitty.”

Instead of responding to her classy comment, I prepared for the teasing as I lowered the back of my jeans just enough to display my wingless butterfly.

“What a pretty worm,” Bailey said, doing her fake nice thing again.

“My stepbrother showed up and made the guy stop. My stepdad doesn’t like tats and told me I couldn’t get one.”

“Men suck,” Bailey said, nodding supportively then frowning at Vaughn. “Why do you suck so much? Too much ball toxins?”

“Sounds about right,” he muttered, rolling another strike. “Girls get PMS. Guys get ball toxins. Common knowledge. Are you two going to actually bowl? I’m the only one doing anything.”

Farah instantly rushed over and rolled a ball into the gutter. “We’re participating. We like bowling.”

Bailey snorted. “Hell, I lie better than that.”

Cooper joined Farah and glanced at the alley. “I could bowl, if I wanted. I just don’t want to.”

“Liar!” Bailey cried and Cooper faked like he might backhand her. She just rolled her eyes. “He sucks. Worse bowler ever. Old people bowl better. No offense to old people,” she added, looking at the nearby league of senior citizens.

Cooper ignored Bailey and wrapped an arm around Farah. “This is fun. I’m glad we’ve made a habit out of it.”

Vaughn frowned and his blue eyes darkened. “I’m not a charity case, so you don’t need to play with me once a week to keep me from bawling myself to sleep.”

“Sure, champ,” Cooper said then looked at me. “You have a tattoo of a worm?”

“It’s supposed to be a butterfly,” I said as Bailey turned me so her brother could enjoy my lame tat.

Cooper reached for the tat as if to run a finger over it. Before he touched me, Farah smacked his hand lightly.

“Don’t touch other women,” she growled.

Glancing back at them, I saw Cooper get his horny expression. I was apparently in the middle of a game they played. Gross.

“Do you know how much it would cost to get it fixed?” I asked as Cooper ran his finger over Farah’s pouting lips.

Without looking away for his wife’s face, Cooper shook his head. “I’ll pay. Just tell Aaron I said what I said. He’ll be cool.” As if a light bulb went off over his head, Cooper glanced at me. “You should go soon. Very soon. Can’t leave it undone for much longer or it’ll get weird. Yeah, go this week.”

Frowning, I noticed Bailey eyeing her brother. Her blue eyes got wide and she nodded.

“Yes, soon. So soon. Well, maybe not too soon. I don’t want to be alone.” When Tawny appeared next to her, Bailey decided to be nice and said grudgingly. “Soon, I guess.”

“What are we talking about?” Tawny asked as Judd rolled a ball, knocked over a few pins, then frowned like he might knock the others over with his angry glare.

“Aaron’s going to fix her tat,” Bailey explained while Cooper and Farah wandered off.

“He’s an artist,” Tawny cooed. “He made this angel on Judd.”

After Tawny showed me Judd’s arm, she put her hand back to where she had a gorgeous tattoo of a fallen angel.

“He’s very talented,” she added.

“I’m excited to get my butterfly finished.”

“He’ll do a great job,” Bailey reassured, taking a ball from Vaughn and rolling it into the wrong alley. “Oops.”

“Idiot.”

“Be nice or I won’t be nice,” Bailey warned, glaring up at him.

“I love feisty women,” he said, smirking down at her.

“Not interested. Blond men are usually stupid. Just look at my brothers. Anyway, I don’t want a dumbass loser. I want a smartass winner.”

“You deserve nothing less,” I said and Bailey smiled at me like I was amazing.

I did feel amazing. Not only would my tattoo get fixed, but I also had an excuse to talk to Aaron. I didn’t know if Aaron would enjoy the conversation as much as I did, but fate was no longer standing in my way.

 

 

"Damaged and the Cobra" Cover Reveal

Aaron Barnes has found his muse in Lark Foster. However, his inspiration is saddled with a domineering stepfamily and the lingering guilt from a childhood loss.

Once Aaron claims his muse, Lark embraces the fighter inside her gentle heart. When fate stands in the way of love, the only choices are giving up or taking what your heart demands.

Expected publication: Oct. 1, 2013

Bijou Babbles...Where is Cobra?

Hello, lovelies! September is here and Cobra is on its way. I promise. No really...

My goal was to finish up my pen name books in August then focus on Cobra and Outlaw. I'm currently writing Cobra and hope to have it to my first set of beta readers (Mustang Sally and Candy Girl) by next week. Once they give me the news (good or bad), I'll fix the problems and send the revision to the next set of beta readers. While all those betas are reading, I'll be writing Outlaw.

I hope to have the cover ready by next week and ideally the blurb too. I'm still unsure if Cobra will be novella or novel length since the story hasn't finished playing out. I'll let everyone know once the book is in the editing phase.

So if everything goes as planned (never happens), Cobra will be out by Oct. 1st or so because I prefer to publish on Tuesdays or Wednesday. Outlaw is schedule for release around Halloween. Bailey's book will be around Christmas. That's the plan anyway.

Thanks to everyone for your patience while I worked on books for my pen names. Now, it's all about Ellsberg!

Here's hoping everyone starts off their autumn with lots of sexy great books! Happy reading!!!

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 8.12.13

It's been a few weeks since I last babbled, but I'm back. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer by staying cool and reading lots of hot books. ***Unless you live on the other side of the world. Then, I hope you're keeping warm by reading hot books.

I've received questions from readers, so I'm doing the Q&A thingamajig again.

Are you done with your damn pen name books yet? Where is the next Damaged book?

I love when you get feisty!

I'm on the final edits of the second Vivi Rios book. This means, I'm writing again. Since Vivi took longer than I planned (the girl demands attention), I'm buddy writing.

What the hell is buddy writing?

I'm working on more than one book at a time. Damaged and the Cobra plus a young adult book and a new romance series I'm publishing under a different pen name. The young adult book has saucy stuff too, so I'm enjoying quite the naughty buddy write this time around.

Do you still plan to make Damaged and the Cobra a novella?

Just depends. I'm trying something new with Cobra and that's a dual POV. We'll be in the heads of Lark and Aaron. I'm a little nervous about trying this because I've never written dual POV in first person. Vivi is dual POV, third person. I'm excited to try it though because readers often wished they could know more about Coop and Judd.  I hope everyone likes how it turns out.

Unsure if having the two POVs will help lengthen the book without making it feel dragged out. I'll just have to wait and see what everyone thinks.

Why a different pen name for a different romance series? Do you just like making things more complicated?

Complicated is cool, right? The series I'll be writing under the name Carys Marie is much lighter than the Damaged series. I don't know if readers who enjoy the Bijou books will enjoy the Carys books. Basically, using the pen name is my way of giving readers a warning that it's different. I also like creating a million blogs for each pen name, so there's that. :)

Where are the Coop POV scenes? Stop teasing, B.

I'm working on those this week as I get back into writing. I hope to have a few posted this month.

Can we chat you up?

Hell yeah! Chat away at BijouHunterBooks@gmail.com.

Hopefully, this quick Q&A let everyone know where I'm at with writing. I'm really excited to get back to Ellsberg!

Stay cool and happy reading!

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!