SLAY EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT   “Well, speak up, Fredrick, we are all waiting to hear your secrets.” He stood up straight like he hadn’t realized he was hunching forward. “I didn’t call Anita and tell her that my mother was coming because I knew Anita would have said no.” “No to what?” Grandma Blake said. “To you coming with us, Momma.” “She has no say in this, she is a child, you are her father.” “I’m over thirty, Grandma; I have a say in my own life.” “Both you girls over thirty and no great-grandchildren yet.” I glanced at Andria, who sighed and rolled her eyes like this was a long-standing complaint. I hadn’t spoken to Grandma in so long I hadn’t heard it before. Both Andria and I had still been on the why-aren’t-you-married-yet list for Grandma back then. “You don’t want us to have children out of wedlock, do you, Grandma?” Andria said. “Of course not!” She sounded outraged. “Then you have to wait for Anita and me to actually get married before there’s a chance for great-grandchildren.” Grandma glared at Andria, then turned to me. “Though there will be no children from your marriage. Your demon lover is…

Q: What can you tell readers about your new book, SMOLDER? Will we see the wedding? For me, I’m less anxious about Anita’s wedding and more so about some character going all Maleficent and being miffed on an epic scale about not being invited or jockeying for position over table placement! A: No, the wedding has to wait. First, we need to deal with Anita’s family who hate that she’s marrying a vampire, a new hate group that is killing vampires across the country, and vampire politics that threaten everything that Jean-Claude, Anita, and everyone they love have built. I really want the wedding to go over well, so trying to clear out all the things that might disrupt it first.   Q: I’m always super excited for a new Anita book. Without giving too much away, Richard makes an appearance in SMOLDER. I realize how polarizing a character Richard is. My husband is, I think, in the minority because Richard was always one of his favorite characters. I think it’s because he loves relationships with a little angst, and he likes flawed characters who are often their own worst enemy. I never connected as well with Richard but found…

Even though there are a gazillion or so paranormal romances out there nowadays, it still surprises me when I read stories about supernatural beings that work a regular job or are some type of performer. Stereotypes can be a hard thing to shake. Part of me still expects a vampire to have a castle and be shrouded in shadows and be all dark and mysterious. The books I’m going to discuss here are full of vampires, orcs, demons, and all kinds of paranormal hotties who would be amazing to have as a showstopper at any party. The first paranormal romance I remember reading was DARK PRINCE by Christine Feehan. I can think of a few characters from her Carpathian series who would make my list for must-have entertainment. I know, I know. These two series have different versions of “vampires”, but I think it would be cool to have Savannah from DARK MAGIC by Christine Feehan perform her magic act for Laurell K. Hamilton’s Circus of the Damned. Of course, her honey Gregori wouldn’t be thrilled about having her around all that paranormal eye-candy. Four bands that would make an electric musical combo would be the Dark Troubadours from DARK…