DEVOURING DARKNESS completely blew me away! And oh man, that epilogue! I’m bursting to ask spoiler type questions but instead will ask if you’ll give us any hints about what the next book will bring us? Thanks so much! Heirs 5, which will be titled COLD CURSES, will bring more trouble, more excitement, more sarcasm. And a lot more (SPOILER!)   One thing I love about your vampires is you have carefully crafted such specific rules and hierarchies, only to have Elisa (and Merit in the original series) break all the rules. How do you keep track of the various rules and ways to bend them? I have a fantastic continuity reader (shout-out to Krista!), and it’s pretty common that I forget things. (I usually have to remind myself what happened in the last book by the time I’m writing the next one). That’s a definite advantage of having printed books – they’re an automatic reference library.   I’ve enjoyed watching Elisa and Connor mature and come into their own as characters in the Heirs of Chicagoland series. In DEVOURING DARKNESS, they are pitted against a foe who makes them pull on their own connections, powers, and friendships without the…

With the release of J.R. Ward‘s new book – THE VIPER – I thought I’d reflect on the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and the newer prison spinoff series. These are my insights into J.R. Ward (The Wharden) and her Black Dagger Brotherhood books and they may not align with others’ impressions but that’s what reading fiction does for readers. They can see things the way they want using the author’s words as a kicking-off point. There is a race of vampires, who live among humans mostly in Caldwell, New Jersey. The race was made by the Scribe Virgin (SV) – who is a whole other story – but she has a brother the Omega, who is the opposite of her, jealous, petty and evil. Though, to be honest, there are times in the BDB series you wondered about the SV. She made the vampires and then had to come up with the Black Dagger Brotherhood to protect her race from the “Lessers” which was her brother’s attempt at creating a race. The lessers are soulless humans who prey on vampires of all ages and strangely smell like baby powder. The brothers – Wrath, Tohrment, Vishous, Phury, Rhage, Zadist, Butch, Quinn,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? FINAL HEIR 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The stakes couldn’t be higher in the newest novel in the New York Times bestselling, pulse-pounding Jane Yellowrock series. Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city. With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? As the last book in the series, It seemed only right to bring Jane Yellowrock back to New Orleans, where her saga began, where she turned a corner from hunting rogue-vampires to working for…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Bloodsucker’s Blog Book 1, LIFE SUCKS. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Bridget Jones meets The Vampire Diaries for the social media generation. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book? That’s it’s so every day. Every person can relate to Ryn’s situation and where she is, and I think that’s why you really feel for her. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes absolutely. She doesn’t always get things right, but she has a good heart. Even if it doesn’t beat. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Fun, Passionate. Scared. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I spent a lot of time looking into blood — how often you can donate, how much you can lose, how often the body replenishes it, etc. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I always have to get a full first draft down before I edit. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Ooh, I just love food, but chocolate or mango sticky rice. 9–Describe your writing space/office! A little desk tucked by the stairs in the living…

To celebrate Theophilus Monroe’s new book WITCHES AND WOLVES, we here at Fresh Fiction thought it would be a fun way for readers to get to know his characters better by playing a little game we call “The Character Most Likely”. Theophilus is free to select his answers from any of his paranormal series. Most likely to hold a grudge longer than anybody else? Mercy Brown (BLOODY HELL).  Given the fact that her own father tried to stake her and burn out her heart when she first became a vampire, she (understandably) harbors a lot of resentment. It might take longer than the average human lifespan before she lets go of her anger and opens herself up to be loved by another human being. Will she get there? You’ll have to read to find out.   Most likely to figure out a way to use an enemy’s strength against him? Joni Campbell (DRUID’S DANCE / WYRMRIDER ASCENDING) is a siphon. She can extract magic from anyone she encounters who wields a magical force and amplify it several times over. If her enemy has any supernatural power, can access any kind of magic at all, she can harness their power and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DUMPING HER DEMON 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Demonology Professor Sarah Prescott left the demon of her dreams at the altar after he went human for her. Now, they’ll have to work together to solve her best friend’s murder and stop a group of rouge demons from ending the world. 3– Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? What’s she like? Sarah is a bit of a book worm with a crazy family life, so we’d have a few things in common. She’s someone who is focused on learning the rules and following them. Early on in her life, she learned those rules won’t always keep you safe. In response to that, she became a demonology professor, because demons always follow the rules. Her love of order and desire to keep things organized is something I can relate to. Along the same lines, researching the hierarchy of hell was one of the more interesting parts of writing this book. I’d love to have a demonology professor to explain all the different folklore and legends. But I’m not that organized so we might clash. Not to mention,…

Excerpt from DREAM OF MY SOUL by Debra Jess. Copyright © 2022, Debra Jess, Corp. All rights reserved.   Marc retreated downstairs so the guard he’d replaced wouldn’t get suspicious. After what he’d just seen in the nursery—a mother rejecting her child—he didn’t feel quite so bad about snatching the kid. Just as he’d made it to the last step, he heard a door creak. Turning to look, he watched the baby’s mother stomp back into the room where she’d had the argument with her father and slam the door closed. “Hey, bud,” Marc tapped the other officer on the shoulder, “I’ve been ordered to make sure the mother doesn’t leave the house, so I’m going back upstairs, okay?” The other guard frowned. “Fine. I’m off shift in an hour. Make sure you’re back down here before—” BOOM CRASH “What the—” Before Marc could finish, a two-hundred-pound lumbering stack of mottled skin with a blank-eyed stare stepped through the cloud of flying splinters and jagged glass. Forced to raise his hands to keep from getting skewered, Marc could only see out of the corner of his eye. The other guard was in the same position, but only for a second….

1–What is the title of your latest release? CAMBION’S BLOOD, book 2 in the Cambion series. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Down on her luck and haunted by guilt, a half-succubus attorney takes a government contract to investigate the supernatural murders of prominent men—and finds herself tracking an ancient bloodthirsty goddess bent on revenge. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My series is set in San Francisco, California, a few dozen miles from where I grew up. It’s grounded in the environment, history, and culture of the SF Bay Area. I chose it because of my familiarity with the area, but also because SF as a city commands a mythic quality. It’s set apart on its peninsula, even isolated in a way. When you look across the Bay at it, it seems to rise out of the water like Atlantis or Avalon, or like a rock covered in barnacles, a natural or supernatural formation. It’s beautiful and magical and dirty and harsh, and that makes it a perfect setting for urban fantasy, which thrives in those contrasts. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Once we broke the…

I absolutely loved the ending solution to MILLION DOLLAR DEMON, so much in fact I was worried how TROUBLE WITH THE CURSED would handle the consequences surrounding Constance. Any hints about where you’ll take us with her next? Thank you! I’m so pleased that the ending to MILLION DOLLAR DEMON was satisfying. I’ve had to become more inventive when it comes to giving Rachel more powerful antagonists to tackle and yet avoid the temptation to simply kill them off. The quirky solutions she employs is what makes Rachel, Rachel. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that the erratic, undead vampire is not gone. She appears in the next book, poised to step into Rachel’s story once more. Just how big a part she will be playing remains to be seen. I have ideas, but until I get them on paper, they are as changeable as the weather. One question I’ve been dying to ask ever since starting The Hollows series… why tomatoes?! The Hollows began much more tongue-in-cheek than it is now. Actually, it was a lot more, much of it pruned out before DEAD WITCH WALKING hit the shelf. That a GMO tomato…

Your female protagonist in BAD GIRLS DRINK BLOOD, Lane Callaghan, is described as being “the only hybrid fae in existence”. What made you choose a fae connection for your main character? Funny story! The idea for this book first came about as my way around the “no vampires in traditional publishing” trend a few years back. I love mythology and I decided to create a fae race that drank blood. While this is my take on the fae, I wavered between elves and fae. Ultimately, I wanted to bring in more characters and creatures from a Celtic background (though, there is a nod to Norse Mythology in the story).   How would you describe your Blood Fae Druid series to readers? What’s the focus? Lane is forced by her long-time enemies to hunt down monsters while proving she isn’t one herself or accepting that she is.   How would you describe Lane? The book description says that she has family but, other than that, is she more of a tough loner? Or does she have any friends for added support? Aside from her adopted sisters (who she is fiercely loyal to), Lane is a loner. As the only hybrid fae…