Alpha heroes and kick butt heroines and forked tongues and scales! Can i get an “oh my”? Today, it’s my delight to welcome popular romance author, Mina Carter, who is introducing her scifi erotic romance, Her Empath. Keep reading because you’re going to want to WIN this book. Leave a comment and we’ll have a drawing for a winner on Tuesday evening. Be SURE to leave your email since the winner will be notified by email.First, find out all the interesting things that set Mina apart:
How long have you been writing fiction? How many books have you published?
I’ve been writing on and off for about twenty years, and for publication for three. Bookswise I have nineteen books released, with five more releases due this year.
What and/or who inspired you to become a writer?
It wasn’t so much an inspiration thing as I have a hugely wild imagination. As a teenager I devoured books and when there were no more to read, I made up my own. It’s something that’s pretty much stuck with me J
It appears you write in several subgenres. What are they? Do you have a favorite? Why?
So far I’ve stuck to romance, and within that I write sci-fi, paranormal, and a little contemporary. More recently I’ve begun to branch out into different genres. But shhhh…;) It’s a sekrit!
If I have a favourite it has to be a tie between paranormal and sci-fi. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and I find I can really let my imagination free reign. And I do. My CP’s have trouble keeping up with the family backgrounds I create for my characters at times 😀
What makes your books unique? How are they different than other books?
That’s both a difficult and an easy one to answer. I think my writing is very distinct. I lean towards strong characters and I tend to use a lot of dark humor. Even so, the answer has to be in imagination. I firmly believe that you can give five writers the same basic brief on a story (Boy meets girl, boy loses girl. Must involve fangs and fur in some way. And a camel.) and you’ll get five completely different stories. For my stories I try to turn the tables on usual themes and stereotypes.
You write super kick-ass heroines. What inspires you to create them?
I absolutely loathe and detest TSTL heroines. They have no drive and personality. I’d like to think my heroines are all real women, doing whatever a normal woman would do in that particular situation. If that’s taking a swing at a zombie with a fire axe (as in my current WIP) or seducing the hot guy, then that’s what they do. They’re definitely not wallflowers because I don’t believe that’s a natural state for any woman.
Do you think of your heroes or your heroines first?
Always the heroes. Then I work out what kind of woman would bring him to his knees, in a good way.
You’re at the home of the ultimate lover of beta males, but I think you’re an alpha males kind of gal. True? What attracts you to them?
I am, my husband is very much an alpha male sort of guy. But I’m just as forceful in personality so it works out well. Why the attraction…hmmm, in writing I think it’s because they make such a delicious contrast to the strong women I write. Although…that being said, I have flirted with a couple of beta male characters in upcoming stories, so it could be on the cards 😉
Plotter or pantser?
Both. It very much depends on the story. When plotting I rarely plot the end of the story, just to be on the safe side. Even if I have a plot, I do tend to go off and explore tangents and have to replot.
I notice you’re also an artist. Did you create the beautiful artwork on your website? Where did you learn your art?
J thank you for the compliment. I did all the art and code work for my website. (Yeah, I’m a code nerd as well!) I have no formal art training and I rarely, if ever, draw by hand. I learnt online, by playing with photoshop and using online tutorials. It was a long learning curve. I started around eight years ago and I’m still learning.
You say you role play games. Tell us a little about that.
Ohh, here comes my geek side. I’m a dyed in the wool trekkie so I play Star Trek text based simms. Basically a bunch of us get together and write a story based around our ‘ship’. We each take a character and write for that person, alone and with others in a story arc decided by the game manager. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, and I’ve met some brilliant people doing it.
What should we know about the book you brought us today, Her Empath? How does it fit within your collection of creations?
Her Empath is the start of a new sci-fi series. It’s more militaristic than my previous works, and also flirts more with the power balance within a relationship than any of my other stories. It’s also an older woman – younger guy story. Lol, there’s a lot of firsts in this one.
And, just to slide a little sneaky promo in…(see how slick I am at this? Like a bull in a china shop, eh?)
Even a rogue can be brought to heel by love.
Major-General Lyssa Ryland is the rogue of the fleet. Feared and wanted by half the admiralty, no one can control the redheaded Telatian. Half-human, half snake-nomad, her nature has made her tough and years of war have given her a backbone of steel. Commanding one of the most fearsome battleships in the fleet and friends with the largest mercenary clans in the galaxy, no one dare mess with her.
Then an order is passed down; the rogue of Telat-moire must be tamed, by whatever means necessary. Commander JJ Meyers is the sacrificial lamb. One of the fleet’s feared Empaths he’s been tasked with controlling Lyssa and bringing her back under the authority of the Fleet. Expecting a dried up, crabby nun of a woman JJ takes the chance for a one night stand on the base the night before his new assignment…Only to find out the unforgettable woman he spent the night with is no- other than his new assignment. And this time, she’s not welcoming him with open arms…
Between the pressure from the powers that be, a mission gone wrong and a homicidal cyborg, can JJ convince Lyssa that this time his seduction is genuine?
Available now at Ellora’s Cave | Amazon | ARe
Where can we find you on the web?
I’m all over the place. You can find me mostly on twitter at @minacarter. I’m also on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/mina.carter) and at http://mina-carter.com
And of course, I can always be reached via email at [email protected]
Here’s an excerpt to wet your whistle. Leave your comment below to WIN! : )
Excerpt
Copyright © MINA CARTER, 2011
All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The raised female voice filled the expansive office, making the man behind the large desk wince inwardly. Admiral Daniel Reilly knew better than to show such an emotion on his face when dealing with the woman who sat across from him. Any sign of weakness and she’d have him. Shoot from the hip, both barrels—that was her standard operating procedure.
“General Ryland…Lyssa.” Reilly softened his voice as he said her name. It was a concession due to their long friendship and the need to butter her up. “When have you ever known me to joke about anything? Much less something as important as the assignment of a telepathic Empath?”
She glared back at him, then let loose a curse that would make a Marine blush. He should know. He’d been one once, way back when. They’d both started in green. Then he’d switched service tracks and now drove a desk, while Lyssa was still out there in the field kicking ass and taking names. To say trouble followed her around was an understatement.
He sighed as he sat back in his chair then looked over his steepled fingers at her. “You should feel honored, not many starship captains are assigned one.”
“Yeah, right. I feel honored all right. Honored that I need a spy on my freaking ship… What is it, Danny? Don’t you trust me anymore?” She grinned suddenly, a flash of white teeth and a mischievous expression that reminded Daniel of the wild young cadet she’d been. “And we were so close too…”
The mischief was still there, but nearly four decades of Fleet service had put steel in the expression behind it. Steel and a reputation no man in his right mind would fuck with.
He snorted. “One abortive one night stand does not a relationship make, Lyssa.”
Gods, didn’t he wish it did though. He’d kicked himself up and down for years after that night, unable to believe he’d screwed his chances with her so completely over something so small. Back then, he’d been too young and dumb to realize making fun of her scales would not be taken in the affectionate, joking way he’d intended. Even now, decades of service and, for him, twenty years of marriage to the sweetest woman imaginable, he still thought on that “what if” at times.
He’d never mention it to Lyssa, though. A master manipulator, she wasn’t above using his weaknesses against him. Just like she’d routed out every last one of his spies on her ship and gotten rid of them.
One she’d abandoned in the pleasure city of Cernas, another had been left to walk across the frozen wastes of Kranous and the last… Daniel winced. He should have known Lyssa would see through the ambassadorial act straight away. What he hadn’t expected was for her to take the damn actors to the trade negotiations at Heranas and actually manage to secure an exclusive deal with the Arachnids.
She sat back in her chair, her eyes hard on his face. Daniel ignored her body language and her deliberate attempt to unsettle him. He was in charge of three battle groups filled to the brim with egos, and a host of squabbling junior admiralty. So her direct, almost acerbic manner, was somewhat of a relief.
She was a striking woman. She was tall, with the fiery hair and amber eyes of her father’s race, the Telatians. She didn’t look her age. Anyone would be forgiven for taking her to be in her mid-thirties, rather than the fifty-two Daniel knew her to be.
The slender and toned body, courtesy of her marine training, added to the impression of youth. Her eyes were old though. In his more fanciful moments, he’d thought you could see back through the ages in them…to the first Telatian who had walked the burning sands of their in-hospitable planet.
“This is happening, like it or not. Have a paddy and throw all your toys out of the pram if you like, General Ryland, but this is going to happen and I expect your full co-operation.”
He met her hard look for hard look as he pulled rank. If she thought she was getting to him using that “snake-look”, she had another thing coming. Even if she let the humanlike mask drop a little and revealed the scales he knew were just under her skin, he wasn’t budging an inch.
She was a pain in his ass, and seemed determined to be one for a lot longer. That was why he was bringing in someone she couldn’t play. A small grin of triumph spread across his lips. The Combined Fleet’s Empaths were the hardest and sharpest minds in the galaxy, capable of discerning truth and lie just from the way a person’s eyes flickered. Incorruptible and totally loyal to the fleet, there was no way she’d get through to this one. Finally he’d manage to achieve the goal laid down on him by his superior officers and tame the Rogue of Telat-Moire.
* * * * *
“Fucking jumped up, good for nothing, pain in the asssssss… Bloody wanker!”
Lyssa stormed out of Reilly’s office and through the reception area. Fury surged within her, her normally silent footsteps reduced to stomping she was sure they could hear three decks below. She was so worked up, her speech had slipped and her hiss had come into play. Normally such a lapse would mortify her. Right now, though, Lyssa didn’t care.
Sensibly, Daniel’s personal assistant kept out her way, but then, there weren’t many people who would stand up to Lyssa. Even if they didn’t know who she was, her Telatian heritage was easy to spot. Just a hint of red hair and amber eyes was enough to have most scuttling for cover just in case they came face to face with one of the famed snake-nomads.
Her long strides took her out of the door like a small tsunami, the sheer energy of her anger swirling ahead of her. Deep in thought, she wasn’t paying attention to where her feet were taking her. As she stepped out of the door, she collided with something warm and solid.
Before she could land on her ass in an undignified heap on the floor, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her. In the next second, she was yanked up against a broad male chest.
“Hey there, Kitten. Where are you going in such a hurry?”
The voice, like silk over steel, slid over her senses in a sensuous caress. Whether it was the shock of being touched, the fact someone had just called her kitten or the sheer, sexual arousal that hit her at light-speed… Lyssa found herself struck dumb.
On a normal day, she’d have taken his hand off at the wrist for the first two, but the last… Her gaze wandered up from the chest she was currently eye to ‘eye’ with, past a strong throat, and up to caress an equally strong jaw. Hell, he was tall.
Above average in height for a woman, Lyssa had gotten used to being on a level with some men and towering over most. The feeling of being petite and delicate was an entirely new experience for her. One she found with surprise that she liked.
Looking up further, she found bright blue eyes. A blue as deep as the sacred oceans on her home planet. They drew her in. Mesmerized her as surely as any old earth snake charmer. Blinking, she snapped out of it and stepped back.
Human, her sensitive sense of smell informed her. She bit down on her tongue, the urge to flick it out and taste the air nearly catching her unawares. First she was hissing and now scent-tasting?
“No, that will never do. Thank you for your assistance…” She looked back at his collar again. “Commander. However, I’m more than capable of moving under my own power,” she informed him and extricated herself before she could do something stupid. Like kiss along that delectable jaw…
Okay, stop drooling and leave a comment to win Her Empath. We’ll draw randomly this coming Tuesday evening and announce the winner of the ebook copy my email. Thanks so much for visiting the blog. : )