Fire in the Blood by
Bad Witch
Book 3
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-61921-173-5
ASIN: B008PGMPYK
Number of pages: 139
Word Count: 33,000
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Book Description:
It’s good to be bad…
Patience Roberts is the last summoner standing between magiciankind and certain demon invasion. After banishing two or three demons a day for too long, gods know she’d like nothing better than a little down time with her number one distraction—Faust.
But with vampires, hunters and assassins lined up to take her out, who has the time? Still, she has to admit her resistance to the amorous faerie is wearing thin. Not that she’ll ever let on—after all, faeries are notorious for their short romantic attention spans.
Faust, a Shadowspawn faerie, watched as his outcast clan dwindled to nothing. Determined to hold on to the woman he loves, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Patience. And one day build a life with her.
When an old demon enemy punches through the barrier between the worlds, Patience must draw on every ounce of her reputation as a cast-iron bitch to temporarily banish him. To get rid of him for good, she’ll have to sacrifice one too many pieces of her soul to leave room for love…
Patience Roberts is the last summoner standing between magiciankind and certain demon invasion. After banishing two or three demons a day for too long, gods know she’d like nothing better than a little down time with her number one distraction—Faust.
But with vampires, hunters and assassins lined up to take her out, who has the time? Still, she has to admit her resistance to the amorous faerie is wearing thin. Not that she’ll ever let on—after all, faeries are notorious for their short romantic attention spans.
Faust, a Shadowspawn faerie, watched as his outcast clan dwindled to nothing. Determined to hold on to the woman he loves, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Patience. And one day build a life with her.
When an old demon enemy punches through the barrier between the worlds, Patience must draw on every ounce of her reputation as a cast-iron bitch to temporarily banish him. To get rid of him for good, she’ll have to sacrifice one too many pieces of her soul to leave room for love…
Warning: Contains a hero and heroine
so hot they’re literally on fire, naughty faerie sex, post-coital cuteness,
angsty magician drama, and yet more gratuitous violence against vampires,
demons, and innocent furniture.
Interview:
1.
Where did you get the
idea for the novel?
I knew I wanted to write Fire
in the Blood from the moment I first thought of the heroine, Patience
Roberts. Patience was born out of a single line that came to me while in the
shower (most of my random inspiration happens in the shower, apparently my muse
enjoys washing her hair). It was a play on a line from the movie “Army of
Darkness,” in which my heroine announced, “Good. Bad. I’m the girl with the
demon.” And thus Patience Roberts was born, the newest addition to my Bad Witch
books.
2.
Your title. Who came
up with it? Did you ever change your title?
Yes. It was tied between Last
Summoner Standing and Fire in the
Blood. I asked my beta readers which one they preferred, and it was split
down the middle. My editor decided on Fire
in the Blood as the final title. It made the most sense, as “blood” is a
recurring theme in the other Bad Witch books.
3.
Which came first, the
title or the novel?
The novel came first. Technically Bewitched,
Blooded and Bewildered came first, because Patience and her minion,
Harvey, made their debut in that book. They were so much fun to write that I
knew they had to have their own story.
4.
Since becoming a
writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
I think the most amazing moment happened at the last Lori Foster
Reader & Author Get Together. My roommate and I were walking back to our
room Friday night after having books signed by other authors (I love signed
books)(I got to show Sherrilyn Kenyon my Dark-Hunter bow tattoo!). On the way
to the elevators a reader recognized me in the hallway and mentioned that she
loved my series. It was a quick moment, but I was stunned by it because that had
never happened to me before. It made my day. Actually it pretty much made my
year. It was a great feeling.
5.
What book are you
currently reading or what was the last book you read?
I recently finished reading The
Prince by Tiffany Reisz. It was amazing. The Original Sinners series is
very addictive, and my best friend and I are official Tiffany Reisz stalkers on
Twitter. In fact we bought each other 8th Circle T-shirts for Chrismukkah.
6.
What was your first
book that you ever wrote (very first one you wrote, not published)?
I started my first novel in eighth grade. It was a fantasy
romance, and there were unicorns. It was really bad, but I still have the
manuscript in my closet. Sometimes I’ll pull it out and wince at the adverbs.
7.
What is your writing
process?
Either I have an idea and write about it start to finish, or
I’ll force myself to make an outline, map the plot out, and then write. The
process goes smoother when I have an outline, but I have more random moments of
wacky inspiration when I’m writing blind. More fight scenes happen that way.
8.
Who are your favorite
authors of all time?
To name a few, in no particular order (Goodreads is a better
example of this, I’m pretty active there): Nora Roberts, Kelley Armstrong,
Sylvia Day, Tiffany Reisz, Timothy Zahn, Keith Melton, Sheryl Nantus, Lilly
Cain, Leah Braemel, Morgan Hawke, and Chandra Ryan.
9.
At a book signing, do
you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff
to say?
First I panic and stare at the page for a bit. Then I usually
write, “Never trust a billionaire vampire,” which is a reference to my
billionaire bad boy Zachary Harrison. I’ll have to think up something new to
write in my Cy’ren Rising books. Probably something like, “When in doubt, space
them out an airlock.”
10. What is something
people would be surprised to know about you?
There’s really not much surprising about me, because I Tweet
constantly about everything that’s going on my life. None of which is
interesting, but the pictures of my cats are usually cute.
11. How do you react to a
bad review?
I used to cry, have a cigarette and a beer. But I quit smoking
and I don’t really drink anymore, so now I just take a deep breath, accept it
and move on. I have a degree in English literature, so I used to write literary
critiques on a regular basis and I know that you can’t please everybody with
your writing. Some people won’t like my books, and that’s perfectly okay. I try
to focus on saying thank you to those who say something positive about my books
instead of dwelling on the negative.
12. How did you celebrate
the sale of your first book?
I did host a book release party at a local restaurant for Blood, Smoke and Mirrors. There was a
lot of good pizza and I was able to hang out with many of my friends who I
hadn’t seen in a while, so it was a lot of fun.
Excerpt:
“You
still haven’t eaten,” Harvey reminded after I hung up the phone.
“Drive
through. Don’t let me forget.”
“You
said that this morning.”
“I
did?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes,
you did.”
Damn
it all to hell and back, my brain must really be fried, because I had zero
memory of that. At least I’d been chugging black coffee all day, so there was
something in my system, even if it was only caffeine. I couldn’t keep up this
pace for much longer, but I didn’t have a choice. I was the only one left to
handle the demon problem. I’d tried to call in extra help from the coasts, and
everyone turned me down. They were too afraid of the hunters, and though I
couldn’t blame them for that, it still pissed me off. I outsourced what work I
could to the local guardians, but it wasn’t enough. They weren’t specialists
like me.
I
was trying to bail out the Titanic with a teaspoon. It was only a matter
of time before we all drowned.
“Well,
this time I mean it,” I said lamely.
“Of
course, Mistress.”
I
grabbed my black cashmere coat from the rack and donned it along with my scarf,
then slung my messenger bag over my shoulder. This time I made it halfway
across the room before I was stopped, but it wasn’t the phone that interrupted
me. It was a faerie invasion, and I had only a moment to recognize Faust by the
smoky lenses of his round, dark glasses before he pounced on me. He kissed me
fiercely and nudged me back until I stumbled into the front of my desk.
“I
dislike this overcoat. It’s much too bulky.” He reached for the buttons and I batted
his hand away.
“I’ll
be in the car, Mistress,” Harvey called out loudly before vanishing. He’s not a
voyeur, and he disapproved of my relationship with Faust. I didn’t approve of
my relationship with Faust either. Every summoner knows you shouldn’t get
involved with a faerie, because it always ends badly.
“Cut
it out. I’m on a call,” I warned.
Faust
grinned, and my chest tightened with an emotion I fought not to show. Yes, this
was headed toward disaster, but I couldn’t help myself. Faust was the most
addictive temptation I’d ever met. He was just so damn pretty—tall for a
faerie, which made him about my height, and dark haired with a pale complexion
that spoke more of a vampire than a faerie. Faust had an angular face with
high, sharp cheekbones that reminded me a bit of a runway model, a finely-drawn
brow and a smile that could make a girl weak in the knees in 0.5 seconds.
“It
can’t wait,” he insisted. “I’ve missed you.”
He
tugged my scarf aside and kissed my neck, and it was suddenly much too warm to
be wearing my coat. I didn’t fight him as he unbuttoned the garment and slid it
off. I kissed him and indulged in the lovely diversion of letting his nimble
hands roam for a few moments, because the past few days had been all business
and no pleasure. But I had an appointment to keep, and I pushed him away with a
disappointed sigh.
“I
missed you too, babe, but I don’t have time for a break. I’m on call 24/7 now.”
“I
know you are.” Faust’s expression sobered, and he caressed my cheek. “You’re a
brave woman, Patience, and I admire that about you. But that’s also why I’m
here.”
“You’re
here because you admire me? Funny, seemed more like desire a second ago,” I
teased. The corners of his mouth twitched, and I bit back the urge to kiss him.
Experience had taught me that if I encouraged him I’d end up naked and bent
over the desk.
“There’s
a problem—” he began, and I cut him off.
“I
don’t have time for more problems. We’re all full up here.”
“This
is serious. Zachary has hired someone to kill you.”
About the Author:
Robyn Bachar was
born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and loves all things related to Chicago,
from the Cubs to the pizza. It seemed only natural to combine it with her love
of fantasy, and tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area.
As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing
rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in MMPORGs.
Thanks for having me today! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a dark cover, nice. Patience is unfortunate with both a hard life and a strange name. Nice interview.
ReplyDelete