Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Book Tour: Blaze Ignites by JL Madore Interview


Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance 
ISBN: 978-0-9916763-1-6
Number of pages: pdf- 276, epub- 172
Word Count: 107,000
Cover Artist: David Wysotski


Book Description:
Blaze Ignites blends strong, clever women and tough, sexy men in a fast paced, volatile cocktail of action, seduction and wicked humour.

"Destiny my ass." Jade Glaster refuses to believe the Fates rule her life. Orphaned after an attack by Scourge soldiers, a young Jade vows never to be powerless again. Once grown and strong, wielding the affinities of fire and healing, Jade protects innocents as an enforcer for her world's elite policing agency—The Talon.

When an emissary mission to reinstate a race of exiled Elves brings Galan into her life, Jade finds herself overwhelmed by new passions, some welcome, some not. Although Galan's antiquated views on women offend her to her heated core, when the Scourge attack his family, she helps him navigate the outside worlds he knows nothing about—the magical Realm of the Fair and, stranger still . . . the modern streets of Toronto.

Through their sensually charged pursuit of justice, Jade discovers that when dealing with the Fates—destiny is never random.


Excerpt:
~ Chapter 1 ~
Gun versus wand.
Lexi and I saw the standoff escalating beyond the crush of half-naked, leather-clad bodies on the dance floor. The patrons of the tavern, human and not, ceased shimmying to the techno-rock of the house band and drew wands and daggers in every direction.
"Let us through people." Raising my palms I called my powers. "Castian, come to me." A surge of arcane energy lifted my hair as my affinity awoke. "Down!" I shielded Lexi and avoided the white-gold energy bolt zinging past our heads. It hit the mirrored wall over the bar, bursting into a shower of sparks and jagged shards.
A shot rang out. Shit.
Magic buzzed and crackled in the air like a bug-light in August. I threw out some heat to part the remaining sea of bodies. Ignoring the sneers of rubberneckers, we pushed through and my sister and I joined the altercation.
A scruffy, brute of a man sporting a bandana stood, gun poised, staring straight into the wand-tip of one of the Academy of Affinities' fifth-year wizardry students.
"Problem, gentlemen?" I asked, easing into their circle.
With shoulders rigid and wand steady, the student, Nash Blackpaw, focused straight ahead. "Jade, this asshole thinks he's dragging my friend back to the Modern Realm."
I assessed the native girl shielded behind his back. She looked shaken but unharmed.
"I don't think," the brute hissed. "This is a family matter. Jade is it?"
Pushing down the urge to wipe the amused sneer off the bastard's face I tried to remain professional. "Jade is what friends and students call me. You can call me Blaze. That is my official nom de guerre."
I held up my wrist and revealed my Talon brand. Cold, sharp eyes narrowed on my copper skin as the trademark golden hawk of a Talon enforcer appeared. "Sir, you are armed with intent to do harm on Haven grounds. This entire mountain is a sanctuary. According to Fae law, the girl is welcome to claim refuge here."
"Screw the laws," he spat, shifting the business end of the gun toward me. "Fae laws force our race to live in the Modern Realm—force us to hide who we are as if we're worth less than those fucking humans. The gods won't care about one worthless runaway. Tell your boy here to lower his wand and we're gone."
Catching Lexi's eye, I glanced toward the girl and my sister dissolved into the crowd.
"Again, that would be no." The muzzle of the gun pointed at my chest at an almost point blank range. My skin tingled warm. I pushed back my temper. "I know how you must feel—"
"You know nothing," he snapped, spittle flying. "You are human."
With his full attention on me, I wove more persuasion into my words. "As a Talon enforcer, I ensure the laws of both realms are upheld. You smuggled a gun from the Modern Realm onto sanctuary grounds. There's no chance you're leaving with the girl. The Portal Gates are sealed for summer solstice and you have things to answer for. Your only option here is to lower your weapon."
My suggestion had the barrel wavering. He clutched the grip with both hands and stabilized it. His jaw clenched as his index finger tightened on the trigger. I gave another push of energy and when I thought I was at my limit, I pushed further. Perspiration beaded across his furrowed brow. I held on. Needles of pain ran through my jaw as I clenched my teeth. After another minute, the Glock clattered to the tavern floor.
He lunged.
My feet left the ground as his shoulder caught my cheek. Something solid connected with my ribs and I hit the dance floor in an awkward half-twist. My back connected with the wood plank right before my head bounced. I was still seeing white splotches bursting in front of my eyes when the brute's staggering weight lifted and two Were-lion bouncers took control.
One snatched the weapon and shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. His litter-mate grabbed the guy's thick arms and wrenched them back until I expected to hear the snap of bone. Rumbling like a storm cloud, the pair of Weres cable-tied the guy's hands and signaled to everyone that the show was over.
"And a good night was had by all." Lexi rolled her amethyst eyes and offered me a hand up.

Interview:
1.     Where did you get the idea for the novel? It came to me while I was living in a Panamanian rainforest from 2008-2009. The setting of a tropical world untouched by modern life rooted in my mind and since I've loved Elves since reading the Elf Quest Graphic Series, and then the Shanarra novels, and then watched Lord of the Rings—hello, Legolas—that’s where I started.

2.     Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?
I came up with it, but yeah, there were several before. The working title was called Summer Solstice, then Release of the Exiles and finally I decided on Blaze Ignites.

3.     Which came first, the title or the novel?
Definitely the novel. I rather hate thinking of the perfect title and am at a loss for the title for the next two in the series which are both already written.

4.     Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
Good reviews. That never stops thrilling me. And I was asked to speak on a panel about self-publishing in November. That was cool too. I'm looking forward to that.

5.     What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?
Currently, I'm reading Dark Fever by Moning and the last book I read was JR Ward's Lover at Last—Go Qhuay!!

6.     What was your first book that you ever wrote (very first one you wrote, not published)?
Blaze Ignites. I'm a late bloomer. I never thought about writing novels until the story came to me from out of the blue.

7.     What is your writing process?
The writerly term is AIS—Ass In Seat. I get up, drop my daughter off at the local highschool, grab the dinner groceries on the way home and by 8:45 my butt is in my chair and my fingers are on my keyboard. I try to write new stuff in the morning and switch to editing WIP's (works in progress) around 1pm. I do the kid pick up at 3 and then I work more until it's time for me to start cooking for my family.

  1. Who are your favorite authors of all time? That changes book to book. Historically—Shakespeare and Jane Austin. Currently—JR Ward.

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? 
That only became an issue this past week. I started in the eBook world and my first print books came out on the day of my daughter's sweet 16 birthday. So, my first sales were for family and friends who had been waiting and who happened to all be at my house that day. I'm not sure what I'm going to say yet. When my sister bought her copy she said, "Write- Best Sista Ever", so I did, but my brother said, "I want you to write something genuine and meaningful, so I can keep it as a keepsake…Yeah, well, his signature page is still blank.

  1. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I get crazy ideas and I dive in. For example, I convinced my husband to pull up roots, sell everything and move our family to Panama to start a wildlife sanctuary to rescue ocelots, monkeys and sloths. Sadly the world economy crashed and all our funding dried up. But, it was a fantastic year and an experience of a lifetime. FYI- My husband Allen and I have had a love at first sight relationship since we met when I turned fifteen and after twenty-seven years together, he still finds my flighty fantasies charming and lets me go with whatever sparks my fire. You gotta love a guy like that.

11.  How do you react to a bad review? Thankfully, I haven't had any that were mean or scathing. So far—knock on wood—everyone has been either quite generous or at least constructive in their criticism. You can't please everyone, all the time, but novels really are a labour of love. I expect, hearing something really negative will surely sting.

12.  How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
Well, we haven't really celebrated yet. My first eBooks mostly sold to friends though the sales on Amazon, Kobo and Lulu continue to trickle in. For my first international eBook sale, I danced around in my home office and Facebooked that I was an internationally sold author. My first print books I took with me to my husband's soccer game. I sold a few to the wives (who had been waiting through the whole process) and we had the after game dinner and drinks at Shoeless Joe's Restaurant. When they actually start flying off the shelves, I'm sure we'll celebrate.

This was so much fun. Thanks so much to Alisia for having me and supporting new authors. We'd never get anywhere without the support of readers, book sellers, bloggers and other authors in this media saturated world.
All the best, enjoy. JL Madore



About the Author:
September 2009 marked the beginning of my journey with writing paranormal/fantasy romance novels. After spending a year hiatus in Panama with my family, I returned to Ontario relaxed and ready to let stories flow from my mind onto the page. The only problem was—I didn’t know a thing about the craft of writing.

Almost four years later, after dozens of workshops, reading hundreds of books, joining a writing community and two critique groups, I've won two writing scholarships and believe I've got a handle on what I’m trying to say and the voice with which I want to say it.

Currently, I am working on the five book Scourge Survivor Series as well as a darker, erotic/romance paranormal series currently called Watchers of the Grey.

Website: www.jlmadore.ca





1 comment:

  1. Good morning Alisia and thank you for hosting me on Books and Other Spells. I'm thrilled to meet your followers and will be checking back to hopefully chat with a few of them.
    Have a great one,
    JL

    ReplyDelete