Please share a little about yourself, your genres,
any other pen names you use.
I work a day job as a Case Manager at an employment
centre, set deep in the Alberta Badlands. Dinosaurs surround me but I don’t
mind seeing one on every street corner. I’ve always been a big reader, and writer,
whether it be essays and proposals or short fiction stories. My genres of
choice include Paranormal Romance and Horror with the occasional true crime
story thrown in.
Side FYI to readers, ‘Vetala’ loosely translates to
‘demon’ in Romani.
Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
A
New Day at Midnight is a paranormal romance set in late
1800’s Montana territory. Vetala Merik Hearne, the scarred Romani leader driven
to right wrongs of the past by any means, believes Hannah Worthington is the
key to ending his suffering. Hannah knows Merik already has the answers he
needs to lay the past to rest, but can’t help the man, or the demon, denying
her freedom. As they struggle and sometimes succeed in understanding each
other, a greater threat approaches. The novel is dark, emotional, and at times
intense.
Are you a mom?
I’m mom to a seven year old daughter with a baby on
the way. I’ve never used a pen name, although I fear my children may wish I had
when they get older. It might be interesting for them as the kids of a
romance-writing mom.
If yes do you find it hard to juggle writing and parenting?
Definitely, but I’m a mom first and a writer second.
I also work full time, so it can be challenging to find the time to write. I’m
pretty determined so I always manage to work it out, sometimes by sheer force
of will and usually after dark when the house has gone quiet.
Is there a theme or message in your work that you
would like readers to connect to?
Really it’s about love, loss, and the human (or
inhuman) condition. While based in a world with fictional paranormal elements,
emotional elements remain. Loss, hope, and love are universal.
What would your readers be surprised to learn about
you?
I make a great meatloaf, I wasn’t on Facebook until
a few months ago, and I worry more than I should. I struggle with comma
placement and I would probably swim a raging river to save a drowning kitten. I
really like using adverbs and adjectives, but this isn’t evident in my writing
because Stephen King told me to stop it. Not personally, but he did mention it
in On Writing. After some grudging
review, I had to admit he was right.
Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you
don’t write romance) do you wish you had written?
The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward. It pushes
the boundaries in paranormal romance, evokes strong emotion in the reader, and
contains amazing characters. I really like the fact that she doesn’t seem to
care what anyone thinks, but will write what she wants to write.
Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that
you haven’t tackled yet?
I’m currently working on a horror novel titled The
Midlands, the story of a missing little girl and the woman searching for her, a
despondent parallel world and its demented ruling entity. I’ve been ‘almost
done’ for three years, I just haven’t found my ending yet. To me I can’t
consider it tackled until it’s finished.
Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is
your favorite and why?
Merik is by far my favorite character; I loved
diving into his thoughts and feelings. Working out his reservations was a
challenge because he has so much difficulty accepting the past and its impact
on the present. Hannah presented as a close second, she’s strong willed and
vulnerable with a sharp tongue and wit. I think maybe it’s the deep emotion
between them that I enjoy writing about the most.
If this book is part of a series…what is the next
book? Any details you can share?
I’m working on Chasing Dawn, the second standalone
in the Hearne Family Saga. It revolves around Nicolai, Merik’s younger brother,
and his own struggles and triumphs in navigating the world of mortals and
Vetala.
The Hearne Family Saga
Book 1
Michelle Hiscox
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bookkus Publishing
Date of Publication: February 14, 2015
ISBN: 0991709497
ASIN: B00TGOODU4
Page Count Print – 264
Page Count Electronic – 268
Word Count: 92,691
Cover Artist: Bookkus Publishing
Book Description:
When Merik Hearne finally lays claim to the woman that betrayed him, she inspires much more than his need for revenge—but is her love worth dying for again?
Condemned to play host to a demon, the scarred Romani leader has amassed a fortune with only one goal in mind—to possess Hannah Worthington, the traitorous beauty that has eluded him for over a decade. With an exchange of coin, everything he has been striving for is within reach but nothing is as he imagined. The tender, sharp-tongued woman he encounters tests the bounds of his convictions and he is torn between the promise of reckoning and longing for a love that once destroyed him.
Exchanged for a purse of gold and informed she is to be a slave, Hannah vows she has not survived a lifetime of loss only to wither under the likes of Merik Hearne. And she will do everything she can to make sure he knows it. Despite his overbearing manner, his fierce scars, and her own determination to escape him, she begins to see that something beautiful might lie beneath…something that belongs only to her. She must discover the angle from which the great lord plays before his dark desires consume them both.
As they struggle to find truth amid pasts marred by sorrow and secrecy, they are unaware that a vengeful apostle orchestrates the rise of a forgotten god—and the end of their chance at a life together.
Available at Amazon Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk BN
Excerpt 2
Hannah realized
Merik had left her doors unlocked. Again. Did he believe she would stay now
that she knew his true name and nature? She dare not utter the real question
plaguing her, but it invaded her mind nonetheless.
Is he right? A
large ember escaped from the iron latticework in front of the fire, landing on
the rug at her feet. She watched it smoulder.
Smoke curled up
in delicate tendrils, disappearing before reaching the high ceiling. She stared
for several long moments, willing the flame to grow, to consume her. It held
the colour of Merik’s eyes, burning gold and crimson. A small flame flickered
to life, hungry for progress until she stamped it out with the heel of her
foot.
Rising from the
fire to flop on her bed, she stopped short as an echo rang through the hall.
Certain her battered senses played tricks on her, she pulled back her covers to
lay down but heard it again.
Whether it was a
call of rage, grief, or agony she could not distinguish. It came from Merik’s
quarters, echoing deep within the shadows of the hall. Padding to her door, she
warred between anger over his treatment of her and the desire to ease his pain.
She could not
ignore the fact he’d told her the truth. Pulling a robe about her shoulders,
she kicked off her charred slipper. Without consulting her mind, she made the
decision with her heart. She rested her hand on the door, opening the barrier
between her and the unknown.
“Shit. Shit,
shit, shit. What am I doing? I can stay in my rooms. There is hardly any need
to go out there.”
Another tortured
cry rose in the air, strengthening her resolve to help Merik.
Lighting a
candle, she forced herself to go into the hall. Another cry rang through the
air, and as she got closer to Merik’s chamber, she finally understood what he
was saying. Her name.
“I’m coming,
Merik.” Running to his room, she entered through the open door to see an empty
chamber. Desperation overrode the fear hammering her heart against her chest.
The room smelled of blood, of sickness. Could Vetala even get sick? Could they
die?
“No, please no,
not again. Merik? Merik, please call my name.”
He groaned. As
she followed the source of the noise, the candle shook in her hand. The hot wax
stung her flesh when she stopped several steps in front of a half-open door set
in the wall.
“Merik?” The
smell of death clung to the entrance and she gagged. The candle wobbled in her
hand. She steadied it, saying a quick thanks to God it did not go out. She
could not bear to go forth in the darkness without light. Setting the candle on
the floor, she swung the door wide. The candle flickered as she picked it up.
Fear twisted her guts and no matter how she tried, she could not stop her hands
from shaking. She took another step.
“Merik?” It took
her eyes several moments to see more than a foot from her face. When she saw
him in the dim light, she gasped. He now stood in front of her. It took her
several more moments to realize he was not standing of his own volition, but
rather restrained by chains embedded in the stone wall. When he lifted his
head, she covered her mouth to stifle a scream.
Eyes of molten
gold and crimson stared back at her. His jaw and facial bones were distended,
his hands curled into claws. The changes were much more severe than the few
instances she attributed to the loss of her mind.
“I…I…” Stepping
back toward the entrance, her gaze never left Merik’s. She turned her back on
him to commence a rather spineless retreat, but could not get her feet to
cooperate.
“Hannah?” The
voice held much more than pain. What? Desperation? Hope? She could not move as
her heart and mind waged war. Despite his appearance, she knew beneath the
angled bone protruding from his flesh, his distorted face, and the fangs
visible in his mouth, Merik stood in front of her. The man she met a decade
before. The man looking at her with the same single focused intensity with
which he always did. The man she loved.
Taking another
step and hearing nothing but her own harsh breathing, she took one more.
About the Author:
Michelle Hiscox is a Paranormal Romance fan and author who hails from Drumheller, Alberta. The dinosaur bones buried in the hills of her hometown inspired the first stories she ever wrote, and she feels blessed to walk those same hills with her daughter today. Crocus flowers and dust bowls full of cactus never fail to inspire.
While her little girl and husband provides many welcome distractions to writing, it's something she always finds her way back to. Michelle is the proud, and slightly crazy, owner of two dogs and three cats, all animals she loves more than she reasonably should. She's been reading voraciously since she was a child and, one night, pulled her nose from a book to start writing her own.
Website – http://www.michellehiscox.com
Amazon Author Page –http://www.amazon.com/l/B00VO2K990
1 comment:
Thank you for featuring my book on your website. I appreciate it very much!
Michelle Hiscox
Post a Comment