Character Interview by Elli Morgan – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Elli Morgan will award a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Character Interview
Cindy, a blonde in her late twenties, sits in an armchair in a hotel suite. A recording device lies in front of her on a small coffee table. A tall man with dark hair and a woman with long, caramel blonde hair lounge on a couch next to her.

Cindy smiles at them and starts the recording device. “I’m Cindy, from the paranormal romance book association. Tonight, I’ve got Lilah and Cain with me, the stars of The Waxing Moon. In the author’s newest novel, The Shadowed Moon, the two only play a supporting role. Which brings me to my first question. Lilah, how do you feel to be demoted from protagonist to side character?”

Lilah raises an eyebrow. “Let me return the question. How does it feel to be demoted from interviewer to midnight snack?”

“I….uh…,” Cindy stammers.

Lilah grins widely, showing her vampire fangs. “I’m just kidding. I’ve already got my happy end—” she looks lovingly at Cain and then back at Cindy “—now, I’m happy to help my friends find theirs.“

“Your friends? But you didn’t consider Sarah and Dave your friends in the beginning, did you? What was your opinion of Sarah when you met her?”

“No, not in the beginning. Although Sarah had a similar training background, she couldn’t be any more different from me. I don’t understand how anyone could hate being a vampire and surrender their freedom,” Lilah says.

“I do,” Cain interjects. “When you’re turned into a vampire against your will and hurt someone you care about, it’s like you’re caught in an endless nightmare. And as long as you’re going through this hell, you’re never truly free.”

“You speak from experience, right?” Cindy asks, and Cain nods. “How did you turn your life around?”

“It’s almost impossible to free yourself from the demons of your past. I needed Lilah to show me the light. Love can help you see the world differently, after all. I believe it’s the same for Sarah. But she was lucky enough to find her love much earlier than me.”

“You’re obviously talking about Dave,” says Cindy. “What do you think about him?”

“Well, as a mercenary, I usually kill hunters like Dave. But he is different than most. He is willing to see us for who we are and what we do instead of what we are. So, I like him,” Cain says.

“I agree,” Lilah says. “Meeting Sarah has changed his view on vampires and helped him realized that there are good and bad ones. We’re no different from humans in that regard.”

“How would you describe your role in The Shadowed Moon?” Cindy asks.

“We’re the ones that move the story along,” says Lilah.

“How?”

“We forced Sarah and Dave’s hands by giving them an ultimatum,” answers Cain. “It was the motivation they needed to leave their home at the hunters’ compound to face her nemeses.”

“Oh, we did more than that,” says Lilah. “I doubt they’d have admitted their mutual feelings of love if we hadn’t pushed them.”

Cain nods. “It’s hard to see you’re entitled to love when you hate yourself for what you are.”

“Where do you think the two of them would be now if you hadn’t played a part in their story?” Cindy asks.

“Sarah would probably still play the hunters’ pet.” Lilah laughs.

“Pet?” Cindy asks.

“She was wearing a collar,” Cain clarifies. “What Lilah means is that Sarah would still help the hunters hunt vampires, putting her own needs last.”

“It’s a good thing you two intervened, then,” Cindy says. “What do you think Sarah and Dave will do next? Will your paths cross again?”

“Hard to tell,” says Lilah. “They’ve still got a lot of things to figure out, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. Cain and I won’t return to the States anytime soon, so our paths won’t cross in the near future.”

“Oh yeah, right, you’re usually traveling through Europe, aren’t you? How did you like the States?”

“There are a lot of interesting sights to behold. I like the vast forests,” says Cain. “But the vampires in the States need to be taught how to behave. They’re drawing too much attention to our kind and leave too many messes.”

“They’d kill you and leave your body for the authorities to find,” Lilah adds.

“Uh, yeah, we wouldn’t want that,” says Cindy with a high pitch in her voice. “I hope the new regime will help change their attitude.”

“As do we,” Cain says. “After all, we’ve got our own problems to deal with in Europe. Speaking of which, we really should leave now.”

“I understand. Thank you so much for taking part in the interview!” Cindy stops the recording. She shakes the hands of the vampires and escorts them to the door. Once Lilah and Cain leave, she takes a deep breath to calm her heart.

After they took everything from him, Dave Patton dedicated his life to hunting vampires. But he can’t bring himself to destroy their newest vampire prisoner Sarah—a young woman with a tragic past, who awakens forbidden desires in him.

Sarah McAllister spent her childhood in the hands of ruthless vampires aiming to turn her into a perfect soldier. To take revenge, she hides her true strength and surrenders to a group of hunters, hoping her knowledge will help them bring all monsters to justice.

When the hunters’ compound is attacked, Sarah has to reveal her powers to protect them from certain death. How will Dave react when he learns the truth? And how much will she have to sacrifice to defeat her tormentors?

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Giving in to the urge to feed, turning into the beast her kind expected her to be, and betraying the little girl she once was would be so much easier.

A light breeze carried the hunter’s heady scent to Sarah as she leaned against a majestic walnut tree on this moonless night. She clenched her fists as a shudder ran through her, and every cell inside her body ached for his sweet blood.

After years of suffering at the hands of monsters, she’d mastered the art of renouncing her cravings. Pressing her body against the tree, she concentrated on the coarse bark rubbing against her skin. She could not suppress the abominable hunger forever, but her determination combined with the sensory distraction granted her control of her urges for a little while longer. Would it last long enough to talk to him and set her plan in motion?

The hunter—a young, muscular man with short, chestnut-brown hair and light stubble on his chiseled face—browsed through his phone, painfully unaware of the vampire watching him. And not for the first time. She’d followed him and his team for five days, studying their tactics and abilities from the shadows. They showed promise, although their approach of posing as bait often put them at risk. With a little help from her, they’d rid the world of even more monsters.

She could have picked any group of hunters, but something about the leader of this team enthralled her. His dark eyes held the same sadness and longing she often glimpsed in the mirror. If only she could talk to him about her intentions, but hunters never listened.

She inhaled deeply. Would he pass her test and prove they were more than easy prey?

Her ankle boots echoed on the pavement of the quiet, suburban neighborhood as she approached him from behind. The clacking reminded her of her mother, strutting through the world like she owned it…as if the monsters in the dark didn’t exist.

About the Author: Elli Morgan was born in 1991 in a small town in Germany. Although she only started learning English in sixth grade, she quickly fell in love with the language. To improve her skills, she spent a year working and traveling in Canada and the US.

As a teenager, she devoured countless fan fiction and vampire novels. During that time, she also developed the idea for her first two books.
Her debut, The Waxing Moon, won the Reader Views bronze award in the romance category.

Apart from being a writer, she’s also a trained mathematician, working as Business Intelligence Developer at an IT company. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and all kinds of games.

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Background of THE STARLIGHT MOTEL by Amy Craig – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Amy Craig will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Background of THE STARLIGHT MOTEL

I live in Louisiana, but I’m a Northern California girl at heart. I frequently read Bay Area online news sites for restaurant trends, wildfire updates, and changes to the cities where I lived. Maybe I’ll go back one day for more than a visit!

A few years ago, a news story about a San Francisco mural caught my eye. The 455 Hyde Street murals, collectively known as Le Papillon, tell the story of San Francisco’s urban beauties. On two walls, monarchs fly toward the state flower, the California Poppy. I almost bought a plane ticket to see the vibrant murals while their colors were sharpest, but economic realities prevailed.

Disclaimer… My social posts feature a lot of monarch butterflies and weary children tired of planting tropical milkweed and relocating rogue chrysalises. Did you know butterfly wings fade as the insect ages? Just to be clear, my social media posts have plenty of sexy abs, but you can see how a butterfly mural caught my eye!

As I learned more about Le Papillon, Kada, the main character in THE STARLIGHT MOTEL, came into focus. Kada’s a muralist with a brilliant career. When a crowdfunding stalls her career, she helps her family run a Palm Springs motel. The question is, why does she love it?

One answer might lie in her art and the reasons she paints. In THE STARLIGHT MOTEL, and in other literature, muralists are integral members of their communities. They collaborate with local residents, incorporate community stories into art, and use murals to foster belonging and unity. This portrayal highlights art’s communal nature and its potential to bring people together. Running a motel is a lot like being the mayor of a small community, but most constituents don’t ring their elected officials and ask for additional toilet paper. If she can’t find a way to paint, she’s still a caregiver.

Muralists make great fictional characters (“The Murals” by William Bayer, “The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver, or “Shadowshaper” by Daniel José Older) because they often undergo significant personal growth. As they create their murals, they confront personal challenges, heal from past traumas, or discover new facets of themselves. This process of creation and self-discovery makes their journeys deeply relatable and inspiring. Unfortunately, painting a mural takes longer than we have in contemporary romances. Baby, we’re falling in love in a week, not eighteen months!

Experienced muralist Kada took charge of her family’s Palm Springs motel to give her mother time to grieve. As a grant deadline approaches, Kada must convince her mother to manage the motel so she can return to her art. Late in December, Kada encounters a horseman approaching the property. Dane, the reserved son of a local farming family, is a loyal workaholic with limited spare time or experience outside the valley. When lightning startles his horse, he lingers at the motel and stirs up Kada’s emotions about leaving the desert oasis. Wary of mixing business with pleasure, she struggles with her attraction. As New Year’s Eve approaches, will the cowboy convince her to chart a new course?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“I’m Dane Palmer,” the man on the chestnut horse said. “My family owns the land next door.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” She shaded her gaze. “I’ve heard about you.”

For as long as her family owned the motel, the Palmer family owned the surrounding farmland. Once or twice, the Palmer patriarch offered to buy the Starlight Motel, but Pops resisted and counted the family as friends. They produced the area’s top vegetable crops, cultivated table grapes, and managed fields of fruit trees. Every once in a while, Dane’s mother, Mariah, came by the motel to visit and give her business advice, but Dane and his younger brother remained enigmas. She exhaled. “I’ve met your mother.”

“I’m sure,” Dane said. “She gets around.”

The second man laughed like a rusted pail swinging in the wind.

Dane glanced at the seated cowboy. “This is Walter. He’s the farm’s crew manager.”

Tipping his hat, Walter nodded.

She tented her gaze. “Could you two get down? Between the horses and the low sun, I can’t see you to save my life.”

Hanging his hat on the saddle horn, Dane handed his horse’s reins to Walter. He threw his leg over the horse’s saddle and slid down its side with an easy, athletic grace.

Standing, he was six feet tall, long, rangy, and reserved. He wore boots, jeans, a dark shirt, and a fleece-lined leather jacket that beat back the wind. A hat had smashed his sun-kissed brown hair against his forehead, but he wiped away the mess, cocked his head, and held out his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said.

About the Author: Amy Craig lives in Louisiana with her family and a small menagerie of pets. She writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring intelligent heroines. In her spare time, she plays tennis and expands her husband’s honey-do list. Before writing, she worked as an oilfield engineer, project manager, and incompetent waitress. For more information and giveaways, visit www.amy-craig.com or follow her on social media channels.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Recoil by Dixie Jackson

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Cord McAllister was born of a long line of dissidents, spies, and dark ops fighters. The roots of his family tree took him clear back to the War of 1812 where his aunt several times removed busied herself with stealing enemy secrets rather than knitting socks. But nothing in the entirety of his family pedigree could have prepared him for his current assignment: Lucy Wayland, kindergartner. With his house in shambles and overrun with toys, his mind a murky blur, and his heart in his throat from constant worry about the kid, Cord knows one thing. He needs backup. Never in his wildest imagination did he expect that help to come in the form of a ghost from his past.

Chloe Hamilton was born of a long line of dissidents, spies, and dark ops fighters. How deep she’s in and how far back those roots take her is a secret to everyone including her ex, who just happens to be in charge of protecting her current assignment: Lucy Wayland, kindergartner. After four years of radio silence, Chloe finds herself on Cord’s doorstep with her au pair persona on and dragging way more baggage than the suitcase holding her clothes. Never in her wildest imagination did she ever expect to see Cord again, yet here she was in living color. It doesn’t take long to discover while confined to quarters together that the fire still burns bright between them, but the secrets that kept them apart before have only grown exponentially.

Chloe’s determined to fulfill not only her mission, but her destiny, which she knows without a doubt was etched on her heel long before she was conceived of. Even if it means leaving what she wants behind, again. Cord’s determined he’s not taking no for an answer, again. Their determinations will take them from the Carolina coast to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest where all the secrets that kept them apart will come unraveled, and will either make them or break them.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Crushing by TR Simmons

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Atarah is a high school tomboy and a stellar athlete, but of below average height and beauty.
This is a problem when everyone’s physical attributes and popularity are ranked by an AI computer called Big Social.

Atarah has five days before the Crush-it dance to find her secret admirer and become popular or she will have little chance of acceptance to a top university and their romantic reality shows.

A cryptic message warns Atarah that Big Social’s selfish protocols for human happiness are killing Earth. A plan to subvert the AI will require Atarah to find true love on the night of the dance.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Breathless by Roz Lee

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

With development encroaching on his family’s vineyard, Wade Nightingale has his eye on the property next door. To get it, he’ll have to go through Serenity Granger, the reckless girl he had a crush on all through high school. She’s a grown woman now and determined to save her family legacy from foreclosure. It’s easy to admire her tenacity but impossible to keep his hands off her.

When Serenity Granger was ten years old, Wade Nightingale didn’t know she existed unless she was getting into trouble at his family’s winery, which she’d done more often than she wanted to recall, but now he’s paying attention. When things heat up between them, she has to wonder—could he be the answer to all her grown-up fantasies? Or is he a snake in the vineyard, after the only thing that matters to him—her land?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Water Dreams, Love’s Siren Song Book 1 by Katherine Eddinger Smits

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Water Dreams is an award-winning finalist in the Fiction/Romance category of the Best Book Awards.

She’s human. He’s Nerei. What happens when they fall in love against his species’ laws?

In the small Florida town of Tarpon Springs, Nik Aronopulos avoids water like the plague. She never goes to the beach and shuns restaurants with views of the Gulf of Mexico. So, when a merman shows up at her doorstep, insisting they need to study her, she’s stunned. There’s nothing special about her…
…or so she thinks.

Bas is an arrogant, dark-haired merman tasked with obtaining Nik’s cooperation at all costs, even if means being untruthful about the extent of the ‘study’ they need to conduct on her. But he’s willing to do and say whatever he must. She’s the Nerei’s only hope at overcoming their greatest weakness. Although they can shapeshift to look like humans and have advantages over land dwellers, their dependence on water keeps them from freedom. There’s just one problem – the girl he’s meant to capture under false pretenses is hooking his heart.

When Bas is shot by a bullet meant for Nik, she must face her greatest fear to help him – the ocean. Her decision plunges her into a desperate journey where her desire for self-preservation, is weighed against her growing feelings for this merman who had once meant her harm…

…and what this might mean for all of them.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: The Witch of the Breton Woods by Jennifer Ivy Walker

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Traumatized by horrors witnessed during the Nazi invasion of France, a young woman retreats to the dense Breton woods where she becomes a member of the clandestine French Resistance. When she finds a critically injured American paratrooper whose plane was shot down, she shelters the wounded soldier in her secluded cottage, determined to heal him despite the enormous risk.

Ostracized by villagers who have labeled her a witch, she is betrayed by an informant who reports to the Butcher—the monstrous leader of the local paramilitary organization that collaborates with the Germans. As the enemy closes in, she must elude the Gestapo while helping the Resistance reunite the American with his regiment and join the Allied Forces in the Battle of Brittany.

Can true love triumph against all odds under the oppressive Third Reich?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Bulletproof by Linda Mooney

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

When you can’t die, nothing scares you…except love.

Wanting to wind down after a week-long seminar, U.S. Federal Marshal Stokker Teague finds himself in a hotel bar with plans to celebrate with a few drinks. Seeing a cute female sitting alone a few tables away, he’s interested and decides to make his move to see if she’ll bite. He’s got some time to kill before his flight home in a couple of days, so why not?

Diane takes the bait, but their one-night stand ends up being so much more than either of them expected. Diane knows she’s getting sidetracked from her job but this time it can wait. She deserves some fun, even though she’s sure it won’t last.

When time starts ticking on a job, Diane must strike when the opportunity presents itself. She takes her shot and runs. It breaks her heart to leave Stokker, but she convinces herself it couldn’t last. Her job would always keep them apart—except it seems fate has other plans. They keep running into each other no matter how much she wants to stay away and keep Stokker from finding out the truth.

When Stokker discovers who Diane really is and what she is, he’s torn between his job and his heart. Does he turn her over to the police for murder, or should he allow her to keep delivering her brand of vigilante justice?

Warning! Contains bullet flushing, wearing socks in bed, a Dastardly Good Donut Shop, faulty (?) surveillance cameras, a girl named Carla, a look that can kill, and two people learning to cope with the uniqueness of their love affair.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Hidden Treasures by Kathleen Buckley

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Allan Everard, an earl’s illegitimate son, is dismissed from his employment at his father’s death but inherits a former coaching inn. Needing to make a new life in London, he begins by leasing the inn to a charity.

Unexpectedly orphaned, Rosabel Stanbury and her younger sister are made wards of a distant, unknown cousin. Fearing his secretive ways and his intentions for them, Rosabel and Oriana flee to London where they are taken in by a women’s charity.

Drawn into Rosabel’s problems, with his inn under surveillance by criminals, Allan has only a handful of unlikely allies, including an elderly general, a burglar, and an old lady who knows criminal slang.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Take That Ride by Meg Benjamin

Thanks for joining us on our 17th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

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They’ve only got a week. They need to make it count.

Coy Blackburn is an up-and-coming country singer, but right now he feels more like he’s down-and-going. He’s at the end of a long tour, and his band is dragging. A week-long gig at the Faro tavern in Konigsburg, Texas, may get them back on their feet or it may be a disaster. For Coy, it feels like it could go either way.

Lexi Markham is living life on auto-pilot at the moment. As the main driver at her family’s tour business, she spends her days taking tourists around the Texas wineries and trying to get over her breakup with her lying fiancé. Now her sister has booked her to drive a country band around town, and she’s definitely not feeling it.

When Coy and Lexi meet, sparks fly—and not it a good way. Still, trust the power of music (and a back country cloudburst) to overcome a few bumps in the road. But can they even think about the future when they’ve only got a few days together?

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