Today, I have author Adrian Phoenix here to talk about her The Maker’s Song series. The fourth book in the series, Etched in Bone, was just released on February 22, 2011.
One lucky commenter will have a chance to win a copy of Etched in Bone. Details are listed at the end of the post.
Author Bio:
As a writer, a person, and a mother, I’ve always believed in following your dreams, following your heart. It’s also important to keep your heart, so I also believe in being prepared for zombie attacks and can’t stress enough the importance of having regular family drills so every member of the household is zombie-ready. One never knows.Make sure the sofa is ready to push in front of the door. be clear that if a member of the family is on the wrong side of the door when the zombie action goes down. They remain on the wrong side of the door. The greater good, etc.
I live in Springfield, Oregon in a zombie-free home (except when meeting deadlines) with three cats, Amiga, Diabla, and Ember and have two sons and three grandchildren and two granddogs. I hope one day to write a masterpiece like my father’s parody of Jaws, a work written on yellow legal paper entitled Beak, the story of a rogue twenty thousand pound Cornish game hen and the men who seek to end its deadly rampage. If i write anything half as funny (and this involved tears and gasping for air), I’ll be happy.
Visit Adrian around the web here: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Welcome Adrian!
DFT: Could you start things off by telling us a little about The Maker’s Song Series?
Adrian: You bet! It’s Dante’s story—and Heather’s once she steps into his life—a complex tapestry of betrayal, violence, government conspiracies, love and loss, redemption and sacrifice, a fast-paced tale of vampires, mortals, and fallen angels and unstoppable destiny.
DFT: Etched In Bone is the fourth book in your The Maker’s Song series. For readers new to the series, can you give us a quick overview of the previous books in the series?
Adrian: The story begins with A Rush of Wings. Tracking a sadistic serial killer has led FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace to New Orleans, Club Hell, and the man known as Dante. But the dangerously attractive musician not only resists her investigation, he claims to be “nightkind”: in other words, a vampire.
Digging into his past reveals an extensive juvenile record, but no known birth date or social security number. In and out of foster homes for most of his life, he was eventually taken in by an equally mysterious man named Lucien De Noir, who tries to shield his ward from Heather’s investigation.
Heather is sure, however, that Dante is linked to the murderer—and could be the next target. Now, she must unravel the truth about this sensual, complicated, vulnerable young man—who, she begins to believe, truly is a vampire—in order to bring the killer to justice. But what Heather doesn’t know is that Dante’s past holds a shocking, dangerous secret, and once it’s revealed not even she will be able to protect him from his destiny .
Here’s a link to a sample chapter of A Rush of Wings.
The story continues in the second book, In the Blood. Vampire. Rock star. Begotten son of a fallen angel. Dante Baptiste continues to search for the truth about his past. When his band Inferno comes to Seattle on tour, FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace is drawn back to the beautiful, dangerous nightkind. But new enemies lurk in the shadows, closer than Heather and Dante think . . . and even deadlier than they fear.
Shady government forces have pledged to eliminate all loose ends from Project Bad Seed—and Heather and Dante are at the top of the list. Elsewhere, the Fallen gather in Gehenna, intent on finding their long-awaited savior. And a damaged and deadly adversary, with powers as strange and perilous as Dante’s own, plots to use Dante as a pawn in a violent scheme for revenge. Only one of these lethal forces holds the key that could finally unlock the secret of Dante’s birth and the truth of his existence . . . or destroy him completely.
The third book, Beneath the Skin, picks up right where In the Blood leaves off. The dark pieces of Dante Baptiste’s past are violently emerging, and it is only a matter of time before the Fallen discover he is the creawdwr they have sought for thousands of years. The destruction he left behind in Oregon threatens to reveal his identity as Fallen Maker and True Blood, exposing the young nightkind to shadowy predators—mortal and supernatural—who will do whatever it takes to win his favor or destroy him.
When beautiful FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace went AWOL on assignment, she chose irresistible Dante over the shadowy government forces that now stalk them both. Heather has her own secrets of the past to uncover, but she is also the only one who can hold her nightkind lover together when his dangerous quest for the truth threatens to send him over the edge. And as she and Dante fight for their survival, she realizes they must work together to protect their future—before his mysterious destiny tears them apart.
With Book Four, Etched in Bone, Dante faces his destiny and searches for a way to accept it on his own terms. To make his life, his own, at long last, and with Heather at his side. The former FBI agent is more than his partner and lover, she is also his anchor, his beacon, guiding him back from the edge of madness when his shattered past rises up and swallows him. But in Heather’s human family awaits an unexpected enemy. One who could force Dante to choose his darkest destiny—as the Great Destroyer.
Son of a fallen angel. Forged in vampire’s blood. Sworn to a mortal woman. If Dante falls, the world falls with him . . .
Here’s a link to the first two chapters of Etched in Bone.
Etched in Bone is also a featured read for March on BN.com’s Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Book Club – which I’m very excited about.
DFT: Can the books function as a stand alone or do we need to read the series from the beginning?
Adrian: I think it’s best if they are read in order. I know some readers picked up the second book, In the Blood, first and loved it enough to run back and pick up the first (A Rush of Wings) to see what they missed, but given the continuing story arc, I think it’s best to read them from the beginning. A Rush of Wings, in the Blood, Beneath the Skin, and Etched in Bone.
DFT: Do you have a long-term plan or goal for this story universe? What happens after book 4, Etched In Bone?
Adrian: Book five is next, On Midnight Wings, with book six to follow. I hope to keep this series going for as long as there’s a compelling story to tell. And given the complex world the complicated characters, that should be quite a while.
DFT: Who is your favorite character in this book, and why?
Adrian: I love them all, but I’d have to say Dante. He’s the character I based the entire storyline around, so he’s very special to me. He feels real, I can hear his Cajun accent, see the black polish on his fingernails, the bondage collar strapped around his throat. His childhood was brutal and haunting and some of the scenes really make me ache when I write them. But Heather, Von, and Lucien all follow right on Dante’s heels in my affections.
DFT: Do you have a favorite scene or line from Etched In Bone?
Adrian: Well, I love the sex scenes between Dante and Heather, of course. One of my favorite scenes involves an exchange between Dante and a nightkind lord while standing on the sidewalk in front of Club Hell.
The driver’s side window hummed as it glided down into its slot and a cloud of smoke smelling of premium, dark-leaf tobacco and vanilla rolled out from the car’s interior, carried on “China Girl’s” dark and yearning chords.
“Christ. I always forget how bloody gorgeous you are, mate,” a male voice with a light British accent said, managing to sound both amused and rueful at the same time. A voice Dante recognized as belonging to one of Silver and Simone’s friends, the lord of the household down on Magazine Street—a household allied with Mauvais’s. “I think it must be a self-defense mechanism of some sort.”
Body still tensed for action, Dante met Vincent’s gleaming eye liner-rimmed gaze. “Self-defense mechanism, huh?”
“Must be. Otherwise I’d become obsessed with figuring out how to get you into bed for a proper and thorough shagging. Then I’d never get anything bloody done.”
“You could just ask me.”
Vincent blinked, mouth open. He moved, blurring out of the car and onto the sidewalk. ”I could just ask? And where would the sodding fun be in that?”
“In the proper and thorough shagging if the answer was yes, would be my guess,” Dante said with a shrug. “Whatcha doing here, Vincent? Kinda late for a visit, yeah?”
DFT: What is your favorite part of writing this series?
Adrian: Everything. I love exploring Dante and Heather’s world and I love exploring the characters.
DFT: What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell us about?
Adrian: I have a second urban fantasy series about Kallie Rivière, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice down in the Louisiana bayou. It’s a lighter series full of magic, mystery, murder, and sexy nomads. The first book, Black Dust Mambo, came out last July and the second book, Black Heart Loa, will be released June 28th.
DFT: What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?
Adrian: To be honest, I can’t think of one. LOL.
DFT: What books/genres do you read when you have the chance? Any must read authors or series?
Adrian: I read all types of books, fiction and non-fiction. Urban fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, paranormal romance, etc. I love to read.
I love Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series, Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP books, Jaye Wells’ Sabina Kane books, D.B. Reynolds’ Vampires In American series, Ken Scholes’ fantasy series beginning with Lamentation, C.S. Harris (historical mysteries), James Lee Burke (detective series set in Louisiana), James Elroy (noir mysteries), Kelley Armstrong, Meljean Brook, Devon Monk, Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin series, so many great authors!
DFT: What is your definition of a “bad writing day”? How do you deal with bad writing days?
Adrian: A bad writing day would be when my inner critic and editor took over and dammed up the creative flow. Whenever that happens, I either just start writing stream of consciousness stuff long hand in a notebook or call a friend and have them talk me off the ledge. LOL. Then I duct tape my inner critic and toss them into a closet.
DFT: Do you have a particular writing process or any writing rituals?
Adrian: Other than putting butt in chair and writing every day, not really. I do need my coffee and music, but other than that, it’s all good.
DFT: If you weren’t writing, what would you want to be doing for a living?
Adrian: I’ve always thought I’d be a writer, so I never gave serious thought to another career. But I think I’d be interested in nursing or law enforcement or maybe teaching. I think ghost hunting would be great too—though I’m not sure a person can make enough money to afford a living doing that. Still, it’d be fun!
DFT: If you could be any paranormal creature, which one would you be and why?
Adrian: Vampire, I think. They’ve always fascinated me and the thought of moving through the ages (hopefully young and beautiful . . .LOL) is compelling.
Adrian: Thanks so much for having me here! It’s been a true pleasure.
DFT: Thanks Adrian for taking the time to stop by.
GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:
One lucky commenter will have a chance to win a copy of Etched in Bone.
To enter, just leave a comment about this post:
1. +2 entries for becoming a follower of this blog and Dark Faerie Tales on Twitter.
2. +3 entries for tweeting about this contest, blogging about it, linking via your sidebar etc…(please tell me where!).
3. Giveaway is open to US and Canada only.
4. Giveaway ends Sunday, March 20th at 11:59 PM EST.
5. The winner will be picked with the help of Random.org.
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