SATURDAY SNEAK PEEK COFFEE KLATCH

Relax, grab your favorite cup of coffee, or tea, and join me in welcoming Ellen Keener to our Saturday Sneak Peek Coffee Klatch, of Blood Moon from Decadent Publishing.  

1)      When did you first start writing?

a.       I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. My first story was a mystery about a dinosaur. I believe the title was Webby and the Tar Monster. Classic, right?  If you mean writing seriously, it’s been about three years.  Until then, it was always done for me, and no one else saw it, with a few exceptions where I tried to send things to magazines and such.

2)      What genre do you write in?  Why did you choose it?

a.       Mostly paranormal romance.  I love the idea of creating a world where magic; myth and monsters are all real. And of course, romance is romance. What’s not to love? I can make Mr. Right be anything or one I want, and that is ALWAYS appealing.

3)      Do you have a ritual before sitting down to write?  Do you listen to music, light candles, or wear something sexy, to put you in the mood for creating love scenes? 

a.       Well, if I’m going to sit down and write for a couple hours, I sometimes make a pot of tea – complete with tea cozy, china cup and saucer, milk, sugar, the works. I put the whole thing on a tray and take it to the computer. My roommate thinks it’s hilarious. As for love scenes – I blush my way through them and hope for the best.  Lol

4)      Do you work on more the one project at a time?  If you do, how do you keep the stories from meshing together?

a.       I do, actually, quite frequently. But the key is, I’m usually working on two VERY different stories. I write YA under another name, and that is generally pretty easy to distinguish from the adult stuff. I work on whichever one pulls at me the most. If I’m working on two different adult pieces, they have to be complete opposites, or they do tend to bleed over. Like right now I’m working on one that’s a little dark and scary, and one that’s paranormal, but not scary. Those aren’t so hard to keep separate.

5)      How much time in your busy day, do you spend on your craft?

a.       I wish it was more! I spend about an hour in the mornings, and then I try to spend an hour or two in the evenings. With my day job being teaching, most of my time comes on the weekends, assuming there’s nothing else going on. Right now is a busy time with games, exams, and events.

6)      Since the holiday season is approaching, do you have a favorite holiday movie or special event, and why do you love it?

a.       My favorite Holiday Movie is White Christmas. No contest. We also have a lot of family traditions to do with Christmas that I love. Everyone gets to open one present Christmas Eve, and it’s always “Christmas PJs.” Every adult (which is all of us now that my brother moved out) gets to light a Bayberry candle for good luck on Christmas Eve, and even though we’re *ahem* much older, my brother and I are still not allowed downstairs on Christmas morning until my Mom rings the Christmas Bell. Believe me, I’ve been trying to skirt that tradition since I left home. But no matter how old I am, she just doesn’t see a need for me to guard the tree and packages from the cats.

7)      What season do you find, to be the one that sparks more new romances, and why?

a.       For me, its fall. It’s my favorite time of year. I don’t know why, but it always seems to get the creative juices flowing.

8)      If your most recent novel was made into a movie, who would you like to see cast in the lead roles, and why?

a.       Oh man, Gerard Butler. *swoon* would be Lukas. Aria changes all the time, but right now she’d be someone like Anne Hathaway. And Thaddeus ( I love him!) would be Paul Bettany.

9)      Do you have a particular author whose work inspires you?  If yes, who, and why?

a.       It varies depending on what I’m reading, but I love Katie MacAlister and the way she weaves her plots, the serious moments and lots of humor. I also really enjoy the Bloodfever series from Moning. I like the dark and gritty side to those novels.

10)  Can you give away any of your secret indulgences?  We promise not to tell.

a.       Chocolate. And sweet ice tea. Not necessarily in that order.

11)  Would you to give us a hint about any works in progress?  We’re dying to know what you’re working on next.

a.       Right now I’ve switched gears a little and have two things going. One is a novella about a mad scientist and his attempt to force two Fae to give him the heir of his dreams. The other is a horror romance about a psychic who gets trapped in a house with a “ghost hunting” team and falls for one of the crew members.

12)   Can you share an excerpt of your latest novel?

a.       Sure!

“What kind of torture is this? You’re dead.”

The muscles of his throat worked, but no sound emerged. Behind him, Thaddeus winked and gave her a smug smile.

“So are you.”

Oh dear God, even his voice was the same! The warmth in the deep rumble broke her tenuous control. Tearing her gaze from his, she pressed a hand over her mouth and pulled her knees to her chest. Perhaps if she held herself tightly enough, she wouldn’t splinter.

She took small, frantic sips of air, attempting to hold back the sobs pushing out of her throat. A low keening noise, high-pitched and slightly mad, warbled through the room. On some level, she knew it emanated from her, but she spent her energy on making herself small. Her fingernails bit into her jeans. The gaping wound where her heart had been patched over so many times after Lukas’ death, ruptured. Her soul bled, and each ragged breath she heard him draw clawed the hole wider.

The whole room seemed to be consumed by Lukas’ presence. Escape was impossible, and she knew it, even as she searched for an exit. She had to get out. If she didn’t, there wouldn’t be anything left to save.

Lukas moved across the room, crouched in front of her, his hands on either side of the chair. His mismatched, unearthly stare met hers, but she couldn’t make the tears stop.

“Leave us.”

It wasn’t right. His voice both soothed and tore at her frayed nerves. The others moved from the room. Her opportunity to run passed as they pulled the door closed with a soft click. She couldn’t have torn her gaze from Lukas if her life depended on it. Hesitantly, as if he too were afraid, he smoothed one calloused hand over her cheek, thumbing away the wetness. At his touch, her whole body jerked like she’d been struck. Every place his fingers touched tingled, and warmth began to shimmer in her soul.

“I need to hear you say the words. Are you Aria Lagreve?”

She drew a deep shuddering breath, captured his hand against her face and rubbed her cheek over the palm. “No.”

Pain and anger flared in his eyes. His features hardened, and he tried to pull his hand away. She stopped him, reaching out with one shaking digit to trace the scar along his cheek.

“When you died, I was Aria MacLeod.”

13)  Where can we find you? Website, face book, blog, email?

a.       My website is http://ellenkeener.wordpress.com/ you can also email me at ellenkeener@ymail.com and I have a facebook fan page.  J

Thank you so much for taking time to chat with me! I really enjoyed it!

Thank you so much Ellen.  It was a pleasure spending time with you, and allowing us to sneak a peek.