Meet the Author / Interview with a Character Blog Hop

Lord Nicholas Pierce, hero of Wait Until Moonrise, interviews his author,

Teri Thackston

 

 

Welcome to my stop on this fabulous hop--and remember you can enter a contest to win a prize! Just read on to find out how.

This week, I thought I’d let Lord Nicholas Pierce, Earl of Beaumarith interview me for a change! Take it away, Lord Nicholas!

Nicholas: Thank you, Lady Teri, for the opportunity to ask you how I came to be. After all, ‘twas you who gave me life in your novel Wait Until Moonrise, therefore you know the details of my creation better than anyone.

TT: Certainly, Lord Nicholas. But while my mother likes to think she raised me to be a lady, I’m not one in the sense of English nobility. So please, call me Teri.

Nicholas: As you wish. When did you first think of me? When did you decide to bring me to life?

TT:  I remember the exact moment. I had taken my children to a theater to see Disney’s version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’…you know the story?

Nicholas: Of course. But a child’s fairy tale inspired your book?

TT:  The storyline sprang from a fairy tale but it quickly matured well beyond that. There was a scene in the film where the Beast and Belle were dancing in an immense ballroom that contained enormous windows. Shadows from the windowpanes lay a pattern over the ballroom floor.

Nicholas:  As in the ballroom at my home, Beaumarith. ‘Tis beautiful in the moonlight.

TT:  Exactly. As Belle and the Beast danced, I imagined they were ghosts who disappeared whenever they danced into the shadows, but reappeared when they danced into the moonlight. It would be eerie and romantic. Since I enjoy writing paranormal romance, I thought it would be better if only one of them was a ghost, and that he could appear only in the moonlight…and only to his true love. So I came up with you.

Nicholas: But I am no ghost.

TT: I know that. But that was the initial inspiration. I knew that it would be difficult for a ghost and a mortal to carry on any romance that ended happily-ever-after. So instead of making you a ghost, I made you an invisible man.

Nicholas: Hence the curse.

TT:  Right. And since you can’t have a curse without some sort of witch—

Nicholas:  You created the sorceress, Sapphira, to make my life miserable.

TT: Exactly!

Nicholas (frowning): Did she have to curse me so soundly? No one could hear me or see me for well over 200 years!

TT: I know, and I’m sorry about that. I know it was pretty frustrating for you—

Nicholas:  And beyond boring. Have you any idea what it is like to shout directly in someone’s face only to be treated as if I didn’t exist? For two centuries?

TT:  Well, I don’t personally know, but I think I did a pretty good job of writing about it.

Nicholas:  That you did.

TT:  I wanted you to be a man from a different time so that you would contrast more with your heroine, Bria. So I had to make you come from another century.

Nicholas: I would not say that Bria and I contrast to any great degree.

TT:  Maybe not now, but you did when you first met. I mean, you were an 18^th century nobleman from Wales while she was a 21^st century woman from Texas. You believed in curses and magic while she thought such things were impossible. You couldn’t drive but she—

Nicholas (laughing): Bria was a wonderful driving instructor.

TT:  As long as you kept your hands on the wheel.

Nicholas:  Well, the temptation of her beauty within the intimate confines of her cousin’s Rolls Royce—

TT:  Hang on, now. Let’s not give away too much of the story.

Nicholas:  I beg your pardon. Please continue detailing our miniscule differences.

TT:  No problem. You lived in a castle while Bria lived on a small farm. She was a bit timid while you were brash and a little full of yourself—

Nicholas:  I beg your pardon.

TT:  You know it was true. You came from a time when few people could even read and write while Bria was accustomed to modern technology.

Nicholas:  Which allowed us to communicate outside of the moonlight.

TT:  Hey, no more spoilers!

Nicholas:  Might I at least relive our first kiss?

TT:  That’s the usual purpose of my blog, so of course. Here ya go!

From Wait Until Moonrise by Teri Thackston

She touched his arm, and his control shattered. Whipping around, he grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes went wide as he pushed her against the wall, crushing her with his body.

“Is this what you want?” he demanded. “To see me lose control as that poor bastard fiancé of yours did? Remember that I, too, suffer under Saffira’s curse.”

Unexpectedly, he felt her relax between him and the cold wall. His own tension coiled tighter as her supple form curved to his rigid one.

“I don’t believe you want to hurt me,” she whispered. “I don’t believe you can.”

Her lips were so close to his, he could taste the flavor of her breath. It swirled through his head like smoke, coiled down into his gut, intensifying the craving that he could scarcely control. Only with her did he feel human. Only with her was he free even within his own mind.

And yet he could not let her take this step out of guilt. To allow that would be an affront to them both.

“You said the same about the American.”

Her gaze touched his lips. “He wasn’t himself.”

“But I am me.”

“I know.” She slipped her arms around his waist and lifted her lips to his.

Nicholas would gladly have died then. The love he tasted on her sweet lips eased his tortured soul with the flavor of nectar. Heaven-sent, she was, and he knew she’d never kissed Terrell or any other man in this way. Her fingers were still against his back, her body barely touching his. Only her lips moved, and they did so barely parted, innocent and soft, as if she had no inkling of their sensuous power. Resistance faltering beneath her innocent onslaught, he eased his cruel grip, and his hands slipped between her and the stone wall. Holding her close, he deepened the kiss, easing her lips apart, tasting fully of what she so sweetly offered…what he so desperately craved.

Nicholas:  Ah…how well I remember that first kiss.

TT:  I know Bria remembers it, too.

Nicholas:  Thank you, my lady, I—

TT:  Just Teri, remember?

Nicholas (bowing):  As you wish, Teri. I will take my leave of you now. This brief trip along memory lane has made me eager to return to my beloved.

TT:  You’re welcome, Lord Nicholas. Tell her I said hi. And readers, thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you enjoyed learning a little about Wait Until Moonrise. It’s one of my award-winning novels that is now available online in ebook at Amazon.com  http://tinyurl.com/75lcdm6  and at Barnes & Noble http://tinyurl.com/c8ualx6

Enjoy the rest of the blog hop by clicking this link ( http://www.kaseydean.com/2013/08/meet-authorinterview-with-character_26.html) to take you back to Kasey Dean's blog where you'll find the list of other blogs*, and where you can also enter a contest to wind a $50 Amazon gift card. Just click on the Facebook or Email box (see the end of Kasey's blog) then click on my name and enter the code word jaguar to register your entry. Good luck and cheers!

 

 

 

Never Pick On a Jaguar Princess

I'm stepping into the world of young adult fiction with this new novella, which I'm publishing today/tonight on Amazon.com. I've written it under a new name (actually my maiden name) T. Lynn Odom. I'll add the link once it goes live, but for now, here's the kiss scene from this young adult paranormal:

“Tonight was fun,” Ryan said as they reached the door. He, too, seemed a little nervous, putting his hands in his pockets then taking them out again.

“It was.” She tightened her grip on her purse strap and wished that Aunt Deb hadn’t turned on the porch light. It seemed to glare down on them like a spotlight. Surely, if any of those itchy freckles appeared on her face and neck, they’d be obvious to Ryan. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow night…if I make the team, that is. I mean…even if I don’t make the team…oh…you know what I mean.”

“You’ll make it.” He took his hands out of his pockets once more. “I have confidence in you. And whatever happens, we’ll have our date anyway…if you want.”

She nodded. “I do.”

Ryan didn’t move.

Is he going to kiss me or not?

Her heart pounded and the glow from the porch light appeared even brighter.

Do I have popcorn in my teeth? Do I have soda breath? I should have grabbed a mint!

“Well…” His hands hung awkwardly at his sides. “I guess I’ll see you at the track. Tomorrow afternoon.”

Oh, I must have awful breath!

She resisted the urge to cover her mouth with her hand. “Yeah. I’ll, um…see you then.”

His dark brown eyes focused on hers and they took on a moist, almost dreamy glow. His lips parted and he leaned toward her.

He is going to kiss me!

Panic engulfed Juli. She couldn’t breathe. Her skin felt too tight and it itched all over. She just knew her face was breaking out in spots again, and her heart beat so fast she was afraid it was going to spring right through her ribs.

And then his lips touched hers and she forgot all about spots and itching and too-fast heart beats. She was enraptured by her first genuine kiss. It was softer than she had ever imagined, and it tasted sweet. He tasted sweet.

His hand came up to touch one side of her face, and Juli leaned into him, gripping the front of his shirt. His other hand touched her waist as the kiss went on in slow-motion ecstasy.

After another wonderful moment, Ryan drew back, smiling. “Good night,” he whispered, lowering his hand to his side.

“Good night,” she whispered back and released her hold on his shirt.

He walked to the edge of the porch and turned to face her. His smile became a grin as he walked backward down the porch steps and along the sidewalk.

Juli grinned, too, never breaking his gaze until he reached the driver’s side of his Jeep. He lifted a hand and waved. Waving back, Juli opened the front door and slipped inside the house.