Book Lovin' Mamas: Interviews with Kait Ballenger & Gena Showalter (Shadow Hunter Blog Tour)

Important Announcement for our Followers

To ALL our followers....It is time for Book Lovin' Mamas to make the switch from Blogger to Wordpress.

We do not want to wake up one day and notice that we cannot logon to our blog due to Blogger changing its policies.

We have worked too hard to have that happen...so it is long overdue, we have moved over to our domain.

It will make it easier for YA'LL to find us.

We have already started to post over at the new site...and August 1st will be official day we say GOODBYE to this site for good.

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We hope to see everyone of you over there and I hope you all are prepared for lots of giveaways coming in August and are prepared for Anna & I's big 30th birthday bash - August 18th-September 5th.

We have lots of stuff to giveaway to you all and we are bringing our 30th birthday in style. =)

GOODBYE Blogger - It was nice while it lasted...but it's time for a BIG change and to make it easier for our followers to find us. =)

Friday, May 31, 2013

Interviews with Kait Ballenger & Gena Showalter (Shadow Hunter Blog Tour)

Welcome to our first stop on the Shadow Hunter tour with interviews with both authors....Kait Ballenger and Gena Showalter. Look for my review of Shadow Hunter next month. =) You definitely want to check out the Execution Underground series by Kait Ballenger. After Dark releases June 26th...so pre-order your copy now.

Interview with Kait Ballenger

1. Tell us three things about yourself that readers may not know about you.

Three things readers may not know about me is that one of my most valued possessions is a German cuckoo clock manufactured in the black forest, which I bought near the castle Neuschwanstein in Germany, my favorite place I’ve traveled to is Japan, and my favorite color is emerald green.

2. Tell us a little bit about Shadow Hunter in "After Dark" and why readers should check it out.

Shadow Hunter in the After Dark anthology is a short prequel novel to my Execution Underground paranormal romance series. Though it’s a prequel, I wrote it after I wrote the first full-length book in the series, Twilight Hunter (which releases on August 27th), so Shadow Hunter stands alone. The Execution Underground is an international organization of covert supernatural hunters, all of whom have individual hunting specialties. Shadow Hunter tells the origin story of the founder of the Rochester division of the Execution Underground, vampire hunter Damon Brock.

3. What inspired you to write the Execution Underground Novels?

I’d written two novels (the first two in the beginning of a series) that were unsuccessful in securing an agent. After I didn’t have success querying those two books, I decided I needed a change. My three favorite genres to read were and still are paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and YA. I’d already tried my hand at a YA urban fantasy series, so I thought I would give paranormal romance a try. From there, the idea just kind of came to me. I rarely have something that sparks my inspiration. Usually, when I’m plotting a book I sit down and the ideas just start flowing. I don’t have specific triggers to reference haha. I will say that I knew I wanted a series with a group of men working together and written primarily from a male point-of-view, like JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but darker and grittier with characters that are primarily human with knowledge of the supernatural, like Dean and Sam Winchester from the T.V show Supernatural, and with female characters who were as strong as Laurel K Hamilton’s Anita Blake character with sex scenes just as hot. So I suppose you could say I took inspiration from those things.

4. What are some qualities of Damon Brock that are going to make readers fall head over heels for him? (I think I fell in love with him just by his name first...love the name Damon) =)

For me personally, I love Damon because of the complexity of his emotional story arc. He goes through a lot of change as a character, a lot grueling and difficult change, and I like that. The Damon readers see in Shadow Hunter is a much less jaded version than the Damon they’ll see in Twilight Hunter and later books. I can’t wait to write Damon’s full length novel, tentatively titled Dark Hunter, later on in the series. Plus, I think for paranormal romance readers a sexy alpha male who also is really tortured is a major appeal. That’s Damon to a tee.

5. What is up next for Kait Ballenger?

Next for me is the release of Twilight Hunter on August 27th and following that the release of Immortal Hunter, book two of the Execution Underground series, in late January 2014. Aside from the Execution Underground books, I’m currently working on a co-authored paranormal project with the amazing and lovely urban fantasy/paranormal romance author, Kate SeRine. So hopefully that will continue to progress well for us both. It’s in the very early brainstorming stages at this point. I also have a YA urban fantasy about to go out on submission which I’ll hopefully be announcing the sale for in the next few months.

Fun Questions:

6. Coffee or Tea

Tea, though I’m really not a huge fan of either. Caffeine makes me jittery.

7. Morning person or Night person

Night person, definitely.

8. Beach or Mountains

Beaches. I’m a Florida girl after all ;-)

9. Rock n' Roll or Country Music

Rock n’ Roll, though I can appreciate some country

10. Romantic Comedy or Horror Movie

Depends on the particular movie.

Interview with Gena Showalter

1. What does a typical writing day look for you?

My workday depends on what stage I’ve reached in the writing process.

Rough draft, on time -- a chapter a day, six days a week. Usually takes anywhere from two to eight hours a day.

Rough draft, running behind – two chapters a day, six days a week. Usually takes anywhere from six to twelve hours a day.

Revisions – I work twelve to fourteen hours, six days a week. (Or, if it’s a very tight deadline with a lot of work, like what I’m doing now, seven days a week, from the time I get up till the time I go to bed—even working during tornados. Yes. That happened. I had my notebook in the shelter with me.)

Editing – I go over 50-100 pages a day, six days a week, however long that takes.

No matter what, I start when I wake up, and I go, go, go until I’ve finished the day’s goal. I usually only break to have lunch and walk my dogs.

2. Tell us a little bit about The Darkest Angel and why readers should check it out in "After Dark"?

I loved doing a role reversal in this story. Instead of the good girl trying to tame the bad boy, in The Darkest Angel the good boy tries to tame the very, very bad girl. But…to be honest, calling Lysander a good boy is a bit misleading. He is an angel warrior, and yes, a virgin; he has never known sexual desire. Until now. He is an alpha all the way, one of the best demon assassins in the skies, and a bit heartless, but he lives by a very strict moral code. Rules he believes in are not to be broken—and the very naughty Bianka loves to break them, just for grins and giggles. And okay, his kisses. I had so much fun delving into their explosive chemistry. They both try to fit the other one into an expected mold (and fail), but neither is able to resist the heat blazing between them.

3. What are some qualities of Lysander that are going to make readers swoon? (He seriously is swoon worthy)

Some of the things I love best about him are: his savage need to destroy all things evil, his legendary skill with the sword, and the way he ultimately succumbs to temptation…and what he does to Bianka afterward. (Every time I think of it, I have to give him a mental high five)

4. What inspired you to write Lysander and Bianka's story?

I’d been writing the Lords of the Underworld series (books about immortal warriors possessed by the worst demons from hell) and I thought it’d be fun to explore the other side of that coin. The demon slayers. Plus, alpha warriors with wings = hotness.

5. What is up next for Gena Showalter? (I saw the Black and Blue cover and the synopsis...I definitely am looking forward to Corbin Blue's story)

Up next release-wise is The Darkest Craving, a Lords of the Underworld novel (July 30th). A little about it--

Having endured weeks of torture in the bowels of hell, Kane wants nothing to do with his beautiful rescuer, Josephina Aisling. The half-Fae female threatens to awaken the demon of Disaster inside him—a beast he’s determined to kill, no matter the price.   
Josephina is hunted by a brutal enemy—her royal family—and Kane is her only source of protection. He’s also the only male to ever set her aflame, and even he succumbs to the heat. But as they navigate the treacherous world of the Fae, they are forced to make a choice: live apart…or die together.

Then, it’ll be Through the Zombie Glass (September 24th):

Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they've got mine...
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.
After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things. She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her... from everyone. Now, with her best friend Kat at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole's secret and learn to fight the darkness. But the clock is ticking...and if she fails at a single task, they're all doomed.

Then, of course, is the second Otherworld Assassins novel, Black and Blue (Oct, 22nd)!

HE IS EVERY WOMAN’S FANTASY. . . 
Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent...and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help―a woman with even more secrets than Blue.  
…SHE BECOMES HIS ONLY OBSESSION 
Evangaline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he'd rather die than live without her…

(I almost swooned with joy when I saw the cover!)

Fun Questions:

6. Coffee or Tea.

Tea! Though I admit I’m a former coffee addict and I once would have done terrible things for my morning cup LOL

7. Morning person or Night person.

I can hear my family screaming in the background, “Night. Night. No question. She is a BEAR in the morning!”

8. Beach or Mountains.

Mountains. For sure.

9. Rock n' Roll or Country Music.

Hmm…between the two, country. I prefer softer songs. Romantic.

10. Romantic Comedy or Horror Movie.

Romantic comedy. Always. I know this might be surprising, considering some of the things I’ve written, but I never watch horror. Even the thought makes me shudder.

After Dark

(LOTU #4.5,
Execution Underground #0.5)

by: Gena Showalter & Kait Ballenger

Publishing Date: 6/25/13

Publisher: Harlequin

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Description:

A timeless seduction A unique temptation And a whole world of dark desires...

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

The Darkest Angel

Winged warrior Lysander has been alive for centuries, and yet he's never known desire-until he meets Bianka. Spawned from the bloodline of his enemy, the beautiful but deadly Harpy is determined to lead the untouched Lysander into temptation. He may try to evade her attempts, but even the most iron-willed demon assassin can resist for only so long....

And from debut author Kait Ballenger

Shadow Hunter

Vampire hunter Damon Brock's first assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn't the only hunter in town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she works solo. But being alone is no longer so desirable when she meets the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. As they work to massacre the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs when they are forced to decide between their lifelong beliefs... and their newfound hearts.

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Kait Ballenger

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, bellydancer, graduate student, and soon-to-be-professor. She is the multi-published, award-winning author of the Execution Underground paranormal romance series. With a B.A in English from Stetson University, Kait is currently earning an M.F.A in Writing. Kait believes anything is possible with hard work and dedication. One day, she hopes to be a bestseller and to see her novels on the big screen. Look for the next two books in her page-turning Execution Underground series: Twilight Hunter, book one (August 2013) and Immortal Hunter, book two (January 2014).

For more information, please visit www.kaitballenger.com or follow her on Twitter @kait_ballenger.

Gena Showalter

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of the White Rabbit Chronicles, Otherworld Assassins, Angels of the Dark, Lords of the Underworld, and several of other series. She has written over thirty novels and novellas. Her books have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.