Can you tell readers a little bit about
yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?
It’s funny, because Historical was
my first love. Most of the romances that I treasure and love are from bygone
eras and feature men in breeches and women in petticoats. My first release was
a Historical with a twist of Fantasy, because it was what I knew and loved. But
recently I started expanding my horizons in the book department to include
Paranormal books. I was suddenly struck by the brilliance of love across
different realms. I fell in love with the idea of people literally being from
different worlds. The rest, as they say, is history. I’m definitely addicted to
the Paranormal now.
What is it about the paranormal, in
particular (angels), that fascinates you so much?
Angels have always been such aloof
and untouchable creatures. They’re beautiful, powerful, and pure in a way that
humans could never understand. But the thing is, they feel like we feel. They
have emotions just like humans do, and I like to think they experience them
even more strongly. I really love exploring that emotion, playing with the
interactions between angel and human, intensifying their differences as well as
their similarities.
What inspired you to write this
book?
The first book in the series,
‘Fallen’, was originally supposed to stand alone. It was about an angel falling
in love with a woman he’d been sent to heal. The heroine in ‘Tempted, Sarah,
was a secondary character, a friend of the hero in the first book. She just
couldn’t understand how an angel could risk losing his wings over the love of a
human. She begged for her story to be told, and as I realized just how
vulnerable I could make this angel by exposing the real loneliness that she
feels, I knew her story could be great.
Please tell us about your latest
release.
‘Tempted’ is the story of an Iraq
war vet named Jackson Bennett. He is scarred and he is broken because of the
lives that have been lost because of him (he thinks). He’s sort of retreating
into himself and shutting out the world. He thought that the Army was his
purpose, but now that that part of his life is over he feels he is left with
nothing.
Enter Sarah, an angel from heaven with news of a purpose even greater
than anything Jackson could’ve imagined. In the midst of his discovery of his
true self, he finds himself falling for the angel. The only problem with that
is the set of rules governing angels. Romantic relationships between angels and
humans are forbidden. In the midst of it all an angel finds that she is not
quite as strong as she thought. A man will discover that he is stronger than he
ever dreamed.
Do you have a special formula for
creating characters' names? Do you try to match a name with a certain meaning
to attributes of the character or do you search for names popular in certain
time periods or regions?
I definitely want names to match
characters. For a Historical character, of course certain names are out but I
still like to be creative. For this series I used a lot of angels and demons
that have been written about in religious myths. The hero in book 1 is named
Amir which is Hebrew for ‘Prince’. I found this to be very fitting for an
angel. Ironically, the heroin in this book is named Sarah, Hebrew for
‘Princess’.
Was one of your characters more
challenging to write than another?
Jackson was definitely hard to write
because I wanted the reality of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to shine
through in his character. It is something my family has struggled from as my
husband is a war vet. I wanted the reader to really see things through his eyes
and experience the turmoil as if it was their own. The complexity of his
character is something I still agonize her. I often wonder if I did enough. I
certainly hope so!
Is there a character that you
enjoyed writing more than any of the others?
The demon Eligos was loads of fun to
right. In a lot of religious myth, he is the Great Duke of Hell. He is
described as a flaming skeleton (think Ghostrider), wearing a medieval suit of
armor and carrying a lance while riding a winged lizard/beast. He has legions
(thousands) of lesser demons beneath him. So, I figure this has to be one cocky
guy. I had a lot of fun writing him as I love a good villain!
Do you
have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch
or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character
develop as you write?
The
characters come to me first. Before I even start developing a story the people
that shape the story are always foremost in my mind. I don’t have to make a
list, I just somehow know who they are when I begin writing. As far as the
growth or development of a character…that very often catches me by surprise. A
lot of times they end up places I never thought of at first.
What is your favorite scene from the
book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
One of my favorite scenes in the
book is Jackson and Sarah’s first kiss. The emotion there is so strong because
Jackson has just found out that he is not an ordinary human. He belongs to a
hybrid race of humans, and it turns out that the reason his father abandoned
his mother and him was because of this special calling. Everything he’s ever
known is turned upside down and he learns that his hidden abilities are what
allowed him to survive the attack that killed everyone else in his unit.
The
scene is very intense, with Jackson trying to sort through his turbulent
feelings, and Sarah experiencing emotions she’s never known before. When it
finally happens, it is—I think—one of the most tender moments I’ve ever
written. Something about the purity and sweetness of their kiss in the rain
just touches me every time I read it. It gives me chills
Did you find anything really
interesting while researching this or another book?
The research on religious myths was
very cool. I am a Christian, but didn’t want my own beliefs to influence the
story. Most of what I used is a combination of beliefs across the board,
including Catholicism and Orthodox Judaism. I feel very happy with the results.
There is a mix of a world of my own making, along with these myths and legends.
What is the most interesting thing
you have physically done for book related research purposes?
I wish I could tell a cool story
about travelling somewhere awesome and learning something new, but alas, there
are none! Perhaps someday. Right now, though, I am reading an awesome book
called The Amazons of Black Sparta about the Dahomey Amazon warrior women of
Africa. It’s for a Historical I’m working on and it’s great stuff! These chicks
were tough!
Can you tell readers a little bit
about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from
our normal world?
On the surface, everything appears
just like our world. However, there is a realm hierarchy that exists that
trickles down from heaven to earth and into hell as well.
There are angels
(which have different orders: Seraphim, Cherubim, Archangels, angels who serve
in heaven, and angels who are privileged to serve on earth), there are also humans
with abilities that play a role between the worlds (Oracles who can see into
the future, Guardians who guard portals between worlds as well as spiritual
artifacts and ceremonial objects), then there are demons as well as the Fallen
angels who will eventually become demons. In book 3, which I am working on now
Naphilim (half-breed, human/angel) are introduced.
The idea is that there was a Great
War in heaven. Most already know the legend of how Lucifer was cast from heaven
and became Satan. He took 1/3 of the angels with him. Now behind the scenes,
the war continues, with all sides working toward their own goals.
With the book being part of a
series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere
other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand
alones?
This book can definitely be read on
its own. The first book’s hero and heroine have gone off into the sunset into
their happy ever after, and most of the convoluted world between heaven, hell,
and earth that I have written isn’t clearly laid out until this book. However,
book 2 and 3 will be very closely tied together as one of the secondary
characters of this story is the hero. Sarah and Jackson continue to play a huge
role I the continuing story as well.
Do any of your characters have similar
characteristics of yourself in them and what are they?
I try to put a bit of myself in all
of my characters, though in this case I put a little of someone I love in one
of the characters. The hero Jackson is a reflection of my husband, a scarred
war vet. Every line I wrote about him resonates with me as it ties back to him.
It was even more personal than writing a character that is a reflection of me.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s
block? How do you deal with it?
I wouldn’t call it writer’s block.
It’s more like being in a rut. This is why I work on one to three projects at
one time. I currently have two open series I’m working on at the moment.
Alternating between the projects keeps me from getting caught in a rut. If I
get stuck on one, I switch over to the other and give the first one time to
breathe. When I’m struck with inspiration then I go back to the first one.
You’d think it would be confusing, but it’s just how I work.
Do you have any weird writing quirks
or rituals?
Nothing weird, sorry to say. Just
peace and quiet and a laptop are all I need. And maybe a Coke!
Do you write in different genres?
Yes! Variety is the spice of life,
as they say. For now I have books in Historical, Paranormal, Contemporary and Erotic categories. In the future I am
contemplating urban fantasy, time travel, and fantasy; all within the scope of
Romance though.
Do you find it difficult to write in
multiple genres?
Not at all. I appreciate the
variety.
When did you consider yourself a
writer?
I’ve always been a writer. I wrote
my first piece of fiction when I was 12! I wrote poetry in high school as well
as pieces for the school newspaper. I’ve been writing romance since I was 15
and haven’t stopped. I just recently became a published author, but I’ve always
been a writer.
What are your guilty pleasures in
life?
Food! I love to eat and try new
things. I also enjoy cooking, which of course leads to eating!
Other than writing, what are some of
your interests, hobbies or passions in life?
Books books books! I am also a big
movie buff as well as a singer.
What was the last amazing book you
read?
I just read the entire Hunger Games
series. It was one of those things where I was like ‘let me see what the hype
is all about’. Best books I’ve read all year. I couldn’t tear myself away. I
cried like a baby at the end of Mockingjay.
Where is your favorite place to
read? Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot?
As a busy stay at home mom of 2 I
read when and where I can: while cooking, before bed in the bed, in the tub, on
the couch, the house is my oyster!
What can readers expect next from
you?
More books! There is so much in me.
Be looking for me to dip my hands into all kinds of subgenres. I want to write
about people from all walks of life.
Where can readers find you on the
web?
Website: www.elisemarion.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elisemarion86
Twitter: follow me
at @elise_marion
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/elise_marion
Would you like to leave readers with
a little teaser or excerpt from the book?
Definitely! Why don’t I share with
you that favorite scene I told you about. I hope you enjoy Jackson and Sarah’s
first kiss!
Jackson shook himself back into reality at the
sight of a white light streaking across the sky. A shooting star. Sarah.
As it neared, he couldn’t deny the urge to meet
her on the roof. Not only did he owe her a serious apology, but he just knew
that seeing her face would make everything else seem distant. He wasn’t sure
how it had happened, but somehow Sarah had become a lifeline, a symbol of hope
for his life. She represented goodness and faith and everything that was right
in the world. Being near her was like coming up for air after being trapped in
a dark cave.
Raindrops plopped onto his head and shoulders as
he stepped onto the roof. Sarah stood a few feet away from him, her palms
stretched out to catch the water drops. Her eyes were closed and her face was
tilted back to the cloudy sky. Jackson watched, his jaw slack, as she twirled
in a slow circle, extending her arms to embrace the coming storm.
His heart pounded in his chest, and his conscience
nagged him for intruding on her private moment. Yet he couldn’t look away from
her. She looked like the angel she truly was, bathed in moonlight, her arms and
legs bare in the thin sundress she was wearing, her face tilted to the sky. His
stomach clenched and his blood raced. He took a step toward her.
She opened her eyes and turned toward him
slowly, lowering her arms. As she moved toward him, he felt time slowing around
him, and realized he’d felt this sensation before so many times. He’d never
bothered to pay attention to it, chalking it up to childish fantasy on his
part, blaming it on too many slow-motion filled action movies. He would never
have attributed it to the power he'd always possessed. A power he'd never known
he had.
But as Sarah walked toward him through the rain,
he soaked in every detail. It was as if his mind wanted to remember everything;
the flow of her dress’ skirt around her knees as the breeze tugged at it and
the curling sable waves made damp by the rain, every water drop that rolled
down her face. Every detail stood out in sharp clarity, until nothing else
existed for him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, breaking the silence.
Her wide eyes were filled with tears that mingled with the rain running down
her face.
“No,” he interjected, reaching up to grasp her
upper arms gently. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I took my fears out on
you, and you didn’t deserve that. You didn’t ask for this job, and you sure as
hell didn’t ask for me. I told you to run, to leave me alone, but you stayed.
No one stays for me, Sarah. No one ever stays.”
“Your father…” she trailed off lowering her
eyes. “I know who he is.”
Jackson’s heart dropped into his stomach. “You
do?”
She nodded. “After you left, Vivian told me all
about him. He left your mother because he was charged with guarding one of the
few portals between earth and hell. He knew he would be putting you and your
mother in harm’s way if he stayed. Guarding portals is a dangerous job. There
are Oracles, demons, and even some humans who are constantly searching for
them. They would not hesitate to hurt the family or friends of a Guardian in
order to get what they want.”
Jackson felt his head spinning with the sheer
magnitude of what he was hearing. All this time he’d thought his father was an
arrogant, heartless bastard. He’d never known anything about him beyond the day
he left. While he was still hurt and angry at his father’s abandonment, he
couldn’t help but feel pity for him. Much like Jackson, he’d stood on the
precipice, facing a choice that could change his life forever. It had cost him
his family, but contributed to a greater good beyond anything Jackson could
have ever fathomed.
“Did you know that Vivian raised me?”
She shook her head, a frown marring her
forehead. “No. What happened to your mother?”
“She ran off with some boyfriend of hers a few
months after my father left. His leaving changed her, and she never had time
for anything but herself after. I don’t think she knew about my father’s
assignment.”
“Jackson, I-“
“People have been leaving me my whole life,
Sarah,” he said. He wasn’t sure why he was saying these things to her. He only
knew that it felt right, even good to share it with her. It was a part of him
he’d never even shared with Rochelle. “I do things to chase people away.”
“No!” she protested, stepping more fully into
the circle of his arms. Her hands reached up to his face and she forced him to
look down into her eyes. “No, Jackson. You didn’t chase your parents away. They
made their own decisions.”
“Rochelle,” he said with a half-hearted shrug.
“I was so broken after Iraq that I chased her away too. And now I’m doing the
same thing to little Jack that my father did to me.”
“No,” she said again, shaking her head. Her wet
waves clung to her face and neck. “You are not alone Jackson, and you are not
broken. You have a calling now, a purpose. Accept what you’ve been offered and
fulfill your destiny. You don’t have to make the same choices your parents did.
You don’t have to be afraid or run or abandon the people in your life.”
“I just don’t want-“
Her grip tightened on his face, silencing him.
“You will not have to do this alone, Jackson. That’s why I’m here. I won’t
leave until I’ve seen this through. I don’t care how much quicksand you think
you’re standing on, I won’t abandon you.”
Silence stretched between them as he allowed her
words to sink in. I won’t abandon you.
As he looked down into eyes that were incapable of lying, he believed her. He
believed it like he’d never believed anything else in his life.
He brought his hand up to her cheek, resting it
there as his eyes caressed her face.
“You know, I was wrong about you,” he said.
“You were?” she asked. Her lips parted and he
felt her rapid breath against his wrist; it pulsed with the same rhythm as his
pounding heart.
He nodded.
“Yes, I was. You’re beautiful.”
Her breath stopped, suspended between her parted
lips. She trembled as his arm came around her swiftly, bringing her body up
against his. Fear and indecision flashed in her eyes briefly, but by the time
his lips pressed against hers it was gone.
Her lips were soft and pliant against his, but
chastely closed and still as if she didn’t know what to do. Of course she
didn’t, he thought as he brought one hand to the back of her head; she’d
probably never been kissed.
The sweetness of it, the purity of the moment
touched him in ways he would have never thought possible. He allowed his lips
to linger over hers, gently accustoming her to the intimacy of his mouth
pressed to hers. As his fingers caressed the back of her neck, he gently coaxed
her mouth open with his. She trembled against him as the inside of her mouth
met his; warm, moist, heavenly. Her hand came up tentatively against chest,
burning his skin through the wet fabric of his t-shirt. Her touch burned its
way across his chest until his entire body was heated by it.
She became bolder by the second, angling her
head and returning the bold caresses of his lips with her own innocent kisses.
A primal satisfaction flared through him at the knowledge that no other man had
touched her. No other man had kissed her. At that moment he held a pure,
untouched piece of heaven in his arms.
He pulled her more tightly against him, molding
her against him. He felt every inch of her through the wet fabric of his
clothes. She shuddered against him, reaching up with both hands to grip his
shoulders tightly. He wrapped both arms firmly around her, one hand at her hip
and one at her back. He feared if he let go, she would fall at his feet.
When he’d nearly stolen her breath away, she
pulled away slowly and stepped away from him reluctantly. Somewhere in the back
of his mind he realized that the rain had stopped. His eyes remained locked on
Sarah.
She took one step away from him, and then
another. Her eyes were lowered, her lips tinged pink and parted. Her chest
heaved as she struggled for air. She raised her fingers to her mouth as she
gazed up at him, her expression of carnal bliss melting into one of pure
horror.
“Sarah,” he said gently, stepping toward her
slowly. She shook her head and took another step back.
He reached one hand out for her, but before he
could touch her she was gone. Her footsteps echoed across the roof, the skirt
of her sundress fluttering behind her. Jackson was rooted to the spot, too numb
to follow her. Seconds later, she disappeared from view, leaving Jackson
staring off into darkness. Alone.
April 9 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
April 10 Guest blog
Mila Ramos
April 12 Guest blog
The Daydreamer's Book Obsession
April 13 Guest blog
Lisa’s World of Books
April 16 Guest Blog
Roxanne’s Realm
April 17 Interview and review
Urban Girl Reader
April 19 Interview
Fang-tastic Books
May 2 Live Radio Interview
ParaYourNormal Blog Talk Radio Show
Wednesday at 3:30 pm PST 6:30 EST
coordinate their blog to run with the show
call in number (619)639-4626
Tempted
Book 2
By Elise Marion
Jackson Bennett is alone in the world, and he prefers it that way. The former Army sergeant has seen more death than any human ought to experience in one lifetime. Even his dreams are haunted by the faces of those who have lost their lives because of him. He feels lost, purposeless, until an encounter with an angel reveals the secret purpose that he was made for. Born of a superior race of humans, Jackson learns of a special assignment.
Should he accept, he will become an important part of world that exists between heaven, hell, and earth. After all that he has been through, Jackson doesn’t know if he’s ready to take on such a heavy responsibility; what he does know is that he could lose himself in the eyes of Sarah, the intriguing angel assigned to him. She is the only person who seems to understand the darkness and pain that have enveloped his heart; she is the only person capable of driving them away.
In a battle between love or loneliness, divinity or damnation, Sarah’s choice once seemed easy. What she finds is that the black and white lines that once defined her world are now impossibly blurred and gray. What she finds is that she may not be not quite as strong as she thought.
Elise Marion Bio
As a child I always had my nose in a book. From R.L. Stine to Chronicles of Narnia to The Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High, I read it all. When I started Junior High and found out that the school library had over 400,000 books, my goal was to read every single one! Of course I didn't achieve that particular goal, but I sure had fun trying!
In high school I developed a talent for writing and discovered romance. Needless to say I combined my love for both and am now a published Indie author. After almost a year of peddling my book from agent to agent with no success I decided that my work was good enough despite the constant rejection. That's when I discovered the world of indie publishing through e-books. I couldn't have made a better decision than stepping out on faith and doing something for myself instead of waiting around for someone else to do it for me.
A litle bit more about me: My husband Kevin and I have been married for 4 years and have two beautiful children, Haley (4) and Gavin (4 months). We are a military family, which means I spend alot of my time alone with two children. People often ask me how I deal with the military life. I simply say, someone's got to do it, right? I am proud of my husband for serving his country.
When I'm not reading (which is almost always) or writing (I try to every day), I am watching movies (which I love), cooking (which I love even more) or watching someone else cook on TV (love me some Paula Deen). I have been singing my entire life and enjoy being my church's choir every Sunday. My large, extended family is close and means the world to me.
website: www.elisemarion.com
blog: http://theromancewritersreads.blogspot.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/elisemarion86
twitter: @elise_marion
goodreads: www.goodreads.com/elise_marion
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posts
1 comment:
This looks really interesting.
Post a Comment