Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Lio, the hero of Deanna Wadsworth’s latest book NAUGHTY CUPID

Hello Lio, welcome to my blog. I promise not to ask too many questions.

What’s your job like?

I’m a cupid, so like you probably imagine, I go around shooting humans with arrows. But what you might not realize, is that I’m just one of Eros’s many, many offspring, and I’m employed for eternity by the Inter-Dimensional Association of Cupids, or the IDAC. Contrary to what paintings and sculptures depicted, cupids are not fat, naked baby boys in diapers. While on the small side, we look just like regular folks. No wings either. Involved in every aspect of love, from puppy love and first kisses to weddings, the IDAC is militantly organized. They take their task of giving the humans love very seriously—like a supernatural FBI, complete with orders, rules, and procedures.

Would you rather be respected or feared? Why?

Respected. I mean, I’m five foot six (in cowboy books anyway) and a cupid. I’m not exactly going to inspire fear in anyone on Mount Olympus
What’s your favorite book?

Hmmm, I guess I don’t really have one. I’m kinda busy and don’t have much time for reading, what with all the illegal arrows I keep launching at unsuspecting humans. LOL

If you could go anywhere, all expenses paid, where would you go?

I’m a demi god and I”ve been everywhere interesting in the human world, even the top of Mount Everest. Though I suppose that would’ve been more interesting if I’d actually climbed it. But that’s just crazy. Since I can teleport myself anywhere and magic up some money, I guess if I have to answer this Q, I’d say that presently I like Miami. I know, that sounds so mundane, but I like the night life and all the diverse people. My condo is right on the water and I have no supernaturals living nearby. All the trendy demi-gods are living in Paris right now. It went out of fashion for a while, but it’s back again…..which is why I’m in Miami, LOL
Tell us a bit about yourself.

Sarcasm has been my native tongue since forever, and I like to keep to myself. I don’t really fit in with the other cupids, except for my BFF Walter. He’s the only one who really gets me. It might sound lonely, but I’m happy. I don’t mind being alone. I like it. People annoy me. You can’t trust them, so it’s better to just be on my own.
Ocean front property in Arizona, anyone?

Thank you for joining me here today Lio, I can honestly say I have never interviewed a demi god before and it's been a pleasure.

n.b. If you'd like to try your hand at winning a print copy of Lio's story why not read my previous post and follow the blog tour.

Characters from Tangling With Bears (by Lisa Oliver) open up and talk to us.

We dropped in on Lisa Oliver's Characters to ask an important question of them.

What things will you never do again?

“Hey guys, we’ve got another one of those interview thingy’s. You need to get out of bed so we can do this.”  Tobias had only got up for some coffee before he’d been sidetracked. He glanced at the sheet of paper and called out, “they want to know a list of things we’ll never do again.”

“I don’t see why we had to get out of bed to do anything,” Kurt grumbled stumbling into the room shirtless. That was a sight worth seeing and Tobias sighed into his coffee cup. Luke followed behind, surprisingly quiet for a change, but he picked up his coffee cup and grimaced when he saw there was only juice in it.

“No coffee for you little bear,” Kurt said, flipping a wink at Tobias.

“See that’s one thing right there, never give Luke coffee,” Tobias said, writing quickly.

“That’s not fair,” Luke protested. “I’m sure they mean cool and dangerous stuff like sky diving or rock climbing or stuff.”

“We can do all those things – we’re shifters, danger doesn’t bother us as a rule. But giving you coffee is dangerous stuff,” Kurt growled. “Add buying honey jars with metal lids to the list.”

“I only did that once.”

Tobias wrote quickly. He didn’t want to see Luke sulking.

“Riding a motorbike,” Kurt added. He shivered. “I never want to see my little bear flip like that again.”

“I don’t know if I can add that to the list. I ride all the time and it never bothers me,” Tobias said, chewing the end of his pen. He stopped. That wasn’t pleasant.

“So this is becoming more of a what Luke is never allowed to do again, rather than you guys.” Yep. Luke was huffy now and Tobias put down the pen and pulled the man into his arms. An angry Luke was never a pretty sight, and surely they’d done enough for the promotional tour.

I think they have don't you? Want to find out more? Just go here and try your luck at winning a print copy of their book., or use any of the buy links in the post if you don't want to wait :D

Short interview with one of the characters from Trainwreck by Michelle Micheal Rakes

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Vincent Sweetwater from Trainwreck by Michelle Micheal Rakes. Welcome Vincent, I am glad Michelle let me ask you some impertinent questions.

What do you find attractive in a man?

Power and strength. I want someone I can do battle with, but who can ultimately test my limits.

The first thing that went through your head when you saw Gregory Dunne?

Hmm, I saw him with his partner and thought they were sickeningly in love. They were what my wife would call cute. Greg is powerful. He demands respect, but also gives it when necessary. He has huge hands. The man has been able to manhandle like no other…until Grayson died. Then Greg lost control. I miss him and Grayson. I wished I knew why he pushed me away, or how to fix what went wrong with us. My hope is just fantasy though, I mean, none of my guys in the narcotics unit would accept me for who I am. Greg isn't in the closet and I’m buried so deep, I can’t find my way out with a map and a flashlight. I’m not sure I could find my way around on a guided tour. Greg and Gray tried for years. I guess I’m stubborn. At least that’s what my wife and best friend, Mica, says.

Do you think you’ll insist the author visits you again?

Of course, despite how sadistic the author is…I like being center stage. I like being the sub everyone covets, even if I’m in denial most of the time. I miss Greg and I can’t seem to let him go. He’s living rent free in my head. I gotta find a way to make Mica understand who I am and get Greg to take me back.

Before you met Greg, what was your ideal man?

Before Greg, the only men I’d been with was during foster care…I wouldn’t call them ideal. I’d fallen in love with one. Jack. Unlike the others, he didn’t want me, and told me I was sick and wrong. He gave me back to the state. So, I never allowed myself to give into Greg completely. That may be why Greg pushed me away after Gray died. I just don’t know because he won’t talk to me. 

You’re going out for dinner. What’s your favorite food?

Staying in and ordering Chinese food was my favorite…but I really don’t have much of an appetite since my daughter died. I-I don’t like to talk about this too much. It’s been nearly three years and I don’t like pouring my emotions out here. I’d much rather Greg take the single tail to my back side. It helped when Grey died, but Greg seems so far away from me right now.

Thank you, Vincent and Michelle, for your indulgence and I hope everyone will go and buy Trainwreck to enjoy your story.

Interview with Breakfall's Asbjorn Lund.

Me: I managed to get to chat with Asbjorn Lund from Breakfall and took the chance to have an interview with him.

AL: Hey… So, okay. I’m Asbjorn Lund, a navy vet, but I don’t have any official combat experience, y’know? And I’m with Sean, but you already know that. We’re both students at MIT. (He pauses and fingers his triskellion pendant.) Anyway, I was born in Denmark. I love Denmark, it has a lot going for it, but my home is here. My home is wherever Sean happens to be at the time actually. So… y’wanted to ask me some questions?

Me: Why did you pick Okinawa to go to to learn about the more ancient styles, was it the Sensei or the locale that was the deciding factor?

AL: I didn’t pick it. I was lucky enough to be stationed in Okinawa after a mission in Micronesia went to shit – but I’m not allowed to talk about that, sorry. Damn. So, anyway. We got pulled out. I’ve been keeping up on my empty-hand combat with other seamen because there’s only so much you can do onboard a ship and not go totally fucking nuts, y’know? Hand-to-hand came in very handy against the – well, you know. Can’t talk about that. But we got shunted out of the way to Okinawa, and I just about exploded with excitement. I’d missed Tiger something fierce, he was my teacher. My first teacher. Okinawa’s the birth of Japanese karate. Turns out, Chinese Buddhist monks brought kung fu to Okinawa and the Okinawans then used the arts to defend themselves against this Japanese family, who got exiled to the islands. The Japanese samurai were really brutal, but the Okinawans used whatever weapons were available, and some of them are really wicked. Sickles, fishing forks, all that. I was lucky to be accepted into a local family for instruction. They sort of adopted me, language barrier and all. When other guys had leave and went off base to fuck chicks, I was at the dojo, collecting bruises.

Me: Which Martial arts weapon is your favourite or do you prefer to fight without weapons?

AL: (Shrugs.) Anything can be a weapon, really. This coffee mug? Lethal, if you know what to do with it. A sharpened pencil can be a deadly weapon. It always cracks me up, how the TSA tries to ban certain objects, but women’s high heels will penetrate a temple no problem. I like punching things when I get pissed off, but Sean hates when I skin my knuckles and then he goes all mother-hen over me. That’s why I started working with the sai a lot. You have to modify the punch a bit, but you can cause tons of damage with a weapon like that. I’ve been doing all the katas with sai recently. It really forces me to focus on the essence of the biomechanics – oh, sorry. I could geek out about this all night long! Go on. Next question?

Me: Apart from Martial Arts (and Sean) what gets your passions going?

AL: Astrophysics, definitely! I’d love to be in the field, but it’s not practical. Sean and I have to think in terms of getting jobs in the same city, so I keep astro as a hobby, I keep up on the latest cosmological developments, but my career will be more micro than macro when it comes to the nature of matter. I’m going into metallurgy. And that’s interesting, too. Take Japanese swords, for instance. It’s fascinating, the quality of the steel they accomplished with such meager natural resources. If you compare that to early Viking steel and the trace isotopes, it seems that both cultures used meteorite iron for their steel on occasion… oh, sorry. I’m geeking out again. (He suppresses his sheepish smile and produces a feral grin instead.)

Me: Do you like animals and which would you prefer as a pet, cat or dog?

AL: Nah, animals are food. Most of them, anyway. I never got to have a pet. Mom’s allergic, and my nomadic lifestyle never allowed for such luxuries. But when we were doing some work near Indonesia, I got stuck in a mean tidal current and my air ran out and I thought I was totally fucked. And then this school of dolphins turned up! They explored me for a while, they’re pretty curious, and then they got curious about our boat, which was barely visible by then. This one dolphin rose right under me, so I grabbed its dorsal fin, and they took me almost all the way to my boat. So, yeah. I owe those guys my life. I’ll do what I can for them, and that includes not eating tuna. And I used to love tuna!

Me: How much influence did the DADT have on your Navy career and how much did that career help in coping with Sean's PTSD?

AL: That’s a tough question. I was sort of in the closet in the Navy anyway. I haven’t realized it at the time, but I was running away from my attraction to Tiger, who was like an older brother to me after my dad died. So I enlisted, mom freaked out, but enlisting meant I got to stay in the US near Tiger and Nell, and not be hauled back to Denmark. Regarding Sean, yeah, he displayed some classic symptoms of PTSD. It’s likely to rear its ugly head down the line, but he can handle it. We had some training on that sort of a thing. Knowing what to expect is really key to recovery. (He pauses, then gives a hard stare.) Not that I personally have PTSD, or anything. I’m perfectly fine. I’m not affected by stuff like that.

Me: How badly did Sean's attack and subsequent stalker problem affect you, especially as you were unable to be the bait instead of him?

AL: Well… I hate to think that it brought us closer, but it probably did. I thought I was done with all that drama after I got discharged. I never expected this sort of a thing to happen to anyone I knew in civilian life. It was like being taken right back into the middle of action, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do. There was no command structure. Sean was taking risks – but we don’t have to talk about that. That’s all over now. There’s no way I could have been bait instead of him, ‘cause I’d have ripped the fucker’s balls off and shoved them up his nostrils, but then I’d be in jail and Sean would have gotten sore over that. I wanted to shadow Sean, though, have his back in case the police screwed up, y’know? And they put a fucking babysitter on me! I got totally thwarted. I thought I’d go ballistic. Sean did great, though. They wouldn’t have caught the perp if it weren’t for Sean. I’m so fucking proud of my man.

Me: Do you think you and Sean will ever get to the point where you will communicate better?

AL: (Hard stare.) I don’t know what you’re talking about. We do just fine.

Me: Do you think that Kate did justice to your story?

AL: (Embarrassed smile.) She should have kept the sex out of it. That’s nobody’s business but ours. But really, this story’s about Sean kicking butt. She should’ve focused on that, and she should’ve described all the Okinawan weapons in greater detail. It’s not like I didn’t teach her! But she’s a chick. Nell would’ve done the same, I’m afraid – and Nell can kick Kate’s ass any day, except Nell loves the book the way it is. I don’t understand women, I really don’t.

Me: One final question that is a little frivolous but people always seem to want to know - what is your favourite colour?

AL: Any shade of blue. Like the ocean. Plus Sean looks great in blue – it really sets off his hair.

Thank you Bjorn it was nice to meet you and I'm sure my readers will be delighted to read your story.

I hope you all enjoyed our chat, personally I think he is scrumptious and well worth chatting to. If you want to read more about Asbjorn and Sean just follow the links in my previous post.