Today is a big stop everyone! Please be sure to read all the way thru b/c you are getting tons of great info! Plus a pretty awesome giveaway at the end!! :) I am pleased to welcome author Cassiel Knight to the blog today ! I was able to interview her and you know how much I love digging into other's minds!
First here's the book we are talking about today :
Mia Langdon—tomb raider and adventure-seeker—has everything she
wants. Freedom. Independence. No chains (a.k.a. a man). Her troubles begin when
she’s attacked on a dig in Peru. Soon, she’s forced to use her tomb raiding
talents to find the flaming arrows of an Egyptian goddess. In the wrong hands,
this weapon could destroy the human race—and nearly had.
Used to doing things her own way, it isn’t long before she figures out that she
needs the help of Harrison Braden Stanton, her stuffy, but so yummy,
Egyptologist and ex-lover. There’s one problem. He despises what she does. As
Mia and Harrison find themselves in the middle of a battle between the Egyptian
gods and goddess, there’s no choice for the woman with a Grand Canyon-sized
independence streak and the man working for the Egyptian god, Osiris, but to
work together to prevent the destruction of all they love.
Sounds good, yes? And now onto the interview !!
1. Let’s start out easy. Tell us a little bit about your book.
My heroine, tomb
raider and adventure-seeker extraordinaire, has everything she wants. Freedom.
Independence. No chains (a.k.a. a man) holding her back. That all changes when
she’s attacked on a dig in Peru. Soon, she’s forced to use her tomb raiding
talents to find the flaming arrows of an Egyptian goddess. In the wrong hands,
this weapon could destroy the human race – and nearly did once. It doesn’t take
long for her to learn that to succeed, and save the life of her assistant, she
needs the help of Harrison Braden Stanton, her stuffy, but oh so yummy,
Egyptologist and ex-lover. There’s one problem. He despises what she does.
As
a curator for the Stratford Museum, Harrison protects the world’s treasures
from falling into greedy hands and being lost forever. He just never thought
he’d have to protect them, and his secret, from the woman he loved.
Blood on the Moon is the first in the
Children of Egypt series about the half-immortal descendants of ancient Egypt’s
gods and goddesses born to protect mankind against ancient relics with a thirst
for human blood.
2. What inspired you to write this story?
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. I love, love Lara Croft and wanted so much to write a
heroine like her. One who is tough as nails but caring of those close to her,
sexy and not afraid to be sexy, in control and knows what she wants. Plus, Tomb
Raider has those mystical elements and I love that too. Then, for Mia’s hero, I
wanted someone like Noah Wylie in The
Librarian series but more alpha so Harrison was born. An Egyptologist so a
nerd but as the son of Osiris, he’s more than a match for Mia. I love this pair
so much I’m working on book 2 which is more of them with my host of fun
secondary characters.
Ohh, I so love The Librarian!! Sounds like a great cross of characters!
3. What is the main lesson that your book
is trying to teach?
I’m supposed to have one of those? ☺ Really, I write for
entertainment but I have a lesson in this one, it’s that giving up control
doesn’t make someone weak – it can add more strength then one things possible.
Also, faith in friends and a higher authority (this is NOT an inspirational
book but all mine tend to have a faith element).
Ha! You don't have to have a lesson ☺. It's a test question.. I love ooks that are for entertainment only.. But see, even being mainly for entertainment you managed to sneck not one but TWO lessons in. geesh! lol
4. Moving on to your writing career, how long have you been writing? Did you
always dream to become an author?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can
remember but that’s not really all that far back. I remember reading my first
romance and loving it so much, I wanted to write a book based on it. I did but
that was the first and last time for a long time that I wrote fiction. I didn’t
really embrace the dream of becoming an author until about 2003. I’ve been
writing fiction since 1997 but many things got in the way until 2003 when I
started Hit Me With Your Best Shot and
Key of Solomon and got serious about
writing. Since then, it’s been my passion and I love it.
5. I’m always curious whether or not
authors read the same types of books that they write. So tell us, what book genres do you love to
read? to write?
I’m an eclectic reader and what I read really depends on my
mood. Right now, I’m in a horror frame of mine and have just finished several
really wonderful spooky books by Michaelbrent Collins who I just discovered.
I’m also a picky reader and while I love urban fantasy, I’m tired of the same
old trope. Because I have limited time to read, I need to be hooked or I’ll put
the book down. And when I put it down and don’t think about going back to it,
I’m done. I love action-oriented books, which I write. I love characters but
for me, it’s more about stuff happening. The books I read tend to cross genres
but they all have lots of stuff happening. ☺ Same thing for me as
a writer. Right now, I’m focusing on paranormal but I have a Regency, Science Fiction
romance and even a Contemporary in the works and they are all action-oriented.
Hence my tagline of Romance with Kick-Assitude. ☺
I must say that I absolutely adore your tagline !! ☺ I'm much the same way in my reading- I drift from genre to genre depending on the mood I'm in.. But it'd better catch me quick or I will pass it up !
6. What are you reading right now?
Cold Days: A Novel of the Dresden Files
by Jim Butcher. Of all the series and authors I love, Jim Butcher and Harry
Dresden are my favorite. I can’t get them fast enough and while I wouldn’t pay
the hardback prices, I’m willing to get it in Kindle and even pay that high
price. This series is crack to me. But, I’m also reading, right now: The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne a
story based on Paradise Lost by John
Milton about fallen angels and demons. A favorite subject of mine as touched on
in my first book, Key of Solomon.
Plus, I always have a host of research books on promotion and marketing,
paranormal, history and more I flip through. Reading is my passion – even more
than writing which I love to do.
7. Have any particular authors inspired you to write? If so, can you name
one and what you like about their style?
Not really. I’ve been inspired to be a
writer by Stephen King but my inspiration really came from inside me when I
accepted this is what I truly want to do with my life. Why did Stephen King
inspire me? Well, he’s pure wicked genius. His books scare the bejesus out of
me. I love that he’s so wicked scary and when I read his writing/memoir, I got
to know him more and realized what he went through to be as wonderful as he is.
People mock his writing but he’s always given me what I want from a book – pure
entertainment.
I love me some Stephen King but oh my gosh that man can write scary! I have read many many books in my life and no one has ever scared me as badly as Stephen King. ! lol !
8. Do you have any upcoming projects?
Well, I’m working on book 2 of the Children
of Egypt series, following Blood on the
Moon and I’m also finalizing book 2 of my Relic Defender series (Key of Solomon is the first) to release
this summer and then I’m going to focus on my science fiction romance. I have a
lot of ideas – just not enough time to write them all. ☺
Congrats !! I can't wait to read some of your work! It has been great chatting with you !!
And now, an excerpt from Blood on the Moon for you guys! And don't forget to stay tuned for the giveaway below !
What was with all the handsome blokes lately? It seemed she
couldn’t go more than an hour without seeing men who were the poster children
for every woman’s fantasy. Or were they just her fantasies?
He removed the gun from Gus’s temple but didn’t drop his arm. The man’s grip
was steady, not quivering from the weight of the weapon. Strong, she figured.
Used to holding guns to people’s heads. Lovely.
“My employer is getting impatient. She requires an answer.” His head cocked.
“And for your sake, I hope it’s the right one.”
She? “An answer to what?”
Icy blue eyes looked deep into hers. “Don’t be coy, Ms. Langdon. It doesn’t
suit you.”
“Well, you see, I’ve already given my answer so I really don’t understand your
purpose in being here.” Mia placed both hands on her desk’s front edge. “I
suggest you leave right now before I get madder than I already am.”
“Oh?”
“You and your men broke into my house, assaulted my employees and now threaten
one of them with a gun. I’m plenty pissed right now, but still willing to let
you walk away with your manhood intact.”
“And if I don’t comply with your eloquent demand?”
She shrugged. “You’ll leave me with no choice.” Her fingers tiptoed under the
desk’s lip. “I’ll have to make you leave. On a stretcher.”
His laughter rippled forward, a rich, rolling guffaw that actually sent
freaking shivers along her spine. Christ, Mia, just how long has it been since
you had sex?
“And how do you intend to do that?”
She let a slow smile dance across her lips. “Like this.”
As she finished speaking, she tugged the stiletto from the hidden compartment
under the desk and threw it at the man. At the same time, Gus collapsed to the
floor and did a backward flip. The long slender blade with its needle-like
point punched into the man’s shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and rage. Off
balance, his fingers tightened involuntarily on the trigger. The Colt roared a
single shot, splitting the wood of the paneled wall on the opposite side of the
room.
She lunged across the desk, her ass sliding on the smooth surface and kicked
the gun from his hand. Her feet hit the floor, and she immediately flipped a
snap-kick at the man himself. He blocked her strike with both hands and before
she could pull back, used her forward motion to spin her around. His right arm
came from behind, snaked around her neck in a one-arm chokehold dragging her
against his chest. The metallic scent of blood mixed with an outdoorsy odor
teased her nose.
“Aside from the little poke, I expected more from you, Ms. Langdon.” His words
blew a warm gust across her neck. Tiny hairs lifted. “I’m disappointed.”
She took a deep breath, suppressing the flush of rage clawing for release.
Sparring while angry was a dumb way to get pulverized. “Don’t be,” she
countered. “I don’t want to mess up my new carpet with more of your blood.”
There is a tour wide giveaway (ie. Reviewing in Chaos is not responsible for choosing the winner). Prizes include:
Enter via the rafflecopter form below for your chance at these great prizes !! Good luck!
After the tumult of her high school senior year, all is right in Tasmyn Vaughan's world. She's at Perriman College with her boyfriend, Michael. Marica and Rafe are in the past, and she's learning to control her powers. But when she is thrown into yet another battle, this time a deadly fight against forces of evil she didn't even know existed, her extraordinary gifts--along with an endless love--may be the only weapons that can guarantee her happily ever after.
