TBR: Welcome to TBR, Tory. Will you
share a little bit about yourself?
Tory: Let’s see, I’m in my mid 30’s, with twin toddlers and a 6 y/o. I love to read, write and watch sports.
Tory: Let’s see, I’m in my mid 30’s, with twin toddlers and a 6 y/o. I love to read, write and watch sports.
TBR: Tell us about Blood-Mage Rising and where it's available.
Tory: My latest release is Blood-Mage Rising, the second book in my Dream-Walker War series.
Tory: My latest release is Blood-Mage Rising, the second book in my Dream-Walker War series.
You
can find it at the Evernight website, Amazon (Amazon UK too), Barnes &
Noble, All Romance, Bookstrand, iTunes and all other major e-tailers.
TBR: Please tantalize us with a
story blurb or excerpt.
Tory:
Tory:
The Dream-Walker War: Book 2
In the eighty years since the Great Awakening, humans
and non-humans have lived side by side, relatively at peace. In an attack
that leaves his wife dead, Jordan MacNaught is caught up in the start of a war
meant to turn the other races against the vampires. He knows beyond a doubt the
vampires of yesteryear are not involved in the attacks. They're all dead,
except for him.
Jordan asks for Chris Javert's help in hunting those who murdered his wife. She's no stranger to hunting vampires. After all, she nearly destroyed Jordan when she ended the reign of his Aristocrats in Europe two hundred years ago.
Despite doubts about Jordan’s innocence, Chris joins forces with him, the man who once tried to kill her, to save the inter-species pace from the new Aristocrats before war consumes them all.
Jordan asks for Chris Javert's help in hunting those who murdered his wife. She's no stranger to hunting vampires. After all, she nearly destroyed Jordan when she ended the reign of his Aristocrats in Europe two hundred years ago.
Despite doubts about Jordan’s innocence, Chris joins forces with him, the man who once tried to kill her, to save the inter-species pace from the new Aristocrats before war consumes them all.
Excerpt:
Despite the disturbing turn to her daydream, the
shower centered her. It certainly ended her bout of the hornies. When she
exited the frosted glass enclosure into the steam and gardenia-scented room,
Chris could face the world, and Jordan, again. Cool marble tile provided a
sharp contrast against the balmy miasma blanketing her. She needed to get
dressed and back to work.
“It’s about time you got out,” Jordan said as he
materialized, seated on the edge of the counter between the sink bowls. His
legs dangled over the edge.
“Son of a—” Chris yelped and leaped for her towel.
He blinked slowly, warning, and she just caught herself before the last word
slipped out. The last time she called him a son of a bitch, he buried her alive
for disparaging his mother. For some reason, he objected to the pejorative,
even though rumor had it he’d killed his mother at some point. She clutched at
her towel like a shield.
“What are you doing in here?”
“To quote a certain someone, I should think that it’s
fairly obvious. I wanted to talk to you.” He flashed a smile, fangs just barely
showing, and leaned his weight back on his palms. “You know, Chrissy, if you’d just
given me a bit longer, you wouldn’t have had to resort to alternative methods.”
She might be claustrophobic, but right then she wanted
the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Dear God. Her reflection turned a
nice, brilliant, beet red, and she looked around for her bathrobe, finally
finding it slung over the door that separated the toilet from the main portion
of the room. “Mother of Lorminstra, you perverted jackanapes!”
Jordan blinked again, the picture of innocence. “I am the perverted one? Which one of us
just masturbated in the shower?”
This absolutely can’t be happening. Please
let this be a continuation of the weird-ass dream. Chris snatched her robe down and
yanked it on, surreptitiously pinching her side in the process. Pain flared and
dissipated. Unfortunately, the bathroom invasion continued unabated.Damn, no
dream. She belted the flimsy
scrap of silk, not feeling much more secure than with the towel. “You could
have waited five minutes.”
“I did. Then, when you still didn’t emerge, I thought
I’d wait in here.”
Since the universe didn’t see fit to rescue her by
sending a great bolt of lightning or a tsunami to kill her, she needed to
brazen the situation out. And had her shower really taken that long? Good lord.
“What was so important you couldn’t wait? And while
there’d better not be a next time, next time let me know you’re there. I could
have finished...ah, I could have gotten, ah, ….”
There really wasn’t a good way to end that statement,
and she floundered. He didn’t seem inclined to rescue her either, judging by
his grin. Asshole. The
recently departed headache began to squeeze her temples again.
“I wouldn’t have enjoyed it half as much if I had
interrupted, unless I joined in.”
“Well, why didn’t you?” In her brief glimpse before
she bent at the waist and flipped her hair over her head to begin toweling it
dry, she got good visual confirmation that he definitely enjoyed the view. Must
have been in mist form to see much, given the frosted glass that surrounded the
shower.
“And get my clothes wet? Don’t be absurd.”
“A normal person would join me.” She wrung her hair
out with more force than strictly necessary. “Now, explain what was so
important you felt the need to become a Peeping Jordan, and then get out!”
“I think you need to have another go in the shower, if
you’re still this waspish.”
Anthony would thank her if she killed him.
“I’ll make this brief. You’re fond of gambling, aren’t
you?”
“What of it?” She continued to rub viciously with the
towel, not sure she followed him yet. “I’m fond of lots of things.”
“Earlier, you propositioned me.”
Chris choked. “I did no such thing!”
“Then what would you call it?”
“Losing my mind.”
Jordan chuckled. From her upside down position, she
saw his legs stop swinging as he leaned forward. “I propose a bet. Just to make
our time a little more interesting, although I doubt it will beat what I just
saw.”
She purposely ignored the latter half of his
statement. Finished with her scalp she moved on to the longer portion of her
hair.
“If you win, I will walk the straight and narrow for,
hmmm. Two decades should be impetus enough, even for you. While not admitting
to having done anything that might get me in trouble under your country’s
Rights and Responsibilities Act, I promise not to indulge in any of my more exotic
entertainments for that period. No murder, no torture, nothing of that nature.”
Her eyes widened, and she stood, towel held loosely in her right hand. “I
thought that might garner your exclusive attention.”
Mouth dry, she swallowed hard. For that offer, he
wanted something big in return. “And if I lose?”
“I get your blood. More specifically, we forge a
blood-bond.”
No chance in hell.
Though she wanted to say the words, she didn’t. If she
rejected him out of hand without a good reason, he might wonder. Vampires
commonly shared blood. It wasn’t safe for her to do, since most people would
feel obligated to turn her over to the Circle for execution if they figured out
what she was.
She couldn’t dismiss the possibility he’d offered the
bet to see how desperate she was to avoid sharing blood. In that case, she
should say yes and win, no matter the cost.
“Quite the stakes. What’s the bet?”
TBR: Are you a plotter or pantser?
Tory: Pantser almost 100%. I did an outline for part of my most recently contracted work, Prophecy of Blood (3rd in the Dream-Walker War series, due out in January), but I discarded it about one chapter in. I used it to get me started, and that’s what I needed.
Tory: Pantser almost 100%. I did an outline for part of my most recently contracted work, Prophecy of Blood (3rd in the Dream-Walker War series, due out in January), but I discarded it about one chapter in. I used it to get me started, and that’s what I needed.
TBR: How do you develop your
characters?
Tory: Most of the characters I write about used to be role-playing characters on Prodigy/Vampire: the Masquerade, but not all of them, and all of them have changed a lot since those days, personality and story-wise. I will think of scenes and play them out in my head, or even act them out (verbally, at least. I don’t wander around gesturing and drinking like they do).
Tory: Most of the characters I write about used to be role-playing characters on Prodigy/Vampire: the Masquerade, but not all of them, and all of them have changed a lot since those days, personality and story-wise. I will think of scenes and play them out in my head, or even act them out (verbally, at least. I don’t wander around gesturing and drinking like they do).
TBR: Did any music inspire your
book? Do you have a playlist?
Tory: I usually have music of some sort playing. It’s usually soundtracks. My current favorites are X-Men: First Class, 1776, Les Mis, and Prince of Egypt.
Tory: I usually have music of some sort playing. It’s usually soundtracks. My current favorites are X-Men: First Class, 1776, Les Mis, and Prince of Egypt.
TBR: Which of your characters would
you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Tory: I’d most like to invite Christine (heroine from Blood-Mage Rising and Prophecy of Blood). She’s a hoot to write about and probably the one most like me of all my character. She’s not even close to being me, mind, but she and I have a lot of things in common.
Tory: I’d most like to invite Christine (heroine from Blood-Mage Rising and Prophecy of Blood). She’s a hoot to write about and probably the one most like me of all my character. She’s not even close to being me, mind, but she and I have a lot of things in common.
As
to who I’d least like to have to dinner, I’m split. First is Ares, because he’s
evil and out to do a LOT of bad things to the world. Then there’s Jordan, the
“hero” of Rising and Prophecy. He’s technically playing a hero, but he’s a
sociopath. I’m not sure I’d trust him, unless Chris were around.
TBR: While creating your books, what
was one of the most surprising things you learned?
Tory: That you could take a stone-cold, evil, twisted psychopath and not only make a hero out of him, but still leave him a psychopath while doing it.
Tory: That you could take a stone-cold, evil, twisted psychopath and not only make a hero out of him, but still leave him a psychopath while doing it.
TBR: What's next for you?Tory: I’ve got edits coming up soon on the third book in the Dream-Walker War, and hopefully I’ll get to work on the fourth (final) book in the series. Once I’m done with this, it’s on to either my futuristic dystopian world or my fantasy series (traditional dragons, elves, etc).
TBR: Any other published works?
Tory: At the moment, there’s only one other published (Blood Rage, first book in the series). Come January 2013, Prophecy of Blood will come out, and then hopefully a few months later, I’ll get Legacy/Island of Blood (title’s still not set in stone).
Tory: At the moment, there’s only one other published (Blood Rage, first book in the series). Come January 2013, Prophecy of Blood will come out, and then hopefully a few months later, I’ll get Legacy/Island of Blood (title’s still not set in stone).
TBR: Where can readers find you on
the web?
Tory: I can be found all over the place. Twitter (@torymichaels), Facebook (/authortorymichaels and /thedreamwalkerwar), Goodreads, www.torymichaels.com, and torymichaels.blogspot.com.
Tory: I can be found all over the place. Twitter (@torymichaels), Facebook (/authortorymichaels and /thedreamwalkerwar), Goodreads, www.torymichaels.com, and torymichaels.blogspot.com.
TBR: Thanks for visiting TBR, Tory.
Best of luck to you.
Readers, enter Tory's giveaway below!
http://www.rafflecopter.
Welcome to TBR, Tory!
ReplyDeleteCate
Thanks, Cate. It's Tory Michaels, btw, not Tory Richards. :) Tory Richards has actually tagged me a couple of times on Facebook, meaning to tag herself. Hehe. Easy mistake.
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