Blacker than Black by Rhi Etzweiler

 Rhianon Etzweiler Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

I am of the firm belief that all things are open to debate and subject to interpretation. This includes any number of parameters that one might, in life, take for granted. Very little is sacred when I write a story. I have a fetish for toying with preconceived notions.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

Mystique, from the X-Men.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Love is genderless, quality writing is genreless. I love a good book, no matter the genre.

Do you have a favorite quote?

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”  No idea where it comes from originally. It’s popular in the military, though.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I’ve two different military speculative fiction books in the works. One’s science fiction, the other more fantasy. I’m also working on the sequel to “Dark Edge of Honor.”

Here the blurb from my new Riptide release, Blacker than Black:

Apparently, my twin and I are two of York’s most notorious criminals. We’ve been Nightwalkers in the blue-light district since the vamps took over the world. Don’t know how many years it’s been. Long enough that a stream of fellow ’walkers have come and gone. Most don’t last long selling their chi. End up face-down in the gutter, or worse.

For us, one night and one sale change everything.
Monsieur Garthelle is the first john to hunt me down. He calls me a chi thief in one breath and offers absolution—servitude—in the next. Maybe I’m a sucker, but I like living and breathing. Strange that such a powerful vamp would show leniency to a mere human. And something’s not right with the chi I took from him. It won’t go away.

Neither will he, and he’s forcing us to spy on his peers. Then a vamp turns up dead, and we go from playing eyes and ears to investigating a murder. This isn’t what I signed up for. All I ever wanted was to sell a little chi, maybe steal some in return. I should’ve kept my damn hands to myself.

This is my story. Look through my eyes.

You can read an excerpt and purchase Blacker than Black here.

 

Where can we find your website?

http://www.rhianonetzweiler.com

Master Class (Master Class, #1) by Rachel Haimowitz

Rachel Haimowitz Literary Nymphs Author Interview

 What would you like new fans to know about you?

If you’re looking for soft and fuzzy, or happy and porny, I’m not your gal, but if you’re looking for a tense, meaty read (er, no double entendre intended) with strong characters and plot and the occasional scorching sex scene, I think you’ll enjoy what I do. I can be dark for certain, but that’s just me making my characters earn their happy ending J

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

Hmm. In the Song of the Fallen series, I’d definitely be an elf. Not a city elf either, but one like Ayden, out in the wilds. I’d like to think I’d be happier than Ayden, though. And I wouldn’t be a soldier. I suppose I’d probably be a writer there, too.

What is your favorite genre to read?

I’m not sure I have one, to be honest. I tend to prefer fiction over nonfiction, but even that’s not hard and fast. I read a lot, across many genres, and haven’t ever really settled on just one. I obviously have a particular affinity for M/M, and for all the various genres that fall under the speculative fiction umbrella, and I seem to be a character-driven rather than a plot-driven reader (and writer, as well). 

Do you have a favorite quote?

Two, actually. The first is “So it goes,” from Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five. The second is “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by,” by Douglas Adams (another favorite writer of mine). That’s terrible of me, I know, especially in a business that’s so deadline-focused, but I love the humor and very much understand where he was coming from when he said that.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I have three new releases this winter. My most recent was Master Class, a smoking-hot (and hardcore!) BDSM novella focused on the psychology of sadomasochism. In other words, both the healthy and the unhealthy reasons for why some people pursue these relationships, and how truly amazing—transcendent, even—they can be when you find the right fit. That came out with Riptide Publishing on October 30.

Here's the blurb:

Performing before a crowd of thousands? No problem. Baring his heart before a crowd of one? Better tie him down first.

Broadway darling Nicky Avery is a shooting star by night, but by day he bounces from one heartless one-night stand to the next. A quick flogging, a rough lay, a new whip-hand to manipulate—yet still he yearns for something he cannot even name.

He finds his first true hint of satisfaction in Devon Turner, a self-possessed film star and expert Dom. Devon knows what he wants the moment he sees it, and what he wants is Nicky Avery. Nicky’s never learned to trust and has a nasty habit of topping from the bottom, but he learns fast that in the bedroom, Devon won’t tolerate his actor’s masks.

Nicky's a broken boy, but Devon knows exactly how to put his new sub back together. With patience, care, and all the punishments his little pain slut can handle, Devon breaks Nicky down one scene at a time, revealing a mind that yearns to trust and a heart that hungers for the ecstasy of true submission at last.

This title is #1 of the Master Class series.

You can read an excerpt and purchase Master Class at Riptide Publishing.

SUBlime, Collected Shorts features Nicky and Devon as well.

Broadway darling Nicky Avery gives commanding performances on stage, but when he comes home at night, it's Devon Turner who commands him. Devon—that's "Sir" to Nicky, of course—owns Nicky heart and soul, and neither of them could possibly be happier with that.

This collection of vignettes explores the gifts of submission and domination—Nicky and Devon's ultimate expression of love and trust. The ten short stories range from sweet and sensual to hot and hardcore, from crossdressing to knife play, and so much more.

Dom or sub, curious beginner or 24/7 lifestyler, the stories in Sublime will tease and tantalize, arouse and thrill. And don't mind Devon and Nicky . . . they like to be watched anyway.

(Stories include "All-Nighter," "Down in the Woodshop," "Stainless Steel," "Pretty," "Milk Run," "Too Much," "A Hairy Situation," "Wrapped Up," "One for the Road," and "Pony Up.")

Note: This second edition is a revised re-release of the same title first published in 2010.

The second is Crescendo, Book II of Song of the Fallen. That’s the sequel and conclusion to Counterpoint, and together they make a high fantasy story arc nearly a quarter of a million words long that follows three races at war and two enemies whose love may just be strong enough to bring peace back to the world at last. It’ll be out November 18 at Storm Moon Press.

The third is Break and Enter, an action-packed cyberpunk romp co-written with Aleksandr Voinov and releasing December 20 with Samhain Publishing. I really love this story, mostly for everything it’s not. It has no literary pretensions, no aspirations for high art, no desire to be anything but what it is . . . which is the book equivalent of 90 minutes of high-tension, big-budget car chases and explosions and hot guys running around beating each other up, bringing justice to their little corner of the world, and falling in love along the way. Also there’s a cyborg with a pottymouth.

Where can we find your website?

Website: http://rachelhaimowitz.com

Blog: http://Rachel-haimowitz.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RachelHaimowitz

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4110966

Email: metarachel (at) gmail (dot) com

First Watch by Peter Hansen

Peter Hansen Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

If you haven't read my work yet, you should know that I write erotic fiction that's heavily inflected with science fiction and horror. My short stories tend to take place on other worlds or other versions of our world, and they focus on the connections people make when their lives or livelihoods are under threat. I go for Good Soldiers and Angry Young Men, and I'm a huge fan of the idealist/cynic matchup. As for me, I'm an incurable idealist, a Scorpio, and a vegetarian.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

Probably a Time Lord. Can you imagine how much easier research would be if I just had to hop in the TARDIS?

What is your favorite genre to read?

Fantasy and science fiction, no question. I like learning about new worlds, and I like encountering cultures that operate on very different sets of rules than our own. When they're done right, fantasy and science fiction both teach us not to exoticize the Other, but to accept ourselves as Other to a functioning cultural system of cooperation and conflict. (When they're done wrong, of course, they only replicate and amplify the worst tropes of colonial apologist literature.)

Do you have a favorite quote?

"I will not stir from this place, do what they can; I will walk up and down here, and I will sing, that they shall hear. I am not afraid." – Bottom, Midsummer Night's Dream

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

Right now, I'm concentrating on writing a pair of sequels to "First Watch," my post-WWI tale of erotic Lovecraftian horror. Once I've finished that, though, I'd like to branch out a little and write something closer to contemporary fiction. Near-future SF or historical fiction set in the eighties—something a little closer to my time and that of my readers.

Allow me to share the blurb for my Riptide release, First Watch:

What price would you pay to survive?

Do you want to live? In the darkness of a WWI battlefield, young Legionnaire Edouard Montreuil lies dying. As teeth nibble his flesh, a voice whispers, Do you want to live? Frightened and desperate, Edouard bargains his freedom for a second chance.

Aboard the Flèche, a grim submarine captained by the nightmare who granted Edouard new life, Edouard pays the price for his survival. Each night, he gives his body to his captain as the bells sound first watch. But surviving is not living, and as the days stretch into months beneath the waves, Edouard grows desperate for escape.

Can Edouard’s old comrade Farid Ruiz help him break this devil's bargain, or will Ruiz fall to the same fate, trapped beneath the waves at the mercy of a monster whose hunger knows no bounds? Edouard and Ruiz served together once before, and slept together too, but courage and passion failed to save them from the eldritch beasts who roamed the night. This time, the cost of failure is nothing so clean or simple as death, and the spoils of victory are not just life, but love.

You can read an excerpt and purchase First Watch here

Where can we find your website?

Website
Twitter:

E-mail: peter.hansen.writes@gmail.com

Pretty Monsters by Andrea Speed

       

  Andrea Speed Literary Nymphs Author Interview

              

What would you like new fans to know about you?

 I like to think I'm funny. Your mileage may vary.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

 The mad god who rules with a capricious iron fist.

What is your favorite genre to read?

 Don't really have one. I'll read anything that appeals to me.

 Do you have a favorite quote?

 Two, from two of my favorite writers. “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” - Douglas Adams (Not only is The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy a very funny book,  but full of quotable lines.) And “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.” - Hunter S. Thompson.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

 In October, through Dreamspinner Press, I have a novella coming out called The Little Death. It's a Chandler homage, about alcoholic tough guy private dick Jake Falconer, and how the search for a homme fatale's sexy missing brother gets him in deep trouble. I also have a fantasy novel called Strange Angels in the works for Riptide Publishing, and there will be a fourth book in the Infected series too, Infected: Freefall, although release date is TBA. (Probably around the end of the year, though.)

Here’s the blurb from my latest release, Pretty Monsters, at Riptide Publishing:

Josh knew the night shift at the Quik-Mart would be full of freaks and geeks—and that was before the hell portal opened in the parking lot. Still, he likes to think he can roll with things. Sure, the zombies make a mess sometimes, but at least they never reach for anything more threatening than frozen burritos.

Besides, it’s not all lizard-monsters and the walking dead. There’s also the mysterious hottie with the sly red lips and a taste for sweets.

Josh has had the hots for Hot Guy since the moment he laid eyes on him, and it seems Hot Guy might be sweet on Josh too. Now if only Josh could figure out whether that’s a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between. After all, with a hell vortex just a stone’s throw away, Josh has learned to take nothing at face value—even if it’s a very, very pretty face.

This title is #1 of the Josh of the Damned series.

You can read an excerpt and purchase Pretty Monsters here.

The second in the series, Peek-A-Boo is available for presale at Riptide.

Where can we find your website?

www.andreaspeed.com  

But also feel free to hit me up on Twitter, as I am often there.

http://twitter.com/#!/aspeed

Surprises (Romeo Club, #1) by Brita Addams

Brita Addams - Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

Brita: I'd love for new people to know that I write what's in my heart and stories I hope people can relate to. I write my characters with emotions I've felt, feelings that I think are universal. First and foremost, I write people, no matter what gender they might be. In doing that, I can relate to either a female or male character and have them relate to each other in a realistic way.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

No! I'm a very grounded person and I enjoy a wonderful life that I wouldn't change for anything in the world.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Brita: I currently only read gay fiction, usually historical, though I have read some really good contemporary stories. Historical is my first choice, both in reading and writing and then I can't get enough stories about men loving each other.

Do you have a favorite quote?

Brita: "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep." from Robert Frost's Stopping By a Woods on a Snowy Evening.

It's a great metaphor for life.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

Brita: I have a whole collection of gay erotica I'm writing for Riptide called Romeo Club. They are all contemporary stories, shorts or vignettes, nice lunch or bedtime reading.

I'm working on an historical, which takes place in the early 1800's and I hope to have that submitted by the New Year. Next year, I hope to write a new series that had to be delayed this year due to other commitments. It niggles at my brain and the characters are begging to be written, so that will be a priority as the new year comes upon us. I’m also researching old Hollywood and I have a ton of research done for an American Civil War story I’d like to write.

Here’s the blurb from Romeo Club #1: Surprises:

Are you willing to put yourself in our hands?

Smart, successful, handsome, and thoroughly sick of the club scene, Don ventures into a popular upscale dating service. Aroused and intrigued by the boldfaced sexual queries on the Romeo Club’s application, he finds himself embellishing one answer after the next. Don thinks he’s taking control of his fate, but when he’s done, he ends up turning over a lot more than just his questionnaire to the dominant Adonis who runs the service.

In a private back room, beneath the snick of handcuffs, the slide of silk over his eyes, and not one hot mouth but two upon his skin, Don learns just how much more than matchmaking the Romeo Club has to offer a guy who doesn’t mind a few surprises.

To read an excerpt and purchase the first in the Romeo Club collection, click here.

Romeo Club #2: Rubbed the Right Way is also available at Riptide Publishing.

Where can we find you?

Website/blog

Twitter

Facebook

Divinity by Bryl R. Tyne

Bryl Tyne Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

 I'm not really as scary as I come across at times, i.e. see answer to what my fantasy character would be had I a choice.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

 I would be called Beau, and I'd have money, power, and the deadliest weapons available at my disposal, and I'd defy anyone to knock the chip off my shoulder. Yeah.

What is your favorite genre to read?

 Suspense or Action Adventure

Do you have a favorite quote?

 To label me is to negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

 I'm currently working on a psychological horror collection for Riptide called ANGUISH. The first story is DEVOUR, and there are two others planned.

Here's the blurb from my newest release at Riptide, called Divinity:

Martin Hayes has found the perfect job for a 200-year-old vampire. As the late-shift security guard for Spire, he works and hunts by night and sleeps by day, hidden away in the unused cellar. Life is all so easy—nights bleeding away, weeks and months passing . . . until a new janitor disturbs the peace. Martin finds himself obsessed with memories (or are they?) of red hair, freckled skin, and men on their knees.

Dylan Mesmer isn’t just a hot, freckled, red-haired janitor. He’s altogether too composed around Martin and never surprised by Martin’s supernatural abilities. In fact, he seems to have a few of his own. And why does he keep feeding Martin orange lollipops?

A healthy vampire has no use for candy, yet Martin cannot resist the lure. He’s being baited and knows it, but for what end? And what about those visions that assail him whenever he thinks of Dylan? Their story is centuries old, but this time around, Dylan’s playing for nothing less than immortality. Eternal life—and eternal love—is within his reach, but can he convince Martin to change his ways and commit? If not, he’ll remain trapped in time beside his lover, always together but forever apart.

Divinity can be purchased at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/divinity

Where can we find your website?

Website URL: http://bryltyne.com

Blog URL: http://brylrtyne.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/bryl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryl.tyne

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/brylrtyne

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Bryl-R.-Tyne/e/B0034GBTZC

Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2877215.Bryl_R_Tyne

My Way column at The Pagan and The Pen:

http://thepaganandthepen.wordpress.com/my-way/

Grown Men by Damon Suede

Damon Suede Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

I write the stories I love to read. Full stop. J My entire interest as a writer centers on my love of singular worldbuilding and rich characterization. I write entertaining stories that bear rereading because I’m drawn to complex characters and unexpected situations. I push myself hard, and each project represents a step forward,

I’m not interested in “throwaway” fiction or quickie retreads of overly familiar material. I don’t focus on any particular genre or style. I understand why those books satisfy, but I like meat on the figurative bone and I always want to be able to go back to a book I’ve enjoyed.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

Myself. Seriously. I’m living the life I’ve always wanted. I wouldn’t trade places with anyone and I feel way too fortunate to ever toss that aside. My mom raised us to take aim and live out loud and we do. J I suppose in the most primitive sense I’d love to live forever, free of infirmity, as myself… but I love my life and am grateful beyond reason for all the people and powers that let me live it.

What is your favorite genre to read?

I don’t have a particular favorite genre, although I do go through phases where I’ll read a specific genre because of my mood or interests at that moment. The one thing I’m always in the mood for is a strong voice from someone with a story to tell, but I don’t think good writing qualifies as a genre. J

Do you have a favorite quote?

 “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  (Aristotle)

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

Books that push the boundaries in ways that honor the form without getting formulaic. Better writing as I learn more about the flow and form of romance fiction. I want to see our genre expand and evolve and play a part in that. But that’s all very high-falutin’ and general.

In concrete terms, what y’all should expect is more projects and writing that gets better each time out of the gate. Up next is Spring Eternal, which is my steampunk novel. After that will be Hard Head, the sequel to Hot Head which focuses on Tommy’s story.  And I have another contemporary brewing now that will follow along soon.

Here's the blurb from Grown Men, my newest release from Riptide Publishing:

Every future has dirty roots.

Marooned in the galactic backwaters of the HardCell company, colonist Runt struggles to eke out an existence on a newly-terraformed tropical planetoid. Since his clone-wife died on entry, he’s been doing the work of two on his failing protein farm. Overworked and undersized, Runt’s dwindling hope of earning corporate citizenship has turned to fear of violent “retirement.”

When an overdue crate of provisions crashes on his beach, Runt searches frantically for a replacement wife among the tools and food. Instead he gets Ox, a mute hulk who seems more like a corporate assassin than a simple offworld farmer.

Shackwacky and near-starving, Runt has no choice but to work with his silent partner despite his mounting paranoia and the unsettling appeal of Ox’s genetically altered pheromones. Ox plays the part of the gentle giant well, but Runt’s still not convinced he hasn’t arrived with murder in mind.

Between brutal desire and the seeds of a relationship, Runt’s fears and Ox’s inhuman past collide on a fertile world where hope and love just might have room to grow.

This title is #1 of the HardCell series.

Grown Men can be purchased at: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/grown-men

Where can we find your website?

You can find me online at:

§       DamonSuede.com

§       Goodreads

§       Facebook

§       FB Fanpage

§       Google+

Collared by Kari Gregg

 

Kari Gregg - Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

I like pushing boundaries, exploring new territory, thinking outside the box and tackling an old trope in an entirely different way. For instance, with I, Omega (released Sept 6th, Loose Id), I wanted to bring the animal nature of shifters back to the table and just wallow in it.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

A creature I made up but sadly, have not yet had the time to write yet so, lol, sorry, can't say a lot, but I will tell you that these creatures are empowered by and can manipulate light -- or rather the lack of it. Very magic-y. Very sexy.

What is your favorite genre to read?

M/M, first and foremost...I read A LOT of BDSM and kink. Nothing I like better than an intelligent dub-con/capture fantasy.

Do you have a favorite quote?

Peace, love...smut! (The Goodreads Kindle Smut Group)

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I, Omega, my m/m BDSM paranormal (shifter) novel released with Loose Id in September. Collared, my M/M D/s Dystopian AU novella, released with Riptide in November. Next up is In the Red, a M/M BDSM mystery with Loose Id, featuring a slightly forensic accountant and the special agent tasked with returning him to the Bureau fold. After that, I'll be working on two books in tandem, Plunder (the sequel to Spoils of War) as well as a M/M BDSM short novel set during the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse.

Here's a blurb from Collared, my November 28 release from Riptide Publishing:

Trans-Global IT director Connor Witt is a rare and prized anomaly: the aggression centers in his brain have been suppressed rather than stimulated by the mutated crops that so recently took over the world’s food supply. Bewildered by his physical changes and terrified of a world growing more and more predatory, Connor risks harassment and worse until Trans-Global CEO David Martin collars Connor to protect him against men like security consultant Emmett Drake. Men who stalk Connor as sweet, sexy prey. Men to whom the newly submissive Connor feels irresistibly drawn.

But David can’t be Connor’s master; David’s straight. He promises to find a worthy man, though. One willing to court and appreciate Connor as more than just some rich man’s toy.

While the world adapts to the biological disaster and new laws strip away Connor’s rights, David’s resolve to protect his boy slowly grows into something more. But can his new desires keep pace with Emmett’s determination to claim Connor?

One man offers safety; the other is a safer bet. Problem is, Connor’s never sure which is which. The one thing he does know? He wants them both.

You can pre-order Collared by clicking this link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/collared

Where can we find your website?

If you would like to catch up with Kari, caffeinate yourself and head on over to http://www.KariGregg.com
Friend Kari on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Kari.M.Gregg
Follow Kari on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/karigregg
Find Kari at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4366316.Kari_Gregg