INTERVIEW WITH FELICITY HEATON AUTHOR OF HER AVENGING ANGEL:
1. Out of all the books you have written so
far, can you tell us which one is your favorite and why?
I have a feeling that this book is going to
be mentioned a lot in this interview, but my favourite has to be Tempted by a
Rogue Prince, because I had been waiting to write that book since I kicked off
the Eternal Mates series with Kissed by a Dark Prince in November 2013. Vail,
the hero, captivated me instantly and I was desperate to write his story and
help him move past a massively difficult period of his life (just the four
thousand years in duration) and find some good to carry him forward into a
better future. I’m a sucker for heroes who need to be redeemed and this dark
elf needed it far more than any hero that has come before him!
2. Which book was the hardest for you to
write?
I’ve had a few troublesome ones, where one
of the characters was causing me difficulties, but in terms of being hard to
write, I would say that Tempted by a Rogue Prince was probably the toughest so
far. It was very emotionally draining and taxing, and dealt with some dark
stuff as the hero was very much broken and he had been through a lot in his
long life that had shaped him and made him a touch mad.
Readers can check out Tempted by a Rogue
Prince at:
3. Can you tell us about your latest
release?
Her
Avenging Angel is the final book in the story arc in the Her Angel paranormal
romance series. Everything that has happened has been leading up to this book,
which ties up everything in the series and kicks off a whole new series in the
process. It’s packed with drama and emotion, and a lot of action. It also deals
with another broken hero. Nevar has been through Hell (literally) during the
series and has hit rock bottom, and Her Avenging Angel was the moment when I
was finally going to be able to redeem him and raise him up from that pit of
despair and darkness, and give him a better life. Lysia is the perfect heroine
for him. She refuses to give up, is strong enough to weather his moods and
attempts to drive her away, and does all in her power to make him realise that
beneath all the layers of darkness still beats the heart of the angel he once
was.
Everyone
gets involved in this one too as they attempt to convince our reluctant hero,
Nevar, to save the three realms from Armageddon. It was wonderful to bring all
the past heroes and heroines into this final book, and of course introduce a
whole new group of heroes. They’ll be the focus of the next series, Angels of
the Apocalypse.
Readers
can download a six chapter sample of the book at my website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/her-avenging-angel-romance-book.php
4. What inspired you to start writing
paranormal romance?
I’ve loved paranormal
genre stuff since I was really young, like just starting to read young and in
single digits. I have book reports where I call every book boring unless it has
vampires, werewolves, witches or monsters in it! I was hooked at an early age
and it has stayed with me throughout my life. My passion for it only grew in
strength when I read the classics as a teen, devouring Dracula and
Frankenstein, and reading H P Lovecraft and Poe. I read classic romances too,
like Jane Eyre, North and South, Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice too. I
think I began to blend those two very separate genres, falling for vampires and
other creatures of the night, imagining worlds where they existed.
I had never intended
to become a writer. I wrote a little in school, but nothing after that until I
fell into writing fanfiction for a popular TV show, Buffy. That progressed into
rekindling my love of dreaming up worlds of vampires and I began writing my own
worlds populated by my own characters. I’m happiest when I’m writing about them
because I love doing something different, twisting accepted norms into
something new, playing with mythical creatures and history. It’s amazing fun
and I can spend hours just figuring out the finer details about the breed of
vampires in a series, or crafting their world, layering in the details that
makes it feel real to readers. In paranormal, the possibilities are endless,
only limited by my imagination, and my imagination loves to push the
boundaries.
5. Do you have a favorite hero or heroine?
Vail, who is the somewhat regularly
mentioned in this interview dark elf from my Eternal Mates series of paranormal
romance stories. Since beginning the Eternal Mates series with Kissed by a Dark
Prince in November 2013, I have fallen deeply in love with Vail. He’s broken
and tormented by the things he has done, but not beyond redemption. I really
looked forward to writing this book and giving him a brighter future with his
fated mate, setting him on the path towards being healed and leading a normal
life again. Writing his book, Tempted by a Rogue Prince, really was everything
I had expected it to be—a very emotional journey. He made me cry a few times,
and readers have blamed me for a tissue shortage in their houses because of
this book. Now, I’m looking forward to catching up with him in future books in
the Eternal Mates series. People can read all about the series over at my
website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/eternal-mates-paranormal-romance-series.php
6. Who are some of your favorite authors?
I love
several paranormal romance authors. I absolutely
love Lara Adrian’s books. I also love to read series by Sherrilyn Kenyon and
Larissa Ione, and sometimes Christine Feehan and Lynsay Sands, and I used to be
really into Gena Showalter but she’s changed so much that I’m not sure I’ll
read her books again.
I’ve recently
discovered Elisabeth Naughton too. I finally read the first book in her Eternal
Guardians series in July and devoured a few books after that one, and I’ve
bought the rest of the series. I also like to dabble in Donna Grant’s dragon
shifters too. When I have time to read, I pretty much devour books one after
the other, mixing up the authors and series.
7. Do you happen to have a current work in
progress that you would be willing to share a wee bit about with the readers?
Sure I can. This is from Hunted by a
Jaguar, which is the next book in the Eternal Mates series and also my next
release. It’s due out on January 6th!
A little backstory… this is close to the
start of the book, and Kyter’s first face-to-face meeting with his heroine,
Iolanthe. Kyter is being a naughty kitty by trying to make his unflappable
heroine blush and trying to win her over as they’re both after the same object…
Kyter took a step back, his boots scuffing
across the dusty stone floor in the old empty building, stooped and unzipped
the main compartment of his backpack. He set down his guidebook, took out his
canteen and straightened. The female eyed him, her blade still held at the
ready. At least she hadn’t attacked when he had feigned dropping his guard.
He unscrewed the cap on his canteen and
then put it back on as an idea came to him.
He set the canteen down on his backpack.
Stood and stared across the narrow strip of ground to the female, making sure
he had the whole of her attention. When he had assured himself that she was
still staring at him, he grabbed the hem of his black t-shirt and pulled it up.
Her eyes shot wide.
“Wh-what do you think you are doing?” She
edged back a step and her blade dropped a few inches before it came back up.
He smirked and pulled the top off over his
head, taking his time about it and giving her a nice, leisurely look at his
stomach and chest. He dropped the black tee on his pack and she stared at him.
No blush. No problem. He could get one out of her.
He swiped the canteen from beneath his tee,
unscrewed the cap and raised it above his head. He tipped half of the contents
over the longer tufts of his short sandy hair. Water ran down his face and
throat and over his chest, blissfully cool against his hot skin.
She stammered. “What… I… what?”
Kyter shot her his best smile as he
scrubbed his hand over his hair, tousling the wet strands and squeezing more
water from them. It ran in rivulets down his face and his body.
A blush scalded her cheeks.
Bingo.
“I’m hot,” he murmured and rubbed the water
into his bare chest. “And a little dusty. I’m remedying that.”
Because he hated being dirty.
But he could be dirty for her.
She blinked and her mouth flapped but no
words came out. Her gaze betrayed her and fell to his chest as he swept his
hand across it. The heat on her cheeks flared hotter. She turned her back on
him and every inch of her went rigid.
“Put some clothes on.”
He smirked. “I have clothes on. I’m damned
if I’m going to boil to death for you. Prude. You don’t like what you see, get
out of my territory.”
She turned on him, her green eyes flashing
fire.
“I am not a prude… and this is not your
territory.” Her left eyebrow slowly rose and she murmured, “Territory. You have
said that twice now.”
And he wouldn’t say it again, because he
preferred it when people couldn’t tell what he was. His mixed genes normally
masked his jaguar scent, making it impossible for all but the most experienced
fae and demons to detect his species. At her age, she had probably met several
jaguars, and he was surprised she hadn’t figured him out yet.
He still didn’t have a damn clue what she
was.
She lowered the blade to her side and
smiled at him, fluttering her eyelashes. Trying to play at his game? She was an
awful actress. Too forced. Even the stupidest of males would have seen through
her attempt to charm him.
She was going to be a tricky customer
though. She wanted the artefact. He could see it in her eyes. He had animal
magnetism to his advantage, and a better ability at acting, but something about
her had him hungry for a taste of her, and he wasn’t sure it was purely her
beauty or her gracefulness. If she took the stick out of her arse and really
turned on the charm, he didn’t think he would be able to resist the fierce
desire she stirred in him with only a look. Just thinking about it had him
aching for her, growing hard in his combats.
He cursed himself for being too damn easy
and turned away from her to look at the fresco, giving himself a moment to get
his body back under control. He had to keep building on the foundations he had
laid. He couldn’t give her a chance to pull herself back together. The quickest
way to get in her good graces and get information out of her would be
pretending to fall for her charms, giving her the impression she was in control
of the situation, and then turning the tables on her.
The trouble was, he probably wouldn’t be
pretending to fall for her poor attempts at seduction and he would probably
forget all about the turning the tables part.
He felt her gaze roaming his back, intent
and focused.
The scars on it burned.
Kyter whirled to face her, a growl rumbling
through his chest, and she dropped her eyes to her boots.
“You not left yet?” he snapped and she
straightened, pinning him with a glare.
“You have to leave.”
He shook his head and took a swig from his
canteen. “Nope. I like it here.”
She pointed her blade at him again. “I have
a weapon. You do not.”
Kyter slowly smiled. “Oh, I have a weapon.
It’s around this big.”
He spaced his hands ten inches apart.
She blushed beautifully again. “You disgust
me.”
“I was talking about a knife. I don’t know
what you thought I was talking about… oh… man… you have a dirty mind.” He
smirked as she huffed and turned away from him. Giving him her back? She either
felt confident she could defend herself if he attacked, or she was beginning to
feel he wasn’t a threat to her and was starting to trust him. “Name’s Kyter.”
“I have no interest in your name.” She
swung her blade up onto her shoulder again and looked over it at him. “I shall
call you Disgusting Pig.”
Kyter shrugged, luring her eyes back down
to his body. “I’m not a pig.”
Her gaze jumped back up to his face and
narrowed. “What are you?”
He shot her another smile. “I told you. I’m
Kyter.”
Her huff filled the quiet room. “I should
have named you Irritating.”
She looked as if she was considering
leaving. Oddly, he didn’t want that to happen. He was enjoying playing with
her. She had the most alluring little crinkle between her brows when he was
frustrating her and he liked the way her eyes flashed green fire flecked with
gold.
“Irritating is my middle name.” Kyter held
his free hand out to her. “Most people call me Kyter.”
She slowly turned back to face him, looked
at his hand, but didn’t take it. “Iolanthe.”
He bet a thousand men had told her what a
pretty name she had. It suited her beauty. He was damned if he was going to be
number one thousand and one though.
“So, Io.” He flinched when she shot down
that attempt at friendliness with an icy glare and tried again. “Lanthe?”
She scowled and the sense of danger she
constantly emitted grew stronger. “Do not shorten my name without permission.”
Tough customer.
He cleared his throat. If they were back at
his bar, he would have offered her a drink to break the ice between them and
get her to lower her guard. He cast a glance around the empty room, thinking
about the arid ruins beyond it and the fact she wasn’t likely to want to leave
this place to find a joint where they could share a drink. He didn’t want to
leave either. He would have to do this the hard way.
Kyter offered her his canteen.
She raised an eyebrow at it. “What do you
expect me to do with that?”
The unsteady edge to her eyes and her
heartbeat said that she thought he meant her to toss water over herself in some
sort of private wet t-shirt competition for his eyes only. While he wouldn’t
say no to seeing her wet all over, it hadn’t been his intention and it was
probably a little too soon for trying anything so risqué.
Thank you so much for stopping by and chatting with me Miss Heaton and for sharing your WIP with us.
About Felicity
Heaton:
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today
international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books.
In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action,
intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from
dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful
angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara
Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then
you will enjoy her books too.
Books by Felicity Heaton:
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