Izzy’s Insights – Interview with Character Dage Kayrs…Take 2

on January 26, 2012

 

Sergej Khakimullin
Shutterstock

My name is Izzy and I interview book characters.  Many people say I’m a character, myself.  *Snort*.  That’s nice of them.  I’m hoping Rebecca lets me interview a bunch of her characters–I can’t wait to be in the same room with all of the Kayrs brothers.  MEOW.

So, I tried interviewing the king once before, and his brothers showed up to cause havoc.  Talen is particularly tiresome when it comes to interviews…who knows why.  But Dage agreed to meet me again and this time we met at a very quaint coffee shop that’s off the grid.  The coffee is spectacular and there’s free WiFi, so even if our meeting got cut short, I was happy.  For those of you who haven’t met Dage yet, he’s about six and a half feet tall, packed hard, with black hair and incredible silver eyes.  Frankly, it shows he trusts us that he’s not hiding the odd color.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  Thank you for trying this again.  I’m sorry about last time.

DAGE:  That certainly wasn’t your fault.  Sometimes my brothers are a handful.

If that wasn’t the understatement of the millennium, I don’t know what was.  But I nodded and gave him my most professional smile.  He smiled back…not fooled a bit.

ME:  So, I wanted to talk to you about Max’s mission – I believe he left the other day.

DAGE:  Interesting.  Why do you believe that?

Okay.  Vampires can be kind of scary and this one scarier than most.  Even though his tone stayed calm and no expression crossed his face, an odd tension made the air around us kind of heavy.  The king probably didn’t like his information getting out.

ME:  My sources are pretty good.  And this interview won’t run until Max has finished his mission (but about a month before TEMPTED, Max’s story, comes out—don’t tell the king), so there’s no reason not to talk about it.

DAGE:  Hmmm.  Okay.  We’ll discuss Max and then we’ll discuss your sources in my organization.  Basically, there’s a woman named Sarah Pringle who has created a blog and website about the Kurjans.  They’re after her, and we need to get to her before they do. 

(The Kurjans are the bad guys–pasty faced bad vampires afraid of the sun.  Unlike the good vampires).

ME:  You’re going to let her keep the website up?

DAGE:  No.  Jase already took it down and posted information about her writing a good book.  The website has been taken care of.  Now we just need to get her records from the insane asylum because I’m sure she told them all about the Kurjans.  We can’t have that information out there.

A bit of concern had me sitting back in my chair.  What exactly were the vampires going to do to poor possibly-crazy Sarah Pringle?

ME:  I find it odd you sent Max.  I mean, he’s Janie’s bodyguard now.  What did he used to be?

DAGE:  Max has always been part of the family…serving as my bodyguard as well as one of my best hunters.  The guy is a Russian bloodhound when it comes to hunting.

ME:  Ah…okay.

To be honest, I’ve met Max.  The guy isn’t just a hunter. 

ME:  But why Max?  Many of your people are scouts, including Conn.  Why send Max?

DAGE:  Let’s just say I think Max is the right guy for the job.

A really cute twinkle entered the king’s eye at this point and for a second, I could just stare.  Then I shook it off and got back to business, reminding myself that I was a professional and the guy had a mate.  I mean, really.

ME:  Are you matchmaking, king?

DAGE:  I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.

At this point, a barista sauntered up to give the king a free muffin.  I mean, seriously.  It’s a coffee shop.  You order at the counter and take your own food to your table.  Okay, I’m not just irritated that she didn’t bring me a muffin.  I’m irritated on Emma’s behalf.  Dage politely thanked the woman, keeping his attention on me.  She returned to the counter, her butt swaying the whole time.

ME:  I bet that happens a lot to you.

DAGE:  What happens to me?

Man, guys are clueless.  Even immortal deadly ones.

ME:  Forget it.  So, I have to know, does Max get a happy ending?

The peace was too good to last.  I should’ve started with the main question.  Guess who showed up?  NOPE!  It wasn’t Talen.  Jase, the youngest brother, hustled inside, his brown hair ruffled and eyes flashing.

DAGE:  What’s happened?

JASE:  Something’s going on with the witches…Conn is leaving now.  We have to go.

Darn it.  My source in the Realm hadn’t reported anything about the witches.  I mean, we all knew Conn was heading to Ireland to collect his witch soon (and I fully expect she’s not going to allow any sort of collection), but I hadn’t known it would be this quickly.

DAGE:  Izzy, I appreciate your time, but I need to get going.

The darn barista, who had somehow lost a couple buttons on her shirt, hustled over, her gaze on Jase.  So, yeah.  The guy is seriously hot.  But I mean, come on.

ME:  I’d like to talk about Conn and his mission to Ireland.

Dage flashed a smile as he stood to join Jase. 

DAGE:  I’ll arrange for an interview with Conn when he gets back.  You’ll enjoy meeting him.  And we’ll discuss your sources in the Realm next time.

Okay, it was kind of a threat.  Then, well…the coffee chick made a move.  Not a kill ya type of move.  But an almost genuine trip to basically land in Jase’s arms.  They got all tangled up, and he ended up just picking her up.  The woman beamed.  Then she pouted really pretty when he put her down with a smile and whispered something in her ear.  The Kayrs men left.  I took a look at the flushed waitress.

ME:  What did he say?

NEARLY TOPLESS WAITRESS:  He said he’d be back next week

Excellent.  So will I.  🙂

The First Excerpt of HUNTED…

on December 31, 2011

Hi all!  On the last day of 2011, I thought I’d post the first excerpt of Hunted.  Here it is:

The warrior in Conn roared to life, overtaking any rational thought.  He shot his arm up to grab her wrist and force the blade from his throat.  “Let go of the knife, Moira.”  Soft skin covered toned muscle under his hand.  He could tighten his hold and make her drop the weapon, but that’s not how this was going down.

“No.”  She took advantage of his movement and dug her heel into his thigh, clapping his ear with her free hand.

Pain exploded in his skull.  His temper howled.  Clutching his fingers into her hair, he jerked her head back.  The white column of her throat stretched.  She yelped in protest.  He lowered his head, his fangs elongating completely.  His lips enclosed her skin.

He struck.

Her entire body went rigid.  The knife clattered to the floor. 

He drank.  Honey and spice exploded across his taste buds followed by a punch of raw power.  His mind swirled.  Arousal, lust, fire whipped through him until the need to get inside her pushed all other thoughts away.  Quick swipes of his tongue sealed the wound and then his mouth was on hers, delving deep. 

She moaned low in her throat, pulling him toward her.  He released her arm, encircling her waist and tugging her forward.  Better.  Now he wanted her naked.  Heat cascaded from the woman.  His tongue tangled with hers, the little whimpers gasping from her boiling his lust even higher.

The boom of a gun being fired jerked him away.  He jumped around, using his body as a shield.  Kell stood in the entryway, calmly placing a Beretta in his waist.  Plaster dropped from the ceiling marred by a large bullet hole. 

Conn snarled.

Kell held both hands out.  At six and a half feet with midnight dark eyes and hair, the witch took a placating stance that had to be unfamiliar.  He wiped plaster off his shoulder.  “I know it’s deadly to mess with a vamp and his mate, but we really have to go.” 

The whirr of a helicopter startled Conn.  He hadn’t heard it arrive.  Not good.  “Where?”

“We’ve been summoned by the Council,” Kell said.  “Now.”

Moira leapt off the counter to land next to Conn.  “We’re already late.”

He grabbed her arm.  “I’m going with you or you don’t go.”  He needed answers.  If the stubborn witches in the room wouldn’t provide them, he’d go to the top.

“While he can’t see the Council,” Kell dropped his gaze to his cousin, “we could use his help.  At least until Daire and Adam return.”

Conn stilled.  “Daire and Adam?”  Kell and his two brothers served as the chief enforcers for the Nine.  Something huge must be going down if they all had been summoned at once.  Suspicion tightened his shoulders.  “Why are you with Moira, Kell?”  Conn’s voice dropped to an octave that should’ve warned his friend.  He’d assumed Kell was with Moira to await him, performing his duty as liaison and enforcer.  Perhaps Kell provided protection for Moira.  If his mate needed protection, someone should’ve called him.

Kell cut his gaze to Moira.  “I believe that’s a conversation between you and the Seventh, Kayrs.”

“Don’t call me that.”  Moira stiffened.  “You’ve no right to be pissed, Kell.”

Kell stepped forward, his eyes blazing.  “No right to be pissed?  Are you kidding?”  He swept his hand toward Conn.  “There’s a good chance I’m going to end up in a fist fight with one of my best friends because you’ve refused to get your life in order.  And now it might be too late to fix our world.”

One step had Conn in front of Moira.  “Don’t yell at her.”  A brawl was guaranteed at this point.  Though the first punch came from the brat behind him.  Two fisted and right to his kidneys.

“That’s it.”  Conn swirled around and ducked, tossing his witch over his shoulder.  She bellowed in surprise.  He pivoted, heading for the exit.  “Since I’m under strict orders from my king not to piss off the council, we’ll go meet with them now.  You can explain what the hell’s going on during the flight.”  He strode through the door and into the sun, not caring whether or not Kell followed.  Moira struggled, smashing her hands into his back.  “Then, mate, we’re going home.” 

Rage burned in his gut.  Moira’s family had power and knew how to wield it.  The second he forced her from Ireland, they’d declare war.

So be it.

See the cover for TEMPTED!

on August 26, 2011

Excellent news, my friends.  The magnificent Megan just sent me the proposed cover for TEMPTED.  Isn’t it hot, hot, hot?!?  Tempted is an e-novella that will be released on March 27, 2012.  It’s about Max (Janie’s bodyguard) and a woman named Sarah Pringle.  Sarah just escaped from a mental institution.  You can buy Tempted on your kindle, nook, e-reader, computer, ipad…

Here’s a quick excerpt:

“Miss Pringle?  I’m coming in.”  The door opened on a gust of wind, and Max stepped inside.

“Wow.”  She could only gape.  Wet brown hair, thick and wavy, plastered to his head.  A soaked black t-shirt and jeans revealed rock hard muscle.  No injuries from the fight?  Perfectly healthy.  Not even winded.  He was the largest man she’d ever seen.  His face was rugged…strong.  Not handsome…but, well, masculine.  Yeah.  That was the term.  Deep, dark, and shielded brown eyes took her measure. 
A shiver slid down her spine—some fear—some intrigue.  “How did you find me?”

“You left a trail a first week Boy Scout could follow.  I saw you heading for the tower, so I just kept pace until you got here.”  He eyed her sopping clothing, dark gaze wandering up to her face.  “Your lips are blue.”  Three steps had him at the cabinets, yanking them open to grab a sealed bag.  Those large hands ripped open the bag and yanked out two wool blankets.  “Take your clothes off.”

“No.”  It came out on a croak.  How insulting.  He’d been tracking her, easily keeping her in sight.  So much for getting to freedom.  “We need to run.  If you’re here…they’re coming.”

He wiped his forehead with his arm.  “No, they’re not.”

Her mind spun.  If they weren’t coming—they were dead.  “You killed four of
them?”  She backed away, knees hitting the cot.  Her teeth chattered and she
clenched her lips together.  How had he survived?  “What the hell are you?” 

“A damn good fighter.”  One broad hand ripped his wet shirt over his head to hang on a nail. “We’ll wait the storm out—but you need to warm up.”

A good enough fighter to kill four deadly monsters?  That good of a fighter didn’t exist.  Neither did absolutely perfect, harder than granite, sculpted male chests.  Oh she
wished he’d put his shirt back on.  The breath heated in her lungs.  “No.”

“No to what?” 

No to you beating the Kurjans.  No to there being Kurjans.   No to taking off clothes.  No to it all.”  Hysteria had her vision blurring.

“Stay calm, sweetheart.”  He moved toward her, slow and steady.  Like an animal stalking
prey.  Except he looked more like a mountain than an animal.  Not one of those rolling hills from home…but a real mountain.  Jagged and wild—yet solid with the earth.  Unmovable.

Instinct had her raising her fists, preparing to fight.

He stopped cold.  Those eyes warmed and he cocked his head to the side.  “Honey, take your thumbs out of your closed fists.”

CLAIMED’s first Review…

on August 8, 2011

Hi all!  The fabulous Wanda over at Good Choice Reading just posted the first review for Claimed.  She seems to like the Kayrs brothers.  To quote Wanda, “all the brothers are sexy. If I were one of their mates, I wouldn’t let my mate out of my sight. The power they all possess will make any woman fall on her knees (Literally).”  🙂

Also…there’s a contest going on at Good Choice for an ARC of Claimed as well as a signed copy of Fated.  I think the contest runs until next Sunday.  Drop by here and comment to win.

Max gets a love…

on July 21, 2011

I’ve been a bit quiet lately…under deadline.  This is what happened:  When I was in New York, I talked to Caitlin about maybe writing an e-book novella for the Dark Protector series to be released between HUNTED (book 3) and book 4.  Now, we haven’t negotiated for books 4-6 yet, so I was being optimistic.  Early August is when we start talking the next deal.

Well…Caitlin talked to Megan, who liked the idea of a novella and would like to publish it in April, the month before HUNTED is released.  This is very exciting…but…Megan needs the novella by the end of August.  So, after several emails back and forth with Caitlin, I decided the novella should be about Max, who is Janie’s bodyguard.  He is in both FATED and CLAIMED, so seemed like a good choice.

Max is actually a rather funny guy, originally from Russia.  Yeah, who knew?  His love, Sarah Pringle, is a teacher who, ah, just escaped from a mental institution.  Really. 

Anyway, this is why I’ve been away from the blog a bit.  I’ll do better.  🙂