Sergej Khakimullin
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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’ve been wanted to interview Talen for a while now…he’s kind of tough to reach.  He’s the hero in FATED and has a lot going on right now.  Yet, he finally agreed to meet with me.  We sat in a nice coffee shop and he more than dwarfed the iron backed chair he dropped in to.  For those of you who haven’t met him yet, he’s about six and a half feet tall, packed hard, with black hair and golden eyes.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  Congratulations on your recent marriage.

TALEN:  Thank you.

ME:  How’s it going so far?

TALEN:  Fine.

Okay.  At this point, you’d think I’d be getting concerned about Talen opening up enough to get a full interview.  Not.  My concern was that he kept eyeing the door and a large guy next to it.  I hoped the vampire (yeah, Talen’s a vampire) never looked at me like that.

ME:  Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

TALEN:  Sure.  The king…ah…ordered me to agree.

Yeah.  Dage owed me one. 

ME:  So, let’s start with your job.  What do you do?

TALEN:  Whatever I need to do.

My sigh made him smile.  He cleared his throat. 

TALEN:  I’m the strategic leader for the Realm—meaning I plan our defense.  As well as our offense.  In fact, I’d prefer to strike first.

ME:  Which is why Dage sent you to rescue Cara and her daughter Janie from the evil Kurjans.  As a first strike.

TALEN:  Dage or fate—who knows.  But I ended up in the right place at the right time—to collect my mate.

ME:  Speaking of whom…you’ve faced from criticism regarding your, er, rather alpha tendencies.  With Cara, I mean.

TALEN:  I don’t know what you mean.

ME:  You’ve been accused of being over the top—too possessive, too demanding, too dominant.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. 

TALEN:  I’m a pushover when it comes to Cara.  I’d do anything for her.

ME:  Except let her go.

TALEN:  Go where?

I shook my head.  This was going nowhere.  Plus, the woman did choose of her own free will to stay with him.  Couldn’t blame her. 

ME:  How goes the fight against the Kurjans?

TALEN:  Well.  We’ve taken out several of their research facilities—where they have been creating the virus that takes our mates down to human form.  We also think the virus might turn a shifter into a werewolf, which is a pure killing machine.

Wow.  That was a lot of words for the vampire to say. 

ME:  Up until this point, werewolves have just been human converts?

TALEN:  Yes.  And they only live for about a year.  A shifter werewolf would be dangerous and live much longer.

ME:  So what’s your plan?

A deadly light entered his eyes. 

TALEN:  To end them.  For good.

Then, well…the guy at the door made a move.  Talen was on him before I could pause in writing.  He tackled the guy…who was just reaching for his cell phone.  Darn vampires…so edgy.  Anyway, that was the end of the interview.  Hope to see you again soon!

So…my book is in and I have no deadlines hanging over my head…for now.  Let’s have a fun blog.  So many editors are on twitter, I thought it’d be fun to discuss:  

WHAT NOT TO TWEET IF YOUR BOOK IS LATE

1.  I just can’t get past level 70 on Cake Mania 3.

2. I know I should be doing something right now…what was it?

3. Ohhhh.  A Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon just started.  Have to watch!

4. I think maybe I’ll switch jobs now.

5. I know I have a book due, but I just can’t stop writing this other genre.  Maybe I’ll get back to the other book soon.

6.  I should’ve been writing today…but Macys had an awesome sale!

7.  I just had my third coffee with Rumplemintz in it.  Is it 10am yet?

8.  Man…I’ve been drunk for almost a week.  Not long enough.

9.  Involuntary committment isn’t so bad.  I like crazy people.

10.  Darn it.  My boyfriend refused to bail me out.  I’m here in jail for another 48 hours.   HAHA

(For the record, I’ve never tweeted any of the above and my book was on time.)  🙂

As you probably know, CLAIMED has a very cool cover and now I have coverflats!  What you don’t know, is that the fabulous Cynthia Eden was kind enough to give us a cover quote.  Here it is:

CLAIMED is paranormal romance at its best! With intense action, fiery hot scenes, and a hero worth dying for–literally!–CLAIMED is a book not to be missed.

If you’ve read my blog, you know Cynthia is one of my favorite authors.  So receiving such an awesome quote from her is exciting…and humbling.  I just can’t thank her enough for taking the time out of her very busy, multi publishing schedule to not only read CLAIMED but to write a quote.

Here’s the back cover:

A DARING RESCUE

Emma Paulsen is a geneticist driven by science.  But she’s also a psychic, so when a dark, good-hearted vampire frees her from the clutches of the evil Kurjans, she realizes he must be the man who’s been haunting her dreams.  But with a virus threatening vampire mates, Emma may discover a whole new meaning of “lovesick”…

A DEADLY DECISION

As King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs has learned to practice diplomacy.  Still, it’s taken three hundred years to find his mate, so he’ll stop at nothing to protect her–even if it means turning his back on his own kind…

So…how about we give away a cover flat of CLAIMED along with a bookmark for FATED?  I’ll leave the contest open for a week or so.   Just leave a comment–about anything you want.  If all else fails, just say ‘hi.’  🙂

Welcome to Legal Musings where I talk about the law and…stuff.  Often copyright or writing issues…sometimes not. 

Well…first of all, there isn’t one set definition to cyberstalking.  As close as we get is “the use of technology to stalk victims—shares some characteristics with real-life stalking. It involves the pursuit, harassment, or contact of others in an unsolicited fashion initially via the Internet and e-mail.”   National Institution of Justice.

When I thought about doing a post about cyber talking, I assumed that there would be a strong federal law dealing with it.  NOT.  Now, for those of you who haven’t taken a government class in a while…keep in mind that the states have their own laws.  So New York may have a tough cyber stalking law while Oregon may not.  Or visa versa.  I don’t know because I haven’t looked yet.  I’m more interested in federal law right now.

But…I truly thought there would be a strong federal law.  The main federal cyber-stalking law we have is incorporated in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2005, where Congress extended the Federal interstate stalking statute to include cyberstalking (18 U.S.C. §2261 A).  But, this overall Act mainly deals with domestic violence situations…and many cyber stalkers are strangers.

If there is an actual threat made by a cyber stalker, 18 U.S.C. §875(c),makes it a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  But there has to be a THREAT made.  The law hasn’t really been challenged, so it’s unclear whether or not it applies when a stalker harasses someone using a chat room or bulletin board. 

Another federal statute, 47 U.S.C. §223, makes it a federal crime to harass someone over the telephone.  But, violating this section results only in a misdemeanor, punishable by not more than two years in prison.

If you are being harassed or stalked via the internet…you should go to your local police.  Find out if your state has decent stalking laws—some do.  Then move on to the federal authorities.  But so far, the strongest laws are in the states, and not federally.

DISCLAIMER:  This is not intended to be legal advice…and the mermaid is not naked.  Really.  She’s dressed.  This is a great place for you to start your research…not to rely on for legal advice.  I’m an awesome lawyer.  But I’m not your lawyer.  Frankly, I’d rather write about vampires in my jammies than dress up and go fight with some windbag in court.  So again…not legal advice.

So hi.  My name is Janie Kayrs, and Rebecca axed me to guest blog today.  I’m five years old…wait.  CLAIMED isn’t out yet, so I guess I’m still four years old.  In FATED, I’m four.  So I’m four.

Four years old is probably too young to be typing.  That’s okay.  I’m not.  I’m talking and the words appear.  Like magic.  ‘Cept it’s in the computer and isn’t real magic.  My aunt Mowra is a witch.  She likes magic.  You’ll meet her in HUNTED.  She married Uncle Conn a zillion years ago. 

Uncle Conn is the worst Go Fish player ever.  Whenever he loses, he paints his fingernails purple.  But you don’t really know him yet because his book is HUNTED.  Isn’t it cool everyone gets a book?

I get a book someday too.  It’s when Zane and I save the world.  Well, I think we save the world.  Sometimes things go wrong.  So maybe it won’t all work out the way I want.  But don’t worry…I’m sure gonna try.

Even though I’m five–I’m tellin the truth here.  Why pretend to be four when I’m five?  You’ll read CLAIMED and know I’m five anyway.  I’m still five in HUNTED.  I try to let the grown-ups know what’s coming, but they’re just grown-ups.  They can only handle so much.  So some things I keep secret.  I can see the future.  Sometimes.

I never told Mama about the Kurjans–the bad vampires trying to take over the world.  They work in labs and have made a cold that hurts vampire wives and shifters.  I dreamed of the Kurjans a long time ago.  I knew the Kurjans were coming.  I also new Talen was coming.  He’s a vampire…and my new daddy.  He looks all scary ’cause he’s so big…but he’s super nice.  He likes to buy my mama flowers and plants.  Well..sometimes he just takes a small tree out of the forest with his hands.  He’s super strong too.

The Kurjans want me cause’ I see the future.  Talen isn’t going to let that happen.  You should read FATED to see how he and Mama fall in love.  He’s kinda bossy, but my mama is pretty tough too.  Which is good, because the Kurjans are just getting started.