Virtual Tour ~ Kellen’s Awakening by Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez ~ (Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Author Names: Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez
Book Name: Kellen’s Awakening
Series: AURA
Book: Three
Series should be read in order
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Blurb:
The staff at AURA has had a busy summer. Between chronic understaffing, dealing with warring goblin factions and an unusual number of hazardous Events, everyone is overworked. Sinistrus the incubus, newly hired as an AURA medic, actually enjoys his busy new life of responsible employee and faithful lover to his gorgeous police sergeant, Ness the centaur. Life would be perfect, except for a niggling suspicion about a colleague. Everyone else seems to disagree, but Sin’s certain something’s not right with that pixie.
Kellen, a pixie crossover, loves his job working in AURA medical, even if he is something of an outsider. His job and the friends he manages to make are happy spots in an otherwise dark and secretive life. As the rest of AURA tries to discover the root of the inexplicable rise in violence and large scale Events, Kellen fights to preserve his own life and what dignity he has left.
These two unlikely heroes must put their differences aside and navigate tragedy and ever-escalating disaster together in order to stop the sinister forces that hold Kellen in thrall.
Pages or Words: 69,000 words
Categories: Alternate Universe, Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
“Before Kai gets lost in regaling you with wedding details…” Tenzin settled, then grunted as several flower fairies immediately popped into view around his head to land on his shoulders. “Our lovely Sin, now that we’re among friends and not at work, can you tell me why you insist on tormenting Kellen so terribly?”
“Oh, I dunno.” Sin picked up a spicy fried mushroom with his claws and popped it in his mouth. “I think I’m pretty good at tormenting him.”
Ness nudged him. “Be serious, love. Why do you pick on him? Even I’ve seen it.”
“Look, I just don’t like everyone, okay?” Sin spread his hands when everyone gave him side eyes. “Took me a bit to warm up to Val, right?”
“You had good reason to be angry with Val,” Ness said as he reached for an oat muffin. “I don’t think Kellen ever actually caused you harm.”
Sin heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine. He’s absolutely useless as a paramedic.”
“Not everyone is suited for emergency field medicine,” Tenzin said gently.
Ness leaned over to kiss the top of Sin’s head. “You are because you’re brave and don’t stop to think.”
“Hey!” Sin swatted at an equine flank.
“Oh, dear. I didn’t mean it that way.” Ness flushed darkly while the others laughed. “You don’t overthink. When someone needs help, you just do instead of overanalyzing. Not everyone can be that sort of heroic.”
“Good recovery.” Sin grinned up at his flustered lover. “Yeah, I get it. He’s not the first responder kind. But the little guy’s just sneaky. He doesn’t look people in the eye. He flinches at the weirdest times. I don’t trust him.”
Tenzin frowned as he ladled vegetable panang onto a plate and set it in front of Kai. “Eat, beloved, before you waste away. About Kellen. I believe it’s deep-seated trauma, something so terrible that he doesn’t want to have to talk about it, since that would mean acknowledging it.”
“Tenzi’s so often right about these sorts of things.” Kai took up his fork, toying with his food rather than eating yet. “But this time, I have to disagree. There is something uneasy about him. Something beyond old fears.”
“You hardly see him thirty seconds out of any week,” Tenzin protested. “What could you possibly base this on?”
“Ah, love. A drow knows deception. There’s something not quite right about that pixie.”
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We are happy to welcome Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez authors of Kellan's Awakening to Bayou Book Junkie today!
Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Angel: When I describe myself as the black sheep of a white tower family, I’m not really kidding. I’m the kid who didn’t go to grad school and didn’t have a “career” as was expected of me. Kinda bounced around from job to job, I’ve done a little of everything, but I’ve always written something. Probably should always have been a writer, but writing fiction was...discouraged to say the least. People don’t do that as a job, you understand. Took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. ;)
Bellora: I grew up in a boring little town after our family moved out of Detroit. Reading was a good escape from the tedium but creating new worlds around me was even better. I think that’s why I’m so drawn to Urban Fantasy, I’ve been doing it for so long.
Our current book, Kellen’s Awakening, is the third in the AURA series, an urban fantasy world that we created gleefully and with much evil laughter. I mean, um, happy laughter. All kittens and bunnies. Nothing bad happens here…
Why did you choose to write M/M stories?
Bellora: I’m never quite sure how to answer this question. I guess because writing gay characters is what feels normal to me. You get tired of seeing stereotypes and vilified characters in fiction and I want to write characters that feel real.
Angel: Growing up, every gay character I saw in books and otherwise was either psycho, evil, or died a sad, tragic death. I know that there were happy queer stories, but they were few and far between. Writing gay fiction and gay romance is a way to make sure everyone gets a happy ending. Being bi myself, it’s important to me to write stories outside of the straight cis default.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Bellora: My first book? I think it was reading Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series. I liked Lessa. I liked that she was tough, a survivor, and did her own thing. I wanted to write a story that had a MC that had to overcome adversity. I don’t think I succeeded exactly. I had a lot of learning to do.
Angel: My son and a terrible, soul-crushing corporate job. That first book, written for him and read as a chapter a night bedtime story, will never see the light of day. But once that was finished I realized, huh, I wrote a novel. Lemme see if I can do it again.
When and why did you begin writing?
Bellora: I was about sixteen or seventeen, I think. I don’t think I ever actually finished anything that I started back then. I had notebooks and an old typewriter (yep, I’m that old). It wasn’t until after I got my first computer, I think I was eighteen or so, that I started getting really into writing regularly. As for why, it was fun!
Angel: Oh, I’ve always written. As soon as I could write, I was writing stories. Short stories and poems (dreadful, dreadful teenage angst poems) when I was younger. I’ve always had a need to tell stories. Not a desire. A Need. These people live in my head and won’t leave me alone.
What are you current projects?
Bellora: Angel and I are bouncing around ideas for the fourth book in the AURA series. I have a book coming out in June called Breathing Betrayal with another co-author, Sadie Rose Bermingham. It’s the first in our Elemental Evidence series, which we are currently working on edits for book two. I’m also working on a gritty fairy tale set in Detroit. I may even finish it one day.
Angel: Yep, there will be an AURA 4, at least. We’ll see where we are after that. I’m currently expanding and rehousing a couple of serieses from a publisher that recently folded - Brandywine Investigations and Offbeat Crimes - oddly also urban fantasy, and then I’m working on a couple of shorter pieces I owe people. Though I don’t want to talk about them yet and jinx them.
Off topic: What secret talents do you have?
Bellora: My dogs think I’m the most awesome hunter in the world. I leave, then come home with just bags of food. It’s nice having a fan club.
Angel: Talents? Um, I sing very badly? I guess I’m something of an animal whisperer, sort of. Even the butterflies land on me in the butterfly houses, lol.
Meet the authors:
Angel Martinez
The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.
Published since 2006, Angel's cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You'll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don't expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.
She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.
Bellora Quinn
Originally hailing from Detroit Michigan, Bellora now resides on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida where a herd of Dachshunds keeps her entertained. She got her start in writing at the dawn of the internet when she discovered PbEMs (Play by email) and found a passion for collaborative writing and steamy hot erotica. Soap Opera like blogs soon followed and eventually full novels.
The majority of her stories are in the M/M genre with urban fantasy or paranormal settings and many with a strong BDSM flavour.
Where to find the authors:
Facebook:
Facebook Author Page:
Twitter:
@BelloraQ
@AngelMartinezrr
Pinterest:
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Cover Artist: Emmy Ellis
Tour Dates & Stops:
congrats Angel and Bellora
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