Close Encounters with the Night Kind: Giveaway and Interview with Lindsey Piper and her book Blood Warrior

Hello and Welcome to The Dungeon! I’m so happy to have you here visiting and sharing your newest work. Don’t mind the noise from the prison… err guests, they get noisy during their…treatments..lol. Let me clear a spot so you can have a seat. Would you like some refreshments before you get started?

Prison...? I think I’ll pass on refreshments, thanks!

Tell us a little bit about your book.

This is the second in my “Dragon Kings” series, where an ancient, dying race of demigods is fighting to find the solution to the riddle of their extinction. Here, the hero Tallis is set on revenge against the woman who’s haunted his dreams and made him into her own personal assassin. But the woman known as the Sun is a peacemaker, trying to unite two halves of her fractured clan. Is Tallis mad? Possessed? Or is the Sun the ultimate manipulator, who’ll stop at nothing to achieve peace for the greater good?

What first sparked the series idea?

I was busy watching shows like “Spartacus” and movies like Warrior, thoroughly enjoying the idea of arena fighting. (Notice that I said the idea of arena fighting. I wanted to keep it strictly fictional and within the romance trope, so I never go so far as to say I became a full-fledged UFC fan.) Following the RITA nomination I’d received for NIGHTFALL, which I’d co-written under the name Ellen Connor, I had been toying with the idea of writing a paranormal of my own. Thrown in a few decades’ obsession with the X-Men and poof!

But the real key that made me need to write it was a line from a song by the British band Bat for Lashes: “And when the battle was won, I was promised my son.” That was the thread that tied all those flashes of inspiration into one story, which eventually became CAGED WARRIOR, the first of the “Dragon Kings.”

Who is the character that in your opinion everyone is going to fall in love with?

Already it’s been Hark from the prequel novella “SILENT WARRIOR.” He’s a chatterbox smartass who could charm the pants off any woman and drive any opponent mad with his endless prattle. Turns out he manages both against a strong, stoic female warrior known only as Silence. Opponent, lover—it’s a fine line in this series! But don’t worry about Tallis in BLOOD WARRIOR. He has a different sort of refined exterior, very cultured and suave despite the ancient swords strapped across his back. Inside he’s more like Wolverine. That’s damn sexy.

I have to ask, what are the hardest scenes for you to write?

I’m tempted not to answer because I’m not really comfortable with pointing out what I think are weaknesses! But, I must admit that scenes involving a great deal of plot are not my favorite. I love closed room stories like Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie or the film Twelve Angry Men. My solution here was to make BLOOD WARRIOR in to a “road movie” sort of story. Same isolation where the characters are forced into close quarters and have to emotionally, verbally, and sometimes physically duke it out—but with the excitement of being on the run!

How would you rate the sex scenes throughout the series?

HOT. They’re warriors, after all. They fight hard and play hard! Even the heroine of BLOOD WARRIOR, Kavya, whose a virgin—she doesn’t hold back either...maybe because she’s a virgin ;)

Are there any of these in your books? (Hands one of the toy boxes on the right which is filled with sex toys, whips, body creams, lotions, lubes…and whatever else you can imagine J)

Um...needles, chains, a conveniently placed laundry room, and a strip tease...?

Do you see yourself writing anymore stories in this series or a spin-off?

This would absolutely continue as a series. The Great Dragon they worship is returning and no one knows what the world will look like when he does.

Are any of your characters reflective of you?

Probably not anymore. There will always be elements of me in every one, including the men, and many experiences and observations find their ways into my books, but I was much more “autobiographical,” I suppose, during my earlier novels (written as Carrie Lofty).

Tell us about some up and coming books.

The next “Dragon Kings” book is HUNTED WARRIOR, due out in summer 2014. In the meantime, my other personality have a few on the way. Co-writing contemporary erotica as Katie Porter, the last of our “Vegas Top Guns” series, BARE KNUCKLE, comes out in October from Samhain. And as Carrie Lofty—where I’m primarily known as a historical author—I’m excited to be writing a New Adult romance called BLUE NOTES, arriving in February from Pocket.

Where can we find you for future updates?

Websites: www.lindseypiper.com

www.katieporterbooks.com

www.carrielofty.com

Twitter: @LindseyPiper or @carrielofty

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLindseyPiper

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarrieLofty

I’m so happy you have made this a stop. Would you like a tour of the…err…levels? J I can introduce you to the “guests”, if you just hand me that box back.

No way. It’s my box now!

Hmm...I do have plenty...you may keep it..lol..you'll need it.

Let’s get you suited up:

Wine, mixed drink, or straight up? ~ I’m a teetotaler. Cranberry and soda, please.

Cat-o-nine, braided leather, or chain length whip? Collar and Leash or Adornment? ~ Plain leather belt, please.

Leather studded bodysuit or corset top? I wear the hell out of a corset! Did it once singing karaoke in New York. That was an awesome night.

Fishnets or garter-belt? Both!

Leather pants, mini, or a long skirt slitted up both sides? Long skirt with slits. I love the peekaboo quality.

Lace up boots (with or without heels) or come F*** me high heels? High heels...of many varieties.

Ball gag, manacles, or blindfold? Ball gag. This is all getting rather personal, isn’t it??

The rack or the whipping post? Neither, thanks. I only go for comfy beds with my whips and chains.

Candle wax or clamps? Depends if I want to laugh or cry...

Blonde, red-head, Brunette, or Supernatural J? Brunette forever and ever!

I have enjoyed having Lindsey with me today. I think I'll let Adam get the box back...She is in for a treat with that demon. While I get Lindsey settled, let's take a look at her book series:

SERIES SPOTLIGHT INFO:

SILENT WARRIOR

The Dragon Kings, Prequel Novella

Add to your Goodreads Shelf

A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter will do anything to escape his mounting debts. Although rivals on the streets of Hong Kong, they find common ground when seeking their clan’s stolen idol, but for vastly different reasons. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak.

CAGED WARRIOR

The Dragon Kings, Book 1

Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
Print ISBN: 978-1451695915
Available Now: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Books-a-Million | Powell’s

Ten years ago, Audrey MacLaren chose to marry her human lover, making her an exile from the Dragon Kings, an ancient race of demons once worshiped as earthly gods. Audrey and her husband managed to conceive, and their son is the first natural-born Dragon King in a generation–which makes him irresistible to the sadistic scientist whose mafia-funded technology allows demon procreation. In the year since her husband was murdered, Audrey and her little boy have endured hideous experiments.

Shackled with a collar and bound for life, Leto Garnis is a Cage warrior. Only through combat can Dragon Kings earn the privilege of conceiving children. Leto uses his superhuman speed and reflexes to secure the right for his two sisters to start families. After torture reveals Audrey’s astonishing pyrokenesis, she is sent to fight in the Cages. If she survives a year, she will be reunited with her son. Leto is charged with her training. Initially, he has no sympathy for her plight. But if natural conception is possible, what has he been fighting for? As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, Leto and Audrey learn that in a violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.

BLOOD WARRIOR

The Dragon Kings, Book 3

Publication Date: July 30, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star
Print ISBN: 978-1451695922
Pre-Order: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Books-a-Million | Powell’s

Digital ISBN: 978-1451695953
Pre-Order: Amazon | Apple | B&N | Books-a-Million | Google

As a young man, sarcastic, violent Tallis Pendray believed the Dragon Kings’ survival depended on a prophecy delivered in dreams by a woman named “the Sun.” His role has been to complete inexplicable, even reprehensible tasks. First, by murdering a priest, he united his fragmented clan in their hatred of him. Dubbed “the Heretic,” Tallis fled his family’s Highland estate. Now disillusioned, he seeks revenge on the woman he holds responsible for two decades of exile.

Telepath Kavya Indranan is a charismatic, seductive cult leader born to a prominent family. However, she grew up terrorized by the ominous threat of her powerful, insane twin brother. On the run and hiding among the poor, she witnessed the destruction wrought by her clan’s centuries-old civil war. Maturity nurtures Kavya’s determination to end the cycle of bloodshed. Those who follow her call for peace have nicknamed her “the Sun.”

Bent on revenge, and without knowledge of Kavya’s noble intentions, Tallis kidnaps her on the eve of her groundbreaking announcement. The two watch in horror as her twin brutally smashes the tentative truce…and hunts the sister whose death would make him invincible.

Kavya is the Sun–revered, untouched, and bound by a lonely destiny that promises a deadly showdown against the last of her family. Tallis is the Heretic–despised and exiled because of actions that seem random, heartless, and contrary to the safety of the clans he protects. She’s not a goddess, and he’s not a natural born killer. A desperate trek from the Himalayan foothills to the Scottish Highlands reveals two secluded souls hidden by bloody reputations. Will their trust be strong enough to avert an all-out war that could destroy them, and their kind, forever?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lindsey Piper is the alter ego of an award-winning historical and contemporary romance author. Her hotly anticipated DRAGON KINGS series is her first foray into paranormal fiction. She lives and writes in Chicago.

You can find more info on Lindsey's Website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads pages.

Lindsey Piper's BLOOD WARRIOR Tour Schedule

July 26 - August 10

7/26 - Books, Books & More Books

http://booksbooksmorebooks.blogspot.com/

7/26 - I Smell Sheep

http://www.ismellsheep.com/

7/27 - Book Pages & Dripping Ink

http://bookpagesanddrippingink.blogspot.com/

7/27 - LITERAL ADDICTION

http://www.literaladdiction.com/

7/28 -Mad Hatter Reads