Tory Michaels on Prophecy of Blood and when it all began...

Tory, Tory, Tory!  It’s about time I got you to stop by!  J 

D.C:  What’s the title of your new book?

Tory: Prophecy of Blood

D.C:  Can you give us a little on what it’s about?

Tory: One hundred ninety-eight seasons after the mushroom-shaped clouds first blossom to poison the humans of the Rising Sun, near the beginning of the Season of Inundation, Atlantis will return.

With those words ringing in their ears, vampires Christine Javert and Jordan MacNaught find themselves in a race against time to stop the return of Atlantis. As they hunt for the deadly Ares, they discover the true depths of his plot to incite a world-wide species war, turning the humans against all the non-humans, not just the vampires as they’d originally thought.

D.C:  *grins*  And….?

Tory:  Prophecy is the third book in the Dream-Walker War. It continues with Chris and Jordan’s hunt for the titular Dream-Walker (Ares) as they try to stop him from casting a spell that will bring Atlantis back to our world.

D.C:  I can’t wait! What are you working on now? Do you have any releases scheduled for this year?

Tory: I’m currently, officially, between projects. I’m toying with a couple of ideas for the fourth book in the Dream-Walker War along with a couple of new story ideas for unrelated books (one’s a sci-fi story, another’s just a paranormal romance – unrelated to my Dream-Walker War series – and I’ve even got a faint prickling of an idea for a contemporary romance).

D.C:  LOL, sounds like you got all kinds of ideas bumping around in your head.  I can understand that.  Sometimes my characters just won’t shut up. Speaking of it, got any writing goals for this year?

Tory: 

1.       Finish the Dream-Walker War

2.      Write a couple of stories that are unrelated to the Dream-Walker War. I wanna stretch beyond (and possibly look for another publisher to expand my range).

D.C: What do you enjoy most about writing?

Tory: I get to play God. Not only can I kill off all those people who piss me off in daily life, but if I want to change something about the history of the world, I can (at least in my alternate Earth books).  Can’t get more basic than that, I guess.

D.C: Ha!  I actually just had my aunt tell me this the other day, she found some picture that talked about not pissing me off, cause I might just kill ya in my next novel.  Very nice!  Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, character, or...?

Tory: I usually have a character or two in mind and then I try to build a story around them, and do whatever research I need as I go along. For the sci-fi book, I’m having to do pre-writing research and it suuuucks. But I also have a much better idea of how big the galaxy is (let alone the universe AND that the science behind the teleportation technology in Sliders and Stargate SG-1 is based on the same Einstein theory).

D.C: I can understand all about research.  It’s THE most important thing when starting a piece.  Do you have a favorite time of day for writing?

Tory: Depending on how fast I can wake up, first thing in the morning can be a great time (no children around), or nap time on the weekends/lunch break during the week (hmmm, sensing a pattern – no children).

D.C: I’m sensing a theme, LOL, no children.  What is your favorite food to cook or eat?

Tory: Chocolate chip cookies (preferably double chocolate, maybe with some white chocolate chips mixed in).

D.C: Yes, chocolate!  What do you like to read?

Tory: I have two primary genres: Regency Romance and paranormal romance/urban fantasy (what a shock on that second one, since that’s what I write, right?). I also like an occasional fantasy novel (Terry Brooks) or mystery/suspense (Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston).

D.C:  A shock, yes!  *laughs* Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

Tory: I guess my mom. I think she did it to get some peace on long drives. I just remember always going to the library, even as early as 6 or 7, based on the library I can remember, and happily spending hours and hours there. I also remember jr. high/high school and bringing home bags of Harlequin Presents novels to devour. Hehe.

D.C: *grins*  Gotta love the romance.  Alright, before you give us a tease from your next piece, how about you give us a few of your favorite things.

Tory:

1. Banana splits

2. The priceless grins on my babies

3. Husband who is frequently supportive.

Teaser:

“I make a lousy friend, as you well know.” He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. Her knees threatened to buckle. “And since I intend to be inside you again at the earliest possible moment, the ‘friend’ label doesn’t fit.”

Oh. Wowser. She licked her lips, saw an answering flare of arousal flash in the green eyes staring into hers. “You’re not serious. Like, you want to date?” He blew my mind, but it was that good for him, too?

“Such a dull word, but sufficient.” He drew her closer. Fire followed the path of his lips around the bottom of the dark-blue choker she wore to cover up the nasty scar from the attack that left her almost dead. He took a long sniff, no doubt smelling the Princess perfume she daubed on. “You smell good enough to eat, Chrissy. I could spend hours doing just that.”

The already warm nightclub turned scorching. Maybe it was just her temperature.

“In that obnoxious pink bed of yours.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, tried not to picture them in her room. It definitely was her temperature soaring, not the club’s.

Jordan’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Arms and legs restrained, holding you open for me. No escape, no retreat.”

Her non-existent imagination conjured the image up in startling detail, bolstered by the memory of the handcuffs around her wrists earlier. She whimpered, couldn’t help the moisture that trickled from her to soak her panties. Oh damn, no. That should not turn me on. Not him. Not like this, not again.

She moved with the music, turning to press her back into him. His strong, sure hands pulled her hips against his in a dance they’d done so many times together, one that had nothing to do with music.

“And the thought, being with me like that, excites you. Letting control go earlier like you did, gave you a rush you’ve never gotten before in sex.” Jordan pushed the hair at her neck to the side. Sharp fangs sank against her throat, not quite breaking the skin, his other hand drifting up to cup her breast. The fabric of her dress did nothing to shield her against the heat of his palm. “Did you sneak out afterward because of how it made you feel?”

Teasing touches trades down her sides until he reached the hem of her skirt. His hand slid beneath to caress the skin of her thigh just above her garter.

Take back control, Chris. You steam-roller. Men don’t do this shit to you. Nor did she want them to. Right? Except him, damn it all to hell. And he was talking about feelings? What the fuck? Struggling to keep her head against the sensuality he dragged out of her, she clamped her hands over his wrists to still his movements. With only a hint of her normal forcefulness, she said, “Knock it off, MacNaught.”

“Or what, hmm? Let go, Chrissy. You’d enjoy yourself more if you relaxed. Remember?”

He twisted his wrist, broke her admittedly weak grip on him, and the exploration of her leg continued. She colored, prayed no one was staring at them. The display, while making her hornier than a bitch in heat, was mild for the ‘Cor. It didn’t matter, because she flat out didn’t do public affection. None of her boyfriends crossed the line with her, knowing she’d flatten them if they pushed too far.

She couldn’t flatten Jordan though. To make it worse, she didn’t want to.

Goosebumps rose in the wake of his caresses over her thighs. His fingers inched upward, just brushing her mound, only blocked by the flimsy barrier of her soaked panties.

He laughed softly in her ear. “You say no, but your body, your oh-so-pretty pussy says yes, doesn’t it?”

Chris twitched. If she didn’t move away, didn’t break this off, the bastard would think he could maul her whenever he wanted. And what’s wrong with that? So what if he does the caveman thing? You read the trashy romance novels, and are surprised when someone acting like those alpha assholes turns you on?

A harsh blast of noise from behind her head where it plastered against Jordan’s suit coat worked as effectively as a bucket of water.

A little about Tory:

Originally from the Sacramento Valley, Tory packed up and moved all the way to Southwest Florida in 2004 with her husband (a Florida native) under the premise that ‘hurricanes almost never hit that part of the state.’ That year, 4 blasted the area. 4 more came the following year, and her husband blames her for bringing the hurricanes. She now resides in Jacksonville and is relieved that, thus far, no more hurricanes have followed her around.

She began writing in kindergarten when a turnip wished to be human and, other than a hiatus shortly after getting married, has never stopped. Her love of vampires began somewhere in junior high, and combining the two loves didn’t take long. She loves music, considers herself a ‘book slut’ whose reading habits would break her family financially if given free reign, and is (usually) delighted to be a mommy of twin Shrimpettes and a Shrimp.

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Buy Links

All Romance  *  Amazon  * Amazon UK  *  BookStrand

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