I have another wonderful author for you guys to meet! I want to
welcome Katya Armock. First I’d love you to introduce yourself, Kayla.
Tell us
about your latest release
To Growl or
to Groan
Her gift could save a
missing girl…or destroy her relationship forever.
After receiving a
troubling Tarot reading, Chloe just knows something big and bad is about to
happen. Her ability to communicate with animals and shape-shifters is going
awry, and her growing psychic abilities are beginning to scare her. Despite her
unease, she won’t let anything interrupt her trip to Scotland to spend the
holidays with her shape-shifter boyfriend’s family. Jorge is everything she’s
always wanted, and the fire between Chloe and the passionate panther-shifter
burns hot. But meeting his family has her nerves in knots.
When Jorge’s sister
goes missing, Chloe’s psychic abilities might be the only thing that can help
them find her. But things don’t go as planned, and with confusing psychic
visions clouding her judgment, Chloe makes a mistake and an animal is injured.
And Chloe fears she might hurt Jorge as well…
Now I have a
few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about
us writers.
1.) Who is
your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV
show. And why?
I have a
soft spot for Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In general, that show had
great villains because they were funny. Spike stands out because of the
complexity of his story arc and that in the end he found a measure of redemption.
2.) Who is
your favorite character out of your books? Why?
That’s a
hard question. Authors tend to love all their characters. One that I really
enjoy writing though is Ringo. He’s a dog (my heroine is an animal psychic) who
has a huge heart, a goofy personality, and a penchant for getting into trouble.
3.) What do
genre do you write? What made you pick that one?
Erotic
paranormal romance. The erotic part was originally dictated by the characters.
As I write and read more love scenes, I find that there can be such beautiful
character development in the way people make love to each other. As for
paranormal, I just enjoy it and find it fascinating.
4.)What are
you working on now?
I recently
submitted the third book in my Hidden Lines series, so hopefully that means
I’ll be working on edits soon. I recently sent a novella to one of my beta
readers that involves four friends who navigate the complicated path to
becoming a family. I just started a contemporary that might end up falling in
the New Adult realm. It’s too soon to tell.
5.) What got
you to start writing?
I’ve written
on and off all my life. I even minored in Creative Writing the first time I
went to college—I say “first time” because I have three degrees and a problem
with commitment. J Most recently, my second career was
derailed due to a physical injury. A friend challenged me to write a romance
novel. And now I’ve got two published, another written, and more in the works.
Life is funny that way.
6.) Where do
you get your ideas from?
Dreams,
research, people and animals in my life, etc. Basically whenever the muse
strikes, I strive to be ready.
7.) What
would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?
I only have
one dog. I do, however, have four cats, so maybe that small number of dogs
doesn’t really count…
8.) Do you
have any special talents?
Not that I’m
willing to share.
9.) What was
the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has
stuck with you? Why?
Write what’s
in your heart and believe in it. I went into writing this time around intending
to have fun, and I can’t do that if I don’t believe in what I’m working on.
It’s a lot of work to write a story and in some ways even more to market it. If
I remember to enjoy the ride, I’m a much more pleasant person.
10.) If you
could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be
and what would you talk about?
I have no
idea how I would even begin to whittle down a list. No matter who I ended up
talking with, I’d want to hear stories about their life.
Thanks so much for joining me Katya! I loved your answers - and if you learn to teach your husband to purr you'll have to tell the rest of us how you did it,,,
Here's an excerpt from To Growl or to Groan - enjoy!
Thanks so much for joining me Katya! I loved your answers - and if you learn to teach your husband to purr you'll have to tell the rest of us how you did it,,,
Here's an excerpt from To Growl or to Groan - enjoy!
Chapter One
“Which deck are you drawn to, Chloe?” The tarot reader lays out three decks before me and waves her hands over the decks. “Feel free to pick them up, look at the artwork.”
Her booth is toward the back of a new-age shop called The Abacus, not far from where I used to work. She wears jeans and a T-shirt that reads, “Tarot isn’t a matter of life or death. It’s more important than that.” I’d place her at about forty, wisps of gray intermingling in her near-black hair.
I look over the decks of cards. The first has Renaissance-type drawings. Boring. The second is purple and features whimsical faery creatures. It’s pretty and ethereal. The third is dark. On the back of each card, two serpents eating their own tails are entwined on a black background. I flip the deck, thumb through the cards. The pictures are raw and vivid; they suck me in.
“This one.” I hand the third deck back to her.
She nods. “Very good. What is your question? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”
There is no reason for me not to tell her; she of all people should understand. “I want to know about my gift.”
There’s not an ounce of judgment or question in her eyes before she holds the cards to her chest for a moment and closes her eyes for a few deep breaths. I watch the rise and fall of her chest, trying to claim her calmness, but I remain fidgety and anxious.
She opens her eyes, looks at my hands tapping on the table. “It’s OK to be nervous, but there is nothing to fear. All is as it will be.”
Oh, platitudes. If I ever become a Zen master, hallelujah. In the meantime, I try to quell my inner cynic and smile at the card reader.
She laughs, as if she can read my mind. Perhaps she can. “I’m going to do a three-card reading for you. The first represents the past, the second the present, and the third the future.” She shuffles the deck, then lays it neatly on the table between us. “Cut the deck with your left hand.”
I do, and she lays out the first card. It’s The Devil, which can’t possibly be good. At least it’s my past card.
Her face is unhelpfully blank. “Tell me your impressions of this card. It can be the name, the artwork, whatever.”
I pick it up for a closer look. The drawing is in shades of purple. At the top, a face, featuring lazy yellow eyes and downturned lips, sprouts four horns. A web of string seems to be wound among the horns and crisscrosses to form a pentagram on the devil’s forehead. From the neck down, he appears to be submerged in water and wearing some sort of vest with intricately interlocking clasps. “It is a dark picture, but it almost appears as if the figure has an angelic halo. As though all is not lost.”
She tilts her head to the side, revealing a small black goddess tattoo under her ear. “That is interesting. The Devil represents the shadow side of things. It can be lies and illusion, but it can also remind us to focus on using our power for good—to make our fate.”
Well that certainly fits and is a whole lot better than my first impression that my past must be filled with evil. Until recently, I had repressed the little I knew of why my mother left my father and me when I was ten. Now I know she left to go back to her mother to get help. I am certain it had something to do with her having a gift, just as I can telepathically communicate with animals and shape-shifters. And that means that my gift was inherited. What I don’t know is how far back in the family tree the genes go or where these gifts come from. I’m not sure I want to know.
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