My dear Gentle Reader, I am an unashamed admirer of Alexis Hall’s work. My particular favorite is For Real, and you can read my review on Goodreads.

So when I heard about The Affair of the Mysterious Letter I was thrilled.

I mean just look at that cover? It’s obviously something fab!

Alexis stopped by the blog for an interview and so here we go…

About you, the Author! Alexis Hall

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

Tea please, lapsang for preference.

Please describe your personal style for author appearances.

Absent.

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

I’m afraid I’m a walking cliché so very little in my immediate environment is remotely unexpected:

I mean, just looking at my desk right now, I’ve got a copy of Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition, a Rider-Waite tarot deck, an empty teacup, an Xbox controller, and four rolls of electrical tape. I’m really not sure I could be a bigger nerd stereotype if I tried.

If you could travel in any type of conveyance, what would it be?

Does on a whale count? I mean, I know it wouldn’t be fun in practice — I’d probably drown, and parking would be a nightmare — but it sounds awesome.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?
(Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)

Vanilla. Sugar cone.

(Almost but probably not quite sane.)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

Right now? Watching my government trying to negotiate Brexit.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

A gentle suggestion we go to a coffee shop instead.

About Alexis

Alexis Hall is a pile of threadbare hats and used teacups given a semblance of life by forbidden sorcery. He has a degree in very hard sums from a university that should, by all rights, be fictional.

About your book!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

A 7% solution of cocaine. Or biscuits.

What form does evil take within its pages?

Bad manners and a lack of imagination.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

That’s a difficult question to answer. Wyndham would find it terribly improper and untoward, Shaharazad would probably laugh in my face, Ms Hive is a corpse inhabited by wasps (not judging if that’s what you’re into) and everyone else is either taken, wouldn’t be that into me, or in extreme cases, exists beyond time and space as a half-ruined remnant of a war against an enemy that never was.

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?

I’m incredibly bad at having favourites. And I tend to take a kind of magpie approach to, well, everything, including history. Obviously, the major influence on The Affair of the Mysterious Letter is the Holmesverse which is sort of a very specific take on, when you think about it, quite a large chunk of British history (Holmes was canonically active between something like 1880 and 1915).

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

Much like the kissing question, this could go, very very wrong very very quickly.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

I know everyone says this, but it’s spectacularly hard to make this sort of judgment about your own work. I do have to admit to having a certain fondness for shark punching though.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

Absinthe and gunpowder.

The Book Description

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark.

But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas’ stock-in-trade.

Thank you Alexis, for stopping by!

Miss Gail’s Final Thoughts

I will add something I think prospective readers might want to know, this book is built on a Sherlock Holmes chassis.

Yours in interviewing madness,

Miss Gail

More?

Gail talks about Alexis Hall’s other works in this blog post: 8 Book That Will Comfort Your Soul 

If you want to know whenever I post a review, follow me on BookBub or Goodreads.

Yours (destined to be killed by a tumbling TBR pile),

Miss Gail

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OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Revue de la Mode 1880 Gazette de la famille

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“The first chapter sells the book. The last chapter sells the next book.”

~ Mickey Spillane

Book News:

Purple Dress for 5th Gender in Denver

Quote of the Day:

“Receipt? Oh, no, no, thank you. I don’t want to be reminded how much I’ve spent on books.”

~ Borderlands Books’ hilarious “Overheard in the store” May News

My darlings, as The Omega Objection makes it’s way through the world, I’d love it if you would welcome the wonderful Maz Maddox to the blog today.

Maz and I know each other through the magic of podcasting, I’m an addict and I cannot lie. Take it away… Maz!

About you, the Author!

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

Coffee with just a splash of milk. I’m one of those heathens that loves the bitter bite of coffee.

Please describe your personal style for author appearances.

I like t-shirts that advertise my multiple fandoms and obsessions, such as Yuri on Ice and anything dinosaur related, paired with broken in jeans. Since I’m usually cold, I wear either hoodies bearing the same weirdness as my shirts, or a leather jacket I’ve adorned with rainbow spikes, buttons and mermen pins. There is no in between. Oh, and all that’s tied together with various ridiculous colored Doc Martins or Converse.

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

Empty coffee mugs that need refilling, video game art, dinosaur paintings and a bookshelf stuffed full of stories I love. I’m comfortable in chaos, so there’s clutter and no sense to any of it. It’s my happy place.

If you could travel in any type of conveyance, what would it be?

I’ve always been a fan of travel by beast. If I could ride on a winged dragon or giant pterosaur, that would be number one on the list.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?
(Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)

Vanilla on a sugar cone.
(You are possibly mildly bonkers, but not dangerous.)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

Snark delivered just right.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

Vodka tonic with a lime wedge, please and thank you.

About Maz

Maz is an m/m romance fanatic, dabbles in yaoi, adores dinosaurs and writes romance stories with a healthy heaping of adventure mixed in. When she’s not pairing up Centaurs with bank robbers, she’s plotting new stories and sending inappropriate texts to her friends. https://www.mazmaddox.com/

Maz also runs a male/male romance podcast with one of her best friends and partner in crime. Top to BOTM (Book Of The Month) is bi-monthly and filled with shenanigans. The lovely Gail was actually our very first guest on the podcast last year!

About your book!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

Since this is a western at its core, I’d recommend pairing this with a hearty stew and some whiskey.

What form does evil take within its pages?

Good old fashioned good guys vs bad guys, but also past mistakes coming back to haunt good people.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

Cal, because he doesn’t give them out all that often. I’d be one of the lucky few.

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?

The wild west was America’s beating heart. It was a time period when the nation was untamed and lawless, but punctuated with towns that were a mixture of cultures and people. There was the normal farm people making ends meet, the pioneers seeking fortune and of course bandits and lawmen. Within these tropes was all walks of life and background from all over the world, all rushing to find their opportunity in a virgin land.

When creating the Stallion Ridge universe, I wanted the world to seem wild and untamed, but also had its own flavor similar to the mixing pot that was America’s frontier. There are humans with their own customs, but there’s also shifters with their own cultures. Somehow, even with war, plenty of bias and ugliness, you have this unique blend of cultures and people living together in towns and making it work.

Some of them even falling in love despite it all.

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

Probably Cody, because the kid has the biggest chip on his shoulder.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

When Jesse jumps on the wrong horse.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

Leather, hay and the breeze of a warm summer day.

Heartache & Hoofbeats by Maz Maddox

Like all centaur shifters, Sheriff Calhoun is the epitome of honor. He protects his small town of Stallion Ridge and its people from any threat large or small. When word comes in that the notorious Iron Bandits are making a play for a train in his territory he’s both livid and invigorated. If anyone can bring these thieves to justice it’s him and his crew.

What he did not expect was having a charming, whiskey-eyed outlaw dumped in his lap challenging everything he thought he knew.

Thanks Maz for dropping by!

Yours etc,

Miss Gail

• Want tailored book recommendations? These to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
• Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!
• Coop de Book for November is The Omega Objection). (Discussion here.) 

OUT NOW!

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

Can a gentle giant with a trampled heart
show a man who’s been running all his life that
sometimes there are monsters worth running towards?

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

• The 5th Gender (a tinkered stars sci-fi under the G. L. Carriger pen name). No links as yet, wait for it…
• Secret Project Ommm, coming October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
• Need to know more about what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Dog-Powered Vehicle

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Walmart Doesn’t Care About Selling eBooks

Book News:

Ace Artimis Fan Artist Biffy and Robin

Ace Artimis Fan Artist Lyall in Love

Quote of the Day:

“I just assume everyone I meet I pansexual. I like to give them them benefit of the doubt.” 

My dear Gentle Reader,

Please join me in welcoming the lovely Stacy Finz to the blog today!

Stacy is an awesome, hilarious, vibrant human who I am lucky enough to get to see pretty regularly, as she is a member of my RWA chapter. Accordingly I invited her around for virtual tea!

About the Author!

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

I’ll give you my coffee when you pry it from my cold, dead hands (sorry, Gail). I take it with a dab of cream. No sugar or sugar substitutes.

Please describe your personal style for author appearances.

Like my book characters, I grew up in a small farming and ranching community where jeans and a pair of ropers got you into the best restaurant in town. Since then, I’ve moved to the city. But you know what they say: You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. So jeans are still pretty much my go-to uniform, though I’ve ditched the ropers for some pretty glitzy cowboy boots. At last count I own 21 pairs. Here’s me gussied up for an author photo…

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

A lot of road signs hanging on the wall, including one for my fictional town of Nugget (population 5,916). Besides the road signs, a collection of cowboy hats and an old San Francisco Chronicle mug from my time as a newspaper reporter. Most surprising thing: It’s actually relatively neat and a little girly (lots of periwinkle blue and white).

If you could travel in any type of conveyance, what would it be?

Horse! There’s nothing like seeing the world from the back of a good working quarter horse.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?
(Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)

Sugar cone without hesitation. Chocolate unless it’s soft-serve or frozen custard, then absolutely vanilla!
(Gail pronounces you sane.)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

Really silly movies with Will Ferrell.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

Tequila. No mixtos, it has to be 100-percent agave. I’m less snobby about my Margaritas. Give me a fruity, slushy Margarita any day of the year.

Stacy Finz is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. After more than twenty years covering notorious serial killers, naked-tractor-driving farmers, fanatical foodies, aging rock stars and weird Western towns as a newspaper reporter, she figured she finally had enough material to launch a career writing fiction.

She is the author of the Nugget Romance series, the Garner Brothers series, and the upcoming Dry Creek Ranch series. She lives in Northern California with her husband.

About the book!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

A tri-tip sandwich with barbecue beans.

What form does evil take within its pages?

A hike up a very steep mountain.
(Gail feels very similarly about hiking.)

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

Win Garner, the hero in Love You. He’s as charming as he is hot and is a very passionate kisser.

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?

1945 to the present, or in other words contemporary history. My worlds are built in the present but I give a nod to the Gold Rush since I set most of my books in California’s Gold Country and Sierra Nevada. In the first Nugget book, Going Home, my heroine was obsessed with the Donner Party. There’s also a flavor of the Old West in my worlds, including plenty of modern-day cattle rustling.

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

The heroine’s mother, Geneva. She’s obsessed with her daughter’s weight and physical appearance and is constantly criticizing her. She’s the quintessential tiger mom.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

Every year, Win, the story’s hero, is Mr. December in the mayor’s pet project, a calendar to raise money for the volunteer fire department. This year Win’s having second thoughts about posing (each year the photos get more provocative) because he’s trying to lose his image as the town’s stud muffin. I don’t want to give anything away but there’s some pretty funny back and forth between him and the mayor, who if you ever saw “There’s Something about Mary” is a lot like Magda.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

The Sierra Nevada in summertime.

Read an excerpt

Love You by Stacy Finz

Darcy Wallace may be an employee at Garner Adventure, but the kind of excitement she’s looking for is more of the indoor variety. After a sexless marriage and a painful divorce, who better to help her get her groove back than the hottest player in town—Win Garner himself. There’s just one flaw in her seduction plan: he won’t cooperate.

Win is used to being the pursuer, so when Darcy turns the tables it throws him off his game—at first. Not that he isn’t tempted, he’s just trying to change his ways. Yet when he and Darcy are paired up for a work project there’s no avoiding the tension between them—or the fact that they make an indomitable team. Soon, Win begins to feel their connection is no game. This could be the real thing. And one no-strings-attached night together just might seal the deal . . .

I hope you enjoyed this interview and let me know if you try out one of Stacy’s books, what you think!

Yours etc…

Miss Gail

• Did you want more book recommendations specifically for you once a month? This kind of thing goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
• Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!
• Coop de Book for October is The Sumage Solution (in preparation for The Omega Objection‘s release). (Discussion here.) 

OUT NOV 4, 2018!

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

Can a gentle giant with a trampled heart
show a man who’s been running all his life that
sometimes there are monsters worth running towards?

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

• The 5th Gender (a tinkered stars sci-fi under the G. L. Carriger brand). No links as yet, wait for it…
• Secret Project Ommm, coming October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
• Need to know more about what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The Dos and Don’ts of Supporting Your Local Library

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Diversifying as an Author

Book News:

ace-artemis-fanartist – Primrose Tunstell and Tasherit Sekhmet from the Custard Protocol series

Quote of the Day:

Dearest Gentle Reader,

As you may have noticed September is a pretty busy month for me. I’ve had some unexpected family related travel among other things. In order to help me cope, I invited another author friend around for tea and a chat.

Please welcome the incomparable fantasist, Diana Pharaoh Francis, to the blog today!

About you, the Author! Diana PharaohFrancis

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

Tea, sweet, and very hot, preferably black. Especially chai. Love chai. Gimme chai. MORE! Coffee only frozen in cartons of ice cream.

Please describe your personal style for author appearances.

Nervous. I generally wear black base with colorful accouterments. Love stone jewelry. And no high heels or you WILL find out why I’m called Clodzilla. It’s not pretty.

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

Crowded. My office is small and full of books, a giant oak desk, lots of rocks (I’m a rockhound), lots of fantasy art on the walls, a collection of sharp weapons on the walls, and a couple of glass witchballs hanging from the doorway. And hidden behind an open door in a place of great importance are my diplomas.

If you could travel in any type of conveyance, what would it be?

I soooooooo want to ride in a bullet train. I can’t even tell you why. But I kind of wish all travel could be done on Disney kiddie rides. I’m terrified of heights, so dirigibles and hot hair balloons are right now (and why kiddie rides, not giant roller coasters). I do fly in planes and I’m okay as long as I don’t look at the ground, and I wouldn’t mind riding in a space ship.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?
(Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)

Sugar cone, chocolate. Preferably chocolate with chocolate in it and on it, maybe with a sprig of chocolate for decoration.
(Gail proclaims Diana utterly sane.)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

I am so easily amused, I can’t begin to tell you how much. But right now, the thing that’s guaranteed to make me laugh are the two new puppies we have. One is a corgi, the other is a mini blue heeler, and they are both insanely cute and funny and silly.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

I like sweeter drinks in general, but I had this amazing grapefruit mojito at a con in Texas once. It was made with vodka and was the best thing ever. I ever pursue finding another of these. Other than that, I tend to go for a fuzzy navel (hush, don’t laugh). I’m a really cheap drunk, too. Oh, but I do love a good screaming orgasm—drink and actual screaming orgasm. I mean, who doesn’t? The drink is made with Baileys, vodka, and Kahlua.

About your book!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

Gargantuan amounts of Oreos, or other chocolate. I will warn them, though, careful with drinking. You may be snorting stuff out your nose.

What form does evil take within its pages?

The past evil of a really awful mom (think Cersei Lannister only meaner) and has left Beck, the daughter and main character, with some issues. Luckily she has a sense of humor and good friends to help out with her recovery. The current evil in the book . . . well, that’s the mystery.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

Of all the characters I’ve written? I’m going to say Leo (in my Diamond City Magic books) because he’s smart, snarky, and has a sense of humor. He’s also crazy handsome and will do anything for family.

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?

The Victorian period. It contained so much angst, so much hypocrisy and rapid change. It was the height of the Raj, of the British Empire that has influenced so much of our world and continues to, mostly in bad ways. It definitely influences my world building. In fact, my Crosspointe Chronicles borrow heavily from the Victorian era. My interest in colonization and post-colonization greatly informs my understanding of power between people, in societies, and between societies.

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

But I have so many! I’m going to look at my latest book—Putting the Fun in Funeral—and say Ethan. He’s just all too self important. And he’s an ass.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

Hmmm. It’s a tough. It’s between the banana buddha and the way in which mom dies, which is ridiculous and over-the-top and oh so wrong, but so very right.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

Aztec hot chocolate—spicy hot and chocolate.

Putting the Fun in Funeral, Everyday Disasters book 1

Beck Wyatt has always hated her mother—enough to kill her. As luck would have it, someone beats her to murdering Mommy Dearest and now Beck gets to plan the tackiest funeral the world has ever seen for the worst woman she’s ever known.

But first, Beck has a few minor problems to deal with. First on the list? Avoid getting kidnapped. She also has to convince the police she didn’t kill her mother. And then there’s surviving a death curse ….

With the help of her three best friends, cheesecake, and a little magic, Beck figures she can handle anything, even the mysterious and irritating Damon Matroviani, whose sexy good-looks light her panties on fire.

All too soon, her life is turned inside out, and just when things are looking like they can’t get any worse … everything hits the fan.

You can check out the first chapter on Di’s website!

And there you have it, my darlings. I think Di’s humor might really appeal to many of you so you should definitely check her books out, if not this one than she has many other awesome universes to explore like her Victorian influenced Crosspointe Chronicles.

Yours in reading forever,

Miss Gail

• Did you want more book recommendations in your inbox once a month? I hand picks books on sale for her Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
• Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!
• Coop de Book for September is The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper. (Discussion here.) 

BOOK DE JOUR!

Amazon | B&N  

All books in the first print run of 10,000 are SIGNED.
If you want it dedicated or are paranoid about ensuring it’s signed,
you can order it via Borderlands Books using the SIGNED button on my website.

This special edition of Soulless includes 10 stunning full page illustrations in Edward Gorey style by the talented Jensine Eckwall.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Galena – from my 2012 parasol photo competition

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Mur & I after she won the Hugo

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Romance Novels Are Not Your Junk Food

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Book News:

Quote of the Day:

My darling Gentle Reader, please join me in welcoming the lovely Jen Fitzgerald to the blog today.

Jen is the author of a series of charming mm contemporary romances. I’m trying to branch out a bit and broaden your mind and reading palate, and Jen is here today to help me do that!

About you, the Author!

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

I drink Plantation Mint tea any temperature depending on how far out we are from the preparation point and straight (*snicker*) all year round.

Please describe your personal style for author appearances.

Well, as I have yet to make one, I have no idea. Probably business casual? Slacks and a black or red polo shirt. Also, I guess it depends on the venue, right? A library? Definitely the above outfit. The Gay Rom Lit Con? I could get away with something more casual or, conversely, more outrageous.

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

My writer room has a lot of *stuff.* I’m a huge fan girl of many things and like to have my stuff out where I can see it and enjoy it. The most surprising thing…oh, man…maybe the diversity of my stuff? Light blue feather boa, Charles Wysocki collector plates, a BBC Sherlock cross stitch sampler I stitched myself, a bird clock that chirps on the hour, a stalker wall for my favorite hockey player, rubber ducks… And on and on… :0)

If you could travel in any type of conveyance, what would it be?

Other than the usual? Maybe a tractor? A hunky hockey boy on hockey skates, although we wouldn’t get far without ice.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?
(Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)

Chocolate ice cream on a plain cone.
(Gail pronounces Jen completely sane! Hooray!)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

Sexual innuendo. Thirteen-year-old boy humor.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

I rarely drink because it makes me sleepy and where’s the fun in that? But if forced to have a drink, it’s a tough call between a piña colada and Malibu and pineapple juice.

About Jen:

Jen FitzGerald has loved romance since her Winnie-the-Pooh days. Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh have always been platonic soulmates. As a teen, Jen cut her romance teeth on Silhouette’s teen romance line and Danielle Steele books concurrently. She’s still an avid reader, but these days, Jen has added writing romances of her own to her list of fun things to do.

Jen lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband and dog. Their three children are now adults and out terrorizing the world at large instead of them. When not working her day job, Jen spends a lot of time reading, writing, watching hockey, and perusing her social media platforms of preference. She also enjoys music, cross stitching, and chatting online with writer friends.

About your book!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

Any sort of ice cream treat from a place like Dairy Queen or Braums.

What form does evil take within its pages?

Not much evil in my books, but PTSD rears its ugly head in For the Love of Scott.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

Tough call, but probably Ben Thompson because I used Benedict Cumberbatch as my inspiration and yeah, Mr. Cumberbatch really does it for me. (What? He’s the complete package, okay? Smart, funny, talented, hot–although maybe not with traditional good looks…)

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?

My favorite period in history is probably the era right around WWII. As I’m writing contemporary, it doesn’t play much part, although I like to think of my downtown Main Street as still having that flavor.

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

There really were no awful characters in this book. Maybe Ben’s dad for hogging Scott’s attention during the dinner/football scene.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

Either the basketball scene or the freezer scene. I like the freezer scene better personally.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

Um, wow, that’s tough… Maybe Christmas? Pine boughs, hot cocoa, and crisp fresh air… It takes place in December right before Christmas. :0)

For the Love of Scott, Book 1 in the Ten Rigs, Texas series

After a bomb takes his leg and the life of his beloved military working dog, Scott Hudson returns home to Ten Rigs, Texas, and once again finds sanctuary in the local animal shelter. Between recovery, physical therapy, and getting the kennel into shape, Scott’s out of the life loop and the love game.

For six months Ben Thompson has watched Scott work wonders with the kennel and the dogs, admiring his focus and dedication. A pickup basketball game leads to a confession and a change in the nature of their relationship.

When Scott’s dog, Sylvester, gets injured, Scott goes into a tail spin and blames Sylvester’s accident on his feelings for Ben. Will powerful emotions derail Scott and Ben’s budding romance?

Thanks so much Jen for stopping by!

Gentle Reader, I will return you to your regularly scheduled blog posts next week!

Yours etc…

~ Miss Gail

Meanwhile over on the 20 Minute Delay Podcast, Piper and I get into it on the serious subject of snacks while travelling!

Plus: we discuss Seattle and SeaTac, Trader Joe’s olives, and cats in antique/book stores, protein powder, quail eggs in beet juice and scoping out a new home city.

• New stuff goes to my Chirrup members first, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
• Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!
• Coop de Book for April is Robin McKinley’s Beauty. (Discussion here.)

OUT MAY 13, 2018!

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks | Direct from Gail

How to Marry a Werewolf (In 10 Easy Steps) ~ A Claw & Courtship Novella by Gail Carriger is now awabile (print, audio & other editions will follow). Featuring a certain white wolf we all love to hate (except those of us weirdos who love to love him). Add this book on Goodreads.

Guilty of an indiscretion? Time to marry a werewolf.

Rejected by her family, Faith crosses the Atlantic, looking for a marriage of convenience and revenge. But things are done differently in London. Werewolves are civilized. At least they pretend to be.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

• Competence ~ Custard Protocol Book 3
  Out July 17, 2018.
  Third in the Custard Protocol series featuring Primrose, Rue, and all their crazy friends. Available to preorder in digital & hardcover!
• The Omega Objection ~ The San Andreas Shifters Book 2
  Coming November 2018.
  A werewolf walks into a bar and falls in love with a man who has no smell.
  Add this book on Goodreads.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Frederick Frieseke (1874-1939) The Pink Parasol 1913

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Wisteria currently in bloom in Mum’s garden

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

How to Connect with ANY Influencer in Three Simple Sentences

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

How to Write Horses Wrong: 8 Red Flags

Book News:

Some of Ivy’s silly hats and outfits Ace by Artimis Fan Artist

Quote of the Day:

My darling, Gentle Reader, I am WILDLY delighted to welcome Patricia McKillip to tea at my blog today. Patricia is one of my author heros, I have loved her work for as long as I can remember and she is still one of my idols.

I was honored to be asked to write the foreword for the latest release of The Forgotten Beast of Eld, one of my favorite books of all time. (And it’s first time in ebook form!) And because I am an uppity bit of baggage, I asked her to drop by here for a little interview.

Please join me in a very warm welcome to the marvelous Patricia A. McKillip!

About You, the Author! Patricia A. McKillip

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

Coffee: black, preferably French Roast, and as soon as possible after my eyes open.

Describe your personal style for author appearances.

High heels and a mustache. Just kidding. Mostly boringly tidy.

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?

You might see about one foot by three feet of empty Formica table space on which I write. The rest of the room is full of “stuff”: knickknacks, thingamabobs, little things given to me over the years, awards, books, CDs, candles, a glass octopus that I call Jeeves or Mrs. Darcy, depending, small vases, windup toys, a wooden backscratcher, this’s-and-that’s on the walls, including a Green Man face from Bath, artwork by one of my sisters, and magic wands made by another sister for her dance class. Possibly the most surprising things would be the college-ruled binder paper and gel pens that I write my first drafts—oh, heck, all my drafts—with.

If you drive, what do you drive?

I drive a 1999 red Chevy Metro with a stick shift.

Vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone?

Chocolate in a plain cone.

(Gail pronounced Ms McKillip perfectly sane.)

What’s most likely to make you laugh?

Old M*A*S*H episodes. P. G. Wodehouse. My husband’s eyebrows, upon which owls could roost, when he waggles them at me.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?

Since I’m ancient and try to stay out of trouble, a nice cold glass (or two) of Chardonnay.

I believe this might be the original cover.

About Patricia McKillip

Patricia Anne McKillip was born in Salem, Oregon (USA) on February 29, 1948 – a leap year baby! She started writing at 14, and according to the notes in the Riddlemaster trilogy,

“she has been writing ever since – except for a brief detour when she thought she would be a concert pianist.”

The House on Parchment Street has a neat quote about how she started writing,

“In a fit of boredom one day when she was fourteen, she sat down in front of a window overlooking a stately medieval church and its graveyard and produced a thirty-page fairy tale.”

She went to the College of Notre Dame, Belmont, and San Jose University where she earned a BA in English. She then went on for a MA at the San Jose State University. McKillip then moved to San Francisco, then to the Catskill Mountains in NY, then Roxbury, NY and now lives in Oregon.

She won the World Fantasy Award in 1975 for The Forgotten Beast of Eld, the Locus Award in 1980 for Harpist in the Wind (Riddlemaster Bk 3), and the Balrog award in 1985 in the short fiction category for “A Troll and Two Roses”.

About your book (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld)!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?

Dunno. There’s not much food in the book, except for basic stuff like mushroom stew.

What form does evil take within its pages?

The most complex evil is in my heroine herself, who makes some bad decisions because she is angered and hurt by other people’s evil toward her.

The mass market edition Gail owned as a child.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?

Certainly not my hero — I’m old enough to be his grandmother. But I wouldn’t mind kissing the baby, Tam. I grew up with younger siblings; by the time I was seven, I knew how to fold a cloth diaper. I’ve always loved babies.

What’s your favorite period in history, and does it influence your world building?

I’ve researched various bits of history: the pre-Raphaelites (“The Gorgon in the Cupboard”), Edith Wharton’s and Henry James’s time (“Edith and Henry Go Motoring”), plumbing in late medieval times (“Knight of the Well”); my latest research has been about Thomas Malory and the Grail legends (Kingfisher). I like doing research and most often do way more than I have to, because it’s easier and more fun than writing the tale.

One of the most accurate covers. (Possibly influenced by the Pern books?)

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?

My heroine, sometimes, for talking too much. Me, sometimes, for writing seemingly endless descriptions.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?

I don’t think there’s much humor in The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. A line or two here and there, maybe. If you blink, you’ll miss it.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?

Mountain air. Ancient books. Mushroom stew.

The Forgotten Beast of Eld

Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.

But Sybel’s solitude is to be shattered when a desperate soldier arrives bearing a mysterious child. Soon Sybel will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.

[Gail’s dishonorable mention to the following two covers: one one because of the hair (?) the other because of all the fantastic beasts in this amazing book, unicorns are NOT among them.]

{Coop de Book: Gail’s monthly read along for September is The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.}

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1900s via steampunktendencies

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Me at about the age I first read McKillip & now

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Young Victorian Croquet Player

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

For New Indie Authors: What I Would Do if I Were Starting Today

Book News:

Traveling Through Books says of Romancing the Inventor:

“Carriger strikes again; she has yet to disappoint me with one of her pieces, novel, short story, or novella. This novella is a long-awaited story featuring Genevieve Lefoux. Madame Lefoux is one of my favorite characters in The Parasol Protectorate and the Finishing School Series, so it is extra nice to get yet another glimpse of her later in life- after the Parasol Protectorate Series has ended.”

Quote of the Day:

“I saw all.
‘Jeeves,’ I said.
‘Sir?’
‘I see all. Do you see all?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Then flock round.’

~ Jeeves and the Impending Doom by P.G. Wodehouse

My dear Gentle Reader,

Please join me in welcoming my dear friend Lauren Harris to the blog today for tea and a chat. Funnily enough, Lauren has already made her debut here on this blog, I talk about her as my fellow fangirl squeeing over Mercedes Lackey in this post: Behind Romancing the Inventor: Blame Mercedes Lackey

About Lauren, The Author

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?
I drink both equally. Coffee in the morning, tea in the evening.

Coffee: Americanos are best, but drip coffee is what I make at home, usually freshly ground and in a French press or pour over. If not espresso, it MUST be either a dark roast or a full-bodied medium with low acidity. This is possibly the only instance in which I’d refuse a blond.

I take it with half and half or heavy cream. The only time I will get a sweetener is if I get an iced coffee, in which case I add two pumps of either vanilla or toffee nut. Iced drinks are rare for me, though. I like hot drinks.

There are very few exceptions to my coffee rule, one being if there are no other hot drinks available or the only other hot drink available has “Liptons” or “Luzianne” in the name. I live in the South, so this happens more often than one might hope. As the quality of drinks go down, so do my coffee standards. I’m usually not so much of a snob that I would rather go without.

Tea: Ceylon or Assam-based black teas. Much to Gail’s distress, I still take sugar in my black tea, along with milk. Favorites are English Breakfast, Earl Gray (someone get Gail the smelling salts), and Chai. Twinings is the favorite, loose leaf when I can get it. I’m also not mad at green tea or mugicha. You can’t live in Asia for any length of time and not get a taste for it. White tea can scamper off to whatever dark, flavorless hole it came from.

[Gail: I have tried my dears. I have tried.]

Describe your personal style for author appearances.
It depends on whether the appearance is at a convention or elsewhere. Usually, it’s at a convention, in which case, one might encounter me in street clothes (usually edgy or casual), or some manner of corset. Sometimes both!

If I were to observe the writer beast in its native environment, what surprising thing might I see? What does the environment look like?
Notebooks! I still like to write longhand. RSIs from work are making this more difficult, but it’s still one of my favorite ways to start books. For some reason, it helps me to tap into the characters and the world more deeply. I’m sure it’s a psychological trick of some kind, but I don’t care. Most of my beginnings and some of the more difficult scenes tend to be written in notebooks first.

If you drive, what do you drive?
I drive a gunmetal gray Prius C named Padfoot.

No deviating: vanilla or chocolate ice cream on a plain or a sugar cone? (Gail will use this to determine your level of sanity.)
Chocolate in sugar cone. How is this a question?
[Gail: Lauren is judged to be entirely sane. Except that she questions my question.]

What’s most likely to make you laugh?
A truly clever play on words. My roommate informs me that my most “satisfied” sounding laugh is when *I* make a truly clever pun.

Since writers inevitably end up in the bar, what’s your poison?
Very partial to Vodka Collins, Cape Cod, Moscow Mule, and Mojitos. Sangria and red wine is also an option. Absolute nos are: anything with pineapple juice, tequila, absinthe, or jaegermeister. I will make an angry bunny face.

Lauren was raised by an impulsive furniture mover and an itinerant TV News professional in a string of homes up and down the East Coast of the United States. Eventually settling (sort of) in Raleigh, NC, Lauren befriended a band of whimsical nerds who found themselves de-facto beta readers for her scribblings.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studied English and Classics, Lauren moved to Tokyo, Japan for three years. While there, she studied Japanese, taught English, and fell in love with the hot drink section in the vending machines.

Now, Lauren balances a day-job of Cardiac Ultrasound with her passion for writing and other creative pursuits. She is the author of The Millroad Academy Exorcists novella series and an Assistant Editor at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Her narration and voice acting can be heard on Audible.com, EscapePod, and various short fiction podcasts.

About Lauren’s book: Unleash!

What should readers eat while consuming your novel?
If possible, Korean bulgogi. Keep those iron levels up for spellcasting.

What form does evil take within its pages?
Sinister Scottish Sanguimancer. Also, Sorcerers. A more esoteric evil is absolutism.

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss and why?
The cute Korean love interest because I had the power to make him an excellent kisser, so I did. Also, he is mischievous and funny and looks like Lee Minho in my head.

What’s your favorite period in history and does it influence your world building?
Classics was one of my areas of study in school, so I am partial to the Bronze Age, but I’m also a big fan of the Middle Ages. Most of my high fantasy stories are set in some analog of our 600 -1600 ACE.

Which one of your characters would you most like to slap and why?
Said sinister Scottish Sanguimancer, because he’s the reason my poor heroine has had such a terrible life. She’s been magically enslaved to his human trafficking ring since she was three years old.

Without spoilers, what’s the funnest (or funniest) part of the book?
The most fun parts for ME were the big disasters. I like to let people kiss and then have everything explode. Sometimes literally.

If your story smelled of something, what would that be?
Freshly sharpened pencils. Our heroine is an artist, and that slight tinge of blood scent to hot graphite feels suitable.

Unleash by Lauren Harris

Orphaned. Hunted. Pissed as hell.

Helena Martin doesn’t know who she hates more, the sorcerers who fired the magic-laced bullet or the gang-lord master who used her mother as a shield. It’s not the price she expected for escaping magical slavery, nor is the unstable power now pulsing in her veins.

Caught between her former master’s hunters and the Guild Sorcerers determined to kill them, she finds a safe haven at a dog rescue willing to take in a different kind of stray. But Helena’s newly-unleashed power is a beacon for her enemies. And they’re threatening the first place she’s ever thought of as home.

[Incidentally Lauren and I share a cover art designer, Starla.]

{Gail’s monthly read along for May is Radiance by Grace Draven.}

PROJECT ROUND UP

• Poison or Protect Audiobook.
  Status: Battling ACX. (AKA Audible/Amazon)
  Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London’s most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?

• Romancing the Werewolf ~ A Supernatural Society Novella
  Status: First Draft Editing.
  LBGTQ reunion romance featuring your favorite reluctant werewolf dandy, the return of a certain quietly efficient Beta, and some very unexpected gifts. Add this book on Goodreads.

• Competence ~ Custard Protocol Book 3
  Status: First Draft Editing.
  Third in the Custard Protocol series featuring Primrose, Rue, and all their crazy friends. Add this book on Goodreads.

UP NEXT

The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger
Contemporary m/m paranormal romance featuring a snarky mage and a gruff werewolf. Hella raunchy. Super dirty. Very very fun. Spin off of Marine Biology.

Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Allen & Ginter (American, Richmond, Virginia)
Fatigue Dress, from the Parasol Drills series (N18) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands, 1888
American,
Commercial color lithograph

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Lord Akeldama nick names from Kelly Schneider‎ via the Parasol Protectorate Facebook Group

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

World seems a big dumb at the moment, so no smart links to offer. You guys have any for me? Something interesting about tea or octopuses or the like?

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

~ Somerset Maugham

Book News:

Heartless Shelf in Gail’s Office

Quote of the Day:

“I often feel sorry for people who don’t read good books; they are missing a chance to lead an extra life.”

~ Scott Corbett