Happy Tuesday to one and all! You know why I love Tuesday’s? Catching up with or ‘meeting’ new authors that I’m lucky enough to ‘know’ on one level or another. The writer community is a pretty close-knit group. And one lady I’m thrilled to have amongst those I call friend and colleague: Christine Ashworth. A fellow Crescent Moon Press and all around wonderful woman, Christine is here to endure… *ahem*… let me interview her. Thanks for sitting in the hot seat this fine Tuesday, Christine!
Me: What was the first book you read that grabbed you? What genre? Who is the author?
C.A: The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene – the very first Nancy Drew book. My mom owned them in the original blue fabric hardbacks with the red (or was it orange?) lettering. She had about ten of them, and I devoured them all.
Me: Is there an author that you get fan-girl crazy over? Have you ever met him/her? Do you want to?
C.A: Stephanie Laurens. I LOVE her Cynster series, and all her other books. I did get to meet her, but I made a complete fool of myself so hopefully she doesn’t remember.
What’s your:
- Favorite color? Blue. Or Yellow. And sometimes it’s pink. Just depends!
- Favorite season? Summer! Unless it’s fall, and then fall is my favorite season. Winter and Spring, too…
- Favorite Hero – movie or book? Movie-wise, it’s Jack Dawson from the Titanic. Sigh! Book-wise, well…I have to go with Devil, from DEVIL’S BRIDE – the first in the Cynster series by Stephanie Laurens.
- Snack weakness (food or drink)? Salami. And a glass of wine.
- What’s your Astrological sign? I’m an Aquarian on the cusp of Pisces.
- Do you write sweet and cuddly or toe-curling steamy lovin’ stories? Both. Right now, all I have available are the toe-curling steamy lovin’ type stories, though.
Me: What’s on your desk when you write?
C.A: LOL…um – right now? A box for my cat to sleep in, a Canon RbelT1i/500D and the Dummies book so I can learn how to use it; four empty wine bottles; a stuffed elephant wearing jams with hearts on them, and a stuffed red dragon holding a pink heart; a picture of me and my dad taken in 1986; business cards, a glass of wine, a candle, a comic book from the 70s; pens; Eden Bradley’s latest book FALLEN ANGEL (which is wonderful, by the way); a watch that needs a new battery; bookmarks, pencils, a lighter; a card sent to me in 2006 from Jill Marie Landis; a postcard from the Capitolini Museum just outside Rome, depicting a Muse identified as Polimnia; paint swatches for our bedroom, a stuffed armadillo from the last RWA Conference in Dallas, a box of tissues and a gargoyle.
What. Doesn’t everyone have a busy desk? Oh, and now the cat is in his box, all is right with my world, lol!
Me: Do you write to music or quiet? If you do write with music, can you share one song that’s significantly impacted this story?
C.A: I write to music – but it all kind of fades into the background when I get into the story. If I actually hear the words, I know I’m not in the zone.
Me: What’s your favorite line from your most recent release? Why?
C.A: Hm…let’s see…
“Your dreams lately, do they have lots of blood, demons snacking on people, no one left alive?”
I like this one because of the word “snacking”. I love that word. Plus the demons DO snack on people. They really like toes…ahem. Just sayin’.
Me: What’s next? You don’t have to get specifics – but feel free to leave a tantalizing snippet or cryptic hook.
C.A: The short story, BLOOD DREAMS, leads smack into DEMON HUNT where more demons do more snacking on toes and fingers and such. A tantalizing snippet, hmm? Let me see…
The stench hit her harder and closer this time, one of moldy socks and copper, with an aftertaste of an electrical fire. She sneezed and her stomach twisted. Definitely demon, and it was definitely close. She backed up the way she came, still sneezing, and bumped into a hard, warm body.
His arms came around her, steadying her even as he cursed all demonkind, his words low and bitter. In the next breath, he swept her off her feet, leaving her gasping at the sensation. He ran back the way they’d come, holding her high and hard against his chest.
Her heart thrummed faster than hummingbird wings. He’d known the danger, too. He’d known the scent. He’d known. “I can run.”
“Shut up.” The snap of command rang in his voice.
A crack behind him had him running faster. Wind tore at her eyes. She turned her face to his chest and breathed him in. He smelled like dark resins and crisp pine. Dangerous. Enticing.
“Hang on tight. We’re going into the bushes.”
Serra made herself as small as possible in his arms and kept her face buried against his wide chest. A crack and a wail had him cursing as they crashed through a hedge and into the bushes behind it, and only then did she realize they were being chased by a demon wielding a whip.
Her rescuer dropped to his knees and rolled onto his back, keeping her protected from the ground. She scrambled to get her mouth as close to his ear as possible.
“You know demon stench. How?”
His arms tightened around her, one big hand cradling her head, the other firm on her ass. She was sprawled over him. Heat sparked deep inside her. She could feel her breasts flattened against his broad chest, his knee possessive between her legs. Desire, long-forgotten, flooded her body and became a tart flavor on her tongue.~~
Okay – that’s toward the beginning of DEMON HUNT. You’re the first to have a snippet!
**WOW** Thanks for sharing!
Me: Who is your favorite character from Greek Mythology OR which Olympian would you want to be? And why?
C.A: I like Hestia. She’s the virgin Goddess of the hearth, architecture, and the right ordering of domesticity (including the kitchen). Aside from her being a virgin, I wouldn’t mind walking in her shoes!
Christine’s Bio:
Christine Ashworth is a native of Southern California. The daughter of a writer and a psych major, she fell asleep to the sound of her father’s Royal manual typewriter for years. In a very real way, being a writer is in her blood-her father sold his first novel before he turned forty; her brother sold his first book before he turned twenty-five.
At the tender age of seventeen, Christine fell in love with a man she met while dancing in a ballet company. She married the brilliant actor/dancer/painter/music man, and they now have two tall sons who are as scintillating as their parents, keeping the dinner conversation lively.
Christine’s two dogs rule the outside, defending her vegetable garden from the squirrels, while a polydactyl rescue cat holds court inside the house. Everything else is in a state of flux.
You can find Christine here:
Website and Blog: http://christine-ashworth.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CCAshworth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/ChristineAshworthAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4768755.Christine_Ashworth
