Guest Author Eve Langlais

I’d like to welcome a fellow—and very prolific―author Eve Langlais to the purple velvet couch today. Eve is the author of multiple series:

Freakn’ Shifters
Furry United Coalition (F.U.C.)
Alien Abduction
Alien Mate
Cyborgs: More Than Machines
Pack
Welcome to Hell
Princess of Hell
The Realm, and …

The reason we’re here today, is to talk about the first book in her new Kodiak Point series, Kodiak’s Claim…

Congratulations on your new release! I read it and loved it, but then I am very partial to shifters and werebears are among my favorites. Tell us a little about the book and your plans for the series.

Kodiak’s Claim is the first in a series titled Kodiak Point that will follow a set of heroes who are not just bound together by their clan and town, but share a past in the military. The men are tough, but several are fighting inner demons, their experience overseas having left its mark. But PTSD and bad memories isn’t the only thing plaguing them. An outside force seems determined to ruin their little retreat and as each of these heroes finds love and acceptance, they must also fight against those who would take away their happiness.

 Looking at your series’ descriptions, I see a lot of sexy paranormal, fantasy, futuristic, and scifi romance. What draws you to write these romance subgenres?

As a writer, there is something infinitely satisfying about creating a new world, a new society where certain rules apply and the possibilities, while bound by those rules, are endless. That and I adore larger than life heroes lol. I also like to escape my normal contemporary life for something magical, impossible, or is it just unseen…

How do you come up with your titles? My favorite, btw, is Last Minion Standing.

Lol, titles are sometimes the hardest part. And other times they land in my lap. Last Minion Standing came about during a phase where I was inhaling reality TV shows. I’ll admit, I am addicted to several. I thought wouldn’t it be hilarious to turn a demon’s wish to find a minion in to a game show. So I did lol. Others like Delicate Freakn’ Flower hit me during a particular scene and I had my AHA moment.

Is there one particular thing that you find challenging about writing?

Self doubt. People often think because I’ve published so many titles that it’s easy for me. It’s not. I hit a point in every book, usually about midway where I hate it. I’m convinced it’s awful. I finish it anyway, but I am still a nervous wreck when it launches, worrying if it will resonate with readers, if they’ll love or hate it. It’s times like those I wish I drank something stronger than water lol.

 What is your favorite thing about writing?

I love it when my characters do or say something that makes me giggle aloud. When I type, I fall into what I call the zone. I sometimes don’t even know what I’m typing until I re-read it later and give it an edit. That’s when I’ll discover a phrase or action that makes me snicker and smile. But what’s especially awesome is when readers post those snippets of enjoyment.

 Are your characters a reflection on you or anyone you know?

Good grief I hope not. Seeing as how most of my characters aren’t human…lol. More seriously, though, I tend to be an introvert at home. I don’t go out often or socialize much. Which I’m sure surprises those who’ve met me at conventions. The Eve you see at those events is a social butterfly. At home, I’m a hermit 😀

Do you have a favorite character from one of your books? Who and Why?

I have so many characters I love. But if I had to really choose, then my all time favorite is scene stealer Lucifer. That demon is outrageous but I love him because he always adds a humorous element.

Do you find love scenes difficult to write?

Yes. For one, when you’ve written as many books as I have, and love scenes, it becomes extremely hard to stay original. While the mechanics might to a certain point remain the same, infusing the right kind of emotional connection without drawing the reader out of the moment can be a tricky balance. That and keeping track of body parts when writing a menage. Every now and then, an extra hand slips in 😀

Are any of your personal experiences reflected in your writing?

ROFL. No. No wild menages or werewolves in my life. Wait, I take that back. There is one story I based on an event in my life. In Falling for A Redneck, one of my rare contemporaries, the heroine has to have a hysterectomy at a young age due to cervical cancer. Having had that scare, which surgery thankfully resolved without me requiring the big operation, I drew on my emotions at the time, which were plenty, to create a heroine that I think is one of my most emotionally scarred ones. It is the one book I wrote that never fails to bring me to tears and is vastly different from my other work.

Do your characters talk to you?

All the time, noisy bunch.

Who controls the storyline, you or your characters?

Ha, my characters. I might start out with a loose idea but they soon take over and next thing I know they’re divulging facts I never knew. My newest heroine started out timid, and I assumed it was because she was shy and geeky. Nope. Turns out her hubby slapped her around. Now she’s having to overcome a past of abuse to find the spark within her. Good thing she’s got a hero who hates it when she flinches. And funny enough, the more he barks, but doesn’t hit, the braver she gets.

How many books do you write in a year? How long does it usually take you to write a book?

A lot. LOL. My books tend to range in size from about 45k-65 these days. It takes me 4-6 weeks to complete a book. So, on average, I’m writing about 8 or more a year. And still the voices in my head won’t shut up.

Are you working on another book?

Always. Right now, I’m working on Kodiak Point #3. I’m almost at the halfway mark and hoping to have it complete by the first week in September.

If you were a supernatural creature, what would you like to be and why?

Big cat. Because I’d love to purr. And they’re freaking cool 😀

What is your guilty pleasure?

Chips and dip.

Who is your favorite author?

Darynda Jones! (I fan girled her at Romcon 2013 lol)

 What are you reading now?

I’m in between books right now. Summer means kids at home and chaos so finding some time for me is a lot harder.

 Short Answers:

 Dark or milk chocolate? As long as it has a soft center, doesn’t matter lol.

The better lover – werewolf or werebear or demon? Bear!

Perfect vacation? Kodiak Point with a werebear all your own? Rocky Mountains with a werewolf? Caribbean island with a demon?  Since options one and two are cold, I’d have to ditch my furry lovers for the demon.

Favorite food? Steak, rice and salad.

Wine or beer or liquor? Water.

Favorite sex act? Oral. (ducks and blushes)

Perfect vehicle – foreign sports car, domestic mid-size four-door, hybrid SUV, or truck? SUV!

Early bird or night owl – Early Bird.

Where can your readers reach you?

The best spot for updates and more is either my website or my Facebook page.

Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share?

Blurb:

He might growl, but she’s not afraid to bite.

Hands full taking care of his clan, the last thing this Kodiak bear needs is a woman poking her cute little nose into his affairs. But when she refuses to back down—and shows the courage to stand up to him—he can’t resist the allure of a curvy city girl.

She’s mine. All mine.

And when a rival clan thinks to use her to force his paw, he’ll show them why you never piss off a Kodiak, or threaten what’s his.

Tammy is convinced men are all scum, even gorgeous ones like Reid Carver. She knows he’s hiding something. Something big. She just never expected a real freaking bear hid underneath all those muscles. But when the truth comes out and he tries to scare her off with a roar, she shows him not just bears have bite.

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 Excerpt:

It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and when they did, she got to admire an alien landscape of snow, the surface marred in spots by snowmobile tracks. A distant light on the garage didn’t do much to illuminate the yard, the crescent moon with its wan glow off the snow doing more for visibility. Between the two sources, she had enough light to notice movement coming from the front of the house, a lumbering motion that made its way to the porch steps. Given the proximity, she had no problem recognizing the massive freaking bear that plodded up them. And she meant massive!

Oh my freaking god.

Slowly, holding her breath, she backed away from the window lest the beast spot her and decide a layer of glass wasn’t an impediment to a fresh midnight snack. The problem was, backing away meant losing her line of sight on the bear. But she was safe. I’m in the house. The bear is outside. It can’t get to me here.

Unless it decided to come in.

Her eyes widened and threatened to pop out of her head as she noted the handle to the outside door turning. At that point rationality fled, and she frantically tried to recall what her dad said to do if ever confronted by a bear.

Play dead? She doubted she could fake that, not with fear making her tremble.

Make noise? With what? Somehow shrill screaming didn’t seem like the right approach. But what if she found something noisy to bang and scare it off?

The counter behind her was pristine, but above it, on a suspended rack, hung pots and pans. A plan formed. She’d grab two and smash them together in a symphony of noise frightening the bear—who in some Darwinian feat had learned to operate doors—and hopefully bring someone with a gun running.

She managed to only unhook one large frying pan when the door creaked open—and this was just another good reason to always have the habit of locking them, city living or not. A swirling gust of snow blew in.

Shutting her eyes, snowflakes coated her lashes and when she opened them, she couldn’t make out much detail-wise about the large shape that loomed in the doorway. Didn’t matter. Her father didn’t raise a coward, and she wasn’t about to become a midnight snack without a fight. She let out a battle cry and swung.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

That didn’t sound like a bear. Oops.

Tammy backed away as the lights flicked on in the kitchen. She blinked in the sudden glare, and the crystals on her lashes melted leaving her with perfect—and unfortunate—vision. Uh-oh. She blinked some more. Licked her lips. Wet her panties. And not in fear, even if a bear of a man glowered down at her, his irritation over the lump forming on his cheekbone probably the cause.

‘Are you seriously accosting me in my home, again?”

“I thought you were a bear,” she explained feebly with a wave to the window. “I saw one on the porch, and then something opened the door. I reacted to defend myself.”

“With a frying pan?”

She shrugged. “I had to think fast.”

*****

Welcome to Kodiak Point, where the wildlife might wear clothes, but animal instinct rules the heart.

Next Book in the Kodiak Point series: Outfoxed by Love, coming September 16th, 2014