Guest Interview: Close Quarter by Anna Zabo & Giveaway

Today we have a guest. I am pleased to welcome Anna Zabo to Kids, Coffee & Chaos to talk about her new book, Close Quarter. Before we get to the Q & A, I just want to say this book is on my To-Buy list for sure. I read the excerpt and it sucked me in. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve known her virtually for awhile!

But let’s get down to the good stuff. Close Quarter is erotica, so it’s a little steamy and definitely Not Safe For Work (NSFW)! It also features the fae. And vampires. But before I give it all away, let’s let Anna tell us about her work.

Tell the readers about your story.

It’s a male/male paranormal romance about Rhys, a grieving sculptor, and Silas, a jaded forest fae. They’re trying to survive against a pack of vampires led by an ancient vampire who held Silas captive for more than one hundred years. Here’s a longer blub:

On a transatlantic cruise to New York, sculptor Rhys Matherton struggles to piece his life back together after losing his mother, inheriting a fortune, and finding out his father isn’t his father after all. He spills a tray of drinks on a handsome stranger, then he finds himself up against a wall getting the best hand-job he’s ever had. And for the first time in his life, he feels whole.

Rhys enjoys the company of Silas Quint, but for the eerie way no one pays attention to them even while they kiss in a crowded bar. Silas explains he’s a forest fae able to glamor the room around them—and more importantly, that he’s on the cruise to hunt vampires. Rhys thinks Silas is full of it, until he discovers vampires are real, and he’s part of the main course.

Silas Quint can’t be distracted by a human lover, even one as lovely as Rhys. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, he has barely enough of energy to hunt the vampires he’s been sent to destroy. Rhys is full of the one thing Silas needs needs most—the element of living plants. Only sucking energy from Rhys would make Silas as soulless as the creatures he hunts. How can he keep Rhys safe, without becoming like the very monsters he hunts?

It sounds a little steamy. Should we be reading this in the bathroom in case we need an emergency cold shower?

It’s a lot steamy. As I was writing it, I kept wondering if there was too much sex, and then I remembered I was writing erotica.

But hunting vampires is an adventure, so is there a bit of action?

Oh yes, there are sword fights with vampires, chases through hallways, devastating injuries. Near-death encounters. Vampires trying to eat people.

And coffee. Because every book I write has coffee. And coffee is always an adventure.

Where did you get the idea for this interesting cast of characters?

The original idea came out of a dream I had about a fae vampire hunter meeting with his human partner on an ocean liner in the 1920s. I knew I couldn’t do that time period justice, so I changed the setting to contemporary and set about figuring out who those two fleeting dream-characters were. I knew one was an artist of some kind, and the other was old. I knew they were in horrible danger.

It was just a matter, then, of figuring everything else out. –laughs–

What’s your best tip for other writers out there?

Write what you want to read. Write from your heart but with your head. And when writing the first draft, remember that you can fix it later.

Any last words?

The vampires? They’re the villains. They have no angst. They don’t want to sex you up, they want to consume your life. They are pretty, though. Up until they smile.

About Me:

Anna Zabo writes erotic paranormal romance and fantasy. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which isn’t nearly as boring as most people think. A lover of all things fae, she finds the wonderful and the magical amid the steel and iron of her city.

You can find her online at http://www.annazabo.com, on face book at http://www.facebook.com/AnnaZabo, and on twitter as @amergina, where you will also find her other not-so-secret identity.

I’m also giving away a copy of the ebook to a random commenter.

You can read an (NSFW) excerpt of the novel at Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/close-quarter.html

Thanks for having me over, Tori!

And thanks for coming, Anna! Remember, if you would like a chance for the free book, leave a comment!

Have you ever had adventures on a cruise? Enjoy a good book? Tell us something and get a chance.

The contest is over. The winner was commenter #5, aliwood. Congrats! I read this book over the holiday weekend. It was very nice.