Tell us about your latest book/upcoming releases. Is it part of a series and if so, can we read it as a standalone or do we need to read the others in the series first?
My latest release is The Lost Son, and it’s book 1 in the Secrets of Socendor series. It was previously published with another publisher, but I expanded and revised it for Samhain. It’s no secret that fantasy is my first literary love, and The Lost Son is my first full foray into the genre. It just happens to include gay men as the heroes.
What makes a good book to you? Story? Characters? Exotic locations?
All of the above, really. Though, if I HAD to pick one, I’d have to say characters. I have to feel for the characters in order to keep reading.
What's your favorite pizza toppings?
Hm, well, Papa John’s Pizza has this AWESOME BBQ Chicken & Bacon pizza that’s to die for.
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to one of your characters?
LOL Killed him. Of course, he’s an angel, so he came back, but at the time, it was absolute HELL.
Which of your books contains the sexiest love scene?
Oh, wow. That’s a tough one. I’m quite partial to the scene in The Lost Son where Micheil and Kalen do it on the back of Micheil’s horse en-route to the elven lands.
Which of your covers is your favorite?
The Lost Son. I LOVE the cover and it perfectly conveys the story and characters.
Which of your books was the easiest to write? The hardest?
Probably The Prince’s Angel (TPA 1) with Shayne Carmichael. It was our first book and we wrote all 90k+ words in a month. Of course, we/I haven’t even *touched* that record since. LOL The hardest, too many, to be honest. My muse has been temperamental lately.
What is coming in 2010 from you?
Let’s see… Spirits of Abaddon: Sanctified (book 2), Blood & Fire 3 (both with Changeling); my Chaser series, Hearth & Home, in a single volume/ebook (Torquere); a Spice It Up story for Torquere using Vervain as the herb. There’s no telling what else. LOL
Where can readers find you on the web?
If you could meet any character from any book, who would it be, what would you do and why?
Dain Lavrans or Mychael ab Arawn. Dain is the hero in The Chalice and the Blade, and Mychael is the hero in Dream Stone. They are books 1 and 2 (respectively) in Glenna McReynold’s medieval romance trilogy. (Book 3 is Prince of Time.) And yes, that’s where I came up with the name ‘Mychael’ for my pen name. LOL
What would I do? *grins*
As for why… I read those books years ago, and those two heroes have held strong places in my heart since.
The Lost Son
Secrets of Socendor, Book 1
Mychael Black
Samhain Publishing
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-lost-son
One warrior, one sorcerer, and a legacy that will change their lives forever…
In the world of Socendor, humans are forbidden from using magic and elves keep their distance.
Kalen Ysindroc has risen far from his humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s adopted son. Now the king’s general, he investigates reports of magic-wielding half-human, half-elven lithings sighted along the kingdom’s borders. It would be a lonely life, if not for the company of his best friend and long-time elven lover, Micheil Theirauf, the king’s sorcerer.
An attempt on Kalen’s life makes it clear to Micheil that there’s more afoot than random breaks in the land’s defenses. His lover is plagued by dreams no human should endure, and Micheil’s probe into Kalen’s subconscious reveals a past neither of them expected. And a future Kalen can’t escape.
Suddenly, everything Kalen never knew about his life is laid bare. A father possessed of terrible magical power. A half-brother who could be the family Kalen never had—or the catalyst that will rip Micheil out of his life forever…
This title was previously published but has been revised.
***
EXCERPT:
Micheil watched Kalen’s chest rise and fall with every breath. Kalen slept deeply, possibly already dreaming. Micheil smiled. Perhaps this would be easier than he had expected. He moved closer to Kalen and felt himself settle within the general’s mind. Snippets of Kalen’s dream came to Micheil then.
Fire. And smoke. Deep crimson red. The brilliance of a newly struck fire. And death.
“From the depths of the earth and the sea,
From the endless skies and the mists of time,
I call thee, beasts of fire…”
An unseen force threw Micheil to the ground. When he rolled over, the sight that greeted him nearly stopped his heart.
Kalen stood on a hilltop, his arms raised to the swirling forms above him. In and out of the voluminous clouds, great beasts flew. Fiery plumes of red and orange surrounded the behemoths, and their obsidian scales glimmered in the silver moonlight as it cascaded down onto the valleys and hills below.
Then Kalen turned. The green depths of his eyes blazed with an internal fire as his gaze settled on Micheil.
“You are in danger,” Micheil warned after several moments of silence.
“Aye,” Kalen said with a slow nod. “As are you. You are mine. And for that very reason, you will be hunted.”
Micheil sat bolt upright in his bed. Sweat beaded on his skin and trickled slowly over his face. The chill of the room pierced him, yet it did nothing to cool the fire within. Kalen’s fire. But how? Kalen Ysindroc had no such magic within him.
“Sweet Malin, save us.”
Fire. And smoke. Deep crimson red. The brilliance of a newly struck fire. And death.
“From the depths of the earth and the sea,
From the endless skies and the mists of time,
I call thee, beasts of fire…”
An unseen force threw Micheil to the ground. When he rolled over, the sight that greeted him nearly stopped his heart.
Kalen stood on a hilltop, his arms raised to the swirling forms above him. In and out of the voluminous clouds, great beasts flew. Fiery plumes of red and orange surrounded the behemoths, and their obsidian scales glimmered in the silver moonlight as it cascaded down onto the valleys and hills below.
Then Kalen turned. The green depths of his eyes blazed with an internal fire as his gaze settled on Micheil.
“You are in danger,” Micheil warned after several moments of silence.
“Aye,” Kalen said with a slow nod. “As are you. You are mine. And for that very reason, you will be hunted.”
Micheil sat bolt upright in his bed. Sweat beaded on his skin and trickled slowly over his face. The chill of the room pierced him, yet it did nothing to cool the fire within. Kalen’s fire. But how? Kalen Ysindroc had no such magic within him.
“Sweet Malin, save us.”
