Welcome to
Cheryl’s place! I’m thrilled to have you here.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
Thank you for having me here
today, Cheryl!!! I’m thrilled to be here!!! My name is J.J. Devine. I’ve been
married to my trucker husband for almost 30 years. We have three children,
three grandchildren, an angel grandchild, three dogs, one cat, and two fish
tanks. Yeah, we’re a gluten for punishment.
I started writing when our
youngest son was a year old, only getting serious about my writing career about
five years ago. I am president of an and coming new writing chapter, Crossroads
Romance Writers, which I along with a group of authors founded. I belong to a
wonderful weekly blog group, Romance Writers Weekly, in which we have changed
up the blog hop idea and do a weekly blog hop, answering questions, writing
flash fiction, you name it, it has probably been covered by this fantastic
group.
I am published with Soul Mate
Publishing and am currently working on a few projects that will be
self-published this year.
What is your favorite pastime, other than
writing?
Hands down, camping. Hubby and I
love being in the outdoors. He loves fishing, I love sitting at the campsite
pouring over my latest WIP sitting beside a low burning fire. I have often
teased him about becoming a gypsy and living in our camper year round (in the
cold months definitely somewhere warm).
Any advice for new writers just starting out?
Write. There is no other possible
way to become an author besides making yourself sit down behind the keyboard
and just start writing. Make writing a daily habit, set goals and work toward
those goals. Don’t fret over whether or not you have what it takes, prove to
yourself you do, by just doing it.
What genre or genres do you write?
I write historical and paranormal
romance.
Tell us about your latest release.
Vampires
and Witches: Are they mythical creatures or something that walks amongst us every
day without our knowledge?
To Raven, a twenty-five-year-old, extremely sheltered woman, they are nothing
more than something to be read about in a book. To Dragon, an eight hundred-year-old
vampire, they are a way of life.
Raven truly believes she is going mad. Erotic dreams fill her nights, causing
her to question her sanity by the light of day. They lead her into a world she
never knew existed and a heritage that can only be found in nightmares.
Dragon wants nothing more than to own the mortal soul of the beautiful Raven, a
woman who can make his ancient scars disappear, proof that she is far from
mortal.
Together they seek out the dark heritage of her past. What they find is much
more than either of them bargained for. A destiny lies at her doorstep, one
that could bring her salvation and an eternity at his side. Or, it could seal
her fate and rip her from his world forever.
Please share an
excerpt of your book!
Raven awoke with a start. A single
candle penetrated the darkness engulfing her. Her body began to tremble as she
assessed her strange surroundings. She smelled Dragon; he was close. Her body
hummed its need for him. What happened tonight? Where am I?
Tremors overtook her, remembering
the events of the night. What had she become involved with? Vampires? Witches?
And who were they trying to fool? Moreover, for what purpose?
Dragon’s heady scent filled her
senses, drawing again her craving for blood. If she was the daughter of a
vampire, as Tristan would have her believe, then why did she not have fangs?
The urgency of her desires, more
apparent as the wetness between her legs dampened her skin, became an irritant.
Damn him, even now she craved the pleasures Dragon stirred in her.
She tried to move from the bed, but
Dragon’s strong arm wrapped about her waist, holding her in place. Well,
that explains why I can smell him so strongly.
“You told me you wanted to spend
the morning with me,” he grunted in her ear.
“That was before I knew you were a
vampire.” Her angry words caused him to release her.
Rolling to his back, he slid an arm
under his head. “I’m sorry, Raven. I should have told you.”
“There is a great deal you should
have told me. Do you think for one moment I believe you or Tristan are these .
. . these fictional creatures? Do you suppose for one moment I believe I am the
daughter of not just one of these imaginary characters, but two as well?”
Dragon remained relaxed, his
breathing even, his demeanor calm. His relaxed posture in her bed, as if her
words held no more import than a vague breeze, infuriated her.
“Are you listening to me?” The
demand in her tone was harsher than she had ever used.
He lit a lamp on the table beside
him, illuminating his face. “Are you done ranting?”
“Ranting! You make fun of something
that frightened me so gravely and you have the audacity to say I am ranting.”
Dragon’s hand came to her cheek.
Instantly, need replaced anger. She wriggled to ease the yearning between her
thighs. Her breasts felt swollen, aching for his touch.
Yet she resisted. “Stop it, Dragon.
You know what affect you have on me.”
Dragon withdrew his hand, rising so
the sheet fell, exposing his bare chest. Shifting away to fight off the
tremendous urge to ravish him, she choked out, “I want answers. Now.”
“Raven, I have never lied to you,
nor have I ever made sport of you. And I meant it when I told you I love you.”
“You’re saying that you and Tristan
are vampires. And I thought I was the crazy one.” She turned away in disgust,
even as she sensed the pain her words had caused him. She pressed a hand to her
chest to ease the pressure she felt there.
When her eyes flickered back to
him, a shocked gasp escaped at the sight awaiting her.
His mouth was open. And he had
fangs. In his mouth.
Fangs.
“Touch them!” he demanded.
She recoiled.
“I said, touch them!” He grabbed
her hand, forcing it to his open mouth. The sharp points of his fangs pricked
her finger.
Raven ripped her hand from his
grasp. “Stop, Dragon! You’re frightening me.”
“I smell your fear. Look deep
inside yourself. Fear is not the only emotion that drives this craving for the taste
of blood. Your lust for me is stronger.”
Shock overwhelmed her anew as she
studied his eyes. She could read the stream of mixed emotion pooling in their
deep, darkened depths. His voice sounded in her ears, yet his lips never moved.
“See, you do hear me. Can a
mortal woman hear what a man says within his head?”
Dragon rose, naked, from the bed.
Raven gritted her teeth against the glorious sight of him. Every muscle,
chiseled to flawless perfection. The heat between her legs grew uncomfortable. Damn
you for making me want you, even now.
Crossing the room to a small wooden
table, he poured a drink into two glasses. It looked dark and smelled rich,
inviting. Her mouth watered, a consuming sensation. He came back to stand
beside the bed, shoving a glass at her.
She eyed it suspiciously. “What is
it?”
“Proof.”
The scent of the liquid aroused
her, but she held her ground. “What is it?”
“Drink it!” Dragon’s tone was dark
and furious, his eyes glaring at her.
“And if I don’t?” She ripped the
glass from his grasp and slammed it on the bedside table in a show of defiance.
Dragon gulped the contents of the
glass in his hand, then yanked her from the bed. His mouth crashed down on
hers, the drink still rich on his lips and tongue. Unable to control herself,
she clung to him in desperation, devouring his mouth. The sweet taste of the
liquid fueled a sudden fire within.
Dragon pushed her away. Her hands
reached for the glass he had brought her and she drank down the warm, soothing
liquid in one large draught. She didn’t care if he watched her, as her tongue
licked at the remnants clinging to the corners of her mouth.
His anger seemed to rise with each
drop she took in. Now he taunted, “I believe it is you who needs to answer my
questions. Mortal women do not crave blood, my dark angel.”
Raven’s hand went to her mouth as
her stomach lurched. Dragon grabbed the chamber pot as the contents of her
stomach resurfaced.
“You bastard!” She cursed him, even
as her taste for the liquid returned in much greater force than before.
“How much more proof do you need,
Raven? Your hunger for blood is as deep as any vampire I know.”
I currently have many irons in the
fire. I am working on an anthology with some of my writing chapter sister
entitled, The Hope Chest, due out this June. I am also working on a story for a
boxed set with some of the Romance Writer Weekly gang, due out this Fall. I’m
also in the process of editing Destiny’s Price (the second in my Acceptance
Series) as well as the second book in my Darkness Series, Darkness Bring
Desire.
And finally, where
can we stalk you?
Author
Links:
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Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/J.J.-Devine/e/B009P8P3PU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1422394904&sr=8-1