The Interview:
When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with? Eyes, hair?
SL: I usually start with hair especially when the character has lots of it. I’m a fan of men with long tresses for his potential lover to pull on. *laughs* So I usually go with that first.
Where are you from and what do you love best about your hometown?
SL: I’m from Chicago and believe you me, I wouldn’t say the weather especially not right now. *rolls eyes* I’m a city girl so I love tall buildings, nightlife, access to everything. Chicago is very diverse too which is a big deal to me.
Ebook or print? And why?
SL: I’ve often said I would always love print books over e-books because you can actually feel the book in your hands. Well, I’ve gotten over that. My Kindle makes it easier for me to keep hundreds of books in one place and since I have little ones, I can keep all the saucy covers out of sight.
Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
SL: Well since this is the I Love it Rough tour, we can talk about Kajika Fortier. He’s an exotic dancer with some baggage. He lost his mom at a young age, he never knew his father. The endearing thing about Kajika is despite him being a stripper, he is very spiritual. He speaks about his faith in God in both books, wears a cross. And he’s tough as nails even with the pretty exterior.
Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?
SL: Okay here we go, all 4. Yep, 4. Michael Mandrake, I needed a male name when I first started. I’ve always liked the name Michael and Mandrake just sounded good with it. *laughs* Rawiya is Native American for storyteller. She was supposed to be my m/f, mmf/mm author. *glares at muse* Now she mostly wants to do m/m but her schtick is all IR. She only does multiracial couples. BLMorticia is my oldest muse. When I started writing erotica just for fun, I picked that name. I’m black and because I’m a big fan of the Addams Family, specifically Morticia Addams, I came up with that name. BL is my rebel muse. She does what she wants. My newest muse, Veronica Bagby is totally hetero. In fact, I only plan on doing one series of books with her at this point. She’s BL’s older sister. Just as snarky, full of spunk but writes erotica for mature women. *smiles* Did I cover them all? Well the fanfiction muse is SaharaDuran but again, only for fanfiction.
Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?
SL: It varies by story. While writing the twins with Michael in N’awlins Exotica paranormal, I listen to the smooth jazz station. When BL and I write, it’s mostly heavy metal, especially for the Wretched. Michael likes jazz/r&b for the most part but occasionally I’ll turn on classical or even some pop music, depending on the mood of the characters.
If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?
SL: To clone myself and do two or more things at once. One part would be spending more time with family and friends while the other just writes. Can I REALLY do that? I wish. That would be so freaking helpful!
Blog stops for the I Love It Rough Tour
2/22 Mantasy Remmy Duchene
2/23 The Rainbow Studio
2/24 Wednesday Briefs Site
2/25 Lily Velden
2/26 Its Raining Men
2/27 Full Moon Dreaming Julie Lynn Hayes
2/28 Nature of the Heart Renee Stevens
3/1 Dawn’s Reading Nook
3/2 SweetNSexyDivas
3/3 Cia’s Stories Cia Nordwell
3/4 Raine O’ Tierney
3/5 Wicked Sexy Writers
3/6 Naughty Nights Press Blog
Are Cafe
3/7 Decadent Delights MA Church
3/8 JC Wallace
3/9 Chris T Kat
3/10 LM Brown
3/11 Rob Colton
3/12 Shira Anthony
3/13 Dreamz of Dragons AR Von
3/14 Talismania Brilliant Disguise Tali Spencer
3/15 QueerTown Abbey
Livin’ in N’awlins ain’t all that easy…
Kajika Fortier loves his job, the attention he gets from onlookers, and Frankie Choteau. However, his new partner’s jealousy, mood swings, and over protectiveness drives Kajika to the brink but at the same time, excites him to no end.
To complicate things further, a murderer is on the loose looking for blood. All three of the killer’s victims are strippers which not only makes Frankie nervous about Kajika’s safety but leaves him questioning his love for being a homicide detective. Coupled with the stresses of cold cases as well as some fellow officers shunning him for coming out, Frankie is having second thoughts about staying in New Orleans. Despite the encouragement from Vance, Kenina, and Orrin as well as new chief Quinn Murray, Frankie is wondering if his life’s passion really is to catch the killers.
Will the new couple survive these new issues that impede their nearly perfect union? Or will the relationship fail, thus leaving Kajika alone and a target for New Orleans latest serial killer? Detective Choteau and Kajika’s commitment to one another is being tested in more ways than one and they only have one another to lean on.
Excerpt:
Kajika
stepped out of the tub, grabbing the towel nearby to dry off. He’d been looking
forward to spending the night and the early part of the day with his man, but
duty called, causing Frankie to run out the door without saying anything more
than ‘I’m gone’ and ‘I love you’.
Damn job.
Sometimes
Kajika wished Frankie worked a nine to five instead of the dreaded detective
position he held at the police station. They hadn’t had much time with the
workload being so large due to shortage of staff, and it affected their
relationship more than Kajika would’ve liked. At first he thought he could handle
it; the excitement of his hot homicide detective out in the streets solving
murders. Such a dangerous career but with it came nice money and accolades.
Although Kajika was scared to death of blood and dead bodies, he loved hearing
about some of Frankie’s cases, including the more intriguing ones that had yet
to be solved. Tonight though, he would’ve traded all that in for his Frankie to
be by his side.
In bed with me, where
he should be.
Kajika
finished wiping down and wrapped himself in his terry cloth robe to get ready
for bed. He’d thought about staying up and watching some television, hoping
that Frankie might return sooner than later, but he knew the truth. When called
in, detectives don’t make it back home within a couple of hours. More like a few
hours, or even half the day, would pass before he’d see his man again. As long
as he came home safe, Kajika would deal with the amount of hours he spent away
from their warm bed in Kenner, Louisiana.
On
the way to the bedroom, Kajika wrapped his hair in the towel, drying his long
strands. He glanced at the clock on the wall and grimaced when he noticed the
big and small hand hovering over the two.
“Shit.
Now I know I won’t see you until breakfast.” Kajika clicked his teeth and
stomped on the trail of rose petals, angered by their night being interrupted.
He pushed their bedroom door closed and leaned against the wood. “Damnit. We
haven’t done a whole lot other than late night cuddling, quickies in the
bathroom or on the kitchen floor. I need more than that, Frankie…I need−”
A
long buzz sounded from the dresser, and Kajika moved quickly to see who was
calling.
Frankie.
Frankie,
or at least Kajika hoped it was, calling him with the news he’d be returning
home sooner than expected. Although farfetched, Kajika could still wish his
husband to be back early. He gulped hard and said a little prayer before
clicking the connect button. “Hello?”
Silence
then a sigh. “Babe, it’s me… I… I got some real bad news to tell you,
sweetheart, but I’d rather you hear it from me as opposed to anyone else.”
Kajika
released a deep breath and shrugged. “Are you okay, love? Something bothering−”
“Naw,
I’m good, boo, but−” Frankie stopped a moment and blew hard through the phone.
Kajika
plopped on the bed and crossed his legs, wondering what the heck his man was
talking about. Bad news? What could it
possibly be? Kajika nibbled on his bottom lip while he toyed with the
frayed threads on his housecoat. “What is it, lover?”
“Babe,
the murder I got called in for was…” Frankie ceased speaking again and sounded
a little choked up about it.
Kajika
held his breath and blinked twice in succession. “Who Frankie? Come on, just
spit it out, right…who…”
“Lana
Miles, babe. Lana’s been strangled to death.” Frankie spoke quickly to get the
words out.
Kajika
stared straight ahead, and his heart caught in his chest. Oh my God! Unable to cope with what he’d just heard, he dropped his
phone and immediately the tears welled under his eyelids. Lana? Oh my God, who killed her? She was a good person…she…
“Kajika?
Babe, you there? You okay, love? Talk to me, honey.”
Author Bio:
Michael Mandrake pens complex characters already comfortable with their sexuality. Thorough these, he builds worlds not centered on erotica but rather the mainstream plots we might encounter in everyday life through personal experiences or the media. To find out more please visit http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com.
Author Sharita Lira: In one word, crazy. Just crazy enough to have 3 different muses running around in her head, driving her to sheer exhaustion with new plot bunnies and complex characters.
This happily married mother of two beautiful children loves music, computers, reading, and still enjoys reading and writing fanfiction. She’s a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens. She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.
For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.
The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
BLMorticia – http://blmorticia.wordpress.com
Rawiya - http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
TriadPromo - http://triadliteraryworks.blogspot.com/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
AuthorGraph - http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/rawiyamikembl
Signup for Newsletter
Author Bio:
Michael Mandrake pens complex characters already comfortable with their sexuality. Thorough these, he builds worlds not centered on erotica but rather the mainstream plots we might encounter in everyday life through personal experiences or the media. To find out more please visit http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com.
Author Sharita Lira: In one word, crazy. Just crazy enough to have 3 different muses running around in her head, driving her to sheer exhaustion with new plot bunnies and complex characters.
This happily married mother of two beautiful children loves music, computers, reading, and still enjoys reading and writing fanfiction. She’s a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens. She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.
For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.
The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
BLMorticia – http://blmorticia.wordpress.com
Rawiya - http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
TriadPromo - http://triadliteraryworks.blogspot.com/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
AuthorGraph - http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/rawiyamikembl
Signup for Newsletter
Prizes:
One winner receives:1 ebook copy of ILIR
1 Coffee Mug
1 Starbucks Gift Card
Bag of Beads from New Orleans
1 All Romance Gift Card
1 N'awlins T Shirt
Jewelry Inspired by N'awlins Exotica
Booksmarks, Postcards, and pens from Sharita Lira/Muses
