Welcome Birthday Guest Charlie Richards!

Many thanks to Amber Kell for allowing me to join in her birthday month celebration! Happy Birthday, Amber! Here is an interview with Bailey Blackraven – AKA: Raven – from the Wolves of Stone Ridge series. Don’t forget to comment at the bottom, so we can enter you in a drawing for a free book! It will be reader’s choice of either a paperback I can mail to you, or an electronic book in the format for your ereader of choice. Best wishes, Everyone!

 

Interviewer: Thank you so much for joining me here today, Raven. Or would you prefer to be called Bailey?

Raven *smiling coldly*: The only people who called me Bailey were bullies at school, and they ended up with bloody or broken noses.

Interviewer *chuckles nervously*: Raven it is, then. *clears his throat as he shuffles though his papers*

Raven *grins widely*: You can relax, man. I’m not going to hurt you. I was a mercenary, not an assassin. *smile turns crooked* That would be Jared. Besides, I’m retired.

Interviewer nods, his cheeks turning a light pink: Of course. It’s just…you were originally written in as a bad guy…

Raven: I prefer antagonist.

Interviewer *shuffling note cards as he nods*: Of course. So. Antagonist. You were originally a mercenary working for the scientists. Why do you think Charlie decided to change that? Uh, you know, make you a good guy.

Raven *scoffing, he smirks*: That’s easy. Readers love a tale about a bad boy succumbing to love and doing shit he never dreamed he’d do in the name of saving his man. Or in my case, his shifter. *leans forward, eyes narrowing* And good is a relative term. If anyone ever tried to do anything to Liam, I’d gut them like the pigs they are.

Interviewer *chuckles nervously again*: So, she gave you a fox.

Raven *relaxes back in his chair*: Right. An arctic fox. Fluffy guy in his animal form. Tight sexy body as a human. *Raven grins lasciviously* The perfect size to maneuver into any position I want.

Interviewer *chuckles, appreciating the subject change*: Yes, so we’ve read. *flips to another note card* So, today we’re discussing birthdays. Can you tell me about one that stands out as a personal favorite? Any parties or gatherings that were really spectacular for you?

Raven *nods slowly*: I didn’t celebrate birthdays growing up, or even after I joined the military. It wasn’t until I bonded with Liam that I had my first official birthday party. *he shrugs* I’ve since discovered I’m not much of a cake eater. I do enjoy watching Liam eat it though. Such enthusiasm and appreciation. The way he licks his fork. *Reaches down and adjusts his crotch* Just thinking about it makes my dick hard.

Interviewer *blushes profusely*: Would you say that the after-party fun is really your favorite part of your birthday? Has Liam ever- *clears throat* -done anything special for you?

Raven *scoffs*: Yeah. But I’m not telling you about that. *scratches jaw lightly* Let’s see. Birthday related…ah! *snaps fingers* Best birthday present not from Liam was from Carson.

Interviewer *clearly surprised*: Carson Angeni? The wolf shifter enforcer?

Raven *nods*: That’s the one. Carson calls me out of the blue a couple of days before my birthday last August and says, How would you like to hack into a computer and mess with Jared a little bit? I need him distracted and out of sorts. *Grins widely and spreads arms* How could I say no?

Interviewer *leans forward in anticipation*: That sounds like it was right up your alley. What happened?

Raven *smiles smugly*: I hacked into the computer system that Carson told me to. I left just enough of a trail for Jared to track it back to me. Carson called me when he thought Jared would follow up on it and I laid in wait on my end, electronically. I watched as Liam, who is getting damn good at computer work, countered most of his moves. *sounding pleased* Liam almost caused Jared to fall into a cyber space black hole, which would have crashed his computer and set him back hours. I was so proud.

Interviewer *grins*: So why were you and Carson messing with Jared?

Raven *chuckles*: Why else? To make readers happy. Charlie wrote it down. Called it Hacking the Assassin. It’s a free read on her website. Just go to her Free Reads section and check it out.

Interviewer: I for one, will definitely do that. It sounds like you had a fantastic time.

Raven *nods again*: Yep. Other than all the fantastic birthday sex with Liam- *waggles brows* -he tries to give me more orgasms every year. So far we’re up to seventeen in one day. Hacking Jared and messing with his shit was my best birthday memory.

Interviewer: *whispers* Seventeen. *chuckling, his cheeks once again pink* Well, on that note folks, we’re going to wrap it up. Thank you so much for joining us, Raven, and sharing a little about yourself and your birthday experiences. And a big thank you to Amber Kell for allowing us to share in her birthday celebration. Happy birthday, Amber!

 

For more information on Charlie Richards, visit her website: www.charlie-richards.com or send her an email at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com. Her works can also be seen at her publisher’s website (eXtasy Books): http://www.extasybooks.com/?route=product%2Fauthor&author_id=791

 

 

 

Here is the blurb and excerpt from her newest release, the 32^nd tale in the Wolves of Stone Ridge series – Branding an Icy Heart.

Blurb:

Out of the Cage: A vampire in motion remains in motion…until he runs into his beloved.

Between discovering that two of his brothers have accepted male beloveds and learning his eldest brother is moving their coven to the United States, Aleksei Kuznetsov’s world has been turned upside down. He’s never been good with change, so he flees his family and what he believes are their unnatural predilections. After several months of soul searching, he’s ready to make amends. However, realizing that being gay isn’t unnatural, and accepting it for his brothers, doesn’t prepare him for running into Remy Smithson. The human’s blood calls to him like he imagines a beloved’s should. Can he wrap his mind around what’s happening quickly enough, or will he lose the best thing that may have ever happened to him?

 

Excerpt:

Finding a can of strawberry lemonade, Aleksei leaned over and opened the blue chest next to it. He grabbed himself a bottle of beer and stood. When he turned, he found Vadim standing directly behind him, his arms crossed over his impressive chest, and his eyes narrowed.

Lifting a brow, Aleksei spread his arms. “Da?”

“What are you doing?” Vadim snarled in their native language. “Why are you flirting with Remy? He is kind and sweet and has already overcome so much. Don’t play with him.”

Aleksei ground his teeth together, biting back his initial snarl—mine. Claiming that would have been really bad. Just him thinking it was bad. He also forced back a wave of jealousy. While he hadn’t ever seen Vadim take an interest in a man, that didn’t mean he hadn’t. What if his much more open-minded brother went after Remy?

Damn it all.

“Well?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Aleksei focused on Vadim. “I am making an uncomfortable guest comfortable,” he growled. “We have already met. I am the logical choice until his friends arrive.”

“Don’t lead him on,” Vadim ordered. “Asshole,” he muttered as he spun and stalked away.

Aleksei rolled his eyes, then headed back to the table. He supposed he deserved that admonishment, what with how he’d parted ways with his family. Knowing it would take his brothers time to accept that he’d grown on his travels didn’t make their words smart any less.

“Here you are,” Aleksei stated, setting the can on the table and sliding it toward Remy. “Hope strawberry is okay.”

As Aleksei spoke, he settled in one of the high chairs and popped the cap off his bottle.

“Strawberry is great.”

After nodding, Aleksei took a swig of his beer. He swallowed the bitter, hopsy beverage. Watching Remy pop the cap and take a drink of his lemonade, he spotted the pulse point in his arched neck.

Aleksei’s fangs tingled and his mouth watered as a desire to taste the male’s blood flooded him. He suddenly regretted turning down the multiple offers he’d had from siblings to go out and find a blood donor. While he’d fed the day before arriving at the estate, he hadn’t since. Feeding once every couple of weeks was doable, but not in his best interest. Aleksei hoped—hell, prayed to whatever God cared to listen—that his sudden craving for Remy’s blood was due to general hunger and didn’t actually have anything to do with the human himself.

“Is everything okay?” Remy asked, his brows furrowing. “Vadim seemed a little…upset with you?”

Hearing the question in Remy’s words, Aleksei leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He bracketed his beer between his palms. Focusing on the human, he shrugged.

“They know you are gay and I am not,” Aleksei told him, deciding to go for blunt. “They know I’m an asshole and I’ve said some…bigoted things in the past.” He grimaced as he watched Remy straighten, his lips pinching tightly. “When a man is raised hearing a certain opinion, he can be slow to change.” He gave Remy a wry smile as he admitted, “And I am not good with change.”

Remy swallowed another gulp of lemonade, his gaze focused on his can for a moment.

Aleksei waited, drinking his beer, wondering what the human would say.

“Well,” Remy murmured, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. Finally, he lifted his gaze and focused on him. “You haven’t been an asshole, yet, so—” He didn’t finish, ending with a shrug instead.

Scoffing, Aleksei responded, “Well, you haven’t known me long.” He smirked, then added, “Give it time. I may be an asshole, but at least I’m honest about it.”