Today we welcome to Book Lovers Inc paranormal author Denise Tompkins whose newest release Wrath, the 2nd book in the Niteclif Evolution urban fantasy series became available recently. We sat down (even if only virtually) with Denise to ask her a few questions to get to know her and her exciting series better. Come and join us, and you could also win a copy of Wrath!

Stella: Hi Denise, welcome to Book Lovers Inc! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Denise: Hi Stella! It’s so nice of you to have me. I’m an avid reader of anything in the urban fantasy and/or paranormal romance genres. I’m married with no children, so writing is a full-time passion along with my love of my husband, two dogs (Sophie and Max) and three parrots (June, Wyatt and Emma).

Stella: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Denise: I am an unabashed pantser. I wish desperately that I was a planner, but that’s not going to ever happen to me, no matter how hard I try. A typical day for me involves grabbing the computer, re-reading the last 10-12 pages I wrote plus any shorthand notes I left myself, and then diving in. I’ll admit to quite a lot of rewriting as I don’t always go the way the muse would have me go. Too often I give myself over to a character’s voice and end up down a dark alley, wondering how in the world I got there.

I write full days, typically, with random stops for stretching, sometimes a restorative nap, and more often than not a step outside into my cottage garden to rejuvenate my creative mind.

Stella: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?

Denise: A reader reads for pleasure, enjoys the story, then puts the book down and is finished. A real Book Lover consumes a book, like a seven course meal, savoring every chapter, every trick and tool the author uses, thriving on the challenges the author sets forth whether in mystery or romance. And when the Book Lover is finished? That book stays with them for a long, long time. It’s never just mentally shelved and disregarded as checkmark on a “To Do” list.

Stella: You pen the Niteclif Evolution series, can you tell our readers a bit about this series, what inspired it, what is its concept? Is it an urban fantasy or rather a paranormal romance series?

Denise: The Niteclif Evolution Series is about Maddy Niteclif, a woman whose life is nothing like it’s supposed to be. She’s suffered the loss of her parents and taken a 30-day sabbatical from her old life, trying only to set herself to rights. The concept for the book came to me in the middle of the night, quite literally. My husband had purchased me a laptop on which to begin writing again (long story for another time) and I found these characters whispering through my head that night. I snuck out of bed and wrote until early, early morning and penned the first couple of chapters and left notes to myself on where to pick up next.

I would say that the series is urban fantasy that’s heavy on the paranormal romance. The romance isn’t the core of the series, as readers will find out as the stories go on, but it’s critical to Maddy’s survival. As complicated as that is to explain, that’s the best I can do without ruining future installments!

Stella: The 1st book Legacy was released in October with Wrath released in April 2012, congratulations! Can you tell our readers what they can expect of the series and of Wrath? Can the books be read as standalones or should the reader respect the order?

Denise: Thank you! The books can be read as standalones, though they’ll serve the reader better if they’re read in order. The series focuses on Maddy Niteclif’s struggles with the fact that she’s an integral part of a paranormal world she never knew existed as well as the fact that the struggle between free will and destiny may come down to true life or death decisions. The books are not light-hearted, though I wouldn’t go so far as to deem them “dark” either. They’re a comfortable mix.

Stella: Could you introduce your protagonist Maddy to our readers? (and the hero?)

Denise: Maddy is a freshly unemployed American who has come to the UK to try to find her feet amidst a series of dreams that seem to escalate in violence each night. With nothing to personally lose, she packs up and goes, eager to lay to rest whatever it is that haunts her. Her bravery and snarkiness in the face of potential danger entertain me. She’s far from a pushover and is determined to survive the curse of a heritage her father failed to disclose prior to his death. I do love Maddy. Though she starts the series all over the place emotionally, she settles into her reality near the mid of book two and it only gets better as the series progresses. She grows so much.

The hero is a hard question to answer. The false/secondary hero of the series is Bahlin Drago, Maddy’s first love and lover. The true hero of the series is Hellion Markalon. The two are polar opposites. I’m afraid to say more for fear of ruining it for readers.

Stella: Can you summarize Wrath for us twitterstyle (140 characters or less)?

Denise: Wrath is a grab-the-seat-of-your-pants murder mystery chock full of love, lust and deceit.

Stella: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read Wrath?

Denise: Three reasons people should read Wrath? First and foremost, I believe in the story and believe that as a murder mystery, it’s full of twists and turns that will leave the reader satisfied at the end. Second, nothing is ever what it seems unless you are looking for the unusual, so the book is worth a re-read to find the nuances you may miss the first time around. Third, the book is pure entertainment that, hopefully, transports you from the daily doldrums to an exciting, sexy adventure.

Stella: Can you tell us any behind the scenes secret related to The Niteclif Evolution series?

Denise: I have learned I can’t write without music. I must have music on, no exception. And I’ve learned that for Wrath’s voice to materialize, I had to have Two Steps from Hell playing in the background for any type of success. They’re a wonderful band. You should check them out. Fully instrumental with some haunting vocals on only a few tracts.

Stella: You are a paranormal author. Why did this subgenre appeal to you, what attracted you to this strange and fantastic world? And do you remember how you discovered it?

Denise: The world of the paranormal interested me because…what if? What if it was real? What if those things that go bump in the night are true? What if that feeling of being watched were to materialize into something legitimate? I remember reading the first Anita Blake novel (by Laurell K. Hamilton) and I thought to myself, “This. This is what I want to read.” And I devoured that entire series before going on to look for more book in the same genre.

Stella: What shall we expect from you, what is next on your schedule? Will there be more books in the Niteclif Evolution series?

Denise: I have a new, incredibly strong literary agent and she is shopping a new series I started. It’s based on the end of the world and choices we make getting us there either with, or without, grace. It’s a darker series but is one I’m personally in love with. So right now that’s taking up the majority of my time. But will there be more books in the Niteclif Evolutions? Yes, there will. Book three, Vengeance, is almost finished.

Stella: On your website you mention that you have 3 favourite authors. Who are they and which books are your favourite ones?

Denise: My favorite authors are Diana Gabaldon, Laurell K. Hamilton and Larissa Ione. Those three women are so wickedly talented. I met Diana Gabaldon and she humbled me so immensely. I wanted, then and there and even now, to always comport myself with that type of grace and sincerity when talking to anyone about my writing.

My favorite books are Outlander, the entire Demonica series (though Wrath’s book is my favorite), and Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton. I have a running list of books I love, but there’s simply not enough room here to list them all!

Stella: Can you share with us some little secret trivia, something that not many people know about you?

Denise: I used to be an avid spelunker, or caver. I loved nothing more than crawling through mud and shale and water to get down to the bowels of the earth. There are things I’ve seen that still leave me stunned, memories that make me close my eyes in wonder and smells—a spontaneous thunderstorm on a dry desert night—that leave me stunned and humbled at the power of nature. Not many people know I was so involved in that during my college years!

Haunted by personal betrayal, stalked by a murderer and taunted by destiny.
Finding justice—not to mention a little faith—has never been so hard.

A murderer is terrorizing the streets of London, targeting women who look suspiciously like Maddy. Under the mantle of darkness, the killer attacks his victims from behind, severing their heads with startling efficiency and single-minded brutality. A single gold coin is left at the scene of every crime, buried in the neck of each victim. Nothing adds up, and the deeper Maddy gets into the investigation, the more she learns that there are hostile eyes in every faction—some malicious, others murderous.

Amid her struggles to stop a seemingly unstoppable killer, Maddy learns that dreams are far too fragile to juggle. Her newfound love is crumbling around her under the burdens of guilt and blame, and where one man abandons her, another is slated by the gods to take his place. Defiant, Maddy finds her struggles with free will versus destiny have only just begun.

Figuring out whom she should trust, and when, will force Maddy to reassess her alliances…and reaffirm her fragile mortality.

Warning: Contains Scottish and Irish brogues, heads that—literally—roll, seriously random acts of violence, heartbreak and hope, explicit m/f sex in a variety of locations, a voyeuristic vampire and one dinner table that will never be the same.

Buy at: Amazon – Samhain

Denise Tompkins lives in the heart of the South where the neighbors still know your name, all food forms are considered fry-able and bugs die only to be reincarnated in aggressive, blood-craving triplicate. Thrilled to finally live somewhere that can boast 3 ½ seasons (winter’s only noticeable because the trees are naked), her favorite season is definitely fall. It’s the time of year when the gardens are just about to pass into winter’s brief silence, and the leaves are out to prove that nature is the most brilliant artist of all.

Denise is married to the love of her life. Both she and her husband are owned by two dogs and three opinionated parrots who keep her in stitches — literally and figuratively. One bird hates broccoli, one scared the pizza man to death upon delivery, and one bird loves to call out and invite stranger to “Come on in!” The birds thoroughly enjoy scolding the dogs. One dog, the mutt, has turned a deaf ear. The Bullmastiff, however, probably needs emotionally reconstructive therapy.

A life-long voracious reader, Denise has three favorite authors. Why three? Because favorite authors are like chips: a person can’t have just one. Her little house was so overrun with books last year that her darling husband bought her an e-reader out of self-preservation. He was (legitimately) afraid she might begin throwing out pots and pans to make room for more books, and he didn’t want to starve.

Along with reading, Denise loves travel, is obsessed with the British Isles, practices photography, enjoys cooking and looks forward to Christmas as an excuse to bake.

Her debut novel, Legacy, is the first book in The Niteclif Evolutions and will be available in both e-book and print from Samhain Publishing.

You can find Denise on:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Blog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Denise has generously offered an ebook copy of Wrath to a lucky commenter!

All you have to do is answer Denise’s question: Is there a perfect hero you can point to in all your readings? What is it about him that makes him the perfect hero?

(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).

This giveaway is open to all!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 26th, 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

About Stella

Stella is a proud bookaholic and a self-taught multilinguist in training. Besides reading, her other great passions are travelling and baking. When she is not globetrotting she lives in sunny Budapest, where she loves to spend her free time preparing (and feasting on) delicious cookies or devouring equally yummy books. Her favourite genres are urban fantasy and romance and she couldn't live without her daily dose of sunshine. Besides being the Latin Lover on BLI Stella also blogs about books and a bookish life on Ex Libris.

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