"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Friday, February 3, 2012

At the Round Table & Giveaway with Danielle Smith - Black Dog & Rebel Rose


Howdy all! Today I am so happy to welcome Danielle Smith to Immortality and Beyond. She's not only an author of some fabulous paranormal erotica, she is also a phenomenal artist.

Welcome Danielle!

Danielle D. Smith was born in San Diego, California, USA. She was first published at age 29. In addition to being a writer of bestselling gritty angel-and-demon themed supernatural fantasy stories that have gained a dedicated cult following, she is an accomplished fine artist and illustrator whose visual work has appeared in various public, private, and gallery exhibitions and in national publications, and has studied everything from costuming to tattooing. Dani, as she is known by many who are close to her, lives in San Diego with a large number of books, indie flicks, and documentaries. Her novels appeal to dreamers, troublemakers, dark romantics, horn dogs, and general escapists. She is the proud owner of a beefcake husband and several beautiful tattoos. She adores reading, tattoos, motorcycles, muscle cars, prison bodies, and cuddling her sweet little boy, Ryker...not necessarily in that order. ;-) 



So happy to have you with us today at Immortality and Beyond. May I offer you a beverage? 


DANI: True to my style, I’ll take the frothy Guinness!  Yummy!






Now that we're all settled in my lair, I'm de-bite-fully glad you stopped in.


DANI: Many thanks, mama! Thrilled to be here! :-D

BK:  Please tell us a little bit about your current release...


Demon’s Slave is my first foray into BDSM erotica, with a definite paranormal twist. It centers around the two most popular characters in the world I have created: Skriker, a heavily tattooed, Harley-riding, gun slinging, half-demon bad boy and the love of his life, the beautiful Nephil (half-angel) huntress, Rose. In this particular tale, the reader catches a glimpse of their life when they are not hunting the evils that dwell in darkness. Rose, being one of the paranormal elite, frequently feels guilty about loving a demon, despite the fact that she really does adore Skrike. In order to show him how deep her love and commitment to him really is, she offers herself up as his submissive as a dirty birthday gift for three days and three nights. Little does she know that Skriker has already dabbled in BDSM with past lovers, and he is utterly thrilled to try his hand at tormenting—and teasing—his Nephil lady love! I must say that Demon’s Slave is NOT for the faint of heart; there are some pretty graphic hardcore scenes, some verging on consensual torture, so be aware of this, kids!


BK:  What inspired this particular novel/book?


DANI: My fans! They asked for it, and boy did I give it to them! Everyone in the cult who follows Skriker and Rose’s adventures have seen them have some truly hot moments together…and they wanted more! 


BK:  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?


DANI: I think I really realized I wanted to publish my work when I was in high school, but I filed it away for a number of years to focus on my art (I am also an artist/illustrator, and have worked as a tattoo apprentice, costume designer, etc.). When I was 28 my husband entered law school and I turned to writing for the first time in years to relieve the stress of it all. Little did I know that I’d ACTUALLY get published! It was a great feeling to sign that first contract.


BK:  How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?


DANI: To be blunt, I don’t focus on what, well, everyone else is doing…namely, vampires and werewolves/shifters. Were and vamp books are a dime a dozen nowadays, and being the rebellious creative type that I am, I have always marched to the beat of my own drum. I want to write what I would enjoy reading—most of my favorite authors are cult-followed, not big time bestsellers (with the exception of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, even though Gaiman is still somewhat “cult” in his writing). I like outside-the-mainstream stuff, even though I’m less likely to become some trendy bestseller. I’m not trying to rewrite “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with my own fantasy version of Spike, and you will not find the word “Alpha” repeated in every other sentence in one of my books. I like angels and demons, I like tattoos and big bikes and muscle cars and something occasionally written from the male perspective, and I like plotlines that didn’t come out of HarperCollins’ meat grinder. I always chuckle when I read the occasional review of my work stating that my “plot was predictable”. I don’t feel that I write anything that is predictable, but I could be wrong. Hope that wasn’t TOO blunt, but I’m pretty serious about what I do, and I want my stories and their characters to be unique. ;-)


BK:  What was the hardest thing about writing this story?


DANI: Having to sit back and ponder whether or not I was going “too far” with some of the themes. I have participated in the BDSM lifestyle with my husband, and what I think is ok may not be ok to others. You are truly taking a gamble. There were points where I was wondering if I would lose half of my precious readership, including some of my truest and closest fans (I love to keep in touch with some of my fans on Facebook, and have made some very close friends in the process). Would Skriker go from being my most popular hero to being utterly despised? Would Rose be seen as anti-feminist, even though she is typically a badass heroine in the truest sense of the term? Would their activities be seen as stilted, unrealistic, too much? In the end, I had to decide for myself what I was willing to put out there.


Another thing that was hard was writing from Rose’s perspective—I usually find writing from the male perspective much easier. But it made sense to give it to the reader in Rose’s voice.


BK:  What character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?


DANI: As usual, it was Skriker. He’s always more fun than a barrel of monkeys…er…demons.


BK:  Which was your favorite scene to write?


DANI: It’s a tossup between two scenes for me. There’s the scene where Skriker ties Rose Kinbaku/Sokubaku-style to his dining room table and uses her as a breakfast plate before screwing her senseless. And then there’s the scene in the fight cage where he makes her play a game he calls “Pretty Pony” before banging her doggy-style over a bar stool. It’s a tossup. ;-)


BK:  Will this become a series? If so, what inspired it to be a series?


DANI: It’s already part of the Black Dog and Rebel Rose Novella Series, even though readers who don’t like BDSM can skip this one with no problems. Thus far there are two other books in the series: Black Dog and Rebel Rose, the tale that started it all, and Coyote Night, which takes place just after BD&RR, as it has come to be called in casual circles. The next book in the series, Ghosts of Winter, will be released in July.


BK:  Now for a little fun, and into your everyday life, What is a day in your life like?


DANI: Right now, much of it revolves around my two month old son, Ryker! (I actually wrote my BDSM tale during pregnancy—lol!) My husband takes the night shift with Ryke so I can sleep, so I typically get up around the time that he takes his 8AM feeding. I change him, play with him, and then get him down for a mid-morning nap. I might run to get coffee or run errands, and the baby sleeps in the car and in his baby carrier while I do that. When I get home, I feed the wee bean again, have more playtime, and then my creative time begins. I then grab a drink and a cigarette and hang out on my balcony for a bit (no, people, I DON’T smoke around my son, EVER). After my chill time, I write, take care of emails/blogs/giveaways/etc, and draw. Right now I am working on my first comic book, so that is a big project that I am jumping on as often as I can. Naturally, I feed and care for Ryker as often as needed, and my creative stuff goes on while he sleeps, which at this age is frequent. I have to put down the pencil, brush, or laptop pretty frequently to answer the diaper duty call! Evening usually has me handing Ryker over to daddy for the night, so I usually end the day watching a movie or documentary and reading before lights out.


BK:  What do you like to do when you're not writing?


DANI: Draw, paint, read, watch foreign films and documentaries, sample the local food and booze in my SoCal city, play with my son, get tattooed, and generally just tool around with my little sister or my husband.


BK:  What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?


DANI: That I have never ridden a motorcycle! I love them, but have never had that opportunity. I hope to change that in the near future when I get my motorcycle license and my own bike, preferably a Harley Nightster.


BK:  What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?


DANI: I love horror, dark urban fantasy, “weird” fantasy, history, and anthropology. My favorite authors include Stephen King, Clive Barker, China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and John Ajvide Lindqvist.


BK:  Please tell us one piece of advice you were given as an author that you carry with you when you write?


DANI: To stay true to yourself. If you don’t want to jump on the bandwagon, don’t. Find your own voice—your work will be better for it. 


BK:  What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring writers/authors?


DANI: Write what you would want to read. Polish, polish, polish. And don’t ever give up.


BK:  What are you currently working on?


DANI: The Black Dog and Rebel Rose comic book, and the next written installment of the series, Ghosts of Winter.


BK:  Where can readers connect with you? 


WEBSITE: http://www.danielledsmith.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=522911002 
TWITTER: @DaniDSmith
BLOG: http://www.theangelsgate.blogspot.com
PUBLISHERS:
www.solsticepublishing.com
www.solsticeatnight.com
www.liquidsilverbooks.com
www.rebelrosepublishing.com 

Rose, Nephil daughter of a Warrior of Heaven, has betrayed her celestial heritage by falling for the guy from the wrong side of the tracks: Skriker, tattooed half-demon hunter, and the most irresistible chunk of hard meat that she has ever taken to her bed.

Rose knows that there is no love in all of Creation more forbidden than that between an angel and a demon, and that knowledge has left her terribly fragmented, despite her passionate love for her Halfling bad boy.

As Skriker's "Dirty 30" approaches, she will offer him the ultimate birthday gift: she will be his devoted sexual slave for three days and three nights, laying aside her angelic pride to fully commit to his pleasure (and hers) with every part of her being...and neither Heaven nor Hell will have any power to stop it.

**Publisher's Warning: This delightfully sordid tale contains graphic BDSM sex, including forceful oral and anal sex, bondage, blindfolding, slapping/spanking, nipple clamps, toe-curling dirty talk, hot wax, and crazy hardcore sex in a church.**




Excerpt: 


“Call me Sir, angel.”


“Skrike—”


He slapped her cheek lightly, making her scarred flesh sting, and she gasped.


“Sir, Rose.”


Her breath caught in her throat; that thrill was there, building slowly in the pit of her belly, flooding her heart and head. Sir. The word made her heart flutter with forbidden excitement. She felt his big hand reach around and take a thick fistful of her hair, jerking her head back; her scalp burned as her hair was mercilessly tugged. She could taste his breath as his lips hovered near hers: Camel Turkish Gold cigarettes and sweet wine…and something beneath that.


Fire. Her preternatural senses, heightened even more by her intense sexual arousal, could smell, even taste, the fire that lived in him, dark and hot and Hellish. That angel living within her screamed; she slammed the door in her mind on it to shut out its cries.


Skriker’s jade eyes glittered greedily. “You will call me Sir, angel. I will accept nothing else.”


“Yes…Sir.”


She felt his tongue snake along her lips and her mouth opened eagerly to his. His kisses were forceful, rough, and hungry, and she responded in kind. Still gripping a fistful of her hair, he pushed her mouth harder against his, lapping and sucking, pulling her full lower lip into his mouth and nibbling at the sensitive flesh. When he drew away from her she was panting, sweat standing out on her brow in hot wet droplets.


Skriker released her hair and wrists and gripped her arms, jerking her up off of the floor. He lifted her up as easily as he would a child, marching into his bedroom with her flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.


Skriker’s big platform bed dominated the center of the room, large and plushly appointed with piles of pillows and expensive bedclothes, including a satin spread, all in masculine shades of dark grey and red. He dumped Rose into the center of it and stood over her, smirking as she lay staring up at him, her body bubbling over with excitement and, yes, even trepidation. She had promised to be his sexual servant for three days and three nights; the greatest birthday gift she could have ever offered. He would possess her as a master does his slave, free to do as he wished with her angel’s flesh; a demon’s true delight. What he had thought up—what he had planned—she could only guess. He was a master of pleasure, and she had to assume, some of that had to cross into pain. It was only natural for one of his kind.


“Spread your legs and pull those sweet panties aside. I want to see it…now.”


Rose did as she was told, her heart pounding. She slipped a hand between her spread thighs and hooked her long fingers into the black thong she had worn just for this occasion, twisting the flimsy fabric aside, revealing the plump dark pink lips of her pussy, already slick with eager fluids. Skriker folded his arms and grinned, shaking his head.


“Well, look at that. Already dripping wet. You’re a naughty, slutty angel, you know that? Getting all drenched over a Halfling…you like breaking the rules, don’t you, whore?”


Rose did; fuck yes, she did! She was so used to being powerful, being dominant; hell, when she had met Skriker, she had tried to kill him, and had almost succeeded. She was a Nephil, the first born in millennia and the last on earth—a true princess among the supernatural peasants. And now she found herself in his bed, a beaded silk mask obscuring half her face, ready to obey any command her lover spat at her. He’d called her a whore, a slut.


And, shit, she was enjoying the hell out of it.

Giveaway:

To enter fill out the Rafflecopter below. Dani is giving away 1 e-copy to two lucky winnersa and winners will be drawn using Random.org and announced on February10.

Skriker.

A meltingly sexy hunter with rock star style. An insatiable seducer and lover of women. Son of a human lady of the night and a True Native of Hell, he is a killer of the evils that dwell in darkness. Fifty miles of bad road will lead him and his rumbling Harley to an abandoned town and the vampyre hunt of his dreams. It is in the rot and the ruin that Skriker will discover his destiny.

Rose.

A fierce and beautiful huntress haunted by a tragic past. The most amazing woman that Skriker has ever met. A sizzling tryst will lead him to discover that Rose is his soul mate, the girl who will make him abandon his lustful ways and make him hunger for her alone. But Skriker's new beloved harbors an ironic secret.
A secret that may lead to a half-demon's gruesome undoing...

*Publisher's
warning: this sordid tale contains sizzling explicit sex (including oral
sex), foul language, bloody violence, and a half-demon bad boy who will
utterly rock your world.*





a Rafflecopter giveaway



Thank you so much for taking time to chat with us today Dani. It's been such a pleasure and we wish you much success in the future.

2 comments:

Writing Innovations said...

Thank you so much for chatting with me today Dani. So much fun! Can't wait to read the books!

BK

jkrowyn said...

Boy does that sound good! I checked it out on amazon and saw some great reviews too. I will def be checking out your work. The question asked was which ebook I prefered? Like kindle version or nook? Kindle(or pdf). If it was what book I'd prefer if I won, any! I am excited to meet a new to me writer, and your work sounds good, you are now in my TBR pile. Thanks!!

Artesia at comcast dot net

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