I have author Cora Blu on my blog today.  I hope you will help me welcome her.  Don’t forget to read all the way through, Cora has a special prize for one of you who can answer either of her questions.

 

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write Paranormal fantasy Romance and Contemporary Romance.
I love the idea of writing in a fantasy world where everything is just to the left of reality. Growing up with six other siblings, I develop an imagination too big to keep to myself. Fantasy was another way for my introvert personality to open up a little. Four older brothers, fifteen uncles, I tended to listen more than talk.

Romance came into play watching the different ways in which the women in all those masculine lives dealt with their personalities and kept their families together. Whether I’m writing fantasy or Contemporary family is the backbone of the story.

Tell us about your current series.

My current series. Brothers of Element, is an ongoing family of six tiger shark brothers sequestered tot eh ocean because of an ancestors greed over five thousand years ago. Edward Bartholomew tried to unearth the Clear Coral, which is their source of shifting, and was transformed into a shifting tiger shark to protect Clear Coral forever through his offspring. Now this source is dying and the only way for her to survive is to feed her from what created her, eternal love. Without a true mating she will no longer be able to absorb the earth’s excess heat, of which we see today with the ocean heating at a rate of two degrees a year.

If she dies the ocean and all it’s marine life will boil and eventually overflow to the humans on land. In book I ,Dagger, he must convince his chosen mate, a human, to fall in love and live beneath the ocean. Not the easiest when not all marine life wants a human in their waters.

Each brother has an obligation to find his mate for Clear Coral while protecting the ocean.

What is your favorite part of writing?

My favorite part of writing is waking up and the scene is pulsing in my mind to the point of not being able to type fast enough. The rush of seeing the picture fill in on the screen as I type.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

I don’t care for “ugly” personalities or people with ugly personas so I tend to keep them out of my life, but I can’t keep them out of the story. So introducing people like that is draining to write about.

This is an excerpt of Drew, my heroine running into two teenage boys on her way to the lab down below.
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Preston, the shorter of the two boys said, “The king thinks you’re hot. He watches you all the time on the pier, says you’re…”

“You can’t say that to the queen, Preston! Don’t be an airhead,” Alexander chastised him. “You’ll have to excuse him, my Queen. He’s young.”

“I’m only younger than you by three months. It’s not like I’m a baby,” Preston said.

“Only a baby would dime out the king,” Alexander threw out.

“Yeah, but King Dagger said we shouldn’t call the queen smoking hot. It’s disrespectful,” Preston said. Drew didn’t know whether to keep listening or slip into queen mode and stop their banter.

“You won’t say anything, will you, Queen Drew?” Preston pleaded. “He’s cool, but he’s old. He tries to be down with the teens.”

Alexander said, “He is down. Not like Augustine, he’s a cool old dude, but the king is cool.” His excitement animated. “His brother Edge is awesome.”

“Yeah, Edge is crucial.”

She fisted a hand not to laugh, nails biting into her palm and said, “Crucial and awesome. Wow, sounds like Edge is your favorite Bartholomew brother.”

In unison the boys said, “Tipp.”

“Tipp. I take it that’s another brother?”

He nodded. “Then there’s Blade. He’s in the Pacific.”

“He’s older than the Atlantic King.”

Alexander’s green complexion paled. “You won’t tell the king we said he was old, will you?”

“I don’t care if she tells him.” Preston announced chest out.

“Really?” Drew said.

“I mean… no disrespect, my Queen, but doesn’t he know? He’s, like what, a thousand?”

She peered down the quiet street to keep from laughing. Composed, she said, “Close.” The boys were true characters. She saw why Dagger loved the kids so.
What is your next project and when will it be released?

My next project is a novella to Brothers of Element. Max which I was hoping to be out by the end of the month but my be pushed to the first of May. Max is a quiet character in book I and in the novella you find out why and what his relationship is to my heroine.

I’m also working on my first Contemporary Romance called “Stranded but Not Alone” An American woman is stranded in the mountains of Austria with a Russian looking for his twin. That should be out the end of May. An unedited excerpt of that is on my website.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

Ideas come from all over. Brothers of Element started out in my pond and on the beach at the Atlantic Ocean. My contemporaries, and there’s a number waiting to be flushed out, come from people I meet. The Russian character came from a man I met thirteen years ago and have never forgotten him. His personality was so curious I had to build him into my character.

Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?

I can’t see my wisteria vine growing over my garage from my desk. I have three ponds in my yard (I built them so take that into account) The smallest I can hear from the window which helped with the waterfall scenes in Dagger. They have two waterfalls in their bedroom.

My space is the corner in the dining room, an antique desk shaped like a kidney. A gift from my husband’s grandmother when I made her some curtains for her bay window. I also write outside during the warm months in front of the large pond and at the bar downstairs when I need to read out loud.

What genres are you drawn to as a reader?

Slightly outside of the box romances or regency. Amanda Quick is a favorite for that. I read what feels right when I read the back or blurb. I love to listen to mysteries on audio. Love stories I tend to read. I prefer a novel over a short story, so writing a novella was a learning curve for me.

I love sci-fi movies but don’t read them as much as I love to see them. Hooked on Star Trek, that could be all about Jean Luc Picard, though. You never know or Avery Brooks.

I have added some amazing authors to my mental get-a-way since becoming involved in different writing groups. I doubt I would have ever come across some had I looked for them on the store shelves, but should be front and center.

I hope your readers enjoy “Dagger” I enjoyed writing it and yes if you read the excerpt, their skin comes in an array of colors just like marine life.

Thank you Cora Blu

Dagger can be found in many different formats.

I do have a question for your audience. “Where is Dagger’s brother Blade from?”
Or “What is the father’s name?” I will give away a copy of Dagger to one viewer with the correct answer to either.

http://amzn.com/B007748JTG
(B&N)@http://is.gd/aY7l1o
http://www.allromance.com
http://www.smashword.com/books/94942