I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!
Originally published August 29, 2013 for Readers' Roundtable
Thank you to Sydney and the Reader’s Roundtable for having me here today!
Mary, tell us a little about yourself and your upcoming release.
I’m a reader, writer and flutist with a skewed sense of humor and a smattering of engineering genes (yay, details!!).
Beauty Bites is the sixth story in the Biting Love series of hot paranormal action layered with romance and quirked up with characters.
It’s the story of Dr. Synnove Byornsson, a plain girl who grew up to be a great beauty but still favors substance over style, and Ric Holiday, adman extraordinaire who’d be all about style if he weren’t hiding a few things—like that he’s a two hundred year old vampire.
Synnove owes a favor to her cousin Twyla from The Bite of Silence—the cousins have been trading pranks since the cat and water balloon incident. Twyla’s the city admin for the little town of Meiers Corners, and she wants Synnove to ask Ric to take the city on as a client.
Ric is attracted to Synnove, but doesn’t want to go near Chicago. That’s the home of the mafia-like vampire who turned Ric as a child. Ric escaped with the aid of his assassin friend Aiden (in between fights, the duo exchanges guy-digs and quips).
So Ric turns Synnove’s proposal down. Then a sly temptress with a counterproposal forces his hand. The two women are scheduled for a face-off, with Ric as the prize.
Here’s the warning: Contains a doctor with a bod for sin, an ad exec with a chip on his shoulder, sarcasm, sex, and a cabin full of annoying friends. Secrets are revealed. One heart-stopping, horrific moment leads to the ultimate of happily-ever-afters.
What inspired this fantastic series and how do you keep coming up with fresh, innovative material with each installment?
Thanks for your kind words! <3 One way to keep things fresh is making each heroine a bit different, which puts a different spin on the kind of humor in the story. Liese loves puns; Nixie sees the world through punk glasses; Elena’s all cop; and Junior loves music jokes. Even characters who are similar, like musicians Nixie and Junior, have a different background, so while Nixie’s punk, sassy and rebellious, Junior’s all business.
It also helps that the series stakes are rising. Each story reveals a little more about vampires, takes us closer to the heart of the Iowa Alliance (the good guys), and gives us a badder bad guy with a little more mayhem.
But one of the best ways to keep writing fresh is taking part in communities of readers and writers. People who love stories are the support and encouragement to learn new and better storytelling.
What other books do you have in the works?
I’m very excited that Downbeat, Biting Love Book 7, releases March 2014. It’s Rocky’s story, and I actually started it in 2008 before the first Biting Love book was even published. But its place in the series arc meant I didn’t get to finish it until this year. I’m glad it was delayed though, because this one is near to my heart, and my readers, editors, and the writing community has made me a better writer and the story benefits from that.
I’m in the planning stages for Book 8, Aiden’s story, and frankly that one will be a hoot because it pairs the sexy, smooth assassin with an inept but loveable Ruffles.
What are 5 things that you'd like your readers to know about Mary Hughes and/or the Biting Love series?
The Biting Love series came about after years of rejections. I put everything that had gotten great feedback into a story...and it got published. Keep writing. Write from the heart (and the gut :).
Aids to Meiers Corners. Nixie’s slang guide: http://maryhughesbooks.com/Nixie%20Slang.htm; the Biting Love series reading order: http://maryhughesbooks.com/Reading_Order.htm.
The stories have fun elements, and I’m careful to keep the emotional touch light. However, there is one stark scene in Beauty Bites, and highly sensitive readers are urged to follow Synnove’s caution and skip ahead to the next chapter.
Downbeat has a scene I’ve been waiting five years to write J
I love it when the series is discovered by new readers. I’m also hugely grateful to dedicated long-time readers. I love to hear from both!
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