Authors Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez are here on the blog with their blog tour of Kellen’s Awakening.

Thanks for coming to Love Bytes, Bellora and Angel!

Author Names: Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez

Book Name: Kellen’s Awakening

Series: AURA #3 (Series should be read in order)

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Pages or Words: 69,000 words

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Cover Artist: Emmy Ellis

Goodreads 

Blurb:

The staff at AURA has had a busy summer. Between chronic understaffing, dealing with warring goblin factions and an unusual number of hazardous Events, everyone is overworked. Sinistrus the incubus, newly hired as an AURA medic, actually enjoys his busy new life of responsible employee and faithful lover to his gorgeous police sergeant, Ness the centaur. Life would be perfect, except for a niggling suspicion about a colleague. Everyone else seems to disagree, but Sin’s certain something’s not right with that pixie.

Kellen, a pixie crossover, loves his job working in AURA medical, even if he is something of an outsider. His job and the friends he manages to make are happy spots in an otherwise dark and secretive life. As the rest of AURA tries to discover the root of the inexplicable rise in violence and large scale Events, Kellen fights to preserve his own life and what dignity he has left.

These two unlikely heroes must put their differences aside and navigate tragedy and ever-escalating disaster together in order to stop the sinister forces that hold Kellen in thrall.

Categories: Alternate Universe, Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

 

 

Interview with Research

The Agency for Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation is located in a turn of the century building that once housed a bank. It’s a little unusual for a law enforcement building, which is how most of our citizens view AURA, but they are so much more than that. The building itself is just the first indication of how diverse and adaptable the people that work for AURA really are. I was invited to interview Kai Hiltas, head of Research on the sixth floor of the AURA building and I could hardly contain my excitement.

RS: Mr. Hiltas, I’m so glad to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to see us, we know how busy you are. Or, actually we don’t. What is it that you and your staff do for AURA?

Kai: (quick glance over his shoulder) This won’t take long, will it? The PR staff promised it wouldn’t.

RS: We appreciate your time Mr. Hiltas. Perhaps we should start with the rumors. Is AURA conducting experiments in this building? There has been some concern from residents about test subjects getting loose.

Kai: Test subjects? Madam, are you inferring that we’re keeping living beings here for experimental purposes? Really? We have enough trouble with what comes through Events, thank you very much.

RS: Well, see, that’s why we need to ask these questions. People want to know what it is that goes on in this building, and whether it’s safe.

(A small explosion emanates from the room behind Kai, followed by a puff of pink smoke. He shoves the door shut with his foot.)

Kai: The only people at any risk are my research staff. Of course we conduct experiments here. That, oddly enough, is the nature of research. The exact nature of these experiments is often classified.

RS: Oh come on, surely not everything is classified? You could share the results of something, couldn’t you?

Kai: (raises one white eyebrow, huffs) I suppose…perhaps… (strides off quickly)

Left to my own devices I waited patiently for about a minute before I decided to investigate what was behind the hastily closed door. The pink smoke had cleared but there was still a scent hanging in the air reminiscent of cotton candy. A peek inside revealed two young men and a woman with a tablet taking notes while they attempted to scoop some sort of goo off the ceiling and floor.

RS: Is that what I think it is?

All three of them looked up at me and the woman asked who had let me in. I explained that I was a reporter invited to do an interview.

RS: Is that ectoplasm?

One of the young men snorted and said ectoplasm was green, everyone knew that. The woman then shooed me out and closed the door. There were no more explosions, smoke, or goo while I waited for Mr. Hiltas to return.

Kai: (returning with a dark frown, sniffing) Were you in that room? You can’t be in there. That’s a clean magic room. All of your extra human energies will get all over the place and skew the experiments.

RS: So the people in there weren’t human? They looked human. Is that part of the experiment?

Kai: (rolls eyes) Those are trained research staff. Highly specialized human magic users who know how to control their human…excess. Please come this way. This isn’t Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Or better yet, you should think of it that way. Stray from the path I set out and get turned into a blueberry.

RS: So it is dangerous to work here then?

Kai: Think of it as a magic hard hat area. You are neither qualified nor equipped.

Our interview was suddenly interrupted at this point by a young man that came running down the hall.

YM: Kai! You’re needed in the basement. Like now.

Kai: I’m a little busy right now, Quinn…

YM: No, seriously. I need your help. Sage’s Varg got loose and ate a troll arm. The troll will be fine, mostly, but Sage isn’t sure if troll meat will hurt the Varg…also, it’s still running around loose because he won’t let me get a circle up around it.

Kai: (sighs and rubs both hands over his face before glaring at reporter) Before you ask any impertinent questions, this issue is not research. But I am called upon for certain emergencies. I’m afraid our interview will have to be postponed.

With that, our interview with Kai came to an abrupt end, but what an exciting time spent behind the mysterious walls of AURA. I learned later that ectoplasm was not in fact green but this was some sort of joke. I also learned that troll meat has no adverse effects on Vargs. I was far from reassured that our city is safe from what goes on behind the walls of AURA but at the same time I doubt we would be any safer without them.

 

 

“Before Kai gets lost in regaling you with wedding details…” Tenzin settled, then grunted as several flower fairies immediately popped into view around his head to land on his shoulders. “Our lovely Sin, now that we’re among friends and not at work, can you tell me why you insist on tormenting Kellen so terribly?”

“Oh, I dunno.” Sin picked up a spicy fried mushroom with his claws and popped it in his mouth. “I think I’m pretty good at tormenting him.”

Ness nudged him. “Be serious, love. Why do you pick on him? Even I’ve seen it.”

“Look, I just don’t like everyone, okay?” Sin spread his hands when everyone gave him side eyes. “Took me a bit to warm up to Val, right?”

“You had good reason to be angry with Val,” Ness said as he reached for an oat muffin. “I don’t think Kellen ever actually caused you harm.”

Sin heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine. He’s absolutely useless as a paramedic.”

“Not everyone is suited for emergency field medicine,” Tenzin said gently.

Ness leaned over to kiss the top of Sin’s head. “You are because you’re brave and don’t stop to think.”

“Hey!” Sin swatted at an equine flank.

“Oh, dear. I didn’t mean it that way.” Ness flushed darkly while the others laughed. “You don’t overthink. When someone needs help, you just do instead of overanalyzing. Not everyone can be that sort of heroic.”

“Good recovery.” Sin grinned up at his flustered lover. “Yeah, I get it. He’s not the first responder kind. But the little guy’s just sneaky. He doesn’t look people in the eye. He flinches at the weirdest times. I don’t trust him.”

Tenzin frowned as he ladled vegetable panang onto a plate and set it in front of Kai. “Eat, beloved, before you waste away. About Kellen. I believe it’s deep-seated trauma, something so terrible that he doesn’t want to have to talk about it, since that would mean acknowledging it.”

“Tenzi’s so often right about these sorts of things.” Kai took up his fork, toying with his food rather than eating yet. “But this time, I have to disagree. There is something uneasy about him. Something beyond old fears.”

“You hardly see him thirty seconds out of any week,” Tenzin protested. “What could you possibly base this on?”

“Ah, love. A drow knows deception. There’s something not quite right about that pixie.”

Buy the book: 

Pride Publishing

Amazon

 

 

 

Angel Martinez

The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.

Published since 2006, Angel’s cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You’ll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don’t expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.

She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.

Bellora Quinn

Originally hailing from Detroit Michigan, Bellora now resides on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida where a herd of Dachshunds keeps her entertained. She got her start in writing at the dawn of the internet when she discovered PbEMs (Play by email) and found a passion for collaborative writing and steamy hot erotica. Soap Opera like blogs soon followed and eventually full novels.

The majority of her stories are in the M/M genre with urban fantasy or paranormal settings and many with a strong BDSM flavour.

Where to find the authors:

Facebook (Angel Martinez)

Facebook (Angel Martinez — Group)

Facebook (Bellora Quinn)

Facebook Author Page  (Angel Martinez)

Twitter:

@BelloraQ

@AngelMartinezrr

Pinterest (Angel Martinez)

 

 

Tour Dates & Stops:

3-May: Oh My Shelves, The Novel Approach

4-May: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Molly Lolly, My Fiction Nook

5-May: Love Bytes, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, A.M. Leibowitz

6-May: Havan Fellows. MM Good Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog

9-May: Prism Book Alliance, Bayou Book Junkie, Nephy Hart

 

 

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