We are glad to have author Sarah Madison here today with us for their blog tour of Truth and Consequences.
Welcome to Love Bytes, Sarah!
Author Name: Sarah Madison
Book Name: Truth and Consequences
Series: Sixth Sense #3 (Best read as a series)
Release Date: October 14, 2015
Pages or Words: 258 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Blurb:
When FBI agent Jerry Lee Parker wakes from a coma after a murderous attack on his life, he has no memory of his immediate past. In the blink of an eye, he has gone from having a nearly photographic memory to recalling nothing of the last six months of his life, including his partner and lover, John Flynn. While Lee tries to reboot his past and reconnect with John, there are events at play around him he doesn’t understand. John is keeping secrets from him, secrets which could get them both killed.
Matters come to a head when Lee is hounded to turn over a mysterious artifact, of which he has no knowledge. The two men wind up in a fight for their lives as they risk everything to keep the powerful relic out of the hands of a ruthless killer. In order to protect those he loves, however, John may be forced to make a deal with the devil.
Categories: M/M Romance, Mystery, Paranormal
Today I’m very happy to be interviewing Sarah Madison, author of Truth and Consequences, Book 3 in the Sixth Sense series. Hi Sarah, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
I’ve led a pretty boring life, actually, along the lines of study hard, work hard, take care of family kind of thing. I think that’s part of the reason I tend to let myself go in my writing. You’ll seldom find a straightforward tale for me—I always enjoy putting in a twist! One my recurring themes is that life is more than mere survival: frequently my characters are afraid to take a chance on life and love because they’ve been burned before. I like putting them in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.
Truth and Consequences is book 3 in the Sixth Sense series. It features FBI Agents Jerry Lee Parker and John Flynn, and the events that occur when Flynn accidentally touches a mysterious artifact and gains unusual powers. As the Sixth Sense series unfolds, we learn there is a set of such boxes, and that Lee and John aren’t the only ones looking for them. They’re in over their head, and the water is just getting deeper…
How do you develop your plots and characters?
That’s a good question! It’s very much a chicken and egg kind of thing with me. Sometimes a character comes to mind and that dictates the story surrounding him. More often, the idea for a story comes first and the characters evolve from that. Most of the time, I get what I call a ‘what if?’ idea. What if a vampire wanted a normal life, to pass for human? What if gargoyles came to life each evening, or there was a shifter so unique that not even other shifters knew what he was? What if someone touches a mysterious artifact and gains unusual abilities? Once the idea for the main character comes to mind, I usually create a partner that is quite different. I love writing ‘opposites attract’ stories—they make for so much chemistry and banter!
Who doesn’t love a good hero? Tell us about your protagonist. Was there a real life inspiration behind them?
Lee is a Southern boy that couldn’t fit in. His mother threw him out of the house for being gay, but he also intimidated people because he has a nearly perfect memory for anything he’s ever seen or heard. He couldn’t wait to leave his truck-driving, Confederate flag-waving, rifle-toting relatives behind. Try as he might to shake off the dust of the tiny redneck town in which he grew up, there are somethings too ingrained to let go—like being polite to his elders, or his love of Southern-style cooking.
I guess in many ways, I identify a little with Lee. I never fit in when growing up in my own small Southern town, not because I had a perfect memory but because I was smart and well-read. I could drive a pick-up truck and castrate a bull calf, but I had different political viewpoints, and different dreams and goals. I wanted more than what I was told I could have, and yet, like Lee, I was fairly certain I’d have to make do or do without.
Fortunately, like Lee, I found someone who was unlike anyone else I’d met growing up, and who not only loves me for who I am, but encourages me to be everything I can be. That’s unbelievably rare, and worth its weight in gold.
What real-life inspirations do you use when world building?
I work with animals, so animals frequently feature in my stories, everything from shifters to pets. My background is medical, so you’re going to get realistic trauma and aftercare if I hurt someone. I don’t get to travel much, but when I do, I drink in everything imaginable, from the way the air smells to the way the ground feels underfoot, to the sounds of the cities and the countryside. I want to memorize that information and be able to use it later in a story.
When I can’t draw on things from personal experience, I do a ton of research. I spent a month digging into the Battle of Britain for my upcoming release, The Boys of Summer (most likely out by Christmas). I buy books on the subjects I’m interested in, and I watch movies and documentaries. I love immersing myself in an era or subject. I also rely on Google Maps and Wikipedia to show me pictures of the places I want to incorporate, and I love interviewing friends about their home towns, work, and hobbies. I’m all about verisimilitude, baby!
Did you learn anything from this book and what was it?
For various reasons, I had to change the POV in this story from limited third to first person. I was quite intimidated by this notion, but discovered that Lee’s personality came across loud and clear in first. I thoroughly enjoyed writing him. I’ve been toying with the idea of writing the next story from John’s POV, but John is not only not very forthcoming, but he’s emotionally walled off, too. I can’t see him sharing the necessary information with the reader! So I find it interesting that the POV can make such a difference here.
It’s your last meal on earth. What do you choose?
I’d eat all the things I can no longer enjoy because they upset my stomach. I’d start out with a pepperoni pizza, Sicilian style, and a large bottle of Merlot. I’d toss in some garlic-cheese biscuits, and some homemade apple pie hot out of the oven with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Or pumpkin pie. Or peach cobbler. Or lemon pound cake. Or…
I knew the moment John walked into the bar. It was like my sonar pinged, my radar lit up—you name it. I heard the door open, and without turning around, I knew it was him because the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Because something in my gut tightened, and my cock lifted in earnest. I watched him in the mirror as he scanned the room, locked in on my presence, and stalked toward me like a panther in a pen full of sheep. Everyone else in the room was aware of him as well. I practically preened when he came up beside me. He took a seat and signaled the bartender, who came over with flattering attention.
Buy the book:
Sarah Madison is a veterinarian with a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. She is a terrible cook, and concedes that her life would be easier if Purina made People Chow. She writes because it is cheaper than therapy.
Where to find the author:
Tour Dates & Stops:
14-Oct: Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, The Blogger Girls, MM Good Book Reviews
15-Oct: Jessie G. Books, Divine Magazine, Lee Brazil
16-Oct: Iyana Jenna, Three Books Over The Rainbow, KathyMac Reviews
19-Oct: Kimi-Chan, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
20-Oct: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Emotion in Motion, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves
21-Oct: Full Moon Dreaming, Happily Ever Chapter
22-Oct: The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie
23-Oct: Hearts on Fire, Love Bytes, My Fiction Nook
26-Oct: BFD Book Blog
27-Oct: Molly Lolly, Inked Rainbow Reads, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Unspeakable Words’ – Book one in the series
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I would love for it to give me the ability to teleport.
My pin https://www.pinterest.com/pin/66357794486904331/
I’d want perfect timing!