Author Moriah Gemel is here at Love Bytes today with her blog tour for her book Ceílí.

Welcome to the blog, Moriah.

Author Name: Moriah Gemel

Book Name: Ceílí

Release Date: March 17, 2016

Pages or Words: 200 pages

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Design – CB Messer, Cover art by Ari McFarland

Blurb:

The Los Angeles music scene has not been kind to Devon Caelin. He struggles to fit in and has a streak of bad luck the length of the Sunset Strip. One rare rainy night, he drowns his sorrows from bar-to-bar, until he stumbles into an alley club called Céilí. He discovers that it’s home to a small community of mystical people making their way in the human world, and that he found it only because he is Fae himself. With mentoring from the pub’s proprietor, Eldan—a powerful Fae Lord protecting his kind in the city—Devon unearths his past and discovers his magical abilities. His life appears to be back on track—until a member of the Faerie Court is murdered and the secret of their world is threatened to be revealed.

Categories: Contemporary, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Today I’m very happy to be interviewing Moriah Gemel author of Céilí. Hi Moriah, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Thank you for having me. I’m an author at night and a stay-at-home mom during the day, and I’ve been writing since the age of seven. My current book is called Céilí and it’s about a man who finds where he belongs after a lifetime of searching, and how he comes to protect that life at all costs.

How do you feel about e-books vs print books?

I’m all for both of them. I have an iPad full of ebooks, and shelves full of print books. I think both are important, and I think both have their place. Ebooks are great for portability and space saving, and ease. But there’s nothing like the smell of the pages of a print book, and the feel of the paper under your hands.

What process did you go through to get your first book published?

I was actually approached by Interlude Press to write the first book. As you may or may not know, Interlude started in fandom, and that’s where I was. I had written a short story in that fandom and Interlude wanted to see it expanded into a novel, so that’s what I did. And then it was a regular publishing process—submission, multiple stages of edits, and then publishing.

How do you find or make time to write?

I make time at night, when my husband and son are both in bed (my husband works the night shift, so he goes to bed in the afternoon and sleeps til nighttime). I’m all alone, so once I get my daily cleaning up done, and before I make dinner for my husband when he wakes up, I have about two to three hours to myself. I make time to write a few hundred words a night if I can manage it.

Name one person who you feel supported you outside of your family members?

My best friend, Jude. She’s a fellow author and we’ve been through this process together from the start. She’s absolutely one of my biggest supporters and often gives me advice on my writing when I’m struggling.

Tell us about a book you’re reading now.

I’m rereading another Interlude book right now, called Small Wonders by Courtney Lux. It’s one of my favorites, I highly recommend it. It’s about a busker/pickpocket named Trip who meets a boring financial analyst and shakes up his life a little bit. It’s great.

“This is where we’ll do the spell,” Eldan says. “I can open the channel easily enough, but I’d like you to assist in keeping it open. Stand behind me when I tell you to, and put your hands on my shoulders. If we’re compatible, I’ll be able to take some of your energy to bolster mine, just enough to maintain a stronger connection than I would on my own, all right? You might get a little dizzy, but I promise you’ll be okay.”

“I’m not afraid, Eldan.” Devon is excited to see this magic performed, to see the Queens. What will they be like, these women that Eldan is wary to speak of?

“No. You aren’t, are you?” Eldan smiles. “Well. Best get on with it then. Stand nearby, please?”

Devon settles himself just behind Eldan, and Eldan nods. Then, he pulls a little vial from his pocket and shakes it.

“Here we go.”

He uncorks the bottle, and Devon smells something almost metallic. Eldan walks to the first corner of the table, to the right, and pours a drop of whatever’s inside the vial over the little pile of dirt.

“Cré.” His hand hovers over the bowl, and the dirt spreads and forms a flat plane under his palm. Eldan smiles and walks on.

He walks to the back right of the table and pours a drop into the empty bowl. “Aer,” he says and his hand hovers. The bowl trembles, and the dust motes in the air within it coalesce and spin. He walks on.

The third bowl holds sticks, and Eldan pours the liquid on them before hovering his hand, causing them to burst into flames. “Tine.” Devon can’t help but push his breath out and shake his head. This is cool. All this magic, it’s really real. He thought it was a story for children, but magic is real, and he’s a part of it. He never thought much about fairytales but now he wishes he had, because it would make this moment so much better.

Finally, Eldan pours into the fourth bowl, filled with water, and his hand hovering creates little waves that splash on the sides of the bowl gently, as though upset. “Uisce,” he says and then he walks on.

He circles the table counter-clockwise three times and, when he reaches the head of the table once more, he nods to Devon. “Now.”

Devon steps up as Eldan turns away and puts his hands on Eldan’s slim, strong shoulders. Immediately, his palms tingle, as Eldan waves a hand. The mirror in the center of the table stands up, reflecting them. Eldan presses a palm to the center of it.

“Oscailt agus a léiriú,” Eldan says. Devon wishes he knew what the hell he was saying, but it’s pretty, in any case. Celtic? Gaelic? Something. “Na Ríona I Talún Samhraidh.”

The mirror clouds, and Devon licks his lips and stands on his tiptoes to see over Eldan’s shoulder. Nothing happens, though, for long moments, in which Eldan’s breathing comes quick and loud. Devon squeezes his shoulders, and Eldan whimpers faintly. But he slows down, and Devon keeps squeezing, staring at what he can see of Eldan’s face, staring at the delicate line of his jaw, his high cheekbone, the flutter of an eyelash, the jut of his nose, which is freckled and fair.

But then the clouds part, and there they are.

Buy the book:

Interlude Press

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

All Romance eBooks

Book Depository

Indiebound

Moriah Gemel has developed a dedicated following for her realistic, sexually-charged stories over twelve years in online fan communities. Moriah is passionate about diversity in fiction, as well as realistic depictions of BDSM and sex education. Her first novel, Load the Dice, was published as a serial in ten parts. Céilí is her second novel. She lives with her husband, young son, and two cats.

Where to find the author:

Facebook

Twitter: @moriahgemel

Goodreads 

Tour Dates & Stops:

17-Mar: Book Lovers 4Ever, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, BFD Book Blog

18-Mar: Happily Ever Chapter, Divine Magazine, Unquietly Me, Wake Up Your Wild Side

21-Mar: Outrageous Heroes, Nephy Hart, Inked Rainbow Reads, Velvet Panic

22-Mar: The Hat Party, Rednecks and Romance, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

23-Mar: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Alpha Book Club

24-Mar: MM Good Book Reviews

25-Mar: Full Moon Dreaming

28-Mar: Kirsty Loves Books, A.M. Leibowitz, My Fiction Nook

29-Mar: Havan Fellows, The Novel Approach

30-Mar: Love Bytes, Bayou Book Junkie, Molly Lolly

Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Interude Press gift card for one winner, 5 additional winners receive an e-book copy of Ceílí

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