BLOG TOUR
A warm welcome to author Morgan Brice joining us today to talk about new release “Flame and Ash”
Welcome Morgan 🙂
Love Bytes
Q&A with Morgan Brice on Flame and Ash
Q: Do you use images to develop your character’s looks?
A: Sort of. I’m more a word person than a visual person, but I do flip through the stock photo sites and Pinterest for inspiration. It’s funny because we’ve used so many of the models that when I see them now I think of them by the character name, like ‘oh, that’s Seth’.
Q: Are your characters based on people you know?
A: No. Observing people is part of the writer’s toolkit, so we’re always looking at the people around us for mannerisms, how they hold themselves, how they speak, eccentricities. Then you mash those things together and come up with someone who is, hopefully, unique.
Q: Do you use your experiences in your books?
A: Sometimes, but in a very filtered and twisted way. I might base an experience a character has or an anecdote they share on something real, but it’s adjusted to fit their circumstances.
Q: Do you ever get writer’s block?
A: As my friend John Hartness points out, plumbers don’t get ‘plumber’s block’ and carpenters don’t get ‘carpenter’s block’. It’s their job, so they get up in the morning and they do it, no matter how they happen to feel on any given day. Writing is creative, but it’s also my job and how I make my living. So I need to put words on paper every day. And often, when I have to force myself to put butt in chair and stare at the page until something happens, I find myself liking those parts the best when I re-read.
Q: What do you think makes a good story?
A: A good story takes the reader away from daily life and makes them forget about their worries. I want to give them sexy thrills and spooky chills with characters they care about and adventures they’ll remember. But mostly, I want to give them an escape from their everyday life.
Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
A: A little of both! Mostly energize—I love telling stories. But the editing and revisions can be a slog, because I’m ready to go on to the next story!
Q: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?
A: I love talking to readers, and it’s always great to meet other authors and to hear that a reader has liked your book. But the most rewarding times are when a reader tells me that one of my books or series got them through a tough time. That means the world to me, because books have gotten me through bad times as a reader, and I know how important that is. So I am so happy and grateful to be able to pay it forward!
Q: What do you do when you’re not writing?
A: I’m rarely not writing! But when I’m not, I love to play with our dogs (a golden retriever and a Maltese), travel, watch Supernatural, and read books!
Be sure to check out the LGBT Romance giveaway that I’m part of as one of the Featured Authors at GayRomanticLit (GRL) Retreat 2019! And if you’re going to GRL, make sure you come say hello! Here’s the link to the giveaway: https://claims.prolificworks.com/gg/rIu8BvYf550LBItMdQhG
I’d also love to invite you to join my Worlds of Morgan Brice group on Facebook—it’s where I share cover reveals, talk about what I’m writing, show pictures that inspire the people and places, and do fun giveaways! www.Facebook.com/groups/WorldsOfMorganBrice
Book Title: Flame and Ash (Witchbane #4)
Author: Morgan Brice
Cover Artist: Lou Harper
Release Date: September 5, 2019
Genre/s: Urban Fantasy, MM paranormal, MM romance
Trope/s: Second chance, established couple, hurt/comfort, monster hunting, supernatural creatures, magic, ghosts
Themes: Learning to trust, navigating a new relationship, sticking together when the going gets rough
This time, the hunters become the hunted when the witch knows they’re coming to get him, and has deadly plans of his own. When their lives are on the line, will love be enough?
Blurb
One hundred years ago, a sheriff’s posse killed dark warlock Rhyfel Gremory, but his witch-disciples escaped, and their magic made them nearly immortal. To keep their power, each year one of the witch-disciples kills a descendant of one of the men in the posse, a twelve-year cycle that has cost dozens of lives, including that of Seth Tanner’s brother, Jesse
Seth rescued Evan Malone from one of the witches, and they’ve fallen in love despite the danger and chaos, going on the road to complete the quest and bring an end to the ritual murders. Their relationship is new, their emotions are raw, and the danger is real. It’s a challenge to find their way as a couple while they’re on the road together in the close quarters of Seth’s RV, training in magic and combat skills to fight off a supernatural killer.
In pursuit of the next witch-disciple, Seth and Evan team up with older hunters Milo and Toby as their quest to stop a century-long killing spree takes them to a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They’re ahead of the sacrifice cycle, with plans to stop the murders and kill the dark witch. Only this time, the hunters become the hunted when the witch knows they’re coming to get him, and has deadly plans of his own. When their lives are on the line, will love be enough?
Flame and Ash is the third novel in the Witchbane series. It is a MM romance intended for readers 18 years of age and older.
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After all, Evan thought, what value do I bring to the situation? Six months of training had improved his skills, taught him a few more rote spells, and helped him understand more about the kinds of things that went bump in the night. Despite it all, Evan knew he had a long way to go before he could match Seth’s abilities, and he worried that he could be the weak link that cost Seth his life.
The trip from Pittsburgh to Boone would take most of the day, and while Evan offered to take a turn behind the wheel, he knew that Seth preferred to drive. When he wasn’t chasing down loose ends about the Boone situation on his computer, Evan planned to doze in the passenger seat, but dark dreams woke him more than once, earning him worried glances from Seth.
“Hey.” Seth’s voice roused Evan from his thoughts. “Whatever you’re thinking—let me in. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
“I just don’t want to let you down,” Evan admitted.
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know that you’ve saved my ass more than once,” Seth replied. “And that was before we spent the last three months doing more training.” He reached out to take Evan’s hand. “I trust you. I believe in you. There’s no one I’d rather have beside me in a fight. And I love you.”
Evan’s throat tightened. “I love you, too. And I want to be here, doing this, with you. It’s just…I’m not really the action hero type.”
Seth chuckled. “And I am?”
“You were in the army. You’re a soldier. So, yeah.”
Seth sighed. “I went into the army to get away from a bad breakup. Not exactly the most noble reason. I did okay, I guess. I was lucky enough to come home. But I knew I wasn’t going to make a career out of it. Some guys, they get in, and they know that’s where they’re supposed to be. It becomes their home and family, like they were born for it.” He shook his head. “It was never that for me.”
“I made okay money, working at the bar.” Evan looked at the road instead of at Seth. “But something was always missing, you know? What I did didn’t really matter. This…” He gestured to mean the two of them, hunting, the search for the witch-disciples. “It makes a difference. Saves lives. Stops a hundred years of killing. It just seems like fate could have picked someone who was better prepared.”
Seth laid his hand on Evan’s thigh, solid and warm. “Hunting doesn’t work like that. You’ve talked to Travis and Brent and Mark. They didn’t train to be a hunter from the time they were kids. They lost people, and it changed them. And from that point on, they learned on the job,” Seth said. “Just like you.”
Evan managed a wan smile. “If this were a TV show, I’d want to skip to the finale, where we ride off into the sunset.”
“I wish we could,” Seth admitted. “But I’m afraid there’s no fast-forward on real life.”
About the Author
Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.
Other books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, and Badlands, Lucky Town, and The Rising, plus Treasure Trail. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!
I’ll be a Featured Author at GRL in October and also at Coastal Magic in February!
Join my Worlds of Morgan Brice Facebook Group! Get the early scoop on upcoming books and new series, see new covers first, enjoy insider news and special contests and giveaways! Plus it’s where I get my beta readers and launch team!
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