Nigel wouldn’t mind if Asher called him Daddy if the age-gap didn’t bother him so much.
Nigel Blackburn has lived a full like as a private investigator. His job means he travels solo a lot, which is something he enjoys. He’s a grouchy, stubborn dragon shifter who is better off alone. The last thing he wants is a mate and certainly not one so young. It doesn’t matter that he finds little bobcat shifter, Asher Burkhart, sexy. But all Nigel’s dragon wants to do is protect, which is good because danger drives into town.
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | QueeRomance Ink
- What was the inspiration behind A Little Unsteady?
Wingspan is a spin-off series of Saint Lakes. Both are set in the same universe. I feel there are two themes I’m exploring all at the same time. One is how discrimination destroys us all, even the discriminator. The other is what happens when a person tells someone else’s secret.
Most of us know what it’s like to have a secret. Sometimes it can be heavy. How many of us had a friend who told us something and then said, “don’t tell anyone?” Sometimes the secret is as simple as which boy or girl they had a crush on, and sometimes the friend tells you something which can hurt them if you keep the knowledge to yourself. One weighs more than the other. And we have decisions to make regarding carrying it.
Wingspan and Saint Lakes are paranormal towns in a world that think everyone is human. All paranormals fight to keep their secret all while maneuvering in the confines of their social structure. Wingspan is a dragon shifter town, and Saint Lakes has a mix of shifters, witches, warlocks, and vampires, but is mostly shifters and vampires.
So the questions I explore in both series are what happens when influential people know the secret and use it to their advantage. And what happens when judgment rules the land.
- What is your writing process? (i.e., plotter or pantser, explain)
I’m a plotter mostly. I start with a general sense of the world. I usually do some world-building exercises when I create a new book series. When I know enough about the world, I move onto character development. Character motivation is the most important thing, and that usually drives the plot for me.
When I first started writing full-time, I used to get about a third of the way through a story, and the outline changes, and at that point, I did a more thorough outline. Practice and education have made me better at plotting, so this is no longer the case. I usually stick to the original outline pretty closely, but I never know the ending. That is pure pantsing. Knowing the end before I start writing makes me lose interest.
- What is the hardest part of that process for you?
I don’t find any of it hard. I love the process and learning more about my craft. A willingness to continue learning is critical.
- What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a Christmas story called Christmas Cookies (A Wingspan Novella). The main characters are in A Little Unsteady (Wingspan 4) as secondary characters. Morgan is a recently rescued vampire nurse who’s trying to find his footing after experiencing something traumatic. And Seamus is a former council enforcer turned baker with a very judgmental family. It’s a lot of fun to write. And no, I don’t know the ending lol.
April is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter:
No one would mistake the age difference. Nigel had life etched into his skin. Not all of it bad. Sun and laughter did their best after he hit his prime.
He shook his head and ran a hand down his face. The kid made him feel every damn year he’d lived, and all Nigel had to do was look at him. Considering he was a dragon shifter, there had been many.
“Are you asking me if I’ll let you find your brother?”
Asher nodded.
“You’re not a damn prisoner. I’d rather you didn’t wake them, though. They’ve all had a long day and need the rest. So do you, for that matter. Why don’t you lay back down and try to sleep?”
Asher darted his gaze to the closed bedroom door. “Can I have clothes, please?”
Nigel stood and walked over to the dresser. He opened the second drawer from the top and pulled out one of his t-shirts before closing it again. Sweatpants were in the third drawer down. Nothing he had would fit, but that wasn’t the point. He wouldn’t have the kid thinking he had to stay, not after being held captive in the panel room and then at that lab. Somehow, Nigel thought the hostage situation with Terrance caused the most damage. Still, Nigel would follow the kid around like a pet dog before letting him believe his captive status extended to Nigel’s home.
He’d never have to go through anything like that again.
Nigel carried his bundle to Asher, handing it over. He sat on the bed next to him. “The sweatpants have drawstrings.”
Asher nodded and held the clothing to his chest. His eyes shifted to his cat, and his teeth dropped down. Despite the physical response, he sat there as if scared of Nigel.
They were strangers, so the uneasiness made sense. Still, he didn’t like it. “My name is Nigel.”
“Asher.”
Nigel smiled. “I know yours. Leaf talks about you often.”
“Oh.”
“How old are you?”
Asher narrowed his eyes and met his gaze. To say Nigel was surprised by the sudden change of emotion was an understatement. It made him question his assessment of Asher’s earlier behavior. “I could ask you the same thing?”
Nigel lifted his eyebrows and tried not to smile again. “I would answer that I’m a lot older than you.”
The corner of Asher’s mouth turned up in a half-smile. “Fine. Then I’m a lot younger than you.”
“Are you over the age of eighteen?”
Asher smirked and rolled his eyes. “I can even legally drink alcohol. Imagine that.”
“How many years have you been able to drink alcohol legally?”
“Two.” Asher covered his mouth with the back of his hand when he yawned. Some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared.
“Just a kid.”
Asher shrugged and lay his bundle of clothing on the bed beside him. “Compared to you, probably.”
“Was that an old-man joke?” Nigel stood, taking the clothes and placing them on top of the dresser.
Their age difference might bother Nigel, but talking about it eased Asher’s tension enough that fatigue washed over him. Asher forgot about being guarded. Nigel could tell by the way he lay back down on the bed. “Will you talk to me until I go to sleep? Leaf does that back at home.”
Nigel pulled the covers up around him before turning back to his chair. If he stayed too close, he’d push the kid into bonding. His dragon already roared in protest that he hadn’t mated Asher yet. Nigel sat down, keeping the room between himself and a kid who seemed far too traumatized by the last few months of his life. “What do you want to talk about?”
Author Website: http://www.authoraprilkelley.com/
Author Facebook (Page): https://www.facebook.com/authoraprilkelley/
Author Facebook (Group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538712856332109
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoraprilkell
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoraprilkell/
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/authoraprilkelley
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/april-kelley/
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/April-Kelley/e/B00TWDUUEM/
