Guest Author: Linda Poitevin!

 

I’m happy to be hosting a very talented author on the blog today.  She’s Linda Poitevin and she writes dark urban fantasy books that have received a lot of critical acclaim.  Recently, she’s made an interesting switch, which she’ll tell us about in her interview with us.  Let’s find out what it is!

You were a civilian dispatcher for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, although your original goal was to be a police officer.  How has that background influenced your writing?

In several ways, I think, because I tend to favor police storylines. I actually wanted to be a cop myself (but was turned down because of a faulty height measurement), so I tend to live vicariously through my heroine, Alex, in my Grigori Legacy series. Working as a dispatcher also gave me the chance to get to know a number of outstanding female police officers — little bits of whom have definitely made it into Alex as well — and having worked in the police environment has enabled me to give my setting a definite authenticity. And, of course, having married a cop has kept me ‘in the loop,’ so to speak. 🙂

 

Your first published novels were urban fantasy, with a homicide detective as the heroine.  Why the switch to contemporary romance for your current book?

It’s not as much of a switch as you might think, because I started out writing romance and there is a definite romantic element to all of my stories. To be honest, my Grigori Legacy series was actually intended to be a paranormal romance single title — that whole dark side of me that emerged (and the series idea) was a complete surprise! Despite that, I’m still a firm believer in happy-ever-afters. 🙂

Tell us about Gwynneth Ever After.

Gwynneth Ever After is a contemporary romance that is best described as Notting Hill with a role reversal and kids thrown in. It was originally published by Wild Rose Press as A Fairy Tale for Gwyn and has been given a fresh edit (because I’ve learned SUCH a lot in the last couple of years!), a new cover, and of course, a new title. The story is about a single mom who is neither looking for nor interested in a relationship until she meets her very own Hollywood hero — who won’t take no for an answer!

What’s next in your writing life?

I’m currently waiting for edits from my editor on book 3 of the Grigori Legacy, Sins of the Lost, and I’ve begun work on book 4, Sins of the Warrior. The series will be complete after book 4. After that, I have a romantic suspense that I’m considering dusting off and polishing, and I have a new urban fantasy series in mind as well.

Thanks for being with us today, Linda!  Readers, check out the blurb Gwynneth Ever After:

Gwyn Jacobs doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her ex-husband walked out four years  before, leaving her with three small children, Gwyn has been mother, father, and bread-winner all rolled into one. Her own scarred heart aside, she refuses to open up her children’s lives to the possibility of another heartbreak — so she has an unbending policy of no dating and no unattached men in their lives.

Until her very own fairy tale falls into her lap…and the hero won’t take no for an answer.

You can read an excerpt from Gwynneth and Linda’s other books on her website!


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Linda Poitevin’s book, Sins of the Angels, is Sarah.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  My fabulous guest tomorrow will be Manda Collins, debut historical romance author.  Please make sure to stop by!


Guest Author, Linda Poitevin & Giveaway!

I’ve got a real treat for fantasy and urban fantasy readers today.  My guest author is Linda Poitevin, and she’s a rising star in this very competitive genre.  The first book in her new series, The Grigori Legacy, was released in September of 2011.  Since that time, Sins of the Angels has received great reviews.

Spectacular cover, isn’t it?  And take a look at this review from Library Journal:

“Strong storytelling and a pair of intriguing characters make this title a strong draw for urban fantasy readers and heralds a new voice in the genre.”

Linda’s my guest on the blog today, and she’s here to tell us about Sins of the Angels.

A Forbidden Love Story

Thank you so much for having me to visit today, Vanessa, and for the chance to tell your readers a little about SINS OF THE ANGELS: The Grigori Legacy.

The first in a series of four books, SINS OF THE ANGELS is a dark urban fantasy that crosses several genres, containing elements of a police procedural, a thriller, a paranormal, and yes, a romance. In fact, when I started writing the story ten years ago, it was intended to be a paranormal romance. A homicide cop and an angel tracking a fallen-angel-turned-serial-killer, discovering in the process that they are soul mates…how much more romantic potential could a storyteller ask for?

My little writer’s brain, however, kept getting in the way of true love. While the soul mate connection was real and almost tangible, my characters just would not cooperate with my efforts to get them past their differences and into the sack together. Yup, you read that right. There is no sex in SINS OF THE ANGELS. In fact, the scene that first sparked the entire story never even made it into the book…how sad is that?

I honestly don’t know who was more frustrated, me or poor Alexandra and Aramael, because even though there’s no love-making, there’s plenty of attraction…and tension. Instant, sizzling, and—from Aramael’s perspective—utterly forbidden even as the series continues into book 2, SINS OF THE SON (releasing March 27th). With the fate of the very universe at stake, it seems, the odds are against any kind of romance between our star-crossed characters.

But not, I think, against a love story that will remain with readers long after Alex and Aramael’s story ends.

A detective with a secret lineage. An undercover Hunter with a bullet-proof soul. And a world made to pay for the sins of an angel…

Homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis answers to no one. Especially not to the new partner assigned to her in the middle of a gruesome serial killer case-a partner who is obstructive, irritatingly magnetic, and arrogant as hell. Aramael is a Power–a hunter of the Fallen Angels.  A millennium ago, he sentenced his own brother to eternal exile for crimes against humanity. Now his brother is back and wreaking murderous havoc in the mortal realm. To find him, Aramael must play second to a human police officer who wants nothing to do with him and whose very bloodline threatens both his mission and his soul.

Now, faced with a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse, Alex and Aramael have no choice but to join forces, because only together can they stop the end of days.

Vanessa, here.  Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it?  Be sure to visit Linda’s very cool website for excerpts, reviews, and buy links for Sins of the Angels and for information about her next book in the series.

For my readers today, Linda will give away a copy of Sins of the Angels.  Since Linda has already brought it up, let’s talk about sex!  Do you feel that sex is absolutely necessary in genre fiction that involves a love story, or do you think the story itself should drive the characters’ actions?  One person who comments will win a copy of Linda’s book.



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