Familiarise Friday's guest is Amber Buckley from Embrace The Darkness written by my Wild Rose Press friend Lily Gayle. Amber is a girl with a whole of of secrets and has some very nice... colleagues....
(Love the cover-Lilly!)
I asked Amber some questions:
Describe yourself using only 6 words.
Tough, practical, determined, loyal, tenacious, and just a
bit jaded.
Well, jaded doesn't sound so great. I'm sure that'll improve soon, though. Where are you from?
 | ||||||
| NC coast near Jacksonville (L. Gayle) |
Jacksonville,
NC. My dad was in the marines,
stationed at Camp
Lejune. Mom and I lived
with his mom off post. Mom died when I was five and I stayed with my grandmother until I joined the army.
The photo you're sharing looks wonderful!
I don't imagine you stay in Jacksonville any longer if you joined the army. Where are you currently living?
Asheville,
NC. I'm a homicide detective.
 |
| Mountains just outside of Ashville ( L. Gayle) |
I've not visited North Carolina, yet, Amber but maybe someday I'll get to go there. This riverside/ lakeside photo of the mountains is spectacular. Very much to my taste!
What would be your most favourite place in the whole world.
The beach. It holds bitter-sweet memories. The day my mother
died, we'd just spent the day on the beach. My father had been injured in the Beirut bombing attack and was healing at a hospital in Germany. I got
to talk to him on the phone that day. Then mom and I had a picnic on the beach.
We were on our way home when the car broke down and…she…my mom was murdered.
Oh, heavens! That sounds awful. Sorry to hear about your mum. If not with her, who would be your ideal holiday companion if you took off on
a sudden unplanned trip?
It's complicated. I should answer with something like, my
partner, Reid. He's a great guy, when he's not being a smart-ass. But I find
myself inappropriately attracted to Gerard Delaroche. He's witty,
compassionate, and sexy as hell. He's also hiding a dark secret I'm determined
to uncover. And, he's part of an on-going murder investigation. So, it'd be a
conflict of interest. Can we move on to
another question? Please?
You have got a problem there! What’s your main occupation just now, if you're a detective?
I'm a former MP in the army and I'm currently working as a
homicide detective for the Asheville PD.
Are you a gadget freak, or a technophobe?
I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. I love my smartphone
and police issue laptop. But in my opinion, nothing will ever replace good,
old-fashioned police work.
If I said I'm granting you a whole week where you can choose
every single thing you want to do. What would that be? (I know you just said Gerard is a pretty hot but...Ahem...answers within
reason for the average blog visitor please!)
Solve this damn case and discover Gerard's secrets. I
promised I'd find out who killed his employees and what happened to his other
employee, Axle Travers. If Axle is a victim, I need to find him before the
killer does. If he's part of this, then I need to bring him to justice. But
this case is complicated, you know? I mean, Richard Baxter's body was
completely drained of blood. What kind of sick freak would do that?
Who, or what, are you trying to avoid most just now?
My growing attraction to Gerard. Damn him! Why does he have
to be so appealing? He's either a witness or a suspect and being around him
clouds my judgement. But man, do I feel safe in his arms.
Mmmm...in his arms, you say? That sounds pretty close. Okay, though, we'll change the subject. What new cuisine would you like to try?
Anything that doesn't come in a fast food bag. I've devoted so much time to
this case, I can't remember the last time I sat down at a restaurant and
had steak or seafood—my favorites by the
way.
Steak and seafoods rank high up in my favourites, too, Amber. It's been great having you answer my nosey questions. Thanks for doing that, and best of luck with that case of yours.
Thanks for having me today. And thanks for not asking any
questions about the Lifeblood of America murders. It's an on-going
investigation, and I appreciate you not asking personal details about the case.
No problem but we'll just share a few details about - Embrace The Darkness:
An experimental vaccine gives vampire Gerard Delaroache hope
for the first time in two centuries--until two people are brutally murdered,
and he suspects a conspiracy between vampires and mortals. To solve the crime,
he must put his trust in a beautiful detective. But is former soldier and MP
turned detective, Amber Buckley, a threat to his existence? Or the answer to
his prayers?
Amber Buckley and her partner are assigned to do follow up
interviews in the Lifeblood of America slayings. Amber believes she and Reid
are just new eyes on a cold case. That
is until she meets Gerard Delaroache. Something about him teases long-buried
memories Amber would rather not chase. However, the two join together, falling
into more than resolution of a murder case. It seems Amber has some dark
secrets of her own.
To find their way
into the light, Amber and Gerard must first EMBRACE THE DARKNESS
Excerpt:
He rolled his eyes and huffed.
“Stop pretending ignorance. You know what I am.”
“A vampire. Really?” She wanted
to scoff, but a chill shivered over her skin. He wasn’t dead. And she’d shot
him.
Maybe he was wearing Kevlar. But
wouldn’t Kevlar show through that tight-fitting shirt?
Perhaps not. Still, there had to
be a logical explanation.
Ignoring the warning bells
clanging inside her skull, she shoved the Glock back in its holster and reached
for the beer she’d deposited on the counter. She took another long, hard pull
on the bottle, hoping to douse irrational thoughts.
Gerard inhaled sharply. His eyes
devoured her.
Despite renewed fear, she managed
to set the bottle back on the counter without dropping it.
He’s not a vampire. He’s not a
vampire. He’s not a vampire.
“I’d give anything to drink beer
again,” he said in a reverent voice.
Amber nearly laughed aloud. Her
shoulders sagged. Gerard Delaroche wasn’t a vampire, and he didn’t want to
drink her blood. He wanted a beer. Like a normal guy.
Hell, he probably was normal. She
was the one off her rocker.
“Want one?” She forced herself to
meet his intense stare.
He smiled. “Can’t. Vampire.
Remember?”
Like that was something a girl
could forget. It wasn’t every day a hot guy claimed to be a vampire.
Hell, maybe he was a vampire. The
man could stop bullets with his chest.
He took a hesitant step closer.
She stiffened and took another cautious swallow of beer. He stopped three feet
away. Good. Sexy and crazy was a dangerous combination.
Lilly Gayle writes paranormal and historical romance. You
can find her at:
Web Links:
Facebook:
Twitter:
@lillygromwriter
Book Trailer(s):
Buy Links for Lilly's books:
Lilly! It's great to have you and your friend Amber here today. Thank you so much for coming all the way to visit Familiarise Friday and my best wishes to you for tremendous books sales!
Slainthe!
Sounds like a great book, Lilly!
ReplyDeleteThank you. :-)
DeleteFantastic interview. Sounds like she's found herself in quite the pickle. Love the excerpt, Lilly!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne. I had a lot of fun writing her.
DeleteWhat can I say? Sounds like a fantastic read. When will it be released in paperback?
ReplyDeleteYes. It's part of the KDP select program now so it's only available on Amazon. June 21st is the official release date. After that, it'll be available in electronic format almost everywhere and available in print from The Wild Rose Press and Amazon.
DeleteLooks like your character Amber has a wild ride ahead of her. Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and reading her interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being my guest today Amber/Lilly!
ReplyDeleteReading now and will review as soon as I finish! Amber is one of my favorite characters! Amazing read!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Can't wait to hear what you think of Amber and Gerard's story.
Delete