WATCH OUT: Renee Rearden

SC: I want to welcome you all to another edition of Watch Out. This week I’m pleased to bring you author Renee Rearden. Welcome to Watch Out, it is so great to have you here.

RR:  Thanks so much for having me, Savannah!

SC: For the readers out there who might not know about you or your work, can you please tell them a little about yourself.

RR:  Sure. I’m a serious insomniac. So I spend my nights creating other worlds while my family sleeps. Thankfully, my husband and daughters are used to my crazy sleep pattern. What else is an avid reader with an overactive imagination supposed to do but write paranormal romance and urban fantasy?  Oh, and I’m totally addicted to chocolate, the SiFi channel and cheese—in that order.

SC:  I read in your bio that you work as a court reporter. Do any of the things from that job ever inspire your stories?

RR:  Absolutely. I’ll hear an interesting name, an odd phrase or unusual circumstance and that will spark an idea that sometimes turns into a character or even a scene for a book. Great thing about my job, you never know what someone’s going to say in court!

SC: Can you tell us a little about your current release?

RR:  Moonlight Bleu is a new paranormal world where an immortal woman’s search for her genetic origin places her squarely in harm’s way, not one but two men possess amazing psychic abilities that help keep the mortal population safe from other preternatural creatures that don’t play by the rules, and a love triangle that offers soul mates a match—if they’re brave enough to take a chance.

Official blurb:

Saari Mitchell sees a psychologist in order to understand why—500 years later—she’s still dreaming of her dead lover. Her shrink isn’t helping, the nightmares come every time she closes her eyes, and the lack of sleep is interfering with her job at Sacred Heart Hospital. With her psychic ability to heal the human spirit on the fritz, her auric radar becomes as reliable as her spotty cell phone service.

By day, Dhelis Guidry works as a detective for the New Angeles Police Department investigating the missing or murdered women in the Full-Moon Killer case. In his spare time he hunts rogue vampires as a Tueri executioner.

Brogan Vincent is a Tueri healer. Though he could offer his miraculous talents to the rich and powerful, he has chosen anonymity and peace by only using his psychic abilities among the Tueri.

One look into Saari’s tri-colored eyes and both men realize she is Tueri. One touch tells them each she’s their soul mate. But can either of them protect her from the Full-Moon Killer?

SC: Which do you prefer eBooks or paperback?

RR:  That is a tough question. I don’t prefer one over the other. For me, they both have different appeal. I have a Kindle, and I LOVE it—books always available at my fingertips. One Kindle in my purse, downloaded with hundreds (working toward thousands!) of books. At home, I love perusing my bookshelves, admiring the beautiful covers. Curling up in a chair to read and turning the pages. So, my Kindle offers convenience and saves space. My paperbacks never develop corrupted files or disappear because of a drained battery.

SC: What influences the topics, and genre’s that you pick to write a story in?

RR: Anything can influence my imagination: watching t.v., reading the newspaper or even surfing the web. But I’m fascinated by psychic and paranormal phenomenon. I’ve read everything about the field I can get my hands on. So when I write, I use everyday situations…and then throw something otherworldly, preternatural or just plain unexplainable at the scene. Always makes for an interesting story!

SC: One thing readers might be surprised to know about you?

RR:  In high school I was voted most likely to be a rock star…and I can’t sing to save my soul!

SC: Your favourite part about being an author?

RR:  I love hearing readers talk about characters from a world I’ve created. The readers’ interest, questions and comments tell me they get the story. Even though my world and the people in it aren’t real…they’re almost real for awhile.

SC: What are you currently reading?

RR:  I just started Don’t Kill the Messenger by Eileen Rendahl.

SC: Currently listening to?

RR: The Soundscape channel through my television’s cable connection. Because I listen to people talk all day in my job (and characters talk all the time in my head), I don’t listen to music with lyrics while I write. Whether my music is Celtic, Indie, classic, or sounds of nature—it’s always instrumental. I do rock out in the car to the latest rock and hip hop tunes though!

SC: What draws you to urban fantasy and paranormal romance?

RR: I think I’m drawn to urban fantasy and paranormal romance, like most other genre readers, for escapism. I love reading fast-paced action, interesting paranormal elements, and unforgettable characters. Writing what I want to read seemed the most logical path as an author.

SC: Describe your books in 3 words.

RR: Intense, Sexy, Unforgettable

SC: If you could step into the shoes of another author who would you pick? Why?

RR: I know this answer sounds like a dodge, but I don’t think I can choose any one author. There are so many I admire. I will say I’d love to be at home writing full time. I can only hope with hard work and dedication I’ll accomplish even a fraction of the success many well-known authors have achieved.

SC: What do you think sets your stories apart from other authors?

RR: A new paranormal world told from a fresh perspective in my voice. I think my sense of humor colors my imagination, and that weaves its way through my writing. Readers relate.

SC: Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can give us a taste of?

RR: Book two in the Tueri Psychic series is due out in the next few months. It picks up a few months after where Moonlight Bleu ended. Saari, Dhelis and Brogan are trying to work through their relationship issues—but it’s complicated.

Excerpt:

Wednesday Afternoon, September 7, 2032—Las Vegas, Nevada

 

There are only two beds.

Saari Mitchell stood in the hallway separating the bungalow’s two bedrooms.

Her Trigonal match included three people.

Does the Tueri Council expect me to rotate my sleeping arrangement each night? Because the guys sure as hell won’t share a bed.

“Saari, come see our room,” Dhelis Guidry called.

His voice came from somewhere on her right.

Our room. As in just the two of us.

Anxiety squeezed the breath from her lungs. Black dots crowded her vision, heralding an approaching panic attack. She prayed no reaction showed on her face as she stared at Brogan Vincent—her other mate.

Brogan’s hand lightly traced the length of her hair. “Deep breath, Saari. You’re about to hyperventilate.”

Of course Brogan picked up on her emotions.

Ever since his physical healing energy had bonded to her emotional healing energy four months ago, he’d been able to decipher her moods as successfully as a Vulcan mind-meld—without touching her. His knowing was almost as invasive as if he’d actually read her mind. And there were too many things she didn’t want him to know.

Like the fact she was immortal.

Since she hadn’t told either of her mates that little tidbit, she didn’t want him reading her emotions about that specific detail. They deserved to hear the truth from her, as soon as she figured out the right way to tell them.

Her instincts for self-preservation took over.

A thick, mental fog normally swirled around her older memories and the emotions attached to them. Anxiety at being in a bungalow on what amounted to a honeymoon with both of her mates reduced her efforts to wisps of patchy mist.

“Everything’s going to work out. You’ll see.”

Oh how she wanted to believe him.

He wrapped his hands around her biceps and lightly squeezed, redirecting her focus. A liquid honeyed calm seeped through their connection. The steady thump of his heartbeat seduced her racing heart, its pace slowing to match his.

The band of anxiety squeezing her chest loosened, and she breathed with a sigh of relief.

“Better?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a sexy half smile. “I’m gonna take a shower in our room. Go check out your other room with Dhelis.”

Another “our room” comment—except Brogan had added “your other room,” telling Saari he understood the reason behind her temporarily averted meltdown. He’d tried to give her some measure of control by calling both rooms hers.

Neither of them closed their eyes when he brushed his lips across hers. An accelerated thump thump thump filled her ears. Emerald sparks of desire flashed in his amethyst and silver colored eyes. He stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head.

Muscles flexed and rippled with the natural movement.

She noticed everything: arms strong enough to carry her forever, a well-defined chest for her to lay her head on, and honest-to-God washboard abs that topped a dark line of hair that trailed below the waistband of his jeans. Her gaze returned to his. A warm flush colored his skin—even his sexy, shaved head.

God, what a body.

“Join me, if you’d like.”

Even without his touch, her heartbeat still matched his rhythm, accelerating in anticipation.

“Still here.” Dhelis called to her again.

And then her connection with Brogan coughed and sputtered.

How could I forget about Dhelis?

She glanced toward the other room, hoping Dhelis hadn’t come into the hallway and seen her reaction to Brogan. None of them had talked about how they would handle the next phase of their relationship—which seemed like a huge mistake now that they were all together, in a two-bedroom bungalow, with only a hallway and small living room in between.

How am I supposed to deal with this?

Before she could say anything, Brogan’s door closed. He’d made their situation easier for her. Again. A few moments later, the shower water came on.

She went to the other bedroom and stepped through the doorway into a tropical haven. Potted banana trees and huge ferns loomed in every corner. Vines crept along ledges built into the ceiling, which hung strategically throughout the room. Birds of Paradise plants—with bright orange, gold, and white flowers—exploded from pedestals throughout the room. In the center of the room, supreme on its own platform, stood a bamboo-framed four-post bed, draped with mosquito netting.

Dhelis leaned casually against a post at the foot of the bed, hands in his pockets.

He’d dressed for comfort today, in jeans and a crew necked t-shirt. The soft material stretched across his broad shoulders. The ivory color melted against his sun-kissed Mexican-Indian complexion.

She took in the relaxed pose and wasn’t fooled for a moment.

His tight smile and narrowed eyes told her he didn’t like waiting while she’d been with Brogan.

“Brogan and I were just talking.”

“I know. I heard.”

Oh, God. He knows exactly what happened in the hallway.

Her stomach twisted into edgy knots.

“I don’t think you need a shower—yet.” His predatory gaze stroked her body.

He pushed off the bedpost and closed the distance between them, faster than her eyes could track. Royal purple overshadowed the silver and amethyst-colored swirls filling his eyes, telling her he’d traveled through the other dimension he used to move from place to place.

“No fair, sneaking up on me like that.” Saari wagged a finger at him, trying to lighten the mood.

“I didn’t sneak. You saw me the entire time.”

“Fine. No Stone Riding when I’m not expecting it. It’s jarring when you pop up right in front of me like that.” She shoved her hands in her back pockets to hide their shaking.

“My turn to say sorry then. I didn’t mean to startle you. Just kept thinking about how much I wanted to touch you, and decided there was no reason I should wait.” His hands settled on her hips and pulled her against him.

“Oh.” Saari couldn’t help her breathy response to his blatant need.

Dhelis noticed.

His lips curled in pure male satisfaction. His hand slid under her blouse at the small of her back. He placed his other palm against the back of her neck. The skin to skin contact instantly generated warmth. A burning arrow of pleasure shot down her spine.

Her back bowed and she arched against him, softening with the bone-dissolving heat. His head dipped forward. Sparks flashed behind her eyes each time he nipped the hollow where her neck sloped toward her shoulder.

“So, what’s the plan for the afternoon?” Brogan asked from behind them.

Saari’s eyelids popped open in shock. She tried to pull away from Dhelis. He tightened his grasp.

“Thought you were taking a shower?” Dhelis growled.

“I was going to, but then I realized we hadn’t made any definitive arrangements.”

“We were about to.” Dhelis lowered his head toward Saari again.

A strangled moan of frustration, embarrassment, and anxiety squeezed past her lips.

Dhelis bared his teeth in a grim smile before stepping away from her.

“So you decided we should talk now?” Dhelis’s hands flexed.

An inferno of warmth engulfed her senses. Between Brogan’s advances heightening her senses through their grounded connection and Dhelis’s blazing passion melting her from the inside out, her fried nerve endings didn’t stand a chance. Her body twitched like she’d stuck a fork in a light socket.

I am so not ready to have this conversation—with either of them much less, God forbid, both of them.

Saari backed away from her mates, intent on escaping the bedroom.

Dhelis started to follow her. “Saari, wait.”

She ran for the front door. “I can’t do this—not right now. I need some air.”

SC: What is the best advice you ever got with regards to writing?

RR: Write every day and read every night…helps an author sharpen their writing skills and keep their finger on the market’s pulse.

SC: Any advice for new writers out there?

RR: Write every day and read every night…helps an author sharpen their writing skills and keep their finger on the market’s pulse.   =D

SC: Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

www.ReneeRearden.com

www.ReneeReardenblog.blogspot.com

www.Facebook.com/ReneeRearden

www.Twitter.com/ReneeRearden

www.Goodreads.com/ReneeRearden