Character INterview – Read-Love-Blog

Images Eternal by Toni Decker…Spotlight & Character Interview

About Images Eternal:

~If Images are worth a thousand words, hers sing a thousand Eternal songs~

The blood of a Guardian, the heart of an artist, no one can hide the truth from Amanda Hayworth. Focusing her visions through her camera lens, she reveals secrets no one plans to expose, even her own. To protect herself, Mandy hides her ability in plain sight, photographing local bands and showcasing the dramatic images on her website. Most bands beg for a feature article. But the new lead singer of one particular up and coming band isn’t like anyone she’s ever met. Lucien entangles her with his mystery and makes Mandy want things she’s never wanted before—strings.

Lucien Solvak has to impress an influential music blogger whose promotion could skyrocket his new band to stardom or flush them straight into the gutters. But the moment Mandy aims her camera his direction, he fears the images will expose his ties to the immortal he’s sworn to protect and destroy his one chance to live out his musical dream. Hiding from her camera is tough enough. Denying his growing feelings becomes an impossible feat, forcing Lucien to choose between oaths as a Guardian, his rock-star dreams, and the girl he wants.

Secrets define them. Lucien’s bind him to silence; Mandy’s bring her nothing but pain and disappointment. Only when they focus on what’s behind the images can they embrace their secrets for what they are—truth.

Book links:

Goodreads | Amazon

Character interview:

Welcome folks. I am pleased to announce that THE SCENE has managed to snag an exclusive interview with the lead singer of Eternity, L.J. Slone and the photographer credited with launching the band into the music sphere, Mandy Hayworth, of the music-photoblog, Behind the Scenes. Thank you both for being here.

LUCIEN: It’s a pleasure. *smiles*

MANDY: Isn’t that smile swoony?

SCENE: Wow. Those pictures you sent over are fantastic, but they don’t hold a candle to the real baby blues and smile. That’s a heart stopper right there.

MANDY: *chuckles* I know, right? Especially when he blushes like that. *fans herself*

LUCIEN: Okay, you two promised not to gang up on me. *squirms* How about we answer some questions? You know, about the band.

MANDY: I promised no such thing. *winks*

SCENE: Whew, it getting hot in here or what?

LUCIEN: *growl*

SCENE: Oh. The band. You got it. Eternity is the hottest local band in the music scene right now. Impressive after only a couple of months. But up until last summer, Lucien, you were pretty much an unknown entity. How did you originally manage to score a write up on one of the hottest music blogs in the area.

LUCIEN: That’s easy. She stalked me.

MANDY: Hey!

LUCIEN: What? It’s true. *dodges half-hearted shove* You waited outside the club to get the first pictures. In the rain I might add.

SCENE: In the rain?

MANDY: I wanted the scoop on this new singer who supposedly sang like an angel, yet no one knew anything about. *shrugs* I’ve waited in worse conditions. He’s just lucky I wasn’t wearing a white t-shirt.

LUCIEN: Hmm. *uncomfortable shifting in his seat*

SCENE: But it wasn’t until right before their debut that you released any pictures. How come?

MANDY: Someone was a bit camera shy. It took me a while to get him to loosen up.

SCENE: He made you wait?

MANDY: Did he ever—

LUCIEN: *interrupts* Holding images and only releasing snippets was part of my marketing design to get people intrigued. I was playing hard to get. *grins* It worked.

SCENE: So you

were a part of the strategy, Mandy?

MANDY: *chuckles* More like the wrench in his plan, but I’d say it worked out in my favor. Once I put the images together, the results were beyond even what I envisioned. *shrugs* What can I say? He was worth waiting for.

LUCIEN: Damn, that was gonna be my line. *pulls Mandy closer, cups her face in his warm, strong hands*

MANDY: *lost in his gaze* Man do I want to kiss you right now.

LUCIEN: What’s stopping ya?

MANDY: *leans forward*

SCENE: *clears throat* Hmmm, I think the temperature just rose about ten degrees in here. Okay next question. Lucien, where do you get your inspiration for your music?

LUCIEN: Mostly my mother. She taught me to play at a very young age. Music was always a part of my life. When she passed away, I felt a need to honor what she taught me, share my gift with the world. It took some time to find the right band. The other members of Eternity, Jay, Rusty and Adam, gave me that chance. Until… *holds Mandy’s hand tighter*

MANDY: Awe, that’s the sweetest…

LUCIEN: Now who’s blushing? *winks*

SCENE: And it’s been profitable for all of you. Dark Angel seems latched to a rocket on its way up the charts and people are already clamoring for the full album even before the next single release. How’s that make you feel.

LUCIEN: Incredible, astonished. *laughs* Terrified. Mandy’s been a huge part in getting the word out to fans and getting us noticed in more than just the local scene.

SCENE: That she has. Mandy, your photos are, to put it simply, freaking amazing. A few featuring Eternity have even won awards. How do you do it?

MANDY: It’s the band really. When you hear the right music, you feel it. The sound permeates straight into your soul and wraps you up in strings you don’t want to untangle. I just managed to capture that intensity in my photographs.

SCENE: But what’s your secret?

MANDY: *smiles coyly* Well if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret now would it.

LUCIEN: She’s good at keeping secrets too. *snickers quietly*

SCENE: I have the feeling I’m missing some inside joke here.

MANDY: Most definitely.

SCENE: Where does Eternity go from here? Rumors have been hinting at a national, if not international tour coming up.

LUCIEN: I can’t confirm anything yet.

SCENE: But you’re not denying it either. Come on, maybe just a hint.

LUCIEN: Plans are being made *holds a finger up to his lips* for something. I’m sure Mandy’s Musical Monday’s blog will be the first to announce any details. *smiles at Mandy*

SCENE: Watching you together, there is no way to deny there is something between you two. Spill. What’s the deal?

LUCIEN: Well, I mean…she’s the band’s photographer.

MANDY: Really? That’s your answer? *huffs* Sharon, if you had the chance to follow around the next up and coming band on its way to the top, not to mention spending your days and nights around this sexy piece sitting *chuckles* or currently squirming next to me, I ask you. What would you do?

SCENE: *laughs* I’d jump in your place in a heartbeat. And you’re right, he is hot when he blushes.

LUCIEN: Oh hell. Fine. You want an answer? Here’s your answer. *leans over and plants a slow sensual kiss on Mandy* This woman makes me want to sing every moment of every day, for all Eternity.

SCENE: Well folks, if that isn’t a show closer, I don’t what is. Tune in next time for more inside insights of your music & art scene.

Want to learn more about Lucien and Mandy?
Check out their story in IMAGES ETERNAL, available at Amazon.

If Images are worth a thousand words, hers sing a thousand Eternal songs.

When forbidden from taking pictures of the newest lead singer for an up and coming band, Mandy Hayworth wants to know why. With a supernatural ability to expose truths with her camera, she’s determined to find out his secrets.

Lucien Solvak only had to make a date, give an interview to the hottest local music photographer, get her endorsement, and get out. But when her camera threatens to expose an immortal secret he’s sworn to protect, Lucien has to choose which is more important. The girl, his music, or his life.

Who is Toni Decker?

Two authors telling one sizzling story after another about twenty-somethings getting along in their own crazy, fantastical worlds. Both women are wives and mothers, sharing brain cells and characters as if they only exist with the other.

Toni, one half of the Toni Decker brain, is an avid reader of all things Young and New Adult while Kira, the Decker half of Toni Decker brain, devours fantasy for midnight snacks.

Together, their stories are one part New Adult, one part fantasy and three parts of holy hotness.

We leave it up to the readers to decide who writes which character.

You can follow our journey on:

Twitter: @ToniDeckerBooks and @kiradecker & @ToniPicker

FaceBook: Toni Decker Books, Kira Decker, Toni Picker

Tumbler: tonideckerbooks

Goodreads: Toni Decker

WordPress: Toni Decker Books

Hunter by Night by Elisabeth Staab… Review & A visit from Lee

Hunter by Night releases June 3

Synopsis:

She wants out

Party girl Alexia Blackburn is only hanging around the vampire compound until her best friend—the queen—has her baby. After that, nothing is going to stop Alexia from getting back to daylight, safety, and feeling like a normal human being. But leaving the vampire world has one big catch…

He needs her to stay

Head of vampire security Lee Goram has hated and distrusted humans for centuries. Feeding on vampire blood has kept him strong…but now it’s killing him—and he’s horrified to discover that Alexia may hold the key to his cure. He’d rather die defending his king than admit his weakness, but time is running out for the great vampire warrior…

My review:

Hunter by Night is the third book in author Elisabeth Staab’s Chronicles of Yavn Series and the book I have been most looking forward to in the series after falling in love with Lee form the very first book. Well, I was not disappointed. This book was everything I had hoped for and more.

Alexia Blackburn is slowly losing her mind. Being the only human stuck in a house full of vampires with the constant threat of war from their enemies, the wizards, is just a tad bit taxing. Especially to someone like Alexia. Someone who has been on her own for as long as she can remember. Her childhood kind of sucked and the minute she got free she had been in charge of herself. So to be stuck here was driving her crazy. If it weren’t for her best friend’s pregnancy and impending delivery, she’d so be outta here. But she would stay, for her best friend. She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t also staying for a certain royal guard vampire named Lee. Sure, he’s made it clear that he could never be with a human, but she knows there’s some sort of connection there. And if she was wrong? Fine. She’d be gone before she could let his rejections sting any more than they already have.

As head of security for the king and their community, vampire Lee Goram had a lot on his plate. Every day there were new threats emerging and with the uncertainty with the wizards, you could say his plate runneth over. Making matters worse was that the queen was due to give birth any week. Talk about a security nightmare. So he’s been blaming his chest pains on all of that stress. Certainly vampires didn’t get sick and die from something like that so he’d put it on the back burner until all of this wizard nonsense went away. Also adding to his stress was Alexia. That human was always trying to plead her case as to why she should be allowed to go out into the day, without any protection. Didn’t she know as the queen’s best friend she had a huge target on her back? But he knew she didn’t care. She had a stubborn streak a mile wide and was beyond independent. She wasn’t going to listen to him. Of course, his annoyance with her isn’t helping squash his underlying attraction to her. But he just kept coming back to that fact that she was a human. Surely he could never be with a human. But Lee has been known to be wrong a time or two and this may just be one of those times….

Tensions are higher than high within the mansion and the sexual tension between Lee and Alexia is adding a deliciously tense layer to the situation. Will they ever put all their differences aside and take a chance on the pull they feel between themselves?

Oh man how I loved this book. Lee is the quintessential stubborn alpha vampire with a deep-rooted disgust for human/vampire relationships. Alexia is just as stubborn and is also stronger than anyone could guess. She’s got a sharp tongue and a beautifully smart assed wit that I adored about her. She wasn’t going to let Lee push her around. She wasn’t going to let anyone push her around. The push and pull between them had started in the first book and reached a fevered pitch in the second book and left me dying for the ending to their story. Elisabeth gave them an ending they both needed and truly deserved. They pissed each other off at every turn, bantered constantly but the underlying level of care and concern for one another was so touching. Even if they didn’t want to admit what had developed between them as going from annoyance to one of love, I knew eventually they would. If for no other reason than even though they may be stubborn characters, they are also honest, and when the walls of defense crumble between them their honesty is amazing. Heartfelt and touching. I went from being pissed off to crying and then laughing with happy tears being shed. I love all the feels!

Also, there was a bit of closure for Siddoh and a few of the other members of the vampire clan we’ve met along the way. That was another gift to read.

Thank you, Elisabeth, for giving Lee and Alexia their happy ending. I loved every minute of it!

Four-and-a-Half Loves

And, as a special treat, I was so lucky to have Lee stop by with his take on loving a human…. (oh, how I freaking LOVE Lee!)

Okay, listen up…. people: I may not be old by the standards of my kind, but seven hundred years sure ain’t child’s play. I’ve trudged through a whole hell of a lot of history, fuck you very much. I’ve kicked my way through plagues, wars, and what have you, and I’ve seen the best and worst of humanity can do to itself. What it can do to my kind. So I hope you’ll understand if I don’t jump on the warm and fuzzy bandwagon about getting up close and personal with you folks. I drink the blood of vampires, I live among vampires, and if I have to brush up against the occasional person at the gas station once in awhile, I try not to get any of ‘em on me.

You know what I mean.

Shoulda known one day the gods or karma or whatthefuckever would nail me right between the eyes with that shit. No humans? How about living with one right down the hall. One small, stubborn, intensely aggravating and completely feminine human, who sways her hips when she’s stomping away from you. Yeah. Perfect. Damn me straight to hell.

Shoulda known, right? For all my love and loyalty to my kind, I mated first with a succubus hybrid, so that was my own damn fault. See, that one didn’t work out though, and I told myself I’d never get attached again. Not to someone of impure blood, maybe never to anyone.

Never say never.

Still, Alexia, she’s something. And being with a human, it’s forced me to learn some things I never expected I’d have to learn. Never wanted to. Never wanted to learn to use a blender, either, but I guess you roll with the times—and those protein shakes come in handy.

So today—because Jillian here is such a sweet gal, I’m sharing what I, Lee Goram, learned about loving a human. Buckle up, assholes.

They’re stronger than they look. With all of her five-foot-nothing and her barely a hundred pounds, I swear I could break Alexia if I so much as bump into her. Still, she’s more passionate than any female I’ve known, and get your mind out of the gutter, people. She holds her own, ‘s all I’m saying.
They’re not like vampires. All right. Don’t give me the “no shit,” and the eye rolling. Some things you take for granted after centuries of knowing it, okay? Their fertility cycles don’t run with the moon, so you can’t bank on that shit. And that “birth control” stuff? I’m not convinced that’s all it’s cracked up to be. Don’t even get me started on condoms. I don’t wanna put my dick in some kind of weird-assed rubber wrapper.
What is up with their undergarments? I’ll cop to it, I haven’t got this one figured. All I know is Alexia’s underwear barely passes as an eye patch and her brassieres could double as body armor. God help the man who rips it in half, is all I know. Been there, done that, got the lecture.
Sometimes they just don’t stay where you put ‘em. I mean, vampire females? I guess it’s not hard and fast, but centuries of tradition says you defer to your mate and your elders. Alexia, she doesn’t defer to anybody. I don’t know if that’s all human females, or only her, but it’s damned aggravating. She has a mind of her own, and she decides she’s gonna do what she’s gonna do, fuck what I say. Nobody has the brass ones not to heed my command. Most of the time, even our king listens to me. Still, it’s a sexy mind, full of wicked thoughts and sharp-tongued jabs, that hurt in an oddly pleasant way when they land. I can’t help it… I love them. Her. Maybe tradition’s not all it’s cracked-up to be.
That fucking sunlight thing. No getting around that problem. Not much of one, anyway. I found out there’s a thing you can do, but it ain’t worth doing unless you’re sure your woman is worth the pain. Alexia’s worth the pain. Alexia is worth everything. She loves the night, too, which kind of cuts both ways. Goes back to the problem of staying where I tell her to.
Fuck biology, after all. See, I got all up in my head about her humanity. Wanting to sleep with the woman was one thing. Living a life together, that’s an animal I didn’t have the magic powers to take down bare-handed. Why try to wrestle with the idea that I’ll only have to say goodbye again in a handful of years? Well, screw that selfish nonsense. For starters, anything worth having is worth having for any time at all. A lot, a little, whatever you can damn well get. And for finishers, it turns out if we look back at my first point, humans aren’t so wimpy as I thought. There’s a way around this biology BS after all. We’re gonna make it work. That human, she’s mine. Besides…
In the end, you love who you love. So fuck off, all of you.

(….I mean, really, how freaking great is he?!) Thanks, Lee, for stopping by! XO

Buy links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author:

Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry.

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