Hey urban fantasy readers...looking for your next read? Fellow Etopia author A.J. Locke has a new release and it sounds pretty awesome! I nabbed her for a few questions recently. Read what she has to say and find out about her new book. Don't worry, no authors were harmed in the making of this blog post ;P
First
off, tell me about your most recent release.
Black Widow Witch is about a witch
named Malachi who was cursed to butcher any many she falls for because she had
an affair with Knave, who was the favorite lover of the sadistic witch queen of
the Aeverneath, the realm of witches. Banished to live among humans, Malachi
runs a bar, keeps up with her closest witch friends, who also carry curses (one
of them is just a head in a box!) and faces prejudice from witch hating humans.
The story revolves around a dangerous plot to assassinate the witch queen,
which would break all curses, which Malachi unwillingly becomes a central part
of. All the while she has to fight her attraction to Julian, an officer
assigned to monitor her, since that attraction could lead her to kill him. And
there’s also the guilt she feels over falling for someone after Knave since he
is still in the Aeverneath at the mercy of the queen’s wrath.
As
a genre, what does ‘urban fantasy’ mean to you? How does it differ from
paranormal romance? Which do you prefer to write?
To me urban fantasy can encompass more than
paranormal romance since PNR focuses on the romantic relationship between the
main characters and should lead to a happily ever after. With Urban Fantasy there’s
more space to develop a complex plot, have more action, mystery, and suspense
while also including a romantic angle that doesn’t necessarily have to end
happily. I prefer to write urban fantasy even though I have written a
paranormal novella called Elemental
Inferno and I had a lot of fun writing that.
What
attracted you to writing in this genre?
I really loved the ability there is
to overlay supernatural elements into a non supernatural world. So being able
to write about vampires, ghosts, necromancers, witches, etc is a lot of fun
because there are so many stories you build.
Do
you read a lot of UF/PNR?
Not as much as I’d like, especially
since I have a new baby on my hands, but I absolutely love reading both UF and
PNR.
Zombies,
vampires, wolves, witches…they’ve all been done before, and many times. How do
you as a writer keep your stories fresh and interesting?
I try to put a unique aspect into
my stories. It can be hard coming up with a new concept, but I don’t try to
overwhelm myself with coming up with something completely unique. I think if
you have an interesting, strong plot and strong characters, you can write a
successful story. But there definitely needs to be something standout about
your story. When you think about witches you would definitely think about
casting curses, but with Black Widow Witch, I tried to take a different approach
by making it so that the witches were the ones who were afflicted with being
cursed.
What
are you working on right now?
For
someone who isn’t familiar with your work, how would you describe your writing
style?
Fast paced, strong, witty and full
of surprises.
Thanks so much, A.J.! Now, check out her book:
Book
Description:
A
deadly curse, a deadly assassin, and one shot to save everyone she loves…
Malachi
Erami can’t fall in love. After she’s caught with Knave, the witch Queen’s
favorite lover, she’s cursed to savagely butcher any man she falls for. Exiled
to live among humans, Malachi runs a bar that serves magic-laced drinks, but
since her curse labels her high risk, she’s also closely monitored. Julian Vira
is her latest babysitter, but he’s also the first man since Knave that she’s
been attracted to. Good-looking and nonjudgmental of her horrible curse? Yeah,
he’s hard to resist.
But
when Malachi finds a body behind her bar, she knows she’s in trouble. If the
Witches Control Council gets wind of it, she’ll be accused of murder and sent
to her death. And when her friends start getting framed for murder, she
realizes she’s not the only target. Malachi and Julian dig into the evidence to
clear her name, but the closer they get to answers, the closer the curse comes
to taking over. So when Malachi uncovers a plot to kill the witch Queen, she
finds herself suddenly recruited into service, with the promise of having her
curse lifted and a reunion with Knave as well. But if she fails, Knave will
die. And she and Julian might not live long enough to see that happen.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Today was the anniversary of the worst day of my life, and I’d been
trying to forget about it by consuming a vast amount of booze. The fact that I
owned a bar greatly helped with that endeavor, and the fact that I was drunk
was an accomplishment, since witches weren’t easily susceptible to alcohol.
Humans were onto something with this whole drinking-to-forget-one’s-crappy-life
thing.
Behind the bar, I poured a shot for an eager customer. Amaretto, Southern
Comfort peach liqueur, and sweet-and-sour mix went into the glass, then I held
my hand over the drink and let a stream of purple magic, the same color as my
eyes, flow into it. The drink glowed purple for a few seconds, then I handed it
to the customer, who drank it with no hesitation. After slamming the glass
down, he grabbed the tipsy woman who’d been hanging on him and gave her a
sloppy kiss, then led her out of the bar. I smiled and shook my head. The magic
I’d put into the shot, aptly named Piece of Ass, would ensure they didn’t leave
the bedroom tonight.
Somewhere in the room I heard riotous laughter, and above that the voice
eliciting that laughter. Xiune was having a good night for a change and wasn’t
holed up in my office. Though since she was just a head inside a clear acrylic
box, it was understandable that sometimes all she wanted to do was hide.
“Malachi, darling!” Xiune called. “Seven handsome young men have
requested the Challenge!” I smiled slyly. I loved administering the Challenge.
“It’s time for the Seven Deadly Sins Challenge!” I announced, filling up
eight shot glasses with vodka, one of which I downed. “Which sin will it be and
what will its victim do?” People shouted their guesses while I sent tendrils of
magic into the shots. My magic sparked like tiny bolts of lightning, and like
the shot I had just made, the liquid briefly glowed purple. I focused on one of
the glasses and started whispering a spell, channeling the essence of one of
the seven deadly sins through my body. For a brief moment, my body became
flushed with a feeling of ravenous desire, then it flowed out of me into the
shot glass. I felt rather charged and wondered if this had been the right sin
to choose tonight. But hey, I was drunk, and I kind of wanted to see someone
suffer. Misery loves company right?
I levitated the shot glasses onto a tray and sauntered over to the table
where Xiune was entertaining the men who thought they were up for the
Challenge. With her flawless complexion, golden eyes, and vibrant red hair,
Xiune didn’t need a body to be beautiful. I’d known her when she had one
though, and if she’d been sitting there in all her glory, she’d have every man
kneeling at her feet. Her allure was only heightened by the fact that she was a
bodiless beauty who used her magic to float herself around in a box. The box
wasn’t necessary for Xiune to move around, but she felt safer inside it when
she was out in public. That way if a witch hater spat on her, she’d have a
shield. It also prevented those on the other end of the spectrum, people who
were fascinated by witches, from getting too close. I set the shot glasses down
and motioned for the men to stand around the table. They looked like your
typical college fare: unkempt hair, sagging pants, and some sort of ironic or
sports themed T-shirt. High-fives and shit talking all around.
“Now boys,” I said, leaning forward on my forearms, giving my cleavage
time to shine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? One of you is moments away
from experiencing a sin you may or may not enjoy.” They assured me they were
man enough to handle any sin, and I smiled. The fun thing about the Challenge
was that everyone handled it differently. One man caught with gluttony had run
across the street to McDonalds, spent over a hundred dollars on food, then sat
on the floor and gorged himself. A woman under the same gluttony spell had
tried to eat her friend’s purse.
“Let’s hope it’s lust and let’s hope it’s me,” one of the men said,
winking at me. He stood a couple of inches over six feet, had brown hair and a
lanky physique. If he started spending time at the gym, maybe his lame come-ons
would give him more luck getting laid.
“Honey, I would eat you up,” I said with a slow smile. Normally I would
never have said such a line, but all the alcohol I had consumed was speaking
for me. He probably had no idea how true those words were though, because his
smile never wavered. However, for a moment after I spoke, I saw another face in
place of his, and it cut through my drunken haze like a knife. I gasped, and he
must have thought that was a sign he had a chance with me, because his smile
became more lascivious. Lucky for him, he did nothing for me.
“Malachi, let’s get this show going.” Xiune slid her box over to nudge
me, and I shook my head and turned back to the waiting crowd.
“All right, it’s about to go down!” I yelled. “For anyone who hasn’t
witnessed the Challenge before, I’ll explain how it works. One of these shot
glasses is infused with the essence of one of the seven deadly sins, and the
recipient will be overcome with that sin for the next half hour, while the
others will experience the most euphoric feeling they’ve ever experienced from
a shot of alcohol.” I motioned for the men to pick up a glass, and Mister
Flirtatious had one more wink for me.
“Gentlemen, take your shot of sin!” They took their shots to the head.
When they slammed their glasses down, every eye in the room was on them. After
about twenty seconds, one of the men—not Winky—suddenly gasped, whipped his
head around, and bolted from among his friends to accost a mildly attractive
woman standing nearby.
“Fuck me! Fuck me, please!” He shook her by the upper arms while she
stared at him, mortified, as his friends tried to pry him off her. I brayed
with laughter, as did Xiune and everyone else in the bar.
“Oh god, I’m so horny. Someone please, fuck me!” He struggled against his
laughing friends, trying to reach any female in sight, with his erection
leading the way. Lust had been the winner tonight, and for the next thirty
minutes this poor sap would be lusting after every woman he saw, whether she
was twenty-eight or eighty-two. He even lurched toward Xiune, but she floated
out of the way. Xiune was one sexy head in a box and had a mouth she could work
wonders with. She often came out of her box to work those wonders on any
willing man. There were more than you’d think.
“Right sin, wrong guy, right?” brown-haired dude said to me.
I rolled my eyes. “You and your friends will have your hands full for the
next half hour. I suggest you hold on to him real good and don’t be surprised
if he turns to one of you when it starts to look like he won’t be getting any
women.”
He laughed and pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call his girlfriend,
though she’ll probably be too pissed at him for doing this to alleviate his
lust.” He left the bar to make the call, while the other five continued to hold
on to their friend, laughing like they’d never experienced anything so
hilarious in their lives. Some of the more mischievous or drunk women teased
the guy by parading in front of him and doing dirty little stripper moves. Only
his friends’ hold stopped him from tackling one of them and trying to rip her
clothes off.
I wasn’t afraid of things getting out of hand because I could break the
spell any time I wanted. There was always a point where things stopped being
amusing and started getting annoying. I left them and headed back behind the
bar, while Xiune found another table of people to entertain. She was a
wonderful songstress, and soon her melodic voice filled the bar as I went back
to making magicked drinks. I glanced at my watch, noting that it was almost
midnight, which meant the day was almost over. That didn’t actually mean
anything though. The day passing didn’t mean I would forget the curse that was
hanging over my life.
“Hey, Malachi, can you pass me a knife?”
“Knave?” I quickly turned to the busboy, James, who was bent over a box
behind the bar.
“No, I said knife,” he said. My
throat was suddenly tight, but I reached under the bar, got a knife, and handed
it to him. I stood back and ran my hands through my short black curls, blowing
out a slow breath as I tried to rein in my reaction to thinking I had heard the
name Knave. That was the name attached to the face I did not like to think
about, but no amount of alcohol and rowdy college boys taking the Challenge
could truly put him from my mind. I didn’t want to see Knave’s face, didn’t
want to think about the hard muscles my hands used to slide over, following the
planes of his body to his waist and not stopping until I touched something that
arched his back and made him whisper my name. I didn’t want to think about the
nights we’d spent wrapped in each other’s arms, feeling our hearts beating
against each other. But of course, since his name crossed my lips, he was all I
could think about.
Falling in love with Knave was why I was cursed. And I could only blame
myself. I should have known better than to take someone else’s lover to my bed.
Especially if the woman crossed was a witch queen who was powerful, sadistic,
and known to curse people just for sneezing out of place.
“Malachi? Excuse me, Malachi?” I blinked and brought myself out of my
thoughts, turning to see that one of the other busboys, Dan, was trying to get
my attention. He held a box of empty liquor bottles and needed me to move so he
could pass. I shuffled out of the way, but thinking of Knave and my curse,
along with all the beer and shots I’d drunk tonight, made me feel slightly
unstable. Suddenly, the rowdiness in my bar wasn’t fun; it was obnoxious, and I
wanted to get away from it. I headed through the door Dan had passed through,
into the hallway that led to my office and the Dumpster out back. Halfway down
the hallway, I heard a crash, followed by a scream. I ran through the back
door, taking in several things at once that left me rooted to the spot. One,
the revolting stench that went far beyond what our single Dumpster could give
off. Two, Dan standing rigidly a few feet away with broken bottles scattered at
his feet. And three, the thing that had caused him to drop the bottles and
scream. Behind the Dumpster was a dead body.
Purchase
Links:
Other
books:
Author Bio:
A.J.
Locke is an author and artist, originally from Trinidad, now residing in New
York City. Black Widow Witch is her second published novel, and other than
writing she enjoys reading, drawing, painting, graphic design, and watching too
much television.
Author web
links:
Blog: http://iqurae.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AJ-Locke/522250584507699
Twitter: @maqueripe
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20643885-black-widow-witch
Hewhay Hall by Susan Roebuck
