trueromance

GIVEAWAY:  Meljean will be giving away 20 copies of Demon Forged to random commenters.

DEMON FORGED, by Meljean Brook

Setting: Modern-day Rome and San Francisco, with a few side trips: to Siberia; to Caelum, a heavenly realm; and to Chaos, a hellish realm filled with dragons

Subgenre: Paranormal romance

Hero: Alejandro Sandoval de Córdoba y Hacén, a Guardian who was originally a Spanish noble, and who was executed during the Inquisition.

Heroine: Irena, a 1600-year-old Guardian who had been a Roman slave.

One sentence summary: Once almost lovers, but separated by a demon’s bargain for four hundred years, Irena and Alejandro must put aside their painful history, overcome betrayal and tragedy – and destroy a monster that threatens not just the Guardians, but everyone on Earth.

Scene you like most and would never cut:

In the second half of DEMON FORGED, Irena and Alejandro share a scene that just rips my heart out. They’ve had a long and tumultuous romance, to say the least – and when they’ve finally managed to settle a few things between them and hope to move forward, the Guardians suffer a loss that leaves Irena emotionally gutted.

Irena tries to deal with her grief alone, but Alejandro finds her and simply holds her. The scene is quiet, and relatively short, and just shows all the ways that Alejandro and Irena are right for each other. I love it.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “Oh, I just love those heels!”

I’ve written my share of heroines (and one hero) who care about their appearance, and who would absolutely love shopping for clothes, makeup, the works. Irena – however much she would enjoy spending time with her friends – can’t imagine putting anything on her body that isn’t practical.

Irena isn’t my first heroine with almost two thousand years under her belt, but I went in an entirely different direction than I did before. Lilith in DEMON ANGEL developed a sheen of urbanity and cynicism, as have many other long-lived characters in paranormal romances. And that urbanity makes sense for these characters, who have often spent centuries maneuvering through complex alliances and political agendas.

Given Irena’s history as a slave of a Roman senator, however, urbanity just didn’t fit. She hates demons, politicians, and games of any kind. She’s blunt to a fault, earthy, and forthright. And although I think that “womanly” describes her perfectly, the traditional notion of “feminine” does not. She’s my barbarian in leather stockings and with kukri knives in her hands, and I love her for it.

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy:

Surprisingly, Alejandro is a commando kind of guy. And I say surprisingly, because at first glance he seems more like a black silk briefs type of hero: he’s quiet and controlled, sophisticated and sexy. But you don’t have to strip away many layers before discovering that he’s just as earthy as Irena is. That’s not to say that the controlled outer layer is a façade and the “true” Alejandro lies beneath – he’s both, and that makes him utterly fascinating to me (and, more importantly, to Irena).

Ancillary character you had the most fun with:

Khavi, the ancient grigori with a gift for prophecies that no one can interpret until it’s too late. She helps the Guardians right now, but her motives aren’t exactly altruistic, and no one can get a straight answer out of her. She ends up either infuriating or exasperating everyone, and so the scenes she’s in are both tense and funny.

Your heroine’s favorite hobby:

Sculpting. Irena’s special gift is the ability to manipulate metal, and although she uses it for practical purposes as well – creating weapons, for instance – she also sculpts statues and abstract figures. Very often, her mood can be determined by what forms beneath her fingertips. And, as Alejandro discovers, she can use her gift in some very interesting ways.

Your hero’s favorite hobby:

Reading. Like Irena, Alejandro has his own gift – to manipulate fire – but his method of relaxation includes reading a book, a newspaper, or an essay. He usually chooses nonfiction, especially works discussing world affairs, and is deeply passionate about politics. They aren’t his only love, however, and he has been known to read through a book of poetry from time to time. And if he has the chance to read it aloud to Irena, all the better.

What you think readers will like best about this book:

Irena. I think she’ll be a little hard to warm up to right away, simply because she has bottled up a lot of hate and anger. It’s all directed toward the demons, but her blunt personality takes some getting used to. As the story progresses, however, we see more of her vulnerability, the depth to her character, and the strength that isn’t just physical – and by the end, I hope that everyone will be cheering for Irena as hard as I do.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:

I receive quite a few e-mails about Michael, the leader of the Guardians. He plays an important part in DEMON FORGED, and we get to learn a little bit more about him – and we see a few events that will affect him and his happy-ever-after (which is still a few books away, but I promise we’ll get there!) This is a huge turning point for the Guardian series, and I think readers will be surprised … but also ready to see where we go next.

For anyone who hasn’t met Michael or started the Guardian series, and is afraid that they might be lost if they begin in the middle, I have a series guide on my website (http://www.meljeanbrook.com/primer) that gives you all of the background you need to begin with DEMON FORGED. And I’m always available via e-mail to answer any questions.

What’s next:

I’m writing the next Guardian novel, DEMON BLOOD, and working on my new steampunk romance series, The Iron Seas. I’ve wanted to write steampunk for years, so I can’t begin to express how excited I am by this series, which combines nanotech and pirates with a gritty, gaslit Victorian atmosphere to create swashbuckling steampunk romance…with an emphasis on the steam. The series will kick off with a novella next August, followed by the first novel, THE IRON DUKE.

Q of the day:

Angels are becoming more and more an element in paranormal romance stories . . . how do you as a reader feel about this?  Does it bother you that angels are incorporated in stories that may cast them in a less than positive light?  Or are you OK with this as it is all just for fun?