Interview-Kari Thomas

Kari promised to be here sometime today and post some excerpts so hope she will make it. Here is her interview and BTW I love her books too! AZG

CTR: Please give us a short blurb on your book and where we can get a copy! Please include genre and overall rating, considering explicit content, realistic language, violence etc.

KT: “Under A Shifter’s Moon” is published with Black Lyon Publishing www.blacklyonpublishing.com and is available in Print and Ebook formats at the Publisher, Amazon, and all Bookstores. It’s a Shapeshifter Romance, rated PG-13/or/R because there are sex scenes, some adult language, and also a few violence scenes.
Blurb: Alpha Jaguar Lyon Savage was destined to marry another in order to save his Pride from extinction. But that woman isn’t the one he loves. Yet, if he denies Pride Directive and chooses Kitlene Skye, her life is forfeit. And there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.

CTR. What inspired you to write this particular story? If this is your first book share why you chose this genre or setting and if it’s just your first in this style/genre what made you choose this as a new direction?

KT: This is actually my 6th (of 8 currently) published book, but it’s been a story in my mind for several years. I had the h/h clear but I could never come up with just the ‘right’ story for them. I tried several times and would give up and write something else. Finally I realized what the problem was and decided to plunge ahead. The heroine, Kitlene, represents myself in a lot of ways. I had to get over that mental block of ‘exposure’ before I could tell her story. Even though it’s a Shapeshifter story, it’s in a Contemporary setting. I like placing my preternatural heroes and heroines in that type of setting –it makes it more ‘realistic’ to me.

CTR: What do you think is the major appeal of the spooky, macabre and bizarre aspects of the paranormal? Do you think elements of horror can successfully blend with romance and form an appealing novel? Do you think fear and danger can be an aphrodisiac?

KT: That is it, exactly: Fear and danger can be an aphrodisiac. Romance readers (myself included!) love reading the spooky, the danger, the ‘unusual’ because we can immerse ourselves in the story YET stay safe. It’s like visiting a parallel world where you can experience all your secret desires/fears –and still be able to leave it anytime you want.

CTR: What is your favorite paranormal theme or creature and why?

KT: Most definitely the Shapeshifter. A hero can be incredibly strong, primal, and even alpha while in his shifter’s persona. And when he’s in human form? Whoa. He’s just as sexy! Vampires scare me. It’s that ‘no other food except blood’ idea that makes me shudder…; the thought of giving up CHOCOLATE in life would destroy me. I think I would resent the vampire hero for doing that to me! LOL!

CTR: Do you have a funny or hair-raising tale to share about ghost stories at sleepovers when you were a kid, scaring the new kid at camp etc? Were you usually the scarer or the scare-ee?

KT: That’s one of the reasons I write Paranormal Romance: I can be the ‘scare-er’! Growing up I was always the victim! I’m a wimp when it comes to scary stuff, and an easy target even to this day. When I was a teen, my younger sister and I were over at a friend’s house for a weekend sleepover. That day we had explored in the attic (safer in the daylight hours –not so scary!) and we found this ‘copy’ of a Renoir painting of a little girl. The colors were beautiful. My friend decided she was going to hang it in her room. Deed done, we forgot about it until later that night. After running around in the dark all over town (at the time the town had a curfew of 10:00 for anyone under 18) and escaping getting caught, we finally went back to her house. We walked into her room and found the painting lying in the middle of the room on the floor. Odd. The wall we had hung it on was four feet away. Shrugging, we hung it back up. And proceeded to play the “let’s tell scary stories” game. And of course, we were sitting in the dark. A few minutes into storytelling this bright streak of light flashed through the room and lit up the painting on the wall. Well, if that wasn’t enough to scare us –the spot the light pinpointed was: the little girl’s hands were dark red –as though she had blood on them! We screamed and ran! We dragged her parents into the room to see the painting. No bright light and no bloody hands…BUT… it was back in the middle of the room on the floor. LOL—we immediately took it back to the attic and locked it up!!

CTR: Is Halloween one of your favorite holidays? If so what do you like best about it? Do you usually dress up for work or to hand out treats or host a party? What’s your costume this year?

KT: Coming from a family history of Psychics, Halloween is one of those times you just KNOW something is going to happen. I love the ‘fun’ of it, with the kids and the sweets, etc. I love the ambience. But, from midnight to midnight, it’s tense. Will a spirit show up? Will there be a premonition? Will the veil between worlds choose to open up in your bedroom? (NOT an experience you want to have!). Let’s just say that the women in my family (throughout the years) are always prepared for anything on Halloween! LOL!
My last costume was a Cat. I pretended to be a shapeshifter in between forms. There are those out there who say I should have been a Chipmunk –because of my round cheeks –but!

CTR: What else would you like to tell perspective readers about this book or others you have available?

KT: All my books are Paranormal Romance, mostly with Shapeshifters, witches, and even a few Angel and Demons. “Under A Shifter’s Moon” is the book of my heart. It’s fast paced, full of HOT sensual romance, dire circumstances, and a hero that is to ‘sigh for’. My latest is “Spell-Kissed” (also with Black Lyon, as is my “Hunted Mate”). The heroine is a witch with a glitch: her spells misfire when her emotions are involved. So you can guess what happens when a sexy detective comes into her life! My largest word count book, “Her Heart His Soul” has an unusual hero who is half Angel and half Demon. While fighting to save the world Drake has to decide between his soul or the human woman he loves. I’ve received a lot of wonderful compliments about this unusual hero. Two other books, “Prey for the Wolf” and “Seducing the Hero” are with Eternal Press. “Prey” has an alpha wolf shifter who sets his sights on prey: his brother’s fiancé. In “Seducing” the heroine is a witch temporarily without her powers and has a stalker out to control her. The hero has been burned before in love and doesn’t trust her. It’s my “humorous” novel. I have four misfit animals in it that try to help the heroine seduce the hero. My novella “Hold Onto the Night” is my only Contemporary without any Paranormal elements. I wrote it for Are (All Romance Ebooks) for a Charity for the American Heart Association. All the Royalties goes to the AMA. It’s VERY sensual. And my first book ever published is “Temptation Unleashed”. It has a family of different shapeshifters fighting against a powerful sorcerer. The hero has every reason to hate anything to do with witchcraft –so imagine his feelings when he falls for a witch who will do anything in her power to claim the rare ‘half-shifter half-witch neice’ they share.

CTR: Where can we find more about you and your books?

KT: I’m everywhere on the Net! (grin) But the best place to find links, info, etc, is at my website: www.authorkari.com . “Temptation Unleashed” has two Shorts, Epilogues after the ending of the book with the love stories of secondary characters. If anyone would like copies. Contact me at: authorkari@yahoo.com

Thanks Kari for joining us. You can post your excerpts at your convenience! AZG