Interview & Giveaway with Tes Hilaire!

 

Hi Tes, thank you so much for visiting My Secret Romance!  Your second novel in the Paladin Warriors series, Deliver Me from Temptation, hits stores this week.  I have to say I really liked it!  All the twist and turns, warriors and demons protecting and preying on humans, the action…you had me reading long past my bedtime.  Thank you for taking the time to answer our interview questions below.

Tes: You’re welcome! Thank you so much for having me, and I’m so glad you liked Deliver Me from Temptation. I think it’s the greatest compliment for any author to hear that she/he kept a reader up late into the night :-D

Paladin stories go pretty far back in history.  How long have you been interested in them?  What inspired you to write a paranormal romance series with them as your heroes?

Tes: I’ve always been intrigued with the history and the Paladin are no exception. I always thought it was so cool when they popped up in books or movies etc, but honestly it wasn’t until I’d written the first couple chapters of Deliver Me from Darkness and was looking for something to give meat to the character relationships I was building that I came back to the idea of the Paladin.

What kind of research, if any, did you do to prepare for your book?  Was there anything that was most personally interesting to you?

Tes: Oh my… can I just say a lot of research?  ;-)  There was the initial research that I used for world building that involved expanding my knowledge on the Paladin, angels, demons, vampires, and all those other fun creatures that go bump in the night. Beyond that there is a ton of little things that needed to be addressed. What area of NYC should I use for what scene? What does this street look like? What type of gun should Jessica use (btw, it changed from back cover blurb to what’s in the actual book due to some sort of safety release thingy that my friend pointed out was wrong for a Glock)? The list goes on and on. I think for me, the most fun part of the research was really diving into the origin stories of many of my creatures. Talk about conflicting information!  It was both very frustrating and very liberating because once I got over not being able to get it all right, I realized that I really couldn’t get it wrong either!

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Tes: That sometimes my subconscious is smarter than I am. It amazes me how many times I plan a scene or a plot out and then tear my hair out when it doesn’t work. More amazing is the times when the muse takes over and I start writing and things just fall into place. I can be in the middle of a scene and my fingers pause over the keyboard as I have one of those duh, head-smack moments as I think, “That’s it! Of course! Why didn’t I think of this before?”

Were there any scenes that were hard to write?  Why?

Tes: Yes, pretty much the entire book…the first time around. Which is how I knew it wasn’t working. So I ditched the entire thing (with my editor’s blessing) and went back to the drawing board. The second try was much more organic with tons of those finger-flying moments (thank goodness!)

What was the hardest thing to cut from your manuscript?

Tes: When is it not hard? LOL! Truly it is hard. After ditching almost 80,000 words in the trash and rewriting, I cut almost 10,000 words from my second version of Deliver Me from Temptation, much of that entire scenes or parts of scenes. They were good cuts to make as the story needed to progress forward, but any cut is always painful to an author. These are our babies after all ;-)  

Are any of your characters most/least like you, and in what way(s)?

Tes: Jessica is probably most like I’d want to be with her fearlessness and strength. That said I think I’m closer to Karissa (in Deliver Me from Darkness, book 1). She is not naturally a warrior, but will straighten her spine, raise her fists, and take on the world if that which she loves is threatened. My husband doesn’t call me Mama Bear without reason!

I have to admit you made me tear up towards the end.  I don’t want to give anything away, but when Logan realized a certain “angel” volunteered for duty, you got me. Do you have a favorite moment from Deliver Me from Temptation?

Tes: I do. It’s when Logan is trying to convince himself that any time with Jessica, no matter how limited, was worth fighting for.  Here it is:

…Something hard and horrible tasting rose in his throat. It took him a moment to understand what it was: Despair. Because even if he could convince her he spoke the truth—which was looking doubtful—it didn’t matter whether she believed. Belief, acceptance. What did either of those things really fucking matter? He’d have what? Twenty? Forty? If he was damn lucky maybe sixty years with her?

She was human. Sooner or later she was going to die.

But I have her now. I have her this moment. And damn if I’m not going to fight for another.

As he grasped on to the thought he closed his eyes, drawing to him the memories of their night together. The average female in this country had eighty years or more. That meant that if he could keep her safe, fifty-four of hers could be with him. Piddling really, but calculated out that meant he could have her for 19,710 days which equaled 473,040 hours or, still further, 28,382,400 moments. And that number didn’t seem nearly so bad…

If you gave one of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?

Tes: Oh that’s not a good idea. So far every Paladin interview I’ve sat in on has involved a lot of growling and telling me to mind my own business. Valin once compared me to the “damn paparazzi” in fact.

What is your next project?  Will we get Valin’s story?

Tes: Actually, Valin’s is next! Prince of Shadows, the third novel in the Paladin warriors, will come out next November.  I had a lot of fun tortur… uh…writing Valin’s story and I think you’re all going to love it!

Do you have other ideas in the works beyond the Paladin Warriors series?

Tes: I have a ton of ideas and a hard drive full of projects. I have some plans for some of them but the rest are going to stay safely anonymous.

I read that you’re a big reader too.  So instead of asking what have you read or who’s your favorite I’ll ask you: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?

Tes: Culling the list to New-to-Me authors, since I became a Sourcebooks author I’ve been digging into a lot of my fellow SB author’s novels. I can’t even list all the awesome ones I’ve found, but three PNR authors that I have come to have so much respect for are Sara Humphreys, Elisabeth Naughton, and Elisabeth Staab. Another couple authors (non-Sourcebooks) that I found at the most recent RWA were Hanna Martine and Shawntelle Madison. I loved Hanna’s voice and positively fell in love with Shawntelle’s quirky heroine. As far as who I would love to meet, I have to say that I’ve been privileged to meet so many of these amazing authors, among others, that I’m not going to be greedy and ask for more…okay, maybe one more… How about Karen Marie Moning :-D

If your book was made into a Movie, what actors would you like to see playing your characters?  Feel free to add pics.

Tes:  Honestly, I haven’t found a perfect actor to represent the image I have in my mind… but, these are the closest I could come: Roland- Colin Farrell (think Fright Night); Karissa –Mila Kunis (her more recent stuff); Logan – Jude Law; Jessica - Sofia Milos (think the beginning of her CSI career)

Give us three "Good to Know" facts about you.

Tes: I have to concentrate to stay here on earth when I’m writing…or thinking about writing… or thinking about what I might write about :-)  I am a sucker for a just cause. And I like to travel…except for the actual traveling bit (something about metal death traps... Yikes!).

Where can your readers stalk you?  Um, I mean find you on the web.  :)

Webpage: www.teshilaire.com 

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5102036.Tes_Hilaire

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/teshilaire

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tes-Hilaire/e/B008E6CO42/

Can you leave us with a favorite quote or teaser from your book?

Tes: Sure!  This is a scene right after Jessica has an unsatisfying run in with Logan. Jessica’s sure at this point that Logan knows more than he’s letting on about her case, but she is also attracted to him and really doesn’t want to be. It kind of affects her mood…much to her poor partner’s distress levels. :-D

…Jessica swerved the car to the left, front bumper barely missing an intimate moment with the banged-up yellow Ford in front of her. She yanked the wheel back to the right, popping them into a short of Smart car slot. Brakes squealed, middle fingers extended, and the gap grew just in time to save the little amount of paint remaining on her Impala’s bumper.

“Jesus Christ!” Mike shouted beside her, knees lifting, hands grabbing for a nonexistent oh-shit handle.

“Sorry,” she replied automatically, even as she began to measure the next opening gap in the jostle-and-go Manhattan traffic.

“Goddamn.” He craned his head to glance back at the irate cabby, then blew out a breath and faced forward again. “Ever hear of a little something called road rage?”

“I’m not angry.” Annoyed, frustrated, edgy, but not angry per se.

“No? Well you’re doing a fine job of pissing everyone else off!”

She chuckled, easing her foot a hair off the accelerator. Just a hair though, they had places to be, people to see …holes to shoot in her theories.

Damn Logan Calhoun. His conviction in his friend had made her doubt her own. And sure, uncertainty was often part of the job, but the distinct feeling of unease she had, this want to twist her head like there was something big, scary, and unexplainable just over her shoulder, was not a sensation she was used to.

Crap. She didn’t even know why she’d chased after him, other than as she’d followed her suspect out of the station, something in the depths of her brain screamed at her to go after him, not to let him get away.

Whatever. She’d gotten both a lot more and a lot less than she wanted out of that little interaction. While she was all but convinced Logan Calhoun didn’t have anything to do with what had happened to Thomas Rhodes, her instincts screamed that he knew a hell of a lot more than he was telling her. Problem was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what that was. She had a gut-sinking suspicion that his answers, if she could convince him to give them up, might have a real ass-over-teakettle effect on her well-ordered case.

And her world.

The light turned yellow. “Come on. Come on!” she grumbled at the slow van in front of her. It slowed down, sped up, slowed down, then burst through the light…right as it turned red.

“Dammit!” Jessica slammed on her brakes, the nose of her Chevy well into the crosswalk. Not that the pedestrians cared, they just weaved around.

She stared at the light, foot itching on the brake.

“What’s up with the bruises on your wrist?” Mike asked…

Hmmm… what is up with Jessica’s wrist? To find out you’re going to have to snap up your own copy of Deliver Me from Temptation!  Thank you so much for stopping in today. Feel free to ask me anything you’d like, or just say Hi and introduce yourself. I love meeting new readers!

DELIVER ME FROM TEMPTATION BY TES HILIARE – IN STORES DECEMBER 2012

Logan Screwed Up...Big Time

When things go bump in the night, Logan bumps back. Vampires, demons, succubi—you name it, he's fought it. His job as Paladin angel warrior is to protect humans. Not fall for one.

She Never Believed in Divine Intervention...Until Now

Detective Jessica Waters protects humans too-with her Glock and a good set of handcuffs. She doesn't believe in fate. But if anyone looks like a gift from the gods, it's Logan. And he clearly knows more about her case than he's letting on...

“Dark, sexy, and intense! Hilaire blazes a new path in paranormal romance.”

—Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author on Deliver Me From Darkness

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daphne Award-winning author Tes Hilaire started creating whole new worlds to escape upstate New York’s harsh winters before finally fleeing to sultry North Carolina. Her stories are edgy, exciting, and bring a hint of dark fantasy to paranormal romance. And no one ever has to shovel snow. For more, visit www.teshilaire.com, like her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor, and follow her on Twitter, @TesHilaire. Look for the other books in the Paladin Warriors Series: Deliver Me from Darkness (in stores now) and Prince of Shadows (November 2013).

To Purchase Deliver Me from Temptation:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Chapters /Indigo

Sourcebooks

Discover a New Love

 

One copy of Deliver Me from Temptation will be given away to one reader in the US/CA area. Please leave a comment below WITH your email address for Tes and a winner will be chosen in a week. Thank you and good luck!