TWILIGHT THURSDAY

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TAMELA QUIJAS CAPTURES THE BLOOD OF THE BEAST IN THE MOONLIGHT

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Please welcome Tamela Quijas into the Moonlight. Thanks so much for joining us today, Tamela. It’s a pleasure and an honor. Now, let’s get to the fun stuff, learning more about you and your books:

1. Do you have a movie that you must watch every Halloween? What's your favorite scary movie? Do you have a favorite scary character or character type?

I love the movie, Monster Squad, and watch it with the kids. My favorite scary movie would have to be the series, Rose Red—scared the daylights out of me. The thought of a house with an attitude of its own is astounding and more than just a bit creepy. My favorite scary character—Dracula!

2. Do you have any Halloween traditions like decorating your house, having house parties, wearing costumes, etc.?

We decorate the house and, while I take the little ones trick or treating. My husband and the older kids (in costume) pass out candy and scare the neighbors.



3. If you do you dress up for Halloween, what will you be dressed up as this year? What was your all-time most favorite costume that you ever wore? Why?

I stopped dressing up years ago. It's more fun to plan the decorations outside of the house and help the kids with their Halloween plans. Their excitement is worth every minute!

4. Are you superstitious? Do you find yourself knocking on wood or throwing salt over your shoulder? If not one of these two, what is your superstition?

I was raised in a very superstitious country and I do believe! Yes, salt over the shoulder, knocking on wood and I even have a hex symbol hung by the door of my house to ward off the devil, as well as rosemary at the front and back gate.

5. Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever had a ghostly encounter and tell us about it?

Ghosts! I believe in them 100%. A ghostly encounter?



I went to the movies with my DH a few years back and returned home around 11 pm. As I crawled into bed, out the corner of my eye, I saw a petite figure in white walk through the hallway. At first, I thought it was my youngest daughter, then realized she didn't have a floor length white nightgown. Chicken that I am, I jumped into bed and closed my eyes. The DH, who was nearby asked me if I had seen the same thing he had.

The following morning, my teenager (who would sleep on the couch out in the living room) told me how mad he was at his sister. When I asked why, he said that she had stood at the entry to the hallway and just stared at him until he told her to go back to bed. Then, he wanted to know where she got the white nightgown.

Very quietly, my daughter informed him she didn't have a white nightgown and never strayed from her bed that night.

6. Tell us 3 funny or strange things that happened to you, or someone you know, on past Halloweens.

I have one that sticks out in my memory that still makes me laugh!

The DH does these fantastic layouts for Halloween in the yard. His favorite is to dress up in old clothes and have straw coming out of the sleeves and bottoms of his pants and he puts on a mask. As soon as it is dark, he sits out on a lawn chair like a stuffed Halloween figure. The trick is, when the kids come up for candy, he starts to twitch, making them scream and run.

A woman showed up with her baby in a stroller, trick or treating. He pulled the same routine, but the mother started screaming and ran off down the drive, leaving the baby behind. Here the husband was, dressed to scare the daylights out of someone, having to chase after her with her child.

7. If you could be any paranormal creature, what would it be and why?

Oh, that's a hard one. I would love to be able to tap into a little of each creature because I love the combination of powers.

Now, let’s get to your writing:

8. Why the paranormal genre? What was the draw for you?

I love the unexplained and the mystical. The paranormal genre allows me to play with the questions of the darker side of the world and the shadows that may exist on the fringe of what we, as humans, term as acceptable.

9. If you could describe your paranormal writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please be creative and look beyond words like vampire, werewolf, etc., and delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

Come dance on the dark side of the moon is the phrase that I would use. I would like my readers to question what they believe and look beyond what they consider normal.

10. Do you prefer playing tricks on people or bestowing treats? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

No, I don't play tricks but I do enjoy bestowing treats. Life should be delicious and every moment savored.

11. Who decides what creatures you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stirring the cauldron?

Would you believe my muse? I have a delicious little imp that makes constant suggestions for my latest creature, sending ideas in a rampant little romp through my over active imagination.

12. What was the creature that you had the most fun creating and why?

Lucien D'Angel from Angel's Fire, Demon's Blood, was my favorite creature. I enjoyed creating him due to the fact that he is a 'soul gatherer', cursed to walk the earth and pay for crimes that were not of his making. Lucien gathers the souls of the dead that exist in the other realm of the world that is not visible to the human eye and he's tormented by the images he sees.

13. If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why? Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

Oh, that's a hard one! I would love to meet Lucien, for the entire ghost hunting experience. Demetri Petronov, from Blood of the Beast, would be another—the intelligent conversation would be stimulating!

The one character I would never want to meet? Julian D'Angel, consummate evil in human form, with powers that rival the devil.

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BLURB:

…There is a scent that fills the night, far more delicate than the beat of the human heart, more fragile than the whisper of breath that escapes the lungs. It is the scent of the blood that pulsates through the mortal body. Commonly overlooked by those among the living, it is a sound so fervently sought by those that reside on the fringes of the world that exists between the living and the undead.

It is what the beast craves…

Detective Valentina Kureyev had been assigned to one of the worst cases of the century. A serial killer haunted the streets, depositing bloodless corpses throughout the section of town known as Little Europe. She hadn't a clue to the identity of the culprit, as the appearance of more bodies had begun to cause terror and panic.

The case was hopeless.

The terror was real.

As real as Demetri Petronov.

The Professor of Russian Antiquities had been targeted with the murderer's special form of a calling card. Val couldn't turn away from his offer of aide in the bizarre case, even though he whispered tales of the beast feeding on human blood.

He was the primary suspect.

EXCERPT:

“I don't savor the hunt or the fresh kill, Valentina moya.” He assured her gently. Demetri lifted his large hand and used his forefinger to press at the soft flesh under her chin, effectively snapping her mouth shut. He continued to hold her jaw, the chill of his hand cupping the tender flesh. His heavily lidded attention bore deeply into her robin blue eyes, immediately recognizing that she was helplessly ensnared by his own unspoken power. “I don't relish what I am, Valentina, nor did I ask to be transformed into this creature of the night. If I could do everything over, I would have never permitted myself into the situation that cost me my soul.”
Val blinked up at him, unable to speak as he continued to stare at her. The fiery color had vanished from the whites of his eyes and the ever-comforting shade of amber revealed a profound sadness she hadn't expected. She quivered beneath his touch and, as his hand slid across the softness of her cheek, she exhaled a sigh filled with longing.

“There's only one thing about this eternal damnation I do enjoy, Detective Kureyev.” He continued, a seductive luminosity filling his gaze as his head bent toward her upturned face. His image filled her vision and her heart began to beat at a betraying double-quick tattoo. Val licked at her lips, her breasts rising and falling heavily with each strangled breath she struggled to take. “I can make you lower your stubborn defenses. I can look into your eyes and your entire body quivers with need for me. Some far part of you, buried deep inside that over analytical and cryptic mind, wonders how I would pleasure you.”

Blood of the Beast can be purchased at Amazon:
Kindle Format: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002GP7YMY/
Paperback Format: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Beast-Tamela-Quijas/dp/1442173351

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