TWILIGHT THURSDAY

Please help me welcome Keta Diablo into the moonlight today! Keta’s most recent release is Sin Eater's Prince and was released by Ravenous Romance. Keta is multi-published and has joined us here in the Moonlight more than once. To read her other interviews and learn more about her books, click on the following links:

April 14, 2009 Interview:
http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009_04_12_archive.html

April 21, 2009 Interview: http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/please-welcome-authorketa-diablo_21.html

April 23, 2009 Interview: http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/please-welcome-authorketa-diablo_23.html

October 1, 2009 Interview: http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/10/keta-mixes-up-some-mayhem-with.html

My review of Keta’s book, Carnal Cravings: http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-of-carnal-cravings-by-keta.html

My review of Keta’s book, Decadent Deceptions:
http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/review-of-decadent-deceptions-by-keta.html


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GRACEN: Now, let’s get to the juicy stuff…Keta, do you make resolutions for the New Year? Why or why not? If so, please share one or more of them with us!

KETA: Hi Gracen and girls! Yes, I did make a New Year’s resolution this year and it has to do with reading of all things. I’ve promised to read at least two chapters every night from the huge TBR pile sitting in my bedroom.


GRACEN: Now that the busy holiday time is over, what do you do to recharge?

KETA: I just went away for three days to a local hotel, very nice with every accommodation you can think of, Jacuzzi, latte coffee shop, in-room Internet, quiet hallways (lol) and I spent the three days reading, eating and sleeping and writing. What more could I ask for?


GRACEN: Do you have any holiday memories from 2009 that you would like to share with us?

KETA: Every holiday is special to me providing my kids all show up. We eat, laugh, play board games and sometimes Texas Hold-em!


GRACEN: What area of the country/world are you from? What are the average temperatures where you are? What type of clothing would most residents be wearing today? What tips do you have for people to “survive” the weather where you are?

KETA: This is a great question. I’m from the Midwest – the COLD part of the country. This winter has been icy once again with 22 below wind chill. When I must go out I look like a penguin with layers of clothing and only my eyes are showing. Picture it. We survive by buying a ton of groceries all at one time (so we don’t have to go out) rent hundreds of movies, and hunker down in bunkers until April. Actually, I’m rather fond of this type of life.


GRACEN: Do you have any favorite outside hobbies? Can you perform any of these hobbies right now? If not, why not, and is weather a factor?

KETA: I love gardening so living in the Midwest takes that enjoyment away for six months of the year. You learn to really appreciate the color of flowers by the time spring finally arrives.


GRACEN: Do you prefer your hot tub inside the house or outside the house? Why?

KETA: See number 2 above. I’m strictly a hotel junkie when it comes to Jacuzzis.


GRACEN: If you could be any character/creature, who/what would it be and why?

KETA: A time-traveler. This is an easy decision for me because I adore history. My only regret – I only get to read about it, not experience it in person. Oh, all my dreams would be answered if I could travel backward or forward in time.


GRACEN: Now, let’s get to your writing. Why the erotic romance and gay fiction genres? What was the draw for you?

KETA: I think many writers write what they enjoy reading. That’s one way they learn how to write the genre and learn about the trends in the market. That’s not to say that authors should switch genres every time a new trend comes out, but it seems like many have in the past.

I like writing gay fiction because I’m very intrigued by the male body, their muscles, texture of skin and movement. It’s so very different than ours. It intrigues me to read about two men making love and imagining what it MUST be like for them. Alas, I will never know.


GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please look beyond words like hot, sexy, 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.

KETA: Bold and audacious. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been accused of being “politically incorrect” in my writing. I write characters as I see them in my mind, including all their warts and flaws. This doesn’t always sit well with readers because I think some live vicariously through the character and like to imagine them as perfect. I don’t write perfect characters because I don’t think that would be true to real life. Sorry to those I have disappointed.


GRACEN: Do the holidays disrupt your writing schedule? If so, how tough is it to get yourself back in writing mode and what have you found that seems to help?

KETA: Major. But I think one of the signs of a “balanced” writer is to be able to accept that she/he is not just a writer, but also a mother, an aunt, a friend a companion or whatever. People need us just like we need them, and you can’t become so obsessed about your writing that you don’t take time to smell the roses. Keta repeats this phrase at least ten times every day.


GRACEN: Do you prefer hot chocolate with marshmallows or a hot toddy? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

KETA: I don’t drink either. I know, I’m boring. I have nothing against alcohol or those who drink it. I’ve never acquired a taste for it. Now, if someone took away my iced tea or my coffee, you’d see the Scotch-Irish in me come out. It could get ugly.


GRACEN: Who decides what characters/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 pouring the soap in the Jacuzzi?

KETA: I decide what I’m going to write about and imagine the characters in my mind. Every now and then something pulls me in another direction when I’m writing, something unexpected. If you want to call that my muse, I suppose we could, but I don’t think I have a “real muse”. One time I was going to kill off a main character and when it came to time to do it, my fingers froze . . . literally. I don’t know who made that decision, but the character went on to appear in the next book. I guess he felt he had more to say.


GRACEN: What creature/character did you have the most fun creating and why?

KETA: Most definitely the main characters in my most recent book, The Sin Eater’s Prince. The concept fascinates me. A sin eater, which was a viable profession (although not much admired) back in Wales, England and Ireland meets the vampire (a good vampire) and the relationship between the two men still baffles me. How does a sin eater, a man considered most unholy by his neighbors, and a vampire find enduring love? Guess you’ll have to read the book . . . hint . . . hint.


GRACEN: 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?

KETA: I would love to meet Morgan from Decadent Deceptions, another fascinating character. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him except Olivia, the heroine. He’s dark, dangerous and I suppose some would say rude at times, but never with his woman.




Decadent Deceptions, Noble Romance, http://www.nobleromance.com/

About the book:

A 2008 Molly Contest Finalist – Erotica category

Daring and desperate to win Morgan’s love, Olivia Breedlove embarks on a reckless folly. But everything backfires when Morgan remains one step ahead of her and the game ventures down a path of duplicity and murder.

A decade ago, Morgan was a heartbeat away from taking Olivia’s virginity. Her father, Thaddeus, intervened and threatened to meet him over pistols if he so much as looked at his daughter again. But now, Thaddeus is dead and Morgan has no intention of ignoring the ravenous hunger he’s harbored for the blasted woman for ten years.

One way or the other, he will quench this burning desire and make her his forever.

Special Content Alert: Voyuerism

For your convenience, once again, here's the link to my review of Decadent Deceptions:
http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/review-of-decadent-deceptions-by-keta.html

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The Sin Eater's Prince, Keta Diablo
Ravenous Romance, http://www.ravenousromance.com/
Male/Male/Vampire set in historical Wales


About The Sin Eater's Prince:

Owen Rhys, the sin eater of his village in Wales, has been shunned by the local villagers his entire life--except by Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he thinks will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire and admits he cares deeply for Owen.

Dagan, son of Traherne, the vampire Andras killed to save Owen, will stop at nothing to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword from Andras. The divine claymore holds the power to grant immunity from the sun’s harsh rays—the one exemption the dark Lords of the Underworld has sought for centuries.

Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side can remain victorious. Revenge and redemption. Dark versus light. Good versus evil. The Sin Eater’s Prince

Video Trailer Embed Code:



Video trailer url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h46kQK9a6k


Excerpt from The Sin Eater's Prince:


Setup: Owen pages through one of his tad's (father's) history books to learn about vampires.

Excerpt:
An innate sense of curiosity drew Owen to the hearth, and specifically to the nearby wooden crate. Shortly after his father passed, he’d relegated the man’s meager possessions and his collection of cherished books to the trunk and hadn’t looked at the contents since. If memory served him, he’d find not only several volumes on Welsh history, but another on legend and lore of Wales.


Removing the lid from the crate, he sorted through the books until he found what he searched for, Demons and Other Mystical Creatures of Wales. Thumbing through the pages quickly, he found the chapter entitled Lords of the Underworld: Vampyres.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and scanned the page, his eyes settling on a passage in the middle: The vampyre is the most dreaded and feared creature of the supernatural world. He’s not only obtained immortality, but has the ability to alter his appearance, fly through the night sky, and traverse the ground under the guise of the wolf or a wisp of smoke. After seducing his victims through hypnotic measures or mind control, the vampyre will drain them of their blood thereby bolstering his strength and power. A vampyre might possess beauty beyond one’s imagination or be hideously marked.

Owen’s heart launched into a triple beat and a fine bead of sweat broke out on his forehead. The mouth is thought to be the way the soul leaves the body, and also the way evil spirits are allowed to enter. If one has slain a vampyre in Wales, it is advised the mouth be stuffed with a consecrated object or stitched shut and sprinkled with holy water.

Owen turned the page with an acute sense of trepidation and read his third and final passage: Spiritual vampyres draw the life energy from their victims and at times, their very souls. This species of vampyre does not merely feed on blood but the victim’s essence in order to survive.

He slammed the book shut, tossed it back into the crate and replaced the lid. Then he rose and paced the cottage, the words from the tome tumbling through his head. He didn’t need to read the passages to know Maddock was a vampire; the man had admitted it. What he wouldn’t give to have known Andras before he arrived in Pembrokeshire. Had he always possessed such unearthly beauty or had he accrued it since Traherne turned him?

And what species of long tooth was Traherne? Had he not only fed on Andras’s blood, but sucked the very soul from the man? Andras, soulless? Nay, it could not be. He’d witnessed innumerable acts of compassion from the man while ministering to the sick, watched his eyes flood with empathy when they passed into the other world.

His intestines wound into a reef knot. Had Maddock played him false with his words of coveting him from afar and holding a place for him in his heart? Were those the words of a demon possessed of hypnotic capabilities or the words of a man who cared deeply?

The questions festered and churned until Owen knew only one thing: Maddock was a very dark and very beautiful vampire.

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Find Keta here on the Internet:

Author Home: http://ketadiablo.blogspot.com/
Keta’s Haunt: http://www.ketadiablo.com/
Keta’s Keep: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com/
Gay Fiction Blog: http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com/
Keta on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo