SUPERNATURAL SUNDAY

Please welcome author, Cherie De Sues, into the moonlight today. Cherie is a new up and coming author from Noble Romance Publishing and she’s already receiving awesome reviews for her books. She’s received 5 out of 5 from You Gotta Read Reviewers and Book Junkie and 4 ½ lips from Two Lips Reviewers. To learn more about Cherie, visit her website at: http://www.cheriedesues2.com/

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Cherie and her characters.

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GRACEN: Mother’s Day has become as commercialized as other holidays, but, as far as I can tell, no one seems to mind. Some mothers prefer flowers, some a nice meal, while others prefer gifts like time alone. If you are a mother or wish you were one, what would be your ultimate gift on Mother’s Day?

CHERIE: Nothing makes me happier than to share a meal and a movie with my son, Scott. He's a great cook and will probably make me a great breakfast and dinner on Mother's Day.


GRACEN: Do (would) you prefer your gifts bought or handmade?

CHERIE: From an early age, my son who's 26 now, would make me trinkets, hand-painted pins and paper books of poetry for Mother's Day. I definitely appreciate smaller, more personal items that come from the heart.


GRACEN: If you wrote yourself as a character, who would you be if someone other than yourself?

CHERIE: I always wanted to be Catwoman when I was a kid. I thought her tight black outfit and snarling cat whining was so cool.


GRACEN: Would you have the same name, physical attributes, anatomy or would everything change?

CHERIE: I was born with a good face and athletic body, but I wouldn't mind a little lift, wrinkle removal or to lose a few pounds. LOL


GRACEN: What would your name be and what would your character-self look like? Would you be the heroine or the hero and why?

CHERIE: I guess the character would be Cat Cherie and I'd be the heroine I like heating up the hero in my tight black leather of course.


GRACEN: What about your personality and traits?

CHERIE: I'm outgoing and a good listener. After years and years of being told so, I have to own the behavior. I think the opposite would be a nice switch. Cool, allough, mysterious.


GRACEN: What would you change and what would you keep?

CHERIE: I'd ditch my happy voice and use a deeper, seductive growl. Meow.


GRACEN: What new traits would you give your character-self and why those traits?

CHERIE: Cat Cherie would let other do the laundry and dishes. Purrfect.


GRACEN: When would you exist?

CHERIE: In the 60's when men still opened doors for women.


GRACEN: Would you go back in time, stay in the present, or jump into the future?

CHERIE: I don't think there would be any time that could withstand the enigmatic Cat Cherie!


GRACEN: What time period would you pick and why?

CHERIE: The 60's for sure, I think Cat Cherie would be a big hit!


GRACEN: What type of story would it be (other than historical, contemporary or futuristic)?

CHERIE: Suspense…always a suspense.


GRACEN: Would you have companions (family, friends, pets, children) or would you be the loner-type? What companions would you have and what would they be like?

CHERIE: I'd have a handsome-man sidekick who kept me from straying…


GRACEN: What, if any, special qualities would your pet have if your character-self had one?

CHERIE: Ooooh, I'd have an Ocelot feline. They can be trained, but are wild animals naturally. Very rare pet and I'd want to be able to communicate mentally with the animal. Here kitty, kitty.


GRACEN: What about a love interest(s)?

CHERIE: Oh, yes, please!


GRACEN: What type of relationship(s) would it (they) be?

CHERIE: Well, you know female cats when they're in heat.


GRACEN: Would it (they) be anything similar to what you have now (or want to have), or would you be radical and change things up?

CHERIE: I'm monogamous, but living as half cat/half woman could be very liberating.


GRACEN: What would he/she (they) look/be like?

CHERIE: HOT, ripped, cat-like grace and all man…did I say HOT?


GRACEN: What would it be about him/her (they) that attracts you?

CHERIE: The eyes as they scan over my feline form.


GRACEN: Would he/she (they) have any traits you don’t like or would you make him/her (they) completely perfect?

CHERIE: I would want the companion to be contrary, to have different views of everything. I like contrast and spicy conversations.


GRACEN: What traits and why?

CHERIE: He would need to take charge even if I beat him at his own game. I need the friction.


GRACEN: We’ve had our fun now, so let’s put the focus on your writing, Cherie…
What is your main genre (erotica, erotic romance, romantic suspense, etc.)? What was the draw for you?

CHERIE: Erotic romantic suspense and paranormal suspense. I find writing a straight contemporary difficult and need friction in my characters lives besides their romance issues.


GRACEN: Besides your main genre we just discussed, what elements do you prefer to use in a story and why those elements over others?

CHERIE: I insist on using water, whether it is a lake, sea or river. You'll see my characters are often surrounded by water somewhere in the novel.


GRACEN: Any elements you would never use?

CHERIE: I really can't think of any, I'm well-traveled and often put my characters in different countries, climates and situations.


GRACEN: In your opinion, what author or story had the most influence on your writing?

CHERIE: There is not just one, but a combination. Like the various music I listen to, I read many genres of books. Nora Roberts taught me cadence and characterization. Stephen King taught me suspense and edge of your seat thrills. Dean Koontz taught me mystery and how to keep the reader on the edge of understanding what the solution to the suspense may be.


GRACEN: What about their writing or that story did you find so influential and why?

CHERIE: I dislike clowns intensely, yet "It" by Stephen King is one of my favorite novels. That story combines multiple lives, back stories and terror in the most elaborate way.


GRACEN: While authors and stories can definitely influence us, inspiration can be everywhere for a writer, but sometimes specific people, places and events can inspire certain characters, personality traits or things that happen in our stories. In your current story that we’re promoting here today, Tales of the Red Moon Clan, did any one particular person, place or event inspire you? If so who/what was it (were they), how did it/they inspire you and how is this inspiration reflected in your story?

CHERIE: Yes. The southwest region of Oregon is my favorite place and that's where my story begins. Oregon is a rough, gorgeous forest with angry rivers and mean weather. This was the perfect place to set, Tales of the Red Moon Clan.


GRACEN: Without giving away anything pertinent to the story, tell us about the hero and heroine (s) of your story. What do they look like?

CHERIE: Neol is a Navajo shapeshifting bountyhunter. He's muscular, has cat-like grace and sinfully handsome. Sara is an assistant DA, athletic with green eyes and auburn hair.


GRACEN: How do they meet (or “did” if this is not the first book with these same characters)?

CHERIE: Sara's meeting with the owner of a strip club goes very wrong and Neol intervenes swiftly to save her from certain death.


GRACEN: What are their personalities – Are they comical cut-ups, are they serious or are they a mix of the two?

CHERIE: Neol and Sara are on the run as they fall in love, but humor manages to surface.


GRACEN: Please give us a little bit of dialogue from the story that can illustrate this. (Not much, but just a few lines and from a different section than the main excerpt – Thanks!)

CHERIE:

He sighed. "Look, I'm Neol Pallaton; what's your name?" He didn't need the information, but she needed familiarity—he needed her to trust the man after witnessing the cougar.

Her eyes flicked back to his face. "Sara, Sara Hughes."

"Where are we headed, Sara? Where are you taking us?" He'd been paying attention and she had a specific destination in mind. Her driving didn't feel random.

"My dad's old cabin. It's off a dirt road next to the lake." Her lips trembled as tears glistened in her soft green eyes.

He'd liked those eyes when he’d seen them close up for the first time in the bar. Now they tore at him with the terror they reflected.

"Okay Sara, get us to the lake and I'll figure something out." He smiled. She needed him to be a rock during the turmoil.


GRACEN: The main characters are usually great, but sometimes, secondary and tertiary characters are known to steal the scenes. Who are the secondary/tertiary characters in your story and what do they look like?

CHERIE: Tse is Neol's cousin and they share so many similar qualities…wink, wink. Tse is in the second book of the series coming soon. And then there is Claire, Sara's best friend and assistant at the DA's office.


GRACEN: What’s unique about them?

CHERIE: They reflect what is good about the leading h/h and have unique characteristics of their own. They will share scenes in the next book.


GRACEN: What is their relationship to the hero/heroine?

CHERIE: Both Tse and Claire are the closest people to the h/h.


GRACEN: Have any of these gone on to become scene-stealers?

CHERIE: Oh, sure. Claire is a waif, but tough. Tse is a tough man and yet gentle.


GRACEN: Again, please give us a small bit of dialogue to illustrate this – thanks!

CHERIE:

CLAIRE
"Sara, Mrs. Sampson is on the phone and she wants to make an appointment to see you tomorrow."

The dead seventeen-year-old's mother called every day wanting an update. Sara gave Claire a wilted look.

"I have nothing new on Daniels. Claire, I know she wants some closure to Jessica's death, but I need Daniels for that."

Claire pushed her light blond curls behind an ear and stuck out a stubborn chin. "I know, but she says she has some new information she wants to share with you."

Sara sighed—she hated to ignore the woman. "Okay, tomorrow afternoon."

TSE
Neol moved quickly to answer the knock at his door and caught Tse's scent. His cousin rushed in, almost bowling him over, and Neol shut the door and locked up.

"Any longer and that cop at the next room would have started asking some serious questions." Tse complained.

Neol rolled his shoulders. "Sorry. Just taking care of Sara next door. She's locked in her bedroom, which is right next to this one." He pointed to the open door to the right and Tse nodded. "There are two officers and her boss in the room next to hers on the other side, but they went to sleep a couple of hours ago."

Tse rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess they're going to miss all the action."




BLURB:

Neol Pallaton walks alone through the bowels of society as a bounty hunter, until he shifts into a cougar to save Assistant D.A. Sara Hughes from certain death. A relentless killer keeps them moving by day through the Oregon forest—and by night under the full moon, passion rules their hearts.

The rugged forest is no place for a beautiful and feisty city woman, but Neol’s determined to help Sara piece together why she's being hunted. Sara thought bounty hunters were brutal loners who stretched the law she’s sworn to uphold. But Neol proves that no one can hunt, track and protect her like a Navajo medicine man from the Red Moon Clan.

Neol is willing to anger the spirits to protect his one true mate. Sara will have to bend the law to keep Neol and her alive—and together forever.


EXCERPT:
She sat across from Claire, chewing on her Chinese chicken salad and the meat reminded her of the rabbits Neol caught. She wished she could share more details about Neol’s personality with Claire, but that would mean divulging his secrets and she could never do that to him. How sad he had to hide who he really was when his abilities were as much an integral part of him as eye color or height. But then again, he kept secrets even from her. Like how he’d managed to get in the cabin that first night. The only explanation she could think of was that he’d climbed in through the old doggie door. That thought made her smile.

"What are you grinning about? Whatever it is you need to share, because I'm a wreck right now."

Claire's hands shook as she tucked a stray blonde strand behind her ear. Sara flinched with remorse for thinking only about herself. She searched her mind for something harmless she could share with Claire.

"I was reminiscing about my dad and his old dog and how they liked to hunt every single thing in the forest. They'd bring back deer, rabbits, squirrels, all kinds of prey together. Near the end his dog would hunt alone and my dad didn't even have to leave his chair for a good meal." She laughed at the memory.

Claire smiled. "Wow, I hadn't realized your dad was such a hunter."

"Well, he worked as an accountant by day, but during hunting season? Look out, baby. He was like Daniel Boone. He always came back with whatever he had a taste for, every time."

"Sounds like you're describing Neol; you must see the similarities." Claire snuck in her opinion quietly, visibly more calm as she put a fork into her beef and broccoli.

"Yes, actually I do." Sara bit into a mandarin orange slice. Neol did remind her of her father; she'd noticed the similarity right away when he'd handled her dad's hunting knife. She'd been safe around her dad and now with Neol. Both were strong men and she'd picked up on the characteristics they shared. Warmth coursed through her with the knowledge her father would have approved of Neol.

Buy Link & Website: http://www.cheriedesues2.com/