Guarded
The
Silverton Chronicles
Book
1
Carmen
Fox
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Romance/Suspense
Publisher: Smart Heart Publishing
Date of Publication: July 31,
2015
epub: 978-0-9931992-0-2
paperback: 978-0-9931992-1-9
hardcover: 978-0-9931992-2-6
Number of pages: 276 print pages
Word Count: 104k
Cover Artist: Ana Grigoriu
Book Description:
When everyone's existence depends
on the lies they tell, trust doesn't come easy
Ivy’s neighbors have a secret.
They aren’t human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone
keeps quiet, she’s happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF
Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of
a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch,
deep down he's a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It’s
time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so
many asses.
For help, she must put her faith
in others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price,
open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from
herself.
Torn between these men, Ivy must
tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants
her dead.
Available at Amazon
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Video
Trailer: http://youtu.be/9gEgmHhoABg
Review
Trailer: http://youtu.be/rpI5DtqvR8E
Blurb
Read by Voiceover Artist: http://youtu.be/6i3DmvcaMWs
Excerpt
1:
A growl from
behind made my skin crawl. I whipped around. Florian’s face was grim, his
posture unnatural and stiff.
The hairs on my
arms stood on end, and I suppressed a shudder. “Are you all right?”
“Can’t.” He
propped his hand against the wall. “Not feeling well.”
My gaze followed
the direction of his stare. Large crimson stains pooled on the immaculate
living room carpet. Oh crap. Blood.
I turned back.
Florian’s pupils dilated to form two black marbles, trained on me. His canines
lengthened, coming to sharp and lethal points. The pounding of my heart overrode
my motor skills, and for a second, I stood rooted to the spot.
This wasn’t how
I’d envisioned his secret being revealed to me. I’d pictured cupcakes, and
maybe tissues at the relief of finally being straight with each other, not a
full-out blood frenzy.
Finally, the
switch labeled “common sense” flipped and triggered me into action. I fingered
the guards in my pockets. The small plates were my only chance.
About
the Author:
Carmen lives in the south of
England with her beloved tea maker and a stuffed sheep called Fergus. An avid
reader since childhood, she caught the writing bug when her Nana asked her to
write a story. She also has a law degree, studied physics for a few years,
dabbled in marketing and human resources, and speaks native-level German and
fluent Geek. Her preferred niches of geekdom are tabletop games, comics, sci-fi
and fantasy.
She writes about smart women with
sassitude, about pretty cool guys too, and will chase that plot twist, no
matter how elusive.
Expect to be kept guessing.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER, Carmen’s
first urban fantasy novel, was published in March 2015. To find out more, visit
her at www.carmen-fox.com.
Website: www.carmen-fox.com
Twitter: @authorcarmenfox
Book page: www.carmen-fox.com/guarded
Tour
giveaway
1 copy of the Guarded e-book (for
Kindle)
1copy of the Guarded paperback
1 copy of the Guarded hardback
2 $15 Amazon giftcards
Author
Interview
Tell
us about the role of women in your writing.
They’re strong. And I’m not
talking about a token ‘feistiness’ to balance out an inherent need to find
refuge in a man’s arms, but about an inner strength that allows them to weather
any situation alone. If they choose to be with a man, it’s because they want to
be, perhaps driven by passion or love, but never by a need for safety.
Who
is Ivy?
Ivy, GUARDED’s main character,
doesn’t let her past define her. Or so she thinks. In truth, her experiences
have left her with emotional pressure points she doesn’t want anyone to poke.
She deals with most situations with her special brand of humor, and although
she’d do anything for her friends, she’s far from perfect. When people vie for
your attention, perhaps it’s natural to take their support for granted. Worse,
her curiosity often gets the better of her. It’s not that she deliberately
walks into danger, but rather her idea of what is safe is a little skewed. Most
of all she’s self-reliant. Not too proud to accept help, but she will act alone
if she has to. In many respects she is who I want to be.
Why
does Ivy have such a hard time deciding between the men in her life?
Ivy dithers between her sexual
urges and her desire to be loved. Each of the three men offers her something
different. One promises a normal future, the one she’s always wanted. Guy
number two is incredibly hot and satisfies an itch the first man might not be
able to scratch. And the third might be the most passionate, but also the most
possessive of them. Sometimes, heart, body and mind simply cannot agree.
Tell
us about Ivy’s relationship with Florian.
Florian is Ivy’s best friend. I
imagine he’s every woman’s ideal best friend. No matter the situation, he has
her back. Plus, he’s funny, and a little goofy. The two of them just click.
He’s quickly become the most memorable character, and I’ve had women tell me
he’s their ideal book BFF.
Do
you have a Florian in your life?
I used to have a Florian in my
life, the kind of person I spent every free minute with without ever being
bored. We’d do the craziest things. And the total absence of sexual tension
made it easy for us to laze in front of the TV in our sweat pants, greasy hair
or not. Sure, our closeness wasn’t always straightforward, especially for my
boyfriends or his girlfriends, but we made it work.
Would
you categorize GUARDED as urban fantasy or paranormal romance?
I wish I didn’t have to
categorize it. An agent informed me that GUARDED is a romance, since it has a
HEA, a happily ever after, which is the payoff readers of that genre expect.
But some romance readers have struggled with the fact that they can’t
immediately tell who Ivy is going to end up with. She experiences different
chemistries with different men. It’s part of the fun. Also, there’s a strong
non-romance plot, which shifts the book closer into the urban fantasy or
suspense genres. To me, it’s an urban fantasy romance.
I was born in a small town smack in the middle of
Germany, and moved to the UK when I was nineteen.
Tell
us your latest news.
GUARDED is out now! This is still the most wonderful
news to me. The hardcover and paperback copies even contain ink drawings that I
absolutely adore.
When
and why did you begin writing?
About eight years ago my Nana talked me into writing
her a story. With each chapter she wanted more. When she passed away, I put the
book aside, because the association was simply too strong. But I’d caught the
bug and have been writing ever since.
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I took my first writing course and the
instructor told me my writing “blew her away.” From that moment on, I became
serious about writing.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
I’ve been unnaturally obsessed with urban fantasy
mysteries and paranormal romance for many years, and my first completed book
was an homage to the two genres. I wanted a book where the romance itself
became part of the mystery.
Do
you have a specific writing style?
Both Margie Lawson and Mary Buckham have said my
style reminds them of Darynda Jones, which is the greatest possible compliment
to a Darynda fangirl like me. Keri Arthur’s and Jennifer Rardin’s books have
also greatly influenced me. Basically I like to pepper my stories with humor.
Not slapstick, just a bit of sass.
How
did you come up with the title?
GUARDED is both descriptive and a play on words. In
Silverton, CA, vampires, shifters and all other sorts rub shoulders with
humans. They live undetected, guarding their secrets (or so they think). The
lead character also uses ‘guards,’ metal plates that shape energy into
kick-butt magic to defend herself.
Is
there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
My main reason for writing is to entertain, so a
message was never my goal, but I cannot deny that my views have shaped the
narrative. I don’t burn bras (certainly not at today’s prices!), but my books
are intended to be aspirational for women. We have choices, the brains to
evaluate them, and the right not to be judged for our decisions.
How
much of the book is realistic?
Oh, the dilemma Ivy faces is very real. GUARDED is
about a young woman confronted by two possible futures—staying a ‘good girl’
searching for Mr. Forever, or becoming a temptress satisfied with Mr. Now. Every
day she struggles with who she is, who others wish her to be, and who she wants
to become. I think that’s relevant to many of us.
Are
experiences based on someone you know or events in your own life?
No one experience stands out, but a few scenes are
based on real-life conversations.
What
books have most influenced your life most?
No particular ones. Just books in general. Some
teach me, some transport me, some make me laugh, and some make me want to be a
better person (for example WONDER by RJ Palacio). If a story does one of those,
it’s a winner in my, erm, book.
If
you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Many authors have helped me over the years, but the
one stand-out is Mary Buckham. She’s awesome. A great teacher, a talented
writer, and she actually cares. The amount of time she’s invested in me is
nothing short of amazing.
What
book are you reading now?
Gail Z. Martin’s ‘Deadly Curiosities.’ I love her
fantasy books and her foray into Urban Fantasy is all sorts of exciting.
Are
there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Many. Some haven’t even been published yet, like
Julie LaVoie (remember the name). A new-to-me author whose work I enjoyed is
Emily Guido, and I also love Tricia Drammeh’s writing. There are others, but
I’m notoriously bad with names.
What
are your current projects?
I’m currently working on the sequel to GUARDED,
which will focus on Florian’s story. He’s Ivy’s best friend and has always been
one of my favorite characters.
What
would you like my readers to know?
Thanks for turning up today. And now that you’ve
read about me, I’d love to hear from you.
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