Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Little Flame Series Books 1-5 by Melissa Lummis Interview & Giveaway



Little Flame Series Box Set

Books 1 - 5

Melissa Lummis


Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Peacepipe Productions

Date of Publication: September 30, 2014

ASIN: B00MY7IY00

Number of pages: 495

Word Count: 155K

Cover Artist: Stephanie Nelson



Book Description:

Fiamette Jurato is on a mission: to fix her broken past. She’s teamed up with the world famous DJ, Maximillian, to search for the ex lover who can help her put all the pieces back together. There’s only one problem: he’s been dead for over two hundred years.

As a healer to the supernatural, she’s no stranger to navigating the impossible maze of magical complications. But getting lost in the magic isn’t the problem; finding her way back home is.

Book Trailers:









Excerpt:



The club lights blinked out, and in the humming dark an amplified voice yelled, “Give it up for Maximillian!”

Laser lights flashed around the smoky stage, revealing human-shaped shadows and a DJ setup.

Make some noise,” the DJ yelled.

A spotlight strobed across the scene, then snapped back to the DJ. I stopped adjusting my white go-go boots and squinted, trying to get a good look at him. The crowd roared as he leaned over to a beanie-wearing guy on his right, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Beanie-guy cupped the end of the cig and flicked a lighter. Smoke obscured the DJ’s face and I sighed. I wanted to see him, dang it. I’d been running late tonight and missed the usual meet-and-greet. Story of my life.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,” the DJ mumbled into the mic as he twisted knobs and pushed buttons, puffing smoke and music into the air.

Even with the spotlights, the details of his face were buried under swirling smoke and pulsing laser beams looping the hazy club. The first high notes picked like an electric guitar sample, and words I couldn’t make out repeated in jittery bursts over a subdued bass. Black lights flipped on, turning teeth and all things white into glow-in-the-dark neon. The fog machines bellowed clouds of dry ice that burned my nose. Damn, shouldn’t I be immune to it after so many shows?

Rising up from my kneeling squat, boots finally tied, I dropped my hula hoops onto the platform, then set one thigh-high boot at a time inside the circles. Jutting a white-sequined hip, I waited for the music to build to that explosion of bass and high-pitched alarms that had been driving me deaf the past two months. Yet, I couldn’t say I hated the job. I’d tried different settings, but this was definitely the best fishing spot. The catch I was after liked the nightlife and large crowds.

And this club was packed to the gills. Good. Better pickins. I bent with deliberate flare, popping my a** into the air and giving it a shake as I scooped up one of the glowing hoops and spun it around my hips. I gyrated and dipped, swinging the hoop higher around my exposed midsection, my arms swaying to the music. I didn’t have to think about my next move. It poured out of me like the music from the DJ’s hands. I turned in lazy circles, taking in the jumping crowd as one living, breathing beast. Individual faces surfaced in rare glimpses.

When I completed a 360-degree turn, the bright eyes of the DJ arrested me. I sucked in a breath. He was the hottest thing in L.A. at the moment, exploding all over the music scene. His lips twisted in a sideways Popeye grin, and holding my gaze with penetrating eyes, he flipped black hair over his shoulder and winked. Damn! Heat flushed through me in a prickly flood, followed by a startling surge of disappointment when he returned his attention to the MIDI boards.

He bobbed up and down, one hand constantly flickering as it tweaked the boards in front of him. Everything about him moved to the music, even the occasional finger jabbing his black-rimmed glasses back.

The music decelerated as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and raised it to the sky, granting the crowd a huge smile that said something mind-blowing was about to happen. The mass of bodies bayed in anticipation. He tucked his smoke back between his lips, and his shoulders rocked as he worked at bringing the music. He raised his palms to the crowd, encouraging them to take it up a notch, and they obliged with glee.

Suddenly, he lifted his euphoric face to the sky, swaying back and forth in focused ecstasy. One arm shot up, an index finger pointing the way to heaven, as he squeezed his eyes shut.

A synthesized female voice cried out, “OOOH MY GOD – god – god – god - god!”

Music burst in a sizzling shower over the DJ and crowd as they leaped together to its driving beat. It got to me. He got to me. I licked the heavy gloss I’d applied preshow before I realized what I was doing, and pressed my lips together trying to fix it. Things lower clenched. Too bad he’s so young. I sighed. And not a vampire.

A tingling on the back of my legs dragged my attention back to my goal for the evening. Peeking over my shoulder, I drove the hoop around my hips, the LEDs smearing white and seven-colored orbits over my mostly bare body. Turning toward a pair of crimson eyes, I dropped my Day-Glo-painted eyelids to half-mast as his burning gaze slid over my boy-shorted backside.

My white halter top glowed in the black light as the strobes made the sequins flash like Christmas lights. The music paused unexpectedly and the DJ mumbled into the mic, “I just finished this song half an hour ago on the tour bus.”

The horde screamed its ridiculous approval. When he turned the music back on, I kicked the second hoop into play. It was all improvised, of course. I had no idea what the DJ was going to do during the show, and he apparently hadn’t known either, considering I never got a playlist. So, to prepare, I’d practiced to all his music all week. This song sounded familiar, but if he’d just created it, I guess it had to do with absorbing his style.

The blipping sample of a laser blast penetrated my sternum, my heart tripping with it. As a quiet drum calmed the moment, I returned the hot stare of my quarry. I couldn’t make out the details of his features, but when I blurred my gaze and tapped into what most healers referred to as their “third eye”, I could see the subtle energy pulse of his aura: definitely vampire. Anticipation bubbled up my spine.


About the Author:

Melissa Lummis writes new age suspense in a fantasy setting, but her stories are also straight up, steamy adult romance. The Love and Light Series is currently available at Amazon exclusively, as well as the Little Flame Series, a spin off focusing on the character Fiamette from the Love and Light world.

Melissa considers herself a truth seeker and a peaceful warrior, in addition to a paranormal and fantasy author. With too many interests for her own good, she has rarely been content with one vocation. Her first professional life was as a high school English teacher, which led to another incarnation as a wife and an instructional designer /technical writer. After starting a family, she found herself reincarnated yet again as a mother, yoga instructor, and personal trainer.

While all her past lives have contributed to who she is today, yoga has become a part of how she gives back, maintaining her Registered Yoga Teacher status with Yoga Alliance so she can help people one-on-one to overcome physical limitations and heal themselves. But she has always been and always will be a writer. She’s authored dozens of wellness articles for various publications, as well as maintains a blog focusing on wellness, healing, and living a life on purpose.

A Yankee by birth and a Penn State graduate, she lives in rural Virginia with her husband, two children, an Alaskan Malamute, and a myriad of forest creatures. Melissa believes the universe conspires to help an adventurer, and if we live our lives as if it is a daring escapade (and it is!), then everything we need will find its way to us.

Interview

Where are you from?
Originally, Berks County, Pennsylvania, but I currently live in Virginia.

Tell us your latest news?
The 9th book in the Little Flame series, Music, will release March 30, 2016 and is up for pre-order now. http://www.amazon.com/Music-Little-Flame-Book-9-ebook/dp/B01D3UMH9U
Also, I’m going to be a featured author at the Richmond’s Readers Rehab Author Event on April 30, 2016. http://richmondsreadersrehab.weebly.com/

When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing since I was six years old, but started working on my first novel the fall of 2010. It took a long time to bring that story together into what eventually became Enlightened, my first published novel.
And why do I write? I think it’s always been a part of who I am. I process life through writing and I have always been an avid reader.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I was six. I wrote a tiny story for school and got an A+, but it was the comment my teacher wrote at the top of the paper that made me realize I was a writer. She wrote, “Someday, you’re going to be a writer!” I asked my mom, “But I wrote a story. Doesn’t that make me a writer now?” She responded with a smile, “I guess it does.”

What inspired you to write your first book?
My thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. The journey took six months and it changed me in a fundamental way. I thought, there’s a novel in me about this and so the journey began. I ended up publishing something completely different than I started out with, but that’s part of the magic.

Do you have a specific writing style?
I tend to write in first person with a focus on the spiritual underpinnings of the story. No matter what the genre—urban fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, or contemporary romance—I can’t help but see the character and the story line through the prism of the spirit. A reviewer once said I write “new age suspense in a fantasy setting”, and that about sums up my style.

How did you come up with the title?
The Little Flame series title comes from the main character’s name, Fiamette. It means “little flame” in Italian, and her personality is definitely a fiery one. The titles of the individual books are based on concert venues: Nine30 comes from the 9:30 Club in D.C. Electric was inspired by the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, and so on. See if you can guess the inspiration for the other titles. J

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
There are several, but the main thing I hope readers take away from the Little Flame series is that we are all capable of so much more than we realize, and that the ones who love us have a lot to offer. Together we can make amazing things happen.

How much of the book is realistic?
That’s hard to say because I write Urban Fantasy, but definitely the relationships that develop between the characters are realistic. There’s so much magic in my world, but it is based on science, to some extent. For example, Newton’s first Law of Thermodynamics, also known as the Law of Conservation, states “that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system.” What that boils down to in my magic world is that magic has to come from somewhere and there are consequences, such as being “drained” when you use it.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I think it’s more like my experiences influence the experiences of my characters. There might be little things like a scrap of dialogue or what it feels like to ride a motorcycle on a cold night, but I can’t say that the big scenes or events in my story ever happened to myself or anyone I know.

What books have most influenced your life most?
My life? Wow. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho because the “universe conspires to help an adventurer”. War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy because great men don’t make history, the people make great men who influence history. And life can be sad.
And then there’s everything by Stephen King because his books showed me I could write and publish the crazy stories in my head and people just might read them.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Stephen King. Without a doubt. You know what makes his books so scary? Why they get to you the way they do? Because he knows people. Look at his descriptions, his dialogue, the decisions his characters make. He understands people and when he brings that to the page, he makes all that scary stuff believable as well. *shivers*

What book are you reading now?
I am reading Grave Peril, the 3rd book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Awesome Urban Fantasy series, by the way. A must read for UF fans.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Olivia Hardin. She writes contemporary romance, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance. I’ve read everything she’s written. Fantastic writer who knows how to make you feel the feels. Love her.

What are your current projects?
I am currently working on the last book in the Little Flame series, Head, as well as a novella for a special series called Hotel Paranormal. Each novella will be written by a different author, but the series revolves around the Hotel Paranormal, a magical resort where supernaturals can kick back and relax. Sort of. You can ask to join this Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1000344550039705/  to find out more about it, as well as this check out this website http://www.thehotelparanormal.com/.

What would you like my readers to know?
As a reader, you have all the power. When you love a book or a new author, tell your friends and write a review. Reviews boost visibility on Amazon, iBooks, and all the other ebook venders so other readers can find the book. Even if you think your one little review won’t matter, it will.

But word of mouth is the best advertising there is. And if more people are buying your favorite author’s books, then he or she will be able to continue writing even more wonderful books for you to read. So show your favorite authors some love and tell everyone you know how much you loved their books.







Tour giveaway 3 signed paperback sets Little Flame Series: books 1 – 5 US Shipping Only

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2 comments:

  1. Thank you for both the excerpt and giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for having me on your blog today! The interview was fun. I enjoyed it. :-)

    ReplyDelete