Book Tour: Interview & Giveaway with C.J. Ellisson author of "Big Game"

I have author C. J. Ellisson here today for a interview and a huge giveaway on her book tour for her newest release "Big Game" which is the third book in her VV Inn series but you will have the opportunity to win all three books. 

C.J. welcome to Romance Book Junkies.

I know you get asked this question over and over but can you tell us a little about yourself? Maybe something juicy. ;)

Hmm… juicy, huh? I can tell you something I don’t reveal much in interviews but is no secret to my readers who follow me on facebook—but I’m not sure how juicy it is!

I’m currently fighting three autoimmune diseases, which have recently led to me learning I have Lupus. Unfortunately, my immune system is compromised so I’m also fighting off late stage Lyme disease, Bartonella, Murine Typhus and a slew of other bacterial infections.

I take 30-40 pills a day, ingest medical shakes when the doctor makes me, have a limited diet, and get weekly IV treatments that vary from chelation (which is stripping my body of toxic heavy metals to allow the medicines to work better in assisting my immune system) to having restorative IVs that help to calm my immune system and strengthen my body.

When did you first start writing? Are you a full time author or do you do it on the side?

Ironically enough, I started writing when I became too sick to work my regular job. What started out as a diversion has blossomed into a new full time career. I’m able to pour full-time hours into it due to my largely home-bound state. Writing and reaching readers through my stories has quickly become the saving grace in the health mess my life has become.

Do you have an author who has really inspired you?

To be honest, I can’t pick just one! I’ve been an avid reader for years, often reading three to five books per week. My husband and I used to joke that I didn’t have a shopping, shoe, drinking, or gambling vice, I had a book vice! I’d spend hundreds of dollars each month on books because the library never seemed to have the most current reads in my preferred genre – urban fantasy.

How long does it normally take you to write an average book or your last book?

I’ve found it varies. The first book took about 4 ½ months, and writing blocks aside, I think the next two may have been about the same. Of course, those blocks I mentioned kept me from actually producing any work for many long months.

What do you think makes a story great?

Good storytelling should transport the reader to the world the writer has created. Great storytelling doesn’t always follow a predictable format and often surprises the reader with a twist at the end.

Can you describe your book "Big Game" in one sentence?

A wild ride of two stories, a werewolf one in Alaska and vampire one in Argentina, told through the eyes of all of Vivian’s seetemates.

Tell us a little about your V V Inn series.

The concept revolves around a powerful vampire running a seasonal resort with her human husband for her fellow undead in a remote Alaskan location. Each book contains adventure, intrigue, humour, and steamy sex. One reviewer dubbed the first book as an “Erotic Paranormal Mystery in the Arctic”.

Have you done lots of research for your books or do the stories just come to you?

The most research I’ve done is on Alaska, and even then I’ve used some creative license to tweak things. The stories come to me in dribs and drabs. I usually know the overall story arc before I start, but don’t often have the subplots and the fully fleshed out “movie in my head” until I start to write.

What are you currently working on?

I’ve started two projects simultaneously. The first is Jon’s story, the werewolf servant to Vivian, which is being written by reader demand. Its titled Death’s Servant and is due out this summer. And the second is an erotica novel called The Vanilla Dom. I’m also plotting out the fourth book in the V V Inn series, called Blood Legacy, a collection of prequel novellas based on the two main characters, Vivian and Rafe, which will be called The Seduction of Death, and have a Halloween novella I’m co-authoring with Boone Brux, titled Death Times Two.

Can you tell us about some of your prior achievements?

Ahh… do you mean in my previous career in the real estate industry? LOL! I doubt it, that would be boring. I’ve accomplished quite a bit as a writer in three short years. I helped found a Kindle Blog called Everything Erotic, started my own small press, built a reader-centric page on Facebook called Red Hot Readers, and mentor about two dozen writers at various stages in their careers. I entered a lot of contests before I landed an agent and placed as a runner up, first place, or finalist in most of them.

Is there anything that I didn't cover that you would like to talk about or say to your potential readers?

First off, thanks for having me here today! I really enjoyed your questions.

To readers, if you like True Blood on HBO, then give my stories a chance. You might find yourself transported to a sexy, dangerous inn with characters you grow to love.

What would you like to ask our readers?

What is it about vampire books that brings you back to the genre time and time again?

Just for fun:

Hardback or Paperback? eReader!
Dog ears or Bookmarks? When I do read paperbacks, I use a bookmark.
YA novels or Adult novels? Adult baby! YA is for kids ;-)
Library or Bookstore? I love bookstores. It’s very sad to think there aren’t as many as there used to be.
Reading glasses or No glasses? No glasses (yet!)
Snack while reading or No snacks? Snacks. Hmm… might explain why my ass is getting wider…
Beach or Mountain? Mountain, with a lake. Although I love beaches, I’m not a sun person.
Vampire or Werewolf? Vampire!
Hot or Flirty? What I like in a man? Hmm… Both are appealing.
Movie 1st or Book 1st? Book 1^st!
Contemporary or Historical? Depends on the feel that day, but I choose Contemporary most often.
Page-Turner or Tear Jerker? Page turner! I hate books that make me cry. That’s what real life is for.

Big Game

Book Three The VV Inn Series

by C.J. Ellisson

In this much-anticipated third installment of the V V Inn series, our sexy couple journeys to Argentina, bringing half their seethe along for the ride. 

Vivian and Rafe venture into the Seat of Darkness, the Tribunal’s base, to uncover who’s plotting them against and why. From a cold, windy island off the southern Argentine coast, to the decadence of Buenos Aires, the group has plenty to keep their attention—seductive twins, deadly games, and a bunch of bloodsucking fiends who hate our much-loved, despotic innkeeper enough to see her dead. 

Asa and Jon stay in Alaska, to manage the famous inn as it opens doors to a new type of guest. Visiting werewolves go on their first exploration of the property, looking for big game—hormones run high and shots ring out across the tundra. Soon, the hunters become the hunted and the peaceful getaway resembles a battleground. 

How many will survive the next five days and will they ever be the same again? 

Warning: This book contains very explicit sex scenes and is not intended for readers under 18.

 

500-word Steamy Excerpt from Chapter Five of Big Game, we’re in Drew’s POV

Once the door closes Chelly pounces, unbuttoning my shirt and latching her heated mouth onto mine. When I saw her leave the bathroom in her negligée, I’d thought tonight would be the night we’d consummate our relationship, but now I’m not sure. I want to drive all thoughts of the sexy women from my lover’s mind, demanding she focus solely on me and the pleasures I can give her—not what might have been at the hot tub.

She spreads my shirt open and runs her hands across my chest. “Drew, those ladies were hot. Do you think they were hitting on us?”

I chuckle and decide now is not the time to analyze, but to act. I untie her robe, sliding the soft terrycloth off her shoulders to pool on the tile. The bra cups of Chelly’s sheer nightie hug her luscious curves and the sight drives the blood back into my wilted erection. Running my thumbs over her aroused peaks pulls a gasp and shudder from my lover.

Never one to stand still, Chelly boldly unzips my fly and pushes my pants past my hips, springing my cock free of its confines. She grins. “I think they were hitting on you in a round-about way…” Her voice trails off as she pumps my cock. “Bet they thought if they won me over, they could get at your man meat.” She snickers at her crude phrase and squeezes the head of my cock harder.

“Am I all yours?” I ask, guiding her slowly toward the bed.

“Hmph. I’m not sharing until I’ve had every bit of you inside me—repeatedly.”

Her sexy innuendo could lead to more down the line, but right now, all I care about is the here and now. Chelly’s legs hit the edge of the mattress, and she scoots toward the padded headboard.

I remove my shirt and step out of my pants before climbing onto the bed. Chelly pats the covers beside her, motioning for me to sit next to her. I stop instead at her knees and push her legs apart. Her mouth parts in a little “O” and heat fills her cheeks.

“How about we start this trip with my tongue inside you first?”

Chelly nods enthusiastically and settles on the pillows. I plant my first kiss along her thigh and the warm skin above her knee prickles in gooseflesh. We’ve touched and fondled for months, but our dates have been every two weeks when I can safely feed from her, and have not included oral sex, despite the vixen’s many attempts to get down on her knees and gobble me whole.

The scent of clean woman and tangy arousal wraps around me as I slowly work my way closer to her center. I slip my hands under her full bottom to tilt her up and open, encouraging her to spread her legs wider. With a moan she complies and the delicate flesh along the crease where thigh meets torso is exposed to my eager lips.

Titles in the V V Inn series: 

Free Short Story and half of Book One: Just One Taste 

Book One: Vampire Vacation

Amazon Print, Amazon Kindle, Smashwords

Free Read containing half of Book Two: Another Sip 

Book Two: The Hunt Book 

Amazon Kindle, Amazon Print, Smashwords

Three: Big Game 

Novella: Death’s Servant (Jonathan’s story, due out Summer 2012) 

Book Four: The Seduction of Death (due out December 2012)

 

C.J. Ellisson writes erotica and urban fantasy. Her vampire series, The V V Inn, mixes a heavy dose of erotic elements with suspense, action, a little bit of mystery and some light humor. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband, two children, two dogs, and a fluffy black cat who makes her sneeze.

To learn more about C.J.'s books (where you can read half of the novels for free), please visit her website at www.cjellisson.com

http://www.facebook.com/c.j.ellissonfanpage

 We have a huge giveaway taking place for this book tour. All you have to do to enter is fill out the rafflecopter below andcomment answering C.J.'s question (What is it about vampire books that brings you back to the genre time and time again?) Here are the details of what you could win:

·        BECOME a character in the next V V Inn book (questionnaire provided to winner)

·        Name a character in the next book (yes, it can be your own name ;-)

·        Full set of signed and numbered print editions of all three books in the V V Inn series

·        5 Signed and numbered print copies of BIG GAME

·        50 Copies of BIG GAME in eBook format -- one given out at every tour stop and one additional copy for every ten commenters per stop

a Rafflecopter giveaway