The Fallen King - Interview with T.A. Grey

Today on my magical musings, please help me welcome T.A. Grey, author of the Paranormal Erotic Book, The Fallen King Book #4 in The Bellum Sisters Series 

Title:  The Fallen King

Author:  T.A. Grey

Series:  The Bellum (#4)

Genre:  Paranormal Erotic

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: December 28, 2012

Book Blurb/Synopsis:

 Life couldn't have possibly gotten worse for the demon king Alrik. But it did. He lost the love of his life. Days spent clouded in black and gray were brightened only with the lovely Arianna near. Her light kept the darkness at bay if only for a few moments. 

And now she's gone leaving him alone. Now he has nobody. But he has purpose. A purpose—steely determination—for revenge against the one who cursed him. His mother. She's out there in the rift, gathering forces, for what, he's unsure. 

A mere human witch by the name Abbigail Krenshaw is the key to saving himself and killing his mother--or so a little old seer tells him under sword point. Small, fragile, and breakable Abbigail almost reminds him of his lost love, yet she's different. Strong, charming, always pushing him in ways that Arianna wouldn’t dare. He can feel her worming her way into his battered, blackened heart and can't decide whether he wants to close her inside forever, or lock her out.

He needs Abbigail. He needs the human witch to sacrifice herself in order to save his tortured soul. He's more than willing to sacrifice her for his purpose, but the more he's around her the more difficult it becomes to uphold the decision. Can he really use her to save himself and let her die? His heart screams no but his mind says yes.

Book Excerpt:

“You are not done working, Abbigail.” He sounded pained to say her name as if he couldn’t say it without yelling it. “Get back up there or I swear I’ll--”

Oooh!

She spun around and let all the frustration and anger that had been building throughout the long day fly from her mouth. “Or you’ll what? Magically force me to cast a damn spell? Sorry, but I don’t think even you can do something so ridiculous. I think I did good today. I started not even able to make the stupid little branch move a hair. Now I’ve made it fall over twice, and you know what? I’m wiped. Totally freaking wiped. I’m hot and sweaty, my skin feels sticky, and all I want to do is wipe the dirt and grime off me. And nothing you can do, I mean nothing, will stop me from doing just that, you got me?”

To prove her point she grabbed the hem of her shirt and whipped it over her head. It had to be the emotions riding her that made her wad the shirt into a ball and throw it at him. It didn’t come near hitting him but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were locked on her chest. She had a moment of panic before anger overtook that too. 

She propped her hands on her hips. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so cocky if she didn’t have a bra on, but right now she felt like she could command an army. “Are you gonna stand there and watch me bathe too?”

Something changed in the air. Energy crackled. His eyes turned hungry. That’s the only way she could describe it. His gaze darkened, eyes smoldered and devoured her body as if seeing her as anything other than “the witch” for the first time. He had the look of a man that wanted to eat her up. She could almost feel his gaze caressing her breasts. Her breasts pulled tight at the predatory look—the look of assessing a female.

Her breath caught. “Alrik?” she said hesitantly. Something about his stiff stance, the way his eyes glowed brighter, made him look as if he was fighting some inner war with himself.

His eyes flicked up to hers. His voice sounded thick, heavy, and slow. “Yes.”

Breathing became difficult, as if all the oxygen around them had disappeared. “Yes what?”

He blinked. “Yes, I’ll watch.”

She swallowed over the knot in her throat. Oh. 

The Interview:

Hi, T.A. and welcome to my magical world of books and musings. It’s such a pleasure to have you here today. Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable. I have wine, would you like a glass?

Red or White?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m so excited to be here! Wine you read my mind. White, please! Moccato or a Spumante if you have it. ;)

1. Got that right here. Now that we have the important stuff out of the way… oops no, that’s not what’s important! Let's talk about your new novel! The Fallen King, Book 4 in the Bellum Sisters Series. Can you tell us a little about it? 

The Fallen King takes off with the story of a cursed demon, Alrik Demuzi, who’s on a quest to kill the one who cursed him—his mother. The beginning of Alrik’s tale started in Ties That Bind, book 3 in the series, however anyone can pick up this book and follow the story. Alrik has lost the love of his life in a vicious battle. He also lost his kingdom deep beneath the rift that separates the human realm from the demonic. So, banished from his demonic kingdom, he’s set off to find and kill his mother, but for two long years she has outmaneuvered him.

Frustrated, Alrik has sought out a powerful seer for help. The seer tells him that a human witch by the name Abbigail Krenshaw is the only person who is powerful enough to kill his mother. A human, a witch, can help him? The idea is almost too ridiculous for Alrik to grasp. 

Abbigail pushes Alrik to find tenderness inside him that he didn’t know he had. The more they are together the more she worms her way under his skin. She’s so different from his former love and he discovers he likes those differences—a lot. ;) 

2. What inspired this series? 

Go big or go home. That was my inspiration for this series, and so I went big. In this series you’ll find accidental demon summoning (of the grotesque and deadly kind), spell casting, sword fights, mighty battles, uncontrollable desire, shapeshifters, vampires, demons, and more. 

3. How difficult is it to combine the paranormal elements with the erotic ones?

It is a bit different writing an erotic scene with a paranormal character than, say, with just humans. What I usually do is slow down a bit and make sure I’m completely in my character’s head. I want to be able to capture the way a vampire’s fangs might extend or even throb. I want to get into detail about the shapeshifter who wraps his woman’s hair in a fist and bites the back of her neck before he takes her. So I would agree it is more difficult than writing an erotic scene with ‘normal’ characters, but it’s much more fun! ☺

4. Okay, I think I need a sip of wine after hearing that. Is there anything unique about the setting of this series or even this particular book, compared to the rest of the series? 

Actually, there is a unique setting. In the first book of the Bellum sisters series the mysterious ‘rift’ is talked about but none of the characters ever go there. They just know it’s a place with different levels and on those different levels live different kinds of demons. In the second book, Bonds of Fire, Willow Bellum gets taken into one of the deep layers of the rift and an epic battle ensues. However, in The Fallen King our funny witch Abbigail gets to see the level of the rift where Alrik grew up. A place where colors are more brilliant, beautiful flowers are deadly, and the sky is a constant haze of color. 

5. Do your characters ever seem feel real to you? What makes them believable? 

My characters are very real to me. They follow me around in my head all the time, but I love it. I think what makes my characters believable, even (or especially) the supernatural ones, is that I make them very humanlike. They all have problems, peeves, bad habits, and the capability to be great. 

6. Here, have some more wine. Do any of your characters remind you of yourself or someone you know? 

The only thing any of my characters might have in common with me is my sense of humor, otherwise no. I want larger-than-life but believable characters for me and others to get lost in. If I made someone like me, it’d put readers to sleep. :D Sometimes I will spy certain habits or mannerisms from people I know that I will use. The way someone might flick a cigarette, for instance, or how different people show their anger. I focus a lot on the people around me (like a creeper) and take little notes in my head for future use.

7. Do your characters change or evolve throughout the course of the series? If so, what events trigger such changes?

All of my characters evolve throughout the course of their story. In each of these stories, a succubus sister gets a letter from their dead father putting them into the ‘protection’ of a very unique man. In the first story it’s the vampire Tyrian en Kulev. In the second, Lyonis Keelan the Alpha of Shapeshifters. In the third, you get to see Telal Demuzi the only demon to live on earth. And in the last book, Telal’s demonic brother Alrik meets the half-human, half-succubus sister Abbigail. All of the stories are intertwined and in each of their own stories you get to witness the characters starting off in a much different place than they end up. 

8. What do you find to be the toughest part about writing erotic romance? What is the easiest?

The toughest part about writing erotic romance might be trying to write a book that most everyone will enjoy.

9. If your book was made into a film, who would play your main characters, and why? 

Oh, I love this question! These would be some pretty sexy movies let me tell ya! 

For The Fallen King himself, Alrik Demzui, I’d have to say Irish actor Tom Hardy. Give him some long, shaggy hair and darker skin and he’d perfect! He played Bane in The Dark Knight rises which reminds me of the kind of intensity that Alrik has.   

For the half-human, half-succubus Abbigail Krenshaw, I’d like to see her played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Dye her hair brown and she’d be perfect because she can play smart, funny, and kick-ass characters as we have all seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

10. Please tell us five fun facts about The Bellum Sisters that readers would love to know!

1. All of the Bellums are succubi. They have a sexual allure to them and when they turn 29 they stop require food for sustenance and start needing sex.

2. Through his curse, Alrik Demuzi has become tainted until his black heart is reflected physically. This means he has dark, dark skin and dark, inky eyes. It’s bad but so sexy. ;)

3. There will be at least one more book!

4. Abbigail Krenshaw works to solve supernatural murders during her everyday life. (I would love to have her job!)

5. Each of the heroes in the stories are THE ALPHAS—the sexiest and the most dangerous. There’s the vampire that basically commands all vampires. The Alpha of all shapeshifters, and the two demon brothers split apart through time. 

11.  Which of your characters is your favorite to write? The easiest? The hardest? The most fun?

My favorite story to write is definitely The Fallen King! Alrik and Abbigail had so much chemistry and I just loved the story of the tortured soul trying to gain redemption but needing a little human to help him. The easiest to write was Chains of Frost the first book in the series. The story flew from my fingertips! The most fun was definitely Bonds of Fire, book two. Willow is a sarcastic, snarky spitfire who isn’t afraid to say what she wants or to go after what she wants. I just loved her so much (totally jealous) and pairing her off against and Alpha, THE ALPHA who saw her as his mate was so much fun to write. The hardest, by far and without a doubt, was Ties That Bind. I cried a bunch at the end of that book. You had Telal struggling to come to grips with his lost brother’s curse and his diminished kingdoms, and you had Alrik falling quickly in love only to have death rip her away. It was sad which made it more difficult to write. 

12. Where do you write your stories? An office? Sofa? Kitchen Table? Backyard? Starbucks? Can you describe the area a little bit?

This varies depending on my mood and which book. Each book usually puts my butt in a certain area. For The Fallen King it’s been the sofa. I’ve been sitting there for hours on end typing furiously as my cats sleep around me. Naturally, I take pictures of them being adorable in between chapters. 

And now for some quickies.

What is your least favorite thing to do?

Wash dishes. :( Makes me depressed just thinking about it.

Any chance of you telling us what the T. and the A. stand for? ☺

My first and middle name. Very few people know this but it’s Tiffany Ann.

If you suddenly had two free hours, how would you spend them?

Reading a good book!

What is your favorite part of the day?

That time when I’m done working for the day and I can go have some me time. 

What is your favorite book from childhood.

Nancy Drew and the Soccer Shoe Clue. It’s the book that got me hooked on reading. I stayed up until 11:00 at night reading that when I was about 11 years old. From then on I became a reader. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, T.A. , and sharing a little about yourself and your books.

Thank you so much for doing this wonderful interview! I had a really great time! ;)

Praise for the Other Books in the Series
Chains of Frost (book #1) 
"Having never read a novel by this author before, I was delighted to pick up this novel. It is extremely fast paced and never slows down. The story flows beautifully together, and will lead perfectly into the second novel. This is a truly enchanting novel that will grab the interest of readers everywhere and will not let go." – Night Owl Romance

Bonds of Fire (book #2)
"Bonds of Fire is, as I previously mentioned, the second book in the trilogy of the Bellum sisters. It is a wonderful story, moving fast and never stopping for anything. It ties in beautifully to the previous book, with the stories blending with each other, and working together to build the third novel, which is forthcoming. Romance lovers everywhere will adore this book (and the series) as much as I have." 4.5/5 stars! Night Owl Romance Top Pick! 

Ties That Bind (book #3)
"Ties That Bind is a hair-raising, nail biting, heartwarming adventure of the grandest scale. Of all three of the Bellum sisters, Lily would have to be my personal favorite, as she is charming, quirky, and not a little bit spunky and outrageous. She is also still a delicate and unsure young lady. This is a perfect conclusion to the Bellum sisters trilogy, and I absolutely loved it." 5/5 stars! Night Owl Romance Top Pick!

Author Social Links
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/T-A-Grey/122074687903394
Website: http://tagrey.com/index.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorTaGrey
Blog: http://tagrey.wordpress.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16124518-the-fallen-king
Purchase Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/T.-A.-Grey/e/B0055EVG5Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_2
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/t.-a.-grey
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tagrey

Author Bio:

I love to write the kind of stories that will keep you up late at night and make your heart pound. It’s my goal in writing to make each new book better, more exciting, more action-packed, not only to test myself as a writer but to keep thrilling you. I’m always trying to push the boundaries with my imagination, and yours, to create something new and different.
If you’re a fan of paranormal romance novels then you’ll love my Bellum Sisters Trilogy. This isn’t your typical romance story, so be prepared for a kick of heat and tons of action. The Bellum Sisters Trilogy has received excellent reviews from paranormal bloggers and two of the three books are Top Picks from Night Owl Reviews.
Now, if you like shorter books with quite a bit of heat, humor, and action then I’d recommend the Kategan Alphas series. This erotic series features the sexy Kategan family and all the lucky men and women who get to meet them and complete their lives.
Visit my website to learn more about me and my books at www.tagrey.com.

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Be sure to check back at some of the other blogs on the tour Schedule:

Read Between The Lines Dec 28

Intoxicated By Books Dec 28

Close Encounters With The Night Kind Dec 28

Immortal Crimson Reviews Dec 29

Passionate About Books Dec 30

The Many Muses of MaryLynn Dec 31

The Workings of My Mind Dec 31

Coffee Fueled Erotica Jan 1

Written In Blood  Jan 2

Cambria Hebert Jan 3

Proserpine Craving Book Blog Jan 3

Danita Minnis Jan 4

Cocktails and Books Jan 5

My Reading Obsession Jan 5

Vamps and Stuff Jan 6

Susan's Magical Musings Jan 6

BeLoved Books Jan 7