Authors After Dark Spotlight with Pamela Palmer

Would you tell everyone a little about yourself?

I’m Pamela Palmer, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Feral Warriors shape-shifter series, the Esri series, and the soon-to-be released Vamp City vampire series. I live in the D.C. suburbs with my accountant husband, and write full time, now, though once upon a time I was an industrial engineer for IBM. When I’m not writing, I’m doing things to fill the creative well—reading, watching movies, exploring the D.C. area, and trying new things like Tae Kwon Do, firing a gun, and fencing. My husband waits (in vain) for the day my passion turns to something a little more normal, like gardening or cooking.

What sub-genre do you write?

I write paranormal romance and urban fantasy romance, though a lot of people might consider them the same thing. The way I think of them, paranormal romance is one complete romance per book (as in my Feral Warriors shapes-shifter series) whereas urban fantasy romance takes several books to tell the story of one couple (as in my Vamp City series).

Who/what is your writing muse? And in what environment or conditions do you write?

I’ve discovered that my muse likes space. I’ve never been very productive with a wall or a desk hutch in front of me. So I write where I can look out a window, if possible, or at least across the room. I’ve even written on the stairs. (Thank goodness for laptops.) And I need music—moody, evocative instrumental music. My favorite: Keiko Matsui, though I sometimes switch to the soundtracks of movies such as Inception or Twilight, or the video game Halo3.

What are you working on at this time?

Right now, I’m finishing up the seventh book in my Feral Warriors shape-shifter series. It’s due to my editor April 1^st, then I’ll be digging into the second book in my Vamp City series. I’m writing both series simultaneously, alternating back and forth. My muse enjoys the variety, and when she’s happy, so am I.

Fun questions of what you prefer

Dog or Cat? Dog.

Comfy or Formal? Somewhere in between.

Denim or Leather? Leather

Wine or Beer? I love them both!

Mountaintop or Oceanside? Oceanside.

Boxers, briefs or commando for your hero? Boxers, although a couple of my shifters, who can’t keep their clothes on when they shift into their animals, insist on going commando. The fewer clothes to shed, the better. Can’t say I blame them.

Please pick one of your books to feature with this interview. I will need the books bulb, cover and if you can a sexexcerpt if not a regular and excerpt will do fine.

The book: A BLOOD SEDUCTION, release date May 29, 2012

Blurb: Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields. Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see--and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her. What Arturo can't do is forget about her--any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission--his to save his people, hers to save herself. But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red. Welcome to Vamp City...

Excerpt and cover are attached separately

A BLOOD SEDUCTION excerpt

Arturo turned her, pulling her back against him, sliding his arms around her waist. “I like you.” His warm breath brushed her temple. “And I want you. I want the passion I’ve glimpsed within you, but I will never get it by force.”

“Cajole and seduce,” Quinn murmured, her breath unsteady at the feel of his arms around her, and of the thick ridge at the small of her back.

“Yes. Perhaps. But never force.” He tilted her head and pressed his mouth against her neck, nuzzling her. Kissing her. But she felt no fangs. “As you’ve said, today is not the day for such intimacies, not after what you’ve seen. But I will watch.” His hand slid down over her abdomen and lower, his touch tense with desire, his fingers just brushing her pubic bone. “And I will want.”

“Watching that orgy…aroused you.”

“I may no longer be human, but I am still male. Decide quickly, cara. I do not have all day.”

Everything inside her rebelled at the coercion. But he was giving her a choice and he didn’t have to. It was rather remarkable that he was. And, heaven help her, she was nearly shaking from the desire to step beneath the spray of that shower. So what if he watched?

“All right.”

Wasting no time, he lifted her shirt over her head then reached for her pants. She tried to brush his hands away, but he ignored her.

“I can do it, Vampire.”

“As can I.” He pushed her pants down over her hips.

“My boots.”

“Sit.”

She did, finding the bench rough beneath her bare thighs.

The vampire knelt on the wooden floor of the shed and pulled off her boots and socks, then her pants, tossing them into the corner with her shirt. Then his hands went around her and he unfastened her bra, tossing it onto the pile, too.

When he reached for her hips, and her panties, she grabbed his wrists. “Enough. I can do the rest.”

The look he gave her was rich with heat and a gleam she didn’t entirely understand…or trust. But he capitulated, turned to sit beside her, and pulled off his own boots.

Quinn remained where she was, uncertain how she wanted to proceed. “Are you going to watch me from over the door?”

“I am going to join you, piccola.” He stood and pulled off his shirt, revealing far too fine a sixpack. “I am going to wash you.”

Quinn lunged to her feet, crossing her arms over her bare breasts. “You said watch. Watch. Not wash.”

“Easy, cara. I will not remove my pants. I said I will not take you today and I will not.”

She eyed him dourly. “You are pretty free and easy with the lies, Vampire. Your word doesn’t mean a lot, does it?”

His eyes flashed and she wondered if she’d gone too far this time. But he only shrugged. “My tongue is glib, I’m afraid.” He reached for her, cupping her face in both hands, sliding cool fingers into her hair. “Have I ever hurt you?” His gaze grew infinitely serious, surprisingly soft. “Have I?”

“No.”

“Trust my actions, then, if not my words. Trust your instincts. I tell you I want more than to watch you. I want to touch you, to pleasure you. Only that. Do your instincts believe me?”

“You’re hard as a rock. I know you want sex.”

“I am ready for sex. Of course I am. I’m staring at a very beautiful, very naked woman. But I do not want that from you today.”

“You won’t take anything for yourself?” she said dubiously.

“And why do you think that touching you is not for me, also?” At her frown, he leaned in, brushing his lips against her temple, her cheek. “I love the way you respond to my touch, tessoro. I feel your pleasure rise every time I touch you, even in the simplest way. You are sensual, magnificent. I am not usually this sensitive to another’s pleasure, but your pleasure feeds my own.” He pulled back, lifted her chin. “Will you trust me? In this?”

It wasn’t like she had much of a choice, but the truth was she really didn’t believe he’d hurt her or take her against her will. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t still try to seduce her, but she honestly didn’t think he’d push her if she said no. And the thought of his hands on her…just that…set up a deep, sensual longing. “Yes. I will trust you in this.”

His smile was swift and delighted. Without warning, he kissed her, his lips cool against her own, yet infinitely warm. His lips moved softly, a first exploration, a first kiss despite the fact she stood naked before him, having just given him permission to touch her wherever he pleased. His mouth moved over hers, his tongue sliding lightly along the crease of her mouth until she opened for him, giving him access. And then he was inside, his tongue sliding against hers, stealing her breath, her thoughts, the last of her inhibitions.

He tasted of dark liqueur and darker nights, lush and crystal clear. Without thought, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts to his chest, the feel eliciting a moan deep in her throat. 

Firm hands slid up her rib cage and down over her hips, back and forth, making her moan with the pleasure. She loved being touched. Especially by a man with a sure, if gentle, hand. A man who knew what he was doing.

His fingers slid into her butt cheeks, gripping them hard, kneading them as he pulled her against him and the hard ridge that lay between them within his pants. Her own hips began to rock of their own volition, seeking…needing…

Oh yes, her vampire knew what he was doing.

Her moan turned to one of dismay as he released her mouth, pulled her arms from around his neck, and set her away from him. Once more, he cupped her face, forcing her to look at him through the haze of passion.

“Your body screams for mine, cara, but I fear it is your passionate nature speaking and not truly your will. Do you wish me to remove my pants?”

She closed her eyes, trembling with desire, and tipped her forehead against his shoulder. “No.”

He gathered her against him with a sigh, holding her against his warm length. “I feared as much.”

“Do you want to stop? And let me take my own shower?”

“Never. My control is exquisite. And there is nothing I want more at this moment than to touch you. Not sex, not blood. Just to touch you.” His hands traced wide, warm circles over her back.

She blinked. “Why aren’t your hands cold any more?”

He pulled back with surprise, meeting her gaze. “You can feel the warmth?”

“Yes. You feel hotter than I am.”

A funny look crossed his face. “When I touch you, when I kiss you, I feel as if I’ve stepped into the sun for the first time in centuries. You smell like sunshine to me. And I feel a warming of the flesh I’ve not known in far too long. I thought I was being fanciful.”

“You’re actually warm to the touch.” She looked at him curiously. “Is this my magic?”

“I do not know.” He frowned, his fingers running through her hair. “I wish you had no magic.”

“Why?”

“Because then I could keep you for my own.”

Website               www.PamelaPalmer.net

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Twitter                 @Pamela_Palmer

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