Birthday Bash: Interview with Bec McMaster and Giveaway!

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Welcome to day #4 of my Birthday Bash!

My birthday is May 18th but YOU guys are getting the presents! Stop by every day this week for author interviews, guest posts, and giveaways galore!

Here's the schedule for the week:

Sun. 5/12: Rachel Vincent and Jennifer Armentrout

Jennifer Interviews Rachel + Giveaway!

Mon. 5/13: Delilah Dawson

5 Crazy Characters That Haven't Been Written Yet + Giveaway!

Tues. 5/14: Bethany Griffin

5 YA Releases I'm Looking Forward To + Giveaway! 

Wed. 5/15: Bec McMaster

Interview + Giveaway!

Thur. 5/16: Amanda Carlson

Top 10 Favorite UF/PNR Characters + Giveaway!

Fri. 5/17: J.A. Souders

Interview + Giveaway!

Sat. 5/18: Amanda Bonilla

Book Characters Hanging Out + Giveaway!

Today Bec McMaster has stopped by to answer some questions!

Check out her post and then enter to win your own copy of Heart of Iron below!

Goldilox: What books are on your TBR list right now that you can’t wait to read?

Bec: Allegiance Sworn by Kylie Griffin. I have been hanging out for this book for months! It’s fantasy romance with a demon warrior-princess and Arek, who is a smoking-hot Lightblade warrior who despises demons. Seriously, get yourself some Arek. Also Redemption by Erica Hayes. Cannot. Wait. It’s sexy fallen angels vs. the apocalypse. With a vampire heroine who sounds like she’s going to really throw a spanner into the hero’s works.

Goldilox: Since you write romance and sex scenes use every word under the sun for a man’s genitals, what is your favorite word for a man’s ‘private parts’?

Bec: Ah, the ol’ ‘what-do-I-call-it…’ I actually let my characters dictate that choice. For example, Blade refers to it as ‘cock’, because he lives in the rookeries of London and he’s a man’s man. Will uses the same, though he’s not as open as Blade about speaking of it. And Honoria or Lena would probably prefer erection or ‘it’, because ladies don’t generally mention such things. I hate anything euphemistic. And penis. For some reason penis reminds me of three-year-old boys.

Goldilox: If you could recommend only one book to everyone you meet, what would it be?

Bec: It changes. At the moment it would be Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane, because that kicks off one of the best urban fantasy series I’ve ever read. And because of Terrible, the rough, sexy hero. I love him to bits. 

Goldilox interjects: THAT is an awesome answer because that's one of my all time favorite series ever!

Goldilox: What is harder to write, a fight scene or a sex scene?

Bec: I don’t find either particularly difficult, but I suppose the sex scene is harder. Action scenes are the easiest thing to write – and if you’ve read my books, this probably shouldn’t surprise you. They’re fast, sentences are short and the focus is tight. No time for internalization in an action scene. Whereas sex scenes are basically action scenes with all the internalization. You need to really paint across the emotions your characters are feeling and how this changes everything for them. Why this one person is the only person in the world for them. That's probably the part that slows me down.

Goldilox: Do your friends and family members read your books? Are you ever embarrassed or concerned for them to read any particular scene?

Bec: The local support has been amazing, with lots of friends and family reading it. I’m not particularly embarrassed, as I’m very proud to be a romance writer. I write about relationships and sex is one of the big game-changers in any relationship.

I would probably prefer it if nobody mentioned the sex scenes in public, as they’re not the focus of the book, but someone always does – and it’s usually my boyfriend’s grandmother, who was one of the first to read it.

The only person I don’t discuss my books with is my Dad. That's where I draw the line. We just both pretend he didn’t read it.

Goldilox: Since you live in Australia, what do you think the biggest difference is between Australia and the United States?

Bec: I’ve never been to the USA (which will change this year), so I couldn’t presume about lifestyle. But the language shift always intrigues me. I write for an American market, so a lot of the words and terms I use are American English, and sometimes I have to really think which term is Australian when I’m at work. Of course, Australian-isms sneak through. I still get comments from my copy-editors asking me what I mean at times, which amuses me.

Goldilox: What’s one bad habit you have in your writing? Such as, something your editor always gets on you for doing?

Bec: I tend to throw myself straight into the story and reveal snippets of the world and characters along the way. Leah often points out, yeah, this bit should be back at the start so we know who the heroine is. I have to remind myself that the info-dump is not always your enemy. Sometimes people need explanation about the world and characters, funnily enough.

Goldilox: What can we expect in upcoming London Steampunk books?

Bec: Kiss of Steel was the intro to the world, but there’s a definite plot thread that was introduced – and utilized more fully in Heart of Iron – that will be the main story arc. It’s definitely building, book by book, so prepare for war, steampunk-style.

Heart of Iron is out in May, and that really kicks off the journey. Lena Todd has always been a little bit impulsive, but when someone she trusts leads her into a secretive organization, suddenly she realizes she might just be in trouble. The only one who can save her is Will Carver, the sexy, brooding verwulfen who grew up in the rookeries, and the one man she can’t twist around her little finger. Of course, Lena has her own saving to do, because my heroines don’t just sit back and wait to be rescued.

Then in October, My Lady Quicksilver is out. When Sir Jasper Lynch, the Master of the Nighthawks is tasked with finding the revolutionary leader, Mercury, he has no idea that he might be pitting duty against passion. Or that Mercury might be closer than he thinks.

Goldilox: Are you working on anything outside of the London Steampunk series?

Bec: I’m always working on things. Whether they ever get completed is another story… 

At the moment I have a few serious manuscripts I’m working on. There’s a little something featuring angels and the apocalypse which is really fun, kind of a little ‘Supernatural’ in feel. And there is a UF I have been trying to get my head around for a while. I tend to percolate ideas. They may be started a few years before they brew completely. Then all of a sudden an entire world and story hits me and I have to write it.

Goldilox: What is the best thing about being an author?

Bec: Going to work in your dressing gown? Getting paid to make stuff up? Staring out the window being an official part of the job?

No, honestly, for me it’s the actual writing. I love every second of it. I could think of no other place I’d rather be than at the computer. Even during edits.

Thanks so much for having me!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author Bec McMaster lives in a small town in Australia and grew up with her nose in a book. A member of RWA, she writes sexy, dark paranormals and steampunk romance. When not writing, reading, or poring over travel brochures, she loves spending time with her very own hero or daydreaming about new worlds. The third book in the London Steampunk series, My Lady Quicksilver will be in stores in October 2013. Read more about her atwww.becmcmaster.com or follow her on Twitter @BecMcMaster.

HEART OF IRON 

London Steampunk Series, Book 2
 

Sourcebooks • May 2013 

ISBN-13: 9781402270307 • ISBN-10: 1402270305 

In the mist-shrouded streets of London’s dreaded Whitechapel district, werewolves, vampires and a clockwork army are one step away from battle…

NO ONE TO TRUST 

Lena Todd is the perfect spy. Nobody suspects the flirtatious debutante could be a rebel against London’s vicious elite—not even the ruthless Will Carver, the one man she can’t twist around her little finger. 

Will Carver, is more than man, he’s a verwulfen and he wants nothing to do with the dangerous beauty who drives him to the very edge of control. But when he finds Lena in possession of a coded letter, he realizes she’s in a world of trouble. To protect her, he’ll have to seduce the truth from her before it’s too late. 

“Deftly blends elements of steampunk and vampire romance with brilliantly successful results…darkly atmospheric and delectably sexy.” –Booklist, starred review for KISS OF STEEL 

To purchase Heart of Iron: 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Chapters/Indigo

Discover a New Love

Sourcebooks

Enter to win the following:

A paperback copy of HEART OF IRON

This giveaway is INT!

All Birthday Bash giveaways end on May 22nd at 11:59pm.

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