This month’s author being interrogated(!) is the lovely Nicola Cameron who is married to a fellow Brit. Over to you, Nicola.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for having me.
I am a married woman of a certain age who really likes writing about sex. When not writing about sex, I like to knit. And I may be rather fond of absinthe. Well, it’s true! Okay, okay, the full version: I’ve had a healthy interest in sex since puberty, but it wasn’t until 2012 that I decided to write about it. Turns out that the skills picked up during my SF writing career transfer rather nicely to erotic romance and erotica — who knew? When not working, I’m usually making Stuff™, kissing my husband, or cleaning up after five cats. It’s a long story.
About You
What’s the strangest (bravest, funniest etc) thing you’ve ever
done?
Leaving
everything behind and crossing the Atlantic to marry a man I’d only spent a
week with (but had known for eighteen months in email). Considering that
happened over 21 years ago and we’re still together, I think I made the right
choice.
(As a Brit myself, I say welcome - belatedly!)
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I
read. When I’m not reading, I’m usually doing some sort of craft -- knitting,
crocheting, building dollhouses, refinishing furniture, needlepoint, cross
stitch, glass painting, etc. I am Michael’s Crafts’ bitch.
Favourite rainy day activity?
Reading.
Favorite sunny day activity? Reading. Favorite snow day activity? Reading. Um,
I kinda like reading.
Your Writing
Tell us about your latest book.
Tell us about your latest book.
Breaker
Zone is Book Two in my Olympic Cove series, and will be out in
When Dr. Nick Gardiner goes on the run from a
psychotic ex and ends up at Olympic Cove, the last thing he expects to find is
his friend Ian living with two redheaded demigods and learning how to be a
storm god. Adding to the confusion is a wounded merman named Aidan who washes
up in the cove, requiring Nick’s professional help. As it turns out, the
handsome mer and his partner Liam have other plans for the ER doctor — to claim
him as their destined mate and fulfill his need to submit.
Is there any trivia about your latest/forthcoming story that you
can share with us (eg, the name of a real life pet that you used in the story)?
I
happen to know artist and gay porn star Colby Keller, and when he was running
his Indiegogo fundraiser “Colby Does America (And Canada Too)” I offered to
give contributors walk-on roles in the Olympic Cove series. To my pleased
surprise I wound up getting nine people who wanted to be in the series! The
first one, Claire, will appear as a very brave minor sea goddess in Breaker Zone.
(How fabulous!)
What are you currently working on, or what’s on the horizon?
I’m
finishing up my historical erotic romance Behind
the Iron Cross, and then I’m working on a novella that I want to submit to
Harlequin, and after that it’s Olympic Cove Book Three, Deep Water.
(Good luck with all of
them, sweetie!)
Quick Fire round
Turquoise or mauve? Turquoise.
A juicy grilled steak with garlic butter or vanilla &
raspberry cheesecake with white chocolate? I am a carnivore. Steak all the way.
George Clooney or Brad Pitt? Mm, more like Martin Freeman or
Rupert Graves. To which my answer is, both.
Finally
Links of how fans can find you on the internet?
Here is an extract from Nicola’s book ‘Breaker Zone’:
Nick
stared at the creature Bythos carried. “That’s—”
“A mer.
Yes, I know,” Bythos huffed, carrying the merman to the couch. Carefully, he
laid the creature down, making sure to drape the tail smoothly over the couch
arm. “He’s also injured.”
ER doctor
mode clicking in, Nick knelt next to the couch. From the waist up, the merman
looked like a fair-skinned human male, leanly muscled like an Olympic swimmer,
with a knotted thong necklace around his throat.
From the
waist down, however, it was a different story. Instead of a human pelvis and
legs, there was a large fish tail covered in scales that shone blue-green in
the overhead light. The tail ended in a sweeping dark blue fin that almost
trailed on the floor.
Nick
dragged his gaze back up to the merman’s face. Dripping, tangled hair covered
part of it, but he could see a straight nose and chiseled lips underneath the
wet strands.
The
merman moaned softly, a distinctly webbed hand reaching to what would have been
the outer thigh on a human. Nick finally spotted the short, slender rod
protruding there, the end trailing a ragged line. Dark red blood oozed from the
puncture, streaking across blue-green scales. “Shit. What happened to him?”
“Some
fool shot him with a speargun, and the spear had a buoy attached,” Bythos said,
almost snarling. “I had to tear the damned thing off. He’d been dragging it all
day, so he’s exhausted as well as injured. You’ll need to take out the spear.”
Nick
blinked. “Whoa, wait. Me?”
“You’re a
doctor, aren’t you?”
“For
humans, yeah. This guy isn’t a human,” he pointed out. “At least, not
completely. If it was above his waist, I’d know what I was doing, but I don’t
know what the spear hit—”
The
merman moaned again, a soft, exhausted sound. Nick gritted his teeth. Aw, hell. “Okay, I need to see if it’s a
through-and-through,” he said. “Can you lift his, uh, his bottom half a
little?”
The tall
redhead leaned over, carefully sliding his hands under the merman’s ass and
lifting him. Nick crouched lower, peering at the underside of the thigh area.
“Yeah, I can see the arrowhead here. I’m guessing we can’t haul him into an
ER?”
“No,”
Bythos said shortly. “You’ll have to take the spear out yourself.”
“Fuck.
All right. Ian, I’m going to need any towels you don’t mind getting bloody and
the brown leather bag in my room.” He studied the spear. Removing it would be
fairly straightforward, assuming it wasn’t barbed or broken. “Do you by any
chance have a set of bolt cutters here?”
“I’ll get
some,” Aphros said, darting out.
“Towels
and bag.” Ian headed in the opposite direction.
Bythos
had moved to the merman’s head now, resting a hand on his forehead and talking
softly to him in an oddly elegant language. The merman opened huge eyes that
looked apple green in the living room light, blinking slowly.
Bythos
said, “I’ve explained that you’re a physician and here to help him. He won’t
hurt you.”
“Good to
know,” Nick muttered. The entry wound looked clean enough, and the metal of the
spear was aluminum, so at least there was little chance of rust getting sucked
into the wound. The relatively small amount of blood oozing from the wound
suggested that it hadn’t hit a major artery. He wished he could have a
Radiology department take x-rays — or better yet, a CAT scan — to see what he
was dealing with. “You realize I have no clue about the anatomy here, right?”
“I know
that, but we don’t have much of a choice,” Bythos said impatiently. “If you
won’t pull it out, I will.”
“Yeah,
no,” Nick snapped. “I’m the doctor here. I’ll do it.”
“Towels,”
Ian said, jogging into the room with am armful of terrycloth. “And your bag.”
“Thanks.”
He took a thick beach towel and slid it under the merman, then opened his bag
and fished out a pair of nitrile gloves. “I think our best bet is to cut off
the trailing end of the spear as close to his scales as possible, then pull it
out from the arrow end. The shaft shouldn’t be barbed, but I don’t want to take
any chances.” Because if it is, there’s a damned good chance I’ll rip open
an artery in the process. “Do either of you puke when you see blood?”
“No,”
Bythos rumbled.
“I’m
good,” Ian said.
“Okay.”
He spread out a hand towel and laid out out packages of sterile gauze, a suture
kit, scissors and tape just as Aphros appeared with a heavy duty bolt cutter.
Next month’s author
will be Sara Anderson.
Thanks for having me, Jennifer!
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