Contest & Conversation with DELIVER ME FROM DARKNESS, Paranormal Romance Author Tes Hilaire

Why do you write?

TH:  Paranormal Romance is my main focus right now, though I do take some time to play in the genres of UF and YA. When I’m not busy doing that, I’m probably trying not to write my children’s book reports for them.  I have to give it to all my teachers whom I didn’t appreciate until now; teaching is sooo much harder than doing! At least in my opinion.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

TH:  The amount of information out there that contradicts each other. You can find two totally different accounts of a legend/myth depending on where you look.

Do you have a favorite motto?

TH: Hmmm… Well I used to have a tag line, but I’ve had to modify it a bit since its birth. It goes something like this now: Imagination is just the beginning….after that it’s all blood, sweat, and tears! Of course, I suppose I could just say perseverance is the key to success but that’s not nearly so interesting, is it? ;-)

Do you have a favorite fictional hero?

TH: Do I have to narrow this down?  Okay, well, I’m going to have to go with Curran from Ilona Andrew’s “Kate Daniels” series.  Just because, having just devoured books 1-5, it’s fairly recent in my mind and I love a hero that I get to revisit book after book after book…  PLEASE WRITE MORE Ilona!

Which fictional character would you hang out with?

TH: There is another whole bookshelf full of these, but today I’m in need of a pick me up (it’s raining) so I’m going to go with Lulu from the Stephanie Plum books. She’s completely outrageous and would keep me entertained for hours, and she likes fried chicken (a personal weakness of mine).

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

TH: Well of course I love my own. The wonderful Patricia Schmitt did a great job with it (check out her other stuff at http://pickymeartist.com/).  That said I’m a real sucker for either the dark, gritty UF covers (think Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series) or the paranormal YA cover styles (Think Hush, Hush or Fallen or Wicked Lovely.)

What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

TH: I’m an alien come down from Mars to… No? Okay, you’re right, I’m pulling your leg.  Really there isn’t much that I won’t tell anyone. Ask away and I’m an open book.  We’ll start with this: I didn’t always know I was going to be a writer, that’s why I went to college and got my degree in biology with the expectation of going on to vet school…

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose?

TH: That’s a hard one, but I think forward.  Mainly for the curiosity factor.  Sure it would be amazing to go back and really experience something from the past, but I think the great adventure is really in tomorrow.

Tes, please share with us more about Deliver Me from Darkness released by Sourcebooks.

TH: Deliver Me from Darkness is my debut book. It just came out on February 7^th so needless to say I’m very excited.  And to sum it up in a quick elevator pitch the book is about Roland, a vigilante vampire and fallen angel who yearns for, but doesn’t believe in, redemption for his soul—until his bondmate is delivered to his door J

Deliver Me From Darkness is a paranormal romance. What is it about the paranormal genre that piqued your curiosity to place your stories in?

TH: I read across the board; PNR, UF, YA, fantasy, suspense, historical, contemporary, even those darn book-club books that make you cry…I read them all.  I think why I’ve settled down on the paranormal side of things is simply because of the pure possibilities in them. See, in paranormal (unlike, say, historical) I can take something like the legend of the Paladin and let my imagination go!

Okay, I want to give a warm welcome to, Karissa Donovan and Roland, a Paladin warrior. (Waving frantically, trying to get the besotted couple’s attention). I know you two have gone through a lot to get to your happily ever after so I will try to be brief. (Blushes scarlet as she catches the intimate glance between the newlyweds), clears her throat...

Okay, so you two are still in the honeymoon stage, I see. I would like to know what each of you thought when you first laid eyes on the other.

“The first time? Well…” Karissa looks down in her lap where she’s twisting her hands. When she looks back up there is a sense of haunting in her eyes. “At first I thought he was a monster. And that he would kill me.”

Roland reaches over and stills her nervous movement by entwining his hand with hers and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. “It is okay, ma petite peste. At first I thought you were little more than an annoyance.”

Karissa smiles at this, though there is a wicked light in her eyes. “Admit it, you wanted to eat me.”

Roland grins back mischievously.  “Of a surety.”

Was it love at first sight?

“For me?” Roland asks. “The moment she opened her eyes. Of course convincing her that we were meant to be? That was harder.”

Karissa shakes her head. “No, I knew. Deep down I knew. I just didn’t know.” Karissa shrugs. “If that makes any sense.”

When you met, did you believe in true love? You can all answer. I’m quite curious to know all of your opinions.

“Honestly?” Karissa asks. “I’m not sure. My mother died when I was born and soon after my grandmother died as well. I never new my father until recently and my grandfather was so fearful of the evil out there that he pretty much tried to obliterate any notions of happily ever after for me in hopes that I’d stay safe. So when I met Roland? I’m embarrassed to say I was too scared by what he was to understand the true emotions he pulled from my heart. Thankfully, I didn’t resist him, or those emotions, for long. What?” She glances at Roland. “A day? Two?”

“Something like that,” Roland agrees. “Though for me it was a day or two too long.”

“Hmm.” Karissa purses her lips, her gaze considering as she studies her mate. “If I recall, you were the one who wouldn’t make love to me when I finally threw myself at you.”

Roland leans in toward her, his eyes flashing crimson as he drags his gaze down over her body, then back up to her face, stopping in an elongated pause on her lips. “Let me make it up to you now.”

Okay!  …Karissa, name the one thing about Roland that you believe won your heart.

Karissa tears her gaze from Roland’s, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink as she lifts her chin. “He tried to protect me…even from himself.” Her mouth curls up in a wry smile. “Of course, by the time I finally got past my past prejudices to figure that out, I didn’t want him to protect me from him!”

Roland, name one thing about Karissa that you believe changed your outlook on love.

“Her belief in my inherent goodness.” He reaches out to cup Karissa’s face, fisting his other hand and placing it over his heart. “And for that I owe you my body, heart, and soul. Thank you.”

Now, back to Tes…

Tes, what is more difficult to write: an intense sexual scene or a heart-wrenching emotional scene? Why? 

TH: Heart-wrenching.  Mainly because the intensity of a sexual scene allows you to show the characters’ emotions more easily.  When there is little action going on you have to use all the tricks in the book to show the readers how your characters are really feeling…without telling!

When you were writing Deliver Me from Darkness did you have music playing in the background?  If yes, what type?  Does music play an intricate part in your writing?

TH:  Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Some days I need silence to write.  Like those heart-wrenching emotional scenes?  I need the blank slate to work from.  Now action scenes or sex scenes need a good soundtrack to them.  As far as type? Well, my playlist is as changing as my mood.  I’ve listened to a lot of Coldplay and Mumford and Son’s for those times when I’m grooving,  but I also listen to a lot of what I call kick-ass music (which is almost heavy metal but not quite) and new age stuff like Enigma or Enya.  Go figure.

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

TH: Voice. More specifically the character’s voice.  If I don’t have the character’s voice right than I can’t do justice to their story. I end up having them do things that they wouldn’t do and the scene doesn’t feel organic.  Sometimes I don’t notice right away and pages, even scenes go by before I realize that I wasn’t really in my character’s head when I wrote the scene. At that point there is a lot of hair pulling and deleting going on. Sigh.

Tes, please share with readers where they can connect with you in cyber world. :)

TH: You can always visit me on my website www.teshilaire.com. I also have a short story site which I host at www.theinnerimp.com, this is a work in progress but I hope to have more on this in the next six months.  You can also visit me at facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor, this is where I post all the places you can find me or any contests I’m running. 

I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

TH: Oh gosh… I think I have about a zillion Got-to-Have authors and am finding more everyday… but if you’re talking release day got-to-haves: Karen Marie Moning, JR Ward, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Sophie Jordan, Shannon Delaney, Ann Aguirre, Suzanne Brockmann…to name a few.

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

TH: Deliver Me from Temptation is coming out in December 2012!  I can’t wait to share Logan’s story with you J

Tes, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with Over the Edge Reviews readers and myself; it has really been a blast getting to know more about you and your books.

TH: Thank you so much for having me!  I love getting to know people J  And on that note, maybe some of our wonderful readers today can tell me a little something about themselves that I wouldn’t know (which is probably a lot, but doesn’t have to be anything big…something as simple as the Got-To-Have authors on your shelves will do ;-)!

DELIVER ME FROM DARKNESS BY TES HILAIRE – IN STORES NOW

A stranger in the night…

He had once been a warrior of the Light, one of the revered Paladin. A protector. But now he lives in sin darkness, and the shadows are his sanctuary. Every day is a struggle to overcome the bloodlust. Especially the day Karissa shows up on his doorstep.

Comes knocking on the door…

She is light and bright and everything beautiful—despite her scratches and torn clothes. Every creature of the night is after her. So is every male Paladin. Because Karissa is the last female of their kind. But she is his. He may not have a soul, but he can’t deny his heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daphne Award-winning author and former Tennessee native Tes Hilaire doesn’t remember how old she was when she wrote her first story, but she’s pretty sure it had something to do with a boy and a girl and a happily ever after.  Displaced at an early age to “the north country,” her stories turned darker as she started creating whole new worlds to escape the harsh, upstate NY winters. Now back in the South, her stories remain edgy, exciting, and bring a hint of dark fantasy to paranormal romance. Best of all, no one ever has to shovel snow. For more, visit her website at www.teshilaire.com.

~ CONTEST~

RCJR is proud to present debut paranormal author Tes Hilaire's Sourcebook release, DELIVER ME FROM DARKNESS, the first installment in her phenomenal Deliver Me series. 

THE PRIZE: Two lucky readers will win their very own copy of DELIVER ME FROM DARKNESS.

To enter: Please leave a comment for Tes Hilaire including your email address.

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

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Contest is open to ALL

It will runs until March 4, 2012

I will contact the winners directly on March 5, 2012

HAPPY READING! =)