Holiday Foreplay with J.A. Belfield + Giveaway

1.       When does the ìholiday moodî overtake you? What, if anything, is to blame e.g. a certain song, activity, tradition?

Ach, you know what? Iím usually a real bar humbug around Christmas time (and yeah, I have kids, tooópoor things). However, this year, I seem to be craving the Christmas spirit, for some reason. My tree usually goes up at the last possible weekend, and this year itís been up since December 1st; I usually have all my Christmas shopping done by end of September because I canít stand Christmas shoppers, and this year Iím way behind and have ventured out a few times now. And for some real strange reason, my head decided it wanted Christmas here already after I vegged out one Sunday afternoon at the end of November and watched Fred Clause (of all things) on the box. O_o

2.       I like that Blue Moon could kind of woefully be interpreted as a ìwerewolf Christmas specialî. Why set it in December?

I guess it couldóIíd never really thought of it that way. The biggest reason Blue Moon is set during the time it is, though, is because the year I wrote it, a blue moon did actually occur on New Yearís Eve, and I was writing it during November/December/January, and ended up following the timescale I was currently living in. I think I recall my sister (who was my biggest researcher for Blue Moon) played a big part in that happening, too, though.

3.       Speaking of Christmas specials, do you have any favorites?

You mean books or films? Books, I canít really name any off the top of my head (unless I do a shameless plug for the Make Believe anthology, which released the same day as Blue Moon, ho ho ho O_o). More seriously, I prefer to read little extras that authors have written for characters Iíve already fallen in love with from seriesí. Or should I admit that I read an Amish novel last Christmas, expecting it to be a bit naff, and ended up seriously enjoying it?

4.       Jem comes across as one tough cookie (a little difficult to swallow!). Who are some other protagonists you feel shaped her, movie, TV, books, or otherwise?

Hmmm, I donít really know, to be honest, because Jem definitely holds within herself a whole lot of me. And for anyone whoís read Darkness & Light, the first in the Holloway Pack series, theyíll know that she didnít start out feisty and kick-a$$. She had to ëfind herselfí first. However, I do prefer heroines who can take care of themselves when I read myself, ones who donít come across as smart a$$es or too full of attitude, and so maybe thatís why Jem kind of turned out the way she did. After all, most authors tend to write stories theyíd love to read themselves. 🙂

5.       Life with a werewolf pack is bloody business and colorfully characterized in Blue Moon. Any werewolf stories, myths, media held in especial esteem?

I donít particularly follow werewolf media, and if I said I researched werewolves prior to writing for the Holloway Pack, Iíd be lying. Though, this was done on purpose so I could just write the werewolves as they came to me without their traits being too influenced by the preconceptions or characterisations of others. However, I do love werewolf films (but only the decent ones). I enjoy the Underworld series. Though I donít agree with the finished product of their werewolves, thereís no denying they have possibly the best werewolf changing graphics in a film to date (in my opinion, anyway). And whilst I stay away from werewolf literature during writing the Holloway Pack, I do enjoy reading the occasional wolfy tale in between works. I think my love of werewolves may have stemmed from reading Bitten (Kelley Armstrong) maaaaaaaaaaaany years ago. My sister owns the entire Otherworld series and loaned the book to me, and Clay Danvers became one of my favourite fictional males.

In fact, I think discussions about werewolves and the possibility of their existence (yes, just like the discussions Jem has had with Jess in Darkness & Light) are mostly what prompted my writing about them and helped to mould them into what theyíve become in my work. So weíll blame her. 😉

Author Bio
	One day, a character and scene popped into J. A. Belfieldís head, and she started controlling the little people inside her imagination, as though she were the puppet master and they her toys. Questions arose: What would happen if Ö? How would they react if Ö? Who would they meet if Ö? Before she knew it, a singular scene had become an entire movie. The characters she controlled began to hold conversations. Their actions reflected the personalities she bestowed upon them. Within no time, they had a life, a lover, a foe, family Ö they had Become. One day, she wrote down her thoughts. Sheís yet to stop.
J. A. Belfield lives in Solihull, England, with her husband, two children, three cats and a dog. She writes paranormal romance, with a second love for urban fantasy. Website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jem Stonehouse, a housewife with a neurotic husband bent on keeping her in line, dreams about werewolves in, what she believes, is a bid to escape boredom. Sean Holloway is a werewolf, living a charade within the human race, whose mind drifts to a bond he shares with a woman he hasn’t met ó at least, not in this lifetime. Apart, the two are safe but live unfulfilled lives. Together, they’ll become prey to rival packs just as they have been for hundreds of years. When their worlds collide, and not for the first time, instinct takes over. Dreams become reality. Futures are uncertain. To keep history from repeating itself, Sean must teach Jem about his heritage, convince her of her role, and win her love. Can Jem accept her destiny before it’s too late, or is her inner wolf buried too deep to save her future with Sean?

Someone is watching the Holloway pack, and this time, the female isn’t the target. Life with a group of seven male werewolves worries Jem Stonehouse not one bit. She is engaged to the Alpha’s son Sean Holloway after all. So what has Jem’s territorial instincts on high alert? The pack’s latest addition. Both of them. None of the men think there’s a problem with the new girlfriends. Jem’s intuition tells her otherwise-that and a nagging suspicion the new females aren’t there to partake. Jem believes they’ve joined in to take. The question is … What? As the eve of the blue moon draws ever closer, Jem’s running out of time to find the answer and outwit a thief of the worst possible kind. A woman who believes she can’t lose.

Related Posts