Wicked Night by Evi Rhodes

Please welcome Evi Rhodes author of Wicked Night

Evi Rhodes will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Wicked Night

by Evi Rhodes

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GENRE: Paranormal romance/urban fantasy

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

To be honest, I’m not sure what first inspired me, but I’ve always had a love for writing and reading. I found this amazing sense of peace as I’d write late at night what had happened that day in my diary but would always write it as if it were a grand tale. My grandmother would tell me that I had an old soul that had much to share with the world; she encouraged me to write and to tell stories and that is why I felt it appropriate to dedicate my In Memory in Wicked Night to this very special woman.

2. How did you come up with ideas for your books?

The ideas for my work come from all around me; my friends, family and even strangers. Everyone has a story to tell in whole or in part that I feel needs to be shared. On the other hand at times ideas just come to me and I ask myself where did that come from and don’t have an answer. Mostly, I wanted to give a voice to those that wouldn’t normally share their private stories with the world by sharing them in a way that they wouldn’t feel their life was on display. In giving these people’s stories that voice, I feel that my characters come alive for my readers.

4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

Even from a young age I would polish off a novel a week loving the ability to lose myself in the story and would find myself daydreaming of writing a story of my own. I stopped writing for a long time to pursue my lifelong dream of being an Olympian on a more serious level.   I training with some of the best in the world, which required all my time. It was only after I had to give up that dream, for a variety of reasons, that I picked writing back up. It not only served as a passion to devote myself to, but it was also a form of therapy as I felt as if I no longer had a purpose. Frankly, it was as though the world was passing me by and I was stuck standing still, as if I was lost among everyone else’s normal day-to-day. This is a feeling many suffer when they are so hyper-focused on a single task and it comes to and end; athletes of all kinds seem to be extremely prone to this due to the nature of how they dedicate every moment of their day to their sport.

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

Wicked Night is only the beginning of the journey in A Warrior’s Promise Series; there is much more story to tell.  Book two, Unusual Night, has now been officially released while book three is almost ready for editing and book four already has a rough draft completed. I call this series a journey because that is exactly what it is; when you first meet our main characters they have a lot of growing to do and as the reader you get to come along for the wild ride of romantic, sad, funny and meaningful moments. Along the way I hope everyone falls in love with at least one of my characters.

6. If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?

I would want to be Gwen; even though when we first meet her she seems weak and immature. Once you get to know her you realize this behaviour stems from the time she is young and that she has had to hide her true self behind an arrogant dismissive mask to protect herself.

In reality, she is a pretty wonderful selfless character. And as an author there is a little bit of you in all your characters, yet I find myself relating to her and her growth arc. Besides who wouldn’t want to end up with the hot lead character?

7. If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your leading roles?

Oh wow wouldn’t it be fun to choose.

I think I would pick Theo James to be Wicked

Ruby Rose as Gwen

Ryan Reynolds as Craze

Jared Leto as Kayden

9. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

I think I’m no different than every other author who at some point has been skeptical to make the leap and have your work published.  The very idea of it being viewed, reviewed and judged by the world is certainly unnerving. I first decided to submit my work early 2018 and there are two people that contributed to me making the final leap from dreaming about publishing to actually doing it. The first one is my very best friend who encouraged me every step of the way, her confidence and appreciation for what I had written gave me hope that the dream could be real. The second person that helped me take the final step was my Uncle; he is a horror writer himself and although my work was not his genre of choice, he said, “girl you are a writer, let’s get that straight. Now if we can only get you to say it with less words.”  And although I did laugh hard, he was also the first person to rip my work apart and yet in this profound way helped me see that criticism wasn’t bad. It is simply how we all learn to improve. From that day forward I made the decision to publish my story.

11. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I have a generic outline of what I want to have happen. I have my characters very well conceptualized, as well as where I want them to start and where I want their story to finish, but the rest of the story is all flow. I let the characters tell me what should happen next, what would their character do next? What would they say next? I found that if I created a strict timeline my writing became too mechanical and didn’t have the same connection with the characters lifelike and unpredictable natures.

12. Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?

Yes, most definitely. I have always ridden horses and have a number of animals; I’ve consistently worked out including CrossFit and boxing, as well as dabbled in many other activities for fun or relaxation.  I pull many descriptions for my scenes from my real life experiences. As well as I wanted my characters to feel as real as possible, and I find the best way to understand something is to try it for yourself.

13. Do you have an all time favorite book?

Although I have read many amazing authors over the years, I feel I have to say my favourite book of all time has to be Black Beauty. This was the first book that I read on my own and was the book that started my love of all books. It also opened my eyes to the wondrous world you find yourself in when you let yourself go and simply enjoy a story. I still distinctly remember crying my eyes out for Ginger and Merrylegs.

15. Who is your favorite actor and actress?

That would have to be Dwayne Johnson, not only has he done a wide variety of movies that I love, but he stands for so many good things in this world, including love, strength and being yourself. Besides let’s face it, he’s not hard on the eyes as an added bonus J

18. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series.

A series I feel is a little different than a single book for the simple fact that you have to have short-term goals and a long-term plan for all your characters that stretches a vast period of time. And although I do allow my work to flow, I have to know what struggles and triumphs I want each of my characters to face, as well as what thought provoking issues I want to bring up along the way. It’s also tricky to balance the ability to give the readers enough that they feel they have come along on the journey so far and are left feeling satisfied yet leaving just enough intrigue to keep them wanting to see what happens next. It is also difficult to make sure you don’t have any of those pesky inconsistencies with characters, scenes, or plots; pages and pages of notes is a definite must.

19. Anything else you might want to add?

BLURB:

Follow the journey of a strong, independent, yet caring woman as she navigates the supernatural world she is thrust into. Gwen steps out of a dysfunctional family life and into a world filled with danger she never realized lives at every turn, fiery passion, and a love that is ever binding. How will she handle her strange new surroundings as well as the man with the intense and overbearing personality who threatens to destroy the emotional barriers around her heart?

Wicked, the next in line to become the vampire king, is caught off guard when he grudgingly agrees to take on a charge, something he never wanted to do. He is unsure how to handle the fierce and vibrant woman with the unsettling green eyes. It doesn’t take long for them to clash, but will it end passionately or burn down around them?

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EXCERPT:

Wicked stood in the darkness staring at his soon-to-be charge and felt like a deer in the headlights. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her and just stared, blinking with wide eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to be so beautiful,” he whispered to himself.  He was late meeting her but he could not face her yet, not until the blood in his veins cooled and his breathing returned to normal. The last thing he needed to do was make an ass of himself by acting like a high-school boy hyped up on hormones. He had never in all his 148 years felt this kind of draw toward anyone. He had the strongest urge to reach out and touch her hair, to whisk her off her feet into his arms and kiss her until their lips hurt and she breathlessly begged him to stop.  His blood felt as if it were boiling in his veins as the image of this woman in his arms flickered across his mind.

Out of the blue, she laughed aloud, seemingly for no apparent reason, but it was almost his undoing. It was like she was purring in his ear; he could feel her breath against his skin as if she were standing right beside him.  He growled under his breath and then turned around and closed his eyes as he ground his teeth together in response to his body’s reaction. Good God, he wanted to march across the short expanse separating them and do something that he would definitely regret later, like push her up against the wall   and take her right there.  He could picture ripping open her jacket and lifting her off the ground . . .

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Evi Rhodes has always had a passion for writing and likes to spend as much time as possible hanging out with the array of rescue animals on her farm in Ontario, sipping on a cup of coffee and typing on her laptop.

In addition to getting her degree in business as well as competing in her favourite equestrian sport, dressage, she is an entrepreneur, and has coached many of a riding enthusiast, but she has always found herself coming back to wanting to write full-time.

“I just want to be me and to be authentic. To tell a story that others can immerse themselves in and enjoy is what I have always wanted.”

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS

Website: www.awarriorspromiseseries.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/evirhodesauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evi_rhodes/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18662575.Evi_Rhodes

BUY LINKS

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Night-Warriors-Evi-Rhodes-ebook/dp/B07KXZCQQY/

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wicked-night-evi-rhodes/1129961878

Indigo

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/wicked-night-a-warriors-promise/9780228802853-item.html?

Review the book on NetGalley: https://www.netgalley.com/widget/194639/redeem/38dc465999c386117d31d27c1162d96f65c565c65d330bb76f40f139c8659ffc

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Evi Rhodes will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3156