Roxanne Rhoads: Interview and Excerpt: Symphony of Light and Winter by Renea Mason

What inspired you to become an author?

A story. After writing Symphony of Light and Winter, I figured it was the next logical path. So here I am.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I love writing first-person perspective romance. Even though first person is often used in young adult, for me, it brings the reader closer to the heroine or hero. In romance and erotica there is nothing more intimate than to experience the story through the eyes of the main character.

Do you write in different genres?

Yes. I write in two genres. Paranormal erotic romance and contemporary erotic romance.

If yes which is your favorite genre to write?

Paranormal is probably my favorite.

How did you come up with the title for your latest book?

It wasn't anything sophisticated. I needed a title for the story when I enrolled in a critique exchange website. When it came time to query, I hadn't come up with anything better.

Do you title the book first or wait until after it’s complete?

In the case of Symphony of Light and Winter, I started the book first then applied the title. With Between the Water - Symphony of Light Book Two, I titled the book first since I knew how I wanted the story to evolve.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

There are many different messages but as with any art form the message is different for every person.

Is the book, characters, or any scenes based on a true-life experience, someone you know, or events in your own life?

No. Everything in the book is fictional.

What books/authors have influenced your life?

There are many. If we're talking well-established authors--Jeaniene Frost, Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, and Karen Marie Moning.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Robyn Peterman. She has been a tremendous guide.

What book are you reading now?

I have two books queued up. Fashionably Dead Down Under by Robyn Peterman and Fatal Desire by Valerie Twombly.

What books are in your to read pile?

Too many to name. You are welcome to check out my list on Goodreads, but I admit I'm behind on updating it.

What is your current “work in progress” or upcoming projects?

I just finished Between the Waters - Symphony of Light Book Two. It due out this summer.

I also started an erotic contemporary trilogy. The first book is titled, Curing Doctor Vincent. It's a deliciously smutty ménage.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Finding time to do it. I spend a lot of time thinking about scenes and how they should play out. But with another career, a family and life demands it's hard to find time.

Do you have to travel much to do research for your books?

I don't. I use the Internet or make stuff up.

Who designed the cover of your latest book?

My publisher provided the covers for my current books, Symphony of Light and Winter and Impostors' Kiss.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Find your crazy confidence and know beyond anything else who you are as writer or at least who you want to be.

Do you have a song or playlist (book soundtrack) that you think represents this book?

Symphony of Light and Winter as written while listening to Florence +the Machine, We are the Fallen, and Tori Amos. Predominately. I believe the dark flavor of these songs shaped the dark feel of the story.

Symphony of Light and Winter

Symphony of Light

Book One

Renea Mason

Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance

ISBN: 978-1-940223-10-0

Release Date: 06/21/2013

Word Count: 88,375

Page Count: 389

Blurb

One woman. Seven men. All bound by one man’s undying devotion.

Fundraiser Linden Hill has a knack for reading people. She always knows which conversations will put a prospect at ease, which drink will loosen a patron’s lips—or his wallet, and how cleavage will make a donor sweeten the deal. She’s even foreseen her dateless weekends four hundred and sixty-four times in a row.

But ten years after watching life drain from her former mentor’s and first love’s eyes, her skills for divining the predictable are lost. When Cyril returns, he’s still gorgeous, but this time he’s beyond human, far less dead, and pissed. His lack of memory drives him to desperate acts, and his turbulent re-acquaintance with Linden pulls her into his war with a creature hell-bent on his destruction. His group of six supernatural men share a tantalizing secret, but despite the hunger, it’s love that leads her to sacrifice everything to save him…

Amazon BN ARe Kobo

Etopia Press Bookstrand

3rd Place – Best Paranormal Romance

Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers Choice

2nd Place – Best New Paranormal Series

Paranormal Cravings Battle of the Books

Reviews

“Renea Mason’s book has everything you could want—a unique world, a panty dropping alpha male, a gripping plot and seamless writing that would never let on this was her first novel.”- lbookbliss.com

“If you love Alexandra Ivy, Lara Adrian, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lynsay Sands, Laura Wright, and all those other amazing paranormal authors that I absolutely love with all my heart…then you will LOVE Renea Mason and her brand new “Symphony of Light” Series.” - BookReadsandReviews.com

“Linden is a feisty woman who is not afraid to stand up to Cyril, in spite of not knowing exactly what he is capable of. The book is keeps your interest throughout. I recommend this book and hope that the next in the series comes out soon.” -Paranormalromanceguild.com

Symphony of Light and Winter - 18 + Mature Content Excerpt

My amusement was interrupted by the absolute last thing I needed. Cyril. As if being in a room with a bunch of men who wanted me but didn’t know why and hated me for it wasn’t bad enough. In his black custom suit, he radiated power. He pulled at his cuff links as he stopped to survey the room.

Instead of trying to make my escape, I seized an opportunity to antagonize him. I was really starting to enjoy tormenting him.

“Good morning, Grim, it is nice of you to join us.”

“Grim. Ha! She called him Grim.” Rhys clapped his hands as he laughed.

Cyril didn’t acknowledge me or Rhys’s comment. He stood there for a very long time and looked around the room at each man. Nobody met his gaze but me. Cyril’s fists clenched at his side, jaw tight, and face furious.

“I warned all of you,” he addressed the room. He didn’t growl but rather wrapped his words with a subtle menace.

“Leave them alone. You know this is entirely your fault. If you would just think things through, you’d stop fucking everything up. I do have to say, of all your fuckups, this one is certainly the most impressive and entertaining from my perspective.” I winked at Overton, who managed to glare at me even with his head practically bowed. Why were they so fucking subservient to him?

The next thing I knew, I was yanked from my seat and hoisted onto the counter. Cyril grabbed my ass and pulled me to the edge, forced my legs open, and stepped between them. He wrapped his arms around me and placed his head against mine. It wasn’t his voice I heard but rather his mind. It felt like when I talked to myself but somehow I knew it was him. Strange, he had tone and inflection while communicating.

“You need to stop showing off in front of my men. Yes, I fucked up, but do you really want them to give in to their urges? Do you think you can fend them off? I could toss you to them and see how far you get. Is that what you want? Maybe I should let them have their way with you and pull up a chair to watch. I want you to think about something before you start to defy me. I’m the only one who can keep you safe. So it’s best you stop being a smart-ass for five seconds and listen to me. I’m going to do something that will piss you off. I’m warning you now it’s for your own good. You need to go along with it, no matter how angry you are at me. Don’t fight me. I’ll try to fix this but until then, I need to take a few precautions.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. If I thought something, could he hear me? Was this two-way communication? I tried to push him away.

He tightened his grip and his voice was in my head again.

“Stop it! Let me remind you that I have a special connection with these men. Not only can I read their thoughts but I can’t block them. I don’t have to try to receive them. I know exactly what each person in this room, besides you of course, is thinking right now.”

So that’s what Overton meant when he said Cyril had ways of finding out.

“The thoughts that assaulted me when I entered this room would make a porn star blush; every one of their little fantasies featured you.”

I giggled.

The voice growled. “Don’t laugh. I won’t pretend I’m not jealous and angry. I am. But if you knew the things they were thinking you’d better understand why I need to do what I’m about to do. Do you see Dominic over there? Let’s just say his tastes run a little dark. Ever spend considerable time naked with your hands bound behind your back and a ball gag in your mouth? He’s picturing you that way, this very instant.”

I stiffened. That didn’t at all appeal to me.

“Thor seems to think that you’d enjoy all of us taking you at the same time.”

And he seemed so quiet and sweet.

“Sinclair wants to shove his cock down your throat until you choke, all the while telling you how it’s your entire fault. Rhys is thinking of how you would look sprawled out on the hood of his new sports car, and Overton...”

“NO!” I yelled.

It seemed like a violation of privacy with Overton. Unlike the others, I considered him a friend. I respected him too much.

“See, like it or not, I’m going to tell you what he’s thinking since it pisses me off the most. He thinks I’m going to fuck you right here on this counter, to lay my claim. Once he gets past the fantasies of watching me fuck you, which he finds exceptionally arousing...”

There was a momentary pause to the voice and when he started again, he was angry.

“He then knocks on your bedroom door after you run crying from the room. You invite him in and he holds you in his arms while you cry about how I violated and humiliated you. He wants to comfort you. He wants to be your savior. He wants to save you from me. But he knows he can’t.”

I felt the moment he left my head, because a sudden wave of dizziness came over me.

With no more words, he tilted his head and placed his lips against mine. I fought the rigidity that tried to seize my body. I knew it was best to give in. I wouldn’t fight him, but I knew every time he got close, I ran the risk of losing myself. I was still way too angry to just give up.

His lips danced with mine as he nestled himself between my open thighs.

Was Overton right? How far would he take it? If it did go too far, would I be able to stop him? He was such a fucking weakness for me I honestly didn’t think I would.

He was gentle and softly stroked my back as his tongue made love to my mouth. With one hand he cupped my ass and pulled me flush against him, and with the other he reached up, cupped my breast, and squeezed hard. His kiss grew frantic and I became caught up in the sensation, forgot where I was, and that I had an audience. He pushed me hard against his erection as he rubbed himself rhythmically against my core. “You are mine. You belong to me. Now say it! Let them all know who you belong to.”

Was he kidding? I hesitated.

He ran his fangs up the side of my neck in warning. He whispered in my ear, “Say it. You need to say it. Let them hear it come from your lips.” His hand drifted from my breast to the hem of my nightgown and pulled up one side so it rested in the crease where my leg met my hip.

Somehow the part of me that knew he was right surfaced, and the stubborn part of me took a momentary vacation. If I was his, they wouldn’t dare defy him. It would keep me safe.

His fingers toyed with the edge of my panties before tugging the fabric to the side to allow him to stroke my moist skin. He positioned himself at the juncture between my legs, allowing my naked flesh to gather friction from his cloth-covered cock.

“Yes, Cyril, I’m yours.”

With that, he struck. His fangs pierced my neck. The second of pain from his bite passed and the pleasure grew, igniting my veins with liquid desire. One arm tightened around me, pulling me harder against his cock. The other held my head while he sucked harder. Each pull he took was linked to the sensitive place between my legs. He ground his hips into mine and I moaned. The first wave of climax hit, tensing muscles and pushing my breath out in a rush. This was new. He could do this just by biting me?

I shook in his arms as he drank. Tremor after tremor seized me as he took his fill. I was so caught up in the sensation I only vaguely noticed the moans and growls that escaped from behind his teeth. With one final pull, and a thrust of his hips, he finished with a crushing embrace as he removed his teeth from my neck.

“Mine!” he roared. He enveloped me in his arms and held me close. He dipped his head to lick closed the small punctures on my throat.

I threw my head back. My breathing slowed as the cloud that had invaded my head receded.

Son of a bitch! I just came in front of everyone while sitting on the kitchen counter!

was afraid to open my eyes but when I did, he stared back.

He nuzzled my cheek. “I’m sorry. I only want to protect you. If you’re mine, no one will dare touch you. I needed to lay my claim but I didn’t want to take anything you hadn’t already offered. Since you’ve replenished me before I thought this might be more acceptable.”

I was angrier with myself than him.

He caressed my arms and back. When I mustered enough courage to look around, we were the only people in the kitchen, with the exception of Overton, who stood in the doorway holding the keys to my car.

Cyril softly lifted my chin so that my eyes would meet his. “Again, I’m sorry. I know I end up saying that far too often. But I need you to know, hearing those words from your lips...ah, hell. I can’t even explain it. Perhaps someday, you’ll utter them in truth.”

He placed his forehead against mine, took a deep breath. “Fuck. Maybe Overton is right. Maybe someone should save you from me.”

About the Author:

Renea Mason writes steamy romances to help even out the estrogen to testosterone imbalance caused by living in a house full of men.

When she isn’t putting pen to paper crafting sensual stories filled with supernatural lovers, she spends time with her beyond-supportive husband, two wonderful sons and three loving but needy cats.

Her debut novel, Symphony of Light and Winter, finished second for Best New Paranormal Series of 2013 in Paranormal Cravings’ Battle of the Books and received a third place award for Best New Paranormal Romance of 2013 in The Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewers Choice Awards.

Renea is a member of Romance Writers of America, The Paranormal Romance Guild and The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal subchapter of the Romance Writers of America.

She is also a founding member of Coffee Talk Writers and the Coffee Talk website–a site designed to support established writers and foster new talent.

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