Welcome Jillian Stone & The Seduction of Phaeton Black

Welcome Guest Author

Jillian Stone

to the blog today!

See below for her giveaway!

Welcome, Jillian!  Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

In 2010, I won the RWA Golden Heart for An Affair with Mr. Kennedy and went from no agent or publisher to signing with Richard Curtis and being offered a three book contract by Pocket Books. That summer, I also won the erotica category of the 2010 Romance Through the Ages contest for The Seduction of Phaeton Black and was offered a three book contract by Kensington Brava. Needless to say, I have been busy writing books this past year and a half! I live in Southern California and I am currently working on a special Pocket Star e-novella for The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series, and the third sequel to the Phaeton Black series titled The Miss Education of Doctor Exeter.

I write historical romantic suspense and historical paranormal with steampunk and erotic elements, under one name, Jillian Stone.

Wow! What a wonderful two years you’ve had! Congratulations, Jillian! Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

The Seduction of Phaeton Black released in April, here’s brief blurb:

The year is 1889 and Queen Victoria, exemplum of decency and sobriety, is in her fifty-second year of reign. Occult detective Phaeton Black, on the other hand, couldn’t be less interested in clean-living. He has recently taken up residence in the basement flat of London’s most notorious brothel. A dedicated libertine with an aptitude for absinthe, he wrestles with a variety of demons both real and self-inflicted.

Unfairly linked to Scotland Yard’s failure to solve the Whitechapel murders, Phaeton is offered a second chance to redeem himself. A mysterious fiend, or vampire is stalking the Strand. After a glass and a consult with the green fairy, he agrees to take on the case. On his first surveillance, Phaeton pursues an elusive stranger and encounters several curious, horrifying beings. But the most intriguing creature of all is a Cajun beauty who captures him at knifepoint and threatens to spirit away his heart.

So intriguing! Which character is your favorite and why?

Phaeton Black, was my first serious attempt at writing what’s called a Byronic hero, which is a variant of the Romantic hero (named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron). Phaeton is man proud, moody, cynical. He is often defiant and carries a misery in his heart. He often scorns his peers, can be vengeful and is capable of deep and strong affection.

I have to say, he was so much fun to write! Phaeton is all the things one should avoid in a man, only he’s so damn irresistible. 

He sounds awesome! As the author, what surprised you about this story?

How attached I became to both the hero and heroine. At the end of the book it took me months to get the two characters out of my head. Phaeton and America go through an emotional arc and an rather grueling adventure together. Because there is always a good deal of story in my novels, I always feel exhausted when I finish a manuscript and it’s because I’ve been on the journey with the characters!

Also, for such a dark tale, I was surprised at the amount of humor that emerged in both the story and their repartee with each other. Phaeton and America are quite a pair.

They sound great! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?

It takes three books for Phaeton to straighten up, lose his rougey parts and settle down. The second in the series, The Moonstone & Miss Jones releases in late September 2012.   

Here’s a sneak peek:

After being shanghaied in Shanghai, Phaeton and America return home to find 1889 London plagued by strange creatures setting the stage for a terrifying alternate future for the city. People and things–well–there's no other way to explain it, but things appear to be unraveling. With help from the Nightshades, Phaeton and America venture into a strange, alternate London to extract the Moonstone and close the rabbit hole between both worlds.

Wow! What was the hardest thing for you about writing this story?

This wasn’t a difficult book to write, in fact it was a pleasure. I have come to understand that some books just seem to write themselves. The characters are in your head and fully developed––the plot turns work out perfectly. It is a wonderful thing when that happens, but I have found that even books which have more difficulties, are still wonderful experiences to write, revise and rewrite!

That is so true! What are you working on right now?

I have another series for Pocket Books called The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard. And I am currently writing an e-novella for the series. Two more full length novels are releasing this year for that series: A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis releases end of August and A Private Duel with Agent Gunn, the end of November.

Love the titles! What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

It’s in the cloud (online storage). The working title is Isabella Inamorata: A four book, medieval series that is set in the south of France, which I might one day turn into a medieval fantasy series. But that’s a big maybe.

Sounds intriguing! What do you find easiest and hardest to write?

Even the easiest story is hard to write. You have to push yourself everyday. Since I’m ADD and tend to get bored easily, I try to make every chapter something to look forward to, especially when I know the writing is going to be difficult, like a very intense action scene––fun to imagine but difficult to execute well.

Is there a theme or message that runs through your work? 

The power of love.

Okay, now, just for fun:

Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Dark

Salty or sweet? Can add a chile pepper as well? I make these Thai peanut lettuce wraps that have diced jalapeño, peanut butter and coconut in them. There is something about savory and sweet that is so delicious!

Bed or kitchen table? Sex on the table, and snacking in bed.

Beach or mountains? Guernsey Cove

Give or receive? Give and you shall receive!

Where can we find you on the web?

Website Facebook  Twitter  

Purchase links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

To enter the tour-wide giveaway, enter the Rafflecopter form. But leave Jillian some comment love, too!

Thanks so much for reading!

Laura

a Rafflecopter giveaway