Spotlight & Giveaway: A Vow Broken by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Mimi Jean Pamfiloff to HJ!

Hi Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Wall Men: Book Two, a Vow Broken!

Hello to all my readers and fantasy lovers!
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

Oh boy! This is a really long title: WALL MEN: BOOK TWO, A VOW BROKEN
Let’s go with WALL MEN for our game!

W is for Wild.
A is for Adventure.
L is for Lake, the brake defiant heroine of the story.
L is for Love (of course, right?), because everything Lake does is for the world she loves and wants to save.
M is for Marriage, because Lake has to marry a giant!
E is for Everyone is lying to Lake!
N is for Never marry a giant! (You’ll end up sucked into big drama.)

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“No, Alwar. I won’t do it. You’re out of your mind.” I stare defiantly at the king of giants through the strange window. From where I’m standing, it looks like I’m talking to a moving painting mounted to the wall in my grandmother’s attic.
Really, the painting is a window into another world.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

• ALWAR is our king of giants, who Lake is forced to marry. He’s hundreds of years old and savvy when it comes to waging war. In fact, his people are called the War People because they’re so good at fighting. But will he make a good husband? The jury is still out on that.
• LAKE is our heroine from Mayburg, PA. She’s from a very small town, and until recently, knew nothing about Monsterland. But she’s quickly realized she’s it. There is no one else to fend off the monsters who are dead set on coming here and eating all the people. She’ll do anything to protect her home, but she might be out of her depth.
• BARD is the ex-handyman from Lake’s family estate. She’s had a crush on him since she could remember, but now she’s realized he’s not who she thought. He’s so much more. Oh, and now he’s dead so that’s a bummer!

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The story is about a young woman who, in order to save her world, must travel to a land filled with terrifying monsters, where everyone lies and has an agenda. Even the “good guys” play dirty because, well, that’s how it’s done in Monsterland. I took the inspiration from our current political climate, of course. You can’t take anything at face value! Not from the “news,” social media, or politicians. Lake, the heroine, has to look deeper and question everything if she wants to get at the truth and find a way to keep humans alive. But will she be able to outsmart all these savvy monsters? We shall see!
•  I have a surreal desertscape painting in my office that gave me the inspiration for Monsterland, where most of the story takes place. It has a bright orange and red sky, trees that glow in the daytime, and plants that are shocking colors. At night, though, Monsterland goes dark. Spooky!
• The inhabitants of Monsterland (aka, all the different creatures—vampires, giants, dragons, trolls, ghosts, and other) are a very complicated people. They do not believe in using anything modern. No electricity, phones, guns, etc. They believe such things make one soft, and being soft is looked down upon.
• They believe that their violent ways and killing each other for food is simply part of life. They even find honor in dying to feed another living creature, because “everything has to eat.” Yet, they also believe in conservation. Killing to eat or save your life is one thing, but killing just for fun is wasting food. A big no-no.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Oh. This is part of the fun of Wall Men! We still don’t know who Lake is going to end up with! She has to marry a giant, her ex won’t vacate her life, she still has feelings for her handyman (who’s dead), and then there’s Gabrio. Oh, and let’s not forget the Blood King, a vampire who’s obsessed with her.

So many possibilities!

The First Kiss…

Nope. Not yet! I mean, there is a kiss, but is it “the kiss”? We don’t know just yet!

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I would have to go with Chapter One! It sets up the intense series of events about to unfold:

“No, Alwar. I won’t do it. You’re out of your mind.” I stare defiantly at the king of giants through the strange window. From where I’m standing, it looks like I’m talking to a moving painting mounted to the wall in my grandmother’s attic.
Really, the painting is a window into another world. A world filled with giants, vampires, dragons, and all the creatures found in fairy tales. Except these creatures aren’t cute and cuddly. They’re monsters. Hungry, cruel, meat-eating monsters. And most of them would like nothing more than to come here to our world and gobble up us humans.
“What do you mean, no?” Alwar snarls. “We are at war, and I need your help.”
“No is a pretty simple word,” I reply.
Alwar’s sapphire-blue eyes narrow. “You will do as you are told, Lake Norfolk, or—”
“Or what?” I snap. “Are you going to come over here and spank me? Maybe make me drink more of that nasty Flier nectar.” There’s nothing in the world that could make me succumb to either. I don’t care if Alwar is fifty feet tall. I won’t ever let him lay a finger on me. As for drinking Flier nectar—aka dragon semen—again, I’d rather die of starvation. Monsterland food is vile. They will literally eat anything.
“If I could cross over,” he growls, “I would be shoving my fist up your—”
“Enough!” Gabrio, with his flowing golden hair, steps between me and the window. Gabrio, who was once Alwar’s right hand in Monsterland, is now here with me—a fact he’s probably not so happy about. Especially because the journey made him human size, the mechanics of which are still a mystery.
“Do not enough me, Gabrio,” Alwar warns.
“Sir, she is human. She does not respond to threats. If you wish her to consider your proposal, you must speak her language.”
Through the distortion of the window, I watch Alwar’s face contort like that of a man who’s swallowed a bee. I sort of want to laugh. Except this isn’t funny. This Wall Man, this angry giant warlord, actually wants me to marry him.
“Forget it,” I say to Gabrio. “I don’t care how nicely Alwar asks, I’m not going to be his wife.”
Alwar growls, “Name one good reason not to wed me.”
“Name one good reason to!” Off the top of my head, I can think of several objections. For starters, I would like to marry a man who loves me. Also, there’s a bit of a size difference that would make sex difficult, considering my entire body is probably the same size as his cock. No way to sugarcoat that one. Finally, I’m guessing marriage would require me to live in Monsterland, and I hate their world. I’m not talking dislike, I’m talking hate-hate. It’s the most barbaric, violent place I’ve ever seen.
“I am out of options, Lake,” Alwar argues. “This is the only way to defeat the Blood King and keep your world from being devoured alive.”
Crap. That’s a pretty good reason.
I turn and look up at Gabrio, taking in the finer details of his elegant, masculine face—the high cheekbones, the golden eyelashes that match his long blond hair, and the pillowy lips framed by a golden-brown beard. “I trust you. So if you can honestly say I should marry Alwar, then I’ll consider it.”
Gabrio blinks his emerald-green eyes at me. “Alwar’s suggestion could turn the tide of the war; however, you should be the strong Norfolk woman you were born to be and decide for yourself.”
“What! What talk is this?” Alwar protests.
“She asked. I answered,” Gabrio replies. “Marriage is a lifelong vow. There is no such thing as divorce. Not for you or her. It cannot be undone except through death.”
“You think I do not know this?” Alwar roars, and the two start bickering through the window.
Meanwhile, all I can think about is the big picture. Alwar is trying to prevent the wall standing between my world and theirs from falling. If it does, all bets are off. That wall houses the bridges, which are the only way to get here. The bridges act as a stopgap for any monsters who attempt to get through. They filter out “monster genes”—thus the reason Gabrio is human size now. But if the wall is destroyed, we lose the bridges, and all the hungry creatures of Monsterland will cross over—full size. It would take them a month to wipe us out. Maybe less. There are ten trillion of them and only seven billion of us.
“Okay. If marrying you will keep my world safe, I’ll do it,” I say.
Both men look at me.
“What?” I snap.
“But,” Gabrio objects, “you don’t understand.”
“Understand what? That I’m agreeing to do whatever’s necessary to keep the wall safe because I can’t stand the thought of trolls or Skins or Blood People coming here and eating babies, pregnant women, old people, young people, all the damned people?”
“But you must consummate the marriage for it to be valid,” Gabrio says.
I look at the fifty-foot-tall giant through the window. “Well, that’s not going to work.”

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

Well, we still don’t know who Lake will choose, but these are the songs that fit their current love situation. Some crazy times happening in book two! Especially Disco Down!
1. Holy Mountain, by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
2. We’re Forever, by Laidback Luke
3. Disco Down, by Shed Seven
4. Freelove Freeway, by David Brent

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

Lake, girl, don’t believe a word anyone tells you. You’re smarter than that!

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

Oh! I’m so excited about this next one, IMMORTAL TAILOR. It’s a spinoff of my IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS series!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: US ONLY. One lucky winner will get a signed copy of WALL MEN, BOOK TWO! + a bookmark, magnet, Mimi Jean pen, and Post it. Good luck!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Which supernatural creature would you like to see appear in Book Three?

 
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Excerpt from Wall Men: Book Two, a Vow Broken:

(NOTE: I combed through the book and wow! So many surprises in every chapter. Spoilers galore. I think Chapter One and this section is safe for sharing, but that’s it.)

“Bard will always be a part of me. Nothing will change that.”
“He knows. It is why he cannot rest.”
“Me neither.” I lean my head back and watch another shooting star blaze across the dark sky, leaving a blood red tail.
“If you could tell him anything, one last message to give him peace, what would it be?”
I wince and take a deep breath, willing my tears to stay inside my damned head for once. “I would say…I wish I could burn it down. All of it.”
“All of what?” Tiago says.
“All these stupid rules and vows. I don’t see the point to any of them, including the Proxy Vow, when the only thing they’ve accomplished is putting someone like Benicio in power and sentencing good men to die.” Bard and Gabrio are two perfect examples. “The punishments don’t fit the crimes in this world, and it’s ridiculous.”
“You are very astute for a human.”
“No. I’m just smarter than all you power-hungry morons.” And I’ve begun to learn that life means nothing if you can’t live it with the person you love, or you have to grow up without a mother and father for no good reason. Or if you have to lie to your granddaughter her entire life. None of this mess has made anyone happy.
“Us power-hungry morons have kept you ignorant humans alive for centuries.”
“You’re right, Tiago. One hundred percent. But at what cost?”
“Everything.”
“Exactly. And don’t you think if you’re going to give up so much, that it should be for something more than a life ruled by Benicio? Or simply surviving day to day? It’s not enough.”
“What would you know?”
A lot, actually. I’ve made one sacrifice after another. Traveling and grad school to take care of Grandma. I took thankless low-paying jobs, like working at the local 911 call center, to keep the estate going. I married Alwar. Now I’m risking my life to hopefully free him and prevent my world from being overrun by monsters.
Maybe I should listen to my own words and rethink what I’m doing. I’m risking everything here. All for the hope that I might survive? Or that Alwar will be freed so he can maybe, just maybe, win a war against Benicio? Then what? What happens when the next monster king comes along and wants to take down the wall?

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a suspenseful Dark Fantasy, Wall Men: Book Two, a Vow Broken.

MARRYING A GIANT IS ONLY THE FIRST OF HER MISTAKES…

Here’s a terrifying fact: monsters live in a world only a step away from ours. And they love eating people. I’d know because I was taken prisoner by one, the Blood King. Vampires. Blech! Steer clear of those.
Luckily for us, getting here isn’t so easy. They’d have to cross a bridge that’s protected by a wall built by my ancestors and guarded by the Wall Men.
Unlucky is that the wall is under attack, and the king of the Wall Men wants my help. By marrying him.
Did I mention he’s a fifty-foot-tall warlord? And that the marriage must be—gulp—consummated?
To save both our worlds, I must say “I do” in a forever vow with a major string attached. Except my giant husband kept the biggest string hidden from me, and now it’s too late to escape.
Book Links: Amazon | B& N | iTunes | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who writes insane plot twists that will have you burning through the pages. Whether it’s Romance, Suspense/Thriller, or Fantasy, there are always big heroes to root for, smart and resourceful heroines, and a ton of heart pumping excitement in every story.

Mimi lives with her extremely patient husband (“Be right there! Just one more page, honey!”), two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.
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