Spotlight & Giveaway: Alexiares by N.J. Walters

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author N.J. Walters to HJ!

Hi N.J. Walters and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Alexiares!

 
Thanks for having me here at HJ!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

Being the son of the Grim Reaper comes with expectations. He’s given them each an ultimatum—do the job to his standards or face eternal exile. Stranded in the town of Redemption with limited powers, no money, and no way to communicate with the outside, they’ll all play the game, reap the soul, and return to their normal lives. It’s a straightforward plan—until they meet their assignment.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Wind teased the ends of Alexiares Blackwell’s hair as he sped across the Brooklyn Bridge on his original Harley-Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle. The roar of the engine, the
power of the machine beneath him, and the sheer freedom momentarily quieted the dissatisfaction that never seemed to leave him of late.

He adeptly maneuvered around the taxi in front of him in a race to leave his thoughts behind. It was too perfect a day to allow the shadows to spoil his mood. He’d reaped a
soul only an hour before.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Alex might be immortal and survive a motorcycle crash but his motorcycle won’t.
• The heroine owns Ivy House B&B, and while there’s a lot of ivy, she loves the rose gardens and always smells like roses.
• You can divorce your ex, but that doesn’t mean he stays away.
• Some days are two-pieces-of-cake kinda days.
• The metal moose he mentions finding on a beach is real. You never know what you’re going to find washed up on a beach.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

She’s kind, intelligent, independent, and is carrying a lot on her slender shoulders. He’s not there to get involved with the innkeeper, but the longer he’s around her, the more he wants her.

The epitome of tall, dark, and dangerous, Alex makes every cell of her body hum. But he’s only passing through and she has enough problems without getting involved with the stranger staying in one of her guestrooms.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Dark. Dangerous. Intense. Sexy. Fated.
 

The First Kiss…

“Are you okay? Your cheeks are flushed.”

She was blushing—the curse of being a redhead. “I must have gotten a bit too much sun standing around at the accident site.” Not a total lie. She had been outside for some time, but she was coated in sunscreen. Her pale skin demanded it.

They were standing closer than she’d realized. The sensible thing to do would be to step away, but her feet were glued in place, and she was momentarily tongue-tied.

The man was a stranger, but the accident had connected them in some inexplicable way. He could have died today. Her heart skipped a beat, as if protesting her dire thoughts. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt in the crash.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you weren’t hurt either.”

She needed to put some distance between them and would, any second now. Breathing was difficult with him staring at her with those midnight eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the universe. It was impossible to look away.

She tightened her fingers around the room keys, using the jagged bite of the metal to ground her. “I should go.”

“You should.” The husky tone of his voice had her leaning closer.

Possessed by a momentary madness, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. It was a chaste kiss, by anyone’s standards. The kind you might give a friend or close acquaintance.

Rockets of desire exploded inside her. Heat surged through her bloodstream. The world around her faded, all her awareness focused on the contact between them. The keys clattered to the floor. His leather jacket was open, and her hands landed on the soft cotton of his shirt. The muscles beneath were hard as iron against her palms.

What am I doing? She shoved away from him, appalled by her behavior.

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

I find it impossible to pick a favorite scene, but I do like this one. After Cilla runs Alex off the road and he wrecks his motorcycle, she’s driving him to her B&B and he really takes a good look at her for the first time. She’s his one link to the mysterious assignment from his father, the Grim Reaper.

His attention had been divided since the crash. Now it was focused solely on the woman at the center of it…and his only connection to this mysterious assignment from his father.

Hair the color of a new copper penny tumbled in waves around her shoulders. Her features were finely drawn, her cheeks pale, her lips full and tempting. A light sprinkle of freckles adorned her nose. Large green eyes widened as he walked toward her. The beige linen sundress she wore was sedate, expensive, and classy, and went with the beige pumps on her feet. It didn’t suit her in the least. She belonged in vibrant colors.

He rubbed the back of his neck. He must be more dazed by the day’s events than he thought if he was critiquing her fashion choices. She was pretty in a girl-next-door way, but he was here for work, not to romance a local. “Thanks for waiting.”

“No problem.” She glanced at the departing tow truck. “Do you have any luggage?”

“Just this.” He held up the helmet. To forestall further questions, he opened her door for her.

“I see.” She slipped into her seat.

After closing the door, he went around the vehicle and slid in on the other side. He tossed the helmet on the floor by his feet and pulled on his seat belt. When she made no move to leave, he swiveled toward her. “Are you okay to drive?” While she hadn’t been hurt, she had to be shaken from the mishap.

“I’m fine. I’ll contact my insurance company as soon as I get home.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “There’s no damage to my car, but I was involved in an accident.”

“No, the entire incident was my fault. I’ll handle it.”

She’d never been in any danger of being hurt—unless she’d been his intended assignment, in which case she would have died, he’d have reaped her soul, and been on his way home. It was too much to hope the assignment would be that fast and simple.

His father was rigid when it came to maintaining the timeline. Nothing could disrupt it without dire consequences. But she didn’t know that. It had to have been terrifying to see him barreling straight at her from out of the blue. Given the circumstances, she’d shown a great deal of poise and kindness. There’d been no tears or accusations, only concern about his safety and the offer of a place to stay.

“There’s no telling how much it will cost to fix the damage.”

“I’ve got it covered.” It was the least he could do, especially considering none of this was her doing. Not to mention he was loaded and owned a multitude of custom garages and body shops across the nation. Back in New York, he’d have handled the repairs himself.

“All right then.” Squaring her shoulders, she put the car in gear and slowly accelerated. As they passed him, Officer Jones gave her a wave and Alex a pointed look. With both her hands on the wheel and a light foot on the gas, they rolled toward town. “Funny, your brother didn’t have any luggage either when he checked in. Is traveling light a family thing?”

She’d picked up their earlier conversation without missing a beat. He needed information, and she was his best source. That meant he couldn’t brush her off or change the subject. He’d have to talk about his family—something that didn’t come easily. “It is a family thing. I assume the same thing that happened to me happened to Samael.”

“Do tell?” Not only was her color coming back, so was her curiosity.

Alex leaned back in his seat and turned his head to watch her. The view outside the vehicle was lovely, but the one inside was spectacular. Cilla was slender, but her bare arms showed definition. Lean but not fragile. He contemplated what to tell her and settled on the basic truth. “Our father sent me here. No advance notice, so no time to pack.”

“Are you serious?” The incredulous expression on her face made him grin.

“My father is not a man to take no for an answer.”

She gave a delicate snort and wrinkled her nose. “Sounds like my older brother, Richard.”

“Do tell?”

Her light laugh raised goose bumps on his arms.

 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

It’s the scene of their first kiss. It’s fast and chaste, but there’s something between them neither can deny.

Alex’s big body filled the entrance to the smaller space. Up close, his eyes appeared black as midnight, tipped with thick lashes of the same color. He smelled of the outdoors, of heat and male sweat, mixed with a hint of motor oil. The latter must have leaked from his bike when he’d loaded it onto the tow truck. She was a little taller than average at five-seven, but he topped her by about a foot.

The ease with which he’d handled the crash and the aftermath spoke to his physical and mental toughness. There was also something dark and dangerous in his eyes that warned he wasn’t a man to cross, yet she wasn’t the least bit afraid of him. Nervous, yes, but that was due to the unexpected attraction.

“Are you okay? Your cheeks are flushed.”

She was blushing—the curse of being a redhead. “I must have gotten a bit too much sun standing around at the accident site.” Not a total lie. She had been outside for some time, but she was coated in sunscreen. Her pale skin demanded it.

They were standing closer than she’d realized. The sensible thing to do would be to step away, but her feet were glued in place, and she was momentarily tongue-tied.

The man was a stranger, but the accident had connected them in some inexplicable way. He could have died today. Her heart skipped a beat, as if protesting her dire thoughts. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt in the crash.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you weren’t hurt either.”

She needed to put some distance between them and would, any second now. Breathing was difficult with him staring at her with those midnight eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the universe. It was impossible to look away.

She tightened her fingers around the room keys, using the jagged bite of the metal to ground her. “I should go.”

“You should.” The husky tone of his voice had her leaning closer.

Possessed by a momentary madness, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. It was a chaste kiss, by anyone’s standards. The kind you might give a friend or close acquaintance.

Rockets of desire exploded inside her. Heat surged through her bloodstream. The world around her faded, all her awareness focused on the contact between them. The keys clattered to the floor. His leather jacket was open, and her hands landed on the soft cotton of his shirt. The muscles beneath were hard as iron against her palms.

What am I doing? She shoved away from him, appalled by her behavior.

“I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t have happened. I’m not in the habit of kissing strange men, let alone guests.” If her cheeks had been red before, now they were on fire. “I don’t know what came over me. It must be a delayed reaction, the adrenaline crash from the accident scrambling my brain.”

That was her story and she was sticking to it. It had to be what had made her act so out of character. She had enough on her plate without juggling an unexpected attraction to a man she’d just met.

Head tilted to one side, he studied her intently. “You think so?”

She gave a decisive nod. “Yes. Absolutely. What else could it be? Now I need to get to
work.” Before she did something stupid like kiss him again.

Readers should read this book …

If you enjoy a tall, dark, and dangerous reaper, an independent, fiery heroine, an action-packed story, a whole lot of heat, and plenty of danger, you’ll love the Blackwell brothers and Alexiares’ story.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently working on a new werewolf series.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

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Excerpt from Alexiares:

Some strands of her hair had come loose from the clip anchoring it to the top of her head. The fiery locks trailed along the sides of her face, caressing her cheeks. The shorts she wore were tailored and the shirt was a step above department store brand. Her arms and legs were firm and tanned. Whatever makeup she’d had on had long vanished. Her sun-kissed skin gave her a healthy glow that added to her appeal.

There was no denying their attraction. He saw the way she watched him when she thought he wasn’t looking. As much as he wanted her, maintaining distance was smart. She was the gateway to his target.

Or maybe it wasn’t her at all. Maybe Ivy House itself was the reason he’d run into Cilla. People came and went from an inn. Sam had stayed here during his assignment. Perhaps the soul he’d been sent to reap belonged to a guest.

Either way, it was stupid to mess with the innkeeper.

Rather than dwell on the sexual tension gripping him, he concentrated on dumping the debris from his meal. The distraction didn’t help. His fingers itched to stroke the tender nape of her neck, to taste her sweet lips.

This wasn’t like him. Control wasn’t just a word to him; it was the bedrock of his entire life. It seemed to have deserted him since he and Cilla had collided. Maybe more than his bike had been damaged. Maybe his brains had gotten scrambled in the crash.

It was laughable, considering he’d lived for millennia and had slept with more women than he could remember. Resisting one in particular should be no problem, but Cilla roused sensations within him that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time, if ever. He not only wanted to take her to bed and spend hours making love to her, he wanted to protect her. Neither was smart. While the first one wasn’t technically forbidden, the second was. Reapers didn’t interfere with a human’s destiny. Whatever was going on between Cilla and her brother wasn’t his business.

Restraint. Control. Those were the two words he lived by. They had served him well over the years, both in business and reaping. He never got personally involved. This was no time to start.

Remember what’s on the line. His life, his entire existence was hanging in the balance. The outcome of this assignment would echo for eternity. It was a sobering thought.

“Coffee won’t take long.” She turned away from the machine and motioned to the cake in the covered dish on the counter. “You want another slice? I’d usually stop after one, but it’s been a two-piece-of-cake kinda day.”

That surprised a laugh from him. “You’re not kidding.” From the accident to the unexpected ultimatum from his father, discovering he was all but broke and trapped in the small town of Redemption minus most of his powers, and his unwanted attraction to Cilla, it had been a day like no other. That was saying something, considering how long he’d lived.

She studied the remaining cake, shrugged, and cut it in half, placing two huge hunks on plates and sliding one across the kitchen island. Holding her fork with a piece speared on the end, she raised it in the air. “To a better tomorrow.” She slipped it into her mouth and moaned. “Rosa’s coffee cake ought to be illegal.”

He shoved a forkful of it into his mouth and chewed to smother a groan. It was her natural sensuality that should be illegal.

Yet there was something about her that called to him beyond a superficial level of the sexual allure. The attraction was off the charts, but he also liked her as a person, wanted to learn everything there was to know about her.

An icy chill skated down his spine. Was that part of the assignment? Surely his father wouldn’t be that cold and unfeeling to get him to care about Cilla only to have him reap her soul.

Until he knew his target, he needed to keep his distance…for both their sakes. When it was her time to die, whether it was one hour or sixty years from now, there was nothing either of them could do to stop it. Her fate was to live for however long she’d been given; it was his to reap the souls chosen for him.

Freedom was a myth. Even Death couldn’t walk away from his destiny. While there was a certain amount of free will, death was as inevitable for humans as reaping was for him.

“Mmm, coffee is done.” Cilla licked a crumb off her lower lip and shot him a smile, interrupting his morose thoughts.

He couldn’t help but note the way the shorts she wore cupped her sweet behind, making them as sexy as if they’d barely covered anything at all.

Danger! Danger! The warning flashed in his brain. He’d just finished lecturing himself about maintaining his distance, but being around her was making that impossible. Walk away. He actually tried, but his muscles ignored his directive, and he rounded the island instead.

“Here you go.” Oblivious to the dangerous undercurrents swirling around him, she held out one of the mugs she’d filled. When he continued to do nothing but stare, her smile slowly died. “Alex?”

Taking both mugs, he set them on the counter. Tossing all common sense and caution aside, he cradled her face between his hands. Her skin was as soft as the roses she’d tended in the garden and smelled as sweet.

“Alex?” Her voice was breathless. Rather than pull away, she leaned closer.

He waited a long second to see if she’d change her mind. When she didn’t, he gave in to temptation and lowered his head.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Alexiares
Blackwell Brothers’ Redemption, Book 2

From New York Times bestselling author N. J. Walters comes the tale of Death’s second son…in this energetic, paranormal small-town romance that’s deadly irresistible!

Some find redemption. Others land in it.

One moment, Alexiares Blackwell was reaping yet another human soul and gunning through New York City on his Harley. The next, he’s dropped into the path of an oncoming car in the small town of Redemption.

It turns out, his dear old dad—the Grim Reaper himself—has decided that Alex needs a crash course in humanity. Literally. Now he’s stuck in a nowhere town with nothing but his motorcycle and some serious parent issues.

But no one messes with Death. Not even his sons.

Stripped of his powers, Alex is trying to figure out what his father wants from him—all while attempting to resist his increasingly complicated attraction to inn owner Cilla Wainwright. Alex can’t risk anything that resembles feelings…not even when she surprises him with a kiss that unravels him in ways he still can’t figure out.

Because Alex has a job to do.

And it’s starting to look a lot like the next soul he’s supposed to reap…is hers.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

N.J. Walters is an award-winning paranormal romance author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Werewolves, drakons, shapeshifters, fallen angels, and other intriguing paranormal creatures all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
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