Spotlight & Giveaway: Malfunction by Nina Croft

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Nina Croft to HJ!

Hi Nina and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Malfunction!

Hi Everyone!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Malfunction, book one in my Dark Desires Origins series, is a combination of science fiction, paranormal and romance. The series takes place five hundred years in the future after a fleet of ships, carrying the last of humanity, fled from a dying Earth in search of a new home.
What most of the fleet don’t realize is that it’s not only humans who escaped the destruction of Earth. One of the ships carries a cargo of supernatural beings, captained by a thousand year old vampire.
Malfunction tells the story of Katia, a werecat, and Logan, a human, as they fall in love while investigating a series of murders and trying to stay alive.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“When will there be a better time to kiss? This is as good as it gets. We’re on a goddamn shuttle shooting across space.”

She had a flashback to the feel of his mouth on her that morning. Holy moly, it had felt good. She owed him an orgasm and she always paid her debts.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The book takes place five hundred years before my Dark Desires series and includes characters from those books.
• My biggest inspiration for the series was Firefly – best TV series ever!
• The working title was The Unchosen Ones

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

Logan my hero has a deep seated need to fit in, but one of the first things that attracts him to Katia is that she obviously doesn’t care what people think about her.
Katia just likes his pretty eyes!

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I loved writing the scene where Katia and Logan first meet. It made me giggle. Katia is a werecat and she’s having a few control issues…

Nothing to worry my pretty little head over?
Katia ground her teeth as Rico’s words echoed in her mind. She was going to kill the vampire. Rip his heart out and bite off his goddamn head.
He’d told her the side effect was minor, just a little control issue, that it would pass in a matter of minutes…
Instead, she’d spent the whole trip here pacing the small space, wrestling the change that clawed at her insides. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had control problems. Not since the early years.
Now her cat wanted out, and she was scrabbling and yowling for freedom. Not happening. What if she shifted and then couldn’t shift back? What if she arrived at the Trakis One and they opened the shuttle and found a goddamn cat instead of a detective?
That would make an excellent first impression.
And she was ravenous. Hunger was tying knots in her empty stomach. But then she had a fast metabolism and she hadn’t eaten in five hundred years.
Even so, she’d managed to retain a modicum of control, had succeeded in not shifting completely, but body parts kept getting away from her. Right now, claws poked into the palms of her clenched fists and her fingers were furry. And she knew, behind the stupid dark glasses, her eyes would be feral. Which meant she didn’t dare take them off, and she must look a complete ass—who wore freaking shades on a spaceship? Rico, obviously. But who else?

Readers should read this book….

…because you get lots of genres all in one book. Science fiction, paranormal, mystery, action/adventure and a good helping of romance!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on book 2 in the Dark Desires Origins series, Destiny’s Heart, which will release later in the year.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An ecopy of books 1-3 in the Dark Desires series

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What are your favorite genres to mix?

 
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Excerpt from Malfunction:

Katia opened her eyes, blinked in the dim light. A shadowy form loomed above her. She tried to sit up and couldn’t move. Tight bands restrained her chest and forehead, and panic churned in her stomach. Then the bands pinged open and she was free. She bolted upright, a growl escaping her throat.
“Hey, cool down, kitten,” he said. “You’re fine. Well, at least for the moment.”
She slowed her breathing as her eyes adjusted to the low light, and it came back to her. Where she was. In a cryotube on the Trakis Two. Waiting to go into space. What had gone wrong? Had they been discovered? But if that was the case, then it was unlikely to be Rico waking her up. He would have been long gone. Because if Ricardo Sanchez was good for one thing, it was looking after himself.
It seemed like no time ago that the lid had closed on her. She’d hated that, but then she’d hated the idea of dying even more. So she’d run a calming mantra through her mind until the drugs kicked in and she’d drifted off into sleep.
She pushed herself up so she was sitting on the edge then to her feet; she preferred to be able to run when she was dealing with Rico. Unfortunately, her legs gave way and hard hands grasped her shoulders and held her upright.
“Hey, take a moment. No need to move so fast.”
She went completely still in his arms, fear sending her heart rate ratcheting until she could feel her pulse throbbing in her throat. Her nostrils filled with the dark, musky scent of him.
He’d gone still as well, and she forced her gaze up—a long way up, he was at least a foot taller than she was—to meet his dark-eyed stare. His nostrils flared, and inside, her alter ego awoke and flexed her claws.
“Let me go,” she snarled.
He dropped his hold immediately, stepped back, and held up his hands, a mocking smile on his face. “Dios, don’t get your panties in a twist, kitten. Just trying to help.”
“And don’t freaking call me kitten.” She rubbed her arms as if she could erase the feel of him. Strength was returning to her limbs, her brain starting to function again. Glancing around, she could make out the cryotubes. They filled the vast room, the occupants all sleeping peacefully. Looked like she was the only one awake. Had she been double-crossed? She’d paid dearly for this place, but maybe Rico had found someone willing to pay more.
Finally, she turned her attention back to him. He was leaning against the cryotube behind him, arms folded across his chest. Dressed all in black, black pants, a black shirt—he was such a goddamn poser. His midnight black hair was pulled into a ponytail, showing off the olive skin and sharp cheekbones. He was probably the most stunning man she had ever seen. Except he wasn’t actually a man. And thankfully, she had never been attracted to him. She’d have to have a death wish. The mocking smile still curved his lips, and her eyes narrowed.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
As he pushed himself away from the cryotube, she had to fight the urge to take a step back. Best not to ever show fear.
“You know,” he said, “I was sure your first question would be ‘how long?’”
“I thought—” Obviously, her brain wasn’t quite functioning at full capacity yet. She pressed her fingers to her skull then forced the question out. “How long?”
“Five hundred years, give or take a few days.”
Five hundred years? Holy freaking moly.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Investigator, Sergeant Logan Farrell, has never been convinced the human race deserves saving. But it looks like he’s got the job anyway.

It’s been five hundred years since we fled the remnants of a dying Earth in search of a new home. Twenty-four ships, each carrying ten thousand Chosen Ones. All sleeping peacefully…until people start dying in cryo.

Malfunction or murder? Hopefully, the former—a serial killer in the fleet would be drastic for morale. But Logan is determined to find the truth. Unfortunately, he’s got a new partner—and he works best alone.

Katia Mendoza, hot-shot homicide detective, has been woken from cryo to assist with the investigation. But is she really interested in solving the case, or does she have her own agenda?

Before he can answer that question, though, they become targets themselves.

Nothing like a few near misses with death to bring a couple together, and Logan finds himself falling for the alluring detective. But he doesn’t know that Katia is hiding a secret.

It’s not only humans who fled the dying Earth.
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Meet the Author:

Growing up in the cold, wet, north of England, Nina Croft spent her time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she discovered both, and much more, could be found between the covers of a book, her life changed forever. Later, she headed south, and after much travelling of the world, she finally settled with her husband on a small almond farm in the beautiful mountains of southern Spain. Nina spends her days reading, writing and riding her horse, under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. Proof that dreams really can come true if you want them enough.
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