Please help me welcome author, Rie McGaha! It's a pleasure and an honor to have you with us today, Rie!
I had the pleaure of meeting Rie through our publisher, Noble Romance Publishing, and she recently celebrated the birth of her 25th grandchild. When I learned that she had 12 children and 25 grandchildren, my first thought was how exciting her holidays must be and how loud! LOL Rie has lived all over the United States, but now resides in Oklahoma with her husband and rescues abused and neglected animals, many of which have become permanent family members. She is the author of Blood Line, Ancient Blood, Two for Hire, Caleb, Arion, and Deadly Dreams, and has a western anthology, Cocked and Fully Loaded, releasing soon. These are just a few of the books Rie has available. Visit Rie's website to learn more about Rie and her books.
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GRACEN: Do you have any favorite Thanksgiving movie or program that you enjoy watching every year? If more than one, tell us all of them!
RIE: When the kids were small we used to watch the Macy’s parade, but since they’ve all grown up and moved out, we don’t really do anything.
GRACEN: What, if any, Thanksgiving traditions (decorating, gathering with friends and family for a meal, etc.) do you have?
RIE: We didn’t have much extra money when the kids were little, so I always tried to make the holidays special in whatever way I could. I saw a magazine cover at the doctor office and it featured Tuxedo Turkey, so that year I made a little tuxedo with pie dough, cut out the vest, bow tie, buttons and pockets, colored the pieces with food coloring and arranged the tux on the turkey the last ten minutes of baking, and viola! Tuxedo Turkey! That was about 15 years ago and we’ve had Tuxedo Turkey every Thanksgiving since.
GRACEN: What was your most memorable Thanksgiving and why?
RIE: My first grandchild, Mathew (now almost 17) was 10 months old on his first Thanksgiving and we had the table all set and were about ready to sit down to eat when I walked into the dining room to find Mat had climbed up on the table and was on his hands and knees eating the turkey face first. It was the cutest thing!
GRACEN: Which do you choose: white or dark turkey, white potatoes or yams, green beans or corn, bread rolls or crescent rolls?
RIE: I am definitely a dark meat person, the thighs are mine! I like both types of potatoes, corn all the way, and I make my own dinner rolls!
GRACEN: What, in your opinion, was the oddest food served at a Thanksgiving dinner you’ve attended?
RIE: Tofurkey! I’m not against tofu or vegetarians, I used to be a vegetarian, but tofurkey is just wrong!
GRACEN: Tell us 3 things you are thankful for this year, please.
RIE: My two granddaughters Isabell and Meagan were born this year.
My son Cody was discharged from the Marine Corps.
And my son Michael had testicular cancer, but the latest tests show the treatments worked and he is cancer free!
GRACEN: Just for fun, if you could be among any of the original members of that first Thanksgiving, who would it be, the Pilgrims or the Wampanoag (Native Americans)? Why?
RIE: The Wampanoags because I would just love to have been here to see this country before the white man screwed it up!
GRACEN: Considering that feast, what do you think that first harvest celebration meal would be?
RIE: Probably a lot of game meat, corn, vegetables and bread. Maybe the Pilgrim women made cakes or pies or something too, but I imagine the fare was really very simple considering the time period.
Now, let’s get to your writing:
GRACEN: Why erotic fantasy/paranormal/suspense? What’s the draw?
RIE: I didn’t start out writing erotic fiction, I started out writing straight romance with paranormal or suspense settings. When I got my first contract with Noble Romance Publishing for Deadly Dreams Jill liked the story but it wasn’t erotic, so she tutored me in adding the erotic element and since then I’ve had several titles published with Noble. However, I am now trying to get back into mainstream romance. I’m old and just can’t write any new erotica!
GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? What do you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story?
RIE: My tagline is …fantasy that keeps you up, and I think that pretty much sums up what I write. I don’t know that I want the readers to take anything in particular with them after reading one of my books. I think the main reason people read erotic romance is to transport themselves from reality to a place of fun and romance for an hour or so. If I can give people a break from the stress in their lives, that’s a pretty good thing.
GRACEN: Have you ever written Thanksgiving into your stories? Why or why not?
RIE: I have a book that’s out with another publisher right now that has a bit of Thanksgiving written into the story line. It’s called Cross The Line and is my personal favorite.
I don’t really write holiday themed stories because I feel as if it confines the story line. Some people do really well with themes, but I’m not one of them, although I am writing a short for a Valentine’s Day anthology, so we’ll see how that goes!
GRACEN: Who decides what you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one basting the turkey?
RIE: I like to think it’s all me, but the fact is if the voices in my head aren’t talking, I don’t do much writing! Sometimes they can take my characters in different directions than I had planned and sometimes that’s okay, other times it’s just a pain! But the trick is to know when to rein in the voices and when to let them run.
GRACEN: Have you ever based a character on a real-life person? If so, why? Was it simply to immortalize them or was there more to it than that? If you can, tell us the name of that person, please! We’re all curious here!
RIE: I just received a contract from Champagne Books for a novel called Closure and a good portion of it is actually based on my own life, although I am not about to tell anyone which parts are real and which are fiction! But in general my characters can have elements of their personalities based on people I know, or their looks can be based on people I know or on celebrities. For instance, in Blood Line Joshua is totally based on my husband, Nathan and Ganda’s looks, as a young woman, is based on Catherine Zeta-Jones.
GRACEN: What character did you have the most fun creating and why?
RIE: In Closure, the serial killer is a woman and that was a ton of fun because I made my husband act out the murder scenes just to make sure they could actually be done!
GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why? Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?
RIE: I would love to meet any of the heroes in my books. They’re all wonderfully, caring, romantic, macho men who knows how to please a woman and enjoys doing it!
As far as not wanting to meet one of them, that would be Lucius McKenna from Deadly Dreams. He’s down right scary!
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ANCIENT BLOOD BLURB:
Half witch and half wolf, Ganda is like no other being on earth, but more than 3,000 years ago the love of her life, Colin, was killed and since then she's remained an old black woman in the swamps of Louisiana. That was until Joshua and Jessie Kaine showed up and brought her back to life. Now on a mission to put her past to rest, Ganda visits the land of her birth and the land of Colin's death--Egypt. What she finds there isn't the answer she's looking for, but a mystery that will change her entire future.
ANCIENT BLOOD EXCERPT:
Ancient Blood by Rie McGaha (coming Dec. 7 from Noble Romance Publishing, the sequel to Blood Line)
Amenemhat traveled under the cover of darkness, knowing the danger he would face if recognized, and knew it would surely end his life. The people would welcome no consort of the crown. They were hungry, their children were dying, and they had little will left to help themselves, but they would have no problem killing the right-hand man of the dynasty they blamed for their deplorable lives.
After traveling most of the night, he reached Thebes by early morning light. Exhausted as he entered the temple to pray and be fortified, he stood before the altar of Amun, and Amenemhat felt a shiver run over his flesh and knew he was not alone. Slipping the knife from his waistband, he held it hidden in the folds of his robes. He turned slowly, and then involuntarily sucked a breath into his lungs at the sight he beheld.
The woman was ethereal in her beauty. Dark, thick hair fell to her knees in glorious, shining waves. With eyes as black as night, she peered at him from beneath heavy lashes. The faintest blush against alabaster skin highlighted her cheeks. Red and full, her perfect mouth nearly curved into a smile, but not quite. Her gown appeared to shine like silver, held beneath her firm, full breasts with a girdle of braided gold. The long sleeves fell like bells past her wrists, covering her hands as they lay loosely at her sides. Standing with bare feet, she observed him as if he was the intruder. The knife in his hand clattered on the marble floor.
"Who are you?" He asked in a barely audible whisper. Licking his lips, he tried to overcome the complete way she had caused his brain to all but cease functioning.
With one slow step toward him, she extended one hand in front of her as if she would touch him. He felt his breath catch in his lungs as she crossed the distance between them without seeming to have moved at all.
"You may call me Ganda."
Her voice was as close to music as he'd ever heard. And then she was beside him, laying her hand gently on his arm.
"You have nothing to fear, Amenemhat," she assured him softly.
He swallowed hard, forced himself to take a long, slow breath. His skin was on fire beneath her touch. His blood felt as if it were about to boil. Barely able to hold a coherent thought in his head, he stared at her, inhaled deeply, and let the breath out slowly. Finally, he was able to speak. "Why are you here in this sanctuary? How do you know me?" He hoped his voice sounded steadier to her than it did to him, though she appeared not to notice his nervousness.
"I…” she hesitated and looked over her shoulder at a man Amenemhat hadn’t even noticed. She smiled again, and corrected herself. "We, that is, have heard your prayers."
The man that joined her looked altogether normal, yet not quite, as Amenemhat looked him over. He was tall, but no taller than Amenemhat himself, and he had black hair, with eyes as blue as a summer sky. It was in the way he carried himself, Amenemhat decided. The man just appeared so much larger than life. He was definitely human, but he was also something more than that. Something sleeker, wilder, more defined than an ordinary man.
"I'm Colin," the man said with a smirk, as if he knew exactly what Amenemhat had been thinking.
Amenemhat cleared his throat, but it didn't help, his mouth was so dry his tongue was glued to the roof. He cleared his throat again but no sound came out. When the woman looked directly at him it seemed as if he could no longer control himself. His mind failed to function, as well as his mouth. Something about her made him want to touch her, to bow before her, to worship her body, and to promise her anything she might ask of him.
Finally, Amenemhat was able to pull himself together and managed to croak, "I don't understand how you came to be in this place. It is sacred. Only the king, the priests, and myself, are allowed in this sanctuary."
The man and woman looked at one another, joined their hands and smiled into each other's eyes. There was nothing Amenemhat could mistake in the look that passed between them. The woman belonged to this strange man, and Amenemhat thought he heard the word mine whispered on the air when the two joined hands. He took a step back. It was fear and respect, awe that he felt now.
Neither of these beings were simply normal human beings. He knew it in the depths of his soul, though he couldn’t have said what it was he thought they might be. The woman looked him in the eye again and he felt his stomach muscles quiver, his blood seemed to explode within him, and he couldn’t breathe. Falling prostrate before them, he pressed his fists to his eyes. He didn't see the look the man gave the woman, or the smiles that passed between them.
The man shrugged and said, "Arise,” with so much authority Amenemhat immediately obeyed.
"How may I serve you, my lord?"
Again Colin smiled but caught the look Ganda sent him and quickly sobered. "We aren't here to be served, but rather to help you. We heard your prayers, we've seen the devastation in your country, and we want to help all of you."
Amenemhat looked warily from one to the other now. Speaking of his country sobered him. "Help? In what way would you be able to help? We are all but finished here! The war has raged since before I was born, before my king was born, and none of his predecessors were able to end the civil war here in Egypt. How can you help?"
Amenemhat traveled under the cover of darkness, knowing the danger he would face if recognized, and knew it would surely end his life. The people would welcome no consort of the crown. They were hungry, their children were dying, and they had little will left to help themselves, but they would have no problem killing the right-hand man of the dynasty they blamed for their deplorable lives.
After traveling most of the night, he reached Thebes by early morning light. Exhausted as he entered the temple to pray and be fortified, he stood before the altar of Amun, and Amenemhat felt a shiver run over his flesh and knew he was not alone. Slipping the knife from his waistband, he held it hidden in the folds of his robes. He turned slowly, and then involuntarily sucked a breath into his lungs at the sight he beheld.
The woman was ethereal in her beauty. Dark, thick hair fell to her knees in glorious, shining waves. With eyes as black as night, she peered at him from beneath heavy lashes. The faintest blush against alabaster skin highlighted her cheeks. Red and full, her perfect mouth nearly curved into a smile, but not quite. Her gown appeared to shine like silver, held beneath her firm, full breasts with a girdle of braided gold. The long sleeves fell like bells past her wrists, covering her hands as they lay loosely at her sides. Standing with bare feet, she observed him as if he was the intruder. The knife in his hand clattered on the marble floor.
"Who are you?" He asked in a barely audible whisper. Licking his lips, he tried to overcome the complete way she had caused his brain to all but cease functioning.
With one slow step toward him, she extended one hand in front of her as if she would touch him. He felt his breath catch in his lungs as she crossed the distance between them without seeming to have moved at all.
"You may call me Ganda."
Her voice was as close to music as he'd ever heard. And then she was beside him, laying her hand gently on his arm.
"You have nothing to fear, Amenemhat," she assured him softly.
He swallowed hard, forced himself to take a long, slow breath. His skin was on fire beneath her touch. His blood felt as if it were about to boil. Barely able to hold a coherent thought in his head, he stared at her, inhaled deeply, and let the breath out slowly. Finally, he was able to speak. "Why are you here in this sanctuary? How do you know me?" He hoped his voice sounded steadier to her than it did to him, though she appeared not to notice his nervousness.
"I…” she hesitated and looked over her shoulder at a man Amenemhat hadn’t even noticed. She smiled again, and corrected herself. "We, that is, have heard your prayers."
The man that joined her looked altogether normal, yet not quite, as Amenemhat looked him over. He was tall, but no taller than Amenemhat himself, and he had black hair, with eyes as blue as a summer sky. It was in the way he carried himself, Amenemhat decided. The man just appeared so much larger than life. He was definitely human, but he was also something more than that. Something sleeker, wilder, more defined than an ordinary man.
"I'm Colin," the man said with a smirk, as if he knew exactly what Amenemhat had been thinking.
Amenemhat cleared his throat, but it didn't help, his mouth was so dry his tongue was glued to the roof. He cleared his throat again but no sound came out. When the woman looked directly at him it seemed as if he could no longer control himself. His mind failed to function, as well as his mouth. Something about her made him want to touch her, to bow before her, to worship her body, and to promise her anything she might ask of him.
Finally, Amenemhat was able to pull himself together and managed to croak, "I don't understand how you came to be in this place. It is sacred. Only the king, the priests, and myself, are allowed in this sanctuary."
The man and woman looked at one another, joined their hands and smiled into each other's eyes. There was nothing Amenemhat could mistake in the look that passed between them. The woman belonged to this strange man, and Amenemhat thought he heard the word mine whispered on the air when the two joined hands. He took a step back. It was fear and respect, awe that he felt now.
Neither of these beings were simply normal human beings. He knew it in the depths of his soul, though he couldn’t have said what it was he thought they might be. The woman looked him in the eye again and he felt his stomach muscles quiver, his blood seemed to explode within him, and he couldn’t breathe. Falling prostrate before them, he pressed his fists to his eyes. He didn't see the look the man gave the woman, or the smiles that passed between them.
The man shrugged and said, "Arise,” with so much authority Amenemhat immediately obeyed.
"How may I serve you, my lord?"
Again Colin smiled but caught the look Ganda sent him and quickly sobered. "We aren't here to be served, but rather to help you. We heard your prayers, we've seen the devastation in your country, and we want to help all of you."
Amenemhat looked warily from one to the other now. Speaking of his country sobered him. "Help? In what way would you be able to help? We are all but finished here! The war has raged since before I was born, before my king was born, and none of his predecessors were able to end the civil war here in Egypt. How can you help?"
"We are able to see beyond what you see. And able to succeed in areas that a…well, that a man such as yourself is unable to," the woman said.
Amenemhat could have listened to her all day so sweet was her voice, and so warm was her touch, and so very seductive. He would have done anything to have a long, slow taste of her, of that mouth, and to be able to feel that body beneath his. Everything that was male within him reacted to her. She was the most beautiful, desirable woman he’d ever seen in his life. He had never felt such hot desire licking through him, had never felt such raw lust pricking every nerve in his body.
This woman was snatched from his fantasies. One he had dreamed of but knew could never really exist. The gods had simply not been able to create such perfection. Yet, here she stood with all that glorious hair falling around her. It was all he could do not to reach out and wrap his hands in it. Her dark eyes were like pools with endless depths and he was sure she could see right into his very thoughts, his mind and soul.
He could imagine kissing those lips, sucking that full bottom lip into his mouth. Her breasts, so full and high, he could see her nipples in his mind’s eye all puckered and pink. Licking his lips, he felt the heat of his desire for her coursing through his blood. He knew he had never wanted a woman the way he wanted this one, and he would never touch another woman without thinking of this one, then he caught the look the man was giving him.
"She belongs to me, and if you want to continue drawing breath in this life, I suggest you keep those thoughts out of your head," Colin said softly with a smile that belied the edge of danger hanging from his words.
Amenemhat's mouth fell open. Falling flat on his face, he lay prostrate before them once more. This time, however, he begged for forgiveness and pleaded for his life. They must truly be gods Amenemhat thought vaguely, since they could read his mind!
Colin almost laughed out loud. Not a god at all, but what could it hurt if everyone thought he was? Egypt was going to be fun!
