Author Q&A and Giveaway! Enslaved In Shadows tour!

I'm so excited to welcome someone to the blog today that I am so proud of!  In case you didn't know, Tigris Eden is a very good friend of mine.  She's one of my Doode's that I have had the pleasure of getting to know and I'm so excited for her author journey with the release of her book Enslaved In Shadows!

Welcome to Hanging With Bells Tigris Eden!

Hallo! Thanks for having me yo!

Your new series features the Shadow Unit, a group of paranormals, that work in the shadows. How did you come up with the idea for this group of individuals?

They just sort of evolved from the original thought, and that thought started from Maroon 5’s Secret. I don’t know it’s like a gift…. It’s like I can’t control it! (LMAO) That is sooooo not my line but from a movie… The Girl Next Door, but I am screwy like that. Originally, the story was going to be a contemporary, but then I decided to make the hero a werewolf.  But I had to have a reason for him to be in Belize, and it just sort of spun out of control from there. I think it may have even been plucked from something I thought to work on but then didn’t. *shrugs* It happens

Enslaved In Shadows is the 1st book in your new series and it's mainly about the complex relationship between Draven and Jesminda. They have this chemistry between them that can't be denied. How difficult was it to write the scenes between them so that the reader would feel this chemistry between them?

Seriously, what I was going for was something real, but placed in a PNR setting, and a little added extra flare, did I pull it off? I honestly don’t know, I’d like to think I did and from reading some of the reviews, some readers really got that feeling, other’s not so much. LOL But in all honestly we’ve all been the hurt/strong female and I wanted to give that to Jes, I think her character was prone to make decisions based solely on emotions and then, other times she was logical. It just really depended on her situation or mood. Draven was easy, I deal with him everyday LOL so it was fun to put it on paper. There were times when he was a bit pushy and then there were times he was mature and sensible. The two of them together complimented one another when it matters most, even when she was being all,. NO NO NO YES YES YES. LOL that’s what I was going for. I wanted something dark and real and just raw that needed lots of work. You haven’t seen the last of them. There is soo much more coming.

That Shadow Unit has some interesting characters. You of course know my favorite (Royce!), but I'd like to know if there is one that stands out the most for you. I know this is a hard question to answer. I can't wait to learn more about the other members of the Shadow Unit.

It’s totally hard, and I think I’ve changed my mind like a gazillion times, but since I am answering today, right now, I am going to have to say Ronin. I know you don’t get to see much of him in Enslaved, but dammit he’s got style! LOL He’s dark and dangerous, he’s more animal than man, and so a lot of his decisions are based on his instincts. Is he always right? ****SPOILER ALERT**** Like the interrogation scene. That scene was highlighting him as the “monster” and by human standards what he did was just wrong on soooo many levels. But to him it was a way to get to the “meat” of things and get the job done. No matter the outcome or what people may think. He’s Feral, his ancestors were raised by animals. And what animal do you know, that actually cares about what us humans think?  I personally dug that scene, but then I’m a horror girl and *whispers* sometimes, I root for the bad guy…. LOL 

I can't wait to learn more about the other members of the Shadow Unit.  How many books do you plan on having in the series?

Right now I’d like to do a book on all the team members, it could change and there could be more, but I also want to work on other items as well along side this series. I even have an idea for a spin off, which when you get to Gabe’s book you will understand.

You not only write books, but are also a blogger/reviewer. A lot of people don't know that you've been writing for quite a while. Exactly how long have you been writing and what or who inspired you to write?

I have been writing for a very long time! Even before I realized it was something I wanted to do. I have a published poem as well as another book about being Pregnant at 15…  I keep dream journals and I have saved tons of stories that I have written over the years just because my teachers have told me too. Mr. Hilliard and Ms. Guill didn’t necessarily inspire me but they pushed me in the right direction. Ms. Guill read my story about the Case of the Missing Pepperoni and Mr. Hilliard told me that I needed to read Green Eyes to my daughter… ((Never got around to having that girl)) LOL  

Who are some of your favorite authors and favorite books of that you have read?

We don’t have enough page to go over them all but off the top of my head: Larissa Ione, Lara Adrian, Sylvain Reynard, Karin Tabke, Lora Leigh, Sylvia Day, Christine Warren, Jacquelyn Frank, Edgar Allan Poe, Hemingway, Stephen King, JA Saare, Melissa Ecker. I’ve fallen heads over heals for Eliza Gayle and of course I adore Shayla Black and I love to read reference books and music as well. Michael Nyman, Chopin, Mozart, anything by the composers from Cirque De Soliel… (Is the geek coming out in me) *coughs* Umm on to Books that are favs of my Anything by Victoria Holt, Big Bad Wolf, Gabriel’s Inferno, Trust in Advertising, Grave Refrain, Beautiful Disaster, Drink of Me, Pleasure Unbound, Seven Years of Sin. The entire Blood Moon Trilogy ((Werewolf Sandwiching Is In!)) I have tons, trust me I could go on for days!

Other than writing and reading, what else do you enjoy doing?

Music, painting, dancing, sleeping, drinking, movies, watching Channing Tatum impregnate the floor in Magic Mike! 


Thanks for stopping by the blog and I wish you much success with your writing! I found the Shadow Unit to be very entertaining and I can't wait to learn more about them.

Thanks my doode! Appreciate you having me on the blog! TOTALLY DOLCE AND GABANA YO! 

Find Tigris Eden on the web:

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Giveaway

I have an ebook copy of Enslaved In Shadows that is open to everyone!  Just leave your email in a comment if you are interested in entering the giveaway.  Giveaway ends 7/20/12.  Good luck!