I’d like to welcome Valerie Mann, author of hot erotica and romance as well as all around great editor.
When we decided to feature her here, I asked a couple of questions about her new novella, Hey You.
Val, I love the fact that Hey You is not only the title of your story but also the title of a song by Run Devil Run – the four-member LA-based rock band who agreed to cross-promote their music with romance fiction. How does the song relate to Cara and Marek’s story?
Actually the title and story don’t have much to do with each other. Try as I might, I wasn’t able to work a plot around the lyrics or make the words and plot work together. But I did have an idea…
In the story, the hero, Marek, is a demon who isn’t able to verbally communicate with the heroine. He’s a silent presence in Cara’s life, always watching and waiting for her to break one of her society’s laws. If she does, he takes her to their version of hell, the Dark. However, the one way Marek can communicate with her is in her dreams, and as they develop feelings for each other, he begins to visit her more and more in the dreams because he can’t stay away. He greets her each time by saying, “Hey, you.” It becomes his trademark phrase, LOL.
In a previous interview, you mentioned that the band members would be reading the stories in the anthology. Did they have any interesting commentary about the story you might like to share?
I know they liked the first story that was released. But I have no idea if they’ve read the other stories in the series yet. I’m thinking probably, if for no other reason than they have a narcissistic urge to read the stories that bear their faces on the covers. I mean…wouldn’t you? Jackie Joyride, the cutie on the cover of Hey You, did make a video for me during the cover photo shoot. He told me he’d heard that his character was dark and brooding and he was channeling that into his photo shoot. I think he succeeded if the cover is anything to go by!
Hooray! My novella, HEY YOU, in the Run Devil Run series with Decadent Publishing has finally been released! It’s been a long road to get here, but well worth the trip!
Run Devil Run is a popular rock band based in Los Angeles. The guys were happy to lend their faces and talent to Decadent Publishing. Trust me, it wasn’t a hardship on our part to make this happen! (oh, and my cover features the uber-sexy Jackie Joyride ~ I think I did okay, don’t you?)
The books in the series are all paranormal, with Hey You probably the darkest of the bunch. As Heather Bennett, co-owner of Decadent Publishing said, “Paranormal romance lends itself easily to the Rock vibe.” After reading the other books released in the series, I couldn’t agree more.
Playing by the rules…Cara spent her entire life doing just that—dutiful daughter, stellar student, responsible adult…in a word…nerd. Not that she had much choice. The Society, a secret moral social order she’d been born into, had one motivating tool in its arsenal to ensure members didn’t succumb to temptation and break any of its laws…The Watcher… A demon whose sole mission consisted of waiting for his watch to break the rules—and bring them to…
The Dark. Marek sucked at his job. Not only did he hate being a Watcher, but he’d fallen in love with his watch, Cara, placing his eternal soul in peril. Only able to protect her in her dreams, when she reaches a crossroad in her life that puts her mortality in jeopardy, they have to decide who will give the greater gift.
Will Cara sacrifice her mortality for Marek’s love…or will he sacrifice his soul to save her life? Read an excerpt
I’m going to do TWO things to put some Run Devil Run awesomeness in your hands because I think you’re going to love this these stories and this band as much as I do!
1. Leave a comment on this blog. I’ll pick one random commenter here to win a free download of Hey You. Winner will be announced here and by email (if you leave one) on March 26th.
2. Want to win the GRAND PRIZE? Buy a copy of Hey You from Decadent Publishing by March 25th. When you purchase your book, you will also receive a free download of the song “Hey You” by Run Devil Run. You’ll be sending a print screen file as proof of purchase to Decadent Publishing in order to receive the download. So ~ send a print screen file to me as well, confirming your purchase of my book. Send it to valeriemann09@yahoo.com I will announce the winner on my blog, Facebook and Twitter on March 26th.
What will the LUCKY WINNER win? A basket full of goodies, including Run Devil Run autographed swag like their latest CD. I’ll also throw in a copy of the Run Devil Run anthology print book, goodies from all of the RDR anthology authors, and decadent edibles (chocolate comes to mind). So….follow #2 to the LETTER and I’ll enter you in the big drawing. Good luck!!
Valerie Mann
valeriemann09@yahoo.com Facebook ~ valerie.mann Twitter ~ mannvalerie
Valerie, I DO believe Jackie said you made him blush (when he read the story).
~
I know that they have read at least 4 of the 5, PJ. They have really liked all of them. Share Your Soul they dubbed ‘Revenge from beyond the grave….cool.” ‘Strut’ “…captured the essence of LA.” ‘High Above’ was “cool in Mad Max, action kind of way”. Not sure if they’ve gotten to ‘Can’t Stop Me’, the bonus story in the print antho coming in April, but I think ‘Hey You’ singed the leather pants a bit as it’s dangerous and hot as HELL.
Heather
Decadent Publishing
All I can say is you rock! I adore this story, Valerie!
Thanks for stopping by, Heather and Kathleen!
Hey, Val! er…Hey, you!
Okay, so that was a little cheesy. Can’t wait until I have time to actually read all the RDR stories, and this one is at the top of the list. <3 ya, Val, and I'll see you soooooon!!!!!