GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ The Character's Court: Tori Karacis VS Author Lucienne Diver + giveaway | I Smell Sheep

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Character's Court: Tori Karacis VS Author Lucienne Diver + giveaway


“If it please the court, I’d like to introduce into evidence item number 1.” Tori Karacis said, looking over at me knowingly.

I blanched. I knew that cover—the kickass woman on the front of it who didn’t look so much like my heroine. Her hair was much too tame. See, Tori, for those of you who don’t know, is part gorgon. While her hair isn’t actually a nest of snakes, you’d never know it at a distance. Think a more Mediterranean Helena Bonham Carter.

“Let the record show the item is a paperback book entitled BAD BLOOD,” the bailiff announced, carrying the book toward the bench.

I was so dead. If I’d actually known that my characters existed in some parallel universe…that I could be held accountable for all the hell I put them through…Well, I hadn't, and that was that. If wishes were horses, I could have ridden right out of there. But they weren’t. This was a trial, and the punishment was anything up to and including subjecting me to my heroine’s same trials and tribulations.

I wondered if that meant the absolute torment of having to decide between the attentions of the two sexiest men I could envision…and I had a pretty good imagination. If so, I wasn’t absolutely sure I wanted to win this battle.

“So noted,” agreed the judge. She flipped through the book, stopping to read a few highlighted passages, her eyes above the bookish librarian glasses going wide.

Tori referred to her own notes. “If I might read from the first highlighted section?”

The judge gave her the nod.

“I fought the pain as I gathered my legs beneath me for another offensive. The attacker was distracted with the effort to free his hand from Circe’s chest cavity. I swallowed the bile burning up my throat and flew into action, closing the distance just in time to watch Circe fall to the ground, the gaping hole in her chest leaking gore and an equally noxious liquid starting to seep through her skirt.

I grabbed the arm of her assailant—killer—as he turned to run and froze as my brain suddenly registered what I was now seeing close up. The hands were scaly, clawed and blue-green. He turned on me with a look of malicious madness, ran his tongue over teeth that were again simply wrong and wrenched himself out of my grip.”


Tori appealed to the judge, “We’re barely into Chapter One here, and already she has me fighting for my life.”

The judge leveled a look at me. I shrugged. What could I do? I liked action. Suspense. Drama. Who didn’t?

It was a hard gaze. I was relieved when she turned back to Tori. “Is that all?” she asked. “Clearly you survived.”

“All? All?” Tori asked, her voice rising. “Let’s see. Latter-Day Olympians trying to stage a comeback. Murder, mayhem, domestic terrorism, death and destruction.”

“Dogs and cats, living together,” I muttered. I couldn’t help myself, I defaulted to Bill Murray when I got nervous, and Ghostbusters was such a classic.

“Ms. Diver, I’m afraid you might not be taking our proceedings seriously,” the judge said, staring me down.

I bit my lip before I could ask whether she was going to throw the book at me. It was a paperback after all. Probably it wouldn’t hurt…unless she caught me with the corner.

“Sorry, Judge,” I said contritely. “Nervous habit.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I caught a brief smile on Tori’s face. She couldn’t help it. She had my sense of humor.

“Anything else?” the Judge asked Tori.

“That’s just the first book! In the second—”

“Spoilers!” the judge cautioned.

“Oh, right, sorry. Well, if I might introduce into evidence item number two, you can see for yourself.” She held aloft my second Latter-Day Olympians novel, CRAZY IN THE BLOOD. I groaned. Things had really been touch and go there for awhile…particularly touch.

The judge accepted the book from the bailiff and flipped through. She stopped at a section and started to read. I heard her breath catch and then start again, maybe a little bit more quickly than before. She turned the page, continued reading. Finally, she looked up. “This Apollo—is he here? I think I may need him for questioning. Or Detective Nick Armani…”

Yes, there was a definite smirk on Tori’s face. “I’m not saying there weren’t perks, but seriously, have you ever tried to deal with two alpha males, both hot enough to melt iron? It’s not as great as it sounds.”

“Really? I think I’d like to be the judge of that,” the judge said, amusing herself.

“You and me both, sister,” I muttered. I didn’t think she heard me.

“Do you have any other evidence to introduce?” the judge asked hopefully.

Tori looked at me. “Items 3, 4 and 5—two more novels, one in print, the other being released in digital September 16th, and a short story in an anthology called KICKING IT.”

The bailiff took the books and flash drive and handed them over. “Nice boots,” she commented, seeing the KICKING IT cover. “Yours?” 

Tori was no longer just looking at me. She was glaring. I couldn’t meet her gaze. If the judge read what I did to her in that one there’d be no doubt about my guilt. Oh, I was going down hard.

The judge studied the evidence before her, silent, serious. Terrifying. But she flipped through Tori’s third adventure, RISE OF THE BLOOD, and I saw her eyes widen.

“Given the bulk of the evidence and the seriousness of the charges,” she said finally. Did she sound a little breathless? “I’m going to have to take these home with me. Give them all due consideration. I’ll have my verdict for you tomorrow. Bright and early in my chambers.”

Tori chewed her lip and started to gather up her papers. The judge took the books with her and left through a door behind the bench.

I had no idea which way things would go. Or whether it would do any good to talk to Tori. After all, I was already plotting her next adventure and…well, I couldn’t exactly offer to pull my punches and disappoint my fans. But she was tough. She could take it.

Right? Right? Bueller?

Okay, so I quoted Bill Murray and Ben Stein during stress. So sue me. Line forms on the right.




Battle for the Blood (Latter-Day Olympians)
by Lucienne Diver
Print Length: 319 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

(September 16, 2014)
pre-order amazon
Dragons, demons, gods, gorgons. Who will save the world…and who could destroy it?

Tori wakes after Rise of the Blood to two very shocking realizations: one, she’s in bed with a very naked Apollo, having lost the fight to resist their attraction. Two, she still has her wings. Not dinky little fairy wings. Full-scale, cover-’em-with-a-trench-coat bat wings.

Apollo suggests consulting the Gray Sisters on the wings. Those cannibalistic, psychopathic oracles who, even with only one tooth and one eye among them, manage to see too much. As in a Rapture, zombie-apocalypse, biblical-plague, hellgates-busted-open the end of the world.

While the Sisters are perfectly on board with death and destruction, the thinning of the human herd doesn’t sit well with them at all. They’ll help her. All she has to do is save the world.

Tori and her team trace the origin of the plagues to New York City, which is under quarantine and martial law—as if that’s enough to stop the influx of gods and gorgons, dragons and demons. But as death threatens from without, betrayal lurks within Tori’s ranks. And nobody is safe. Nobody.

Warning: Betrayal and bad-assery, sensuality and a sizzling hot sun god. Death, demons, destruction and, potentially, the end of the world as we know it…zombie style.


About the Author:
website-FB-Twitter
Lucienne Diver writes the Latter-Day Olympians urban fantasy series for Samhain, featuring a heroine who can, quite literally, stop men in their tracks. Long and Short Reviews gave the first in the series her favorite pull-quote of all times, "Bad Blood is a delightful urban fantasy, a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan.” Sequels: Crazy in the Blood, Rise of the Blood and Battle for the Blood(forthcoming in digital September 16th). She also writes the popular Vamped young adult series (think Clueless meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Her short stories have been featured in the Strip-Mauled and Fangs for the Mammaries anthologies edited by Esther Friesner and, of course, the Kicking It anthology from Roc Books, edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price. Her essay “Abuse” is included in theDear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories anthology from HarperTeen.


9 comments:

  1. This was hilarious. I was watching Anger Management, the episode where Charlie and Kate end up in court as expert witnesses... Perfect moment. I am not going to suggest a punishment mostly because I am still giggling too hard...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post! I'm torn between the two.
    Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So far, the court has only proved Lucienne Diver has a wicked sense of humor and great taste in movies!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, all! I'm hoping Tori and I can settle out of court. Unfortunately, she's not nearly as bribeable as my Vamped heroine Gina, who could be bought off with a spa day and a financially crippling shopping spree!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this. I say - walk in her shoes. Great excerpt and I couldn't help but laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hand Tori some handcuffs to restrain the alphas. Might help your case

    ReplyDelete
  7. mudepoz, I'm not sure restraining the alphas is as much fun as giving them free rein!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! I think living in her bedroom for one day should be punishment enough! ;)

    ReplyDelete