Author Name: Michelle Osgood
Book Name: The Better To Kiss You With
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Monika Gross
Release
Date: April 21, 2016
Blurb:
Deanna, the moderator for Wolf’s Run, an online werewolf
role-playing game, wanders the local forest with her dog Arthur and daydreams
about Jaime, the attractive, enigmatic woman who lives upstairs. When threats
from an antagonistic player escalate, Deanna wonders if her job could be
riskier than she’d ever imagined—and if her new girlfriend knows more about
this community than she had realized.
Pages or Words: 182 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Lesbian Romance,
Paranromal
Excerpt:
“I
think I know blood when I see it,” Deanna pointed out. “It was definitely
blood.”
Beside
her on the floor, Nathan leaned his head back against the couch and, behind the
black frames of his glasses, rolled his bright blue eyes. “I’m not saying it
wasn’t blood. But just, like, blood happens.”
“‘Blood
happens.’ You sound like a tampon commercial.”
“Not
true.” Nathan snickered over the top of his glass. “They never use the word
‘blood.’”
Deanna
choked on a mouthful of wine.
“Anyway,”
Nathan continued, “it was probably just a dead animal. Dogs love that stuff.”
“He
wasn’t happy, though. He was scared. Something scared him. And Arthur’s brave.
He doesn’t scare easily.” Deanna wiped the Pinot Gris from her chin and they
both leaned forward to look at Arthur, who was sprawled artlessly on top of his
dog bed and snoring loudly. Deanna smothered a giggle with the back of her hand
and grabbed the bottle of wine.
“Just
don’t confuse fantasy with reality. I think your job is messing you up.”
Deanna
snorted. “Wolf’s Run is a just game, Nathan. I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Really?
Because you’re talking about mysterious bodies torn up in the woods, and if
that doesn’t sound like werewolves…”
Deanna
gave Nathan a shove. “Ha, ha, very funny. I’m not like that weirdo who thinks
that werewolves actually exist. It’s role-playing. Playing being the key
word.”
For
the most part, the players of Wolf’s Run were a good crowd—with the
exception of one user who seemed to think that he actually was a
werewolf. Apparently, he took offense to the game’s depictions of “his
species,” considering them inaccurate and insulting. The rants had been going
on for months, and the situation would have been laughable, except that in the
last few weeks his posts had taken on a more threatening tone. Every time
Deanna deleted his posts and blocked his username he simply created another
account. The Wolf's Run team didn’t want to block his IP address because
IP addresses could be shared by a large number of people, and doing so might
block legitimate players from the game. Besides, it was child’s play to
circumvent a block by logging in from a third-party app or web service, or just
logging in from a different location. Deanna could only shut him down and hope
that this time he finally gave up.
“Well,
then just accept that Arthur found a bunny rabbit or something and decided it
would be a good idea to roll around in its mangled corpse.”
Deanna
shook her head. “You didn’t see him. It was a lot of blood.” It had taken two
desperately unpleasant baths and an entire bottle of shampoo to get Arthur
clean. Deanna had had to scrub her bathtub three times before she’d felt
comfortable using it again.
Nathan
grabbed her hand with his long, thin fingers. “Listen, you’re my best friend,
and I love you, and I’m sure that it was really terrifying, but I’m also one
hundred percent sure that you are blowing this way out of proportion. No more
fantasy werewolf role playing nonsense for you.”
“Until
my shift starts in…” Deanna tapped the screen of her phone. “Ten hours.”
“Until
then,” Nathan agreed and clinked their glasses. “Now, tell me more about your
hot neighbor.”
Deanna
buried her head in her hands and groaned. “It’s awful. She’s gorgeous. And I
can’t think around her. Or speak. I turn into a spluttering sixth grader with
her first crush.”
“That’s
disgusting and adorable. Tell me more. What’s her name?”
Buy the book:
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Interlude Press (Paperback): http://store.interludepress.com/collections/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-pre-order-bundle-1/products/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-print-edition
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Michelle
Osgood author of The Better to Kiss You
With.
Hi Michelle thank you for agreeing to this
interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current
book.
Hi, thanks for having me! I’m a writer who
lives in Vancouver, BC, with my partner Elizabeth and our two black cats. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English,
and have been fascinated with storytelling for as long as I can remember. The
Better to Kiss You With is a paranormal romance about Deanna, the moderator
of an online werewolf role playing game, who falls for the mysterious woman living
above her.
1) Talk
to us about your characters in this book. What makes them unique?
The
main characters in The Better to Kiss You
With are Deanna, Jamie, and Nathan.
Also probably Arthur, who is a golden retriever. Deanna is great because she’s funny and
un-self-conscious, and wears her heart firmly on both sleeves. Jamie is a bit more reserved, and much more
noble, and when she decided she likes someone she is extremely loyal. Nathan is
a lot of fun and super smart, but he’s not quite sure what he wants from
life. Arthur is very sweet, but wilful,
and has trouble obeying rules he doesn’t like—such as dogs not being allowed on
the couch!
2) What
was one of the most surprising things you learned in getting your book from
start to publish?
The
editing process was wild! I had no idea
that there would be so many people putting so much effort into my book. It was amazing to see how much work remained
to do, and the best part was seeing it pay off.
The manuscript I submitted to Interlude Press was good, but the
published book is great, and that’s due to the hard work of several woman, not
just me! (Shout out to my wonderful
editors: Annie, Nicki, and Zoe!)
3) Have
you ever gone to a convention? If so, how was it? If not, do you think it’s
something you’d like to do in the future?
I’ve
been to the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo several times, but never as an
author! I love it—my partner and I
always have new costumes for each day.
I’d definitely like to go to a convention as an author, but I also love
just going as a fan. I’m such a pop
culture junkie, it’s great.
4) Would
you like to be a full-time writer?
For
sure! It’s certainly a goal I’m working
towards. I think one of the hardest
things about writing full-time is the amount of discipline required, but after
having sat my butt down and finished writing this book, I am much more
confident in my ability to focus.
5) Design
the ultimate pizza.
My
favourite pizza of all time is a thick crust with tomato sauce, extra cheese,
and pineapple! It’s salty, it’s sweet,
it’s delicious.
Meet the author:
Michelle Osgood lives in Vancouver, BC, with her partner
Elizabeth and their two cats. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and
has been reading, writing and blogging in online communities for five years.
She likes to read romance novels, speculative fiction and feminist pop culture
critique.
Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/osgoodmichelle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OsgoodMichelle
Homepage: www.michelleosgood.com
Tour Dates & Stops:
Rafflecopter
Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card. 5 first prizes of e-copies
of The Better to Kiss You With by Michelle Osgood.
Thank you for having me!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!!
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