Interview with Kayelle Allen & Preview of Fifty Gays of Shade

Before I get into today’s post and guest author, I promised to post the winners of the Lucky in Love Blog hop and here they are:

            Winner of a copy of Manacled in Monaco – Ashley A

            Winner of a copy of The Bear and The Bride – Katharina, Ellen

Please contact me within 5 days to claim your prize. I’ll also be announcing this on Facebook & Twitter.

It’s my pleasure today to interview award winning author, Kayelle Allen. Not only is Kayelle an EPIC award winner (2010 for Surrender Love), she is one of the most ardent proponents of writer support in the industry.

Kayelle is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers and Romance Lives Forever, two author-centric Yahoo! Groups with well over a thousand members each, and the founder and CEO of The Author’s Secret a graphics design company providing ebook conversion and design services to authors.

You have to visit Kayelle’s website, however, to begin to understand the depths of her talents. Composed of over 100 pages, her site is—to me anyway—a portal to the world of her books. The detail and graphics that went into the creation of the Tarthian Tour Company alone boggles the mind.

Q. Kayelle – even the notion of creating such a complex and involved site scares me – did you start out with the idea of creating the world of your books online?

Thank you, Jianne. I created it to be a portal. Originally, I planned to write a companion book to go along with my SciFi books, but when I created the website, I realized it would be a perfect place to share some of that material. One thing I wanted was for readers to step out of the books and into the site and be able to visit the same places the characters did. There’s a tour of the empire, plus Imperinet, which is the Imperial Internet. Almost any place mentioned in the books has a page on the website. There are also some hidden places for readers to find. If you see something that looks out of place, point to it, and see what hint it offers. If you end up on the wrong page, you’ll see the Imperinet 404 page, which has a NETway technician’s humorous rant about inferior workers, union scabs, badly fitting parts, and those infernal rebel scum.

Q. Do you do all your own programming for the site? Are you self-taught?

Yes, I do all of it, and I did teach myself. I read, researched, practiced, did things terribly wrong wrong wrong and had to relearn some things that I’d been doing backwards. Most of the art is either by my son, or me. I’ve purchased a few stock pieces, but probably 95% is original. We didn’t do the book covers. Well, we did the ones on the Free Reads page, but not the others.

Q. Have you always wanted to write sci-fi?

Yes. I grew up reading it, watching it on TV, and hearing stories at home. I also love Regency Romance, Historicals, Contemporary, and non-fiction. I read several books a week.

Q. What was your inspiration for the Tarthian Empire?

I wrote a future history in (very) broad strokes to cover 10k years, and had the idea that genetic manipulation would cause mankind to divide into various camps. The “human pure” would stick to the Terran sector on this side of the galaxy, while the more radically altered would be isolated on the far side. The Tarthian Empire is mostly made up of humans, and in the current story line, the last twenty years have introduced non-humans to the fold. The Kin are catlike, the Tyran are like satyrs, and the Chiasmii are truly androgynous creatures who can switch genders every season. Swirling into the mix are immortals who were once Earth’s finest warriors, but who proved to be too dangerous. They were exiled and isolated on a far planet, and after thousands of years, have fought their way to freedom. Earth has relegated them to myth — but to the immortals, humans are due payback. I began the immortals’ story by setting it on Tarth. They plan to work their way across the galaxy to Earth, and are spreading out, infiltrating Earth’s allies who could stand against them when the time comes. So this is just the first wave of stories.

Q. You’ve created languages and races for your novels – what inspired you to do that and where do you get your ideas?

As a kid (maybe age 10 or 12), I read the book The Languages of Pao, by Jack Vance, which had the concept that you could create a civilization by tweaking its language. I thought what if you also tweaked the genetic make up of the inhabitants? If you gave them catlike qualities, and a language to match, how would they become different? That theory formed the basis for the languages of my Kin people. It’s a mix of French, Cherokee, Latin, and English, with other sounds added to create a catlike mix. They say “Ffffftt!” for the F-word. 😉 Some things are direct translations. “Wah doh” is Cherokee for thank you. That’s also the formal way of saying thanks in Felis, the Kin language. But when they’re being informal and friendly, they also say “Skah.” An H is used to indicate a breathy pause. The words “te hahr” mean “my heart” and it’s a term of endearment abbreviated to “t’hahr.” To say it, you would breathe the first H sound. The second one, at the end of the word, means to hold the vowel for a beat longer. I based it on the sounds of Cherokee (Tsalagi), and what I felt a cat might sound like if it was combined with human DNA to create a sentient being. I’m no linguist, but I did research how languages are formed, and how they’re recorded.

Q.  The graphics on the site are incredible, and I noticed that you now do book trailers, buttons, banners, and much more through The Author’s Secret – what motivated this venture?

I love doing this stuff, and one day I was thinking, “Gee, I wish I could get paid to do this for other people.” It hit me that there was no reason I couldn’t. I set up the company in 2011, and have been working at it ever since. I just added a partner to do ebook conversions as well. We’re about to launch that along with some other wonderful features.

Q.  Do you have any plans to write other genres?

I do. I have a Contemporary BDSM Romance coming out later this year from Ellora’s Cave. It’s called Keeper of My Pleasure, and is set in Atlanta Georgia. I live in the metro area, so it was fun to write about places and details that I know well. I also have an audiobook called The Last Vhalgenn, which is mainstream fantasy. Although to be honest, I’m thinking of doing a sequel to that and having it turn out the world they live on is inside the Tarthian Empire. It would be a cool first contact story.

Q. What’s your latest release? Can we get a sneak preview?

Fifty Gays of Shade is out from Torquere Press. The book is edited by Kiernan Kelly, with stories by Kiernan Kelly, Kayelle Allen, KC Burn, Lydian Harker, CR Guilano, Sascha Illyvich, Wt Prater, Emily Moreton, CC Bridges, Wade Kelly, CB Conwy, DC Juris, Amelia June, KC Wells, Winnie Jerome, PT Walden, and Sean Michael.

Blurb:

Welcome to Shady Business, the hottest gay BDSM club in town. Owned by Grey Shade, it’s the place you want to be if you’re into leather, whips, crops, and hot and steamy sex.

Each story in this anthology takes the reader inside the club for a steamy, hot night filled with passion, sex, and leather. From love stories that pluck at the heartstrings with riding crops to subs masquerading as Doms, from virginal first-time forays into the scene, to tales of experienced members in the leather community, there’s something for every reader here. Top or bottom, Dom or sub, every need is met, every desire filled.

At Shady Business, no good deed ever goes unpunished.

My story is called “Bill Me.” When a member of Shady Business returns from a hiatus, and meets a new member searching for a proper identity — and a master who’ll help him find it.

Here’s a peek for you!

“Is that you, Erik?”

I turned to see who had used my name so freely in one of the country’s premier BDSM clubs, and found the club’s owner walking toward me. “Hello, Shade.” I accepted his firm handshake. “Long time no see. You look fit as always.” The man wore a black leather hat, black zipped leather shorts, boots, and had a chain wrapped around one wrist.

“I could say the same.” He raked his gaze down me. “Damn, man. Where the hell have you been? I heard you relocated again.”

I shrugged. “You know me. Never could settle anywhere.”

“Let’s grab a drink.” Shade led me deeper into the club, away from the noisy stage and DJ.

We passed the elevator, and sidestepped around a laughing couple exiting the bathroom. From their tousled appearance, it took little imagination to guess what they’d been doing in there. Had house rules changed? Shade rubbed a spot between his brows and pretended not to notice. He continued through reception, and used a keycard to open a passageway to his office and the play room area.

Gesturing between the two, he quirked his brows, giving me a choice of location. I opted for the privacy of his office, and he opened the door.

Little had changed here, other than a few additional awards on the wall. I sat in the leather chair opposite his desk. He flipped open a cabinet and withdrew a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, handing me one. Shade surprised me by dropping into the chair next to mine. He poured generously, set down the bottle, and leaned back.

“You want to tell me what’s up?” He gazed at me over the rim of the glass while he sipped.

I swirled the whiskey, gave it a sniff, and smiled over at him. “What do you mean?”

He pulled a face. “We going to play a head game or are you going to tell me what brings you here — wearing a three piece suit– after fifteen months away?”

“Fifteen months? What, were you counting the days?”

“You were here for my birthday party for the past five years, and then missed it last year. I happen to know yours is in three days. We always celebrated together when you were in town. So yeah, I fuckin’ know the number of days.” He downed the rest of his drink, set aside the glass, and folded his arms across his beefy chest. “What’s with the suit?”

“In town on business.” I hesitated, but remembered this was Shade I was talking to, and sighed. “Corey moved out six weeks ago.”

“No shit? You okay?”

“Yeah. Now.”

Shade shook his head. “I’m sorry, Erik. You here to get back in the saddle?”

I took a slug of the whiskey, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and then finished it. “Figured it’s time.”

He sat forward. “Looking for the same type?”

“Hell, no. Older. He was twenty when we met. I need someone a little less…” While I struggled for the best description, Shade supplied an apt one.

“Full of shit?”

We both laughed. He poured me another drink. The sound of the liquid sloshing into the glass filled the silence in my head.

“Yeah. That’d work.” I sipped.

“We’ve got some new talent. You walk in wearing that suit, and they’ll be licking your shoes.”

I polished off the drink, and refused another. “Not really what I want licked tonight.”

=======

Torquere Press http://is.gd/50gaysofshade

Amazon http://amzn.com/B00BFFPK86/

ARe http://is.gd/50gaysofshade_ARe

Author site http://kayelleallen.com/exc-fifty.html

ISBN 9781610404334

=======

Author Bio:

Kayelle Allen is a multi-published, EPIC Award winning author. She writes Contemporary Romance, Gay Romance, Erotic Science Fiction Romance, Mainstream Fantasy, BDSM, and non-fiction. She likes to attend Science Fiction conventions, and has been a speaker at DragonCon, Outlantacon, and Gaylaxicon. She is a US Navy Veteran, and founded her own graphics company. Kayelle is married to her personal hero. They make their home in the southeast.

Homeworld http://kayelleallen.com

Blog http://kayelleallen.blogspot.com

Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen

Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelle.allen

Giveaway: Thank you for popping in to read today. As my gift, please accept The Tarthian Empire Companion Book, First Edition. This is 23 pages of images and info about Tarth and all the other places in the empire. When you click it, this will either offer you a download, or open in a new window, depending on your settings. To read it, you need Adobe Reader, available free.
.http://kayelleallen.com/media/TarthianEmpireCompanionFirstEdition.pdf

What a ride!

I am fascinated, intrigued, and bemused by the sheer amount of different Kayelle Allen talents – graphics, programming (self-taught too), design, and writing. I can only do one of those and sometimes question even that ability.

Thank you, thank you, Kayelle, for this beguiling peek into your world. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did.

Cheers,

Jianne