Interview with Lucy Leroux, author of Cursed. Available now in the Beyond the Veil Boxed Set! #99cents #vampire @elementalauthor

Interview with Author Lucy Leroux

Hello fabulous readers! Glad to see so many of you back again today!
These interviews, getting to know the talented authors behind your favorite books, is just awesome, right? We've had more and more people visiting every day, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be the one bringing you their great works and the sneak peek into their lives!

I have Lucy Leroux, author of Cursed, chilling with me here today.

Please join me in giving her a warm welcome. *smiles and claps*

To find Cursed and other incredible paranormal romance books, grab yourself a copy of Beyond The Veil: Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set (Under the Veil & Beyond the Veil Book 2), for only 99 cents, then pour yourself a drink, pull up your cozy chair, and settle in for an enjoyable bit of relaxation time! This is one boxed set you won't want to miss!

Shifters, Vampires, Witches, Wizards, & More! 

All manner of Magical & Mystical Paranormal Creatures!
Over 1 million words of riveting, sensual romance all in one place!

Beyond the Veil is 'Where Magic Happens,' and the alpha men and their sassy, head-strong and independent women, heat up the pages of this steamy and engaging collection of books.

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Available at the following retailers:

Nook  iBooks  Kobo  ARe

Amazon US  Amazon UK  Amazon CAN  Amazon AUS

**Don't forget to add to your *want to read* list on Goodreads

A quick reminder to check out our previous boxed set, Alpha Fever, if you haven't already. I know you won't want to miss it!

Now, let's get this party started! *grin*

Hi Lucy, thanks so much for joining me on the NNP blog! *smiles*
Hi Everyone! It’s so great to be here with you today!

Lucy, why don't we start by sharing a bit about you with our readers, okay?Are you a full time author?

I am! I made a deal with my then boyfriend, now husband. I would stay in France and he would support me while I tried to establish myself as an author. If and when I move back to the states I will start working again, but hopefully in a part-time or nine to five job that still gives me time to write.

Ohhh, you are so lucky to have a supportive partner!  I love hearing that. Way to be hubby! *smiles*

And France? Wow, talk about inspiring for romance. Lucky lady!

How long have you been an author and how did you get into writing?

My first book was published at the end of 2014, but by the time I finally published it, I had four complete novels in various stages of the editing process. I live in France and worked here as a research scientist for five years, but when the funding became French, so did the personnel. Did I mention that I’m not French? That’s when I turned to writing.

So, what do you do when you don’t write?

I have a nine month old, so everything baby comes first. Then housework I suppose, because babies mean an exponential increase in laundry and dishes. Husband comes somewhere after that…

Haha, yes, I can relate. One thing I value above all else, is a parent's desire to put their children and family first. Children are important, our future in fact, so I always say they are one of two major reasons I will accept for those few time an author may not meet a deadline, or simply for those with babies, getting stuck up awake all night tending to their infinite needs. Our children need us, right? Everything else can wait. I'm a hard taskmaster, no doubt, but I am a mother, too, and do the very same thing. :D

What would your friends say is your best quality?

I have no idea! I know what I would like them to say- that I provide intelligent and entertaining conversation. At my age, I think that’s the best I can ask for.

*laughs out loud* Who knows, maybe they do say that. Could be true. *winks*

Are reader reviews important to you?

Unfortunately yes! I always told myself I wouldn’t look at reviews, but after my third release I learned the hard way that you have to in order to combat trolls. The Amazon review system is weighed heavily against the author, giving trolls and people who give low reviews for no reason greater impact on your rating. It’s forced me to keep an eye on the reviews, and that means I read every single one. I don’t want to, but it seems I can’t avoid it right now. 

I get it. As authors we almost rely on reviews to know if we are doing this all wrong and what we need to change, or, hopefully, gain the boost needed to continue with the long hours and hard work we put in. Great reviews hit the heart, for me, and I am sure you are the same. It's just...well, uplifting to know readers enjoy our work, right? But yes, sadly there are some people out there lately who seem to have nothing better to do than to leave awful reviews, many times on a book they haven't even truly read. Jealousy, I think, to be honest.

I agree, Amazon needs to stop playing into their hands as it's rewarding them and sometimes destroying authors. We are human, and reviews are our real bread and butter these days. Sad, really. We can only hope Amazon finally becomes wise to this practice and does something about it.  I am not holding my breath, though. *sigh*

So, what inspires you to write?

Everything. I get ideas everywhere—TV, podcasts, a line in someone else’s book. I have a spreadsheet with over 130 novel and novella ideas in half a dozen genres just waiting to be written.

What are the best and the worst aspects of writing for you?

I love creating my own worlds. I see all of my stories very visually in my head and sometimes it’s like they write themselves. It’s somewhere in round three of editing that the joy wears thin and it becomes work :p

Is there a particular author who inspires you?

I admire all of the indie authors I work with in box sets and I’m constantly learning from them. Favorite non-indie authors include Julie Garwood and David Sedaris. My contemporary series is modeled after Garwood’s—independent standalone novels featuring characters that are related or bound by friendship or work.

What is the title of your book included in Beyond the Veil? How did you come up with the idea for it?

It’s called Cursed. Cursed was originally destined to be a part of a different series based on my paranormal adventure, Fire: The

Elementals Book One. That book is published under my maiden name, L.B. Gilbert. The lead character in Fire, Diana, is an Elemental from a magical family line. Isobel, the heroine of Cursed, is her distant ancestor. At least that’s how I originally envisioned it.

Eventually, I decided to publish Cursed under my married name because of the difference in sexual content. All of my Lucy Leroux titles are romance erotica, and very steamy I might add. Cursed is an intensely sexual book that flirts with themes that are darker than any of my other books.

How did you conduct your research for Cursed?

Cursed is my first regency novel. Though I’ve read hundreds of regency titles I didn’t want to base my research on other books of fiction so I bought several reference texts on the cheap from Amazon. I also did a fair amount of research online to get the social structure and details of dress and culture correct. 

Can you give our readers your two favorite lines/quotes from your book?

Ack! This one is hard. I have so many favorite lines. Here are two from the top ten:

“A tremor ran through her entire body as she took in the expression in those eyes. There was an intelligence there and...hunger. Isobel recognized that look. Other men had watched her with something similar in their expression. But those were normal human appetites, much paler and weaker than this.” 

“It was happiest when it was touching her—stroking her skin and tasting her body, always careful to give more pleasure than it took. And it delighted in calling her wife.” 

Tell us about your other books, please.

I write a super hot contemporary/romantic suspense series called A Singular Obsession. I love old school Harlequin romance, but hated the fact all those conflicts could easily be solved if the characters had a single honest conversation. I also hated that these plots were generally driven by the emotional immaturity/stupidity of the characters. That is why I decided to write my own romances featuring characters you didn’t want to punch in the face. Also, I wanted steamier love scenes, so I make that a priority in that series ;)

Additionally, I’m on book two of my paranormal fantasy adventure series. The Elementals, published under L.B. Gilbert, are all about strong women making a difference in the world. Romance is their reward for the sacrifices they’ve made.

Ohh, going to have to keep an eye out for that release. Remind me, will you, please?

If you could share one thing about yourself you would like our readers to know, what would it be?

I used to be a scientist and have been fortunate enough to travel a little. Little bits of my past life and work get woven into my heroines to give them depth. I avoided reading all of my books once they were published, but I reread them recently on my birthday and it was fun seeing those little bits of me that I snuck in there.

Wow, a scientist? Quite the career change!

Where can readers find your works, do you have a blog or website? 

I have two websites!

For all your romance needs check out www.authorlucyleroux.com

and for all things Elementals check out www.elementalauthor.com

Where else might readers contact you or follow your everyday writing journey? 

I’m on twitter

https://twitter.com/lucythenovelist or https://twitter.com/elementalauthor. 

You can also find me on facebook at 

https://www.facebook.com/lucythenovelist or https://www.facebook.com/elementalsauthor

Geez, when on earth do you find the time to keep up on all those, take care of a baby, home and hubby, and still write. Whew! See folks, that's talent!

Thank you so much for joining us today, Lucy. It's been a true pleasure working with you on the Beyond the Veil Boxed Set. I am sure readers will fully enjoy Cursed.

We are going to leave our readers with a small taste to whet their appetite for Cursed, care to give us something steamy? *grin*

Of course! Cursed is a dark erotic paranormal regency so consider yourself warned!

Cursed

Excerpt

“Did Lynton hurt you?” Matteo asked, his voice reverberating with that strange oscillation she'd grown to fear. 
But this was not about her feelings. It was about distracting the demon from harmful intent.
“No!” She assured him hastily. Her fingers trembled as she reached up to stroke his face. “I just wanted to be alone with you,” she whispered, tugging on his cravat to pull him down for a kiss.
That was all it took. 
Matteo's arms wrapped around her, his hands rough and searching. His mouth aggressively plundered hers as they stood there in near darkness. Yanking down her sleeves he exposed her breasts and she gasped, wondering what she had done. 
His hands cupped her before he bent and his mouth closed over one rapidly hardening peak.
She began to have trouble standing as he sucked hard on one breast and then the other, his tongue leaving a trail between them. She was about to put her hands around his neck when she heard it, that distinctive purring growl no normal man would ever make.
Her entire body clenched in both fear and arousal.
“My lord?” she asked apprehensively.
He didn't answer. Instead, he lifted and carried her deeper into the room. There was no couch in the library, only armchairs, so he set her down on a sturdy looking waist high cabinet in the far corner just outside the light of the glass doors.
Breath a little ragged, she tentatively opened her arms as he pulled her to him. Closing a fist in her hair, he tugged her head to the side, exposing her neck so his mouth could work its way down to her breast. His other hand moved under her skirt, tugging it upward before pushing her legs open. 
His fingers were cold as they stroked her intimately, but they warmed quickly, almost as if she was transferring her heat to him. He growled again and tore at his breeches before pulling her to him with hard hands. 
Isobel's lips parted and she threw back her head as he roughly brought their bodies together. A sound escaped her, a cross between a moan and a whimper as his shaft worked all the way inside her tight wet channel.
The shade inside Matteo liked the noise she made. It purred in approval and withdrew before pumping back into her forcefully. 
It's okay, he's warm, he's warm, she repeated to herself, even though she knew it wasn't true.
Putting her hands on his shoulders, she held on as he rocked into her body. His hands held her tight against him while he took her mouth hungrily, his tongue mimicking the movements and rhythm of his shaft as he penetrated her again and again.
Around her, the room spun. It felt as if her will was being torn from its moorings as her husband’s large and hard cock plundered and consumed with an intensity not his own. She wouldn’t think about her body’s soft and eager acceptance just now. The shame would come later. 
The sudden burning orgasm that coursed through her overwhelmed her senses, making her blind and deaf as her body went rigid, convulsing in his arms...which was why she didn't hear the door open.
A sharp exhalation escaped her as male laughter penetrated her lethargy. At least two men had entered the room. For the moment they were shielded by the deeper shadows at the back of the room, but the men were moving closer. If they lit a taper she and Matteo would be seen.
With trembling hands, she clutched at him, but it was as if he didn't hear them. He didn't stop making love to her, continuing to move in and out her body with determined thrusts. She tugged on his hair, trying to signal him to stop as the men moved closer, but he was insensible.
A startling pulse of pleasure streaked through her as the men stepped into view, laughing as one handed the other a cigar. Despite having just climaxed, her body tightened hungrily around Matteo's thick member as he relentlessly claimed her warm wet sheath. 
Heart in her throat, she put both her hands on Matteo's mouth, holding her breath when one spoke to the other. 
“We better smoke these outside, or I'll never hear the end of it from my wife,” the man said. 
It was their host, Lord Southmont. 
The other man said something she didn't catch while Southmont opened the door. Tense in Matteo's arms, she belatedly noticed he had stopped moving too. Frozen together in their intimate embrace they stayed silent in the shadows just a few feet away from discovery. 
The men, distracted by their own conversation, went out with their cigars and disappeared into the garden. 
Isobel let out a shaky breath, her body slumping against Matteo in exhausted relief. But he was still hard inside her...and he wasn't finished. 
He put his hands on either side of her face and took her mouth again before slipping out of her. Languorous in his hold, she barely registered when he hauled her off the cabinet and turned her away from him. 
For a moment his hands moved over her, stroking her bared breasts and down to the heated core under her skirts while he drew on her neck with his lips. Enervated by his touch she leaned against him until his hand forced her head down, bending her over the cabinet. 
Startled, she clung to the polished wood surface as the head of him circled her heated entrance. One of his feet nudged her legs farther apart and then he was inside, so large he was almost too much for her. Stroking fast, he drove deeply into her, making her cry out. She pressed her cheek against the cabinet’s surface, trying to hold on as her body moved helplessly underneath him. But he wasn’t satisfied with her just holding on. He took hold of her breasts and pinched the tips until she bucked and cried out, blinded by another climax.
A few moments more and a shudder passed through him, his breath ragged and low when he whispered. “I love you, Isobel.”
She shuddered too...because it wasn't Matteo speaking to her. It was the demon.

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