Tuesday, December 4, 2012

4th Day of Christmas: Faith Bicknell-Brown

Cate: Faith Bicknell-Brown (AKA F.L. Bicknell, Azura Ice and Amber Redd) is here to spread some holiday cheer! Faith, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Faith: Hi Cate. Thanks for having me on your lovely site! I write erotic romances under several pseudonyms. A couple pen names are exclusive such as Amber Redd for Dreamspinner Press. I’m repped by a great agent, too. As for my personal life, I’m an Appalachian “hillbilly” and I’m happily married with several kids as well as four grandbabies so far—my already big family is exploding, LOL!



Cate: Oh, I can relate! :) What do you love most about Christmas?

Faith: I like the atmosphere, as in the lights and the music, especially when there has been a heavy snowfall.



Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Christmas past?

Faith: Yes, the biggest Christmas I’ve ever had. I was about 8 or 10 at the time. I’m an only child and we lived by the skin of our teeth through the 70s Recession. When my dad finally found work that Christmas my parents went all out. Imagine a li’l girl who had to climb over gifts to even reach the tree! I’ll never forget that feeling when I stepped into the living room and saw all those presents and a fat tree decked out with hundreds of multi-colored lights.



Cate: So sweet! If Santa could grant one wish, what would you ask for?

Faith: A home where I don’t have to pay someone rent. The coalmine and a group of people in our area have been buying up everything the last few years. It seems like the only places for sale is in towns, and the hubby and I refuse to live in town.



Cate: What was the best gift you’ve ever received? What made it so special?

Faith: Nothing in particular. It was that one specific Christmas I mentioned earlier that sticks with me. I’ve received a lot of nice gifts over the years, but that one holiday as a kid had a special quality because my family had been struggling for so long.



Cate: Any favorite Christmas recipes you’d care to share?

Faith: Well, I could share my hubby’s two recipes for Christmas ham or turkey, but then I’d be in the dog house for the next two years, lol. He guards his recipes fiercely!



Cate: Lucky you, that he's such a great cook!
Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.

Faith: That would be When I’m Gone under my exclusive Dreamspinner Press pen name, Amber Redd. It releases December 12th, but readers can pre-order it now http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3442



When I’m Gone is the 2nd book in the Stone Trail Series. Stone Trail is a southern mountain town with a population of just over 5K. Strange things happen in this community, things that involve magical wolves and evil werewolves. Here’s a brief blurb:



As New Year's approaches, a grieving Richie Tatten collects his dead sister’s belongings from the institution where she lived. The mystery of her suicide confounds him and adds to his growing frustration with the disappearance of his life partner, Albert, who vanished months earlier. Hoping to find answers, Richie heads to the small town of Stone Trail, but the unwelcoming citizens leave Richie reluctant to continue his search. Then new information about his sister’s death gives him a lead on Albert’s whereabouts—and thrusts him into the middle of a battle between magic and werewolves.



This time I decided to give Stone Trail a holiday theme. It was fun writing bits and pieces about a Christmas that had just passed and how the characters prepared for the upcoming New Year’s while dealing with the paranormal.



The 1st book, Chasing the Mailman, is available here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2203



Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?

Faith: Sure, here’s a brief excerpt where the mc, Rich, has an encounter with his deceased sister, Nancy.



Relaxing into the soft leather, he finally allowed himself to dwell on Albert, the smell of his skin, the sensation of his hard muscles pressed to his as he pushed deeper into Rich’s body. Oh, how he missed him and how he longed to lie quietly in his arms and listen to the sounds of the apartment building as it grew quiet during the nighttime hours.

Tears welled and squeezed free of his eyelids. Angry at himself for letting his guard down, he swiped at them and rose. He freshened his drink and added another piece of ice.

As he turned to sit again, cold air swirled around his feet. He glanced at the door, thinking maybe one of the inn’s employees had knocked and he hadn’t heard it. The cool air grew stronger, its caress icier. It whirled around him like he stood in the direct path of an air-conditioning vent.

A gust swept between the chairs and the fireplace. The flames wavered and fluttered.

Rich set his drink down and wandered over to the windows but found no air seeping around the seals. A familiar aroma assailed his nose.

White Diamonds.

Frowning, he checked the door and even held his hand over the ducts in the floor in case someone downstairs had accidentally turned on the central air. He returned to the sitting area and stared into the fire for a moment. Shaking his head, he turned toward the chair, preparing to sit again.

“Where the hell is that air—?”

“Richie?”

Recognizing the voice, he spun on his heel and came face to face with Nancy standing between him and the fireplace.

"F***!" He jackknifed over the furniture. His heel caught on the chair’s arm, and he sprawled out flat on his back on the floor.



Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?

Faith: I’ve always been fascinated by lycanthropy. Werewolves go back in history for centuries. In every legend there’s a grain of truth, so the “what if” factor really gets my cogs to turning. I wrote a full paranormal romance involving a werewolf curse (that my agent has) and enjoyed writing it so much that when I decided to write for Dreamspinner, I was pulled back to the same topic. This time I built an entire town around the legend; each book will have a different set of main characters.



Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?

Faith: Just my links. I hope readers will visit my websites and join me on Facebook and Twitter.









Cate: Faith has a giveaway!

Faith: Anyone who leaves a sincere comment or a question for me will be entered to win a $5 amazon.com gift certificate. I’ll draw the winner over the weekend. Readers, share this interview link with your friends so they have time to stop by, too! Remember to leave your email address in your comment.



Cate: Thanks so much for being part of the 12 Days of Christmas! Hope you have a jolly holly holiday!

Readers, here's more about Faith:

F.L. Bicknell's work has appeared in a wide range of genres and publications such as: Would That It Were, Touch, GC,  and Ohio Writer magazines as well as with publications in Canada and Turkey. Under her pseudonym, Molly Diamond, she  was a regular contributor to Gent and Ruthie's Club and has had fiction published in Hustler's Busty Beauties,  Penthouse Variations, and Twenty 1 Lashes. Ms. Bicknell is the author of several e-book and print titles, also writing as Azura Ice, Amber Redd, Cutter Phoenix, and Kiyara Benoiti. She has served as co-editor and managing editor for three different publishing houses. She is represented by TriadaUS Literary Agency.