Please tell us about your latest release.

Readers may recognize our intrepid hero from BLOOD OF THE WICKED. Caleb Leigh has been in hiding for over a year since the events that painted him a murderer, a traitor and worse. He betrayed his coven, committed sins so vile that even his own sister couldn’t believe it, and has been presumed dead ever since.

But not everyone believes that. Juliet Carpenter isn’t just the girl who let a traitor in too close, she’s the sister of a woman he murdered for power. She’s never given up on finding the man who destroyed her world–even if it costs her everything she is.

But nothing is what it seems, and even the lies aren’t fitting together–not the ones given by the real players behind the curtain, and not the ones they tell themselves. Juliet has never forgiven Caleb–but she’s never forgotten him, either, and he’s as drawn to her now as he was when they first met so many months ago. But he’s a monster, only as good as the lies he tells to cover his tracks. Problem is, he’s the only man who can save her from a conspiracy bigger than even the Church that hunts her.

Blurb:Juliet Carpenter was always protected from the darker side of the witching world. But the massacre below Seattle, the one that claimed her sister’s life, opened her eyes to the true nature of those around her–especially Caleb Leigh. Juliet can’t believe that she slept with the man who killed her sister and now has just one thing on her mind: revenge. But old habits die hard and when it becomes clear that she can’t trust her Coven either, she’s left on the run with a man she hates more than anything.

Caleb isn’t proud of the things he’s done to survive, but nothing hurts him more than the pain he caused Juliet. Unable to reveal the truth about her sister’s death, and with both the Coven and the Mission hard on their heels, he must get Juliet to trust him long enough to save their lives. Because it’s not just the two of them who are in danger: if Juliet won’t let go of her rage enough to tap into her powers, everything they love–each other, their families, this whole miserable world–will be lost.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’m a sucker for redemption stories. The grislier the sin, the more of a sucker I am to see what happens, and Caleb qualifies for “most likely to be murdered than redeemed”. Initially, Caleb began life in my head as a thirteen year old boy, but the more I played with the plot, the more I realized that the brother who would do ANYTHING for his sister is a man whose tale I needed to tell.

I both love and despise Caleb. He is 100% devoted to those he loves, but he also tends to think he’s the only one who can solve their problems. I wanted to write someone who is so fundamentally right about so many things–and so flawed and wrong about everything else, including how he handles the things he’s right about.

Can you tell readers who are not familiar with the series what the premise of the stories are about?

All Things Wicked is the third in the Dark Mission series–a series set fifty years after the destruction of the world as we know it. In shades of the Salem witch trials hundreds of years prior, witches have been blamed for the cataclysmic events that wiped whole cities off the map, and a powerful religious sect known as the Holy Order of St. Dominic has become the premier power. Together with its witch-hunting Mission, the Church rules the city of New Seattle in relative peace.

Until now. As time goes by, missionaries are coming face to face with evidence that paints the Church as the author of a conspiracy that goes back before the fall of the old city, and new lines are being drawn in the sand.

Without giving away spoilers, can you share your favorite scene from the book?

You know, I was asked this way back when BLOOD OF THE WICKED first came out, and my response then is pretty similar to the scene that I call my favorite now. It’s got to have something to do with watching a hero have a total meltdown–a sucker punch right to the heart–and react in such horrifying ways that you think, “There’s no coming back from this.”

There’s a point in ALL THINGS WICKED when Caleb learns something truly tragic about the sister he loves above all things, and as per usual, puts his “I’m the only one who can fix this” hat on, complete with the scarf of “I’ll do whatever I have to to do it”. What he does next is pretty much borderline unforgivable. Some readers are going to hate it–and me–but it still remains one of my favorite scenes. The emotional undercurrent is among the darkest I’ve explored to date, and I really enjoy scenes like that.

With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs that readers jumping in somewhere other than the beginning need to be aware of?

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

As the third book in the series, set fourteen months after BLOOD OF THE WICKED, there are some things new readers will need to know. For example, go read BLOOD OF THE WICKED, LURE OF THE WICKED, and NO REST FOR THE WITCHES first… In that order.

But if you don’t want to, here’s a very quick primer: Silas Smith is an ex-missionary who turned his back on the Order to protect the witch he loves, Jessie Leigh. Jessie is Caleb’s sister, and in BLOOD OF THE WICKED, it seemed that she was his prey in a conspiracy to give the Coven of the Unbinding the ultimate power over the future and the present. Caleb committed grievous acts to cement his cover in the Coven, and went toe to toe with the coven master in an epic showdown that saved Jessie and Silas’ lives, but apparently cost him his own.

Naomi West is an ex-missionary who initially opposed Silas, but now works with him and Jessie. Her lover, Phin, was suspected by the Church of heresy, and shortly after Naomi’s defection, a mysterious witch tried to kidnap Phin and his family in a bid to “clean up” the mess. They now remain in hiding, the beginning of an underground rebellion against the Church hellbent on hunting every last one of them down…

Do you find it difficult to write in different genres?

Along with the Dark Mission paranormal romance series, I write a Steampunk urban fantasy series called The St. Croix Chronicles. The former is gritty and dark and sexy and intense in third-person POV; the latter is lighter in tone (but not in material), features a single protagonist throughout it, historical in setting and written in first-person POV. Thy are different as night and day.

To be honest, I love it. It’s really nice to get a break from the same thing every time. I love paranormal romance, but there IS such a thing as too much of a good thing. When I write it, for example, I don’t read it. I tend to turn to Regencies or light contemporaries. When I write the St. Croix Chronicles, I’ll read paranormal or a historical in a different time period. Cherry St. Croix is such a solid character inside my head-vault that it’s easy for me to slide into her voice, even if I’ve been writing the Dark Mission for the past three months.

What can readers expect next from you?

Oh, I’m so excited! Next in a June 26th release from my brand new series. The first in the St. Croix Chronicles — called Tarnished — introduces Cherry St. Croix and a Steampunk-flavored Victorian London much different (and yet, so very similar) to the London of old. Our heroine is an orphaned Society heiress only months away from inheriting her mad, late father’s estate, and who leads a double life as a bounty hunter. From the rigorous demands of the well-to-do to the dangerous, exciting adventures of the opium-ridden underground, The St. Croix Chronicles tells a story of Gothic adventure, madcap shenanigans, mystery, lies, and, of course, murder.

Scheduled for sometime in late October or November — I’ll announce it as soon as it’s set-ish in stone — we’ll see the fourth installment of the Dark Mission series, Sacrifice the Wicked. This book’s characters are introduced in All Things Wicked, and will be continuing the events set in motion by Caleb and his compatriots. This book is set mostly topside New Seattle, and will shed some light on the inner workings of the city government … and how much trouble those who go against the Order really are in.

Can you leave readers with a little teaser from ALL THINGS WICKED?

Every step of the vertical climb, he held her. Supported her weight, caught her as she fumbled and slid. Pain ratcheted through his voice as the climb wore on, and she struggled to maintain her own momentum. Carry more of her own weight so he wouldn’t have to.

When her fingers closed over nothing, her heart plunged into her stomach, then bounced up into her throat as Caleb gritted out, “We’re up. Wait.” The jacket pulled taut around her, then suddenly went slack.

Energy surged through her, strong enough to allow her fingers to get a grip as he helped her over the edge. She clambered over it, grabbing fistfuls of rock and dirt and God knew what else for leverage, until her feet cleared the shelf and Juliet sprawled, pressing her cheek to the ground in relief. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed. “Thank you, thank you.”

She heard him scrabbling behind her. Quickly, she turned and wrapped both hands around his wrist, dug her heels in and strained every muscle she had left. Fatigue welled through her aching limbs. She groaned.

Caleb’s muscles tightened, bunched suddenly in her hands and he surged over the lip, an explosion of raw strength and adrenaline. She bit off a surprised yell as he slammed into her, taking them both down in a tangle of exhaustion and fear and relief.

Panting, Juliet found her arms wrapped around his chest as he braced his elbows on the ground on either side of her shoulders. His chest heaved against hers; his breath just as harsh. Without warning, he muttered something hard and edged, and unerringly in the dark, his mouth closed over hers.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I have a newsletter I send out no more than four times a year, with teasers, cover postings, exclusive giveaways, and book release announcements. I don’t spam and I don’t share the data. If anyone would like to be on top of release announcements or just simply likes the look of my babble, please feel free to sign-up! It’s quick, easy, and totally won’t signal an army of ill-tempered slanderous gremlins to descend upon you when you least expect it. http://eepurl.com/cnUXj

Author Bio:San Francisco provided me with a home only until the wanderlust struck. I was raised all over the U.S. like some kind of tiny blonde gypsy, and marinating in the melting pot of so many cultures may be the source of this wild imagination. No matter where I was or what I thought I wanted to be when I grew up—actress to artist, web designer, fashionista or author—I was always creative.

As far as careers go, daydreaming for a living kicks so much ass.

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Giveaway Details:

• Karina is gifting a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

• Please leave a comment, or question, for Karina along with your broken up email addy. (We don’t want spambots getting you.)

• Winner will be randomly drawn and notified via email.

• Contest is open the duration of the tour.

• Remember: The more tour stops you leave a comment on, the greater your chances of winning!

Tour Stops:
The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-book-tour-all-things-wicked-by.html