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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Author's Thoughts and Giveaway: Lock & Key (The One-Eyed Jacks MC #1) by Cat Porter

Description: 18+

Love not only stings when you lose it, when it’s ripped away, but when it first sinks its teeth into you, it can cut just as raw and sting just as deep.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten that.

I was allegedly South Dakota's most famous Old Lady.
Fifteen years ago I had survived my Old Man’s murder and swore to myself never again.
Never again surrender my heart.
Never again sacrifice to the Club.
But that all changed in one night.

I came home and crashed into him,
and my past and present blew up in my face.
Both of us lonely, running on empty, and unwilling to admit it.
Until now.
I feel things I'd forgotten about, want things I had cut out of my insides.

Who holds the keys to betrayal? To suspicion? To trust?
To brotherhood? To family?
To a bleeding heart?
Right now, I just might.
I suppose some of us have to get really dirty before we can become truly clean.

Author's Thoughts
the idea 
It was about a year and a half ago, I got tired of reading biker books where the heroine was a young girl and a newbie to biker culture, scared out of her wits and horrified with their lifestyle and whining about it- the crime and the crudeness of life on the fringe. Or a story about a young thing who wanted to walk on the wild side with a biker dude. An image of a world weary been-there/done-that older woman stuck in my mind and wouldn’t go away. What if one day, out of the blue that woman walked back into her old clubhouse after being away for a long time? What would the guys say? How would they react to her now? Why is she back anyway? That was the story I wanted to read. It immediately became the story I had to write.

about the first one and the most recent published work
My first (traditionally) published book is a religious children’s myth, so it’s very different from “Lock & Key”! But the differences between L&K and “Wolfsgate” aside from the obvious- a bike club in contemporary South Dakota and upper class society of 18th century England- is a remarkable two sides of the same coin idea, I think. In the bike club there are no rules or restrictions (just those of their “tribe”), they live on the fringe of society and their moral compass is off the standard chart.

In the 18th century it’s all about the formal rules and restrictions of society. People then spoke indirectly about the stuff bubbling under the surface. In the bike world, they bluntly lay it out in a raw, unabashed way, do what they want, take what they want. In the 18th century world, there may be rules and restrictions (and bindings on their corsets, but no panties!) Yet there is so much implied and not said outright in their fancy speech and formal behavior, so much struggling to get through, so much crudeness and rule bending going on underneath the gilded niceties. All that fascinates me just as much as the raw, brash in-your-face-no-shame culture the biker world represents. 

the perfect book hero
I read a recent article about why we love Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy so much, and how it’s because we see him become transformed by his love for Elizabeth. So true! That’s what I want in a book hero. I love a good Alpha who goes for what he wants and won’t take no for an answer, who’s hiding some dark secret maybe that he can only share with his woman eventually. But at the core is his transformation into the better person he can only be through his experience of connecting to his woman. I find that journey of his extremely intriguing, breaking down the barriers, finally getting to the point of do or die, him making a stand and finding a new strength

a message 
[...] sacrifice in order to protect each other
[...] the point of Brutally Real or Nothing at All
push through and stand up for what they want after all this time [...] “No more. This is what I want, what I need and I want to live it now. Screw you and screw everything else.”

obsession
I have a new book coming out in November, “Wolfsgate” a romance drama set in 18th century England. I’ve had an obsession with the 18th century since I was a little girl watching Masterpiece Theatre with my parents every Sunday and I enjoyed reading the classics and historicals from a young age. The notion of an arranged marriage used to fascinate me to no end. What happens if the husband and wife actually, truly, fall in love and how does that happen? I’m currently writing the second book of the One-Eyed Jacks series and planning on releasing it this winter.

About the author: 
Cat Porter was born and raised in New York City, but also spent a few years in Europe and Texas along the way. As an introverted, only child, she had very big, but very secret dreams for herself. She graduated from Vassar College, was a struggling actress, an art gallery girl, special events planner, freelance writer and had all sorts of other crazy jobs all hours of the day and night to help make her dreams come true. She has two children’s books traditionally published under her maiden name. She now lives in Athens, Greece with her husband and three children, and freaks out regularly and still daydreams way too much. She is addicted to the History Channel, her iPad, her husband’s homemade red wine, really dark chocolate, and her Nespresso coffee machine. Writing keeps her somewhat sane, extremely happy, and a productive member of society.


Author's Giveaway
Handmade antiqued silver plate necklace (photo above) and print copies of Lock & Key

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