VBT Away by Meg Benjamin

Away

by Meg Benjamin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Paranormal romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Grim Morrigan, Guardian of the Ward and part-time private detective, polices the Folk, the clans of
fairies who live in the foothills outside Denver. But his main job is concealing their true nature from the
mortals around them.

Enter mortal Annie Duran, who hires him to look for her brother Richard, missing and presumed dead
for ten years. Annie has seen Richard in the parking lot of the nightclub where she works. Now she
wants answers, and Grim’s supposed to find them.

The quest for Richard ensnares both Grim and Annie in a sinister conspiracy involving kidnapped
women and outlaw magic. But they also discover their own overwhelming attraction to each other.

When Annie herself disappears, Grim’s need for answers becomes even more urgent. With the help of
a dissolute prince and a motley crew of unlikely fairies, Grim confronts a rebellion among the Folk.

And it may take more than just magic and luck to save both Annie and Grim this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Two:

Across from them, Bertie pulled his coat tighter.

Another Barbegazi turned toward Gowan, his voice low. “The curse begins in cold. Your hands and feet
are never warm again. Then it travels to arms and legs, like frost across a frozen lake.”

His mouth a rigid line, Gowan flexed his fingers.

“When it reaches your stomach, it’s like you ate a dinner of sleet,” another Barbegazi threw in. “No
matter how much coffee or tea or even mulled wine you drink, your guts stay frozen.”

Grim resisted the urge to zip his coat. The Barbegazi spell was spilling over onto him, too, but he didn’t
want any distractions right now.

Something old and dark had entered the room. Not a trick this time. Mountain magic, from before the
time the Barbegazi had moved below the timberline. Ancient power slid through the space like
hoarfrost. Grim fought down his own shivering.  

The Seelie’s ears were rimmed with ice. Spots of white and yellow marked the beginning of frostbite
on Gowan’s cheeks. His hands were reddening around the joints. “Stop it,” he rasped.

“It’s a curse, Gowan. It doesn’t stop unless they rescind it.” Grim had to stiffen his jaw to keep his teeth
from chattering. “And this is only a taste of what it’s like. A brief demonstration, more or less. Give them
to me and the curse won’t be imposed. Drag them off to the punishment suite, and you and your men
had better lay in a supply of electric blankets.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of contemporary romance. Her newest series, the Folk, is a
paranormal trilogy set in Colorado. Meg’s Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her
Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (both are available from Entangled
Publishing). Along with contemporary romance, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family
trilogy from Berkley InterMix. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a
Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the
Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado
Romance Writers. Meg’s Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com. You can follow her on Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin/), and Twitter
(http://twitter.com/megbenj1). Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.

Interview with Meg Benjamin:
1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?

I really loved doing the opening chapter, although I rewrote it many, many times. I was trying to create the world of the Folk, the groups of fairies living in the foothill suburbs of Denver, and present it through two opposite points of view: my heroine and my hero. My heroine is mortal and she really doesn’t understand what she’s seeing at the club where she’s a barmaid. Some things seem a little weird to her, but she convinces herself she’s not really seeing anything unusual. My hero, on the other hand, is a Guardian of the Ward, a Folk cop in other words, and he’s seeing what’s really going on at the club. Yet it doesn’t seem weird to him because it’s his normal. It was a hard chapter to write because I had to introduce a lot of unfamiliar terminology without explanation (since my hero would see no need to clarify things to himself) and hope that readers would put up with me until the later chapters where I could explain things. But at the same time it was lots of fun to simply dive into the Folk world head first and work out the details later.

2. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I’d love to spend some time with Prince Bertie, one of those characters who start out minor and end by becoming major (he’s the hero of Book 3, Found). I’d love to have a long conversation with Bertie over a bottle of excellent wine (he’d know what to choose, of course) since he’s the character with the most knowledge about the Folk. Plus given his background as the son of Queen Alcina, he’d be up on all the nuances of palace intrigue and gossip. I’d choose one of the restaurants/bars that I used as background for the novel, maybe one of the ones along Clear Creek in Golden, so that we could have a pleasant afternoon dishing about fairies in the Rockies.

3. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

My favorite romance novel is Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels, and I’d love to have written something that well crafted. Another one along the same lines is Sarah Smith’s The Knowledge of Water. I truly admire writers who use an elegant style. I very much wish I could do what they’re doing!

4. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

Since I’m dealing with supernatural characters for the most part, they’re largely from my imagination. But I don’t think any character is ever wholly made up. Bits of other people’s behavior work their way into your descriptions and you may find yourself seeing a character played by a particular actor. I think of Prince Bertie using an English accent for some of his speeches, for example, so I found myself picturing Tom Hiddleston or Benedict Cumberbatch doing the role. But Bertie isn’t either of those actors really. They just provided me with some details.

5. What made you want to become a writer?

Probably my love of reading. Books have always played a big role in my life—reading is my favorite way to spend my spare time. It was a natural transition to want to make books, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

Meg Benjamin will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter
during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway