Blood,Smoke and Mirrors Book Tour Interview and Giveaway with Robyn Bachar

Please give a warm welcome to Robyn Bachar!

BLH: When did you begin writing?

I started my first novel in 8th grade, and I still have the manuscript in a folder in my closet. It’s
pretty terrible, but one of my teachers read it and she was very encouraging. It gave me the
confidence to keep writing, and to keep learning. I’m still learning. I love being a member of
Romance Writers of America, because I’m addicted to writing workshops.

BLH: Who is your mentor? Who do you look up to?

I owe a lot to my local RWA chapter. They’re a great group and very supportive, and I consider
them my writing family. I’ve learned a lot from all of them.

BLH: What is your reading pleasure?

I primarily read paranormal romance, but I’ll read any genre of romance if the story catches my
interest. I’m also a fan of epic fantasy and urban fantasy, with the occasional space opera.

BLH: If you have any favorite authors, who are they and why?

I want to be Nora Roberts when I grow up, or at least write as well as her. She is my favorite
author. I am addicted to her books, and she’s one of the few authors who can make me cry and
laugh out loud.

BLH: What part of the writing process do you love? What part do you hate?

I love writing the first draft. It’s fun to charge ahead without worry, because I know I can fix
everything later in editing. I hate writing the synopsis. It’s painful for me to try to summarize my
story. Blurb writing is similarly traumatic. As much as I love talking about Blood, Smoke and
Mirrors, I still freeze up when people ask me what it’s about.

BLH: If you could write outside your genre what would that be?

I don’t worry about staying in one genre, though everything I write is some kind of romance.
I enjoy telling love stories. Whether that story has witches in Chicago or vampires in Victorian
England doesn’t matter to me, as long as good wins over evil and the hero and heroine live
happily ever after.

BLH: How did you come up with your premise for your books?

I combined the things I love best: Chicago and the paranormal. I didn’t have much of a plot at
first, because Blood, Smoke and Mirrors started out as my first National Novel Writing Month
project. It evolved over time.

BLH: What type of scene is easiest to write? Hardest?

Fight scenes and love scenes are the most difficult for me to write, for similar reasons. They’re
both about choreography. Any scene with one of my villains in it is easy to write. I love my
villains.

BLH: If you could write with anyone who would that be and why?

One day I hope to collaborate with my best friend on a novel, because she’s fabulous and I love
her. We started working on a fantasy novel together, but we haven’t been able to devote much
time to it.

BLH: What would you like to say to your readers?

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has bought the book. I’ve had some great feedback
tweets and emails, and they always make me smile. I’m working on more books in the series (slowly,

because I have a full-time day job), and I hope they’ll keep reading in the future.

Robyn Bachar

Thank you so much Robyn for stopping by!


Every bad witch has a story...
http://robynbachar.com
Blood, Smoke and Mirrors,
Available now from Samhain Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Robyn's Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Blurb:
Even a bad witch deserves a second chance.

Wrongly accused of using her magic to harm, the closest Catherine Baker comes to helping
others is serving their coffee. Life as an outcast is nothing new, thanks to her father’s reputation,
but the injustice stings. Especially since the man she loved turned her in.

Now the man has the gall to show up and suggest she become the next Titania? She’d rather
wipe that charming grin off his face with a pot of hot java to the groin.

Alexander Duquesne has never faltered in his duties as a guardian—until now. The lingering
guilt over Cat’s exile and the recent death of his best friend have shaken his dedication. With the
murder of the old Titania, the faerie realm teeters on the brink of chaos. His new orders: keep Cat
alive at all costs.

Hunted by a powerful stranger intent on drawing her into an evil web, Cat reluctantly accepts
Lex’s protection and the resurrected desire that comes along with it. Lex faces the fight of his life
to keep her safe…and win her back. If they both survive.

Warning: This book contains one tough and snarky witch, one gorgeous guardian, explicit
blood drinking, magician sex, gratuitous violence against vampires and troublemaking
Shakespearean faeries.


Excerpt:
For the entertainment portion of our evening Lex bravely—or perhaps foolishly—decided
to teach the faeries how to play Texas hold ’em poker. The only cards I own are Tarot cards,
but he’d brought a deck of playing cards with him in his gym bag, and we used pretzels and
chocolates as poker chips. The man displayed the patience of a saint as he tutored my cousins
in the basics of the game—I’d learned it when we’d dated, though we’d bet clothing instead of
snacks.

Tybalt was enthralled, but Portia was slow to warm to the idea until she figured out how to
cheat by magically marking the cards. Poker ended soon after that, and we turned to the Game
Show Network for entertainment. Few things are quite as entertaining as watching millennia-old
frost faeries shout “No deal, Howie!” at your television screen.

It was a welcome break, and I could almost imagine this was a normal night of fun with my
cousins. The addition of Lex didn’t hurt, but it added to the strangeness. He was acting like the
Lex I remembered—funny, caring, charming. I wanted to stay angry with him, but having him
stand steadfast by my side today made that difficult. He was there when I needed him, which felt
weird after what had occurred between us in the past.

A little after midnight I kicked the faeries out and sent them home so Lex and I could get
a good night’s sleep before our big day tomorrow. Not that I predicted being able to sleep with
the cold dread that’d settled into my stomach, but I was willing to give it a try. I gathered up
the empty drinking glasses and the bag of chips we’d devoured, and brought them into the
kitchen. When I returned to the living room for the second round of mess, I found the lights had
been switched off. Barely visible, Lex stood at the window, staring into the night as he held the
curtains aside.

“You need to see this.”

“What is it?”

“Might want to put your shields up in case they try to take a shot at you,” he advised as I
crossed the room. With a deep breath I put my shields in place, feeling the energy snap around
me and then continue its new odd habit of stretching to include Lex.

“How are you doing that?” I looked up at him, confused.

“Doin’ what?”

“You keep getting through my shields.”

“Huh. Probably ’cause your subconscious knows I’m not going to harm you, so there’s no
need to keep me out. Those vamps outside, on the other hand, they’re probably not here to play
cards.” Lex pointed into the darkness, and I looked out the window.

“I don’t see anything.” Squinting, I pushed my glasses up on my nose and strained to see
what he indicated. My eyes slowly adjusted to the rainy night. The streetlights had been doused,

and this time it wasn’t my fault.

“There.” Stepping close to me, he gestured again. “Two in gangways across the street,
one behind that oak tree.” Following Lex’s lead, I managed to spot three figures hiding in the
shadows, and they were definitely not my neighbors.

“What are they doing?” I asked, my voice dropping to a tense whisper.

“Waitin’. They can’t get in, so they’re waitin’ for us to come out. Sooner or later they’ll get
impatient and figure out a way to force their way in. In fact, I’m surprised they haven’t tried to
set your building on fire and smoke us out.”

“They can’t, I have a ward against that too. Fire here can’t grow any bigger than a stove
burner.”

“Damn, you are good. Still, with those vultures outside it’s not safe here anymore, Cat.
You’ll have to stay somewhere else from now on.” With his point made, he let the curtains fall
back into place, plunging the room into darkness, with only the light from the kitchen to see by.

“You’re right,” I reluctantly agreed.

“You could come stay with me.”

“With you?” Surprised by the suggestion, I turned to look up at him. We were standing so
close I could feel the heat of his body and the light brush of his breath against my face. Nervous,
I took a deep breath and unintentionally inhaled the familiar, unique scent of him. My heartbeat
drowned out the steady patter of rain against the windows. With an amazing display of willpower
I resisted the urge to bolt, knowing I’d only trip over something (like the cats that were still
standing guard over Lex) and break my neck. Instead I took a slow step backward. “Why, you
think it’d be easier to babysit me on your own turf?”

“I’m not babysitting you. Really, I’m protecting them from you,” he teased. Grinning, he
reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair that’d escaped from my braid back into place behind
my ear.

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” I joked, a blush heating my face.

“I try. But seriously, Cat, I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Lex looked down at me,
seeming sincere, and I shook my head at him.

“Don’t, Lex. You’re only here on orders. You’ll be gone and on to the next as soon as this
assignment is over.”

“What if I don’t want that?”

“What if I do? I’m all for the life-saving thing, but I don’t want you in my life again.”

“Are you sure of that?”

Scowling, I took a steadying breath and prepared to launch into an explanation of the myriad

reasons why I wasn’t about to go through another round of heartbreak with him, but before I
could speak he leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips.

A warm tingling suffused my body as soon as our lips met, the sort of electric reaction I
usually associate with casting magic, but much, much better. He was hesitant at first, probably
afraid I’d slap him or zot him with a spell, but when I didn’t object he slowly began to deepen
the kiss. My knees went weak as my good sense vanished, and I slipped my arms around him to
steady myself. Lex held me close as he continued to kiss me, and I leaned into him. I’d forgotten
how well we fit together. He sighed, as though my lips were delicious and he savored them.

“This is a bad idea,” I murmured.

“No, this is a good idea.” Lex nudged me back toward the couch, and I sat down in a less-
than-graceful flop. Next he joined me and drew me into his arms.

“Oh yeah? How?” My hormones were obviously happy to see him, but I still had a little bit
of brainpower left, enough to be skeptical of the situation.

“Because letting you go was a bad idea. I don’t want to make that mistake again.” His voice
was low and strained, and I wished it wasn’t so dark so I could see his expression. I sighed, a
mix of old pain and new uncertainty, but he kissed me again and I stopped arguing.

I relaxed into the embrace, returning the kiss passionately. I felt better instantly—safe,
warm, desired. Lex stroked my braided hair and let his hand rest at the small of my back. I ran
my own hands up and down his back, debating whether or not it would be a good idea to tug his
shirt off, but then I felt him unhooking my bra. My pulse jumped, and my magic decided to take
that opportunity to wreak havoc on a pair of unsuspecting table lamps. With an electric sizzle
followed by two sharp pops the light bulbs flashed and exploded. Startled, we jumped apart, the
mood broken. We stared at each other, and I felt a guilty blush heat my face.

“Cat—” he started, and I held a hand up to stop him before he could say anything further.

“I don’t want to hear it. I’m going to get some new bulbs, and we’re going to pretend that
never happened.”

Giveaway:
Robyn is giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card to one person that leaves a comment on her book tour. Click HERE for Robyn's Tour Schedule, The more comments on the tour the more chances of winning. Please leave your email for a way for her to contact you.