Author Interview - Anna Zabo

Welcome to my stop on the Absolutely Erotic Blog Hop! This May, we showcase erotica and erotic romance authors from the Absolute Write forums. Interviews are posted each day, and when it’s all said and done, some lucky commenter will win a huge prize!  Click here for the entire blog schedule, details about the contents of the prize, and how to win an armload of ebooks, a $25 Amazon gift card, and more. Today, I’m hosting Anna Zabo . We first met on the Absolute Write forums, and she’s the lovely lady who introduced me to the #SFFSAT blog chain. We’ve commented on each other’s blogs and chatted on Twitter (@amergina), so hopefully she feels quite at home.

Incidentally, this is my first time interviewing anyone, so please pardon the excitement.

Hi Anna, can you tell me a little about your latest release?

Hi Tara, thanks for having me! My latest release is Slow Waltz, a Spring Fling short story from Loose Id. It’s an m/m erotic paranormal romance and continues the story of Rhys and Silas from Close Quarter. However, Slow Waltz is stand-alone, so it can be read without having read the other book.

It’s about Rhys coming to terms with the relationship he’s suddenly found himself in. And about dancing and learning to trust your partner.

Let’s chat about the two male protagonists in Slow Waltz and Close Quarter. I’m most interested in their physical attributes—they look quite fetching in the cover art.

I adore the cover art! *sigh* It’s actually very close to how I picture them. Rhys is jus about spot on, from his reddish hair to his very green eyes and that smirk. He’s about 5’11” and pretty well-built. He’s a sculptor who specializes in larger works in metal, stone, and wood, so he’s used to hauling around some pretty heavy objects (often mechanically assisted, but still).

Silas is a bit taller than Rhys at 6’, has dark, near black hair that likes to settle into waves if it gets too long. He was born in what is now central Italy, so think Mediterranean sun-kissed skin and classic features, with amber eyes. That’s what a human would see, for the most part. As fae, he’s pretty much stunningly beautiful to every human near to the point of enthrallment, if he’s not glamoured. Rhys isn’t affected by that, though.

Now that you’ve got my heart all a flutter, tell me about their paranormal abilities. What cool powers do Rhys and Silas have?

Silas is a forest and field fae, so he can manipulate plant life to some extent. Make it grow a bit faster, cure any disease or damage. But he also can take that energy into himself and use it to become faster and stronger. To heal himself or other fae and humans. Lack of access to plant energy won’t kill him, but being wounded away from energy to heal himself can.

You know, like on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. 

All fae have the ability to glamor themselves and others around them. So they can pass for human and often hide what they’re really doing, even in a large crowd.

Rhys is one quarter fae, which is extraordinarily rare. Legend has it that quarters are vast batteries of energy that a fae of the same element can harness, but the quarter fae has no inherent talent to use the energy at all. Let’s just say that legends aren’t always correct. Even fae legends.

If they were both at a bar, what kind of drink would they prefer? (Not that I’ll try to bump into them or anything)

Silas likes hard things. *cough* Like single-malt Scotch. Rhys is more of a beer kind of guy. But he’s learning to enjoy hard things too.

*Laughs* I hope he learns quickly. By the way, those are two really cool names. Are Rhys and Silas namesakes of someone you know?

Nope! Silas got his name because I was hunting down Roman names and came across Silvanus, which seemed perfect for a forest fae. Silas is a variant of that.

Rhys is a name I’ve always loved, and that seemed to roll of the tongue well with Silas.

Sometimes, the names just happen...Rhys is one of those characters whose name just was there.

Of all the ballroom dances they could learn, why the waltz?

I wanted something elegant. But also something fairly easy to learn! The actual steps to the waltz aren’t hard.

Why did you set Rhys and Silas’ stories on a cruise ship?

I had a dream about a fae vampire hunter on a cruise ship. It was much more action-oriented and kind of steampunky, but the idea stuck with me. And it seemed like a nice problem for a forest fae to be stuck in the middle of an ocean...quite literarily out of his element!

Were you inspired by any cruise line in particular?

I spent a lot of time on the webpage of the Queen Mary 2, just to get the feel of a larger, luxury cruise ship. While I was writing Close Quarter, I took a Mediterranean cruise with HollandAmerica, on a much smaller ship (the Prinsendam) and that helped inform a lot of the things about cruising in general.

Lucky you. So where exactly on this cruise ship did they first do the naughty things?

Silas gives Rhys a rather spectacular hand job in a hallway...

*Fans self* And I’m sure it gets much hotter elsewhere. Since we’re trying to keep this PG--If you could only meet one of them in real life, who would it be?

Rhys. He’s more down to earth and human. I adore Silas, but he’s a little otherworldly at times. Rhys is someone I could sit down with, drink beer, eat popcorn, and watch an awful movie.

What’s the most romantic scene these two share?

Probably the one in Slow Waltz where they dance with each other in public.

Now you’ve got me all dreamy eyed. *Pleading Look* Do you have more adventures planned for Rhys and Silas?

Yes. There’s at least one book set in New York, once they arrive, since there are some loose ends that need to be wrapped up there. That may take more than one book, though.

There will also be a book featuring Vasil, the waiter who ends up seeing far too many things otherworldly in Close Quarter.

What writing project(s) are taking up all your time these days?

I’m working on the Vasil book and also an m/m contemporary novella about a guy who has a fantastic on-night-stand while on vacation, only to come home and find that his ‘stand is the new CEO.  Ooops.

Are you active on social media? Where can fans hunt you down?

I am! I’m on twitter here: http://twitter.com/amergina And I blog here: http://www.annazabo.com And I’m on FaceBook here: http://www.facebook.com/AnnaZabo

Where can readers buy Slow Waltz?

Slow Waltz is $0.99 from Loose Id.

Thank you for visiting this stop on the Absolutely Erotic Blog Hop! Please be sure to visit Anna Zabo’s blog tomorrow to read an interview with Scarlet Day, and comment for more chances to win the grand prize!

Slow Waltz

New lovers Rhys Matherton and Silas Quint finally have a chance to breath easy and enjoy a well-earned respite on board a transatlantic cruise to New York City. But the lack of danger gives Rhys too much time to think about the enormity of falling in love with a man who isn’t human. He’s not sure love at first sight can last, especially when your lover is fae. Sure, the sex is fantastic, but that’s not enough to hang the rest of your potentially immortal life upon.

To distract himself, Rhys suggests he and Silas take a set of lessons to learn to waltz. The plan backfires when they are paired with two older women—one of whom reminds Rhys of his recently deceased mother. Instead of being able to ignore thinking about his future with Silas, he’s actively questioned about his lover. And it seems the whole boat knows who he’s sleeping with.

As Rhys learns the steps of the waltz, he has to decide if he’ll continue to dance around what he feels for Silas or if he’ll finally learn to trust in his partner’s love for him.

About the Author

Anna Zabo writes erotic paranormal romance and fantasy. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which isn’t nearly as boring as most people think. A lover of all things fae, and wonderful, she looks for the magical in the cracks of her city.