Tag Archives: Wren Michaels

Guest Author Wren Michaels!

August 30, 2015 Marissa Campbell Leave a comment

All right party people in the house, this is getting real! There are only nine more sleeps till AVELYNN’s pub date! EEEEEEEEEeeeeeee! 😀

To celebrate, I’m going to showcase a guest author every day leading up to the 8th. These wonderful people will be at my Facebook launch party, giving away books and prizes; there’s even a $100 gift card up for grabs!

Please give an enthusiastic hello to my first guest: Wren Michaels

Here’s a peek at one of her books: VEXED

Vodou stole her life. A gay ghost stole her boots. And the man who stole her heart stole her memories. Kena plans to get it all back.

Ex-cop Kena’s life is filled with regret, beer, and Cheetos. That is, until her ghostly roomie sends her dumpster diving, leading her to a sexy stranger named Luc and a fate she’d rather not remember. As Kena’s memories resurface, so do her feelings for Luc, the man she’s secretly been in love with for the last thousand years. And he needs her for more than a stroll down memory lane.

Vodou spirits, known as Loa, have been trapped in human form, and are trying to make their way back to the spirit world. But Luc’s brother is possessed by a vengeance demon conjured at the hands of NOLA’s crime syndicate kingpin. Saving him means damning herself to a spirit prison in a loveless, arranged union with the very man she’s supposed to rescue. But not helping Luc’s brother sentences him to death, leaving New Orleans in the hands of black magick, and losing Luc forever.

Check out Wren’s Amazon Author Page for information about all her awesome books!

Can’t wait until September 8th! I hope to see you all there as we celebrate the release of AVELYNN!

In gratitude,

Marissa xo

Author Guests

It's Book Birthday with @authorwren and VEXED!

July 15, 2015 Marissa Campbell 2 Comments

Please welcome Wren Michaels and her sexy new book, VEXED, to the page! Take it away, Wren!

Thanks for sharing in the release of my first full-length novel! I hope you enjoy reading about Kena and Luc as much as I enjoyed writing them. There’s plenty of action, adventure, romance, and Vodou for everyone!

I did a little Q&A about the book:

Q) How did you dream up the dynamics of your characters? Originally the story was going to be completely different when I wrote the first 5000 words or so of the book. But after I came back from the 2014 Romantic Times convention in New Orleans, I was inspired to write something with a Vodou/NOLA flair. So the book took a twist and became so much more than I ever imagined. I wanted a strong heroine and an alpha male. But Luc ended up being more of an Alpha/Beta blend. He’s not really one or the other. He’s quite complex. Kena ended up being a witty heroine who took things into her own hands.

Q) Do you have any habits that get you in the writing frame of mind? Music is my biggest influence. I listened to mainly instrumental gaming soundtracks while writing. But one of my Critique Partners burned me a CD of music she thought would be perfect for this book, and it was filled with great songs by The Black Keys, Rolling Stones, Zepplin, Jack White and Muse. It ended up really making scenes come alive for me.

Q) How much real life do you put into or influences your books? In this book I tried to make the characters reflect their Vodou based deities. I did take some artistic liberties and spun a few things, but I did a lot of research to make sure a lot of the intricacies of their actual descriptions and quirks made it into the story.

Vodou stole her life. A gay ghost stole her boots. And the man who stole her heart stole her memories. Kena plans to get it all back.

After stripping out of the wet clothes, I wrapped the towel around myself and wandered out to his room. On the bed lay a white long-sleeve button-down shirt. With a hard swallow, I dropped the towel and picked up the shirt, pulling it to my face. I took a long, hard sniff. Laundry detergent. Of course. Did I think it would smell like him?

Like he’d give you a dirty shirt to wear, Kena.

Thankful he didn’t witness me in idiot-mode, I slid myself into the shirt and was caught mid-button when he knocked at the door.

“Are you decent?” He pushed the door open a crack.

“I’m clothed, if that’s what you mean. Decent is debatable at the moment.” Purposely leaving the top three buttons undone, I worked my way to the bottom button as he walked in.

He halted mid-stride and looked at me. His chest rose and fell in quick spurts, training his eyes over me from head to toe. Veins traversed the length of his arm as he clenched his fists at his sides. “I don’t wear underwear, so I apologize I have no bottoms. It’s all I had that was long enough to cover you.” His position relaxed as he leaned against the mahogany armoire.

“Anything’s better than cold, sopping-wet clothes.” I ran a finger through my hair, now slowly drying into loose stringy curls.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened tonight?” Folding his arms across his broad chest, bulging muscles stretched the navy-blue fabric barely covering his biceps.

I shook my head. “Not until I get some honesty from you, big guy.”

With a tilt of his head, he donned a sly grin. “You haven’t asked the right questions.”

“Is this a game for you? Do you enjoy messing with people’s lives? Do you get off on some fucked-up high being in total control?” My fingernails burrowed into the palm of my hand. Everything in me wanted to slap the shit out of him and then ride him like a cowboy.

He pushed off the dresser and walked over to me, lowering his head coming to a stop inches from my face. “You’re the one in control and yet you refuse to acknowledge it. You refuse to let your mind accept it. Stop playing and start being.”

“What do you want from me?” I yelled, a little louder than intended.

“I want you to be you. I want you to”—he stopped and dropped his gaze to my lips, and then slowly made his way back up to my eyes—“come back.”

“Kiss me.” The words rushed from my lips without another thought. My heart hammered so hard in my chest I thought it would shatter my rib cage.

His breathing quickened. A low growl rumbled in his throat. “Don’t do this to me, Kena.”

“Don’t do what? You’re the one doing things to me.” I slammed my hands against his chest and he sailed across the room, his back hitting the dresser behind him. “Shit! I’m sorry.” I reached out for him with a trembling hand.

Fuck, I’d done it again.

He shook his head and straightened himself up. In a blur of movement, he shot across the room and grabbed onto either side of my shirt, yanking me up to his face. “You want me to kiss you?”

“Yes,” I said in more of whooshing sound than a word.

He pressed his lips against my neck and his fingers curled into the fabric of the shirt, pulling me onto my tiptoes. “You don’t even know who I am.”

“I don’t care.” Words no longer made sense to me, only his touch spoke a language I could understand.

He laughed as he pushed me against the wall. Gripping the back of my head with the entire palm of his hand, he splayed the other across my cheek, his thumb resting against my jawline. Tilting my head back, he hovered his lips over mine. “You will.”

His lips crushed against my mouth.

With a sweep of his tongue, he devoured me into a kiss the likes of which I’ve never experienced before in my life. He punished my mouth with his tongue, sliding it over mine in a delicious dance of ecstasy and aggression. His hold on me was not that of violence, but of passion. The way his fingertips eased against my face, yet held me there as if he was scared to let go, revealed a vulnerability. He may be a man of few words who knew how to play the vague card, but his body and actions gave him away.

I arched into him, and he pinned me back against the wall with his hip. Clawing at his shirt, I ripped it out of his jeans and slid my fingers over his heated skin. A surge of energy rushed my fingertips as they glided along his body, electrifying me.

“Fuck, Kena,” he hissed, pulling back from the kiss.

In a movement so fast it blurred everything around me, he shot out the door, slamming it behind him. He left me gasping, clinging to the wall behind me just to remain standing. My legs wobbled like Jell-O as I stumbled to the bed and collapsed. He sucked all the air from my body and replaced it with an ache, a driving need for more of him.

What the hell was he?

Wren Michaels hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her away below the Mason-Dixon line, where she promptly lost all tolerance for snow and cold. They decided they’d make beautiful babies together and they got it right on the first try. Now Wren lives happily ever after in the real world and in the worlds of her making, where she creates book boyfriends for the masses to crave.

A Writer's Musings, Wellness

Wren Michaels and Her Sexy Stories!

March 13, 2015 Marissa Campbell Leave a comment

If you missed the cover reveal party for AVELYNN, don’t despair, I’m going to be posting all the wonderful author interviews here for your reading pleasure!

Sitting down with Wren Micheals …

I’d like to officially welcome to the party our next guest author, Wren Michaels!

Wren Michaels Thanks for having me, Marissa.

A.b. Funkhauser Tell us about the boyfriends…

Marissa Campbell Tell us a little about your steamy, sexy books!

Margaret Madigan Hi! *waves*

Wren Michaels They’re all scrumptious and waiting to take you on a trip to seductive town.

A.b. Funkhauser Are they shaped by muse(s)?

Marissa Campbell Here’s a little about Wren’s books:

UNBEARABLE: Rose Red will stop at nothing to protect her sister, Snow White, from suffering the same fate as their mother. She vows to kill Hestor, the evil dwarf sorcerer responsible for her death. But a twist of fate lands her on the bottom of a riverbed, and her life in the hands of a mysterious stranger.

Marcus is a beast of a man. He is a bear by day, man by night, thanks to a curse from the evil Hestor. When he rescues Rose from an icy grave, he unleashes the real animal. Falling for her is dangerous enough, as he must protect the secret of his curse. But she may just be the key to getting his kingdom back, as she breaks one spell and puts him under another.

Wren Michaels Let’s see, Unbearable has Marcus, my Irish Prince who’s cursed by an evil sorcerer to live as a bear by day and man by night. So he’s an alpha with some animalistic tendencies.

Marissa Campbell Or perhaps you might like this book by Wren Michaels…

UNIFORM FETISH ANTHOLOGY – Welcome Home, Jason

Four years ago Katy said goodbye to her brother Roger and his best friend, Jason, as they deployed for the Middle East. Two weeks ago they both came back. Only one of them was alive.

After Roger’s funeral, Katy turns to Jason for comfort. She’s been in love with him since she was eight years old, but knew he never saw her as anything other than Roger’s little sister. Overwhelmed with grief, she pleads with Jason to help her drown her pain, convincing him to sleep with her to help her escape for a while. But deep in her heart the real reason is because he came back alive, and her love for him reignites.

Jason fights his desires, as he has for fifteen years since he fell in love with his best friend’s sister. He pushed his own feelings aside out of respect for Roger. But when Katy’s grief is too much, he’ll do anything to help her ease the pain.

As they share in each other’s pain and grief, they also ignite a love both of them have forced back for years.

A.b. Funkhauser Who do you “see” when you think of Marcus?

Wren Michaels Welcome Home, Jason has of course Jason, my marine hero. Man in uniform, need I say more?

A.b. Funkhauser The uniform announces the man.

Monique Goodness…a man with bear-like qualities. Who wouldn’t want to read about that?

Dawna Yay!

Wren Michaels My muses are fueled by pics of Ian Somerhalder and coffee so anything is possible.

A.b. Funkhauser Wide open. I like that.

Marissa Campbell What drew you to Red Rose your heroine?

Wren Michaels I see a man who is used to being in control and now forced to live in hiding which is out of his control, so he’s fighting with himself on a daily basis. It makes him complex and in need of help and Rose is his sanctuary.

A.b. Funkhauser She saves him?

Wren Michaels Sorry for typos, I’m driving home from Austin so I won’t be fast at responses as I’m limited to my smart phone

A.b. Funkhauser Be safe.

Marissa Campbell I was just going to thank you for doing this from your phone! xo

Marissa Campbell I think she has a hunky driver.

A.b. Funkhauser In that case, practice SAFE. lol

A.b. Funkhauser And keep those hands on the wheel.

Wren Michaels Well I wanted to do a different fairytale, everyone does Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, so I wanted to find a little different story to take on. I also tend to write strong female characters. I don’t like damsels in distress, I like damsels that cause distress.

Marissa Campbell I love that! Damsels that cause distress!

Wren Michaels Hubby is driving so I can play. Lol

Wren Michaels Darn auto correct!

Monique I like to read books that feature empowering women. We should all cause distress. I imagine your novels are How to Books.

A.b. Funkhauser Distressing ladies really got going in the 80s with Dynasty and Dallas. Alexis Carrington Colby was my hero. We need women to look up to.

Alison Sounds juicy. A new spin on a classic. Very cool.

Wren Michaels I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan. He’s known for kickass heroines. So I tend to channel him when I write.

A.b. Funkhauser That’s a great muse to have!

Nicki U have got my interest.

Margaret Madigan Whedon’s man enough not to be threatened by women. I like that.

Wren Michaels I have several stories where my damsels do the saving. It’s all about turning the tables.

Monique I, too, am a Joss Whedon fan (currently watching Season 6 of Buffy for the umpteenth time).

A.b. Funkhauser You are levelling the playing field. I could see the male characters reacting badly to this. How does the Bear first react to her overtures?

Wren Michaels Yes, Whedon is very pro woman. Look at Zoe from Firefly, Kaylee is a mechanic, Buffy kicked much ass. Need I say more?

A.b. Funkhauser And with Buffy, he hooked me into something that I thought I wouldn’t watch. You might have me reading bed time stories again Wren Michaels. Thank you.

Wren Michaels Marcus is shocked, but her fire, love for her family and provocative side entice him rather than threaten him.

A.b. Funkhauser Are your men emotional?

Monique I am definitely going book shopping this week.

Wren Michaels Jason, my marine is. He’s just lost his best friend at war, and he comes home to the love of his life. In a unique spin, my heroine, Katy makes the move on him and ends up releasing a bottle of emotions he has.

Marissa Campbell Red is strong and provocative! What drew you to writing romance and erotica?

Wren Michaels Katy ends up celebrating Jason being alive since she just buried her brother.

Heather I love fairy-tale-inspired fiction. You had me at Irish Prince…

Margaret Madigan I love fairy tale inspired stories, too, especially if they’re written with unexpected twists and turns.

Wren Michaels That is a funny story, Marissa. I was bit down in the dumps about my writing career. A friend of mine told me about the anthology and convinced me to do the short story for it. And Evernight accepted it. So as a result my pen name Wren Michaels was born.

A.b. Funkhauser Pen names are freeing?

Wren Michaels After that the same friend, Evie Knight, who is a magnificent author, dared me to try writing a fairytale for Evernight’s Naughty Fairytale line and Rose and Marcus were born.

Wren Michaels Lol well if self-induced schizophrenia is freeing, then yes. Sometimes it is a little chaotic being two people, but I’m certainly having fun with these stories. So there could be more.

A.b. Funkhauser Lol. Out of chaos comes order and ART.

Marissa Campbell There is a strong romantic element running through your stories! So if your sweetheart wanted to sweep you off your feet, what would he have to do?

Wren Michaels Well my hubby convinced me to move from Wisconsin to Texas with a kiss. So um either I’m easy or he’s a spectacular kisser.

Margaret Madigan Or both.

Margaret Madigan *snort*

Dawna Awe!!!

A.b. Funkhauser Hee hee. I can relate. I almost followed my husband to Thunder Bay–it’s as brutal as it sounds! Ah, pheromones.

Alison Lucky you.

Wren Michaels I think at heart every woman just wants a man/woman to make them feel special. Love is the most powerful thing on earth. It is the cause of war, celebration, and life itself.

Monique There’s a story there, Wren.

Wren Michaels All of my heroes are based in part on my hubby.

Dawna That’s true, Wren.

Marissa Campbell What about your heroines … is there some of you in there? What do you admire in them?

Wren Michaels I think I make them all the things I wish I could be. They’re the parts I’m too shy to do in real life.

A.b. Funkhauser Writing them makes them your life. You’re living it. Bravo!

Marissa Campbell Thank you so much for being here, Wren Michaels! xoxo

A.b. Funkhauser Thanks Wren Michaels for sharing.

Margaret Madigan Safe travels home!

Monique Thank you for a titillating hour, Wren.

Wren Michaels Thanks for playing with me today and helping support your favorite authors make their dreams come true. Without you readers, our stories would just live in our heads, and we’d go around talking to ourselves all day. Lol

Monique I’m driving on the lawn from now on.

Wren Michaels Oh and the sequel to Unbearable comes out the end of the month, entitled BAD APPLE. Keep track on my Twitter or FB page for details.

Marissa Campbell Here’s a sneak peak at the cover reveal for BAD APPLE!

Marissa Campbell Last minute to comment before I make the draw for Wren’s books! She’s giving away a copy each of Unbearable and the Uniform Fetish Anthology!

Marissa Campbell Up first is Unbearable! Drum roll ….

Marissa Campbell Nicki you are the proud winner of Unbearable!

Wren Michaels Kermit Flail!

Marissa Campbell A.b. Funkhauser you just won a copy of Wren’s Uniform Fetish Anthology!

A.b. Funkhauser Hee Hee. I likey!

Marissa Campbell If you want more Wren! Check her out here:

https://twitter.com/AuthorWren

https://www.tsu.co/Wren_Michaels

https://wrenmichaels.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authorwrenmichaelsW