Draven St. James

An Interview With Draven St. James

 



 

 



     Today I get to do something I'm very excited about. My first author interview. And it's my good friend, Draven St. James. She is the author of the "Firehouse Six" series, the "Pack of Light" series, and"Covert Delivery" which is her latest release. Later in the post we will be sharing information on her upcoming book, "Fused By Fire".  This will be the third book in the "Firehouse Six" series. So please bear with me as this is something I've never done before. I hope you enjoy it!
 

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a born and raised Oregonian. I’ve traveled extensively in search of mischief and mayhem to fill my books.  My ventures have been quite successful in inspiring a wealth of stories both sexy and humorous.  It gives me a great excuse to do some crazy stuff in the name of research. Of course at the end of the day, coffee within reach, laptop at the ready is where I find my peace.

2. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I'm tattooed. Not many, and they are easily covered when necessary. All of them have a strong connection to important moments in my life.

3.You write about attractive and interesting male characters. What do you think makes someone attractive and interesting?

I think intelligence and humor are very attractive personality traits when it comes to a man. Physically, I'm all about the smile and the eyes. Those are the first thing I notice about a man. A genuine smile and really sexy, bedroom eyes drives a man's attractive level up more than a couple of notches.

4. What is on your playlist?

I don't really have a playlist in the traditional sense. I listen to pandora and have a lot of various stations. Based on the scene that I'm working on I like to match it to my music. If it is an intense emotional scene than I'll have some angst filled tunes.  If it is action packed than some good dance music drives the moment forward.

5. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Caramel apples.  Was that random enough?

6. What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it?

The last book I read was Rabbit Wars by Whitley Gray. It is a part of a Eostre's Baskets collection by Loose Id. I enjoyed it a great deal and would recommend it to other readers.

7.What is you writing process?

Generally, I bounce an idea around in my head and then fine tune the basics with my sounding board. At that point I write a synopsis and go from there. For the most part I do stick to the parameters of the synopsis, but there are always little tweaks to be made as the story develops.

8. Do you use real people for inspiration when creating your characters?

I don't ever create a whole character off of one person, but personality traits do slip in. As a writer, I'm a bit of a people watcher and that leads me to mold characters using multiple sources to develop an individual who is unique and intriguing.

9. How do you handle criticism?

Everyone has their own view on how they want a book to end up. I think any writer will run into someone who doesn't enjoy their writing. Even authors who sell millions of copies have reviewers who dislike their work. It just comes with the territory. I try to look at criticism from a logical standpoint. Is the person just being snarky or are their comments valid points that can be applied to better later books? Either way, it does still sting when a negative review comes my way. I think that is only natural.

10. What's next for you?

I'm actually working on the fourth book in the Firehouse Six series. That will be Taber's story. I'm also in the middle of the second book in the Pack of Light series. I'll be telling Liam and Sean's story. Granted, I have even more stories in various states, but I'll stick with those for now because they are the ones closest to be polished and ready to go.

 

     Thank you so much Draven for taking the time to answer my questions! I really appreciate it! Gotta love  the caramel apples!! They are awesome!

 

     I mentioned earlier that we would be sharing details of Draven's upcoming book, "Fused By Fire", which will be the third book in her "Firehouse Six" series. But first I wanted to share the gorgeous covers of the first two books in the series. 

 



Grey's Hidden Fire

 

 Grey's entire life is wrapped around his job as a firefighter. It's all he has ever wanted. That is until his new coworker Mica Cruz saunters through the door with his smoldering dark looks and dimpled grin. Suddenly Grey finds himself wanting to get to know what Mica looks like out of his gear and between the sheets.

Mica has one rule: he keeps his work life and his personal life separate. It's easy enough to follow until he meets Grey and finds his rule can't stand up to the fire that Grey ignites. There's one big thing standing in the way of all of his lust-filled musings. Grey is straight.

In a profession where being gay is often kept quiet Grey must come to terms with his growing attraction to Mica. How much is he willing to sacrifice, and can they come together before someone's hatred threatens to destroy them both?
    

 
Fire And Mistletoe


When Greyson Hayes envisions the perfect first Christmas with Mica Cruz he sees twisted sheets, a bottle of wine and a roaring fire. What he doesn't see is a holiday spent with the uproarious Cruz family. Grey hasn't taken part in a family Christmas since the death of his parents. Despite his misgivings, he can't seem to form the word no when it comes to Mica.

Mica knows that Grey's not a grinch. Hell, the man shares so much Christmas cheer during the holidays that he leaves no time to experience any for himself. Not this year. Mica plans to make a few changes, starting with a few wicked and whimsical gifts. He enlists the help of his co-workers at Firehouse Six. They band together and strive to provide Grey with the same joy he gives to everyone else--with five a.m. tree hunts, strategically placed mistletoe and Mica playing Santa's not-so-little helper.

But while Mica is busy being nice, Grey has plenty of time to be naughty…

     And now I'm so happy to share with you book 3 in the "Firehouse Six" series, "Fused By Fire".



 

Fused By Fire

by

Draven St. James

Release Date: May 20th

Blurb

Michael prides himself on being the man that everyone can depend on until one of his firefighters is severely wounded on the job. Will he be allowed to process the situation alone? Not when a loud and persistent Simon Winters shows up on his doorstep. The man hasn't met a boundary he didn't skip across.

Simon has had the biggest crush on Lieutenant Firefighter, Michael Donovan since the first day he saw him. Which just happened to be at an interview for a job to work as a firefighter. Before his desire to lick the gruff older man from head to toe affects his work, Simon transfers over to being a paramedic. Just when he's begun to build a life that doesn't include hot shower fantasies of Michael, the object of his angst is thrust into his path.

All too quickly, Simon begins to barrel through Michael's defenses and dig up the desires Michael has fought so hard to hide. As passions flare out of control, tragedies collide from every side. Michael's struggle to keep Simon at a distance starts to crumble beneath the weight of the secrets that Simon is hiding. Will Michael be able to protect Simon when he needs it the most or will he lose Simon forever?

 

Excerpt

The muffled thud of shoes came from the front deck. He wasn’t expecting a delivery, so that left one of his many unwanted visitors. A knock followed shortly after. He glared at the door and picked up the book again.

Another knock, this one much harder.

"Michael, I know you’re in there." Simon’s words filtered into the house.

Michael stood and stared at the door. What the hell was Simon doing here? Out of everyone, he hadn’t expected him.

"Come on. Don’t think I won’t make a scene." Simon’s voice got progressively louder.

Michael’s heart thumped.

"I did warn you," Simon said in a singsong fashion.

What? Michael took a step closer to the door.

"I can’t believe you’re doing this to us," Simon yelled for the whole damn neighborhood to hear. "After all I sacrificed for you, you just use me and throw me aside!"

Michael’s mouth dropped open. Oh, the Newmans were going to have joint heart attacks, and Mr. Benson was going to record this for YouTube.

"I gave you my virginity," Simon screeched. "And you—"

Michael threw open the door and jerked Simon inside the house.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Michael snarled as he slammed the door.

"I’m thinking I not only got you to open the door but got inside your house." Simon’s dark green eyes sparkled. "But seeing how things look"—his nose wrinkled—"that might not be a good thing. It looks like Animal House exploded in here."

Michael glanced around the room and grimaced before settling his attention on Simon. Did the man have to look so sexy?

He mentally smacked himself upside the head. This was Simon, not a potential conquest.

Simon had also seen him at his most vulnerable. He’d cried on the guy.

"Are you single-handedly supporting the pizza industry?" Simon asked as he ventured around, peeking in the boxes and cringing. "Nothing is going to climb out, right?"

"Ha, ha, ha." Michael’s face heated in embarrassment. Just another part of himself he’d prefer Simon not see

     My thanks again to author, Draven St. James, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to let us get to know you and your amazing books!! If you would like to know more about Draven, she can be found at the following links.
--
Draven St. James
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draven.stjames
Blog: http://dravenstjames.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DravenStJames
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/dravenstjames/
Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/author/show/7155623.Draven_St_James
Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/draven-st-james.html



     Well that wasn't so bad. :) I really hope to continue these interviews. I love getting to know more about all the amazing authors out there. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! **HUGS**

Friends!

Friends

     I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for coming and checking out my new blog. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me. Thank you!!!!

     As you may have noticed, there have been a few changes made to the appearance of this blog. I want to thank my dear friend Timmy for this. He's an incredible artist with a great eye for design. He's the reason my blog now looks as amazing as it does. You may also recall that he is the one who came up with the name for this blog. I owe him so much for his help!! Thank you Timmy for everything you've done!!!  

     I'm looking forward to getting everything up and flying. There's been a fair bit of planning and tossing of ideas about what will be happening on here. I hope you will come and check it out. Thanks again!!



Welcome!

Welcome to Jase's Athenaeum!!

     Hi everyone! Welcome to my new blog. Well, actually it's my first. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing. I've never considered doing anything like this before. You're probably wondering why I decided to do this then? The answer is why not. I know it's not a great answer, but it is true. One of my great loves happens to be books. And this would be a fantastic way to get out there and talk about it. To talk about the books I've read and plan to read. But I want this to be about more than just sharing my love of books. I want to be able to learn about them. About the authors who have created them. And to share a bit of what I have written as well. (Hopefully not frightening people at the same time.)

     So you're thinking, "Oh great! Just what we need. Another book blog." That's not exactly true. I want this to be more than just a book blog. As the name suggests, I want this to be a place for learning. And that includes other interests of mine. My love of music among them. I see this as being a place for people to get together and talk. To learn from each other. So this means that while my primary focus will be on books, there will be other topics occasionally brought up. 

   This brings me to the name. Athenaeum. 

It's origin is: Latin Athenaeum, a school in ancient Rome for the study of arts, from Greek Athēnaion, a temple of Athena, from Athēnē. 

And it is defined as: n

1. (Education) an institution for the promotion of learning

2. (Education) a building containing a reading room or library, esp one used by such an institution.

I have my dear friend Timmy to thank for the name. When I was trying to figure out what to call this blog, he came up with the perfect name! So thank you, Timmy!! I really appreciate your help! 

     We've talked a bit about what I want this blog to be and now I want to talk about what I don't want this blog to be. As is the case any time people get together and have a discussion, there will be disagreements. I don't want any fighting, name calling, or insults. I don't want people to feel threatened or attacked for their thoughts.  This is to be a safe, positive place. Disagreements are fine, but let's please be respectful towards each other.

     Thank you for taking the time to visit! I hope we can all have fun learning together. And again, Welcome to Jase's Athenaeum!!