Guest Author: Ariel Tachna/Contest

CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT: Ariel is doing a giveaway to anyone who comments on the interview and Dreamspinner is running a special in conjunction with the release.  Anyone who buys the first three Partnership in Blood books in paperback will get the fourth one signed for free. Make sure to email Ariel at arieltachna@gmail.com for all the details.

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

My latest release is Perilous Partnership, the fifth installment in the Partnership in Blood universe.  It takes place a year after the original series and is written as a stand-alone story so someone who hasn’t read the original four books can still pick it up and be able to enjoy it.

This book is actually all Elizabeth North’s fault.  She read the end of Reparation in Blood, book four of Partnership in Blood, and told me I had to write Raymond and Jean’s story because there was clearly so much still to tell.  My muses are her slaves, and within a couple of months, the idea for Perilous Partnership was born. 

How much does reader reaction mean to you as an author? Do you read your own reviews?

I love to discuss my books with readers.  After all, while I write because I have a story to tell that generally won’t leave me alone, if I didn’t have readers, I wouldn’t be able to write full-time the way I do.  That said, I try to always be true to the story I have to tell rather than writing something that feels wrong to me because I think it might go over better with readers.  The epilogue of Reparation in Blood is the perfect example of that.  I knew some readers would have problems with it, but I also knew it was the only way the story could end, and for me, it was important to show that final closure.  I’ve also had readers who see it the way I do, as the ultimate happily-ever-after, and have thanked me for daring to write it.

I do read reviews, but I’m far more likely to discuss something in a personal email than in a review.  

What are you working on now? Anything you want to tell us about?

At the moment, I’m working on a rather dark steampunk novel.  Of course I say it’s steampunk, but it isn’t terribly traditional steampunk except for the anachronistic steam-powered technology.  It isn’t set in Victorian England or the Victorian era of any other real place because the issues I wanted to explore raised some requirements for the society that don’t mirror any real place.  The two lovers, Gabriel and Lucio, are separated by a very rigid caste system.  Gabriel is an inventor, in the merchant caste, which is second only to the aristocrats.  Lucio, however, is a companion, in the pleasure caste, only one step above a slave.  They meet the night of Gabriel’s birthday because Gabriel’s two employees think Gabriel could use a night of relaxation, and who better to provide that than a companion trained to see to a man’s every possible sexual need? 

Gabriel disagrees, but he meets Lucio anyway because he has to eat dinner and he doesn’t want to appear churlish to his friends.  They both get far more than they bargained for when that evening spent talking lingers in their memory far longer than it should.  When they meet again a month later at the home of the aristocrat who purchased Lucio’s time for the evening and who is one of Gabriel’s most reliable customers, they realize they can’t keep pretending nothing has changed, and so they embark on a relationship fraught with built-in infidelity, danger, lies, and the exchange of money for them to even be able to meet.

My muses have promised me a happy ending if I can just keep going long enough to reach it.

What books are currently on your nightstand/bedside? Anything coming you are dying to read?

The pile on my nightstand is way too high for my husband’s liking.  Cursed and Betrayed by Rhianne Aile live there permanently as does Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux.  I’m also rereading Cut & Run and Sticks & Stones so I’ll be ready for Fish & Chips which should be out before the end of the year.  Let’s see, what else is there.  I’ve also got Match Maker by Alan Chin and Change of Heart by Mary Calmes.

I’m very much looking forward to Fish & Chips, as I already mentioned, and also to Trusted Bond by Mary Calmes, the sequel to Change of Heart. 

If one of your books were to be made into a movie, which book would you choose and who do you see playing your characters and why?

I’d love to see Her Two Dads made into a movie because I think it would be a story people could relate to and might help people see that families are about love, not about gender or biological ties.  As for who I’d like to see play the characters, I had my husband’s cousin in mind when I described Srikkanth (my husband is from India so his cousin had the right coloring), but Naveen Andrews would be an obvious choice to play him.  For Jaime, I’d choose Aarón Díaz.

If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

It would depend on what genre they enjoy reading because I wouldn’t recommend Hot Cargo to someone who wanted a sweet contemporary or Out of the Fire to someone who wants a historical.  In terms of the story I think best shows what I’m capable of as a writer, I would recommend Checkmate which I co-wrote with Nicki Bennett.

If you could have been the servant to any famous person in history, who would that be and why?

That changes depending on what era in history I’m obsessing over at any given moment.  Right now it would be Queen Victoria or one of her ladies because that’s the time period my current novel is based loosely on.

Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her/it/him when she/he/it refuses to inspire you?

Most of the time we get along very, very well.  I find that when I’m not inspired it’s usually because I’m trying to make my characters do something my muse disagrees with.  My solution then is to talk it over with Nicki until I can figure out what I want that the muse disagrees with.  Since the muse has never been wrong, we talk through the problem and get it back on track again.

Where can readers find you on the ‘net for more information on you, your books and other fun stuff?

Links, links, and more links. 

Web site: http://www.arieltachna.com

Blog: http://arieltachna.livejournal.com

Twitter: @arieltachna

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/29npd

To purchase my books, you can always go to Dreamspinner’s web site, http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com  or you can go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, Fictionwise, or my new favorite, Rainbow eBooks, http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/.  I’m sure there are probably other eBook outlets as well, but I don’t go searching for them.  Also, if you want to buy the book in print, any bookstore that allows special orders can order the book for you with the title and my name.