Welcome Kay Berrisford today

Welcome to my Reading Nook, Kay. Please make yourself at home and let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink.

Oh, white wine please J Thank you!

Comfortable? Wonderful. Now let’s get started.

For readers who may not know about you or your work, please tell us a little about yourself.

How long have you been writing? What genre do you write in?

I’ve been writing all my life, since I was about four or five.  I wrote for my own entertainment as a child and then I dabbled in fanfiction for many years, learning from the feedback till I felt ready to go it alone.

My first two novels are m/m historical fantasies, which draw on the darkest and most kinky aspects of English folklore. I also write contemporary paranormal – more on that soon!

Where do you get your ideas for your stories, characters?

I’m a historical researcher and adore visiting archaeological and historical sites, so I get a ton of inspiration there. I dreamed up the plots of Bound for the Forest and Bound to the Beast during wonderful, long walks in the New Forest, surrounded by heather, wild ponies, and peace.

I let life around me inspire characters, so I’d better not say too much more there. Don’t want to get into trouble…

So tell us a little about your latest book. What inspired this masterpiece?

I became fascinated with the figure of Herne the Hunter after a friend suggested he would fit well in the Greenwood universe I created for my first novel, Bound for the Forest. Herne’s origins can be traced to Norse and Anglo-Saxon myth and further back into the mists of time, to the horned gods of Iron Age religion.  While often portrayed as a god of the forest or protector of the fair folk, Herne also has a dark side. He is leader of the Wild Hunt, an army of the undead (medieval zombies, if you like!) who were believed to sweep across England on the eve of great disasters. 
I had immense fun recreating Herne as an immortal spirit who shifts to display the antlers of a stag when his passions are stirred. Once the leader of a Celtic tribe, my Herne was gifted his crown of antlers by the Mother Goddess after sacrificing his human life for his people. He’s been roaming the Greenwood for over fifteen hundred years, till in 1588, he faces his greatest dilemma. When a fairy ritual goes wrong, Herne finds himself bonded to reluctant village lad, Tam, and they have five days to break the magic betrothal. Will Herne lead Wild Hunt again, letting England fall in their wake? Or will he help Tam and let his fifteen-hundred-year-old broken heart be healed, learning to love instead?

If you had any super powers, what would they be and why?

Does shifting count?  Sometimes, when I’m all written out, I’d like to shift into a cat.  Preferably my cat.  She seems to have a very nice, relaxing life.

What genre haven’t you tried yet but want to in the future?

I fancy writing a good old-fashioned whodunit set in a sleepy English seaside town or rural village. And, of course, fill it with sizzling m/m sex! 

What is one thing readers might be surprised to know about you?

I am the world’s messiest person.  Seriously, you only see the surface of my desk about once a year, and then new species of mold are discovered there…ew!

If we asked your muse to describe you in three words, what do you think they might say?

Enthusiastic, sadistic, romantic.

What authors can be found in your library of books?

*looks at bookshelf* - first three books (out of many) are by Alex Beecroft, Marcel Proust, and R.F.Foster (an Irish historian.)  And the next one’s a BDSM manual – so it’s pretty diverse. 

Have any guilty pleasures you want to share with us?

I collect fairies and pixies! Well, little doll versions.  I’m not quite as into them as I used to be when I was younger, but I still have a few hanging around, scaring visitors with their tricks.

Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can give us a taste of?

I’m just reaching the edits stage of my first contemporary paranormal, Catching Kit.  I’ve not really told anybody about it yet, so…*deep breath*…here’s the blurb.

“When government Ethereal Being catcher, Denny, has to store an elf in his garage overnight, his life spins out of control. Kit shatters everything Denny’s been taught about elves. Not only is he clearly sentient, he’s gorgeous, he’s got a cute arse, and he claims to share Denny’s quiet kinks for bondage and cross-dressing.

When Kit wiles his way into Denny’s house for a session of mind-blowing sex, the elf seems too good to be true. Can Denny trust him? And if so, dare he break the law and gamble his life to save the Ethereal Being in his bed?”

What is your favorite way to relax after a hard day working and writing?

A nice meal and wine with my ‘other half’ Chris.

What is the one era you would love to go visit and why?

I’d love to have seen many of the beautiful medieval cities of Europe before they were badly damaged in World War Two.  I adore gothic architecture.  Fortunately, plenty remains for me to admire, but so much was lost.

What is one historical figure you would love to chat with and why?

Oscar Wilde was rather awesome company.  You’d think he’d talk all the time, telling witty stories, but apparently he was a great listener too. Not that I’d waste any time talking myself…

Would you care to mention any upcoming or WIP projects that readers can look forward from you in the future?

I’ve just started a shifter sci-fi story, but it’s early days – I’ve only only messy drafts and enthusiasm to show for it so far.  I’m also working on the third Greenwood novel, which is going to be a little grittier and darker than the first two.  Well that’s the plan.  Once I get going, anything could happen!

Out of all your books, do you have a favorite one? If not, then which one is closest to your heart?

Bound to the Forest was my first published story, so will always be dear to me.  But I sweated blood over Bound to the Beast! It took me ages to write, involved researching two time periods (Celtic/Roman and Elizabethan), and the plot was complex and multilayered.  At some stages, I thought it would never come together, and so I feel a little proud it made it through to publication.  I couldn’t have got it together without some major support from some friends and my editor, though.

What character out of all your books is the closest to your personality?

There’s a character in Bound to the Beast called Ann who is a bit like me, although possibly a better cook!

Bound to the Beast (A Greenwood novel) by Kay Berrisford. Published by Loose Id. Art work by Anne Cain.
Genres: m/m, paranormal, fantasy, BDSM, historical. Novel, 68,000 words.

Blurb: England, 1588. When a fairy betrothal ritual goes wrong, village lad Tam is bonded to Herne the Hunter. Warrior, legend, and Greenwood spirit, Herne once led the terrifying Wild Hunt, an army of the undead who rode as harbingers of doom. When his passions are stirred and his blood is up, Herne sports the antlers of a mighty stag.

Herne could be the lover Tam secretly craves, but Herne’s past makes him fear the brooding warrior will enslave or kill him. While Herne admires Tam’s toughness and humor, he has rejected love—as he has sworn off leading the Wild Hunt—and wishes only for solitude. To break their betrothal, they must travel into the Greenwood, a realm of magic and bondage where their desires for each other grow dangerously irresistible, and the Wild Hunt bays for their blood.

As the threat rises, Herne’s mastery and compassion realize Tam’s darkest sexual fantasies. Soon he’s no longer fighting for his freedom, wishing to be bound to this beast forever. But can Herne’s tortured heart be reawakened? And if so, will their love destroy them both, or prove Herne the Hunter’s greatest weapon?

“Please stay awhile,” said Tam. “I think you should…try just a little of something sweet.”

He dared not wait for an answer. He turned back, chose the plumpest fruits on the vine, and piled them in his hands. Too soon, Herne’s breath was hot on the back of his neck, setting the hairs standing on end.

“As you wish,” growled Herne. “If you so desire, you may feed me as I fed you.”

Tam spun to face him. Herne’s closeness and the sheer size of the man set his mind unraveling. His gaze fixed on the hunter’s bearded jaw, his thinned lips, angular and masculine. “With pleasure,” whispered Tam, not daring to look Herne in the eye.

He picked a strawberry and lifted it to Herne’s mouth, clumsily cradling the rest. The hunter parted his lips, drawing the strawberry in with his tongue. Tam held his fingers there, and Herne brushed them with his mouth, lighting fiery strands of pleasure that shot straight to Tam’s loins.

He dropped several strawberries to the ground, where they scattered amid the grasses. Then Herne grabbed his wrist, as he had Herne’s, and sucked two fingers deep into his mouth. Tam cried out, almost laughing, although the feelings rushing through him were too intense for mirth.

Herne caressed him with his tongue, engulfing him with wetness and heat and lapping every last drop of the strawberry juice. At the same time, he urged Tam away from the pool, until the big man’s back rested against a pillar twined with ivy. Then Herne rubbed Tam’s loins with his palm.

“Oh Lord,” murmured Tam. He tried to pull his hand away from Herne’s mouth, but Herne held him firmly in place, circling his fingers with his tongue and coaxing him toward full erection with his hand. A groan escaped Tam’s throat, traveling from his very core. He should resist, yet Herne’s touch forged a paradise from which he refused to fall. He yearned to surrender, to be overwhelmed, and to beg Herne to let loose his true power. But Tam was not brave or foolish enough for that. Yet.

Herne relinquished his hold on Tam’s wrist, and Tam pulled his fingers from Herne’s mouth, the wet slip of skin against skin weakening his resistance further.

“Trust me,” muttered Herne. He pressed the hardness in Tam’s breeches and traced his length.

“God’s blood…yes…yes, I trust you,” said Tam, panting hard. He scarcely tasted the delicate scent of the herbs that filled the air. Did he really trust Herne? He wavered on the brink of not caring. Desire scalding him like boiling oil, he ripped apart the lacing on the front of Herne’s surcoat, so swept away he squashed the remnant of his gathered strawberries against taut muscle and thick hair. Then he raised himself and pressed his lips to Herne’s, plying his tongue along the seam of his mouth and tasting the hunter once more.

Buy it now link: http://www.loose-id.com/The-Greenwood-Bound-to-the-Beast.aspx

Kay’s blog: http://kayberrisford.com/bound-to-the-beast/