Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I live in a small town in New
Zealand with my hubby. I love animals, although don’t have any at present. I’m
a big foodie. I took a cordon bleu course when I was younger, and still very
much enjoy cooking. I love everything about food, including its history and
evolution, and I read recipe books the way others read novels. I’m member of a
couple of wine appreciation clubs. I’m also an Art Historian.
What are you currently working on?
I have, as a friend describes
it, a leaning tower of WIPs. I tend to rotate what I write according to the
muse as well as take on calls for submissions if I like the premise of the
call. At present I’m working on finishing my Nano effort, which is a time
travel/steampunk/au titled Past Perfect. I’m also working on a couple of
paranormals, including a vampire take on the Cinderella tale, and a sci fi.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Read, cook, read, watch
cookery and sport, read some more. My reading choices are as eclectic as the
genres in which I write.
Are any of your characters like you?
There are elements of me in my
characters. But not every time, and not always an MC.
What genres do you write in?
Mainly I prefer paranormal,
fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk. However, I do occasional contemporary, and am
expanding to include one with a horror element.
If you could sit down with any author
dead or alive who would it be?
That’s a hard one. Living, I’d
be torn between Dean Koontz, Alan Dean Foster, and Rick Riordan. Dead it would
be between H G Wells, Tolkien, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
Do you keep a notebook near your for
when new ideas pop into your head?
I am never without a notebook
in my bag, along with a collection of pens. I love pens, I’m like a magpie when
I spot one. I also have bigger notebooks at home.
Do you prefer to extensively plot your
stories, or do you write them as they come to you?
I’m very much a pantser. I
usually have the germ of an idea and for something as large as a Nano novel,
will jot down a half dozen or so headers to provide a framework. The rest comes
as the muse leads me. I don’t always write chronologically either. I may jump
from start to end, then back to the middle.
What has been the defining moment in
your career that made you think “Yes, I am now a writer!”?
When a publisher approached me
and asked me to write for them, and I got my first contract. That was an
amazing feeling.
How do you like to relax after a day
writing?
When I come home from work, I
like to get at least a couple of hours of writing done, more at the weekends or
days off. Then I usually settle down with a glass of rose or bubbles, a book,
and Food Network or a sports channel on in the background. I’m a fan of
cricket, rugby, and soccer.
Strawberry Fields
Evernight Publishing
Sci-fi/steampunk AU MM
Buy at Amazon
When the shares on which Nicolas’s family become worthless, he seeks help from their estranged Uncle Secundus Broadberry—a selfish man with no familial loyalty.
Forced to live in a veritable hovel, Nicolas and his sister must find work to support themselves and their mother. Through his uncle, Nicolas meets Rufus Melbeck and accepts a post aboard his spaceship Strawberry Fields. Although the ship gives Nicolas a bad feeling, he quickly makes friends with Nathan Smith, a gentle, young man who seems very much out of place.
Nothing and no one aboard the vessel are what they seem. Nicolas soon finds himself plunged into a dangerous adventure the likes of which he could never have imagined.
Can Nicolas and Nathan survive the dangers of Strawberry Fields and solve the mystery that surrounds Nathan, or will Nathan's past reach out to destroy them both?
Excerpt: from Strawberry Fields
The crewman led Nicolas to an ancient elevator. In dull grey metal and hexagon-shaped, the elevator reminded Nicolas of a cage, with its open appearance. A metallic spiral staircase, snaked around the elevator as it creaked and groaned its slow way upwards.
Nicolas would almost have preferred to have used the stairs, wondering if the mechanism could safely complete the journey. The seconds ticked by with interminable slowness, and Nicolas’s heart thundered as if he’d run up the numerous flights of stairs the elevator passed by.
Eventually, the elevator came to a juddering stop. The crewman strode out with Nicolas close behind him, glad to be back on solid ground once more.
“Right, now.” The crewman stopped and jerked his thumb at a door ahead of them. “Through there. If yer don’t like heights, don’t look down. I don’t want to be coming across after you if you stop halfway.”
“Very well.” Nicolas wondered what the man meant, but as the door was opened and the crewman stepped away, Nicolas saw the reason for his warning.
A narrow metal runway with rails ran from the doorway Nicolas stood at and across to the space ship. Even with the rails, Nicolas could imagine anyone with a fear of heights would find it impossible to traverse the aptly named gangplank.
Determined not to fail at the first hurdle, Nicolas made sure his duffle bag was secure on his left shoulder and stepped down onto the gangplank. He’d have felt better if beneath his feet the plank had been solid, but it was the same mesh-like arrangement as the sides.
As he walked out, Nicolas felt a cold breeze, and the gangplank rocked gently. Gripping the handrail, Nicolas let the metal slide through his fingers as he fixed his gaze resolutely on the ship ahead.
As he got closer, Nicolas spotted another member of Melbeck’s crew. The man grinned widely, as if well-aware of Nicolas’s discomfort. Taking a deep breath, Nicolas stood taller and strode resolutely forward, but didn’t relinquish his hold on the rail.
“Broadberry isn’t it? The tinker that Cap’n Melbeck hired?”
“Yes. I’m Nicolas Broadberry.” If Nicolas had thought the other crewman rough, this one was missing most of his teeth and looked as if he hadn’t bathed in a month.
“Good. I’m Morgan, one of his engineers. The cap’n is busy at present. He’ll see you later. Go straight ahead to the first set of stairs and go down. Another member of the crew will take you to your cabin and give you an overview of the ship.”
“Thank you.” Nicolas edged past the bulky man and into the ship. It was nothing as Nicolas had expected. The lights in the ship were dim, and oppression weighed heavily on Nicolas’s shoulders.
Shadows danced and flickered on the cold, metal walls as if vying for a better view of him. For a heart-stopping moment, Nicolas was certain the walls were closing in on him and that he’d be crushed.
Something loomed toward him, out of the shadows, with a wheeze of pained breath and an ominous metallic clunk. Nicolas froze, unable to galvanize his legs into movement.
“Hello? Are you Master Broadberry? Master Nicolas Broadberry?” A masculine voice, soft yet clear, reached Nicolas’s ears and he calmed slightly.
“Yes. Who … who are you?”
The figure came to a stop in a patch of pale light and Nicolas openly stared. The light from the lamp, or maybe it was the refection of the copper walls, turned the stranger’s hair blood-red, but his face—it was the face of a Botticelli angel. Pale, smooth, flawless skin, perfect pink Cupid’s bow lips, and framed by the shoulder-length red tresses.
The man was more beautiful than anyone Nicolas had ever seen. And he seemed totally out of place aboard Strawberry Fields. Gentle, polite, he was the antithesis of the men Nicolas had met so far.
It was only when the man took another step, that the origin of the mechanical sounds was revealed. The stranger had a mechanical brace on his left leg. Nicolas scowled. It looked ancient, rusted in places, and in desperate need of attention.
“My name’s Nathan. Nathan Smith. Captain Melbeck told me to show you to your quarters and acquaint you with the ship.”Excerpt: from Strawberry Fields
The crewman led Nicolas to an ancient elevator. In dull grey metal and hexagon-shaped, the elevator reminded Nicolas of a cage, with its open appearance. A metallic spiral staircase, snaked around the elevator as it creaked and groaned its slow way upwards.
Nicolas would almost have preferred to have used the stairs, wondering if the mechanism could safely complete the journey. The seconds ticked by with interminable slowness, and Nicolas’s heart thundered as if he’d run up the numerous flights of stairs the elevator passed by.
Eventually, the elevator came to a juddering stop. The crewman strode out with Nicolas close behind him, glad to be back on solid ground once more.
“Right, now.” The crewman stopped and jerked his thumb at a door ahead of them. “Through there. If yer don’t like heights, don’t look down. I don’t want to be coming across after you if you stop halfway.”
“Very well.” Nicolas wondered what the man meant, but as the door was opened and the crewman stepped away, Nicolas saw the reason for his warning.
A narrow metal runway with rails ran from the doorway Nicolas stood at and across to the space ship. Even with the rails, Nicolas could imagine anyone with a fear of heights would find it impossible to traverse the aptly named gangplank.
Determined not to fail at the first hurdle, Nicolas made sure his duffle bag was secure on his left shoulder and stepped down onto the gangplank. He’d have felt better if beneath his feet the plank had been solid, but it was the same mesh-like arrangement as the sides.
As he walked out, Nicolas felt a cold breeze, and the gangplank rocked gently. Gripping the handrail, Nicolas let the metal slide through his fingers as he fixed his gaze resolutely on the ship ahead.
As he got closer, Nicolas spotted another member of Melbeck’s crew. The man grinned widely, as if well-aware of Nicolas’s discomfort. Taking a deep breath, Nicolas stood taller and strode resolutely forward, but didn’t relinquish his hold on the rail.
“Broadberry isn’t it? The tinker that Cap’n Melbeck hired?”
“Yes. I’m Nicolas Broadberry.” If Nicolas had thought the other crewman rough, this one was missing most of his teeth and looked as if he hadn’t bathed in a month.
“Good. I’m Morgan, one of his engineers. The cap’n is busy at present. He’ll see you later. Go straight ahead to the first set of stairs and go down. Another member of the crew will take you to your cabin and give you an overview of the ship.”
“Thank you.” Nicolas edged past the bulky man and into the ship. It was nothing as Nicolas had expected. The lights in the ship were dim, and oppression weighed heavily on Nicolas’s shoulders.
Shadows danced and flickered on the cold, metal walls as if vying for a better view of him. For a heart-stopping moment, Nicolas was certain the walls were closing in on him and that he’d be crushed.
Something loomed toward him, out of the shadows, with a wheeze of pained breath and an ominous metallic clunk. Nicolas froze, unable to galvanize his legs into movement.
“Hello? Are you Master Broadberry? Master Nicolas Broadberry?” A masculine voice, soft yet clear, reached Nicolas’s ears and he calmed slightly.
“Yes. Who … who are you?”
The figure came to a stop in a patch of pale light and Nicolas openly stared. The light from the lamp, or maybe it was the refection of the copper walls, turned the stranger’s hair blood-red, but his face—it was the face of a Botticelli angel. Pale, smooth, flawless skin, perfect pink Cupid’s bow lips, and framed by the shoulder-length red tresses.
The man was more beautiful than anyone Nicolas had ever seen. And he seemed totally out of place aboard Strawberry Fields. Gentle, polite, he was the antithesis of the men Nicolas had met so far.
It was only when the man took another step, that the origin of the mechanical sounds was revealed. The stranger had a mechanical brace on his left leg. Nicolas scowled. It looked ancient, rusted in places, and in desperate need of attention.
“My name’s Nathan. Nathan Smith. Captain Melbeck told me to show you to your quarters and acquaint you with the ship.”
On Dragon's Wings
Evernight Publishing
Fantasy MM
Available at Amazon
When his roommate brings home a lizard, Noah has no idea his life is about to change out of all recognition.
Uther is a shifter, a prince, and under a curse. Catapulted unexpectedly into the world of Fae and shifters, Noah must help Uther stay one step ahead of the witch who cursed him, as well as get him home in time to claim his crown.
Noah is also resisting a growing attraction for Uther. But Uther has other ideas, and when Noah's life is endangered he's prepared to do anything it takes to save his mate.
Bio
Living in clean, green New Zealand, Pelaam is a multi-published author of gay romance and erotic books. When not busy writing she can be found indulging in her other passions of cookery and wine appreciation.
Pelaam's books: “Smoking Mirror” was a finalist in 2017 Rainbow Awards in Gay futuristic/sci-fi. “Stranded” was the Evernight Publishing Readers’ Choice winner 2016 for Sci-fi. “The Avian Emperor” was runner up and received an Honourable Mention in the 2016 Rainbow Awards Gay futuristic/sci-fi. "Future Imperfect" was a finalist for the 2015 Rainbow Awards in Gay futuristic/sci-fi. "On Dragon's Wings" was LR Café 2014 winner for Fantasy. "Breath of the Feathered Serpent" was a finalist for the 2014 Rainbow Awards in Gay futuristic/sci-fi.
She can be found on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/
with an author page https://www.facebook.com/
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