Fire Baptized

Today I want to welcome Kenya Wright, whose new Urban Fantasy, Fire Baptized was recently released. Kenya will be giving a $10 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter during the tour.But first, a bit about Ms. Wright.

               Kenya Wright always knew she would be famous since the ripe old age of six when she sung the Michael Jackson thriller song in her bathroom mirror. She has tried her hand at many things from enlisting in the Navy for six years as a Persian-Farsi linguist to being a nude model at an art university.

        However, writing has been the only constant love in her life.

        Now Kenya is publishing her first book, Fire Baptized, the urban fantasy novel she always wanted to read. This novel is the first book in a series.

        Will she succeed? Of course.

        For she has been coined The Urban Fantasy Queen, the Super Iconic Writer of this Age, The Lyrical Genius of Our Generation. Granted, these are all terms coined by her, within the private walls of her bathroom as she still sings the Michael Jackson thriller song.

            Kenya Wright currently resides in Miami with her three amazing, overactive children, a supportive, gorgeous husband, and three cool black cats that refuse to stop sleeping on Kenya’s head at night.

Website:  http://www.kenyawright.com

Book Video:  http://youtu.be/a28T5HzpGJ4

Now, on to the interview and a blurb about the book.

The Writer


What is the best thing about being a writer? The worst?


The best thing about being a writer is being able to create and virtually live other lives. I have a lot of fun exploring Fire Baptized’s world and hanging out with all my supernaturals.


The worst?


The revision process is the worst part for me. I hate having to cut things out of the book. I love my characters and world so much I feel like every little detail should be there, but that’s not true. If it doesn’t move the plot along then it really should be cut.


Do you bring your own life experiences to your writing? Your own personality? If so how?


I definitely bring my own life experiences and personality into my writing. Many of the Fire Baptized characters had somewhat dysfunctional childhoods filled with drug abuse and neglect. I definitely experienced that within my child.


Plotter or Pantser? Why?


Plotter!
I find that outlining a book completely helps me stay organized. Whenever I just write without any clear outline I end up writing all over the place and losing the story’s focus.


What fuels you as an author to continue to write?


I have an addiction to writing, period. All I want to do is write. I miss meals. I lose sleep. I literally have to force myself to stop writing. If I was a millionaire I would still write books.


If you could write in any other genre what would it be, and why?


Sci-fi is a genre that I would like to tackle one day. Especially, the cyberpunk sub-genre.

Where can we find out more about you and your work?

I write a whole lot of posts on my Goodreads’s blog.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5402447.Kenya_Wright/blog

Although at times it could be irrational rants, I do write three a week. My last post discussed Dr. Drew’s disgust with the Erotic Romance book Fifty Shades of Grey.

Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?

I do both. I have a ten page questionnaire that I answer for all of my main characters. However, when I’m writing nothing is set in stone. Sometimes the characters reveal their unique personalities as I create a scene.

Can you tell us a bit about what book(s) you have coming out next and what you’re working on now?


This month I will release Caged View, which is a short story collection of Fire Baptized’s main characters. There will be POV stories for MeShack, Zulu, and Lanore.
In May, the sequel The Burning Bush will be released.
In July, I will release Chameleon which is a YA novel set in the same caged supernatural city of Fire Baptized. However, this series will involve different characters and be less graphic.

The Person


When you get a chance to read, what books do you love to read?


Urban fantasy without a doubt! My favorite authors are Laini Taylor, Ilona Andrews, and K.A. Tucker.


What bores you as a reader?


Info Dumps! God I hate long paragraphs updating me about what happened in the earlier series or telling me about the rules of the world. Just show me all of this. I hate telling.


What is your favorite food and what is your guilty pleasure food?


Favorite food- foie gras
Guilty Pleasure- Fried cheesecake with chocolate dipping sauce


What do you think is romantic?


Candle light, soft music, and a whispered conversation with the one I love.


What does the word Romance mean to you?


This word has so many meaning for me. As a mother of three (5yr, 4yr, and 9month old), sometimes my husband will just grab all of the kids and say, “Baby, you worked hard this week. Relax, I’m going to take all of the kids for the day.”
That just gets my heart pumping!


What type of music gets you dancing?


Holy Cow! You have no idea how difficult this question is for me. I listen to everything: salsa, alternative, hip hop, country, electronic, etc.
Anything that sounds good gets me dancing!


What do you do to unwind and relax?


Glass of Pinot Noir and a good book!


Lightning Round


Chocolate or vanilla?


Chocolate


Wine-white or red?


Red


Mountains or seashore?


Seashore
Winter or summer?


Summer


Morning or evening person?


Evening

Random Questions:


Aliens have landed on the planet. What are the three things you would tell them that are great about this planet?

1-  There are some truly beautiful natural landscapes on this world.

2-  There are more people who try to do good then people who create evil.

3-   No one thing on this planet is the same. Every person you meet, every object you discover will be unique in its own way.

If you could create your own drink what would go in it and what would you call it?


I actually created my main character Lanore’s drink. The Inferno: chocolate, coffee, jalapeño pepper juice. It’s actually yummy.


You’ve been given the honor of naming a planet, what would you name it?


KENYA
(Dugggh… aren’t most writers narcissistic or is it just me?)


If you were in a rock band what would the name of your band be? What would your rocker name be?


Venom!
Queen Kobra (I actually named myself that in high school when I thought I wanted to be a rapper.)


You have been locked in a mall and told you can get anything you want and when they open in the morning you won’t have to pay a single cent. What stores would you hit? Better question how would you haul away all your loot?


I’d hit the hell out of Barnes and Noble! There would be nothing left!!! I would devour all of the baked items, take every book in the fantasy and sci-fi sections, and snatch up all of those sexy journals they always are selling.
Roooooaaaaarrrrr!
(Sorry that was Zulu…)

And finally, have you got a sneak peek excerpt from your current work in progress you can share with my readers and me?


This is a sneak peek from Zulu’s POV short story “The Heart Ripper’s Song” which is in Caged View.

I leaned Nona’s way and asked, “You see her?”

“No, mon, but me smell her coming from over there.” Nona pointed far off to the right.

I shifted my eyes to black to get a better view and headed that way.

Where are you, Lanore?

And then I spotted her.

My heart sped up to an erratic pace. My cords vibrated on my arms. I knew that they glowed under the shirt.

It was what always happened when she was near.

Lanore swayed back and forth with the beat. A strapless plum dress wrapped around her cinnamon body. The silky material ended in the middle of her thighs but didn’t cover everything. Her waist, tiny belly button, and the top of her ample cleavage were exposed.

I licked my lips in anticipation, just happy to be near her for a few hours.

She kept Mixbreeds For Equality and myself out of the rest of her life, never letting me take her home, and didn’t stay too long at any of MFE’s social functions.

I grinned as she raised her hands and waved them around. Amethyst gems hung from her ears and dangled all the way to her shoulders. I’d slipped them in her jean satchel, without a note, one night when she wasn’t looking.

“And in this cage, behind these bars, I think of you and me,” York sung. “And how we held on.”

“We held on!”

Lanore jumped up and down, repeating the lyrics with the rest of the crowd. She’d curled those long, black dreadlocks tonight. They hung in spirals a little bit past her shoulders and bounced with her movement.

I got closer and spotted Wallace, MFE’s technical expert, jumping in front of her. He bobbed around like an idiot, getting her full attention. His bushy red hair flopped up and down as he twisted his hips. He wore a purple shirt with the fictional superhero Captain Habitat covering the front, as usual. His pale, splotchy fists pumped in the air.

She laughed, which motivated Wallace to act even crazier.

He kneeled down and started flapping his arms like he was flying.

She covered her mouth in clear amusement.

He’s always fucking making her laugh.

My hands formed into tight fists. I couldn’t do anything but stand back and bear it. She preached too much about peace. I figured ripping off Wallace’s arm might turn her off.

“Love whispers beyond the bars. It washes the pain. No more scars.”

I glided by her, rubbed my arm against hers as if there was just no space to maneuver through, and inhaled her scent of lavender mixed with sweet cream.

Our eyes met within the blinking laser lights.

Sounds interesting-I'll keep an eye out for it.

               Since the 1970’s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans.

            Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.

            Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend Meshach and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.   

            While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?

I want to thank Kenya Wright for coming by, and remind everyone that she is giving away a $10 Amazon GC to one commenter on the tour. So make sure to leave a comment, and watch for this one-it does sound intriguing.