To celebrate Monica La Porta's The Fifth Moon’s Wolf release, she's invited our fellow partners in crime in the Bad Boy Alpha project to answer her 8 questions. I'm re-posting these fun answers, but you can see the original post HERE.
The first to start the dances is Tasha Black, the lovely author of Burn This! (A 300 Moons Book).
“Johnny Lazarus is a rockstar who’s used to getting what he wants. Money. Fame. Women. You name it. But Johnny has a dark secret, and the spell that helped him keep it in check all these years is about to wear off. As his control begins to slip, Johnny finds the perfect place to weather the storm. And it looks like his plan to keep to himself just might work… until he meets Neve.
Neve Whittaker is known as the Angel of Malibu to the people whose lives she’s helped to recover. When bad-boy rockstar Johnny Lazarus shows up, she sees him as just onemore challenge. But she soon learns there’s more to Johnny than meets the eye. As she struggles to unravel the mystery surrounding her newest patient, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the handsome stranger. Now she’s torn between her need to help him, and her primal desires. And if she’s not careful, she might end up losing more than her heart. When things heat up, can Johnny and Neve overcome their inner demons in time to save each other, or will they both end up getting burned?”
And now, let’s meet Tasha:
When you were a kid you wanted to be…?
Tasha: I was a chubby kid, so naturally I wanted to be a ballerina, a model, an actress – any job that would verify that I was lovable. Thank goodness I grew up and learned that chubbiness and love are not mutually exclusive! (I would have been a terrible dancer!)
The first book you read was…?
Tasha: I wasn’t allowed to watch TV as a child, so I read a lot. My favorites were Tasha Tudor’s glorious picture book, A Time to Keep, and later, James and Deborah Howe’s, Bunnicula. As a matter of fact, Bunnicula is still a favorite of mine – it’s a story about a dog and cat solving a mystery that involves a rabbit. And the rabbit may or may not be a vampire. I’m now convinced that it was Bunnicula that is responsible for my interest in PNR!
You discovered you were quite good at writing when…?
Tasha: Am I quite good at writing? I think most authors spend half our time throwing out what we’ve just written and the other half feeling like complete frauds. One thing I can do is write a convincing letter. I once wrote a grant proposal that raised enough money to send forty inner city kids to camp for the summer. That was the moment when I realized that being good with words was more than just a neat trick.
As a reader, your favorite genre is…?
Tasha: Paranormal romance, of course! Followed by classic Russian lit, mysteries, and young adult.
Why do you like bad boys…?
Tasha: In my opinion, real men should sit quietly and await instruction from the wise women in their lives. BUT in books I adore bad boys! Bad boys are unpredictable, they don’t care about the minutiae of everyday life, they don’t vacillate in endless analysis – they DO stuff, with reckless abandon! Bad boys see what they want and take it. When attracted, they seduce. When threatened, they kick ass! And when love hits them it’s like a tree falling in the forest: resounding and permanent.
You write…?
Tasha: I write paranormal romance with a mystery/thriller element starring real women with agency (meaning they make their own choices in life, even if sometimes their choices are not good choices), and the achingly gorgeous men who risk life and limb to pursue them.
The praise about your writing you like the most is…?
Tasha: I love when readers say that the characters feel like real people. I’ve had a few say they wanted to throw their e-reader at the wall in frustration at the decisions the characters are making. I’ve had others say that they feel these people are their friends, and that they wish they could live in the fictional town of Tarker’s Hollow, where many of my books take place. I feel that way too! I will never stop being stunned and grateful that other people are going along on these adventures that began in my head.
What’s next…?
Tasha: My next book in the 300 Moons series, Bite This! will be out very soon! This book tells the story of Burn This! star Johnny’s foster sister, Darcy, as she navigates the arrival of her 300th moon. I don’t want to give too much away but this one has wolves, kidnappings, magic, and a wild love scene in a moonlit creek! I hope readers will enjoy seeing more of the 300 Moons mystery unfold in this book as well!
Find more about Tasha Black and her work at www.tashablack.com.
About Monica La Porta
My name is Monica La Porta. I was born in Rome, 41 years ago, and I have been living in the green Pacific Northwest for the last ten. I am married (my husband is strongly encouraging me to write how lucky I am, and how great he is), I have two kids (they are not encouraging me, strongly or otherwise, to do anything since they are teenagers, and therefore I am a constant source of embarrassment for them), I also have two beagles (they are currently barking in the backyard. I am not sure if it means something else other than the fact that the rabbits are back). When I am not busy with the aforementioned group of bypeds and quadrupeds, I like to write, read, paint, sculpt, walk, and cook.
monicalaporta.com