Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today:
I’m the author of deliciously dark, sexy, and thrilling MM fiction. I’ve written paranormal, erotic urban fantasy, dark romance, and contemporary stories with characters who are rude, sassy, charming, arrogant, and hotter than sinners in hell. They tell me what they want and I just follow orders.
When I’m not hunched over my keyboard typing away, I love to watch movies and TV shows (even have my own review blog!) I’m a bad influence on readers because I corrupt them with salacious tales of possessive men staking their claims on people who make their blood rise in certain places. I know…I should be ashamed, but I’m shameless. I’m a public menace that can’t be stopped.
Check out my literary wares to find your next addiction.
Thanks so much, Nicholas, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre?
Nicholas Bella: I would say my writing style is both complex and simplistic. I aim to give the readers enough details for them to see in their mind the story as it unfolds. I want them to think they’re watching a movie or even there in the room as they see – not read- what is happening. When I’m writing, my main motivation is to make a story so captivating, readers won’t skim or skip, because they don’t want to miss anything.
JSC: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
NB: Probably watched porn just to get a good mental image of several positions. That way, I can better describe what it looks like on page so that readers can also get the visual. It’s important to put body parts in the right places. LOL
JSC: What do you do when you get writer’s block?
NB: When I’m writing, the story just flows for me, but every once in a while, I hit what I call a “Snag”. When that happens, I just stop writing and I watch television, read or listen to music. I don’t stress over it, because the solution comes to me naturally when I’m in bed, or in the shower or even driving. Once that happens, I can’t wait to get back to writing the story.
JSC: Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?
NB: I tend to love writing darker themes and it doesn’t matter if it’s horror, romance, contemporary, erotica, paranormal or mysteries, etc. I feel like I have less restrictions and at the same time, a bigger challenge to have morally gray characters be the ones readers cheer for.
JSC: What are your least favorite parts of publishing?
NB: The marketing aspect. That’s why it’s so important to have your own newsletter and SM following. It’s the closest one can get to being able to hit a “Send” button and be able to tell a lot of people about your books at once.
JSC: What inspired you to write That Mafioso Magic? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?
NB: I was actually watching an episode of Charmed, the one where Phoebe is the Queen of Hell for just 1 episode. It got me to thinking about creating a story where the characters were on opposite sides of the good and evil spectrum. Can someone who is wicked have a relationship with someone who is good? In stories like Charmed, or Angel, etc. those wicked characters always had to become good for that to happen.
The challenge was bringing together these two characters from different worlds and having them accept who the other is and still have the desire to fight for their love.
JSC: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
NB: I wanted to either be a writer or an actor.
JSC: What qualities do you and your characters share? How much are you like them, or how different are they from you?
NB: I’d say my characters share my sarcasm, my sense of humor and my no-nonsense attitude. Brian Cordero and Eric Cayden in particular, but a bit of my personality is laced into all of my characters.
JSC: What’s your favorite line from any movie?
NB: “It’s in your nature to destroy yourselves’ – The Terminator in T2 Judgement Day. I know, it’s a bit bleak, but also rings true. It’s the premise behind my Gods and Slaves series. Because what would world peace look like when so many people, especially those in positions of power, have their own ideas of how to make a peaceful society. Does it include genocide? Compromise? Submission? Oppression? I explore all of that in that Dark fantasy series.
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
NB: I’m currently working on the 8th book in my Road to Carnage series. It’s actually seven books and a prequel. This series gets more intense and wilder with each book. I love it so much.
And now for Nicholas’s new book: That Mafioso Magic:
Private eye, Adrian Elias, knows what trouble looks like, and ruthless mobster and lion shifter, Sage Tamir, was just that with a capital. T. On top of smelling like heaven, the man has the face of an angel and a body made for unbridled sin. A combination that Adrian is hard to resist.
Unfortunately, someone is trying to kill Sage and they are using magic to do it. Sage usually takes these types of matters into his own hands. but this time he is out of his league. He believes the only person who can help him is the down-on-his-luck detective… Problem is, Adrian doesn’t want the case, because he feels it may be too dangerous. Never mind the volcanic-level attraction they seem to feel for each other raising the stakes.
Reader Advisory: 18+ Mature Readers. Sarcastic, jealous, and ruthless characters doing what they do best. Expect some blood, a bit of gore, a hell of a lot of heart-pounding action equal to the mattress-pounding sexcapdes. Oh, and as always, a TON of S**T-talking. Prepare for the unexpected as you may end up reading all night. Don’t take the risk by missing out
Universal Buy Link | Amazon
Excerpt
I was doing one of the least favorite tasks a person could be doing. Rifling through envelopes of bills I couldn’t afford to pay. I was still waiting on Lacey’s mother to give me the reward money for finding her daughter. Turned out, she had posted the ten-thousand-dollar reward without actually having ten-thousand dollars in the bank to pay it. But she had been just that desperate to find her daughter. I hadn’t put my life on the line for money. I really had wanted to find that poor child. But I also had to be able to sleep with a roof over my head and put food in my stomach and Xavier’s. Goodwill and intentions didn’t make for viable currency.
Every bill, save one, had a “past due” notice on it and soon, I’d have to run my agency out of my car. “Fuck,” I cursed under my breath and tossed the envelopes on the desk without even bothering to open them.
There was a knock on my door that I knew was Xavier. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah, sure,” I called out.
He entered with more envelopes in his hand.
“That better not be more bills,” I said, pointing at the envelopes.
“I wish I had better news for you, but our rent is due and the landlord just gave us a final notice,” Xavier said, placing the bills on my desk.
“This wouldn’t even be a problem if I could have gotten that reward money,” I said.
“She’s working on it. Got a Please Fund Me going and everything. So far, it’s up to five hundred dollars.”
“People must not be willing to donate now that the child has been found. Meanwhile, I’m going to have to turn tricks on the corner just to buy a ham sandwich!” I snapped.
“I plan on using my handsome Latin looks to become a real Lothario,” Xavier teased.
I chuckled. “Man, we have to do something. Anything on the voicemail?”
He shook his head. “We’re not the only P.I.s in the business, and the others have more credentials and customers. Not to mention, better offices.”
“Don’t remind me. I wish I knew a spell that could conjure money,” I huffed.
Xavier barked out a laugh then. “You and me both.”
The ringing of the bell above our entry alerted us that we had a visitor and hopefully, a new client. Xavier walked to the door and I could hear him from my office.
“Hello, how may I help you?” he asked.
“Your boss, we need to see him,” was a female’s response.
“My partner, you mean. May I ask what this is about?”
“We’d like to discuss that with your partner, Mr. Elias.”
“We?” Xavier inquired.
That was when I stood up to see what was going on. I peeked my head out of my doorway to see a gorgeous Nubian woman standing on the other side of Xavier’s desk. She was wearing a tailored, navy-blue pin-striped suit with heels that looked lethal and expensive at the same time. She was towering at well over six feet and I was sure four inches of that were due to her spiked designer heels. Her long hair flowed in crinkles down her back, making her look all the more beautiful. Her pretty, brown eyes were sharp as she looked at both Xavier and me, calculating. But there was something else I was getting off her aura. She was a shifter, but I didn’t know what kind.
“I’m Adrian Elias, this is Xavier Diaz. How can we help you?” I asked, getting involved, and making sure I included Xavier, because we handled every case together. What they had to discuss with me, they could say in front of him.
“My boss was hoping you could assist him with a case,” she said.
“Well, if your boss is here, we’d love to speak with him about his case,” I said.
She nodded, then walked out.
“What the fuck?” Xavier asked as he tossed me a glance.
“She’s a shifter, so keep alert,” I told him.
“Just what the hell kind of case would a shifter need our help with?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Let’s find out.”
The door opened again and the female returned, but this time, a tall and extremely fucking dynamic black man followed behind her. Holy shit, he was my wet dream and everything in between. His very presence sent something through me and I found myself retreating to my office just to sit down before my legs gave out. I was literally swooning and didn’t know why. Xavier led them into my office, then motioned to the chairs in front of my desk, which they took.
The man of every sexual fantasy I’d ever had seemed to fall into the chair just as heavily as I fell into mine. We were staring at each other as if we were a marvel of a puzzle neither could understand. I felt like I was getting a fever; my body temperature was rising like a volcano getting ready to erupt. I looked at him as he was undoing his tie, which looked more expensive than three-months’ worth of my rent. Next came the first three buttons of his shirt. He even removed his jacket, and I could tell the body underneath all the pricey fabric was obviously a gift from God. Not to mention, a most sinful temptation because I saw myself licking my way from his collarbone to his… lord, what was going on?
“Is it hot in here?” he asked as his chest began to heave. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, the sound of his sexy, deep voice revved up my libido like a bolt of lightning.
His female companion was giving him the same kind of confused look Xavier was giving me and shook her head. “No, boss.”
“It looks like you both could use some cold water,” Xavier said, then he left the office to grab two bottles of water from our fridge. He returned, handing a bottle to me and the other to our mystery guest. We snatched the bottles, twisted them open, and guzzled the contents at the same time. “Dios Mio! Are you okay, Adrian?”
I was wearing a t-shirt, but I swore I was almost willing to snatch it off. Thank goodness the water was helping to cool me down. I looked at my client, and his female companion was rubbing his back as he did some practice breathing, trying to cool himself down naturally. Whatever was happening was happening only to us and I was curious as fuck as to why. My dick was aching with a need I’d never felt before. It was as if my entire being wanted to reach out to the stranger and be engulfed by him. My asshole was tingling in a way that was literally driving me mad, making it hard to focus my thoughts.
My gorgeous stranger grabbed his suit jacket and placed it over his lap after his female companion gasped at what I was sure was his erection. “Holy shit,” he huffed. “What the fuck is going on?” He rubbed the sweat off his forehead with his hand.
“I… I think you should leave,” I said. It was the only thing I could think to say.