Kayelle Allen’s motto is “romance lives forever.” She enjoys hiking, movies, reading, and SciFi conventions. A multipublished, award winning author with character-driven, plot-heavy SciFi Romances, her worldbuilding skills include alien languages and 10k years of future history. Kayelle is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Muse: First of all, Whispers of the Muse welcomes you to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?
Ms. Allen: I’m excited to be here finally. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I live in North Georgia, just below the mountains, in a hilly, forested area of the state. We get an occasional sprinkling of snow, plenty of rainfall, and more hot humid days than I care to count. I grew up all over the world. Not a military brat, just the child of parents with wanderlust. Most of my teenage years and early adulthood were near Las Vegas Nevada, and my first jobs were all in casinos and hotels. I joined the Navy to see the world, met Mr. Right, and settled down to raise a family. Thirty-six years later, I’m still married to that same amazing man I fell in love with, we have three children, and as of last month, five grandchildren. That’s not easy to accomplish when you’re only 29 years old, but I’ve never been one to do things the easy way. ;)

Muse: Who are your favorite authors?
Ms. Allen: My favorite writer of all time is Heather Gladney. She has two books out of print which are worth hunting down and buying, Teot’s War, and Blood Storm. They’re Sci-fi Fantasy a little on the slashy side. The hero is a swordsman, but there’s no pun intended. His adoration of the king he serves colors everything he does. I wanted to make words do what she made them do, which was bring other worlds to life. Mary Renault is another writer with this talent. Years ago when I read The Persian Boy, a novel about Alexander the Great, I was astonished at the power of her writing. You could feel the dust choking you as you walked across Persia with Alexander. The heat burned your skin in the desert wastelands. Other authors include the late Barbara Karmazin (a friend and mentor who is greatly missed), Shayla Kersten, Nina Pierce, Kiernan Kelly, and Janet Elizabeth Jones. Janet has a new book coming out in January with Harlequin, called Incubus. I think I’m as excited about it as she is, because we were critique partners while she was writing the first stages, and I fell crazily in love with her hero, Meical Grabian.

Muse: Why do you write Science Fiction Romance? And what other genres do you write?
Ms. Allen: I’ve loved SciFi since I was a kid. I also love romance. It seemed natural to put the two together. Worldbuilding is one of my favorite aspects of that. In other genres, I have a fantasy audiobook called The Last Vhalgenn. It was included in short story form in an EPPIE Fantasy Finalist anthology in 2008. Other than that, I don’t currently write in other genres. However, I am planning some shape shifter contemporaries, so that will change (sorry, I love puns).

Muse: What is your writing regimen? How often do you work on a book? Do you set daily time or word goals? What keeps you meeting your deadlines?
Ms. Allen: I write every day, even if it’s only a blog. I work on a book probably at least four days a week, if only for a few hours, although generally much longer. I don’t set time or word goals, because for me, these are counter-productive. If a scene was less than 500 words and it’s perfect, but I had a goal of 600 words, was I successful? So I set scene goals instead. As to what keeps me meeting deadlines... I love knowing I’ll get the cover and see the story in its final form. The anticipation of readers who know a book is about to come out drives me as well. Their excitement is catching.

Muse: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?
Ms. Allen: Definitely. I’m an optimist yet a realist, practical yet enjoy the frivolous, and while I’m fascinated by the future, I deeply enjoy learning about the past. I think all those things flavor my writing. It’s an extension of how I see life. My favorite entertainment television-wise are dramas with a twist of humor, and I seek out tales of espionage, counter-intelligence, conspiracy, and plot-laden stories with multiple layers of secrets. I write the same way. Readers can enjoy one book by itself, but when reading others set in the same universe, will see overlapping characters, and places. Different layers of stories are revealed. All of us are interconnected, and each of us has our own tale. I try to write characters with the same depth and interconnections.

Muse: What are the creative jumping off points for you? Are you inspired by dreams? Music? Nature? The occasional black nightmare? What triggers your imagination?
Ms. Allen: It would be easier to list what doesn’t trigger my imagination! I see ideas everywhere. I look at the world with the detachment of a writer, and even in the midst of experiencing an event, will envision the way I’d write it, or try to see it the way one of my characters might. Music is vital to me, and I make playlists for my characters. The lists are fluid, and depending upon where a character is within a story, the songs may change from slow to fast, or vice versa. I have one favorite song that I play repeatedly: E. S. Posthumous -- Unstoppable. It’s a personal theme song. It also fits my writing brand -- “Unstoppable heroes, Uncompromising love, Unforgettable passion.”

Muse: Tell us about Surrender Love. What was your inspiration?
Ms. Allen: The book won the 2010 EPIC Award Winner in Erotic Science Fiction Romance, was the Love Romances & More, Best SciFi/Futuristic 2009 Runner Up, and made the Romance Junkies Reviewers’ Favorite List for 2009. It’s received multiple 5-star reviews, and has been a best seller. The inspiration came on a miserably hot Fourth of July weekend. The A/C was out, it was ninety degrees in the house at midnight, and I couldn’t sleep. A scene kept running through my mind between Luc Saint-Cyr and one of the guys in a rock band that his company managed. I was afraid if I let myself drift off that by morning all I’d remember is that I’d had a great idea but no clue what it had been about. I got up, scratched out notes and wrote enough detail so that I’d remember the next day. I later wrote it as a flash short story for a friend’s website. It simmered in the back of my mind, as hot as the night I’d first imagined it. When I needed a story about Luc, I decided to trot out that story and see if I could use any of it. I noticed that within only a few pages, I’d used the word “surrender” about five times. That became the original title for the book, which was intended as a short novel that would give Luc a lover to help heal his broken heart. It was supposed to be a fling rather than forever. But when I started writing Izzorah “Rah” Ceeow, he became a perfect match for Luc. I couldn’t write about their break up or have him left behind when the immortal Luc had to move on. That meant he had to be immortal himself. The problem was, ho to do that. I write on a very strict story-related timeline of what happens when, and follow a cardinal rule not to violate the timeline. It took some calculations, a secret mission, and a scheming, power-hungry warrior, but I figured out a way to do it. Once Luc discovered Rah was immortal, he was even more determined to make him his own. Instead of a fling, Izzorah became Luc’s forever love, the book changed names to Surrender Love, and sparked ideas for two more books.

Surrender Trust and Surrender Will will be out as soon as I can finish writing them. I’m down to the final scenes on Trust, and can’t wait to start on Will. In each story, the two heroes learn to surrender aspects of themselves to one another, all while Luc is teaching Rah how to manuever through the perils of an immortal’s life. I post snippets with the following warning: “This book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven to be addictive.”

Muse: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?
Ms. Allen: It’s hard to pick one favorite scene, but there is one that always makes me smile. It’s the scene where Luc and Rah each reveal their need for the other, in more than a sexual way. In this scene, Luc and Izzorah have curled together in bed after making love. Izzorah asks the immortal Luc a question he’s reluctant to answer. Rather than lie, since Izzorah can smell emotion, Luc changes the subject. He sees a playful side of his Kin lover, and ends up making a confession that he hadn’t intended to make. Note: “kosset” is a term of endearment in Luc’s original tongue that means “my ultimate treasure.”

*

“Hmm.” Luc narrowed his eyes. “I wonder how ticklish you are? I think I need to find out.”
“Ack!” Before Luc could make good on that threat, Izzorah tumbled off the bed, laughing. “Stay right there, human.”

“Grrr.” Luc crawled off the bed. He made a grab for Izzorah, who squealed and lurched backward. “Come back here.” Luc sprang to his feet.

With a screech, Izzorah fled, laughing. A shadow showed Luc reaching for him, and Izzorah darted away. Disoriented in the darkened room, he headed away from the door, ending up by the closet, with no way out.

Growling, Luc held up both hands, fingers curled as if he had claws.

Izzorah threw out both hands in defense. “Don’t tickle the nice kitty!”

Luc laughed, dropping hands to his sides. “So, you’ve gone from Kin to cat to kitty, have you?”

“Meow?” Izzorah started giggling. When Luc made a grab for him, he backed into the wall. “Don’t tickle me!”

But instead of tickling, Luc braced one hand on either side of his head and leaned down close. “Kiss me, kosset.”

Izzorah folded his hands in front of his chest. “Promise you won’t tickle me.”

“I promise. I want you to trust my touch. I won’t do anything you don’t want.”

He gave a sniff. No lies. He wrapped both arms around Luc’s waist and laid his head on the man’s shoulder.

Luc leaned down to give him a quick kiss. He set his nose against Izzorah’s, and held him close.

Why don’t you like being tickled?”

“When I was a kid, a cousin tickled me until I threw up. I’ve hated it ever since.”

“I will never force you to do anything you don’t like.” Darkness concealed his face, but his scent remained clear.

Izzorah let out a long, sighing breath. “Good. I’ve known you only a few days, but already it’s like you’ve been a part of me forever. I trust you more than anyone I’ve ever known.” He squeezed the hard strength of Luc’s biceps, the muscle solid beneath the silky black skin. “I don’t understand that.”

“Does it frighten you, love?”

“No!” Izzorah’s confidence faded as he thought about it. “Well... yes. Maybe.” He groaned. “Oh, hell, I don’t know! This is all new to me. I’ve never done any of this before. It doesn’t make sense.” He circled his fingertips along the bulk of Luc’s arms. “Look at me. I mean, here I am, stark naked in the dark with a man I only met this week. How crazy is that?”

Luc ducked his head in a way that was almost shy. “I will do my utmost never to betray your trust.” He toyed with a strand of Izzorah’s hair, reached up and fondled one ear. “Do you
think --” A faint scent arose of bittersweet cocoa, rich with cream -- longing so acute it was almost despair. Luc made a sound sharp with dismay, averted his face.

“Luc.” Izzorah clutched a hand over his heart. The man loomed above him, face hidden by shadow. Reaching up, Izzorah cupped first one, then both hands around Luc’s face, showing with a reverent touch what words could never say. “Ask me what you want to know.”

A long silence ensued, a confusion of scents showing how much doubt Luc actually held. “A man like me... I don’t expect you to fall in love. I just --”

“Luc.” Tears blurred his vision. He picked up his lover’s hand and brought it flat against his chest, holding Luc against him, and said the commitment vows he’d run away from before. “Your honor will be my honor. Your people will be my people. Your will shall be my will.” He bowed his head, ears forward, claws extended. “Tu therah t’hahr. Tu kahmay t’hahr. You are the warrior of my heart. You are the hero of my heart.”

Muse: Have you written other books?
Ms. Allen: Yes. I have seven others. An audiobook, a trilogy, two books of a trilogy, and Surrender Love, which is book one of a trilogy.

Muse: Tell us about your other books?
Ms. Allen: I’d be happy to. They are:

Antonello Brothers 1: At the Mercy of Her Pleasure (a Tarthian Empire Book)
When NarrAy steals a kiss from Senth, he steals her heart, but how much more are they willing to take -- for each other?
Loose Id http://www.loose-id.com/At-the-Mercy-of-Her-Pleasure.aspx
ISBN 978-1-60737-552-4
Available at Amazon

Antonello Brothers 2: For Women Only (a Tarthian Empire Book)
Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Can Mehfawni redeem the man her people destroyed, or will he destroy her for trying?
http://www.loose-id.com/For-Women-Only.aspx
ISBN: 978-1-60737-435-0
Available on Amazon

Wulf, Tales of the Chosen (a Tarthian Empire Book)
Lust. Power. Forgiveness. Can a romance live forever?
http://liquidsilverbooks.com/books/wulf.htm
ISBN: 1-59578-282-6
Available on Amazon

Alitus, Tales of the Chosen (a Tarthian Empire Book)
Passion. Addiction. Loyalty. Will true love bare its heart forever?
http://liquidsilverbooks.com/books/alitus.htm
ISBN: 1-59578-323-7
Available on Amazon

Jawk, Tales of the Chosen (a Tarthian Empire Book)
Pleasure. Trust. Possession. Is a betrayal of the heart forever?
http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/jawk.htm
ISBN: 978-1-59578-406-3

The Last Vhalgenn (Audio book)
The dying Queen gives her newborn son to the Vhalgenn and begs her to fulfill a ritual in the Old Ways.  But if she obeys, who--or what--will she bring back to the King?
AudioLark http://tinyurl.com/audiotlv

Muse: How do you feel about the current publishing marketplace?
Ms. Allen: I’m excited by the market for ebooks. Readers have more choices today than at any time in history. Almost anything you want to read, in any genre, is available in ebook. When I first chose epublishing, it was with the intention of eventually going into print. I’m less enchanted about that now, and see epublishing as the goal rather than a means. Print will not go away anytime soon, but with ebooks available so easily, inexpensively, and immediately, the advantages outweigh the cost and time involved in lugging around a hardcover, and even a paperback. I own a few hardcovers, only one of which I purchased. The rest were gifts. I won’t tell you how many paperbacks I own, and doubt I could count the number of ebooks. I store them on a terrabyte drive for a reason. ;)