Apr 3, 2014

In the Spotlight with Jess Buffett!



Jess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She married her high school sweetheart and they live on the Central Coast with their two children. Jess is a hopeless romantic who loves stories about true love with a happy ending—which is probably a good thing given what she writes. She is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be shifters, vampires, cowboys, or the boy next door. Jess is a firm believer in soul mates, happily-ever-afters, and love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third meeting for the brain to catch up.

Harry’s Nature
The Keepers 2

Known to most as Mother Nature, Nate is used to people not understanding him. However, nothing shocks him more than when his mate and fellow Keeper, the Easter Bunny, refuses to claim him. Hurt, Nate is even more stunned when Harry changes his mind hundreds of years later, demanding to be given another chance.

Two hundred years ago Harry, the Easter Bunny, made a deal to protect his mate. Believing he would never be able to claim Nate, Harry pushed him away. Witnessing two of his friends struggling from a misunderstanding causes Harry to study the curse that has confined him all these years closer. Realising the very thing that could free him is the one thing he had tried to avoid, Harry must now convince Nate to give him a second chance.

But in keeping him safe, has Harry pushed Nate too far away? Or will Nate see the burden his mate has carried all these years for him, and give Harry a second chance?



Excerpt

Harry stood in the shadows near the entrance to the Pro Custodes, watching Nate pace back and forth, the occasional grimace forming.

He could practically hear Nate’s thoughts. Could they be any louder?
A grumble under his breath and Nate returned to pacing.  

Harry couldn’t help the way he raked his eyes over the other man’s form. So tall and lean, smooth skin reminding him of the finest chocolate. What he wouldn’t give to take a bite out of him. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

He sighed, low and almost desperate. So many years wasted, and all thanks to his stupidity...and the Dark Lords. Harry should have known better. 

They were tricksters afterall. Not so much interested in carnage, but that was usually the result of their games. They weren’t evil, they were just considered to have ambiguous morals. Fewer in numbers than the Keepers, the Dark Lords were still capable of doing damage, and they had. Harry didn’t doubt for a second that Thyme’s fears over his relationship had been amplified by Fear himself. Not many things could scare Thyme, but his love for Cupid met no emotional match for the much older Keeper.

Harry could sympathize.

Approaching slowly, he hid his grin as another groan filtered through the air and Nate rolled his eyes once more, letting out an irritated huff.

“Problem?” he asked.

He could hear Nate’s heart as it skipped a beat at the sound of Harry’s voice.  Harry could see the struggle Nate had to keep his features neutral, before giving up and pasting on the fakest smile he had ever seen.  “Harry.  I thought you would have left by now.”

Harry frowned. Granted, Harry kept to himself lot lately over the years, his need to keep Nate at a distance had leaked over to the other Keeper’s as well, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care. Is that what Nate truly thought? If so, Harry had more of a battle than he had even thought. “Thyme is my friend too, Nate.  I wouldn’t leave without first knowing he was okay.”

Nate snort was somehow graceful.  “We knew he was going to be fine the moment Cupid said I love you and he began healing.”  The other Keeper’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.  “What are you really doing here?”

At first Harry said nothing, trying to find the right words. He had never been good with them. Perhaps that was why the Dark Lords had managed to pull one over him so successfully. Wording. Amazing how things said a particular way could still mean something different depending on the context.

Harry had been so sure when he had made his deal with the Dark Lord to keep Nate safe, that it had meant he could never have the man. To keep him safe, he had to keep his distance.

God, he was a moron.

One that may not be good with words, but could write a declaration in a matter of moments with his actions. Which is exactly what he did.

Taking the few steps that separated them, Harry didn’t waste time reaching to hook his hand behind Nate’s head, fingers twisting in Nate’s flowing black hair to lock him in place.  The kiss seared him to his soul, tongues dueling, and teeth clashing.  So passionate, so consuming, Harry could feel Nate’s acceptance as he stood there taking the assault on his mouth.  Could tell how much the other man enjoyed it.

Pulling away suddenly, Harry began backing away, his entire body shaking as he restrained himself from jumping Nate right then and there. Nate’s eyes widened, his lips slightly parted. Harry imagined what he must look like right at that moment. On edge, body tense, eyes blazing and determined. When Nate shivered, Harry chuckled.

“One thing about watching Thyme and Cupid?  It made me realized just how detrimental little mistakes can be.  How easily one small thing could be misunderstood, and how it could snowball into something so devastating that you are left wondering how you got there and how to find your way back out.”

“I-I don’t—”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what I mean.”  There was no way Nate missed the warning in his tone. He was close. Too close to losing it. “You can run all you want, Nate.  But remember, I’m the Easter Bunny, and there is nothing I love more than a good hunt.”

Shimmering out of there before he did anything else, the last thing Harry heard was Nate’s gasp. “Oh shit.”


Blog Post

To celebrate a milestone for me – 1 year as a published author and my birthday – which are both today, I am having an event on my blog at http://jessbuffett.wordpress.com/jess-buffetts-birthdayanniversary-event




Behind the Scenes

Thinking back on your first book, is there anything you would have done differently?
I can definitely see areas that I would have tweak or extended. I will be getting the rights back to 2 of my original releases soon and I have big plans for them now that I have learned a lot.

Do you work best on a deadline, or do you need freedom from time constraints?

Deadline, definitely. I am a master procrastinator otherwise. Lol Left to my own devices I would probably have 5 times the amount of WIP and less than half of the releases I do. J

Is there a word or phrase you catch yourself overusing?

The word seriously. Lol. Apparently when I write I turn into a teenage girl again.

What are you currently working on? How is it different from other books you’ve written?

I’ve started writing Ménage romance on top of MM and MF. So far I’ve just completed an MFM with my friend Hazel Gower, and now I am branching out on my own with a MMF releasing at the end of this month and an MMM currently one of my WIP.

Is there anything you haven’t written that you would like to try some day? Why have you avoided it in the past?

Sci-fi. I’d love to try Sci-fi romance. I enjoy reading it, but I have always been a fan of paranormal over anything. Perhaps if I entwine the two, hmmm…

What types of scenes are your favorite to write?

I enjoy writing fight scenes. Both verbal and physical. I love snark and humour, and if my characters also know how to throw a mean right hook to someone trying to harm them…even better. lol

What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

The synopsis. I HATE writing them. Lol. One of my publishers doesn’t ask for them, and I am eternally grateful to JK Publishing for that.


Inside the Book

Describe your setting and why you chose to write about this place.

The setting is a little different in The Keepers. Their main base of operations doesn’t really exist in one place, and the only way to find it is if you are a Keeper. As for their homes, well, they are spread right through out. In Harry’s Nature, you find that Harry (Easter Bunny) lives in central Australia, and Nate (Mother Nature) lives in the middle of the Amazon.

Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

While watching the kids movie The Guardians. Yes, I know…bad mum. lol

If you could choose one actress and one actor to play your lead characters in a movie, who would they be and why?

I’d have Hugh Jackman for Harry, and Charles Michael Davis for Nate. I can’t really explain it, but they are just perfect in my mind. J




Contest: Enter to win an ecopy of Harry’s Nature. Leave a comment with a valid email address. Contest ends April 6th at Midnight. 




3 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Jess!!!!!!! Can't believe it's only been a year!
    pearls pearlsatinnergoddess@gmail.com

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  2. Happy birthday! Love the excerpt.

    sassytw@gmail.com

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