Pimpin' Reads: May 2012

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Thanks Micah for agreeing to an interview with Pimpin' Reads.

Micah: Sits back in his chair and crosses his legs, ankle over knee. "You're welcome."

I bet things get hectic as part of AKM.

Micah: Scratches the side of his neck nonchalantly and looks Jowanna up and down with a grin. "It's a living. I've never known anything else, so it's normal for me."

Just so you know, I've got the hots for you pretty bad, but it's okay I understand about the bonding thing.

Micah: He grins and winks at Jowanna, because he's sexy and he knows it. "Hope makes the world go 'round." He leans forward and touches the sleeve of Jowanna's blouse, running the material between his thumb and fingers. "Is that silk? It's very lovely." He smiles at how she suddenly grows flustered, then slowly leans back, a Cheshire grin on his face. "Do I make you nervous?" His deep voice is playful, something that until recently one didn't associate with Micah.

I don't want to reveal too much of your story so I'll just ask you some general questions. Maybe we can revisit this interview after the next book for a more private chat. Let's get started, shall we?

What made you decide to become a member of All the Kings Men?

Micah chuffs and cocks one eyebrow. "My friend, Tristan, was recruited during the war – well, the third war – with the drecks. He knew I was strong and a good fighter, so he asked me to join him." He pauses. "Few know this, but I actually became his commander. I was the head fucker in charge." Micah looks down sadly. "Until Katarina died. And then my life fell apart." He glances back up with a deep, fortifying breath. "That's when Tristan took over as commander of my unit. Malek was with us then, too. Not the others, though. The others on my current team came along later, after the war."

Can you describe the feelings of losing a mate? The physical and emotional?

Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, Micah clears his throat. "Um, well…it's not pretty. And it's different for every male. But the one constant is this horrible ache in the chest. When a male vampire takes a mate, see, a biological link forms with that person. Think of it as an invisible rope that's a living piece of tissue, such as an umbilical cord, between him and his mate. If that rope gets broken because his mate either dies or leaves him, it's like a piece of his physical body has been cut away. And if someone cut off your arm or took a vital organ out of your body, it would hurt, right?" He nods as he speaks. "It's the same sort of thing. The male feels where the connection has been broken, and the pain usually embeds in his chest and gets worse as the days go by." Micah pauses again. "For me, I've had two mates before Sam came along. I had a wife, Katarina, in the Middle Ages. She was killed during an attack on my village. And then there was Jackson, who was a male I met last year. Usually, when a male mates to another, the other mates back, but Jackson didn't form a mating connection to me like I did to him, and he left me. Which opened up all kinds of old wounds from Katarina's death, too, so yeah, I was a fucking mess for a few weeks. Not only did I experience the physical pain, but my mind sort of short-circuited. Think clinical depression times fifty. That was me. Self-destructive and suicidal doesn't begin to describe the emotional trauma I experienced."

What made you choose pain for yourself instead of revenge or striking out?

Micah is clearly uneasy with the line of questioning, shifting again, uncrossing his legs and re-crossing them in the opposite direction as he adjusts himself in the chair. "It's just the way I'm wired." He taps the side of his head, right at his temple. "That's just the way losing a mate affects me." Trying to divert the attention off his own experiences with losing a mate, he says, "Malek, on the other hand, internalizes. He lost his mate, too, but he went into denial and internalized. He knows he lost his mate, see, but he refuses to accept the responsibility of dealing with that loss. He's never mourned her. He's never dealt with it." Micah's eyebrows lift and he nods. "It's gonna come back and bite him in the ass. Just you wait and see. Sooner or later, he'll have to deal with the loss of his mate."

Can you explain the drecks and the source of the animosity?

Now, this is a question Micah can answer without getting agitated. He chuckles almost sarcastically. "Drecks just don't want to accept their place. They're really quite similar to vampires, but they got the short end of the stick, so to speak." Micah rubs his chin. "Drecks and vampires were cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways, but vampire blood is stronger, and so is vampire venom. Drecks resent that they are biologically weaker than we are in that respect. But as far as physical strength, they can be just as strong or even stronger. And very cunning. The other problem with drecks – not all of them, but the majority – is that they lack a moral compass. They've become so consumed with proving their superiority, that generation after generation of drecks have been raised with severe hatred and prejudice against vampires. Think of it as paranormal or supernatural racism on steroids. They. Hate. Us. And since they hate us so much, but can't easily kill us, they tend to take their hatred out on humans while finding ways to stick it to us vampires directly. So, we spend a lot of time protecting humans from them. But since many drecks pose as human police officers, that makes it tough. Because AKM works alongside human law enforcement. It's a tricky business." Micah waves his hands in the air.

What gave the drecks the ability to change form?

With a shrug, Micah says, "It's just how they were born. Vampires are born with their own gifts and odd, almost magical ways, and so were drecks." Micah sighs as if it's hard explaining all this to a human, then goes on. "Drecks have their natural state, which is one where they look blue. Their hair is bluish-black, their skin has a bluish tint, their eyes are blue – unless you catch them off guard and agitate them, in which case, their eyes flash red. In their natural form, they look…well, blue." Micah looks away and chuckles quietly. "Some of us call them blueberries, but that's not a term you hear much, anymore." He gets serious again. "So anyway, a dreck's natural form is blue, and they look more gaunt and ghostlike in the natural form, too. But their natural tendency is to hide behind a disguise. So, like a chameleon, they can change their appearance to blend in with their surroundings. In this case, humans. It takes a conscious effort for them to appear in the natural form, so you will usually see them only in their human form." Micah hesitates, then adds, "You really have to think of vampires and drecks as animals. Vampires mate similarly to some animals in your world, and drecks are like chameleons. If you think of us as

Apostle seems quite the bad ass? You have a history with him?

"Not really. I just knew of him. We had never met before that night I approached him, but I'd been aware of who he was and what he did. Not many drecks get into this city without me knowing about it. Io is a god on tracking intel and dreck activity, so we're usually kept abreast of who's coming and going around here."

What are the consequences to an AKM member who bites a human?

A wary smile spreads over Micah's face and he looks away and chuckles. "Oh, I know where you're going with this." He winks at Jowanna. "You think I'm in trouble for what I did, don't you?" He laughs and brushes his long, black hair off his face. "Well, for anyone but me," he points dramatically to himself, "they would be in deep shit. But I know a thing or two about Tristan, so I was able to convince him to go easy on me. However, most would be severely reprimanded, maybe even suspended or punished under royal law. King Bain is very clear on the laws about biting humans."

What are your rules for feeding?

"Rules?" Micah winks at her. "Rules are for everyone else but me." He throws his head back and chuckles low and deep then squares her up in his gaze. "I could have fed from you, dear Jowanna, and you wouldn't even know it." His smile spreads over his face like sexy molasses, his eyes narrowing seductively. "We take what we need, we make you forget, and we leave."

He stares at Jowanna and watches her process what he just said. He pokes inside her mind and sees that she's actually considering that he might have fed from her without her knowledge, and then she reaches up and touches her neck. Micah laughs again and leans forward to pat her knee. "I'm just shittin' with you. I didn't feed from you." He's amused as she sighs with…was that disappointment? Hmm, maybe he'd have to give her a taste of what feeding a vampire is like when the interview is over. "At any rate, we get our primary sustenance from humans, but we can feed from other vampires. We usually only do that while mating or when one of us is injured, though. Badly injured vampires need more potent blood than humans can provide, so we use vampire blood to help critically injured vampires recover. And as far as the mating goes, it just feels good." Micah gives a secret smile and shrugs one shoulder.

When you saw Sam for the first time how did you feel?

"Like I was dying." He laughs. A hearty laugh from deep inside his belly. "Then again, I had been beaten to within the brink of death, so that was pretty normal, I think." Micah quiets and looks down introspectively, as if remembering that night. "And then there was this angel…" A gentle smile touches his mouth. "I couldn't see her face, but I could hear her sultry voice. And I could smell her lovely lilac scent. And I could see the outline of her against the light. I remember that her hair looked like a blond halo around her head. I knew then I had to have her. And then I passed out."

How often did you visit the Black Garter. ;)

"Not as often as I wanted to, especially after Scarlet started working there. But then, I met Jackson soon thereafter and really didn't have the need to go there, anymore. Before he came along, though, I usually joined Malek when he went. He goes once every month. It's the only time he allows himself to look at a woman in a sexual way." Micah shakes his head. "That guy is really fucked up." He sighs. "Anyway, I usually went when he went, and occasionally, I would go alone. I found some willing subs there before I lost my passion for the whole BDSM scene, and a few of the girls gave me companionship when I needed it, but I didn't make that a habit. That was before Sam, though." He waved away the memories of the way he used to be.

Can you tell everyone a little bit about the other members of the AKM?

That secret grin of Micah's spreads across his face again and he looks down guiltily. "Oh, the secrets I could share." He uncrosses his legs and leans forward, planting his elbows on his knees almost conspiratorially. "See, I have this quirk. I can't seem to get out of the heads of the people around me. I think it's a carryover from when I was the commander back in the Dark Ages. Natural-born leaders within the vampire race have this ability to connect with others. It helps them lead their team or some shit. Whatever, it's not as common nowadays." Micah leans back. "Anyway, some of the younger vampires don't even know about this trait. They just know I'm always in their heads. But I don't use what I find there against them. I don't gossip about it. With that said, here's what I can tell you: You already know a little about Malek from what I said earlier. And you know a bit about Tristan, too. He's done some things that make him have no place reprimanding me for what I've done. Severin is new to the team, but he's got a secret past he doesn't want anyone to know about. And he's in danger, too. But I won't go into that now. And then there's Arion." Micah grins. "That idiot needs to get his head out of his ass, for real. He's always getting his nose up in my business like he knows what's best for me, but he won't even admit the truth to himself about what he is. He needs to open his eyes and see what's in front of him. I know about him and Severin and what they did, and Ari can deny the truth all he wants, but it won't make it any less true. But Io doesn't make it any easier on him. Io is one hell of a fucktard a lot of the time – he's a brilliant hacker, but a fucktard nonetheless – and his reputation with the ladies is off the charts, but he's one prejudiced asshole. He'll get a wake-up call someday, and I hope it's sooner rather than later, because he needs it. I thought after his stint with addiction last year that he'd wake up, but if he has, he keeps hitting the snooze button. You know what I mean?" Micah sighs with frustration. "And then there's Trace. I can't figure that guy out. He's the one person I can't seem to see inside no matter what I try. His mind is locked up tighter than the king's daughter's chastity belt. And that's tight." Micah gives Jowanna a look. "At any rate, I know Trace is extremely powerful. I don't think I know the extent of his powers or his secrets, but I get the feeling he and I have unfinished business. Like he and I are on a collision course with each other." Micah shrugs. "I guess I'll find out what's up with him soon enough."

Micah sits back and looks at Jowanna. "Anything else?" He eyes her neck. "Or should I just compel you now and take what I want?" He winks at her as she gasps and covers her throat with her hand.

Thanks so much for the interview. Micah stands and shakes my hand. *I blush and my knees give a little. "Damn! Too bad he's taken. But the other's aren't, at least not yet. ;)

In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks. Vampire enforcement agency, All the King’s Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community. Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill.

When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah’s life, a chain reaction sets Micah’s heart on a collision course with Sam’s, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever. Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?Buy at Barnes and Noble

Here is a sneak peek of the cover of book 2: Heart of the Warrior