I am excited to welcome author Stacey Jay, who is still celebrating the release of her second Annabelle Lee novel, Blood on the Bayou.
First came a terrorist attack. Then the mutations—and Fey who had lived in harmony with humans turned deadly. Now, most people hide behind iron gates. But those who are immune—and those with enough courage—can venture into the Louisiana Delta . . . and a nightmare world of magic.
No good deed goes unpunished…
Annabelle Lee, a Fairy Containment and Control agent blessed—or cursed—with immunity to Fairy venom, is once again called upon to help solve a murder deep in the bayou. But this investigation is off the books and her ex-lover, Hitch, is leading the hunt for a secret chemical weapons lab and an FBI mole providing it with human lab rats.Helping Hitch means certain interpersonal disaster with her estranged boyfriend, but Annabelle knows exactly what it feels like to be a lab rat. Her new, fairy-attack-induced paranormal powers seem to have few negative side effects, but would that change if she stopped injecting herself with the mystery drug delivered to her by the even more mysterious—not to mention ridiculously attractive—Tucker? A man who can turn invisible at will, and who makes no bones about how dead she’ll be if she reveals his secrets.
As the murder investigation progresses, Annabelle learns Tucker isn’t the only one with secrets, and that the only thing that cuts deeper than a friend’s deception, are the lies we tell ourselves.
If that doesn’t make you want to run out to the bookstore and grab your own copy, how about this? The wonderful people at Simon & Schuster have given me the first chapter to post today as well.
Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away two copies of Blood on the Bayou.
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Not Another Love Triangle
We all know the setup:
- One girl (usually blessed/cursed with paranormal powers).
- Two devoted, delicious men (often also possessing paranormal powers or at least a lethal amount of Sexy) who would do anything to be the man chosen to receive all the One girl’s sweet love.
The Love Triangle. Even when it’s done well, it has begun to feel overdone. That’s why, as I went into drafting Blood on the Bayou, I decided to add another man into the mix and make a nice, sturdy love square. I mean, why have two men when you can have three? You know what I’m saying? *bow chica bow bow*
Kidding. I’m entirely kidding.
As fun and/or stressful as having three romantic interests in one’s life might be (depending on your view of such things), I knew from the beginning that the “torn between two/three men” plot line was never going to be a primary focus for the Annabelle Lee series. My heroine, Annabelle, is a woman with a lot of baggage. At the beginning of Dead on the Delta she’s a complete wreck. I wanted the story to start at her personal rock bottom and have her newly discovered paranormal abilities force her into getting her act together and growing up. Deciding what to do about the three men in her life is a big part of that for Annabelle.
One of the men loves her for who she used to be, one loves her for who she is, and one is interested in who she could become. Sorting out which is which, and who she wants to be—the Annabelle who pretended to have it all together while drinking away her guilt over her sister’s death, the Annabelle who works hard at not giving a shit and is happy to let a man over a decade older keep her functional, or the Annabelle who realizes she doesn’t have to be perfect to be affect other people in a positive way—is a central issue in Blood on the Bayou. By the end of the book, Annabelle has committed to one person, eliminating the love square.
Who does she choose? I hope you’ll read and find out, but I will give you a hint: Though there is a man in her life at the close of Blood on the Bayou, the person she’s committed to at the end of the book was never a corner of the love square. This person isn’t a romantic interest…or even a man at all.
Some plot twists surprise me while I’m writing. Others are things I’ve known are going to happen from the day I started drafting the first book in the Annabelle Lee series. The big commitment that Annabelle makes at the end of Blood on the Bayou is something I knew was going to happen from the moment the other character was introduced early in Dead on the Delta and it was so much fun to write this happy beginning. I hope it’s just as much fun to read.
(And don’t worry. If you’re not into happy endings that don’t involve Lethally Sexy Men With Paranormal Powers, I’ve made sure to include one of those, as well ;).)
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Meet Stacey Jay!
Stacey Jay is a recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living. She’s been a full time mom-writer since 2005 and can’t think of anything she’d rather be doing. Her former careers include theatre performer, professional dancer, poorly paid C-movie actress, bartender, waiter, math tutor, and yoga instructor.
In her very limited spare time, Stacey enjoys cooking elaborate dinners and eating them very slowly, dressing up in costumes with her sons, and drinking wine with her husband. She loves to hear from readers and personally answers every single email she receives.
Contact Info
Website: website
Blog: Blog
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
Want to purchase Stacey’s novels?
Megan Berry, Zombie Settler
- You Are So Undead to Me at Amazon | Book Depository
- Undead Much? at Amazon | Book Depository
- Valentine’s Day of the Undead at Amazon | Book Depository
Annabelle Lee
- Dead on the Delta at Amazon | Book Depository
- Blood on the Bayou at Amazon | Book Depository
Juliet Immortal
- Juliet Immortal at Amazon | Book Depository
- Romeo Redeemed at Amazon | Book Depository
My So-Called Death at Amazon | Book Depository
The Locket at Amazon | Book Depository
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Contest Time!
Thank you Stacey for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!
Stacey is giving away two copies of Blood on the Bayou. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: What does your Happy Ever After have to include? Does there have to be Lethally Sexy Men With Paranormal Powers or will anyone do? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered. Sorry guys…as these are coming from the publisher, I need to restrict the contest to the US or Canada residents only.
Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.
The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.
The contest will stay open until May 8th at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.
I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.
I actually don’t mind if the hea is a normal guy instead of the sexy paranormal.
My happily ever after would include a man that adores me and that I adore in return. Paranormal stuff would be cool, too.
My happily ever after doesn’t have to include a guy at all…I would like to finish everything on my bucket list which pretty much consists of traveling and seeing new things.
This is not for an entry (I’m not from the US/Can) but I wanted to answer the question anyway.
My HEA doesn’t need to be a lethally sexy man with super powers. And he most definitely doesn’t need to be perfect (flaws are good). But he does have to genuinely care about the heroine. But supernatural powers are always appreciated ;-)
My HEA has to include a strong foundation for the future. That means I have trust in my hero and I know he loves me. He would have shown it to me countless times on our journey. He and I may have made mistakes along the way but we learned from it.
I kind of like the shy, quiet, nerdy types, so for me, HEAs definitely do not need to include lethally sexy men with superpowers, although it’s always good if they are handy with power tools.
I don’t think I’d want a lethally sexy man with supernatural powers as part of my HEA, becuase there would be a downside somewhere along the line. He doesn’t even need to be drop-dead goregeous either. Kinda like the plain looking guys with the quriky sense of humor (guess that would by my kind of HEA) :)