Friday, April 30, 2021

INTERVIEW WITH MILA NICKS (Black Moon Rising)

 



Lucky us! Here we are at the end of a busy month and author Mila Nicks has made time to come chat with us. Welcome, Mila!

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

MN: Selene Blackstone is my female protagonist. She’s a lunar witch who was once cursed to remain in a small town called Brimrock. Another part of the curse was that she would never find love or happiness. Book two opens with the curse broken and Selene able to travel for the first real time in her life. She and her boyfriend, a paranormal investigator named Aiden O’Hare, are sightseeing before their first case begins. Selene loves books and snacking. She’s a very friendly and engaging person, though she can be a bit shy. She’s still coming into her own in terms of her witchy powers, because her mother (also a witch) raised her to be afraid of them. In book two she slowly starts coming into her own.

Aiden O’Hare is my male protagonist. He’s a sarcastic, practical and prickly paranormal investigator. He met his witch girlfriend Selene when he was in town in Brimrock investigating her grandma. Book two opens with him traveling with Selene and soaking up the time off before their next case begins. Aiden is a huge book lover and tends to lead with his logic, meaning he doesn’t usually believe in the paranormal. He’s not really a people person, though he can be funny using his wit and sarcasm. He tends to be emotionally detached thanks to a cold upbringing, but he’s slowly changing thanks to his relationship with Selene.

SC: Oh, we love paranormal investigators around here. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

MN: I’m more or less undecided. I’m open to the possibility of paranormal activity being real, though I’m not certain it is. I will say I do have an experience from when I was a child. I believe I was about five or six when my mother left the living room to go do some laundry. I was sitting around watching TV and eating a snack. There was a vase on one of our shelves that randomly tipped over and shattered on the ground. Of course I was blamed, but I didn’t go anywhere near the vase. I was terrified for weeks after that, because I was convinced there was a ghost in our home.

It's more than twenty years later, and I’m not sure what caused that vase to tip over and fall. My mother was always cleaning, so it could’ve been she moved the vase to the edge of the shelf when dusting and the vase ended up tipping over later. OR my six-year-old gut instinct could’ve been correct, and it really was a ghost! I guess I’ll never know for sure. :)

SC: Maybe not, but keep your eyes open! What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

MN: I’m working on a few different projects right now. My next upcoming book is called For Vacation Only. It’s a fun vacation romance between a wealthy jilted groom and a quirky cruise ship singer. It’s a great summertime read if you’re looking for something light and fun.

Black Moon Rising
Paranormal Hunters 
Book Two
Mila Nicks

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: 23 April 2021
ISBN: 
ASIN: B08L8W4YCF
Cover Artist: Red Leaf Book Design

Tagline: Dreams aren’t always so sweet

Book Description:

Philadelphia. Boston. New York City. 

Selene Blackstone is finally getting the chance to explore like she’s always dreamed. Once stuck in her hometown Brimrock, with the curse broken, she’s a free witch. Together in their trusty caravan Ghost, she and her paranormal investigator boyfriend Aiden O’Hare are traveling cross-country filming for their show, Paranormal Hunters. 

Their first case brings them to the colonial town Maresburg, Virginia, where the Mhoon Hotel is said to be one of the most haunted in the country. At the century-old hotel, guests experience nightmares so frightening they’re heart-stopping—literally. Selene and Aiden only have a couple of weeks to figure out if this case is a scammer at work, or if there’s some truth to what they say: dreams do come true. And so do nightmares. 


Black Moon Rising Excerpt 1:

“We’re here. Time to get up,” Aiden said, but Selene didn’t budge. He draped her arm over his shoulder and lifted her into his arms, carrying her down the passage leading into the hotel.

The foyer lights were already off except for the desk lamp at the reception counter. He staggered up the stairs, keeping his balance while holding a dozing Selene. He had no clue where her key card was and didn’t have the energy to stop and search. Instead, he fumbled for his own, sliding it into the slot on his door handle. The lock clicked and the door swung open. He delivered Selene to his bed, figuring she would wake up once she realized they were no longer driving.

But she didn’t. Aiden spent the next half hour showering and shaving. He emerged in his glasses, T-shirt, and pajama bottoms and discovered Selene was still deeply asleep. A frown curled itself onto his lips as he debated if he should try waking her again. He lowered himself at her side on the bed and gave her a gentle shake.

“Selene,” he said. His insides knotted with a strange premonition. “Wake up. We’re back at the hotel.”

Selene was the lightest sleeper he knew. It was what made her insomnia that much worse; the slightest noise normally woke her. She needed a perfect temperature and often even the bed itself kept her up if not comfortable enough. She wasn’t someone who fell into a deep hibernation type of sleep.

Her only answer to him was another sleepy moan. She rolled onto her side and snuggled one of the bed pillows. She really was knocked out.

“I didn’t realize she was this tired,” he said, sighing. He unzipped her boots, tugging them off, and then pulled the bed comforter over her.

He dimmed the lights and picked up his book for some bedtime reading. Before he made it to the armchair on the other side of the room, he stopped short. Outside the door there was an unmistakable whispery sound, like the soughing wind.

It only grew louder as he stood still and listened. The low whispering noise transformed into something rougher—something borderline ragged—and then it dawned on him. The sound wasn’t the wind but one of lungs, intaking a breath. Who those lungs belonged to, he hadn’t the faintest clue.

Aiden’s heart started racing and he straightened his shoulders. The sound was going nowhere, hovering outside the door. He had to check it out, investigate what was going on. In two of his long-legged strides, he crossed the room and pressed his eye to the peephole.

The hall was blanketed in darkness. Staring into the peephole was like staring at the inside of your lids. Yet, as Aiden held his eye against the hole, another strange premonition panged in his stomach. Whatever was on the other side of this door was staring back at him. It was peering into the same hole.

Gooseflesh pricked Aiden’s skin and he backed away. The ragged breathing carried on for another few seconds, an ugly sound to Aiden’s ears, before it faded. Farther and farther away it drifted until the sound died out and silence weighed in.

Aiden hurried over to his desk, grabbing the spirit box, the flashlight, and his copy of War and Peace. The spirit box and flashlight were to detect any unusual activity in the area. The thousand-plus page book was to use as a weapon if necessary. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the bed. Selene was still fast asleep, buried under the covers looking cozy and comfortable. He marched to the door and pulled it open.

Shadows ruled the hallway. Aiden stepped over the threshold, shuddering at the arctic cold in the air. He flicked on both the flashlight and spirit box, which crackled to life. Shining the flashlight down the hall, the shadows scuttled away. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The hallway looked as it always did, a stretch of oil portraits on the walls and doily-like area rugs sprinkled throughout.

The spirit box continued to crackle, its green lights weakly blinking. Aiden scanned the hall some more, his brow furrowed. If there wasn’t anything amiss, then was he imagining the sound? Maybe he was more exhausted than he realized…

He was a second away from turning back and heading into the room. The lights on the spirit box flashed bright and the crackling noise intensified. His eyes snapped to what it had picked up on and his gooseflesh only spread across his skin in a cold wave.

Black ink dribbled from the vent in the hall. It trickled down the striped wallpaper in a slow descent. He walked over and shone his flashlight onto the vent. Selene had been right all along. Whatever it was they were dealing with wasn’t human.

 

About the Author:

Mila Nicks is on a mission to pen heartfelt and entertaining love stories featuring women of color. 

When she isn’t writing diverse love stories, you can find her globetrotting, sampling new cuisines, and spending quality time with her spunky pet Chihuahua, Zayden. 

For more on Mila, including news on upcoming releases and story freebies, check out her website and subscribe to her newsletter: https://www.milanickswrites.com/










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