Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Interview + Giveaway: The Queen's Dance by Jamie Schmidt



Are you ready for Champ? This dragon stud might be limited on land thanks to being a water dragon but there's no finer protector for Queen Margery. If you love dragon shifters don't miss this newest installment in the Emerging Queens series.

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?
I hate shoe shopping.  I have a wide foot and a high arch and I can never, ever, find cute shoes to fit me.  Once a year, I order like ten pairs from Zappos and try them all on, hoping that one pair will fit and I can keep them. Most of the time, they all get sent back.  I wind up with a pair of sneakers that I wear all year and a pair of sandals that I wear all summer.
What do you enjoy doing on your down time?
I like to read and knit.  I'm a big fan of napping too, but I usually would rather surf around on Facebook or play World of Warcraft than "waste time" sleeping.  I also like to shop.  A trip to the mall isn't complete without a visit to the LUSH cosmetics store, Teavana or David's Tea (or both),
What is your Favorite part of writing?
Writing "The End."  I also like going to plotting weekends with my writer friends and having writing retreats away from home where I can sleep as late as I want, have someone make me blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then brainstorm creative processes with my peeps.
Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?
After I've procrastinated all I can and the housework is mostly done (for the moment), I like to get a cold drink -- usually tea or diet coke.  My cat hangs out with me and keeps me company.  I also put on headphones and either stream Pandora's 80's and 90's music station or my own Youtube playlist for the book.
What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?
It's a huge list.  Darynda Jones, Ilona Andrews, Ann Bishop, Nalini Singh, Grace Draven, Meljean Brook, Mary Janice Davidson, Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Seanan McGuire, Cecy Robson, Karen Marie Moning, Bec McMaster, Jeaniene Frost, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Lora Leigh, Lyndsay Burokers, Stacia Kane, Jill Myles and a boatload more.
 
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Despite his handicaps outside his natural habitat, water dragon Remy “Champ” Champlain fights to protect Queen Margery from those who plot to quash her damaging news reports by silencing her...forever.


He can never have her, but he'll protect her with his life.


After newly shifted sky dragon Queen Margery is rescued from smugglers by water dragon Remy Champlain, she debates whether to flesh out the story that nearly got her killed or embrace her royalty and build a court of protectors and studs. Sparks fly between Remy and her. He’d love her to give up her job and settle down…hopefully with him…but he can’t fly and she can’t swim, so their relationship can never get off the ground.


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Excerpt #2:

The healing burn of the sun pinned Margery to the ground. Her eyes wouldn’t open, but she could see the blazing orange from under her lids. She’d been saved. Pressing her cheek against the sun-warmed grass, she took a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in a week. Coughs racked her body. She was still so weak. A tear leaked out of her eye.
“Please don’t cry, chérie. You’re safe here.”
That was the lake dragon. The one who’d helped rescue her. Margery’s hands clutched the ground. She was no longer on the water, trapped in a smuggler’s hold hidden under the deck of a yacht. No longer lying in her own waste, dying a slow and painful death.
“Where am I?” she asked, her words coming out as a strangled whisper.
“You’re at my home in North Hero, Vermont. It’s very private here.”
He had a sexy way of talking. French Canadian accent, if she wasn’t mistaken. It was comforting, nonthreatening. Margery stretched as the healing sunbeams sank into her core.
“Your kidnappers have been brought to justice.”
They were more than kidnappers. In return for pimping Margery out to Champ, they had wanted him to turn a blind eye to their smuggling operation on his lake.
The doll!
Margery bolted upright and regretted it immediately. “Where is it?” she cried. The sun blinded her, but she didn’t care. She groped around with her hands.
“What?” he said, panic in his voice.
“The Smooshie.”
“What the hell is a—” Champ cut himself off and continued in a more polite tone. “I don’t understand, my Queen.”
Queen? Oh, right.
“The red dragon doll. I had it in my hand when you rescued me. It’s very important.”
“Uh, hold on. Let me check my truck.”
She heard him run.
Great. He probably thought she was an idiot looking for her little dolly.
Rubbing her eyes, Margery tried to stand up. But her legs refused to obey her, muscles trembling as she strained to rise.
The pirates had grabbed her when her camera’s flash malfunctioned and went off while she was taking pictures of their illicit activity—stuffing the dolls with drugs. When they saw her, they tried to kill her. If she’d been human, they would have. But when the bullets tore into her, she had instinctively shifted into her sky dragon form.
She’d only been a dragon for three weeks. Actually, she had always been a dragon, but an ancient curse had stopped her shift at puberty and blocked her dragon magic. When that curse was shattered, all the suppressed Queens shifted into their true forms. It took a lot of getting used to. The first week, all she did was cry and break things. The second week she flew around the world over and over again until sheer exhaustion claimed her. By the time the third week rolled around, Margery figured she’d better get over herself and return to her career as an investigative reporter.
 

And don't miss the rest of the Emerging Queens series:



FBI dragon Reed’s disdain for humans can’t mask the magnetic attraction he has for Carolyn, but when she tells him she’s going to shift into a dragon he thinks she’s crazy. A female hasn’t been hatched, or shape shifted, in over a thousand years. He’s proven wrong after Carolyn shifts and is named the new Queen on the block. When the Cult of Humanity kidnaps Carolyn to sacrifice her, Reed must face his fears—and feelings, racing to save the woman he realizes he can’t live without.





Viola Pierce has never had particularly great luck with guys. That is, until the day she shifts into a glorious, deadly, three-headed dragon. As it turns out, Viola is a dragon Queen. As a rule, Sergei hates Queens, but the Viola's beauty and humanity reach something deep within him. When she names him her protector and consort—quite by accident—a heated and unexpected attraction grows. But the dragon court is ruthless...and what doesn't kill Viola will only make her more dangerous. 



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About the author: 

Jamie Kleinkauf-Schmidt has over thirty short stories published in small press and ezines. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz in Secondary Education English, which is a fancy way of saying she went to college to teach high school English. When that didn’t pan out, she worked as a call center manager, a Tupperware consultant, a paralegal, and finally a technical writer for a major conglomerate company. She is an active member in the Romance Writers of America (RWA), serving as the PRO liaison for her local chapter Connecticut Romance Writers of America (CTRWA).


When not writing, Jamie relaxes with a mug of hot tea and knits or makes beaded jewelry. She sells her handcrafted items at The Dudley Farm during the summer. A voracious reader, Jamie has a Kindle and is not afraid to use it.


Connect with Jamie K. Schmidt


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