Interview with Paige Cuccaro and Giveaway - December 16, 2011

Please welcome Paige Cuccaro to The Qwillery. Paige's most recent novel is Hellsbane (Hellsbane 1), which was published on December 6, 2011 by Entangled Publishing.


TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk? Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Paige:  I am definitely a plotter. I tried just sitting down at the keyboard and typing away, but I quickly found myself filling page after page of boring, unfocused drivel. I have to know how the story gets from beginning to end—chapter by chapter—or I go off on tangents. Or worse, I write myself into a corner.

TQ:  Describe Hellsbane (Hellsbane 1) in 140 characters or less.

Paige:  A twenty-something girl discovers her father’s an angel. Heaven wants to hire her and daddy dearest wants her dead.

TQ:  What inspired you to write Hellsbane?

Paige:  I love theology and the stories about angels and fallen angels both in the bible and in the Book of Enoch have always captivated me. I wanted to know what a nephilim (the offspring of an angel and human) would be like today. What would her life be like? How would her angelic father impact her life? How would Heaven and Hell treat her? So I wrote the story.

TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Hellsbane?

Paige:  Research for HELLSBANE has been an ongoing practice for years. I combined what found in the Bible as well as a good portion from the Book of Enoch. I also did on line research, but most of that was centered around Pittsburgh. I wanted to get as much of the background details right as I could. I took a road trip to Saint Anthony’s Chapel, which was really cool and I highly recommend if you’re in to cool churches and getting up close and personal with the world’s second largest collection of religious relics.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Hellsbane?

Paige:  I think my favorite scenes are one where Emma Jane is taken on a world wind trip by her angelic mentor. And my other favorite scene was one that was hard to write even though I knew it was coming, where Emma Jane suffers a very difficult loss.

TQ:  In Hellsbane, who was the most difficult character to write and why? The easiest and why?

Paige:  Emma Jane was the easiest to write. I can relate to her—always wanting things you can’t have and realizing a little too late when you had it good.
Eli was the hardest. I wanted him to be kind and understanding, but no wimpy. He had to be sexy without be all he-man. It was a hard line to walk.

TQ:  Why did you set Hellsbane in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?

Paige:  I grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh and have always seen it as a great location for almost any kind of character or story. I just LOVE that city and the people so much. I love the wonky streets and the city’s history, and all the different neighborhoods. It’s just an awesome place.

TQ:  How many books are planned for the Hellsbane series?

Paige:  There are three books planed for the HELLSBANE series, HELLSBANE, HEAVEN AND HELLSBANE, and HELLSBANE HEREAFTER.

TQ:  What's next?

Paige:  Well my plate is pretty full with the HELLSBANE series right now. I’m about to go into edits for the second book and will be starting the third shortly. I’d love for the books to continue after the third is released, but my brain’s already churning with a new story idea I can’t wait to explore. I also hope to do a few short stories featuring Eli and maybe one of the other secondary characters.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Paige:  Thank you for having me! These were really fun questions. I hope you and your readers all have a great holiday and healthy and happy new year!


About Hellsbane

Hellsbane

Hellsbane 1
Entangled Publishing, December 6, 2011

Emma Jane Hellsbane just found out she’s not human—or, at least, not only human. She’s half angel, too, and now Heaven’s got a job for her: round up all the Fallen angels and their red-skinned, horned devil-demon minions and boot their butts back into the abyss. Only problem? The demons and their Fallen masters fight back…and they don’t fight fair.

Luckily for Emma, she can put a stop to the constant threat of having her head hacked off if she figures out which Fallen angel is her father—and then kill him before he kills her. Of course, in the meantime, she’ll have to avoid accidentally seducing her angelic mentor, help an old friend conquer his own Fallen sperm donor, and basically save the world from a cataclysmic divine smack down.

No one said being Heaven’s bounty hunter would be easy. But with a name like Hellsbane, Emma Jane was born for the job.

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Excerpt

     “Perhaps you’ve mistaken my statement for a request,” he said. “It wasn’t.”
     “Ah. So it’s like that, is it?”
     He snaked an arm around my waist, jerked me to him so our bodies were flush against each other. I gasped, my hands going to his chest on reflex.
     “Yes,” he said. “It’s like that.”
     A soft wind shifted through my hair, and the world around us blurred as if in motion. But our feet hadn’t moved. The overlook, the cars, the townhouses, the sky, everything raced past us.
     Then it was gone. Darkness engulfed us, with only the distant stars twinkling in the vast emptiness. My hands leached around Eli’s neck, brought us cheek to cheek.
     “You’re safe in my arms, Emma Jane. Always,” he said, his lips brushing my ear. A shudder traveled straight down to my center with the sweet sound of his words. The man had an orgasmic voice. What a waste.
     His embrace loosened, and I leaned back enough to see his face. A soft glow lightened the shadows from behind me, just enough to cast a silvery glow over his expression. Time and space suddenly rushed in on me, and my brain spun like I’d been twirling around on my toes for an hour.
     I let go of him with one hand, pressing it to my forehead to stop the spin and to keep my brain from coming out of my ears. “What was that?”
     “Your mind is struggling to match speed with your body. May I help?”
     I’d told him once never to use his power to give me false rapture, but it was like asking a fish not to swim. I nodded and he rested his hand over mine, the warmth of his skin heating through me. The nauseating twirling stopped.
     “I hoped moving slower would help lessen the shock, but it seems the effect allowed your vision too much time to try and compensate,” he said.
     “We moved at angelic speed?” I asked, guessing.
     “No. I am able to travel at the speed of thought. We moved an increment slower.”
     “Um, thanks.” I tried to see over his shoulder, to get my bearings, but I couldn’t push up on my toes. I moved the muscles, and nothing happened. I looked at my feet—there was nothing beneath us. No floor, no ground, no...anything, just more blackness and millions and millions of distant twinkly lights.
     An icy bolt of panic shot up my spine and I clutched at Eli. My gut twisted and a scream caught in the back of my throat. Eli hugged me tight.
     “Where are we?”
     “Look behind you,” he said.
     It took a few seconds of internal argument, but eventually my courage rallied, and I glanced over my shoulder. “Is that...”
     “Earth,” he said.
     Sheer awe loosened my grip. I shifted my feet to his—I had to stand on something—and turned, holding his hands to my hips to anchor me, my back to his chest.
     The world looked exactly the way it does in all the pictures...but so much more. More beautiful, more breathtaking than any picture could capture.
     There was a storm swirling over one of the oceans, and night was quickly approaching for half the world. A thick line of darkness crept over land and water as the planet spun. On the other side, brilliant light ate away the darkness at exactly the same pace.
     “This can’t be real. How?” I asked, my brain fighting reason and everything I knew about space and time and reality.
     His hands slipped over my belly, his embrace enveloping me. “In the arms of an angel, Emma Jane, all things are possible.”
     My eyes closed, and I leaned back into his chest. I tried not to enjoy the feel of him around me, but the heat of his body, the comforting strength of his muscles, and the sweet, summery scent of his skin decimated my willpower.
     “Behold what your birthright has brought you, Emma Jane,” he said. “No mortal human could claim as much.”
     I opened my eyes and felt that rush of awe all over again at the view. “It’s amazing, Eli. Thank you.”
     “This is only the beginning. You have been chosen to battle creatures far more powerful than mere mortals. You are not like other humans; you cannot be. Your task requires much of you, and for it, much has been given. Time and space unravel for you to traverse with the same intrinsic understanding as those you hunt. The world is quite literally at your feet.”
     Before I could take a breath, I found myself staring out over a large valley and an ocean beyond. Gone was the great global marble spinning in the endless black of space. Suddenly, I was blinking at a waking cityscape miles below with large water inlets and busy harbors. There was blue sky above me and green land below. We were back on Earth.
     Hard, unrelenting wind whipped my hair, making it hard to see. But I could make out the white sand-lined shores and the short mountain ranges that blocked sections of the city from the ocean.
     “Where are we?” I yelled, but my voice was lost on the roaring wind.
     Eli tucked me under his arm, and silence descended over us like he’d closed a door. My hair floated back against my head and I could stand on my own. I shoved at the strands over my face and tried to clue in my brain. “Brazil.” Eli pointed at the city. “Rio de Janeiro.”
     “It’s beautiful.” My gaze followed the landscape below to the base of the mountain, then to the long winding staircase tracing up the side until they disappeared far below the edge of the outcropping we stood on. It’d been nearly six a.m. in Pittsburgh by the time Eli and I left Earth, which made it nearly seven a.m. in Rio, and the city was already bustling.
     What are we standing on? I fisted my hand around Eli’s jacket and leaned over for a better look. “No way. Christ the Redeemer? Seriously?” We were on his arm and I looked to the left at the huge, white, carved face of Jesus.
     “Remarkable, isn’t it?” Eli said. “And yet it pales in comparison to the miracle that is you and those like you.”
     He smiled wide, so pleased with himself, and I could almost forgive him for not warning me one wrong step could send me tumbling over a hundred feet to the very, very hard landing below.



About Paige

Paige Cuccaro lives in Ohio where she spends her days as a wife, mother, avid reader and obsessed writer. She loves writing everything from laugh-out-loud young adult stories to steamy hot romances with a twist of paranormal. Witches, demons, vampires, werewolves and angels, if they can fall in love, Paige will tell you their story.

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Hellsbane at Entangled Publishing


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win an ebook copy of  Hellsbane (Hellsbane 1) from Entangled Publishing.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:

If you were only half human, what would be your other half? 

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)   Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Friday, December 23, 2011. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*