Interview & Giveaway: Blood will Tell & Blood is Thicker by Meredith Mansfield

Blood Will Tell

Blood Will Tell
Chimeria, Book 1
Meredith Mansfield

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Date of Publication: April 20, 2012

Number of pages: 349
Word Count: ~96,000

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Sony     Kobo     Smashwords

Being a half-blood is inconvenient on a good day, especially when the half you got from your mother is werewolf. Valeriah can’t take wolf form, but the full moon still fills her with manic energy. Running helps; a tired werewolf is a good werewolf.

Living perennially caught between two worlds--human and werewolf, magic and non-magic--doesn't leave much room for love. That suits Valeriah just fine. She's never had any luck with that anyway.

Until her cousin’s life is threatened, that is, and out of necessity she accepts the help of a mysterious young man to protect Cristel. Rolf is everything that makes Valeriah's pulse speed up in spite of herself. Now, with Cristel's life in the balance, is the worst possible time for that kind of complication.

But Rolf's secrets could destroy her trust and that might cost her life.

Blood Is Thicker

Blood Is Thicker
Chimeria, Book 2
Meredith Mansfield

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Date of Publication: August 6, 2013

Number of pages: 212
Word Count: ~78,000

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Sony     Kobo     Smashwords

In the sequel to BLOOD WILL TELL, the newlyweds, Rolf and Valeriah, face a new crisis.

Born half-werewolf, Valeriah's life has never been simple. Her recent marriage to a dragon has led to a transformation--Valeriah is now a dragon, too. But, taking the form and knowing how to actually be a dragon is not the same thing. Her life has even more complications than ever. So many, in fact, that she doesn't recognize the signs of her own pregnancy until Rolf rushes her to the Hatching Grounds to lay their eggs.

But then things only get worse, because something's wrong on the Hatching Grounds. The underground source of heat that sustains the eggs is slowly dying. Valeriah and Rolf have to scramble to discover what's gone wrong and find a way to fix it before their eggs die.

Chimeria Two Book Bundle

Contains both Blood Will Tell and Blood Is Thicker

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Sony     Kobo     Smashwords

Excerpt: 

From Blood Is Thicker, Chapter 1, Scene 2:

Valeriah huffed irritably as she beat her giant leathery wings to gain altitude for the next pass. This flight school boot camp was not what she'd had in mind when Rolf suggested the isolated villa for the remainder of their honeymoon.

The full moon and the manic energy it brought out in her never did improve her mood and having indigestion to go with it wasn't helping any. Used to be, she'd run for miles to calm that madness. Or engage in practice fights. Now she'd do well to run anywhere without tripping over her own feet or tail and fighting was out of the question. She used to be able to take care of herself, not have to depend on Rolf to catch her food and take care of her. No doubt he was enjoying it, but she didn't like the feeling at all.

Of course, Rolf was always ready to help her work off the full-moon energy in other ways. In human form, that would have been fine with her. While she'd never say this to Rolf, on the whole, she found the mating of dragons unsatisfactory--not unpleasant, but far from breathtaking. He'd been a much more versatile and exciting lover as a human. Hanging upside down, wings folded, clutched in Rolf's talons, while he slowly circled the lake just didn't have as many thrills. It was like trading the most spine-tingling rollercoaster at Magic Mountain for the merry-go-round. You were still moving but it just wasn't the same. Thank the Goddess that he was more than twice her size as a dragon and strong enough to carry her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even that. It was going to take her a while to master flying upside down.

She reached her intended altitude in a bad mood. Rolf had been drilling her in aerobatic maneuvers for hours and she was sick of it. Well, let's see what he thought about this. She folded her wings back for the dive, pulling out only at the last second into a perfect barrel roll.

Rolf's trumpeting crow of delight echoed back from the surrounding mountains. "You're ready!"

"Ready for what?" she asked as she landed in front of him.

"For me to show you how it's really done. Fly with me."

As soon as they lifted off, Rolf darted in and grabbed her talons in his own. Well, that wasn't what she'd thought he'd meant when he was so excited about her aerobatics, but all right.

Rolf gestured skyward with his chin. "We need to go higher."

Maybe this was going to be a little different after all. Any change would be a good thing. They climbed, talons still joined and wings beating in unison. Up and up until even dragon lungs could barely suck enough oxygen from the thin air. Then they hovered for a moment.

Rolf shifted his grip on her talons to draw her closer, so close she had to curtail her wing beats. His much wider wings continued to beat, nearly encompassing her completely at each stroke. He pulled her closer until their bodies met. She could feel the heat of him against the delicate scales of her belly and then, with one sharp movement, the heat was inside her, too.

Valeriah pressed against him, wrapping her neck and tail around his to bring him closer. In spite of the minor inconveniences, she really did love Rolf. Moments like this helped to remind her how much. She started to let her weight fall backwards, but Rolf pulled her back up.

"Not this time. Fold your wings and dive," Rolf said.

She did. They plummeted, necks and tails entwined, wings clasped. Yes! This was what she had been missing. The rush of freefall sent a tingling sensation surging down the length of her body. She shivered and that sent another wave exploding outward from her center and then back again until she felt she would break apart if he were to let go of her.

They pulled out only at the last second, rolling together, which sent altogether new and delectable sensations through her body.

"Up again?" Rolf asked.

"Up! Yess!" Valeriah answered.

They climbed and plunged again, still joined. When they pulled out, Valeriah screamed, "Up!"

Rolf obliged. This time, when they dove, they were above the deep lake behind the villa and they did not pull out. They plunged into the waves, continuing the dive until their lungs were near to bursting. Only then did they finally separate, each driving for the surface and air. They paddled over to the beach and lay, wing-tip to wing-tip, utterly spent, wings extended so the afternoon sun could warm them as they sucked air into their starved lungs.

"Goddess! I've never gone for three falls before," Rolf said, gasping.

Valeriah raised her head. Her grin exposed rows of serrated, razor-sharp teeth. "I'll try for four, if you want."

The rumble of his laughter made wave-like ripples in the sand of the beach. "Mercy! I fear that would burst even my heart." He stretched his wing so that he could caress the edge of hers. "Do you forgive me, now? For driving you so hard to learn to fly?"

Her laugh sounded more like a purr. "Oh, I think sso. Yess. Definitely." Just now she was very glad she'd slowed down enough to let him catch her last spring.

Interview: 
Today, we welcome Meredith Mansfield to Musings and Ramblings. Let's all give her a big Geeky welcome!

I have some questions for you that are writer specific as well as some fun stuff so that we can really get to know the real you. *grin* Plus we will finish things off with round of Think Fast. Ready to begin?

Writing Specific
1. Tell us something about yourself that's not in your bio.

Hmm. Something that's not in my bio--or easily found on my blog, 'cause that would be cheating. All right. Embroidery. My grandmother taught me embroidery when I was very young and I've never stopped (well, not for more than a few months at a time, anyway.) Sometimes I do purchased kits or cross-stitch patterns, but I also do my own designs--cross-stitch and crewel--from time to time. This is a crewel wall-hanging I did quite a while ago depicting scenes from a novel (not a very good novel) that I wrote in college. (As you can see, my artistic endeavors don't extend to being a great photographer.)

2. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Play with my dogs. We do dog agility.

3. How did you choose the genres you write in?

I write the kinds of books I like to read, mostly. There are some genres I read that I haven't yet attempted to write, though, like science fiction and the occasional mystery.

4. Is there any particular author or book that has influenced you or your writing?

Oh, too many to mention them all. Practically everything I've ever read has informed my writing in some way. Especially: J. R. R. Tolkien for his world-building; Lois McMaster Bujold for many things, but especially for clear writing that stays out of the way of the story; Patricia Briggs for a female character who can hold her own against arguably more powerful males. I could go on for a very long time, but I'll stop there.

5. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Oh, wow. I think, whatever it is, the toughest criticism to take is always the first. The first feels personal. After that, you learn to grow a thicker skin and to take each comment on the basis of whether it helps you improve the story you want to tell.

Fun Stuff
6. If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?

Wow. That's quite a universe of possibilities. I'd pick . . . Merlin. You've got to know he'd have some stories to tell. ☺

7. You are going to be stranded on a deserted island and bring 3 luxury items. What would they be?

Not necessarily in this order: 1) Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. 2) My dogs. I don't think the cat would fare well on a desert island, but the dogs would be happy as long as they're with me and I'd need something that makes me laugh every day. 3) My whole pile of unread books. Of course, I'd like writing materials, too. But the fact is I don't need any special materials to exercise my imagination.

8. Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who are they and why?

I can't actually imagine having any other parents. I mean, I wouldn't be me, would I? I think Dick Van Dyke would be a fun sort of uncle. He'd keep me laughing. Frankly, I just can't think of a celebrity I'd want for an aunt. I'm sure there must be several, but I'm drawing a blank. Somebody easy to talk to and comforting for the bad times.

9. What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

The staples: milk, eggs, cheese, a loaf of bread, and orange juice. Also some roast pork and biscuits (left over from last night) grapes, a bag of Gala apples, pomegranate seeds, ground meat for tonight's casserole (tamale pie), carrots, salad greens, snow peas and mushrooms, (for tomorrow night's stir fry. Which reminds me, I need to take some chicken out of the freezer.) and some containers at the back that I really should empty soon.

10. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

As a child, I had a great aunt whose nickname for me was "Merry". Occasional tough times aside, I'd really like that to be the overall story of my life.

Think Fast
Summer or Winter? I live in coastal Southern California. We don't really have seasons here as such, so it really doesn't matter that much to me.
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Cake or Pie? I like both, but I haven't baked a cake from scratch in years. However, I am always asked to bake the pies (from scratch) for Thanksgiving. So I'll go with that.
Car or Truck? Car.
Print or Electronic? Both. There's something about a print book. And definitely something about seeing one I wrote on a shelf. Still, I LOVE my kindle and do most of my reading on that, now.

Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us.

Giveaway: 

1 ecopy of the Chimeria 2 Book Bundle

Entry-Form

Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

November 18:
Penny For Them... - Review
Book Reviews by Xunaira J.
AC James

November 19:
Diaries of 2 Thick Chicks - Review
Mythical Books - Guest Post
Romance with Flavor - Review

November 20:
The Simple Things in life - Interview
Musings and Ramblings - Interview

November 21:
Fang Freakin' Tastic Reviews - Review
trips down imagination road - Review
Corey's Book Reviews - Review

November 22:
Books, Books The Magical Fruit - Guest Post
Crazy Four Books - Review

November 25:
My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews
Ramblings of a Book Lunatic - Review
happy tails and tales - Review

Author Bio:

Professionally, I've been a financial analyst and a visual basic programmer. I also have a paralegal certificate, although I've never worked in that field. It's anybody's guess what I'll be when I grow up.

Imagining stories and writing have always been an important part of my life. It's one I've finally gotten to spend a significant amount of time on while I care for my mother who has Alzheimer's disease.

To connect with the author online:

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