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| "End Games" |
Unabashed is the first word that comes to mind after reading Downing's sexy spy thriller,
End Games. Brazen is another. Sinister, too. Flawed characters are my favorite. Altruistic or greedy, unstable or determined, the list goes on. The deeper I was drawn into the story the more I realized two things: I liked the characters, and I didn't want them to change. I didn't want them to overcome their troubles. I wanted them to remain who they were from page one, and I wanted them to kick the crap out of everything that crossed their paths, even each other, because love born in crisis can be a dangerous game to play. And I enjoyed reading every word of it.
1. Before you
tell us about your book, why don’t you share a little bit about yourself.
My name is Mia
Downing and I’m a lingerie model. ::snort:: Seriously, I’m the most boring
person on the world. I’m married and have stayed at home with part time jobs to
raise my kids, so I’m the strawberry blonde in the school drop-off line,
cheering at the lacrosse games, hiding from the PTA because I do NOT want to
bake for the sale. LOL
However, I love
my secret life of being a romance author. No, most people in my real life don’t
know, and since I work with kids teaching horseback riding lessons I’m fine
with that.
2. Outside of
writing, what sort of activities do you enjoy?
I’m a horse
professional, so I love riding and teaching. I also knit, do decorative
painting and read! My favorite thing is hanging with my family. My daughter
rides, so we get a lot of quality time together.
3. Do you have
a favorite food, snack, and/or beverage?
Coffee and Diet
Coke are musts all year around. I drink unsweetened ice tea in the summer that
I doctor up with fresh lemon and mint from the garden. Bananas are my go-to
snack. I have yet to meet a slice of cheesecake I didn’t fall madly in love
with.
4. Authors
draw from a wide variety of experiences, from their own lives as well as the
lives of others. Which is the richest source for you?
Well, I have yet
to burn through the hell called childhood, so that’s a great resource for the
angst-ridden characters. I often will use horses or something within the horse
community, such as therapeutic riding for people with disabilities. I used that
in a recent free m/m for the Goodreads M/M romance group. I recently took a
course for my pistol permit to help with the shooting aspects in the Spy Games
series. I just finished up a weekend in upstate NY on the Erie Canal. I loved
seeing the town’s lift bridge and meeting with the bridge operator. I would
love to use it in a story sometime!
5. Of the
stories you have written so far, which is your favorite and why?
You never ask a
mother who her favorite child is! I love them all, for different reasons. All
of my books have some shred of me in them, so if you know me well enough you
can see what part of my life an aspect came from.
6.
Embarrassing moment. Do you have one? Or better yet, are you sure you want to
put it out there?
When the hubby
and I were first dating, I had shoved a condom in my pocket just in case things
might get frisky that afternoon. I was talking to his mother, reached into my
pocket to give her something and pulled out the condom instead. I am hopeful
she thought it was candy. I never asked. LOL
7. What genres
do you write for? Are there any that you haven’t that you would like to
explore?
I write erotic
romance, and I have written m/f, m/m and m/f/m. I do lots of kink bordering on
BDSM (but not hardcore) as well as some suspense elements. I write a lot of
conflict, so even my short stories are packed with angst. I plan on writing an
m/m/f, a m/f story with a bit of a steampunk feel, and a kinky cowboy.
8. What advice
would you give new authors?
Write, write,
write. The key is to have a backlist to offer a reader when they love your
first one! Write different lengths, try different publishers, do a few
self-published. Variety will reach more readers. The other piece of advice is
to not see every opportunity as a promo op, especially on Facebook or other
social media sites. Let people see how awesome you are and they’ll buy the
books faster than if you’re promoting every second.
9. Now that
we’ve had a chance to get to know you, tell us about the latest story you have
out now?
Endgame is the
third (and final unless there’s a novella) book in the Spy Games series. If you
haven’t read the series, it starts with Trained for Seduction, where we meet
Chase Sanders, the boss for his elite group of spies. Jake Anderson is his best
friend and stars in the next book, Lethal Limits. Endgame features Jake’s
brother, actor Aaron James and spy Charlotte Smith. It’s a fun wrap-up to the
series and we see a little of how everyone has progressed. There are secrets,
danger, guns, hot sex… Need I say more?
________________________
BLURB
From Spy
Games: Endgame:
Sexy spy
Charlotte Smith doesn't go by the code name Dragon Queen because she's sweet
and cuddly. She's cold, hard, and mean and has been training for the past five
years to take down the men who destroyed her soul and left her burning for
revenge. But when she meets her next assignment at a wedding, her body protests
there's much more to life than kicking asses and taking names. Actor Aaron
James is witty, hot as hell, and he smells divine. But women with suicidal
endgames don't indulge in casual sex, and they definitely don't fall in love.
Since meeting
Charlotte at his brother's wedding, Aaron's life has been nothing but trouble.
He's plagued by memories of the kiss he stole from her, and he senses
underneath her aloof nature and frosty glare is a woman with passion and fire.
When Charlotte is assigned as his bodyguard after a botched kidnapping attempt,
he's psyched. What better way to get in her panties than have her pretend she's
his girlfriend? Until Aaron realizes too late he wants more than into her
panties...he want's Charlotte's heart.
Contains:
Explicit language, really hot sex, anal sex, toys, light bondage, very light
BDSM, a really hot actor and his kick-ass spy bodyguard. M/F
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EXCERPT
From Spy Games: Endgame…
“All tied up like
a gift, you are. Delightful. I’m going to take the hood off now and have a peek
at my present. I love Christmas, but I don’t like to wait.”
“Such a pretty
gift, all wrapped up, so close to Christmas,” she breathed, her cheeks denting
with a dimple as she smiled at him with mischief. She wrinkled her pert nose.
God, could a woman’s skin get any creamier than that? Pale and flawless except
for the scar under her left ear he noticed when she turned slightly, cocking
her head as if to listen for something.
She did the
unthinkable and straddled his lap, her face inches from his, looking into his
eyes, the heat from her crotch searing his shaft. He should be afraid.
Terrified. But something told him this wouldn’t be like his first time. If she
just rode him into oblivion, this time he’d enjoy every moment of it.
“So handsome.”
She touched his cheek with a gloved hand, her fingers warm through the leather.
Her sleeve rode up and a tattoo around her wrist was exposed, a delicate chain
of daisies with a yellow butterfly. He knew that, from somewhere, too, but
didn’t remember seeing it on her when they danced. She wiggled on his lap, the
ridge of his cock angling against the heat of her crotch through those thin
black pants of hers.
He groaned
through his gag. If she just rode him, even while he was bound and gagged, he’d
be more than grateful for the gift. It was a new experience, to be so damned
aroused over a woman, under such extremes. Maybe that’s what the problem
was—this was way too extreme. He’d fought feelings like this for years. Now
they were punching him in the gut as hard as she ground against his cock.
“Happy to see me
again, are you? These ropes excite me, too. It’d be more exciting if it were
the other way around. I love a good bondage session.”
He groaned again.
He didn’t like kinky shit, but he did like Charlotte. Way, way too much.
________________________
Stay connected with Mia Downing!
Thanks for having me, Alex! And thanks for the kind words for Endgame. :)
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure. And now that I have some more reading to do . . . l'll have more time with these sexy peeps! :^)
ReplyDelete