Please welcome Nancy Gideon to the blog today! She has a fabulous character interview for us today!
The best way to get
to know a character is to go
behind the scenes to the people who live with them
outside the pages of the book.
Today, I’m interviewing Silas MacCreedy, brother of BETRAYED BY
SHADOW’s
heroine Brigit MacCreedy, and Tina Babineau, friend to hero Giles St. Clair and
some would say the catalyst to much of the story’s dangerous intrigues.
NG: Silas, you’re a detective with the New Orleans police department, right hand man to a former mobster, and part of a secretive Shape-shifter clan. We first met you as the hero of HUNTER OF SHADOWS. What’s your part in all this?
SM: (Laughs and raises
hands) None at all. I just got
married and was trying to get out of the way as quickly as possible. The last
thing I need is more intrigue. Don’t blame me for my sister showing up to crash
the party. One thing I’ll say for Brigit, she knows how to make an entrance and
her timing is always inconvenient.
NG: Give
us a little of your family’s history.
SM: Our parents were the
original Shifter Romeo and Juliet, coming from our two most powerful clans, my
mother a Guedry and father part Terriot.
They chose to raise us along with our cousin Kendra outside clan politics
and for a while, we were left alone until Bram Terriot decided the way to tip
that balance of power was to add to his stable of heirs through my mother. When
we refused to give that child, Christina up and hid her from Bram, he had our
family killed, all except Brigit, Kendra and me. We were just kids. He kept us alive to use for leverage as
long as we agreed to serve the Terriot clan.
NG: Doesn’t sound like much
of a bargain.
 |
| Brigit |
SM: One does what one has
to in order to survive. And that’s
the secret to my sister, Brigit. She
does whatever she needs to do to keep herself and Kendra safe in a very
dangerous and unstable situation.
She’s smart and gorgeous and absolutely fearless . . . (laughs)
everything that scares a brother to death.
NG: Some, yourself
included, would call her a bit of a manipulative bitch.
SM: Oh, there’s no question
of that. A fierce, clever bitch
who’ll use whatever means necessary to protect those she loves. She’s had to use her looks and her wits
to escape a hell you can’t even imagine.
So give her a break. It’s been the three of us against deadly predators
for as long as she can remember.
She doesn’t know how to trust anyone outside our circle. Sure she makes
trouble, but never without a reason and mostly for herself. Bree has a tough,
prickly outer layer and a soft, sweet center. And someday the right man will be
smart enough to figure out how to crack that shell.
NG: Is Giles St. Clair that
man?
 |
| Silas |
SM: (Chuckles) Could
be. Considering how little respect
she has for humans, it would serve her right. He just might slip right under
her radar.
NG: You’ve left her in his
care so you must trust him. Do you
think he’s a match for her?
SM: I think she’s going to
be in for a big surprise. Wish I was going to be around to see it.
NG: Tina, you’re the Christina
Silas was talking about, the daughter of Therese MacCreedy and Bram Terriot.
How did it feel to discover you had a brother and sister?
TB: It’s all been
such a shock to me. I never knew I
was adopted until that first time Max Savoie came to our house and met my son.
There was an undeniable link between them. He was the one who finally told me the truth about my
heritage.
NG: That you were a
Shape-shifter. How did that make
you feel?
TB: It made sense of
the questions I’d had all my life. It explained why my son Oscar was so different.
But unfortunately it made problems with my marriage.
NG: To detective Alain
Babineau who is currently Silas’s partner?
TB: Yes. He felt so betrayed. He’s a good man. He’s tried so hard to be a father to
Oscar.
NG: So Max, who is actually
Oscar’s half-brother, took you in and you’re living at his plantation estate.
TB: For now. That’s where I met Silas and learned
the whole truth about my family.
It was a lot to take in.
NG: And that’s where you
met Giles St. Clair. I understand
he and Silas are more or less running Legere Enterprises International for Max
while he’s . . . away. That’s quite a step up for a former knee-breaking thug.
Tell me about him.
TB: Giles is
wonderful! He’s been a great
friend to me and a good influence on Oscar. I don’t care what people say about
the things he’s done. He’s a
decent, loyal, and big hearted man who would do anything for us. Even though he
doesn’t talk about his past, he must have come from a loving family to dote on
Ozzie the way he does. He’s made our situation bearable.
NG: And now your newfound
sister Brigit is under the same roof, too. How’s that going?
TB: I’ve always
wanted a sister and she’s everything I could have asked for – full of life,
funny, beautiful. She’s been
everywhere and done things I’ve only dreamed of. I think we’ll be great friends. Giles doesn’t trust her but I’ve seen the way he looks at
her. (Smiles) I think it goes both
ways. (Scowls at Silas who has
made a doubtful sound) Well, I do.
They’d be good for each other.
They’re both so lonely with so much to give.
SM: I don’t think you
really know my sister or you’d be more cautious. I know she’s capable of using the both of you for her own
purposes and won’t give it a second thought. If she’s here looking for shelter
there must be a reason behind it.
And not a good one.
TB: Then we’ll have
to make her think twice, won’t we?
SM: I wish you luck with
that. Brigit never seems to have any unless it’s the bad kind.
TB: (Smiling) I’d say it’s time her luck changed. And
I think Giles St. Clair is just the one to make that happen.
Balancing a criminal empire and a preternatural clan war, reluctant front man Giles St. Clair doesn’t need a problem like Brigit MacCreedy . . . How much trouble can the head-strong and manipulative Shifter beauty get into in two weeks? Plenty when her schemes range from kidnapping to fleeing the retribution of her dead lover’s clan.
With her family’s lives on the line, Brigit is willing to do whatever it takes to save them. The only thing standing in her way is an immovable stone wall of a man she can’t bully or beguile . . . a human, no less, who has promised to protect her from the secrets and dangers she conceals.
Risking her own safety gets complicated when an honorable and annoyingly desirable man puts himself between her and her powerful enemies in a battle he can’t win in this Taming of the Shrew meets Shifter Goodfellas on the Bayou tale of consequences, redemption and finding love in all the wrong places.
Excerpt:
Music?
Brigit slit her eyes open to the brightness of midmorning. She was alone in the bunk. Harsh-smelling coffee warmed on the hot plate, and Giles was nowhere in sight. Then she heard the unmistakable crack of ax into wood.
Feeling tired and sticky and . . . fabulous, she stretched and reached for the crimson-colored sweatshirt Giles had left folded on the edge of the mattress. Harvard? She slipped it over her head to swim in generous folds that came almost to her knees. Rolling back the cuffs, she found the shoe she’d tucked Boyd’s cell phone into, discouraged to see no message from Silas. She tucked it under the sleeping bag on the top bunk, pushed bare feet into her shoes, and went to pour coffee. Her whole body ached gloriously, making her smile as she stepped out onto the tiny back porch.
Because she could still hear his voice, rough with passion.
Bree.
Giles had his back to her, splitting wood in the glare of morning light, a beautiful sight in his revealing muscle shirt. Strong, sexy. A light sweat had broken out on his shoulders, gleaming amid scores of scratches, some nearly healed from their passionate tussle in New Orleans and some raw stripes from hours ago. Chagrined, she put a nail trim and manicure on her agenda for the day.
He’d taken the batteries out of the flashlight to power an old cassette player and was timing his swings to the raucous beat of a late-eighties hip-hop tune that probably dated back to days spent here in male bonding. Something ridiculous about Humpty Dumpty dancing? Her gaze followed the suggestive rock and bump of his hips as the sassy backup singers crooned, “Do me, baby.”
Oh, yay. Good idea.
Time to whip up something for breakfast.
She’d taken a step forward, intending to initiate some moves of her own, when the music dialed down and muted as another sound reached her.
The cup fell from her hands, shattering on the wood planking, as all her senses trembled and went taut.
And a single cry ripped from her.
“Giles, behind you!”
Giles spun, continuing his momentum with the ax so it caught his assailant midleap in the upper chest, flinging him to the ground. Even as he wrestled the blade free, his attacker was gaining his feet, falling into a menacing crouch as his lips pulled back from a mouth full of dagger-like teeth.
Alarm became coldly dangerous intentions when he recognized the disfigured Shifter from Brigit’s description.
“Brigit, get inside!”
He didn’t look around to see if she obeyed. There was no time as the creature sprang.
Driven to the ground on his back, Giles couldn’t angle for another swing as he was forced to grip the ever thickening throat to keep those deadly teeth away from him. A battle he knew he wasn’t going to win as the beast completed its change of form into something monstrous and impossibly strong.
Run, Brigit! That was all he had time to think. Run!
All he had to do was stay alive long enough for her to get a head start.
There was a deafening report from the porch, and suddenly, the figure hunching over him was plucked off and sent rolling away.
Giles risked a glance toward the cabin to see Brigit with her feet planted wide, his pistol braced in both hands. The pistol he’d wisely loaded with silver rounds.
As he scrambled to his feet, his attacker was gaining his own, obviously struggling not to revert back into humanlike form from the effects of the silver. Brigit’s shot had taken him in the other side of the chest. Giles’s first blow from the ax had already healed. Making him no less lethal as he sprang a second time. No less quick.
And this time Giles didn’t respond fast enough.
Music?
Brigit slit her eyes open to the brightness of midmorning. She was alone in the bunk. Harsh-smelling coffee warmed on the hot plate, and Giles was nowhere in sight. Then she heard the unmistakable crack of ax into wood.
Feeling tired and sticky and . . . fabulous, she stretched and reached for the crimson-colored sweatshirt Giles had left folded on the edge of the mattress. Harvard? She slipped it over her head to swim in generous folds that came almost to her knees. Rolling back the cuffs, she found the shoe she’d tucked Boyd’s cell phone into, discouraged to see no message from Silas. She tucked it under the sleeping bag on the top bunk, pushed bare feet into her shoes, and went to pour coffee. Her whole body ached gloriously, making her smile as she stepped out onto the tiny back porch.
Because she could still hear his voice, rough with passion.
Bree.
Giles had his back to her, splitting wood in the glare of morning light, a beautiful sight in his revealing muscle shirt. Strong, sexy. A light sweat had broken out on his shoulders, gleaming amid scores of scratches, some nearly healed from their passionate tussle in New Orleans and some raw stripes from hours ago. Chagrined, she put a nail trim and manicure on her agenda for the day.
He’d taken the batteries out of the flashlight to power an old cassette player and was timing his swings to the raucous beat of a late-eighties hip-hop tune that probably dated back to days spent here in male bonding. Something ridiculous about Humpty Dumpty dancing? Her gaze followed the suggestive rock and bump of his hips as the sassy backup singers crooned, “Do me, baby.”
Oh, yay. Good idea.
Time to whip up something for breakfast.
She’d taken a step forward, intending to initiate some moves of her own, when the music dialed down and muted as another sound reached her.
The cup fell from her hands, shattering on the wood planking, as all her senses trembled and went taut.
And a single cry ripped from her.
“Giles, behind you!”
Giles spun, continuing his momentum with the ax so it caught his assailant midleap in the upper chest, flinging him to the ground. Even as he wrestled the blade free, his attacker was gaining his feet, falling into a menacing crouch as his lips pulled back from a mouth full of dagger-like teeth.
Alarm became coldly dangerous intentions when he recognized the disfigured Shifter from Brigit’s description.
“Brigit, get inside!”
He didn’t look around to see if she obeyed. There was no time as the creature sprang.
Driven to the ground on his back, Giles couldn’t angle for another swing as he was forced to grip the ever thickening throat to keep those deadly teeth away from him. A battle he knew he wasn’t going to win as the beast completed its change of form into something monstrous and impossibly strong.
Run, Brigit! That was all he had time to think. Run!
All he had to do was stay alive long enough for her to get a head start.
There was a deafening report from the porch, and suddenly, the figure hunching over him was plucked off and sent rolling away.
Giles risked a glance toward the cabin to see Brigit with her feet planted wide, his pistol braced in both hands. The pistol he’d wisely loaded with silver rounds.
As he scrambled to his feet, his attacker was gaining his own, obviously struggling not to revert back into humanlike form from the effects of the silver. Brigit’s shot had taken him in the other side of the chest. Giles’s first blow from the ax had already healed. Making him no less lethal as he sprang a second time. No less quick.
And this time Giles didn’t respond fast enough.
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Author Bio:
An author of over fifty novels since 1987, Nancy Gideon thrives on variety. Under her own name and several pseudonyms, she’s written award-winning series suspense, historical and paranormal bestsellers, earned a “Career Achievement for Historical Adventure”, and has had two original horror screenplays optioned for film. A Michigan native, she works full time as a legal administrative assistant and feeds a NetFlix addiction.
An author of over fifty novels since 1987, Nancy Gideon thrives on variety. Under her own name and several pseudonyms, she’s written award-winning series suspense, historical and paranormal bestsellers, earned a “Career Achievement for Historical Adventure”, and has had two original horror screenplays optioned for film. A Michigan native, she works full time as a legal administrative assistant and feeds a NetFlix addiction.
Thanks, Anne! And thank you Krystal for hosting his stop on my Blog Tour!
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