+Hales.jpg)
Tell us your latest news.
I just finished an IR short for Beautiful Trouble Publishing. The story is titled Flaws and All, and I had a hard time keeping it short. I’m excited that Inscribed Love will be out in September from XOXO publishing. It’s included in the Volume one Tattoo Anthology.
What initially inspired you to become an author?
A friend challenged me to try writing for publication, after she’d read some stories I’d posted on line on a writing group.
What is your favorite book? And Why?
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Man oh Man. I waited for that book forever it seemed. I sat up and read it for ten hours, took a nap got up and finished it. I love the entire series but everyone…loves Ash.
Do you have a particular time of day to write? We love to hear about a writer’s process.
What do you find to be the most difficult part of writing?
I wake up and check the sites, facebook, myspace, twitter, a few loops while coffee is brewing, and then I start up my play list to really wake up. Somewhere around 8 am, I begin to write and or clean up something recently written. Dialogue to me is hard. I don’t stumble so much around it now but now and then I get tongue tied.
Do you have a favorite author?
I adore Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan. I’m a lover of books though so I basically love everyone I read.
Tell us about your first published work.
Embrace The Moment was my very first release. It came out in May of this year at Phaze.com. What’s exciting is that it sprung up from the love of a song called Seize The Day by Avenged Sevenfold, and became the first of six novellas about a United States Coast Guard rescue swim team.
Do you have a favorite of your own works?
They’re all my babies but, Demonic Persuasion holds my heart the most. Fatal the heroine has so many pieces of me that I can’t wait to finish the series and her story to share with others.
Where can our readers find you on the web?
I can be found at www.mahalialevey.com On the front page of my website are buttons to lead viewers to my facebook,myspace,twitter, yahoo group accounts.
www.hales3000.multiply.com Has my playlist on it live. I blog news and under links are every site I’ve interviewed at all in one place.
Where can they buy your books?
www.phaze.com
www.eirelander-publishing.com
www.extasybooks.com
www.xoxopublishing.com
www.beautifultroublepublishing.com
Soon:
www.liquidsilverbooks.com
I’m at most third party sites as well.
Anything you would like to add?
I’d like to thank readers for purchasing my work and you for interviewing me.
Bio: Being smart and sassy with a great sense of humor comes easily for Mahalia Levey. An avid reader of books, she found herself enchanted with disappearing completely into the worlds authors created. One day she vowed to herself she'd be one of them. Then family life came, and college right after. Swayed from her childhood course of action, it took many years for her to get back to that place she held dear as a child. Now she is running full steam ahead to keep up with the many ideas flowing freely. She plans on taking her work to higher levels and expanding her genres. Her main focus is giving her readers variety. Her works in progress include paranormal, fantasy and mainstream romance. Taking characters and watching them grow past what she’s imagined is her true passion.
Inscribed Love Blurb
Jaida Winter's strived to be the epitome of a perfect daughter, following every rigid rule without question. Wondering what she missed out on in her strict life, she's ready for a little independence, and decides it's time to throw caution to the wind. A tattoo is the first step to a new attitude.
Incubus Torquatus Darkblood remains locked within a talisman for the crimes of seducing a witch's daughter. His release lies within the ink of a tattoo drawn on a young woman's skin. When Jaida's pain calls to him, Torq finds he doesn't just want sinful pleasure of the flesh, he wants the woman whose soul cries freedom.
Excerpt
Jaida stared at the computer screen attempting to ignore the burning in her lower back. She thought about calling the parlor, but didn’t want to appear like a wimp. Not only that, she wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to Joe again. She wasn’t stuck up by any means. The way the tattoos on his skin told a story, she’d sit for hours to find out the history of each one. Attraction like that could land her in hot water, with her immovable, impossible to please, overbearing parents.
Break the mold.
To top it off, the statistics on the new penile dysfunction drugs didn’t add up. Jaida slipped her reading glasses back onto her face and stared at the data. Next to her eight books filled with graphs, correspondence from team meetings, clinical trials, documents and all pertinent data confirmed what she’d suspected all along. Not every male member for the second trial reported back to the clinicians to fill out the survey. A groan left her mouth. She couldn’t have concrete reports without the surveys. She officially hated her job as head statician for Nelson and Myrtaz Pharmaceuticals. Privately, she could think of at least a few lovers who could use some Zephal. She reached for her ruler and dug down her back in an attempt to stop the irritation.
“Jaida?” An intern popped her head in.
“Yes?” Jaida knew she was caught red-handed, but man it itched so damn bad. She slipped the ruler back on her desk and gave the intern her full attention.
“I have the list of contacts you requested this morning. Do you um need help with something?”
“Excellent, if you could contact them all for email conformation, I’d appreciate it. I’d like their surveys in my inbox by the end of the week. Make sure to advise them no more Zephal if they can’t follow through on their obligations, as well as no financial reimbursement for their time.” She wiggled in her chair trying to scratch her itch.
“Jaida,” Thomas barged in without proper protocol. What’s wrong with you?” He approached her desk.
“Nothing but a little itch,” Jaida half growled. “Can’t you people knock and wait for an answer?”
Thomas looked at her back. “Is that blood?”
“Where?”
“On your back.”
“Miriam. Could you please go do what I asked? Thomas can you go back from where you came and give me some peace please?” She finished in exasperation.
“Yes, boss.” Miriam ducked out of the room.
“Thomas…you’re still here.” Jaida fumed.
Thomas clamped his arm on Jaida’s and hauled her out of her chair. With his free hand, he yanked up the back of her dress shirt. “You got a tattoo?”
“Jaida slapped his hands away. “Just because we happened to have dated in high school and your parents happen to be friends with my parents, doesn’t give you permission to pry into my life, or manhandle me!” She shot him an icy glare and then smoothed her shirt down.
“What’s gotten into you lately? Behavior like that is going to bring down your mother’s wrath.”
So he appeared to be worried. She couldn’t dislike him for that. “One tattoo isn’t the end of the world.” She sighed.
“People like us don’t get tattoos.” He frowned at her.
“I’m a person, not a people and I wanted a tattoo.” Here was the side of Thomas she disliked, the pompous holier than thou type.
“You should go see a doctor about your back. I doubt you’re supposed to bleed and please tell me you went to a clean shop.”
“If we weren’t working I’d tell you what I think about you. Of course the place was clean, hell it’s cleaner than that hovel you call an office. Get out. I have work to do.”
“Excuse me Miss, is everything alright?”
Jaida turned to the liquid sex voice that penetrated through her fog of anger. What she saw stole the rest of her tirade. Eyes the color of midnight stared at her, etched in worry. She held her breath and gazed from top to bottom, strong jaw with slight stubble, bulging muscles, tattoos galore, downward her gaze went, landing smack dab on his crotch. Oh mamma. She looked up.
“Oh mamma wasn’t what I expected,” The stranger replied.
“Look Mr. Tee shirt and tight jeans. The clinical study for Zepal is down the hall in Suite B.” Thomas interjected and pointed toward the door.
“Zepal? Clinical trial?”
“It’s the penile dysfunction study,” Jaida squeaked.
“I can assure you there is nothing dysfunctional about my penis.” He quirked a brow. “Miss, are you okay?”
