ABOUT
JESS BUFFETT
jessbuffett@gmail.com
Jess Buffett was born and raised
in New South Wales, Australia. She is married to a wonderful and supportive
husband and they live on the Central Coast with their two children. Jess is a
hopeless romantic who loves stories about true love that sizzle with a happy
ending. She is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance—anything with hunky men in all
their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door.
Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight,
but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.
THE KAYAN'S MAGE [HUNTER CLAN 1]
Sawyer McLeod lost his family and his entire Guild, except his twin,
seven years ago. Now almost twenty-one, he is coming to the age to receive his
abilities as a Mage. Unfortunately there are others who will stop at nothing to
see the brothers don’t survive that long.
When Jake Hunter, Kayan for a Clan of Wolf Shifters living in
Australia, finally finds his true-mate, he doesn’t expect it to be in the midst
of a brutal attack. Through omissions of truth, misunderstandings, and fear,
Jake struggles to prove to Sawyer that he can trust him.
When Sawyer is finally willing to give Jake a chance, a ghost from the
past returns to destroy everything they have built together. Will they be able
to overcome the foe long thought gone, or will it be the end for the Kayan’s
Mage?
STORY EXCERPT
“Com’ere, blondie,” the middle man
slurred, his body swaying as he spoke. Sawyer could smell the pungent scent of
stale alcohol from where he stood and shivered in revulsion when the man’s eyes
raked over him. Worse still was when the man cupped his crotch and licked his
lips like they were some sort of delicious meal he couldn’t wait to dig into.
God, he was going to be sick.
Riley reached over and gripped
Sawyer’s hand tight. He could feel the tremors running through his brother’s
body, but he was hiding it well. While they may have had a slight advantage
since neither he nor his brother was human, these men were big and outnumbered
them. And if Elijah knew what Sawyer and Riley were, he also knew how old they
were and that they wouldn’t have their abilities yet. Prime pickings.
“Seems they think they’re too good
for us, Bear,” the one to Bear’s left chuckled. He took a step forward, and
Sawyer couldn’t contain the whimper of fear that passed his lips even as he
stepped sideways to place himself in front of his twin.
“Well now, Tiger, we’ll just have
to change their minds. Won’t we, blondie?” sneered Bear.
Really, Tiger and Bear! Who were
these guys, the rejects from an L. Frank Baum novel? Sawyer was just waiting
for the guy on the right to pipe up and announce to the class that his name was
Lion. If they were shifters, maybe he’d get it.
Wait, scrap that. Not even
shifters would be that corny.
From behind him, he heard Riley
mutter, “Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my.”
A snigger slipped past Sawyer’s
lips, clearly indicating that his self-preservation wasn’t kicking in. Both of
them had always found the most inappropriate things amusing when they were
scared, and unfortunately for them, Bear didn’t seem to appreciate their
particular brand of humour. No one ever did.
A fist collided with the side of
his head, blindsiding him and knocking him to the ground. From where he fell,
Sawyer shoved at Riley, moaning for him to run. Somewhere to his left he heard
Riley scream his name, but there was nothing he could do but draw their
attention, giving his brother a chance to escape as another hard kick landed in
his stomach. That was going to leave a mark. Managing to regain his footing,
Sawyer blocked the next hit, following it up with a right hook of his own. His
fist collided with the man’s temple and the guy went down with a grunt. All
those years they had spent on the street were paying off, and by the look on
Elijah’s face, he hadn’t been prepared for that. A small sliver of satisfaction
ran through Sawyer. The arsehole hadn’t expected on him fighting back, which
meant he didn’t know Sawyer as well as he thought he did.
“That’s right, bitch. This twink
fights back,” he spat out.
Focusing on the next guy, Sawyer
was able to take down two more before becoming overwhelmed. He just couldn’t
keep up, taking more hits than he could dish out. Blow after blow struck him
until he was unable to fight back, dropping to the ground. He could feel the
blood from one of the wounds on his heads dripping down, and he knew there were
more where that came from. It was hard to kill one of his kind, but blood loss
was a definite possibility at this point, and all he could do was lay there and
take whatever they threw at him. His body was like one big lightning bolt of
pain, but he refused to beg them to stop. Just when he thought he couldn’t take
any more, the blows ceased. But before Sawyer had a chance to feel relief, the
hands returned, this time touching and blindly groping, trying to tear at his
clothes.
Oh, God. No.
Bile rose into his throat as he
felt his shirt rip and another set of hands go for the zipper of his jeans,
tearing at the button. He tried to buck the hands off, but with as battered as
he was, all it did was excite them more. Elijah’s hand came down and clamped
Sawyer’s jaw tightly with a strength that surprised him, keeping his head
locked in one place. Staring into the eyes of a man he once called friend, for
a moment Sawyer could have sworn he saw a flicker of pain and sadness cross the
man’s face, but it was gone just as quickly to be replaced with the emotionless
expression he had worn all night. Tears mixed with the blood running down
Sawyer’s cheeks as he acknowledged what was coming and that there was no way he
could stop it. He sent up a silent prayer that Riley had gotten away, and that
he would never see this.
Suddenly a feral growl ripped
through the lot from behind the men that held him down, taking them all by
surprise. Then everything stopped.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW
Q: If you could
spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
If I had to choose one, it would have to be Riley. He’s sassy,
sarcastic, fun and full of useless information that could keep me entertained
for hours. He wants to have fun and be ‘out-there’ and isn’t afraid of that.
He’d be someone I could see myself having a hell of a time with. Riley is one
character that I really enjoy writing for and including in scenes.
Q: Are you plot or
character driven? Please elaborate.
Character, but not for the lack of trying. I try to follow a plot…I
really do, but it never works out that way. When I start I always write a plot
outline, so I know which direction I’m going in and where I want to end up.
Never sticks. My boys end up going off on their own little tangent and making
their own stuff up as they go along. I usually stop to look back at the plot
outline and think “How the hell did they end up in that situation?”
Q: What is the one
thing you must have to be able to write?
As cliché as it sounds…coffee. I’m addicted anyway, but when I’m
writing it’s like a necessity and my hubby knows to just keep it coming. He
doesn’t even have to ask. Half the time I glance down and find I have one
waiting for me.
Q: Have you ever gotten
writer’s block? How do you get past it?
I read, and if that doesn’t help then I write out a new story plot.
The amount of WIP that I have just sitting on my laptop is ridiculous, and half
of them may never get written, but it works.
Q: Can you offer
advice on how to move on from the dreaded rejection letter?
With any rejection letter there is usually a list of reasons why. The
biggest issue I had was trying not to take it personally. While the story is
personal for you the other person is usually just trying to help and point out
what doesn’t or won’t work. I take what they say and I work with it on my own
terms.
Q: When is your
favorite time of day to write?
Night. When the kids are in bed and everything is done. I work best
when there are no distractions. If something is happening or someone is
talking, then I’m done for. I do try during the day, but my best stuff is
usually at night when I can just let it flow.
*claps* I loved The Kayan's Mage, and I am dying for "Riley's Vampire Prince" such a great lead in at the end of the first book! I can't wait! And I agree, if I could spend the day with one of your characters I would spend it with Riley. He's so spunky and sarcastic and full of life. (Can you tell how excited I am about his story?)
ReplyDeleteGreat cover and it looks like a great read. I'm finding a ton of new reads.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt is definitely enticing,another book to put on my list.
ReplyDeleteAnother book for the TBR pile and a new author. Loving this birthday month for you Gabrielle.
ReplyDeletegoaliemom0049@gmail.com
WOW this book is already on my wish list. How great is that lol
ReplyDeleteI love the Kayan's Mage and am looking forward to the next book...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
I want to read The Kayan's Mage. Thanks for the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, and the series looks really sexy and intriguing!
ReplyDeleteTrix, vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Gabrielle thank you for introducing all if us to such a diverse number of authors!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. The excerpt was really riveting, I need to buy the book right now!!
ReplyDeleteforgot my email - hikaru_424@yahoo.com
Delete