Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Michelle Osgood author of The Better to Kiss You With.

Hi Michelle thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi, thanks for having me! I’m a writer who lives in Vancouver, BC, with my partner Elizabeth and our two black cats.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and have been fascinated with storytelling for as long as I can remember.  The Better to Kiss You With is a paranormal romance about Deanna, the moderator of an online werewolf role playing game, who falls for the mysterious woman living above her.

 

• Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than any others? Love? Action? Romance? Tragedy?

I struggle with writing fight scenes, but somehow always feel the need to include them!  I love reading them, and they absolutely bring a tension to a story that is hard to find elsewhere.  A good fight scene should speed up your pulse while reading smoothly, and that’s a balance I find difficult to achieve, as I find writing them feels blocky.

• What do you think makes a good story?

The stories I like to read and write (and watch, and hear, and participate in) are ones that have a bit of complexity to them.  I like romance, but I want there to be some action or mystery.  I love fantasy, but give me some politics!  I think good stories are able to blend together multiple themes and plots, and that makes for a much more interesting read.

• Do you hear from readers much? What do they say?

I’m lucky enough that I do!  They say I’m funny, and cute.  Oh and they also say that about my writing… 😉

• How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

This is my debut novel, so The Better to Kiss You With is both my first and my favourite.  I’m currently working on a sequel, which is a lot of fun to write, so stay tuned and maybe this time next year I’ll have two to pick between.

• What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I’m a very social person so if I don’t have a reason to be home I’m usually out with friends.  I love pub trivia, patios, board games—any excuse to be around other people!  If I’m at home and not writing I’m usually watching TV with my partner Elizabeth, and pausing it every few minutes for a feminist critique.

 

Excerpt:

“I think I know blood when I see it,” Deanna pointed out. “It was definitely blood.”

Beside her on the floor, Nathan leaned his head back against the couch and, behind the black frames of his glasses, rolled his bright blue eyes. “I’m not saying it wasn’t blood. But just, like, blood happens.”

“‘Blood happens.’ You sound like a tampon commercial.”

“Not true.” Nathan snickered over the top of his glass. “They never use the word ‘blood.’”

Deanna choked on a mouthful of wine.

“Anyway,” Nathan continued, “it was probably just a dead animal. Dogs love that stuff.”

“He wasn’t happy, though. He was scared. Something scared him. And Arthur’s brave. He doesn’t scare easily.” Deanna wiped the Pinot Gris from her chin and they both leaned forward to look at Arthur, who was sprawled artlessly on top of his dog bed and snoring loudly. Deanna smothered a giggle with the back of her hand and grabbed the bottle of wine.

“Just don’t confuse fantasy with reality. I think your job is messing you up.”

Deanna snorted. “Wolf’s Run is a just game, Nathan. I haven’t forgotten that.”

“Really? Because you’re talking about mysterious bodies torn up in the woods, and if that doesn’t sound like werewolves…”

Deanna gave Nathan a shove. “Ha, ha, very funny. I’m not like that weirdo who thinks that werewolves actually exist. It’s role-playing. Playing being the key word.”

For the most part, the players of Wolf’s Run were a good crowd—with the exception of one user who seemed to think that he actually was a werewolf. Apparently, he took offense to the game’s depictions of “his species,” considering them inaccurate and insulting. The rants had been going on for months, and the situation would have been laughable, except that in the last few weeks his posts had taken on a more threatening tone. Every time Deanna deleted his posts and blocked his username he simply created another account. The Wolf’s Run team didn’t want to block his IP address because IP addresses could be shared by a large number of people, and doing so might block legitimate players from the game. Besides, it was child’s play to circumvent a block by logging in from a third-party app or web service, or just logging in from a different location. Deanna could only shut him down and hope that this time he finally gave up.

“Well, then just accept that Arthur found a bunny rabbit or something and decided it would be a good idea to roll around in its mangled corpse.”

Deanna shook her head. “You didn’t see him. It was a lot of blood.” It had taken two desperately unpleasant baths and an entire bottle of shampoo to get Arthur clean. Deanna had had to scrub her bathtub three times before she’d felt comfortable using it again.

Nathan grabbed her hand with his long, thin fingers. “Listen, you’re my best friend, and I love you, and I’m sure that it was really terrifying, but I’m also one hundred percent sure that you are blowing this way out of proportion. No more fantasy werewolf role playing nonsense for you.”

“Until my shift starts in…” Deanna tapped the screen of her phone. “Ten hours.”

“Until then,” Nathan agreed and clinked their glasses. “Now, tell me more about your hot neighbor.”

Deanna buried her head in her hands and groaned. “It’s awful. She’s gorgeous. And I can’t think around her. Or speak. I turn into a spluttering sixth grader with her first crush.”

“That’s disgusting and adorable. Tell me more. What’s her name?”

 

Buy the book:

Interlude Press (Paperback): http://store.interludepress.com/collections/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-pre-order-bundle-1/products/the-better-to-kiss-you-with-print-edition

 

Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card. 5 first prizes of e-copies of The Better to Kiss You With by Michelle Osgood.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tour Dates & Stops:

21-Apr: BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Hearts on Fire, Bayou Book Junkie

22-Apr: My Fiction Nook, Kirsty Loves Books, Inked Rainbow Reads, Happily Ever Chapter

25-Apr: Oh My Shelves, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Louise Lyons, A.M. Leibowitz

26-Apr: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Havan Fellows, Open Skye Book Reviews

27-Apr: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Butterfly-O-Meter, Prism Book Alliance

28-Apr: Nephy Hart, QUEERcentric Books, Emotion In Motion, Unquietly Me

29-Apr: Chris McHart, Velvet Panic, Book Reviews and More by Kathy

2-May: Charley Descoteaux, Love Bytes, Bonkers About Books

3-May: Alpha Book Club, Cathy Brockman Romances, Rednecks and Romance, MM Good Book Reviews

4-May: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Divine Magazine, Molly Lolly

 

Meet the author:

Michelle Osgood lives in Vancouver, BC, with her partner Elizabeth and their two cats. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and has been reading, writing and blogging in online communities for five years. She likes to read romance novels, speculative fiction and feminist pop culture critique.

 

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/osgoodmichelle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OsgoodMichelle

Homepage: www.michelleosgood.com

 

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28490267-the-better-to-kiss-you-with

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Monika Gross

Pages or Words: 182 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Lesbian Romance, Paranormal

Release Date: April 21, 2016