After a whopping writing day, I was able to get Kerry and Dayton to the editors (with time to spare, woohoo).
I’ll drop the cover, blurb, and link at the bottom of the page if you’re keen to preorder.
But in the meantime, let’s make April Kelley feel super welcome!
Author Bio
April Kelley writes LGBTQ+ Romance. Her works include The Journey of Jimini Renn, a Rainbow Awards finalist, Whispers of Home, the Saint Lakes series, and over thirty more. Since writing her first story at ten, the characters in her head still won’t stop telling their stories. If April isn’t reading or writing, you can find her playing with her cats. She also loves hiking. Her cats are leash trained so they go with her wherever she goes.
April’s Quirky Questions
Holly: If you could live anywhere real or imaginary where would it be and why?
April Kelley: I don’t think I would change where I live, even if I could. I live next to one of the biggest lakes in the world. Just yesterday I went for a walk on the beach. It was cold and the waves were big. It’s a constant reminder of how magical nature can be.
Holly: What are some day jobs that you have had/have? Do they impact your writing, share an example.
April Kelley: For the record, everything impacts my writing. Jobs, conversations, people I know and even some I’ve never met. Everything.
But in terms of the jobs I’ve had, I grew up on a farm. Even as a kid, we had to help or the farm wouldn’t function. The Pickleville series was definitely inspired by my time there. Bad Mate, book ten in the Saint Lakes series also, most especially Keaton’s pet pigs because we raised pigs.
I’m also a special ed teacher. Working with different personalities is always helpful when writing. It’s made creating different types of people a lot easier.
Holly: We know what you like to write, but what do you like to read in your free time, and why?
April Kelley: I’m a huge Kiki Clark fan. This author’s world building is fun to escape into. I also love a good age gap book. It doesn’t have to be paranormal. Any MM Romance works for me. And I love MM Small Town Romance. Give me a little town filled with shifters and vampires and I’m even happier. I’m also a huge Cozy Mystery fan. Give me an MM Cozy Mystery Romance and even better.
Holly: How do you celebrate a new release?
April Kelley: I usually take few days off and read. Or catch up on some television shows. Sometimes the next book is pushing to get out, so I’ll get started on it. I feel that way with the next Dragon Skull MC Daddies book. I’m dying to find out what happens with Syren and Mitchell.
Holly: What qualities do you and your characters share? How much are you like them, or how different are they from you?
April Kelley: Daruss’s bad boy ways and the way he isn’t good at following the rules is opposite of me. Most of the time, I like to follow the rules. I do question societal norms a lot, so in that way we’re somewhat similar.
I think in some ways we can all identify with Jude. Everyone has a past and sometimes the story is messy. No one’s life is perfect. Sometimes that makes us more capable of surviving certain situations. In a broad sense, Jude’s story is pretty universal.
Raylee is also different than me in a lot of ways. While I wish I was all sunshine and rainbows the way he is, I’m really not. I love that he’s not as naïve as he seems, though. He’s aware of darkness but his light is so bright he keeps it at bay. I wish I had a little more Raylee inside me.
DARUSS
One is his enemy. The other is his fated mate. As leader of his dragon shifter MC family, Daruss has never had so much to fight for.
Dragon shifter Daruss Oyen has everything to lose. After a rival club starts a war over territory, Daruss is there to fight for the family he’s found. But everything changes after he falls in love with a snarky human named Jude, who happens to be the rival club’s spy.
While he’s determined to keep Dragon Skull MC together and somehow get his boy back, he meets his fated mate along the way. Daruss wonders if a sweet and innocent college graduate could ever go for bad boy biker like him.
But when Jude and Raylee are threatened, Daruss and the Dragon Skulls will have to win the fight if they’re going to make it out alive.
Daruss is the first novel in the Dragon Skulls MC Daddies. This steamy Paranormal Romance features a dragon shifter Daddy who’s even more dangerous with his biker family by his side, a sassy human who’s lived a hard life and will do anything to protect a sweet guy like his Daddy’s fated mate, and an innocent college grad who know nothing about bad boys and Daddies. If you like a lot of sexy time between a Daddy and his boys with a happily ever after and danger thrown in, then you’ll love this spicy romance.
Excerpt
The club was always packed on the weekends. More than just members were allowed to party. Non-members paid for their drinks as well as for other things if someone wanted to take part.
They were getting enough outsiders for Daruss to consider charging for entry. He’d have to bring it up with the guys to see what they thought. They had enough income streams and made a good enough living that every member got a piece of the pie. Charging for entry would put even more money in their pockets.
Skippy was on bouncer duty. There was always one asshole who put his hands on one of the boys. Everyone knew the Dragon Skulls didn’t allow unwanted touches, looks, or anything else for that matter. But a newbie would come along and mess up. Skippy was spoiling for a fight on a normal day. Whenever it was his turn to watch over everyone the cops were called. It had gotten so bad the sheriff called Daruss once a month to get the schedule.
For the time being everyone was having a good time though.
Casper, their resident bartender, had one of the other members help on the weekend. They split the tips and the cash Daruss gave them after the night was over.
Most of the time, whoever helped did so because they needed the money. But Jonik was the one behind the bar with Casper. Daruss knew money didn’t factor in for him.
Jonik had met his mate not long ago. The bonding was fresh. The little guy had a lot of trauma to work through. Part of the process was reacclimating back into society. But the Dragon Skulls clubhouse wasn’t a normal place to be. Still, Jonik’s mate, Wren, sat on a stool behind the bar and watched every move Jonik made as if he thought he would disappear if Wren didn’t keep an eye on him.
Jonik set him up at the music thing they had in the corner. It wasn’t DJ equipment so much as someone’s cellphone hooked up to Bluetooth playing music through the speakers. It worked well enough. Wren did a fantastic job of picking the right tunes for the vibe of the room.
Even Daruss’s boy was dancing. Jude didn’t always. He preferred to drive Daruss crazy with lust by sitting on his lap and grinding against him. Of course, Jude’s idea of dancing was to shimmy and shake as he bent at the waist. Daruss had a front row seat to bare ass cheeks jiggling like they meant business.
Daruss was five seconds away from kicking out whoever was in the club bedroom and having his way with him—that was Jude’s goal.
When Jude danced his way to a standing position again and turned, Daruss crooked his finger and patted his thigh, inviting Jude to come sit on his lap.
Jude grinned and started to close the distance between them. He hadn’t quite made it off the dance floor when an outsider grabbed his arm. Jude’s smile stayed in place for about a second and then he scowled. He said something, pointing to Daruss.
When Jude tried to pull his arm out of the guy’s grasp Daruss was up and out of his seat. Daruss had the man by the throat before he knew what was happening.
People moved out of the way when Daruss lifted him off his feet and carried him to the door. Several of the outsiders’ eyes were wide. There were a lot of humans in the crowd. More than on a normal night. They didn’t know about dragon shifters, so they hadn’t expected that level of strength from Daruss. Especially not with such a big person.
As soon as Daruss was outside, he dropped the guy and then crouched in front of him, letting his eyes and hands shift. “No means no inside the club.”
April’s Socials
If you wish to contact her, emailauthoraprilkelley@gmail.com.
Website: https://www.authoraprilkelley.com/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538712856332109
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/authoraprilkelley
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/authoraprilkell/
NEW FROM HOLLY OLIVER
When a plan for revenge goes wrong, the Array find themselves ill-equipped and underprepared for the monsters on their doorstep.
Kerry, a hedgehog shifter, finds himself facing the demons of his past and is filled with a rage that won’t quit. His loyalty to the Array is put to the test, and an unexpected mate turns his world upside down.
Dayton, a fennec fox shifter, had one job, but from the moment he arrived at Helena’s, he felt forces moving him in another direction. Torn between his duty to the Array and his heart, Dayton attempts to honor both, but at what cost?
Kerry and Dayton is a story featuring magic, shifters, and death. It also mentions the deaths of parents and gruesome monsters, but if all goes well, there will be a happily ever after for the unlikely couple by the time we reach the end.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of Holly’s Quirky Questions.
A huge thank you to April.
Next week we have Jack Harper.
Until then: Find a Spark of Magic Every Day.
