Abigail Roux Stops In For A Visit And A Ball & Chain/Ty And Zane Giveaway!

TNA: We’re thrilled to have Abigail Roux here with us at The Novel Approach today, on the Ball & Chain Blog Tour. Thanks for being here, Abigail!

Abigail: Welcome to the Ball & Chain virtual tour! If you’re following along, you’ll be able to win yourself some goodies that might just save your life! I’ve got five Survival Kits in a Sardine Can, perfect for traveling and hiking or taking with you to remote island weddings where people might be dying. And I’ve got five sets of trading cards with original artwork and character work-ups for the less adventurous readers!

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing to win one of five Survival Kits in a Sardine Can or one of five sets of trading cards with original artwork. Entries close at midnight, Eastern Time, on April 1 , and winners will be announced on April 3rd. Contest is valid worldwide.

TNA: Let’s start off with an easy question: have you always written gay fiction, or is that something that came along later in your writing career? What drew you to write stories featuring male love interests?

Abigail: I always wrote stories with male protagonists, I just didn’t write romance. I stumbled over what was still being referred to as slash fanfiction way back when, and I felt stupid that the idea had never occurred to me that I could write it. I’ve stuck to it ever sense.

TNA: Do you have a favorite author(s)? Is there any one author you’d say inspired you to write? If so, who was it?

Abigail: Elizabeth Peters. She wrote the Amelia Peabody series, and I devoured them in high school and college. It was the first time I could see myself doing what she had done, creating worlds like she was able to. Those books planted the seed that maybe I could do that too. She passed away last year. I was heartbroken when I heard.

TNA: Now let’s talk about Ty and Zane, because let’s face it, that’s why you’re here. Do you remember the moment you came up with the concept for these characters, and have they followed the path you’d originally seen them going down? If not, how has their story differed from the way you saw it going from the start?

Abigail: I remember sitting and talking with Madeleine, trying to figure out what to write next. We were hopping from one idea to the other, because we were both struggling with writer’s block and trying to rekindle something. She said ‘how about law enforcement’ and we started writing. The original path, while still sort of in sight, has been changed by necessity and the fact that I’m writing solo now.

TNA: Do you have a set ending to their story? Have you got this series plotted out all the way to the end, or will you just keep writing until you run out of things to write about for them? If you’ve already plotted to The End, how many more books can we expect?

Abigail: 9 Cut & Run books was always the plan. I know how the story ends, but I haven’t quite figured out how to end Ty and Zane in a way that everyone will be pleased. I’m stressing over it.

TNA: Touch & Geaux caused quite a stir in the Ty/Zane universe. Were you surprised by the strong and mixed reactions you got from readers after some of the events that unfolded in the book, or were you prepared for it? Really, as an author, how do you prepare for something like that? And what made you want to stir things up that much?

Abigail: I was prepared. I knew Touch & Geaux would illicit some strong emotions, and it was supposed to. It wasn’t a desire to stir things up so much as remind the characters of what was at stake.

TNA: Just to give readers a heads-up, yes or no, will there be any more big surprises in Ball & Chain we should prepare ourselves for?

Abigail: There will always be surprises, both good and bad.

TNA: When you came up with the concept of the Cut & Run series, did you foresee the Sidewinder spinoff, or was that something that came up only when you got to this point in the series? How many Sidewinder books do you have planned?

Abigail: The Sidewinder Series was a complete surprise to me. In the original plans, the Sidewinder guys all got killed off, so I had no intention of telling their stories outside of the Cut & Run series. I was playing around with the idea of writing some of the adventures pre-Zane, and then after Touch & Geaux, Nick and Kelly became a couple, and it worked so well I had to run with it. Because of the more episodic nature of the Sidewinder books, I’m not sure how many there will be.

TNA: Will Julian Cross and Cameron Jacobs be showing up again in the series? Had you always planned on them doing a crossover into Cut & Run, or was that simply a moment of divine inspiration?

Abigail: Crossing them over in Armed & Dangerous was not planned; it just sort of hit me as something new and fun to try. They will be reappearing!

TNA: Will Julian and Cam be getting another book of their own any time soon? If so, when?

Abigail: Probably not. Their love story was finished in Warrior’s Cross.

TNA: I know this is like being asked to choose your favorite child, but come on, I have to ask. Who’s your favorite, Ty or Zane? Why?

Abigail: My favorite will always be Ty. He was my character first, and there’s a lot of me in him.

TNA: Would you say you and Ty share the same sense of humor? Do you come up with his t-shirts, or are they ones you’ve seen and thought, man, I need to use that one in the next book?

Abigail: A little of both. Some of them I came up with, and others are ones I’ve seen around and thought were hilarious or would fit Ty’s personality. I’m sad to say Ty doesn’t get a chance to wear any of his T-shirts in Ball & Chain.

TNA: If you could bring any of your characters from the page to the real world, which would you most want to hang out with, and why?

Abigail: Probably Kelly. He seems mentally stable and fun. I don’t think any of the other characters can claim both attributes.

TNA: What are you working on now, care to share a little bit of information on any of your current WIPs?

Abigail: Right now I’m working on the 3rd Sidewinder book, Lost & Found. It’s a completely different format than any of the other books.

TNA: Thanks again for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Abigail. It’s been great having you with us.

Abigail: Thank you for having me! If you care to follow me more closely, you can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr!

Blurb: Home from their unexpected deployment, the former members of Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder rejoin their loved ones and try to pick up the pieces of the lives they were forced to leave behind. Ty Grady comes home to Zane Garrett, only to find that everything around him has changed—even the men he went to war with. He barely has time to adjust before his brother, Deuce, asks Ty to be his best man. But that isn’t all Deuce asks Ty to do, and Ty must call for backup to deal with the business issues of Deuce’s future father-in-law.

Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott join Ty and Zane at the wedding on an island in Scotland, thinking they’re there to assuage Deuce’s paranoia. But when bodies start dropping and boats start sinking, the four men get more involved with the festivities than they’d ever planned to.

With the clock ticking and the killer just as stuck on the isolated island as they are, Ty and Zane must navigate a veritable minefield of family, friends, and foes to stop the whole island from being destroyed.