She Delivered "Room Service", Now She's Here To Pay A Little "Lip Service" With A Giveaway – Welcome Nikka Michaels

TNA: Hi, Nikka, thanks so much for being here with us today. Why don’t we start out by having you tell us a little bit about yourself: hobbies, interests, things we might not know about you but should?

Nikka: Thanks for letting me join you today. It’s a pleasure!

I’m a foodie. I love to cook and bake and am a total Food TV addict. Chopped, Food network, cooking channel, you name it. I’m the weirdo who watches the HSN cooking demos and I love going to the local farmers market and picking out new food to try at home. On the non-food front: I’m a novice knitter too but I’ve yet to master the art of circular knitting. I love music and love to sing along but have the world’s worst singing voice.

TNA: Have you always written M/M Romance, or is that something that came along later in your creative writing? What is it that drew you to explore gay relationships in your writing?

Nikka: I started out writing M/F Romance but I always wanted to try M/M. I got my start doing RP on twitter playing a male Dominant bisexual trust fund baby. A lot of writers get their start doing RP, either with other people’s characters or their own. It’s like the dirty little secret out there that no one wants to admit to and it really helped develop how I write, especially sex scenes.

What drew me in was the dynamic between this character and a male submissive who he falls in love with in the book series. After a while I left RP and took what I learned and applied it to my own original characters. What drew me to exploring gay relationships in my writing is everyone falls in love and I like exploring the dynamics that occur between two men as opposed to a man and a woman. For some reason I find it easier to write from a male character’s POV too so that helps.

TNA: What was your first published M/M title? If you could go back in time, to the moment you sat down and began writing it, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give yourself, now that you have the benefit of some experience?

Nikka: My first published M/M title is Chasing Matt, co-written with Eileen Griffin. If I could go back in time I’d tell us to slow down and plot out a longer story with an outline. At the time writing a novella was daunting enough but after writing two full-length novels also with Eileen I know now that an outline really helps.

TNA: Do you remember the first M/M book you ever read? If so, what was it, and what about it made the most lasting impression upon you? Do you feel it influenced your own writing at all?

Nikka: Cut and Run by Abigail Roux. I’d loved other books that featured threesomes with two guys, and hinted at M/M romance but hers was the first “M/M” book I’ve read whose storyline was solely focused on a M/M pair.

I feel like it influenced my writing in that it opened my eyes to how not everything has to follow a traditional romance arc. Sure, there’s romance in it, but first and foremost it’s an action story.

TNA: How would you describe your books to someone who hasn’t read them yet? Do your characters share common qualities? What’s your idea of a great protagonist?

Nikka: The short erotica stories are created for reading in one sitting and the main characters usually have a playful sense of humor when in regards to sex and sexuality. The brain is the sexiest organ, after all. My idea of a great protagonist is one with a good sense of humor, intelligent and a vulnerability that you can connect with when reading.

TNA: Let’s talk a little bit about your latest book Lip Service, the sequel to Room Service. What makes your characters, Seth and Carson, tick? What would you say the greatest source of their chemistry is?

Nikka: They both are missing something. Carson is calm and in control and can command a room when he’s speaking, is wealthy and well off. Seth is an ultra talented surgeon who’s always been on the fast track in his career. Deep down they’re both searching for someone who understands them, the needs of their lives and can work within the limits of their relationship that they’ve created. Having a marriage where one or both partners are away on business a lot might not work for a lot of people but it does for them. Their greatest source of chemistry is the ability to let go with each other.

TNA: What is it that you find sexiest about these two men? What do they find sexiest about each other?

Nikka: Sexiest? The TIES!!! No really. I think Carson finds Seth sexy in that under that exterior of his, he’s really passionate and focused. Seth finds Carson’s confidence and outgoing nature very sexy.

TNA: Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?

Nikka: I think it depends. For some people, it’s more lust at first sight that anything. But as a romance writer I like to believe in the idea that two people can fall for each other instantly.

TNA: What would you say was the most challenging part of telling Seth and Carson’s story, and why?

Nikka: Not giving too much away. Their story is told in short stories that are meant to be interludes and it’s hard not to write a full-length novella or novel for them.

TNA: Would you care to share an excerpt from Lip Service with us?

Nikka: Yes, please and thank you. :)

Blurb: Dr. Seth Campbell and Carson Randall from Room Service return in this short erotic sequel. Separated by their jobs on a daily basis, the partners have to make time for each other when they can. They combine their passion for each other in mini interludes to reconnect with each other and rekindle their connection.

When Seth finds Carson waiting for him in the hotel bar, their attraction and awareness smolders to life. When their already limited time together is interrupted by an important phone call, an impatient Seth takes matters into his own hands.

Excerpt: I reached between us to yank open his shirt, grinning when the buttons flew, plinking off the table and chair.

“This was my favorite shirt.” He glared at me.

“Well, now we’re even after last time.” I smirked and leaned down to push his shirt up and off his shoulders then his undershirt. I dragged my tongue over his nipple then tugged it with my teeth.

His frustrated whine turned into a long moan as I reached between us to stroke him harder. “God, Seth. Get naked. Now.”

“Impatient.” I grinned as I slowly unbuttoned my shirt far enough to yank it over my head, tossing it on the floor. The thin T-shirt I wore met the same fate as he pulled me in for another kiss.

“Lube. Your ass. My cock. Now.”

“Yes, sir.” I smirked then turned to grab the lube from my bag I’d thrown on the luggage rack, my breath stuttering out in surprise as I heard Carson move. Quicker than I expected I found myself flat on my back on the bed, staring up at my lover as he pinned my hands next to my head. His knees hugged my hips as he stared down at me, all amusement gone, replaced with something deeper.

“Not your sir. Just yours.” His gaze was serious as he dipped his head to kiss me deeply. When I pushed up against his hold to return his kiss, I moaned as my trapped cock ground against his ass and cursed my pants for keeping my skin from his.

TNA: I know this is sort of like asking you to name your favorite child, but of all the characters you’ve written, do you have a favorite? If so, which and why?

Nikka: It’d be Ethan from In the Raw. I love writing short stories and novellas but you don’t really figure out everything a character has to tell you until you’ve spent 80,000 words with them. He’s my favorite because he’s sarcastic and snarky but underneath that self-protective layer he’s a softie who cares deeply about the people he loves.

TNA: If you could bring one of your characters off the page and into the real world, whom would you choose, and why?

Nikka: LOL That’s like asking me to pick favorites. But for me? It’d be Ethan Martin again. He’s just funny, immature and sarcastic and we’d get along fine until he started shouting at his kitchen staff.

TNA: Would you care to share a little bit of information on any of your current WIPs with us?

Nikka: Right now I’m working on several solo projects, including two former military guys who find each other after they leave the service, a valentine’s themed story with a man who finds love after losing his partner, a BDSM novella series with Eileen Griffin, and the third book in the In the Kitchen series from Carina Press, also with Eileen Griffin.

TNA: And finally, would you share with us all the places we can find you on the internet?

Nikka:

Website and Blog | Twitter | Facebook Profile | Facebook Author Page | Goodreads | Cobblestone Press | Evernight Publishing | Amazon US

The Giveaway: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED