UNQUIETLY ME

 

Interview with Moriah Gemel

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Moriah Gemel, author of Céilí.

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

I’m Moriah, I’m an author, and a stay-at-home mom to a toddler, and wife to a man who works and goes to school, so we’re both very busy a lot of the time. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, even if it wasn’t very good, and I’ve been practicing ever since. My current book, Céilí, is about finding where you belong and protecting what you love in an urban fantasy setting.

1) Do you buy a book because of the cover, the blurb, or something else?

Usually it’s a combination. I look at the cover first, so it’s the first impression. But I definitely look at the blurb, too. But mainly I read based on recommendation—did other people like it? Did my friends like it? My favorite books were recommended to me by family and friends, and that’s usually how I discover what I’m reading next.

2) What does ‘romance’ mean to you?

It means love. It doesn’t have to be schmoopy, roses-and-chocolates love. It can be. But it doesn’t have to be. Romance is the meeting of two souls that are compatible, that want to be together. It’s the mix of ultimate friendship and attraction. At least, if you want it to work.

3) What are your current projects?

I’m working on a novella right now, though I can’t tell you what it’s about just yet. I’m also looking ahead to my next novel, I’m outlining that right now. I’m also looking to write some short stories in the upcoming year, if I can find the time. I want to write something post-apocalyptic, I want to write something with an asexual character, I want to write something with an autistic character. Maybe I’ll do all three at once.

4) What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Getting started. I don’t have the best confidence right off the bat. Sometimes it’s hard to access my words, especially during a dormant period (during which I still write, just at a glacial pace). So I sit and watch the cursor blink, and wait until I can feel it in my fingertips. The urge to just go, the inspiration. I often have to re-read what I’ve previously written to get in the mood, to get going, so I’m very familiar with what I write. But once I get going I’m usually good.

5) Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people.

I’m autistic. I don’t come across as such a lot of the time, because I’ve spent a lot of time in my life trying to hide it, and I’ve become very good at acting, but I am neurodivergent and I am very proud of that fact nowadays. I didn’t used to be, because I got bullied for it, but I’ve come to love my differences and in person they’re very easy to spot. Not so much on the internet.

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Author Name: Moriah Gemel

Book Name: Ceílí

Release Date: March 17, 2016

 

Blurb:

The Los Angeles music scene has not been kind to Devon Caelin. He struggles to fit in and has a streak of bad luck the length of the Sunset Strip. One rare rainy night, he drowns his sorrows from bar-to-bar, until he stumbles into an alley club called Céilí. He discovers that it’s home to a small community of mystical people making their way in the human world, and that he found it only because he is Fae himself. With mentoring from the pub’s proprietor, Eldan—a powerful Fae Lord protecting his kind in the city—Devon unearths his past and discovers his magical abilities. His life appears to be back on track—until a member of the Faerie Court is murdered and the secret of their world is threatened to be revealed.

 

Pages or Words: 200 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance, Urban Fantasy

 

Excerpt:

“This is where we’ll do the spell,” Eldan says. “I can open the channel easily enough, but I’d like you to assist in keeping it open. Stand behind me when I tell you to, and put your hands on my shoulders. If we’re compatible, I’ll be able to take some of your energy to bolster mine, just enough to maintain a stronger connection than I would on my own, all right? You might get a little dizzy, but I promise you’ll be okay.”

“I’m not afraid, Eldan.” Devon is excited to see this magic performed, to see the Queens. What will they be like, these women that Eldan is wary to speak of?

“No. You aren’t, are you?” Eldan smiles. “Well. Best get on with it then. Stand nearby, please?”

Devon settles himself just behind Eldan, and Eldan nods. Then, he pulls a little vial from his pocket and shakes it.

“Here we go.”

He uncorks the bottle, and Devon smells something almost metallic. Eldan walks to the first corner of the table, to the right, and pours a drop of whatever’s inside the vial over the little pile of dirt.

“Cré.” His hand hovers over the bowl, and the dirt spreads and forms a flat plane under his palm. Eldan smiles and walks on.

He walks to the back right of the table and pours a drop into the empty bowl. “Aer,” he says and his hand hovers. The bowl trembles, and the dust motes in the air within it coalesce and spin. He walks on.

The third bowl holds sticks, and Eldan pours the liquid on them before hovering his hand, causing them to burst into flames. “Tine.” Devon can’t help but push his breath out and shake his head. This is cool. All this magic, it’s really real. He thought it was a story for children, but magic is real, and he’s a part of it. He never thought much about fairytales but now he wishes he had, because it would make this moment so much better.

Finally, Eldan pours into the fourth bowl, filled with water, and his hand hovering creates little waves that splash on the sides of the bowl gently, as though upset. “Uisce,” he says and then he walks on.

He circles the table counter-clockwise three times and, when he reaches the head of the table once more, he nods to Devon. “Now.”

Devon steps up as Eldan turns away and puts his hands on Eldan’s slim, strong shoulders. Immediately, his palms tingle, as Eldan waves a hand. The mirror in the center of the table stands up, reflecting them. Eldan presses a palm to the center of it.

“Oscailt agus a léiriú,” Eldan says. Devon wishes he knew what the hell he was saying, but it’s pretty, in any case. Celtic? Gaelic? Something. “Na Ríona I Talún Samhraidh.”

The mirror clouds, and Devon licks his lips and stands on his tiptoes to see over Eldan’s shoulder. Nothing happens, though, for long moments, in which Eldan’s breathing comes quick and loud. Devon squeezes his shoulders, and Eldan whimpers faintly. But he slows down, and Devon keeps squeezing, staring at what he can see of Eldan’s face, staring at the delicate line of his jaw, his high cheekbone, the flutter of an eyelash, the jut of his nose, which is freckled and fair.

But then the clouds part, and there they are.

 

Buy the book:

Interlude Press: store.interludepress.com

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1STMEC8

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/c-il-moriah-gemel/1122958803?ean=2940152470130#productInfoTabs

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/593331

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-cel-2000032-149.html?referrer=55feb862851f8

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/C-il-/9781941530658

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530658

 

Meet the author:

Moriah Gemel has developed a dedicated following for her realistic, sexually-charged stories over twelve years in online fan communities. Moriah is passionate about diversity in fiction, as well as realistic depictions of BDSM and sex education. Her first novel, Load the Dice, was published as a serial in ten parts. Céilí is her second novel. She lives with her husband, young son, and two cats.

 

Where to find the author:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/moriahgemel

Twitter: @moriahgemel

 

Goodreads Link: www.goodreads.com/moriahgemel

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Design – CB Messer, Cover art by Ari McFarland

 

 

Tour Dates & Stops:

17-Mar: Book Lovers 4Ever, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings, BFD Book Blog

18-Mar: Happily Ever Chapter, Divine Magazine, Unquietly Me, Wake Up Your Wild Side

21-Mar: Outrageous Heroes, Nephy Hart, Inked Rainbow Reads, Velvet Panic

22-Mar: The Hat Party, Rednecks and Romance, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

23-Mar: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Alpha Book Club

24-Mar: MM Good Book Reviews

25-Mar: Full Moon Dreaming

28-Mar: Kirsty Loves Books, A.M. Leibowitz, My Fiction Nook

29-Mar: Havan Fellows, The Novel Approach

30-Mar: Love Bytes, Bayou Book Junkie, Molly Lolly

 

Rafflecopter Giveaway:

Giveaway Link: $25 Interude Press gift card for one winner, 5 additional winners receive an e-book copy of Ceílí

 

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