Games of Fire Blog Tour: Interview with author Airicka Phoenix and excerpt from GoF!

Book Name: Games of Fire
Author: Airicka Phoenix
Publisher: Airicka Phoenix
Release date: Feb 14, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Thriller and mystery with a strong dose of romance.
Warnings: Strong language and mild sexual content
Formats: ebook & paperback
Other Novels: : ~ Touching Smoke (Touch Series, book 1) ebook ~ Touching Eternity (Touch Series Beginning) ebook ~ Touching Smoke (Touch Series, Book 1) Paperback ~ Touching Eternity (Touch Series Beginning) Paperback ~ Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology (ebook) ~ Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology (Paperback) ~ Midnight Surrender Anthology (ebook) ~ Midnight Surrender Anthology (Paperback)
Social Networks: ~ Twitter (@AirickaPhoenix) ~ Facebook ~ Design Page ~ GoodRead ~ Pinsterest ~ Author Site

Games of Fire Synopsis
Sophie has enough problems in her life without Spencer turning her blood to fire, without his eyes freezing and burning her, without his hatred of her. Since his migration into the house next to hers, Sophia Valdez isn’t sure whether she wants to toss him under a bus or kiss that smirking mouth of his. But even as the temperature rises around them, leaping flames of passion, want and desire,everything either has ever known will be shattered by the lurking shadow hounding their every step, wanting revenge.
Spencer Rowth moves to the sleepy town of River Port with his mother and twelve year old sister, Suzy, to escape a deceitful father, an unfaithful girlfriend and a life crumbling much too fast for him to grapple onto only to be smacked upside the head by the last thing he wanted again. Sophie was everything he refused to want. Her temper, her wit, her laugh, her smile, the way her entire body goes up in flames under his hands are things he would rather slam a lid on and forget. Instead, he finds himself falling for the smart-mouth next door. But how long will he have before the evil chasing them catches up? How long before the very thing he never wanted becomes his only thread to sanity? And who is after them? What do they want and why do they want Spencer and Sophie dead?

Airicka Phoenix is the best-selling author of the Touch Series with short stories in Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology and Midnight Surrender Anthology. When she's not hammering away at the keyboard, she can be found banishing pirates or crawling through the attic looking for lost treasure with her kids. She loves baking, gardening and reading. She also likes to travel and take pictures of everything she comes across. When asked, Airicka describes herself as a sarcastic basket case that has an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, old movies and really bad jokes. She loves to laugh, make friends and write. If she could have one wish granted, it would be to spend one day as a fly-on-the-wall inside Stephen King's mind. If she could have two wishes granted, she would ask for a castle dedicated entirely to her overwhelming collection of books.

For more about Airicka, also on how to win giveaways, read author interviews and reviews, visit her website at: http://airickaphoenix.com/Author/?cat=10

Hello Kristina! Thank you so much for having me join you and your readers at your lovely blog! It’s wonderful to be here!

Tell my fans a little bit about yourself and your books.
My name is Airicka Phoenix. I’m a Young Adult author and the author of the Touch Series as well as Games of Fire. I live in British Columbia Canada with my beautiful family and write to keep sane.

How would you introduce your books to someone that has yet to read them?
Each of my books is a wave of romance crashing into action, danger, mystery and suspense. They will take you into uncharted territories and leave you reeling.

What inspired you to start writing? What age did you start?
My grade 3 teacher did, actually. She asked us to draw pictures and insert a short story at the bottom. I rewrote Beauty and the Beast. I’ve been hooked since.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
I’m usually exploring with my kids, fighting pirates, searching for fairies, you know, the normal stuff or I’m reading. I’m a huge fan of reading whenever I can.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
Don’t write to prove yourself to anyone. Write because to not is unbearable, because it’s a beat deep inside you, a steady pulse driving you.

What’s your favorite scene/line from your works?
I have so many! It’s impossible to pick one, but usually when it’s a scene that makes me sigh.

What's the hardest thing about writing? The easiest?
The hardest is finding time between family, work and real life. The easiest would probably be finding ideas, pouring them onto paper.

What are you currently reading?
I’m rereading Games of Fire in a final read through before launch, but I’m listening to Athena’s Curse by Rick Riorden on my mp3 player.

What are you currently working on?
Right now I’m finishing up Touching Fire, book #2 of the Touch Series. Super excited. I missed Fallon and Isaiah.


What books did you read as a child?
I was a huge Babysitter’s Club fan. I was on the fan club and everything. I still have all the books.

How has your life changed since you began writing?
I’ve had to prioritize my time a lot more. Writing is a 9-5 job with guarantees on over time. You can drown in it if you don’t make time for other things.

Do you listen to music while you write?
I do! I love music. I think it sets the mood to a lot of intense scenes. The perfect music or song can make all the difference.

What's been your favorite moment as an author?
Holding my book in paperback for the very first time. It’s an amazing and incredible moment. That moment is when it finally hit home that this is official. This is it. I was holding my dreams in my hand.

Out of all of your characters, who is your favorite?
I can never answer this question. I really can’t decide, because so much effort and sweat and blood goes into creating each character that to pick between them is like picking which child you love most.

What do you want readers to take away from your books?
That life is never simple. Paranormal or not, it will throw you curve balls and punch you in the gut, but you have to pick yourself up and fight back. You have to be strong and face everything head on.

You’re stranded on a desert island. What books do you take with you?
The Hunger Games series. Harry Potter series. The Dark Hunter Series.

What book(s) do you wish you would have written?
LOL Harry Potter!! LOL

Favorite book character?
Katniss Everdean, Hunger Games. She’s a perfectly imperfect heroine.

What is your dream vacation destination?
New Orleans! I love everything about it.

Do you have any interesting dreams or goals?
I think both are the same and so important. I have a new dream every day and it changes, but my goal is always the same. My goal is to write and keep writing and to stay true to my craft.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
Writing. That is something that will never change no matter what happens. I will always write.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
She came. She wrote. She died.

Where can fans find you?
~ Twitter (@AirickaPhoenix) ~ Facebook ~ Design Page ~ GoodRead ~ Pinsterest ~ Author Site

Thank you so much for having me! I had so much fun and I hope we can do it again! <3

“I won’t bite,” he said, probably meaning it as a joke.

“Oh if only that were my only problem,” she sighed under her breath.

“What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

She took his hand, slipping her icy fingers through his. The electric sparks tore a fiery path down the length of her arms, nearly melting the ice beneath their feet. She shivered involuntarily and felt his fingers flex.

“All right?” Had his voice always been so husky?

She dampened her lips. “Yeah…” The single word died in her throat as she was pulled towards him. Her heart tripped. Her lungs stilled. The heat of his body rushed over her with the subtle scent peppermint, leather, spices and smoke.

A soft mist blew around them. Raindrops glistened in his hair, shimmering under the pale glow of the light post. His eyes were shadowed beneath wispy fringes, but the silver in them glinted like pools of liquid mercury. Her breath caught. It must have made a sound because his fingers tightened. His shaky exhale caressed her flushed face.

“This,” he whispered so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. “Is why you are so bad for me.”