It’s Fangirl Friday with K.A. Merikan! INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY!!

It’s Fangirl Friday!

*dances* This month I couldn’t resist the opportunity to gush all over writing duo, Kat and Agnes Merikan. (I’m seriously kicking myself that it took me so long to find these two!) Most of you probably already know them and are rolling your eyes at me. Well, I’m here now and that’s all that matters.

Here’s the cover and blurb for book one – it’s guaranteed to get you hooked.

— Love is sour like a Sicilian lemon. —

The Family is always right.
The Family doesn’t forget.
The Family pays for blood in blood.

Domenico Acerbi grew up in the shade of Sicilian lemon trees ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor.
When Seth, the younger son of the Don is kidnapped, it’s Domenico who is sent to get him back. The man he finds, though, is not the boy he knew all those years ago. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer.

Seth Villani wants nothing to do with the mafia. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a say when the Family pulls him right back into its fold after his mother’s death. Thrown into a den of serpents otherwise known as the Villani Family, Seth has to find a way to navigate the maze of lies. But when Domenico Acerbi, the most vicious snake of them all, sinks his fangs into Seth, the venom changes into an aphrodisiac that courses through Seth’s veins.

Domenico knows his life is about to change when he gets the order to train Seth up to the role of future Don. Seth isn’t made for it. He isn’t even made. But a man Domenico knows he would never have to fear might just be someone he’s always needed.

If Seth is doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps, he might as well enjoy himself—with the most intoxicating man he’s ever met. Maybe he can even fool himself into believing that Domenico isn’t a handsome sociopath who kills for a living.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: Enemies to lovers, mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime
Genre: Dark, twisted erotic romance / crime thriller
Erotic content: Explicit gay sex, coercion
Length: ~110,000 words

WARNING: Adult content. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you.
‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.
(Just to add to this warning; it’s absolutely correct! I didn’t get it at the time, but these two will worm their seductive and dirty way under your skin. Just saying 🙂 )

Aaaaanyway, I’ve just finished binge-reading the Guns n’ Boys series, (and am hanging out for the next one) and have become totally hooked with Dom and Seth. Closeted, alpha mafia guys, who are brutal yet loving. I didn’t like either of them in the first installment, but I quickly fell in love. It’s a great mix. I’ve lost a lot of sleep with this series—no joke—so I felt compelled to contact the Merikans and asked very nicely if they’d like to come over to my blog so I can fangirl to all of you and get some answers to my questions. So, here we go:

RJ: Ladies, thanks so much for being my guests. I totally fell in love with Dom and Seth, even if I didn’t like either of them in the very beginning. Dom was a horrible arsehole and Seth was a whimpering doormat. However, I had to keep reading. There was just something about them that made me keep turning the page. Where did you find the inspiration for these two? They’re such a mismatched couple, yet they’re perfect for each other.

KA: Their story is very long and complicated ;D Seth was originally a side character in our first-ever story written together. His boyfriend was Peter, Seth’s ex in Guns n’ Boys. We decided to use him for a new project after Agnes watched some assassin-themed movie. In first drafts of the character, Domenico was a silent, brooding type, so obviously he got out of control very quickly. Their relationship developed organically, but when drafting out the currently published version, we added some more polish to its progress.

RJ: As an author, I’m always curious to know how other authors write. When you first started this series, did you know what would happen to Dom and Seth? Was it supposed to only be one or two books or did you have the entire series planned?

KA: We first started writing it in Polish and published it on our blog. At the time, our plans for the series weren’t concise and we came up with plot as we went along. When we decided to introduce this story to our English-speaking readers, we saw it as a chance to make it better, think of an arc for each book and improve the plot. The new version diverged so much from the original that despite sharing certain elements, it reads like a completely new story. It was when we were drafting book one in its current form that the rough plan for the whole series came about, but we keep adding new elements to make the story more interesting.

RJ: Any chance of getting Mark’s story? If not, what can I bribe you with?

KA: Yes, we love Mark too much not to give him one :D. His love story will be a part of the main storyline, but there will be up to 2 books focused on him.

RJ: Seth has grown so much over the series. Does he have any more lessons that need to be learned, and if so, will he keep hold of that sweetness that Dom (and me) loves so much. Seth seems to be hanging on to his innocence by his bloody fingernails.

KA: I cannot reveal too much with so many books still left to be written, but every book is a chance for a lesson for those characters. Each time they find out new things about each other, and they fall in love all over again when each conflict is resolved. What I can say is that after Bloodbath, Domenico will do everything in his power to spare what is left of Seth’s innocence, but will he?–we can’t tell ;D

RJ: How many more books in the series? Or is that a secret?

KA: At the moment, we are planning up to fifteen books, including spinoffs.

RJ: Can we expect to see more about Miguel? Will he get his own series? He’s so quiet but tough, he’s totally captured my attention so I’m more than willing to bribe you for his story too.

KA: You know what they say about the quiet ones. He’s definitely got some demons haunting him at night, and those will obviously (haha) be dealt with in his own book 😉 This one might actually come out before 2017 is over.

RJ: Okay, time for some quick-fire questions. No thinking!

Coke or Pepsi?
Agnes: Pepsi
Kat: Coke

Favorite colour?
Agnes: black and teal
Kat: purple, lilac

Favourite place to read?
Agnes: my room
Kat: Love listening to audiobooks on a walk

Cook at home or dine out?
Agnes: dine out – no cleaning ;D
Kat: dine out, hands down

Favourite non-alcoholic drink?
Agnes: elderflower cordial
Kat: fresh lemonade with mint

Favourite holiday spot?
Agnes: Croatia, Italy, and Cornwall
Kat: I’ll be copycatting Agnes on this one

Winter or summer?
Agnes: Summer!!
Kat: Summer.

Harry Potter or Twilight?
Agnes: Potter, obviously
Kat: Potter

Favourite author. (Both MM and non-mm)
Agnes: Currently, it’s KJ Charles
Kat: Lately I’ve been loving Kasia Bacon 🙂

If there were 25hrs in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?
Agnes: I would like to say “reading” or something reasonable like that, but it would probably be swallowed up by work ;p
Kat: Sport if I was being motivated, writing otherwise 😉 Nothing like some more words in the day

RJ: That’s it from me. A huge big thanks to Kat and Agnes for taking the time to indulge in my fangirling. If you haven’t checked out the Guns n’ Boys series yet, you are missing out!

And if you think this series sounds fantastic, it gets better because all books are on KU!

You’ll find the series buy link here.

 

Keep scrolling for the buy links and a chance to win your copy of the first two books!

K. A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are taken for sisters with surprising regularity.

They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of – it will be full of surprises.

To keep up to date with their new releases (and get a free book in the process!) sign up to their newsletter: http://kamerikan.com/newsletter

e-mail: kamerikan@gmail.com

More information about ongoing projects, works in progress and publishing at:
K.A. Merikan’s author page: http://kamerikan.com

FUN FACTS:
– We are Polish,
– We’re neither sisters nor a couple,
– Kat’s an artist, and Agnes is a psychologist but neither works in her field,
– Kat’s fingers are two times longer than Agnes’s.

One lucky person will win the first two books in this series. All you need to do is comment below and a random commenter will be drawn next Friday, April 21.

Good luck!