Steampunk Saturdays with Zoe Archer & Nico Rosso (Interview/Giveaway)

Steampunk Saturdays wouldn’t be complete without a stop by Zoë Archer. Her writing has great steampunk flavor, and if you haven’t met her husband just wait and see what these two are creating together! Welcome Zoë and Nico!

Z: Thank you so much for having us!
N: Great to be here!

L: Both of you are writers, and while you have your own series you both seem to have Sci-fi/paranormal elements to your writing. What was the thing that made the light bulb go off telling you to write a series together?

Z:  Nico is extremely important to my own writing process.  Each of my books is really a collaboration between the two of us.  When we started discussing and creating the steampunk world of the Ether Chronicles, it dawned on us that the world itself was so expansive that we could both write stories for it.  He’d write the steampunk Westerns, and I’d write the steampunk everywhere else.  

N: Like Zoë said, this was a great opportunity to share a world and at the same time let our individual voices come out.  The Ether Chronicles are so vast, there’s plenty of room for a wide variety of stories.  We were free to tell our own tales, yet could share in the excitement of building the world together.

L: The Ether Chronicles falls under the Steampunk category with a superhuman Man O’ War and an ether-borne mechanical horse. Do you have fun coming up with crazy inventions? Or does it take some effort to add steampunk elements?

Z:  We definitely enjoy creating the inventions, but I’ll be the first to admit that he’s really the brains behind all the steampunk inventions and devices.  This is really important because our steampunk world, as fantastical as it is, is grounded a lot in science.  It’s not quite enough to say “The airship flew.”  We need to know how and why it can fly.  And Nico’s the expert in coming up with the how and why.  I call him my mad scientist.  

N: I love coming up with the technology.  I get to sit down at the mental workbench and imagine I’m an inventor at the time, utilizing what they had in new ways with the latest technology.  Sometimes I’ll invent tech to fit the story, other times, the machinery springs to mind and Zoë and I will then figure out a scenario where it can be used.

L: Since you share a series do you bounce ideas off each other? Or do you work on your work solitary like, keeping everything a secret until the big reveal?

Z:  With my books, we definitely bounce ideas off one another, until I have a solid outline from which I can write—and I’ll turn to him a lot when it’s time to choreograph action sequences.  Nico’s more solitary about his process.  I get to wait until it’s time to do my beta read of his books before I get the reveal.  It’s very exciting for me—learning what’s been percolating in that brain of his!

N: If I hit snags when I’m writing, I’ll definitely turn to Zoë to help work them out.  But usually, I keep the story contained until it’s ready to show her.  Sometimes I find that talking too much about character or plot can diffuse it and I lose the excitement of writing it because it’s already been exposed.

L: Skies of Fire and Night of Fire seem to have a love ‘em and leave ‘em theme. Did either of you have relationship drama before falling madly in love? Or maybe you two just have incredible imaginations (of course you do, look at what you have written!).

Z:  I think we were both interested in the “reunited lovers” idea, and it works very well when dealing with a shorter format.  As for relationship drama, I think we can both agree that we kissed a lot of frogs before finding our prince and princess. ;)

N: Plenty of drama before Zoë showed up.  And in a way, these stories are a way of repairing the past mistakes and heartbreaks.  But no regrets.  Those miles of rough road prepared us for maintaining the solid relationship we have now.

L: Are you ever tempted to write a character based on each other? Zoë, you could make Nico a laser shooting warlock and Nico, you could make Zoë a kick ass Amazon with a telepathic unicorn?

Z:  I’ve written a secondary character or two who shares traits with Nico (I’ll let you guess who), but I’d never write him as the hero of a book.  I don’t want any readers fantasizing about my man!

N: I haven’t put Zoë directly in any of the books, but elements of her definitely make it into my heroines.  Her courage and strength are really inspirational (and sexy), so they’re a natural fit for these stories.

L: Whatever you decide to do next it will be sure to blow our minds. Thanks for stopping by Zoë and Nico! Good luck with the Ether Chronicles!

Z:  Thanks again so much for having us!
N: It was a pleasure being here!

Here’s our question to you: If you had to create and write a series with either a significant other or a friend, what kind of series would it be?  A random commenter will win a print copy of NIGHT OF FIRE and an electronic copy of SKIES OF FIRE.  

SKIES OF FIRE: The Ether Chronicles Book 1

Man made of metal and flesh

Captain Christopher Redmond has just one weakness: the alluring spy who loved and left him years before, when he was still just a man. Now he's superhuman—a Man O' War, made as part of the British Navy's weapons program—and his responsibility is to protect the skies of Europe. If only he could forget Louisa Shaw.

A most inconvenient desire

Louisa, a British Naval Intelligence agent, has never left a job undone. But when her assignment is compromised, the one man who can help her complete her mission is also the only man ever to tempt her body and heart. As burning skies loom and passion ignites, Louisa and Christopher must slip behind enemy lines if they are to deliver a devastating strike against their foe . . . and still get out alive.

Excerpt

ON SALE: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Powells, All Romance eBooks, Books-A-Million, The Book Depository

Bio: Zoë Archer is an award-winning romance author who thinks there's nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. She now applies her master's degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. She is the author of the acclaimed BLADES OF THE ROSE series and the paranormal historical romance series, THE HELLRAISERS. Zoë and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles. Please visit Zoë on the Web at http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/ or Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr

 

NIGHT OF FIRE: The Ether Chronicles Book 2

Night of fire, night of passion

US Army Upland Ranger Tom Knox always knew going home wouldn’t be easy. Three years ago, he skipped town, leaving behind the only woman who ever mattered; now that he’s seen the front lines of war, he’s ready to do what he must to win her back.

Rosa Campos is long past wasting tears on Tom Knox, and now that she’s sheriff of Thornville, she has more than enough to do. Especially when a five-story rock-eating mining machine barrels toward the town she’s sworn to protect.

Tom’s the last person Rosa expects to see riding to her aid on his ether-borne mechanical horse. She may not be ready to forgive, but Rosa can’t deny that having him at her side brings back blissful memories . . . even as it reignites a flame more dangerous than the enemy threatening to destroy them both.

ON SALE: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Indie Bound, The Book Depository

Bio: Nico Rosso is a writer of romance and adventure (inspired by his wife, Zoë Archer).  He created the sci-fi world of the Limit War, taking readers into an intergalactic battle between planet-consuming aliens and the army that combats their spread.  Turning his sights on home, Nico set off the apocalypse on the Burning Earth, where humans fight to survive against mutant Fire Eaters.  In a joint effort with his wife, he is now working on a steampunk Western set in their shared world of the Ether Chronicles.  And he’s finally bringing to life all the superheroes he doodled in high school with the Heroes Guild.  Inspiration comes from travel, daydreams, research and random lightning bolts, so there’s no telling where the next adventure will start. Visit Nico at: http://nicorosso.com and Twitter, Facebook

~*GIVEAWAY*~
As this dynamic duo mentioned above, they are giving away a print copy of NIGHT OF FIRE and an electronic copy of SKIES OF FIRE to one reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering their question and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

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