Nights of Steel Tour: Interview!

1. Was it difficult blending two very different genres?
-When I was first conceptualizing it, I found that steampunk and Westerns were a perfect fit.  In many ways, the Wild West was home to a real steampunk world, where technology was moving quickly and inventors were fast to adapt new ideas (imaging being a farm hand and seeing your first mechanical thresher).  For me, it was just a matter of upping the wattage and making the technology even more wild than it was in the day.
2. How did steampunk apply to the romance portion of the book?

-My hero, Jack Hawkins, has steampunk literally integrated into his body, in the form of a mechanical hand, and that comes into play with some of his interactions with the heroine.  But I also wanted the romance to stand on its own, so even if all the technology was stripped away and the world was as normal as our own, the heart of it all would remain and be relatable.

3. What was your favorite scene to write?
-There's a scene where the hero and heroine, both hardened bounty hunters, sit down to a Dim Sum lunch, completely out of their elements.  It was a ton of fun to write, allowing them to drop their guards and discover something new together.  Not only was it a nice contrast to the high stakes of gunfights, it was great to take them out of their comfort zones and see how they reacted, all the while building their relationship.

4.  Were there any characters that were particularly difficult or easy to write about?  Why?
-Writing Anna Blue, the heroine, was a nice challenge.  She's led a hard life and moves warily through the world.  But she isn't weak, and has a strong command of herself.  The challenge was showing all the aspects of her, from her caution to her joy in discovery to her unquestionable ability to handle a fight.

5. What can readers expect from this book?
-Nights of Steel gives the readers a ride along with two of the baddest bounty hunters in the steampunk West.  There's action, wild technology, and a very human story of two people finding soul mates when they'd once thought they were all alone.