Running with the Orc: Excerpt
“Might as well get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.”
“You saved my life,” I blurted out. I was shocked to even say it as we settled into the cave, rain pouring down outside.
He didn’t say anything, but the knowing glance he gave me almost seemed sincere. “What good would you be to me dead?”
This asshole. “Wow. Such chivalry.”
“What do you want me to say? You’re sitting there thinking right now of a way out of this, so you don’t become my next dinner option. So what’s it going to be? Take my sword and slit my throat this time? Maybe take my other eye?”
“You act like the eye thing is worse than death.”
He shrugged, poking at the fire with a stick. “Sometimes it’s hard to see that death isn’t such a bad option.”
“That’s a little dark, don’t you think?”
“So is thinking a man’s goal in life is making a meal of you.”
He had a point. I wasn’t exactly sunshine and lollipops over all this. “You can’t blame me for being cynical. You kidnap us from our homes and force us into this barbaric game of hide and seek. Excuse me if I’m not grateful.”
He actually chuckled at that. “I guess you’re right. But not everything is as dire as you may see right now. You never know. You might enjoy being eaten, little taste.”
“You’re an ass.”
“And you’re still blushing that I mentioned it.” He sat back, resting his head on the wall with a smirk as the flame lit his beautiful face with ironic glory.
“Sometimes I really hate you.”
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with . . . Loretta Kendall . . .
How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
Unhinged chaos with a sprinkle of snark, love, and laughter mixed in. I love a misunderstood character with a bit of sass, and I push for my monster heroines to be independent with hearts of gold. Even when finding love, they aren’t the typical damsels in distress. They’re often rabble-rousers who give their love interests a run for their money.
I also love writing imperfect people in unexpected circumstances. Monster romance became the perfect genre for me to express how those who are different can still be beautiful in their own ways. After all, normal is boring.
By the end of my stories, I hope readers fall in love with my crazy characters’ quirks and root for them to find love.
Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so, which one(s)?
Most recently, burlesque comedian Daisy LaRue from my newest novel, Running with the Orc. Despite being a prisoner to the orc hoard and a world she couldn’t escape, she found ways to keep her head up and find laughter in the darkest of times. She uses the skills of her career as a way of survival by entertaining the orc warlords. With danger lurking around every turn, she pulls out her biggest weapon, sarcasm and sass, to make her a strong leader for others in her camp to begin a rebellion. She’s a fighter where most people would find defeat.
I believe people who can still keep a smile on their face, despite how grim their circumstance my be, are the strongest among us. Daisy certainly fits that role.
Do you have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to paper?
To keep the vibe of my previous Ghouls and Gals Series, I’ll be rolling out a swamp monster woman that will be unapologetically fierce. I’ve not hashed out all the details, but Rebel will be a bad girl with a flair for getting herself into trouble. I hope she’ll be as wild and rowdy as I plan her to be. Despite how her character arc unfolds, it will be all the drama with classic monster fun thrown in.
Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?
I’m currently writing a ghost romance novella that will be free to read on my website, coming this spring/summer. It was a side project before I dived back into creating a new series of monster madness.
In the coming novella, Cherry Adler was the star dancer of the Cherry Bomb, an 80s family-owned nightclub. After she’s met with an untimely death, years later, the club’s newest handsome DJ, Thorne Sterling, will be the only person who can solve a decades-long cold case. The beautiful ghost haunting the club leads him on a dance he’ll never forget in a pop culture-themed spicy romance with a lot of mystery.
This rom-com will prove that even in death, Cherry still knows how to steal the spotlight and get her man.
What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?
After finishing the Cherry Bomb novella, I plan to work on a spin-off standalone collection that follows the world within the Ghouls and Gals Series. So far, the stories will add to the Horror Earth universe with a matchmaking trope that I think will be fun for readers to sink their teeth into. The I ❤︎ Monsters collection will follow three ladies on the search for love in a world where monsters and humans collide..png)
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