T. C. Archer is comprised of award winning authors Evan Trevane and Shawn M. Casey. They write paranormal and sci-fi romance, and romantic suspense and are published by Loose Id, Silver Publishing, and Etopia Press.
HH: What can you tell us about your heroine and what makes her unique among your heroines?
TC: We really love our heroine in Chain Reaction. Dr. Gladys Nichols is one of two female scientists working on The Manhattan Project. What we so love about her is that, while she’s smart—they don’t hand out Ph.D.s for nothing—she has no superhuman powers as Pierce does. Yet, she’s willing to face down the fiends who threaten her country, and the man she’s falling in love with, and her brother. She’s intensely curious as to what Pierce is. (She is, after all, a scientist.) This keeps poor Pierce off balance. But what man is ever on balance when it comes to women?
HH: What can you tell us about Jordan and why will readers love him?
TC: Jordan is an average Joe—was an average Joe—until a creature changed him into the diseased man he now is. He’s a man of his time, and believes in America, God, and apple pie. The possibility that vampires exist had never occurred to him. The possibility that even more otherworldly creatures exist stuns him. The fact that some of those creatures threaten not only the American way, but the very idea of peace and freedom, brings out in him a power he had no idea he possessed.
HH: What sort of research was required to bring this story to life?
TC: Oh! We had so much fun doing research for Chain Reaction. Aside from general information on WWII, we found all kinds of wonderful tidbits. We incorporated many small truths into the book, like the Counsel Tree that stands outside Eckhart Hall, where the scientists used to carry on top secret meetings in broad daylight, or Stagg Field, the squash court where the first pile was constructed in order to achieve the first atomic chain reaction. Reports from people who recall scientists running between Eckhart Hall and Stagg Field, and even a poem written by a mathematics student who nearly gave Oppenheimer a nervous breakdown when he feared she’d figured out what was going on in the “metallurgical lab” (the government’s cover story for The Manhattan Project.) If we would have made up any of these outrageous elements, our editor would have sent us home!
HH: What does this story have that will make it stand out?
TC: ROFL. We’re biased, of course. First, we believe the characters are bigger than life. They’re real people taking courageous action in the face of situations they never conceived of before that moment. They do unexpected things, and they’re anything but perfect. Gladys is fearless—well, she acts despite fear. But it takes a great deal to scare her. She’s too curious for her own good, which makes her a very interesting woman.
Pierce doesn’t pretend to be anything but what he is; an imperfect man. He knows his feelings for Gladys are wrong, but she challenges him to care for her. That’s a very compelling combination and one Pierce fails to resist.
HH: What else do each of you have in store for lucky readers?
TC: Our next release is due out from Loose Id April 10, 2012. This is another of our space operas. Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush. As you probably guessed by the title, the book is a bit off-beat.
Here’s a teaser blurb:
Galactic Enforcer Fontana Marks is ordered to rest, recuperate, and find a man. But nothing is as it seems on the fantasy planet, not the naked man running from someone…or the trench coat Fontana steals in order to save him.
HH: How has the romance genre changed since you began writing?
TC: Indeed, it has. There are many more subgenres of romance, genre cross over, and what constitutes a romance has evolved. Romance is no longer restricted to a male/female relationship, and marriage isn’t required for a book to be considered romance.
Viva la’ difference!
HH: What sources of inspiration do you draw from for ideas?
TC: Wow. Life!
HH: What's your favorite book so far in 2012?
TC: Of our books? That’s a difficult question to answer. We have two releases so far this month, Chain Reaction, an alternate history/paranormal, Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush. Our next release is a contemporary romantic suspense from Silver, and the following release will be a contemporary/paranormal. It’s difficult to like one more than the other, when the books are so very different. Our readers will have to let us know what they think.
HH: What are you most looking forward to in 2012?
TC: Writing more! (Really, what did you expect?)
HH: Great things. <g> Thank you!
