We are bringing Sasha Knight from Samhain back to The Book Pushers to talk to us another one of the incredible anthology she edited. This time around we are leaving behind the world of cyberpunk, donning our capes and finding romance while saving the world, superhero style!
The Midnight Justice Anthology will feature three novellas: Blade of Moonlight, Breaking Bad, and Superlovin’ by authors Jodi Redford, Vivi Andrews, and Kimberly Dean.Today we are lucky to have ALL FOUR of these incredible ladies here today to help push these books onto you!
The Book Pushers: Sasha – Where did the idea for the superhero anthology come from?
Sasha: As much as I’d love to, I can’t take credit for it. Several years ago, two separate Samhain editors requested to put together a superhero anthology. Fast forward to 2011. One of the editors had left the company, and the other had to keep postponing announcing the anthology call because she was so busy. Since that editor had known my love of superheroes and running anthologies, she asked if I would like to do it. I jumped at the chance.
The Book Pushers: Sasha – What was the response like to your submission call? What about these three stories really stood out to you?
Sasha: I received more submissions for this anthology call than I have for any of the previous ones I’ve done. It was amazing. What excited me was that it made it very clear just how many people love superheroes. I hope the reader response is as enthusiastic as the author response was.
Vivi Andrews’s story, Superlovin’, was the first superhero anthology submission I read that I knew I was going to contract. I love her voice, and Superlovin’ was no exception. And I’m a big fan of the good girl falling for the bad boy trope. Making them both supers—hero versus villain—makes that trope even more addictive to me.
I’ve worked with Jodi Redford for several years now, and I adore her and her stories. Breaking Bad is classic Jodi. The heroine embraces her superhero heritage; the hero wants to ignore his heritage, except the heroine won’t let him because she needs his help. Instant and fantastic conflict. The dialogue is snappy. The characters have phenomenal chemistry. And the sex is hot and fun.
Kimberly Dean was my “find” of the anthology. While she’s new to Samhain, Kim has been a published author for quite a while. Her story, Blade of Moonlight, also features the favorite trope of the good girl falling for the bad boy. Although I knew of Kim’s work, I hadn’t read her before, and this was a helluva introduction. Dark, gritty, very sexy. Once I started her story, I couldn’t put it down. Her hero and heroine are naughty and oh-so-good together.
The Book Pushers: Sasha – What was your conversation like with cover artist Kanaxa like when creating the concept for these stories?
Sasha: Kanaxa is so amazing to work with. I give her a basic idea and she comes back to me with all these suggestions that bring my simple, completely-clueless-about-graphics idea to life. I told her I wanted covers that looked like a superhero romance movie poster. I got what I wanted and then some. Big bold font, sexy superheroes/villains. She came up with a cohesive theme that worked for the anthology as a whole and for each individual story. I can’t compliment her enough. Kanaxa rocks my world. She is so enthusiastic about what she does, and it shows in her work. I adore her.
The Book Pushers: Jodi, Vivi & Kimberly – Can you tell us a little about each of your stories?
Vivi: My story, Superlovin’, is the classic tale of a good girl falling for a bad boy. But in this case, the good girl is a second generation always-does-the-right-thing superheroine who finds herself whammied by her feelings for the very villain she’s been sent to thwart – and finding out that life isn’t quite as black and white as she thought it was in the process.
Kimberly: Blade of Moonlight is a dark, sexy story about low level superheroine, Luminescence, coming up against the worst of evil villains, Scythe. It’s about good versus bad, darkness versus light. Opposites attract and the results are cataclysmic. But can each hold true to their beliefs? Though Scythe warns her away, Luna’s passion for justice draws her back into the dark, to her masked lover’s side. For good or evil? Only the dawn will tell…
Jodi: Breaking Bad is a quirky, action-packed story about a superhero(ine) who hails from a family of super villains. Ruby has been attempting to bring down her dad’s evil, mind-controlling soda empire for years, and when she discovers the superhero DNA lurking in her gene pool, she leaps at the chance to save humanity, only to land herself on the alien Shadow queen’s most wanted list. In order to survive, she’s forced into a shaky alliance with Teague—a hardened, cynical superhero who has no interest in saving the world.
The Book Pushers: Jodi, Vivi & Kimberly – Have you always wanted to write a superhero story, or was it the submission call that got you excited about writing your stories?
Vivi: I’ve always been a sucker for superheroes (the X-Men are a personal weakness) and this submission call was just the push I needed to finally write one of my own. And I’m so glad I did!
Kimberly: I’d never thought about writing a superhero romance, but the moment I read the submission call the story sparked in my head. I’ve been to nearly every superhero movie that has come out in recent years: Iron Man, Spiderman, X-Men, Daredevil, etc. so I’m very familiar with the genre. It’s dark and gritty, and adding an erotic romance element seemed natural.
Jodi: I’ve always wanted to write a superhero book. I love good vs. evil plotlines, and superheroes and villains are such a natural fit for those kinds of stories. Plus I think the potential for interesting and unique characters is huge, which is something that always excites me when I sit down and build book ideas.
The Book Pushers: Jodi, Vivi & Kimberly – Do any of you plan to continue to write within a superhero world, or was this a one-time thing?
Vivi: I am actually writing more superhero novellas in the same world, which I hope to release over the next year. I couldn’t stop with just one. 🙂
Kimberly: It all depends. I don’t have any plans right now, but this story came very easily to me. Usually, I’m a methodical writer. In this case, my fingers were flying fast and furious across the keyboard. I couldn’t type fast enough, and the story came out moodier and sexier than anything I’ve written in a long time. The vibe was definitely what pulled me in. If I had the opportunity to do more, I’d definitely consider it.
Jodi: Breaking Bad is the first in a planned series, so you’ll definitely be seeing more of Ruby and Teague. I also have some future ideas for more superhero books that aren’t linked with this series.
The Book Pushers: Jodi, Vivi & Kimberly – What projects are you currently working on that we can expect to see up next?
Vivi: In addition to the new super stories, I have a reworked fairy tale Spinning Gold (Rumpelstiltskin gets a sexy new look) coming out this summer and then in November my next Karmic Consultants novel, Finder’s Keeper, will hit the digital shelves.
Kimberly: I have a story simply called “Lexie” that Samhain will be publishing in the fall. Lexie was adopted at a young age but she was always treated as an outsider. When a scandalous billboard leads her to an identical sister, she’s thrilled to find blood relation. Yet Cameron Rowe, her intimidating coworker, doesn’t trust this newfound twin. He’s determined to protect Lexie from being hurt or used, and if her life is changing, he wants to make sure he’s still a part of it.
Jodi: Towards the end of the year, Checking It Twice, the sequel to The Naughty List will be releasing. I’m currently working on a new hot contemporary series, and for my paranormal readers, I have my next dragon book and the next in the That Old Black Magic series in the works.
Some quick questions, for everyone! Who is your all time favorite superhero?
Sasha: Ohhh, this is an impossible question to answer. I’d probably have to choose Superman, simply because he’s been my hero since I was just a little kid who fell in love with Christopher Reeve’s Superman. Although I haven’t been as much of a fan of the recent attempts to reboot the franchise, I’ll always love Superman’s story.
Vivi: I think my answer to this would be different every time you ask me – so many amazing options! – but today I have to say I kind of love the Hulk. Nobody throws a temper tantrum quite like the Hulk.
Kimberly: I loved Wonder Woman as a kid. I remember cutting apart cardboard toilet paper rolls, covering them with aluminum foil, and making her awesome bracelets. As far as superheroes go, I’m partial to Iron Man. His super power is his intelligence. I like that.
Jodi: Batman
Who is your all time favorite villain?
Sasha: Lex Luthor. I particularly adored him when he was played by John Shea in the nineties TV show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I love when villains are rich, suave and actively pursuing the heroines.
Vivi: Catwoman. Vampy, sexy villainy. Oh yeah.
Kimberly: It would have to be Catwoman. She’s bad, but she’s not evil. She’s strong, clever, and sexy. I can’t think of another villain I like. We’re not supposed to like the villains.
Jodi: The Joker
What superpower would you want to have?
Sasha: Teleportation. I’d love to be able to think my way anywhere in the world, or beyond, in just a blink of time.
Vivi: I would love to be able to levitate things (myself included) with my mind. Flying! Does it get cooler than that?
Kimberly: Right now, I’d love to have The Flash’s super speed. If I could type fast and write fast, that would be fantastic. Even if I could just zip around from errand to chore to event, that would save so much time in my day. Time is a sparse commodity for me these days.
Jodi: Ability to fly
If you could design your own superhero costume, what would it look like?
Sasha: I’d have the brightest superhero costume known to mankind. Neon purples, teals and pinks. I would definitely not blend into the night. I’d probably look more like a Power Ranger, but without the helmet. I wouldn’t want to have helmet head.
Vivi: Do I get a superhero body to go with it? If not, I want superhero pajamas. If I’m saving the world, I get to be comfortable.
Kimberly: I could tell you what it wouldn’t look like – no spandex, no cape, and no seven-inch heels. But it would be purple.
Jodi: It’d be a black leather cat suit that possesses the magical ability to make me look trim and svelte without cutting off all blood circulation or giving that oh-so-delightful and attractive muffin top appearance.
Thanks so much to Sasha, Vivi, Kimberly and Jodi for being here today. Be sure to check out the links to purchase below.
Superlovin’: Samhain | Kindle 
Blade of Moonlight: Samhain | Kindle
Breaking Bad: Samhain | Kindle
What a fun post, thank you all ladies!
Pingback: Kimberly Dean » Blog Archive » The Bookpushers interview
Pingback: Rt's Superhero Reading List | Love Always