Guest Post: Dealing with the Devil by Misty Evans + Giveaway

Filed in featured , Giveaways , Guest Post , Misty Evans , The Needy Lover Posted on December 21, 2011 @ 9:00 am 32 comments

Please welcome to BLI the fabulous and prolific Misty Evans. She stops by today to talk about some of her life experiences and their influence on her writing. Like the gifted writer that she is, she can find inspiration in just about anything; even the biblical stories she grew up on. And in her written works, good and evil can be all relative!

I was raised in a Southern Baptist household and cut my teeth on Old Testament stories full of the Devil and damnation. Having an active imagination and a strong desire to find good in everyone, I was particularly taken by the story about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. To me, it was a love story, maybe the greatest ever told. Adam gave up heaven on Earth to be with Eve after she ate from the apple. He could have resisted her and temptation and hung out with God, but he was so enamored by Eve, his good sense went out the proverbial window and he damned himself right along with her.

Destined to be a writer, I transformed many Biblical stories in my head instead of listening to the pastor on Sunday mornings, and questioned what might have happened if things had been different. What if the original garden had been the Garden of Evil and it was God who had to tempt Eve to eat from the apple in order to create heaven on Earth? What if God sent Adam and Eve back to Earth for a redo and once they got here and hung out with all of us, they had to decide if wiping out sin—which would include all of us born in sin—was a good deal?

In my Witches Anonymous series, I play with those ideas, letting Adam come back to Earth and find the perfect Eve (who happens to be named Amy). I took the Devil and gave him the ability to love, which in some religions, he was capable of as an archangel. And I continually flip the *rules* of good and evil on their heads, just to see what happens.

There are people in my family and in my community who don’t like me doing this. They refuse to read these stories. They don’t stand too close to me in case God sends a lightning bolt my way. Others get that the stories are fiction, and fantasy at that. They’re light and humorous and a fun read when you need a lift. Is there a moral to the stories? If you’re looking for one, yes. I throw in a lot of symbolism as well, and I confess I enjoy messing with the grand scheme of things, even if it is only fiction.

So I admit to having a God complex and rewriting good and evil to my liking. Working on this series constantly reminds me that good and evil exist in each of us, and it is our choice to resist or give in to temptation, whatever form it appears in. And just so you know, the WA series is romantic comedy because, having been raised on Old Testament beliefs, I can tell you laughter is the best way to deal with the Devil.

Readers: Have you read a story where good and evil are flipped around? Ever liked the bad guy more than the hero? Ever cheered when a character did the wrong thing instead of the right?

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A little bit about the series…

Can a bad witch go good in thirteen steps? Not if Lucifer has his way with her!

Amy Atwood is a witch. Not the harm-none kind…the Satan-worshipping, devil-made-me-do-it kind. But after catching Lucifer in a particularly wicked hex act with her goodie-two-shoes Wiccan sister, Amy does what every self-respecting witch would do. She pops a Dove chocolate in her mouth, ends her affair with the devil, and swears an oath never to use magic again.

She wants to be normal. Human. Even if it means no more fun—and she’s looking for a nice, normal guy to compliment her new lifestyle. And ice-cream-loving firefighter Adam Foster looks like perfect hero material.

Lucifer, however, isn’t about to be nice about letting her go. Stalked by Satan, manipulated by the angel Gabriel—and surprised by Adam’s true identity—Amy finds herself up to her black hat in trouble of Biblical proportions…

A little bit about Misty…

Misty Evans writes the award-winning Super Agent Series, Witches Anonymous Series, and now her new Lost Worlds Series with Carina Press. Her debut novel, Operation Sheba, Super Agent Series Book 1, won the CataNetwork Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2008, a CAPA nomination in 2009, and the New England Re

ader’s Choice Bean Pot Award for Best Romantic Suspense in 2010.

The Witches Anonymous series has garnered many fabulous reviews, and both it and the Super Agent Series have been on several Amazon Kindle bestsellers lists.

Misty is currently at work on the next books in all her series. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy stories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. Learn more and sign up for her newsletter at www.readmistyevans.com. Like her author page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

website: http://www.readmistyevans.com
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/mnoJz6
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/readmistyevans
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/m8jgVZ
Yahoo! Group: http://yhoo.it/kZcB2e

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~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Misty has generously offered a copy of one of her Witches Anonymous books, winner’s choice!

All you have to do is answer one of Misty’s questions.
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please leave a valid email when placing your comment so we can inform you if you win.

This giveaway is open to all.

Giveaway ends on Saturday, January 7, 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

About Alisha


Alisha, the bespectacled and ever nerdy California girl, simply won't leave home without a book in hand. She loves language learnin' and is working toward becoming a bonafide grammar ninja. On any given day you'll find her haunting local libraries or baking scores of cupcakes and sweet treats.

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32 Comments

Join the Discussion
  • Gena Robertson December 21, 2011 at 9:12 am

    Misty, you are a new to me author – I love Book Lovers, Inc because they introduce me to so many great new authors and books, and here is another one!
    I have found myself rooting for evil instead of good in a role reversal – specifically in Larissa Ione’s Deomonica series, lol. The bad guys were the good guys in the end! And I adored them even while they were bad boys, haha!
    Thank you so much for this giveaway opportunity! I have now become a stalker of you in all social medias, and will be looking up all of your books for my TBR list!

    Happy Holidays!

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 12:26 pm

      Hi Gena! Thanks for the stalking…er, following…me on twitter and liking me on FB. Nice to meet you! And I hope you enjoy the Witches Anonymous gang. WA is on sale at Amazon for 89 cents and the second book in the series (which is a Christmas story) is on sale at Amazon and B&N for 99 cents.

      Larissa is a skillful storyteller and I love when bad guys end up being good guys in the end.

  • Tanya C December 21, 2011 at 11:50 am

    I think I need to be friends with you Gena, I agree with everything you said. I love the Demonica series and Lords of Deliverance by Larissa Ione, I have never wanted to know a demon more than when reading those books. Misty you are also a new author to me and this series sounds pretty good. I am always on the look out for new authors to try I will add your name to my list of authors to be looking for.

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 12:29 pm

      Hi Tanya! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I like a good demon character too. Especially those who are true to their nature but willing to sacrifice their wants and needs for others.

      If you like urban fantasy with kickass characters, you might like my Kali Sweet series. She’s a vengeance demon who loves humans and tries to protect them from other supernaturals. Amy and Luc from the WA series show up in her story too.

      Happy holidays!

  • Lori Strongin December 21, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    Sounds like a fun read. And it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’d daydream through lectures and sermons! 😉

    Honestly, half the time, I *do* like the villain more than the hero, especially if the MC is a complete boy scout type who is always straight-laced and moral. I like my characters to have a little darkness/tricker in them.

    Thanks for the giveaway op!

    Smiles!
    Lori

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 12:32 pm

      Lori, daydreaming is such a part of my life, I’m surprised I absorbed any of those sermons when I was kid. 🙂 But having an overactive imagination has served me well in the fiction arena.

      Confession – I love writing bad guys. Villians are interesting to delve into, whether I’m writing romantic suspense or paranormal. Every once in awhile, I dig too deep and scare the bejeesus out of myself!

      Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays!

  • erinf1 December 21, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    OOOH! This series sounds fantastic! This is a new to me author and I’m rushing over to look at this series. *updated* I purchased the first two books 🙂

    I can’t think of anything specific, but I do remember reading a book where I liked the villian(s) more than the hero. The hero was a paper cut out and not well developed, but he was “good!” and I liked the villian so much better b/c he was actually more of a person.

    Thanks for the giveaway and Happy Holidays!

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      Thank you, Erin! I hope you enjoy the first two WA books and they suck you in so you read the whole series. 🙂 It’s a great time to try them out since the first two are on special this month.

      I hate cutout characters. All my heros have a wound of some kind that makes them *real*. And it’s not always the heroine who completes their lives, but overcoming that wound with her help. Come to think of it, my heroines usually have something in their past causing them internal turmoil too. I love making characters suffer. LOL.

  • Jan December 21, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    I don’t remember any specific series but I do like ‘flawed’ hero/ines.

    I loved Eve from The Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong.

    zzebra138@gmail.com

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 12:56 pm

      Kelly Armstrong is on my auto-read list Jan. I like her strong heroines and especially enjoy the characters with witchy and/or psychic abilities!

  • Viki S. December 21, 2011 at 1:01 pm

    I also loved Larissa’s bad guys turned good aka Wraith. He is my book boyfriend :). Can’t wai tto see how she makes me love Pest. Also, Kelley Armstrong’s Kristoff. I hated him at first but with him and Eve getting back together I love him now :).
    Thank you so much!

    vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm

      It’s nice to have lots of book boyfriends, isn’t it? 😉

      Have a great holiday, Viki!

  • Sullivan McPig December 21, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    In movies I constantly like the bad guy best of all the characters. My friends even ask me jokingly sometimes: who do you like, because then we’ll know who the bad guy is.

    • Misty Evans December 21, 2011 at 4:01 pm

      Too funny! I hope you don’t tell them and make them guess. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

  • Mary Kirkland December 21, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    I don’t know if I’ve ever liked the bad guy more than the good guy. But I have cheered a time or two when we find out the bad guy isn’t as bad as we thought.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:25 pm

      Awesome, Mary! I like it when that happens too. 🙂

  • Diane December 21, 2011 at 7:50 pm

    Quite often i find myself rooting for the bad guy! And he usually ends up becoming the good guy for the heroine after all. When Eve first met Roarke inn J D Robb’s in Death series he was considered a bad guy!

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:26 pm

      Bad guys who are redeemable rock. Rourke is a great example, Diane.

  • Mary Preston December 22, 2011 at 3:24 am

    I do cheer when a character goes against what is conventional & ‘right’. Sometimes doing the wrong thing can be very right. Makes for great reading.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:27 pm

      Exactly, Mary! My hero, Conrad Flynn, in my Super Agent Series, goes AWOL from the CIA and breaks a lot of laws and rules, but he does it to protect the heroine. I love writing that kind of character.

  • aurian December 22, 2011 at 7:04 am

    I have read the first Witches Anonymous book, and really liked it. It was fun, and fast, and not too much smexing. So winning another one in this series, yes please!
    I have actually read an historical romance or two, where the bad guy was the hero in one of the later books in the series. Jennifer Ashley comes to mind, The mad bad Duke I believe. Loved it.

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:31 pm

      Hi Aurian! Thank you for stopping by. I’m glad you enjoyed the first WA book. Originally, it was written for a Samhain contest. It won a slot in the TIckle My Fantasy anthology and readers kept asking for more. Since I love writing Amy and Luc, I was happy to oblige!

      Readers like a bad guy-turned-hero. We want those bad boys to be redeemed, especially by love!

  • Tamsyn December 22, 2011 at 11:14 am

    I like Christine Feehan’s Dark series where the wicked vampire is actually another species! Another one is Kresley Cole. Great stories!
    tamsyn5(at)yahoo(dot)com

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:31 pm

      Both of those are great series, Tamsyn!

  • Victoria Zumbrum December 22, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    I have liked some of the bad guys like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

    • Misty Evans December 23, 2011 at 1:32 pm

      Spike is awesome. The Buffy series is a classic example of flip-flopping good and evil and one of my all time favorite TV series.

  • Na S. December 23, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I find all sorts of characters interesting, even the villains. If I can understand where they are coming from and even though I may not agree with their actions, I find myself cheering them on. If anything they can give the heroes (good guys) a run for their money. It makes the story more satsifying when good has to be earned than easily taken.

  • Marissa December 23, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    I haven’t read a book where I’ve like the bad guy more than the good guy, but I have read a few where they’ve run pretty close. However, usually that bad guy ends up being a good guy either by the end of the book or in a subsequent book. It would be interesting to read one that stayed bad but I still liked.

  • IdentitySeeker December 29, 2011 at 9:15 am

    I don’t usually like the bad guy more than the hero- I’m a sucker for the good boys- but, like most female fans out there, I love Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries and Eric Northman from the Sookie Stackhouse series.

    Sarah

    sarah.setar@gmail.com

  • Amel Armeliana January 5, 2012 at 2:00 am

    Hi Misty, I’ve never read your book before, but I’d love to. And Witches Anonymous seems a good way to start since I’m a fan of this genre.

    Well, sometimes I used to like the bad guy more than the hero, especially if the hero is stucked between two women and can’t decide which one he had to choose (gah…hate that!), and then the bad guy is a hottie who loves the girl in main character.

    Thank u for this awesome giveaway 🙂

    amel.armeliana@gmail.com

  • eli yanti January 5, 2012 at 7:33 am

    Hi Misty,

    to admit that i was the one who is not objective,although sometimes i can feel i like the bad guys but i still prefer the hero despite how bad is his character.. ouch..

    your book sounds great and i love the cover book 😉

  • bn100 January 8, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    I would say that Sebastian, initially a bad guy, from Lisa Kleypas’ books was more interesting than Marcus. Thanks for the giveaway.

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