Today I have the wonderful Gemma from Cambria Hebert’s newest novel, Charade! Feel free to check out my review and then dig into some tough questions with the newest cast member in this great series!

First: The book!

Blurb:

Dying at the hands of a psycho was a shock. Having my life returned to me by an angel was
incredible. Being named a Supernatural Treasure and being given Sam as my guard was
pretty darn awesome. Acquiring a debt for it all—well, I should have seen it coming.

Now here we are, fighting demons from Hell, caring for a boy that I just don’t trust, and
traveling to faraway places to return a treasure to its rightful place. Nothing is as it seems.
Everyone wears a mask; everyone puts on a charade. It’s up to us to separate the truth from
the lies and reality from fiction. A hard task when my new reality involves fallen angels,
witches and dragons… and did I mention Hell?

Anchoring me down through it all is Sam. Sam, who must face tragedies of his own and is
put to the test again and again.

If we fail in our task, life as we know it—life as you know it—will end. Forever.

Now please help me welcome Gemma!

TK: Thank you for being here today Gemma! How long have you been a fallen angel? 

Gemma: I stopped counting the years a long time ago. It’s been a very long time.

TK: Did you ever live on Earth? What’s the “Big Guy” like?

Gemma: I’ve lived on Earth since I fell from Heaven. The “Big Guy”? He’s amazing.

TK: How did you fall?

Gemma: That’s a little personal and not something I talk about.

TK: You hint that you had lost someone close to you, can you talk about that? 

Gemma: Again, that’s something I don’t talk about.

TK: Hm. Ok. Well, I notice you’re hanging around Heven and Sam a lot now. You met Sam when you gave him the bracelet. Can you tell us about meeting him? What drew you to help him out?

Gemma: Of course, I knew of Sam before I met him. I always wondered what he would be like. So when I was able to sell him the bracelet that he gave to Heven I was actually looking forward to something for the first time in a long time. Sam is very… bright. I’m not talking about his intelligence, thought he is very smart. I mean he seems to shine from within. Even with all the darkness in him, and there’s definitely darkness he has this light inside of him. This goodness. His eyes are very expressive when he isn’t guarded, which isn’t often, but when we first met he was that way as he studied the things I was selling. I just remember thinking that he reminded me of someone I knew long ago.

TK: What made you decide to go back to Sam to help him with protecting Heven?

Gemma: It was so easy to see what Heven meant to him.  That day on the water… the day Sam and Heven were attacked, I watched him pull her out, I watched him fight to save her and I could feel the way he blamed himself. He felt like a failure. I know that feeling and watching him so clearly wanting her to be safe made me decide to teach him what I know about fighting.  I knew that they were going to be meeting some trouble, a lot of trouble, and they would need help. I wanted them to have a shot at getting through all this so they would have the life I knew they wanted – that Sam wanted – and that he deserved. Heven is a very…  good girl as well, she’s grown to become a friend. They both have.

TK: I think you’re quite taken with Cole, also. After all, you DID let him touch your dagger. What attracted you to him?

Gemma: I can’t say that I am “taken” with Cole… I like him, he’s hard not to like. He’s kind of like a big kid and his eyes are so blue… *clears throat*. He’s important to Heven and even to Sam, even if he doesn’t want to admit it, so teaching him to take care of himself is necessary. And yes, I did let him touch my dagger… I just want him to be safe.

TK: Where did you learn your mad fighting skills? Are you free to teach me?

Gemma: I’m currently a little busy with Sam and Heven and all that drama but maybe someday I’ll teach a defense class. I’ll send you an invite.

TK: Great! I look forward to it! Heven and Sam have been through so much, together and separately. Do you think they’ll make it?

Gemma: I sincerely hope so. I’m going to do what I can to make sure of it.

TK: Do you think love is worth it?

Gemma: Yes. I do. But it’s a risk. Love isn’t always forever even if we want it to be. I can’t say if I will take that risk.

TK: What are the roles of the Supernatural Beings? Where do angels/fallen angels/demons fit on the hierarchy? 

Supernal beings are basically angels on earth. They are wholly human but they are inherently good, they cannot under any circumstances be turned from good toward evil. They are usually in careers that allow them to help others: doctors, nurses, military.

The hierarchy of Angels/fallen angels and demons is pretty simple. You have the Angels at the top. There are various types of angels and they all rank in order of their job importance. Then you have the fallen angels. We are the lowest of the angels… my type of fallen angel is at the top of the fallen angel list because I am not lost to evil. Demons are the very bottom of any hierarchy. Demons are the lowest of the low… even in hell.

TK: What’s your favorite…

thing to do?  Go hiking.

color?  Green.

weapon?  A dagger.

place to hang out?  Anywhere outdoors.

memory?   Again, that’s personal… it’s the reason I fell from Heaven.

Hm, well I don’t know how informative that was – that girl’s got secrets! To find out more, check out Charade! Oh and since Sam is just yummy, here’s the back cover of the book for your viewing pleasure!

Bio:

Cambria Hebert grew up in a small town in rural Maryland. She is married to a United States
Marine and has lived in South Carolina, Pennsylvania and her current state of North Carolina.
She is the mother of two young children with big personalities, is in love with Starbucks (give
the girl a latte!) and she is obsessed with werewolves. Cambria also has an irrational fear of
chickens (Ewww! Gross) and she loves to read and review books for her blog. Her favorite
book genre is YA paranormal, and she can be found stalking that section at her local Barnes and
Nobles (which happens to be her favorite place ever!).

Masquerade is her first published novel, but she also has a short story prequel to Masquerade
available in Ebook titled, Before. In addition, she has another short story published titled
Whiteout.

Cambria also co-hosts a live, internet blog radio talk show, JournalJabber,
(www.blogtalkradio.com/journaljabber) where she dishes about books, publishing and
everything in between: hair in a can, toilet snakes, chicken phobias, etc..

You can find Cambria on Facebook, Good Reads (she is a moderator of the Creative Reviews group and the Creative Reviews Book Club) and her blog/website http://www.cambriahebert.com for her latest crazy antics and the scoop on Masquerade.

Thanks for stopping by! Show Cambria some love for her latest work of art. Keep them coming, girl!