Welcome to my stop on the Darkhouse Blog Tour! Today I have the wonderful Karina Halle telling us a little about her book and its male protagonist Dex Foray, the not so heroic hero! And guess what? there's also a giveaway!!!
Darkhouse by Karina HallePaperback, 323 pages
Published May 1st 2011 by Metal Blonde Books
ISBN: 9781461079859
There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.
“Dex Foray – the anti-hero” by Karina Halle
When you create a character who skirts a fine line between being likeable and being aggravating, you’re bound to draw fire from both sides of the equation. When Dex Foray first sauntered his way into my life, hands in the pockets of his black hoodie, all brooding and scowly-faced with an Errol Flynn moustache, I knew I had a doozey on my hands. I didn’t set out to make him what he is, a walking enigma, he just sort of…evolved that way. With a bizarre (and hidden) backstory under his belt, Dex proudly became the anti-hero to the Experiment in Terror Series and the perfect foil to our main character, Perry Palomino.
What I didn’t expect when I published Darkhouse (and Red Fox, the next book in the series) was how the readers were going to respond to him. I knew how I felt about Dex, but then again, I know where he’s coming from. But I never expected to have such a wide range of responses about a man that my friend Wendy calls “the man you love to hate.” Take a look at these snippets from various reviews as he runs the gamut from being hated to being swooned over:
“I especially didn't get her attraction to Dex. What, if any, traits did this guy have that could possibly draw her to him? He was rude and distant”
“I also wanted to kick Dex but that's because I found him conceited”
“I found him arrogant and a little psychotic”
“Dex is a strange, strange character. Dude, this guy is weird! I honestly couldn’t work him out – one minute I was expecting him to do something totally evil or even mean to Perry, the next I was waiting for him to jump her bones.”
“It’s hard to tell if he’s sincere or if he’s just messing with her because he knows she likes him”
“At times in the book, I had to wonder if maybe he wasn't screwing with Perry just for the sake of the show”
“Dex is a mystery. I don't know what his intentions are but I'm glad he is around. Really glad. Stop me from humping him kind o glad”
“Dex admits he lies and by doing so disproves he's a liar because he confesses to the deceit. A true liar would never willingly reveal this deprecating detail”
“The mystery and labyrinth to be unraveled is the character Dex. All at once a rake, creep, gentleman, he is a conundrum, and man after my own heart.”
“I liked his almost crazy attitude, he was walking a razors edge of sanity and crazyville”
“Dex, the hot male character, is precious. He seems to be a gentleman of the old school, although he had some rough edges in the beginning.” This quote came from novelist Carol Piner, who picked up on one aspect of Dex’s personality that not many had. “Lastly, one of my favorite lines in "Darkhouse" jumped out at me. Dex was talking to Perry, who is a little over-weight and not a gorgeous female like Dex's girlfriend. Used to being ignored or insulted, she told Dex she didn't eat pies when, in fact, she loved them but didn't want to seem like a pig and indulge herself. He said to her, "I just want you to enjoy the pies in life." God, I could have eaten him with a spoon.”
Jenny over at Forever Young Adult’s problem with him didn’t seem to come from his personality, but from his eyebrow ring (which prompted a hilarious eyebrow-ring discussion in the comments): “Dex, how I found you swoony with your 90′s eyebrow ring, I’ll never know. But somehow, those stormy eyes of yours won me over.”
I’m sure if Dex existed (and I’m quite sure he does), he’d probably get a huge kick out of all of this. The more bad things people say about him, the more he’d relish it. He enjoys being the “bad” guy and being the brutally honest smartass, maybe because it’s more fun that way. Or maybe because he’s got an enormous wall up around him that only the occasional good part is able to rappel down. Sometimes I’m not too sure what is going on with him, simply because he often does things I didn’t plan for or says things when he should have kept his wide yap shut, but that’s what I love so much about writing him. He’s unpredictable, seriously flawed and full of pleasant surprises. I hope he keeps you all your toes, like he keeps me on mine.
Buy Darkhouse by Karina Halle: Amazon (Print) / Goodreads (epub) / Kindle
Karina’s sadly neglected personal blog can be found here: www.ontheblogbandwagon.blogspot.com
Karina is giving away a copy of Darkhouse and Red Fox, the next in the series to one (1) lucky winner!
Giveaway Guidelines:
Giveaway ends 7/30/11, 11:59pm, EST.
Open Internationally.
To Enter:
Leave a comment for Karina, answer the question below and include your email address.
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(Please answer everything in one comment!)
Do you believe in ghosts?
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