P is for Paranormal and a PRIZE!

***UPDATE: PRIZE ANNOUNCEMENT!***

 The winner of the original version of The Trouble with Moonlight is CHRYS FEY!!!

Congratulations, Chrys! Please contact Donna via her website at www.DonnaMacMeans.com

I hope you enjoy the book (I did!)

 

Today's letter in the monthlong A-Z Challenge is "P". Our guest is Donna MacMeans, talking about Paranomal romance. And one lucky commenter will win a prize! YAY!!

I love paranormal stories. As a child, my favorite fiction book was the Dragons of Blueland - does anyone remember that book?  Unlike the dragons in Game of Thrones (aren’t they cool?), the friendly Blueland dragons had yellow stripes and polkadots. Nothing threatening about that. My older brother read his way through Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom series and as soon as he laid down a book, I’d pick it up. I devoured the stories of an earth man flying across the Martian landscape with a green woman/princess in his airship. I always thought the Nancy Drew books would be improved with a witch or a dragon, or maybe a mystery full of magic. So I come by my love of paranormal naturally.

My very first publishing credit was a paranormal story in the Dream Quest anthology. Smoke and Mirrors dealt with magic and mystery. If my historical story, The Education of Mrs. Brimley, hadn’t changed the direction of my publishing career, I’d be writing paranormals still.

Which is why I’m so thrilled to be able to announce that one of my paranormal stories will be released on Amazon next week. Bound By Moonlight is actually a reissue of an earlier release that won the critic’s choice award in Historical Love and Laughter from the reviewers at Romantic Times. Here’s the blurb:

A woman of extraordinary talents...

Lusinda Havershaw turns invisible in moonlight. Just her - not her clothes. She can’t help it, it just happens. A descendent of a rare race, her ancestors have been burned as witches, persecuted and tormented as the devil’s children. She must be careful to avoid detection. However as her family has no other means of support, she must reluctantly shed her petticoats and corset during a full moon to prowl the gas lit streets of London, stark naked, as a thief.

A man with a dangerous mission...

The only tools British spy and master safecracker James Locke needs are his hands and his brains. But when a hand tremor threatens his mission to secure a list of agents for the Crown, the accidental discovery of a lady thief with an extraordinary secret may just be his salvation. However, as James and Lusinda discover, there’s more than one kind of trouble to be found in the moonlight. The kind that begins with blackmail and ends with a kiss...

Be warned, this is a sexy book in a way that only a story with a naked invisible heroine can be. The hero discovers that just knowing the woman before him is stark naked is more intoxicating than if he could actually see her. I hope you give it a try and if you do, let me know what you think. The lovely thing about releasing this book on Amazon is that I’m free to write a sequel. You’ll have to stay tuned for details.

So tell me, what’s your favorite paranormal romance? I’ll choose someone leaving a comment to receive a copy of THE TROUBLE WITH MOONLIGHT, the original version of my Bound By Moonlight story.

 

Please check back on Sunday, April 20th, to see if you're the lucky winner of one of Donna's wonderful romances!

For the first four months of the year, Donna is a mild-mannered certified public accountant with a small tax practice. But come April 16th, she rips off the green eyeshade and transform into an impassioned writer of sexy historical romance novels, paranormals and romantic suspense. 

 

 

 

The "P" Book List:

 

 

 

Louise Penny: Canadian-set police procedural series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache

 

Steven Pressfield: The War of Art. Every writer or artist should have this guide to defeating resistance and creating a plan for success.

 

J.F. Penn: Crime thrillers with a supernatural edge.

 

 

THE ROAD TO WRITING

My guest is paranormal romance author Nancy Northcott. Her road to writing a book and publication was a winding road. 

Nancy is a sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, she combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the adventures of her Light Mages. 

Some writers always knew that was what they’d be.  They never wanted to be anything else.  I’m not one of them.  I sort of edged into writing a little bit at a time.

My grandfather and I used to make up stories and illustrate them with stick people.  From there, I progressed to writing in crayon, starting in about second grade.  The stories were sort of fairy tale-ish or else primitive space opera.  They also weren't the kinds teachers encouraged kids to write.  They weren't “serious.”  So I drifted away from writing, but I never stopped reading.  I sampled pretty much every kind of fiction, finally gravitating toward romance, science fiction/fantasy, and mysteries.  Those genres influence pretty much everything I write.

From the time I was about seven, I also read comic books.  The monthly adventures of the characters let me get to know them better than the characters in the books I read, even the series.  At some point, I found myself thinking about what happened to the characters off-page.  That led writing fan fiction involving my favorite characters, the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I’d also written part of what I now realize was a fantasy romance set in a preindustrial society, but I hadn't finished it.  At the time, I didn't know how to plot anything long.  But my fan fiction kept getting longer and longer.  By the time I left active fandom, around 1996, I was writing sagas.  I’d also written about half of a traditional fantasy novel, but I’d gotten stuck in the middle and abandoned it.

My fan fiction was written for amateur press alliances (APAs) I belonged to.  APAs are groups of fans who send multiple copies, one for every member, to a central mailer at regular intervals.  The central mailer then collates the contributions into sets and mails them to the membership.  The positive feedback my APAs gave me for the fan fiction encouraged me to try again at creating my own worlds.  But I was still worried about that middle-of-the-book roadblock.

One day, my husband stopped beside the desk and picked up a page of fanfic.  To save copy costs, we printed long stories in Times 8-pt., two columns to a page (yes, ouch!).  That particular story was part of a lengthy Batman series I was doing.

He picked up a page.  “How long do you think this would be if you put it in standard manuscript format?”

“Hmm.  Four manuscript pages to one of these…a hundred and twenty pages or so.”

“Okay.  If you put all the parts of this whole story arc together in that format, how long would it run?”

Silence while I did mental math, not a history major’s strong suit.  Finally, I ventured, “Four hundred pages.  Maybe more.”

He nodded.  “So tell me again why you think you can’t write a whole book?”

I had nothing to say.  So I dug in, went to the library and read plot books (which I should’ve done in the first place), and finished that traditional fantasy.  And revised it.  And revised it again.  It never sold, but I learned a lot from writing it.  A few years ago, I pulled it out and looked at it. I still love the story, but I don’t write that way anymore.  Maybe someday I’ll pull it out again and clean it up.

Meanwhile, I’m writing mages (think wizard if that term isn't familiar to you) who owe a lot to the dashing super-heroes of my childhood.  And I’m having a blast.  I hope readers will, too.

• What about you?  Is there something you've always wanted to try but haven’t gotten to yet?

                                                                                                                             

More on Nancy's Book Page

SENTINEL

Release: Wednesday, March 26th

He’s on a Quest for Justice 

 When mage investigative reporter Rick Moore gets the chance to clear his father’s name, it’s a dream come true. But there’s a price. He must first uncover the truth about the mage world’s most wanted fugitive.

 Her Secrets are His Only Hope

Caroline Dare knows her beloved brother had a reason for killing a prominent mage. Heroes don’t go rogue on a whim. Burned by shady reporters, she pours her devastating worry for him into her fabric art career and avoids all questions. But when her art is panned as a fraud because she’s blind, she’s forced to seek help from Rick, a man she knows only as a sexy arts writer.

Helping beautiful, determined Caroline prove herself gets Rick inside her well tended walls. But as he wins her trust, he finds he’s losing his heart. Now he has a choice–give up his dream or betray the woman he loves.

BOOK ONE

She follows the rules

He breaks everyone of them

Now they are each other's only hope

Excerpt

  

AMAZON, B&N, iBOOKS, INDIEBOUND

                                                                                                                    

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman.  Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance.  A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the adventures of her Light Mages.

Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal.  The reviewer called it “genre writing at its best.”  Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book. 

Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

BROOKLYN ANN—WRITING THE UNUSUAL

My guest is paranormal author, Brooklyn Ann. She writes fun paranormals with memorable characters, set in both historical and contemporary times, and filled with humor, sass, and a bit of snark. 

Brooklyn was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me.

Welcome back to Over Coffee, Brooklyn! 

In your latest book, Wrenching Fate, you've introduced some unusual job choices for both your hero and heroine. A mechanic with a muscle car fetish? A vampire who is a financial adviser? Both are…hmm…different job choices. What made you decide that?

Akasha's character came to mind when I was in the process of restoring my 1980 Datsun 210. I kept envisioning a character who was much more knowledgeable and stronger than I was, chugging a Coors (ewww) and working on big muscle cars, which I'd always admired. She was always so gruff and angry that I wondered what had happened to make her that way. Well, she showed me, and, well, you'll have to read to find out.

As for Silas, although I'd envisioned him becoming a vampire when he fell on the battlefield in Scotland in 1513, his character seemed more reserved than that of an ancient berserker. As a clairvoyant and a Lord Vampire, he would have to be very good at handling money. The finance industry fit him like a glove. He definitely is a businessman... but he's still a warrior underneath his Armani suits. :)

One thing I admired about your characters (especially the women)—they aren't weak or whiny. They've overcome quite a bit. What’s something you admire about Akasha? About Silas?

I admire Akasha's refusal to take shit from anyone and willingness to do anything to protect those she cares about.

I admire Silas's diplomacy and the way he doesn't judge others.

How did writing this novel differ from writing other books?

For one thing, writing a book that takes place in my own back yard was extremely different from my works set in 19th Century Britain. For another, even though these characters are definitely more "real" in my head, getting them to translate to the page was hard for some reason.

Tell us a bit about you? When you were little what did you want to grow up to be?

When I was younger, I kept vacillating between "Paleontologist" and "Rock star." Alas, neither came to be. I was a mechanic for a few years and now I'm a romance author. I never would have believed it. :)

When you’re not writing or working, what are things you like to do?

I like to work on cars, draw, paint, cook, watch cheesy B-horror movies, and of course, read.

What was the single best or luckiest thing that got you published?

I hate to admit, but I think it was the title I came up with for my first regency paranormal romance, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. That title was originally a joke title I threw out on twitter, but people liked it so much that I took the dare and queried it under that name. I ended up getting a lot of interest among agents and editors and eventually landed my book deal.

What was the biggest adjustment you had to make in life to include your writing?

I had to cut back on movies and book binges and completely stop doing Karaoke and playing on the dart league. I need all that time for writing, researching, and editing. In short, I became a hermit.

What will we see next from you?

My second historical paranormal romance, ONE BITE PER NIGHT releases in August. 
Here’s the blurb

• Since Sia brought up my characters’ unconventional jobs, what are some of the more interesting character occupations you've seen in romance novels? 

Comment for a chance to win an e-copy of WRENCHING FATE!

                                                                                                                                                      

WRENCHING FATE--Brides of Prophesy I

Silas McNaught, Lord Vampire of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is elated when he finds Akasha Hope, the woman his psychic visions revealed to him centuries ago. 

To his surprise, Akasha is infuriated when Silas interferes with her life. Furthermore, she is nothing like the sweet woman he’d envisioned. Instead she's a foul mouthed mechanic and, due to being the accidental result of a military experiment, she possesses the strength of ten men ….and government agents are looking for her. 

BUY: Amazon, Apple (ibook store),B&N (Nook and Print)
Kobo Google Play



                                                                                                                                            

A former mechanic turned paranormal romance author, Brooklyn Ann lives in the beautiful city of Coeur d’Alene with her son, her cat, and a 1980 Datsun 210. She can be found online at http://brooklynann.blogspot.com as well as on twitter and facebook.

Published by SourcebooksBITE ME, YOUR GRACE (April 2013)
ONE BITE PER NIGHT (August 2014)BITE AT FIRST SIGHT (To be announced)    Published by Broken AngelsWRENCHING FATE (February 2014)IRONIC SACRIFICE (To be announced)

DONNA GRANT GIVES US THE 411 ON: IMMORTAL HIGHLANDERS & DRAGON KINGS

I remember the day I first learned about today's guest, Donna Grant.

I was talking to a friend of mine, who was a bookseller, about how broad the scope of paranormal could be but seemed to be stuck in vampire stories.  I didn't want bloodsuckers I wanted dangerous kick ass warriors, with flaws, battling their darkness within while battling against evil with a sense of honor.   “Snap! I know an author you would love. She writes Celtic themes and recently sold to a major publisher. Wait, I have the book here…” the phone clunked on the counter. “Donna Grant and Dangerous Highlander!”  She read me the blurb…I was sold then and still am. I had Donna on my blog (Dark Swords and Druids) a few weeks later.    

Thank you to Sia for hosting me today in celebration of my newest book – MIDNIGHT’S PROMISE!

For those unfamiliar with my Dark Warriors series, let me tell you a bit about it. 

The Warriors are a group of Highlanders who are the greatest warriors of their family.  By being so, they carry within their blood primeval gods that once unbound, not only make them immortal, but give the Highlanders enhanced abilities and special powers.  They also transform by way of claws and fangs, but also each god has a color, so the Highlanders turn the color of their god when that god is released.  IOW, when those Warriors are ready for battle. J

There are so many legends and myths of Scotland that it’s hard to know what was real and what wasn't   So, when I began the series, I developed a legend of my own: What if Rome was driven out of Britain by magic? 

Druid Sonya

And by magic I mean Druids.  Two sects actually (good and bad).  It’s the evil Druids who call up the primeval gods from Hell, but it takes both sects to bind the gods inside the men.  Until my first villain, centuries later, sets the gods free once more in her bid to take over the world.

Deirdre is the perfect villain in my Dark Sword series, but when the series time traveled to modern day Scotland, I knew I had to add another twist.  Welcome Declan Wallace, a new kind of villain that takes my Warriors by surprise. Declan, however, wasn’t enough. There’s a new villain in town – Jason Wallace - and he is going to come at the Warriors and Druids sideways.

           

Wait, your saying.  Time travel?  Yep.  The series began in 2009 with DANGEROUS HIGHLANDER, a historical paranormal set in medieval Scotland.  After six book in the DS series, my guys decided to throw me a twist and time travel. My love was historicals.  I’d dipped my toes in contemporaries with a novella and one time travel, but not an entire book.

My publisher asked me to keep the Warriors in modern time, so there would be no going back for me. L  Yet, when I sat down to write MIDNIGHT’S MASTER (the first Dark Warrior book), I found the idea of taking these alpha, immortal Highlanders into contemporary Scotland thrilling.

All is not fun and games, however, because the storyline that began in the Dark Sword series continues in the Dark Warriors.  There are still villains to fight, evil to battle, and love to find.

It’s been a lot of fun taking each Warrior’s power and using it for - or against - him.  To add to the conflict, their heroines are Druids who each hold a special type of magic.  With the Warriors being such strong, rugged men, their heroines have to be just as stalwart to be able to stand beside them. 

It’s bitter sweet that I’m now promoting MIDNIGHT’S PROMISE, the last full length book in the Dark Warrior series.  I know many have been anxiously and not so patiently waiting for Malcolm’s book.  Malcolm first showed up in FORBIDDEN HIGHLANDER (Dark Sword book 2) and his story took one drastic turn after another.

I’m not having to say good-bye to my Warriors and Druids, however. There’s one more Dark Warrior story, a holiday novella featuring a Warrior I had thought died – Dale.  Read his story in MIDNIGHT’S SURRENDER (Nov 5, 2013).

Even then the Warriors and Druids will still be around, playing large roles in the upcoming spin off series the Dark Kings featuring my shape-shifting hunks, the Dragon Kings starting with the novella bind-up titled DARK HEAT (Dec 31, 2013) before moving on to DARKEST FLAME (April 29, 2014) and FIRE RISING (June 3, 2014).

Donna, I was glad to feature the first of these warriors in Dangerous Highlander and I'm glad to be featuring the last of these warrior's stories today with Midnight's Promise. I've enjoyed the adventure! I'm looking forward to Dark Kings series and another aspect of the magic of old--dragons!

• Have you read Donna Grants stories?

• Do you have a favorite warrior?

                                                                                                                                                    

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND  

MIDNIGHT'S PROMISE

HEART OF STONE

For centuries, Malcolm has struggled against the forces of darkness – and bears the scars to prove it.  Hardened by a lifetime of fighting, he is more warrior than man, incapable of feeling love or compassion. But one stormy night, he pulls a beautiful woman from a car wreck – and experiences a rush of fiery emotion that could melt even the hardest of hearts.

TOUCH OF MAGIC

Since childhood, Evangeline Walker has felt the magic growing inside. Descended from Druids, she is the perfect vessel for ancient magic – and evil. Evie knows she should trust no one, not even Malcolm, whose strong touch and tender kiss she craves. But after she makes a devil’s bargain to save her half-brother, this fearsome warrior may be the only man who can protect her – with his heart, his body, and his soul…EXCERPT




                                                                                                                                                                                    

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant 
has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. She's the author of more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Warriors, features a thrilling combination of Druids, primeval gods, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and three cats in Texas. Visit Donna at www.DonnaGrant.com, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter.

THE PLACE BETWEEN

To those who will risk all, everlasting love is the reward.

                                                                                                                                

AZTEC SLUGGER-COFFEE, HOT CHOCOLATE, AND BOURBON RECIPE

                                                                                             

 I wanted to share a favorite Valentine story with you written by the talented Kat Sheridan. I absolutely love this story. I hope you will too!

Love is found in the margins. In the places between. At the edge of the river between earth and water. The place where green meadow surrenders to regal forest. In the gloaming, between the brilliance of day and the exhilaration of night.

Copy of one of the posters I have

Such were Darius’s thoughts as he sat on the Old Stone, at the edge of Malgren forest, on the banks of the Zoran River, as the sun hovered, no more than a rosy hue on the horizon. In these moments, love lived.

Darius of the Fang and Carillon of the Fae. They should never have met.

The Fang—the vampyres—creatures of dark and moonlight and unbridled lust.

The Fae. Beings of golden light. Of joy. Creatures of passion.

Fang and Fae. Ice and Fire. And never the twain…Darius laughed. He and Carillon. The unlikeliest couple on the planet. Even now, the memory of their first meeting brought a smile to his face and joy to his heart.

Sleepless, he had begun the night early, prowling in the shadows, waiting for the release of full dark. Restless, she had chased the day late, reluctant to let the sun go. They had come upon one another in this place, in the sunset hour. Each had been surprised and intrigued by a creature so different from themselves. They had met again the next dawn. And at dusk. And dawn again. Lust and passion had collided. A gift—a once in a millennium gift—bestowed by Valentine.

And now Darius waited in the twilight. Waited for those moments—that glorious, silver hour—when he and Carillon could be joined. For a thousand dawns and dusks they had come together in this place between. Valentine himself, that wily priest, had blessed their strange union, but with a caveat.

“My children,” he had said when they’d sought him out. “Should you wish to be together always, each of you must be willing to live in the other’s world. You, Carillon, for a night. And you, Darius, for a day.”

“But my kind withers and dies in the dark,” Carillon had said, a tear marring her rose-petal cheek. “When night falls I must be safely in the Fairy Hall, surrounded by the glow of light and fire and heat. The Fae cannot survive in the dark and cold.”

“And you, Darius?” Valentine asked. “Would you dwell in the light with Carillon?”

“I cannot, sir. You know that. My people have no tolerance for anything stronger than moonlight. I would die in her heat.”

The old man had shaken his head sadly, then clasped his hands over his round belly and sighed. “Here, then, is all I can do for you,” he said. “For a thousand dawns, and a thousand dusks, you may meet here in the place between. For one hour only, the sun will stand and the moon remain motionless. For that hour you may be together. At the end of the thousand days, if neither of you chooses to live in the other’s world, you must part and come together no more.”

The old man had smiled at them, at the same time admonishing them gently. “Much can be moved in heaven and on earth by the power of love, but time will not stand still forever.”

Tonight would mark the end of their allotted time.

Of late, Darius had noticed the strain writ on Carillon’s sweet face—the shadows that matched the lavender hue of the setting sun, etched beneath her verdant eyes. She’d likely seen the same on him. The pale skin and ebony eyes were normal; the deep grooves bracketing his sensuous red lips and the needle-straight mark between his narrow black brows were new.

She raced across the meadow toward him, gossamer blue gown and iridescent wings floating in the soft summer breeze. He rose to meet her, arms outstretched in welcome, his own black wings held in abeyance so as not to frighten her, though she’d long since ceased to be afraid.

Their lovemaking was fast and fierce and desperate. When at last they drew apart, the sun’s last rays shimmered on the horizon.

”Go now, love.” Darius pulled Carillon into the last sliver of light. He was not ashamed of the tears coursing down his cheeks. “Know that I will love you always.”

She drew back, shocking him. “No, Darius. No. Tonight I will stay with you.”

There was no time to argue. The sun slipped away and with it, Carillon’s last hope. There was no point in berating this soft, golden creature. Her courage shamed him. She’d done this for him. For love of him. He enfolded her in his great black wings and drew her down to sit with him on the grass, no longer green, but gray in the rising moonlight.

“You know I can make you one of my people,” he said. “You would live forever, beside me. You don’t have to die, Carillon.”

She smiled at him sadly, already shivering with cold. “I would not be happy in the dark, Darius. I would die for want of light and the colors of the day. No.” She shook her head. “Better to die here with you—with my memories untarnished with loss and longing.”

They spoke little after that. What could be said at a time such as this? He held her through that long night. He kissed her brow as it grew colder under his lips, murmured endearments in her ear; he watched the roses turn ashen in her cheeks and felt the strength and life ebbing away.

“Hold on, Carillon. Hold on, my love. It’s nearly dawn.” But in that darkest part of the night, just before the sun cast its first rays into the new day, Carillon away slipped into that final sleep. He held her still body close—and wept.

Fury tore through him with hurricane force. He stood, with Carillon in his arms, and strode toward the light, cursing the gods and the cruel priest who had granted them so little time.

“Damn you, Eros! And damn you, Venus! And thrice damnation to you, Valentine!”

He dropped to his knees in Carillon’s meadow and placed her gently on the ground. He would not keep her in darkness—in the everlasting night to which he’d been cursed. She would have light and warmth on her body. He would stay by her. What difference did it make now?

The sun rose higher in the sky. He shielded his eyes with his wings, but the heat seared through them. A thousand fires ignited under his skin. Was this what Carillon had endured with barely a murmur?  This pain? He lowered his wings and bared his face to the sun. So these were the colors his beloved had adored so much. Such vivid hues; his eyes burned with them. Life seeped from his body, until he had no choice. He curled up on the ground next to Carillon, wrapped himself around her, and gave himself over to death. His last prayer was that Valentine would take pity on them and bury them together in the place between.

The sound of singing woke him. The gloaming had come again; the sun, a bare sliver, hung low on the horizon. He gasped, a drowning man who’d found air. He surged up, but a soft hand stopped him.

“Go slow, love. It takes a bit of getting used to.” Carillon. He spun toward the voice. Carillon?

She smiled at him, then nodded at the man standing beside her. Valentine, his face lit with a beatific smile.

“The gods are celebrating this day,” he said, “and all the stars in heaven are dancing. True love, that most precious, most wonderful, most inexplicable of gifts, is always rewarded, given time—and faith. Each of you showed yourselves willing to give everything—even your lives—to be with one another.” He stretched out his arms to the dark and to the light and to the place between. “All this now is yours. Darius, you will find much joy in the light and heat of Carillon’s love. And Carillon, you will discover the pleasures to be found in the quiet cool of the night.”

And so it was. They built their home at the edge of Malgren forest, on the banks of the Zoran River, and taught their children to clamber to the top of the Old Stone and embrace the whole of night and day.

A plaque—painted by Darius and embellished by Carillon—hung over their bed. It read, “To those who will risk all, everlasting love is the reward.”

EXPLORING NEW WORLDS

It's my pleasure to again have Bestselling author, Terry Spear, visiting with the first book in her new series about Jaguars! Savage Hunger made me purr in contentment. I'm looking forward to book 2, Jaguar Fever.

Have you ever been somewhere really different that you couldn't see enough of because you just didn't have the time, but you would have liked to have just sat down and soaked up the essence of the place? Every sensory detail from the way it looked, to smelled, the feel of the place, the sounds there, even the way the air tastes?

I’m so excited to take you to the jungle, where I set this month’s release, Savage Hunger and some of the next story, Jaguar Fever (Aug 2013)!

I used to live across from one—not called a jungle on the map, but what do mapmakers know when you live across the street from one and can find all the neat jungle-like stuff right there!

The heat, the humidity, the giant mosquitoes, the poisonous snakes—water moccasins, rattlesnakes, alligators, no-see-ums, snapping turtles, feral pigs, tortoises, you name it, we had it. We explored the jungle-like swamps when I was a kid seeking adventure and making up worlds as I went.

I never imagined I’d write about the Amazon or the rainforest in Belize and draw on some of those “feelings” I’d experienced while living in Florida. I read where one visitor to the Amazon said he never saw as many venomous or harmless snakes in the Amazon as he did in Central Florida!

But no monkeys where I lived. Bears, yes. No cats, though in the Everglades, the panther roams the swamps.

Wilkimedia

My jungle was filled with the raucous sound of insects and of birds calling to one another, the same as in the jungle in South and Central America. One year, we had a flock of colorful parrots land in our tree! Just as though we were living in the South American jungle. They rested there for a few minutes, and then took off again on their migratory flight to somewhere else.

I've been to Busch Gardens in Florida. I've seen the parrot shows, which are remarkable, and floated down a river on a glass bottom boat filled with alligator, the boat moving under low hanging branches, one with a snake coiled around a sturdy limb. The boatman brought us close so we could see the massive snake. The branch was dripping with Spanish moss and I worried to death the snake would fall off into the boat and we’d all have to jump into the alligator-filled river. I made reference to such an idea when Kat, the heroine of Savage Hunger, was thinking about what would happen if she shifted into a jaguar on a river boat and all the people made a hasty retreat into the caiman-filled water. See where I get my ideas from? Real life!

It was NOT a Disney excursion either where the snakes, and alligators, and pirates are pretend.

Oh, sure, you say—but did you ever see a water moccasin or a rattlesnake where you lived? My father once pulled a minnow bucket from our canal, intending to go fishing with his buddies. No minnows were inside, but he did one cottonmouth with venomous fangs curled up inside the bucket. Cottonmouth is another name for water moccasin. And a rattlesnake? A couple of boys came pounding on our door, showed us the five-foot long rattlesnake they’d killed in our front yard and asked if they could keep it.

I guess they figured since it was on our property, it was ours. We figured they’d killed it, it was THEIRS, and by all means, take it AWAY!

Those are just a few experiences from my “jungle” growing up. 

• What about you? Are you prepared to take a wild trip to the jungle?

Thanks so much, Sia, for having me here today, and one lucky person that answers my question will have a chance to win a copy of Savage Hunger.US/Canada Addresses Only.

 

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIBOUND

SAVAGE HUNGER 

As a jaguar he is graceful and gorgeous...

Speedy and stealthy...

Fierce, independent, and wild...

As a man he is passionate and powerful...

Willful and wonderful...

And he'll stop at nothing to protect what's his...

The Amazon jungle holds many dangers, as Kathleen McKnight well knows after her mission to bring down a drug cartel goes horribly wrong, leaving her the only survivor on her team. Determined to find the mysterious man who saved her, she returns to the jungle a year later only to find it holds more secrets than she could have ever imagined. 

Since saving Kathleen, jaguar shifter Connor Anderson hasn't been able to get her out of his mind. When she returns to the jungle to seek him out, he only knows one thing: that he must claim her for his own. 

USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has captured hearts worldwide by wrapping the realities of nature into the glorious romance of the wild. Now, she turns her award—winning imagination from the sexy werewolf hunt to the intense sizzle of jaguar shape-shifters.

Terry Spear has written a couple of dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance and continuing her new series about shapeshifting jaguars. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear .

THE FIRE AND PASSION FOR GENRE FICTION

Coffee is fresh and hot! Grab a cup.

My guest today is award winning paranormal romance writer, Tamara Hogan. She found her path to writing genre fiction by way of being a "good little" English major in college and a case of knowing what she didn't want to write. And talks about how she found her way to writing paranormal romance served with a twist of sci-fi on the side. 

I'm one of those writers who came out of a university creative writing program feeling more beat up than energized. I knew, even way back then, that I wanted to write genre fiction instead of literary fiction.  But like a good little English major who wanted a good grade, I spent my university years writing poetry (which I loved, and was pretty good at), reading literature (which I loved as well), but writing the type of fiction that met professors’ and classmates’ expectations rather than had any sense of real passion or authenticity. When I graduated, I felt like a poser. My enthusiasm was dampened, my voice felt compromised, and I needed to take a serious break from writing.

I never dreamed that the break would be over twenty years long.

That's totally on me. Life got in the way, as it often does. I built a technology career, got married and divorced, got sick, fell in love again. Over the years, I took the occasional writing class to keep my hand in—finishing nothing, but rediscovering my love of genre writing. Taking workshops for pleasure rather than for a grade, and from working writers, was an utterly liberating experience for me. Over the years, I'd also gained enough confidence to simply not care what other people thought about what I liked to read or write.

One night, watching Motley Crue with a friend, inspiration hit. I was watching all of these middle-aged women lifting their shirts, flashing their middle-aged boobs at drummer Tommy Lee. I remember thinking to myself, "Why are these women behaving this way? Is he half incubus, or what?” (Incubi are mythological sex demons.)

What if he was?

That sole thought set my imagination on fire, and led to the creation of the world that I built for the Underbelly Chronicles series. Screw the rules, I wrote a book I wanted to read: a love story with mystery and science fiction elements, with naughty language and love scenes and a (gulp) rather sympathetic villain. I reveled in the writing, rediscovered my joy—especially when the manuscript was named a 2009 Golden Heart finalist and a Daphne du Maurier paranormal winner, and sold in a three-book deal to Sourcebooks.

I tell myself that things happen for a reason, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have regrets. I grieve for that young writer, for books not written, for the career that might have been. But what would that career have looked like had I embarked upon it right out of school? Would there have been any fire, any authenticity, in my work whatsoever? Any spark at all? And coincidentally, during those years I didn't write, when my energy was going toward other things, look what happened to the romance genre, particularly in the paranormal realm. I couldn't have written these books twenty five years ago, and there certainly wasn’t a market for them.

So…maybe I lost some time, but I'm trying like hell to make up for it now. Maybe things do happen for a reason. ;-)

CHASE ME BY TAMARA HOGAN – IN STORES JUNE 2012

(Amz | BN | Sourcebooks | Powell’s
| BAM | Sony | Kobo)

THE SECRETS SHE'S UNCOVERING WILL BE HIS TO KEEP...

Centuries ago, when their ship crashed to Earth, paranormals of all types settled secretly into our world, quietly going about their business with humans none the wiser. Self–ruling and careful to stay below the radar, all is threatened when Valkyrie archaeologist Lorin Schlessinger and her werewolf geologist partner Gabe Lupinsky inadvertently draw evil attention to Earth and its treasured natural resources.

As the threat intensifies, Lorin and Gabe struggle to contain the chaos they've unleashed, and to resist their explosive mutual attraction...Read an excerpt here.

“Hogan’s sharp, funny dialogue and strong but subtle character development elevate both the story and the fierce chemistry between insecure, bespectacled Gabe and lusty, aggressive Lorin. Paranormal fans will enjoy this fresh take on the genre.” — Publishers Weekly

Tamara Hogan loathes cold and snow, but nonetheless lives near Minneapolis with her partner Mark and two naughty cats. When she's not telecommuting as a quality and process engineer for a global networking company, she enjoys writing edgy urban fantasy romance with a sci-fi twist. A feral reader with an unapologetic television addiction, Tammy is forever on the lookout for the perfect black boots. Her debut, Taste Me, was a 2009 Daphne Paranormal Winner and 2009 Golden Heart Finalist.  For more information, please visit  www.TamaraHogan.com or follow her on Twitter, @TamaraHogan1.

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