Guest Author: Kaylea Cross (With Giveaway!) Back to Blog
Update: The winner of DARKEST CARESS is…Cindy Overton. Congrats!
Have I mentioned how much I love it when guest authors come to visit? And I so hope that you enjoy reading their posts, too! I figure you have to get tired of just hearing from me, so why not spice things up by getting some fresh blood? And today, our “fresh blood” guest is author Kaylea Cross. (And she’s offering a giveaway!) Kaylea, thanks so much for coming over today! Congrats on your new release!
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Meet the Empowered
Thanks so much to Cynthia for having me here today to talk about Darkest Caress, my very first paranormal romance.
If you recognize my name at all, it’s likely because of my military romantic suspense books. So why the heck would I ever write a paranormal? To tell the truth, I’d never thought about it seriously until I took a trip to the Baltic States and wound up in coastal Lithuania in a place that fired my imagination.
I’d always known that if I ever did try my hand at paranormal romance, for damn sure it wouldn’t be about vamps or shifters, since other authors have already cornered that market. (*cough* Cynthia Eden and Katie Reus *cough*). Nope. If I was ever going to write a paranormal story, I had better come up with something totally different.
So somehow there I was in coastal Lithuania, standing on the tallest sand dunes in Europe overlooking the gorgeous summer resort town of Nida on one side and the wild Baltic Sea on the other. I’ll admit I was pretty damn inspired by the setting. But later that afternoon when I toured the Hill of Witches with its wooden sculptures depicting Lithuanian legends and folklore…that’s when the magic happened.
I knew right then and there that I would write about a magical race linked to the Lithuanian sea goddess, Neringa. And I was definitely making use of the good versus evil spoken of in every legend. My villain was going to be spectacularly evil. And hell yeah, I was so going to figure out a way to make Baltic amber important in the story too.
While this story is different from anything else I’ve ever written and all my Empowered characters have both Baltic and Celtic ancestry, there’s one thing I just couldn’t give up from my old ways. Every single hero of the series has a badass military background.
I can’t help it. Military heroes make me weak in the knees.
My Empowered heroes are alpha males that are loyal, and lethal when they need to be, but they’re also ultra protective and capable of incredible tenderness with their mates. I hope I did them all justice in Darkest Caress.
What are the character traits you love the most in your favorite heroes? Leave a comment and I’ll enter you in a contest to win a digital copy of Darkest Caress.
Blurb: Two-hundred-year-old Daegan Blackwell is one of the last remaining Empowered, an ancient magical race. Daegan’s duty is to lead and protect his remaining Brethren in the coming war foretold by prophecy. The last thing he expects is to meet the one woman who will either save or destroy him-his destined mate.
Fiercely independent Realtor Olivia Farrell believes darkly handsome Daegan is simply a prospective client. Until she’s attacked by a man with a strange aura-and Daegan fights him off, taking away her pain with just his touch. At first, Olivia refuses to believe she’s part of a magical race, yet mounting evidence and her powerful chemistry with Daegan are too strong to deny.
But as Daegan’s partner, Olivia becomes a target in the battle between good and evil that threatens her life, as well as the very existence of the Empowered. And the only one who can save her is the man claiming to be her destiny…
Happy reading!
Kaylea Cross
Kaylea Cross is an award winning author of edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense. A Registered Massage Therapist, Kaylea is an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dancer and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband.
You can find Kaylea through her website, Twitter, Facebook, and her blog.
(And, psst…by the way, my apologies for the delay in posting the 2nd part of my RT Recap–that post will be up on 4/23! Have a great day!)
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I like my hero to be a strong man that can take care of a woman, but man enough to let her be the boss.—Rachel
Hi, Kaylea! Congrats on your new release!!!
Can’t wait to read your newest book Kaylea – I’m sure I’ll love it as much as your RS — the thing I like best in a hero who is tough on the outside, and a marshmallow on the inside.
Congrats on the release! I like a hero who is alpha male but gets totally tongue tied whenever he is near his woman. LOL!
I love super protective, alpha heroes who have their woman’s back no matter what (even if she’s driving him insane). Um…don’t enter me, lol. I’ve got this book and LOVE it!
Congrats on your new release in a new genre 🙂
Love those alpha heroes that are tough and so protective of their women!!
Question for you Kaylea, will this be a series?
Love alpha heroes!! Traits are how strong and protective they are of their women. Also when they show a sensitive side, like that 🙂
Congrats on your new release, Kaylea! That cover really is stunning.
Hey Kaylea. Congrats on the new release and a new genre.. Love your military men – sure I will like your alpha paranormal men 🙂
Congrats on your new release! I love their sensitivity and intense love!
Hi, Rachel. I hear you on that one. I hate controlling characters in books. Um, unless it’s in the bedroom and it’s consensual, because then I’m all for it :).
Hey, Cynthia! Thanks so much again for hosting me.
Shelly, thanks, I hope you do like it. I love strong men that are marshmallows on the inside too. That’s going to be Vaughn when I get to his book. Can’t wait for you to meet him!
Jahaira, I love that too, especially when the hero is usually so confident and forceful. Makes quite an impact when the heroine throws him off his game a bit.
Katie, yay! Thanks for stopping by to see me. I’m glad you like the book, since it’s partly your fault I wrote it.
Thanks, Michele, I hope my readers like it. Darkest Caress is meant to be the first of a trilogy, but I won’t start the second until I know there’s interest for it. It’s kind of a wait-and-see right now.
Amy, I agree that’s the key as well. A strong, protective hero that balances all that testosterone with loving tenderness. That just makes my toes curl in the most delicious way.
Gail, hey! Thanks for coming to see me! I really love this cover too. I think it’s my favorite one.
Cindy, the paranormal men are military men too, so that oughtta help ;). Plus giving them a military background allows me to up the danger element and add all kinds of interesting historical detail. Well, at least it’s interesting to me, but then I’m a history geek.
I like it when they are a little detached, afraid to get close till they meet that special one. They need to be warm and fuzzy but hard and couragious at the same time.
Thanks, May. Yes, I love it when the hero shows his softer side too.
Linda, like JR Ward’s Zsadist? That’s one of my favorite books of all time. He certainly softened up a lot when Bella came along. Amazing book.
Hi Kaylea! Congrats on your new release! Sounds like the perfect book for me 🙂
My fav traits are a lot like what the other women are saying, strong, passionate, need to add tall, dark and handsome but in a rough sort of way 😀
I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this series. Congrats on the release!
Congrats on branching out to paranormals! 😀
Hero traits I love… being a sexy protective man with some faults.
faults/ flaws…
My hero need to be strong, protective, yet romantic! I love a Hero who can show his sensitive side to his destined mate!
Hi, Angela. I hope you like it if you read it :). I like my heroes tall, dark and handsome too! I actually married a guy just like that.
Hey, Wynter! Thanks for coming by. I’m interested to see reader reaction to this one.
Colleen, I agree, characters can’t be perfect or they’re boring. Um, or annoying. They have to have enough imperfections for them to be real.
Wendy that is the absolute key in romance, I think. The hero has to be protective yet sweet and eventually not be afraid to be at least a little vulnerable with their mate. *sigh*
Hi Kaylea! I like my heroes to be strong and loyal in order to protect those important to him, not only mates, but friends and family. Tall, dark and handsome would be good too. Can we add romantic also ** Grin **. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway! I can’t wait to read Darkest Caress. bpatrick64113@sbcglobal.net
I love my characters to be loyal, courageous, stubborn headed ( for a lil while) ,a complete Alpha male, and sexy!
andieleah78@gmail.com
Thanks so much to everyone for dropping by!
I drew names out of an antique teacup just now, and Barb, you’re the winner! Since you left your email address I’m contacting you now to find out which version of the book you’d prefer.