Update: The winner of INSATIABLE is…Kate N. Congrats, Kate N.!

In two weeks, my third Federation Chronicles novel, INSATIABLE, releases from Berkley Heat. It marks the start of a three book mini-series called Phantom Corps, which is, you guessed it, about the men and women who are part of a shadowy special ops military team called –wait for it- Phantom Corps.

Guest blogs are always fun, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to write about and not sound like a dork. So here’s my effort, though I am sure I’ll still sound like a dork 😉

For me, the key to every book, the heart and foundation of it all at once are the characters. I want to know who they are and what they mean to each other. How they draw things from each other. Do they make each other better people? Fill in the cracks? Shore each other up in bad times?

As I wrote Relentless and I began to draw Daniel as a character, I knew I’d want to write about him and what he got up to in an official capacity. He was real to me when I began to write Insatiable, even though he has a lot of flaws.

Daniel Haws is an assassin. He kills people for his job and he’s not really one to mope around about it. He knows there are things that have to be done and sometimes they aren’t pretty.

He presented a challenge – because he’s not, well, heroes aren’t supposed to kill people.

The kernel for Insatiable came to me as a flash of a scene. The hero standing, shooting a weapon, glittering cartridges shimmering in the light, falling to the ground all around the heroine, crouched at his feet. It was so vivid and so real to me, I even heard O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana in my head as I imagined the scene.

I wrote that one first. Because it rode me so hard there was no choice. And that scene is the one that helped me write Daniel as the hero he is. Because he’s there, taking the heat, making himself a target to protect his men and most definitely the woman at his feet.

As I wrote, I gained more understanding of Daniel, both as the leader of Phantom Corps and as a man falling in love with a woman he’s under orders to protect as his cargo.

Insatiable is an epic book. Daniel and Carina spend the first ¾ of the book on the run from people trying to kill them to stop them delivering the intelligence Carina has smuggled out of the Imperium.

Which brings me to Carina. I’ve written a lot of heroines over the years. Some are more memorable to me than others. Some were really easy for me to write. Nina Reyes from Enforcer comes to mind. Erin Brown from Laid Bare is another. Polly Chase. Other times, more usually, it takes me a while before I really get a handle on who my characters are.

When I’d finished the book, I realized Carina is one of my very favorite characters. Certainly not because she was easy to write. She wasn’t. I knew early on she’d have to be a virgin because of how she was raised and the level of security on her at nearly all times. But I wanted to make her inexperienced but not naïve. Which was harder than I thought.

She’s vulnerable in many ways, but also really strong. Intelligent. Cunning and at times, fearless. It’s why she throws herself into love with Daniel. She knows what she wants, even if there are times she knows she’s in over her head, she knows she wants him and she knows she wants to see the mission through. I loved writing her as a mix of all sorts of things and I hope the balance works for readers as much as it did for me.

In the end, the assassin and the virgin princess end up together and though I’m obviously biased, I think the combination works. I think she is exactly what he needs and she would be the first person to agree that he is exactly the person she needs.

I hope you all enjoy meeting Carina and Daniel when you read Insatiable!

SO, to help you do that (meet Carina and Daniel via the book, that is) I’m giving away a brand spanking new copy of INSATIABLE (they just came yesterday) to a lucky winner. What do you all think of unlikely heroes and heroines? Any that you love and want to recommend?

I’LL BE SLAYING YOU releases next Tuesday–next Tuesday!!!  Where has the time gone?

I thought I’d post a new excerpt for those interested in Dee’s story. This except will take you into the mind of my hero, Simon.  (Warning: Adult language to follow!) Hope you enjoy it!

After five minutes of silence from her, she finally deigned to glance his way.  “Harry said you could leave, buddy—”

“Simon.  Simon Chase.”  She knew his name. She’d been right there when he spelled it for the uniforms.  Each time.

She grunted.

He almost smiled. Almost.  “Ah, I can’t help but notice, Sandra—”

“Dee.”  Her voice snapped like a whip.

He’d been there when she had to spell her name, too.  He’d rather enjoyed her gruff, “Harry, you know this shit, S-A-N-D-R-A…oh, fuck off.”

“Dee,” he allowed.  But he’d be calling her Sandra again soon.  He liked that.  Liked the way her cheeks flushed so red when she heard the name. “You don’t seem too upset that someone tried to kill you tonight.”

The victim had been hauled away in an ambulance. Blood still soaked the ground, but Simon didn’t glance at it.  His nostrils twitched, just a bit, but the scent was starting to fade.

She rolled her shoulders in a little shrug. “Not like it’s the first time.”

He let his eyes widen. “Really.”

Another grunt from her.

“And you have no idea why folks want you dead?”

A furrow peaked between her golden brows.  “No clue.”

Right.

Her hands lifted then fell in a vague little gesture. “Well, it’s been fun, Chase, but I’ve got work to do.”

He pulled the wooden stake from his back pocket.  “Just what kind of work is it that you do, Sandra?”

A red flush rose on her cheeks.  She lunged for him and locked her fingers around the stake, but he didn’t let go.  She was close now, close enough that he could see light flecks of gold in her dark gaze. Close enough that he could see the pulse pounding at the base of her throat.  Close enough that he could almost taste those lips.

He tightened his hold on the stake. The wood was smooth and hard. The woman had obviously spent some time honing her weapon.

“Give it to me.”  She glanced back over her shoulder. “I don’t want to have to explain this shit to all of them right now, not with the silver shooting still hanging over me.”

Silver shooting?  Sounded like an interesting story.

Slowly, he released his hold and she jerked the weapon from him. Kneeling, she shoved the weapon into some kind of custom scabbard near her ankle.

When she lifted the ragged hem of her jeans, he caught sight of her leg. Nice. Smooth and pale and—

She shot back up, nearly clipping him in the chin.  Again.

Chance shook his head. So not what he’d been expecting. “You didn’t answer me,” he said and tried to ignore her scent.  A heady scent, rich and dark.  A woman’s sensual flavor.

She licked her lips. A quick swipe of her tongue that had his cock swelling.

Not what he’d been expecting, but he wasn’t gonna complain.  No way.

“Trust me on this, you don’t want to know.”  She shuffled back a few steps. Tossed him a careless smile. “Thanks for watching my ass tonight, Chase.”

Then she was gone. Turning away and marching through the cops still on scene, and he kept watching that ass.  Nice and firm, round enough to hold tight.

Yeah, he kept watching that ass, right until the moment she disappeared around the corner.

He waited a beat.  Two.

Then he stalked after her because he wasn’t about to let his prey escape that quickly.

***

I’m blogging with the Naughty Author Chicks today, and I’m talking about why I think monsters are hot.  Come over and comment for your chance to win an autographed copy of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU.

Update: The winner is…Gayle Hudson! Congrats, Gayle! And thanks to everyone who took my Night Watch quiz!! (Don’t worry, there will be more chances to win Zane’s book later!)

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

A few days ago, I created a facebook quiz for my Night Watch hunters.  (Yes, I gave in to the temptation of the quiz!) But, I wanted to make the quiz available for folks who might not be on facebook. So, here you go:

Take the quiz and find out if  you’d be Jude, Dee, Zane, or…um, something/someone else.  Someone a little less on the side of the good guys.

Post your results in the comments section. I will pick one winner for an IOU prize–an early copy of Zane’s book, ETERNAL FLAME (Available 11/30/2010).  As soon as I receive a copy from my publisher, I’ll ship it right to you!

And don’t forget…it’s just 9 short days until the release of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU!! Dee’s story will be out very, very soon!

Enjoy your day!

Update!! Time to announce the winners…and the winners are:

Free ebooks: Ilona

Free print copy: Tracey D

Congrats, ladies!

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But What About the Sex?

I want to thank Cindy for inviting me to guest blog with her. And I’m going to be doing a giveaway, so for those brave souls who can make it through the blah blah… you’ll get a chance to win free stuff. Yay!

Probably the only thing I don’t like about the romance genre is the general expectation for a certain number of sex scenes of a specific heat level. This is particularly true of paranormal romance which many expect to be erotica. But I’m not writing erotica. I don’t feel like a story should be forced into that mold, and so in my work you’ll find several different heat levels that match the story and what I’m trying to convey.

My writing style is somewhat sparse and fast-paced to begin with, so I don’t write sex scenes that go on for pages. This bugs some readers, so it’s one of those things I warn about up front. However, I try to lace the book with an underlying sensuality that goes beyond just what happens in the bedroom.

I’ve read several polls where it turns out only about 20% of romance readers read every single sex scene without skimming through it. Man, do I hope you guys aren’t in that 20%. You might come after me with the torches and pitchforks.

It’s not that I’m opposed to graphic scenes. I can name three authors off the top of my head who write great sex that I never skim: Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole, and my lovely hostess Cynthia Eden.

And I do write them, just not in everything. How graphic a scene is will vary from story to story. It depends on the characters. Who they are, what they’re going through. Some of them are less exhibitionist for readers than others.

My Blood Lust novella anthology which is the first book in my Preternaturals series, has varying levels of heat. The first story, Kept has one scene “on camera” and the rest off. Though even the one on camera isn’t a technical play-by-play.

The novella is probably the most “light” and “fluffy” of the three, and lengthy sex didn’t fit the pace of the story or what I was trying to get across. Sex was somewhat rushed to help characterize Greta’s shame at being at the mercy of her heat cycle and having sex with a practical stranger. Greta is a werecat.

Claimed doesn’t have a single sex scene because frankly the characters just weren’t in that place. Anything before the final climax (of the story) would have been like rape for the heroine. Charlee just isn’t in the zone for it given the fact that the vampire she’s with took her memory and has tied her to him. And epilogue sex has always weirded me out.

Mated has romantic sex that is about Jane being able to trust someone again after being abused so long by the monsters. It’s about what’s going on inside her emotionally, not about what body part is being touched or how loudly she’s moaning.

The book coming after Blood Lust, Save My Soul, has slightly more graphic sex than most readers are used to from me (though my style is still sparse), but it’s not due to any perceived pressure to heat it up (only a very small percentage of my readers have asked for more graphic sex). It’s because it’s about an incubus. That’s sort of all about the sex.

I always try to use sex as a tool to convey something about the characters and the story, which means I can’t follow the formula, or the story will suffer. That’s one sacrifice I’m not willing to make no matter how hot the sex.

The three novellas that make up Blood Lust can be found individually in ebook at Smashwords and Amazon for 99 cents each. (Kept can be read free here:  http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/kept.)

For those who prefer reading on paper, Blood Lust will be releasing in print in the next few weeks.

I’ve got two giveaways. One commenter will receive all three novellas free in ebook form, and one will receive a print copy of the book (just as soon as I get them in my hands from the printer).

Here are the blurbs for the novellas that make up Blood Lust:

KEPT:

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta’s blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

For a vampire, Anthony isn’t a picky eater, but he’s drawn to Charlee’s blood more than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he’s denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he’s made.

MATED:

Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being “kindred.” She’s forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she’s abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.

Thanks for reading!

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