The Process - Wrapping a Book Up

For those of you who are used to my novellas, this is not short. This is a  full length novel - the first in a series. 

How steamy is it? Very. How explicit? Somewhat. These are, of course, Vampires and Shifters and Demons--Oh My!  There's plenty of sucking and getting naked and blood and violence. Sorry if that offends. Expect the language to be appropriate for the genre.

I'd say this is more of a paranormal love triangle with an inconclusive yet satisfying ending than it is a menage. So don't expect a three way...but maybe there will be one in the future. 

I'll be sharing the opening of Book Two at the end of Book One.

No, it's not finished yet, but here's the cover for Book One. Like it?

Yes, I'm writing Book Two.

I'm hoping to have the final revisions done this week for DEFEAT THE DARKNESS. Copy edits and then galleys next. The wrap up is taking longer than expected because this book is the cornerstone for the rest of the series -- lots of details to check. Imagine the charts I had to develop for all these characters. I developed family trees to explain the DNA sequencing of my paranormal beings, not that you'll ever see them. I hadn't planned for the characters to go beyond a single book but once I got to know them I could see them in  major roles in the follow ups. Characters from my next books kept showing up in this one for the action. I love the ensemble cast of characters and I hope you do too.

One of the most enjoyable moments in writing is when I'm surprised by my own stories. And I especially love it when the characters are so well rounded I can hear them talking in my head. (It makes for better dialogue too.)  

 Here's some dialogue my characters wrote:

“A few times since all this, I sensed an internal struggle. I think there’s more than one beast inside me. If you’re right, the jaguar and my lupine nature are not happy sharing the same space.”

 “Sounds like an identity crisis.” Dylan snorted. “Bet your lupine nature was surprised when you shifted into a cat.”

“Yeah, well my human nature was pretty damned surprised, too.” Kyle chuckled.

Dylan outright belly laughed at that. “I’m not laughing at you, man. But you have to admit you’re beginning to sound like a supernatural schizophrenic.”

 “I am,” he snarled. “And it’s a good thing I have all those parts fighting off the damn demon that bitch shared with me when she forced me to take her blood.”

“Oh, hell. A demon, too? So you’ve a bit of the dark in you, eh?”

“You could say that. I saw it rise in Amyra once. Frightening. Thank God, I’ve had no manifestations so far, and I’d like to keep it that way. Let’s just say I don’t want to ever fight back that kind of darkness.”

“Completely understandable. You’re going to need a lot of training. Salazar was right to send you here. We’ll look after you until you get the sum of your parts under control.”

 I love it.