Interview with a werewolf

For a Halloween treat, I'd like to welcome the hero of Dariel Raye's novella, Raven's Shelter, from the anthology Got Wolf? taming of the Wolf.

1. First, let’s dispense with the formalities. What is your full name?
Raven Anthony Adler

2. Where are you from?
I’m not sure where I was born, but I grew up in the Alaskan Mountains.

3. Shape shifting – that must be frightening. How did it happen?
Well, I’m not human or were. I was born with the ability to shift at will, and one form is as natural to me as the other. I’m a sentinel – born to protect the weres in my pack. Shifting is only frightening to me when I can’t control it.

4. So your shifts aren’t controlled by the moon?
No. I’m only affected by the moon because the weres in my pack are controlled by it.

5. What are you going to do?
Sighs. First, I’m going to find my sister.

6. What’s happened to your twin sister that you have to search for her?
Syreena and I have always had the ability to communicate telepathically, but I haven’t been able to sense her lately.

7. How can you make a life with Karen Marshall when you spend part of your life in the form of a wolf?
Well, let’s just say if there’s a way, she makes me want to find it.

8. Do you think you can be what she deserves?
Loyal? Protective? Intelligent? I was born to be all those things. The real question is whether she can love me despite our differences. That would be a first in my life.

9. If you could change your destiny and become fully human, would you want to?
Frowns. That’s like asking a dog if he’d like to become a cat. I am who and what I am. I make my destiny, and it has nothing to do with becoming human.

10. How do you hope your conflict will be resolved?
I find my sister happy and healthy, and Karen really loves animals as much as she says she does. Smiles, showing a glimpse of white, yet pointed incisors.

Well, there you have it! Raven, I've enjoyed having you as a guest on my blog today.

Be sure to catch Raven's adventures in the novella Raven's Shelter in the Got Wolf? taming of the Wolf anthology available at The Wild Rose Press.

And anyone who leaves a comment today on this post will be entered in a drawing for a $10.00 TWRP gift certificate! Happy Halloween!!

Special Guest, Dariel Raye!

Author Dariel Raye is guest blogging with me today with a blurb and excerpt from her new novella in the Got Wolf? Volume 2 anthology, taming of the Wolf!

Don't you just love that cover? And the stories sound extremely delicious and just in time for Halloween!

And if you come back tomorrow, I have the privelege of interving the shape shifter hero from her story, Raven's Shelter.

“Raven’s Shelter” by Dariel Raye

Local “no-kill” expert, Dr. Karen Marshall, has spent her life learning about animals. When she rescues an extremely large wolf from an untimely death at the animal shelter, she has no idea what she has unleashed...

Hi. I’m Dariel Raye – one of the seven authors in the Got Wolf? anthologies. ”Raven’s Shelter” is a paranormal interracial romance about a veterinarian and a wolf shifter. What? You think this is a match made in heaven, too? Well, let’s just say it doesn’t start out that way. Here’s a peek at “Raven’s Shelter.”

Raven, a sentinel wolf shifter, is captured and locked in his wolf form until Karen, a veterinarian, tries to tame him and unleashes a 6'5" baby blue-eyed surprise.Dr. Karen Marshall is a veterinarian with a calling – save as many stray animals as possible. The only child of wealthy, yet distant parents, she’s convinced that love is not for her. Until…

Raven’s search for his twin sister leads him to Karen. Born into a rare species of wolf shifters whose main purpose is protecting others, he has always been forced to fend for himself, but Karen’s loving, protective nature draws him – and not a moment too soon. Together, they must learn to trust each other enough to overcome a new, deadly enemy.

Here’s an excerpt…

Karen rubbed her patient’s head and removed her surgical gloves. Surgery had gone well and the freshly neutered dog was doing fine. Fia approached her as soon as she stepped into the hallway. Boss, there’s this gorgeous guy here to see you. He says he’s a vet, too. He was asking Auriel if he could look around the clinic.”

“Look around? Dammit, Ron must have sent him.” She stepped into another room, removed her scrubs, and washed her hands. “Where is he? Waiting room?”

“Yep. I must say all the female clients are enjoying the view.”

Karen frowned, genuinely puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

“The view! You know – good looking man – enjoying the view? Even the pets stopped whatever they were doing and looked at this guy when he walked in here.”

Karen shook her head. “Well, view or no view, he’d better not be one of Ron’s minions coming in here to piss me off or he’s gonna get cussed out today.”

“And that would make today different how?”

Karen gave Fia a no you didn’t look. “I don’t cuss every day.”

Fia laughed. “Ahem. Okay. You’re the boss, but I’ve never met another woman who can cry real tears over a dog or cat getting hurt or lost and turn around a minute later and cuss every human around her like a sailor. I’m just sayin’.”

Karen rolled her eyes and started walking back to the waiting area. “Where’s my guest?”

“Dr. Adler?” Fia called Raven to the front counter to meet Karen.

Karen stared as a tall man with wide shoulders and wavy black hair approached the counter. She knew her lips were parted, but couldn’t seem to force her jaw closed as she watched him in awe. He moved with the grace of a predator – slow, sensual movements as if his muscles rolled when he walked.

“Hi doctor.”

A few moments passed before Karen realized that Dr. Adler still held his hand out for her to shake. All suspicions about him working for Ron flew from her mind as her lower abdomen lit up like a furnace and her lower limbs melted from the heat. “Oh, hi doctor. You are from?” She tried to cover, something she seldom had to do. She was not a woman who spent much time thinking about men, let alone falling all over one. She was not accustomed to having to control her reactions.

“I’m from Washington State. I do apologize for keeping you from your patients, but I only…”

Karen found herself staring again, his words dropping to a low hum. His eyes were like water - liquid pools of baby blue in an olive-colored complexion framed by the blackest hair she had ever seen on a white man. He had high cheekbones, full lips, a straight nose, and as he spoke, she could see just a hint of pearl-white pointed incisors. The imperfection made his features perfect.

“Doctor Marshall? Are you alright?”

Karen noticed his entire expression becoming one of concern as the baby blue pools narrowed. She blinked slowly, realizing that he was awaiting a reply from her. She covered again. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night. You were saying?”

“If I could bother you for just a few minutes longer in private.” He smiled.

Bother? His smile gave her an even better view of his imperfect yet perfect white teeth, and she felt as if a light switch had been turned on, causing the fire inside her to flare. “Oh, no bother.” She looked around the waiting room. “Five minutes?”

That smile again. “Five minutes.”

Visit Dariel Raye at http://www.pendarielraye.blogspot.com/

For your copy of Taming of the Wolf, click here. http://www.thewildrosepress.com/taming-of-the-wolf-volume-2-p-3708.html?zenid=4eff7eca79bb8ce8e23e15492f6af076 Also available in print format.

Thanks for stopping by, Dariel! I'm looking forward to that interview tomorrow with the hot Dr. Adler.

And the winner of the TWRP $5.oo gift certificate is Melinda!

Contact me at susanmacatee@aol.com so I can send your prize.

Blurb and excerpt for new vampire romance

For a pre-Halloween treat, I'm posting the cover, blurb and excerpt for my newest vampire romance, Sweet Redemption. This novella will be available as an e-book from The Wild Rose Press on November 11th.

And all those who leave a comment on this post today, will be entered in a drawing to win a $5.00 TWRP gift certificate.

Judy is yesteday's winner of the pdf copy of my short story, Eternity Waits. Congratulations, Judy! Send an email to susanmacatee@aol.com so I can send out your prize.

Sweet Redemption

Vampire romance

Coming November 11, 2009 to The Wild Rose Press

On a cold December night, Union infantry captain, Jonathan Hackett is pinned down on the Fredericksburg battlefield trying to escape Confederate fire. But a creature of the night, more dangerous than any enemy soldier, stalks him. Jon must fight for his life as well as his soul. Maddie Emery has lost everything dear to her. Her husband and parents had passed on and her brothers are off fighting in the Confederate Army. She’s alone, trying single-handedly to hold onto her family’s farm, when a Yankee soldier collapses across her stoop. Maddie and Jon form and bond of love and desire, but as Jon exhibits signs of becoming the creature he fears most, is their love enough to fight off the evil of a centuries old vampire bent on destroying them?

Excerpt:

Those knocks were not made by a wolf, but he suspected the wolf had something to do with Reverend Arnwolf. "Is the wolf his minion, or can he transform himself?" he said, under his breath.

"What?" Mrs. Emery moved close. Her scent invaded his thoughts. "Please, tell me what’s going on?"

Jon sighed. "When I said I was attacked by a wild dog, I lied." He moved back to the settee and sat, his hands dangling between his knees.

She sat beside him, but held herself ramrod straight. "What or who attacked you?"

"I was pinned down on the battlefield. Spent the night in the freezing cold. All of my men had died. A man appeared. Claimed to be a minister from Austria." Jon grimaced as he recalled Arnwolf's blood-red eyes and the sharp pierce of his fangs as they entered Jon's throat. "He offered to help me, but...instead he led me to an abandoned barn and attacked me."

Mrs. Emery gasped. "You're not saying this man--"

"He bit me on the throat." Jon pushed his hand through his hair. "I don’t know exactly what he is, but he's not human."

"That's who you believe was at the door?"

Jon nodded. "I don’t know how, but I now have a connection to him." He fingered the bumps on his throat. "I know things about him I shouldn’t possibly know."

Remember to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. And come back tomorrow when I'll be posting a blurb and excerpt from Dariel Raye's novella from the Got Wolf? Volume 2 anthology, Raven's Shelter.

Win a copy of Eternity Waits!

For the first day of my spook spectacular, I'm posting the opening of my short story from The Wild Rose Press, Eternity Waits.

Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered in a drawing to win a pdf copy of the story.

North of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

July 1, 1863

Caleb Weathers tensed at a rustle behind him. He swung his Enfield rifle in the general direction. A hoot, followed by the flutter of wings left him staring into the wide-eyed gaze of a Barn owl. When the bird took flight, he breathed a sigh of relief. The scents of pine and fetid soil calmed him a bit.

The thickness of the forest made him all too aware of how vulnerable he was to attack despite the weight of his weapon. Caleb sensed a presence behind him. He broke into a sweat and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose. He whirled and aimed the barrel at the form that appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where'd ya come from?"

The woman smiled. Blood-red lips and luminous blue eyes captured his gaze. Her raven hair glinted in the moonlight."I am Alexandra." Her low, throaty voice held a guttural accent.

What is a beautiful woman doing in camp alone in the dead of night? She couldn’t be up to any good. And yet, as he watched her, a thrill of anticipation raced through him. Something about her seemed familiar. A memory he couldn't quite reach.

He swallowed. "You'd best skedaddle, ma'am. You can't come through camp without a pass."

"I came for you, my darling." With one fluid motion, she moved closer.

He cocked his rifle. "Stop right there."

Her exquisite lips drew into a pout. "I would never harm you, Dimitri."

At the sound of the name an eerie sensation swept over him."Who the hell is Dimitri?" he asked. "My name's Caleb."

To purchase Eternity Waits http://www.thewildrosepress.com/eternity-waits-p-787.html?zenid=1fa6e5a796c6160a1807c7ef3501c9f6

Come back tomorrow for the blurb and an excerpt from my upcoming Civil War vampire novella, Sweet Redemption.

Halloween Spooktacular!

Join me as we close in on Halloween! I'll be posting excerpts from my upcoming release, a new vampire story from The Wild Rose Press, called Sweet Redemption.

I'll also be hosting guest blogger, Dariel Raye, author of Raven's Shelter, one of the novella's in the newly released TWRP anthology, Got Wolf? Volume 2, taming of the Wolf.

She'll be here on Friday with a blurb an excerpt from her story. And I'll be interviewing her hot shape shifter hero right here on Halloween.

So, check back all this week to see what supernatural happenings I have going on. I have a few prizes I'll be giving away to those who comment on certain posts as well.

New review for Erin's Rebel

My time travel romance, Erin's Rebel, just got a 4 book review from Long and Short Reviews!

To qoute reviewer, Poinsettia, "Lonely reporter, Erin Branigan, discovers that the key to her happiness lies in the past...

Not only are the characters in Erin's Rebel interesting, but the opening line hooked me right away...

Reading Erin's Rebel was a throughly enjoyable experience that any fan of historical fiction romance won't want to miss."

Read the full review at Long and Short Reviews.

The reviews just keep on coming!

This time the review is for the Civil War romance anthology, Northern Roses and Southern Belles. Our anthology got 4.5 books from Long and Short Romance Reviews.

To quote the reviewer, "I think all of the authors did a great job with this anthology and so did the editors. I felt like I was involved in every story, I felt like I could smell the flowers and taste the crisp air. I felt the emotions the characters were feeling. It's a great anthology that any historical fan will love."

Read the full review at Long and Short Romance Reviews.

Another fantastic review for Confederate Rose!

After griping that my books weren't getting any reviews, I have yet another new one for Confederate Rose. A rating of 4.5 stars from The Romance Studio.

Reviewer Brenda Talley said, "This book is action-packed romance. I love Civil War romances, so I felt I would like it from the start. However, even I was surprised how good it was. The two main characters were so believable. They had so many conflicts and so much controversy that it seemed their bad luck was going to overwhelm them... I highly recommend this book..."

Read the full review at The Romance Studio.

Found a great review in my inbox today!

Romance Junkies gave my historical romance, Confederate Rose, 4 ribbons!

To quote reviewer, Suzie Housley, "... Blended with a well developed romance, this historical is one that will grab hold of your heart and tear at your emotions. I highly recommend this charming historical..."

Read full review at Romance Junkies.

Revisioning

With so many new releases out in a short space of time, I've been spending a great deal of my writing time on book promotion.

But I need to take some time to actually work on writing, otherwise, I'll have nothing new to promote in the future.

I did recently submit a short story to a magazine, but now have to wait to see if they're interested. I also wrote two full-length manuscripts that I have to revise.

The first one is my first science fiction romance that I'm calling Moons of Cynara. Don't know if that title will stick, but for now, I'm going with it. I recently reread that manuscript and I do have to add at least 7000 words to get it up to my planned minumum word count of 80,000 words. So, I'm trying to see what I can add to flesh out the story. I may also change some of the basic story to enhance the original plot. I actually feel this part of the process is just as creative as writing the first draft.

I'm hoping I can complete this revision in the next couple of months, so I can get started on revising the first draft of my post Civil War romance. I haven't looked at it since I finished the draft in early September.

With two full-lengths to revise, I realize I've got my work cut out for me. For all you writers out there, what is your favorite part of working on a story? Is it the first draft, the revision or the final edit? And what part to you hate the most?

For me, I think the revision stage is my favorite, because I feel like I'm improving and enhancing my basic story.

More Excerpts!!

Thought I'd post an excerpt from my July 2009 time travel release from The Wild Rose Press, Erin's Rebel.

Reviewer Top Pick at Night Owl Romance!!

Excerpt:

"I've come from a distant place."

"Yes, I know you came from Ireland."

"No. That's not it...the place I've come from doesn't yet exist." She rose from the bed and pulled on her wrapper. After pacing back and forth, she turned to face him. "I've come from the future."

He frowned. "The future? What future?"

"The twenty-first century." His eyes widened. She was crazy to have thought he'd ever believe her.

"Until the accident when I was told I fell off a horse, I'd been living more than one-hundred and forty years in the future."

His dark eyes hardened. Why had she said anything?

Now that she’d gone this far, she had to tell him all of it. "I had a life there and a fiancé. We broke it off because I couldn't stop dreaming about you."

"This is utter nonsense." He raked his hand through his hair.

She held up her hand, desperately needing him to understand. "It didn't make sense to me at first, either."

"If what you say is true, how and why are you here now?"

"I'm not sure how, but I do know why." She reached her hand out to him. "I've come back in time for you, Will."

Erin's Rebel available at The Wild Rose Press.

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/erins-rebel-p-3554.html?zenid=b9e88b16a22f5ce7729aafe5a2923ae6

Read opening chapters at my website: www.susanmacatee.com/erinsrebel

Blogging Today At...

I'm blogging at Slip Into Something Victorian and American Civil War: Beyond Scarlett and Rhett about real life heroine, Sarah Emma Edmonds.

Join me at either or both to learn more about the life of this fascinating Civil War woman soldier.

It's Haunting Month Again

It's October and that means all paranormal books and stories at The Wild Rose Press will be discounted the whole month. And that includes my Civil War vampire story, Eternity Waits. If you haven't already read this story, here's the opening scene.

North of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

July 1, 1863

Caleb Weathers tensed at a rustle behind him. He swung his Enfield rifle in the general direction. A hoot, followed by the flutter of wings left him staring into the wide-eyed gaze of a Barn owl. When the bird took flight, he breathed a sigh of relief. The scents of pine and fetid soil calmed him a bit.

The thickness of the forest made him all too aware of how vulnerable he was to attack despite the weight of his weapon. Caleb sensed a presence behind him. He broke into a sweat and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose. He whirled and aimed the barrel at the form that appeared out of nowhere.

“Who are you?” he asked. “Where’d ya come from?”

The woman smiled. Blood-red lips and luminous blue eyes captured his gaze. Her raven hair glinted in the moonlight.

“I am Alexandra.” Her low, throaty voice held a guttural accent.

What is a beautiful woman doing in camp alone in the dead of night? She couldn’t be up to any good. And yet, as he watched her, a thrill of anticipation raced through him. Something about her seemed familiar. A memory he couldn’t quite reach.

He swallowed. “You’d best skedaddle, ma’am. You can’t come through camp without a pass.”

“I came for you, my darling.” With one fluid motion, she moved closer.

He cocked his rifle. “Stop right there.”

Her exquisite lips drew into a pout. “I would never harm you, Dimitri.”

At the sound of the name an eerie sensation swept over him.

“Who the hell is Dimitri?” he asked. “My name’s Caleb.”

To purchase Eternity Waits http://www.thewildrosepress.com/eternity-waits-p-787.html?zenid=fd903545fb154c53e67d78904e642cb4

And to learn more about my upcoming Civil War vampire story, Sweet Redemption, here's the link to my website page http://susanmacatee.com/myvampireromances.html

I'm interviewed today on Cate Masters blog

Join me for my latest interview with Cate Masters as I answer questions about my writing and newest release Confederate Rose.

Some of my answers may surprise you.