Alpha Pair - a Sneak Peek before the Official Release Day and a #Giveaway too. (Contest Ends 7/31/18)
[image error]Ever wonder where an author gets an idea for a story? Alpha Pair came to me while I was driving. In fact, most every scene was developed in the car.
I create a playlist for each book and listen to it repeatedly while I drive. The music inspires me to create the scenes. Once I get home, I jot down a rough outline of everything I came up with in the car. Later I will sit down and write the story, but not until I have an outline of every scene down on paper first.
Demetri and Tatiana’s story was a blast to write because they are both independent warriors who like to be in charge. Neither of them wanted a heartmate, but the Fates had other plans. The characters played off one another with Tatiana giving Demetri far more grief than he gave her. It was a fun book to write, and I hope you’ll have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. [image error] Here is a little taste of the story:Prologue:
The recent past…
The half-moon shone down from above, through the bare trees, causing gray skeletal shadows on the snow-covered ground. Demetri Romanoff ghosted over the land, careful not to disturb the peaceful winter night as his breath frosted in the air.
His preternatural gaze glossed over the landscape as he moved, taking in the details of the night, nothing too small to escape his attention. He noted the lack of movement in the eerily still forest. No wind blew, no animal seen nor heard.
Even in Mason’s Bluff, Wyoming, in the month of December, there was usually some movement, some sounds in the night. An animal scurrying home, tree branches bumping together in the wind, or perhaps a pinecone falling. However, tonight the silence was deafening.
He suddenly dropped to one knee, overcome with a sense of despair and grief. The feelings were not his own, but instead came to him through the mental channel he and his cousin, Nicholai, shared.
Nicholai had recently lost his heartmate, his one true love. She had fled after discovering Nicholai was a vampire.
The warrior had advised his cousin to go to England and get her. He didn’t understand Nicholai’s hesitation to do so. Nicholai needn’t be in such pain. As his heartmate, his woman could not help but come to love him. There was no excuse for his cousin not to go, throw her over his shoulder if he had to, and bring her back to Russia. But for some reason, probably because the female was human, his cousin would not heed his advice on the matter.
Nicholai had mentioned something about wooing and needing time to work things out. In the meantime, his emotions came across their mindlink, and the warrior struggled to block them. It was a distraction he did not need.
The scent of the approaching storm tickled his nose. Clouds blanketed the moon, taking its light. The dampness settled on his shoulders as small flakes began to glide down.
He straightened once more to his full height. His six-foot-six, burly frame dwarfed all but the trees while his thick thighs took him through the woods. A leather cord drew his long, black hair from his storm-gray eyes. His neck and face, thickened by years of pumping iron, were taunt this night with foreboding.
The air tasted of malice and hatred. Demetri sent his senses out into the forest, spreading them wide in search of what might be the cause of his unrest. He detected a den of foxes nearby, and a bear hibernated some distance away. Neither of which gave him pause.
Then he sensed several blank spots, one coming from the mountain that loomed ahead and three at various spaces throughout the forest. He turned his preternatural vision in the direction of the spots, but found nothing of note, only the snow-covered underbrush and rocks. He listened carefully. Hearing nothing, he continued on.
There had been some trouble in these woods. People mauled. Others had gone missing. He’d patrolled the forest every evening in hopes of finding the cause and preventing more deaths. He and Stephan, the leader of the Alphas, had spent days searching for a pregnant female vampire that had gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Their search produced no results, and Stephan had decided to return home to his heartmate.
These were his woods. This was his home, and he would not allow any more of the people under his protection to be maimed or killed. Demetri breathed a heavy sigh as he came to a spot where the snow-covered ground lay disturbed. He knelt on one knee to examine the evidence.
He and his comrade, Stephan, had recently discovered signs of a struggle in the snow, animal tracks leading to and from the spot and human footprints. The two warriors had followed the tracks until they led into the side of the mountain. The same mountain where they had both sensed a large void.
Demetri pushed to his feet then squared his broad shoulders as another wave of grief rushed through his mind. The palpable force of Nicholai’s pain demanded attention.
Demetri closed his mind to the powerful emotion as best he could. He needed to be alert, watchful, not distracted by his cousin.
Demetri headed toward the mountain, following the old set of tracks which were becoming less visible with each flake that fell from the sky. Soon the tracks would be covered entirely, but he remembered where they led.
As he neared the mountain, he heard a soft rustle of movement behind him. He stilled, then cast his awareness over the land. Sensing only a blank spot, he began to turn around just as a sting hit his back. Another sting bit into him. And another. By the time he had turned fully, a total of six stings pelted his back and side.
The large warrior took a step forward, determined to find the cause. Had he disturbed a beehive? Had an animal attacked?
His legs gave way, refusing to support the weight of his stony sinew and muscle. He tumbled forward. The Alpha tried to throw his arms out in front of his chest to catch his weight, but they refused to hold him. His face landed in the snowy detritus with a crunch of his straight nose.
The angle of his head allowed him to locate the two darts protruding from his side, their shafts and flights quivering from the jarring impact of hitting the ground. Something cold ran through his veins. As cold as the snow beneath his body, it burned through his blood.
Just before the darkness took him, he tried in vain to focus his blurry eyes as what appeared to be a pair of paws approached.
Available for Preorder from:
Amazon
iBooks
Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
To celebrate the upcoming release of Alpha Pair, I’m doing a giveaway. Be sure to enter below for your chance to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I create a playlist for each book and listen to it repeatedly while I drive. The music inspires me to create the scenes. Once I get home, I jot down a rough outline of everything I came up with in the car. Later I will sit down and write the story, but not until I have an outline of every scene down on paper first.
Demetri and Tatiana’s story was a blast to write because they are both independent warriors who like to be in charge. Neither of them wanted a heartmate, but the Fates had other plans. The characters played off one another with Tatiana giving Demetri far more grief than he gave her. It was a fun book to write, and I hope you’ll have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. [image error] Here is a little taste of the story:Prologue:
The recent past…
The half-moon shone down from above, through the bare trees, causing gray skeletal shadows on the snow-covered ground. Demetri Romanoff ghosted over the land, careful not to disturb the peaceful winter night as his breath frosted in the air.
His preternatural gaze glossed over the landscape as he moved, taking in the details of the night, nothing too small to escape his attention. He noted the lack of movement in the eerily still forest. No wind blew, no animal seen nor heard.
Even in Mason’s Bluff, Wyoming, in the month of December, there was usually some movement, some sounds in the night. An animal scurrying home, tree branches bumping together in the wind, or perhaps a pinecone falling. However, tonight the silence was deafening.
He suddenly dropped to one knee, overcome with a sense of despair and grief. The feelings were not his own, but instead came to him through the mental channel he and his cousin, Nicholai, shared.
Nicholai had recently lost his heartmate, his one true love. She had fled after discovering Nicholai was a vampire.
The warrior had advised his cousin to go to England and get her. He didn’t understand Nicholai’s hesitation to do so. Nicholai needn’t be in such pain. As his heartmate, his woman could not help but come to love him. There was no excuse for his cousin not to go, throw her over his shoulder if he had to, and bring her back to Russia. But for some reason, probably because the female was human, his cousin would not heed his advice on the matter.
Nicholai had mentioned something about wooing and needing time to work things out. In the meantime, his emotions came across their mindlink, and the warrior struggled to block them. It was a distraction he did not need.
The scent of the approaching storm tickled his nose. Clouds blanketed the moon, taking its light. The dampness settled on his shoulders as small flakes began to glide down.
He straightened once more to his full height. His six-foot-six, burly frame dwarfed all but the trees while his thick thighs took him through the woods. A leather cord drew his long, black hair from his storm-gray eyes. His neck and face, thickened by years of pumping iron, were taunt this night with foreboding.
The air tasted of malice and hatred. Demetri sent his senses out into the forest, spreading them wide in search of what might be the cause of his unrest. He detected a den of foxes nearby, and a bear hibernated some distance away. Neither of which gave him pause.
Then he sensed several blank spots, one coming from the mountain that loomed ahead and three at various spaces throughout the forest. He turned his preternatural vision in the direction of the spots, but found nothing of note, only the snow-covered underbrush and rocks. He listened carefully. Hearing nothing, he continued on.
There had been some trouble in these woods. People mauled. Others had gone missing. He’d patrolled the forest every evening in hopes of finding the cause and preventing more deaths. He and Stephan, the leader of the Alphas, had spent days searching for a pregnant female vampire that had gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Their search produced no results, and Stephan had decided to return home to his heartmate.
These were his woods. This was his home, and he would not allow any more of the people under his protection to be maimed or killed. Demetri breathed a heavy sigh as he came to a spot where the snow-covered ground lay disturbed. He knelt on one knee to examine the evidence.
He and his comrade, Stephan, had recently discovered signs of a struggle in the snow, animal tracks leading to and from the spot and human footprints. The two warriors had followed the tracks until they led into the side of the mountain. The same mountain where they had both sensed a large void.
Demetri pushed to his feet then squared his broad shoulders as another wave of grief rushed through his mind. The palpable force of Nicholai’s pain demanded attention.
Demetri closed his mind to the powerful emotion as best he could. He needed to be alert, watchful, not distracted by his cousin.
Demetri headed toward the mountain, following the old set of tracks which were becoming less visible with each flake that fell from the sky. Soon the tracks would be covered entirely, but he remembered where they led.
As he neared the mountain, he heard a soft rustle of movement behind him. He stilled, then cast his awareness over the land. Sensing only a blank spot, he began to turn around just as a sting hit his back. Another sting bit into him. And another. By the time he had turned fully, a total of six stings pelted his back and side.
The large warrior took a step forward, determined to find the cause. Had he disturbed a beehive? Had an animal attacked?
His legs gave way, refusing to support the weight of his stony sinew and muscle. He tumbled forward. The Alpha tried to throw his arms out in front of his chest to catch his weight, but they refused to hold him. His face landed in the snowy detritus with a crunch of his straight nose.
The angle of his head allowed him to locate the two darts protruding from his side, their shafts and flights quivering from the jarring impact of hitting the ground. Something cold ran through his veins. As cold as the snow beneath his body, it burned through his blood.
Just before the darkness took him, he tried in vain to focus his blurry eyes as what appeared to be a pair of paws approached.
Available for Preorder from:
Amazon
iBooks
Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
To celebrate the upcoming release of Alpha Pair, I’m doing a giveaway. Be sure to enter below for your chance to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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