The Story Behind the Story — Slade

My special guest today is the wonderfully imaginitive and immensely talented Bianca D’arc. Bianca writes brilliant erotic paranormal books starring super sexy shifters. Today she’s going to talk about her latest work, Slade.

How did you come up with the idea for Slade?

Slade was a supporting character in the book that directly precedes this one, Tales of the Were: Rocky. He was just so intriguing as the story developed that I wanted to know more about him and decided to give him his own book. He’s started out as a mystery in Rocky and as his story developed, he just became such a cool character that I had to delve into that a bit more.

How long did it take you to write, from concept to completion?

Slade didn’t take long. Maybe 2-3 months. Sometimes that happens when a book just wants to get written. Sometimes it takes a lot longer. I can never really tell how things are going to go, but in general, most of my paranormal books tend to just pour out pretty quick. I love when that happens!

I see Slade is a follow up to Rocky. How many more books will there be in this series?

I’ve been planning a sub-series within the Tales of the Were that will focus on the five Redstone brothers – who are all cougar shapeshifters - that will start with the very next book, Grif. I actually started writing Grif’s book years ago and left it sort of half-finished as other projects became more important, but he’s always been in the back of my mind and I’ve finally gotten back to the point where I can finish his story and get it out there. I’ll be releasing his book in May. Then, after Grif, there are four more Redstone brothers: former soldier Steve, friend of vampires Magnus, jokester Robert, and Matt, who we’ve already met in my crossover book, Sweeter Than Wine. I’ll be releasing these books, one every few months, for the rest of 2013 and into 2014.

You’ve self published these books. Are you happy with that decision? What do you see as the advantages/disadvantages of self publishing?

Self publishing was a big experiment for me. At first, I was self publishing space opera romance that was very near and dear to my heart, but didn’t make much of a splash with readers (probably because sci fi romance is really a sub-sub-genre and is always sort of a hard sell to the average reader. But I love it, so I write it anyway. LOL) Putting Rocky at the end of 2012 changed everything. I finally understand why so many authors are loving self publishing and it’s made a believer out of me too! I write prolifically. Always have. So much so, that I’ve had to use several publishers at the same time in past years and have STILL had stories leftover. With self publishing, I can put out books whenever I want, which is incredibly freeing. And there’s no long wait from finish to publication.

Right now, that point is especially important because my other paranormal series, Brotherhood of Blood, which is related to Tales of the Were but follows different characters, has been waiting for a new instalment since last year. I wrote the follow-up book to Brotherhood of Blood: Wolf Hills last year (it’s called Wolf Quest) and it has been sitting on my editor’s desk, waiting it’s turn since August 2012. If I had self published that book, it would have already been out. Going through my publisher, the earliest it will come out is December 2013. I’m not a patient person, and the wait is really getting on my nerves. LOL

The covers for these books are awesome. Did you design them yourself?

My friend and professional cover artist, Valerie Tibbs of Tibbs Design has been doing all the covers for my self published books. She did the five space opera romance covers (King of Swords, King of Cups, King of Clubs, King of Stars, and End of the Line) as well as the covers for Rocky, Slade and Grif. And she’ll be doing the rest of the Redstone Clan books if I have anything to say about it! She does amazing art compositions and is super easy to work with, as well as being a great person and good friend.

Slade: The Blurb

The fate of all shifters rests on his broad shoulders, but all he can think of is her.

Slade is a mystery. A warrior and spy who serves two masters – those in the human world and the Lords of the Were. They’ve sent him to Nevada to track a brutal murderer before the existence of all shifters is revealed to a world not ready to know.

Kate is a priestess serving the Goddess and the large community of shifters that have gathered around the Redstone cougars. When their matriarch is murdered and the scene poluted by dark magics, she knows she must help the enigmatic man sent to track the killer.

Together, Slade and Kate find not one but two evil mages that they alone can neutralize. It’s a tricky situation because Slade finds it hard to keep his hands off his sexy new partner, the cougars are out for blood, and the killers have an even more sinister plan in mind.

Can Kate somehow keep her hands to herself when the most attractive man she’s ever met makes her want to throw caution to the wind? And can Slade do his job and save the situation when he’s finally found a woman who can make him purr?

You can find all the buy links and an excerpt on Bianca’s website, or you can head straight to Amazon.