Author Interview: Welcome to Blackbriar Creek!
With one series wrapping up and another beginning, it’s time to introduce you all to the brand new paranormal world of the Blackbriar Creek Wolves. =)
What’s the series premise? It’s about a pack of six “brothers” (brothers by pack vow, none of these guys are actually blood relatives) and the crazy things they go through to find true love.
Where does it take place? Why did you choose this location? I like to make up cities because then I don’t have to spend time researching locations. That takes away from my writing time, and I have so little of that as is. I’d rather be writing. For this, I went Southern and made up the small town of Blackbriar Creek, Tennessee. There might be a town actually called Blackbriar, I have no idea. I haven’t Googled it yet because I’ve been too busy writing. =) But I chose Tennessee because it’s a beautiful state and that’s where I’m from. So I’m familiar with the landscape and small town culture, even though I now live in a city.
How does this series differ from the Blood Moon Rising series? Like BMR, there will be six books, but each one will be at least full novel length. Think 200+ pages, with the potential for spin-off/companion novellas and short stories. There are six alpha males and none of them are related. Each book focuses on a different couple, with no continuing storyline from book to book. So the books can be read out of order, which is neat. Plus, it takes place in a totally different universe from BMR, so that’ll be fun to explore. Different rules, different people.
Does it take place in the same universe as the Blood Moon Rising series and the Her Dark Desires series? Nope. Not even a little. This place will be brand new to me and the readers.
Why do you love werewolves so much? I love stories about groups of people. Nana, X-Men, rock star bands, motorcycle clubs, werewolf packs, witch or vampire covens. I love exploring the group dynamic as well as the love story between the primary couple. It’s interesting and fun to see how people relate and get into trouble when you throw them all together. =)
Will there be any other paranormal creatures in this series or just werewolves? Oh, there’ll be witches. I can’t seem to stay away from them. lol But I’ll also be introducing some vampires, as well as some different shape shifters (big cats, maybe a dragon, we’ll see when I get there). I like variety in my paranormal romances.
What are some of the themes in this series? Loyalty always plays a big role in my werewolf stories because the pack is family. Family and what that means is also a big theme. How some people who aren’t your flesh and blood can feel more like family than people you’re related to. Betrayal and not feeling good enough, or wanting to keep punishing yourself for past mistakes. My boys in this series are a pretty rough crowd with big, scarred hearts, so they tend to beat themselves up over their past sins. lol Always trying to do the right thing, even when it’s in your best interests not to. How true love can make you stronger and allow you to accomplish more than you ever would be able to alone. Also, how love can transform you into a better version of yourself.
Tell us about the main characters. Honestly, I don’t know much about anyone beyond book 1 because I don’t outline. Not really. My idea of a story outline now consists of nothing more than a couple of sentences, and I don’t sit down and plot out every chapter. I do it as I go and figure out the story, and I tend to jump around, too. I don’t start at scene 1 and plot consecutively until the end. My process is very fragmented, and the act of writing “sews” the story together. Far as main characters, I can tell you about Nyx Dawson, my alpha male in book 1, and Evangeline “Eva” Carlyle, the leading lady. Both are werewolves. Nyx is an ex-merc trying to put his violent ways behind him to live a more normal, peaceful life. He’s got so much blood on his hands, it’s really starting to wear on him. So he goes home to his hometown of Blackbriar Creek hoping to kind of start over in a way. But as we all know, your past can find you no matter where you are. I named Evangeline because I love the epic poem “Evangeline” by Henry Longfellow. I remember reading it in high school and really loving it. She belongs to a very powerful pack with a corrupt leader, who happens to be her father. Her moral roots run a lot deeper, plus she’s pissed as hell about this thing that her father did to her, so she’s out for revenge. She aims to kill him. But her dad, being nobody’s fool, hires Nyx to take care of whoever’s trying to kill him, so there’s this cat and mouse game going on between Eva and Nyx while they’re falling in love, which makes things really interesting and fun to write about. They’re both ruthless characters, with Nyx being more “in your face” and Eva being sneakier about it. She definitely has more subtlety to her approach. lol
Here’s the full synopsis of Mercenary Moon:
He ’s bad to the bone… but then again, so is she.
Werewolf Nyx Dawson has blood on his paws—a lot of it. But he’s done with the brutal life of a mercenary. Doesn’t mean he ever thought he’d end up in his small, Southern hometown of Blackbriar Creek, Tennessee. Back with his mother and baby sister, and the rowdy bunch of werewolves he’d sworn a pack oath to as a pup. For a while, life seems peaceful and he thinks he can put his dark past behind him—until one of the most vicious, powerful alphas this side of the Smokies shows up and threatens to kill his family if he doesn’t comply with his demands…
Evangeline “Eva” Carlyle has spent her life wearing a mask. Being the perfect, obedient daughter. Being the stoic alpha-elect of her father’s pack. Being the face of her father’s paranormal pharmaceutical company, Carlyle Enterprises. Only, she doesn’t want her sizable inheritance or his paltry love—she wants his head. A life for a life, the collection of a blood debt that has been long overdue. The Golden Wolf is going to answer for his many covered up crimes against the paranormal world, and she’s determined to be the harbinger of justice.
But her father’s nobody’s fool. He knows someone is out to get him, and so blackmails one of the deadliest mercenaries into hunting down his would-be killer and taking them out first. Legend or not, Eva doesn’t think the arrogant and hotter-than-hell Nyx will be a problem. And Nyx certainly would never allow himself to fall for a werewolf aristocrat, no matter how much his inner wolf yearns to mate with her.
As the two of them tiptoe around each other, sparks begin to fly and passion mounts. Secrets—and blood—will be spilled. The closer Nyx grows to Eva, the more he’s convinced she’s his mate. And in the end, he’ll have to make the ultimate decision—kill the woman he loves to save his family, or defy his greatest enemy and risk losing everyone he holds dear.
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Mercenary Moon is coming early Summer 2017. Sign up for my newsletter to receive a new release notification, as well as preview chapters.


