ALL FIRED UP is the first book in my new Ashes & Dust series, which is a spin-off set in my Not Dead Yet universe. It follows Evan Fournier, a.k.a. Vamp Junior from Not Dead Yet, as he settles into his own as a private investigator and a vampire in paranormal Toronto. When his partner PIs, Wes and Hudson, are called away to handle a family emergency, Evan is left in charge of the agency with the firm instruction that he is not to take on any paranormal cases. But when a longtime friend comes to him for help, how can he say no? Suddenly he finds himself undercover at a spa retreat that looks like a perfect getaway for stressed-out paranormals—except people are returning home without their magic. Why? And what does the mysterious (and kind of sexy) Red have to do with it? Join Evan as he works to determine who’s behind the latest upheaval in Toronto’s paranormal community. The story continues in House on Fire (out November 2021) and Out of the Ashes (out 2022). *** A is for Anika, Evan’s doctor and friend, who comes to him for help. L is for London, where Wes and…

It seems you played a few cards right, a familiar mental voice said as the butler opened the door to Branwyn’s room. I can’t enjoy a room like this as I once did, but it’s a much finer view than the inn. Yathana was lying across the foot of Branwyn’s bed, three feet of straight, razor-edged steel in a scabbard covered with midnight-blue silk, with thin golden chains connecting small amethysts and garnets. Her hilt appeared gold too—a thin layer of gilt did wonders—and the eye-sized fire opal in the center of her guard was now flanked by two chunks of amber on the quillons and another on the pommel. Seventeen years of partnership had given Yathana’s normal form time to sink very deeply into Branwyn’s consciousness, and even after two months of practice, the additions stood out whenever she had occasion to examine the soulsword. Adapting to the shifts in balance had come more easily, praise the Four. “It looks wonderful,” she said to the butler, though she really hadn’t even noticed the room save for marking a window opposite the door—real glass, not shuttered, and framed by heavy rose-pink curtains. “Thank you.” “The maids will have put your…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Wolf Wore Plaid 2–What is it about? The Highland lass is a little too unpredictable for him, but maybe that’s what the Highland wolf needs in his life. Heather MacNeill has always had a crush on Enrick MacQuarrie, but no real hope to snag his interest as he’s too wrapped up in being the secondary pack leader in his Highland pack. Work always come first. Until, a movie is being filmed at Enrick’s castle. To Enrick’s consternation, he learns the American movie star who plays the lord of the castle is a man who could be his clone. Worse, the enemy clan they’ve battled it out with for centuries is bent on revenge because the film isn’t being shot at their own castle. What begins as a need to keep Heather MacNeill safe, and for her to do the same for him as the battle between the clans escalates, turns into something much deeper between the wolves who have known each other forever. Maybe her wildness is rubbing off on him, but is that a bad thing? 3–What do you love about the setting of your book? It’s in Scotland! I’ve…

More than meets the eye in A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing, Susanna Allen’s new Regency era Shapeshifter mash up. When I had the idea to combine the Regency Era and Shapeshifter genres, I was looking forward to playing with the clash between the two very different worlds: the manners and mores of the former and the sensuality and instinct of the latter. What I hadn’t bargained for was how much fun I would have coming up with names for my characters. Naming is important and it can be hard. It’s a big commitment and it informs the character’s whole fictional life. When writing contemporary romance, it’s a little easier as, say, the last name of a character would reflect their ethnic background—are they of Irish or Italian descent—and that in turn helped with deciding on the first name, and vice versa. I remember being totally stumped about what to call a secondary male in a work in progress and started scrolling through Nameberry for inspiration, which worked insofar as it planted a bunch of names in my subconscious and three days later my brain offered up the one that fit best.  Authors make great use of the baby-naming sites available…

Hi! I’m Zoe Forward, and I’m so excited to introduce you to NIGHTSHADE’S BITE. Here’s a sneak peek at what this book’s about: Kiera Rossard’s secret life just got complicated. She’s leader of the Nightshade League, a rebel vampire society that rescues werewolves during the interspecies war. Everyone wants her dead—vampires and the werewolves who don’t know her secret. Most especially, the wolf she just saved—Michael Durand. Something about this particular werewolf sets her blood on fire. She’s not good at resisting temptation. So what if vampires always bite when they’re turned on? And so what if one drop of his blood will kill her? What’s life without a little risk? N is for Nightshade’s League, the name of the secret group Kiera leads to rescue werewolves during the vampire-werewolf war. I  is for irresistible. The smell of Michael’s werewolf blood is irresistible and intoxicating to Kiera, a vampire. But one bite…one drop of his blood will kill her. G is for grudgingly. Michael grudgingly accepts help from Kiera, first in escaping almost imprisonment from vampires and second to free a baby werewolf who was stolen. H is for hot. The chemistry between Michael and Kiera is hot from the…

I have a confession to make. I’m in love with someone other than my husband, and it’s a woman. Her name is Reine, and we’ve been spending a lot of time together. I’m pretty into her gargoyle boyfriend, too. When I started writing novels, I switched to a different main point of view character or pair of characters in each book in my series. With the Fae Files, I decided to follow one fascinating character and her love interest through the entire series. I originally had it planned to be three books, a trilogy, but as it turned out, Reine the exiled Fae princess was just too fascinating, so I’m currently working on book four. What makes Reine interesting? All of my books have themes of identity and self-acceptance, and Reine definitely struggles with those. At the start of the series, Reine is in exile in the Earth realm. She considers herself to be 100% Fae, but she doesn’t realize how much her time among humans has influenced her. I’ve enjoyed exploring this conflict, not only as it applies to her, but to her relationships as well. The slow burn romance also ended up being more complicated than I anticipated….

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE WARRIOR KING 2–What is it about? The third of four phoenix sisters will give herself to a dragon king to help defeat a common enemy. But when his best warrior and personal bodyguard turns out to be her fated mate, things get…complicated. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  These books are set all over the world, mostly in mountains. I am very much a mountain girl. Now, on top of the settings I’m personally familiar with, I can wait to visit the various locations I’ve only visited in research. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  Meira is the quieter sister, softer and more afraid. But what I found is that a quiet person can also have a backbone of steel, especially when it’s important. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  Samael is made of honor from head to toe. A true warrior, the only thing that can throw him for a loop…is Meira. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Moving Samael and Meira’s relationship from denied wanting—because she’s supposed to marry his king—to trust and relationship was a slow…

There was a swinging door between the kitchen and living room, and Lila blessed it. Which was a switch from earlier, when she’d been carrying boxes and mistimed the swing (“Ow, dammit!”). But now the contrary thing concealed her for a crucial few seconds, and then the guy who kicked in her door came through, and she had the barrel up behind his ear before he was all the way in. “Jeez, you Domino’s guys are persistent,” she hissed. “I told you. I. Don’t. Want. Any. Pizza. Jackass.” “Please. If I was delivering pizza, it’d be Green Mill.” That startled a laugh out of her. She had to give it to him, he didn’t sound rattled in the slightest. And he was distractingly good-looking. Not every guy could pull off a Caesar haircut. Or had eyes the color of forest moss. Forest moss? Time to get laid. Not by this guy, though. Most likely. His looks made up for his clothes: He was wearing scruffy slacks, a shirt he hadn’t bothered buttoning up all the way (which revealed the shoulders and abs of a swimmer, which was even more irritating), he didn’t have a coat, and…was that blood on his…

Have you ever wanted more from a series? Wanted to know more about the characters and how their world came into being or maybe you wanted to visit the setting and walk around a bit, enjoying the literary places you’d visited before. Those thoughts are what lead me to write STAR-CROSSED DRAGONS. It’s a love story about two Dragons from different social classes and clans that fall in love. These Dragons, Sara and Ian, are the main character’s parents from the Going Down In Flames series. In the Going Down In Flames series, I mentioned that Bryn’s parents ran away from a secret society of shape-shifting Dragons to escape arranged marriages. Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to how that happened. When I sat down to write her parents’ story, I realized I needed to reread the whole series to make sure I kept my facts straight. You’d think as the author I’d remember all the details, and I do remember most of what happened to the main character and her friends but remembering the information about the side characters was a bit more difficult. Once I had my ducks or dragons in a row, I wrote characters I really liked…

1–What is the title of your latest release? CRY WOLF 2–What is it about? CRY WOLF is the fifth book in my series following snarky human agent Cooper Dayton and his werewolf partner Oliver Park who work together to solve twisty mysteries. This time the guys are officially moved in together with no case to travel for. .  .so naturally, trouble arrives on their doorstep instead. An old adversary warns Cooper he’s in danger, Park’s ex Eli shows up in desperate need of help, a casual trip to the zoo turns up a dead body in the sea lion pool, and, perhaps most stressful of all, there’s a certain someone’s wedding to plan. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Zoos have always had a somewhat surreal quality for me. That idea of controlled danger, manufactured wilderness, nature at its most unnatural. It was incredibly fun to lean into that and take the guys off the usual path (literally) to explore behind the scenes and blur the lines between who’s caging who. 4–How did Oliver Park surprise you?  Park had to grow up fast and be the “strong guy” in control for most of his life, which…