New Author Barbara J. Hancock Makes Her Nocturne Bite Debut

Barbara J. Hancock makes her publishing debut this month with Wilderness, a new ebook novella from Nocturne Bites. Barbara tells us about her story and something she shares with her heroine: conquering fear…

by Barbara J. Hancock, author of Wilderness

Tess Haverty examined the silver bindings that twined once, twice and again around his bare, muscular torso. Considering her plans, it was lame to mentally go down the list of how well he was bound . . . arms to chest (check) . . . wrist to wrist (check) . . . ankles to floorboard (check). She chalked it up to nerves mixed with a hearty dose of survival instinct. She had known this would be dangerous, but somehow knowing and seeing were two very different things.

We’ve all had defining moments in our lives when we had to decide to act or to hide. As the daughter of an alcoholic, I know a little something about fear. For years, I cringed through each day, never knowing if the next moment or the next was going to bring catastrophe in the form of drunken anger or public humiliation. My father quit drinking when I was a teenager.

My cringing didn’t stop.

When you’ve been conditioned to be afraid of each coming moment and what it might bring, it’s hard to break free of that fear.

In Wilderness, Tess Haverty is an uncertain Psychic because she feels as if her powers aren’t reliable. She lost her parents in a car accident she didn’t foresee soon enough to save them. She lost her sister to government authorities who have targeted Psychics and other Supernaturals for research. Tess must face down her fears as she steps forward into a dangerous future no less intimidating because her dreams give her glimpses into it.

Knowing what has to be done and actually doing it are two very different things.

There are probably few people who knew I was afraid as a teen. I was quick to laugh. My smile was the perfect camouflage. A defining moment in my life came when I held my baby son in my arms for the first time and timid was no longer an option. I owed him action. I owed him a fresh new life, free of fear. Sometimes it’s not about knowing what the future will bring, it’s about being not only prepared, but eager to face it, come what may.

Wilderness is a story about a woman embracing her power for the first time. It’s also the story about a man who inspires even as he represents the biggest challenge of all! Colin Masterson is powerful, dangerous and wild. He’s been captured and he’s on his way to a government research lab.

With a deep breath, she dropped to one knee. This was the do-or-die moment. Tess knew the truck was only about fifteen minutes from its destination. It was time to act. She just wished she didn’t have a sudden twist in her gut that redefined the moment as do and die.

Can you imagine the moment? Can you imagine cutting those chains?

Tess has to face her fear of failure. She has to brave the dangers of freeing a werewolf and, not only that, she has to embrace the untamed unknown he represents. This is her call to adventure, the call of the wild, and, for Tess, letting fear control her isn’t an option anymore.

I’d like to think I would be brave enough to cut Colin Masterson’s chains. (Especially because I know what lies ahead for Tess in reward for her bravery!) I know I am much braver than I used to be. My smile is real and those cringing days are behind me…for the most part.

Whether we could or couldn’t bring ourselves to free a sexy dangerous werewolf, going along with Tess as she does has truly been one of the wildest rides of my life. I hope you’ll enjoy sharing her adventure as much as I did.

But, I do wonder, would you be able to cut those chains?

Note from Amy: To celebrate her new book, Barbara is running a contest on her website http://www.barbarajhancock.com to win a beautiful silver bracelet! Visit her giveaway page for details on how to enter.

Rhyannon Byrd’s Sexy Half-Human Werewolf Heroes

Werewolves can have a soft side, too.
by Rhyannon Byrd

There’s no question that alpha males are my favorite kind of heroes, whether I’m writing a romance or reading one. And while I love the dark, rugged, seductive intensity of this compelling brand of hero, what really makes an alpha grab my imagination, as well as my heart, is when there’s an aspect of his character that’s slightly damaged, even a little bit broken.

In fact, it’s his vulnerabilities that often reveal an alpha’s softer side, and for me, that’s one of the things that makes them so delicious. While their aggressive, mouthwatering sexuality can drive us wild, it’s the unexpected, softer facets of these heroes that can truly reach in and grab a reader’s heart. And when you make that alpha a werewolf, then it’s even better. 😉

In my new Bloodrunners series from Silhouette Nocturne, the heroes are intense alphas, who just so happen to be half-human, half-werewolf. As an author, I enjoy the freedom and creativity that comes with writing paranormal characters–especially werewolves, who allow us to explore the darker realms of physical craving, while tempering that powerful, visceral hunger with the hero’s need to cherish and protect his woman. I’m fascinated by the combination of their primal animal hungers and human restraint–that seductive blend of the predatory hunter and devoted protector. And although the heroes in this series are often hard and dark and impossibly arrogant, they each possess a softer, more emotional side that only the heroine is allowed to witness.

Some of my favorite scenes from the Bloodrunner books are the ones in which these softer qualities are revealed to the heroine, allowing her to see that this powerful, confident warrior is so much more than the larger-than-life, untouchable persona he projects to the world. In Last Wolf Standing, it’s Mason’s deep-rooted fear of loss that finally reveals the more emotional elements of his character to Torrance, the woman destined to be his life-mate. With Jeremy, in Last Wolf Hunting, it’s his damaged heart and wounded pride.

But perhaps the most poignant of these three alphas is Brody, in Last Wolf Watching (available in May from Silhouette Nocturne), who bears physical scars, as well as emotional ones. Brody is a dark, intense, guarded hero, and yet, it’s the more vulnerable aspects of his character that make him so special. After everything that he’s suffered, he truly deserves a woman like Michaela, who sees past his scars and bitterness, to the amazing man (…or werewolf) that he truly is.

I hope you’ll enjoy these dark, sexy and often tender alphas as much as I enjoyed writing them, and look forward to the next batch of Bloodrunners coming in 2009!!

All the best,
Rhy