Today it’s
my pleasure to welcome Marie Johnston, author of Ancient Ties, Book two in the Pale
Moonlight series.
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Date of
Publication: 1/27/17
ISBN:
9781370775347
ASIN:
B01MFEATE2
Number
of pages: 220
Word
Count: 59000
Cover
Artist: P and N Graphics
Book Description
Born to
be Guardians…
Chayton
Eagle comes from a strong line of wolf shifters, his father an ancient in their
pack. Chayton proudly acts as a Guardian, defending the colonies from
danger—both from outsiders and from threats inside the pack. The one thing he
doesn’t need is a human-raised female on his team—especially not one who passes
out each time she shifts! Never mind that she was trained by elite Guardians,
Chayton doesn’t need the distraction of a tall, sexy-as-hell redhead when he’s
working. He has to focus. And he has to remember he’s scheduled to take the
blood oath with a female, a long-ago pairing arranged by her parents. It
doesn’t matter he and Kaitlyn are fated mates.
She
can’t be his. Not now. Not ever.
Destined
to be Mates.
Kaitlyn
Savoy knows Chayton is supposed to be her mate. Too bad he’s such an ass about
her human upbringing making her weak. Too bad she’s been assigned as his
partner to take down the feral shifters threatening one of the colonies. Too
bad she’s so damn attracted to him. As the mission continues, Chayton is
captured by the ferals, and Kaitlyn proves her worth as a Guardian. During the
rescue, she uncovers the secrets of her past, secrets that will affect her
future. Despite his best efforts, Chayton’s opinion of her begins to change,
his respect growing—along with feelings he can’t deny. She’s become part of his
life, part of his heart. A fact his soon-to-be inlaws notice—and they intend to
put an end to the temptation Kaitlyn poses to Chayton.
No
matter what.
Giveaway!
Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post for a chance to win
an autographed print copy of Book One for US winner (ebook for international
winner).
Let’s Interview!
How did
you come up with the title?
Easiest
title ever. Sometimes, the books name themselves and that’s what happened. When
it came time to think of a title, I thought I’d try to use ancient since
ancients are pivotal in the story and boom! Ancient Ties popped to mind. Love
it when that happens.
Tell us
a little bit about the conflict in your story.
They’re
both shifters, but they were raised completely different. Chayton was raised
with a father who’s an ancient, the oldest and purest of their kind. His colony
was isolated and full of shifters who took immense pride in the strength of
their bloodlines. Then there’s Kaitlyn, who was raised human and didn’t know
she was a shifter until her twenties. Not only that, she has the misfortune of
passing out after every shift. Chayton uses it all as a reason to keep his
distance from her because while she’s his destined mate, he’s already sworn to
someone else. But! The bonding hasn’t taken place yet, so there might still be
time for Chayton and Kaitlyn to work it out.
Are you
currently working on another story? If so, we’d love some details.
I’m
having so much fun with Bishop! It’s the third in my vampire spin-off, set in
the same world as Ancient Ties. Bishop was tricked into bonding with a
mischievous fire demon, but it backfired on her and she’s on the run from him
and the rest of the underworld. Only, it’s too easy to track her because has
trouble controlling her fire when she gets emotional. I think the beginning of
this book was the most fun I had writing any of my books.
Tell us
about your favorite writing environment. Is it indoors, outdoors, a special
room, etc.
Since my
main job is still a stay-at-home mom, I’ve written anywhere and everywhere, and
at all times of the day. So I love, love, love preschool days when I can drop
my youngest off and head to the coffee shop. Only it’s not your normal coffee
shop. It has the atmosphere of a bar and grill: dim, loud music, and (my
favorite) booths. I order a mocha, or go wild and try a seasonal special, and I
do nothing but write for two solid hours. The only downside is that it makes it
harder to park in a corner of the house and write amidst all of the chaos and noise
like I used to.
How long
have you been writing? How long have you been published?
It’s
about the same time frame for each and I’ll be the first to admit I shouldn’t
have done that. I had a bad case of “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.” I had
wanted to write for forever, but had only done scientific and technical writing
and talked about writing a book one day. The day I decided to self-publish, I
started writing. The only thing is…writing well takes years. Telling stories
well can take years. For some, it all comes naturally. For me, I needed to
learn and I hadn’t realized it. But honestly, I’m confident there’ll always be
something to learn no matter how long I write.
What
genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write
in the future?
Two
reasons why I like writing romance: One, weaving in chemistry is a fun
challenge. Not too much, not too little, and don’t forget halfway through the
story. Two, happily-ever-afters are what it’s all about. I want all my
characters to have one and I want my stories to have one.
Paranormal
romance is a riot. There are few limits and so many choices. But the more I
write contemporary, the more I’m getting into it. I’m happy in these two
sub-genres for a while.
Do you
prefer to write short stories, novellas or novels? Why?
I write
very short stories each quarter for my newsletter subscribers. They hover
between two and three thousand words and it’s so nice to jump in and get ’er
done. I love writing novels, but the word count can be intimidating where it’s
not as much of a concern with novellas. The more experience I have telling
stories, the more comfortable I become spending time with my characters and not
rushing them through the process. But how writers can crank out a hundred
thousand word books amazes me. I have word count envy.
Do you
write books in series? If so, share a bit about the series you currently have
published or are coming soon.
I can’t
write a onefer. I just run into so many characters with interesting backstories
and promising futures. All of my paranormal books are in the same world. The
first series, The Sigma Menace, resolves its main conflict and opens up a new
path for the paranormal creatures. But I didn’t know how to blend them. I
wanted to write vampires, but I’d committed to more shifters. So, I did two
spin-offs and I’m really happy with the decision. The shifter series, Pale
Moonlight, can be read as standalone stories. But the vampire series, New
Vampire Disorder, has an overall series storyline.
I also
dabbled in the contemporary world with my Fleet Week romance series. It’s a
series of standalone novellas about sailors meeting their love during Fleet
Week, then trying to keep the fire going during the long separations that are
experienced in Navy life.
Soon,
I’m rolling out the first in my Fanboys series, Unmistaken Identity. It
combines the sleek lifestyle of the rich and powerful with geek subculture.
Instead of the starry eyed young girl being introduced into the high class
world, I take the rich guy down to the realm of dollar stores and bar and
grills.
Excerpt
Chayton
stormed to his cabin.
A four
hour drive. With Kaitlyn.
Spending
the night. With Kaitlyn.
Roaming
the woods. With Kaitlyn.
His
heart pounded, his nostrils flared, and he huffed like a bear after a marathon.
Slamming his front door open, he charged through and kicked it shut behind him.
Only
then did he double over, hands on his knees, sagging to catch his breath.
Kaitlyn
Savoy.
The
sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
The
shifter he was never supposed to meet. His mate.
And she
was oblivious to it.
He
stomped through his cabin. Her lack of mating insight was for the best. If he
had his pick of shifters, she’d be the last on the list. Besides, he was
promised to another. Kaitlyn was young yet, and based on her blasé to
distasteful reaction to him, she’d have no trouble moving on. Or not. Her
sanity may last longer than most who don’t anchor their souls with a mate. But
if she needed to bond, she wouldn’t have a problem finding someone. Like that
bartender at Pale Moonlight.
His
fangs bared and a growl escaped before he stopped himself. He’d never caught
her with him, but stories had it the bartender helped her assuage the physical
needs shifters of their caliber experienced. She hadn’t been with the guy since
Chayton had been around. That decision had increased the bartender’s life
expectancy considerably.
No. No.
It shouldn’t matter. She needed to move on and he had no say with who. Chayton
straightened and wiped his brow, which had dotted with sweat. It was always an
effort to contain his reaction around that female.
Why her?
Ancient
blood—pure, undiluted shifter blood—ran through his veins, thanks to his
father. His Sioux mother would roll over in her grave. Chayton’s bloodlines
were rich with history and honor.
The
female he’d sworn himself to, Tika, would make a lovely mate instead. Soft
brown eyes, feminine curves, and ancestry as strong as his. In fact, she was
coming of age soon. For him, that was twenty-five. Her parents had pushed for
their union when she turned eighteen, but that had seemed too pervy for him. At
two-hundred and twenty-nine, he wasn’t about to jump a girl the second she was
legal. If it was up to him, he’d wait even longer, but even Tika had pushed for
their binding.
His
stomach rumbled, alerting him that he’d missed dinner. Not that he’d eat at the
main lodge anyway; it was a tactic he used to avoid Kaitlyn.
About the Author
Marie
Johnston lives in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, and an old
cat. Deciding to trade in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the
tales she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal
romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told, between the
demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Marie-Johnston/e/B00R6SC79Q/
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2 comments:
Thanks for the interview :)
My pleasure, Marie. :-)
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