| Syrena's forbidden desire and scorching lust for Ronan could destroy them both.
Visit Nicole North's web site
Read an excerpt from Blade of the Wolf
About Nicole North Nicole North's erotic romance novellas have been described by reviewers as "exciting, high octane, captivating, scintillating, sinfully delicious and pure romance." Her stories contain "heart and heat, killer love scenes, magic and extraordinary characters." Her books include Scoundrel in a Kilt (the third novella in the Kilted Shapeshifter series) in Secrets Volume 30 Desires Unleashed (Red Sage, August 2011); Blade of the Wolf (Ellora's Cave, July 2011); Laird of Darkness (Harlequin/Carina Press, March 2011); Beast in a Kilt (the second novella in the Kilted Shapeshifter series) in the anthology Secrets Volume 29, Indulge Your Fantasies (Red Sage, July 2010). Devil in a Kilt (the first story in the Kilted Shapeshifter series) in the anthology Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, (Red Sage, July 2009). Kilted Lover (Red Sage, Nov. 2009.) Her works have finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and two chapters. She teaches online workshops about various aspects of writing, including sexual tension and how to write great love scenes.
Back list:
Laird of Darkness (Harlequin/Carina Press, March 2011)
Beast in a Kilt (the second novella in the Kilted Shapeshifter series) in the anthology Secrets Volume 29, Indulge Your Fantasies (Red Sage, July 2010)
Devil in a Kilt (the first story in the Kilted Shapeshifter series) in the anthology Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, (Red Sage, July 2009)
Kilted Lover (Red Sage, Nov. 2009)
A note from Nicole...
I also have another new release, Scoundrel in a Kilt, a novella in Secrets Volume 30 Desires Unleashed anthology, out from Red Sage.
Brodie, Chieftain of Clan MacCain, is a dark, sensual Scottish scoundrel who loves nothing more than being a selkie shape-shifter, even if he has been cursed by a witch of the dark arts. Stunning modern day supermodel Erin Schultz blazes into his 1621 world like a falling star. Though he's certain she will shatter life as he knows it by breaking his curse, he can't resist her tantalizing seduction.
An Interview with Nicole North
By Holly Hewson for The Romance Studio
HH: Nicole, thank you for talking with us at TRS. Your featured book is Blade of the Wolf. Where did the idea for this sexy wolf and enchanting medium come from?NN: I wanted to write a story about a 600 year-old immortal shape-shifting hero whose job is to protect mankind (and the heroine) from supernatural evil forces. There's always a lot of conflict when mortals and immortals get together, especially in the romance department. What happens if they fall in love? How can they be together forever? With vampires, this is easier to solve. But with werewolves, things operate a bit differently. The initial spark of the idea came from the song "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. I found it truly inspiring. I like the idea of love and a special connection to a mortal bringing an immortal to life. In other words, someone who is breathing and existing but not really living until they find that special person and realize happiness is possible. Here is the blurb for Blade of the Wolf:
Ronan, immortal werewolf and Scottish Sgian Dubh Guardian, faces his most challenging, yet enticing, mission in centuries. He must protect sexy clairvoyant medium Syrena Ellis from an evil incubus intent on stealing her powerful life force. She awakens a raging arousal in Ronan, but if he gives in to temptation, he will be punished.
Dark and edgy, Ronan captivates Syrena. He is hot, hard and in control, yet his scorching glances and sinful kisses tell her he yearns for her. Even though she's only a job, she finds a way past his iron-willed resistance. She's determined to explore the depths of erotic passion with him. They're unaware that their explosive sexual encounters are providing the enemy incubus with heightened energy, making him almost impossible to defeat.
Syrena's forbidden desire and scorching lust for Ronan could destroy them both.
HH: What do you like best about Syrena and why will readers relate to her? NN: She's multifaceted. She's strong but vulnerable, unsure of herself but willing to go for it and take a chance. She's brave even though she has experienced a lot of fear in her past while she was growing up -- fear of her own innate powers and fear of the supernatural world she can see so clearly around her. She's a free spirit, a medium, a masseuse and a violin player who doesn't have much experience in romance or sex, but she wants to meet a man like no other. A man who will accept her for who she is and give her amazing sex. Since she hasn't had sex in three years, she's feeling a bit deprived. But the man she wants is forbidden to her because of who and what he is.
HH: What can you tell us about Ronan and why will readers love him? NN: Ronan is everything we fantasize about in a sexy, dark and tortured hero. He's Scottish, so he has a luscious accent. Syrena thinks of him as hot, edgy, yummy, but in control. Ronan is immortal now, but 600 years ago when he was mortal he experienced the tragic loss of his family, his wife and two children. He has never truly healed from that loss because of the grief and the fact he blames himself for not protecting them better. During this story, he learns what truly happened to them and has a chance to heal, if he's willing to let go. Honor is incredibly important to Ronan. He made certain vows centuries ago about how he would treat Protected Ones like Syrena. But he desires her so much, he is faced with breaking those vows. And this will affect his ultimate fate.
HH: How did you go about creating the world your characters live in? NN: Anytime an author is writing about an established paranormal creature or person, such as a werewolf, a lot of the stories or movies already in existence come to mind. I had to ask myself, do I want to use any of the legends? Do I want my werewolves to be vulnerable to silver bullets? If my werewolves are immortal, why? How does it work? What caused it? Is it a curse? Genetics? Why are they here? What is their purpose? What do they want and need? What about hybrids such as half-werewolf half-vampire -- which one of my secondary characters is? Another large part of the world I created is tied into the metaphysical or supernatural world and the astral plane, as well as various other planes, dimensions and levels that some say exist alongside our own world. I wanted to create a heroine who could see dead people in the normal course of her day to day life. Such movies as Sixth Sense come to mind, or the TV series Ghost Whisperer. How frightening would it be if you constantly saw spirits, some of them gruesome looking, everywhere you went? And what if you could also see and hear other spiritual entities, evil ones that come from another plane to feed off human life forces?
HH: What sort of research went into this story? NN: Since I wanted my werewolves to be unique and different from most of those out there, I didn't really research them. I created my own legend and developed them along a different path. But I did research psychics and mediums quite a bit because I wanted this part to be more realistic, especially the psychic training part. The villain is an incubus, so I researched incubi quite a bit and also psychic vampires. I'm always researching Scotland and Scottish history because several of my stories have ties to Scotland. Visiting Scotland and exploring ancient castle ruins is my favorite way to do this.
HH: What else do you have in the works? NN: I have another new paranormal erotic romance novella out in an anthology, Scoundrel in a Kilt in Secrets Volume 30 Desires Unleashed. The hero in the story is a shape-shifter of the selkie variety. Here's what it's about:
Brodie, Chieftain of Clan MacCain, is a dark, sensual Scottish scoundrel who loves nothing more than being a selkie shape-shifter, even if he has been cursed by a witch of the dark arts. Stunning modern day supermodel Erin Schultz blazes into his 1621 world like a falling star. Though he’s certain she will shatter life as he knows it by breaking his curse, he can’t resist her tantalizing seduction.
HH: How do you personally view the future of ebooks?
NN: I think the future of ebooks is especially bright these days. Everyone either owns or wants to own a Kindle, Nook or other electronic reading device. Or they read on an iPhone or iPod. It's possible to carry around 3000 books with you on these devices so it saves a lot of space and weight. Personally I love reading on my iPod.
HH: How much of your day is devoted to your writing career?
NN: Almost all of it. I write full time and promote my books. I do like to take breaks and spend time with my husband in the evenings however.
HH: What's your favorite way to interact with readers? NN: Online or in person. Email, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are all great ways to connect online. I can be found at:
http://www.nicolenorth.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/NicoleNorth
http://www.facebook.com/nicolenorth1
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-North-Books/129305184332
http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much for asking such great questions!
HH: Thank you!
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