Caged Wolf by Cynthia Eden

Have I mentioned how much I love visiting at The Idea Boutique? Because I sure do love this place. I love finding out just how authors created their stories…

Today, well, I’m going to talk about where I received the inspiration for my latest Red Sage release, “Caged Wolf” in SECRETS, VOLUME 21: PRIMAL HEAT. “Caged Wolf” is actually the last installment in my Call of the Wolf trilogy for Red Sage. As the name implies, “Caged Wolf” is most definitely a werewolf tale, and the inspiration for this story came from the old Beast of Gevaudan tale.

For anyone not familiar with the Beast…in the 1700s, a wolf-like creature terrorized the French countryside—attacking and killing in a blood-thirsty rampage.

When I think of werewolves, I always think of the Beast, so, when I was creating the heroes for my trilogy, I decided the men (werewolves) would hail from France. However, these men wouldn’t be vicious killers like the Beast (because that wouldn’t make them good hero material, now, would it?); instead, they would be strong and brave—and they would police their society of wolves…making certain no rampages occurred.

In “Caged Wolf,” my hero, Alerac La Morte, is used to protecting his pack, but he is caught completely off-guard when he comes face to face with his mate—and realizes that the woman destined to be his actually harbors a deep-rooted hatred for his kind. But, hey, no one ever said love and happy endings were supposed to come easily, right?

Happy Holidays!

Cynthia Eden
http://www.cynthiaeden.com/

Destiny's Warrior ~ Heather Waters

Ah, my turn at The Idea Boutique again. But honestly, the idea of Destiny's Warrior came to me more as an avalanche than the subtle little wave that brought me Devil's Possession.

Images of strange creatures, some I had to create identities for, some I had to research through mythology, popped into my head at the strangest times. They then had to be sorted into Dark or Light, depending on what side of my war they would fight.

Kingdoms of caves, islands, forests HAD to be written. The problem was, I'd never done anything so detailed before. So...MINE. And that's exactly what Destiny's Warrior is. MINE. At least, while I was writing it, that's how it felt. A fantasy story entwined with romance and adventure. A tale created almost singularly from my own head rather than from the bowels of research....

When a Scottish laird discovers he's the prince of a fae king, he must quickly come to believe in things he's always thought were nonsense. Total fish-out-of-water story that I hope you'll enjoy in time for the Christmas holidays!

Heather

Time for a Switch…

I love paranormal stories. LOVE them. I’ve been paranormal obsessed ever since I was a kid. And, in the past when I’ve written my tales, well, my paranormal characters were the “good” guys. For example, when I wrote my Call of the Wolf trilogy for Red Sage Publishing (insert hyperlink: http://www.redsagepub.com/), the heroes in my three novellas were werewolves. Sure, they had more than a bit of the beast in them, but they were also honorable men. Dedicated. Strong.

When I wrote “New Year’s Bites” for the A RED HOT NEW YEAR (Avon Red) anthology, I knew I wanted to try something different. So, I switched up the roles of my paranormal characters. The werewolf became the villain of the piece—he’s an obsessive and dangerous character who bites the heroine, Anna Summers, and sets her on a brand new (and scary path) for her life. The hero of my story, Jon York, well, he’s still certainly a “good” guy, but he has more than his share of dark secrets, too.

After Anna is bitten, the fierce instincts of the wolf begin to consume her. Passion, need, savage hunger—she’s nearly overwhelmed by the feelings and desires coursing through her. But Jon isn’t about to leave Anna to face the fury of her transition alone. He sticks by her side, protects her, and convinces Anna that a walk on the wild side, with him, is just what she has been needing…

If you’d like to read an excerpt (insert hyperlink: http://www.cynthiaeden.com/books/new-years-bites/#excerpt) from “New Year’s Bites” please visit my website at http://www.cynthiaeden.com/. I’m also hosting a New Year’s Party Contest in conjunction with the release of A RED HOT NEW YEAR, so, if you’d like the chance to win a New Year’s Party Pack with supplies (party hats, tiaras, noise makers) for 50 people, then stop by my website for your chance to win!

Happy reading!

Cynthia Eden
http://www.cynthiaeden.com/