Not all monsters fight for power. Some fight for blood. For loyalty. For the fragile balance of a world on the verge of erupting.

The Prince of Darkness has been released. Not to seize the throne, but to help secure it for his brother. He’s loyal, lethal, and the last line of defense in a Kurjan world riddled with enemies, deception, and shifting alliances. The threat of war is no longer a whisper. It’s a heartbeat.

And then there’s Lyrica.

She’s smart, strategic, and deadly with a PowerPoint presentation. The kind of woman who can outmaneuver politicians before lunch and take down a data breach by dinner. She was built for diplomacy, not danger—but when she crosses paths with a prince wrapped in shadows and honor, nothing goes according to plan.

He’s pure instinct. She’s all control. Together, they’re fire and friction and something neither of them can afford. But when key players start dying and Lyrica becomes a target, survival means surrendering more than just strategy.

In a world where trust is currency and passion is a risk, love might be the most dangerous play of all.

The darkness is rising.

Let it.

So, we decided to kind of interview each other in celebration for ON THE HUNT by emailing questions back and forth, and this is what we came up with. Enjoy!

REBECCA: So, Alexandra. Why paranormal, lady?

ALEXANDRA: Buffy!!! I was busy writing historicals when I found Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I knew I had to try writing that fabulous combination of horror, humor, and sex.

What’s your favorite genre to write?

 REBECCA:  Oh, that’s a tough one. I really like both paranormal and romantic suspense…and pretty much combine the two in most of my books. I loved Buffy, too. And Angel. Definitely Angel.

Question:   What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had as an author?

ALEXANDRA:   After I started writing my Guardian series I received a letter from a lovely reader who said that her family in Hungary were vampires, and wondering if my vampires might be related to them. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or lock my doors.

Question: If you could meet any writer (dead or alive) who would it be?

REBECCA:  Definitely J.D. Salinger. I’d take him a bottle of something good and then sit and hopefully chat for hours. I think he’d be so fascinating if he were still around and would see me.

Question:   Tell us about your hero in ON THE HUNT.

ALEXANDRA: Mika is a hunter Sentinel who allowed the love of his life, Bailey, to walk away years ago. When he runs across her in the Louisiana swamps he’s determined not to lose her again.

Question: What’s the schedule for your typical writing day?

REBECCA:  I love the idea of having a typical writing day – lol! I think when school starts, things get a little more organized. So I’d get to the kids off to school, have coffee, answer emails, and then sit down and write, write, write.

Question:   What’s the coolest fan letter you’ve received?

ALEXANDRA:  It was my first one lol. It took me years to finally get published, and even then I could quite believe it was real. When I received that letter it was proof that I was actually published and someone who wasn’t my family had actually read the book!

Question: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

REBECCA:  Well, I’ve been a lawyer, art curator, Senate aid, college professor, and hearing examiner…so I’d probably try something totally new in the sciences. It’d be fun to study genetics, I think. Or physics.

Question:   Okay. Tell us something odd about you.

ALEXANDRA: I’m a huge punk rock fan. I love listening to the Ramones and Green Day and even Sid Vicious.  

Question: Do you create female characters that are like you?

REBECCA:  I’m not sure, to be honest. My female characters usually have it more together than I do, I think. Sometimes I’ll pick a trait from one of my sisters and incorporate it in a heroine, but just a trait or two.

Question:   Tell us about ON THE HUNT.

ALEXANDRA: Mika is on the hunt for a young Sentinel who is missing from the monastery where he was being trained. The clues lead him to his ex-lover Bailey who healed the young warrior before he disappeared into the swamps. Together they must halt the human cult who is determined to destroy their people.

Question: Your turn! Tell us about your story in ON THE HUNT

REBECCA:  I’m so excited about this one! It’s the beginning of a new series. A terrible bacterium has been let loose and quickly kills people. Survivors are different…but we don’t know how yet. The hero in Scorpius Rising is Deacan McDougall, a badass soldier from Scotland, and the heroine is Nora Medina, a brilliant scientist and his ex-wife. There’s a lot of tension and unfinished business between these two, and they heat up the pages, I think.

Question:   A lot of fans think we marry or date guys like the heroes we create. True or false…and expand. J

ALEXANDRA:  True! Granted, my hubby and I have been married for over thirty years, so neither one of us would grace the cover of a romance novel, but all of my males are more beta than alpha. They tend to be nurturers, and protectors, and sensitive, just like my husband. I love to read dark, tortured heroes, but I just can’t write them.

Question: Which of your characters is your favorite, and why?

REBECCA:  Oh man, that’s such a hard question! I like all the characters. Right now, the first one who springs to mind is Cee Cee, the heroine in WICKED EDGE, which will be out in November. I just finished edits for that one, and I have to tell you, she is crazy wild. Or just crazy.

Question:   If you could be anybody else, just for a day, who would you be?

ALEXANDRA: Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. Yep, I’m shallow. I would love to be married to a prince and live in a castle. And all those servants…sigh.   If I never have to wash another dish, or clean another bathroom I’d be a happy lady.

Question: Tell us your favorite dating story. It can be romantic or horrifying 😉

REBECCA: I’d love to be Kate for a day, too! More because she just is so put together and graceful, you know? The woman can play sports in wedges, for goodness sakes. My favorite dating story is when I ran into Big Tone (my hubby) in a bar after we hadn’t seen each other since childhood. He had on a leather jacket with a motorcycle helmet under one arm. We went for a ride…to see my grandma. 🙂

We hope everyone enjoyed our dual interview – it was tons of fun for us! Enjoy ON THE HUNT!

 

ON THE HUNT:

 

 

I can’t believe we’re finally to December 22nd.  After nine stories, nine happily ever afters, nine couples…we’re at the tenth and final story.  Zane and Janie’s book is here!!!  I hope you enjoy it.  🙂

 

Hi All!  If you’re anywhere near York, PA today (Saturday, November 8th), please drop by the Books-A-Million: 3000 Whiteford Road from 2:00 to 4:00.  We are having a huge launching party for the BAM-Lyrical High Notes Program.  I’ll be signing CONSUMED and SHADOWED, and M.Q. Barber will be signing PLAYING THE GAME.

There will be Door Prizes!  Bookmarks!  SWAG!  And of course, baked goods!!!  I’m hoping for cookies, but anything baked gets my vote.  Please drop by and say hi.  🙂

How is everybody doing?  I feel like I’ve been buried under deadlines for the last couple of months and can now finally breathe a little.  It’s fall where I live, the leaves are turning, and it’s not unusual to have rain, sun, and hail in the same day.  I’m hoping for an early snow, but I don’t think it’s going to happen this year.  I need to organize my thoughts, so I thought I’d do a quick update here to figure out where I am and what I should do now.  🙂

MARKED, Janie’s story, is in the pipeline and is ready to go.  (Release date: 12-22-14). I’ve finished page proofs, which means I won’t see the book again until it releases.  As you might know, Marked is the tenth and final book in the main Dark Protector series.  It was both the most difficult and the easiest book to write so far.  It was the most difficult because so many questions had to be answered and so many threads completed.  It was the easiest for the same reason–I had tons to write and didn’t stop for a second to wonder what to add.  I have to admit, I’m very happy with how Janie’s story turned out, and I hope you like it, too.  I was also really nervous to write it initially because readers have known Janie since she was a child, and now she’s all grown up, so it was a little like watching your niece fall in love with a badass Alpha male.  But I think it worked out nicely.  🙂

I hit send on TOTAL SURRENDER edits this morning, and it’s the longest book I’ve written at 102,000 words (approx. 400 pages).  (Releases 3/14).  This is Jory Dean’s story, and he was so much fun to write about.  My editor says it’s the best book yet, and of course, this makes me both nervous as hell and happy.  I hope you all like it.  This one choked me up a couple of times because those lost, dangerous, wounded soldiers can do that to you.

I’m finishing up Hawk and Dawn’s story (Maverick MT book 4) now, and I’m hoping it has a release date of early next year – but I probably won’t know the date until early next year.  The first scene is really fun with Dawn teaching Hawk a little lesson.  I hope you like it.  The last Maverick MT book hit the NY Times, so of course, I have high hopes for this one, too.

Did you know we contracted for a spin-off series for the Dark Protectors?  We did, and it’s called the Realm Enforcers.  The first book, WICKED RIDE, is already turned in and should have a release date soon.  I’m thinking it’ll be June of next year.  Wicked Ride is about Kellach Dunne (cousin to Moira and Brenna), badass witch enforcer and motorcycle club member.  The book takes place in Seattle, and a few of the Dark Protectors show up, including Dage and Garrett.

Also, I have a brand new series coming out.  We don’t have a name for the series yet, but it’s going to be something different for me.  Yes, it’s still a romance with some pretty hot Alpha males, and I’d tell you more, but I don’t really know more.  A novella will kick off the series, and it’ll be in an anthology with Alexandra Ivy to be released around next September.  Then the three books will be released January, February, and March of 2016.  These will be in mass market print and available at bookstores, online, etc.

Finally, if any of frequent BAM stores, keep an eye out for CONSUMED and SHADOWED from the Dark Protectors, would you?  (They should be available for preorder end of October).  Those books are part of a brand new program between Lyrical Press and Books-A-Million to be in print, with gifts for people who buy them.  I’d love to see those do well so the other DP books could be in bookstores. 

Also, there’s going to be a big party for the program in York, PA at the BAM store on November 8th starting at 2:00pm.  If you are anywhere near York on that day, I will be there, and I’d love to see you! 

Other than that, there’s a boxed set of the first four stories (Fated, Claimed, Tempted, Hunted) in the Dark Protector series releasing on October 13th, Blind Faith (Sin Bros 3) releases in print in January, and then Total Surrender releases in print and digital in March.

Whew.  Okay.  Now I feel organized. 

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you received a new contest to caption a funny picture for the chance to win $50 at Amazon.  If you don’t subscribe, the button is over to the right.  🙂