Monday, October 18, 2010

Today's Special - - Juliana Stone


Gannon and I fell in love with Juliana Stone's writing when we selected her first book, His Darkest Hunger, to review for our former Girlfriends column at Romance: B(u)y the Book.  Since then, we've been counting the days until the release of book two, His Darkest Embrace and, let me tell you, it was well worth the wait!  Check out PJ's review belowSince we're all about sharing our love of romance novels here at The Romance Dish, we invited Juliana to visit with us today.  She very graciously agreed to answer a few of our questions and will be joining us throughout the day to answer yours.  Please give Juliana a very warm welcome to The Romance Dish




PJ: Welcome, Juliana! Congratulations on the upcoming release of His Darkest Embrace! Will you tell us a bit about the book?

Hey PJ, thanks for having me! His Darkest Embrace is the second book in my jaguar warriors series. It continues where His Darkest Hunger left off, though it takes place about 3 months later. I think the back cover explains it really well!

A solitary hunter with no regard for the human world, Jagger Castille is a shifter living on the edge. It will take the woman who calls him enemy to give him a reason to live.

Jagger is a creature of the night—Skye Knightly soars in the sun. Natural adversaries, they have been joined by destiny in a mission entrusted to Skye’s family centuries ago: Nothing less than the salvation of the Earth. 

Wounded and bitter, Jagger sought escape in the solitude of the jungle, driven by a need to disappear forever… until a mysterious shifter who calls to his soul and feeds a yearning long forgotten, pulls him from his dark path. A courageous warrior, Skye’s passion is equal to Jagger’s own—but can she trust a man on the edge? A man whose secrets are as devastating as her own? 

Each is the other’s sole hope for survival. But a dark and twisted truth is leading them toward the ultimate sacrifice for a love they may never live to claim.

I have to say, I sure do love that cover!   Skye and Jagger were terrific characters and Jagger wasn't the only one living on the edge during this book.  Their story kept me on the edge of my seat way late into the night!


Gannon: Of all the shifters, what made you choose jaguars?

When I decided in late 2007 to take a stab at writing I decided if I wanted a shot at being published I’d need to write something different than the vampire books that I loved. I chose black jaguars as my shifters because they’re deadly predators and beautiful visually stunning animals. After doing some research I stumbled across references to jaguar warriors and went from there.

PJ: Juliana, you really bring the jungles of Belize to life in this book. Have you ever been there? What kind of research did you do for this series?

I’ve been lucky enough to vacation in Belize and fell in love with the jungle. While doing research on jaguars I realized they were heavily influential in the Mayan and Aztec cultures so it was wonderful to be able to have some of the stories take place in an exotic location that I’d been to. There’s actually a jaguar reserve in Belize and I make mention of it in the book. Of course I implemented my own spin on things but I mainly did research online.

Gannon: How many books will be in this series?

As of now I’ve written all three brothers. Julian’s book, His Darkest Salvation comes out next summer, July 2011. It pretty much ties up all the loose ends and finishes the story arc that was started in Jaxon’s book, His Darkest Hunger. I’ve written Declan’s book, it’s tentatively entitled, Wicked Road to Hell. He is in all the books and I’ve gotten so many emails about when his story will be told! He’s not a shifter, but a sorcerer and was part of Jaxon’s anti-terrorist unit. We shall see what comes next! I’ve got a lot of characters to choose from, some are shifters, and there are demons, sorcerers and vampires!

PJ: Will you continue to publish two books a year or will they be more spread out?

I’m hoping we can keep with the two books a year schedule! Actually I’d love to write three a year!

I have no problem with that!  

Gannon: What’s a typical writing day like for you?

Gannon, I’m lucky in that I can write fairly quickly. I wrote both Julian’s and Declan’s book in 6 months, March to August of this year. When on deadline I aim for 2k words a day. I can usually get them done in the morning. If need be I’ll write in the evening but prefer the am!

PJ: In addition to being a terrific writer, Juliana, you also sing with a band. Do you find that performing music helps refill your creative writing well? Do you play music when you write? If so, what are some of the songs that inspired you while creating Jagger and Skye’s story?

LOL, well music has always been a huge influence in my life. I love performing. My husband is the guitarist in the band and now our son plays as well. For me, I can’t write with music on. It’s too distracting as I start to sing along. Sometimes I’ll listen to certain songs to get me in the mood for a sad scene or an explosive action filled scene. In Declan’s book I listened to the soundtrack of BlackHawk Down just before writing an intense fight scene—very heavy, aggressive music.

That would certainly be a good soundtrack to get you into the mood.  I have the feeling Declan's book is going to be *very* intense! 

Gannon: What fact about you do you think would most surprise your readers?

I think most people would be surprised at how shy I can be. I mean I sing on stage and all but at heart, I am a very shy person.

PJ: What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

I like to read all kinds of books. I love Patricia Cornwell, Christine Feehan, Keri Arthur, Cassandra Clare’s YA series, and have rediscovered my love of historicals. Tiffany Clare’s debut, The Seduction of a Lady is a wonderful read and I also enjoyed Sarah Maclean’s debut as well.

10) Gannon: What actors would you cast for Jaxon and Jagger?

Damn, I have pictures up on my website but don’t remember the actors names. Definitely dark, sexy men though.

Visit page 3 of the blog at Juliana's website for drool-worthy photos of her inspiration! 


PJ: What’s next from Juliana Stone?

Right now I’m writing the next book after Declan’s and I’ve got an urban fantasy that is crying out to be written. I’ve sent the proposal to my agent and will cross my fingers she likes it!

Time for Quick Six!

Mountains or beach? Mountains
Heels or flats? Heels, in a big way!
Comedy or drama? drama
Early bird or night owl? Both actually
Winter or summer? Summer
Champagne or beer? Beer, cold corona with lime

Juliana, thank you so much for visiting with us today and patiently answering all of our questions. Is there a question you would like to ask our readers?

I’d love to know what they’d like to see next in the paranormal genre? Is there something different that’s not been done? 

Okay readers, tell us what you'd like to see in paranormal stories.  One randomly chosen commenter will receive a signed set of Juliana's jaguar warrior books, His Darkest Hunger and His Darkest Embrace

For more information about Juliana, visit her website, her facebook page and follow her at twitter

And don't miss Juliana live, On-Air, tomorrow night (Tuesday, Oct. 19th) at 8:30pm (EST) on Blog Talk Radio

~PJ and Gannon


 

24 comments:

  1. I loveeee Juliana's Books really i been waiting for the second one to come out sicne teh first one lol awesomeness great interview cant wiat tor ead ur nexyt book and good luck with ur wip u pitched to ur editor

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  2. Me too, SiNn! Believe me, HIS DARKEST EMBRACE will be well worth your wait!

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  3. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book PJ and SiNn, thanks so much for your kind words. I'm going to grab a second cup of coffee and try to wake up but will be back later for sure!

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  4. Hello and welcome, Juliana! We're thrilled to have you with us today. And it was such a pleasure to meet you at RWA. :)

    Congrats on your newest release! Gannon and PJ have raved and raved about this series, so I will have to pick them up!

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  5. Hey Juliana! Welcome to The Romance Dish! It was so nice meeting you in Orlando this year.

    I have been hearing so many wonderful things about this series (alot from PJ and Gannon!). I absolutely love dark, sexy heroes!

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  6. Hey, Juliana! It's great having you here with us today. I loved HIS DARKEST HUNGER, and I'm really looking forward to reading HIS DARKEST EMBRACE. :-)

    Oh! I just looked at the pictures on your blog. Joe Manganiello!!!! Nice choice! I love him as Alcide on "True Blood", and I hope that he spends lots of time in the buff next season. LOL

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  7. Buffie, Andrea and Gannon you and PJ are very cool ladies and it was great to meet you all! I hope you enjoy Embrace. Jagger is one hawt dude....but Gannon....um Alcide? His is it for me.....Eric WHO?

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  8. Juliana, a friend of mine has the hots for Eric. ;-) I must admit he's pretty tasty, but Alcide is just....grrr! *g*

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  9. Hi Juliana,
    I'd just like to see more amazing stories with great paranormal characters. I haven't had enough of vampires yet, nor shifters, fae, demons, selkies, ghosts, dragons, etc. Anything you can think up that will add to a great story, I'm all for, the more the merrier.
    I haven't had a chance to read your books yet, but they're on my wish list - unfortunately my wish hasn't been granted yet, LOL.

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  10. WOW these books sound awesome I love shape shifters and I have added both these books to my must have list.

    I haven't been reading paranormal stories for all that long and find that I do prefer shape shifters to vampires and I also enjoy the magical parts of the stories I am not sure what I would like to see in future paranormal stories.
    I do know I really want to read your books Juliana.

    Congrats on the release and thanks Ladies for inviting Juliana along to day to meet us

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  11. Hi, Juliana. I love shifters and I love your books:) Can't wait for His Darkest Embrace!

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  12. BarbaraE, I hope that wish is granted soon. Juliana's books are terrific!

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  13. Helen, I think Juliana's shapeshifters will definitely be to your liking!

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  14. Okie, I read His Darkest Embrace in one day and immediately started counting the days until the next book in the series!

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  15. The cool thing that I love about paranromals is as a writer you're only limited by the grey matter between your brain! I love that I can build a world with shapeshifters, vampires, sorcerers and demons....LOVE IT!

    And thank you to everyone for your kind comments. It still amazes me that I wrote a book and people I've never met before are reading it!

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  16. Hi Juliana!
    The only paranormal books I have read have dealt with vampires and werewolves. Your Jaguar Warriors series sounds really good! I like reading books like nothing I've read before.

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  17. Congrats on your new release!

    Wow, now I have to read HIS DARKEST HUNGER (it's in my TBR pile) so that I'll be ready for HIS DARKEST EMBRACE.

    As for shifters, I really want to see insect shifters or something out of the ordinary like that. After all, weren't there 6-foot dragonflies in the fossil records? That'd be cool.

    ironss[at]gmail.com

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  18. Trisha, you really need to give Juliana's jaguars a try. Though the books stand on their own, as I said in my review, I recommend reading them in order. First, His Darkest Hunger, then His Darkest Embrace.

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  19. Sheree, hope you enjoy the books as much as Gannon and I have!

    You said, As for shifters, I really want to see insect shifters or something out of the ordinary like that. After all, weren't there 6-foot dragonflies in the fossil records? That'd be cool.

    Whoa! 6-foot dragonflies? I can feel nightmares coming on! lol!

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  20. @PJ, thanks so much for your kind words!

    as for insect shifters....I suppose anything can work as long as it's written into the right story!

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  21. Juliana, thanks for being with us today and best of luck with His Darkest Embrace!

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  22. I just want to remind everybody that Juliana will be the special guest on Blog Talk Radio's "Canned Laughter and Coffee" tomorrow night at 8:30pm EST. Check it out!

    http://www.blogtalkradio.com/circle-of-seven

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  23. Great interview. I can't wait to read this. I've been waiting for it since I read the first one months ago. Love this series. I have been reading paranormals for it seems like forever. I don't think I will ever tire of them. I like them in all ways and styles.

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  24. PJ I shall try to behave myself tonight!

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