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