A walk on Toronto's wild side!

I've always loved Sherlock Holmes – the original books, not so much the movies. My husband is the opposite; he started off being a huge fan of the older Holmes movies with Rathbone and just within the past few years sat down and read the original books. Needless to say we both adore the new incarnation with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law where Watson is returned to his proper place as an active and competent assistant and not just a comedy relief buffoon, as so many movies portray them.

When I set out to write "Blood of the Pride" it started first and foremost as a National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) exercise – to write fifty thousand words in thirty days. I knew I wanted to write some sort of mystery but didn't want to just create another detective. I needed a character who had her own quirks and abilities that would make her unique among others, much like Holmes's deductive skills.

Thus Rebecca Desjardin was born. A woman with the skills of her shifter race, the Felis, but without the ability to Change. A misfit in two worlds, Felis and human.

A private investigator working out of her small house in Toronto, Canada, she uses her innate skills to work a variety of cases – adultery, insurance fraud, industrial theft. But suddenly a murdered Felis calls her back to her old family.

I love to write about Toronto – it's my hometown and even after living in the U.S. for a decade I can still see the streets and stores I used to frequent. I suspect a lot of them have changed or disappeared entirely but in my mind they're all still there from the hot dog carts on Bay Street grilling onions at the crack of dawn to draw in the lunch time crowd to the Silver Snail on Queen Street West, the best comic book store in the city. 

But setting a mystery in Canada presents problems that Holmes would enjoy. Personal handguns are rare and well-documented so I couldn't have Reb carry a pistol. While Canada is a lot like the United States in many ways there are the little things that distinguish one country from the other – and it was a joy to write them into the story. There's a Brown Betty for tea, Tim Horton's coffee and Timbits and a healthy love of all things Canadian, eh?

I hope you'll come along for the ride as Rebecca rediscovers the ups and downs of her extended family along with the rush of a new love as she deals with Brandon Hanover, a reporter who could provide all the answers she needs – or be her worst enemy. It may not be Holmes and Watson but I can promise you one heck of a chase scene!

"Blood of the Pride" releases on February 13^th from Carina Press!

Why I Love Shapeshifters

I grew up on a farm and my whole life I’ve loved animals of almost any type. When I was a kid I pretended I was a cat quite often, for hours at a time. (Yes, I’m nuts about cats, large or small.) I suppose that’s why today I love writing human characters who turn into animals. To be able to shapeshift would be truly magical and amazing. Imagine soaring in the sky as an eagle or other bird and flapping your own feathered wings. Imagine swimming deep in the ocean like a seal or dolphin, no extra equipment required. Animals get to experience things humans never will. Sure, we can almost experience some of those things with the gadgets we’ve invented but it isn’t the same.

Several of my published stories feature shapeshifters, including my latest release, Blade of the Wolf, which features a werewolf or wolf shifter. Wolf shifters seem to appear in romance novels more than other types of animal shifters. I’ve come to the conclusion there has to be an ancient bond between wolves and humans, from many thousands of years ago when at times humans depended on wolves, and wolves depended on humans (for protection, help in hunting, one providing the other with food, companionship, etc). Back when man first started taming wolves and turning them into what would eventually, after eons, become dogs. Man’s (and woman’s) best friend. I can easily see how this relationship would’ve been mutually beneficial during the earliest times. Geneticists and archeologists estimate that some of the first associations between humans and wolves happened about twenty-thousand years ago. Others suggest that this relationship is far older, dating from 135,000 years ago. It appears that both humans and wolves followed herds of deer and other animals and this is probably how they first came into contact.

Wolves possess something that most of us greatly respect and admire. They live in a society structured somewhat like human societies with alphas or leaders and various other members with specific responsibilities and roles. They take care of one another, live in cooperative groups and are highly intelligent.

The natural world aside, when I wrote Blade of the Wolf, I wanted to create a whole new world with a lot of paranormal elements. A world that had existed for my characters since medieval times. I wanted to blend the ancient and the modern and see what kind of interesting concoction resulted.

My characters shapeshift from human to regular wolf at will… plus they can do other unusual things.

Since they have no human souls in their bodies because of a curse, they are immortal. These highly skilled warriors fight an endless battle against evil while protecting certain “special” humans. I could’ve written the warriors without the shifting, but their wolf halves add another dimension to their personalities and their lives that I find fascinating. They live in a pack-like, Scottish Highland clan society. The hero’s wolf side (even while he is in human form) is greatly affected by moon phases. Full moon brings on a more intensified libido and sexual cravings. This works well since the book is an erotic romance. His other wolf traits include super-senses. He can hear, smell and see as well as a wolf.

I enjoyed getting into the hero’s psyche and experiencing what he does when he’s a wolf, or simply his wolfish thoughts when he’s human.

Do you enjoy shapeshifter books? If so, what do you like best about them and why? Are you a fan of wolf shifters or some other type of shifter or “were”?
Thanks!
Nicole
www.nicolenorth.com

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.

Read Excerpt.

www.nicolenorth.com

To Love a Paranormal Hero

Something about a paranormal hero is irresistible. Although we all realize the shape-shifters, vampires, werewolves, sexy aliens, angels, demons, genies, mermen, etc. are more fantasy than reality, something about them draws us in. Maybe because they are fantasy, we're willing to let go and escape from reality. Our minds do enjoy flights of fancy. We don’t have to be children to believe in magic, extraordinary creatures and happy endings.

I have the most fun creating interesting and unusual paranormal entities… and these are usually heroes. Scottish heroes. Scotland has a long history of superstitious beliefs, fairy tales, myths and legends. To many Scots, fairies, selkies, kelpies and mermaids were real. The first step in making something real is to believe in it 100%. No doubts allowed. And to make your reader believe in your hero (or any character) with supernatural abilities, give specific details about him. Show how and why he’s able to do what he does.

In my upcoming March 21 Carina Press release, Laird of Darkness, the hero, Duncan, is half-Fae. His father was human and his mother a Fae or fairy. He inherited some of his mother’s magical Fae abilities. These vary among half-Fae people because of the unpredictability of genetics. Duncan happens to be able to disappear except for a red spot and then fly through the air. No, he isn’t tiny, nor does he have gossamer wings. His normal sized, very manly body simply becomes invisible whenever he wants, his clothing drops to the ground, and he flies through the air like a spirit. He also has enhanced strength while he’s invisible. He can knock men from their horses and send their weapons hurtling through the air. He can pick up a person and carry them through the air, like he does the heroine. He also possesses enhanced Fae senses, which means he sees, hears, smells, etc. better than a normal human.

You might think these abilities make his life easier, but actually his Fae blood causes him a lot of agony. Because he is half-Fae, he is forever linked to Otherworld where the Fae live. And because the entities of Otherworld wanted his Fae mother and her children returned, Otherworld demon creatures were sent after him. They attack him at night in his sleep.

The heroine, a human with extraordinary healing abilities, sees beneath his dark surface to the tormented man beneath--a man who has always been denied love and acceptance. He isn’t the evil villain his reputation paints him to be; he’s simply misunderstood.

Do you love paranormal heroes? If so, what types and why do you love them so much? What is it about them that captures your heart?

Laird of Darkness: Half-Fae Laird Duncan MacDougall is cursed. His nights are haunted by Otherworld creatures sent to kill him. The only way to stop them is to possess the magic bow currently in the hands of his enemy half-brother, Kinnon MacClaren. In desperation, Duncan plans to take MacClaren's bride-to-be hostage and exchange her for the bow.

Lady Alana Forbes has never met her intended, but she hopes he is handsome-and a good lover, for Alana is no innocent virgin. On her way to Castle Claren, Alana and her escorts are intercepted, and she is kidnapped by a man with extraordinary abilities-and every attribute she longs for in a mate.

Duncan didn't expect the woman he thought of as a mere pawn would be so beautiful, and so arousing. Alana is drawn to him as well-but Duncan still needs the bow, and Alana is betrothed to another. How far will Alana go to save the life of the man she's come to love?

Thanks!
Nicole
www.nicolenorth.com