Leader of the Pack, #amreading Francesca Hawley

Welcome guest author Francesca Hawley. Thanks so much Francesca for coming to the Passion Sense blog to talk about your latest release at Ellora’s Cave, Leaderof the Pack, and for doing an interview. I love shapeshifters and book 1, Alpha vs. Alpha, was a big hit so I’m sure this one will be too.

Kathy,

   Thanks so much for the invitation to visit your blog to share information about my upcoming release. I'm really excited to be here.

*What is your current (next) release and tell us a little about it.

My next release on December 21 is Leader of the Pack. This story is a sequel to Alpha vs. Alpha. Matchmaker Serena Goldwolf sets up her friend, packleader Yohana Whitewolf to find a Mate in order to placate her nervous pack. Serena matches Yohana with handsome surgeon Dr. Per Goldwolf who wants to make partner in his surgical practice. To do this, he needs to produce a fiancée to satisfy the criteria of the senior partner of his medical practice.

*Where can readers buy your book?

Readers can buy the books on the new Ellora's Cave web site at http://www.ellorascave.com/leader-of-the-pack.html . After the book is released, readers should also be able to find it at Amazon, B&N and other popular stores and web sites that sell Ellora's Cave books.

*Do you have website, blog or other links you’d like to share?

I'm active with many social media sites on the internet. Here are some of the places my readers can find me:

web site - http://www.francescahawley.com/

blog - http://francescasmindstream.blogspot.com/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FrancescaHawley.author
twitter - https://twitter.com/francescahawley
goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/608399.Francesca_Hawley
pinterest - http://pinterest.com/francescahawley/
yahoo group -  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/francescahawley/

What is your writing day like?

I lost my day job back in October so my life has changed a lot recently. I used to go to work and come home and try to get some writing done. Right now, while I'm conducting my job search, I write daily. In early November, I managed to slam out almost 20K words. I was amazed that I could do it. Amazed and thrilled. It made me feel a real sense of accomplishment.

How did you get started writing novels?

I've been writing stories since I was in my teens. Unfortunately, back then I had trouble finishing anything. In the early 2000s, I found the Ellora's Cave web site and read voraciously and aspired to write like my favorite authors there. In 2005, my first novella was published and then I was thrilled to sell Protect and Defend to EC in 2007. It's been stop and start since then but I've continued to push forward with my writing.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Never, ever give up. Even though the process for getting published might seem long and become disheartening. Always keep trying because one day you will succeed. That publisher or agent you love will see your work and want it.

And also, writers have an alternative if they want to go in that direction, they can choose to self-publish. Just be sure to have someone, other than one of your close friends, critique the writing for you. You don't want to publish something that readers will remember in a negative way. If you self-publish, make it the best it can be and you'll gain a following.

Do you have a character in one of your books that continues to haunt you at night or surprised you when you wrote the book?

I'd say that character is Baron Eaduin Kempe, the hero of Seeking Truth. He started out as a villain in a completely different book. I intended him to be an evil sociopath with a beautiful face, but he kept whispering to me. Seducing me, really. He assured me that I mistook him. He was a different man than I tried to depict him as. It turned out, he was right. He was a hero, not a villain and I still adore him.

Are you an outgoing person?

Actually, I'm very shy. You wouldn't believe it if you met me at Romanticon because I dance and do all kinds of things there. But, when I first meet people I'm very quiet and listen a lot. It's only as I get to know them that I start to open up and let them know more about me.

Do you write a novel straight through? Or revise as you go? Plan a whole series in advance? Or does the series evolve?

I write chronologically. I have a lot of trouble skipping around so I don't do it. At times, I've left a scene out that needs to go in a particular place (usually a love scene) and then keep going and return to that scene but usually, I try to write with the flow. I do revise as I go. When I get started again in the morning, I usually go back and revise the previous chapter or two so I can get into the story and then the rest will flow more naturally when I hit blank space. I tend to be a pantser - writing by the seat of my pants - so I don't do a lot of plotting in advance. I often know when something might evolve into a series though and I'll keep that in mind as I'm writing.

What’s next?

I have a Valentine shapeshifter story on submission with my EC editor right now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll contract it. The story is set in Whitewolf, CO which is where Yohana Whitewolf is pack leader. It involves a rock band full of shapeshifters called The Pack and a local girl, Mandy Goldwolf, whose parents are members of the band. The new lead singer and guitar god, Joe Blackwolf is much younger than the other band members and suits Mandy to a tee. Family dynamics cause some bumps along the way to a Happy Valentine's Day.

Do your books have a particular theme or premise?

My books usually feature themes regarding family issues. Estrangements and reunions. Love and acceptance. But sometimes those problems aren't resolvable. Those are challenging for me to write. I've got one in mind where that is an issue for one of my characters and support comes from other places.

Anything unusual you had to do for research on this book?

I tried to figure out what a city manager/mayor of a small town would do. I knew that Yohana would be managing a budget for her small town, but I was surprised at the size of the budgets of Colorado skiing communities. For example, I found that in 2010 the Aspen budget (combined expenditures and revenues) was in the hundreds of millions. I wasn't expecting that for a town under 10,000 people. So I had a challenge trying to figure out what kind of budget my fictional resort town of Whitewolf, Colorado might have. I was surprised how interesting that kind of thing was too. I'm not much of a number cruncher, but it was fascinating to watch how politics played out in those communities.

Francesca Hawley, author bio

Hi. I’m Francesca Hawley and I’m a fat chick. A woman with dangerous curves just like my heroines.

I first began to read romance when I was in my teens. I loved the genre, but the heroines were all thin. Their thighs didn’t rub together…had never rubbed together…and frankly I had trouble relating to these ladies. The stories were great—full of emotion and well told, but the heroines weren’t like me and that was a major disappointment.  I kept wondering where were the fat heroines? I found some occasionally, but to have their Happily Ever After they usually had to lose weight and go from ugly duckling to swan.

Well, I wanted a fat heroine who loved herself—or at least learned to love herself—and a hot alpha hero who liked her jiggly bits just the way they were. Since I didn’t find many big girls to read about, I decided  to write about them myself. After all, I loved to write anyway and had been writing almost as long as I’d been reading, so Francesca Hawley – author of Romance with Dangerous Curves was born.

In a Francesca Hawley romance, my readers will find authentic, sensual, fat heroines who love and are loved by their intense, passionate, and seductive Alpha heroes. I hope you enjoy their dangerous curves just as much as their hunky heroes do.

Leader of the Pack - Blurb:

Surgeon Dr. Per Goldwolf needs a mate to make partner in a prestigious practice. Predator-Match.com—a matchmaking service for shapeshifters—not only finds him a mate, they match him with his True Mate. Yohana’s long legs and fair flesh make him lick his lips and her scent makes him rock-hard.

New packleader Yohana Whitewolf’s life goal is to follow in her sire’s pawprints and lead her pack. Leadership demands sacrifices. To calm her people, Yohana needs a mate. But finding an Alpha male who won’t take over is a tall order. Yohana doesn’t want the complication of a True Mate, but Per is a sexy, intelligent Alpha male and she wants to shred his clothes every time she touches him.

Everything should be perfect—except she’s a packleader, and the Whitewolf pack is nervous.

 

Buy link:  http://www.ellorascave.com/leader-of-the-pack.html

Release date: December 21, 2012

Excerpt:

By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary to exit this site.

An Excerpt From: LEADER OF THE PACK

Copyright © FRANCESCA HAWLEY, 2012

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

        Per looked up from his coffee to see Yohana striding confidently across the room. Two steps behind her was the young waiter, looking dazed and horny. What the fuck? Per had been on edge ever since she left the table, envisioning her in the bathroom stall with her legs spread and himself on his knees on the floor plowing into her. Now, here she was sashaying back to their table looking satisfied. He stood to hold out her chair. As Yohana stepped close to him, he was enveloped in the scent of her recent arousal…and orgasm. His bitch screwed someone else then walked back to the table as if nothing had happened. Fuck that! Per caught the worshipful gaze of the wet-behind-the-ears pup and growled.

        The pup blinked and stammered, gulping in terror. “I’ll bring your check,” he squeaked.

        “Like hell you will, you whelp. You just mounted my Mate. We’re going for a walk. Now.”

        The boy yipped, flying off for the kitchen at a run. Per was after him in a shot, ready to kill.

        “Per!”

        He ignored Yohana’s cry of command, looking back once, rage filling his vision. “I’ll handle this.”

        The boy weaved between tables before slamming headlong into someone exiting the kitchen with a tray full of pasta dinners. Per caught the boy before he hit the floor, lifting him up by the collar of his shirt. A firm female hand grasped his wrist, while her arm encircled his waist.

        Yohana pressed against his back to whisper in his ear, “I masturbated in the bathroom. The pup was nowhere near me. Let him go…” She sighed as he turned to look into her eyes. “Please, Per.”

        He took a deep breath and nodded. The scent of his Mate wasn’t on the boy, so he released the whelp, watching as the boy ran hell for leather through the kitchen doors. Per closed his eyes, mortified at his stupidity. He had never claimed a female this publicly in his entire life, not even when he was in Sweden before his sire threw him out of their pack.

        Yohana eased away from him, turning to the man, who happened to be Stefano Blackwolf the restaurant manager and son of the owner, Roberto. “I’m sorry, Stef. This is my fault. I’ll pay for the meals. Please allow me to buy the diners whatever else they would like to apologize for their wait.”

        Per shook his head. “No. My fault. I’ll pay for it.”

        Yohana frowned at Per. “I will pay. It’s my responsibility.”

        Per’s blue eyes blazed, then he paused. “We’ll split it. Fair?”

        Yohana patted his arm. “Yes. That’s fair.”

        Per blushed as Stefano lips twitched, fighting to control his amusement. Per looked into Yohana’s eyes then he started to chuckle, drawing giggles from her. She blushed, looking down at her toes. He reached over, lifting her chin with a fingertip barely brushing her lips with his.

        “Dessert, Yohana? Would you like some cannoli?”

        “That sounds wonderful.”

        “Two, Stefano?” Per inquired of the manager.

        Stef nodded, directing the busboys to clean up the mess while he went to inform the waiting diners of the delay with their meals. Per set his hand at the small of her back, escorting her to their table. He seated her and reseated himself.

        “I’m sorry for setting this mess in motion. I didn’t consider you might imagine me having sex with Marcello. He’s a baby.” Yohana took his hand, meeting his eyes.

        Per clasped her hand before lifting it to his lips to kiss. He froze, taking a deep breath. She’d washed her hand, but he knew it had been inside her…recently. Per looked into her startled gray eyes, breathing deeply so she’d know he smelled her sex. He opened his mouth engulfing her thumb, sucking and licking it. In spite of the soap, her taste lingered faintly on her skin bringing his body rigidly to attention.

        Yohana gasped, color rising in her cheeks as she licked her lips. He could see her pebbled nipples tight against the silk of her dress. This was no frigid bitch and he was in big, big trouble because his mind rejoiced to discover it. Per wanted to mount her now. He wanted to grab her, throw her face down on the table, rip off her panties, and sink into her to make her his while everyone in the room watched…then cheered. What scared him the most was the expression evident in her eyes. She wanted the same damn thing!