My old website had a special feature for every story—a look behind the book at what I was thinking when I wrote it. Uncovering Navarro is old enough that it appeared on that old website. This is the book I’ll feature on tomorrow’s “Flashback”. You’ll get a chance to win a free download of this story. In the meantime, here’s what went through my mind when Navarro was conceived.

I’ve wanted to write Navarro’s story for a long time—well, since he first appeared in All Hallows Heartbreaker. I had a sense he was very reserved, but craved…connection. He was also very jaded.

The problem was finding just the right heroine. If I could have planned the story, I would have thought his would be very dark with Navarro facing an old adversary—perhaps the woman who turned him hundreds of years ago. But that decision wasn’t mine to make. Okay, now you get yet another hint I’m not wrapped too tight!

I don’t just decide to write a book about…something. I wait for the first scene to come to me. After several months without working on a MIK, I really wondered whether the adventure was over. But then there was this pesky reporter—not the brightest watt—but so stubborn she’d make Simon Cowell look indecisive. And she was trying to break into a vampire’s den. The first scene with her falling from the brick wall all the way to her “wardrobe malfunction” rolled through my head like an old movie reel in a theater.

It shot the hell out of my dark prince story.

Once the scene presented itself, I was faced with a dilemma. I’m writing erotic romance, but Navarro isn’t a man who’s led by his manparts. So how could I add the sensual intensity (or rather quantity) that my genre requires?

If Navarro was reserved, my heroine had to be a very busy girl. She also wouldn’t be the kind of girl waiting to find her prince. She’d be out there doing lots of test runs! So number one, I needed to show how fast and loose she played it. I also felt like this story would be more closely tied to the first book in the series than any other, so I placed my heroine, Sidney Coffey, at the first scene of my first book—but in Uncovering Navarro you are seeing that first scene from a whole new perspective. I really liked how that all worked out, and I can’t claim responsibility for any cleverness—Moses Brown came knocking at my door.

Who the hell is Moses might you ask? Well his name came from a boyfriend in college who had a penchant for making love on the edge of cliffs. I’m not at all sure that was his real name—it probably had to do with his long, curly blonde hair and beard and the peasant shirts and sandals he always wore. He looked very “biblical”.

But while I liked the name, another face wore it. Between the buff, bald model Rodney (who is on the cover of the Tales from the Temple III anthology) and Ving Rhames, well there you have Moses. A big, tough, sexy guy who has an innate tenderness he rarely lets anyone see. Moses is already calling me to write his story.

If you’ve followed this blog for long, you know I’m always experimenting/studying alternative metaphysical and spiritual traditions. My friend Shada Royce gave a presentation at the Diamond State Romance Authors meeting on Saturday, which included something about animal totems. She sent me to Lin’s Domain to learn more. The following are the the very interesting results of my totem reading, which I did under my real name. Lin chose nine animal totems for my spirit guides, each having significance for the “directions” they guide me. There are a ton of animals she could have chosen, but look at which ones popped up.

The East totem guides you through spiritual challenges. Your East totem is:

Frog: Transformation
The frog is the totem of metamorphosis. It symbolizes coming into your personal power. It reminds us not to become bogged down with day-to-day living. It is the totem of water. Its voice calls forth the rains. Emotions are associated with water and a frog totem may be telling you to get in touch with your feelings. People with frog medicine give support and energy where it is needed. They can cleanse the negativity from an environment.

How wierd is that? You all know how much I love water—my pool, rainstorms. How many times have I chased frogs around my pool to rescue them when they can’t escape? I love to hold them, love the look of them, have froggie earrings and pins. Huh

The South totem protects the child within and reminds you when to be humble and when to trust. Your South totem is:

Coyote: Wisdom, Folly
The Coyote teaches you how wisdom and folly go hand-in-hand. In the folly of others, we see our own foolishness and we learn from their mistakes. Coyote energy is tied to simplicity and trust. It stimulates and renews innocence and reawakens a childlike wisdom in the world. A Coyote’s howl touches your soul, reminding us of our primal connections. Coyote people are very adaptive to new situations and have close-knit families, especially when children are involved.

Before I received my reading, I thought about what animals might be my spirit guides. The first that popped into my mind was the frog. The second was a dog/wolf—so coyote feels right to me! And since I’m both smart and ditzy, the wisdom/folly thing really fits.

The West totem leads on your path to personal truths and inner answers. It shows you the path to your goals. Your West totem is:

Crocodile & Alligator: Primal Energies
The Crocodile or Alligator totem contains the unbridled creative forces of the world, the fury and ferocity of Primal Energies. It is the symbol of creation and destruction. The Crocodile or Alligator is the keeper and protector of all knowledge. She is the primal mother in whom all knowledge rests and waits to be born. People with a Crocodile or Alligator totem have the opportunity to develop new wisdom but they must be careful not to be consumed by this wisdom. Study each bit of knowledge carefully before going on to the next. Care of the eyes is important for Crocodile or Alligator people. Also beneficial are breathing techniques like those practiced in Yoga. When a Crocodile or Alligator shows up look for an opportunity to touch very primal energies. There will be an opportunity for new knowledge and wisdom.

Unbridled creative forces? Primal energy? Sounds like what I write, right? Care for the eyes? Let’s see, I wear glasses, have Graves disease and have to worry about developing the accompanying eye disease. I also was recently diagonosed with a mini-stroke that blotted out part of my vision—not that I knew it!
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First, I know I said I wouldn’t share any more pictures of my obsession, but with all the rain we’ve had in recent days, these beauties popped up. They sat at the base of the huge oak tree in my backyard. Love the colors against the dark moss and bright green ivy. And don’t they look like cinnamon rolls? They’re just about as big. Oh, and they’re mushrooms if you hadn’t already guessed.

It’s out of my system. Now onto the progress report.

Good news—the releases of Frannie ‘n’ the Private Dick on Monday, then Altered States on Wednesday.

Not much accomplished on the writing front, I’m afraid. I finished a chapter and half on one project. Mostly, I researched castles, Medieval clothing and maps.

I’ve been looking at my plans and trying to figure out where my effort would be best spent. It’s a tough time in the publishing business and contracts are harder to come by. Trying to figure out what will hit next is like reading a cloudy crystal ball—so I ordered a new set of Tarot cards.
🙄

I’ll be in Little Rock today meeting with the Diamond State Romance Authors. After that, I’m housesitting for the night at a lake house in Hot Springs. What can I say? I love the water.

Here’s a question to keep you thinking…

If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want people to remember you for most of all?

Military men have been captured, their genes altered and mixed with other creatures, making them shapeshifters of different feline varieties. They’re on a mission to find the organization responsible and shut them down. Don’t miss a single installment of this hot new series!

Includes:
Night Prowler by Layla Chase
Beast Within by Betty Hanawa
Naked Prey by Myla Jackson
Unleashing the Tiger by Delilah Devlin

I didn’t know it, but yesterday this book released in print! If you haven’t started the series, it’s actually cheaper to buy the print antho than the individual ebooks—so there’s a bargain for you!

Night Prowler by Layla Chase
Tall, muscled and naked—that’s private investigator Zoia’s first sighting of her quarry, a missing soldier named Kol. The fact he’s pleasuring himself is even more intriguing but within minutes she becomes his prey. He stalks her, arousing every female instinct she possesses, and then claims her—carnally. When Zoia learns Kol is battling a situation he doesn’t understand, her need to help surfaces.

Kol has holed up in his family’s cabin to learn the cause of his unsettling blackouts. The appearance of a vivacious nature photographer sets off his radar. Within minutes, Zoia invades his space—and her sweet body becomes his lifeline back from unexplained memory lapses. Can their growing attachment survive the discovery of his startling secret?

Beast Within by Betty Hanawa
Dylan wakes from a blackout, horny as hell, naked and stuck in a cage. Adding to his frustration is the sight of sexy wildlife officer Haley holding a gun on him. Even though he thinks Haley is crazy to insist the cage held a rescued wildcat, Dylan’s grateful to wake from another blackout in her home.

Haley wants to enjoy Dylan’s hot body but must force the former Special Forces officer to accept the fact that he changes into a jaguarondi. Haley wants the passionate man, not the wildcat, and devises an erotic game to teach him to control the shifting.

Hating to be submissive, Dylan knows he must trust Haley to train him to command the beast within.

Naked Prey by Myla Jackson
After his release from a secret gene-alteration hospital, Special Forces soldier Ramon Osceola retreats to his home in Big Cypress Swamp, Florida. It’s the only place he can escape a society that wouldn’t understand his altered state.

Dr. Hannah Richards escapes Hell Hospital to find the man who can help save her daughter, one of the men whose genes she altered. Will he help her despite what she did to him? Or will he seek revenge against her for changing his life forever? Together, they search for answers and find a love that crosses the boundaries of man and beast.

Unleashing the Tiger by Delilah Devlin
An analyst in a secret government agency, Casey McTaggert has dedicated her life to the capture of one suspected terrorist. Even before she’s abducted in the midst of a firefight, she’s completely fascinated with the man called the “The Tiger”. But what began as a professional obsession quickly becomes lust as his dark features and harshly hewn body awaken a forbidden passion.

Khalid Razeh can’t fight the genetic programming that makes him shift into a tiger any more than he can resist the sensual allure of his lovely hostage. While forcing her to accompany him on one last mission, he fights his overwhelming attraction, knowing he is walking into a trap that will end in death. Casey’s tender lovemaking and growing belief in his innocence are a sweet balm to his wild, savage soul.

A winner has been selected, but I’m gonna show off my good time first! read to the bottom.

I know most of you have watched Grey’s Anatomy a couple of times at least, right? And you’ve seen the opening credits and probably wondered what dreary city they filmed. Well, it was Seattle. Not that I think Seattle is dreary, but the crew must have given up on seeing a sunny day.

Did I get pics of the road and the port or even of the lovely green mountains? Ha! I went underground. If you’re reading this in Facebook, you’ll have to go to my blog to see it.

For those of you who don’t know, Seattle was originally built at sea level. When the town started to grow, they built a public sewer system. When the tides rolled in, people had to be wary about flushing, because they’d get geysers erupting from the their toilets. So when much of Seattle was destroyed by fire, they built the roads high, encouraging people to build their shops and houses with deep basements so that their upper floors were accessible from the street. As a result, there were shops and walkways underneath the streets and sidewalks that you either had to access by ladder or through the shop’s stairways.

Today, much of the Underground is walled up. This is one entrance and where the official tour begins. I trekked down into the bowels with Sasha White, my cousin David and his partner, Greg.
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