trueromance

Setting: Ohio - February 2009

Subgenre: Paranormal Romance - Dragon shape-shifter romance (WINTER KISS is book #4 in the Dragonfire series.)

Hero: Delaney Shea

Heroine: Ginger Sinclair

One sentence summary: Delaney is on a suicide mission to destroy the source of the Dragon’s Blood Elixir to ensure that none of his fellow Pyr ever have to endure his fate - but he’s not counting on having his firestorm, much less on fiery Ginger, who never gives up without a fight.

Scene you like most and would never cut: I love Ginger and Delaney’s first sex scene! It comes early in the book and they don’t know each other that well - there’s just this powerful attraction between them. Okay, there’s HEAT! And Ginger surprised Delaney, shaking his world a little bit with her lingerie. That was fun. I liked that they were so playful in bed together — a good sign for a future beyond a one-nighter - as well as the contrast between the blizzard outside, and the firestorm inside.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: Ginger would never surrender - anything or anyone. I loved that she went after Delaney, and that everything she learned about his history just made her more determined. She’s someone I’d want on my team. (Did Delaney ever have a chance of resisting her? I don’t think so…!)

Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy: Brief. Absolutely! I’m actually having a hard time envisioning a buff dragon-shape shifter dude wearing boxers. Hmm. What kind of Pyr do you think would wear boxers?

Ancillary character you had the most fun with: The whole Wyvern subplot is one that fascinates me, and one that keeps turning in unexpected directions.

In the world of the Pyr - my dragon shape shifters - all of the Pyr are men. There is only ever one female Pyr at any given point in time, and she’s a kind of prophetess. Traditionally, she has remained apart from the world and dispatched dreams to the Pyr to help them out, if she’s so inclined. A lot of them haven’t been too interested in the mundane details of the world. When the Dragonfire series started, the Wyvern was Sophie and she was different from her predecessors - she wanted to make a difference. So, she bucked tradition and overcame her own reservations - she even fell in love. But she paid a price in KISS OF FATE for her choice.

I’m determined to give the former Wyvern, Sophie, her H.E.A. although the details aren’t quite clear to me yet. (I suspect that Erik, the leader of the Pyr, is withholding information from me. He tends to be that way). Meanwhile, the Pyr have a new Wyvern, Zoë. She’s Erik’s daughter and just a toddler, but I’m interested in how her powers are already revealing themselves. She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with!

Your heroine’s favorite hobby: I’m not sure Ginger has time for a hobby - instead she has a couple of jobs that she loves. (Maybe when you make a living by following your passion, you have less need for hobbies.) She breeds heritage cattle, runs an organic dairy farm, wants to turn the rest of her land into an organic farm, and is a professional chef.

No spoiler that she’s going to be busy with the mom-thing, too.

Your hero’s favorite hobby: Delaney hasn’t had hobbies for a while, either, since he was being tortured by Magnus and trying to not go crazy. He’s pretty interested in Ginger’s organic plans, though, and I can see him taking charge of turning the land into an organic farm. Maybe they’ll raise market produce. He also loves horses, especially workhorses like Clydesdales and Percherons - I suspect Ginger is going to find a new breeding program starting in the barn, alongside her dairy cattle “girls”.

I also have a feeling that once the kids (his and Donovan’s) get older, there might be some motorcycles and muscle cars being taken apart in the old barn.

What you think readers will like best about this book: What I’ve heard from people is that they like that this Dragonfire book is a bit darker and a bit sexier. Everyone loves Delaney - and really, what’s not to like about a wounded hero being healed by the power of the right woman’s love? I really enjoyed writing Delaney’s story - those tormented heroes are my favourites. Ginger was a delight - she’s just so “can-do” and takes everything in stride. She’s the kind of person who is always ready to listen to the problem, then start working immediately on a solution.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:  Rafferty! Everyone wants Rafferty to have his firestorm, I think because he’s such a romantic.

What’s next:  Next up is Niall’s book, WHISPER KISS, coming next summer. Niall takes on the job of eliminating the last of the shadow dragons - this second trilogy is all about ridding the world of the Dragon’s Blood Elixir - even though he knows that his twin brother is a shadow dragon. The shadow dragons are like zombies, so Niall thinks he can do the dirty work of killing his brother. It won’t be easy, but he’s ready. Of course, he’s not counting on his firestorm happening at the worst possible moment or on a new villain finding a way to re-animate the shadow dragons. This throws Niall’s game, and makes him wonder whether his twin, like Delaney, could be healed.

Niall might not want a firestorm when he has so much to do, but his twin brother is ready to interfere out of jealousy - will Rox be able to tell the difference between them? Does she hold the key to Niall fulfilling his quest? Plus there’s Rox, an unconventional heroine who is about as different from Niall as possible. I love how Rox challenged Niall and pushed him out of his comfort zone - she’s another heroine who doesn’t take no for an answer. And she asked really good questions, ones that made Niall stop to think and reconsider his assumptions.

That was good for him - he was wide awake every night, fighting the heat of the firestorm anyway! We head into some new territory with this book, right along with Niall and Rox. I think you’ll enjoy the ride.  And now - yes, it’s true - I’m writing Rafferty’s book. Don’t worry - I have a very special firestorm planned for our fave dragon dude. He’s been waiting so long, after all - Melissa has to be worth the wait!

Question of the Day:

So, tell me what kind of a Pyr you’d have as your own, if you could choose? They’re all honorable and loyal and strong, but their characters are different. So, would it be the strong silent hero, like Quinn in KISS OF FIRE? The handsome confident hero, like Donovan in KISS OF FURY? The resolute - and taciturn - hero like Erik in KISS OF FATE? Or the wounded hero, determined to make the world better for others even if it means destroying himself, like Delaney in WINTER KISS?

I have to admit that I love them all, each for a different reason!

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