Nana Malone

Leopard Dreams is part of a shape shifter series entitled, Tales of the Cat. The first book, Jaguar Nights, introduces the king, Cole, and his newly acquired mate. This all takes place in Mississippi as they are the Southern Pride of cats. Leopard Dreams is Zack’s book. Zack is the First in Cole’s guard and his best friend.

Zack has watched Cole and his mate Syndee and wants to find his mate as well. Unfortunately, when Zack does find his mate, she isn’t accepting him as her mate and, she could be their enemy. Zack may have to make a decision between his best friend and his mate. Included in all of this is the ever present threat of the humans who are trying to capture and experiment on them.

I love writing shifter novels. Their entire world is so open to almost anything you want to throw at them. For this series, I let the characters write the book and tell me about their world. I was surprised with a lot of it. For one thing, they are happy being shifters. They don’t want to be human. I tried to incorporate as much of natural feline behaviors as possible into the books and did a lot of online research on Jaguars and Leopards and their nature. Their world is fascinating to read about.

In doing research, I utilize every recourse available to me. My favorite one is the Internet of course but I also enjoy talking to real people. With this book, I wasn’t able to talk to anyone about the big cats like I would have enjoyed doing. But, I did use my muses. I have seven of them. J  They were more than happy to fill me in on the domestic cat’s take on my characters.

I blog with them on weekends so if you want to learn more about them and what I am up to, you can always check them out at www.maryalicepritchard.com/blog

Leopard Dreams is available for presale right now at The Wild Rose Press www.thewildrosepress.com  It will officially be out July 30^th in both e-book and print. I hope you will check it out and don’t forget Jaguar Nights, the first book in the series. You can learn more about my other books and short stories at www.maryalicepritchard.com

Here is an excerpt for your enjoyment.

Warm scented water lulled her into a pleasant lethargy. It was her only defense at missing the scent of another weir at her bathroom door.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Kristen’s eyes flew open. The sight of the tall dark haired stranger lounging in her doorway stole her breath. His hazel eyes captured hers with an intensity that stopped her heart. It took her two tries to answer.

“Taking a bath.  What are you doing in my house?”

“Watching you take a bath.” His eyes never left her face.

She sank deeper into the water wishing the suds hadn’t begun to dissipate. The water covered up to her neck, but the tops of her knees protruded in protest. The sight of him so comfortable leaning against the door frame stirred her anger.

“Get out of my house,” She growled

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing here.” He took a step into the room and towered over her.

“None of your business,” she ground out between clenched teeth.

“Well that’s where you’re wrong. It is my business. I’m first to the King of the Southern Cats, and you are not part of my pard.”

Kristen swallowed and scrambled to think of what to say. “I’m on vacation. I won’t be here long.”

“You know the rules. You contact the pard leader when you’re in his territory. So, again, why are you here?”

“I’m looking for my brother.” Why did she tell him that? What was wrong with her?

“Who’s your brother?”

“His name is Ethan.” Why did she just tell him her brother’s name? She refused to say anything else, just glared at him gritting her teeth.

Before she could second guess herself, Kristen lunged from the tub and hit him square in the chest.

He staggered under her weight before he caught himself on the door frame. She swung and missed. He used her momentum to twist her around and pin her back against his chest. His hands shackled her wrists.

“You should have approached Cole and asked him about your brother. We’ve had several join us in the last month.” His voice curled around her like a warm blanket.

“I’ve asked around. You haven’t had a leopard join.”

“Hmmm, leopard. I should have known. You’re feisty,” he said.

His comment renewed her resolve to get away and she struggled in his arms. It only made matters worse. Her wet body plastered his clothes to his body, and she became aware of his solid chest and the hard muscles of his arms as they held her wrists tight against her stomach. And, she felt the hard length of him pressed against the small of her back. It was enough to freeze her in mid-twist.

 “Fuck you!”

“That’s the usual result when a female is hot for sex.” He leaned in and sniffed along the side of her face. “I can smell your arousal.”

“Let-me-go.”

“I think not she-cat. You’d only go for my eyes.”

“No, you have it all wrong. I’d go for your crotch, with teeth and nails.” She promised in a calm voice.

“Hmmm,” was all he said as he rubbed his face against hers, his hot breath caressing her cheek and temple.



Mornin', everyone. I'm Skhye Moncrief. I'm fortunate to have been invited to ramble here. Thank you, Nana. And I was torn between yammering on and on about deep POV and the hero's journey. Since I just had one of those ah-ha moments with my own work, I chose the hero's journey...
 
I hit a road block in my story after spending last week writing my tail off. I don't know if anyone else realizes what they've done when this happens. But I just forget where I'm going or where the story should be going.Yes, I was semi-pantsing it. I had already rounded out my characters and plotted major scenes, plot points, and settings. But I don't map out the entire story. I just have places in my head I know they're going and tend to whip up some interaction (GMC) between them when they get there. So, I picked up a copy of DK's STAR WARS: THE POWER OF MYTH and light dawned over yonder hill.
 
Today, I'm going to share parts of this out-of-print book in hopes of encouraging the book's reprint!!! This treasure sits on my shelf among my other writing bibles: Bickham's SCENE & STRUCTURE, Dixon's GOAL, MOTIVATION, & CONFLICT, Kress' DYNAMIC CHARACTERS, Pearson's AWAKENING THE HEROES WITHIN, Swain's TECHINQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER, Noble's CONFLICT, ACTION, & SUSPENSE, and Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A 1000 FACES...  
 
So you've all heard of Joseph Campbell? If you don't have THE POWER OF MYTH documentary series, rent it, check it out from the library, or buy a copy. Everything about story seemed to make more sense when I watched it. Mind you, I tried reading through a print copy. Ugh. I highly suggest you not!!! The same with THE HERO WITH A 1000 FACES. But, I'm quite fond of Campbell's perspective in video. So much that I tell everyone they have to watch the first episode--The Hero's Journey. Okay, where is Skhye going?
 
DK STAR WARS: THE POWER OF MYTH is incredible. This DK Young Adult version of the power of myth has a brief description of all the story elements from the hero's journey with lots of explanation in a straight forward format. It's better than cliff notes. You won't pull your hair out with this book when you need some inspiration to leap that plot hurdle in your latest wip. So kick back and absorb anything here that might help you. Purchase used copies of the out-of-print book at http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Power-DK-Publishing/dp/0789455919/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279550208&sr=1-1
 
The back cover: "The Star Wars universe draws on a common stream of mythic tales which are rooted deeply in our own life stories."
 
Introduction:
Every civilization on Earth has told mythic stories to express its aspirations, achievements, and the deeper meaning of life. From the earliest times, myths have excited and inspired us because they serve to describe the human experience. Myths show us what we are capable of as individuals. The Star Was Classic trilogy has come to represent one of the great mythic stories of our time. Luke Skywalker's adventure, starting from his farmboy beginnings and ending withthe fulfillment of his spiritual quest to become a Jedit knight, is a hero's journey that speaks to the modern age.
 
Mythic Heroes (p.6)
The stories of heroes have always had a universla appeal because they are at once ancient and timeless. Every hero has a quest, but before he can achieve this heart's desire he has to completed difficult tasks or fight seemingly impossible battles. Often an evil force must be overcome, or the hero has to learn a new kind of knowledge in order to increase his power. His struggles teach us about our own human potential.
 
The Call to Adventure (p.10)
In myth, the hero's journey begins with a call to adventure, the first incident on a dangerous path that will separate him from his home and family. The call usually comes in the form of a herald, who carries a message that causes the adventure to begin. Often the hero does not recognze the hand of fate at work, and an event which may seem ordinary is in fact a turning point that catapults the hero into a world of danger and excitement.
 
The Wise Guide (p.11)
The hero is often unaware of his destiny, but even when he discovers it, he may try to refuse his difficult quest until a wise guide shows him the way. Obi-Wan Kenobi fulfills this role for Luke, giving him advice, Jedi training, and the mystical knowledge of the Force that he will need on his adventure. The path ahead will containe many obstacles to test the hero's skills and courage, but with Obi-Wan's help, Luke takes on the challenge.
 
The Magic Talisman (p.12)
In mythology, the wise guide often gives the hero a magical talisman or amulet to guard and assist him on his chosen path. The idea of a magical sword appears many times in legend: it is a powerful symbol that gives the bearer the right to challenge authority. Obi-Wan gives Luke his Jedi father's lightsaber. (This is my favorite of story elements. I can see playing with so much here!)

Hero Partners (p.13)
The hero may begin his journey alone, but he soon meets "hero partners" who will accompany him on his adventure. Luke finds his future companions in the sleazy Mos Eisley cantina, a drinking hole for space pirates, smugglers, and fugitives of every species in the galaxy.
 
Rescuing the Princess (p.14)
Entering a labyrinth, or a dooway in the unknown, is often an obstacle the hero must overcome in the course of his journey. When Luke and his companions come out of hyperspace expecting to find Alderaan, their ship is sucked toward the Death Star, a colossal Imperial battle station. Inside, they must negotiate a soulless maze of dimly lit chambers, corridors, and shafts. By chance, Luke discovers that the princess is being held captive here.

Escape (p.15)
When Luke sees the impassioned Leia in a hologram atstart of his journey, he knows immediately that he must rescue her. No damsel in distress, Princess Leia is a courageous military leader who refuses to betray the Rebels. Small and feminine, Leia embodies the forces of good. She is the extreme opposite of her captor, Darth Vader, who is powerful, ruthless, and in his skull-like mask and black robes, represents the forces of evil.
 
Sacrifice and Betrayal (p.20)
On his journey, the hero must often make a sacrifice in return for gaining knowledge and mystical insight--in Luke's case, this knowledge is the realization that the dark side within himself is represented by his own father, Darth Vader. On Han's journey, there is betrayal and the discovery that Leia loves him. but before he can return her love, he must endure a kind of "death" and be frozen in carbonite for transportation to the lair of Jabba the Hutt.
 
Return of the Hero (p.22)
The hero is ready to return home when he has proved his worth through brave action and dangerous trials. Luke has rescued the princess, destroyed the Death Star, and learned the ways of the Force. In mythology, the hero must now use his knowledge to benefit his people. Returning home to Tatooine, Luke's first rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt.
 
Descent to the Underworld (p.23)
Having returned home, the hero is ready to visit the underworld, either to accomplish a heroic task, as with hercules, or to understand more of the world, like Aeneas. Luke must enter the dark underworld of the second Death Star to save the side of his father, Darth Vader, that he senses is good.
 
Reconciliation with the Father (p.24)
On his long journey, the mythical hero sometimes needs to make amends with his father to achieve completion. When Luke refuses to kill his father at the Emperor's bidding, the Emperor is enraged and turns on him. Helpless, Luke appeals to his father for help. This is Darth Vader's moment to find the good in himself. After an agonizing few seconds of hesitation, Vader's good side wins over the evil. He redeems himsefl by saving Luke and destroying the Emperor, but it is at the cost of his own life.
 
Final Victory (p.25)
The hero's journey is over and Luke has attained his quest. The Emperor and the evil that radiated from him have been destoyed, ultimately through an appeal to love--Darth Vader's love for his son. The hero companions, Han, Leia, and Chewi, relax with Luke on the forest moon of Endor as tumultuous celebrations breatk out in cities across the galaxy.
 
Best of luck writing. I need to get back to my own wip--book two in a werewolf space opera. I really had no intention of writing a "werewolf" space opera. It just kind of happened. Book 1, FERAL FASCINATIONS, will be available August 4th! http://newconceptspublishing.com/Upcoming-Books.html But space operas tend to be my thing. My Time Guardian series is a space opera that takes place along earth's timeline. Ill blame my need to connect everything in the universe to my formal education in geology and bioarchaeology. All my Time Guardian books are available at the following links. ~Skhye
 
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REVIEWS:
"SWORDSONG will have you hooked from the beginning until the “happily ever after.” And if you were trying to creep us out with Cousin John, you definitely succeeded, Ms. Moncrief. There was a glossary at the front of the book. It easy to pick up book three without reading the others." ~Angelique, Happily Ever After Reviews

by Tracy Wolff

For most of my life, I’ve heard that love at first sight is ridiculous, absurd, a complete misnomer—after all, it didn’t exactly work out well for Romeo and Juliet.  And yet …  there’s something about it that appeals to me as a writer and a person.

Maybe it’s because my father asked my mother to marry him exactly one week after their first date.  She said yes, and they went to her favorite Chinese restaurant to celebrate, where she got a fortune cookie that said, Happy Marriage, fourteen children.  She looked at my father and said, “Maybe we should reconsider.”  Thankfully, they didn’t, and they were married for twenty-six years … and would be married still if my father hadn’t died unexpectedly a number of years ago.

Fast forward twenty-five years, to a little after my twenty-first birthday.  I was a graduate student in New Orleans, with my whole life road-mapped in front of me—which included three graduate degrees, a teaching career at a prestigious university and a side job writing novels.    I’d been dating a guy for well over a year, and though we’d been separated for half of that—which was causing a lot of problems between us-- we were still talking about the school we would go to in the future, where he could get his M.A.  in journalism and I could get my Ph.D in American Literature.  While every once in a while, I thought about where our relationship would end up—marriage and kids hadn’t even entered my mind.  After all, we were young and the future was a long way away.

Anyway, the day I want to talk about was in February (the 21^st to be exact), and a friend invited me to a dinner party at her apartment.  I rushed home from class, threw on some make-up and a dress and hurried to her apartment, thinking I would be the last to arrive.  Turns out I was the first.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and she asked me to get it as she and her husband were busy in the kitchen.  I opened the door and to this day, I swear I was struck by a bolt of lightning.  Or an arrow from Cupid’s bow, seven days too late.  Whatever it was, it seemed to be affecting the man on the other side of the threshold as much as it was affecting me.  We kind of stood there for a minute, staring at each other, eyes wide and mouths slightly agape.  When I finally regained my senses enough to let him into the apartment, he delivered his hostess gift to my friend (something I hadn’t thought to bring) and then spent the rest of the evening sitting next to me and asking as many questions as possible.

We talked for hours that night, and through it all, my heart was pounding like a metronome on high.  All I could think about was how handsome he looked in his blue polo shirt and how smart and funny he was and how good he smelled … you get the idea.  It turns out he was spending a lot of the time thinking about unbuttoning the long row of buttons on the front of my burgundy Victoria’s Secret dress, but that’s another story, LOL.  When he left without asking for my number, I was devastated, despite the fact that I already had a boyfriend.  I consoled myself by hoping he would ask his friend (my friend’s husband) for my number.  Alas, he didn’t (the fact that I had a boyfriend scared him off), and two days later I couldn’t help myself.  I called him.   We arranged for him to pick me up at my apartment the next night after work, and within minutes of hanging up the phone, I called my boyfriend and told him we needed to talk … It turned out, he’d been thinking the same thing, thank God, so the talk went very easily.

Anyway, the new guy took me out to dinner and a 12:30 movie and I was so tired from studying for mid-terms that I fell asleep on him right in the middle of the movie.  I figured that was the end of it—I mean, who falls asleep in the middle of a first date?  But he was really nice about it and after I kissed him (did I mention he was a little shy) he asked me out for the next afternoon. 

We started our date feeding the ducks at a nearby park, and when all the bread was gone, he took me over to one of the little gazebos near the pond and told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me.  My eyes almost bugged out of my head, needless to say.  I was only twenty-one, he was twenty-eight and while I had heard my parents’ story a million times, they’d been nearly thirty when they’d met.  I told him I barely knew him, blah, blah, blah, and yet didn’t go running screaming into the night.  Instead, I thought about his words for a week and when he asked me to marry him again, eight days later, I said yes.

We were married within two and a half months, and just about nine months later, we had our first child.  We now have three children, the oldest of whom is thirteen, and we just celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary.  Has it been easy?  No, of course not.  But has it been right—absolutely, and I don’t regret for one second throwing caution to the wind and marrying this man that I was madly in love with.

My friends at school thought it was crazy, my parents (who had no room to talk) cautioned me about making such a swift decision when I was so young, my best friend in the world told me I was freaking nuts.  And I did it anyway—why?  Because from the moment that first lightning bolt struck, I knew we were meant to be together. 

Maybe that’s why things always happen fast in the novels I write.  In almost all of them, my characters know pretty soon after meeting that they’ve met someone special, someone who is going to turn their lives upside down.  In my new novels Dark Embers, which is my first paranormal and the beginning of the Dragon’s Heat series, Dylan knows from the second he lays eyes on Phoebe that she is going to be someone important in his life.  Though she is human and he is a shifter and King of the Dragonstar clan, he can’t ignore the way she makes him feel.  She’s wrong for him, wrong for his clan and though he knows he’ll eventually have to let her go, he isn’t strong enough to do it yet.   Not before he knows what it’s like to be loved by her …

And in Beginning with Their Baby, my July Superromance, Matt and Camille have a strong, instantaneous attraction to each other that can’t be denied.  Matt knows pretty quickly that Camille is the one, but she takes a little longer … like nine months longer … to figure that out.

So what do you think?  Do you believe in love at first sight or do you think it needs to grow steadily for a couple of years before you leap into a serious commitment like marriage?

Don't Forget to Check out Tracy's new releases:

Begining with My Baby

and Dark Embers.

King Dylan MacLeod is one of the last pure-bred dragon shapeshifters in existence—and ruler of a dying race, the Dragonstar clan.  It falls to him to protect his people—and their ancient magic.  He has one more duty: to provide an heir.

Like all dragons, Dylan can only procreate with his destined mate—for whom he’s searched for five hundred years.  His dark, rampant sexual appetite has earned him quite the reputation, all in the pursuit of his one true match.

But his search is delayed when a deadly disease sweeps through the Dragonstars, and Dylan must venture to the human world to find a cure.  He tracks down renowned biochemist Phoebe Quillum, never imagining the beautiful scientist will be the mate he’s been seeking for centuries.  But no sooner do they meet then Phoebe and Dylan are besieged by an obsessive, overpowering sexual desire.

Their passion turns to something truer—and they know in their souls and bodies that they’re in too deep to get out.  And when Phoebe is kidnapped by Dylan’s oldest enemy, he must risk everything to reclaim the only woman he’s ever loved, or his clan will be wiped out forever.

If you missed my blog last week @ popculture divas, here it is again.  Enjoy!

Whether you prefer the old school Chi-Lites or MC Hammer, these words ring true. “Have you seen her? Tell me have you seen her?”

To muse or not to muse that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the….. Okay, okay, Hamlet and poor Willie Shakespeare are probably rolling their eyes at me. But Willie knows what I’m talking about. My muse. Yeah, that’s right. That spitfire version of your imagination that lives in Louboutins and scarfs down cookie dough ice-cream like it’s her job, somehow without ever gaining weight. You’re just as likely to find her sulking in a corner when she can’t have her way as you are to find her sprinkling magic fairy dust on your manuscript.

Now, while there are generally two camps to writers, the plotters and the pansters, none of us can deny the magic of when the words are flowing so well, you don’t even want to get up to go to the bathroom for fear you’ll send your muses into a snit. Though, in my current ginormous pregnant state, I don’t really have an option.

I find my muse usually makes her guest appearance during my first draft, but goes noticeably absent when the real work of editing begins. She occasionally appears to pitch a fit over my attempts to cut out sections that don’t work insisting, that all the magic lies in that one little scene. In this process of publishing my first book, I’ve discovered that edits and reedits and yet more reedits oft have nothing to do with my muse. Though if she should appear, I’m grateful to see her. Often times clutching her to my chest like that ratty old teddy bear from my childhood.

Though, my sisters (and brothers) I have heard tale of the non-believer. The writer who does not believe in the vixen of prose. Those who are apparently able to pull out sparkling text whenever they desire, without the assistance of a stiletto clad muse. Who are these blasphemers you ask? Well the queen of romance herself is one of them. Pulling the quote from last year’s nationals, She said: “Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. Do your job.”–Nora Roberts

Clearly one of the most prolific romance writers of our time, Nora, if I may be so bold, has looked her muse in the eye and ripped the stillettos right off her feet. Effectively stripping the temperamental chicky of her power.

How much control do our muses really have over us? Or rather how much control should they have? As a stalwart plotter, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to declare “You can’t control me!” like a snotty sixteen year old who’s been told she can’t date Butch from the motorcycle club. But I must admit, I’m too terrified of the results. Miss Thang would surely abandon me for eternity.

But maybe Miss Roberts has a point. Because, as I and sit here in front of my latest MS praying for the appearance of my muse, I discovered that crazy heifer ran off to Bali and didn’t invite me along for the trip!

Have you seen your muse today?