I love anthologies because it's a great way to meet new to you authors and fall in love with their characters, writing and stories. I asked two of the authors in this anthology just three questions. Here's their responses.....
LD Blakely
1. What makes a man an alpha? To me an Alpha man is someone who's completely comfortable in his own skin. He's passionate and driven about everything he does and everyone he cares about. He’s clever, honest, and never afraid to own up to his faults. An Alpha man definitely has a dominant personality, but he's not domineering – a distinction that is of utmost importance. 2. Are all men able to be alphas? Absolutely. What makes a man an Alpha comes from within. Although we do tend to picture the stereotypical Alpha male as a towering, muscle-bound figure, there’s no reason at all that a man who’s shorter of stature and slighter (or stouter, for that matter) of figure can’t also embody what makes an Alpha. 3. Why do women love alphas? Because there really isn’t anything in the world that’s more sexy than confidence. A man who is comfortable and secure with who he is isn’t going waste time trying to prove himself – you either love him, or you don’t. But let’s be honest, you probably do ;-) Destined by L.D. Blakeley Caleb Stokes has had a shit night. Too bad catching his boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the club DJ isn't the worst thing he’ll witness before the night is through. Marick Gevrees has no time for romance. He has even less time for a tipsy twink looking for a man to fill some Daddy fetish. But what the hell is he supposed to do when said twink wanders head-long into the middle of a bloody vendetta that could result in the exposure of his clan? Excerpt 1: Without another thought, Caleb turned and ran back toward the big, black truck. The sounds of ripping flesh and carnage were all he could hear as he ducked down and crawled beneath the truck, hoping it would provide some kind of shelter. Jesus Christ! When he’d bitterly wished ill on Anthony and his new boy toy, this sure as fuck wasn’t what he’d had in mind. Terror and the night air had double-teamed Caleb with a ghastly chill and he couldn’t quell the uncontrollable shiver that now wracked his body. He hadn’t been to church in years, but Caleb was seriously contemplating prayer. Surely someone would come out and find him. He wriggled around enough to grab his cell phone from his pocket to check the time. 1 am. Dammit. Another hour until last call. What the hell was he going to do? Call 911? Yes! Call 911. Cops carried guns. Guns could shoot whatever the hell that thing was and Caleb could go the fuck home. As he swiped the phone to wake it up and dial, Caleb heard a high-pitched feral yelp followed by… nothing. The hellish noises had stopped. Was the creature gone? Could he--oh fuck! Caleb held his breath as he saw the sturdy gait of the animal as it crept toward the truck. He could only see its legs and its dark, dangerous claws, but he didn’t need to see more to know this wasn’t going to end well. A loud thump drummed overhead and the truck’s heavy shocks groaned. Jesus Christ! Was that a body? Caleb screwed his eyes shut and started that prayer. “You can get out from under my truck, now.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jocelyn Drex 1. What makes a man an alpha? Traits I relate with alpha males are dominance, assertiveness, confidence, protectiveness, passion. They are strong leaders and will stop at nothing to get what they want and to protect the people they love. They are men who take charge and have your best interests at heart. 2. Are all men able to be alphas? I think our basic personalities are pretty much ingrained in us. So, if you are naturally a beta man, I’m thinking it would be difficult to suddenly switch. 3. Why do women love alphas? Well, some don’t. Ha. The ones who do, I think maybe it’s the knight-in-shining-armor fantasy. A man who can sweep you off your feet, save you, protect you, do things to you in the bedroom no beta would dream of doing. I could be wrong though. Let’s ask your readers… Why do you love alpha males? Alpha’s Vixen by Jocelyn Dex Dax is overwhelmed by desire when he catches the white fox trespassing on his land, and that totally pisses him off. He refuses to mate, no matter how much the fox inside him wants it, Dax definitely does not. Opal is instantly enamored with the menacing black fox, but isn’t surprised when he chases her away—no one ever wants her, the freak-of-nature albino. When theft and violence bring them together again, will they give in to passion, or will their hang-ups force them apart?
BAD ALPHAS Anthologies
Two Multi-Author Anthologies from Evernight Publishing Bad Alpha features a select collection of stories with shifters so ruthless they will stop at nothing to protect their pack. These aren't sugar-and-spice heroes. Our alphas are feared, inked, and don’t ask questions first. They take what they want, never give in to their enemies, and think love is for the weak—until they meet their mate. Are you ready to learn how to tame a savage heart? *** Bad Alpha: Manlove Edition features a select collection of stories with shifters so ruthless they will stop at nothing to protect their pack. These aren't sugar-and-spice heroes. Our alphas are feared, inked, and don’t ask questions first. They take what they want, never give in to their enemies, and think love is for the weak—until they meet their mate. Are you ready to learn how to tame a savage heart? Buy links: Bad Alpha Amazon Bad Alpha Man Love Amazon * * * * * Bad Alpha Regular Edition: “For Blood” by J.R. Gray The only way to end the war and stop the bloodshed is to marry the enemy. Every fiber of Roman wants to hate Victoria, but the more he sees, the more he craves her. Can he fight their past demons to be with her? “Destiny Realized” by Khloe Wren Leonardo has been the clan's alpha for 300 years. Ruling his people has always been his one and only priority. Until he, along with his brother and sister, stop at a broken down car near their home in the Flinders Ranges on the edge of Outback Australia. The woman they rescue turns both Leo and, his brother, Valentino's lives upside down. A mate was the last thing Leo wanted, and everything Val had ever hoped for. Felicia is on the run. Again. Her baby's daddy broke her daughter's arm the last time he caught up with them so she's desperate to stay ahead of him. But her car breaks down and trouble finds her. A killer takes advantage of her failing vehicle and she fears all is lost for her and her little girl, until another car stops and she finds herself in a whole new world where she may just have found the future she's always wanted but never dreamed she'd have. “Exiled Alpha” by Amber Morgan Rachel Jacobs is a wolf on a mission. To save her pack from destruction, she's turning to the werewolf who nearly destroyed it once before. Arkady Gusev is everything her father ever warned her against - so why does she find him so irresistible? Arkady Gusev isn't looking for a pack or a woman. But when Rachel walks through his door, she throws down a challenge he can't resist. Is this exiled alpha about to come home? “Drakon’s Prize” by Moira Callahan Being the Alpha of a misfit clan of Dragons comes with its share of troubles. When the supernatural Council comes to Drakon Blackwood with yet another false claim against his clan he knows it’s time to make someone pay. Preferably with their life. Allegra Hanson doesn’t work for the Council, and yet she’s been roped into assisting them in their investigation into the Blackwood clan’s supposed activities. Against her better judgment she goes to the clan’s lands to do what she can. What she never planned on was her visceral reaction to the Alpha. The Blackwood clan land is valuable. Not for its location, but for what lies beneath the earth’s surface. Many will do anything to get it, one will stop at nothing, and is willing to kill Drakon’s woman to get it. Allegra is his, and there’s no way Drakon will lose the most precious prize of all. “Tiger’s Mate” by April Zyon Streak politics, and differences in opinions forced Kurt Owens to choose his own path. While it may be outside of the law in many regards he sees it as ensuring justice for the true victims of crimes when the system fails them. It’s his way of seeing the guilty pay, and keeping his own inner beast in check with the violence, and blood it craves. Everyone thinks having a super power would be great. Alexa Harold would beg to differ. She’s been cursed to see ghosts, the dead not yet having gone to their final resting place, or judgment, or wherever they belong. They track her down, and harass her until she’s ready to go mad. Learning early in life what she needs to avoid has been the only saving grace in keeping her sanity intact. Then she sees a man who couldn’t possibly be real. It was just her luck that such a prime specimen would in fact be deceased. Only he isn’t, and he’s taking notice of her. With a little temptation, some mystery, and a taunt he leaves her wanting more. Kurt never thought he’d find his mate outside of the streak, or streak functions. While those of a supernatural inclination aren’t exactly rare, they have had to be careful and keep their population down. Alexa is the woman for him the only one he could ever want or need. And when her life is put in danger by his own past Kurt won’t stop until everyone understands to get to this tiger’s mate, they’ll have to get through him. “Dark Heart” by Elyzabeth M. VaLey The world is changing. Vampires are coming out and they’re not remotely similar to the sensual Hollywood portrait made of them. Little by little, Shifters are being unmasked and integration is waning. Panic is spreading. The government is losing control. Private agencies, such as SOA struggle to find a solution, but as the darkness grows, can one even exist? Ten years ago, Daryl Jones lost his pack to a group of demon vampires. Since then, he not only lost his will to battle for good, his life has become a spiral of drinking, fighting and fucking anything in sight. In his opinion, a pretty perfect existence. Until, he meets the new SOA representative sent to convince him to go back to the lab. With mile long legs, a tight little ass and a smile to kill for, when she offers him a bargain, how can he possibly refuse? Silvia Adams, has one mission: convince Daryl Jones to work for SOA again. The agency needs him to get back into the lab and help develop a serum to neutralize the growing number of vampires. She knew it wouldn’t be easy task, but with her job on the line, she’ll do anything it takes, including, bargaining with the shifter and surrendering to her deepest desires. Only problem is, she might have bartered for more than she can handle. “Resisting His Mate” by Lynn Burke Warrick Keaton eludes a forced pairing with one of his kind. No one is going to choose his mate for him, not when he wants nothing to do with being tied down to a woman. He never expects fate to intervene in the form of a freezing, barely alive female. With his independence in jeopardy, Warrick fights his inner hawk's desire to stake a claim on her. Clare Byron longs to escape her domineering ex-husband, a jealous bear shifter determined to keep her prisoner. She seizes the opportunity to run and lands in the arms of another alpha—exactly what she doesn’t want or need. For Warrick, Clare is everything he's ever wanted in a mate and all that he's run from. For Clare, Warrick is freedom in a way she never dreamed possible—the one man who will own her heart yet give her wings to fly. “Alpha’s Vixen” by Jocelyn Dex Dax is overwhelmed by desire when he catches the white fox trespassing on his land, and that totally pisses him off. He refuses to mate, no matter how much the fox inside him wants it, Dax definitely does not. Opal is instantly enamored with the menacing black fox, but isn’t surprised when he chases her away—no one ever wants her, the freak-of-nature albino. When theft and violence bring them together again, will they give in to passion, or will their hang-ups force them apart? “Always Midnight” by Ashlynn Monroe Taryne Michael is all her younger brother Travys has ever had for stability. When fifteen-year-old Trav doesn’t come home after he fights with her she spends the next week searching for him. He finally comes home he’s not the same boy who slammed the door the night he left. Something is very wrong and when she discovers he’s been transformed into a werewolf she’s at a loss as to what to do. The violent, angry boy isn’t the little brother she knows how to deal with. Teenage hormones are nothing compared to the animalistic young man emerging from the boy she’d raised. Ax Greyson is a lone wolf, an alpha without a pack. He enforces laws non-shifters don’t know about. Celo Valley, is a place where two species co-reside. The werewolves keep the humans blind to their existence by being careful. Someone isn’t following the rules. Someone is killing, with no regard for secrets. When killing the woman seems like the only way to keep his people’s secret until Ax’s instincts find another way. Mate…the word is the only thing that can scare a man like Ax. “Becoming His Mate” by Harper Shaddock * * * * * Bad Alpha Manlove Edition: “Bully Boys” by Nicola Cameron When Victorian solicitor Arthur Finter is forced to cut down dangerous London alley after work, he stumbles upon pit bull shifter Alpha Gunner Jones in the middle of a dogfight with a rival shifter pack. The hardnosed bully boy scents Arthur and recognizes him as his mate, but will events orchestrated by the other pack separate them before Gunner can lay final claim? “The Alpha’s Assassin” by Doris O’Connor Bear shifter Zayden Reid makes his living doing what he does best—killing people. The sought after assassin doesn’t have to think twice when he’s offered a lot of money to kill the Alpha of a wolf pack, until he scents his mate. As the Alpha of his pack Quinton Thorn is used to giving orders. He may be gay, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak, and he’ll squash any challenge to his leadership with ruthless efficiency. When the threat comes from a source he trusts, however, can he afford to give into his feelings for his mate, knowing that he’ll endanger everyone under his protection? The mating bond cannot be denied, no matter what the consequences, and they might well kill. “Discarded Pup” by Angelique Voisen Betrayed by his beta and abandoned by his pack, Cole Reyes wasted the last ten years of his life rotting behind bars. A cage is no place for a wolf, and wounds left open, fester. Cole has zero tolerance for mercy. The time Cole spent in prison didn’t just bleed out all the decency he once possessed. It broke him. Made him hard and unforgiving. Cole’s vengeance starts now, beginning with his beta’s new toy. “Yellow Eyes” by Gale Stanley The brutal war between shifters and humans is over, but each side still sees the other as a threat. The only thing they can agree on, is that they can’t agree. Humans live east of the bridge, shifters live west. Camden is a halfbreed, the product of a rape that happened during the war. Neither side wants him, but he lives with his human mother. The night she dies, Camden goes west looking for revenge. He knows he won’t find his father, and he’ll probably get himself killed, but he doesn’t care. As long as he takes a shifter with him, he’ll die happy. Wyat is alpha of the pack living in the west. He’s a warrior who believes in separation of the races. Then on the night of the full moon, he discovers a half-breed hiding in the alley. The man’s scent makes him burn with lust, and against his better judgement, he takes him home—and discovers that sleeping with the enemy might just lead to a better future. “Destined” by L.D. Blakeley Caleb Stokes has had a shit night. Too bad catching his boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the club DJ isn't the worst thing he’ll witness before the night is through. Marick Gevrees has no time for romance. He has even less time for a tipsy twink looking for a man to fill some Daddy fetish. But what the hell is he supposed to do when said twink wanders headlong into the middle of a bloody vendetta that could result in the exposure of his clan? “Trouble” by James Cox Tremarc is sleeping his way through the entire Bear Shifter Clan. He’s sent to the moon, under the colonized dome to stay out of trouble. When he meets sexy alpha Lyon and his mated human, Quinn his life takes a sharp turn that may just find him his happy ending or get him kicked out of yet another bear shifter clan. “Outlaw Wolf” by Elizabeth Monvey Dekker ran away from his pack in an order to protect his lover and Alpha, Grey, when he overheard two higher ranked wolves talk about killing him. When Grey finds him six months later, Dekker tries to convince the man he loves to go away. But Grey won’t take no and as the two talk it out, their mutual attraction overwhelms them. In desperation, Dekker renounces Grey as his Alpha. But when another force tries to punish Dekker by silencing him forever, Grey must choose which stand he’ll take…being the alpha for all his pack, or being the man Dekker needs, even if it means breaking the rules. Giveaway: $25 Evernight Publishing GC
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Melissa KeirGator Girl Extraordinaire Archives
October 2023
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