Today I'm turning my blog over to Annie Nicholas, who I interviewed about her latest novel "Omegas In Love," which is the 4th book in The Vanguards Series!!ALSO -- Be sure to comment on this post to be able to sign up for this tour's GIVEAWAYs (listed below)!! [Blog Tour will run from March 19 - 30, 2012]
My Q&A with Annie Nicholas :
Jess : Why did you choose to pursue this career path?
Annie : In all honesty, I think this career chose me. I’ve always loved to read. Where most children were told to stop watching TV and play outside, I was told to put down the book. LOL It never occurred to me to try writing until a few years ago. I was ill, house bound, and bored to death with nothing left to read so I entertained myself with a my own story.
Jess : What books did you enjoy reading while growing up?Annie : I loved the Narnia series and was so excited when they came out in movies. (Probably more than my kids)
Jess : Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, from which book and why?
Annie : The least would be Tane, a Nosferatu vampire, from my Angler series. I would probably end up being dinner. LOL
But I would love to be invited to Pia’s parents' house for dinner. She is my succubus from Confessions of a Succubus series due to be released in fall. Her family is outrageous and Pia is playful and so much fun.
Jess : If you had to describe Katrina & Tyler (from "Omegas In Love") in one word, what would it be?Annie : Devoted.
Jess : What sparked the idea for your Vanguards Series?
Annie : A long-ass drive to Canada and my home town, where I grew up a nerd, inspired this series. All the books I’d read were about alpha shifters, confident and dominant. What if I’d been placed in a pack? What happens to weaker shifters? My omegas were born. Sometimes a woman just needs to root for the underdog.
Jess : Which usually comes first for you, the character(s) story or the idea for the novel?
Annie : The character makes the story. Each person reacts differently in a situation so once I know who I’m writing about I start tossing conflicts at them and see how they react. This is where the stories begin.
Jess : In regards to your most recent novel, "Omegas In Love," if you could write it all over again, would you change anything about it?
Annie : Not a thing.
Jess : How many books have you written? Which is your favorite and why?Annie : I have seven books published. Two novels in The Angler series and four novellas with The Vanguards, then a stand alone novella titled "Irresistible."
My favorite book is "Catch" because its action packed, I made sure you could never guess what will happen next, and it all tied in well together.
Jess : Do you have any other projects in the works? If so, can you share a little of your current work with us?
Annie : I’m in the process of editing the next Vanguards novella, "The Sigma," releasing August 2012. And also will begin edits on a new series titled "Confessions of a Succubus," the first novel releasing this fall. Very exciting stuff. There are a few super secret projects I’m working on as well for this year.
About the Author :Annie Nicholas hibernates in the rural, green mountains of Vermont, where she dreams of different worlds, heroes, and heroines. When spring arrives the stories pour from her, in hopes to share them with the masses one day.
Mother, daughter, wife are some of the hats she happily wears while trudging after her cubs through the hills and dales. The four seasons an inspiration and muse.
- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Kindle Edition - File Size: 182 KB | Expected Release Date: March 19, 2012 | Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc. | Obtained: Goddess Fish Promotions"Omegas In Love" [The Vanguards Series, Book 4] by Annie Nicholas
My Book Summary : Tyler & Katrina have been together for just over a year and since things are going so well, Tyler plans to pop the question soon. However, on the day he plans to do so Katrina's past, and her previous pack from China, comes back to haunt them and kidnap her. She left that pack years ago because of the abuse that was going on, and doesn't want to go back. Yet when she tries to escape, she finds that she can't seem to reach her wolf. Scared of her previous Alpha and lost as to what to do, Katrina has to wait it out in hopes that Tyler will be able to rescue her.
Tyler knew Katrina had a bad past and pack, but he never really knew the details until now. In addition, even though he isn't one of the fighters in his pack, he is determined to bring Katrina back to him. But can he do so before it's too late and at what cost to himself or his pack?
My Book Review : 4 out of 5 stars! This is a quick read that is action-packed with HOT sex scenes, pack support, werewolf fights (some clever and some brutal), treachery! This book threw me for a loop with how many storylines it had in it while being a short story and being oh-so-good!! I LOVED IT!! Along with the characters, that I always enjoyed and liked getting brief updates about!
My only problem was I wish it were longer. Not because the plot needed it, but just because I didn't want the book to end!!
I recommend this to anyone who has read the previous stories in the Vanguards Series and/or to anyone who likes reading action-packed (in more ways than one) paranormal romances!!
My Previous Review(s) for this Series : Book 2
Author's Series Extras : Daedalus' Trading Card | Eric's Trading Card | Robert's Trading Card | Tyler's Trading Card
Book Teaser(s) :
“I can’t stay here. I’m going with you.” The doors opened and they rode to the lobby.For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Annie, then please check out her website.
Eric leaned against the wall, his head hung low and his shoulders bent. “There’s going to be fighting.”
“I know.” He couldn’t meet his gaze. The sting of the comment too sharp on his battered soul. Over the past two years, Eric had matured from super geek to ultra alpha. Tyler gazed down at his own slight frame. Nothing had changed. Why did Katrina want him?
“You haven’t trained much, Tyler. I don’t want to rescue the girls and lose you in the process. Let me, Robert, and Esther go.”
All those chances to learn to fight and he’d blown them off, always thinking that there’d be other options besides violence. Now, all he wanted to do was tear Chen’s head off with his bare hands. ~ within Chapter 4
Book Excerpt :
Katrina attempted to transform into her wolf-beast form as Chen’s guard dragged her through the panicked human crowd. Her beast didn’t respond. Sharp claws of fear tore into her heart. What was wrong?
Her beast used to cower like this in the past when faced with Chen, but they’d grown so much since escaping to America. It only took one moment in her old alpha’s presence and they’d lost all they had gained. No, please no, she needed to connect with her beast and fight.
She looked at her true mate a last time as he stood in his red tinged magnificent form against Chen and his pack mates. Their gazes met and she reached for him, hoping one day he might forgive her secrets.
If only the past would have remained buried. No one knew of her life in China--she wanted the depravity forgotten. Her best friend, Sugar, had once told her to build a wall around the haunting memories, and she had. Now, Chen, her worst nightmare, showed up here, halfway around the world.
What did an alpha of a large shifter clan want with the lowest of daughters of her birth pack? She’d been nothing but garbage to him. There must be other females with the same pure shifter blood as her. Chen could mate and torture one of them. What made her so special?
She struggled in the guard’s arms, twisting and turning until she sank her flat, human teeth into his neck.
With a cry, he pulled her off by yanking on her long hair, then slapped her across the face hard enough to rattle her thoughts. Such hits had been common in her youth but it had been years since anyone had laid an unkind hand on her. Limp, she wasn’t difficult for him to carry and take away from Chinatown. The place where she’d met a misfit pack of omega shifters. The place she’d felt most at home. The place where Tyler had kissed her for the first time.
Giveaways!! :
- A copy of one of the books in her backlist to one commenter at EVERY stop
- An autographed copy of each of the first three Vanguards books and a $10 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble for one randomly drawn commenter during the tour
To Enter : Please leave a comment on this post, with a valid email address included at the end of it.
Soo .... COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT on this post!! And you could WIN!! =0)
ALSO -- Be sure to follow the tour around the other blog sites! Commenting on the other stops on the tour will also increase your chance of winning!
Find Annie Nicholas :
