Rage / Killian
(Bayou Heat Novellas)
by Alexandra Ivy
&
Laura Wright
RAGE
Rage might be an aggressive Hunter by nature, but the gorgeous male has never had a problem charming the females. All except Lucie Gaudet. Of course, the lovely Geek is a born troublemaker, and it was no surprise to Rage when she was kicked out of the Wildlands.
But now the Pantera need a first-class hacker to stop the potential destruction of their people. And it’s up to Rage to convince Lucie to help. Can the two forget the past—and their sizzling attraction—to save the Pantera?
KILLIAN
Gorgeous, brutal, aggressive, and human, Killian O’Roarke wants only two things: to get rid of the Pantera DNA he’s been infected with, and get back to the field. But the decorated Army Ranger never bargained on meeting the woman—the female—of his dreams on his mission to the Wildlands.
Rosalie lost her mate to a human, and now the Hunter despises them all. In fact, she thinks they’re good for only one thing: barbeque. But this one she’s guarding is testing her beliefs. He is proud and kind, and also knows the pain of loss. But in a time of war between their species, isn’t any chance of love destined for destruction?
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An Exclusive Interview With Alexandra Ivy & Laura Wright:
~ with Jillian Stein of Read Love Blog
I loved both stories in this installment. The heat and attraction between both Rage and Lucie and Killian and Rosalie was amazing. How did you choose the characters for your novella?
Laura: This was an especially fun one for me. It’s the first time we’ve had a human male as a hero. Although he is…special. Not completely human anymore, but still. And pairing him up with one of our well-known females in the bayou. One readers know has struggled after the death of her mate. It brought great tension, angst and chemistry. Three of my favorite things to explore in writing.
Alexandra: Rage was introduced in an earlier book and I fell in love with him. I wanted to wait until I had the perfect partner before I wrote his book and when I came up with Lucie I knew they would be the perfect fit. When a male is charming and a little arrogant I love to match him with a female who knocks him down to size. LOL.
Now, I’m sure you’ve answered this before, but I’m dying to know…how did you guys working together come about?
Laura: I bought Alex on eBay. I kid. I kid. She tells the story the best…
Alexandra: It actually started with a phone call. One of those “Hey, you know what would be fun…” conversations. I think we were both just tossing out ideas without actually thinking it would happen since we were both writing for other houses. But then we realized we could actually do it if we each did a novella and put them together. Suddenly the world we were creating was possible and we jumped in headfirst. It’s been so insanely fun to work together, and honestly, when I have a chance to return to the Bayou Heat it always feels like coming home.
What’s the most gratifying and difficult thing about working together?
Laura: Sharing the successes and failures. And we grew an incredible friendship out of this experience. I really value her. I’m so thankful to Bayou Heat for many reasons, but most importantly it brought me Alex.
Alexandra: Ditto! Writing is such a lonely business most of the time. It’s been a rare and wonderful experience to be able to work with Laura. And like she said, it’s not a business relationship, it’s a true friendship that I deeply value!! The only difficult thing is trying to get our schedules to match up. We both have a lot of books we write each year so it’s never easy.
What is one of your favorite characters of Laura’s?
Alexandra: Oh man, do I have to pick one?? Séverin has to be my fav book boyfriend. He was so raw and sensual…yummy! Plus Laura did such a magnificent job in showing him through his animal eyes. You truly understood this character was a shifter down to his soul, not just another male who could turn into a puma.
What is one of your favorite characters of Alexandra’s?
Laura: This is so hard, but I have to go with Raphael. He started this whole series. I remember lying in bed reading his story—that scene in the hotel with Ashe when he learns she’s pregnant—and mentally swooning. He’s so strong, intelligent and masculine. And I love how he straddles both worlds as leader of the Pantera.
You were just in Las Vegas and also recently had a wedding in the family! Do you have any more exciting things planned for the year?
Alexandra: It truly has been a crazy year! I don’t have any plans for the rest of this year, but next year I’m excited to announce that I’ll be a keynote speaker at the Desert Dreams Conference in April.
Laura: I saw a wonderful video of your signing with the ridiculously sexy Colby Lefebvre…how was that amazing experience? Any other model signings in the future? That was a surreal experience. Colby is one of those guys who’s far too good-looking to just be walking around, if you know what I mean. Looking at him is akin to staring into the sun. You get deliciously burned. That said, I loved signing with him, and would be totally into doing it again with any and all cover models. #bringiton
On a typical Saturday night, what would we find you doing?
Laura: Going to an all-male revue, followed by dinner and dancing until dawn, baby. Wait, that was my previous life. B.C. Before Children. Now, the family hangs out, a little pizza, a little wine, a good movie. Frankly, it’s way more satisfying than the all-male revue.
Alexandra: Hmm…I actually do have an all-male revue that comes from a husband, two sons, endless streams of their friends treating my house like an all-night buffet and hotel. Sometimes I join them and other times I lock the door to my office and pray my house is still standing in the morning…
If you could give a high school class superlative award to each other, what would it be?
Laura: For Alex I would choose MOST FUN. She’s just fun. Up for anything. Love just talking and hanging out with her. Alex??? All-Male Revue? You and me? Saturday night?
Alexandra: For Laura I would choose ALL HEART. She has an amazing ability to make me feel as if she always, always has my back. This can be a tough business and it’s so easy to get cynical. Thank god I have Laura. Just a few minutes on the phone and I suddenly remember why I love writing, and why I love writing with HER! She’s my soft place to fall. And yes! I’m in on the Saturday night thing. I’ll bring the wine!!
Can you give us a hint as to what you’re working on now? Either together or separately?
Laura: Alex and I are definitely working on more Bayou Heat, and the offshoot of the series called Puma Heat, set in the Wetlands of Florida. I am also continuing my Wicked Ink Chronicles, and have the final book in the Cavanaugh Brothers series coming out in September!
Alexandra: I have the Bayou Heat and Puma Heat with Laura, and a brand new romantic suspense series (ARES Security) that I’m super-excited about. The first book, KILL WITHOUT MERCY, comes out at the end of December.
Thanks so much for having us!! We hope you enjoy this 1,001 Dark Nights Bayou Heat Extravaganza: RAGE/KILLIAN.
Biographies:
Alexandra Ivy is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Alexandra: “I’m not exactly sure when I fell in love with books. Probably on my mother’s knee listening to her read Dr. Seuss to me. I do remember that I was barely old enough to cross the street by myself when I discovered the delights of the local library.
Could anything be more wonderful than spending summer days surrounded by stacks of Nancy Drew mysteries? Over the years I fell in love with Victoria Holt, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and J.R.R. Tolkien just to name a few. I read poetry, essays, biographies, and plays. In fact, I read anything I could get my hands on.
Years later (no, I’m not admitting how many) I’m still an avid reader, and my tastes are still as varied as they were in my youth, which I suppose helps to explain why I enjoy writing regency historicals under the name of Deborah Raleigh, as well as my contemporary paranormals as Alexandra Ivy. For now that is enough to keep me busy, but who knows what the future might hold!
I do have a few other loves in my life besides reading and writing, the most important being my unbelievably patient husband, David, and my two sons, Chance and Alexander. Without their constant support and belief in me, I never could have been able to follow my dreams. They are truly my heroes
Visit Alexandra Ivy’s website and follow her on:
Laura Wright is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Laura: “Unlike many of my peers in the writing world, I wasn’t a writer or a reader until I left high school. During my youth I was into theater, song and dance, commercials and boys. I loved romance surely, but I had never read a romance novel until my late teens. With that said, I remember the day I did like it was a moment ago – my aunt gave me the Jude Deveraux novel, Knight in Shining Armor and I couldn’t put it down until the very last word. Then I went straight to the library and got another – then another until I’d read everything she’d ever written. After that, it was McNaught, Howard, Schone, Kleypas, and the Silhouette line, Desire. I instantly loved those emotional, sexy reads, so much so that I began to carve out ideas for my own stories, themes that were unique to me and moved me. In 1997 I enrolled in UCLA extension writing classes, met my mentor and critique partners and since have never stopped writing. I was committed then and I still am now; the need to tell my own romantic stories a full on obsession. My first manuscript was rejected, and though the second one was as well the editor who’d rejected it wanted to see something else from me. I had something (note to authors; always keep working, even after you’ve sent in a proposal) and sent it right away. The day I got the call telling me Desire wanted to buy Cinderella and the Playboy was the best day of my life. That is until I married my husband, and had my two beautiful children. But I must say, writing is much like motherhood – tough, grueling, surprising, delicious and for me, a dream come true.”
Visit Laura Wright’s website and follow her on: