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In an alternate world where the South wins the War of Aggression (Civil War), Bryne Williams struggles
to keep her small bar afloat, not knowing that she is a powerful mage who has powers that Vampires
and Werewolves would do anything to control. When sexy, charismatic werewolf Nolan Shea shows up
in her bar, she knows nothing will ever be the same. She can’t take her mind off of him, but after he tells
her he bought the debt to her bar, she isn’t sure what he wants with her. As Nolan becomes more a part
of her life and her feelings for him begin to grow and develop she questions him and his motives as well
as those around her. Can he protect her from those who want the power for themselves, or will she find
herself in the middle of a werewolf vampire war?
Excerpt:
“Look at your neck and tell me you can decide who to trust or not. God damnit!” he growled, slamming
his hand into the steering wheel before he ran it over his face.
I looked into the mirror and noticed the two small wounds in my neck—a vampire bite. I looked over at
him, then at the wounds, touching them. They hurt, they were fresh, and the blood that remained on
my fingers was proof of that.
“What the hell is going on, Nolan? I just met you last night and you’re ordering me around like a child.
Who are you? Why did you buy the bar, huh? You’re not telling me everything I need to know.” I could
feel it then, that he was hiding something from me.
He turned to look at me. “Promise me, Bryne, that you will not go to her or try and find out about your
family, at least not from her.”
“Why would I promise you anything?”
“Because I’m asking you to!” he yelled, but there was a growl in it. It wasn’t a sound that could be
mistaken for anything else. It didn’t scare me as much as it made me angry. I folded my arms across my
chest and turned to look out the window. It wasn’t that he made me angry; it was the gut reaction of
wanting to obey him. I wanted to do what he told me, and I had no clue why. It was the same feeling as
when he’d told me to get into the truck.
“Fine. Whatever,” I muttered. I wanted to get to my place and away from Nolan. Whatever dreams I’d
had about him last night were totally ruined. To be honest, there was a part of me that found it kind of
cool that he was being all wolfy with me. I mean I barely knew the guy so Estellan must be really bad
news for him to be so adamant about me staying away from her.
Neither of us spoke the rest of the ride back. The only sounds were those of the truck on the road and
the storm that raged overhead.
The minute Nolan put the truck into park, I threw the door open and headed for the front door. I had
nothing to say to him right then, and the farther I was from him the better. I fumbled with the keys that
hung around my wrist, trying to find the right one as the rain soaked me. I heard the door slam and
knew he was right behind me.
“Bryne, stop!” he said as he grabbed the keys from my hand. I hated his damn wolf fast
reflexy…whatever it was!
“Give me the keys. I promised I would stay away from her, now leave me alone.”
“I need to explain,” he said right before thunder shook the ground as it rolled through the sky.
“Explain what? That you said you owned me?” I yelled back at him. I took a step forward, pointing a
finger at him. “You don’t own me, you got that? You bought the bar debt. You didn’t buy me. I’m not a
whore. I’m not your slave, and you can’t treat me like a child.” I jabbed my finger into his chest. “So back
the fuck off, mister!” I didn’t care that I was getting wet or that I was arguing with a werewolf on the
sidewalk in front of my bar. A very gorgeous, sexy werewolf who’d just carried me over his shoulder out
of a vampire’s house.
About the Author:
I live in Southern Indiana, just outside of Louisville KY, where I was born and raised. (Except for a 4 year
stint in Buffalo NY).
I am the mother of 5 kids and married to the love of my life who also writes and helps me plot out
storylines and assists with characters from time to time.
Our house also boasts some furry family members from different species. It wasn’t until I was in my late
20s that I stumbled across an internet role playing game where my love of the Paranormal really took
off.
After falling in love with authors like Laurell K Hamilton, Keri Arthur and Patricia Briggs, I decided that
I wanted to delve into a world where Werewolves, Vampires, Mages and Demons not only existed but
flourished and were usually pretty sexy too!
I also have a passion for professional hockey. My favorite teams are the Buffalo Sabres and the
Pittsburgh Penguins. My love of those boys on ice and my love for the game itself has prompted several
short stories with hockey players and their ladies as characters.
I also have a very unhealthy (but fun) obsession with Nickelback, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner and
Ryan Reynolds.
When I’m not up to my neck in sexy creatures that go bump in the night, or those hot hockey hunks, I
dabble with photography, watch too many movies and listen to a wide variety of music.
My first novel Confederate Moon was the 3rd place Winner of the Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight
Contest in 2012!
*** Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight Finalist ***
Interview:
Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!
I grew up in Southern Indiana, on the other side of the Ohio River from Louisville, KY. I am a mom to 5 kids and married to my absolute best friend and soul mate. I currently am helping to raise my grandbaby and have another on the way.
Tell us about your book? How did it get started?
My husband and I do wedding photography and back in 2009 we did a wedding at a location in Louisville, KY called Farnsley Moremen Landing. It was bought in the early 1800s and during that time they had slaves that lived there on the farm. While we were walking around the reception hall, they had various pieces from archeological digs with descriptions along the walls. My husband was reading one then walked to me and said. “What if the South won the Civil War because Vampires came out and made themselves known and helped the South?” It was like a lightening strike. That night on the way home we began to talk about characters, story, who the bad guys were, who the good guys might be and how the world would have changed. I spent a good year on research before I ever really started to write it. I took a college course at the University of Louisville, as well as watched countless documentaries, read a lot of books and articles on not only the war, but why it happened and what really lead to it. Then I had to step back and create a world that was different because Vampires existed, I had to change how money worked, how slavery would have evolved. It was rather consuming but I had to know the world before I could effectively write it.
How do you create your characters?
My characters come to me. They will jump right out at me and say “Hey.. I’m here!” Very very rarely do I create the characters. They just kind of show up and I know who they are, I know their back story, what makes them tick as well as what their goals are. On the rare occasion I have to work at the characters, usually it’s a villain or a side character. Sometimes my husband Rick will come up with a characters as he did with my hero Nolan Shea. Rick actually came up with who Nolan was, where he came from, how he became a werewolf. We both hashed out his history from there but Nolan came from his mind first.
What inspires and what got your started in writing?
Oh that’s a tough one!! I started writing when I was in junior high school and I wrote what we would call fan fiction now. I wrote about rock groups and characters based off of friends (and myself) hooking up with said rockstars. From there it evolved into characters that were loosely based off of movie characters, then into my own characters. I also started doing a chat based roleplay on AOL in the mid 90s called Black Bayou. That really got me into writing more, helped me in my writing. I also met my husband while playing that game and he inspires me and pushes me to write.
Inspiration comes from so many places; my husband, pictures, events, things I dream, songs… you name it! I can get inspired from anywhere it seems.
Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to write (music, drinks?)
I have a small area in my bedroom that I write at. I also go to a local coffee shop and sometimes to Panera Bread.
Music. I have to have music. My musical tastes are so varied and it really depends on what I am writing on who/what I listen to. Much of Confederate Moon was written while listening to Nickelback, 30 Seconds to Mars and music from the 40s. Other than the groups I’ve listed I love country music especially Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan. I also love a group called Storm Circus. They are amazing!
How do you get your ideas for writing?
As I said before, my husband sometimes comes up with plot ideas, sometimes they just hit me, and at other times they might come from song lyrics or just a random thought. I’ve even driven past a house that I thought looked pretty creepy and a scene came out of just seeing that house.
What do you like to read?
I like so many things. The last thing I read was a friend’s short story. I tend to read more paranormal than anything, but I do love a good contemporary romance. One of my favorite authors is Laurell K Hamilton. I also like Keri Arthur and Jim Butcher a lot. I like great characters, great dialogue and a believable world.
What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
Be prepared to get turned down, to be told it needs more work and to take criticism with a grain of salt and a smile. Sometimes people are trying to help you and some just don’t care. You have to learn the difference. The biggest thing I can offer is to write because you love it. Write because the characters have to have their story told. Don’t write for anyone else but yourself. You have to love it, to be dedicated to it and really want it.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I love chatting with readers and welcome everyone to come over to the blog/website at www.kayellemcclive.com