Please welcome Juliana Stone!

Juliana is a debut author I met on eharlequin, the message board for writers/readers of Harlequin and Silhouette books. She's a super cool chick who not only writes kick ass paranormal stories, she also sings in a band (and anyone who knows me knows that music is my second love after writing...okay, first love, shh....)

Juliana's got a busy year ahead of her in 2010, and she generously agreed to answer a few questions about what she's got in store for her eager readers. 

1) You're a debut author with your first release due out April 2010. Can you tell us a bit about it?

Hey Cari, thanks for having me here!

Yes, my very first book evah is being released from Avon/Harpercollins next year and I can’t even tell you how excited I am!  I fell in love paranormal romance after picking up Dark Prince by Christine Feehan. I was hooked and when I decided to give the whole writing thing a try, though I loved vamps, I wanted to do something different.

The story came to me after I envisioned an opening scene where the hero is bent on revenge against his former lover.  But what if in that moment, when his chance for revenge is within his grasp, he realizes something is wrong?  That the woman who betrayed him three years ago is not the same?  That she has obviously been abused, tortured and has no memory of him?

That scene stuck in my head and the rest fell into place.  This book is about two people who have been manipulated by outside forces, and their fight for the truth and for each other.  This is the back cover blurb:

Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin.  He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal.  After three long years he’s finally found her.  The hunt is over…

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name.  A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them.  Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.

But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine…

2) Why werejags? And why do you think shifters are so enormously popular with readers?

Jaguars are sexy, sleek and powerful.  I don’t think I envisioned Jaxon being anything else. There is something in the wildness of an animal like the jaguar that appeals to woman.  We want to tame the beast, but we want them to play rough too!  I think shifters are popular because in most instances they mate for life and there is something primal and amazing about a man who will fight to the death for what belongs to him.

3) For the aspiring writers out there, is there anything you wish you would have known before you sold a book?

I was and still am very new to this game.  His Darkest Hunger is the first book I ever wrote so every single step in this journey is new to me.  But, because I’d hung out on various blogs and online writers forums I was fairly knowledgeable about the whole process.  The one thing though, that I didn’t realize was how SLOW publishing is.  It’s awful, the waiting, and I’m a pretty impatient person!  So I find that very hard.

4) What upcoming releases can we look forward to from you?
 

Well, His Darkest Hunger comes out in April of next year, and the second book in my Jaguar Warrior’s series comes out in the fall of 2010.  I have a third and fourth planned but as of yet don’t have dates for those.

I also am lucky enough to have a series of shorts come out from Samhain Publishing. The Black Opals is a time travelling romance series about five sisters who protect the delicate thread of time from rogue jumpers.  Their enemy, The New Order has found a way to predict who their predestined mates are and they’re  pulled into a deadly game.  They must find their mates before the New Orders assassinates them, because if there are no more Black Opals humanity will pay the ultimate price.

The first book in this series is called Black Legacy and will be available from Samhain Publishing in February of 2010.

5) Lots of authors talk about "the book of their heart." Do you have one, and has it sold yet?

Well, at this point in time I would have to say it’s the current YA I’m working on.   It’s now in probably the third version and finally has my agent’s blessing.  She’s an amazing lady, really knows her stuff so I’m just glad I was able to pull it together.  We shall see what happens with it, but my goal all along has been to be pubbed in both Young Adult and Adult paranormal, so if I am lucky enough to sell to the YA market, I will be over the moon.

6) And finally, for fun...True Blood or Twilight, and why. ;)

True Blood all the way baby……um, all I need to say is ERIC!

Thanks for having me Cari!  This was fun!

Thanks for stopping by, Juliana! You can find out more about Juliana or her books at www.julianastone.com