Thanks so much for having me! 

 

Gosh, what seems like forever ago but was really only 2005, I’d just started writing with Ellora’s Cave and they put out a call for an anthology. I can’t even remember the title but the theme was men with dangerous jobs.

 

So I noodled around and came up with an idea for a werewolf cop of sorts, an Enforcer. I wrote the proposal and subbed it but they didn’t choose it. My editor wrote me and said she really loved the idea and she thought I should write it as a full length novel.

 

So it sat a while, because I had a dozen other things to do and by the time I’d gotten back to it, Lex had softened a bit and the original heroine had changed into Nina Reyes and some key elements had shifted. Pretty much, without my editor’s urging, I’m not sure I would have written it at all! 

 

But I did and Cascadia Wolves: Enforcer was my first book in the Cascadia Wolves series. In the beginning, I’d really only considered it to be a standalone book but when I started Tri Mates, the story got really big and Warren Pellini was back so at that point I sketched out the idea for the werewolf mafia story arc to be told over a few more books.

 

I think for me, this series taught me a lot about letting the story have its way with you. Sometimes you have to rein yourself in as an author, keep your cast down to a manageable number, keep the story within the lines or it’s just too big and confusing. But other times, if you let yourself go a bit, you find things you hadn’t imagined at first.

 

So I just released Standoff, which is the last book in the werewolf mafia story arc and Cade Warden’s HEA. I saved him for last for a few reasons, firstly the story arc needed to end with him risking his life to save his people and I felt like it would be more meaningful if he did it with his mate at his side. Also, he’s the patriarch of the series so there was an important element of saving the best for last.

 

Standoff was a big challenge for me because Grace is a more subdued heroine than I normally write. She’s strong, but she’s not big on the page like Nina and Tracy. I also knew Nina would have a problem with any woman Cade brought home and that she was a Pellini was another complicating factor. I needed to write that all carefully because Nina is a character people like but she’s not likeable when she goes off on Grace. And because Nina is so well liked, I had to make sure people didn’t start off hating her because she challenged Nina.

 

In truth it turned out to be a lot of fun to write their scenes together and although it took a while, Grace revealed herself to me on the page and once I really understood her, she was a lot easier to write.

 

Even though Standoff was the hardest book to write of the four, it was a truly satisfying experience. I like Grace a lot. I like Cade and I think through Grace, I was able to show readers another side of our cookie baking, control freak alpha.

 

I hope you all enjoy them too!

 

This isn’t the last of the Cascadia Wolves or of their universe. I’m currently working on Unexpected, Megan’s story and next year I’ll be working on Jack’s book too.  

 

***Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment! One winner will receive a download copy of one of Lauren’s available book titles. Go here to look at her list of book titles.

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