Howl at the moon with N.J.Walters

October is here, the days are getting shorter, and the air has a distinct bite to it. The trees are losing their leaves as the wind whistles through their branches. Pumpkins are appearing on porch steps and children of all ages are getting excited about the upcoming holiday.

We’re getting closer to Halloween, the time of year where creatures of the night such as vampires, demons and ghosts, but most especially werewolves seem a little more real to us all. Why do I say most especially werewolves? It’s simple really. I’m celebrating the fact my very first werewolf book was released this month.

But seriously, what makes these shapeshifters so appealing to readers of all genres, especially romance readers? Personally, I think it’s the fact that they’re stripped down to the basics. They rely on their animal instincts when dealing with others—human or those of their own kind. They are strong and can be brutal when necessary, yet nurturing and caring to those they consider family. They live by their own set of rules and these differ from those which humans live under. They change, transforming themselves, sometimes at will and other times needing the light of the full moon to do so—depending on the writer penning the story.

Elemental best describes them. They are powerful creatures, in tune with the earth. We can all easily picture a lone wolf on a hillside howling at the moon. It makes us shiver in dread at the same time it makes us wish we could be closer to the wolf. The wolf calls to us on a primal level. We admire it even as we fear it.

I’ve always enjoyed reading werewolf books and, as a writer, I’d been wanting to try my hand at writing one for a while before I started Alexandra’s Legacy. I found myself wondering what would happen to a woman who lived a quiet life, a woman who’d always felt out of sync with the rest of the world, when she found out she wasn’t quite human. What if she discovered her entire past was a lie and that she was a half-breed werewolf? The possibilities were endless.

Of course, there had to be a sexy hero. That’s where Joshua Striker comes in. He’s the enforcer of the Wolf Creek pack and he’s traveled to Chicago to take Alexandra home to the pack and protect her from anyone who wants to harm her. Problem is, he’s not expecting the sudden attraction he feels toward her. For Joshua, duty is everything and he cannot let anything distract him from it—that includes Alexandra, and he finds her very distracting.

Here’s the blurb for this spicy werewolf tale:

Alexandra Riley’s day starts out like any other in her normal, predictable world. Then a tall, dark stranger bursts into her father’s garage and shatters the illusion. In one shocking moment, she discovers why she’s been feeling hot, restless—she’s the half-breed daughter of a legendary werewolf and is a much-sought-after prize.

Joshua Striker, enforcer in charge of protecting the alphas of the Wolf Creek pack, has come to take Alex home. Nothing more, nothing less. From the first moment he sees her, she becomes the one thing he can’t afford—a distraction from his duty. A weakness he doesn’t want—but can’t resist needing.

If only keeping her safe was as simple as fending off  males on the hunt for a mate. Through city streets to the mountains of North Carolina, Alex and Joshua have to evade those who don’t want their pure bloodlines tainted with human DNA, as well as bounty hunters who think the only good werewolf is a dead one.

What Joshua and Alex can’t outrun is the passion that flares between them—or the choice Alex must eventually face. Whether to claim her inner wolf, or forfeit her chance to claim Joshua as her own.

Alexandra’s Legacy, the first book in the Legacy series, is now available from Samhain Publishing. I’ve created a world I won’t be leaving behind very soon. I have several more werewolf stories and maybe even a vampire tale or two left to tell in this series.

Happy Halloween!

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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms Walters!

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