Saturday, October 13, 2012

Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley (Interview/Giveaway)


Lexi: If you like urban fantasy, mysteries, historical, paranormal and contemporary romance...oh wait isn’t that about every genre out there? Well, if you like reading you will like our guest today. Welcome Jennifer Ashley!

I will start with a simple question, but I know it is not a simple quick answer. Jennifer what new release do you have to talk about? 

Jennifer: Mate Claimed! Book 4 of the Shifters Unbound series. (Well, this is the sixth story; I have two shorter books, Bodyguard and Hard Mated, which came out between the Berkley releases).

This is the story of Eric and Iona, who first met in the book Wild Cat

Here’s the blurb:
Mate Claimed cover
Eric Warden knows that half-Shifter wildcat Iona is passing for human, living without a Collar in the human world. He also knows that if she does not acknowledge her Shifter nature and her mating hunger, it could kill her.
Iona finds the mysterious and dangerous Eric, a wildcat and leader of his Shiftertown, haunting her dreams, but she vows never to take the Collar, fearing backlash against her mother and sister for hiding the fact that she's Shifter. But Eric is a compelling Shifter male, and Iona's hunger calls to him.

There’s more going on in this book: A Shiftertown has been closed, and the Shifters there are forced to move into Eric’s Shiftertown. Their leader, Graham, a wolf-Shifter, isn’t happy about giving up his leadership, and he’s not shy about saying so. 

Also Eric is dealing with mysterious pain that keeps crippling him, possibly left over from experiments done on Shifters twenty years ago. Now there’s evidence that those experiments might be starting up again. 
In the middle of this is Iona—unprotected, unclaimed, fair game. Eric will do anything in his power to protect her.

Lexi: Your shifters are amazing, so many tempting heroes. Do you find it easy to slip into writing a shifter story and then having to turn around and work on say a historical? Do you find that any of your heroes/heroines share prominent characteristics across genres?

Jennifer: I find it easy to move from story to story, genre to genre, because when I write, I’m immersed in that world, and no others exist. The stories, setting, and characters are unique,  and I don’t get confused. 

I think I’d have more trouble moving between, say two contemporary romance series, because they’d have much more similarities than, for example, the Stormwalker series and the Mackenzies.

Switching back and forth keeps me fresh too, so I don’t get burned out on one genre, which would be reflected in the books.

That said, to me, a good romance is a good romance, no matter what the setting or genre. I like strong, gorgeous, take-no-crap heroes who are also vulnerable, and I like strong heroines who stand up to them and don’t let them walk on them. 

Lexi: How you manage to keep all your deadlines and projects straight is beyond me. Maybe you take time and escape in your own little miniature world? Growing up I used to make houses for my miniature My Little Ponies, hours and hours. With your wild imagination I am going to guess you have some tiny lions and bears hanging out with a Highlander and his English heiress who presides over the tea?

Jennifer: Possibly. :-) I do sometimes make settings that reflect my books, though I don’t always have time. For instance, I have a “Pirate Next Door” setting (one of my early books). I made a bed that has one side messy, with pistols, a cutlass, muddy boots, and a trunk full of treasure next to it, the other side neat and pretty, with beaded slippers, a feminine fan, and a rose next to it. Fun to do.

I love minis, though, always have. I saw no reason to give them up because I grew up. Me and a large number of mini lovers throughout the world carry on our childhood fun. I have a blog: http://www.jennsminis.wordpress.com where I share photos of my latest projects.

Lexi: Do you ever sit and look at it all and just want to mash it all up together? It could be a Jennifer/Allyson/Ashley novel!

Jennifer: Oh, sure. Sometimes when my romance heroes are being oh-so-alpha, I think—“You know, if  Captain Lacey were here, he’d beat you up with his walking stick.”

Lexi: Whatever your working on right now, I am glad you can keep doing it to bring us entertaining books that take us out of our everyday lives. If we can’t fit into tiny little rooms at least you have created worlds to whisk us away. Thanks for stopping by Jennifer, good luck with your releases coming up!

Jennifer: Thank you! It’s been fun.
Jennifer Ashley
http://www.jennifersromances.com




~*GIVEAWAY*~
Berkley is giving away one copy of Mate Claimed to one reader. (US only, please.) To enter, just leave a question or comment on this post for Jennifer and then fill out the Rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 comments:

  1. I love shifter stories. Thank you for sharing. I haven't had the pleasure of reading one of Jennifer's books yet, but one day I will get to it. (I have a stack of many, many books to read right now)
    lisa(at)vetteklisa(dot)com

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  2. Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!

    I love Jennifer's books and can't wait to read "Mate Claimed".

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  3. Thanks for the giveaway!
    I've heard about your books and I'm sorry to say I haven't tried them yet; since I love shifters I thought I'd give it a try!
    diane dot sadler at gmail dot com

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  4. I think I would find it very hard to switch back & forth between writing the different books. But I love reading them- that switching ack & forth I can do!

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  5. Great review! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  6. Congrats on the new release. I love shifter stories. How many different genres do you write? How many books will there be in the Shifters Unbound series?
    This book sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read it.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

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  7. I can't wait to read this book! I love shifters especially wolves. Yummy! My question is when a story first comes to your head, do you have to stop what your doing immediately or do you wait until the characters and story develop in your head a little before you start writing?
    slinkydennis at yahoo.com

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  8. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com

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  9. I can't wait to read this!
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

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  10. I love this series! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  11. Thanks everyone for stopping by today! I'm sorry I'm just getting here--it's been a crazy day (month, year). I'm happy to be a guest on the blog, and happy to give away a book. I like to give things away. Have fun!

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  12. Wow, I checked out the mini blog, that looks like so much work, but a lot of fun looking for just the right accents. I'm looking forward to reading Mate Claimed, it sounds like a fantastic story.

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  13. I do love paranormal books and am really looking forward to reading this series. I have a couple of books in my TBR pile and really need to get more and read them all :)

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  14. I love this series as well as the Mackenzies, and the Stormwalker series. Keep them coming Jennifer!

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  15. I love your writing as Allyson. When are you putting out the next Shareem story out. I love all the guys and can't wait for another of there sexy stories. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  16. Oh I'm loving this series. I just found it a couple weeks back and it's quickly become a favorite :)

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  17. I would love to start reading this series! Jennifer is a new to me author that I would love to start reading! Thanks for the chance!

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  18. thanks for the great post and congrats to Ashley on the newest release! This series is high on my want list!

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  19. I love Jennifer's books! And I love shifters too. Thank you for the chance to win a copy

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  20. I've loved this series ever since the first book and have been waiting for this book to come out.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

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  21. I do enjoy Jennifer's stories and am glad she has a new story out.

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  22. I love shifter stories and series just means there more of them to read. :)

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  23. I love this series and am dying to read this book!

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  24. I've been curious to read more shifter books - this looks like a good one.
    sallans d at yahoo dot com

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  25. I love this series and the author is just amazing with the diversity she expresses in the different writing genres.sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com

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  26. Loved this interview. She asked questions that I don't think she's answered before (ok, maybe she has but I've never read before).

    joannamoreno1 at hotmail com

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  27. Shifter stories are my favorite. I love this series. What is your favorite genre to read?

    mythic021@gmail.com

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  28. What a great review and thank you for the great giveaway!

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  29. Great interview and post. I love Jennifer's writing no matter what genre it is. This series is amazing. Thanks for this chance.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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