Sunday, December 8, 2013

Breathing life into a hero ~ Giveaway

Molding a hero…
Giving a character life is one of my favorite parts of writing. What will my hero look like? How will he act? For me, I need a name picked out before I type my first word. I simply can’t stick a generic title on him and build his personality. He needs an identity. Once I decide on a name, his life can take shape. This is where his story comes in. He didn’t just appear in the world I created. He lived in it, interacted with others, maybe loved and lost. Those are the details I need to know to mold him.
In Unexpected Find, my hero’s name is Rafe Alexander.
So let’s see, Rafe is a five hundred year old feline shifter. He’s protective of his family and works with the human government’s shifter division to locate and rescue kidnapped shifter children. After living for centuries, he’s a gentleman at heart, but his animal instincts make him dominant and possessive.
Hmmso what does Rafe look like?
Tall, muscular and confident. Add in long blond hair, golden feline eyes and Rafe is born.

My cover for Unexpected Find matches him perfectly. Don’t you think?
Excerpt
Rafe waited for Josh to leave then stepped behind Jasmine and slipped an arm around her waist, locking her to him. She molded against him, softness to hardness, and was short enough to tuck under his arm. She leaned into his embrace as if she’d done so for a lifetime, head tipped back to rest against his chest. The easy way she accepted him pushed him to take more. With a palm on her hip, he tugged her closer, pressed his engorged shaft to her body. She stiffened and spun, blonde hair very similar in shade to his whipping with the move. Wide-eyed, she stared at him. He loosened his grip but didn’t release her.
Gods, she was beautiful. Gray eyes, dilated at the moment, a few freckles on the tip of a slightly crooked nose and a mouth made for kissing. Her rounded face with its finely sloped forehead lent her an angelic quality, but the desire stamped on it ensured she’d be the wicked kind of angel, given the proper encouragement. And he had every confidence in his ability to bring out the vixen hidden behind her sweet exterior.
He thought about all the ways he could urge the siren out and a grin spread. Oh, the unveiling would be fun.
She shoved at his chest, didn’t move him, and huffed. “Let go, buddy. We’re done.”
Her husky voice wrapped around him and the bite of irritation in it appealed to him as well. He enjoyed feisty females—in bed and out.
“But you didn’t answer me,” he replied, enjoying the confusion making her brows scrunch. Tiny crinkles appeared by the corner of her almond-shaped eyes. He liked how they looked there.
“What did you ask?”
“Am I hot enough for you?”
Her jaw dropped, but the evidence of her desire drifted to his nose.
“Good. I’m glad I fit your needs.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” He took her hand, linking their fingers, and led her away from her human friend and the other males’ appreciative glances. He wanted her aloneto talk.
She hesitated at the entrance to the employee hallway. “What a sec, buddy. I am not going anywhere with you.”
He tipped her chin up, met those hypnotizing gray eyes. “Name’s Rafe. Rafe Alexander.”
She licked her lips. “Rafe,” she said.
Damn, his name sounded good in her breathless voice.
“Jasmine.” He tried the name out. It rolled nicely on his tongue. “Walk with me.”

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