Good morning! Today I’m pleased to interview N.J. Walters, author of Draken’s Promise. Thank you for stopping by, N.J.!
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’ve been on this strange and wonderful publishing journey for over twelve and a half years now and I love it. I’ve published with four major e-publishers (two of which are now closed) and done several group indie projects. When I started writing, I was mostly doing contemporary erotic romance and some paranormal romance. But over the past five or six years, my focus has been mainly on spicy paranormals. It’s what I love and they are the stories I need to tell. Plus, I love a wounded hero or an antihero, and paranormal romance lends itself well to that kind of character.
Is one of your main characters a supernatural creature that is traditionally considered “evil?” If yes, how does this character break that traditional stereotype?
The hero of my book is a drakon—the son of a pure-blood dragon and a human woman. In ancient lore, dragons were considered evil creatures, and it was the hero who slew the dragon and won the woman. But in my book it’s the humans who are the villains. All the drakons want is to be left alone. But because their blood is powerful and can cure disease and prolong human life, they’re constantly being hunted. This time it’s the drakon who gets the girl.
What do you think are the heroic qualities your villain/antihero/supernatural creature possesses?
Ezra is a water drakon who just wants to be left alone. How badly does he want to be left alone? He owns his own private island. But in spite of that, he rescues a woman he doesn’t trust and protects her. It would be easier just to kill her, to eliminate the threat to himself, but he doesn’t do that. He risks exposing himself to his enemies to protect her.
Who is one of your favorite fictional villains (can be from a book, movie or television)?
It has to be Crowley from the television show Supernatural. He’s the King of Hell, but he has his moments where you have to love him. Even though you know he’s always playing an angle, always has his own best interests at heart.
Who is one of your favorite fictional antiheroes?
Kaleb Krychek from Nalini Singh’s Heart of Obsidian. Kaleb is as ruthless as they come and doesn’t pretend to be anything but what he is. He is powerful and dangerous. Most people believe he doesn’t have a heart. But there is one woman that he loves. She was taken from him and he’s spent years looking for her. And now that he’s found her, he’ll destroy the world rather than lose her again.
Seriously, how can you not love him?
What is one of your favorite paranormal creatures and why?
I’m partial to werewolves and dragons (or in my case drakons). They’re powerful creatures that have both human and animal sides. They’re smart, but they’re also driven by primal instincts. They don’t conform to the normal rules of society, but they do live by a code of their own. They can be violent and stubborn, but they’re also incredibly loyal.
Drakon’s Plunder
Blood of the Drakon, Book 3
Life is not going well for archaeologist Sam Bellamy. She’s stuck in the middle of the ocean on a salvage boat with people who want her dead. It wasn’t her gift for being able to sense objects of power that got her here, rather her need to make a secret society called the Knights of the Dragon pay for killing her mentor. Sam doesn’t believe in dragons, but the Knights do, and if she can get one of the sacred artifacts they’re searching for away from them, she’ll consider it payback.
Ezra Easton is content to run his marine salvage company and live alone on his private island. He may be a four-thousand-year-old water drakon, but he’s civilized enough to know just because he pulls an injured woman from the ocean, doesn’t mean he gets to keep her…
When she wakes up, she has a few tall tales to share, and it seems the Knights are after her. But this drakon won’t give up his treasure.
EXCERPT:
“You have no idea who is looking for me.” She shoved the blanket aside and sat up. It was time to get dressed, if she still had any clothes, and get out of here. “These people are dangerous and will stop at nothing to find me. If they don’t find a body at the wreck—” She broke off before she said too much.
“So you were in a wreck. I wondered why you were alone in the dinghy. And who is after you?” He stood, looming like a large, avenging angel over her. “You can trust me to protect you.”
“You might be willing to risk yourself, but I’m not. I need to leave. Where are my clothes?”
As though she hadn’t spoken, Ezra continued. “You must be thirsty. Hungry, too. I’m starving. How about I make some bacon and eggs? Maybe some pancakes and toast.” He left her standing there and padded barefoot into the kitchen. Why did she find it so sexy that he was barefoot?
She was obviously not thinking straight, otherwise she wouldn’t notice the way his long hair brushed his shoulders or the way the soft denim cupped his behind as he walked away. Her toes curled against the rug.
She snatched up the throw blanket, wrapped it around her, and hurried after him. “Didn’t you hear anything I just told you? It’s not safe for you if I’m here. The people looking for me will kill you.”
Ezra pulled a carton of eggs, butter, and a package of bacon out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. He added a box of pancake mix and a bowl to his collection before getting several large skillets out of the cupboard.
“Did you hear me?” she demanded. “They’ll kill you.”
Ezra propped his hands on his hips and faced her. “Not if I kill them first.”
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072KF3JVT
Entangled: https://entangledpublishing.com/drakon-s-plunder.html
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drakons-plunder-nj-walters/1126552516?ean=9781640631724
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/drakons-plunder/id1247580768
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drakon-s-plunder
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072KF3JVT
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Visit me at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/awakeningdesires/info
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters