Claiming Ana
Brynna Curry
A Triple Star Ranch Novel
“I’ll take you, turn you, until I’m the sun that warms you, the moon that calls to you at night.” – Howl Raven
Blurb: Where there's smoke, there's fire…and passion that won't be denied.
The child of a gypsy and fey, small-town veterinarian Dr. Anastasia Brannon has always hidden her magic for fear of ridicule. A red-hot encounter with the new PI in town makes their attraction impossible to deny. Throwing caution to the wind, she indulges her desires but keeps her secrets close.
A man with a shady past and secrets of his own, Howl Raven uses his feral talents and tracking skills to make a living, doing his best to lay low and hide the curse that haunts him every month. So far, so good…until an uncontrollable shift outside the full moon leaves him the victim of a werewolf hunter.
When she finds the enigmatic investigator wounded in the woods near her cabin during a storm, Ana provides medical care on instinct. She may be the only one who can banish the wolf from Howl’s blood, but at what cost?
Excerpt
“The pleasure is all mine, Anastasia.” Howl turned, his golden eyes meeting hers.
God, his voice was like the finest whiskey. Rich, dark and damning as it rolled over her name. The air changed at his touch. He didn’t shake her hand, instead held it warm in his just a second longer than was polite. She didn’t miss the frown on Jace’s face. Even old lovers were territorial.
“Ah, yes. Likewise. Well, I hate to run, but I have to get going. Got a full day of appointments scheduled.” Flustered, she tugged her hand out of Howl’s. “Hey, Cade, tell Taylor to call me when she gets in. We need to catch up. Spa day.”
“Yep. Thanks.”
“Any time.” She retreated to the safety of her Jeep, but couldn’t resist a second look toward the door before driving away. He was watching her through the glass. She still felt his touch and ached for more. Howl Raven was a flash fire. And she was a moth to that flame, begging him to consume her.
Claiming Ana
releases February 2014.
For
information regarding this and other books in the series, please visit the
Triple Star Ranch page at brynnacurry.com or the links below.
Buy Links
Author Bio
Brynna Curry was born south
of the Mason-Dixon Line. After living all over the southern states, she finally
landed in North Alabama where she lives with her husband and their three
children. Growing up, books fueled her dreams and imagination, ultimately
becoming her salvation during the hardest times in her life.
Writing is her passion, but
she enjoys the fun of sharing those stories with others by reviewing books and
working in publicity. When she isn’t writing or promoting, she’s often found
haunting the library for new books to read, at the park with her children (when
she can wrangle them into it) or just spending an quiet evening at home with
Jackie watching old westerns on TV. Although her wizards, shifters and vampires
are as real to her as anyone, she insists love is the truest magic and with it every
day is another wonderful adventure.
Interview:
I would like to thank Brynna Curry for stopping by for an author interview and telling us about herself and her work.
What is your favorite part of the story, Claiming Ana ?
B: My favorite part is a scene between the heroine Ana and her old flame Jace Murphy. It's so sweet and shows the depth of her character while giving us a glimpse at Jace who will have his own book. (Saving Sarah)
If you were stranded on a desert island which of your characters do you want by your side?
B: Devin McLoch from Fire's Ice because he is my favorite and wicked powerful. He could conjure anything I'd miss from the outside world. Plus he has the ability to 'flash' (teleport) anywhere.
What inspired you to write your first book?
B: My first book (Earth Enchanted) was inspired by a dream. Good or bad, I always remember what I dream and this one was about a man and woman of great power fighting themselves and each other inside a stone dance. The spells cast in the books came word for word from the dream. The flashbacks throughout the series (mostly in Sea's Sorceress and Fire's Ice) are from the same dream.
What books have most influenced your life?
B: I think every book I've ever read wove itself into the person I am today. I couldn't choose just one, but the book that most influenced my decision to write romance was Sea Swept by Nora Roberts. Our city librarian suggested it to me after I'd read through all the fantasy, mysteries and police procedurals. Until I read that book, I never considered writing romance. Wilting wall-flower heroines pining for the perfect man to materialize and save them bored me to pieces. (still does) I wanted to read and write strong heroines that were tough enough to save themselves if they needed too. Sea Swept's Ana proved I could find that in a romance and wouldn't it be great if there were more stories like that.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
B: I have one for every genre, but if I could only read one author's work, it would be Sherrilyn Kenyon. I love the depth of her characters and story-world. It seems like to the author, her characters aren't just paper and ink, they are people and it shows in her writing. I love that about her books. Other favorites are Lily Harlem, Nora Roberts, Julie Garwood, Jayne Ann Krentz (all her personas), Lori Foster and J. Kenner.
What is your typical day like?
B: I'd love to offer a dazzling vision of mansions, champagne and roses, but truth is I am just like everyone else. My day to day is pretty dull. I get up at 6:00 (I'm careful not to wake Jackie; he keeps vampire hours most days), nag my youngest daughter Kayla to get up for school (my other kids are in college), check the first wave of email while Ash (my cat) curls up in my lap. By 7:15 I am usually (hopefully) ready to head out the door to work. Sometimes I drive Kayla to school. By 7:50 I'm at work. (I'm a secretary.) Clock out at 11:00 for lunch which I almost always eat at home with Jackie (we only live about ten minutes away.) By 12:00 I'm back at my desk til 5:00. Then its home. Cook dinner (Which I hate. I'm a terrible cook. I like pizza night, which is any night I can get away with it.) After that, I'm checking email, working on the Sizzling PR/ You Gotta Read/ Sizzling Books stuff that I couldn't deal with at work. Around 8:30, I settle in to write for a little while before bed which is normally 11:00. Saturday/Sunday are writing/cleaning days.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
B: I'm currently working on Tempting Taylor, book #2 in the Triple Star Ranch series. Claiming Ana barely scrapes the surface of the investigation. It will take four books and three brothers to see it resolved.
Mini blurb: Amid the homicide investigation of his father's death, and vandalism taking place at the Triple Star, Shady Creek Chief of Police Cade Murphy has his hands full when best friend, actress Taylor Ross, flees the spotlight after someone tries to kill her.
Here is a snippet from Tempting Taylor. Note this is a WIP. The final text will vary:
Chapter One
Las Vegas, Nevada
“Ice the b*tch.” Heavy footsteps grew louder as the assailant came into the bedroom. Taylor wished with all her being that she could recognize his cold voice. Just a hint of recognition before she died.
Small, be very small. Taylor made herself as flat as she could, scrunched to the center of the floor space underneath her bed and held her breath. Pop. Pop. Muffled gunshots. She prayed they couldn’t hear the involuntary jerk of her body against the box springs. Julie’s passed out in my bed. No. They think she’s me asleep in my bed. Covering her mouth with both hands, Taylor fought back the scream. Oh, God. I want Cade. He’d know what to do.
“Hurry the hell up. Did you find it?” The growl came from the living area of her one-bedroom apartment. She never understood the unwritten rule that stars were supposed to live in sprawling mansions. The empty space of a large house would have made her long for home and crowded rooms. Vegas was loud and bawdy, unapologetically lavish and a little crass. No pretensions, just honest and rowdy and she loved living there.
“No. We’ve tossed everything. It isn’t here. You set it? How long?”
“Twenty. You do her?”
“Two in the head just like he asked. Money in the bank. Taylor Ross will be on the front page of every newspaper, top story on the news by morning and we’ll be across the border.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here before this thing blows.”
Blood. The coppery smell lay thick on the air. She covered her mouth with the collar of her t-shirt. Twenty minutes? She waited till she heard the door click shut.
Come on, Taylor. Lay here and die or run.
She inched out from under the bed, ran into the adjoining bathroom without stopping to check on Julie. She knew her friend was dead. On auto pilot, she swept a hand across the sink, shoving through the wreckage of expensive cosmetics, perfume and hair products lying broken and scattered off the granite bathroom countertop. Nothing lost that money couldn’t buy. Nothing except Julie.
She opened the linen closet, grabbed the messenger bag she kept there, took out Cade’s ball cap and tugged in down to hide her eyes. Don’t look at her. The grief will kill you. There isn’t time. Oh, God. No. No. Who would want me dead? Was it money? She’d give anything to bring Julie back but that wasn’t possible. Her hands started to shake as she looped the strap over her head to lay across her chest.
Someone wanted her dead, but why? When they realized their mistake they’d be back to finish the job. She only had one choice. Run. Taylor tucked her long blonde hair underneath the old ball cap Cade had given her when she’d headed west. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, she studied the ripped worn out jeans, faded Auburn University t-shirt, sneakers, camouflage jacket she had worn down to the casino. No one would recognize her in this get up. The Taylor Ross, Hollywood star, wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such things according to the gossip rags, but Tay? Definitely.
Her hands shook as she stuffed the roll of emergency cash she kept hidden under the sink into her bra and ran through the living room. There on her coffee table was a makeshift device with a digital counter. The clock read ten minutes. She set a timer on her phone. No time to stop and call police and if she did, then they would know she was alive. And so would the people who wanted her dead. She pulled the door shut and ran into the hall.
Nine minutes. Looking down the corridor she saw no one. The elevator would take too long. She thought of all the people who must be inside the building at 2:30 in the morning. Bolting for the stairway exit, Taylor pulled the fire alarm and ran down the stairs. As she hit the third floor landing, a maid emerged from the door to the hallway and bumped into her. Shielding her eyes with the cap, she said. “There’s a bomb on the top floor. Get as many out as you can.”
Seven minutes. Escaping the building through the ground floor fire exit, she slumped her shoulders, tried to appear inconvenienced and slouchy as she blended in with the crowd spilling out of the hotel.
Three minutes. The first siren cut through the air, but they wouldn’t make it in time. She kept walking, drifting away from the rubberneckers. One block, then two, before she made the third intersection she ducked into an alley and ran until her breath sliced in and out of her lungs.
One minute. She ducked into another alley. How far away was she? Five blocks? Six? Her feet flexed in well-worn sneakers. That letter in track was coming in handy. She looked at the timer on her iPhone and leaned against the brick of one of the buildings that made the alleyway.
Thirty seconds. Oh, God. They could be here or anywhere. Waiting to jump her. Blending in with the crowd as she was doing. They had to be watching to make sure the bomb went off.
Tay pulled her iPhone out of her back pocket, and spoke quietly “Call, Cade.” Praying, she listened to several rings. She thought of the time difference. He’d be driving into work, but he’d call her back. Please pick up. Please. Please. Help me.
“Hey, this is Cade. You know what to do.” A long beep sounded. Damn.
“Please call me back and hurry. I don’t know how much time I have. I'm scared, Cade.” She paused. There was every chance she might die any minute and if she did, there was one thing she couldn’t die without saying. “I love you.”
The night exploded around her.
* * * *
Standing on the sidewalk, behind a police barricade, Harley Parkes leaned against a lamp post and breathed in the chaos he and his partner Jack Riley had created. Money he liked. He wasn’t stupid, but the sheer terror on victims faces was nectar to his soul. Beautiful, destructive fire. His cellphone rang and he moved away to answer. “Parkes.”
“Where the hell is Taylor Ross?” The voice boomed. Harley quickly pulled the phone away from his ear.
“Dead and crispy, boss. As requested. Two in the head and her apartment blown sky high. Me and Riley are headed back now.”
“Idiots. I’m telling you she’s not dead. Think for just a minute. Were you seen?”
“Of course not. We slipped in. Killed the blond in the bed. Searched the apartment for the key then set the bomb. We didn’t find it by the way. Guess Murphy lied.”
“Somebody pulled the damn fire alarm. Who could have known or had time to pull the alarm and warn the other occupants in the building unless someone else was in that room.”
“We searched the room. No one was there.”
“Did you look under the bed?”
“Well, no, but we’d already iced her; what was the point.”
“Stupid. Someone got out of that room alive. Julie Matthews was reported missing this morning. She's Ross' stunt double and close friend. You killed the wrong one. Ross is in the wind.”
“No way a little prissy princess like that…”
“She was raised by her aunt under the nose of a a house full of cops. Her father was an agent. She’s not as stupid as you think. Find her and that damn key. You have seventy two hours to deliver both to me by any means.”
Harley clicked the phone shut.
“Problems?” Riley asked as they walked towards where he parked the car.
“Just a curvy blonde one who doesn’t know how to die.”
What book are you reading now?
B: His to Possess by Opal Carew, Dark Witch by Nora Roberts, Wanted by J. Kenner
What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks?
B: I love them all. It's really all about the story for me, not the format. I take my Kindle everywhere and often buy both the paperback and ebook so I can have access to the book on the go if I really love the story. I am a re-reader.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
B: I'd love to hear from you. You can find me at:
Website: http://brynnacurry.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrynnaCurry
Or simply drop a line to brynna@brynnacurry.com
Thanks for having me by for a visit today, Diane.
No comments:
Post a Comment