Friday Guest Post: Cera duBois

Character Interview with the Heroine from A Hunter’s Angel

Thanks, Pamela, for having me on your blog today. I’d actually like to share a character interview with Grace Wallace from A Hunter’s Angel I did and was never posted.

Cera:  So tell us about yourself. What got you in my crosshairs?

Grace: Thanks for having me here today. Hope you don’t mind that I brought Ian along for moral support.  I’m still wondering what put me in your crosshairs, too.  What have you been telling your blog reader? It was a line from Twilight: Eclipse that sparked your interest in us? I never read the book, not really into vampires—before Ian anyway. *Grace squeezes Ian’s hand and looks over at him with a sly smile.* So, if I get this straight, in the book Edward and Bella are reading a newspaper about a possible serial killer on the loose in Seattle, but he think it’s a bad vamp and tells her there’s a lot in her world that is caused by his world. Then poof! Here we are chasing a vampire who wants us to think he’s just a run-of-the-mill serial killer.

I have to tell you, I hate talking about myself. Hate it as much as I despise bugs. *Ian looks at her with a raised eyebrow. Grace rolls her eyes at him.* Okay, maybe not that much. *Grace shivers.* What is there to say about me? I’m the police chief of Clayton, Pennsylvania, a little town about two hours east of Pittsburgh. Before I was appointed to the job after my father died, I worked on the Philadelphia PD as a homicide detective.  That’s where I first met Ian. In fact, we worked on a serial killer case together and dated for a while.

I have a great best friend, my lieutenant, Ben Anders, who would like to be more if he knew I wouldn’t knock him into next week if he tried. He’s funny and we’ve been friends since we were kids. I want a family, but I love my job, too. I sometimes feel like there’s something else I was destined to do, but can’t figure it out. I love antiques, am fascinated with Ireland, where my grandparents immigrated from. And I hate to cook.

Cera: What was it that drew you to your mate?

Grace: *Grace smiles at Ian.* What wouldn’t draw you to him? He’s super sexy, especially in that long black trench coat he wears to go hunting, and I love his dagger. *Grace laughs and Ian snorts.* I’ll let you all wonder about which one I mean.

But seriously, he’s smart and charming, when he wants to be. But the thing that really got to me was Ian’s compassionate heart. I’ve ever known someone who cares so much about the people he serves both as a FBI Special Agent in his human cover job and as a Hunter, although I didn’t know about that until recently. But I think what attracted me the most, at first anyway, was his voice. He has the most lyrical Irish accent. I’ll never get tired of hearing him talk. I’m part Irish myself, and I think his voice simply speaks to some deep-rooted memory in me.

Cera: A little naughty fun, where was the wildest place you seduced your partner(s)?

Grace: Actually, it was in my bed. The morning after we made love for the first time after he told me he was a vampire. You remember that don’t you, Ian. My game of twenty questions? *Ian’s eyes brighten to a white-hot blue and his grin turns sexy.* Oh, yeah, you remember.  Anyway, we woke up, and he had to find somewhere dark to hide from the dawning sun. I was curious and turned on. He’s hot as hell first thing in the morning.

After he dropped the nuclear bomb on me the night before, I hadn’t a chance to think about the million questions flying around in my head. So, I straddled him and began to ask my questions between naughty kisses. Now, considering mates share their partner’s sexual pleasure, this little game was as torturous for me as it was for him. But I got my questions answered before I made him forget he ever wanted my blood.

Cera: Boxers, briefs or Commando on a man?
Grace: Oh, commando for sure.

Cera: If your partner wants to seduce you, what's one sure fire trick he can play?

Grace: He can kiss my neck where he bit me. It’s super sensitive, and I go wild.

Cera: What is the one place on your partner's body that you know will drive them wild-in and out of bed?

Grace: The same place where his sire had bitten him. I discovered that little trick the same morning of my game of twenty questions.  He becomes a mad sex god when I nibble him there!

Cera: What was one of the most embarrassing things I did to you in A Hunter’s Angel?

Grace: I can only list one? You put us through the mill. Okay, I think the most embarrassing happened near the beginning of the book. The FBI just arrived on the case of our serial killer, and I called a meeting for us to share info. Up until that point, I’d taken lead in the investigations since most of the murders had happened in my jurisdiction—and I did have experience. Anyway, I voiced my theory that we had another wannabe vampire on our hands like Ian and I had captured the year before in Philly. Ian totally blew my theory to dust. I was furious with him. How could he do this to me in front of every damned police chief and senior officer in the area? Most of these men thought I had no place on a police force, let alone to be chief—regardless of me being an experienced homicide detective. Well, I lost my cool and said some things I wished later that I hadn’t.

Cera: Anything else you would like to add?

Grace: Only, thank goodness master vampire Lucas Pomeroy took an interest in keeping humanity safe sixteen-hundred years ago after the demon made him. Just like in Eclipse, you got it right when you told our story. There is so much in this world that we don’t understand or are even aware of. If Ian and his fellow Hunters didn’t keep us safe from the evil out there, I’m not sure any of us would be here.

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A Hunter’s Angel, Book 1 of The Hunter’s Dagger Series

Blurb:

The serial killer stalking Clayton, Pennsylvania, isn’t all that has Chief of Police Grace Wallace worried. For a year, she’s tried to forget Special Agent Ian McHenry and now he’s the expert the FBI sent to catch the killer. She can’t stay away from him, but something primal is telling her to run to save much more than just her heart. Despite the strict code of ethics Ian vowed to follow as a vampire hunter, he craves Grace’s blood above all others. If he chooses to stay, Ian risks losing his chance at divine forgiveness. But if he leaves Grace unprotected from the evil he’s hunted for over a century, he loses more than just his soul…

Excerpt:

Part of Grace desperately wanted to look up, and a bigger part of her dreaded this moment. She couldn’t hide for long. After all, she was in charge of this shindig.

Standing, Grace sucked in a fortifying breath and rubbed her sweaty palms together. Everyone stood respectfully when she moved from around the table to the front of the room. “Please. Be seated.”

Determined not to look at the woman and three men standing off to the left, she stared straight ahead. Her heart raced, and her scalp itched where perspiration gathered. “In order to better protect the citizens of our communities, I called this meeting to ensure we’re all on the same page regarding the investigation of the murders. Although I’ve been in contact with all of you since the first murder, four weeks ago, and have led the investigation, the FBI has sent a crack team of experts to assist us in hunting down the murderer.” Her voice betrayed nothing, but her mouth was dryer than the dog days of a Pennsylvania August. “Special Agent in Charge Ian McHenry?”

She looked at Ian and her heart stuttered over a beat. How could he be so calm and act as if nothing had happened between them?

How could he lead her on? Hadn’t the chemistry between them been instant and intense enough for them to throw caution and office taboos out the proverbial window?

Did he forget all those times they’d gone out for drinks and dancing? They’d spent weekends antiquing the countryside of Chester County. He’d taken her horseback riding at his magnificent country estate he’d inherited from his uncle. What about the beautiful necklace he’d given to her for Christmas, had it meant nothing?

He’d always been such an old-fashioned gentleman and seemed interested in her as a person and not just for sex. She fell so deeply in love with him it hurt. Had it all been a ploy to get her into bed for a one-night stand?

Why did you leave me?

****

The muscles in Ian’s back tensed as Grace’s silent question ricocheted around his head as if she’d screamed it at him. He forced a smile and looked around the room. “Thank you, Chief Wallace. I’d like to thank all of you for coming today to meet with us. Now to introduce my colleagues.”

With a gesture of his hand, Ian indicated an attractive, thirty-something, dark-haired woman and the dark-skinned, younger man. “This is Dr. Beth Otto and her assistant, Mark Hazelton. They will be working closely with Coroner Swartz. They both specialize in forensic pathology.” He then pointed toward a tall man dressed as Ian in dark pants, shirt and blazer. “And this is Special Agent Brad Morris. He and I will be working closely with the rest of you.”

Ian let Beth take the first round of discussion. An excellent medical examiner, she had worked with him and Brad for the past four years. Now was one of those times, he wished she wasn’t part of his team. She was extremely hard to fool. She’d never discovered anything that pointed to a vampire, and even if she had, her scientific mind would discredit it. But Ian always had a harder time coming up with reasons for the inconsistencies when things didn’t add up.

Available Everywhere E-books are sold:

The Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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A Hunter’s Blade, Book 2 of The Hunter’s Dagger Series

Blurb:

Brigit Wolfe, a born werewolf, hasn’t killed a human in over a hundred years, although now, she wonders if the animal attacking people in Silver Creek, Colorado, isn’t her. But she might have bigger problems when her cowboy neighbor, Austin Calhoun, ambles into her bar. Austin hasn’t been a vampire for long, but he is determined to prove to himself that he’s worthy of his hunter’s dagger. Brigit’s rare beauty and blade-sharp tongue enchants him. She ignites a passion he thought was dead, but is she the killer his master sent him to destroy? During Austin’s investigation regarding Brigit’s involvement in the deaths, an old crime surfaces connected to her human best friend. These two immortal enemies have to join forces to solve the mystery before someone else dies. But can they survive the heat of their own desire?

Excerpt:

“Why don’t you enlighten me?”

She glowered at him for several moments. Then she closed her eyes and spoke in a language he didn’t understand. Before he knew it, a fire sparked to life in the old stone hearth across the room. A second later, he flew out of his chair and shoved hard against the edge of the bar behind him.

He struggled against the invisible restrains, but she’d taken him completely off guard. He was powerless to break free.

Standing, she kicked the chair to the side and stalked toward him. She could kill him right here and now, but...holy hell, she was damned sexy.

She stopped in front of him and growled, “Let’s get something established about werewolves. There are two kinds. The lesser wolves who are made. And the Lykan who are born. I’m not one of the degenerates. I was born a Lykan in 1647. The first child of Valeriu and Elena. I’m an alpha and you are nothing more than a fledgling just hatched.”

He broke free of her power by drawing on his own. When he moved toward her, Austin held his hands to his side, ready to grab the special knife he had sheathed inside his jacket. His fangs had long ago descended ready for a fight. “I don’t really give a flying fuck whether you were made, born, or hatched.”

When the energy of her power touched him again, he pulled the knife, and the silver blade caught the dim light of the fire in the hearth when he opened the long switchblade. “I want to know if you’re the one preying on these people.”

Her eyes widened and she backed up a step as he approached. “I told you I didn’t attack those humans. I haven’t killed a mortal in over a hundred years. How many innocents have you snacked on tonight? How many of them did you want to kill?”

“I don’t hurt my prey,” he said through clenched teeth and held her icy gaze. He’d never let her know battling the beast within every feeding was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

After forcing himself to take a deep breath, he lowered the knife and released some of the tension zinging through his body. “If you didn’t kill those people then you have nothing to worry about. Best way to figure out who did is by working together.” He put the silver blade away, and his fangs retracted.

“What do you have planned?”

He didn’t miss the slight quiver in her voice. He should finish all this right here and now so he could get back to Ireland and whatever life he’d scraped together, but something needled him into doing a thorough investigation.

“We begin with you telling me everything you remember from those nights you became the big, bad wolf.”

Available now at Amazon and everywhere January 2, 2013.

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Bio:

Cera duBois has a strong belief in never giving up on your dreams…

Although Cera was unable to read due to dyslexia and a learning disability until she was in the fourth grade, she always had a story to tell. She wrote her first novel in eleventh grade when she had to keep a journal for her academic English class. Since her life was far from exciting growing up as a farm girl in West Central Pennsylvania, she decided to rely on her imagination to give her something to write about. Over the course of the school year, she wrote a tangled romance set in the Deep South during the Civil War.  Becoming an author was her ultimate dream. Despite holding a BS in secondary social studies education from Penn State University, she currently works full-time as a medical secretary. A mother of a teenage son and pre-teen daughter, she lives near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her husband of nearly 20 years. If she isn’t sitting in a quiet corner with her laptop, warm days will find her in the English garden surrounding her house. Cera loves to read and is interested in history, romance, science fiction and the paranormal. She also writes contemporary Westerns under her real name of Sara Walter Ellwood.

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