Friday, June 29, 2007

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jenna Leigh hails from North Louisiana and until the birth of her brother, she was a lonely only child, so she made up stories in her head. After his birth, she tended to plot on how to kill him without getting caught. However, the stories stuck, but through exposure to romance novels they grew up somewhat. One fateful day, she decided to try her hand at writing and her world hasn’t been the same since.

When not writing, Jenna works as a secretary in a local hospital. At home, she likes surfing the net, talking to friends, and avoiding housework all while waiting to win the lottery. She’s married to a wonderful man who also writes. They have a teenaged daughter who never talks back and always picks up after herself. Jenna would like to remind you that she writes fiction and if you believe the previous sentence she has some ocean front property in Arizona for sale.

Email:
Website: www.jennaleighzone.com
Blog: http://jennaleighsworld.blogspot.com
Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jennaleigh
My Space: www.myspace.com/jennaleighspace


ABOUT THE BOOK:

BLURB:

Tael searched for years to find his true love to set him free of the blood curse of the Tigre Moon. The Tigre are a race of accursed people from the planet of Maurania. Some say, they are immortal, others say they are demons. None know when they came into being. However, they have spread throughout the known galaxy. Some quest for their mates, the descendant of the planet that escaped the curse, others simply survive, torn between their human and animal half.

Neri lived a sheltered existence as the daughter of a favored slave, but after her mother’s death, she is placed on the auction block. Because she is rumored to be descended from the people of the planet of Maurania she is bought by Tael who has searched for many years to find the one true love to set him free of the blood curse of the Tigre Moon. But is Neri the one?


EXCERPT:

“Is the spell working?” a deep voice asked from a long way off. It was as if she was wrapped in thick blankets. She could move, but didn’t really want to. Her eyelids were so heavy she couldn’t lift them.

“Yes, it seems to be,” another answered.

“Good, it helps if they are relaxed the first time I come to them in my other form,” the first voice said. There was the sound of the door shutting and then silence.
After a brief struggle, Neri forced her eyes open and looked around. Where was she? The chamber was lit by braziers scattered around the room. The bed she lay upon was huge with dark burgundy hangings that were soft to the touch. Neri was dressed in a long white nightdress with lacy ruffles along the hem. She rubbed the fabric between her fingers, marveling at the silky texture.

She tried to sit up but found that it made the room spin in an alarming way. So she lay back down, staring at the ceiling in wonder. It was painted with winged creatures all around the edge. In the middle, however was another creature. She’d never seen such a thing, but had heard of them in legends.

It was the Tigre . She knew of them from pictures in a forbidden book her father had. He was not aware that Neri could read; she and her mother kept it secret.

According to legend, the Tigre was a dual natured being, half man and half beast. The one you got depended on the phases of the second moon of their home planet. Their whole race was under a curse because a woman had refused the God of the Beasts in his pursuit of her. She had been turned into this fierce creature, it was said, and only when she found her true mate was she freed from the curse.

Her children were not so lucky. Now they were all damned to follow in her footsteps. Each one had been born with the same dilemma. Some went mad. Many were hunted down and killed, or enslaved. Some found their escape, and others lived out their long lives yearning for the one that would free them and enable them to control the beast within.

“Neri.” A voice whispered, echoing in her mind.

She opened her eyes wide and looked around. There was no one here.

“Neri. Come here.” Again it called; her heart thundered in her ears. Magic was considered sinful. The demons used magic.

She stood up, compelled to follow the direction of the voice in her head. She stumbled and almost fell when she reached the door, but then she steadied herself and continued out into the hall. The voice led her outside the compound into the jungle. A small lucid part of her was afraid, but her mind was foggy from the drugs and the command of the voice.

The next thing she knew, she stood in a small clearing, looking up at the twin moons of this strange planet. She blinked in confusion and looked around for a few minutes. “Am I dreaming?” Maybe she had been walking in her sleep. Shrugging, she turned to head back inside before she was caught out here and punished. The only rule she seemed to have was that she not leave the women’s quarters unescorted. She’d done that now, no matter that it had been accidental.

She walked quickly back into the forest, hurrying to get back before she was missed. She turned toward where she thought the palace was and kept going. She felt as if she were being watched. Neri turned her head this way and that, looking. She couldn’t see anything. But she felt it, all the same.

* * * *

He watched her as she paused to look around warily. The dappled moonlight was bright enough to shine through the gown she wore, showing him her curvaceous figure as if she were naked.

He crouched down, ready to make his move.

She stopped with a confused frown. “I am going the wrong way.”

He smiled as he heard her talking to herself. Her heart was pounding so loud, he could hear it from here. He could smell the oils from her bath earlier.

When she turned back around, she headed right for his hiding spot and he waited, tensed and ready. He would hunt well tonight. Neri stopped suddenly, and her already pounding heart began to race. He waited in the brush not five centens in front of her.

“Hello?” she said. “Is someone there?” All she got in response was a low growl. Neri reacted immediately. She made a small squeaking noise then grabbed the hem of her nightgown and ran.

Yes! He took off after her. He liked them to give a good chase before he caught them. She glanced back and screamed, her stride never faltering. Her legs pumped faster and faster.

He kept her in his sights. Now he could smell her fear and her sweat. It excited him, almost as much as the sight of her breasts when she’d turned to look back. She would be his before the night was over. Body and soul, he would own her.


INTERVIEW:

Why did you become a writer?
I started writing fanfic and RP because of I couldn’t get my fix of authors’ books often enough. And after I kept getting emails from people telling me how much they liked my stuff, I wondered, why not try it ‘for real’? Was it a dream of yours since you were younger or did the desire to write happen later in your life? Ever since I remember I’ve made up stories in my head, but, I never wrote them down because I liked to change them over and over. I didn’t start writing until I was thirty. I still like changing them over and over. I think that’s why it takes me so long to write my books. LOL

What do you love about being an author?
I write the books, I make the rules! Or I would if it weren’t for those pesky voices in my head telling me what to do that is.

Is there anything you dislike?
I despise writing a synopsis, which to me is a book report and then waiting on an answer once I submit.

How do you balance your personal and writing time?
I don’t really, because I have no life.

How do you write?
Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story? Sometimes, it’s just a tiny spark of an idea that grows. Then, other times there’s this voice that won’t shut up until I write down whatever they’re saying. Sometimes after I start listening to them though, they run and hide from me. Frustrating little twits.

What genre(s) do you write?
Contemporary, paranormal and scifi, all with varying heat levels ranging from pure romance to erotica. Most of the time, there’s at least a smidge of comedy in my writing too. Why do you write the stories that you write? I can’t not write them. I love the characters and the worlds they live in, some of them are a lot like my own world, but others are so far removed from my own, that it’s an escape from reality. That’s one attraction, then there’s the power I have over what happens, I control it so I know there’ll be a happy ending but the fun part is getting my hero and heroine there.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?
Whether they’re werewolves, vampires or human, I’d like to think my characters act as realistic as possible. But yeah, I’ve written highly exaggerated versions of my friends as secondary characters. People who’ve read the books think I’m joking about how nuts those women are, though, but I’m here to tell you, the truth is nuttier than fiction.

Out of all the characters that you've written, who is your favorite and why?
Lainie Westerbrook from The Wolf’s Heart. She’s quick-witted, smart mouthed, funny and a lot meaner than some of the werewolves in the story she’s sharing. They say the female of the species is more dangerous that the male. Whoever ‘they’ is must have met Lainie on a bad day.

What would you want readers to take away from your books?
An enjoyable reading experience, and with most of my books, a big smile.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers in regards to writing a book?
Love your characters, the plot, the world your characters inhabit, especially if it's going to be a series. I know other authors say this, but write what you know. But if you don't know go find out, from at least three or more reliable sources. As to the act of writing itself, before you read your email or get online, write something. Get in the habit of doing that every single day and you’ll finish your book sooner than you think. Now if I could follow my own advice about that last one.

What are you reading right now?
Kay Hooper’s Sleeping With Fear, love this. Bishop is so hot. He kind of reminds me of Spock, you know. *sighs*

If you could be anyone or anything that you wanted, who or what would you be?
A fulltime stay-at-home never leave the house unless it’s to go and get more chocolate ice cream author. If I can’t be that, Hugh Jackman’s wardrobe assistant will do in a pinch, and believe me, there will definitely be some pinching :)



Alien Seduction by Leigh Ellwood, Jenna Leigh & Megan Hussey
Words: 50346
Genre: Erotica/Science Fiction
$4.99 from Fictionwise



Purchase Alien Seduction by Leigh Ellwood, Jenna Leigh & Megan Hussey HERE!!