••*´¨`*•.☆•Cover Reveal•☆.•*´¨`*••

 

Well it's finally here! The cover for I Am The Alpha, my first joint collaboration with author A.J. Downey ...

 

 

 

The pack has ruled over it's territory, the wilds of Washington, for a generation, but that has all crumbled with the murder of the Alpha. William Reese is determined he will heal the pack by taking leadership, but in doing so he pits himself against enemies he may not be able to beat.

 

Chloe has been pulled from her home and thrust into a world she never knew existed, a world her father was careful to keep hidden from her. She is now threatened with a gruesome death by terrifying creatures from legend.

 

Somehow William and Chloe must find a way to stay alive against the forces determined to see them dead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I wouldn't," he drawled from the front seat in a threatening tone. I looked up into the rearview mirror. Deep brown eyes, intense, brooding, and very unfriendly were illuminated by the headlights from the oncoming traffic. I met their reflection with a grim resignation. I had nothing on him size wise. Nothing at all. I was stuck.

My breathing was returning but it hurt, I knew I would be bruised, but I could live with that. I could probably live if he raped me, even if the thought did make me ill… but if he actually physically took me away? Out of the city? No. If he took me away, I knew the odds. I knew the likelihood of what happened next. If he took me away I couldn't live with that, I wouldn't live, statistically speaking. If he took me, rape would be the least of my worries. If he took me away he was going to kill me and I wouldn't, couldn’t go down without a fight.

As soon as I could draw full breath I struggled into a sitting position. I was about to let loose and start screaming when he growled at me. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before, an animal sound emanating from his very human throat. It caught me so off guard I forgot about the whole screaming and making a fuss that I was supposed to be doing. He knew it too! The bastard jerked the wheel and slammed on the brakes and I was thrown back down below the level of the windows. My head connected sharply with the tempered glass on my way down and I cried out, my hands tied and useless in front of me, though I desperately tried to stop myself from colliding with anything else.

He jerked the car’s shifter into park and got out, the crisp fall air swirling into the car’s warm interior in his wake. The back door opened and I kicked out. He cursed and grabbed my ankle and I screamed. I screamed and howled and I kicked out with my other foot and connected solidly with his chest. Predictably, it didn’t do a damned thing for me, except piss him off.

He grunted and dove into the back seat, over the top of me, his large hands curving around my tied wrists. He was between my thighs and I gasped which I choked off into a whimper. His black jeans may have been two sizes too big, his belt working overtime to keep them up, but there was no amount of fabric in the world that would disguise the hot, solid length of his erection which pressed solidly at the apex of my thighs.

"You keep struggling, I will rape you, just to make a point," he threatened. I blinked and he grinned savagely, his teeth very white and almost sharp looking, nestled in his dark blonde goatee.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked and hated how breathy it was.

"None of your business, either behave, or I'll put you in the trunk."

I turned it over in my mind. That had possibilities, I could break out a tail light or pull the emergency... I gasped and suppressed a moan as he squeezed my wrists so hard, I swore the bones in them ground together.

"You're hurting me!" I cried.

"That's the idea, Little Huntress, you going to calm your shit?"

"Oh my god, fuck you!" I spat, "Why should I cooperate with you? Why should I help you kidnap me?"

He leaned back a bit, actually considering the question before meeting my eyes again. "Because I'm not the only one interested in finding you, and they aren't nearly as nice as I am."

 

 

 

A.J. Downey is a born and raised Seattle, WA Native. She finds inspiration from her surroundings, through the people she meets and likely as a byproduct of way too much caffeine. She has lived many places and done many things, though mostly through her own imagination.

An avid reader all of her life it's now her turn to try and give back a little, entertaining as she has been entertained. She lives in a small house in a small neighborhood with a larger than life fiancé and one cat.

You can find her on Facebook, on Goodreads , on Amazon, on Pinterest , on YouTube, or on her blog which is here.

 

 

A California native and avid reader, for Ryan, making the transition from reader to writer was simply the next logical evolution.

 

He enjoys a number of genres from paranormal suspense to dystopian post-apocalyptic. All of his work contains a romantic spin with a decidedly erotic flare.

 

You can find him either here on his blog or on Facebook. He hasn't gone quite as crazy as A.J.

 

 

Survival Instincts

One of the interesting things about self publishing, or publishing in general, I would imagine, is that you don’t just publish your book and then sit back to wait for the royalties to roll in. It doesn’t work that way as much as we might wish it to. The first publish get’s your name out there, a bit. Get your promoting and marketing going strong and you might get your name in front of a lot of people. Some of those people might actually buy the book. 

Hey, you’re on your way!

You’re on the ladder climbing your way to the top!

Too bad you’re only on the second rung.

So what do you do once you’ve published the book and are staring at your computer or tablet again? Simple. Write another book and publish that one. Then, write another after that. And another. And another. 

It never stops, I’m afraid. 

If this idea is daunting then you’re in the wrong business my friend. 

Good thing I find it exciting and fun, instead of daunting. 

SO with IATA in edits, OR on the back burner for research purposes and AJ and I hammering out the details for that one I was looking around for other projects to work on. You know, stuff to keep me out of trouble and away from the liquor cabinet. 

OH! I know!

Let’s go where few have dared to tread, as far as I know. 

I started up a new project last night, one that I hope to get a good head of steam on, and I’m liking the outlines I've been doing so far. I’m not really sure what to call it though as far as Genre goes. For now I’ll just list it for what it IS and figure out how to label it later. 

Survival Instincts is going to be a Post Zombie Apocalypse Erotic Romance and Suspense. 

I see I lost a few of you there while others just got a new interest. Trust me, it hurts my head too, but bear with. It’s a simple enough concept. The world has gone to hell in a FedEx cart, so what is there left to do really?

Survive. 

And survival comes in many different forms. 

The bottom line though?

What would you do? What would you sacrifice in order to survive?

This is going to be so much fun!

Rollin' rollin' rollin'...

Things are rolling along with I Am The Alpha and I'm quite pleased with it. AJ held it for a week or so while she read through and made adjustments to the story. Filling in and fleshing out portions of it where it was needed. 

It's now in my hands and I am doing the same. And that's what I love about this collaboration. It isn't she wrote her parts and I wrote mine and we just slap them together. No. We've both tweaked and adjusted each others writing so the whole book should read as a seamless whole from beginning to end. 

I'm more than half way through with my revision and very excited for the May 12th cover reveal that we've got planned. I'll post links to where this will be as soon as I've got them. We'll be having author interviews and blog spots coming up between then and August as well. Maybe even a takeover event. 

Anyone interested should keep checking here or on my Facebook page for updates. 

https://www.facebook.com/authorryankells?__nodl

Back to the grindstone! Books don't write themselves. Yet. 

Omega's Run

Just a quick update today.

I Am The Alpha is in revision stage, AJ and I, going back and forth on that and it's been a fun process. But I can't sit still. So while she's got IATA, I have started work on the second book in the trilogy, 'Omega's Run'.

I'm quite looking forward to this second chapter in the world of the Wolf-kind and things are getting started with a bit of fun and some violence that should set the tone for the rest of the novel.

Because once you've become Omega, what do you have left to lose?

Back to work.

UPDATE!!!

Quick update for ya, gang.  Last night at about 11:30 pm I polished off the final chapter and the epilogue for the collaborative project I'm writing with AJ Downey. 19 days to write 80k in the total word count and it's a GOOD book. I'm all excited and not just because of the amazing sex scenes.

Now comes the hard part. Editing. *shudders*

Later peoples!

Fear of...

Hello, Ladies and Germs. 

A thought has been percolating through the twit recesses of my mind in recent weeks. In the last two and a half weeks I have been more productive in my writing than I have been in the past several months before that. I think November was the last time I was really productive on my writing. 

And I've been wondering why. I mean, I could blame family troubles, work troubles, financial troubles, and any number of other things for my lack of motivation or willingness to let days slide by me without doing any writing at all. And, truth be told there are times when these things happen. But that doesn't explain ALL the time that has been wasted that could have been spent writing. 

If I had been writing at the pace I've been working over the last 18 days I would probably have between three and five completed books in revision and editing stages. Instead,  I have one that I finished the first draft of just before starting this collaborative project with AJ Downey. 

But Why? Seriously. Why do we, and I include other writers in this, why do we tend to procrastinate? Not all of us of course because I know some individuals that write a ridiculous amount. Mind Boggling. Really.  So why?

I think I've hit on an answer. At least the answer for me. 

There are two reasons for me, personally, to find excuses to avoid writing and finishing the projects that I have begun. 

Number one. Fear of Failure. It should be the title of a medical condition. Fear of Failure. If I work on this and if I finish it, what if I fail? What if it doesn't do well or people don't like it? I'll have wasted all that time and effort I put into it. I don't want to do that, right? 

Forget it. Fear of Failure is a crock. Yeah. One might fail. Something might not be well received. Something might not be loved by the masses. Big deal. Was writing to be a smash success the only reason you were writing? If that's true then get out now. You're in the wrong business, Cupcake.

Reason number two for procrastinating in my writing. Fear of Success. 

Yes, Fear of Success, another medical term (or it should be). I wrote this book. I published this book. It's a HUGE smash. Everyone loves it. I've got fans sending me letters about how much they enjoyed my work. 

Well now what? Now I should write another book. But now the bar has been set higher. People are going to expect another book to be just as good as the first, if not better. If it's not as good will I lose the fans I gained? Will people send me hate mail instead of fan mail? Now, a failure won't affect just me, there are people with expectations that I just might disappoint and that's a difficult thing to face.

Well I have decided that this is a crock too. I have also decided that I have been terrified to be successful. Especially because I have seen and am still learning just how much work will be required to even start to make a living as a writer. To earn enough money to feed my kids and care for my family and if you don't try it's just easier, right?

Not any more. I would like to take this opportunity to thank AJ Downey for the swift kick in the ass that she delivered to my motivation. I've never felt more positive about myself and my future as a writer. I'm excited for this collaborative book and for the many other books that I have in the works. It's going to be a wild ride and I'm holding on for the whole thing. 

Opportunity

Alright, so you know that phrase when Opportunity knocks you should answer? Well, a little while ago I had exactly that situation happen to me. I mean, there I was, doing some laundry, chatting with my friend AJ Downey and more or less bemoaning the fact that I wasn't thrilled with how my first foray into the paranormal romance arena wasn't going as well as I would like it to. I was trying it in third person and it just wasn't flowing, there was no direction there was no- hello!

Next thing I know she's throwing question after question at me about the characters, the story, the overall plan etc and then she's suddenly emailing me my first chapter from the first person perspective of the heroine, Chloe.

What the hell? Did i just stumble ass over tea-kettle into a collaborative writing project the likes of which I have never attempted or even considered before?

Why yes, yes I have. And it has been glorious. This Thursday April 9th will be two weeks, fourteen days exactly since we started this project and we're more than fifty thousand words into the writing and the characters are becoming rich and vibrant. Some of them you love, some you love to hate, and others you just want to see die a horrible death for their crimes. I absolutely LOVE it.

And I was almost going to try to talk AJ down. I appreciated her wanting to help but for a half a moment I wanted to be stubborn, I like to do things myself even when I need help and so far that hasn't gotten me far. I've more troubles than I can handle because I didn't accept help, but who doesn't have trouble in their life, right? So for once, I decided to swallow my pride and accept a helping hand when it was offered and I have to say it is probably one of the smartest decisions I have made in my entire life.

'I Am The Alpha', is growing into a much better and much stronger story than I envisioned when I first got the idea some four years ago. And I sat on it. I left it, percolating in the back of my mind because I was afraid to start it.

And why?

Because there is a stigma, a toxic cloud that surrounds the very idea of a male writer in the romance and erotica genres. And there is the crux of our problem. My reproductive organs dangle, vulnerable to a swift kick in the pride. But what difference should a chromosome or reproductive organs really make in the long run?

I understand the concern. Men are, as a whole, a touch less mature and in touch with their emotional states than the average woman. Yeah, we're testosterone fueled and we'll typically choose smashing away a problem like the Hulk before we'd talk it out.

But does that mean that we shouldn't be given a chance? Female authors have struggled for decades to be taken seriously and are still frequently overlooked by publishers and by readers in other genres in favor of male writers. That is very much not fair to anyone and I am sure a great many wonderful stories are gathering dust somewhere because the woman that wrote it was told readers wouldn't like that it wasn't written by a man. So why should the reverse be any better?

I believe the writers gender should be second to the quality of the story itself. 'I Am The Alpha' really is shaping up into a fantastic story and I can't wait to give you guys a front row view into the world of the Pacific Northwest Pack.