I'm happy today to have Rosanna Leo introducing her new book and telling us a little bit about Fleur the heroine in Predator's Rescue.
With a new release approaching, I’ve been
thinking a lot about how to share the journey behind this particular story. If
any of you follow my Gemini Island Shifters series, you’ll be familiar with my
newest heroine Fleur Bissette. Fleur, a wolf shifter, is the heroine of Predator’s Rescue, Gemini Island
Shifters 7. She is easily the most flawed heroine I’ve ever written. In fact,
she was once a villain.
However, every villain has a backstory and
so does Fleur. She wasn’t born evil but she did fall in with a vile crowd, the
Alpha Brethren. This group of shape shifters, led by the vicious August Crane,
took advantage of Fleur, brainwashing her. So for a long time, all she knew was
negativity and anger.
Without revealing any spoilers from the
previous books in the series, I can share the fact that Fleur is now
rehabilitated and ready to be “good.” She’s seen misery and pain and no longer
wants to be an instrument of vice.
So how does an author make this sort of
character sympathetic? When I decided she needed to be my next heroine,
complete with a sexy hero and love story, I knew I had my work cut out for me.
The key was sharing Fleur’s background and
the circumstances in which she grew up. Her transition couldn’t be immediate.
She continues to make mistakes but learns from them. Fleur had to deal with an
abusive father, a junkie mother and dozens of men who used her for her looks
and sex appeal. She never had anyone in her life who said they were proud of
her or who encouraged her to reach for the stars.
This is where hero Jani Fodor comes in.
Jani, my growling tiger shifter, has seen something in Fleur from the start,
something no one else has ever seen. Little by little, he chips away at her
defenses and claims her heart. I love their journey and I’m so happy my readers
are enjoying Fleur’s transformation to “good girl.”
Oh, and don’t worry. Fleur is no wimp. Good
or bad, she’s still as badass as they come.
Blurb:
Tiger shifter
Jani Fodor should have washed his hands of Fleur Bissette long ago. However,
when she disappears from the shape shifter sanctuary on Gemini Island, he can’t
forget her, and launches a fraught two-week search to find her. He thinks
she’ll be grateful but the petulant she-wolf resents his intrusion in her life.
Jani recently
liberated Fleur from a vicious cult of shape shifters, where she was
brainwashed by the sadistic August Crane. The wolf shifter terrorized their
friends at the Ursa Fishing Lodge and Resort on Gemini Island. Labeled a “bad
girl” all her life, Fleur knows she’ll never fit in with the good guys at the
Ursa, no matter how much Jani tries to convince her of their regard. Besides,
she can’t stay with Jani. Although he’s the closest thing she’s ever had to a
friend, their chemistry is explosive in the worst way.
When a new menace
arises, in the form of a vicious drug dealer with a grudge, Jani is adamant
Fleur accept his help to rehabilitate her addict mother and remove her from the
influence of her dealer. Fleur accepts Jani’s assistance but as they work
together, friendship erupts into passion. Neither can deny their lust-struck
spirit animals and before long, they realize their connection runs deeper than
they ever expected.
Despite the
threats posed by the drug dealer, the worst danger of all dwells inside Fleur.
Haunted by the spirit of August Crane, Fleur is inundated by visions that
torment her. She is consumed by guilt and plagued by old hostilities. Can this
bad girl make good? And is Jani’s love enough to save her from her demons?
Excerpt:
Once again,
Jani’s temper flared but he swallowed his simmering rage. He stood and raised
his voice so he could be heard over Loretta Lynn’s tinny warbling as it
emanated from the jukebox. “Now I’m going to ask everyone in this shithole one
more time. I’m looking for Fleur Bissette. Where is she?”
There was a crash
and a feminine cry from behind one of the closed doors. Jani didn’t hesitate.
He launched himself off his stool and toward the door, already on the verge of
shifting. His tiger hairs danced in anticipation under his skin, ready to burst
through his pores.
The two men who’d
approached him grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him back.
“Hey, asshole,”
the grizzly man shouted. “You’re not allowed back there. Private parties only.”
Jani glanced at the
hand on his shoulder and then at the man. “One warning. Take your hands off
me.”
The idiot snorted
and looked at his pal. “Why waste your time lookin’ for Fleur anyway? That
girl’s nothing but trouble. Trouble loves her. In fact, she’s probably spreading
her legs to trouble right now.”
Jani reached for
the man’s arms and spun him around. “What did you say?”
“It’s all the
bitch knows how to do. That’s all women like her are good for anyway.”
Jani reared back
and let his fist fly, cracking it against the man’s face. The grizzly shifter
flew across the room, hitting the back wall, collapsing to the floor. The grim
satisfaction of seeing the man crumple overrode any pain in his knuckles. In
fact, it felt so good to hit the jackass he had to hold his hand behind his
back so he wouldn’t hit him again.
No one, no one, insulted Fleur. The man was
lucky Jani didn’t kill him for the slight. Fleur had been called too many names
in her time, and he’d made it his mission to see she was never belittled again.
Jani nodded
toward the other men. “Don’t even think of stopping me.”
He tried the
closed door, relieved to find it unlocked. He flung the door open and his tiger
senses homed in on her immediately.
Fleur had clearly
been serving drinks to the small group of shifter bikers inside, but one of
them had gotten a little too close to the new waitress. Her tray of drinks lay
on the floor, smashed, and one of the men had her over his lap. His large hand
caressed her ass as she squirmed in his grip.
As time seemed to
freeze for Jani, Fleur turned to glance at him. She mouthed his name.
The silent plea
made his heart twist in his chest. Had she actually spoken aloud? He wasn’t
sure. He couldn’t hear her voice. His ears were ringing too much as his tiger
roared her name.
Her dark eyes
seemed to grow darker, black with emotion, but he didn’t take time to analyze
the sentiment flitting behind her irises.
With a noise that
must have sounded more animal than man, Jani raced toward her and pulled her
off the man’s lap. He moved her toward the door, so she wouldn’t be hurt in the
melee. He then turned to the shithead who’d grabbed her, a growl emanating from
his furious core.
The biker,
startled and likely drunk, didn’t react quickly enough to shift. Jani hauled
him off his chair and thrust him toward the wall.
“Jani,” Fleur
called, her voice loud and clear now. “Don’t. You don’t know what you’re
doing.”
“His hand was on
your ass. I know enough.”
One of the other
men was foolhardy enough to try to stop him. He tried to yank Jani away but
Jani snapped his arm back, using his elbow to hammer the man in the face.
Cradling his bloody nose, the man retreated.
Jani turned his
attention back to the shifter who’d groped Fleur. “That was the last time you
ever touch her.” Bracing himself, he head-butted him. A sickening crack sounded in the room. The man
moaned, his eyes rolled back, and he dropped to the floor.
Ignoring the pain
exploding through his forehead, Jani marched toward Fleur, picked her up, and
hauled her over his shoulder.
“Hey. Put me
down! You have no right.”
No right. He might have laughed if he wasn’t concerned about getting her out of
there in one piece.
Holding out his
free arm to warn off any others who might consider having a go at him, Jani
carried the writhing Fleur out of the room and out of the bar. His heart
thumped against his chest just from holding her. Granted, he hadn’t quite
envisioned holding her like this, her ass high in the air near his face, but it
pleased him more than he cared to admit out loud. Something about the scenario
made his inner caveman very happy.
Available Feb. 29
at Amazon, ARe, Google Play, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Author Bio:
Rosanna Leo is a
multi-published, erotic romance author. Several of her books about Greek gods,
selkies and shape shifters have been named Top Picks at Night Owl Romance and
The Romance Reviews.
From Toronto,
Canada, Rosanna occupies a house in the suburbs with her long-suffering
husband, their two hungry sons and a tabby cat named Sweetie. When not writing,
she can be found haunting dusty library stacks or planning her next
star-crossed love affair.
A library
employee by day, she is honored to be a member of the league of naughty
librarians who also happen to write romance. Rosanna blogs at
www.rosannaleoauthor.wordpress.com
Author Links:
Thanks so much for hosting me, Layne!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Rosanna for telling us a little bit about Fleur and what makes her tick!
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