The Midnight Breed Series Companion (49 page)

How did you come up with the design of the Breedmate mark?

—Teodora K., Lukovit Bulgaria

The Breedmate mark just “appeared” as I was writing the scene in
Kiss of Midnight
where Lucan is looming over Gabrielle while she sleeps and nearly bites her. Sometimes little gifts like this happen, and you learn to accept them and figure out what they mean later. For the red teardrop-and-crescent-moon birthmark that all Breedmates are born with, the meaning seemed pretty clear to me right away. It represents the fertility cycle (Breedmates, and Atlanteans, being fertile only during the period of a waxing or waning crescent moon) and the power and sanctity of blood (the teardrop shape is actually a blood drop).

Can a Breed ever end up with more than one power?

—Jennifer K., Hampton, NH USA

Not unless the author screws something up (which happens, much to my chagrin). Breed talents are always inherited from Breedmate mothers. However, with the introduction of the Chase twins, Carys and Aric, being born of a Gen One Breed mother and a Breed father, things could get interesting!

Is Hunter also related to Nathan and Tavia?

—Carrie B., Las Vegas, NV USA

Yes. They all share paternal genes from the Ancient who’d been kept in Dragos’s breeding lab.

(Translated) I am a fan of Lara Adrian from the first book and look forward to reading many more. My question is, will there be more story for Rio and Dylan?

—Desiree D., Madrid, Spain

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my books, Desiree—thank you! I don’t have plans to revisit or expand on any of the couples whose stories have already been told, but you will see more of Rio and Dylan and the entire cast of characters as the series continues. I try to keep all of the main characters present in some way, so long as it makes sense that they would be involved in the ongoing storyline of the series.

Will all Breedmates find their vampire match they are destined for? Do the vampires instinctively know how to find their Breedmate or does it just happen?

—Karen G., Levittown, PA USA

Soul mates and fated mates aren’t part of the Midnight Breed series. I try to pair up couples so that in the end it feels like they’ve always belonged together and are absolutely perfect for each other, but within the story world of the series, there really isn’t a destined mate for each Breed male or Breedmate. They meet and fall in love much like we do—by chance, by accident, by sheer good fortune, and sometimes they do it kicking and screaming the whole way.

Will you ever do signings in bookstores outside the US?

—Debra G., Cork, Munster, Ireland

Ironically, the only places I have done book tours are outside the United States! I’ve been to Germany and Italy so far, and just recently had to turn down an offer to come to France for a convention and book signing tour due to conflicts in scheduling (hopefully I’ll be invited again another time). My international publishers have been amazingly supportive in this regard, and I hope to do more overseas book tours in the near future. The United Kingdom is one place I would very much love to visit!

Will you ever come to CT for a book signing? I would like to meet you. No author I like comes to CT for some reason.

—Nathasha G., Bristol, CT USA

Thank you, Nathasha! I would love to come to Connecticut for a book signing (and to all the rest of the states where readers have been asking me to come for years, as well). Unfortunately, my US publisher doesn’t send me on book tours, even though I’ve made it clear that I would love the chance to meet readers in person. The lack of support in this area is frustrating, but the only way I’ve been able to meet with US readers is by attending conferences that host public book fairs, and by organizing events on my own, or with the help of book clubs who put together signings for me at their local bookstores. And in 2012, I decided to host my own reader conference, LAMB-Con, in Boston. It was a great time, and I really enjoyed hanging out with readers from all over the country for an entire weekend, not just a couple of hours at a signing.

I hope to do more events in the United States, like LAMB-Con and other types of gatherings, but please understand that my options are limited due to expense and opportunity. To get notified of any of my upcoming events and appearances, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at
www.LaraAdrian.com
.

How did you come up with the name Tavia for the character?  My name is Tavia, so it was so cool to read your book and pretend it was me.

—Tavia H., White Plains, NY USA

Hi, Tavia! You have a beautiful name—one of my personal favorites. The meaning behind Tavia’s name in the series is explained in her book,
Darker After Midnight
. She was originally named Octavia by Dragos, because she was the eighth successful live Gen One female birth in his breeding lab.

Do you intend to have only vampires in your series, or will you incorporate other creatures; such as werewolves/shape shifters. Newly discovered, of course.

—Jaynee H., Kelseyville, CA USA

The only supernatural beings you’ll see in the series are the Ancients, the Breed and the Atlanteans. To add anything else into the mix so far after the fact would only seem tacked on and inauthentic, I think. I prefer to keep the series lore as faithful to its beginnings as I can, and if I have the urge to write something that includes other supernatural beings or paranormal elements (and I do!) then I’d rather begin something completely new.

This series is so amazing. Do you have any other series brewing in the back ground? Starting another?

—Olivia T., Griffith, IN USA

Thank you, Olivia! I do have plans for other series, actually. I’ve been thinking about one particular paranormal romance idea (dragons!) for quite some time now, and I’d like to write some non-paranormal thrillers and romantic suspense stories as well. So, yes—more to come!

What message do you hope fans get from your books?

—Lysette L., Moorpark, AL USA

At the core of all my romance novels, even those outside the Midnight Breed series, is the message that we all belong somewhere, that we are uniquely special and important, and that home and family is wherever your heart is happiest. Find that place, even if you have to walk through fire to get there. And when it comes to love, don’t settle for anything less than the one person who will cherish and protect your heart like the precious gift it is.

Carys (Chase) is a female and Breed. How will this affect her ability to procreate? Meaning, since she is Breed will she be able to bond with a Breed male?

—Sheri B., Tampa, FL USA

Carys, one of a small number of Breed females, is able to share a blood bond with a Breed male. Although the Ancients do not bond, the Breed (their offspring) do because they have Breedmate genes somewhere down the ancestral line. In Carys’s case, her mother Tavia is a genetically altered Gen One Breed. Unlike a Breedmate, Carys, being Breed, would not require a blood bond in order to have near-immortal longevity or to strengthen her ESP talent.

Will one of the warriors have their heart owned by a human woman? Is this a possibility?

—Larissa M., Londrina, Brazil

Of course, it would certainly be possible for one of the Breed to fall in love with a human woman. For instance, I think Brock would love Jenna and want her as his mate even without the alien DNA that’s turned her into something more than mortal. But I don’t think I’ll write a book featuring a pairing between a true mortal and one of the warriors of the Order, because the sadness of knowing he’ll lose his human mate to old age and death would always be a specter casting a dark shadow over the romance. I think a love story between a mortal and an immortal is lovely, but it’s also inherently tragic and not something I have planned for the series.

If you were to be remembered for one thing, what would you like it to be?

—Sarah P., Tomah, WI USA

Wow, tough question! It’s going to sound totally sappy, but I don’t care. If I am to be remembered for only one thing, I hope it’s kindness. Life is too short, too hard and too damned precious to live it with anything less than an open, loving heart.

How did you learn to write about sex, and how do you know when to fit it into the action?

—Heidi S., Munich, Germany

LOL! Years of practice and meticulous research, Heidi. *g* No, the secret to writing about sex is checking your inhibitions at the door and tuning out the fact that one day many thousands of eyes (including your parents and in-laws, God help them) will be reading every sweaty, moaning word. It’s really hard to write a good sex scene if you’re worried about what Aunt Mary will think when the hero does
that
to the heroine, or vice versa. So, ignore the future spectators and let it all hang out (ahem).

As for when to fit the “action” into the “action,” it’s really a matter of sensibility and good judgment. For instance, dropping a sex scene into the middle of a gunfight probably isn’t a great choice. Nor, I would argue, is segueing from a near-rape of the heroine by bad guys into a hot love scene and neck-bite by a horny alpha vampire hero. A good sex scene needs to be erotic and exciting, but it also needs to make sense within the fabric of the story.

Which of all the stories was the most difficult one to write?

—Isabel P., Munich, Germany

Each story presents its own challenges, and there are times during the writing of every book that I want to pull my hair out or dissolve into a fit of tears. Fortunately, those moments never last very long! But there was one particular book that was more problematic for me than any other—not because of a difficult story or characters, but because of something that was happening to me health-wise at the time and I didn’t realize it.

When I was writing
Ashes of Midnight
, I developed a sudden, acute food allergy problem. I’d never been allergic to anything but penicillin, and even then, it was never a big deal that made any foods off limits to me. Well, thinking I was eating healthy while on deadline, I began having a particular salad about three times a week. This salad had a variety of delicious things on it, including gorgonzola cheese…which, in case you aren’t aware (as I wasn’t) gorgonzola cheese is full of penicillin! I got very sick progressively over a period of several weeks, and had no idea why. Migraine headaches every day. Hives in my hairline and scalp. Severely bloodshot eyes and weird, sporadic facial swelling. Oh, I was a mess! And I started having trouble concentrating, feeling kind of disconnected and lethargic.