The Midnight Breed Series Companion (50 page)

I turned in the manuscript for the book and my editor called me a few days later with a couple pages of revisions and questions about various things in the book. This might not seem alarming, but I hardly ever have revisions (I’m a perfectionist, and I hate letting go of any book unless it’s the absolute best I can make it). I struggled through the reworking of the book, even the minor stuff seemed to take me forever to get right, but I still wasn’t connecting the dots that something was going wrong with my health. It ended up taking a massive allergic reaction and a 3am trip to the emergency room before I understood I’d been slowly poisoning myself for more than a month! And by then I was so messed up, it’s literally taken five years and a daily allergy pill the whole time to get myself somewhat back on track. The real bummer is, I’m still very allergic to any food containing mold or fungus, and that will likely never return to normal. No more cheese or mushrooms of any kind! :::cries:::

This may be a weird question. But since the Breed get their food, do they use the bathroom like humans do? Feel weird asking, but it came to me one day and I'm just curious.

—Ashley P., Newark, DE USA

It’s a very logical question, actually! Members of the Breed do not consume food except in very minute amounts and only in those rarest instances when they’re pressed to give the appearance of being human. So, although their bodies are equipped with the same basic plumbing as humans, their main diet 99.9% of the time is fresh blood.

The Breedmates, however, are total foodies. They eat for pleasure, not sustenance, since their mates’ blood is all they need nutritionally speaking. And so it stands to reason that the Order’s compound and the Darkhavens would have bathrooms. But you won’t see me writing about bathroom habits, because…well, eww. I prefer to stick to the fantasy stuff, and leave the rest to the reader’s imagination!

With their extra sensitive sensory skills, aren't they having problems with the women’s periods? It's a question that pops into my head always when I read about or watch a movie about vampires...

—Marijke W., Julianadorp, Noord-Holland Netherlands

LOL! Allow me to refer you to the bit about “sticking to the fantasy stuff” from the question above. *g*

I guard my writing pen with my life no one is allowed to use it or touch it they can only look at it. Which leads to my question will you ever have a merchandise store?

—Mary P., Griffin, GA USA

LOL! We’ve had lots of requests to open a merchandise store, and I’m excited to report that it will be opening soon! The store will be part of my website redesign at
www.LaraAdrian.com
and will offer all kinds of fun Midnight Breed series merchandise, as well as signed (or unsigned) copies of all my books. Watch for a Grand Opening announcement in my website newsletter, likely sometime in Summer 2013.

How hard is it for you to come up with new Breed characters or to expound on the older ones to make them come alive for a new book due to its wide popularity that wants to keep the Breed alive?

—Jean R., Watertown, CT USA

Well, let me tell you, hearing from readers who never want the series to end is a very nice problem to have! And it’s tempting to want to keep a good thing going. I’m having a blast writing these books, and there’s nothing more motivating than knowing thousands of eager readers are dying to get their hands on the next Midnight Breed novel as soon as it arrives in stores.

But I also feel I have a responsibility to longtime fans of the series—and myself—to maintain the series’ integrity and not draw it out endlessly just because I can. I’m a plotting writer, so the thought of an open-ended, meandering series with no clear direction or resolution makes me more than a little twitchy! I’d rather bring it to a satisfying, but finite, conclusion earlier than necessary, than risk letting the series jump the shark years after I should have ended it.

What are the funeral rites for Breedmates?

—Tori R., Port Saint Lucie, FL USA

Fortunately, we’ve not had the need to attend a Breedmate funeral within the series (yet…), but it’s very similar to the rites performed for one of the Breed, except for the release of the body. With a member of the Breed, the sun claims the body of the deceased, turning it to ash. With a Breedmate, after rites are performed, her body is cremated and her ashes remain with her mate until his death, if she had a mate, or with her Darkhaven family, if she was unmated. You’ll find the funeral ceremonies described in the
Rituals
section of this Companion book.

Before you wrote the Midnight Breed books you had the Dragon Chalice fantasies as Tina St. John. Was any part of the Midnight Breed partially inspired by the Dragon Chalice series, either a character that you would've liked to develop more or differently, or were any plots inspired off the other?

—Karen W., St. Catharines, ON Canada

Very astute observation, Karen! I wrote the Dragon Chalice trilogy (which I’d always intended would be a quadrilogy) a couple of years before I began the Midnight Breed books. In the Dragon Chalice series, Braedon, the hero of the first book is the son of a wolf shapeshifter mother from a hidden, mythical realm and a human father. Through his mother’s lineage, Braedon is gifted with a knack for chasing down and locating lost people or objects, earning him the nickname of Hunter (though not at all related to Hunters in the Midnight Breed series). There is also a minor, but pivotal, character named Lara in that book!

But the character I think you’re probably referring to is Draec les Nantres, henchman of the villain of that series and one-time friend of Braedon’s. I loved that dark antihero (still do) and there are bits of him that ended up in the Midnight Breed series characters, Dante in particular. The Dragon Chalice series was never supposed to end where it did, but my publishing contract for those books got cancelled after I turned in the third book, and I’ve not yet had the chance to finish the best part of the Dragon Chalice story. I will one day, hopefully soon.

How many books will there end up being in the en
d
for the Midnight Breed Series?

—Rebecca D., Morristown, TN USA

I’ve sketched out plans for seven more novels to complete the series, following Edge of Dawn, plus a handful of novellas along the way. It’s possible the number could change slightly before all is said and done, but the series is moving toward a planned conclusion in the current, second arc that began with
Edge of Dawn
.

I just am dying to know whose book is next. Nathan, please?

—Jamie R., Centennial, CO USA

Nathan’s book is, in fact, up next! Watch for
Crave the Night
in early 2014.

Lara, how does it make you feel knowing that the Midnight Breed series and all of the wonderful characters in it, have touched the lives of so many people, in so many different and profound ways?

—Kathleen E., Mexico, NY USA

In a word: humbled. Many people aren’t aware that I actually began my career as a published author writing historical romances set in the Middle Ages. I wrote seven novels which, for one reason or another, never gained traction in the marketplace or with readers. So, I was accustomed to writing in obscurity, telling stories for just myself (and my editor!). I had no idea how incredible it could be to have readers all over the world enjoying my books and loving my characters as much as I do.

Every email I receive, every social network post and message, every reader I meet at a book signing or conference who takes the time to tell me what my books mean to them, or simply that they can’t wait for the next one, is a gift that far outshines any other trapping of bestseller success. It sounds so cliché to say that I love my readers, but it’s true. And I’m completely humbled and amazed by the love they give back to me.

Questions for the Characters

Actually to all the Breedmates: What is it like to really live with a Breed male? Do they have the same bad habits as human men? And do their special talents in the bedroom and being a warrior just make it worth it?

—Mendi O., Summerville, SC USA

:::amused glances and private smiles all around the room as the women of the Order wait to see who’s going to tackle that loaded question:::

(Renata clears her throat)
Yeah, that last part. Definitely. So worth it.

~ ~ ~

BROCK

How can you stand the fact not to "feel" Jenna in your blood?

—Cerstin W., Hueckelhoven, Germany

I feel Jenna in my heart and soul. I have everything I could ever want or need in her. Our bond couldn’t be stronger, just the way it is.

~ ~ ~

CLAIRE

When you were first brought to Wilhelm's Darkhaven and then later became his mate, what was going through your mind as you remembered everything that you had gone through with Andreas when you two were together?

—Shauna R., Palm Bay, FL USA

Grief. Pain. Confusion. I felt betrayed by Andre, but more than that, I felt a terrible regret for how I pushed him away our last night together. I let my insecurity create a wedge between us. When he didn’t come back that first night after we quarreled, or any of the long nights and months that followed, I didn’t have any reason to expect I would ever see him again. I made a foolish, dangerous choice in Wilhelm Roth. I didn’t realize how far he would go to keep Andre out of my life.

Andre and I were together just four months, then separated for fifty years. Fortunately, we have all the time in the world to make up for those missed shared moments, now that we’re together again as mates.

~ ~ ~

DANIKA

Hello, Danika!!!! I realize we came into the story as it was already playing out. We didn't see much of your Conlan. I'm a HUGE fan of Highlanders. What's your favorite memory of you and Conlan together?

—Ginelle B., Caledonia, MI USA

Oh, there were many over the course of nearly four hundred years together. But none sweeter than the moment we made our son together. After so long without the place for a child in our lives, we’d become accustomed to the lack. But then Con and I both woke the same day, feeling an overwhelming urge to bring new life into the circle of our love. I wonder now if he might have sensed his end was coming. I wonder if I sensed it too, but didn’t know to recognize it.