What
inspired you to become an author?
I've always made up stories in my head, which I
often acted out with my Barbie dolls. By the time I was a teenager, I decided
to try writing down my stories, and I wrote a few novels back then. A few years
later, I threw out those original books, but I never stopped making up stories.
I finally got serious about writing after a car accident, when I was laid up
with nothing to do. That's when I first wrote Willpower, the novel that would eventually become my first
published romance.
Do
you have a specific writing style?
My style is quirky, with plenty of humor. Even when
my characters are pinned down by the villain with no way out, they manage to
crack jokes about their situation. I also lean toward the weird and, as I've
slowly realized, toward the steamy end of the spectrum. I like heroines who've
had traumas in their past but remain spunky, and who aren't afraid to throw a
few punches.
Do
you write in different genres?
My romances have been paranormal so far, but I'm
working on a hot contemporary romance too. I'm also experimenting with an urban
fantasy story.
If
yes which is your favorite genre to write?
Romance is my passion. I love happy endings, and I
love exploring romantic relationships—but I also enjoy torturing my characters,
to make them earn that happily ever after.
How
did you come up with the title for your latest book?
Intuition is the second book in the Psychic
Crossroads series, and the first book was called Willpower. Since the sequel focuses on the same two characters, I
wanted a title that would be a natural complement to the first book's title. Willpower was about Grace finding her
inner strength and rediscovering her psychic abilities, hence the title. Intuition continues her journey, but I
wouldn't want to spoil the surprise by explaining what intuition has to do with
it!
Do
you title the book first or wait until after it’s complete?
Most of the time, the perfect title pops into my
brain before I start writing. Sometimes, though, I struggle to find the right
one until after the story's complete and I have a better feel for the theme. The
titles for my Reborn series came to me beforehand, and the titles actually
inspired the stories themselves. I had the title Reborn to Avenge well before I'd even worked out the basic plot.
What
is your current “work in progress” or upcoming projects?
I'm finishing up a paranormal romance called The Mortal Falls, and I'm also working
on a hot contemporary romance tentatively called Fired Up. Then there's Reborn
to Conquer, the final installment in the Reborn series. I also have plans
for the third book in the Psychic Crossroads series, which will feature one of
the secondary characters from the first two books, Sean Vandenbrook. I have a page on my
website devoted to my upcoming projects—it even includes a
running tally of my progress.
Can
you share a little of your current work with us?
** Excerpt from Intuition,
Chapter Three **
She bit her lip. "Remember, just because Sean
can heal you doesn't mean you can take crazy risks. I expect you to come home
in one piece. Don't make me have to rescue you again."
Her features tensed, darkened by a reaction that
baffled her. What had she said?
"I'll be careful," David said. He spun
away and grasped the door knob. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Yes." The word burned on her tongue, but
she had to say it. He needed to hear it.
He yanked the door open.
Humid air whispered over her, cloying and hot. Her
socked feet slid across the wood floor, heavy and stiff, unwilling to let her
lift them even while she closed the distance to David. Her hand lighted on his
arm and she soaked in the heady warmth of him. Her fingers caressed the firm
ripples of his muscular body, tracing the lines up his arms and onto his back.
Before he left, she yearned to etch him into her memory.
Fear crunched her heart in its icy fist. The vision.
Tesler. Blood slicking her hands. Pain searing her chest. His pain. His blood.
He might not come home this time. Remember.
She explored him with both hands, relishing the
contrast between hard muscle and tender flesh. As the fabric of his shirt
rasped across her palm, a shiver vibrated through her. Even through the
barrier, his heat spread into her palms. It poured into her body, dousing the
tension, snuffing out the fear.
"Go," she murmured. "I'll be okay,
and Sean needs you more than I do right now."
His body tensed. His muscles undulated, igniting a
tingle in her hands. It unfurled through her body in a blistering, aching wave
that tightened something deep inside her. Oh God. She gnawed her lip, battling
the urge to drag him into the house. Slam the door. Jam the deadbolt. Fall on
her knees and plead with him to stay here, with her.
He whirled around and crushed her against him.
His kiss consumed her in a fiery torrent that
scorched away reason and doubt. Her body wilted against him as his lips sparked
firecracker explosions inside her. Every ounce of his passion and anguish
rushed through her mind and body, a gift of sensation that stole the breath
from her. The world gyrated around her. A delicious ache washed through her
body. Her legs quivered, on the verge of buckling. Heat flushed her skin. Her
chest heaved. Oh David.
He pushed her away and stomped out the door.
Do
you have a song or playlist (book soundtrack) that you think represents this book?
Music is a huge part of my writing process. I listen
to orchestral film scores while I'm writing—except when I write love scenes.
Then I have a specific set of music that gets me in the right mood. And there
are always certain songs that make me think of a certain character or that
exemplify the tone of the book. For Intuition,
these songs evoked characters or story elements for me:
·
Control (Delta Goodrem)
·
The Divide (Grace Potter & the
Nocturnals)
·
Skyfall (Adele)
·
Locked Within the Crystal Ball (Blackmore's
Night)
·
Awakening (Delerium)
·
Natural (Rob Thomas)
·
Demons (Brian McFadden)
·
On the Run (Natalie Imbruglia)
·
Something to Believe In (Linda Eder)
I also have my
general writing playlist on Pinterest.
Intuition
Psychic Crossroads
Book Two
Anna Durand
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Jacobsville Books
Date of Publication: 6/15/2015
ISBN: 978-1-934631-71-3
ISBN: 978-1-934631-74-4
ASIN: B00XK88MB8
Number of pages: 270
Word Count: 106,000
Cover Artist: Lisa A. Shiel,
Five Rainbows Services
Book Description:
Book 2 in the multi-award-winning Psychic Crossroads series
Ultimate power comes at the ultimate price.
Torn apart by their haunted pasts, Grace Powell and her fiancé David Ransom are struggling to reclaim their passionate bond. She yearns for a normal life — one without danger and paranormal powers — but David can't renounce his obsession with hunting down rogue scientist Karl Tesler, who abducts and tortures psychics. David endured Tesler's tactics himself, but despite what Grace believes, he's not out for revenge.
Tesler covets her unprecedented abilities and her connection to a vast and mysterious source of psychic energy known as the Golden Power. He will stop at nothing to possess her, and David will do anything — even abandon and lie to her — to protect Grace from the mad scientist.
With a psychic stalker on her trail, Grace charges into a desperate mission to uncover the truth about David's obsession and his secret past. But Tesler's agents are closing in on her, and a terrifying new enemy is rising…
As events drive Grace and David toward a battle of epic proportions, they must risk everything — their relationship, their lives, and even their souls — to defeat an enemy who wields unspeakable psychic power. Can a bond borne of true love save them, and the world?
Available at Amazon Smashwords iTunes Google Play
Excerpt:
Grace Powell slammed the front door. The cool air inside the house flushed away the sultry October heat pasted to her skin. She stalked across the living room, down the hall, and into the bedroom. She fumbled for the light switch, her fingers slipping off the plastic. Dammit. No one but David Ransom detonated her temper like this. She flicked the switch, and light flooded the room. The bed stood empty, the sheets crumpled at the foot.
They'd fled the house in a near-panic, racing from their home to the Cincinnati airport with tires screeching, all because of a thirty-second phone call David received at one a.m. Another tip from a questionable source. Another threadbare clue in his quest for vengeance. Another search that yanked him away from Grace. Away from their home, their life.
The emptiness of the bed tore at her heart like tiny claws. Sharp. Hot. Fresh tears pricked her eyes, and she gnawed her lip to stave off the downpour. No crying.
She fingered her engagement ring. A tear sneaked out of her eye to roll down her cheek, painting a hot trail on her skin. No crying, dammit.
She resisted the impulse to tap into their telepathic bond and check on her fiancé. It was an invasion, one she understood all too well, but how else could she know David was all right? She had to trust their latent connection, however faint, to warn her. If he stumbled into trouble, though, what could she do from here, over a thousand miles away?
Her heart clenched. Losing her parents ripped her world asunder. She could not lose David too. Her head told her she wouldn't, yet the fear chilled her down to the essence of her being.
She trudged into the bedroom, kicking off her shoes. The lonely tear crept into her mouth, infecting her tongue with a salty tang. She tugged the cell phone out of her jeans pocket and tossed it onto the bedside table. Her muscles, stiff and sore, begged for a rest. She collapsed onto the mattress on her back. Her gaze hit the ceiling, where little acoustic balls clung to the paint, stuck there against their will. I know the feeling.
When they'd reached the security checkpoint at the airport, she'd longed to plead with David to stay. Instead, she cranked her lips into a smile, pecked a kiss on his cheek, and all but shoved him through the gate. Her stomach wrenched into knots recalling that moment, as he strolled into the main terminal. When he paused to glance back, she prayed he would change his mind. But he simply waved, then strode out of sight.
Grace rolled onto her side. Her nose bumped into David's pillow. She drew in a long breath. The spiciness of his aftershave flooded her senses, along with another scent—a subtle, masculine smell unique to David. Indescribable. Delicious. Warmth suffused her, seeping into her heart and mind, smoldering in parts of her that ached for him. She inhaled another draft of his scent, her body responding as if he were there, caressing her. He may drive her nuts at times, but…
Oh, the way he kissed. Her lips tingled from the memory of it.
A chill whispered over her skin. Every hair on her body stiffened. Her sixth sense burst out of its slumber, clanging alarm bells in her psyche. Someone is here.
She bolted upright and whipped her head left and right. Nobody there. She swung her legs off the bed and pushed up onto her feet, nabbing her .357 Magnum revolver from the bedside table. A chill trickled down her spine. Eyes watched. Invisible, ethereal, but real. She turned toward the doorway. Nothing lurked there.
Why couldn't she pin down the source of the sensation? Her paranormal radar was blanked out, as if overwhelmed by input.
Psychic energy crackled through her. Behind you. She whirled around, thrusting the gun up, clamped in both hands, and confronted—
The lamp.
Hell. She'd let her unease blossom into paranoia. Nobody hunted her anymore. Probably. Tesler wouldn't find her here.
Her cell phone buzzed. A text message had arrived.
David. She snatched up the phone, tapping the screen until the message popped up. As she scanned the words, a shiver rattled through her.
"Come to me," it said, "I can help you. 1325 Meroz Road."
She didn't recognize the phone number the message came from, and no name was given. Oh sure, she'd rush right out to the address texted to her by an anonymous whackjob.
The phone buzzed again. Another text message: "Your lip is bleeding."
Her lip? She dabbed a finger on her mouth. It came away wet. Blood stained her skin. How did the texter know she bit her lip? Her heart pounded. Without moving, she searched the shadows for a figure, a camera, something to explain this, though she knew she'd find nothing. A thick curtain shielded the window. The person sending the messages could either see through solid objects or had another means of viewing her. Extrasensory means.
The phone tumbled from her hand, clattering on the floor.
No, she was jumping to conclusions. An intruder must've stolen into the house. With the revolver in hand, she sprinted out of the bedroom, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and into the living room. Vacant. All vacant. She rushed back to the bedroom and dug through the closet, scoured the dresser, even dropped onto her belly to investigate the space under the bed. No cameras. No stealthy intruders. Not a damn thing. Which left her with one unthinkable possibility.
Maybe she should call the police.
What for? They couldn't help her with this kind of problem.
"You belong with me."
She jumped. Her head smacked into the bed frame. She clutched the gun tighter. Where had the voice come from?
No, no, no, not again. Nausea swelled in her stomach, bile rising high in her throat. The voice did not originate in this room, or from outside. The source was much, much closer. Someone rammed the words into her mind.
A psychic intruder just hacked her brain.
About the Author:
Anna Durand is a multi-award-winning writer, a freelance librarian, and an audiobook addict. She specializes in sexy romances, both paranormal and contemporary, featuring spunky heroines and hunky heroes. In her previous life as a librarian, she haunted the stacks of public libraries but never met any hot vampires hunting for magical books.
Website: http://www.annadurand.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnnaDurand
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/annadurand
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Anna_Durand/
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