Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley (Interview/Giveaway)

Lexi: If you like urban fantasy, mysteries, historical, paranormal and contemporary romance...oh wait isn’t that about every genre out there? Well, if you like reading you will like our guest today. Welcome Jennifer Ashley!

I will start with a simple question, but I know it is not a simple quick answer. Jennifer what new release do you have to talk about? 

Jennifer: Mate Claimed! Book 4 of the Shifters Unbound series. (Well, this is the sixth story; I have two shorter books, Bodyguard and Hard Mated, which came out between the Berkley releases).

This is the story of Eric and Iona, who first met in the book Wild Cat. 

Here’s the blurb:

Eric Warden knows that half-Shifter wildcat Iona is passing for human, living without a Collar in the human world. He also knows that if she does not acknowledge her Shifter nature and her mating hunger, it could kill her.
Iona finds the mysterious and dangerous Eric, a wildcat and leader of his Shiftertown, haunting her dreams, but she vows never to take the Collar, fearing backlash against her mother and sister for hiding the fact that she's Shifter. But Eric is a compelling Shifter male, and Iona's hunger calls to him.

There’s more going on in this book: A Shiftertown has been closed, and the Shifters there are forced to move into Eric’s Shiftertown. Their leader, Graham, a wolf-Shifter, isn’t happy about giving up his leadership, and he’s not shy about saying so. 

Also Eric is dealing with mysterious pain that keeps crippling him, possibly left over from experiments done on Shifters twenty years ago. Now there’s evidence that those experiments might be starting up again. 
In the middle of this is Iona—unprotected, unclaimed, fair game. Eric will do anything in his power to protect her.

Lexi: Your shifters are amazing, so many tempting heroes. Do you find it easy to slip into writing a shifter story and then having to turn around and work on say a historical? Do you find that any of your heroes/heroines share prominent characteristics across genres?

Jennifer: I find it easy to move from story to story, genre to genre, because when I write, I’m immersed in that world, and no others exist. The stories, setting, and characters are unique,  and I don’t get confused. 

I think I’d have more trouble moving between, say two contemporary romance series, because they’d have much more similarities than, for example, the Stormwalker series and the Mackenzies.

Switching back and forth keeps me fresh too, so I don’t get burned out on one genre, which would be reflected in the books.

That said, to me, a good romance is a good romance, no matter what the setting or genre. I like strong, gorgeous, take-no-crap heroes who are also vulnerable, and I like strong heroines who stand up to them and don’t let them walk on them. 

Lexi: How you manage to keep all your deadlines and projects straight is beyond me. Maybe you take time and escape in your own little miniature world? Growing up I used to make houses for my miniature My Little Ponies, hours and hours. With your wild imagination I am going to guess you have some tiny lions and bears hanging out with a Highlander and his English heiress who presides over the tea?

Jennifer: Possibly. :-) I do sometimes make settings that reflect my books, though I don’t always have time. For instance, I have a “Pirate Next Door” setting (one of my early books). I made a bed that has one side messy, with pistols, a cutlass, muddy boots, and a trunk full of treasure next to it, the other side neat and pretty, with beaded slippers, a feminine fan, and a rose next to it. Fun to do.

I love minis, though, always have. I saw no reason to give them up because I grew up. Me and a large number of mini lovers throughout the world carry on our childhood fun. I have a blog: http://www.jennsminis.wordpress.com where I share photos of my latest projects.

Lexi: Do you ever sit and look at it all and just want to mash it all up together? It could be a Jennifer/Allyson/Ashley novel!

Jennifer: Oh, sure. Sometimes when my romance heroes are being oh-so-alpha, I think—“You know, if  Captain Lacey were here, he’d beat you up with his walking stick.”

Lexi: Whatever your working on right now, I am glad you can keep doing it to bring us entertaining books that take us out of our everyday lives. If we can’t fit into tiny little rooms at least you have created worlds to whisk us away. Thanks for stopping by Jennifer, good luck with your releases coming up!

Jennifer: Thank you! It’s been fun.
Jennifer Ashley
http://www.jennifersromances.com

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Berkley is giving away one copy of Mate Claimed to one reader. (US only, please.) To enter, just leave a question or comment on this post for Jennifer and then fill out the Rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway