Author Spotlight: Jana Downs & Letting Go of the Boys

Letting Go of the Boys

Thank you to the wonderful J.R. Loveless for having me as a guest on her blog today. I hope you all enjoy this little spiral into my thoughts. :)

“Normal” isn’t an adjective I’d typically apply to this crazy life I live. I’m pretty content with that most days. After all, who else gets to wake up to a dozen or so whining hotties on a regular basis? All of them  are special to me and all of them are attention needy. It’s hard to imagine any of them not being there. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to this year. According to this schedule in my head, a few series will end and with that ending, a few of the boys are going to be moving on to a permanent Happily Ever After in their own worlds. I might need a box of tissues to deal with that, just FYI. So, to honor my soon to be leaving house guests, I thought I’d explore some of my favorite moments and the hardest moments of the series.

One of the most bittersweet departures I’m going to have this year is going to be the Ravyn Warriors series. The war is started, the final battle is fast approaching. We’ve lost some enemies and loved ones along the way. What’s a writer to do when the boys who have been around the longest are the ones to go? Celebrate them of course.

 

Best Moment: Ravyn’s Blood [Ravyn Warriors 1] Dageus and Alec’s first dance. That moment was so sweet I got a toothache writing it. After a long separation that had them literally worlds apart, they meet again at the place it all began and have their first dance. From the first moment they touch, I knew that their love story was the one that would stay with me forever and nothing, not lack of memory or self-doubt, would get in the way of their love. Gawww… 

Hardest Moment: Ravyn’s Mates [Ravyn Warriors 5] The hardest moment in the series for me was when Druas is stabbed by the Cranes in the desert of Demontia. What was difficult in that scene was his mates’ reaction to it and the other Ravyns’ reaction as well. Their shock, pain, and helplessness were really agonizing  and at one point I thought, “If he’s really dead, everything is done. None of them will recover from this”. It was an eye-opener for me to finally see how close they really were. I mean, I knew they were as close as brothers before, but this moment really synched it for me.

The second series that I’m going to have to part ways with by the end of the year are the two intertwined series His Guardian Angels and Unexpected Angels.  I count them as one series because they’re so closely linked and fortunately or unfortunately, when one ends, so ends the other. So here are the best and hardest moments of the slew of characters from HGA and UA.

Best Moment:  I think the best moment of the series is the moment that hasn’t actually happened yet. All the nephilim (half-human, half angels for those who haven’t read) have had such a difficult time maintaining any sort of happiness in an atmosphere that is so hostile towards them so I look forward to the day when the dust settles and we finally get to see them relax and grow as they were always meant to do in the sanctuary city.  When Levi no longer has nightmares and Madigan finally comes into his own as a leader and a nephilim, I will be a happy kid.

Hardest Moment: Angelic Ties [His Guardian Angels 2] when Yuri’s wings get shredded and Cross nearly bites the dust in a car wreck caused by the hunters who are trying to end all nephilim. Bren’s upset over Cross was a touching moment for me because up until this point, you only get to see Bren being a surly jerk when it comes to interacting with Cross. It’s only at this point where he seems to come out of his shell and display what he’s been feeling for Cross all along. Very touching and difficult scene to write.

 

Now, I’ve been told to never leave on a sour note, so here is the blurb for my Saturday release Beau Bitten [Rock Bottom Boys 2]. The second of my New Orleans boys to get his HEA was fun to write. I hope you enjoy!

[Siren Everlasting Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Consensual BDSM Romance, M/M, vampires, shape-shifters, sex in partially shifted form, sex toys, HEA]

Ter Dinh, a dragon shifter, has been running away from relationships ever since his family kicked him out at sixteen for being gay. Brash and unapologetic, he moves through life never having any real attachments. Until he meets Nicolae Azarov. Though he tries to avoid the inevitable, Nicolae’s courtship is winning him over, though his estranged family may once again step in to make his life a living hell.

Nicolae Azarov is desperate to make his mate see reason. Ter has been avoiding him for months and time is running out on his biological clock to rid himself of the mate venom which will slowly drive him crazy if he doesn’t give it to Ter. He refuses to force him into anything but can’t figure out what will make Ter see that he means no harm. Giving up his control to Ter seems like a good idea, but it will lead him down paths he never expected to take.  

Order and Excerpt from Bookstrand:  http://www.bookstrand.com/beau-bitten    

 

Thanks again to J.R. Loveless for having me as a guest. I had fun. :)