~J.C. DANIELS~

Hello JC and welcome back to Under the Covers.  We are huge fans of ALL of your work here!  For readers that don’t know much about J.C. Daniels, tell us what they can expect when picking up one of your books.

As far as the Kit Colbana books go? They can expect to meet a woman with a foul mouth, a knack for getting in trouble and a problem with saying No, even when she knows she should.

How would you describe the Kit Colbana series? 

It’s about a heroine who isn’t even half as strong as the people around her–she has a foul mouth, a sharp sword and when she’s pissed or scared, her first instinct is to poke at everything around her with something sharp.

Some of the scenes in NIGHT BLADE had us sobbing, it was harrowing and heartrending to read, so how was it for you to write?

Pretty much the same.  I wrote the scenes when my family was either gone or asleep, so they didn’t see me sobbing over my keyboard.  If I could have written the book any other way, I would have.  But that’s how the story played out for me in my head and I can’t change how a story is meant to go.

The events in NIGHT BLADE have drastically changed the dynamics between Kit and Damon. What can readers expect in BROKEN BLADE and more specifically, the relationship between Damon and Kit?

Ohhhhh… I’m not answering that.  But there is no insta-fixing anything here.  Kit’s gone through hell and the road to finding herself again will play out as nature lets it.

Kit is a fantastic heroine. In your opinion, what qualities do you think a strong female protagonist requires in order to carry a series through?

That’s going to vary from series to series.  Strength can be as simple as forcing yourself to keep getting up, keep fighting.  Strength can be a facing a demon in the flesh, or facing internal demons.

Strength in a woman, fictional or otherwise, isn’t a lack of fear–it’s doing what you think is right, despite the fear.  I’ve written probably over 70 books now and I like to think I tend to write heroines who may not start out particularly strong, but grow into that strength over time, whether it’s Kit finding the strength to face her demons–whatever they may be– or a heroine in one of my romantic suspense books finding the strength to leave an abusive husband.

Is there anyone you would cast (celebrity or model) as Kit?

I don’t generally cast real people in mind as characters, although I will use models, etc for character sketches.  But in my head?  Kit looks like a blond Keira Knightley.

Going into BROKEN BLADE, where is Damon’s head at right in this moment? What is the one most important thing to him right now in this stage of the series? How will he obtain/achieve this?

Damon’s heart is focused on Kit.  It always is.  His head is split between leading a clan of shapeshifting cats, the politics therein…and trying to find his way back to her.  But I’m not going into any more detail than that.

What are your future plans for this series?  How many books do you have planned?

You ask that question like I’m capable of plans… 😉  I do see a definitive end to the series.  I’m working on Book 4 now, and I’m calling it Forged Blade.  There’s at least going to be two more books, I think, because there are two more stories within my head.  But I won’t let the series drag on endlessly either.

How different is the Kit Colbana series to write compared to the books you write as Shiloh Walker?  

As to how they are different?  In a couple of ways… there isn’t a nice, neat HEA for the JC books, at least not right now.  I see a happy ending for Kit, at the end of it all, but it’s not time yet.  There’s a heavy romance undercurrent in the Kit books, but it’s not the driving factor.  With my Shiloh books?  Romance is key.  But if readers like a lot of action in their books and aren’t turned off by sex and steam?  I’ve got just as much action in a lot of my paranormal books and in quite a few of my romantic suspenses.

Thanks so much for letting us peek a bit into your mind and sharing with our readers.

When a teenaged girl goes missing, her mother calls Kit Colbana, scion of an ancient line of warriors  — unfortunately, Kit’s heritage doesn’t impress the local wererats much. They’re determined to make the girl one of their own, and Kit is going to need a big sword, a bright flashlight, and a helpful vampire to get her back.

Kit Colbana – half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades – has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.

So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters – especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.

Or maybe it’s all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she’s gotten in over her head. Or maybe it’s because if she fails – she’s dead.

If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she’ll even live long to collect her fee…

Kit Colbana is always biting off more than she can chew. She has a knack for finding trouble. This time, though, trouble finds her. Someone from her past drops a case into her lap that she just can’t refuse…literally.

People on the Council are dying left and right and she’s been requested to investigate the deaths. The number one suspect? Her lover, Damon. If she doesn’t clear his name, he gets a death sentence. Even if she succeeds? They still might try to execute him. Oh, and she’s not allowed to tell him about the case, either.

The stakes are high this time around, higher than they’ve ever been. Kit may be forced to pay the ultimate price to save her lover’s life…a price that could destroy her and everything she loves.

Coming January 2014

Kit Colbana: assassin, thief, investigator extraordinaire. Now broken. She always expected her past to catch up with her but never like this. Haunted by nightmares and stripped of her identity, she’s retreated to Wolf Haven, the no-man’s land where she found refuge years before. But while she might want to hide away from the rest of the world, the rest of the world isn’t taking the hint.

Dragged kicking and screaming back into life, Kit is thrust head-first into an investigation surrounding the theft of an ancient relic…one that she wants nothing to do with. Her instincts tell her it’s a bad idea to just leave the relic lying about, but finding it might be just as bad.

Forced to face her nightmares, she uncovers hidden strength and comes face to face with one of the world’s original monsters.

If she survives the job, she won’t be the same…and neither will those closest to her.

[about-author author=”J.C. Daniels”]

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