Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome one of our favorites to the blog today. Paige Tyler is stoping by to chate about life and her newest release Her Lone Wolf. So what do you say we get started.
Paige, can you please share with us a little about yourself
I was born and raised in New Jersey, then moved all over after marrying my hubby (South Korea, Louisiana, Atlanta, Washington State), and currently call the beautiful Florida coast home. I’m a USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic fiction and I’ve written over fifty books in practically every genre of romance, although I have to admit that my favorite genre is definitely the paranormal/romantic-suspense combo. Hubby, my very own military hero, and I live with our adorable fur baby (also known as our dog) and spend a good portion of our time writing. While I graduated with a degree in education and was well on my way to being an elementary school teacher, I decided to pursue passion of writing instead. These days I’m fully committed to writing books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
I always loved writing from the time I was a little kid. I wrote stories about my cats, and made up romance stories about my Susie Homemaker doll falling in love and getting married to my Green Giant doll. They had so much in common, you know?
I credit my high school creative writing teacher with encouraging me to write for a living, but I have to admit, once I became an adult, I sort of put all that stuff in an old box and stuck it in the closest. I needed a “real job,” or thought I did.
In between dabbling in writing, I spent time going to college for Art, English, Computer Programming, and Education, looking for a career that would speak to me. I worked for a while on a military base, but other than the fact that I met my wonderful hubby there, I found it wasn’t really for me. It wasn’t until I started working as an elementary school teacher that I really got it. While I loved teaching kids, I realized that I resented the time the job took away from my writing.
That wasn’t fair to the kids or me, so I took the plunge and decided to write full time. The money hasn’t always been the greatest, but as any writer will tell you, it’s never about the money.
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
Not sure if you’d call it a “quirk” per se, but most people find it interesting that I write with my hubby as a team. We outline the stories together, then he handles the first rough draft (focusing mostly on plot development and action sequences), while I come in right behind him and layer in the character-building, dialogue, and romance. Then we both sit down side by side on the couch and read the entire book start to finish before I send it to my editor. It might seem like a crazy way to write, but it works for us.
Can you please tell us about your latest book?
My latest book is HER LONE WOLF, the second book in the X-OPS Series. For those who aren’t familiar with the series, it revolves around the Department of Covert Operations, a top secret organization that’s buried deep within the Department of Homeland Security. The DCO pairs the very best soldiers, law enforcement people, and spies together with shifters—humans that have special animal attributes in their DNA. They take on impossible missions that few people in the world will ever know about.
In Book One, HER PERFECT MATE, the reader gets a taste of how these DCO teams operate, especially how my particular kind of shifter works. These shifters have naturally occurring animal DNA that has blended with their human DNA to allow them to possess certain animal-like capabilities, such as speed, strength, aggression, and keen senses. While these abilities make them the perfect asset for the DCO, they’re also labeled by some as “freaks” and “monsters.” In HER PERFECT MATE readers get to see how much the shifters distrust the very people they work for. In HER LONE WOLF, the distrust continues to grow until the shifters—and the people who love them—aren’t sure whom they can trust.
All of this shadowy intrigue takes place against the backdrop of the DCO sending the hero Clayne Buchanan, the wolf shifter with the “bad attitude” readers met in Book One, out to California to deal with a possible rogue shifter that just might have turned into a serial killer. Clayne prefers to work alone, only this time it’s not going to happen that way. To get the job done, he’ll be forced to work with the one person on the planet he’d rather claw his own eyes out than see again. Here’s a quick blurb for HER LONE WOLF for you:
Leaving him was Impossible…
It took everything she had for FBI Special Agent Danica Beckett to walk away from the man she loved. But if she wants to save his life, she has to keep her distance. Now, with a killer on the loose and the stakes higher than ever before, the Department of Covert Ops is forcing these former lovers into an uneasy alliance…whether they like it or not.
Seeing her again is even worse…
The last thing Clayne Buchanan wants is to be shackled to the woman who broke his heart. She gets under his skin in a way no one ever has and makes him want things he has no right to anymore. All he has to do is suffer through this case and he can be free of her for good. But when Clayne finds out why Danica left in the first place, everything he’s tried to bury comes roaring back-and there’s no way this wolf shifter is going to let her get away this time.
How did you come with the idea for this story?
I love to tell this story. Hubby and I were at the Lori Foster Get Together in 2011 and were having dinner at PF Chang’s with our friend Monette Michaels and her friend Linnea Sinclair. We were talking about writing, especially about jumping from e-books to New York. I doubt Linnea even remembers me, but she said some really insightful things about finding a niche and a voice that is undeniably mine, then she pointed at hubby and suggested that I should be using his military experiences to lend an edge to my books that other writers might not have.
That suggestion led to the X-OPS series. Since the very building block of the series is these human-shifter teams, I spent a lot of time developing them. After I developed the Special Forces hero (Landon) and feline shifter heroine (Ivy) in HER PERFECT MATE, the very first secondary character I created was the wolf shifter Clayne Buchanan, who was specifically written to be the complete opposite of the Landon. Those two butt heads constantly in book one, but by the end of the book, the reader starts to see that there might be something more to Clayne than he appears. Fans were screaming for his story the moment they finished book one!
Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
Beyond all the promo I’m doing for HER LONE WOLF, I’m also getting ready to do the promo for a special FREE X-OPS novella from Sourcebooks called HER SECRET AGENT. It gives the readers a peak behind the scenes of the very beginnings of the DCO. You get to see a younger John Loughlin, the Director of the DCO, getting to know a certain foxy shifter extremely well. It will be available on the 2nd of December from Sourcebooks (digital format only).
I’m also putting the finishing touches on Book Two of my Special Wolf Alpha Team Series (SWAT…as in a pack of werewolves working on the Dallas SWAT team. Cool, right?). At the same time, I’m working the first draft for Book Three in that series so I can send it to my editor in January. Plus, I’m starting to rough in the details on Book Four of X-OPS. It’s freaky jumping back and forth between the two series, but it keeps me on my toes!
Oh yeah, BTW, I’m also putting out a military ménage boxed set for Veteran’s Day, with a tribute to each of the uniformed services. It’s your basic, old-fashioned girl meets two guys, and decides that anything two people can do, three can do better!
Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
Well, I have to admit that I’ve already had the privilege of meeting one of my very favorite authors, Suzanne Brockman, at RT last year. I was getting ready to help out with an off-site event with my publisher (Sourcebooks), and my editor turned and said, ”Have you met Suzanne Brockman before?”
I completely lost my ever-loving fan-girl mind! You know how sometimes you worry that you might have built an unrealistic image of a person in your head, one that’s impossible for a mere human to ever compare to? Well, I met Suzanne, and she’s so much better than the impossible image I had of her! She is absolutely the coolest person ever! Hubby and I had drinks with Suzanne and her hubby, talking about books and her cutie of a fur baby, Little Joe. As busy as she was, she found time to sit and chat with me. That meant a lot to me.
As far as other authors I’d like to meet in the future (sorry, I can’t limit it to just one), it would be Johanna Lindsey. Her alpha-male heroes and feisty heroines are the essential role-models for the characters I love to write. I also want to meet Lisi Harrison, author of the first set of Monster High books. As you’ll read below, I’m crazy about Monster High!
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
I sort of mentioned it early, but for me, the best advice is simple—write because you love to write and there’s a story in your head screaming to get out.
Because you can trust me on this, at some point, every writer faces disappointment. There are the times when you can’t get your thoughts on the page the right way, the weeks and months spent waiting for someone to decide if your book is “what they’re looking for,” or even the reviews that make you want to cry.
That love of writing will get you through these rough patches because you’re writing for yourself, not for someone else.
Can you share with us something off your bucket list?
Nope! I don’t really have one of those. Strange, I know, but I just don’t like the whole connotation of a “bucket” list. If there’s something you really, really want to do, then don’t put it on a list. Figure out a way to do it now, not later.
What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
Ghoulfriends Just Want to Have Fun, by Gitty Daneshvari, author of the second set of Monster High books. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m an absolute Monster High fanatic! I have a whole room set aside for my Monster High dolls!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just want to say thanks for taking the time to stop by and ready my ramblings. I really appreciate it. If you get a chance, stop by and check out my website and social media pages at the links below and see if anything grabs your attention. If you read any of my stuff, drop me an e-mail—I’d love to hear from you. Hope you’ll check out my X-OPS Series!
Want to learn more about Paige and her books?
You can find her here: Website | Blog | Facebook Profile Page | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Google+| Goodreads| Newsletter| Email: paigetyler@paigetylertheauthor.com
Let’s take a look at Her Lone Wolf
*****
Her Lone Wolf
Series: X-Ops Book 2
Author: Paige Tyler
Pubdate: November 4th, 2014
ISBN: 9781402292125
Leaving him was Impossible…
It took everything she had for FBI Special Agent Danica Beckett to walk away from the man she loved. But if she wants to save his life, she has to keep her distance. Now, with a killer on the loose and the stakes higher than ever before, the Department of Covert Ops is forcing these former lovers into an uneasy alliance…whether they like it or not.
Seeing her again is even worse
The last thing Clayne Buchanan wants is to be shackled to the woman who broke his heart. She gets under his skin in a way no one ever has and makes him want things he has no right to anymore. All he has to do is suffer through this case and he can be free of her for good. But when Clayne finds out why Danica left in the first place, everything he’s tried to bury comes roaring back—and there’s no way this wolf shifter is going to let her get away this time.
Paige Tyler is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them. Visit www.paigetylertheauthor.com.
Buy Links: Amazon| Apple | BAM | B&N | Chapters | Indiebound | Kobo
Check out Kelly & Kimberly’s reviews of Her Lone Wolf HERE
Giveaway Time!!!!
I have no idea, probably one of the big cats, though I’m a huge fan of wolves too.
I did like the first book and I’m looking forward to this newest 🙂 Thanks so much!
oops… and I’d want to be a wolf!!!
Great interview. Haven’t read anything by Paige that was not fantastic. Looking forward to this read.
Thank so much for having me, Kelly! And Erin, so glad you enjoyed the first book! Hope you’ll pick up HER LONE WOLF! 🙂
*hugs*
Paige
I’d prefer to shift into something that can fly across the country, thereby saving plane fare.
Although I wouldn’t consider myself a Monster High fan, I have watched a few episodes and enjoyed them.
Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the giveaway!!!
I am a Leo, so I would be a lion shifter–Regal, Ravishing, and Ready to Roar ; )