Lauren Dane

Most Often Asked

Will you be writing a book for Adrian?

I sure hope so. After I finish the next futuristic for Berkley, I’ll send in the proposal for Adrian’s book which I of course hope my editor likes enough to buy!

Please please tell me you will be/won’t be putting Raven and Adrian together! (this is a very popular comment/question from both sides)

For the time being, I’m going to continue being coy on this issue. I do know who he’ll end up with and I can promise you she’ll be worthy of him. But for now, I’m not revealing who the HEA will be with.

What the heck were you thinking with that ending of Trinity!!

Trinity and Revelation are a two book story arc WRT Renee and Kendra’s father and his wife and what they’re up to. That part of the story was way too big to put in Trinity in its entirety. The HEA for Renee, Jack and Galen was done in book one and in the next book (out in July) will also have a standalone HEA for Kendra and her hero (Max de La Vega).

All that said – yes, they are related to the Cascadia Wolves series and yes, some of the backstory is defined in those books (like how the mate bond works, etc). So if you pick up book seven in an established world, you might miss certain things, though many have read it without the others and been fine, some read it and were like, “What’s up with this guy just falling for Renee in five minutes!”

When will Ascension/Tri Mates/Fire and Rain be out in paper?

I don’t know. I’ve asked for years and you’d think as it’s my book and they’re a publisher that I’d get an answer. Sadly, I have never been given an answer to this question, no matter who I ask. I’ve been told I’ll know when I get an email telling me so. I know mutiple readers who’ve written Ellora’s Cave to ask directly but none has received a response. If you’d like you can give it a go – books@ellorascave.com – perhaps they’ll let you know. I wish I had a better answer for you all.

Books

What should readers know about your books before they buy them?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I suppose they should know they’re always going to have a strong, smart heroine and heroes who are alpha but not jerks. My voice tends to be dark and my writing is close to the bone. I try to do something different with each story though!

Are any of your books interrelated and do I have to read them in order?
I have several series:

• Federation Chronicles – erotic futuristic from Berkley Heat. Undercover and Relentless are set in the same world but are both standalone books. Insatiable is part of a three book story arc so each book will feed into the next with one main story (war with the Imperialists) with an HEA for each couple in each book.
• Brown Family – contemporary erotic romance from Berkley Heat – Laid Bare, Coming Undone and Inside Out are all about the same group of friends and family. While it’s not necessary to read them all in order, you get to know the group of characters more with each book.
• de La Vega Cats – paranormal erotic romance. This is a spin off series from my Cascadia Wolves set in Boston. There’s significant story connections between the wolves and cats and the first two books Trinity and Revelation ARE part of a two book story arc. Meaning that while each couple/triad gets its own HEA in each book, the story continues from Trinity into Revelation.
• Cascadia Wolves – paranormal erotic – werewolves. These are also standalone but when dealing with details like Pack hierarchy and rules, it’s good, IMO, to read from the start to get a better feel for the universe as a whole.
• Chase Brothers – contemporary romance – sensual. This series is about four brothers in a small town. The first two are romantic suspense and as we’re dealing with a build up of characters and events with each book that feeds into the next, I think it’s nice to read in order. However, it’s not necessary.
• Witches Knot – paranormal erotic. While they’re standalone, I think the impact is greater if you read them in order to get a feel for the characters and the world. Threat of Darkness is a book that’s related to the WK world and features Jayce, a character you meet in Touch of Fae but it’s not part of the series. Celebration for the Dead is also a spin off from Vengeance Due but standalone.

Do your books have a HEA (Happily-Ever-After)?
Yep.

What are your heroes and heroines like?
My heroines are all strong willed, intelligent and resourceful. They may be wounded or scared or messed up in some sense, but they’re not the type to whine or wait to be saved. Now, they may wait to be saved because that’s the smart thing to do, but they’re not doormats. Many of them tend to have smart mouths, um, my husband says that’s a bit familiar but I swear I don’t know what he’s talking about!

Heroes – well I like an alpha but not a controlling jerk. I like a guy who is funny and compassionate, intelligent and honorable. My heroes tend to be dominant but the women they’re with usually deal with it well. Sparks are always fun. They’re also the kind of hero who utterly and totally adores the heroine.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading one of your books?
Well, hmm, I hope I’ve entertained them first of all. I hope they’ve found something to like about my characters. I like it when they put aspects of their own experience into the storyline and can identify on some level with my story.

What do you hope they will understand about romantic fiction and/or about you?
Mostly I like it when I change people’s minds about romance as a genre. I love it when people say, “I used to hate X until I read such and such book!” I like readers to know that there are many types of stories to be told and many ways to tell it. And I hope readers will understand that I’m always trying to find a new way to tell a love story that’s fresh or at the very least, one that’s not always told.

When will the next book in your Cherchez Pack series be released?
I’d like to and I’m always trying to find a way to do it. I want to give Phillip and Skye their HEAs. But my schedule is so tight and I’d be moving it to Samhain which means I’d have another series with books at two publishers which complicates matters. Right now I just don’t have the time to deal with what I know will be a more complicated situation and I’ve got several more books to write and turn in before I can even think about how to do it in reality.

When will be the next book in your Witches Knot series released?
For now, I think I’m done with the series. There are things I’d love to explore like the world of Kael’s hunter crew but all the immediate Charvez witches are with someone and I don’t want to carry it out so it becomes silly. I do want to revisit Lee, Alex and Aidan because there are some things that need to be resolved with his not being a vampire.

Will there be more books in the same world as UNDERCOVER and RELENTLESS?
Yes. The next book is called INSATIABLE and it releases in July of 2010 and is the start of a three book story arc. The books would take place as war approaches and feature Daniel, Abbie’s brother who we meet in RELENTLESS. It would span several different ‘Verses and with different members of his team.

When will be the next book in your Cascadia Wolves series released?
I’ve finished up with the first story arc – Enforcer through Standoff. I’ve got two standalones, Reluctant which is a prequel and Fated, which comes after Standoff. In October 2009, I released Trinity, which is Jack Meyers’ story and set in the National Pack territory. Since Cade is now Supreme Alpha, you’ll see lots of Wardens even though it’s a new pack story and the start of a new, spin off series, de La Vega Cats.

What’s the Cascadia Wolves series about?
Basically, the members of the Warden family, the ruling members of the Cascadia werewolf pack. I did a four book story arc in which the big bad in the series is the werewolf mafia run by the Pellini family. That one is over now and I’m moving on to new stand alone stories about the members of the Pack.

What’s the Chase Brothers series about?
The series centers on one family – the Chases and their four sons. It takes place in a small town in Georgia. I’ve tried to tackle interesting issues with each book – domestic violence, stalkers, body image, self esteem, etc. Really the heart of the books are about love of your family and trust in the people in your life.

PRINT BOOKS and KINDLE

When will your books from Ellora’s Cave be in print?
I don’t know. I’m sorry, I wish I had a better answer and believe me, I’ve asked dozens of times and the only answer I get is that I’ll know when I get an email informing me the book is available. Yes, this is not very concrete and no one is more frustrated than I am. I do not know if or when Tri Mates will be in print.

When will your books from Samhain be in print?
The fabulous thing about Samhain is the reliable print system. My digital releases, if they’re long enough to fit into a print book, will see shelves within 10 – 12 months after digital. Fated, the last Cascadia Wolves book about the Warden family, will have to wait a bit because it’s not long enough to see print on its own so it needs to go into a print book with another short novel.

My Berkley and Harlequin books are also available via Kindle format.

About Writing

Where do you get your ideas?
Oh everywhere! Music, television commercials, a magazine ad, snippets of dreams.

How many books do you usually write a year?
Last year I wrote twelve books and several partials (three chapters or so).

What do you like most about being a writer?
I get to make up worlds every day! I love that. I love using my imagination and writing stories that make me happy.

How much research do you do and how do you do it?
Depends on the story. I write a lot of books with mytho-religious story arcs and I’ve got some background in world myth so I spend time researching but that’s fun. I’ve researched disease vectors, weaponry, that sort of thing.

Are you a Romance author or an Erotic Romance author?
I’m an author who writes, romance, erotic romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and straight paranormals. Some of my books are erotic, some aren’t. It depends on what the story and the characters call for.

Does reader’s feedback help you with your writing? Is feedback something that is very important to you?
Yes and yes! I love to hear from readers. It helps me to know what works and doesn’t in any given story. I have beta readers who are my readers and they’ll give me the straight talk on my books. Also when I get letters from readers they’ll often tell me the parts they liked best or didn’t like and I always take that to heart.

Any advice to aspiring writers?
Write. Put your butt in the chair and write. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t, don’t compare yourself to anyone else’s schedule or output because you’re not anyone else. But you’ll never sell a book if you never finish one. So be a writer and make a place for it in your life, even if it’s only ten minutes a day.

Career

How did you get started? How did you become a writer?
Oh well, I’ve always written. Even when I was really young I wrote little stories and poems. But when I was pregnant with my youngest child, I was on modified bed rest (as in I had to be in bed 70% of my day) so I had a lot of time on my hands and my husband bought a second hand laptop and I thought, “why not give writing seriously a try?” and I wrote Triad.

What made you choose romance/erotic romance as your genre?
Well, I had this idea for a story about this family of witches in New Orleans and the romance fell into it and then the sex did too, only this second hero pushed his way in and they were very explicit on my page. I think my characters made me do it.

What was your first published book?
Triad in May of 2005

Personal

Is Lauren Dane your real name?
Nope! But it’s now a name I’ll answer to if someone calls it on the street.

Who is Lauren Dane?
Aside from someone who’s lucky enough to live a dream, she’s me. I’m not any different. I’ve just got kids and live in a small suburb and I wanted to give my family a bit of protection.

What kinds of books do you read and who are your favorites?
I love science fiction, cyber punk, paranormals and futuristics. My favourites? Margaret Atwood, Frank Herbert, William Gibson, Louise Marley, Sheri Tepper, JD Robb/Nora Roberts, Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Megan Hart, Anya Bast, Richard Morgan, Rachel Caine – the list goes on and on. I love to read.

What do you do when you aren’t writing?
Herding kids most likely. Sleeping. Cooking. Sometimes I surprise my husband and clean the house, LOL. Reading.