Interview with Anna Lowe, Author of Desert Moon

Anna Lowe loves putting the "hero" back into heroine and letting location ignite a passionate romance. She likes a heroine who is independent, intelligent, and imperfect — a woman who's doing just fine on her own. But give the heroine a good man (not to mention a chance to overcome her own inhibitions) and she'll never turn down the chance for adventure, nor shy away from danger.

Anna is a middle school teacher who divides her time between coastal Maine and a village in view of the Austrian Alps. She loves dogs, sports, and travel — and letting those inspire her fiction.

Once upon a time, she was a long-distance triathlete and soccer player. Nowadays, she finds her balance with yoga, writing, and family time with her husband and young children. On any given weekend, you might find her hiking in the mountains or hunched over her laptop, working on her latest story. Either way, the day will end with a chunk of dark chocolate and a good read.

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Anna was kind enough to let me attack her with all sorts of questions. :D The following is the result:

Hi Anna! Hi back to you!

1      What part of writing do you find the most challenging? most enjoyable? Usually, the characters are the fun and easy part – I have no problem imagining yet another hot alpha male to fall in love with or the perfect heroine to help him find himself. It takes me longer to work out the details of their quest to overcome the odds and to figure out exactly how the villain disrupts their love story.  My natural instinct is to just let my characters live and love happily ever after without any interference! Once I figure those points out, though, the story just flies from my fingers. I'm always waking up at night with great lines of dialogue that bring spark to a scene.

2    What should we know about your book? When is your next book due out? Desert Moon is a second chance love story between a thorny Romeo and his stubborn Juliet. Oh, and they're both werewolves. What's not to love?! The heroine, Lana, is torn between following her heart and protecting her personal pride from an overbearing alpha who is very much out of practice when it comes to communication skills. Of course, when it really counts, Ty proves to be a softie in all the right ways.

My next book is due out April 2nd. That's Desert Blood, Book 2 in the series, and it follows Ty's brother Cody in his love story. On the surface, Cody is warm, witty, and fun, but beneath his carefree facade is a real man struggling to break free and claim the responsibility that he was born to. You'll love watching him and Heather fall in love. Heather is filling in as temporary teacher at the ranch's one-room schoolhouse and has no idea about werewolves and only a fleeting understanding of the vampires tracking her down as the story unfolds.  Her mind knows better than to fall for Cody's sunny smile and mesmerizing voice, but her heart (and destiny) have other ideas.

3    If you weren’t an author, what would you expend your passion on? I think I would do a lot more reading, quilting, and longer walks at sunset. I still do all three but it's on tightly scheduled down time!

4    Hardback, paperback, ebook or audio book? I love holding a book, physically turning the pages, looking over the front and back cover and folding corners to my favorite places. But I love the portability and convenience of ebooks, too. In the end, the magic is how words bring a story to life, whatever format those words appear in. Great way to not really answer the question. ;-) LOL! I completely understand what you are saying.

5    Are you more likely to wear a skirt or pants? Pants. Better yet, sweatpants. Better yet, shorts – with bare feet! I'm a tomboy who never grew up and I love the outdoors. :D I love the outdoors too! We go camping much of the summer and it is wonderful.

6    What is your least favorite chore? Housecleaning! I always put it off until some occasion forces me to vacuum, dust, and mop. God forbid my friends think I'm a pig!

7    What do you think would surprise people about your book or about you? My Twin Moon series is a paranormal western but it's equally appealing to city types because the ranch is more like a supporting character than a stereotype. The western elements we love are all there to enrich the background (the alpha males, the big open skies, the horses) but the characters and their love story is always in the foreground. Also, I usually have a character come in from the East Coast who sees everything with fresh eyes, just like the reader does. That's the fun part – bringing people together who have all the important things in common, but who diverge in the rest.

8    What food(s) can’t you live without? Dark chocolate. Period.

9    I love them but  Why did you decide to write about werewolves? I love how the almost medieval culture of the older shifter generation collides with the younger werewolves' ideas of male-female roles (in other words, keep the hot alpha males but bring on the tough, capable heroines!). That intergenerational discord is always a recipe for conflict, and the dark, dangerous world they inhabit always produces one evil force or another to disrupt life on the ranch. Another thing about werewolves: who wouldn't love to run through the night and howl at the moon? Better yet, to run side by side under the desert moon with your hunk of a destined mate who will always, always be true?

1    What is your favorite thing about spring? I love spring in the Arizona desert! It's not as lush as in other places but the subtlety of color, shapes, and scents always feel like a miracle of nature. Of course, I love all the seasons in Arizona and try to capture what's special about each of them in my Twin Moon books.

1    When shopping at the Mall, which type of store is more apt to tempt you? I don't like malls but if I have to go, I usually head for the bookstores. I can't resist browsing the shelves. I hate the Mall as well. 

1   Favorite beverage? A fruit smoothie made for me by my kids!

1     How do you prefer to communicate ( in person, texting, email, or phone)? EMAIL

     Thank you for letting me quiz you! Thank you Brenda!

Desert Moon

The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch

Book One

Anna Lowe

Genre: PNR

Publisher: Twin Moon Press

Date of Publication: March 4, 2015

ASIN: B00TEEHDPS

Number of pages: 133

Word Count: 38,800 (roughly 40k)

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

Purchase Link: Amazon  

Book Description:

Lana Dixon knows well enough to steer clear of alpha males, but Ty Hawthorne is as impossible to avoid as the sizzling Arizona sun. Her inner wolf just won’t give up on the alpha who’s tall, dark, and more than a little dangerous. One midnight romp under the full moon is enough for Lana to know she’ll risk her life for him — but what about her pride?

Ty puts duty above everything — even the overwhelming instinct that says Lana’s the one. She’s the Juliet to his Romeo: forbidden. And with a pack of poaching rogues closing in, it’s hardly the time to yield to his desires. Or is love just what this lonely alpha needs to set his spirit free?

There’s more than meets the eye on Twin Moon Ranch, home to a pack of shapeshifting wolves willing to battle for life and love.

Excerpt:

“One of Tyrone’s boys is coming to get us,” Jean said, looking up and down the road.

            Lana looked too, gnawing her lip. It figured the kid would be late. While the two older women stood in the shade of a bus stop, catching up on twelve years of news, she paced. Out into the piercing sun, then back into the muted shade. Out and back, out and back again, each footfall a step into the past, then a determined about-face into the future. She tried to numb her senses, but they kept darting around, tasting the arid flavor of this place, listening to its emptiness. Everything felt so familiar, yet so strange, like visiting a childhood home after someone else had moved in.

            That was the strange part. Arizona had never been her home and it never would be. She’d only visited once before. She went stiff at the memory, as if the old emotions might creep up and carry her away. Emotions like hope and love and unexpected passion, blazing bright. She’d been so young and impressionable back then — only twenty, and that was the problem. Too young to know better than to fall in love with a vague scent in the hills. For a while, she’d even imagined the scent came with a man.

            But it had been a siren song at best, and it had ruined her. There was no man, no promise, only a ceaseless whisper that stirred her during the day and haunted her at night. And now she was back again, right in the thick of it: the heat, the dust, the lying air.

            “Oh, there he is,” Jean called.

            A faded Jeep Wagoneer pulled up to the curb and creaked to a stop. From what Jean had said, Lana had been expecting the driver to be a newly licensed teen — a kid delighted for any excuse to get out on four wheels. The type with narrow shoulders, a pocked complexion, and gangly limbs.

            She was not expecting this.

            Lana gaped as the “boy” emerged from the car with a smooth, easy step. Evidently the state of Arizona was now issuing driver’s licenses to rugged, six-foot-two slabs of muscle and raw power. Authority bristled off him in waves, as if he were facing an entire platoon and not just a couple of guests. Dark. Sensual. More than a little dangerous. This was their ride?

            “Hello, sweetie.” Old Jean gave him a cheery peck on the cheek. The gesture made Lana’s inner wolf hiss so fiercely that she wobbled and took a step back. Since when did a man affect her like that?

            Since right now, apparently.

            But why? She didn’t want or need a man in her life, especially one who was so…so…alpha.

            And yet every molecule in her body was screaming Mine!

I have this on my TBR list. What about you???

Do you have any questions or comments for Anna?

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