AN INTERVIEW WITH DANI HARPER (STORM CROSSED GRIM SERIES)

 

 
Good morning, everyone. I hope your world is exactly as your wish it to be today. A lot to ask, I know. So let's start with something I really can deliver. Like a chat with Dani Harper!
 
SC:  Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

DH: Yes, I DO believe there are a lot of things we can’t explain away. I’ve had a lifelong interest in the supernatural for good reason! Both my family and myself have had more than one experience.

One that I like to share is about my dear old pug, Scooby. He was my Official Muse for almost 13 years before he passed in 2010. It wasn’t unexpected, but I was devastated just the same. A couple nights later, I found myself awakened by the sound of canine claws on the linoleum. The tick-tick-tick sound proceeded up the hallway at a slow, waddling pace, accompanied by the jingle of tags. Thinking that my remaining pug, Fiona, needed to go out, I sat up – but discovered she was snoring beside me! All was quiet once more, and I thought I’d dreamed the incident. 
However, the distinctive doggy sounds continued to occur. By the third incident, I realized that Scooby was still checking in on us. This was confirmed when one of my daughters flew to visit us the following month and was awakened in the night by the same phenomena – and no, I hadn’t yet told her of my own experiences! Scooby had been especially close to her and I wondered if perhaps he had lingered in order to connect with her. After she went home, the pugly visitations decreased to once every few months or so before ceasing altogether.

SC: That's interesting about Scooby. I had a similar story with my dog. But I digress.  Tell me a little bit about your main character in Storm Crossed.

DH: I think this novel is largely Trahern’s story. Lissy is a very strong character, but it’s Trahern who has the most to learn, and the most changes to make.
Trahern is one of the Tylwyth Teg, the ruling class of the faery realm. He’s accustomed to being in charge, and takes orders from only one individual. As for mortals? They’re widely considered to be inferior to the Fae. In fact, humans barely register on his radar at all, except when he’s patrolling with the Wild Hunt.
When he accidentally encounters Lissy one night, his entire world view is challenged!
SC: The fae. They're truly in a world of their own.  What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
DH: I have a lot of projects simmering on the back burner, but I’m not a super-fast writer, and contracts must come first. My number one priority is working on Book 5 in the Grim Series for Montlake. The heroine is Hyleath, a female rider in the Wild Hunt, and I’m really excited to see how this plays out.
Plus, one of my characters (Ranyon, for those familiar with the series) is campaigning for a book of his own! I might have to appease him with a novella... Meanwhile, I’m plotting Book Two in my Haunted Holiday Series.




 

Storm Crossed

Grim Series
Book 4
Dani Harper

Release Date: January 9, 2018

Publisher: Montlake Romance

ISBN-10: 1503948943

ISBN-13: 978-1503948945

Book Description:

The latest stand-alone novel in Dani Harper’s Grim Series will delight old and new fans alike, transporting them to the ancient fae realm beneath the modern human world, where magic rules and menace abounds . . .

Heir to a noble fae house, Trahern is forced to watch helplessly as his twin brother is cruelly changed into a grim—a death dog—as punishment for falling in love with the wrong person. Trahern doesn’t believe love exists, but he will do anything to keep his brother alive—even join the Wild Hunt and ride the night skies of the human world.

Lissy Santiago-Callahan believes in love but has no time for it. She’s busy juggling her career as an academic and her home life as a single mom to a young son with Asperger’s. Her hectic life in sleepy Eastern Washington is made even more chaotic with the sudden arrival of a demanding fae and his unusual “dog.”

Mortal and immortal have nothing in common, and the attraction between Lissy and Trahern surprises them both. But when their desire places Lissy and her child in the path of a deadly faery feud, will the connection last, or will their separate worlds prove too great a divide?

 Amazon

Excerpt 3

He shook his head and wished he hadn’t as a trickle of fresh blood escaped his wound. The rock that surrounded them was the same that formed the palace foundations, rendering ineffective any spell that could whisk them away.

“Hold!” an imperious voice shouted, and the warths left off their attack, reluctantly crouching in place. Trahern narrowed his eyes, straining to focus—and saw a large band of mounted soldiers in ragtag armor. Gray skin was visible behind their strange helms, and their eyes shone green. He didn’t recognize them at all, but his sorcerer’s sight could not mistake the crimson aura that surrounded their swords and spears. Iron weapons. Very few in the Nine Realms could approach such things, and the cut of an iron blade was a slow but sure poison to any Tylwyth Teg. Faint and dizzy, he held on to Braith with one hand to steady himself and pressed himself harder against the rock to bolster his remaining power. Last, he eased off his boots. The ground was cool beneath his bare feet, and he drew in energy like drawing fresh breath, pulling it up from the very bedrock, renewing him, aiding him for one last—

A deep shadow abruptly fell across the forest, and thunder rolled from a formerly clear sky. The soldiers glanced around uneasily as their horses twitched and danced beneath them. The warths slunk silently away, and Trahern felt the hair on his head prickle and rise. Braith, get down!

The entire world erupted into white light and noise beyond hearing as a bolt of lightning crashed to earth before him.

Trahern wasn’t certain if he had lost consciousness or not, but it was an abysmally long time before he could see and hear again. Braith was on top of him, apparently trying to shield him. Move, he said in his mind.

Are you well?

I would be better if I could breathe. Move!

The great dog slid his bulk from Trahern’s chest, and he rolled over with a grunt, gratefully filling his lungs. His vision blurred and cleared, blurred and cleared, but he could make out that only a handful of the mercenaries remained, and most looked like they wanted to leave. He had to give the leader credit for nerve—but the man no longer looked at him at all.

“In the name of Eirianwen of the House of Oak, we have come to arrest the fugitive Trahern,” the man shouted.

“Her name means nothing here.” The new voice came from high above, and Trahern struggled to see. A burly stallion, as glossy and black as obsidian, stood upon the rocky outcrop behind him, and its tall rider was dressed in dark leathers. His hair was as black as his mount, falling to his waist in hundreds of braids and stirred by an unseen wind. Save for the dangerous glitter in his jet-colored eyes and the glow of the light whip resting on his thigh, it was like staring at Death itself.

“He—he is a traitor, My Lord, sir. We have a right—”

“As trespassers in the Nine Realms, you have no rights.” The great horse stepped down from the steep rocky outcropping as easily as if walking across a meadow. The mercenary captain paled visibly as Lurien, Lord of the Wild Hunt, placed himself squarely between the soldiers and their intended quarry. “Our laws state that betrayers and traitors are the rightful prey of the Wild Hunt,” said Lurien, then leaned forward in the saddle, his next words measured and menacing. “If he lives, he is mine. If he dies, he is also mine. Stay if you wish to join him.”

About the Author:

Legend, lore, love, and magic. These are the hallmarks of Dani Harper’s transformational tales of faeries, shapeshifters, ghosts, and more, for a mature audience.

A former newspaper editor, Dani’s passion for all things supernatural led her to a second career writing fiction. There isn't anything she likes better than exploring myths and legends from many cultures, which serve to inspire her sizzling and suspenseful stories.

A longtime resident of the Canadian north and southeastern Alaska, she now lives in rural Washington with her retired mountain-man husband. Together they do battle with runaway garden gnomes, rampant fruit trees, and a roving herd of predatory chickens.

Dani Harper is the author of Storm Crossed, Storm Warned, Storm Bound, Storm Warrior (the Grim Series), as well as First Bite (Dark Wolf), for Montlake Romance. She is also the author of a Yuletide ghost story, The Holiday Spirit, plus a popular shapeshifter series, which includes Changeling Moon, Changeling Dream, and Changeling Dawn.

For more, visit her website at http://www.daniharper.com

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Harper/e/B004FD8RV2  

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Dani.Harper.Fan.Page/  

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Dani_Harper  or @Dani_Harper

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