Changeling is celebrating 10
years of great books. I'm B.J. McCall and I'll be journeying to Changeling Past
and revisiting the first books of my fellow Changeling authors. You're invited
to travel with me. Today the notable Jade Buchanan is telling us about her
first Changeling book, Felidae 1: Laithe’s
Pride.
Laithe's Pride is available in the Felidae (Collection).
I tell everyone this, but
I actually started writing as a dare. Back in 2006 I was a reviewer and my
review editor asked me if I’d ever thought about writing because she liked the
flow of my reviews. I remember telling her that I couldn’t do that, but I
admired anyone who could. She dared me to write something and said that if it
sucked I didn’t have to show anyone. Not too long after that I was sitting in
the hot seat at the dentist and my mind started to wander. I thought how funny
it would be if someone from another world interpreted what was going on. Would
he think it was torture? Routine? What if it was his mate going through that?
When it came time to
figure out what my alien would look like I took some inspiration from one of my
favorite Disney characters. I have an undeniable crush on the Beast. I know,
it’s not much of a secret if you’ve read any of my books, but there’s just
something about a tall, strong, furry man with a hint of vulnerability that
does it for me. I can’t deny it; the Beast was definitely my inspiration in
writing my hero. My aliens became a race of anthropomorphic people that are
descended from an ancestor that resembled the big cats on earth. The Lion-like
Leo’s rule, the Tiger-like Tigris are dangerous but solitary, the panther-like
Pardus are born to be protectors, and the Lynx would prefer just to be left
alone.
Felidae 1: Laithe’s Pride
started off with my hero sharing an experience with his human mate where she’s
being “tortured” at the dentist and immediately sets out to find her. Poor
Rowan has her work cut out for her trying to decide what to do with Laithe, the
burly Leo who intrigues her, and Fahd, Laithe’s black Pardus second in command
who wants in on the action.
After a friend read it and
gave me a thumbs up on the tale I decided to submit it to Changeling. When I
got the acceptance email for my first book, I was at work and I needed to share
how excited I was. My sister worked with me at the time and I ended up
following her into the bathroom. She kicked me out after telling me she was
very happy for me and we would talk about it later! LOL!
And the rest is history :)