Wildcat Launch Party and Giveaway!

by Cheryl Brooks

Whenever I'm asked how long it takes me to write a book, I usually give a very vague reply. I can tell you when the manuscript was due to my editor, but the moment of conception is more difficult to determine.

Such is not the case with Wildcat. The first mention of the then untitled Cat Star Chronicles #9 here on Casablanca Authors was on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. I hadn't started writing it yet, but the timing of that post illustrates just how long it takes for a book to go from conception to release date. All I had back then were these pictures...

The man.

The horse.

 



The cat.













 
The setting.

...and an idea from a song about helping another person to love again. Sara and Jerden's story was complicated by the fact that love had wounded them both, and they each had to heal the other before they could ever fall in love.

This plot was at odds with the "first kiss on page 50, first love scene on page 150, etc" template we hear mentioned from time to time. These two people simply weren't going to be ready that soon, and I didn't want them to be. You see, not all stories fit a preconceived formula, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth telling.

I broke with tradition when I wrote the first book in the series, Slave, which was published almost five years ago. I've learned a lot since then, and my writing style has evolved. But one thing hasn't changed: my Zetithians are still the hottest hunks in the galaxy!

Star-Crossed Romance Review - Wildcat by Cheryl Brooks 

Wildcat

Cheryl Brooks

Sourcebooks, Casablanca

February 2013

When Sara Shield sees the wild Zetithian hermit riding across the meadow on her stallion with a black leopard beside them, she's stunned. Not just because the man is astride the horse without benefit of saddle or bridle and not because he is gloriously naked. She's stunned because the leopard, the horse and the Zetithian form an incomparable image of Nature at her finest.

She wasn't the kind of woman who normally would swoon at a man's good looks and she wasn't starting now. All she wanted was her stallion. And she tells Jerden as much.

Jerden's first thoughts on seeing Sara standing outside his cabin are less than charitable. He thinks she's another one of those women who lust after him because he's Zetithian and one of the great lovers of his race. He ignores her greeting, her outstretched hand and walks past her just telling her to take her horse if she wants him.

And that's the start of Wildcat by Cheryl Brooks. No immediate 'knowing' that this is the mate of their dreams. No instant lust or yearning desire. No, this book starts with two wounded people who are more or less content to live their lives in the little cocoons they've made for themselves.

But, of course, that's not going to happen. Meeting Sara is the impetus for the illness plaguing Jerden to come to a head. He suffers from nightmares so real he can hardly distinguish them from reality. He sees again the murder of his lover, the murder that sent him to this lonely spot. Finally, he practically falls atop the stallion and in his delirium, the stallion takes him to the one place where he can get help - Sara's ranch.

Sara isn't sure what to do with the fallen Zetithian. He looks close to death though so she has him brought into her house and put in the only bed she has - hers. She's startled when the stallion watches over Jerden from the window and even more startled when the black leopard regally stalks into her house to make sure Jerden is being treated right. She can't blame the two animals though. Something about the ill man calls to her to help him.

That's how the romance begins. Wildcat is a more tender love story than some of the others in the Cat Star Chronicles but no less passionate. The two of them find they have at least one thing in common - unwanted attention from the opposite sex. They agree to form a partnership by pretending to be lovers. But Jerden's illness has passed and he realizes that he can tell that Sara is his mate. Normally the instant he wants a woman, she's eager to satisfy him. Not Sara.

He can tell that she does want him though. But something holds her back. Though it drives Jerden crazy, he's willing to do whatever it takes to earn her trust and love.

Wildcat is a tender yet deeply passionate love story with earthy humor and a touch of mystery. It's a compelling story of two wounded souls who need each other and whose coming together heals them both. Brilliantly written by a talented author, I highly recommend this one. 

Only One Woman Can Tame Him
When horse breeder Sara Shield encounters Jerden Morokovitz riding naked and bareback, she's stunned by the magnificence of both man and stallion. But Sara came to Terra Minor hoping to get away from men.

If She Can Give Up Her Fear...
The murder of Jerden's lover by a deranged woman has left this former star attraction of the Zetithian Palace brothel shattered in mind and body. Jerden is sure that Sara can heal his anguish—but not unless he can find the key to her heart.

This excerpt is from the end of Chapter 16—the moment when Jerden finally succeeds…

Sara's breath caught in her throat as she moved in behind him. This close, she could feel his body heat, its warmth drawing her to him like a moth to a flame.

Permission. She had it now. He not only wanted her touch, he seemed to crave it. Arching his back as she smoothed her palms over his shoulders, he purred his approval, widening his stance and pushing against her hands like a cat seeking a caress. She smiled to herself as she remembered he was a cat. A wild, savagely sweet pussycat. She glanced at Cria sitting by the doorway. Even she was tame when she should have been a dangerously wild animal. With a slow blink similar to Jerden’s, the big cat let out a purr and stretched out on her side.

Jerden seemed able to tame anything, from a leopard to a woman who’d sworn she’d never let a man get near enough to hurt her again. Still, she had a hard time imagining what it would be like to stand before Jerden as naked and vulnerable as he was right now. What an amazing display of trust…

“You feel so good,” she whispered. Closing her eyes, she leaned closer. She’d already kissed him, now she buried her face in his hair, feeling the soft silkiness of it along with the vibrations emanating from his throat. Her arms encircled his waist, allowing her fingers to skim over his chest and downward, feeling the crisp curls that trailed across his stomach. She breathed in his scent, letting it fill her head and was astonished at the effect it had on her—relaxing, yet stimulating.

Gliding over his waist, she felt the ridge of his oblique muscles and the hollow dip of his flanks. That fine ass Drania had referred to fit snugly into the space where her thighs met her torso. Again, he moved into the contact, the barely perceptible rotation of his hips sending a rush of heat coursing through her, taking her breath away. Her nipples tingled. Her hips curled under and an ache began between her thighs, growing steadily stronger until she let out a groan that could have been due to agony, ecstasy, or both.

An ear pressed against his back allowed her to hear the deep intake of his next breath—a breath he held as though savoring a scent so rare and delightful he refused to exhale. Moments later, a sigh escaped him, accompanied by a low moan. Purring louder than ever, his hand covered hers and pulled it forward and down until it rested on something much harder and hotter than the rest of his body.

“Way to go, Sara.”

Want to find out what happens next? Post a comment for your chance to win a free copy of Wildcat! Winner to be announced on Friday!

Join me for a live chat tomorrow night on Romantic Crush Junkies Reviews! Should be fun!