Cloaked in Fur by T.F.Walsh-Review and Interview with the Author

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 5, 2013

As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.

A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death

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REVIEW: Daciana just wanted to have a normal life. She had lived a year in the city and fallen in love with the man of her dreams, Connell. She wanted to live a happy, normal life with him. But there was one problem that Connell didn’t know about. She was apart of a pack of wulfkin. Currently, she was a moonwulf but in a few days, she would go through the change that would make her a full blown wulfkin forever. Daci was on a mission to find a potion that would stop this permanent change. How could Connell love her if her found out what she was? In her quest to find the information that she needed, she was spending a lot of time away and Connell was becoming distant. Then the people close to Daci started to die from attacks of a forbidden breed of animal called a dracwulf. Daci had to figure out what was going on and protect everyone she loved.

Daci had hidden all the details of her pack life away from Connell. How could she make him understand and accept what she was? She thought it would be an impossible task. That is why she teamed up with Radu, a fellow wulfkin, to help her find a way to stop the change. Once the attacks began, her focus had to shift from her research to protecting her pack and her boyfriend from this monsterous creature. She was afraid to tell Connell the truth and the lying caused their relationship to unravel. Daci’s future was getting more unpredictable with each passing minute.

I really enjoyed this book, there was so much action and storyline packed into each page, never a dull moment. If you like reading about wolves and shapeshifting, this is the book for you. All of the characters played such an important role throughout the story. Daci is not a whiney, wimpy woman character. She is brave, tough and willing to protect her own, no matter the cost.

Review by Tricia

Copy supplied by the author

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TRC: Hi Tania and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of CLOAKED IN FUR.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

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Tania: I emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with my husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, I have always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. I balance all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

TRC: You were born in Romania but now live in Australia. Have you ever had a chance to return to your country of birth? What are your thoughts?

Tania: I haven’t returned yet… but I really want to. I want to go back and see where I grew up, visit my family and do a tour of the town where my book is based – Brasov ☺ I really want to take hubby back there and show him the country.

TRC: How has your Romanian heritage and roots influenced your storyline concept or writing e.g. (historically, geographically, names etc)?

Tania: Absolutely. Cloaked in Fur is based in Romania and I used my knowledge of the country, it’s cultures and beliefs to make it as real as possible for the reader. Romania is probably not a travel destination for a lot of people since it is a long hike, so when people read Cloaked in Fur, I wanted them to feel like they were right there, experiencing what my characters experienced.

TRC: CLOAKED IN FUR is your August 2013 release written in the paranormal genre. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

Tania: As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.

A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

TRC: The storyline features a strong female protagonist. What or who influenced your decision to write a story/series featuring a strong female lead rather than the male driving the storyline?

Tania: I’m a bit believer that females can do anything, and as such, I didn’t hesitate to have Daciana be the strong female lead in this story. The men in her life are also strong so it only makes sense she can stand up to them and look out for herself.

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series or is this a stand alone? If you will continue the series, will all of the characters and storylines overlap?

Tania: Cloaked in Fur is book 1 in a longer series, and so far I’ve planned out up to book 3. Each instalment will be from different characters’ POV, but set in the same world with similar storylines and familiar characters. As a sneak peek, book 2 will be about Enre, who plays a big role in book 1.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter on the road to publication?

Tania: Learning the craft was a long journey, but completely worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing because that’s who I became a writer. The other hard part was learning to deal with criticism on your writing… I’m definitely getting better at it☺

TRC: When writing a storyline, do your characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Tania: A bit of both. I tend to set the path for my characters initially. We all know where we want to end up, but once I start writing, my characters do deviate at times. I love it when that happens because it pushes me to explore new ideas I hadn’t previously considered.

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

Tania: Foreshadowing. I love leaving crumbs of hints and red herrings along, but I find the trick is to never give away too much until it’s needed.

TRC: Are you a plotter or a panster (write by the ‘seat of your pants’)?

Tania: Plotter. My pages and pages of outlines can attest to it ☺

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

Tania: I love using deep point of view… this means the reader is right inside the characters’ head, knowing everything they know, feeling everything they feel as it happens. It’s quite an intrusive approach for the poor character, but what better way to sympathise and understand them. I think stories that don’t offer such insight cheat readers of really getting to really know the characters.

TRC: Many writers bounce ideas with family and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Tania: I have a fantastic critique group and writing friends who read all my stories before I would consider publishing it. I can’t recommend enough for writers to join a critique group for sound advice on their stories.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Tania: Right now, I’m plotting book 2 of Cloaked in Fur. I’m also half way through a new young adult fantasy novel, which is made up of three parts about six characters. It is set a world filled with witches, steampunk monsters and magic, and at the heart of the story, there’s the struggle to find love.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Tania: Just a big thank you to everyone who’s read Cloaked in Fur and enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food Haloumi

Favorite TV Show Walking Dead

Last Movie You Saw Kick Ass 2

Dark or Milk chocolate Milk

Favorite Flower Tulips

Secret Celebrity Crush Kit Harrington (he plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones)

Pet Peeve Anyone who hurts animals

TRC: Thank you Tania for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations again, on the release of CLOAKED IN FUR. We wish you all the best!