We’re back for another day of Duck Chat! Welcome!

Today we’re going to be talking to paranormal author Alexis Morgan.

Alexis Paladins series hit the shelves in 2006 with the first book in the series, Dark Protector, and was followed closely by Dark Defender and In Darkness Reborn. The series is now on its six book with the release of Defeat the Darkness next year. Alexis’ newest series is The Talions, which includes Dark Warrior Unleashed and the brand-spanking new Dark Warrior Unbroken that releases today. The third book in the series will be released late next year.

We’re going to talk about these books will Alexis and a whole lot more! Be sure to leave a meaningful comment to be in the running for a copy her latest release, Dark Warrior Unbroken. She will be in and out with us all day, so if you have questions or comments, go for it! Now, let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Alexis, your Paladins series has been warmly embraced by fans. Would you tell us about the series as a whole, how it came about and if it’s evolving as you envisioned when writing the first book?

ALEXIS MORGAN: Devlin Bane, the hero of the first book, Dark Protector, started moving around in the back of my mind at least a year before I ever started writing the first chapter of his book. I kept getting an image of a modern day warrior who fights at the edge of darkness with an ancient weapon, defending a woman who lives in the light. Although in many ways the series has remained true to my initial vision, the minute Barak crossed the barrier into our world at the end of the first book everything changed. I never expected him or anyone from his world to be both a warrior and man of honor.

DC: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

AM: I find it hard to come up with an answer to the question “Why do you write what you do?” I think all writers have specific themes that resonate with them as storytellers. The kind of book I write allows me to explore those themes.

DC: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

AM: Yes, characters surprise me all the time. I already mentioned Barak. I expected him to be a crazed killer. Instead, he’s a man who holds honor and loyalty above all else. I never expected Jarvis Donahue to walk onto the “stage” in Dark Defender and demand a book of his own. Hunter Fitzsimon was just one of many Paladins who rushed into the cave to fight in the second book in the series, yet he stood out in my mind with such clarity. I knew from that moment that he’d get his own book.

DC: The latest Paladins book is Darkness Unknown, number five in the series. Would you tell our readers about Jarvis and Gwen?

AM: Jarvis is a natural born leader among the Paladins. He has sacrificed a great deal of his life trying to make things better for his men. When he meets Gwen, he realizes that he wants more in his life than just duty and honor. Gwen put her own life on hold to raise her younger brother. From the minute she first encounters Jarvis, she realizes that she’s not just a farmer and a big sister; she’s a woman with a woman’s needs. Their love is strong enough to overcome all the odds stacked against them.

Short excerpt from Darkness Unknown:

Chapter 1

Dust motes and humidity combined to make the air too heavy to breathe. Jarvis Donahue leaned against a convenient tree and rested his weary body for a few seconds. Sweat stung his eyes, making it impossible to see clearly. When he used the hem of his T-shirt to wipe off his face, the shirt came away stained with dirt, sweat, and old blood. Some of it was his, some of it not.

This exercise in futility wasn’t getting him anywhere but farther away from his bed. One more Other to track down and kill before he could think about some serious sack time. He was in no condition to fight, but there hadn’t been anyone else left to send. Cocking his head to the side, he reached out with his senses on full alert, listening for the presence of his enemy.

Pushing away from the tree, he picked up his sword. At least he was still upright and functioning. That was more than he could say about Jake and several more of his fellow Paladins. The Handlers were scrambling to piece wounded Paladins back together and shoving the walking wounded back out the door as fast as they could. The dead were the only ones given a chance to rest, but even they would be sent right back into the fight as soon as they had a regular pulse.

For the past two weeks, the barrier had been down more than it was up, resulting in anyone strong enough to hold a sword being ordered to hold the line against the invasion. If those bastard Regents didn’t bring in some replacements pretty damn quick, the whole state would be overrun with murderous Others on a killing spree.

He started down the slope toward the narrow river that ran along the valley floor. A drink of cool water would help bolster his energy, and maybe the going would be easier down where the ground was flatter. Slipping and sliding, he hauled his weary ass down to the water’s edge, not caring if the noise he made carried to his enemy’s ears.

The bastard should know that death was on his trail. As long as the Other concentrated on avoiding the sharp end of Jarvis’s sword, he’d be too busy to look for innocent victims along the way. Right now, Jarvis had the advantage because the bright daylight would leave the Other all but blind. But once the sun dropped behind the hills to the west, all bets were off.

He and his mortal enemy would be stalking each other in the darkness.

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

AM: They do, no question about it. If they are refusing to go in the direction I’m telling them to go, there’s a reason for it. I find that if I give in and let them show me the way to tell the story, we’re both happier with the outcome.

DC: Defeat the Darkness is the sixth book in the series and will be released March 2010. Would you give just a little sneak peek? Please?

AM: Hunter Fitzsimon appeared briefly in Dark Defender, and then more extensively in Darkness Unknown, where he was tortured to death by the Others. In Defeat the Darkness, he’s trying to come to terms with the effects of his injuries. He’s been assigned to protect a segment of the barrier near a small community in northwest Washington state. His landlady is a budding romance writer and tea shop owner. Despite Hunter’s desire to be left alone, he finds himself drawn to Tate, and the attraction is mutual. Things heat up between them even as they face an increasing threat from enemies from two different worlds.

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

AM: I can get lost in a good book, especially by one of my favorite authors. Once I open the cover, it can be hours before I can force myself to put it back down again.

DC: Your newest series is the Talions. Can you give us an overview of the series?
AM: The Talions are the warrior class of a humanoid species called the Kyth. This group developed the ability to absorb life energy from the ordinary humans around them, most of the time without harming them. Unfortunately, there are always a few renegades who have a taste for the dark energy generated by pain and death. It is the Talions who hunt down the renegades and destroy them.

DC: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

AM: Gosh, that’s a hard one because I’ve had some really great covers in both my westerns and my paranormals. I’d say my all time favorite is the one on Darkness Unknown—something about that muscular back with the sword resting on his shoulders is just wonderful.

DC: How about your least favorite? Why?

AM: Seriously, on the whole, I’ve had very little to complain about when it comes to the art on my books. The cover gods have been most kind to me.

DC: There’s two Talions books out so far, Dark Warrior Unleashed and Dark Warrior Unbroken. Would you give us a quick look inside each book?

AM: Dark Warrior Unleashed introduces the reader to the world of the Talions. Ranulf Thorsen has been the most powerful of the Talion warriors for a thousand years. The dark energy he has absorbed from all the renegades he’s hunted over the centuries has left him feeling isolated and cold. That all changes when he meets Kerry, a young woman who is being hunted by a renegade.

In Dark Warrior Unbroken, Sandor Kearn comes to terms with his own capacity for darkness that he discovered in the first book. As he hunts the streets of Seattle for another Kyth renegade, he’s being hunted himself by Lena Wilson. She’s looking for the man who murdered her friend and mentor. Despite the fierce attraction she feels for Sandor, she’s suspicious that he knows far more about her friend’s death than he’s willing to admit.

Excerpt from Dark Warrior Unbroken:

Lena Wilson was a woman with regrets. Her shoulders sagged as the day’s heat and her high heels made the short walk even harder than expected. She’d worn dress clothes out of respect, but her usual jeans and boots might have been a smarter choice. Lord knows, the person she was going to see wouldn’t have cared.

Pausing at the top of a rise, she pulled out the simple map the caretaker had given her. She was almost there.

“One, two, three…”

She counted off the headstones to alleviate the oppressive silence, her footsteps slowing as she approached the end of the row, her goal but a few feet away. She crossed that last painful distance and sank to her knees on the cool grass.

Her hand reached out to trace the inscription on the polished granite marker: a name, a couple of dates, a Bible verse, a fireman’s badge. Not nearly enough to define the man who was buried there. Maynard Cooper had been her friend, her father figure, her conscience.

At long last the tears came, flowing down her cheeks in hot streaks.

“Coop, I’m so sorry.”

Her throat closed, damming up the flood of apologies she owed to the man who’d been laid to rest on the pastoral hillside overlooking his beloved city. As the tears tapered off and her breathing eased, peace slowly stole over her. Coop had never judged her as harshly as she judged herself, but the self-forgiveness she needed would have to be earned.

That she’d missed his funeral hadn’t been her fault, but missing out on the chance to heal the breach between them was. She placed her palm over his name, needing that small connection as she contemplated her next step.

If she couldn’t make peace with her old friend, she would do the one thing no one else had been able to: avenge his death.

With a new sense of purpose, Lena rose to her feet and walked away, making plans. Somewhere in this city there was a killer with Maynard Cooper’s blood on his hands. She wouldn’t rest until the bastard was brought to justice.

The shrill ringing of a phone was Sandor Kearn’s least favorite way to wake up, especially when he’d been up late. He didn’t know which half of his job he hated more: the frustrating search for the Grand Dame’s lost relatives, or his new role as chief enforcer for the Talion warriors Kerry commanded. He covered his eyes with his forearm to block out the sunshine and groped for the phone with his other hand.

When he finally found it, he growled “What?” into the receiver.

Kerry’s voice was a mixture of good humor and business. “Sorry, Sandor, did I wake you up?”

“Yeah, you did. Put your husband on the line so I can take my bad mood out on him. When I’m able to be civil, Ranulf can give the phone back to you.”

His Dame giggled. He was tempted to point out how undignified that was for the ruler of their people, but that would only encourage her.

“If it’s not an emergency, can I call you back in a few?” he said instead. “Right now I won’t remember anything you tell me.”

“Please tell me you weren’t up half the night working again. We’ve talked about that before, Sandor. You’re my Talion, not my slave.” She sounded reproachful.

“All right, I won’t tell you.”

She sighed. “Get up and eat breakfast. Make that lunch — it’s almost noon. When you’re feeling human again, come see me.”

“Okay. See you in an hour or so.” He yawned loudly. “And by the way, I’m not human, and neither are you.”

“I’ll try to remember that. And an hour will be fine.”

When she disconnected the call, he tossed his phone at the table. As it bounced onto the floor, he threw back the covers, then went into the bathroom and cranked the shower on hot. Leaning against the cool tile wall, he let the water pour over him, clearing out the cobwebs better than a cup of coffee.

Kerry knew that he already had a lot on his plate, so whatever was worrying her had to be serious. Well, he’d find out soon enough what it was.

He pulled on jeans and a casual sports shirt, then threw together a sandwich and grabbed a cola to drink on the way. After tossing his briefcase onto the passenger seat, he reached for his sunglasses.

Traffic was light, and he soon reached the gates to her driveway. He punched in his security number, waited as they swung open, then pulled into his usual parking space, alongside an unfamiliar car. Hughes, the butler, opened the front door before Sandor reached the top step. Inside, he headed for the living room, then stopped. Kerry hadn’t mentioned the fact that anyone else would be there, so the unfamiliar woman was probably another Kyth who had dropped in to meet the new Dame.

Sandor waited impatiently in the foyer for the visitor to leave. Who was she anyway? He would have remembered meeting someone built like that — honey blond hair, long legs, narrow waist, and all the right curves. If she was anywhere near as stunning from the front, he might just start drooling. When she finally turned to leave, her piercing blue eyes swept past him, then snapped back to stare into his.

And time stood still.

DC: How do you feel your male or female characters have evolved over your career? Do you think you write them differently now than you did when you started?

AM: I think all of my characters have more emotional depth now than they did at the beginning of my career. Certainly I feel that I do a much better job of making them seem real to the reader. Early on, I looked for a single internal conflict for each major character to drive the story; now I feel there are far more layers to my heroes and heroines.

DC: You have the third Talions book scheduled for late next year. Is there a title for that one yet? May we get a sneak peak on what to expect?

AM: I don’t have an official title yet for the book, although my working title is Dark Warrior Undefeated. The hero has come from Europe to meet the new Grand Dame and replaces Sandor as the Chief Talion. It is Grey’s job to ward off any threats against his ruler. From the minute he meets Piper, the heroine, he makes it his business to discover all of her secrets. He tells himself he’s just doing his job, but his heart knows otherwise.

DC: How many books are slated for both the Paladins and the Talions series?

AM: As of right now, I’ve contracted to write three more Paladin books. We’ll see where we go with the series after those are done. I’m working on the third Talion book now, and have at least two more in mind that I hope to be able to write in the future. It’s important to keep a series fresh and interesting. So far, I think I’ve been able to maintain my own enthusiasm for the Paladins and Talions, which I hope carries over to the readers.

DC: Is there a genre you haven’t tackled but would like to try?

AM: I’d like to write a fantasy romance at some point. I’ve been toying with an idea for one, but right now it’s on the back burner.

DC: You’re also trying your hand at a Silhouette Nocturne, a vampire story due out in May 2010. Tell us about that!

AM: Last year I had a short story in the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. I had so much fun writing it, that I just had to set a book in the world I had created. In Vampire’s Vendetta, Seamus Fitzhugh is on a mission to avenge his family’s honor. He doesn’t expect to survive the confrontation with a much older and more powerful vampire, but he’s even more surprised to find love along the way.

DC: And then tell us about the Nocturne Bite that’s coming up.

AM: The Vampire’s Desire is another story set in the world of the North American Coalition. Ambrose is a Chancellor, a human/vampire hybrid. His job is to administer justice to all three species that make up the Coalition. Miranda, a pureblood vampire, gives him a run for his money from the moment they meet across the negotiating table.

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

AM: To start writing much sooner than I did and to pay more attention to the rules about commas that I learned way back when.

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

AM: “Alexis Morgan celebrates as she hits her stride as a romance writer. Sharing the adventure with her friends and loving family just makes the ride that much more fun.”

DC: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

AM: I like the one I use on my website because it fits the kind of books I write: Alexis Morgan . . . Where heroes hold back the darkness.

DC: You’ve also written a number of western romances under the name of Pat Pritchard. For those folks who haven’t read your westerns and would like to, which book would you recommend?

AM: I would recommend any one of these three: The Outlaw Groom, Annie’s Christmas, or Come Home for Christmas. I loved writing all three of them, and the heroes are particular favorites of mine.

DC: Will there be any more westerns from you in the future?

AM: I loved writing my westerns and would like to write more at some point in the future. I have at least one that I started writing and would love to have the chance to finish it.

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

AM: I think I would have finished getting my teaching certificate so I could teach elementary school. I worked as a para-educator for almost fifteen years and really enjoy kids that age.

DC: What else is on the horizon for Alexis Morgan?

AM: I want to continue telling my stories as long as people continue wanting to read them.

Lightning Round:

– dark or milk chocolate?    – Dark chocolate
– smooth or chunky peanut butter?    –  Chunky peanut butter
– heels or flats?     – Definitely flats
– coffee or tea?     – Tea
– summer or winter?      – Summer here in Seattle (where it doesn’t often get over 85 degrees)
– mountains or beach?    –  Mountains
– mustard or mayonnaise?     – Mayo
– flowers or candy?      – Flowers
– pockets or purse?     – Purse
– Pepsi or Coke?   – Pepsi
– ebook or print?   –  Print—I love the feel of a book in my hands.

And because we still have fun with them:

1. What is your favorite word?     – enigmatic
2. What is your least favorite word?     – Judgmental
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     – A passage of beautifully written prose, poetry or a love song that resonates in my mind.
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     –  Negativity in any form.
5. What sound or noise do you love?     – My parakeets chortling contentedly while I write.
6. What sound or noise do you hate?     – People arguing.
7. What is your favorite curse word?     – I pretty much stick with the classics!
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?   – I’d love to be a drummer in a rock ‘n roll band like that wonderful lady who plays drums for Kid Rock. Unfortunately, I have no sense of rhythm. Sigh.
9. What profession would you not like to do?   – I’d hate to be a window washer on high rise office buildings.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?     – ” Hey, I own every book you’ve ever written!”

DC: Thank you, Alexis, for a terrific day!