Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I read Juliana Stone’s His Darkest Salvation last week and enjoyed it very much, (Check out my review here.) so I’m delighted to welcome Juliana today. I asked Juliana about her Jaguar Warriors and this is what she said…

Definition: Jaguar Warriors or Jaguar Knights (Nahuatl: ocēlōmeh) were members of the Aztec military.[1] They were an elite military unit similar to the Eagle warriors. The jaguar motif was used due to the belief that the jaguar represented Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky. Aztecs also wore these dresses at war because they believed the animal’s strengths would be given to them during battles.[citation needed] Jaguar Warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns.[1] Many statues and images (in pre-Columbian and post-Columbian codices) of these warriors have survived.[2] They fought with a wooded sword studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades, called a Maquahuitl. They also used spears and atlatls.

To become a Jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec Army had to capture at least four enemies during battles. This was said to honour their gods in a way far greater than killing enemy soldiers in the battlefield.

For my paranormal romance series, The Jaguar Warriors I decided to make these fierce fighters shapeshifters.

I thought wouldn’t it be fun to have two opposing families, add in a whole host of otherworld creatures and then, maybe toss in an end of the world scenerio. Out of these threads my Castille brothers were born and their mortal enemies, the DaCosta Jaguars.

So, what exactly is a Jaguar Warrior in my world? Well, they’re elite soldiers who are shapeshifters and once they start to mature, their warrior tattoos will show. These are elaborate clan tattoos that wrap around their abs and up along an arm to the neck. Not every jaguar is a warriror though. In His Darkest Salvation, Julian never developed the warrior tats. He’s still a shapeshifter, just not with the enhanced magick that the warriors have.

Here is a run down of the rest of the cast of characters who populate my books!

Castille Clan: The heros in my books are a trio of brothers, Jaxon Castille the oldest. He is featured in His Darkest Hunger. Jagger Castille’s story was told in His Darkest Embrace and lastly, Julian Castille is up in, His Darkest Salvation.

DaCosta Clan: Evil jaguar warriors who’ve always been on the fringe. They dabble in a lot of illegal activities. The head of the family, Jacobi is a terrifying person but unbeknownst to him, his daughter Jaden is doing whatever she can to foil his plots.

Declan O’Hara: My sexy sorcerer. His father is the evil Cormac O’Hara and he’s in love with a woman who feels nothing for him.

Ana: Said woman. Vampire.

Cracker: A member of Jaxon’s PATU unit and his origins are unknown.
PATU Paranormal Anti-Terrorist unit. A government sanctioned unit run my Jaxon Castille. Their job, to work under the grid keeping the human populace safe from the creatures they have no idea that exist.

Interestlingly, while researching the Jaguar Warriors and the Aztec culture I came across Eagle Knights which were another fierce fighting faction. This is what led me to make Skye Knightly—Jagger’s lover—into an Eagle shifter.

My books have an over reaching story arc, one that is concluded at the end of His Darkest Salvation but of course, new questions arise and will continue with my new series, League of Guardians. The first book, Wicked Road to Hell comes out next year and Declan O’Hara is the hero!

Is there anything I’ve not covered that you’d like to know? Ask away and I’ll try my best to answer!

CONTEST: Juliana is giving away a $25 Gift card from Amazon to one lucky commenter during her blog tour. The more you comment the better your chances of winning. Follow the rest of Juliana’s tour at this link. The contest winner will be drawn at the conclusion of the tour.

After six months in hell, Julian Castille has returned to the world a changed man. No longer the longer the calm, powerful CEO, but a shifter fully embraced by the blood of his clan. Julian has one goal: find the key to the portal that stands between the human realm and unprecedented darkness-and win back the pieces of his soul. The last thing he needs is a distraction like the beautiful, enigmatic Jaden DaCosta.

Three years ago, a forbidden night of passion left Jaden forever altered: mated to Julian Castille–bound to a man who despises her. But the temptation to trust this darker, more savage-and more captivating-Julian is overwhelming. And as they fight for their immortal souls, their insatiable desire for each other may prove their fatal undoing…

Purchase His Darkest Salvation

To learn more about Juliana Stone and her books visit her website – Juliana Stone

His Darkest Salvation
By Juliana Stone
Dark paranormal romance
Avon, an imprint Harper Collins Publishers
Release Date: 26 July 2011

ARC provided by the publisher

Official blurb:

In a world on the brink of chaos, passion and vengeance collide …

After six months in hell, Julian Castille has returned to the world a changed man. No longer the calm, powerful CEO, but a shifter fully embraced by the blood of his clan. Julian has one goal: find the key to the portal that stands between the human realm and unprecedented darkness—and win back the pieces of his soul. The last thing he needs is a distraction like the beautiful, enigmatic Jaden DaCosta.

Three years ago, a forbidden night of passion left Jaden forever altered: mated to Julian Castille–bound to a man who despises her. But the temptation to trust this darker, more savage—and more captivating—Julian is overwhelming. And as they fight for their immortal souls, their insatiable desire for each other may prove their fatal undoing…

His Darkest Salvation is a dark paranormal romance and is the third in a series featuring jaguar warriors. Juliana Stone has written a wonderful book, full of emotion that leaps off the page. Her hero and heroine come from enemy families, yet during a meeting, years earlier, Jaden took Julian as her mate. He discovered her identity and rejected her, and when they come together again, their hatred and distrust of each other is clear. The constant push-pull between the characters is very well done. The reader experiences their hopes and the sheer hopelessness of the situation they find themselves in. At times the tortured Julian is plain horrible to the heroine, yet by the end of the story it’s clear why he behaves this way, and their relationship evolves to a deeper understanding.

Jaden is the perfect foil for Julian. She’s a warrior in her own right, is strong and capable and very sensual. The love scenes between the two are explosive and full of passion.

The story comes to an exciting climax with lots of drama and an ending that makes me hope there will be more books to come. I hadn’t read the earlier books in the series, and although I managed to follow most of the back story, there were a couple of places where I think I missed something that was imparted in previous stories i.e. the relationship between the characters. If you’re new to Ms. Stone’s series, I’d suggest you grab all three and have a dark paranormal blitz to get maximum satisfaction from the jaguar warrior world the author has created.

I recommend His Darkest Salvation to any reader who enjoys a dark paranormal story with lots of emotional intensity and drama. You won’t be disappointed.

Author website Juliana Stone

Purchase link His Darkest Salvation

Series:
Book one – His Darkest Hunger
Book two – His Darkest Embrace
Book three – His Darkest Salvation

The theme this week is Near Death Experience. I have quite a few scenes where my characters are in dire danger, but they come mostly at the end of my stories. I don’t want to give too much away. In the end, I decided on an excerpt from Soldier of Fortune, one of the earlier scenes where the hero and heroine face an ambush on the streets of Iraq.

Soldier of Fortune by Shelley Munro

“Checkpoint,” the driver muttered, slowing the vehicle.

Louie cursed and slipped his gun out of sight but retained it in his hand. Local soldiers ran the roving checkpoints. They shot first and asked questions later. Cooperation and patience were key to remaining alive. If all else failed the driver would barrel straight through and hope for the best.

“Tell him we’re going east,” Louie instructed the driver.

The driver spoke rapidly in the local dialect, answering questions fired at him by the young soldier.

Louie relaxed fractionally when the soldier waved them through. “Good man,” he said to the driver.

They made good progress despite the slow-moving traffic and the wait for a British army convoy to pass through an intersection. Overhead, a Black Hawk helicopter buzzed like a whining mosquito, drawing sporadic fire from a patch of undergrowth.

“Don’t like this,” Simon said via the radio. “More gunfire than usual. Not many locals either. What’s your gut say?”

“Something’s going on.” Louie agreed, the back of his neck tingling in warning. Danger lurked in the shadows.

Somewhere. “Guess our quiet period is over. Can you see anything?”

Up ahead, two vehicles jammed on their brakes, coming to an abrupt stop. Behind the second recon car, another stopped, blocking their retreat. Magically, the few remaining locals faded into the background, leaving a deserted street.

“Ambush,” Simon shouted.

Gunfire cracked directly behind them. A signal. Bullets rained down. From the front. From the rear. The rat-a-tat-tat of guns filled Louie’s ears, made them ring.

“Fire!” Simon hollered through the radio.

Louie concentrated on the two vehicles in front. “Shoot to kill.” Simon would watch their six, but he gave orders anyway. “Mac, check our rear.”

Like a freak hail storm, the bullets pelted their vehicle. Cautiously, Louie opened his door. Crouched behind. Fired.

Mac, Tai and Garrett fired with rapid precision from behind lowered windows. The jackhammer of AK-47 assault rifles echoed between the buildings, replaying in his head. All the time he was aware of Mac behind him. Part of him wanted to throw her back in the vehicle, keep her safe. He started to move and froze when a bullet whizzed past his cheek.

“Fuck.” He ducked behind the door, forced himself to concentrate. Just him and his weapon in hand. Shoot to kill. Fire. Fire. Fire! Bullets hit the door, kicked up dust until his eyes smarted. Men shouted. Somewhere in front of him, a man shrieked for help, his French accent casting him as one of the insurgent volunteers from abroad. Fanatics, they came from all over the world to fight for the cause.

Time slowed, the insurgents returning a barrage of fire. Sweat dripped down Louie’s face. He swiped it away, fear clutching at his chest. They couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Should they make a run for it? He fired another round of shots, assessing the situation, making decisions.

“Rear car is retreating,” Simon reported in a terse voice.

Thank you, God. Something was going right.
The driver moved the second car up, giving them better cover. Another of the insurgents fell to the ground, didn’t move. Grimly, Louie fired until all return fire ceased. The guns of his men fell silent, but they remained watchful. Louie cautiously peered around the door to scan the vicinity. When no one moved, he ordered everyone back into the vehicles.

They’d been bloody lucky this time. He swiped a weary hand over his face. Mac… Damn! Thoughts of her had distracted him. Time to get a grip. He’d get them all killed if he didn’t start thinking with his head instead of his dick.

Purchase your copy of Soldier of Fortune here.

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:

Eliza Gayle
Moira Rogers
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Juliana Stone
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
McKenna Jeffries
Anya Bast
Victoria Janssen