Hunter's Need

Author Q&A

Dear Reader,

Although I try to make all of my characters unique, sometimes I end up with one that is just really, really…well, different.

A hero or heroine who does things that might not seem so heroic earlier in life. A hero or heroine that made some huge (and I do mean, HUGE) mistakes and is trying to move past them. A hero or heroine who’s so scarred, so broken by their past, it doesn’t seem like redemption is possible.

But of course, it is.

Although the character doesn’t see it, they have an inner strength that has brought them through trials that would have broken others. They might not fight in ways others would recognize as fighting…but they survive. They don’t see anything strong in themselves, they don’t see anything worthy in themselves, and they certainly don’t see any sort of heroism.

But heroines and heroines come in so many different forms. The kid who grew up in the rough part of town and simply kept her head down and graduated from school is every bit as much a hero as the firefighter who runs into a burning building to save a stranger.

Maybe even more so.

Strength doesn’t come easy to everybody, after all. A woman who fears conflict but places herself right in the middle of a conflict? It takes her a lot more courage to do so than the woman who thrives on it.

That’s the sort of heroine I discovered in Hunter’s Need. In this book, we have Duke Lawson, a shapeshifter who understands bravery, self-sacrifice, courage, and honor. And we also have Ana, a woman ashamed of her past, ashamed of her own weakness, afraid of life, afraid of freedom…just afraid. In Hunter’s Need, she has to learn that sometimes, true strength is found in simply surviving, in living…in forgiving.

I had so many readers asked me why I put these two together—why I paired a strong, confident man with a woman who seems anything but. The answer is simple…Ana is who Duke wanted. From the very beginning, even when he nearly died because of her. Duke wanted her, and no other. Besides, appearances are often deceptive and in the long run, Ana is actually much stronger than she first appeared. It’s not a physical strength, but it is strength.

Ana isn’t the kick-ass heroine I’ve tried to create in the past. She’s flawed…she’s imperfect…she has weaknesses…and she’s real. I related to her in so many ways. I hope you can do the same.

All the best…

Shiloh Walker