Claiming Ana
Brynna Curry
A Triple Star Ranch Novel
“I’ll take you, turn you, until I’m the sun that warms you, the moon that calls to you at night.” – Howl Raven
Blurb: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire…and passion that won’t be denied.
The child of a gypsy and fey, small-town veterinarian Dr. Anastasia Brannon has always hidden her magic for fear of ridicule. A red-hot encounter with the new PI in town makes their attraction impossible to deny. Throwing caution to the wind, she indulges her desires but keeps her secrets close.
A man with a shady past and secrets of his own, Howl Raven uses his feral talents and tracking skills to make a living, doing his best to lay low and hide the curse that haunts him every month. So far, so good…until an uncontrollable shift outside the full moon leaves him the victim of a werewolf hunter.
When she finds the enigmatic investigator wounded in the woods near her cabin during a storm, Ana provides medical care on instinct. She may be the only one who can banish the wolf from Howl’s blood, but at what cost?
Top ten things you don’t know about me:
1. Cotton or Silk? Cotton.
2. Champagne/beer/wine? Neither. I don’t drink spirits. Ever, no seriously, never. I am addicted to Vanilla Coke and Mountain Dew though and coffee of course.
3. Plotter/pantser. Some plotting for series arcs, but the writing is pantser. I write straight through and edit as I go. Sometimes I do write the very last scene first, just to keep myself focused on the goal
4. Describe your workspace. I don’t really have a dedicated office. I work all over the house on a laptop, but my favorite spot is the leather chaise by the heater.
5. Sports fan or just tolerate it? I love football! I’d rather watch college football, since I don’t have a favorite NFL team. I’m a die-hard Auburn Tiger fan, even when they are losing. I don’t mind watching most any sport, but tennis, golf bore me. Good thing my husband doesn’t like either. Lol. And although I like to watch street racing movies and tv shows, I don’t like Nascar.
6. Who is your biggest influence on writing? Nora Roberts’ books influenced my decision to write romance, but I prefer to write my own way without taking a bent toward any particular style of writing.
7. Favorite food – Cheese pizza, preferably from Little Caesar’s.
8. When did you start writing? I’m been writing in my head since I was a kid, but didn’t seriously start writing with the goal of publication until 2004.
9. If money were no object, where would you like to live? I love where I live now. I can’t really imagine anywhere else I’d want to live, but I’d love to be able to go to Ireland or Scotland for extended visits whenever I wanted. Never been to either, but my heritage springs from there.
10. What’s next for you? More writing, lots of it. I’m working on Tempting Taylor the next book is the Triple Star Ranch series. It’s a full length romantic suspense that begins to piece together all the loose ends I intentionally left in Claiming Ana, which is really more of a prequel to the series. Craving Cassandra and Saving Sarah will complete the set. I also have the Shadows of Seven and Highland Magic books that will be the stories of the Corrigan children from my first series, all of which are in the WIP stage.
Thanks for having me over today, Harlie!
Full-length Excerpt (Steamy)
Stop thinking about sex, Ana. Control yourself.
Howl swallowed the pills with the hot coffee burning a path down his raw throat and hoped it hid his grin.
Arrgh. He probably heard that too.
“Every word. We’ll get to that, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
“You’re evading the question. So, how did you come to be bleeding in my woods not twenty feet from my doorstep?”
“My woods. I’m renting the Parker place, remember? Technically, that makes Parker’s woods, my woods,” he corrected.
She turned her back on him to retrieve something from the cabinet. Had it only been yesterday they had shared lunch in this room? She had been molten in his arms, melting into his kiss. If not for the phone call from Jace, they would have ended up in bed. Maybe on the couch. Against the wall. Now who couldn’t control their thoughts? Where had this distance come from?
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I know.” He slipped in behind her at the counter. He had questions. She had answers. Howl intended to have them and her. “Why didn’t you call for help?” Howl laughed when he felt her jump mentally. Mind reading was such a trip. He effectively caged her between the counter and his arms. He wanted to kiss her, just there where her neck curved into her shoulder. He nuzzled the spot and traced the tip of his tongue along the exposed skin of her throat.
She tilted her head to give him better access. “The storm knocked down lines everywhere. We’re running off generator power, no phone, and no cell.”
He felt her shiver as her situation started to dawn on her. They were completely alone. Nothing to stop them from acting on this all-consuming lust. No calls from Jace. No neighborly driveby visits from Cade. No work. Just walls, rooms, and plenty of doors with locks.
“I would have driven you to the hospital once the storm let up and you were stable, but you asked me not to. That, and my Jeep was totaled by a tree. Then I found this.” Ana held up the small jar containing the bullet she had removed. “And I knew I couldn’t go to Cade. He wouldn’t understand.”
Howl took the jar. Even through the glass, the metal burned his skin. He tossed it aside. It rolled across the floor into the corner smacking into the baseboard but didn’t break.
“Thank you for that, for protecting me. You know what I am, then.” This time he did kiss her just behind her right ear.
“Yes.”
“And are you afraid of me?” Need beat a rhythm through his blood. Please say no. The hard planes of his body pressed against the silk of her back.
“Should I be?”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“How do you do this to me?”
Howl felt her frustration as she instinctively arched into him.
“What do I do to you?” He flipped open the buttons of her blouse.
“Make me ache for you.”
A feral urge consumed him with her whispered words, something animal, something that couldn’t be controlled. He kissed the nape of her neck, and felt her skin vibrate beneath his lips. He heard her shudder inwardly and beg her body to behave. “Oh, no you don’t. I want you out of control. You should have told me about your magic.” He breathed the word in her ear. She melted underneath his massaging fingers.
“And you could have mentioned you howl at the moon, before I had to use that magic to save your life.”
Claiming Ana releases February 2014.
For information regarding this and other books in the series, please
visit the Triple Star Ranch page at brynnacurry.com or the links below.
Alright, alright, alright. A paranormal that had fae, magic, and a hot werewolf. I know, I don’t care that much for the were but Howl is just too hot not to love. And his name? Perfect for a wolf. What really got me going was the instant chemistry that Ana and Howl had. Most would think it was too “instant” but for Ana and Howl it felt right. Both of them had paranormal characteristics and when you know, you just know right?
Ana was a great heroine in paranormal. She didn’t back down, wasn’t afraid but she did have her secrets. Even from her best friends Jace and Cade. She just couldn’t hide it from Howl. He knew once the mental link was established. Which is another thing that I loved. Their conversations during their links were cute, sexy and spot on. Ana didn’t like it at first but in the end its what saved them both. I also liked that Ana and Jace had history together. I know, most people wouldn’t like that in a story but it rung true in Jace not liking Howl. Jealousy can be an ugly thing.
Howl is an engaging and hot wolf. Ms. Curry was able to incorporate his back story in just a few pages and it made sense. Most wolf books that I read are the same thing over and over in terms of the who, what, when and how but not Howl. He was cursed and the dream that they both shared explained a lot for both of their characters.
If I had one compliant about the story is that it was too short. I know, 88 pages is long but I really enjoyed Ana and Howl. Plus, with the mystery surrounding Jace and Cade’s father it’s a thread that will definitely be picked up in their books. Ms. Curry needs to hurry because she has a fan for life. The Triple Star Ranch has lots of secrets and I can’t wait for them to be exposed. Plus, are the Murphy brothers paranormal characters? Ms. Curry didn’t elude to that but I’m just wondering. The end scene was funny but left the door wide open.
Ms. Curry has written a great book to kick off a series. It has engaging characters that you root for, crisp writing, a dog named Taffy and while there is sex in the book…its beautifully written. If you are looking for a great paranormal that makes sense, has a villain to hate and two great characters to root for…Claiming Ana is your book. 🙂
Buy Links
Author Bio
Brynna Curry was born south of the Mason-Dixon Line. After living all over the southern states, she finally landed in North Alabama where she lives with her husband and their three children. Growing up, books fueled her dreams and imagination, ultimately becoming her salvation during the hardest times in her life.
Writing is her passion, but she enjoys the fun of sharing those stories with others by reviewing books and working in publicity. When she isn’t writing or promoting, she’s often found haunting the library for new books to read, at the park with her children (when she can wrangle them into it) or just spending an quiet evening at home with Jackie watching old westerns on TV. Although her wizards, shifters and vampires are as real to her as anyone, she insists love is the truest magic and with it every day is another wonderful adventure.
Thanks for having me, Harlie! And thanks for the great review. I’m delighted you enjoyed the story. I like to tease readers, but I will say there are three more books in this series. Ana and Howl will continue on in each story as secondary characters. Each Murphy brother has his own book and eventually they will solve their father’s murder together as they should. For readers who love paranormal romance with family connections and continuing characters, you should check out my Elemental Magic series. The Corrigans will steal your heart.
What a great interview. I haven’t read this author yet but certainly looking forward to reading her books.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, Lori! Thanks for stopping by!