Not the Leader of the Pack by Annabeth Leong Guest Post and Giveaway!

Not the Leader of the Pack

by Annabeth Leong

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BLURB:

When Juli Gunby left Missoula, Montana, she didn’t intend to come back. Not to her exacting alpha werewolf father, and certainly not to Neil Statham, the beta who rejected Juli’s girlish advances. Her father, as usual, has other ideas, using his dying breath to pass pack leadership to his daughter. Juli resolves to carry out her duty to her father and her pack, but the one man she wants on her side has made himself her enemy.

After years of loyal service to the pack, Neil expects to take over as alpha when his mentor dies. As good as it is to see Juli again, he knows he can’t trust her. After all, she abandoned both him and the pack years ago and never looked back. Neil determines to fight for his rightful position in the pack, even if that means going up against a woman who fills him with an overwhelming urge to mate every time she walks into the room.

Someone needs to lead, and the more Neil and Juli fight, the more they attract interference from those who would control the pack and destroy the ties between them.

Excerpt 

The door to the ICU loomed ahead. A multitude of notices posted on and around it inundated her with specific instructions.

No food or drink. No cell phones. No visits by groups larger than four. No entry without notifying the nurses’ station.

The restrictions brought home the severity of her father’s condition. He would never let someone else dictate so many things if he were well.

“You made it,” a familiar voice said behind her. Deep, masculine, and a little amused, it matched its owner perfectly. Juli blushed, remembering all her past embarrassing reactions to the man with the single most perfect torso in all of Montana. She turned once she’d mentally prepared as much as she could. Neil Statham, her father’s protégé, dressed in jeans and an old Missoula Ospreys jersey. Apparently, he still played pro ball. She would speak to him in a normal tone for once or die trying.

Juli greeted him with a little nod, not trusting her voice. To her horror, instead of stammering, she burst into tears.

He froze, then reached out for her. “I’m sorry, Juli.” No way could she handle being gathered against that chest. She dodged and held up a hand. A fur-covered hand.

Neil’s eyebrows shot up. A split second later, he burst into action, picking her up and carrying her to an empty waiting room nearby. She didn’t protest or struggle. Juli knew how dangerous it would be for a human to catch her hairy.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Annabeth Leong has written romance and erotica of many flavors -- dark, kinky, vanilla, straight, lesbian, bi, and menage. Her titles for Breathless Press include Not His Territory, Not the Leader of the Pack, and a contribution to the Ravaged anthology. She enjoys writing about the tension between passion and control that werewolves embody. Unfortunately, when Annabeth loses control of herself, she does not gain the power to change shape. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Blog: annabethleong.blogspot.com

Twitter: @AnnabethLeong

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5295946.Annabeth_Leong

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Annabeth-Leong/e/B007UUBXJU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1370186737&sr=8-2

Buy links for Not the Leader of the Pack:

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nottheleaderofthepack-1216512-149.html?referrer=5148b13c78ae0

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Not-The-Leader-Pack-ebook/dp/B00D3OUT4C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369993051&sr=8-2&keywords=annabeth+leong

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-The-Leader-Pack-ebook/dp/B00D3OUT4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369993135&sr=8-1&keywords=annabeth+leong+not+the+leader+of+the+pack

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/not-the-leader-of-the-pack

Breathless Press: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=452&zenid=nipaehvv20bbjv9041ico7epf1

Guest Post:

Freedom, Rebellion, and Werewolves

by Annabeth Leong

Werewolf fiction allows readers to experience a vivid, animalistic view of the world—passionate, physical, and guided by instinct. However, as I wrote my most recent werewolf release, Not the Leader of the Pack, I started thinking about giving that same unbridled freedom to emotions.

In daily life, there are so many times a person has to control emotions. I've held back tears, burned with unexpressed desire, or told someone that whatever just happened wasn't a big deal even when it really was. Really big emotions often don't have a place in modern society either. Deep, prolonged grief often makes people uncomfortable, as does rage, despair, or even unrestrained ecstatic joy. How many times do well-meaning friends or self-help books suggest we "get over it," or "act as if"?

In the world of Not the Leader of the Pack, strong emotions begin to take a werewolf into the shift. This means that in intense situations, the characters have to hold back their emotions first and foremost, or risk exposing themselves as werewolves to the normal humans around them.

My hero and heroine, Neil and Juli, live under strict rules, since the Werewolf Council that governs werewolves in their area is very interested in suppressing the animal side of its subjects. They long for all kinds of freedom—to run under the moon, to feel the power of the wolf in their bodies, and to be free to feel without having to worry about the consequences.

Neil and Juli hold the passion and strength of their animal natures within their bodies, and yet circumstances force them to push down this part of themselves. My world may lack gutted buildings and dismal lighting, but really my werewolves are living in a dystopia. They have a deep, natural connection to primal fury that they're mostly not supposed to express. The Werewolf Council seems to want them to deny their very natures. If they can't control themselves, they're put on lycanthropy suppressants—pills that prevent the change and disconnect a werewolf from the wolf within.

These characters fall in love and fight to be together, but they're also fighting to carve out a place in a world that runs against who they are as people. When they set their emotions free, they're also setting themselves free, and participating in the act of rebellion that true love can be. 

Annabeth will be awarding a $10 gift card for Breathless Press to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $5 gift card for Breathless Press to a randomly drawn host.

Follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-nbtm-tour-not-leader-of-pack-by.html