by Linda Conrad

The fifth book in my Night Guardian six-book series for Silhouette Romantic Suspense, SHADOW WARRIOR tells the contemporary love story of Michael Ayze, a member of the Navajo Brotherhood of medicine men who have vowed to stop the evil Skinwalkers from wreaking havoc on the reservation! Even if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series, SHADOW WARRIOR is a powerful stand alone paranormal/ love story that also gives the reader a good view into the legends and culture of the Navajo people.

SHADOW WARRIOR takes place in early fall on the Navajo reservation. That’s a time of great weather extremes in the high desert southwest and the hero and heroine of this story must face a flash flood, extreme heat and a deadly brush fire. But that’s not all they must face. I wanted Michael Ayze, who is a highly intelligent and rather arrogant college professor, to get hit with some of his worst nightmares so that he could experience the change necessary to allow love into his life. He’s pretty sure of himself and his abilities, until his deceased brother’s wife and child show up on the reservation during the middle of a war with an army of shapeshifters known in Navajo legends as Skinwalkers! Then it seems that all the forces, both natural and unnatural, in the universe conspire to bring these two extremely different people together.

The first few lines in any book should give the reader an idea of what to expect from the story. The first paragraph in SHADOW WARRIOR is like that. So here’s the flavor of the story:

Something was off.
The darkened skies turned to a witches’ brew of boiling clouds and fire. Lightning spit, striking a dry desert and leaving black scars of burnt sandstone behind. Torrents of slapping, rushing water, which she knew were a rarity on the Navajo reservation, gushed into parched gullies and flooded sage-clogged ravines.

When I first conceived this series of books, I had no idea how difficult the research would be or how tough it would be to keep the many characters and their tales all straight and fresh. Now I know. And while I loved every moment of writing the books and was very sorry to write “The End” at the end of the sixth-book and see the last of those beloved characters, I have learned my lesson. Never again.

I happen to love reading linked (mini-series) books. Some readers are like me and others don’t seem to care much for them. I’m just the type that hates to see the ending of a terrific book. I want to know what happens next! Heh heh. Anyway, I almost always write books in little connected series, and I will continue doing that because it allows me to add extra detail and lets me tell a longer story in short bursts.

I hope you’ll love Michael’s story as much as I loved telling it. I have a couple of copies of SHADOW WARRIOR, along with special bookcovers, to give away to two readers who comment on this Tell Tale.

Both comments and pings are currently closed.