Alpha
The
Scattered Dark Series
Book
Two
Fierce
Dolan
Genre: erotic horror, hardcore
paranormal erotica, BDSM
Publisher: Fierce Desires
Date of Publication: 23 October
2013
ISBN: 978-0-9860165-6-1
ASIN: B00G4V1ETU
Number of pages: 53
Word Count: 15,857
Cover Artist: Fierce Dolan
Book Description:
When domme Alaine Dunham meets
beautiful, young werewolf Seth, she dreams of training him to be the perfect
bottom to fill her Alpha needs. She quickly finds that gentling the wild wolf
is one thing; subduing the rebellious human is another. Tensions mount as the
full moon pushes them to consummate their bond before relationship concerns are
soothed.
After a strange book falls into
Alaine's hands she begins to doubt her relationship, her instincts, and the
moon.
Alpha
by Fierce Dolan
Chapter 1
A wolf. Alaine
Dunham didn’t have to see him for that familiar life force to course through
hers, for her body to ache to be near his—the telltale signs. Several years had
passed since those sensations last sizzled up her spine, thudded behind her
ribs, pooled hot and wet at her cunt, and she relished them. Scouting him from
her vantage point on the stage, seeing his wild allure, got her even hotter.
The dark man
clutched the hand of Hostess Kisha. Her rainbow-plaited head bobbed, a
kaleidoscope beacon glinting under the strobing lights as she squinted and
guided them through the fray on the glittering dance floor. The shifter pressed
through the crowd with his shoulders squared and jaw jutted forward. A lock of
wavy black hair obscured his eyes. His swagger betrayed that he was young,
anxious, needy, though the power that emanated from him told her he was not
newly made. Dancing clubbers parted and stared in his wake.
Alaine jumped
down from the stage and waited for him to find her, as he most certainly would.
She busied her trembling hands by slapping a cat-o-nine against her thigh. The
welts that rose on her skin distracted her from the aching want between her
legs. Licking her lips, she sighed and slowed her slamming pulse. If she was
half the top she and the patrons of Malice in Fundaland thought she was, he’d
be trained to knot in no time. Finally, a worthy conquest.
Shaking her
ponytail down her back, she pulled her shoulders up and greeted Kisha. The
waifish hostess clasped Alaine’s hand and kissed her cheek, conservative
affection considering they had tribbed all afternoon, culminating with the
caramel-complexioned beauty creaming on her face around sundown. Fraternizing
amongst staff was forbidden, so they kept their bennie trysts secret. Smiling,
she tucked a colorful ringlet behind Kisha’s ear and nodded to the lovely man.
“Mistress,”
Kisha started, “this is Seth. He’s a regular on the scene, though it’s his
first time in Malice.” His gaze roved over Alaine as the smaller woman spoke.
“He asked for you. He knows the best when he sees it.”
“Ah.” She
resisted the urge to rap his thigh with the flail handle. “I’m booked out
several nights. Hostess Kisha can get you on the books for another evening.”
The wolf’s
piercing gaze met hers, though his long lashes fluttered and his voice wavered.
“Nice to meet you, thanks. For now, I’ll watch.”
Writing the Sophomore of a Series
I was dubious about writing a series to start with, because
it takes a lot of stamina to sustain momentum across several installments of a
greater plot. I knew going into Alpha,
the second book of The Scattered Dark Series, the challenges that would be
ahead, and... I wrote it anyway!
Before we get into the challenges of the sophomore book,
let’s talk about what a first in a series must do. Each book in a series must
stand-alone, yet tie neatly into its sister books. The first book gets to be
the darling—one hopes. It sets up the core conflict, introduces enticing
characters, and jets the plot along so well that the second book is set up
sublimely. Everyone falls in love with the freshman, or is so incensed by its
setup that they want to know more.
So what about The End? The final book (we’ll assume the
third one, for brevity’s sake), reveals all characters’ true colors, resolves
individual character arcs (at least mostly), and to some degree brings an aptly
satisfying resolution to the greater plot. With all of that candy, what’s sweet
about the second in a series? Are they all just Jan Brady?
Well, that’s the question every author who writes a series
has to clarify from the beginning. The sole purpose of the middle book is to
get readers to the final installment. That’s it. Simple enough, right? Yet the
majority of the time, the middle book is the one readers complain most about.
The first book gets all the action, all the proper introduction, while the
finale pushes toward thorough resolution. That said, there can be no lag, no
deviating, no grand flourishes in either.
Apart from giving characters the chance to step up their
role in plot resolution and possibly explain their connection to it bit more,
second books allow a tad more room for dabbling. The very fact that they tend
to focus on character development a bit more and rounding out the story allows
them wider berth in how the story is told.
There’s a reason second books fall into what’s called the
“sophomore slump,” or “sophomore syndrome.” It’s hard to live up to the hype
generated by a first book, and sustain the interest to the finale. The truth
is, there is no one formula for writing the second of a series. When a concept
is created to develop across installments, the power of its story has to be
strong enough to carry through.
About
the Author:
Erotic mezzofiction writer,
Fierce is imagination shapeshifted as a scribe taunting blank pages and carpal
tunnel, neither of which are much use for deadlines. Close allies are
impeccable timing and a trusty masseuse. Being a switch I/ENFP doesn’t hurt.
For kicks Fierce has other personas across several genres, tends to fill in
“Other” on surveys without explaining, and chooses the finality of the Japanese
Tamagotchi.
