Searching by Rachel Graves 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour and $50 Gift Card Giveaway 💕(Dragon Shifter Romance)

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A dragon terrified of being discovered by the government, Ravenna Drake is constantly on the move. When the woman who raised her gets cancer, Ravenna trades her nomadic work restoring black market magical goods for a steady job. But her cautious life ends after her name is found at the scene of a werewolf murder.

Dr. Ian Chen, a sorcerer bonded to a powerful relic, works for the government treating supernatural citizens. He insists on investigating when his patient’s body is discovered completely drained of blood. His search leads him to the beautiful but frustrating Ravenna Drake, who refuses to stay away from the case or follow his instructions.

As more bloodless bodies surface, threats from secret societies and corrupt politicians force the dragon and the sorcerer to work together. If Ravenna and Ian can’t catch the killer, the people they love the most may be the next to die.

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

Precognition, the ability to see events in the future. I hate missing out on important things. Nothing bothers me more than moving heaven and earth for an event only to be disappointed. At dinner, I’m the person who orders all of the desserts so I don’t miss out on the best one. Since I haven’t been blessed with powers yet, I spend a lot of time researching things, looking up reviews, and making lists of pros and cons.

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

For a person who writes so much about parties and found families, I’m very introverted. My characters are constantly going to work functions, having lunches out, or going dancing, things I haven’t done in years. I make a point of giving each character at least one trait that I absolutely can’t stand. It’s something different for each one: one heroine loves football, another craves spicy food. When it comes to going out and interacting with people, they’re all much more outgoing than I’ll ever be.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with?

Their hair. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t at least consider how their hair looked each day. We might skip makeup, throw on an old t-shirt, or walk outside in our bathrobe, but most of us check our hair even when we don’t do anything else. It’s one of the first things we see about a person from a distance, and it gives insight into what the character values. My shortest haired character deliberately wears it that way to defy societal expectations and annoy her old-fashioned family. My ex-Army witch lets her hair get long because she doesn’t have to worry about meeting uniform standards any more. Hair is important as an expression of who someone is and it really helps me define a character.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Pantser, one-hundred percent. If I plot out too much of the book in advance, I’ll get bored and stop writing. There’s often a point for me, usually when I’m almost finished, that I worry there’s no way I can bring the whole story together. It’s scary, but energizing. Books do surprise me. A few have started out on one path, with a clear theme and ideas on how to get to the end, only to end up something completely different. It’s probably rare, but I love it when characters refuse to do what I expect them to do. Some of my favorite scenes come from times when I expect to write one thing, but end up going in a completely different direction.

Did you learn anything from writing this book? If so, what?

Ian, the sorcerer who is investigating the murders, is a trauma surgeon. He approaches everything from a scientific point of view, so I spent a lot of time researching trauma medicine. He also speaks from a place of medical expertise, which meant I had to learn all of his precise language. For example, it’s not a bruise, it’s a contusion. I’ve worked with medical languages in the past, so the idea didn’t bother me, but as the fight scenes got more complicated, the research got harder. At one point I was awake around three in the morning, reading an article from the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research titled “Homicidal Cut Throat: The Forensic Perspective”. It’s fascinating stuff, but the pictures made me glad I’m not a doctor.

“Someone like me?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” She spread her arms wide in defeat. “That’s just it, Ian, I don’t know. I want to know, but all I’ve got now are guesses and ideas. You use magic, and that’s great. But you aren’t going to use me.” She pivoted on one foot and started to walk away from him.

“Raven, wait.” He reached out and caught her arm, the muscles under his fingers hardened immediately.

“Do not grab me.” Her voice was an angry hiss.

“No, that’s not, I just…” He let go. “Last night was wonderful. This isn’t how this is supposed to go.”

“No, it’s really not.” She pinched her eyes shut for a second. “I thought we’d had this fight already.”

“We did. But something tells me we’ll have it again anytime I’m worried about you.”

“It’s not your job to worry about me, Ian. Not even a little.” Her head dropped down, resigned.

What’s so wrong about wanting to keep you safe? He scrambled for a way to explain something so obvious. A car pulled up, blocking the alleyway, and he tensed again.

“No, don’t worry, you don’t have to,” she put her hand on his arm, the touch gentle and reassuring. “That’s my ride. Ian, I… Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “You, too.”

She nodded back, and he struggled between the need to see what Tony was up to and the desire to climb into the car with her and keep working this out. Because I know we need to get past this, but damned if I can think of how. You look sad, Raven, tell me why. Let me help.

Instead, she got into the car and he went back inside the shop.

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Rachel Graves writes mysteries that blend the supernatural with steamy, sexy scenes. Her work explores the many shades of gray found between the lines of right and wrong. Rachel's books focus on strong heroines who take charge of their own fate, their friends, and their families. Rachel is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and uses research skills honed getting a graduate degree in psychology to seek out rare folklore and magical creatures. Her writing incorporates popular monsters like vampires and werewolves as well as diverse creatures like selkies and yuki onna. Rachel has lived in a cursed town, taken far too many ghost tours, and counts down to every Halloween starting in November. You can read short stories and learn more about her on her website: http://www.rachelgraves.com/.