Return Of The Wolf (Eye Of The Storm #4) - The Waning Moon and Introspection

57% into writing Return of The Wolf and I have to say that it's probably the hardest book I've ever written, and I'm not overly sure why. It could be because there's just been such a lot going on in my personal life that, three quarters of the way through the year, I feel kinda scattered. It could be because this book touches on some dark subject matter - all my books do, I guess - but with this one, the darkness needs to be spelled out a little more, so that readers can understand how and why the characters evolve the way that they do. I'm being very picky about how things are portrayed - everything needs to make sense and have a reason, but still be readable, without giving too much away straight away. The pattern has been, that I write a couple of chapters and then decide I don't like something and have to go back through the whole manuscript to change things, and this has happened a few times with this story.

Return Of The Wolf begins straight after the events of Heart Of The Wolf. The moon is now waning, and just as - metaphysically - that represent a phase of inner-reflection and settling, so shall it be with this book. The big climax happened at the end of Heart Of The Wolf  (and I mean that in every sense), and now everyone needs to process that, and deal with the consequences of their actions - new realisations also come to light now that everything is a little calmer.

This book contains just a little bit less action than the other three, and the focus is mostly on some deep healing for our favourite characters, before things take off again in book five (there will be six books altogether).

So, that's where I'm at. I think part of the reason this book is harder to write, is because part of me wants to put some huge plot twist in this one like my others (I might still do that), but this book isn't actually about twists and turns - it's about what happens after, and how you handle a straight long road after life has taken you on a bender, so to speak.

I'm intrigued to see how the next 43% pans out. I'm interested in seeing how readers will take to this one. Time will tell. But remember, there are still two more books to go ;)

Dianna xx

Excerpt of Return Of The Wolf (Eye Of The Storm #4), published October, 2014

I've decided to give you a lengthy excerpt tonight, since you're all so endlessly patient and understanding of the breaks between books - enjoy! (Just over three months to go!)

Return of The Wolf, unedited excerpt, copyright © Dianna Hardy, 2014. All rights reserved. Excerpt may be altered or deleted before publication.

BEWARE potential SPOILERS if you have not read Releasing The Wolf, Cry Of The Wolf, or Heart Of The Wolf


She half-ran down the stairs and made straight for the front door, letting nothing but her intuition guide her to … whatever would make her feel better. She didn't know what that would be, but it was her three mates she scanned for with her senses, automatically and without thought. And what an ability that had become overnight.

Since she'd transformed, it was as if they somehow lived in her. If she focused hard enough, she could feel where she ended and her mates began, even though they might be miles away, and she could catch the trails of their emotions – even their thoughts.

It was fucking weird.

And pretty damn cool.

So, she let her feet lead the way, behind the huge house, part of her wanting to shift, but another part of her feeling too self-conscious to do so – the whole thing was still so incredibly new, startlingly personal, and her human side hadn't completely left her yet. Maybe it never would.

She felt him there way before she saw him, but seeing him caught her breath a little, as it always did. He always looked magnificent – statuesque – his tall gait perfectly balanced, his flaxen hair, setting off a golden sheen against the last rays of sun. The profile of his face, currently turned away from her, was almost Roman in its structure, yet it was the legacy of what surely must be Scandinavian deities that shone through the armoured visage.

Ha! Right, let's add fuel to that ego of his…

Still, she'd never been able to deny his beauty from the second she'd laid eyes on it, nor, to some extent, him.

She wrinkled her nose in thought as the memory of her undoing her blouse and practically coming for him, right there, in the very public theatre restaurant, sprang up in her mind.

But the way he had looked at her… Don't even get me started on those eyes.

He knew she was there – of course he did – without needing to turn. Because the way she could 'feel' her mates … it was reciprocated.

Lawrence reached an arm out behind him and stretched his hand towards her, still with his back to her, facing the dilapidated, boarded up outbuilding to the south of the mansion.

She almost shifted then.

Her legs seemed to tremble at his presence, and although she was still a little pissed off he continued to have that affect on her, she could now also appreciate the splendour of it. The wolf in her had always relished her reaction to Lawrence. Human Lydia, however, would rather have that reaction to pretty much anything else. What ever happened to going ga-ga over a pair of Jimmy Choo's like a normal woman? Not that she'd ever been able to afford Jimmy Choo shoes…

Her bare feet led the way, not waiting for permission. She reached out and laced her fingers through Lawrence's own.


Return Of The Wolf is released on 30th October, 2014. All info on the series can be found here - http://www.diannahardy.com/eye-of-the-storm-series.html