The Midnight Breed Series Companion (45 page)

First mention in series:
Appears in Deeper Than Midnight.

~ ~ ~

Victoria
   Breedmate, Kade's mother. Mate of Kir. Very pregnant with another set of identical twin boys when Kade returns home to the family Darkhaven outside Fairbanks. She has not been aware of how her ESP talent, the ability to communicate and connect psychically to predator animals, has affected her sons.

First mention in series:
Appears in Shades of Midnight.

~ ~ ~

-W-

Wilhelm Roth (d.)
   Breed male, second generation. Corrupt Enforcement Agent, director of the Agency in Hamburg, Germany and lieutenant of Dragos. Wilhelm Roth was Claire Samuels’s first mate. Prior to Claire, Roth was mated to a Breedmate named Ilsa. He killed her to make way for taking Claire as his mate. Wilhelm Roth is killed by Andreas Reichen during a confrontation between the Order and Roth.

First mention in series:
Appears without being named in Veil of Midnight; appears later in Ashes of Midnight.

~ ~ ~

-X-

Xander Raphael “Rafe” Malebranche
   Breed male, son of Dante and Tess. Born December 17, during the timeline of Deeper Than Midnight. His godfather was to be Sterling Chase, but conflict between Chase and Dante made the new parents look in another direction. During the timeline of Darker After Midnight, week-old Rafe is presented to the Order and to his godparents, Gideon and Savannah. Rafe enters the series again as a young adult and new member of the Order in Edge of Dawn.

First mention in series:
Appears as a newborn infant in Deeper Than Midnight.

~ ~ ~

-Y-

~ ~ ~

-Z-

Zach Tucker (d.)
   Human. Older brother of Jenna Tucker-Darrow, and sole police officer on Harmony, Alaska. Has known Alexandra Maguire for ten years, slept together once, but nothing came of it. Zach seems like a good guy, until it’s revealed that he’s been secretly supplying drugs and alcohol to Skeeter Arnold, profiting off Skeeter’s dealing to the local Native residents and teens. Zach’s corruption proves his undoing when Alex discovers what he’s done and confronts him. Zach chases her on a snow machine, shoots at her, but doesn’t hit her. Zach is later attacked and killed by the Ancient. To cover up the slaying, the Order makes it appear that Zach and Skeeter were both killed in a drug deal gone bad.

First mention in series:
Appears in Shades of Midnight.

~ ~ ~

Zael
   Atlantean male. Dylan Alexander’s true father. Golden hair, shot with streaks of copper. Intense, tropical-blue eyes, and bronze, tanned skin. Zael’s photo was recovered among Dylan’s mother’s personal effects after she died. The gorgeous, ageless man is wearing a leather band around his wrist that has a tooled silver emblem in the shape of a Breedmate mark dangling from it. The only identification written on the back of the photo is:
Zael. Mykonos. ’75.

First mention in series:
Referenced in Darker After Midnight.

~ ~ ~

Reader Q&A

Why did Gideon promise Savannah he wouldn't participate in combat missions? What is Lucan's ESP talent? Will the books ever be made into a movie or television show? How many total books will be in the Midnight Breed series?

From the time the series first debuted in 2007, I've received questions from readers on just about everything you can imagine. There are distinct front-runners--the questions listed at the top of this page in particular. With this Companion book and the novella,
A Touch of Midnight
, I've attempted to address the most frequent reader curiosities, but I also thought it would be fun to invite readers to submit additional questions--to me or to the characters--on any imaginable subject they liked.

The call went out via my website, and after a couple of weeks, my staff and I collected nearly a thousand questions submitted for consideration. We read and reviewed them all, which was a task both daunting and highly entertaining. Midnight Breed readers are not only smart and inquisitive, but really funny too! It was incredibly difficult to narrow the entries down to just the sampling of questions included in this Companion. I wish we could have included them all!

To those of you who sent in a question (or a dozen!), thank you. To the reader holding this book now, I hope you enjoy this thought-provoking, silly--and just plain fun--peek into the series and my work as its humble, deeply grateful author.

Questions for Lara Adrian

If you were to date a member of the Order who would it be and why?

—Tracey A., Manchester, United Kingdom

Oh, so hard to choose! This would be a problem, since I gave each of the warriors individual qualities—not to mention, knockout physical looks—that I personally find irresistible. I would probably have to sample them all, one at a time and at great length (ahem), before I could ever make that decision.

How do you come up with the characters, as well as the areas they come from and the places they travel to?

—Lois D., Burlington, MA USA

A lot of times, the characters and their backgrounds—including where they’re from—pop into my imagination as a complete package. Sometimes, all it takes is listening to the right kind of music or a particular song or lyric and I’m able to bring a character to life. But sometimes it takes a bit more work on my part to make sure I’m not populating the series with characters who are too similar to one another, or who don’t bring anything exciting and new into the story mix.

I have a fairly extensive collection of books on character archetypes, names and their meanings, etc., which I rely on when I’m stuck and need help (see the
Appendix
of this book for more information). As far as deciding on where to set the books, if the setting inspiration doesn’t come organically out of a particular character in the story, I’ll choose someplace interesting that I’ve either traveled to myself, or feel would make an exciting or evocative place for the story to go.

Will Brock and Jenna have a child together?

—Phyllis B., Tallahassee, FL USA

I’m not sure! Many readers have told me they hope to see Brock and Jenna bear a child, and I think it would be a sweet reward for this couple after all they’ve been through, but as of now, they’re happy together even without a baby in their future. If I get farther into the series and it feels right to me that they should (or even can?) conceive, considering the human/alien being that Jenna is becoming, then I would certainly be open to taking them down that road.

I am enthralled with Gideon and Savannah. Will we get to see their specific story any time soon? I would love to find out why he made the promise (to refrain from combat) and the situation surrounding their meeting and bonding.
             

—Donna B., San Antonio, TX USA

Thank you, Donna! And thank you to everyone else who’s told me over the years how much you enjoy Gideon and Savannah and want to know the story of how they met and fell in love. That’s the hands-down most frequent question I hear from readers. I truly appreciate the outpouring of the affection for this couple, and I’m delighted to tell you that all those questions and more are answered—at last—in
A Touch of Midnight
, the original novella included right here in the book you’re reading now!

How do you think up of all of the special gifts the Breedmates have? It is so hard for me to think of just one that isn't silly.

—Lawren B., Menifee, CA,USA

Oh, it’s hard for me too! Since the Breed inherits superhuman strength, speed, longevity, etc., from their alien fathers, I thought it would make for a nice balance if each Breed male inherited not only his Breedmate mother’s hair, eye and skin coloring, but also her unique ESP or empathic power. Because I was only concentrating on world building for the plot of one book in the beginning, I wasn’t thinking about what that decision would mean down the road.

I didn’t truly grasp the impact of that problem until I was beginning the third book of the series and suddenly had an offer from my publisher for three more. Each Breed male I introduce must have a unique ability, and so must each Breedmate, and so must every other Breed male or Breedmate who populates the story world, even in a minor role. Gah!

I’ve since created a big list of psychic abilities, superhero powers and weaknesses, etc., from which I can pick and choose and adapt or combine to fit my characters and make them unique. I try to give each main character an ability that will either enrich their story somehow (e.g., Nikolai, Brock, Tess, Claire) or complicate it (e.g., Dante, Reichen, Kade, Elise).