What inspired you to write this book?

I was invited to write a dark paranormal romance where humans knew of shifters, and they thought them to be monsters or were fine with their existence. It was supposed to be part of a shared-world collaboration. But as I dug in to the new story world I was creating, I decided that I preferred to keep the story for myself as an independently published title.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Primal Destiny?

Our hero, Dario Kingston Renzetti is a sexy Italian lion shifter. He’s an only child to an American human mother and his father is a tough lion shifter. He’s earned his Harvard MBA, is super smart, assertive, and has a bit of an ego. He’s made it his mission to be the best and make his father proud, to set a good example for the shifter community that his father thinks is so important. This puts a lot of pressure on him and he has to sneak around to let out his frustrations behind his father’s back.

Dario’s family owns Renzetti Media, an international media company. He runs successful men’s magazine called The Fundamental Gentleman (Il Gentiluomo Fondamentale) which began in Italy in 1935.

He’s 43 years old and hasn’t found his mate when the story begins.

Our heroine is Tessa Cooper, a 28-year-old single mother of an adorable daughter named Charlotte. Although she earned her MBA from Columbia, she put her career ambitions on hold when she discovered she was pregnant. Charlotte’s biological father is not in the picture. She’s close to her family and lives in an apartment in her parent’s 3-flat. With Charlotte in pre-school Tessa wants to concentrate on getting her career off the ground and making her little girl proud of her.

Tessa is firmly in the anti-shifter camp.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

There were certain criteria I had to include for the shared-world project which I kept after deciding to publish independently.

There had to be an age gap component – Tessa and Dario are 15 years apart in age.

The story had to have scenes that took place in a national bar chain with a location in New York. I chose Manhattan, made it an upscale place, and changed the name to Quench Cocktails. Dario is co-owner with his shifter friends.

The story had to have dark elements so I created a secret (to humans) underground avenue for dark and sometimes violent moments between shifters.

There’s also a paranormal public relations agency that works to maintain good relations between humans and shifters.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

I use various baby naming sites for names. And I also do specific searches for nationality or cultural names if I need to depending on the character’s background.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I enjoyed writing the interaction between Dario and his family. I also enjoyed giving Tessa room to spread her wings professionally without sacrificing being a devoted mother to her precious daughter.

Who designed your book covers?

The wonderful Lynn Spangler has designed my independently published book covers.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

I think Joe Manganiello would be an amazing lion shifter hero. And possibly Sydney Sweeney or Brec Bassinger for the heroine.

How did you come up with name of this book?

It’s a dark-ish shifter romance so I wanted the title to reflect that. I think Primal Destiny captures the dark elements and fated mates aspect of the story.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

My favorite parts of the book are the scenes that include the hero’s cousin Fabrizio. He brings some comic relief to an intense story. I just love him and I have an idea to give him his own story.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

I have file folders on my laptop with dozens of story ideas. I even have covers for stories that I haven’t written yet and don’t know if I ever will. I think like with many other writers I know, we don’t have a lack of story idea, we have a lack of time to write them all.