Hostage to Pleasure

Author Q&A

A Letter with Nalini Singh

Dear Reader,

I’m delighted to have this chance to chat to you about Hostage to Pleasure. The hero of this story, Dorian, has fascinated me since the very first book in the Psy/Changeling series. In Slave to Sensation, we saw him full of rage, his heart broken after the brutal murder of his sister. Dorian healed over the next few books, but as I began Hostage, I wasn’t sure he’d healed enough to surrender to love, especially when the woman who draws him comes from the very race that took his sister from him.

Ashaya Aleine is Psy, part of a psychic race that has eliminated its emotions. She’s cold, heartless, a scientist who cares nothing for love or heartbreak…or is she? Ashaya and Dorian are both extremely complex characters. Nothing is what it seems with these two, and in writing this book, I discovered layer after layer of emotion, of secrets—some of which are deadly. But for Dorian and Ashaya, trusting each other enough to share those lethal truths is going to be a hard ask—they’re both far too used to relying only on themselves.

Dorian grew up latent, unable to shift into the leopard form that is as much a part of him as his humanity. Stubborn, and determined never to be seen as something less, he held the pain of that loss tight to his heart, convincing everyone, even himself, that it didn’t matter. To admit that it does, to accept that his animal will be forever trapped—unable to ever touch its mate…it might just tear the heart right out of this wounded leopard.

Ashaya, in turn, survived by hiding her true self from those who should’ve been closest to her. Now, as she finds herself facing down a powerful male used to taking control, she knows she’s walking a very precarious line. Dorian’s simmering rage is an almost visible thing…but so is his hunger. The fire between them threatens everything Ashaya holds dear. Half the time, she’s not sure if Dorian wants to kiss her…or kill her.

Given all that, it’s hardly surprising that nothing between them is ever going to be easy. My heart was in my throat during so many scenes in this book—more than once, even I had no idea how Dorian was going to react, how Ashaya was going to respond. For me, this story is built around a core of pure, raw emotion. I truly hope that as you turn the pages, you, too, find yourself captured by the wild intensity of a love story between two people who never expected to find their other half in the enemy.

Happy reading,

Nalini

www.nalinisingh.com