J. K. Beck spent more than ten years as a litigator in Southern California and Central Texas, using her rare free time to indulge in her passion for writing. Now she uses her legal background as inspiration for her paranormal romantic suspense series, The Shadow Keepers, set in and around a secret judicial system hidden within and mirroring our own. California born, J. K. now lives and writes in Texas, where she hangs out with her husband and daughters and drinks far too much coffee.

The Shadow Keepers

When Blood Calls 

(The Shadow Keepers #1)

Attorney Sara Constantine is thrilled with her promotion—until she finds out that she must now prosecute vampires and werewolves. The first defendant she’ll be trying to put away? Lucius Dragos, the sexy stranger with whom she recently shared an explosive night of ecstasy.

When Lucius kisses a beautiful woman sitting next to him at the bar, he’s hoping only to avoid the perceptive gaze of the man he’s planning to kill. But what starts as a simple kiss ignites into an all-consuming passion. Charged with murder, Luke knows that Sara is determined to see him locked away—unless he can convince her that he’s not a monster. And that might mean making the ultimate sacrifice.

When Pleasure Rules 

(The Shadow Keepers #2)

Seven innocents have been brutally murdered in Los Angeles, yet the Shadow Alliance has no suspects and no leads. As the body count mounts, the age-old feud between vampires and werewolves threatens to explode.

Lissa Monroe—a strong-willed, ravishing succubus who entices men to surrender their souls—agrees to go undercover for the Alliance. Her mission: infiltrate the mind of werewolf leader Vincent Rand, a ferociously alluring enemy who exerts a powerful hold over her. As the City of Angels teeters on the brink of apocalypse, these two adversaries must join together in order to survive an even more lethal enemy hidden in plain sight.

When Wicked Craves 

(The Shadow Keepers #3)

Petra Lang is cursed never to love. One touch of her skin unleashes the vilest demons. Sentenced to death by the Shadow authorities, who fear she’ll turn her curse against them, Petra is rescued by vampire advocate Nicholas Montegue. As their bodies merge and transform into mist, Petra feels an erotic longing.

Nicholas risked his own life to save Petra, yet he knows he can never give in to the explosive attraction he feels for her. But the deep yearning they share tempts them. Together, they must find a way to lift the curse. For only a love this strong has the power to overcome such monstrous evil.

Midnight 

(The Shadow Keepers #3.5)

Carissa de Soranzo will not rest until her kidnapped younger brother has been freed from the nobleman Baloch de Fioro, a fiendish werewolf who means to turn the boy at the next full moon. Against her father’s wishes, Carissa secretly seeks help from the mysterious werewolf hunter Tiberius. Desperate, she promises to do anything if he’ll save her brother—and she can see in his eyes what that will mean.

Dark, strong, and virile, Tiberius cannot resist ravishing the most beautiful woman he’s seen in centuries. But he can never truly have his fill of her, for Tiberius is a vampire. On a quest to trap the werewolf in his den, Tiberius realizes that the only way to rescue Carissa’s brother is to reveal what he truly is. But he risks losing Carissa forever—especially when she discovers that she has given her heart to a vampire.

When Passion Lies 

(The Shadow Keepers #4)

Tiberius is a vampire dedicated to protecting his kind—and the secrets of the shadow world. Now, as his quest to become head of the Alliance draws within reach, a shattering new threat puts him to the ultimate test. It’s a nightmare of grim proportions: a dark plot to bring about the mass extermination of human and shadow alike. And it forces Tiberius to turn to the woman he loved and lost, the lover he still desires but doesn’t trust.

Caris was Tiberius’s mate for centuries—until a fateful mission changed her forever. Her tortured secrets drove her into the arms of his rival, but desperation has brought her back. As a horrifying new weapon of mass destruction is about to be unleashed, Tiberius and Caris harness the power of their immortal and passionate love. But will it be enough to battle devastating odds and a ruthless enemy with the ambition to destroy them all?

And the newest addition due out June 26

When Darkness Hungers 

(The Shadow Keepers #5)

FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is.

Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.

Interview

Ah, I *could* tell you, but then my plan to keep my super-secret identity would be foiled and ...

Drat! I just revealed that I have a super-secret identity.  Foiled again!

Okay, getting serious now ... Three things, huh?   Here goes:

1) I played trombone in the 6th grade.  I was horrible and a disgrace to trombone players everywhere.

2) I had a hamster named Izzy when I was 8.  I now have an eight year old daughter named Isabella, whose nickname is Izzy.  And we have a cat named Izzy (she was a rescue and came to us with that name).  There's probably something deep going on with that, but I don't know what it is.

3) I had a horrible, terrible, awful fear of sharks.  In swimming pools.  Yes, really.  When I was in law school, I did a summer clerkship in Houston.  All the other clerks and I were swimming one Saturday afternoon and I confessed this pathetic phobia.  They, naturally, immediately started humming the theme from Jaws (all those jokes about lawyers being sharks?  Guess they're true....) (For the record, this fear has been conquered by prescription goggles.  No more undefined gray blur at the end of the pool combined with an overactive imagination.)

Q) What inspired you to become a writer?

I have no idea.  I've always wanted to be a writer and always made up stories.  I did spend a lot of time schlepping between parental units' homes, and without iPod's and with a tendency toward car sickness, that meant I either slept or made up stories in my head.  I leaned toward stories ... and still do!

Q) Do you have any rituals or traditions for when you start a new book or series?

Does panic count?

Seriously, no, not really.  I like to start fresh with my workspace, so usually an office cleaning spree before diving in.

When I finish a book, I always take a day or two and lose myself in yard work.   So I guess I have more of an ending ritual!

Q) Where do you find your inspiration when writing a book?

All around.  My friends, pop culture, the news ... wow, this question is harder than it sounds!

Now for a few fun questions.

Q) Dream vacation spot?

Oh, sooooo many!  I love, love, love to travel. At the moment, my dream vacation would be to take the girls to DisneyWorld for 10 days.  After that, we want to go back to China (where my youngest was born).  And I'm dying to go back to Paris.  I'd love to do a month in Europe, traveling around and exploring the towns with my husband and kids.

Q) Who is your favorite author?

There are a ton of authors I love, but the only one I consistently buy the moment the next book comes out is J.D. Robb.  LOVE the In Death series!

Q) Your most anticipated summer movie?

this year it was Men In Black III. And it totally scored in my book!

Q) If you could be any character from one of your books, which one would you pick and why?

Kate from the demon hunting soccer mom series.  She's a lot like me (suburban mom) but in way better shape with some serious weapon skills!

Thank you so much for letting us get to know you a little bit better and for being here today!

Thank you!  What a fun interview!