First mention in series: Appears as a newborn infant in Deeper Than Midnight.
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-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.
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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.
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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).
Will you write a book for Conlan and Danika's son?
—Loren B., Tuckerton, NJ USA
I don’t have a full novel slated for Connor, but I do expect him to be involved in the series going forward. If I find a good heroine and storyline for him, I’ll likely feature him in a novella.
Is the Ancient really dead, or will he come back?
—Joni J., Grants Pass, OR USA
He’s really dead and won’t be coming back.
I want to know why you "killed off" the last Ancient. I was hoping you would make him have his own love storyline!
—Amber C., Rosharon, TX USA
It was so tempting to try to find a place for the last surviving Ancient in the series! Sadly, he had to go for a handful of reasons. First, I had already established in the series history that pairings with Ancients and Breedmates tend not to end well, even if there is love between them at one time (see Lucan’s parents). The Ancients are a conquering, savage race of alien beings whose culture is one of domination and destruction. Like any other wild predator, Ancients are never fully tamed and it?
??s very hard—if not impossible—for them to curb their alien side.
Another reason for the Ancient’s demise was that if he had lived, then all of the Breedmates who bore his offspring in Dragos’s labs would be unable to bond with other Breed males so long as the Ancient was alive. Ancients, being alien, do not blood bond to one mate like the Breed, but those Breedmates who were forced to drink his blood while in captivity each shared a blood bond connection to him until his death.
The Breed can only have children with their mates and they can only have one mate at a time. How is it the Ancient was able to have multiple Breedmates pregnant at the same time?
—Amy H., West Seneca, NY USA
The blood bond is an exclusive, non-breakable connection between a Breed (male) and a Breedmate (female). The Ancients are alien, something other than Breed. Unlike their Breed sons, Ancients do not need to be blood bonded to a female in order to reproduce. This is how the Breed first came into being on Earth—as the scattered offspring of raiding Ancients who tore through human settlements and populations after crash-landing on this planet. Occasionally, some of the women in the path of those marauding Ancients turned out to be Breedmates, and if they fought back—bit their attackers, or somehow ingested some of their alien blood while a rape was occurring—that alien seed took root and a Breed son would be born. But the Ancients were not bonded in any way to the Breedmates who carried their offspring.
This is sort of a dumb question, but do you get to decide what the title of your books will be or is that decided by someone else?
—Tonya C., San Angelo, TX USA
Not a dumb question at all! Most of the book titles are my original choices, but there are a few that were nixed by my publisher for one reason or another. For instance, Kiss of Midnight was originally going to be called Kiss of Darkness, but a few months before my release date, a best-selling author came out with a vampire book under that title and we decided to change mine. I was really bummed at the time, because I’d written the entire book thinking of it as Kiss of Darkness. We even had the cover art designed with that title and had to make a last-minute revision! In the end, it worked out for the best, because Kiss of Midnight helped define the branding of the series and set the pattern for the titles of the next nine novels to come.
Can Breedmates get pregnant by normal human guys, or just Breed?
—Cara C., Hopkinsville, KY USA
If a woman born with the Breedmate birthmark does not share a blood bond with a Breed male, she will live her life as a normal, mortal woman. So, yes, she could carry a human male’s child.
If a Breedmate has a daughter from a human man, will she be a Breedmate, too?
—Bettina H., Maglod, Hungary
No. Any child a Breedmate has with a human male will be born human.
Why did the Ancient make Jenna choose life or death before implanting a piece of himself in her?
—Necole C., Suamico, WI USA
There is most definitely a reason behind that choice, and it will be revealed before the series ends.
Are there more "otherworlders" that did not come to Earth with the original Ancients, and could we possibly see them show up in future books?
—Linda M., Mentor, OH USA
The Ancients are part of an alien race from another planet. There are others like them there, including females of their kind, of course, but I don’t have plans to bring any more of those beings into the series. I felt it was important for me, as a writer, to have an understanding of the world they came from and the society they inhabited, so I sketched out a lot of details early on, which don’t necessarily have a place in the series itself, but do form the background for what the Ancients are and how they lived among their own kind.
Did any other series influence you in creating the world and characters that you created?
—Yvette C., Hialeah, FL USA
This may sound odd coming from the author of a long-running series, but I’m a fickle reader and I get bored too easily to follow any series for more than a few books before I’m wandering off to look for something shiny and new. Of course, as a teen I loved Anne Rice, but when I began writing Kiss of Midnight in the summer of 2005, I wasn’t following any series in any genre.
I’d read dozens of paranormal romances and urban fantasies, but there really wasn’t a lot to choose from at that time when it came to vampires in romance. Twilight hadn’t come out yet (which I’ve yet to read!) and J. R. Ward’s wonderful, genre-bending series debut was still a couple of months away too. I’d read a few of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s novels, which I really enjoyed for the complexity of her world-building and the camaraderie between her daimon-slaying vampire heroes. I’d read one or two of Christine Feehan’s early vampire books, some very early Nancy Gideon vampire romances (a terrific writer, by the way), and a handful of others, but my tastes ran a bit darker than what I was finding in the genre at the time. I also enjoyed Lynn Viehl’s engrossing series debut, which satisfied my craving for darkness and intriguing characters, but left me longing for a bit more romance. So, I can’t point to any one series as influencing the genesis of mine, but it was more a matter of creating something that spoke to my own personal wants as a reader.
Breed vampires heal from injuries, so why is Rio disfigured and never healed?
—Nancy C., Hope Mills, NC USA
The Breed can heal on their own from UV burns and basic injury, but Rio’s wounds were severe—nearly fatal. If he’d fed during his healing, and particularly if he’d fed from his Breedmate, he probably could have healed almost back to normal. But his mate, Eva, killed herself very soon after he was injured, and Rio was weakened and didn’t feed for quite a long time afterward. By then, the scars were set and could not be taken away.
When will we learn more about the Atlanteans and their relationship with the Breedmates?
—Cameron J., Orange, CA USA
The connection between the Atlanteans and the Breedmates was first hinted at in Deeper Than Midnight, when Savannah’s sister tells Corinne that Savannah’s birthmark (her Breedmate mark) is where she was “kissed by faeries.” The Atlanteans aren’t classic Fae, but they are an immortal race of beings gifted with supernatural, extrasensory powers.
Just as I’ve twisted traditional vampire lore to give it otherworldly origins, I’ve also given an “alien” twist to traditional Fae mythology with regard to the Atlanteans in my series. As for the relationship between the Breedmates and the Atlanteans, it truly came to light in Darker After Midnight, when Jenna began making the connections between the Breedmates at the Boston compound and their true birth fathers. This relationship will continue to unfold and expand as the series continues.
Why did you choose Boston (for the series setting)?
—Sara F., Funchal, Madeira Portugal
Simply because I love Boston! My dad is from the area, and my family roots in Massachusetts go back to the Pilgrims’ arrival. I’ve also lived in various New England states for more than fifteen years, so Boston and its surrounds feel like home to me. Plus, I wanted a setting that was different from the usual places you’d expect to see in a vampire series. Boston has an historic richness and old-World character, yet it’s also very contemporary, urban and gritty. The same could be said of the Breed, so it just felt right to me that the series would be based in Boston.
Will you be introducing the Atlantean aspect in the new series?
—Angila D., McMinnville, OR USA
Yes! The Atlanteans play a much bigger, and more complex, part in the series beginning with Edge of Dawn. You’ll meet characters from their world—some good, some bad and some with a foot in both camps. You’ll also discover how the Atlanteans came to be and how their history (and future) intertwines with the Ancients, the Breed, and man.
In Jenna's dream the Ancient and a warrior (the inhabitant of Atlantis) talk about a Queen. Who is she?
—Sara C., S.Albino-Montepulciano, Siena-Tuscany Italy
Heh, heh, heh. You’ll find
out very soon!
After reading and rereading your series, I am curious as to how you came up with such amazing ideas for the background of the Ancients.
—Tracy F., Watkinsville, GA USA
The original germ of the idea is all my husband’s fault! *g* As I was constructing the story background for Kiss of Midnight, and deciding on the rules of my vampire world, I shared with John that as much as I loved traditional vampire lore, I didn’t want Lucan and the rest of the Breed to be undead or damned. I wanted them to be living, breathing, top-of-the-foodchain, superhuman beings with vampire characteristics. He jokingly said, “Maybe they’re aliens.”