Pamela Clare gives readers a FIRST STRIKE at STRIKING DISTANCE (I-Team #6)

Pamela Clare warns her readers up front—FIRST STRIKE—ends with a cliffhanger.

"I don't want anyone to be surprised when they don't find a ‘happily ever after' at the end of the novella," she says.

FIRST STRIKE, a 17,000-word e-novella, is the erotic prequel for STRIKING DISTANCE (I-Team #6). Slated for release through Amazon, Nook, and other ebook retailers on October 22nd, it introduces the characters for STRIKING DISTANCE, which will be out just two weeks later on November 5th, 2013.

"Striking Distance was one of the most challenging books I've ever written," Clare says. "By the time I was done, I had easily two pages of discarded text for every page I submitted to my editor. Sometimes that's how it goes."

Among those discarded pages was the first prologue she wrote for the story. It introduces readers to Laura Nilsson, a broadcast journalist, and Javier Corbray, an active-duty Navy SEAL, and tells how they meet. After writing the prologue, Clare realized she had a problem.

The prologue was much too long. Also, it was one of two prologues, meaning that the novel started off with more than 20 pages of prologue that spanned two years.

"I reluctantly cut the initial prologue, only referring to the events as backstory in Striking Distance," she says. "Sometimes writers have to make tough choices."

After finishing STRIKING DISTANCE in June 2013, she went back through the material she had cut from the story, looking for fun "extras" to post on her blog. She rediscovered how the story's first, original prologue and decided to take those pages and transform them into a prequel, telling not just the highlights of the weekend when Laura and Javier meet, but the whole story, including the spiciest parts.

"I knew that diehard I-Team readers would want to know about the magical weekend that binds Laura and Javier together, and I thought it would give me a chance to do something I hadn't done before— ratchet up the sensuality and write an erotic short story."

This is Clare's first erotic story, something she hopes is reflected in the super sexy cover.

"The art comes from a custom photo shoot by Jenn LeBlanc of Studio Smexy," Clare says. "I had a concept I really wanted, and Jenn made it happen. Seductive Designs did the design work."

But about that cliffhanger.

"I know people sometimes find cliffhangers irritating, but given the fact that this is a prequel, there really wasn't any way around that," she says. "Fortunately, First Strike is being released a couple of weeks prior to Striking Distance, so the wait won't be long. Also, the published prologue to Striking Distance is available on my website at this very moment, so readers who can't stand cliffhanger stress can visit my website and read what happens next."

To read an excerpt of FIRST STRIKE, click here.

To learn more about STRIKING DISTANCE, click here.