Destiny of the Wolf available now!!!
Destiny of the Wolf was to be released Mar 1, but Amazon shows that the copies will be in stock Feb 2!!! I just received my author copies also~~~ Which means!!! Contest time!!!
Soooo, in the spirit of sharing some wolf shapeshifter love, I’ll be giving away a free copy. Just comment by Feb 6 and I’ll announce the winner on Sunday following the 6th.
The cover is stunning, and the title is embossed in silver, stands out even in low light. Really beautiful! 🙂
All she wants is the truth…
Lelandi Wildhaven is determined to discover the truth about her beloved sister’s mysterious death.But everyone thinks she’s out to make a bid for her sister’s widowed mate…
He’s a pack leader tormented by memories…
Darien Silver blames himself for his mate’s death.When her twin arrives in his town, he finds himself bewitched, and when someone attempts to silence her, he realizes that protecting the beautiful stranger might be the only way to protect his pack…and himself…
In Destiny of the Wolf, formerly Don’t Cry Wolf, I wanted to show a pack that actually runs a town, and the humans who live and work there don’t realize it. In Heart of the Wolf, the characters interact with humans, but mostly they stay to themselves. So it was fun creating a situation where the lupus garous run things, and how other wolf packs are interested in modeling their communities after Darien Silver’s. But one little red wolf shakes everything up, and Silver Town, Colorado and the wolf pack there will never be the same.
Temptation of the Wolf will be out in the fall…think: heroine rescues hunky naked lupus garou off cold Oregon beach and the trouble only escalates from there. 🙂
Sooo, if you were a werewolf, where would you rather live? With those who run a town, or with those who live in human-run towns?
Terry Spear
Galley Slave
A couple of weeks ago, I had galleys to read for my next Moon book, ETERNAL MOON, which will be out in April. I loved coming up with the story. It starts when P. I. Renata Cordona is on an undercover assignment. She’s saved from a pack of vicious dogs by a lone wolf who swiftly disappears. Then, out of nowhere, Jacob Marshall materializes and, with his electrifying touch, he sets off sparks between them. Yet she tries to isolate herself emotionally from him because everyone she has ever loved has died a horrible death. Is werewolf Jacob Marshall the key to breaking the ancient curse that hangs over both of them? Or will the evil stalking them down through the ages destroy them both?
That’s the story. But as I was working on the package from Berkley, I realized that the least favorite part of writing for me is the first draft and the galleys. I hate facing a blank page. So I write my first draft as fast as I can. Once I get that draft, I can edit it within an inch of its life. Every book I write goes through four or five edits. One on the screen and then three or four on paper. That’s just the way I work. I can’t get the story and the characters all at once. I have to layer my way into a good story. And doing those layers is incredibly satisfying to me.
Then–months later–I get the copyedited manuscript, and I see places where I have word repetitions or sentences that seem awkward. I can fix them at that stage. But when I read the galleys, I still see stuff I hate. And there are only small changes I can make.
Sigh. Maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist. I tend to focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right.
If you’re a writer, what do you like best about the process? And what do you like least?
To be brutally honest, the best part for me is when I’ve sold a book–and I don’t have to start writing it yet! <g>
The good news is that I enjoyed reading ETERNAL MOON. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, and I had that usual experience with galleys–”I wrote that?”
It’s a very emotional story, with what I hope is a big surprise at the end. Who is the demon stalking them? I hope I keep you from figuring it out until the last chapter.
And I had a good time with the werewolf elements. Jacob is a “dog whisperer.” And I’ve got a strong subplot with a dog he saves. There are even some scenes from the dog’s pov.
Over the Moon series, I’ve tried to come up with heroines who were the equal of my Marshall men. And Renata is a great example. When she and Jacob make love, they can share their thoughts. And join their powers–to fight the demon trying to destroy them.
So their sexual relationship gets integrated into the suspense. Which gave me some interesting scenes with the h/h. <g>
Rebecca
Free eBooks!
To celebrate its 60th anniversary Harlequin is giving away books all year. Starting today you can download up to 16 free books. And guess what? One of them is mine. 
If you haven’t read KISS ME DEADLY yet, go get it! Find it at: http://www.HarlequinCelebrates.com
Michele
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
***SPOILERS***
Please. Allow me to get this off my chest before I go into the actual review. Thank you.
Viktor is a cold-hearted, old bastard who got off too easily in the first Underworld movie. That bigoted, son of ***** should have been kept alive throughout the centuries, so someone could beat the entrails out of him just because. 😡
Okay. I feel better now. 😀 Onto the review.
If you’ve been keeping up with the rest of the Underworld series, then you probably know how this movie ends since it’s the prequel. I wouldn’t let that deter me from seeing it though. It’s a bittersweet (sort of) ending, so I guess it fits the realm of love story instead of romance. Nonetheless, if you’re expecting this movie to cling to some of the typical romantic elements, you might be mistaken there, too. Hence, the reason why I can’t give it the A+ I really wanted to give it.
As a fan of Underworld, we all know that Lucian, our alpha werewolf, and Sonja, our fearless vampire, get together. It’s the ultimate shapeshifter romance.
Here’s my gripe. I would’ve like to have seen more of the romance blossom between these two and I think the writers of Underworld missed a HUGE opportunity to showcase that better. Another ten or fifteen minutes wouldn’t have hurt anything. One minute, we see Lucian at about sixteen years old and he’s staring up at Sonja (about age ten) who’s standing on a balcony with her father Viktor, the hateful piece of hemorrhoidal tissue. Fifteen minutes and more than a decade later, when everyone is of legal age, Lucian sneaks off to be with Sonja and the two of them get it on. That’s it. Now enters the romance.
Do you feel your eyebrows crowding together in bewilderment? Mine did.
No sexual tension. No catching each other’s eye. No slight curve of the lips in a flirtatious gesture. We got nothing. If they wanted to keep their romance a secret, they did a damn good job at it because I completely bought into them hating each other. That’s why it fell off the A+ bandwagon for me. Judging from the other Underworld movies, Lucian and Sonja had an incredible love affair going on. One that turned Lucian so vengeful that he harnessed hundreds of years of passion to see Viktor (piece of horse s***) dead. Nope. Didn’t see it.
Once we got through the lovemaking scene, the more I got a feel for these two characters and their love for each other. I can honestly say it was genuine. Not too many women will take a sword to their father’s throats with an intent to kill for the man they love. However, Sonja’s death would’ve made huge impact on me had I seen the emotion or sexual tension develop more in the very beginning. It wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong. Everything leading up to her death had left such an impression on me that I had to get my loathing for Viktor off my chest. So, the emotional impact was dead on. It wasn’t enough the old fool condemned his courageous daughter to die, but he chained Lucian to the floor to watch it. Oh, how I hate that motherf–! 😡
Overall, I’d give this latest installment an extremely high B+, tickling the edge of an A-. What can I say? I’m torn. 🙂 There are still a few questions left in mind, like was Lucian being the first werewolf who could change back to human due to Mommy werewolf being pregnant with him when she was bitten or was it due to a genetic fluke? And when/where does Kraven and his deal with Lucian enter the picture?
Nevertheless, Lucian captured me from the first Underworld movie and he continued to do so in this one. The way I look at it, if we can have twenty Friday the 13th movies, there’s no reason why we can’t have another Underworld. I know I’d certainly put my money down to go see it.
So, if you’ve had a chance to see it, what do you think? And if you haven’t, are you going to knowing this much?
~Marcia Colette
Young adult authors writing Young adult literature
Recently I’ve had the pleasure to work with a young woman who has decided she wishes to become an author. And not just any author, but a shifter author. Her choice? Mermaids. 
It’s been a long time since I read a book about mermaids. I think Shana Abe was the last. In Shana’s story, the mermaids were born, not made. In my young friend’s book, her mermaid was made – a curse laid upon her character as a child. A quite different and original start to her story.
She has a long way to go, my dear online friend, but the fact she has stepped out on the journey of becoming an author is exciting to me. A young woman just finding herself, and finding what she likes to do.
The interesting and probably most telling thing about this, is my friend hasn’t read Twilight. She hasn’t seen the movie. She hasn’t even read my books (I told her she had to wait another year or two to read mine), so what is it about the paranormal which draws her? Her mother tells me she watches the ghost hunter shows on television, but that’s about all. Why shapeshifters? Why a character that isn’t human?
Perhaps it’s the same thing which draws all of us to the paranormal – the edge of the unknown, the animalistic qualities which make us wonder what life would be like if…. the typical author concept: What If?
When first we spoke, this young woman was just starting to create her characters. She had a young girl in her head, and knew she wasn’t human, but not yet clear on what she was. We discussed the different options open to her, and how once she really “Knew” her character, her secrets would then be revealed.
And how they were! I was very surprised when she messaged me the next day and told me she was a mermaid. What an exciting new way to go!
For me, it’s thrilling to see someone of her age stepping into the world of writing 
and creativity. It shows our genre appeals not just to the adult in us, but to our inner child as well. I remember myself, when I was younger, playing a game similar to dungeons and dragons, and my character was a shifter. I even considered writing her story. Imagine where I would be today if I had stepped down that path at that early age.
Imagine where my young friend can be if she continues along this path for the next ten or twenty years. In this world were reality can truly be painful, she is stepping into a world of her own creation, a world where she can be anything she desires.
Are there any young and budding authors in your life? If so, tell us a little about them.
Hardcore Paranormal
In the beginning, I wrote only about ghostly apparitions and people who had psychic abilities, telekinesis, second sight, softcore paranormal subjects only. Even in Winning the Highlander’s Heart, the heroine has the gift of second sight. It’s easily explainable, just like how you think of someone and then get a phone call, an email, or run into the individual in the most unlikely of places, yet you haven’t seen them in eons.
But then I began to delve into the hardcore stuff, vampires, werewolves, and even demons. Initially, the vampires were all evil in a story that was published some years ago by a company that is no longer in business. After that, I began to create vampires that were both good and evil, just like humans, just like my werewolves, and in my demon YA story, the same thing.
With my werewolf tales, the world just created itself, and I haven’t deviated from it. With my vampire tales, I’ve played around with different elements of the old vampire tales, including some, discarding others. Enough so, they’re vampires, but different enough that they’re my own creation.
Even so, I’ll have a fan say every once in a while, “How can they do that? As a vampire? Vampires can’t do that.”
And my question is, how many honest-to-goodness vampires have you met? Although I did tell one of my co-workers that if he grew his hair or beard any scruffier I was putting him into one of my stories as a wolf man.
So no, my vampires don’t have to be buried in the earth to recuperate, or wear soil from their birthplace in their shoes or they’ll collapse, or sleep in a coffin, just not very romantic to me in any of these cases, and they aren’t dead! Different, but not dead. I’ve read some like this, kissing a cold dead body that can’t shed tears, who doesn’t have a beating heart, yuck. So some adjustments have to be made. 🙂
And truthfully, to me, the idea of kissing a cold dead thing isn’t much removed from a historical romance I was reading where the couple hadn’t bathed in days, running around in the heat, trying to escape capture, and how much they reek is mentioned several times, yet….and this is just me, maybe, but…they’re kissing and thinking they smell just fine. Then in the next paragraph, it’s back to the stinky bodies and how much they need to bathe….. *wrinkling nose*
Sooo, my vampires are hot blooded, and smell divine. 🙂
Okay, here is the latest review of Heart of the Wolf:
The first vampire romance I read, that did not have a happily ever after ending, was a teen romance by Amelia Atwater Rhodes. I was running a 104 temp and I couldn’t sleep, but my eyes were too blurry to read, so my daughter read me this riveting tale. And that was it! I began writing adult vampire romances Deadly Liaisons, and others, and then finally for teens: The Vampire…In My Dreams
Favs and Firsts…
by Lori Devoti
Do you remember you first shape-shifter hero? I’m not sure he was my first, but the one that stands out in my mind is Rejar by Dara Joy. He was…I’m not sure I have the words…let’s just say he was sexy, really sexy.
Since then other favorites have been Patricia Briggs’ weres from her Mercy Thompson series. I love how protective and masculine they are without being a-holes. I also love Clay from Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten. Do you remember the song and subsequent book/movie Ode to Billy Joe? Clay reminds me of that book. Tortured, confused, good deep inside, but not sure how to be comfortable in his own skin. I love Clay.
Next week I’m going to start plotting a new Nocturne. My hero is a dragon and all ready pretty well thought out, but after that I’ll be doing a proposal for a new contract and I’m really giving thought to what I want that hero to be like.
If you could describe your perfect shape-shifter hero, what would he be like? What makes the ones that stand out for you special?
As for me, I may just have to try and find a copy of Rejar. It’s been a while…
Juno and Pocket in a co-publishing agreement…
posted by Lori Devoti
So, on the surface this might not SEEM shapeshifter related, but it is because it involves my book and there are most assuredly shapeshifters in it. (That is a BIT of a spoiler though, so forget I mentioned it…)
Anyway, Juno Books and Pocket have entered a co-publishing agreement and the first title for the new venture is my book Amazon Ink. Cool, no?
The book is about an Amazon artisan (tattoo artist) who left the tribe ten years earlier, but gets pulled back in when someone starts delivering dead Amazon teens on her doorstep.
Anyway, that is my news for the day! Read the release on my blog….
The Lure of Romance
I have often thought that when you boil all of life down to its basic element. To the one thing that drives us all. To the one thing that we want most of all. That single element is simply love. It is the greatest of all things, a truth that lures our hearts to romantic fiction time and time again. We as readers and writers of romance, renew that truth with every journey of love we read. From the first seeds of caring to the full bloom of passion and devotion, we keep the story of love alive in us and in the world. So as I sit before my computer this morning after one of the hardest weeks of my life, wondering why I do what I do, knowing that life could be so much easier, and maybe even more profitable were I to seek out a nine to five job, I remind myself of this truth. With each book, I write the story of love, its magic, its ability to heal all hurts, and to conquer all obstacles. I write about love because it matters. It becomes the greatest thing for my chracters, which gives heart to their journey, and passion and meaning to their lives. I sincerely hope that readers will give Emerald and Sam from Kiss of Darkess (4/09) a chance to share their love with you and that you’ll in turn share this message and their story with others. Then the same with Marissa and Navarre in Bride of the Wolf coming 5/09 In this struggling economy, the one clear message that all readers can give to booksellers and publishers is that romance matters and the way to do that is to buy and demand romance more than ever. For you see, despite such things as facts and numbers, when stores and publishers look at where to make cuts, they’ll look to romance often, simply because in their minds…romance isn’t important literature.
Much Love in this New Year
Jennifer St. Giles
New Review on Destiny of the Wolf!
Here is Darien after a run in his wolf skin, or maybe just before the shift. So what do you think? Has he got what it takes to run a pack???
This review just in from The Romance Studio!
“Destiny of the Wolf is the sequel to Heart of the Wolf but can be read stand alone. I thoroughly enjoyed both books! Lelandi is a strong female alpha wolf and the perfect match in determination, intelligence, and honor to Darien. It is a shame that her sister had been dishonorable, mated Darien when she wasn’t free to, and had misled him about who she really was. The harm Larrisa caused gets Darien and Lelandi off to a bad start and is probably a contributing factor to why someone is determined to get rid of Lelandi too. I loved the strength of Lelandi’s character even when it is her stubborn insistence to do what she wants or believes to be right that causes tremendous problems with Darien; male alpha wolves aren’t used to strong women! I also liked the plot twists that occur toward the end of the book which make for a great climatic ending and set up a possible third story. If you love werewolves, contentious yet steamy romances, and lots of action, you will enjoy Destiny of the Wolf!”
Overall rating: 4 1/2 Hearts
Sensuality rating: Very sensual
Reviewer: Steph B., The Romance Studio
Excerpt from Destiny of the Wolf:
As soon as she saw him, she knew it was him. Not only because silence instantly cloaked the room and every eye in the place watched Darien Silver’s reaction. His sable hair curled at the top edge of his collar, and brooding dark eyes, grim lips, handsome rugged features, but definitely hard—defined him. Wearing a leather jacket, western shirt, jeans, and boots, everything was as black as his somber mood. He looked so much like Tom and Jake, she figured they must be triplets, and he was the leader of the gray lupus garou in the area. Had to be, the way everyone watched him, waiting for the fireworks.
Something about him stirred her blood, something akin to recognition, yet she’d never seen him before in her life. It wasn’t his face, or clothes, or body that stimulated some deep memory—but the way he moved—commanding, powerful, with an effortless grace.
He glanced at the barkeep and gave a nod of greeting, sullen, silent, in mourning still for his mate? If he discovered why she was here, he’d be pissed.
A shiver dared trickle down her spine. She released her purse and kept her seat, for the moment. Everyone was acting so oddly, she imagined that was the reason he quickly surveyed the current seating arrangement. When his eyes lit on her, incredulity registered.
Crap! He recognized her; she knew it. Didn’t matter that she dyed her hair this horrible color that didn’t do anything for her fair skin, or that her eyes were now blue. Didn’t matter that the heavy padded leather jacket gave her broader shoulders and made her appear heavier, or that she wore her hair straight as a blade of uncut grass, compliments of a hair straightening iron, when her sister’s and hers was naturally curly.
She couldn’t hide the shape of her face or eyes or mouth. All of them mirrored her sister’s looks. Then again, he didn’t seem to recognize her, his look puzzled. The hat and glasses appeared to confuse him. Maybe the fact she wore faux pierced earrings that looked like the real thing, too.
She broke eye contact first, her skin sweaty, her hands trembling. God, he was more wolf than she was used to dealing with—broader shouldered, taller, his eyes locked onto hers with sinful determination, no backing down, no compromise. No wonder her sister had fallen for the attention-grabbing gray. Lelandi couldn’t help wondering what a romp with a virile wolf like him would feel. But damn, if it hadn’t gotten her sister killed.
© by Terry Spear, 2008, All rights reserved
Heart of the Wolf, Publishers Weekly’s BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance
Destiny of the Wolf (Mar 1)
The Vampire…In My Dreams, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, Deadly Liaisons (Mar 31), Deidre’s Secret (Mar)
Shapeshifter Romance 