Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Puma now in print

I’m very excited that Puma is now available in paperback. It’s set in the same world as my Strength books. This was first cat-shifter book, and as much as I love my werewolves, I was excited to write about a solitary shifter.

BLURB

Only in each other will they discover how to be truly free.

Callie, a cat-shifter, is a loner by virtue of the puma that lives inside her. After a job gone bad, her very human need for contact sends her in search of the only family she has. Callie finds her foster sister in a disturbing living arrangement. Something is seriously wrong in a place where people “belong” to one man and silence is enforced to the point a seven-year-old girl pretends to be autistic.

Dev Malik thinks it’s odd to see a strange woman in the tall grass behind his house, but he doesn’t have the time to ponder why. He’s too busy trying to shelter the child and woman in his household from Scott, the control freak who lives with them.

The truth is more dangerous than Callie imagines. Scott’s control is powerfully real. And Dev’s need to protect the vulnerable is as strong as Callie’s own. Their desire is as inevitable as it is frightening, for only by looking deep within each other will they find the strength to free them all from an unspeakable evil.

Selkie Island

Today my novella, Selkie Island, goes on sale. It manages to combine my love of a maritime setting with my love shapeshifters. I’m excited to see it at My Bookstore and More!

Here’s the blurb:

Gone without a trace…now danger tracks them to their one safe harbor.

A hundred years ago, her mother’s plea gave Morag a second chance at life—but not as she knew it. Now she lives a mostly solitary life as a selkie, seal in winter, human in summer, barely aging while her family and friends pass away. As the lonely years become almost too heavy to bear, she clings to the memory of one intense summer affair with a young man who left her, as humans always do.

Nine years have passed since Clay hitchhiked to the Maritimes, where he embarked on a memorable if short-lived affair with a mysterious woman. Their enchanted time together called him back a few months later—but she had disappeared. Now, wounded and desperate, Selkie Island is the only safe harbor he can dredge from his feverish haze of pain.

When a strange boat plows onto the beach, Morag is curious—and shocked to discover her long-lost lover, unconscious and hurt. Nursing him back to health is the first thing on her mind…right after she convinces him she’s real.

As real as the danger following in his wake…

Naming Characters

I haven’t written historical romance, at least not yet. But I love to read it and I so admire the authors who manage to get it right, by evoking a feeling of place and time while telling a compelling, engaging story.

This month I have a novella coming out that has a minor historical component. For somewhat complicated reasons, the heroine doesn’t really age for most of the book. So she comes from an earlier time. The first thing I wanted to get right was her name. I thought it was key. (Names are always important, but it seemed even more important for this story.) There are, of course, lots of names that were used one hundred and two hundred years ago and are used now, for example, Elizabeth, Anne, Jane, etc. etc.

Puma

I’m very excited that today is the release of my first cat-shifter book, Puma. It’s set in the same world as my Strength books.

Only in each other will they discover how to be truly free.

Callie, a cat-shifter, is a loner by virtue of the puma that lives inside her. After a job gone bad, her very human need for contact sends her in search of the only family she has. Callie finds her foster sister in a disturbing living arrangement. Something is seriously wrong in a place where people “belong” to one man and silence is enforced to the point a seven-year-old girl pretends to be autistic.

Dev Malik thinks it’s odd to see a strange woman in the tall grass behind his house, but he doesn’t have the time to ponder why. He’s too busy trying to shelter the child and woman in his household from Scott, the control freak who lives with them.

The truth is more dangerous than Callie imagines. Scott’s control is powerfully real. And Dev’s need to protect the vulnerable is as strong as Callie’s own. Their desire is as inevitable as it is frightening, for only by looking deep within each other will they find the strength to free them all from an unspeakable evil.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex.

The Druid Peak Pack

Quite a long time ago, I realized I wanted to write a shapeshifter story. In particular, a story about werewolves. This was before the paranormal wave hit, though the beginnings were starting.

To prepare for writing, I decided to research actual wolves. As a kid, I’d always loved reading about animals. I tore through Born Free, Living Free, Forever Free by Joy Adamson, then went on to read about the cheetah she raised. I read books by wildlife biologists (and I wanted to be a wildlife biologist) who studied wolf packs and named the individual wolves, studied coyote packs, hyenas, even dingoes. I read about the big apes and their complex lives. Anyway, point is, I’ve always been fascinated by animals and their dynamics. This was fun research for me.

The Strength of the Wolf in print!

My second werewolf story, The Strength of the Wolf, will be released in print on July 29. This is my first series and it’s exciting to see the books out in print. The Strength of the Pack, was Seth’s story (released in April in print) and Wolf is his sister’s book.

Blurb:

For longer than she can remember, Veronica has been wolf. Dreams give her a name and the image of a brother. Memory gives her nothing and no one.

Book Two of the Strength series.

One late winter day, David Hardway saves a malnourished wolf from a trap and takes her in. During her time with David, the wolf finds in herself the desire to be human again.

David loves the wolf he saved, but dislikes the strange woman who asks for his help. Still, he is incapable of turning away someone in need and despite himself, David becomes intrigued. As Veronica strives to remember why she abandoned humanity for wolfdom, David becomes determined to save her from her violent past.

But others are in danger and Veronica will have to act to protect her newfound pack.

Rescues

A long time ago (almost seven years) on a planet far, far away (actually Martha’s Vineyard) a I read a short story in a science fiction and fantasy anthology. It was no romance. The ending was bitter and sad. But I found the story quite powerful.

So powerful that the main character stayed with me. And then, after a while, I wanted to “rescue” her.

What this actually means is that the story inspired me to such an extent that I wanted to write another, much longer story, where my she-werewolf had a happy ending. I like my HEAs but I also like to venture outside those kind of endings from time to time while reading. And occasionally I wish some character I’ve read about got their happy ending when they didn’t.

Of course, by the time I rewrite, I have a different character, a different world, and different rules in that world.

Process

I’m closing in on finishing a book. Now each book has its own unique process. But nevertheless I do think a writer often develops recognizable patterns in their writing of a book.

New-to-me authors

I read 38 books last year. Not a huge number. Other years I’ve read significantly more. But still not as bad as I thought, given that I feel I haven’t been reading much at all.

DVD TV

We don’t watch TV per se. That is, we don’t have channels. But we do watch dvds. It used to be mostly movie watching, but lately we are getting hooked on a lot of good shows.

My first love was the now cancelled Firefly. Sigh. So much love, so few episodes.

Then I moved on to Alias. I used to love watching Jennifer Garner march into a completely new situation, speak the language, talk the culture and generally kick-ass. Then things got too convoluted and I lost interest. It was fun while it lasted though.