Werewolf

#Freebie Alert!
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#Freebie Alert!

If you’re like me right now in this time with the COVID 19 virus, you don’t have any more time available to you than you had before because you’re able to work from home the same hours you did before. Or you’re a medical professional, grocery store employee, or other essential worker who don’t have the choice but to go to work to help the rest of us. However, I know many people who don’t have the ability to work from home or their places of employment have closed and have more free time than they’ve had because of it. Many authors did sales to help those in this situation to have more books to read. Good for them, but I wasn’t ready to throw mine in yet.

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So, I held off, and now I have my freebie ready for those who are still looking for social isolating reads! It’s also a way to celebrate that Fourth Bunker, the next standalone in the series, has finished being written!! This book should be released this summer and more information will be given at a later time. However, I will say that this is Avery’s book and the events take place after Third House. Thus far, betas are loving it!

If you’ve read First Blood and enjoyed it, please reach out to your friends and let them know it’s free! Hopefully it can spread some good vibes during this rough time in our lives. I know I’m handling social isolation much better than so many of my friends and family, but many others are like them and this is a difficult time. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this book and it can bring some fun to your life.

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Like most other college students in the United States, Koda Niklane’s dream is to join the government’s most advanced military unit: the Elite. Since the President’s great reveal of supernaturals living amongst humans, every college student is required to Interview for the Elite. Being human and unable to fight are setbacks for Koda, but she soon learns she isn’t quite as human as she’d thought, or rather, she’s not human at all.

When a purple-eyed blood drinker named Raven Cartana, a Captain in the Elite, announces publicly that she’s one of his kind, Koda refuses to believe him. As her new Elite trainer, Raven’s job is to keep Koda alive and teach her the ropes. Teaching is the easy part as Raven, Koda, and their team work to keep the streets safe from Threats. It soon becomes apparent that keeping Koda alive will be much harder than Raven had anticipated as the attacks on her become more personal.

As Koda works with Raven and the Elite, she can’t help but wonder how much of herself will remain once her maturity has finished. Will she still be Koda, or will she be something different? And is that why someone has their sights set on her?

Click for your Free copy of First Blood

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Werewolves vs Wolf Shifters

Am I the only person who loves the trend where authors create a wolf shifter and have them called a werewolf because real werewolves are a myth but shifters are real? One True Mate (Westin Pack Book 1) by [Trettel, Julie]

I know I can’t be. In my opinion, that opens up so many more options. However, I still do love me some straight up naturally evil werewolves! So today, let’s talk about this.

The werewolf from legend/mythology is that one who changes at the full moon and can’t control that shift, and is pretty much a normal human being the rest of the time. Legend says they can be killed by a silver bullet, and that being bitten by a werewolf is all that it takes to start turning into one every full moon. They’re usually depicted as a wolf who stands more like a human on their hind legs than an actual wolf on all four, though they are versatile when chasing their prey.

Knight (Sons of the Alpha Book 1) by [Carmichael, Addison]

Meanwhile, wolf shifters keep their true wolf form for the most part, and can secondarily in some cases choose to stand straight like a human. I’ve read where some are also prone to being killed by silver, and others were any means that would kill a regular wolf would kill them. However, in these cases they can withstand far more than a regular wolf and heal more quickly in wolf form.

A lot of these similarities and differences can be found in movies as well as books (and obviously this is the case in a book to movie adaption.) It’s always fun to see what the artists in both mediums do to portray these creatures.

When I was working on First Blood, I knew I wanted to incorporate both versions of the Werewolf, what I call the true version and shifter version. While Jackson is only a shifter, and is referred to as such, many wolf shifters use the name werewolf loosely. I guess that makes Jackson a werewolf in some circles. That left me with the real werewolves. Creating rules around their species, specifically the laws they have to abide by, was so fun. And when the werewolves got out…well that was bound to happen, lol.

 

Off the top of my head, some books with one of the other version that I would recommend are:

 

Karen Lynch: Relentless Series

Melissa Haag: Judgement of the Six Series

Melanie Gilbert: Alpha King

Julie Trettel: Westin Pack Series

Heather Hildenbrand: Dirty Blood Series

Quinn Loftis: Grey Wolf Series

Addison Carmichael: Sons of the Alpha Series

Rachel Jonas: The Lost Royals Saga

Alpha King by [Gilbert, Melanie]

Others I have in my TBR Pile:

Bethany Wicker: Unexpected Alpha

Karina Espinosa: Shift

Olivia Wildenstein: A Pack of Blood and Lies

Leia Stone: Matefinder

SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey: Origins Book 1) by [Espinosa, Karina]

I’m probably forgetting several, but off the top of my head, this is what you get! Hopefully you found this fun. More creatures to come!

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What is it Wednesday: Shifters

Before I get into my newly regular What is it Wednesday post, I’d like to explain this weekly (or so is the hope) post. In my books, I have a lot of different creatures, and they’re so fun to work with. Some of them are real (as in popular among the general public) and others I’ve completely made up. In my most recent series, there are so many different species of creatures that even my mom told me it was difficult to know what was real and what I’d invented. Hopefully these posts will be fun and informative at the same time! And let you know what’s real and what isn’t!

So, let’s start this off with Shifters!

painting mighty tiger and lion head on ornamental background and mystic woman face, computer collage.

Lately when explaining my books to people, I’ve found that quite a large majority have no idea what a shifter is when I tell them I write shifter novels. I then have to explain it. So, for those of you who have no idea what a shifter actually is, it’s a person who can shift into something, usually an animal of some kind, but it doesn’t have to be an animal. It’s kind of like the “Animorphs” series. And though it’s rare, I have seen where it’s an animal who can shift into a human (the biggest difference is that they started off as an animal but through magic or some sort of power became human and then have the ability to shift back and forth and must learn about their human side).

Silhouette of beautiful woman with shadow of wolf with crescent moon and stars isolated. Sticker, print or tattoo design vector illustration. Pagan totem, wiccan familiar spirit art

All of my books have shifters of some sort in them, whether it be tigers, dragons, polar bears, gargoyles, and let’s face it, the First Blood series is loaded with them (snow leopard, gorilla, fox, wolf, raccoon, etc). Why do I love writing shifters so much? Because there’s so much you can do with them! They have greater use of their senses. They’re not quite human or animal so anything is possible (like scenting emotion or hearing heartbeats). Their bodies might even be able to withstand more than a regular human and they could be stronger.

And who doesn’t love animals??? This allows me to write an animal-like character (such as when they’re in animal form) with a human intelligence. That’s fun. At least for me. It opens up so many possibilities!

What are some of your favorite shifters? Do you have characters from books that you absolutely love who can shift between forms?

More to come on my specific shifters in weeks to come!!

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Snippet Saturday: August 10

And it’s release day for Zero Tolerance, so of course today’s snippet must come from that book! This book excites me more than most. It’s my favorite book baby thus far. It is a standalone, even though it’s listed as Book 4. It can be read 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in the First Blood series. It can even be read as its own book and you wouldn’t even have to bother reading the other books because it’s a standalone. Anyway, it’s live today and here’s the snippet!!

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The gym wasn’t large, much like Pike had told us, but it was big enough for the two of us. Avery scooted into the room before me and headed straight for a mat where he stood on one side and glared at me, his version of bossing me around and ordering me to spar with him. I didn’t have a weapon, so this could be interesting.

My eyes stung as the room’s lights brightened when they sensed our movement, and I wished I’d remembered to grab my sunglasses. Avery noticed the moisture in my eyes and grinned. I was doomed.

We both readied ourselves, him ready to pounce while I raised my hands in a defensive stance. I’d never faced off with a shifter before yesterday, so I had no idea if this was right or if I needed to handle him another way. I was about to find out.

Avery made the first move, diving at my legs instead of my face like I’d expected. I didn’t have a chance to jump out of the way, and he threw me backward, my body flying away from the mat so I landed hard on the room’s tile floor. Whoever decided to put tile in a gym instead of carpet needed their head examined.

A slow clapping announced we had company as Avery gave my face a quick lick with his rough, long tongue. I pushed him away as he chuffed a laugh, not wanting to know who’d seen me take flight, but also too curious not to know. My eyes landed on a woman who was far slender than most I’d met already who were more burly than slender, well, except for Jezzelle. This woman was much shorter, but also had a gleam in her eyes that warned she wasn’t someone I’d want to mess with.

(Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited)

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Snippet Saturday: June 8

One week until release of First Blood! Okay, I’m a bit biased, but Raven is one of my all-time favorite male leads, just saying. Hope you enjoy him too!

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By the time I’d set my suitcase on the bed, I was exhausted and ready to call it a day. Staring at the clothes and items inside made my already tired muscles and brain feel fried. It was time to hit the sack. There was no doubt in my mind Raven started his day early, which meant I was likely to join him. He’d probably want to torture me more before breakfast.

“Pajamas. Of course I’d forget pajamas,” I moaned, throwing a pair of jeans onto the bed as I rifled through the suitcase to find my sleep clothes. Yes, I’d packed comfortable clothes and sweats, but I was pretty sure I’d need all of those for training. There was no way I would risk running out of clean workout clothes so I could sleep in them, and I wasn’t going to bed in my birthday suit, especially with Raven living down here with me. Jeans and a hoodie it was going to be until I could find a way to purchase something more comfortable.

Raven cleared his throat, and I turned to find him standing in my open doorway. Apparently closed doors didn’t mean much down here. “Don’t you know how to knock?” I almost shrieked. “I could’ve been half naked.”

He shrugged. “I heard you say you forgot something to sleep in. Will this work?”

I eyed the clothes he held up and narrowed my gaze at him. “You just so happened to hear me or were you eavesdropping?”

“I was walking past your room, and I have excellent hearing. You will too when you finally mature. Now, do you want these or not?”

“What is it?” I held out my hands and he handed over a large t-shirt and a pair of workout shorts that would be way too big on me around the waist. But they were better than nothing. “Yeah, these will work. Thank you.”

“Get some sleep, and be up by five. Training starts no later than six.” With that, he was gone, closing the door behind him. Of course there was no lock on the door handle. Privacy appeared to be a thing of the past.

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#Indiebooklist Monday: Week 16

Week 16

Week 16: Melanie Gilbert

Book: Alpha King

Well now, if there’s anything you want to know about Melanie (I mean anything), I’m your person. I know way more about her than most people, considering she’s my sister. So if there’s anything embarrassing or fun you want to know, hit me up! I’d do a “This is how we met” explanation, but that would be awkward, so I’ll leave it that I’m a few minutes older than she is, and yes, I hang it over her head. I also can tell you that she’s an amazing author! Her stories are unique and fun, with twists and turns you don’t see coming. Alpha King is awesome! If you love shifter books and you haven’t read it yet…you need to remedy that quickly. Like, now. Right now. And I’m not just saying that because Melanie probably has something on me. Nope, it’s the truth! Read it!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelanieGilbertAuthor

By the age of nineteen, Ryske thought he’d be long gone from his pack in North Carolina. As an arctic wolf shifter in a pack of red wolves, he’s an outcast. When he finds himself thrown into a portal to another world, he’s in way over his head.

In a world where wolves once roamed with other shifters and mages, he competes to claim the princess’s hand, making him instant enemies with Dirk, a lion shifter. But what choice does Ryske have other than to fight for the princess when a wolf, not a lion, is destined to be crowned Alpha King?

Alpha King: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DV4PZ6Q/

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#Indiebooklist Monday: Week 14

Week 14

Week 13: Heather Hildenbrand

Book: Dirty Blood

Heather and I interacted a little on Facebook over the last few years, but more so last year when we started sprinting together in a Facebook group (that’s basically where you write at the same time to keep one another motivated). We got to meet for the first time in Frankenmuth, MI and I was so excited to meet her! Y’all, she’s so sweet and funny, and just a fun person to be around. When we met up at Penned Con 2018 a group of us chatted for a while when she arrived and it was great. And you guessed it: I had to buy a copy of Dirty Blood! I’d had the ebook on my kindle for forever and one day I felt inclined to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed in the least! It’s completely amazing! Yup, I gained yet another book boyfriend. Don’t worry, you will too!!

Website: http://heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherHildenbrandAuthor/

I killed a girl last night.

I’m not a murderer—but then she wasn’t a normal girl, either. One minute she was a stranger with a chip on her shoulder and the next she was a wolf. Right down to the teeth and claws. There was no stopping her attack, but somehow, I knew exactly what to do when I decided to fight for my life. By the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was human again.

That’s when he showed up.

We’re not going to be friends. I know that. But I don’t think friendship is what he’s after. Not with me.

A complicated relationship is the last thing I need right now. Turns out, everything I was taught is a lie. Now, there are only two things I know for sure. One, werewolves exist. And two, I was born to kill them.

Dirty Blood: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V08RS2/

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#Indiebooklist Monday: Week 12

Week 12

Week 12: Nikki Jefford

Book: Wolf Hollow

Nikki has always been one of those authors that I saw on Facebook and secretly stalked from afar thinking I was too little on the reader/author food chain to even attempt communication. Honestly, it’s silly, and I shouldn’t have worried because Nikki is amazing! We met for the first time at Penned Con in 2018 and gosh she made me laugh. To be honest, I haven’t read many of her books yet, but it’s something I’m going to rectify. Those that I have read, I’ve truly enjoyed, and this book is seriously on my to read list. I’m sure I’ll love it!

Website: http://nikkijefford.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornikkijefford/

An attraction that threatens the future of the pack…

Spirited, stubborn, and deeply loyal wolf shifter, Sasha feels the pressure from her pack to claim another pureblood, yet no one is brazen enough to defy the elders and toy with her . . . no one besides a hotheaded half-breed.

Tabor, a rebellious outcast, is the hollow’s only wizard shifter. Constantly overlooked despite his strengths, Tabor believes Sasha is as shortsighted as the rest of the pack until she proves there’s more to her than a blindly obedient lapdog.

Unable to resist the proud and sensual pureblood, Tabor would risk everything to claim her. Despite her vanishing bloodline, Sasha can’t resist the charismatic half-breed, even as the elders set her up to breed with another pureblood.

Predators are closing in, threatening the strength and stability of their pack, and there are shifters within Wolf Hollow willing to do anything to prevent the pair from mating.

Recommended for mature audiences ages 18+.

Wolf Hollow: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QVVKFR/

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#Indiebooklist Monday: Week 8

Week 8

Week 8: Julie Trettel

Book: One True Mate

When I published my first book, I was a fish out of water and so tiny in this world that I knew nobody and nobody knew me. Then this woman (Julie Trettel) messaged me that she’d read my book and liked it, and we started chatting. Every day chatting. It’s gotten to the point where it’s almost freaky if one of us doesn’t message the other at least once a day to check  in, and Julie has become as close to a sister to me as my own. She’s amazing and supportive, and overall such a wonderful person! If I ever need anything, I know I can go to her, and she can come to me. When she first told me about the idea for this book, I admit, I pushed hard for her to self publish it. I knew without a doubt she could do it and be successful! And this book is amazing! Not just the book, the whole series, and the spin off series! Honestly, if you love werewolves, check out this book. You won’t be disappointed in the least (and I’m not just saying that because she’s my bestie!).

P.S. You should check out Julie’s book In Plain Sight tomorrow when it releases!!!

Website: https://www.julietrettel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjulietrettel/

Kelsey Adams is alone, and has been since childhood. Running away is all she knows and necessary to preserve her deepest, darkest secret. She can not afford for anyone to get close, or know about the monster within. But when she lands a lucrative job as an administrative assistant to Kyle Westin, CEO of the Westin Foundation, her life changes and everything’s at stake. Can she conceal her growing feelings and her true self from this enigmatic, strong willed man, or will her world fall apart?

Kyle Westin, an alpha male who always gets what he wants, has watched and waited for the little she-wolf he knows is his perfect mate to show any signs of recognition. For two years he endures her unnecessary formality and daily rejections with a patience he did not know he possessed. But even Kyle has his limits…. Can he make Kelsey notice him as someone other than her boss and break down the walls she built around her heart? Or will Kelsey do what she has always done — run?

One True Mate: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HXL3R2/

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#Indiebooklist Monday: Week 5

Week 5

Week 5: Addison Carmichael

Book: Knight: Sons of the Alpha

When Addison first reached out to me, I hate to admit I wasn’t sure who she was, so I did some research. We chatted back and forth a bit and became friends, and I’m really glad she reached out! She’s an amazing woman, and oh my gosh you guys, Knight is fantastic!!! I received an ARC copy months ago, but as life would have it, life got crazy and I had to stop reading about 38% through. That was a killer. I was dying to know what was going to happen! So, yesterday I cleared out a block of time and finished it, and I was not disappointed. Truly, I didn’t see any of it coming. Okay, maybe a few things, but not all of it! If you love strong Alpha males, stubborn women who make them fight for what they want, and Werewolves, then you’re going to love this book. Also, if you like your books with a bit of well placed steam but nothing graphic, then this is also for you. There is just enough hotness for what I like, which made me even more excited! Neil is now by far in my top 5 book boyfriends.

Website: http://www.addisoncarmichael.com/

Alexia Raine has a major problem–she’s being stalked by very dangerous men for some unknown reason, but one that will turn her entire world on its axis.

Neil Duran has five major problems:Just when he’s closing in on a vicious werewolf hunter that is kidnapping, torturing and killing their people, he’s pulled from the case by his High Alpha, Rob Bryant, to locate and return the daughter of their most valuable and gifted shifter. If he doesn’t, their entire Wolf Pack in the Pacific Northwest might collapse and lose all hard-won territory, shifting the balance of powers and throwing the entire were-kind species into a world war.

Problem one—Alexia Raine never knew her real father.
Problem two—She doesn’t even know that shifters or were-kind exist.
Problem three—Their rival Pack wants her and will stop at nothing to acquire her for several unspeakable reasons.
Problem four—She’s the most aggravating, infuriating, intoxicating woman he’s had the displeasure to rescue. And he may very well be falling in love with her.
Problem five—A wolf always finds and protects his mate.

Knight: Sons of the Alpha: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MGMJKZM/