It’s a one-two release day punch for us! The ebook release of Cipher, book #4 in the Southern Arcana series, and the print release of Building Sanctuary, which contains A Safe Harbor & Undertow.

Let’s just get started on the fun, huh?

 SOUTHERN ARCANA #4 – CIPHER

Length: Novel | Rating: Hot | Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Themes: Shapeshifters, Badass Alphas, Dominance Games, Evil Plots Need Foiling, Guns & Explosions, Hot Techies, Psychics, Psychics (Empaths), Shapeshifters (Wolves), Supernatural Politics, Witches & Wizards, Shapeshifters

* * *

BUILDING SANCTUARY NOVELLAS #1 & #2 IN PRINT

Print Versions
Amazon, Book Depository, Amazon.de, Barnes & NobleA Safe Harbor& Undertoware also available for individual purchase in ebook format.A Safe Harbor

Joan was turned against her will, but now that she’s part of a pack she’s determined to protect all its women. Even if that means joining forces with a witch and a vampire–and leaving the comfort of Boston.

Escorting some female wolves to safety should have been easy for former bootlegger Seamus, but their leader, a prim ex-debutante with power to match his own, challenges him in every way. Before they can build a future, though, they must free themselves from the past…and a powerful man who’s out to teach her a lesson she may not survive.

Undertow

Harsh experiences prepared Victor for anything–except resisting Simone, a young refugee who rouses his inner wolf. The last thing he wants is to be just the next man who uses her.

Once adrift, Simone is fired by the chance to broker peace between werewolves and European wizards. Yet her instincts–the same ones that led to trouble before–keep drawing her back to Victor.

When a storm traps them together during a full moon, she breaks through his walls so easily the question is no longer how Victor will stay away, but how he’ll let her go…

* * *

It’s a pretty awesome day, all told. Thanks to all of you who have read our books and supported us for all this time.  We hope you enjoy the books! 

For those curious about our timeline, we tend to turn our completed books in about 6-7 months out, and have edits finished 3 months out. So we just submitted the partial for our March 2012 release, are starting  edits on our September 2011 release, and just finalized our June 2011 release.

So that means we have 2011 pretty well hammered down! Which means it’s time for the WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN post of release date doom!

March 8th, 2011: Wilder’s Mate, the first in our Bloodhounds series goes on sale as an ebook.  If our editor likes our proposal for book #2, we’re hoping that will be out next March. After which the books might come closer together.  (This year, we needed an extra Southern Arcana instead. )

May 3rd, 2011: Two-for one!

Sabine, the first of four planned shapeshifter stories, goes on sale as an ebook. We wrote these in between work on Deadlock and Cipher, to give us a little taste of something different.  They’re fantasy, they’re a little bit in the style of fairy tales, if not based on specific fairy tales, and they’re short-short-short!

Also, May 3rd is the print release of Sanctuary Redeemed, which is the collection containing Sanctuary’s
Price and Sanctuary Unbound aka The Book With the Vampire Lumberjack.

June 21st, 2011: Kisri, the second And the Beast story, goes on sale! Oh man, have I mentioned lately that I love-love-love these covers? I’m just gonna stick them to the right there to the right and smile.

September 6th, 2011: Another two-for-one!

First we have the digital release of Cipher, book #4 in the Southern Arcana series.  We usually have one of these
books a year but 2011 is our exception, since Deadlock came out in January.  We are both really excited about Kat & Andrew’s book though.  (And getting ready to start work on book #5. )

Next up, the print release of Building Sanctuary, which contains two novellas–A Safe Harbor and Undertow. (Also known as Bootlegger Werewolves Retire to an Island.)

November 2011: Our latest addition to our 2011 line-up!  Demon Bait is a novella introduction to the world of our January 2012 novel release, Hammer Down.  The Children of the Undying series are
post-apocalyptic paranormal romance with demons and hackers and occasionally truckers, and we’re really excited about them!

December 6th, 2011: Deadlock (Southern Arcana #3) will be out in print at the end of the year.  So that’s a good way to end the year. 

…and, just because…

January 3rd, 2012: Hammer Down, book #2 in the Children of the Undying series (but the first full length novel) will be out in ebook!  As mentioned above, this series is post-apocalyptic paranormal romance.  Hammer Down features a half-demon hero and a heroine who runs a mean crew of haulers.  More info will be around later this year!

So! That’s our next year or so, in a nutshell. A very, very large nutshell. Whew!

And now we have another one!  This is the cover for the print collection containing A Safe Harbor and Undertow, so those of you who have been waiting for those stories in print, this summer is your time!

Wheee! And I think it is a nice representation of the two novella stories…

This cover and the Wilder’s Mate cover are timely, because February is when we’re working on the sequel to Wilder’s Mate and the third book in the Building Sanctuary series!  Now I feel all motivated and excited and inspired. 

For a few months we’ve been in a wait-and-see holding pattern. We knew we loved the idea of 1930s werewolves trapped on an island, but sometimes, no matter how much you love an idea, you have to be practical and make sure other people want to buy that idea too.  (And plenty of people gave us the face. You know, the one where your eyes go: o_O? Yeah, that face.)

Luckily, enough of you wacky people showed an interest in the first two Building Sanctuary novellas that we are going to squeeze the next two into our schedule.  Not that Samhain ever told us “Sell or the werewolves get it!” (because they certainly did not, iloveyousmallpress) but we try to choose our projects with an eye to striking a balance between what we want to write and what people want to read.

So! Next year…Rose gets a story.  (Some of you have asked, so I’m confirming it.  )  And not too long after that we hope to have the fourth story, which will finally, finally get us overseas and into a little witch vs wizard war showdown.  Wheeeee!

And after that?  Well–if all goes according to plan–it’s back to the present, because someone in the Building Sanctuary universe had a son who’d maybe like to follow in his parents’ footsteps and bring a little peace to a certain city in Montana that didn’t fare so well during the Red Rock Pass books.

The new series concept is a little different.  First of all, they’ll be full length novels, so all of you who wished Cry Sanctuary had been longer–wish granted.   They might even be a little darker (eep!) and unlike the other series, which take place tucked away from the real world in hidden sanctuaries, these wolves are living with–and hiding amongst–humans.  Sometimes not as successfully as they might hope. (Uh-oh.) But old friends will be back, and familiar characters will play a large role in this new series. Wheee x 2!

Of course, as I like to remind folks, everything is tentative until we sign the contract, and even then sometimes details can change.  But if all goes well, the first of these full-length gritty werewolf books will be showing their faces sometime in 2012.

In the meantime we’ve got lots of Southern Arcana, a little bit of steampunk, some wicked short stories and an apocalypse or two, so we’re always keeping busy.

ETA: All copies have been given away.  Emails were sent on 6/29. I wish I could have given one to everyone, but I could not!  Thanks everyone for stopping by, though. 

With July 13th just around the corner, I’ve gathered up a few more digital reader & review copies of A Safe Harbor to divvy up.  I have both–copies for review blogs and copies for readers–but I have a certain number of each.  So if you’d be interested in a copy, just reply here and let me know if you want a copy as a reader or a reviewer!  I’ll be sending them out sometime next week. 

(Note: it is not necessary to have read the Red Rock Pass series before trying this one.  After all, these books take place 80 years before the Red Rock series starts!)

Length: Novella | Rating: Hot | Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Themes: Shapeshifters, Witches & Wizards, Badass Alpha Men, Supernatural Politics, Vampires, Shapeshifter Dominance Games, Historical

(Sorry, at this time I do not have print copies. Digital only!)

A Safe Harbor is set during the Great Depression, when the natural order of the werewolf packs was compromised.  Being the strongest was important, but having the most money could buy you influence and power.   It was the first step in a slow corruption of the werewolves traditions and society that led to the mess they’re dealing with in the Red Rock Pass days.

So here we are, with a Great-Depression-Era-Paranormal-Romance novella.  Go where the story takes you, huh? 

Right now the story takes us to…a beach.  So, a blurb and then a snippet?  I think so.

A Safe Harbor

A Building Sanctuary Novella

Joan Fuller enjoyed a privileged life—until her wealth and connections garnered her the wrong sort of attention. Her rejection of a textile heir’s proposal comes back to bite her when he turns out to be a werewolf on the prowl for a mate.

She may have been turned against her will, but now that she’s part of his pack she sets out to protect all the women . Even if it means joining forces with a witch and a vampire—and leaving the comfort of Boston.

Former bootlegger Seamus Whelan has cleaned up his act, but when his old partner Gavin comes to him for help, he can’t say no—no matter how deadly the threat. Escorting some female wolves to safety should have been easy, except their leader is a prim ex-debutante with enough power to challenge Seamus himself.

Her courage captures his interest, and her first hesitant kiss ensnares his heart. But before they can build a haven for their kind, they must free themselves of the past—and the powerful man who’s out to teach her a lesson she may not survive…

* * *

Seamus watched her, his gaze an almost tangible weight. “I know this must seem like cold comfort, but you’re doing well.”

It seemed a tiny bit condescending, but for all she knew he was twice or even thrice her age. Picking a fight with the only ally she had seemed petty and childish, so she accepted the words as she imagined he meant them. “Thank you. This…is not the life I expected to lead.”

“Does anyone?” He blew out a breath. “I’m upsetting you.”

“A little.” She looked away, back out toward the ocean with its dark, frothy waves and untamed expanses. “But it isn’t personal. Being upset with you is easier than thinking about the choices I’ve made in the past twenty-four hours.”

He laughed softly, though the sound held no mirth. “Be as angry with me as you want, then. As long as it serves a useful purpose, I can take it.”

“Are you sure? I’m told I’m impossibly tedious when I’m whipped into a frenzy of moral outrage.”

“Nothing about you is tedious.”

Her kiss certainly had been. She’d agonized over it plenty in the intervening time, fighting to convince herself she’d made a logical decision for the good of her people. Embarrassment made it easier to rationalize—obviously she’d been sacrificing herself for the greater good. If she’d truly wanted to kiss him, she wouldn’t have done such a terrible job.

It amused her that she could still cling to pride when she had nothing else. Or maybe that was why she clung so fiercely, as if she could rewrite history if she replayed the events enough times in her head.

A pointless diversion. She’d kissed him.

She’d wanted to.

She still wanted to, and it had nothing to do with saving her people or herself. Even now just turning to look at him stirred that hunger, primal and confident even though she had no reason to be.

Something dark flashed in his eyes, and Seamus lifted one warm hand to her cheek. “You’re looking at me like you want me to kiss you.”

“Am I?” The words came out sounding breathless and foolish. Hungry, and she was—so, so hungry for his touch. Enough that she leaned into his hand just to feel the rough texture of his fingers against her cheek.

“You are.” He bent his head closer to hers. “Do you?”

Years of self-denial stretched out behind her, and her future held the same grim certainty. Inside, her wolf whined in protest, and for the first time in her life Joan didn’t fight it. Here under the stars, with the ocean as her only witness, she could have one moment of selfishness.

So she didn’t answer in words. Perhaps her clumsy kiss would inspire as little interest this time as it had last time, but she’d know she’d had the courage to try. She closed her eyes and found his lips with her own, savored the soft warmth that filled her at even the gentlest contact.

But it didn’t stay gentle. Seamus groaned, pulled her closer and licked her mouth. “Let me in, Joan.”

It became impossible to separate the gentle noise of waves breaking on the sand from the roaring in her ears. She grasped his shoulder, twisted her fingers in his vest as she let her head fall back. “I don’t know what to do. Tell me.”

“Open.” His thumb brushed her lips and applied the barest pressure to her chin. “Open your mouth.”

She did, and moaned when his tongue swept inside. She’d never allowed herself to consider the parts of sex that came between chaste kisses and the act itself, an act her wolf already found appealing. Left to her own devices, the animal would have her on her stomach already, hips raised in offering for a joining that had always struck Joan as unappealingly savage.

Seamus’s kiss wasn’t savage, but it was demanding. His tongue slicked against hers, twisting pleasure and need into a tense ball that tugged at her with every stroke.

Too soon, he broke away, panting. “Sorry. That was…”

“A real kiss?” Oh, how breathless she sounded. Dazed, too, which would have stung her pride more if she could have dragged her gaze from his mouth.

He smiled suddenly. “A real kiss, that’s for goddamn certain.”

She wasn’t ready to face the depressing realities of the world again. Not yet. This time she knew what he wanted and gave it to him, her lips on his, her mouth open and eager. The taste of him enchanted her, as did the rough scratch of stubble against her skin.

His hand slid around to the back of her head and held her still while his tongue tangled with hers. Then his mouth skimmed her cheek. “Joan.”

If she kept her eyes closed, she could pretend the world began and ended with their tiny little cove. “Yes?”

His next words broke the spell. “Someone’s coming.”

The novella is releasing in July, just a month after the 4th Red Rock Pass book, and is very much related to some of the events that are hinted at in the 4th book.  In Sanctuary Unbound you will hear about some of these events from Adam (Mr. Vampire Lumberjack)’s POV, but in the novella you get the werewolf perspective.

During the bite of the Great Depression, sole female dominant Joan Fuller struggles against the rise of cruelty among her alpha counterparts. The men tolerate her interference–until she breaks from the pack and allies with a witch and a vampire. Now the Boston alpha intends to bring them all forcibly back into the fold–and teach her a lesson she may not survive.

Seamus Whelan and his werewolf bootleggers intend to retire from smuggling and savor their fortune, but first they must do a favor for an old friend: escort some female wolves to safety. An easy job, if their leader wasn’t a prim ex-debutante with enough power to challenge Seamus himself. Chance makes them allies; powerful need makes them lovers.

Together, they have the opportunity to build a sanctuary for their kind, but first they must free themselves from Joan’s past, and the powerful man who would see her destroyed.

However, her internet is back and this week we’ve been busting ass.  We want to turn in Sanctuary Unbound by the beginning of 2010 and we had the last little bit to write, and we needed to get it done in time to leave a little padding for cleaning it up on the other side of the holidays.  Especially since I’m going to have Christmas visitors for the first time this year!

We’ve written 12,810 words since Monday and last night we came so very close to finishing the book off!  Today we’ve got to tie up a climactic battle and the sniffly ending, and the book should be ready for edits & revisions before New Year’s.  WOOHOO!

It’s a little sad though, because this is the last we’ll be writing of these characters for the time being.  Adam and Gavin we get a tiny bit more of because they are dropping in for cameos once or twice in the spin-off series as much younger men, but today we’re saying goodbye to Keith, Abby, Brynn, Joe, Dylan, Sasha, Samantha and Cindy, and I’ll admit, that’s making me a little emo.  Luckily, I know we’re setting them up to have plenty of insane adventures in the future, so maybe we haven’t seen the end of them yet.  Goodbye for now, then.

And for those of you who are curious about the historical spin-off, there will be tiny hints and very sneaky cameos at the end of Sanctuary Unbound to give you some glimpses of Seamus and Joan, our hero and heroine.  We actually wrote the first half of the novella while covering some of Adam’s backstory and memories, because there were things that needed to be tweaked and woven together.  It was very interesting, writing Adam’s memories of an event while simultaneously writing the actual event from someone else’s POV.  It felt like juggling at the time, but now I’m quite pleased with the results!

So, enough rambling.  Time to go finish a book.  Woohoo!

In the beginning we didn’t even know what we were doing.  We had ideas! Arcs of six books, three books, 4.75 books (okay, maybe not but some days it seemed like it!)  Things changed as we grew, and one of the reasons I love the Red Rock books so much is because I think you can see that we were growing.  It’s the only series we’ve been working on pretty much continuously this whole time, and I really feel like we’re learning so much with each successive one.  (And this is the time we give thanks to our fantabulous editor Anne Scott, who strikes a perfect balance between educating and encouraging, and makes each book so much better than it was.)

So, anyway.  We didn’t know where we were going when we started Cry Sanctuary, but we knew as we finished up the synopsis on the 4th book, the one that tied up all the loose plot ends, that we didn’t want to be done with the universe.  Maybe the denizens of Red Rock deserved a few months blissful peace after the crazy we put them through, but there was a lot we hadn’t gotten to explore yet.

One of those things is how it all started.  In Sanctuary Unbound we get to hint at the story of how the first sanctuary town came to be, but it wasn’t the time or place to explore it all.  Instead we’re happy to announce that close on the heels of the fourth book’s release we’ll be taking the series back in time with a novella set in 1933!

A Safe Harbor will feature Joan, a young wolf desperate to protect her people from the growing corruption in the Boston pack, and Seamus, an ex-bootlegger whose friendship with Gavin Hamilton gets him tangled up in protecting Joan as they fight to free themselves from the status quo and find a place that can be their own sanctuary.

I couldn’t be more excited!  And though it’s a bit of an odd time period I hope some of you will be just as excited as we are.