Monthly Archives: August 2007

Excerpt from The Strength of the Wolf

This is actually the opening of the book, too.

————

It had been a mistake to be human yesterday, to sleep human in that barn. But after a long winter as wolf, she hadn’t been able to resist. Now there were consequences—the dreams haunted her.

She wanted the dreams. They gave her a brother who named her Veronica.

She didn’t want the dreams. Their violence disturbed her.

Had men always frightened her? She should know. But all she knew were wolf observations—the snow was beginning to melt and the days were longer—and wolf feelings. The she-wolf felt skittish this close to houses and cars.

She trotted, not allowing herself to dash in panic. Though the smells were wrong. Her nostrils quivered with gasoline and pollution, and even the distinctive musk of man. Her lip curled.

She moved forward. The smell turned abruptly to metal. Metal touched her paw and pain slammed down. Continue reading

Coming soon

WolfIn less than a week, my second werewolf book, The Strength of the Wolf will be released. I am very excited to see that Veronica’s story will go on sale soon.

Here’s the 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.

It has been reviewed at a few places, if you want to take a look at what some people thought.

  • Literary Nymphs 5 nymphs
    by Water Nymph

    The Strength of the Wolf is the second book in the Strength series, but can easily be read as a stand alone as well. Ms. Spencer pours even more action and mystery into this intriguing paranormal romance…

  • Book Cravings 5 roses
    by Robin S.

    I like how she used the wolves’ nature to hide from a traumatic event. Ms. Spencer again has skillfully joined wolf pack dynamics to human dynamics. This was truly a treasure to read and most definitely another keeper to my collection!

  • Fallen Angels Reviews 5 angels
    by Dana P.

    You empathize with her characters’ emotional turmoil, Veronica’s amnesia and difficulty returning to humanity and David’s attempts to protect his nephew and now Veronica. I totally enjoyed The Strength of the Pack and I can doubly recommend The Strength of the Wolf

All About Samhain

This week from Samhain:

Bestsellers at My Bookstore and More:

1. Stranded by Eve Vaughn
2. Driven to Distraction by Ashleigh Raine
3. Lessons in Seduction by Melissa Schroeder

From last week, Father of Dragons and Serati’s Flame made it onto the list. As did Custom Ride, Skin to Skin and A Desperate Longing.

Wednesday Links

There have been a number of posts in the last week or so that caught my interest.

First off, Emily Veinglory had a guest post at Bam’s, Authors and E-Publishing: Time for Tough Love. It’s a thoughtful piece, worth reading.

These publisher-specific sales levels show that readers have learned to detect and select the best presses and once they find them, they tend to stick with them. It is well past time that writers took the same approach.

Then Candy posted at Smart Bitches about Feminism and Masculinity. As is a regular occurrence at SBTB, there were a slew of comments. Even if you can’t get through them, the post is worth reading.

And most interesting of all is the conflation of certain effeminate traits–lack of body hair, slimness–with sexual submission and/or lack of sexual vigor. What does this say about the way we see femininity and feminine sexuality, and how we view sexual submission as somehow being less than sexual domination?

I will add, even though it’s a such a small, even pointless, point, but I don’t quite agree that lack of body hair is today perceived as lack of manliness, etc. Given that none of the cover models these days appear to have any body hair. I have the distinct impression that male body hair is way, way out.

Devon posted about the failure rate of condoms in romance novels. This, of course, made me smile. I didn’t know it was a common romance trope. Then again, I didn’t know Seth was a common romance hero name. I guess I’m just plugged in to the world without knowing! (I will say there was a baby-bearing time in my life where women around me, left, right and center were living proof of the failure rate of all forms of contraception.)

Finally, back to Smart Bitches, Sarah reviews The Leopard Prince (which I also liked). But what caught my interest particularly was this line at the beginning of the review:

There’s one book I read recently wherein the full story behind the trauma of the hero was introduced so late in the story that while he got over it quickly due to the magic power of the heroine’s love, I was left heartbroken and sad, so much so that the lasting image I have of that story is one of a tragedy that’s sharp enough to make me teary-eyed.

I guess ultimately that’s a pacing problem? I recall a book, a category romance, though I no longer know the title or author, where right near the end the heroine discovers that her mother was murdered in a snuff film. I was so bothered by this that the book, which I had basically enjoyed (not great, not bad) was quite ruined for me. I think if this plot point had somehow been introduced earlier, I (and the heroine) might have recovered. But, really, it’s not good when the romance gets overshadowed by tragedy.

All About Samhain

This week from Samhain there are the new ebooks, of course, but also new paperbacks.

In ebook:

  • Father of Dragons Emily Veinglory. Category. Fantasy.
  • Serati’s Flame TJ Michaels. Novel. Paranormal romance. Red hot.
  • Margarita Day Nicole Austin and TK Winters. Category. Contemporary romance. Red hot. Stand alone sequel to Mimosa Night.
  • Inventing the Abbots Jerri Drennen. Novella. Romantic suspense. Book 1 in the Aztec Security series.
  • To Summon a Demon Kim Knox. Short story. Horror/fantasy romance.
  • Custom Ride KA Mitchell. Short story. Gay romance. Red hot.
  • Skin to Skin Dionne Galace. Short story. Interracial romance. Red hot.

In print:

Reviews:

Paperback!

My second paperback was released today. This one is under my Joely Skye moniker. It’s a little darker than my usual Jorrie Spencer fare (although my Strength books are also a bit dark) and it is gay romance. I don’t know how much crossover appeal there is here, but I’m thrilled to see this out and I have to squee a little. [By the way, Trey Walters from the Strength books shows up here.]

I also have to show off my cover.

Beautiful

Vanessa Hawthorne did a wonderful job.

Beautiful Monster is available at:

The Outback Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed The Outback Stars by Sandra McDonald. For romance readers, the romance is an important part of the book—in fact its spine—though perhaps understated by romance standards. This is science fiction with most of it taking place on a spaceship. And I thought the ship politics and intrigue were fascinating and excellently done. That aspect of the book reminded me of CJ Cherryh’s Rimrunners.

The heroine is strong and competent, the hero is extremely appealing and this was a real page-turner for me. It’s military science fiction, but with the focus not on battles so much as ship intrigue. That said, the protagonists are in real danger and the book got my pulse racing. I also wanted the mystery solved. This is apparently the first in a series and I’m looking forward to book 2.

Sherwood Smith also enjoyed The Outback Stars.

Everyone has secrets, goals, lives. It’s a lived in ship–and how McDonald manages to convey that at a racing pace, with all the other science fictional goodness going on is quite nifty to see.

Anyway, I can’t summarize so I’ll throw up the blurb here:

Lieutenant Jodenny Scott is a hero. She has the medals and the scars to prove it.

She’s cooling her heels on Kookaburra, recovering from injuries sustained during the fiery loss of her last ship, the Yangtze, and she’s bored — so bored, in fact, that she takes a berth on the next ship out. That’s a mistake. The Aral Sea isn’t anyone’s idea of a get-well tour.

Jodenny’s handed a division full of misfits, incompetents, and criminals. She’s a squared-away officer. She thinks she can handle it all. She’s wrong. Aral Sea isn’t a happy ship. And it’s about to get a lot unhappier.

As Aral Sea enters the Alcheringa — the alien-constructed space warp that allows giant settler-ships to travel between worlds, away from all help or hope — Jodenny comes face to face something powerful enough to dwarf even the unknown force that destroyed her last ship and left her with missing memories and bloody nightmares. Lieutenant Jodenny Scott is about to be introduced to love.

Author Sandra McDonald brings her personal knowledge of the military, and of the subtle interplay between men and women on deployment, to a stirring tale that mixes ancient Australian folklore with the colonization of the stars.

New Brockmann

Hey, I just saw at AAR that Suzanne Brockmann’s latest, Force of Nature, is out! I’ve been waiting for Jules’s story and this is it. Happy dance! Much exclaiming!

So I need to buy another book, preferably a mass market paperback to get the free shipping from Amazon. What should I try? On the Prowl? Although only one novella out of four is Patricia Briggs. Stray by Rachel Vincent? Check out one of these Shomi novels?

Decisions, decisions.

All About Samhain

This week from Samhain:

Best sellers from My Bookstore and More:

1. View to a Kill by Mandy M. Roth
2. California Cowboy by Maggie Casper
3. Zandia by Tilly Greene

From last week, Driven to Distraction and Lessons in Seduction made it onto the list. As did Let Me Love You.

Two new reviews for PACK

Hey I have another recommended read for The Strength of the Pack.
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Do not miss out on this powerful love story; you won’t regret one minute of it! Jorrie Spencer has an incredible way with the written word as she spins and weaves her way into your heart.

Thank you, Barb!

Also, Romance Reviews Today gives a lovely review.

Don’t miss THE STRENGTH OF THE PACK, a fabulous read that combines a depth-filled storyline, characters with tremendous physical and emotional chemistry, and the spice of danger.

Thank you, Lori Ann!

I’ve just been thrilled by all the wonderful reviews PACK has received. I can’t wait until WOLF is released in less than a month.