Category Archives: Shifter Woods: Howl
How Did It Get to Friday Already?
I swear to God, it feels like it was just Monday yesterday. And yes, I know this comes as wonderful news for a lot of people with weekday jobs and I’m happy for you, but damn.
And man, I have a busy weekend ahead—I need to:
- Set up my closet, pick up some Flonase and Vicks to dry up my constantly running nose and dental wax to fill in the little gap in my front teeth and take care of my faint lisp, and check that I have the right software so that I can start recording Shadow of the Swan for the audiobook
- Go over the AMS ads and prune out the non-successful ads
- Finish editing Shifter Woods: Claw and get that out to the editor and betas, as well as start putting together the omnibus edition
- Start work on the Patreon short story
That’s in addition to the usual housecleaning and food shopping tasks. Plus Ramón said there’s something causing the pool motor to vibrate badly and we may need to take down a fence panel to get to it (don’t ask). I also need to get out there and prune back all the dead lantana and hope like hell that the bulk of it recovers.
Mrrgh. I’m starting to see the appeal of having teenagers.
Sphincter…Relaxing…
My Amazon KU sales are continuing to pick up, thank Cthulhu, so clearly I did the right thing by turning the automatic renewal back on for the bulk of my titles. Still, I’m going to be significantly short this month on expected income, which kind of blows because I would really like to take Ramón to Sarasota for a weekend sometime in April and I need sweet, sweet publishing income for that. Even if I published two new titles next month I wouldn’t see that money until the end of April so obviously I need to kickstart the Shopify store and start selling signed print versions of my books with swag.
I need minions, I really do. Or a PA, but I can’t afford one right now so it’s all on me.
In the meantime I’m thisclose to finishing Shifter Woods: Claw and will get that out before the end of the month, and as soon as Shifter Woods: Growl finishes out its KU period in February I’ll release the Esposito County Shifters box sex on all platforms with Howl, Snarl, Growl, Claw, and Roar. Which reminds me, I got a very nice 4 star review for Growl last week and the reviewer didn’t understand why different sites had different numbering schemes. I had to explain that I’m not J.R. Ward and can’t mix MF stories with MM stories in a series and get consistent read-through (seriously, the moment I took out Roar and made it an associated novella my sales increased. Go figure).
To which the reviewer said, “Well, just so you know, I’ll read all kinds of combinations in a series.” Which warms my heart.
I also just remembered that I have to start designing the ECS box set cover. Must take a look at other paranormal romance box sets and see what’s currently in vogue, tra la.
Musing
So Shifter Woods: Growl is out today and I made Shifter Woods: Howl free today to encourage read-through of the series. Growl was originally going to be Book 4, but I am not J.R. Ward and cannot combine MF and MM stories in the same series, apparently, so I wound up making Shifter Woods: Roar an associated novel.
Which leaves me on the horns of a dilemma. Since I moved Roar into the associated category I was musing about writing a fifth novella in the series and titling it Shifter Woods: Claw about Matt Parker, the wolf shifter Alpha for Esposito County and the head of Search and Rescue, who gets called out to investigate an abandoned car near MacComber and finds an female wolf shifter who can’t remember who she is or what she’s doing there. Of course hjinks ensue after that when Matt finds himself drawn to the beautiful female, only to find out that she’s brought trouble with her to Esposito County.
So I have a story. But for some reason this series just hasn’t sold very well, despite getting good reviews and brand-new, completely market-appropriate covers. I don’t know if the market is just saturated or my shifters aren’t feral enough for readers or what. So I’m wondering if I should just wrap it up as a trilogy plus associated novella and put it out as an omnibus. That way, I would actually have one completed series to my name and I wouldn’t have to worry about shoehorning Claw into the 2023 writing schedule.
I think I need to wait and see how well Growl does. If it sells briskly, I’ll write Claw and put off the omnibus until 2023. If it tanks, I’ll omnibus all four novellas and put it out sometime in December.
I’m Still Here (oh, and please buy my books — I have an A/C repair to pay off)
Sorry about the radio silence — between trying to get various books formatted and out (my very first romance novel Storm Season has been re-released with a new cover and re-edited content, AND it’s on sale for 99¢ — go take a look!), the increasingly scary situation going on with our current administration, the #GetLoud crusade against bookstuffers and assorted scammers, me taking a jewelry fabrication course, and assorted other things I’ve been a little busy.
The latest event was our downstairs A/C unit going out over the weekend — as it’s been flirting with triple digits here in the clavicle of Texas, this was not a laughing matter. The repairman came today and we now have cool air again for just a shade under a grand. *sigh* So if you need something entertaining to take your mind off things, I currently have five titles on sale for 99¢:
- Storm Season (Olympic Cove 1)
- To My Muse
- Red Robin and the Huntsman (A Two Thrones Novella)
- Empress of Storms (Two Thrones 1)
- Shifter Woods: Howl (Esposito County Shifters 1)
To My Muse will be coming off sale on 7/1 and Degree of Resistance will be taking its place, so if you haven’t read my hilarious romcom yet go get a copy while it’s still ridiculously cheap.
But not all is doom and gloom around the Cameron manse. The #GetLoud campaign, spearheaded by the brilliant Suzan Tisdale, Heather C. Leigh, Bianca Sommerfield, and David Gaughran, has finally generated enough complaints and bad press that the Big River are now taking down bookstuffers. Not all of them are gone, mind you — I still counted at least three in the top 20 of Romantic Comedy a few minutes ago — but the ranks are definitely looking different now. And if Amazon sticks to their guns and doesn’t let these people create new accounts (which according to their TOS is what’s supposed to happen), we may actually have a respite where KU has real, legitimate novels in it again.
At least, until the stuffers figure out a new scam. Which they will, because they’re unethical hacks who simply want to make money. In the meantime, however, I’m going to experiment and put Red Robin and the Huntsman back into KU for three months because it’s not really selling wide, and if it attracts readers in KU that might persuade them to check out the rest of the Two Thrones series (the next book, King of Blades, should be out in November, BTW).
Also, I’m finishing up Shifter Woods: Snarl (see cover at left) and that will be out on 7/10, so mark your calendars! The final novella in the current series, Shifter Woods: Scream (which is Deputy Jane’s story — the eagle shifter finds herself mated to a hot tiger shifter AND a half-elf zoologist in a crossover with Siobhan Muir’s Cloudburst, Colorado series), will be out sometime in September, and then I have to think about a plot for a full-length Esposito County Shifters novel. One possibility is Caleb and Laurie finally getting married — that is, if she can take time out from her new big story and he can deal with a group of religious preppers who are trying to set up a compound in the county. All of the characters from the novellas will be in that one, and I can build from there.
*smacks self on forehead* Wait, I had a release this week, didn’t I?
It probably would be useful if I told you that Shifter Woods: Roar is now widely available at online retailers, huh? I blame exhaustion from repairing and reinstalling the pool pump motor; we spent most of Monday afternoon and evening trying to get it reattached to the pump, to no avail. After getting eaten alive by bugs and retreating inside in disgrace, Ramón did more research on Google and found some tips. The next morning he went out there by himself, and in his own words, “I just slathered everything in lube, and now that I could see what I was doing it popped right in!” Words to live by, folks.
Anyway, the pool pump is now functioning (ironically, the garage door opener failed that night, but more research indicated what was wrong and Himself fixed that as well), the second novella in the Esposito County Shifters series is out and selling nicely, and I’ve gotten a pleasing amount of reviews on it as well, so a huge Cameron thank you to everyone who’s bought a copy and left a review. And if you haven’t, just click on that link up there and it’ll take you to the book page where you can select your choice of ebook retailer. I’m all about making things easy for you.
And because I don’t think I told people about this, Shifter Woods is going to be a four-part novella series. The first two novellas will be followed by Shifter Woods: Snarl, which deals with cougar shifter Andrea Lochter, whose father Jim (the Alpha of their pack and a former Marine) owns a ski lodge on the mountain. When Caleb picks up John Rockwell, one of Jim’s itinerant service buddies, for vagrancy and drops him off at the lodge at Jim’s request, Andrea makes it a point to stay as far away from the homeless wolf shifter as possible. But the pull of a heart’s mate is hard to resist, especially when Andrea and John have to team up for a search and rescue mission involving a little girl.
The fourth novella, Shifter Woods: Scream, is about Deputy Jane Carey, the golden eagle shifter introduced in Howl. When drug dealers somehow “lose” their pet tiger while stopping for food and gas in Esposito County, Jane takes to the air to spot the big cat. But when she learns that the escaped animal is actually tiger shifter and FBI agent Eric Cho, things get particularly sticky, especially when a local zookeeper with a secret of his own gets involved.
Once all the novellas are done, I’ll be combining them at the end of the year into a box set and print version, and at some point early next year I’ll be doing a full-length novel set in Esposito County (first I have to finish the novellas, Cross Current (Olympic Cove 4), Lady of Thorns (Two Thrones 3), Uncertainty Principle (Pacifica Rising 2), Do No Harm, and The Chevalier’s Dilemma). Yeah, the rest of 2017 is gonna be kind of busy.
Yeah, this is definitely Monday
I have been in better moods. The fact that my ears and sinuses are aching do not help (please, dear sweet baby Cthulhu, I do not need another sinus infection).
On the plus side, however, I finished a rather nifty mixed media pendant for a giveaway I’m going to run on Friday. Anyone who follows my Instagram account will be able to get in on the fun — I’ll be giving away copies of Shifter Woods: Howl as well as the pendant.
Where everything starts. A printout of the coyote gets glued onto sterling silver with rubber cement, then cut out very carefully with a jeweler’s saw
Once the shape is roughed out, I use various needle files to refine the shape further, then polish with jeweler’s rouge to smooth off any sharp edges or burrs.
The final coyote shape in sterling silver, placed against a 1″ round of red brass to see how the final piece will look.
Then I get to play with fire. The underside of the coyote piece and the topside of the moon were coated with flux, which was then fired (this prevents soot from building up between the layers and preventing a clean bond with the solder). I cut off and heated three balls of easy silver solder, put them onto the back side of the coyote, turned it over and put it onto the moon, and heated everything until the solder melted and bonded the two pieces. The pendant is now in the pickle pot having firescale and residual gunk removed.
The final product, clean and shiny! The smudges on the coyote’s body are my fingerprints.
Mid Week Tease: Shifter Woods: Howl #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, chumrades, and welcome to Mid Week Tease! This week I’m featuring a snippet from my new paranormal romance Shifter Woods: Howl. As for this scene, well, let’s just say that my Alpha sheriff is dishing out a little sensual retribution for three days of worry. Because Caleb’s like that.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Caleb dropped to his knees, pressing kisses into the dark floss at the juncture of Laurie’s thighs before breathing in her scent there. “I’ve been dreaming about tasting you again,” he said, urging her legs apart. She gasped in delight as he laved more kisses across the sensitive flesh there before applying his tongue to her clit in sensual flicks. Electric sparks raced through her body, pushing pleasure ahead of them, and she moaned when he dipped his tongue inside to taste her wetness, pushing one thigh up and over his shoulder for better access.
He raised his head and smacked his lips. “Like dark honey with a touch of salt. I think you just became my favorite dessert.”
He returned to eating her out with heated abandon, his tongue wickedly talented on her clit and his fingers just as skilled as they slid inside her. She had to clutch his shoulders in order to stay upright, her one leg was trembling so much. She wasn’t sure if it was the muscle strain, the position, or simply Caleb between her legs, but the orgasm that rocked through her and made her scream like a banshee almost blew the top of her head off.
She finally had to push him away or fall over. Licking his lips, he guided her down to the rug and shucked out of his own clothes in record time. She took the opportunity to kiss him while his hands were occupied, enjoying the primal combination of their tastes in his mouth.
He urged her onto her back and moved between her open thighs, his erection a thick, warm weight over her clit. He teased her with a slow pump of his hips, wetting himself with the slickness flowing from her, and her inner muscles clenched with need.
“Stop teasing me, damn it,” she panted.
He paused, grinning at her. “Honey, you’re lucky I’m not spanking your luscious little ass for letting me worry for three straight days. If I want to take some time teasing you, I will.”
And he did, sliding over the sensitive nub until she wanted to scream. “Okay, you want me to beg, fine,” she gasped. “Please fuck me.”
“Ask nicely.”
The order made her squirm. “Please, Caleb, I need you inside me.” Happy tears pooled in the corner of her eyes and she struggled to take in a breath, her need for him was so large. “Please, make me yours.”
With a growl he hitched back, then slid into her in one thick, lung-emptying thrust. “Mine,” he ground out. “You’re all mine. No one else’s, you hear me?”
She let out a high wailing cry at his invasion, wrapping her legs high around his hips so that he had room to move. And he did, each stroke filling her body and soul with him. She felt the tears overflow and trickle down her temples. He lapped at them, licking up the salt water before kissing it onto her lips. “Love you, mate of mine.”
“I love you, too.” As another round of that marvelous heat began to grow between her hips, she dug her nails into his back. “God. Please, Caleb, harder!”
He sped up his rhythm, pushing into her with a heavy, almost punishing stroke, the delicious ferocity pounding her into the thick rug. The stimulation was just this side of too much but he wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop until she was shattered and scattered, ashes of pure sensation. “Caleb!”
His head lunged, mouth opening on the crook of her shoulder. She felt his canines sink into her flesh as she came, blinding bright this time. The biting pain mingled with the incandescent pleasure and she shrieked as it tore through her, changing her forever.
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Happy Book Birthday to me!
Yes, Shifter Woods: Howl is now live and available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Better yet, sales have been pleasantly brisk which pleases me greatly. Now I just have to get started on Shifter Woods: Roar and get that ready for release. With luck I should have all four novellas done by July and available as both a boxed set and a combined print version in time for my birthday, tra la!
And I know I’ve said this before but damn, that male model is hot. Remind me to pass along my compliments to the photographer.
And since SW:H is now out there in the world, I can get back to work on Uncertainty Principle. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but I have a freaking brilliant writers’ group here and tonight we didn’t have anything to critique so we brainstormed various people’s stories and novels, and they came up with some good avenues to explore for UP regarding the main plot. Now I just have to hammer all of that out and make it work. Whee!
#SexySnippets: Shifter Woods: Howl #PNR #ParanormalRomance
Sexy Snippets are seven sentences, taken from a work in progress, or published book, brought to you every Sunday. Allow me to present a teaser from my new paranormal shifter romance Shifter Woods: Howl (Esposito County Shifters 1), out on Tuesday and available for pre-order.
Long practice and years of working as a law officer were the only things that allowed Caleb to keep himself under control as he sat across the table from Laurie, trying not to think of her naked and under him as he sank into the welcoming heat of her body.
He knew he’d been spending too much time at the MacComber jail, sleeping in his office or prowling around the cells, but he didn’t want to return to his empty house and the memories it held of Anna. At least Longmire had a dog in the books to keep him company. All Caleb had was a life of dry duty to the people of Esposito County and his pack that stretched on into the foreseeable future.
Until this afternoon, when he found a shivering, disoriented reporter standing in the creek and caught her scent.
My heart’s mate. And I promised I wouldn’t claim you.
Laurie wants a news story. Caleb just wants to be left alone. But when the coyote shifters’ paths cross in New Mexico’s Sandia Mountains, Fate steps in and gives them something they never expected—each other.
Reporter Laurie Rivera is on the trail of a white slavery ring when she’s forced to run for her life in the foothills near Sandia Crest. Widowed sheriff and Alpha coyote shifter Caleb Lynch comes across the exhausted reporter and discovers to his shock that Laurie’s also a coyote shifter—and his new heart’s mate.
But Caleb never expected to have another chance at love, and Laurie has a good reason to fear being claimed, especially by an Alpha. As a snowstorm traps them in the sheriff’s cabin, Caleb must find a way around the barriers surrounding Laurie’s heart, and Laurie has to confront her past—and the humans who want her dead—if she wants a chance at her very own “happily ever after.”
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Shifter Woods: Howl now available for pre-order #PNR #NewRelease
Woohoo! My spandy new paranormal romance novella Shifter Woods: Howl is now on Amazon for pre-order at only 99¢, and will be available on Kindle Unlimited for the next three months.
Some deets: Shifter Woods: Howl will release on 4/18 (aka Tax Day, if you need something to take away the pain) and is the first in a four-part series set in fictional Esposito County, New Mexico which is home to coyote, bear, cougar, and eagle shifter clans. The next novella, Shifter Woods: Roar, will be out in a month or so. Once all four novellas are out, I’ll combine them into a box set and a print version. Ooh, I’m so excited about this, and I LOVE the fact that I finally get to use that male model on a cover (I’ve been faunching over him since Empress of Storms).
Laurie wants a news story. Caleb just wants to be left alone. But when the coyote shifters’ paths cross in New Mexico’s Sandia Mountains, Fate steps in and gives them something they never expected—each other.
Reporter Laurie Rivera is on the trail of a white slavery ring when she’s forced to run for her life in the foothills near Sandia Crest. Widowed sheriff and Alpha coyote shifter Caleb Lynch comes across the exhausted reporter and discovers to his shock that Laurie’s also a coyote shifter—and his new heart’s mate.
But Caleb never expected to have another chance at love, and Laurie has a good reason to fear being claimed, especially by an Alpha. As a snowstorm traps them in the sheriff’s cabin, Caleb must find a way around the barriers surrounding Laurie’s heart, and Laurie has to confront her past—and the humans who want her dead—if she wants a chance at her very own “happily ever after.”
Nicola Cameron Writes 