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Thanks so much for having me on your blog today!
Here’s a little bit about my book that released this month, and the world I developed:
Set in Austin, Texas, Primal Bonds is the second book in the Shifters Unbound series. It features Sean Morrissey, the brother of Liam from Pride Mates.
The Morrisseys are Feline Shifters, which means they turn into wildcats—which were bred by the Fae centuries ago from the best of all wildcats. The Morrisseys have a lot of lion in them, but they have traits from other species as well.
In my world, Shifters have “come out.” Humans, fearing them, rounded them up, made them live in “Shiftertowns,” and put Collars on them to control them. The Collars are a mixture of technology and Fae magic, which shocks pain into Shifters when they try to attack or fight. Shifters have found ways to get around this as much as they can, but fighting still puts them in pain. The Collars aren’t removable either.
Shifters have gone along with the restrictions imposed on them, because they were dying out in the wild. They decided to settle in Shiftertowns to live quietly and give their children (cubs) a better chance at survival. The live birth rate in the wild was very low, but in Shiftertowns, more females are having more cubs, and those cubs are thriving.
Most Shiftertowns contain a mixture of species: Feline, Lupine, and Bear. In the wild, the species don’t get along, but they’ve learned to pull together in civilization for the benefit of all.
Each Shiftertown has a leader, usually the strongest clan leader, across all species. In the Morrisseys’s Shiftertown, the leader is Liam, the hero of Pride Mates.
Sean, his younger brother, is the Guardian of the Morrissey clan and now of all Shiftertown. The Guardian’s duty is to use the mystical Sword of the Guardian to dispatch a dead Shifter’s soul into the afterlife (the Summerland).
Sean is also Liam’s second, helping Liam deal with Shiftertown matters Liam delegates to him, as well as being liaison to the humans.
Liam and Sean live with their nephew, Connor, the son of their deceased brother. Connor’s dad was killed by feral Shifters (those who refused to take the Collar), and Sean had to dispatch him to the afterlife, an event which has haunted him ever since.
A little about the mating habits of Shifters:
Mates are pairings recognized and blessed by the pride or clan leader in two rituals, one under full sun, one under the full moon. Shifters are not allowed to be legally married under human law, but the sun and moon rituals are recognized by Shifters as the equivalent of marriage. (A Shifter might say: “We’re mated, sun and moon,” which means fully and legally mated according to Shifter law.)A mate-claim is made by a male who has decided on a female he wants as his mate. A mate-claim means that no other male can touch her, on penalty of death, unless the second male wishes to challenge for the female. The female, on the other hand, can turn down the mate-claim any time she wishes. The high ratio of males to females means that females can afford to be choosy, while males have to make their mate-claims as quickly as they can. A mate-claim might or might not result in a full mating under sun and moon, but usually does.
The mate bond is the almost magical binding of the male and female to each other. A mate-claim and even a recognized mating under sun and moon doesn’t guarantee that the pair will feel the mate bond. When mate bonds happen, it is celebrated.
Mating frenzy: A hormonal response that usually starts after a mate-claim or a mating under sun and moon. Both male and female Shifters experience the frenzy, which makes them want to hole up together and do nothing but mate. Shifters explain that this is nature’s way of ensuring more cubs are born, but mostly they don’t think about it—they just let the mating frenzy have its way.
In Primal Bonds, Sean is mateless and lonely. Females, as I mentioned, can afford to be choosy, and most don’t choose to be mated to the Guardian.
Sean figures he’ll stay mateless, until Andrea Gray, a half Fae Lupine Shifter from a Colorado Shiftertown asks to be relocated in the Morrisseys’ Shifertown, to escape an abusive situation. But Andrea won’t be allowed to relocate unless she’s mate-claimed, and Sean, to keep the peace between her pack and the Morrissey pride, steps forward.
Sean volunteers to claim Andrea, sight unseen, but doesn’t realize that one look at the gray-eyed, dark-haired lady will stir the mating frenzy in him. Even though the mate-claim isn’t finalized, official, or yet blessed, Sean will do anything to get Andrea into his life and keep her there, forever.
I hope you enjoy Primal Bonds, and my twist on Shifter romance! The next book, Wild Cat will be out in January, introducing more Shifters and Shiftertowns.
My question to readers: What is it about shape-shifter romances (or shape-shifter fantasy) that makes you like them? What’s the appeal? I’d love to hear your opinion.
Answer in the comments to win a book from my backlist—or just say hi.
Thanks again for hosting me!Jennifer Ashley
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If you’d like to be entered to win a book from Jennifer’s backist, leave a comment on this post answering her questions from above. Please note: you must include a valid email address with your comment to be eligible. Contest Ends: Thursday, 3/24 @11:59pm.
Primal Bonds is available from Berkley. You can buy it here
I love shifter romances for so many reasons but probably the main one is that the characters are usually so in touch with their animal side and don’t have to make apologies for it. There’s something super hot about a man who doesn’t have to deny his primal side. Btw, I read Primal Bonds over the weekend and it was fantastic! Can’t wait for the next one.
Why I love shifter stories?
I can’t articulate it, honestly–and not for lack of trying.
Over three and a half decades ago (holy cow, it’s really been that long? [yes, it has]) my one and forever only attempt to write a novel was, in fact, about shapeshifters. The only person ever to read my sad, completely MarySue-ish effort asked me what on earth was it with the shapeshifting. I couldn’t answer.
And while my interest in them is of (really) long standing, I’m still as unable to explain it now as I was back then.
I like that the shifters straddle both the human and animal worlds. Sometimes they aren’t able to control the beast inside them. I like the danger that brings to the story. I also like the animal attributes they bring to the relationship: mate for life, fierce protectiveness and loyalty to family/pack.
user1123 AT comcast DOT net
I think its because they can really show the ultimate control. They have their human side but the animal side is always just under the surface but they can really keep it controlled when they want or need to. That just shows such a strong character type. But when furry they can be downright cute.
bacchus76 at myself dot com
I love shifter romances because they combine elements of romance and the paranormal together. I love anything paranormal because it’s a great escape from relaity and shifters are amazing because they can transform into animals that adds more depth to a person’s personality or view of life.
lilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com
I love them for so many different reasons. The main being the strong alpha male character. In shifter books we always get a strong sexy alpha.
iqb99@yahoo.com
I like shifters because the primal instinct in us all is fully expressed in the animal half of the characters 😀
one of many reasons why I love shifters is their connection to the nature – it’s very intense and I really like to read about it!
greetings, Ina
inale87 at gmx dot at
Thanks for the comments! You all are good at articulating why you like shifters. For me I just start drooling when I think about it, LOL.
Seriously, I do like writing them for that animal side that is almost–but not quite–contained. A broader scope for characterization.
Thanks for inviting me back to the Book Binge!
Shapeshifter romances are an escape from reality.I have to let everything go, use my imagination and escape to another world.
kissinoak at frontier dot com
I love shifter stories because of the many reasons stated above. The fact that the animal side of their nature is very close to the surface, and the bonds of pack. These things make a great romance.
For me I think it’s because when I think shape-shifters, I usually think either one of two things: alpha, or animal. Both of which appeal to me greatly 😉
Love your books, Jennifer, and I can’t wait to read your newest!
justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
You know I really don’t know why I like em so much. It might be the excitement, fatasy, danger, and the forbidden aspects of shifter stories. Whatever it is I hope authors keep writing them cause I will keep reading them. Thanks for sharing!
evjochum[AT]aol[DOT]com
i like that they are in touch with their animal side and in the case of the wolf shifter they mate for life. Who would want a sexy beast that is guaranteed to be yours alone forever.
There’s something in the eyes of animals that just draws you in. It would be wonderful to communicate & find out what they are thinking. If that animal shifted to a human, that would be fascinating. Of course, it’s also because ther is something sexy & pwerful about it.
sallans d at yahoo dot com
Shifters are my favorite paranormal creatures. I think one reason is that I just love animals and find them fascinating. I always want to know what’s going on in their minds, but since we can’t really communicate with them, that’s impossible. In a paranormal story with shifters, that gap is bridged and I like to imagine that is possible. Or it could just be that I love them because I’m always cold and I know they are usually warm so they are perfect to snuggle up to.
jen at delux dot com
I like the idea that a being can have more than one form, and can change from one to the other. I think the appeal is that if you are a shifter, when you’re in your animal form you’re free to act like that animal and not worry so much about human type behavior.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
These comments are great! I appreciate you all taking the time to answer my question. I don’t have any Shifters in my house, but my cats are sure that I am their mother. 🙂 They don’t like letting me out of their sight 24/7.
I love the shifting aspect itself – the ability to change form. I also love the alpha males they contain :).
Thanks so much for the fun post and excerpts.
Pam S
pams00 @ aol.com
One of the reasons that I love shifter stories is because they are alpha males! Love a man who know what he wants and goes after it no matter what.
I don’t read many paranormals, but I’ll try them when a familiar author writes one.
penfield716@yahoo.com
I do agree with all the others who have posted their comments – there’s just so much to love about shifters. I also love ‘seeing’ how an author uses her imagination to create intricate plots and rich characters. Shifters and paranormal stories truly allow me to escape. Thanks for writing such fantastic books.
kacbooks at hotmail dot com
I really enjoyed your first book in this series. I am looking forward to reading this one.