The Lure of #UrbanFantasy - Guestpost by @JamiGrayAuthor creator of Shadow's Moon #paranormal

I’ve recently read and reviewed Shadow’s Edge by Jami Gray, and fell in love with it. She is an amazing writer. Book two Shadow’s Soul is sitting on my Kindle as we speak and hurray, book three, Shadow’s Moon, is out for our reading pleasure. In the meantime I asked Jami to take over my blog.

It’s All About the Magic…

Urban fantasy...hmm...cover art with women (and men) I wouldn't want to run across in a dark alley...leather EVERYWHERE... and weapons!  Oh the weapons are just beautiful!

Why did I choose Urban Fantasy to write?  Not so sure I really picked it.  More like the publishing world finally found a niche for me.

Creating worlds where magic is part and parcel of who you are, what you do and where you live has always intrigued me.  Even at a young age, happy ever after left me asking, "But, why? What happen to the wicked witch/evil stepmother/monster under the bed?"  In UF characters walk a thin line between what's considered right, and what's considered wrong.  They live in a grey world, much like the real world, except they have handy-dandy tools like being able to shift into something more feral and beautiful, or work magic that leaves you gasping for breath, or handle weapons until they're poetry in motion to help solve their dilemmas.

I've always loved the idea of being part of the world but being apart from the world.  Being unique, whether you're the only human in a room full of monsters, or the only monster in a room full of humans, is key to Urban Fantasy.  Otherwise, why would any of us want to read the stuff?

When I first started writing, Urban Fantasy wasn’t a genre. In fact, my favorite books at the time were all considered Fantasy. Terry Brooks, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Piers Anthony and Susan Cooper. Their stories sparked sparked mine, magical worlds and their inhabitants caught and held me enthralled.

Years later, when I began my first book, I didn’t think about what genre it would fall in, I was more concerned with getting the story on to paper.  My fantasy took an unexpected turn into the modern world.  What would it be like if you suddenly woke up and realized all those fairy tales were real and maybe even living next door? What would society be like?  What would magic’s existence do to those with abilities and those without? Hmmm, the possibilities were endless.

One day I picked up a random book from the library. The cover art was eye catching, but the premise intrigued me.  A necromancer (human who can raise the dead) faces down the vamps and weres in her city. Really? She’s going to take on fangs and claws with dead bodies? Huh.  I took home Laurell K. Hamilton’s Guilty Pleasures and began to read.

Seven or eight books later, I realized I’d found a home for my stories. Urban Fantasy, magic in an urban setting, how obvious.  (Think those head slapping moments in the V8 commercials).

Now, years (many, many moons) Urban Fantasy is a well-known genre filled with fantastic authors who’ve created such memorable worlds that suck us in:  Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, CE Murphy, Jennifer Estep, Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews—the list goes on and on.

Strong characters, twisty plots, making the difficult choices--even when they seem to be completely wrong--for the greater good, walking that thin line through the gray...that's why I write Urban Fantasy.

NOW AVAILABLE:

Shadow’s Moon: Book 3 of the Kyn Kronicles, 2013 Golden Claddagh Finalist

Blurb 

Even a wild heart can be broken…

A blonde, a brunette and a monster walk into a bar and all hell breaks loose.

It should have been the start of a bad joke, but days from a full moon Xander Cade, Tracker for the Northwest Motoki Pack, finds nothing funny about confronting an enraged Shifter in a crowded Portland nightclub filled with unsuspecting humans. The resulting carnage frays an already thin veil of secrecy shielding the supernatural Kyn community from public scrutiny, and ensures she can’t escape the one man she’s been determined to avoid, her Alpha and mate, Warrick Vidis.  Dominating, protective and compelling, Warrick threatens her individuality like no other.

As the Northwest Alpha wolf, compromise isn’t in Warrick Vidis’s vocabulary, but when his reluctant mate, Xander Cade, refuses to leave off the hunt for a killer, he has no qualms using whoever or whatever necessary to protect her or his pack. A series of unusual deaths involving lone wolves, along with anonymous threats against him and his Pack, begin to jeopardize his normal steely control. Add in Xander’s continual reluctance to fully accept their Soul bond, and the line between intellect and instinct begins to blur, leaving him wondering if one woman’s love and acceptance will be enough to save both man and wolf. 

As the danger escalates, threatening not just their Pack but those closest to them, Warrick and Xander must find a way to trust each other and accept their rare bond or risk losing everything-their pack, their friends and each other.

Buy Links

Amazon:  http://amzn.com/B00K8AZZES

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-moon-the-kyn-kronicles-book-3-jami-gray/1119462166?ean=2940149437719

Black Opal Books:  http://blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/paranormal-romance/shadows-moon

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435674

ARe:  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039smoonthekynkroniclesbook3-1507186-140.html

iBooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-moon-kyn-kronicles/id875444016?mt=11

Bio:

Jami Gray grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border, and was adopted at the age of 14 to suddenly become the fifth eldest of 37 children. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and three minors-History, English, and Theater. (Decision-making was not her forte at the time.)  Shortly after marrying her techie-geek hubby (who moonlighted as her best friend in high school) she completed a Masters in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix Oregon.

Now, years later, she’s back in the Southwest where she’s outnumbered in her own home by two Star Wars obsessed boys, one Star Wars obsessed husband, and an overly-friendly, 105-pound male lab.  Delving into the wild paranormal worlds where romance collides with suspense and Urban Fantasy is queen, manages to salvage her sanity. Or so we let her believe...

You can find me at:

Black Opal Books:    www.BlackOpalBooks.com 

Muse It Up Publishing:  http://museituppublishing.com

Website:     www.JamiGray.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author

Facebook Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/JamiGrayUFWriter

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/JamiGrayAuthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/JamiGray

Google+:  https://google.com/+JamiGray

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.com/e/B006HU3HJI

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/LvoZn

THE KYN KRONICLES:

Shadow’s Edge: Bk 1 of Kyn Kronicles

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061CAXJ4

Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Shadows-Edge-The-Kyn-Kronicles-Book-1/Jami-Gray/e/2940013239838

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039sedgethekynkroniclesbook1-625433-139.html

Black Opal Books:    http://blackopalbooks.com/blackopalstore/product/56-shadows-edge 

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101023

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-edge-kyn-kronicles/id482595056?mt=11

Shadow’s Soul:Bk 2 of the Kyn Kronicles

Black Opal Books: http://blackopalbooks.com/blackopalstore/product/57-shadows-soul

Amazon:  http://amzn.com/B008DIZ9OI

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039ssoulthekynkroniclesbook2-848561-139.html

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-soul-the-kyn-kronicles-book-2-jami-gray/1111742135?ean=2940014698955

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/174291

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-soul-kyn-kronicles/id541827836?mt=11