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
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:
THE
KYN KRONICLES:
Shadow’s
Edge: Bk 1 of Kyn Kronicles
iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-edge-kyn-kronicles/id482595056?mt=11
Shadow’s
Soul:Bk 2 of the Kyn Kronicles
iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-soul-kyn-kronicles/id541827836?mt=11
Shadow’s Edge 
Shadow’s Soul 
Shadow’s Moon 
Shadow’s Curse 
