Spell Hound, the second novel in my new A Witch in Wolf Wood series (or Wolf Woof as the faithful sidekick Lucky calls it), is out on Amazon this weekend. Here are the links if you want to pick it up:
And if you haven’t read Book 1 (Mind Over Magic) yet, there’s a preview chapter on my blog here.
I thought it would be fun to do a little “behind the scenes” post to go along with the launch. So, here goes!
What was the genesis of the story (yeah, I know, it’s super geeky to use words like genesis in every day conversation, but… you’ve read my books and know I love my words)?
I actually had the idea for a woman inheriting a big rambling old house in a small town more than a year ago. And the werewolf now known as Amar came along with the original idea. Because who just inherits a house without catches, right?
And because romances are always fun, I figured they’d hook up in the end (regular readers will know this is not new for me), but I couldn’t let that happen right away… I envisioned him leaping out at her car and trying to drive her off the property first. What’s now Chapter 1 in Mind Over Magic is pretty close to how I imagined it a year ago.
I went as far as to order a cover for the book, but I didn’t put aside my other projects. I was deep in Death Before Dragons at the time with an idea for an epic fantasy — Dragon Gate — prodding me and wanting attention. Also, it’s a big pain to actually get a stand-alone book to sell.
With series, you can spend more than you earn from sales on advertising for Book 1 on the assumption that some readers will carry on and buy the next books. With a stand-alone book… there’s none of that, unless you get lucky, and readers go check out your other stuff.
It also wasn’t going to be in a sub-genre of fantasy that I’d written in before, so I figured that might make it an even harder sell to my existing fans. A random paranormal romance (as I was thinking of it then) among all the high fantasy, steampunk, and a single urban fantasy series. Oh, and don’t forget the space opera!
So, I put it on the back burner.
But then in May, I was in beast-mode, writing the third Dragon Gate novel and starting to feel like I needed a break. I’d just finished the second, which had come in at something like 185,000 words, and Book 3 was looking meaty too. These were turning into some thick books by my standards (by most authors’ standards), and with numerous point-of-view characters, they were more complicated than the average story.
I had family coming to visit for the summer and a road trip planned, and I knew I’d have a hard time focusing on something long and involved. My mind came back to that inheriting-a-house-with-a-werewolf story. It seemed like it could be a fairly short and simple story with just one point-of-view character. Maybe it would be a perfect project for a summer full of distractions.
But there was still the problem of a stand-alone novel being tough to market…
Until I realized the obvious solution was to write three books.
That was perfect since I’m not that great at writing stand-alone romance stories anyway. As most of you know, I like to make that hero and heroine work for it for a while. (Yes, yes, Balanced on the Blade’s Edge was a rare exception where the randy Sardelle and Zirkander were getting busy in a cave by Chapter 13…) A little UST or unresolved sexual tension is always fun after all.
This is how a light and easy fun summer project turns into three books and more of a time commitment than you had planned…
But I don’t mind. I complain a lot, but I seem to be happiest when I have lots of work lined up and at least four book (or series) ideas waiting in line to be written.
So, there’ll be three books in the series?
Well, about that…
A few days ago, I sent Book 3 off to my beta readers, and as I was writing the second half, I realized that while I’d wrapped up the original story I wanted to tell, there were quite a few more things I could see exploring in the little (little but witch- and werewolf-filled) town of Bellrock. There were all of these other interesting characters that would be fun to develop more, and I’d just brought Morgen’s sister in for a visit, and their dialogue was a blast to write. Book 3 was starting to seem a little early for ending things.
I need to write my next epic fantasy before thinking of Wolf Wood 4, but I have tentative plans to do at least a couple more novels. 🙂
When did you decide Morgen would be a witch?
I loved wolves as a kid (my favorite animals even above horses!), so doing werewolves was pretty natural for me. The surprising part was that I hadn’t written a werewolf main character sooner. There were some furry bad guys in Death Before Dragons (and the quirky werewolf neighbor who may or may not be having sex with Val’s mom), but it was definitely time for one to be a star.
But… witches? I had no plans for witches.
I’ve watched in some bemusement as “witch cozies” (witch cozy mysteries) have become a thing on Kindle, but aside from reading the Dorrie the Little Witch series with my mom as a kid, they weren’t anything I sought out as a reader.
But I did have this kooky old house that Morgen inherited, and I knew her grandmother had been a little eccentric. Maybe she was eccentric… because she was a witch?
And maybe Bellrock was as brimming with witches as it was werewolves. That could create some nice tension in the stories…
And that’s how it happens. Writers have an idea or two, let them run, and pretty soon they’re writing a 10-book series. (FYI, I’m not committing to ten books yet. :D)
It’s also nice in fantasy novels if the heroine has a way to kick some ass. Let’s face it: we 21st-century readers aren’t down with a damsel in distress.
I don’t mind doing the Xena-warrior-woman heroine from time to time (see: Val in Death Before Dragons), but let’s face it. Most of us ladies can’t relate to that. But we wouldn’t mind having just a little bit of magical power to protect us from bad guys… or hex ex-boyfriends. You know how it goes.
Of course, Morgen only learns about her witch heritage in the first book, so she basically starts out at Level One, but she’s learning a few things and getting better. Once she connects with her familiar in Book 2, she’s clearly on the right path to becoming a legit witch.
Will we learn how a pack of Mexican werewolves ended up in Bellrock, Washington?
Amar gives us a few hints about his past across the books, but this is actually something I’ve put down in my notes for Book 4, a little more on why he and the others left their homeland and… oops, I better not start spoiling things that far out. Besides, it’s all subject to change until I actually write the novel.
We’ll leave it at, yes, I think so for the answer.
What was the inspiration for Lucky?
There actually is a Lucky!
I have vizslas of my own, but my parents have a vizsla named Lucky, and he’s such a friendly goof that I decided to name a canine character after him. And then… I just decided to make Morgen’s Lucky more or less him.
The real Lucky is a little older than the fictional one and has started to get a gray muzzle, but here’s a picture of him staying in a hotel this summer. (Also, the real Lucky has never glowed from the aftereffects of a spell. In case you were wondering.)
When does Book 3 come out?
On Halloween. I had to. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
