Rough Draft of Sherry’s Wolf Finished!
Yes, the rough (very rough!) draft of Sherry’s Wolf is complete. I need to go back and add a few details, plus prune a lot of redundant, rambling internal monogue, and some other changes, including smoothing out the ending. But I’m putting it off until Tuesday. This weekend I’m knitting, spinning, sewing and reading for fun. Yippee!
To celebrate the completion of the first draft, here is anothe snippet for Sherry’s Wolf. (Unedited, of course!)
Stag found Taye in the rec room by the window, sitting in one of the chairs that were grouped around a small table, frowning down at a book in his hand. The Alpha scented him before he came close and got up with a smile.
“Hey, Taye.”
Taye gave him a one armed hug. “What brings you here?”
Stag settled into one of the hard wooden chairs beneath the window. Taye joined him, still holding his book. “My mate,” Stag answered gloomily. “She wants me to wait until summer to kiss her again.”
Taye’s brows rose. “You kissed her?”
“Last night.” Heat poured through his body when Stag remembered the feel of her tongue playing with his. “I went too far and now she’s running scared.”
Taye ran a thumb over the spine of his battered paperback. “Did she like your kiss?” he asked carefully.
“Yeah.”
Stag was sure of that. She held onto his wrist in a grip so strong she’d used it to lift her mouth closer to him. And she hadn’t stopped him sooner even though she said she should have. Most telling of all had been her scent. Yeah, she liked kissing him. It was only the memory of a dead husband who had hurt her that made her stop.
“She liked it. I think she liked it too much. She told me to go back to the Clan until Christmas. She’s scared, Taye. She said I scared her.” Stag knew that Taye could smell his anguish at that. Even if he wanted to hide it he couldn’t.
Taye held up his book. “Same thing happened to Dante when he was courting Lady Amber.”
“Who?”
Taye waved the book. “Dante the pirate fell in love with the Governor’s daughter but he couldn’t have her, see, because she was a lady and he was pirate scum. So he kidnapped her and took her on his ship and sailed away. He teased her with kisses every day until she fell so deeply in love that she agreed to marry him. And they lived happily ever after.”
Stag eyed the faded cover of the book. The title scrolled over the top of the page in fancy letters: The Black Dragon’s Woman. A kneeling woman whose strange dress was falling off her shoulders clung to the leg of a bare-chested man. The woman had her head tilted back, staring up at the man in doe-eyed adoration. The man had one fist clenched on the rail of a ship, staring out to sea like he didn’t even notice he had a woman kneeling in front of him. They were apparently caught in a strong wind, since their hair and clothes streamed behind them.
“No offense, Taye, but that picture is disgusting. I don’t ever want to see Sherry kneeling in front of me.”
Taye’s smile was dreamy. “There’s things a woman can do on her knees in front of a man …” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, Dante took his woman away from everyone else. In his cabin they were alone and no one interrupted them. They didn’t have any distractions.”
“Taye,” Stag said carefully. “That’s just a book. It’s not real. And, um, what does a woman do on her knees …? No, don’t answer that!””
Taye’s smile turned wolfish. “You sure you don’t wanna know?”
Actually, Stag thought he had a pretty good idea. On her knees, Sherry’s face would be close to his cock. The thought of her mouth on him as his mouth had been on her breast last night had him shifting in his chair. His breechcloth didn’t hide anything, so Taye had to know why he barked, “Not now!”
Taye had the decency to tone his grin down. “Okay. Back to The Black Dragon’s Woman. Women have been reading these stories for years. They like it. I know it’s not real, but if you treat Sherry right she’ll be like Amber. She’ll fall in love with you.”
“I’m not a pirate! I can’t kidnap her and take her out to sea.”
“No, but you could take her out to the cabin over east of Sheep Head Hill, the one Laura and his Beagle hide out in. Keep her there for a week while you court her. If you have her alone, she’ll have to pay attention to you.”
Alone with Sherry … “No, it would be too dangerous. What if someone came on us? A beautiful woman with only one man to protect her? We’d be attacked and Sherry would be stolen.”
“I’ll send a couple of the boys to run patrol around the cabin,” Taye offered.
That would work. The thought of having Sherry all to himself was tempting. Would a week be enough time to make her forget her husband? He could prove to her that he wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe she would fall in love with him. What could it hurt? Right now she wanted him to leave her. He couldn’t stand that.
Taye could see his inner debate. He held out the book. “Here. Read this. Then come back and tell me if you want us to guard you and Sherry at the cabin.”
Stag took the battered paperback doubtfully. “What am I supposed to find out when I read this?”
“What women like in bed.”
Well, that was probably worth a couple hours of his time. Sherry was no virgin, not with her marriage to LeRoi, but he was. He’d had nothing but years of hot dreams of what he’d do with his mate if he ever found her. He sighed and nodded to Taye. “I’ll be out in the sweat lodge.”
It was nearly supper time when he returned to the rec room. The room was crowded. Rose and the Grandmother were by the window, winding yarn into balls. The skinny blonde, Mrs. Madison was there, in a chair by the fireplace, with her husband Eddie standing at her side. His cousin Dan and his new wife were beside them, Dan carving and Tami braiding a rug. About a dozen members of the Pack were there, too, lolling on furs on the floor, and Taye was sitting on the floor beside his mate, his head tipped back so the Lupa could finger comb his hair. Everyone looked up as Stag burst in. He ignored them to wave the book angrily in Taye’s face.
“He strips her naked and ties her to the bed?” he roared.
Sherry’s Wolf Update and Excerpt
I’ve been hard at work on Sherry’s Wolf, and the end is in sight at last. I won’t actually have it done this weekend as hoped, so now my deadline is February 25. In my defense, I have to say that Sherry is a much more complicated woman than I had first believed. I will have to do some fairly major re-writing of chapters 2-5. It will probably be about 28,000 words, a solid novella length and I hope to have it out around March 25. Depends on how long my beta readers and editor take with it and how easy it is to format it for Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Here is a short excerpt of Sherry finally accepting Stag’s mate bond. Sherry is sitting up in bed, and Stag is perched on the edge of the bed. This is totally unedited, so please excuse the errors.
Sherry shifted on the bed, a mere inch from Stag’s naked thigh. “I guess what I’m trying to say is: I’m sorry I’ve been so … so dither-y.”
“Dither-y?” Stag blinked with adorable confusion.
“Yeah, first I’m coming on to you, then I’m pushing you away.” She reached up to put the empty glass on the top of chest of drawers. “I’m done with that. I won’t lie; I’m a little nervous about this, so be gentle, okay?”
His mystified expression froze when she put her hands on his warm bare shoulders and dragged them down his pecs and lower. She hesitated at his belly button, all too aware that his nakedness didn’t hide his body’s reaction to her touch. But she didn’t stroke any lower. She didn’t dare. Her boldness trembled on the verge of collapsing as it was.
“Stag?” she asked nervously. “Is this okay? Do you mind if I touch you?”
She watched his adam’s apple bob when he swallowed hard. “Are you accepting me as your mate?”
Now she was the one to swallow hard. “Yes.” The word cracked, so she swallowed again and spoke more firmly. “Yes. Be patient with me. I didn’t do a very good job being a wife the first time around, but I’ll try harder with you.”
“You were a good wife, better than that man deserved.” Stag reached a long brown hand to cup her cheek. “I’ll be the best mate I can be. I’ll protect you and provide for you always. I’m not in love with you. That’s for giddy children who base their commitment on feelings. I love you, which is more permanent because it’s a choice I’ve made. I think you’re beautiful, and a lot braver than you give yourself credit for. I’ve seen how good you are with the other women at the Plane Womens’ House. You work hard to help them. You deserve to have someone to take care of you. You will always come first with me.”
“And you’ll let me have a little freedom, right?”
“Right,” he agreed. “I’m not the only one of us who will need to be patient. I promise to try to not be a male chauvinist pig, but habits are hard to break.”
She suppressed a spurt of surprise that he even knew what a male chauvinist pig was. Of course, he –and all the other wolves– defined ‘male chauvinist pig’. “Kiss me, Stag,” she whispered.
His hands settled on her shoulders. “I thought you’d never ask,” he said fervently. “I promised Taye I wouldn’t touch you until you invited me to.”
That made her snort out a chuckle. She’d never imagined Taye Wolfe as a chaperone before. It made her like him a little better. “Consider yourself invited, dear.”
Stag kissed her lips once gently. And again. Sherry wanted more. She opened her lips under his and licked at his closed mouth.
“Open your mouth, Stag,” she whispered against his lips.
“Okay. I just don’t want to go too far and scare you again.”
“You can go as far as you like now. You can go all the way. You better go all the way. I like you being gentle, but you don’t have to be so gentle.”
Cupid’s Choice Bloghop!
Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop of the bloghop! If you’ve fallen off and want to hop back on, click here.
Wolf Tracker, the third book in my After the Crash series, was released by Liquid Silver Books on Monday February 6, and to celebrate that I am offering a free download to one winner. To enter, simply leave a comment on my blog saying you’d like to read Wolf Tracker.
Strong, independent Tami was a survivalist and mountain guide in 2014 when she was flung forward fifty years into a post-apocalyptic future where women are worth their weight in gold. She is taken by four men to be their wife, but when she escapes from them they hire the Tracker, a deadly loner from the Clan with a reputation for being able to track anything, to bring her back. But Tami knows how to ride and how to hide, and she leads him on a chase that rouses his admiration. Behind Tracker’s stone cold face is a man who yearns for a wife of his own. When he catches up with Tami and learns that she is not a willing wife, he knows he can’t give her up.
I didn’t write a short story for the hop, but Valentine’s Day usually means candy, so I have a little eye candy for my visitors. My next story is Sherry’s Wolf, about plane crash survivor Sherry Rowe and the wolf that claims her as his mate. It will be a free read and I hope to have it ready by the end of March. As my series features Lakota heroes, here are a few hotties that could easily pass as characters in the After the Crash series.
This is Jumping Stag, the patient wolf who claimed Sherry way back in Sleeping With the Wolf. Sherry is terrified of the werewolf and stubbornly denies his claim. 
Sherry thinks werewolves are scary, however playful and harmless they may try to appear. Stag has done everything he can to convince her he only wants to treasure her, but she just won’t be convinced. What’s a wolf to do?
Here are Stag, and his cousin Snake. In Wolf Tracker, Snake is assigned to be Tami’s personal guard while she’s living at the Plane Women’s House in Kearney.
Go through the blogs and at the end fill out the entry form to be entered to win! There are tons of prizes to be won on this hop, like free downloads of books and a Nook Touch. Light weight, easy to use, and small enough to be tucked into even a smallish purse, the nook touch would be my pick for a new e-reader. Good luck on the hop!
Wolf Tracker is here!
You can purchase it at:
Liquid Silver Books Amazon All Romance EBooks
And I’m sure it will be available at Fictionwise and other vendors soon too. Happy Reading!
Strong, independent Tami was a survivalist and mountain guide in 2014 when she was flung forward fifty years into a post-apocalyptic future where women are worth their weight in gold. She is taken by four men to be their wife, but when she escapes from them they hire the Tracker, a deadly loner from the Clan with a reputation for being able to track anything, to bring her back. But Tami knows how to ride and how to hide, and she leads him on a chase that rouses his admiration. Behind Tracker’s stone-cold face is a man who yearns for a wife of his own. When he catches up with Tami and learns that she is not a willing wife, he knows he can’t give her up.
Writing Update
Hello! It’s been a while since I gave an update about my writing, so I think it’s time.
First of all, Wolf Tracker is coming out this Monday. Yay for February 6! I’m excited about that. Every book is special to its author, because so much work goes into each one. But Wolf Tracker is a little extra special to me. The heroine, Tami, was raped just before the story starts. She has to deal with the aftermath of that for the entire book. In real life, rape has a huge impact on the victim and on the victim’s family and friends. There is nothing romantic about rape. But how Tracker treats Tami is romantic. He’s not a soft-hearted kind of guy. He’s not well educated. He’s killed a few men here and there. Nobody would call him sweet. But he always puts Tami first. And that is the most romantic thing a guy can do. You’ll see what I mean when you read about their wedding night. Okay, I can admit it, I’m a little in love with Tracker. I adore Taye, but Tracker is my favorite hero. At least for
now. 😉
I’m also working hard on Sherry’s Wolf, the free read I intended to have posted by Valentine’s Day. For some stupid reason I thought I’d be able to dash off a short story and have it ready to go live in a few weeks time. After all, it was only going to be about 12,000-14,000 words.
Ack! I’m only half done and I’m already at 15,300 words. I guess Stag doesn’t want to be hurried. It’s harder than I thought it would be to write a free story. I want it to be a good story, not just a hurried, lame attempt. But how much should I say that would be spoilers? Am I putting in enough so that someone who never read the series would be able to follow along? Am I putting in so much detail that someone who has read the other books would be bored? The plan was to have this finished and handed over to the critiquer by February 1. Now I’ll be lucky to have the first draft done by March 1. Either I’ll have to ruthlessly chop it down or just go with what Stag wants. And I gotta tell you, Stag always gets what he wants!
One more thing is the Cupid’s Choice Bloghop. It starts this Friday, Feb 10 and goes through Sunday Feb 12th. Follow the hop to win prizes like a Nook Touch, free books, free downloads of ebooks, giftcards and more. To receive an emailed reminder about the hop, Sign Up Here.
Coming February 6: Wolf Tracker!
Yes, I have the release date for Wolf Tracker! It will be available at Liquid Silver Books on Monday, February 6!
Click here to read a sneak peek at Wolf Tracker!!
Thursday 13: A Peek at Sherry’s Wolf
I am currently working on two stories: Eddie’s Prize, Book 4 in the After the Crash series, and the short story about Jumping Stag and Sherry. I plan to release this as a free read in February. That means I need to pick up the pace and WRITE!! Here are the first two paragraphs as a teaser. I thought I had 13 sentences here, but I think it’s actually 14. Oops.
What are you working on these days?
Sherry was so lovely. Jumping Stag of the Wolf Clan paused in the hallway outside the big room of the Plane Women’s House
to let his eyes soak in the beauty of his mate. He hadn’t seen her in nearly four weeks, since the day after he had made human wedding vows to her averted face and hunched shoulder. Those vows had meant nothing to her. For him, they had merely put into words what she was to him: the woman his wolf had chosen to be his mate, the woman he ached to share a bed with, the woman he would die to protect.
The sunlit room was empty but for Sherry. She sat before one of the wood stoves with the cane he had carved for her leaning against her chair, long slender fingers busy with knitting needles and wool. He should go in and greet her, but he remained in the hall, watching her hungrily. Her face was defined by high cheekbones that flowed to a perfectly shaped mouth and an elegant jaw. Even if she had not been his mate he would think her beautiful. She was still far too thin, though. In the Times Before slender women had been considered the most beautiful. Stag couldn’t imagine why. Sherry was beautiful like this, but with a little more weight to soften her narrow frame she would be even more beautiful.
A Gift For my Readers-Taye’s Christmas Present
Christmas is a time to give gifts. I have been a published author for just over a year now. I am so grateful to the folks at Liquid Silver Books for accepting Sleeping With the Wolf, and nursing me along with Wolf’s Glory. If it wasn’t for them I may not be published now. But the people I am even more grateful to are YOU, the ones who read my books and enjoyed them. So here is a little gift for you to say thank you. This short little scene takes place late on Christmas Eve, during Tami and Tracker’s story. I decided not to include it in their book since it doesn’t involve either Tracker or Tami.
I hope you enjoy this little snippet of Carla and Taye. It’s a grown up Christmas story. 😉
The fire in the stove sent warmth through the room. As Carla quickly undressed for bed she smiled at her husband’s thoughtfulness. Taye must have come in earlier to add wood to the fire. Tomorrow morning he would get up first and build the fire up so she wouldn’t shiver while she dressed. He always did that for her. Taye was so sweet.
To her at least. She remembered the look on his face when he gave orders to the Pack to increase the number of guards to protect Tami from Dick Dickinson. Even the warmth of the old fashioned wood burning stove couldn’t keep her from shuddering. She yanked a flannel nightgown over her head and quickly dove under the covers.
Taye came in a few minutes later. He kicked his pants off and slid in next to her. The glow from the stove just barely illuminated the taut muscles in the chest she loved to stroke. “Sweetheart.” His voice was a chiding half-growl. “You’re wearing that ugly nightdress again. Do you think I can’t keep you warm?” The growl sunk to the lowest register, making her shiver with erotic delight. “Or are you teasing me? You know how I love a challenge.”
Carla snorted, turning her face away and bracing her palms against his chest. “Hold on, Taye.”
“Why?” He sniffed delicately, tasting the air. “It’s not that time of the month again. Don’t you want to…?”
In the dark Carla rolled her eyes. She knew Taye’s wolf sight could see her perfectly. “I just want to talk first.”
“We’ll make love in a minute?” He sounded boyishly hopeful.
She rolled her eyes again. “You’re a man, all right. Don’t you ever think of anything else?”
“While we’re in bed together? Nah.”
She couldn’t help a giggle, because, really, she wasn’t much better. Just the sight of his dark eyes looking at her from under his elegant brows or his white smile made her think of sex. Not to mention what his sex god’s body did to her. But she wanted to say something important now.
She pushed him down and settled herself, nightgown smoothed primly down, on top of him. The gleam of his eyes showed her where to look. “Taye, tomorrow is Christmas. Our first Christmas together. And I don’t have any money to buy you a gift –“
“I don’t need a gift,” he protested.
“—so, I want to sing you a song. Have you ever heard of Carla Thomas?”
She could almost see his frown. “No.”
“Well, she was a singer, about twenty years before I was born. My mom and dad named me after her. She had a record that my dad grew up listening to at Christmas time, and he kept it even after CDs and iTunes… Never mind about that. He still played it when me and my brothers were kids. It was called All I Want For Christmas Is You. When I was little I thought it was a pretty stupid song. My dad, who sang about as well as a crow with laryngitis, would slow dance with my mom in the kitchen and sing it to her. But now I understand it perfectly. This is for you.”
She sang softly,
“Let the kiddies have the toys,
And let the grownups make the noise.
Give the neighbors all the presents under the tree.
Give the snow and mistletoe
To the ones who love them so
But you’ll be quite enough for me.
When Ol’ Santa rides his sleigh
He can please me right away
With a present that forever will be new.
Tell him my poor heart will sing
If one gift he’ll only bring,
For all I want for Christmas is you.”
Taye’s warm palms cupped her face. “That’s pretty. Am I the present that will forever be new?”
“Yeah,” Carla whispered against his lips. “I’ll never get bored with you.”
“You are the present, sweetheart.” His hands stroked up the backs of her legs. “The best present I’ve ever gotten.”
He purred with pleasure when his fingers weren’t stopped by panties so he could stroke through the soft hair between her legs. With a quick twist he put her under him. She savored the weight of him settled against her. It was a familiar weight. Comforting. Reassuring. Arousing. She lifted her hips up to press against his erection.
“I think we’re done being serious,” she breathed.
The feel of his hands gliding up under the nightgown made her squirm. “Almost, sweetheart.” He kissed her lightly.“Two months ago I didn’t know you existed. Only two months ago I slept alone. I had never touched you here.” He smoothed the nightgown up to lay his hand over her mound, putting exquisite pressure on her clit. His other hand pushed the nightgown up under her chin to expose her chest to the cold night air. “I had never seen these.”
Carla couldn’t quite stifle her moan when his hot mouth closed over one nipple. One of the things she loved about him was that he didn’t care that she was flat chested. All her life she’d worn push up bras to create the illusion of cleavage. But Taye could –and had—spent hours worshipping her breasts.
“Taye, come inside me.”
His chuckle was almost too quiet for her to hear. “It’s not time for my warrior of love to conquer your tunnel yet.”
Her laughter was more of a strangled snort. “You’re gonna torture me?”
“Nah.”
Carla wiggled with delight when he kissed his way up her body, dragged the nightgown over her head and tossed it away, opening her thighs with one of his at the same time so he could push himself inside her. She sighed happily at the feeling of having her mate there, the “one flesh” that the Bible talked about.
“Do you know why I wear that nightgown?” she said breathily. “Because I love what happens when you take it off me.”
Taye laughed into her hair. “It’s one of my favorite things, too.” He withdrew and pushed back in. “Being inside you is like coming home after a long journey.”
“Faster, Taye,” she moaned. “Harder.”
And because he loved her, he complied. After she had convulsed in his arms, sobbing her release, and he taken his own pleasure, he kissed her tenderly.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
If you are interested, here is a youtube recording of All I want for Christmas is you the song Carla sings to Taye.
13 Characters in Wolf Tracker
Here are some of the characters from my upcoming release, Wolf Tracker. Some are major characters, others are very minor secondary characters.
1. Dan Stensrud, known as Tracker. Hero. Son of Emma Two Birds, nephew of Muddy Wolf, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Lakota who prefers solitude. Too restless to ever stay in one place long, he rides over the prairies of Nebraska and the Dakotas. He’d like a wife, but no woman could keep up with him on the trail, and he can’t live in a town.
2. Tami Casper. Heroine. Survivor. Refuses to be a victim and struggles to regain her self confidence after finding safety at Taye’s den. And after her experiences with the men in Greasy Butte Tami can’t imagine any husband being acceptable no matter how much pressure is put on her to marry.
3. Rose Turner. A teenaged crash survivor who has made a place for herself at Taye’s den and swears she doesn’t want Sky for a mate.
4. Connie Mondale. The only surviving member of the crashed plane’s crew, leader of the Plane Women. She has no intention of allowing a husband to be foisted on her until a certain wolf changes her mind.
5. He Eats Jelly, known as Jelly. Fourteen year old wolf in Taye’s den. As the youngest member of the pack he is saddled with the worst chores.
6. Sherry Rowe. Plane crash survivor who rejects the wolf who has chosen her for his mate.
7. Richard Dickinson. Well to do rancher who visits the Plane Women frequently in hopes of securing a wife.
8. Father John. Priest at Grand Island’s St Mary’s Basilica.
9. Des. Taye’s Beta wolf. He seems sleepy, placid and slow moving until someone annoys the woman his wolf loves.
10. Renee Mathis. A plane crash survivor who was a chef at a posh St Paul restaurant, she takes cooking with primative equipment as a challenge. The wolf who has chosen her as his mate is proud of her culinary skills.
11. Neal Overdahl. A respected young man engaged to be married to Taye’s favorite little cousin.
12. Faron Paulson. One of Kearney’s civic leaders, he has finally found a woman to marry.
13. Kills Bears. Emma Two Bird’s second husband. Tracker respects and loves his stepfather, who gives him some very good advice.
There! A few people you’ll meet in Wolf Tracker.
13 Nominees For Best Paranormal Shifter Book of 2011
I am thrilled that my book, Wolf’s Glory, has been nominated by the reviewers at The Romance Reviews for Best Erotic Paranormal Romance in the Shifters category. This may not ever happen to me again, but at least i can always say that one of my books was once nominated to be best book of 2011 in its category. I don’t even hope to win. Do you see those other books and authors? I’m honored to be included with such wonderful authors. Here are 13 of them:
1. Alpha Wolf by Rebecca Royce
2. Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurentson
3. Changeling Moon by Dani Harper
4. Cougar by Skhye Moncrief
5. Defying Pack Law & Delicate Freakn’ Flower by Eve Langlais
6. Eagle River Alpha by Becky Wilde
7. Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair
8. Lifestyles of the Fey and Dangerous by Danica Avet
9. Moonlight Rapture by Lee Pearce
10. Navarro’s Promise by Lora Leigh
11. Never Cry Wolf by Cynthia Eden
12. The Alpha’s Fall by Kiera West
13. Wolf’s Glory by Maddy Barone
