What I Write
A few years ago, after long being away from writing novels, I fell in love with a genre new to me: urban fantasy. I streaked through the likes of Anne Bishop’s The Others series, Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series and the spin-off Alpha & Omega Series, Jennifer Estep’s Spider series, and more. I didn’t just zoom through those books…I LOVED them. Many of them, I read (and still read) over and over because I love them so much.
I loved Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. Then there was Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s books. Let’s not forget Gini Koch’s fabulously funny Alien series. (Yup. I know that series is SF, but I love it anyway.) And Mel Todd’s wonderful Twisted Luck series. Yup…couldn’t put those down either. And I’ve read and reread them too.
In fact, I quickly read so many books from these and other wonderful authors that I realized I’d run out of stuff to read if I didn’t well…yeah, you know…write my own.
SO…that’s where I am today. Putting finishing touches on my very own Urban Fantasy series, Book #1: TYGER’S CLAW. It feels good to get back to my novel-writing chops. It’s scheduled for release mid-2023. More than that, however, I really, really hope you too will love it as much as I do!
Tyger’s Claw
Imagine a world where the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are completely different than today…
Nuclear Accidents Pollute
A pre-climate catastrophe resulted in ongoing nuclear radiation–so bad that the government simply walled off much of the southern Appalachians and left the inhabitants to stew in radiation. Only the upper reaches of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains remain in what is now Ridge Country. The result? Gradual but noticeable changes in both plants and animals—and in humans. Not all were good changes: the average lifespan is down to about 60 years old. But there’s one defining characteristic of those most strongly affected: they’re deadly. As in REALLY deadly. Venomous. Toxic. More aggressive. Yeah. Not an easy place to live.
Dire Wolves Abound
Over the decades, radiation and climate change combined to let ancient animals–or their cousins–reappear. Dire wolves. Saber-toothed cats (now extremely venomous). Toxic poisons in common plants. And it’s not just existing animals that have changed. Recessive genes have come to the fore and previously extinct species—or something similar to previously extinct species—have re-appeared. Dire wolves. And the super-venomous, really aggressive fang cat, cousins of the saber tooth cat from the Paleolithic Era. These are not cuddly creatures in general. They’re deadly.
Tropical Climate Rules
Oh, sure, the South has long been a warm, semi-tropical climate, though much less so in the mountains where Ridge Country is, and where actual snow falls each year. But with climate change and global warming, these hills are no longer semi-tropical—they’re flat-out tropical. Meaning lush, tropical plants and animals. Plus, as the zoos started flooding, many zookeepers out of some sense of humanitarianism released their captive animas into the wild. Which means that all kinds of beasts that wouldn’t normally be found in North America now make their homes here, breeding, cross-breeding and, yes, mutating due to the ongoing radiation. Interesting new species have arisen—and most of them are lethal.
