QSFer Grace R. Duncan has a new MM paranormal/shifter book out: “Hope.”
Miguel Garcia and Luis Rodriguez have been best friends all their lives. For the last year, they’ve been hiding the fact that they’re also destined mates. When Luis’s family finds out, they kick him out. Miguel’s family would keep them… except their alpha has been known to be downright violent against gay wolves.
With the help of Miguel’s mother, they set out to find a pack that will accept them. They run into more that a few obstacles before they end up in Denver, at the national wolf headquarters, meeting the alpha prime. They’re stunned to find, not only offers to join more than one pack, but that their struggle can shine light on a bigger problem–and make things better for LGBT wolves across the country.
Cover Artist: Jess Small (http://jess-small.com). 12,000 words.
Second edition.
Get It On Amazon
Guest Post
First, of course, thank you to Queer Sci Fi for giving me space today! I really appreciate it. Without further ado, I’d like to present to you my top five favorite werewolves.
Okay, so, I don’t have the fascination with them that Finley does in Devotion, but I have to admit I love a good werewolf movie. I didn’t used to love them. Sure, I watched them in other things, but I didn’t love them. When I was writing Devotion, though, and writing Finley’s almost-obsession with them (he finds them hilarious in comparison to real shifters), I found myself watching quite a few of them. And more than one stuck out as werewolves I love.
Remus Lupin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Despite the fact that poor Professor Lupin had no control over his shift, I loved him as a wolf. There was obviously something of the man inside the wolf, based on the behavior. But I also really loved the visuals (I have to give credit here to the movie) of what he looked like, which was far from typical of most Hollywood werewolves.
Lucian, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
I did like Michael as a character, but out of all of them, the one out of the werewolves that really caught me was Lucian. He was… a bit messed up in the first Underworld, but you find out he’s got really good reasons for it. He did also appear in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution, but Rise of the Lycans is the one that really made my love him.
Jacob Black, Twilight
Now, hear me out! I have a reason for this. I did read the Twilight books when they came out. I had a teenager very into it and, truthfully, I didn’t hate it the way some did. Sure, the writing could have been better, but I did find myself getting into the story and caring about what happened. But what caught me about Jacob was the fact that he looked… like a wolf. A big one, but a wolf. And, I’d point out that while he was big, he wasn’t MUCH bigger than he would have been if they’d observed conservation of mass. So, while I did have issue with a lot, I did like the way the wolf shifters were portrayed in the books and movies.
Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Like Lupin, Sirius shows up in the subsequent books and movies after PoA. And, technically, Sirius is an animagus, (a voluntary shifter into animal form, in case you’ve lived under a rock and don’t know HP. 😉) not an actual werewolf, like Lupin or Greyback. However, his dog form is part of what I drew on when I wrote the wolves in my Forbes Mates series. I liked the idea of there being a bit of dog in them and Sirius inspired a lot of that. He was also hilarious. (And sympathetic, of course, but that’s a different blog post.) I feel like Miguel would be a lot like Sirius in wolf form (though I didn’t have time in Hope to explore that.)
David Kessler, An American Werewolf in London
No discussion of werewolf films is complete without this guy. Despite the fact that the movie’s been out for almost three decades, I’d never seen it until I was working on Devotion. Though campy (even for the early 80s), I actually found it quite good. I got thoroughly drawn into the story and didn’t want to walk away. I felt SO sorry for him, especially by the end. I didn’t watch the sequel but I found myself thoroughly enjoying David’s journey and story.
Giveaway
Grace is giving away a copy of any other Forbes Mates title – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win:
a Rafflecopter giveawayDirect Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3797bda119/
Excerpt
When they pulled into the Phoenix station, Miguel found himself annoyed that there didn’t seem to be anything nearby. He’d spent so much time in a city—a real, big city, with a McDonald’s and an In-N-Out on every corner—that to step outside and see nothing besides the bus station but an airport and desert was disheartening.
He shoved the thought off and found the text from his mamá with the Tonto alpha’s phone number. In a few moments, he had directions to a McDonald’s a little distance away by city bus and where to pick it up. They stored their bags in a locker and headed out.
But barely two hours later, he and Luis were once more waiting for a bus, this time with an even less friendly suggestion to move on. He couldn’t say the alpha was <em>hostile</em> necessarily, but the curled lip he got when he saw Miguel and Luis holding hands had said enough. The meeting had been very short, very tense, and ended with the alpha telling them there was a 2:45 a.m. bus from Phoenix going east and they “had better be on it.”
Miguel was already tired of that reaction. While the pack in Palm Springs hadn’t been nearly as mean, he knew quite well it was because they were same-sex mates. Three packs, so far—their original and two others—hadn’t wanted them.
“Maybe we shouldn’t tell them, Miguel.”
Miguel sighed and kissed the top of Luis’s head. “I was just thinking something like that. If we didn’t, if we maybe… made something up about why we left, perhaps we could at least stay for a while.”
Luis nodded. “We’ve only been gone, what… two days?”
Miguel had to think. “Just over twenty-four hours, actually.”
“Damn. It feels a lot longer.” Luis shook his head.
“It doesn’t help that we haven’t really slept. With any luck, Gila will want us. Or at least, let us stay for a bit. Maybe we can get jobs to earn some money.”
“That would be good. How much do we have left?”
Miguel pulled out the cash they still had and carefully counted it, while trying not to be obvious that was what he was doing. The bus station was fairly empty, but he didn’t want to start anything, especially because the best way he had to defend himself and Luis involved claws and fangs. “After the tickets to Deming, just over a hundred dollars. The tickets from Deming to Silver City are another thirty for the two of us. We could see about selling Mamá’s ring in Silver City, if we need to.”
“Let’s… let’s not do that until we are out of money.”
Hugging Luis close, Miguel nodded. “Yeah, I don’t want to either, if we can help it.”
They fell silent, occasionally glancing at the television in the corner, while keeping an eye on the Border Patrol officer sitting in another corner. They both had US driver’s licenses, but that didn’t mean much if he wanted to cause problems for them. He reminded himself to speak English. Then, trying not to worry, Miguel did his best to simply enjoy holding Luis. Luis’s breathing evened out, and Miguel did what he could to resettle his mate in the horribly uncomfortable metal nightmares they called bench seats.He wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or more nervous when they could start lining up for the bus. He so wanted Gila to be where they could stay, if for no other reason than they could stop moving from place to place for a while. He buried both emotions so he didn’t alert Luis to anything, and they got in line.
Author Bio
Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.
A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.
As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.
Website: http://www.grace-duncan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceRDuncan2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GraceRDuncan
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/djserani/videos
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10546257-grace
