Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

oooh! Congrats, Andrew. Great news, and welcome to the wonderful world of Romance!

I’d immediately recommend the Gardella Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. While her books don’t have (so far?!) any weres in them, she writes the hell out of historical paranormal. Books are: The Rest Falls Away, Rises the Night and in February (squee), The Bleeding Dusk.

The other book that springs to mind is CL Wilson’s Tairen Soul series. It has a fantasy bent to it and is pretty epic in nature. Books are: Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadow.

Good luck, and welcome

My number one recommendation is Shana Abe’s historical paranormal series beginning with The Smoke Thief and continuing with The Dream Thief and Queen of Dragons.  These are about creatures who appear at first glance to be human beings and who can shapeshift to smoke and then to dragon form.

I also recommend Lisa Cach’s succubus and incubus two-book series Come to Me and Dream of Me

Linda Lael Miller had an interesing vampire series way back when…

Susan Squires wrote some good historical parnaomrals. Try Danegeld and The Companion.

And Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor is a classic of the time-travel genre.

I’d also suggest reading Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy series beginning with Moon Called.  These are urban fantasy with romantic elements but very popular with romance readers.

There are surely more I’m not thinking of but this is what comes to mind now, and represents a good spectrum.

Although not a romance per se, I’d recommend Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. Start with Moon Called, then read Blood Bound. The third book, Iron Kissed is out and does a good job with the romance aspect of the stories.

The two romance authors that write about werewolves in some fashion (but not historical werewolves) are Christine Warren and Lora Leigh. If you want good examples of romances, you can’t go wrong with them. Good luck!

I’m totally going to read Andrew’s book. Mediaeval castles and werewolves are so much fun. :-)

Gillian Bradshaw, The Wolf Hunt
(It goes by The Wolf Within on the UK, I think). It’s a retelling of the old Bisclavret legend.

No recs, just congrats to Andrew! I’m glad to see he’s embracing his inner romantic. We need more menfolk hanging around coz the bitches, we get lonely.

But I’m curious: will Andrew get take girly pseudonym?

I’m going to second the Susan Squires and Lisa Cach recs.  Also want to mention Karen Harbaugh’s Night Fires and Dark Enchantment.  These came out on the cusp of the huge paranormal romance boom, are set in France, and are darker in tone.  They’re not in print at the moment, but you can buy copies for $0.01 on Amazon.

Emma Holly is a big name in paranormal, steampunk, and erotic romance.  One of her series is about medieval werewolves (upyr).  I think they all have “...Midnight” titles—Hunting Midnight, etc.

On the urban fantasy/romance cusp, a couple of Kim Harrison’s early Rachel Morgan books are very strong—they have a similar audience to Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten.

You might consider some straight-up (non-paranormal) historical romances.  I’m not sure what other periods you may write in….  Patricia Gaffney’s Victorian romance To Have and To Hold has elements of a modern witch-hunt (though it’s absolutely not paranormal).

BTW, this isn’t romance, but Kit Whitfield’s Benighted (Bareback in the UK) is a modern werewolf story with a very interesting backstory involving the Inquisition.  I quoted a little of the history here.

Andrew - rock on!

Not a historical, or hysterical as I call them (and I love them), Keri Arthur has a series starting with Full Moon Rising.  The wolves in this series are tied to the lunar cycle, but she does a wolf very well.  I would also, as someone already has, recommend Patricia Briggs’ Mercy series - that woman knows wolf.

Happy reading…Peace.

More votes for Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs.  Another werewolf series worth checking out is the trilogy begun (but never finished) by Donna Boyd.

I third, fourth and/or fifth the Mercy novels by Briggs. Well written without too many love interests or the agony of decision being drawl out too much. She also handles the family structures nicely and the Alpha Males (which you def have to have) are believable. Um… Alice Borchardt’s first 2 novels are good christian/pagan novels - Beguiled and Devoted (Google books has a nice synopsis) - and handle the history without slapping you in the face with TMI every page.

If you really want to know what to stay away from, go back and read the Laurell K Hamilton complaints.

As a reader of scifi I am rackign my brain thinking of an author with the of Andrew and I’m not coming up with one though for some reason I’m visualizing cover spines from when I worked at BN.  Can I ask what titles he’s published?

Gah!  This thread has me desperately trying to remember the author or titles of a three brother werewolf series.  I read two of them, the Lord brother and the Gypsy brother, and I think they were Regency period.  Definitely England.  The family has a curse on them that’s somehow lessened by Twu Lurve. 

Not sure I’d recommend them, but it’s bugging me that I can’t remember.

And I might be ridiculed for this (in a fun way, I’m sure) but I’ve got to recommend Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Night Play.

Alice Borchardt, The Silver Wolf / Night of the Wolf / The Wolf King
(Werewolves and shapeshifters in Italy during the time of Charlemagne)

I admit I haven’t read the books because of the very mixed reviews (the time is well researchd, the time is badly researched, the heroine is a whimp, no she isn’t, her style is clunky, her descriptions are lovely ...) and the fact that, living in Germany, I can’t simply have a look at them in a store but need to order via Amzon.de.

But maybe some Bitches have read them.

Thanks for all the attaboys :)

I actually have the first two Mercy Thomson books, read #1, #2 is on the TBR pile.  Like it enough that I’m definitely getting #3. (I actually use Briggs’ titles to prove my thesis that the same book, if it’s shelved with fantasy will get a hot babe on the cover, same book on the romance shelf gets you man-titty.)

I also got some Kelly Armstrong titles from my editor, reading No Humans Involved right now.

As a reader of scifi I am rackign my brain thinking of an author with the of Andrew and I’m not coming up with one though for some reason I’m visualizing cover spines from when I worked at BN.  Can I ask what titles he’s published?

Well I’ve written predominantly as “S. Andrew Swann” with a couple books as “S. A. Swiniarski,” my given name.

If you want a bibliography you can go here.

I second Bitten. Apparently there’s a whole series which I haven’t read (yet). Also, Diana Pharaoh Francis book The Cipher as well as her Path of Fate series.

Which makes me want to ask - Francis’ books all have very strong romance elements. Why are her books under Fantasy while Andrew’s being classified as a romance? Makes the brain ponder. Should there even be “paranormal romance,” “suspense romance” etc., or should they be considered just paranormal, suspense, etc.? Why is it when there’s love in a story, it has to be classified as a romance?

Not that I’m complaining, mind you (at least, I don’t think I have anything to complain about?) Personally, I think it’s much more convient this way. But I still wonder.

Many congrats, Andrew!

I’m not as much a romance reader as I am a SciFi/Fantasy reader, but there are a few books not yet mentioned in this thread that I think handle romance between humans and paranormal beings pretty well. 

I’d recommend the YA series by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse); the main romance is human-vampire, but the “other man” is a werewolf and there are some interesting takes on the romance angle.  I’m also enjoying the ongoing romance angle in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books. Again, there’s more vampire than werewolf, but the interplay is great. The second book of that series, Fool Moon, features werewolves and several interesting romances.

Thanks for asking, Andrew—smart bitches like to be asked!

I second the Shanna Aba, her books work on every level.

For stuff to avoid doing? Well jeez…Christen Feehan, but her books sell and are like crack—-one time is all that it takes and you end up reading her whole catalogue. Keep to her Carpathian novels.

For other authers who write stuff with changeling/paranormal goings on and do it well: Kresley Cole and Marjorie MLiu top my list…both have historical flashbacks and info spattered in their books.

Oh, Rebecca Flander’s “Wolf in Waiting” has a giant dollop of awesome in it. Its one of my favorite wolf-included romances.

I found Bitten needed the online prequels.  Once I had that backstory, I loved the werewolf series.  Still don’t love the non-werewolf books, though—partly because Clay & Elena’s relationship gives the wolf books more structure.

I also recommend Susan Squires.  She does historical paranormals that are very well-written, very original.  I liked The Companion and another one, I think it was The Burning?  The dude gets it on with ice.  Hot.

No recommendations that haven’t been heavily lauded already, but hearty congrats to Andrew, and please let us know when your book is available!  From your description thus far, I’m intrigued…

verification word: name97
No, I can’t name 97 paranormal werewolf romances off the top of my head.  Sorry.

I’d recommend Susan Krinard’s books. They’ve got interesting werewolves in them though they’re set in Canada/Northern US and current day. They’re sometimes awesome, sometimes painful but always interesting.

Congrats Andrew!!

Can’t suggest paranormal romance, not my thing. But Ellen Kushner’s The Privilege of the Sword is a fabulous book. Although she’s considered a fantasy writer, this book also fits the romance genre as well. Neil Gaiman gives it a big thumbs up here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2007/11/catching-up.html
There’s also Gaiman’s Stardust. Again, not romance genre but certainly fits nicely I think.

I have to second the Laurell K. Hamilton series as a no-no, though when I first read them, I think I was okay with the first three in the Anita Blake series. After that the plot just becomes an excuse for rampant, random naughtiness with all manner of werefolk and the undead. And I’ve heard the Merry Gentry (faries) series is worse.

Other than that, I don’t think I’ve read any wolfy things. Congrats on the novel!

Big Congrats, Andrew!  Welcome to the world of romance!

Although they aren’t historicals, try reading anything of the moon series by Lori Handeland (which has werewolves) and Chyenne McCray who does paranormal (demons, fey, witches, etc.).

Lorelie- OMG I remember those.  Was it Ronda Thompsons Wild Wulfs of London trilogy?

I didnt read them but maybe someone else here did.

Congrats, Andrew!

Gillian Bradshaw, The Wolf Hunt
(It goes by The Wolf Within on the UK, I think). It’s a retelling of the old Bisclavret legend.

I totally second this recommendation, even though Bradshaw’s novel is more of a novel with strong romantic elements (speaking in RITA terminology as the first round judging is under way :) ).

I loved Kresley Cole’s A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER (not just werewolves, but also bubblegum-chewing valkyries and vampires—wheee!!!). There are also werewolves in Susan Krinard’s PRINCE OF SHADOWS and Lori Handeland’s BLUE MOON. Christine Feehan’s LAIR OF LION (set in Renaissance Italy if I remember correctly) is a Beauty and the Beast story and has a werelion.

~*~

Thanks for mentioning CASTLE, Sarah!

Andrew, I’d recommend you read The Hound and the Falcon trilogy by Judith Tarr.  They’re 20 years old or so, but you should still be able to find the series (all three volumes of the series can be found in an omnibus collection).  Brother Alf is a 13th century monk, known for the beauty of his music.  He’s also a changeling—an elf who doesn’t age.  During the course of the book, he gets caught up in the Crusades (Richard the Lionheart) and meets Thea, a Greek woman and fellow elf who has the ability to shift shape.  I can’t recall what all shapes they take—most often, though, it’s the hound (Thea) and the Falcon (Alf). 

The series is a fantasy but set in “real” historical times—a hallmark of Tarr’s stories—and it has a strong current of romance throughout, and ends with the requisite HEA for Alf and Thea.  Twenty years ago, when these books were written, there was really no such animal as “paranormal romance”, or I imagine these books would have qualified.

My fave paranormal series right now is Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, as has been mentioned by many.  I also like Kelley Armstrong’s werewolf books.

Hi Andrew, Congrats.

Yup. It’s Rhonda Thompson’s Wild Wulfs of London series. I read the first volume recently. It was pretty good.

You might try Jacqueline Frank. Jacob is the first in her series.

I find Susan Squires uneven. I’ve enjoyed her historicals, but not so much the vampire stuff—one of those was enough for me.

Wholeheartedly support the Shana Abe Smoke Thief and Dream Thief. The third in the series is just out in cloth, but I haven’t read it yet.

Nalini Singh does contemp. paranormals—Psy-Changling series—which I recommend: Slave to Sensation is the first.

Christine Feehan is ok. Her books are original at first, but then it’s just more of the same in volume after volume of each series.

Another cross-genre writer (sci-fi/paranormal romance) worth recommending is Jacqueline Carey with her Kushiel series.

Best of luck!

Ok, Ok, here are some more suggestions of werewolf titles: Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey (San Francisco, magician caught in a werewolf spell, turn of the century); Nadya:the wolf chroniclesby Pat Murphy (19th century US, trek cross country); To catch a wolf (and others) by Susan Krinard (set in Western US, late 19th century?).  For modern ones try these authors: C.T.Adams & Cathy Clamp’s Sazi series which starts with Howling Moon, for a younger focus Stephanie Meyer is more YA but her trilogy is very well written with strong romantic elements.  AND OK, an oldie (70’s) from a master of Science Fiction is Poul Anderson’s Operation Chaos—hero is a werewolf with a witch for a wife.  One last guilty pleasure is MaryJanice Davidson—you either love her or hate her stuff—does a whole werewolf subseries try Derek’s Bane for a chuckle.

I haven’t read any of them yet, but a friend of mine who writes SFR has been poking me for ages to read Carrie Vaughn’s Kittie series. I have the first one in my TBR pile, and plan to get to it some time in the next few weeks. I constantly hear good things about her books, though.

ODG PLEASE avoid the pitfalls found in Lora Leigh’s series!  If you read Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong (and to a lesser romance than paranormal degree) Jim Butcher you will be in good shape.

I totally second this recommendation, even though Bradshaw’s novel is more of a novel with strong romantic elements (speaking in RITA terminology as the first round judging is under way ;-) ).

Lol, I still don’t really get the difference. I suppose it’s because I firstly read historical fiction, and I take it with and without romance. :-D

Ronda Thompson - The Dark One, The Untamed One, The Cursed One, A Wulf’s Curse (in Midnight Pleasures Antho) and The Forgotten One (in Love at First Bite Antho). I also recommend her Call of the Moon and Midnight Serenade (in After Twilight Antho).

I think what should be recommended depends on the “serious drama-y-ness” of the book.  There are great paranormals out there that approach the funny/slice of life thing, great ones that are serious/dramatic, and great ones that fall somewhere in between, and great ones that have a style all their own.

Without knowing in which way Andrew’s book might lean, I can only (sort of) group some authors.  Loosely.  Some of them do fall into that “sold as one thing, but may be is another” category.  So here are some I’ve enjoyed thoroughly!  All of them are repeat buys for me, but don’t look at the groupings as rating/ranking, just a loose interpretation of styles being slightly similar.

Susan Squires
Marjorie M. Liu
Susan Krinard
Linnea Sinclair
CL Wilson
Naomi Novik
Wen Spencer

Kelly Armstrong
Kresley Cole
Kim Harrison
Lillith Saintcrow
CE Murphy
Lora Leigh
Nalini SIngh
Karen Marie Moning

Keri Arthur
Morgan Hawke
JR Ward
Susan Kearney

Angela Knight
Katie McAllister
Christine Warren
Yasmine Galenorn

—authors whose works I didn’t care for and typify for me “what not to do”  (with respect that others may like their books)—
C Harris
LK Hamilton
Feehan
Kenyon
Viehl

Okay, so now I know why I don’t get anything done, ever.  Those are just the Paranormal Romance authors I can remember off the top of my head, not the rest, or the other Romance, or the other SciFi/Fant authors.  (I couldn’t be happier that the paranormal genre took off.  It got chocolate in my peanut butter… or peanut butter in my chocolate.  :) )

I’m going to go in a bit of a different direction and if you haven’t already done so, I’d bone up on Wolf and dog behavior, pack dynamics, and body language. Dogs are quite different than wolves in many ways, so you want some material that’s wolf-specific but there’s a great book out by Brenda Aloff (noted dog behaviorist) on dog body language, it’s here: http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB856 .

One thing that was clear in Bitten was that Armstrong understands canine behavior. So does Briggs. I can’t remember which one made an oops that a dog person would have picked up on right away though, something about accelerating to a 6 foot stride; a medium to large dog can easily have an 18-20 foot stride and depending on your Werewolf size, it could be considerably longer if the dog is at a full gallop on flat ground.

I think in the case of Were novels, getting the animal nuances right really polishes the whole effort.

Rebecca York has a contemporary werewolf series that is more urban paranormal than romance. Killing Moon is the first in the series. There are the Eileen Wilkes books with Lily Yu as her protagonist, also contemporary, but she has some interesting twists on werewolf society and history.

Other than Ronda Thompson’s Wulf brothers, I’m not really familiar with any historicals that I would recommend.

Stay away from LKH’s Anita Blake series. Sherrilyn Kenyon, while a guilty pleasure occasionally, probably won’t help you much. She does have several books about her “were-hunters” (half are Arcadians, half are Katagarian - don’t ask but www.were-hunter.com can explain without you having to read the books.

And congratulations, Andrew! This is one bitch who will be watching for your novel! Maybe my TBR pile will be empty and I can pounce on it when it comes out.

Hi Andrew, congrats!

There is a series of YA books that totally made me appreciate paranormal. I was pretty much a contemporary adult romance girl until I picked up Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse-in that order.

I picked up the first because it had an amazing cover, and though it was over 500 pages, I read it in one day, went out that night and bought the other two in the series.

Yes, the characters are young, but so interesting and real that you can’t help but fall in love right along with them and root for a happy ending, even though it is very possible that one is not in the cards.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

A few non-paranormal historicals, since the previous comments mostly skipped that:

Judith Ivory is one of the finest prose stylists in Romance.  For your purposes, BEAST or BLACK SILK might be good choices.

Laura Kinsale has some of the wackiest plots imaginable as background to her deeply emotional romances; she’s the most original romance writer I know of.  I love THE SHADOW AND THE STAR and FLOWERS FROM THE STORM.  UNCERTAIN MAGIC is a paranormal, with a telepathic heroine.  MIDSUMMER MOON is sort of science fiction—the heroine is a scientist, far ahead of her time.

All About Romance has a list of “Desert Isle Keepers” with reviews here:
http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/searchReviews.pl

As for paranormals, J.R. Ward’s vampire books are very, very popular right now.  They’re contemporary, set in a world where vampires co-exist, hidden, among humans.

My favorite changeling romance novels are all contemporary or new future:  Eileen Wilks, Nalini Singh, and Marjorie Liu.  Of those, Wilks has a central pair continuing over several books, which might be helpful to you to look at.  Singh and Liu focus on a new pair for each book in the series, but previous pairs reappear and are often worked into the plot.  (This is common in many romance series, but sometimes only as token appearances.) 

Emma Holly’s shapechanging vampire novels are available in a single volume now, I think.  They’re set in the past, but her upyr have a science fictional origin.

Has nobody mentioned Meljean Brook yet?  I adore her two books, Demon Moon and Demon Angel.  No werewolves in her world that I can recall, but what with all the vampires and angel-like creatures, I wouldn’t be surprised if one showed up.  :)  To me, her novels feel denser and richer and more complexly plotted than your usual paranormal, and both of them have a backstory set centuries in the past.  I think you might find them edifying examples of the subgenre (not to mention totally engrossing reads!).

Congrats Andrew!

I’d recommend Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series as an example of what to do. In her book, Kitty Goes to Washington, she has a werewolf transform over national television. Very cool. Not historical, but cool.

I have not had a chance to thoroughly read the paper yet, but here’s another basic document for those interested in the absolute basics in romance:

Core Collections in Genre Studies: Romance Fiction 101
(if the link doesn’t come out, see Wyatt, Neal The Alert Collector “Core Collections in Genre Studies:  Romance Fiction 101.” RUSA 47:2 pp120+)

I second the Gardella Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. Very atmospheric. Real detail to the time period and how a paranormal element would work in it.

For a different level of gore/blood factor (though not historical)try Jennifer Armintrout’s Blood Ties series. The Turning is the first one.

As to why some paranormals are shelved in romance vs sci-fi….my take is this: I think the shelving, instead of being all about the content of the book, should also be about the type of reader that shops in that section.

I don’t browse the sci-fi/fantasy shelves, and am not a huge paranormal fan, but the romances in the books by the above authors (and others) have me buying those series. If they hadn’t been shelved in romance, I might never have found them.

I think what should be recommended depends on the “serious drama-y-ness” of the book.  There are great paranormals out there that approach the funny/slice of life thing, great ones that are serious/dramatic, and great ones that fall somewhere in between, and great ones that have a style all their own.

While I’ve written light fantasy, and will probably write more in the future, the series we’re talking about here is solidly on the serious drama-y end of the meter.

It kinda surprises me how many readers think of urban/paranormal fantasy books as romances even when there is no HEA, or in some instances, even a clear cut hero.
Weird.

Hah, totally forgot about Rhonda Thompson’s series of books..exactly what has been described that you are looking for.

Hey! I’ve read and recommended you when I worked at BN. Kewl. Let us know when you get a release date.

Another teen book that isn’t too bad (tho stay away from the movie) was Blood and Chocolate by Klause. Jim Butcher has a nice style and weaves the romantic aspects in without ruining the plot and making it seem like an after thought - which many male authors do. Also, there is a new author with a good paranormal book - Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. Interesting take on vamps but has a decent were hierarchy and I’m actually looking forward to the next book tho she has a clunky beginner’s style.

Sorry I can’t recommend any historical but I tend towards Novik and Laurie King which are much newer than your time period.

Congrats and I look forward to reading it.

Not specifically werewolves, but you might look at Ann Bishop’s Dark Jewels trilogy - fantasy with romance, but I think part of their appeal is that you go from serious drama to humor - and everything in between - in the course of a book.

carrie vaughns that were mentioned above “kitty and the midnight hour” and 2 after that.. they arent set in the past, they’re urban werewolf paranormal.. pretty good world building and werewolf lore.

Jacqueline Franks, Gideon and Jacob were pretty good but the Elijah heroine shapeshifting during a love scene was shocking enough that I was reading it out loud to my male unit and he was poking his fingers in his ears and screaming LALALALALALA ..
I threw the book in the corner and there it sits still..

PC CAST? anyone mentioned her yet? her books are beautifully set in “otherworldly” past, with centaurs and femorians. Excellent world building and includes time travel.

Green Eggs and Ham? Oh, wait, wrong list of books.

I heartily agree with Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong, adding strong seconds for Wen Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon series and Carrie Vaughn’s “Kitty and the Midnight Hour.” None are historical, and Spencer’s aren’t about weres per se, but they are all terrific writers with fascinating and believable paranormal series with a little romance thrown in.

I’ll follow up with another call of Briggs, and Tanya Huff’s Blood series as cracky-paranormal romance by a skiffy author. Not her best work, but certainly worth reading when you get a chance

Ann Maxwell has a series- Firedancer, etc. She’s a romance author who got stuck on sff shelves for this group. Definitely worth reading.

Misty Lackey is very good at these- almost her stock in trade.

CAPCHA- lay39, or how many people can Merry Gentry be in bed with at one time, Alec?

Congratulations, Andrew!

Not sure how your series will be structured, but I agree with the Gardella Legacy by Colleen Gleason as an excellent example of a historical paranormal series following the same main characters.

C.L. Wilson also does a fantastic job of this with more of a fantasy romance twist.

Judith Tarr - I remember finding her novels on my dad’s bookshelf.  I devoured those books!

Good, someone mentioned Eileen Wilks. Her novels are about the only paranormal romances I’ll even look at.

However, Michelle Levigne (e-books, mostly) does a great job also.

Catherine Anderson, a mainstream romance novelist…her recent release is a contemporary with an empath as the heroine who falls for an “ungifted” guy.  Great stuff.  It’s shelved with the romances and I didn’t know it was a paranormal but she’s an autobuy for me anyway so yadda yadda.

I don’t browse the sci-fi/fantasy shelves, and am not a huge paranormal fan, but the romances in the books by the above authors (and others) have me buying those series. If they hadn’t been shelved in romance, I might never have found them.

I’m the opposite. I generally look in the Sci-Fi section and for the most part avoid authors who write paranormal romance. (I know, I know, what the heck am I doing here anyway!). I think I’m mostly heartily sick of the romance genre after 30+ years of a solid diet of them. I read the Flame and the Flower when it was new, okay?

I’ve thought about what it is that makes a book seem overly “romancey” to me and I think it’s when they get into detailed discussion of the physical attributes of the hero, who is always perfection, and specifically the manly member of same, which is always huge and columnar and apparently capable of incredible feats unknown to real men. That said, Judith Ivory’s Black Silk is one I really enjoy because her books are dark and her main characters flawed and sometimes kinky (hoo-boy!)

My favorite authors are those who have some romance between characters in the book but it’s not the entire focus of the book; including Lilith Saintcrow, Briggs, Harrison, Armstrong, etc. Strong plot and story, good worldbuilding *and* believable characters who sometimes fall in love, that totally floats my boat.

Oh and another one no one has mentioned, Ilona Andrews. Her first book is really good and has shifters as well as wonderfully disgusting vampires that nobody would want to take home to momma.

submit word lay36. Hah! Is that a prediction or a warning?

For those who would like to share the “eduaction” to their non-romance reading friends, a friend shared this link. (disclaimer-I’m mentioned, but it’s not pimpage. It was a gift be listed among these names.)

http://christineolinger.blogspot.com/

spaminator:from43- and counting backwards dammit!

Since non-paranormals have also been mentioned, I second the recommendations for Judith Ivory’s Black Silk and Beast and Laura Kinsale’s The Shadow and the Star and Flowers from the Storm (I also love her For My Lady’s Heart and The Dream Hunter.  I’d also add Patricia Gaffney’s To Have and to Hold and Wild at Heart (the latter, though not werewolf, is a histroical about a man who was raised by wolves).  Between them, these three writers are responsible for some of the most amazingly fine writing in the romance genre.  I even have a friend who likes to call them “the holy trinity.”

As someone who writes sf, and reads more sf than romance (but with plenty of overlap), I agree with the recommendations of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson books, Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, and Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series for the supernatural stuff. As for things to avoid—for god’s sake please no werewolf-vampire love triangles (overdone) or other later-LK Hamilton extremes (said with great happiness that said author is making money, and great sadness that the series changed into something I can’t stand to read).

For crossover fantasy-romance with strong world-building and great female characters: Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels trilogy and Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel books. For alternate world / historical-feel fiction: Guy Gavriel Kay—many of his books have an epic romance feel (though they aren’t really romances per se) because the plot is motivated as much from the characters’ personalities and relationships as from external events (The Lions of Al-rassan,  Fionavar Tapastry).

Congrats on the sale!

Congratulations, Andrew!

You might try Tanya Huff’s Vicky Nelson series (titles beginning with BLOOD); one of the main characters is a vampire.  I think it’s the second book in which Vicky, a P.I., has a family of werewolves as clients.  Interesting depiction of pack behavior even in human form.

Susan Sizemore’s Law of the Blood series is about a rather werewolfish special breed of vampires who police the other vampires.  Mostly contemporary, though with glimpses of the past since some of them have been around for thousands of years.  And these Enforcers can take wolf form.  Mainly interesting to you for the arguments about how to treat humans.

Ann Maxwell books are very hard to come by, being out of print, except for those she’s revised and reissued under her current and slightly better-known pseudonym—Elizabeth Lowell.

(Ironically, Ann Maxwell is her real name but she’s contractually prohibited from using it.  Go figure.)

I also recommend THE DRAGON WAITING by John M. Ford—great historical fantasy with vampires, though no werewolves:

“The Wars of the Roses have put Edward IV on the throne of England, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s court shines brilliantly, and Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza plots in Milan. But this is a changed world, and medieval Europe is dominated by the threat from the Byzantine Empire. Sforza, the Vampire Duke, marshals his forces for his long-planned attack on Florence, and Byzantium is on the march. A mercenary, the exiled heir to the Byzantine throne, a young woman physician forced to flee Florence, and a Welsh wizard, the nephew of Owain Gly Dwr, seem to have no common goals but together they wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium, striving to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and make him Richard III.” 

Wen Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon books are about alien/human/wolf crosses.  The hero was literally raised by wolves.  Most of the wolf crosses belong to outlaw motorcycle gangs.  (When Ukian shows a friend a wallet pic of his father, friend exclaims “That’s an FBI Ten Most Wanted poster!”)  Published as urban fantasy, but there’s a love story as well.

For a lighter touch, Peter David’s HOWLING MAD is a funny book about a wolf who is bitten by a werewolf and turns into a human when the moon is full.

All these are well written.

For a kind of reverse recommendation (this one is obviously not for Andrew, but instead for other commentators): I’d like to highly recommend for fans of the urban fantasy genre, S. Andrew Swann’s own books - The Dragons of the Cuyahoga, and The Dwarves of Whiskey Island. I absolutely loved these books when I read them, and they fit in very well with Jim Butcher, et al. Well written, fast-paced, intricate plotting. Check them out.

Would Robin Mckinley work as a recommendation here? Other commentators decide, since I haven’t read enough of her to know how far into paranormal she goes.

I second (third+?) the recommendation for reading up on wolf and canine behaviors.  If you want some recommendations along that line, I can look them up for you, but I don’t have any off the top of my head.

Two recs, both fantasy novels, neither actually about werewolves:

First, “A Companion to Wolves"by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. They take the “magic animal sidekick” trope to a whole new level of awesome. Got a starred review from PW, in part because of the semi-romantic relationships between the wolves and their humans.

Second, the Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold. The story of a girl raised by giant telepathic wolves, as she adjusts back into human society. Even though she doesn’t transform, she definitely thinks of herself as a wolf—which makes her relationships interesting.

Has anyone mentioned Luna yet?  An entire division out of Harlequin devoted to romances with a fantasy twist.  Or is it fantasies with a romance twist?  As a reader of both fantasy and romance, what I love about these books is that they are a true merge of both genres.  I have never read a Luna book that I did not enjoy, and show how romance can complement a story, not overshadow it.

Also, I must throw in a second recommendation for Mercedes Lackey.  She has written a few Luna books, but her non-Luna fantasies have plenty of romantic subplot.

Talpianna, that War of the Roses, This Time With Vampires book sounds fun. I’ll check that out.

Yeah, Wen Spencer’s Ukiah series might appeal to someone who comes from the SciFi angle.

Lorelie-I think you’re thinking of the books by Ronda Thompson.  Couldn’t get into them.

I also recommend the Mercy Thompson books as well as the CL Wilson books. 

I don’t read a lot of werewolf books, but I’m big on vampires.

Shana Abe, Lara Adrian, Christine Warren, and Jeaniene Frost come to mind.

As for historical paranormal, someone already recommended her, so I’m seconding it.  Definitely read Colleen Gleason’s Gardella series.  You will not be sorry.  :)

Oh hey, I actually have a stack of this Andrew’s books in my library.  Another author who comes in to my work recommended them, if I remember right.

I’d say definitely the Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong books.  They have the most similar feel to the Swann books that I read.  Perhaps some Lilith Saintcrow, too. 

Congrats.  I look forward to someday reading these.

Definitely NOT romance, but Kit Whitfield’s “Benighted” is a bone-chillingly gritty noir mystery that takes place in a true werewolf world - an alternate history in which werewolves became the dominant human form and only a few non-lycan children (mutations) are born.

These embarrassing disable humans are destined to play one role only in their lives - as a sort of quasi-military police force to keep the baser instincts of the werewolves - killing each other, eating livestock, etc - at bay during moon times. It’s a job they’re saddled with at birth, whether they want it or not, and the attrition rate is realistically high.

Really, a very good story. And there is some romance, although it goes heartbreakingly, wrenchingly wrong as the plot develops.

But I nominate it as a “must read” for a well-thought-out overview of what a real werewolf-dominated society would feel like, especially if you’re NOT one of the furry ones.

Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilk, Angela Knight, Marjorie Liu, Melanie Jackson, and many of the other mentions.

For dark, paranormal, historical, Kiss of the Wolf, Morgan Hawke. 

And damn this site, I now have a list of at least 10 new authors to hunt.  :)

Andrew, I’m coming in late and am trying not to duplicate other recommendations.

I would also add Moon Dance from S.P. Somtow. And when this came across this morning, I was really hoping it was you. Um. Because I like your books, and you make me smile over on Whatever. Congratulations on the sale, I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.

As an SF writer, you probably need to compare and contrast the SF&F take on werewolves with the romantic paranormal. The best SF&F take on werewolves that I can think of is Robert Stallman’s Book of the Beast trilogy (The Orphan, The Captive, and The Beast). I don’t know how easy they will be to find. They were originally published in the early 80’s, but I think they’ve been reprinted since then. You might have to get them via Inter-Library Loan.

For the paranormal side, I’d start with Susan Krinard’s Prince of Wolves and Prince of Shadows. They are two of the earliest werewolf paranormals, and probably were influential in starting the whole werewolf craze. Then I’d read a couple of Feehan’s Dark books (they’re all the same book, but you should read two just to see the appeal elements that keep people reading them despite that).

Then see where the urban fantasy/romantic paranormal mish-mash is now by reading Armstrong, Briggs, Harrison, etc.

I’d like to add Michelle Sagara’s Cast series to the list. They’re urban fantasy with more fantasy elements than they usually have and are rather different. Yes, she also publishes as Michelle West, but the Cast books are different in many ways.

Congratulations, Andrew!  Please share the title and approximate publication date, so I can buy a copy.

For history and background on werewolf romance, you must read the first-ever werewolf story (which was a romance!), Bisclavret, by Marie de France, written in (approximately) 1150.  A copy, both translated into English and in the original mediaeval French is here:

.

I also recommend ‘The Hallowed Hunt’ by Lois McMaster Bujold, a fantasy novel with strong romantic elements.  The lead can be described as a proto-werewolf, and much of the story goes into the moral questions faced by someone who isn’t -quite- human anymore.

Congratulations, Andrew! The plot of your book sounds interesting, please let us know the book’s title and publishing date when you know them!
Now, for a really good paranormal romance (apart from those that have already been mentioned) I’d recommend Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn series. The first book is called If Angels Burn. And have you read Dorothy Dunnett’s books (The Lymond Chronicles and The House of Niccolo)? They’re the best historical novels I know. They aren’t romance novels, but they do have some romantic elements.

If I were you, I would be confused as hell right now.  You’ve had the same books both recommended and reviled.  However, one thing I would definitely suggest.  Do not kill pets in your stories.  Ms Roberts could tell you about the kerfluffle that came up over one of villains killing a cat—at least I think it was Ms Roberts, I do remember the discussion about whether it was a young cat with all it’s years ahead of it or an old cat who had lived a good life.  This was a cat that was not even important to the story.  We are a soft and sentimental bunch when it comes to pets.

Oh, and if you are wondering—well I did read one of your DAW books—and thought I should just mention this.

Congratulations, Andrew.

May I suggest Shadow of the Cat by Mallory Kane?  Russian historical werecats.

Also for historical shifters in general (albeit gay ones) Torquere Press’s Shifting Back, edited by Rob Knight.

For good paranormal, Elizabeth Donald’s Nocturnal Urges and More Perfect Union.  excellent world-building.

Congrats Andrew!

I second (fourth?  eighth?) the recommendation for Nalini Singh’s futuristic wolf/changeling paranormal series.  I read the second book first (Visions of Heat) but they’re all great—an intricately constructed world, sexy, strong heroines that do what you want them to do, and an intense conflict.  Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Visions-Heat-Nalini-Singh/dp/042521575X/sr=8-1/qid=1165758599/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5849189-4726343?ie=UTF8&s=books

Good luck with your paranormal/historical research!

To everyone whose asking for the title.  When I was writing it (before the sale and the discovery it’s the first in a series) the title was Wolfbreed.  Now that I have a structure for subsequent books, it looks like Wolfbreed will be the series title.  I still have to come up with titles for the individual books.

Pub. date- too early to tell, we’re still in that limbo between contract signing and check clearing.

Byline- we haven’t gone into that yet, but my agent believes it will prob. be under the S. A. Swiniarski moniker.

Ms Roberts could tell you about the kerfluffle that came up over one of villains killing a cat.

Yeah- in case anyone out there is turned off by that sort of thing, and you want to read my stuff, avoid Forests of the Night which has a rather brutal cat scene in it.  Raven and God’s Dice have guard dogs being dispatched, but in a much more perfunctory manner.  Off the top of my head I can’t think of anything else.  Though, if livestock counts, there’s a few feeing scenes in the current draft of Wolfbreed #1 :/

Congrats Andrew! Has anyone mentioned Victoria Alexander? I seem to remember her writing a regency time travel novel, Yesterday & Forever. It was pretty good.

Best of Luck with the romance!

There are lots of historical para/werewolf books out there. 

Donna Lea Simpson has a trilogy (Late Georgian)
Rhonda Thompson has a trilogy (Regency set)
Donna Boyd (though more fiction, not HEA) has two books, the Passion and the Promise
Alice Borchardt has four Ancient Rome setting
I’m sure there are a handful I’m missing.

Try “Wilderness” by Dennis Danvers. Hands down, best werewolf book ever written. No time travel, just great writing.
Interesting to also see someone recommend Dorothy Dunnett, both the Lymond and Niccolo series. Hands down, best historical writing in print.
And yeah on LKHamilton, what dreck. Is her vibrator stuck on “On” or what?

In the category of “Oh God, please don’t do this!”, check out this review of Cameron Dean’s Candace Steele series:

http://tinyurl.com/vtz24

The heroine of Tami Hoag’s Ashes to Ashes has a handsome Norwegian Forest Cat named Thor.  At the end of the book, the villain sets fire to her house, and she barely escapes with her life.  Nothing is mentioned about the cat, who has become at least a well-realized minor character.

A year or so, in an issue of CatFancy, there was an interview with Hoag (and her two Maine Coon cats) in which she mentioned she’d gotten so many complaints about this that she had to have the cat make a guest appearance in a sequel.  And it wasn’t even her fault: she’d written about the cat’s escape but the passage got dropped in the printing process.

I heartily second the Michelle Sagara Cast In series recommendation.  They are set in a world where several intelligent species co-exist; and the heroine is a cop, so they are mysteries as well.

No book recs as I think everyone’s pretty much covered all that I can think of too. But I did want to point you to another website that might help you. They haven’t updated it since 2006/07, but if you poke around in their review section you might find some other possible reads. Unfortunately their old forums (which had a lot of discussion on them!) disappeared when they updated their software. http://www.romanticsf.com/

I think that Judith Tarr’s novels bear mentioning again simply for the fact that they are set in our world with supernatural creatures.

They are serious, with some recourse to humour, and are based around a romantic relationship as well. The major selling point for me here however, is that the history is very much part of the story and they are actively involved in it. I don’t know how historically accurate it is, but it certainly gives a seemingly factual account of the time in which it took place. The specific books are The Isle of Glass, The Golden Horn, and The Hounds of God, in that order.

Specifically I recommend The Golden Hound, which is set during the invasion of Constantinople. The history is very much a part o the plot in this book.

And now that my post is long enough I bid you fond fair well.

I realise I’m double posting, but I just wanted to tell you that Judith Tarr also writes historical fiction, so she should be a good example of someone who has crossed over to paranormal and back again. Her website is http://www.sff.net/people/judith-tarr/library.html
I hope you find this helpful.

I just sound like a pusher now, don’t I?

Congrats, Andrew. *eyes you carefully* Didn’t I see your name around the NaNo forums, or am I confusing people again?

As someone that splits her time between sci-fi/fantasy, romance, and paranormal romance/urban fantasy/whatever it’s called today, I’d definitely rec Armstrong, Wilks, and Briggs. Each series have pretty much got canine characteristics down, which is important to keep your readers from throwing the books across the room in disgust. Not that I’ve done that with a book before. In fact, for Christmas, I sent one of my best friends Bitten and the first Mercy book, so she could enjoy them. What can I say? We’re of the Buffy generation. And I know she’ll enjoy them because they have capable, flawed women. Hello, my favorite character of ever is Cordelia Chase. And she loved Cordy, too.

Ironically, I don’t like vampires as much as werewolves, but you know, I’m shallow and pick the pretty covers when I’m grabbing stuff on the go which ends up being vamp. I don’t know where you are, but I know for a fact Krogers down here in Atlanta has some of Armstrong’s in the book section. I have to keep reminding myself not to grab them, since they’re in boxes next to my bed anyway.

I found those three to hit my “must read” list. The others in paranormal/urban are lighter and wouldn’t work for you to read up on. And I totally second Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy (though, let’s face it, it’s more like a lengthy series with all the off books and stories). They aren’t about werewolves or vampires, but it’s a good thing to look at the careful balance she creates with the romance. Well, that and it’s some damn good world building. I’ve only read the first book of Alice Borchardt’s werewolf series,  but it was totally excellent.

I was surprised to see Naomi Novik on here. Then again, as much as I loved the first book and have checked the second book out twice, I don’t have the time to parse it all out just yet. It’s not as easy to read as some of the others. She writes a fabulous story, though. Especially interweaving the Napoleon era to her story, where it seems real and that history just edited the fantasy bits out.

Really, I have no one to add on the dramatic genre side because everyone else has already mentioned them. And I whole heartedly agree to run from anything like LKH (a good sign would be not become off your rocker online every time you update a website, just saying) or Feehan. After awhile, it becomes plug and play on the character names. They all bleed together into sex only. Just because they sell well doesn’t make them…good for research purposes.

I want to nominate Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files to the list - it hits all the marks and just needs a wee bit more romance to push it right into Dark Paranormal Romance territory.

As it is, it still includes a fair bir of romance - especially the sadness of unrequited love.

Here’s an unusual request for help from our masterful collective mental library of awesome: Andrew, who has been lurking for awhile, sold a book. Yay, Andrew! Funny thing is, he’s a novelist who’s publisehd 17 novels, mostly Fantasy and Science Fiction. Trouble is, this time he’s being told by the purchaser of his manuscript that he’s written a… paranormal romance.

“Really?!” says Andrew.

“Oh, yes,” sayeth his publisher. “You’ve written a ‘dark historical paranormal fantasy romance.’”

(Emphasis mine)

On consideration, I find myself wondering if this is actually true, or part of the promo effort to create buzz in as many genres as possible.

Spam-catcher: market. Ha!

Oh yes, Eirin, I can attest it is most assuredly true.  Nobody was more surpirsed than the author, when the publisher that bought the novel said she loved his paranormal romance.  And I should know, I’m his wife. 

He has since joined RWA and follows this Smart blog and Dear Author religiously.  And he’s working on another paranormal romance now (as well as a space opera, the guy likes to genre-hop and how he works on 2 books at once is beyond me). 

Mary Balogh and George R R Martin have both given him really wonderful reviews for the cover.  This book came from deep in his soul.  He pushed aside work he was already paid for to write this novel.  It had to come out of him and he worked on it every spare second (read, I’m a writer widow for several months) until it was done.  I’ve never seen him obsess over a book like he did this one.  And he did not realize when he wrote it that it would be marketed as anything other than a fantasy.