7 Oct 2014
Cougar’s Courage–out in paperback today!
(Note: this is a slightly revised recycling of a post I did on the Samhain blog when Cougar’s Courage came out as an ebook. It’s out as a print book today–and I still think this post says something important about the book.)
When Cougar’s Courage released as an ebook, a few people commented on how happy they were to see a Native American hero. This confused me for a second because I don’t think of Jack as being Native American. Despite the name. Despite being portrayed on the cover by Rick Mora, who certainly is Native American. Despite his appearance, which I described as “Long, straight black hair, bronze skin, the cheekbones of doom. He looked pure First Nations, only his eyes, instead of the dark brown she’d have expected, were amber. Body of a god.”
This is an example of how an author’s brain works. My heroine, Cara, is part Native American, though she inherited her white father’s fair hair. (In case you’re wondering about the genetics there, it is possible. I had a blonde friend whose husband was a Mohawk. Her children had her light hair and their father’s features and complexion. Their beauty inspired Cara.) Jack, though…Jack is a cougar dual whose humanlike wordside form resembles a Native American. Since he’s not human, though, Jack isn’t part of a tribe or nation. His culture isn’t that of any tribe that’s ever existed in the real North America. Therefore, he’s not actually “Native American.” He’s a cougar dual. That’s his ethnic identity. And in the context of the book, that’s a much bigger deal than the color of his wordside skin.
Native American cougar shamanic mask (Pacific Northwest)
Similarly, Jude in Lions’ Pride appears African American, but part of the time, he’s a large, black-maned lion. He identifies far more with Panthera leo than he does with Homo sapiens of any race or ethnicity—but mostly he identifies as a dual. It only matters that he appears to be a black man when they’re on the lam and his distinctive appearance (he’s not only black in a largely white area, but he’s extremely tall and model gorgeous) becomes a bit conspicuous.
Akane, the heroine of Foxes’ Den, likes traditional Japanese clothing and has some of the mannerisms and affectations of a Japanese woman. But sometimes she looks and acts like a modern Japanese college student, sometimes like an aristocratic lady from an earlier century. She perfected passing as human due to years magically trapped in human form, and since most of that time was spent in Japan, she comes off as from that culture. But she’s a kitsune, an immortal fox shape-shifter, and she’s most comfortable in a hybrid form: almost human, but with fox ears and not one but three glorious tails.
I love a well-executed interracial romance. My list of future projects includes several books that would fit that description. But despite the interracial couples on the covers of several Duals and Donovans books, and despite the fact that the couples have to negotiate issues that grow out of being from different cultures, I can’t in good conscience call these interracial romances. They’re interspecies romances, set in a paranormal world where prejudices about the color of one’s skin are superseded by prejudices about whether you can change your shape or use magic.
And where your new boyfriend’s grandmother just might be an ancient nature spirit.
Blurb: Toronto cop Cara Many-Winters Mackenzie is still reeling from her fiancé’s murder when her orderly life takes a turn toward the weird, complete with voices in her head and phantom bleeding wounds.
This violent awakening is the rise of her Different gift—a chaotic, Bugs-Bunny-on-crack magic that she must learn to control before it destroys her. There’s only one place to get help: her mother’s ancestral village, and a mentor who seems to have stepped straight out of the smoke of her erotic dreams.
Cougar Dual Jack Long-Claw reluctantly agrees to take Cara under his wing, though he’d much rather take the beautiful city girl into his bed. As he guides her through a crash course in shamanic magic, sparks fly—some sexy, some snarky. But when an ancient enemy attacks the village, they must work together to hone a magical weapon against certain destruction.
Common sense tells them it’s a terrible time to fall in love. Their spirit guides have other ideas. And shamans who don’t listen to their spirit guides are dead shamans…
Warning: Hot shape-shifting feline hero. Strong but shell-shocked heroine. Snarky, meddling spirit guides. And lots and lots of sex: angry sex, crazy sex, magical sex, and just plain sexy sex.
Buy links for the e-book:
Buy links for the paperback: