Red Wolf Blogs

  Hey, folks. I’m sharing with you my all-time favorite paranormal fantasy series, and I am having so much fun with this! This week I'm sure many of you will agree with me that number two should at least be on the list, but first let's review the countdown so far... #5   The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer #4 The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs        #3 The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead   This week, let's take a look at the series that came in at number two, Charlaine Harris's popular Sookie Stackhouse novels, the inspiration for the smash HBO hit, True Blood.   What I liked… Vampires coming out of the closet I don’t know where this idea originated, but the Sookie Stackhouse series was the first place I encountered it, and I think it is a brilliant concept, changing the human/supernatural dynamic in intriguing ways and opening up an array of possible story lines. The heroine… I love Sookie. I loooooove Sookie . She is t

  Hey, folks. Here in the northern hemisphere, it's the first day of summer! It's a beautiful day in Charlotte, North Carolina. I hope it's nice where you are.   But, enough chit-chat. I’m in the middle of sharing with you my all-time favorite paranormal fantasy book series. Here’s where we stand so far in the top-five countdown… #5   The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer #4 The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs And today, coming in at number three, is Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series for Young Adults. The series follows the teenage, half-vampire, Rose Hathaway, as she finishes high school, comes of age as a Guardian , saves the world (at least her corner of it), and gets her sexy soul mate in the end. I’d been a fan of Mead’s adult books for a while, resisting her YA offerings, until the buzz created by this series finally began to get to me and I took the plunge. There was a reason for all the hype. The series has crossed over from its gen

  Hey, folks. I’m sharing with you my all-time favorite paranormal fantasy series, along with what I like and don't like about them and how they, ah, er, influenced my own writing (okay, what I stole from them). I'm counting down, and this week I’m up to number four. I hope you paranormal fans are following this, because I’ve really gotten into it. I hope you’ll comment if you agree or disagree, and if you have some other suggestions. If you aren’t a paranormal fantasy fan, don’t leave yet. You might find something you like. This is the good stuff. Here’s where we stand so far… #5 – The Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer       Now, for number four, let me introduce you to Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson. Mercy is a shape-shifting coyote, raised by werewolves, who is still kicking ass after seven traditional books and one graphic novel. She comes highly recommended, by me. What I liked… The heroine… The tattooed, kick-ass Volkswagon mechanic named Mercede

         Hi, folks. Welcome to my top five paranormal series countdown!   Ah! This is my genre, the fantasy world of the paranormal. Purists will divide it up into sub-genres of paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy, or paranormal romance, but to me the lines are blurred. Whatever you want to call it, it’s where vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, witches, and fae folk cavort. It’s where humans fall in love with supernatural beings and vice versa. It is where ordinary mortals discover the immortal within. It’s… I could go on and on. For the last decade, I’ve immersed myself in these kinds of books. And there is no more magical moment than finding one that I like and discovering there is a series! My Kindle is currently loaded with present and future favorites, and for the next several weeks, I’m going to share with you what I consider to be my top five favorites of all time. I’ll tell you what I liked about them, what I didn’t like, and what I stole for my own paranormal series, Th

  Hi, folks. Time for another blog post. Several weeks ago, I told you the sad story of my favorite coffee shop closing and how I’d begun a quest to find a replacement. I believe I’ve reached the end of this long, sad journey. It’s time to share the results and … move on.         First, a last homage to the now-defunct Caribou where I wrote the bulk of my first two novels and to the pleasant, ever-smiling baristas who came to know me by name and consistently served up the best white chocolate mochas around. Like that one great love you will always compare the others to, I will miss you and forever hold you in my heart. You can’t get there from here… Part of my dilemma involves the fact that I don’t drive, so when the corporate fat cats at Caribou closed the shop in my neighborhood it meant I had to do some traveling to find another. I use my bicycle and public transportation to get around. Charlotte is spread out, not a bike-friendly town, and our transit system ju