In times of stress Jillian Descharme has always found calm in her dream of a great white wolf with haunting blue eyes. But she is startled when the visions return and this time seem so real. Late at night he comes to her, speaks to her, touches her. It’s almost as if he’s alive…
“An absolutely fantastic read.”
~ Joyfully Reviewed
Thirty years ago, James Macleod lost his wife and unborn child to a killer bent on destroying the Changelings. Though he longed for death, his animal instinct fought for survival and James has been a wolf ever since. Yet now a woman has reawakened the man in him, taming wild instincts but arousing still wilder needs. With his ancient enemy hunting the legendary white wolf, James must fight for new life, new hope, new love.
“Harper’s changelings are among the best in the genre.”
~ RT Book Reviews
With his ancient enemy hunting the legendary white wolf, James must fight for new life, new hope, new love.
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THE CHANGELING SERIES centers around the Macleod family, four brothers and two sisters. Long-lived and able to become wolves at will, their kind call themselves Changelings. Centuries ago, they were forced to flee the wolf exterminations in Scotland and start a new life in the wilderness of northern Canada.
Today, that wilderness has been largely settled, and an entire community has sprung up around the Changelings. The Macleods and their pack live as humans most of the time, hiding in plain sight. They have jobs and pay bills and go to school and mow the grass and do all the things that humans do. But don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re tame…. There are sacred places in the hills, and wolves rule the forests at night.
The Macleods seem to have the best of both worlds — yet there are still dangers lurking for their kind. And love, when it arrives, brings dangers and complications of its own. The two highest laws in the Changeling world are never harm a human and never turn a human against their will. The wolf within, however, has its own primal rules. If a Changeling’s life is in danger, the wolf will emerge to defend it. It will also rise to the surface, unbidden, to defend a mate at all costs. Because Changelings mate for life!
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Although it’s a series, I designed each book to stand alone. So you won’t get lost if you read them out of order!
PS – I really wanted WOLVES on the covers of my shapeshifter series, but sometimes it’s the Publisher who makes those choices…
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DANI: I’ve been working on cleaning out my office since the beginning of the year and just before I called in the heavy equipment, I discovered a box of 12 Changeling Dream paperbacks! (Only I could lose an entire box of books…)
But wait! My disorganization could be your gain. Enter through the Rafflecopter below, and you could be one of a dozen readers to win a SIGNED paperback copy (plus a set of my bookcover postcards and a couple of bookmarks). Open to USA residents only.
My author friend, PG Forte, wrote a post about a fun NEW canine-oriented holiday! Plus she has a list of wolfish book titles from the fantasy authors at Here Be Magic. Check it out at:
As usual, the characters popped up in my head and started talking. I’m just the secretary taking dictation. I have to say that this was a lot of fun to write, and I plan to include Harlan in a future story! Enjoy!
A carnival was no place for a Changeling’s nose, no matter how much he needed a few day’s pay. Harlan’s inner wolf complained incessantly, and his human side had a constant splitting headache. Cotton candy’s cloying sweetness set his teeth on edge. Popcorn, normally a favorite of his, was paired with the nauseating chemical signature of a butter wannabe. The aroma of donuts and corndogs and French fries might have been pleasant – hey, he had nothing against fast food – but in such vast overwhelming quantity, the stink of old and overheated cooking oil overshadowed all.
Thank the goddess he’d been sent to the haunted house when he’d signed on. Patrons weren’t allowed to bring food and drinks in here – it tended to go flying when skeletons and monsters appeared to jump out of the walls. All he had to put up with was the ear-piercing shrieks of delighted terror, and the tangy scent of human adrenaline.
A week and I’m outa here. Of course everyone stayed long enough to “strike” the carnival – disassemble the rides and the attractions, and pack them into the trucks. It was the traditional condition of employment, or rather, a time-honored choice between getting your paycheck handed to you or your ass. Harlan wasn’t concerned about the latter. His Changeling strength was more than a match for a gang of carnie muscle men. But even a werewolf needed cash.
He had to admit, the haunted house was cleverly designed. It was big – a sprawling labyrinth two floors high – but one person could run it alone. In case of trouble (and it never failed, some hapless human would succumb to primal fears, and either pass out or stand there paralyzed) there was a warren of quick shortcuts to any room in the attraction. Harlan much preferred the non-human problems, like skeletons that got stuck in their closets, or zombies who lost body parts they weren’t intended to, or giant corny spiders who crashed to the floor in a tangle of mechanical legs instead of menacing passersby from their polyester webs. He could deal with those. A few tools, a little WD-40, and all was well with this weird little world once more.
In fact, the whole gig was pretty good as far as temp work went. Until 11:04 on the busiest night of the week, when the screams coming from the upper floor of the haunted house aroused the wolf within him so fast that Harlan nearly shapeshifted on the spot. He bolted through the dusty behind-the-scenes corridor and up the narrow stairs with inhuman speed. The door – meant to be disguised as a wall panel – splintered from the sheer force as he burst through it.
Harlan had trouble believing what he was seeing, but his inner wolf assessed the surreal scene at once. A young woman lay on the floor, her body contorting and writhing. Even Harlan’s night vision couldn’t determine what her normal eye color was – right now they were glowing green. Changeling green. And the scent, the lush primordial scent of cool forest shadows and moonlit trails… Jesus H. Christ, she was making her first change right here and right now. The screams weren’t coming from her, although they damn well should have been; an initial change was agonizing as bones and muscles reshaped themselves for the first time. No, all the screaming was coming from her friends, a guy and a girl, who were flipping out over the bizarre behavior of the girl on the floor.
Of course, it didn’t help that they were in the Exorcist room.
Harlan didn’t waste time. He scooped up the woman immediately, and held her tightly against him. The proximity of another Changeling could be comforting, and his wolf would undoubtedly communicate with hers on some level. “Everybody relax,” he ordered. “Just a sympathetic reaction. It happens to some people in this part of the house. Power of suggestion and all that.” Hey, if you couldn’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit.
The female friend stopped screaming. The guy, however, continued to shriek like a twelve-year old girl. Harlan rolled his eyes, shouldered the woman in his arms with one hand and grabbed the guy by the back of the shirt collar with the other. After a few solid shakes that may or may not have given him whiplash, the guy settled for gibbering quietly to himself.
“I’ll take your friend downstairs and call 911,” said Harlan. “Are you two okay for getting through the rest of the house on your own? You’re almost out. I’ll meet you down there.”
Dazed but trying to cope, the girlfriend nodded and took the guy’s hand. He was still freaked but unlikely to give her any trouble. Harlan slipped back through the wall panel door – or what was left of it – and ran like hell. He’d lied to the couple he’d left behind. They had at least half an hour’s worth of wandering before they’d find their way out. And he needed the time.
Or rather, the woman in his arms needed the time. He wasn’t calling the EMTs or anybody else. Instead, he had to get her as far away from here as possible before she became a wolf.
