The Wolf Within Series by Amy Burgess

I have Amy Burgess visiting me today for her Wolf Within Series Tour. This is a great paranormal series. I've had the pleasure of reading all six books, and I gotta say it is this series that has hooked me on wolf shifter stories. Stanzie is a kick butt heroine who has her flaws and is just such a great, well rounded character.  Her wolf, along with herself, have evolved over the span of each book, and she just keeps getting better and better.

In the sixth book, Across The Line, Amy delves even more in depth with all the characters from the other five books. As with all of her books, this one is well written, there is an abundance of mystery (I kept trying to guess who did it and found I was completely wrong ... which of course makes for a strong suspense), and she weaves such a fascinating story. And as always, a huge plus to her world building. I was right there along with Stanzie and Murphy. This is an easy 5 star rating!

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Publication Date: August 26, 2013

When Councilor Allerton sends Stanzie to investigate a territory dispute between tiny pack Stony Fell and the British branch of much larger Mac Tire, it seems routine until someone sets a bear trap. A young Stony Fell man pays with the loss of his leg and now it’s up to Stanzie and Murphy to figure out who set the trap–and why–before more members of the packs are maimed.
Add a pair of star-crossed lovers, one love triangle, a grief-stricken bond mate with jealousy issues, and bad blood all around and the resultant twisted hell brew reveals the darker side of inter-pack politics that could prove too difficult–and dangerous–for even Stanzie to untangle.

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, some sexual situations


Excerpt:

We didn’t get three feet through the apartment door before he had me on the floor, tearing at my clothes. I ripped at his too. He kicked the door shut with his foot while simultaneously tearing at my clothes.
I sank my teeth into his shoulder and he yanked my hair hard.
“Are we playing rough?” he asked me.
For an answer, I head butted him. “That’s for being a giant asshole.”
We rolled over and over, smashed into the coffee table and knocked the lamp in the corner over. The crash of the bulb shattering was loud as hell.
“We’re not rolling around in glass.” Murphy lifted me up and I locked my legs around his waist. He staggered us over to one of the sofas.
We crashed down and the springs gave a protesting wail.
I scratched his back with my nails and he bit my lip until we both tasted my blood. It smeared across our faces as we kissed and he shifted so I straddled him on my knees as he sat upright.
“I love you,” he said as he tongued my earlobe. He sucked on it, sending a shooting burst of pleasure through my body.
“I love you,” I told him. When he lifted his head, his eyes gleamed with tears he blinked away.
“Say it again,” he begged. “Tell me again.”
“I love you.” I cupped his face with my hands. Beneath my fingers, his cheeks were smooth and warm. When his wolf colored his eyes amber, my wolf reached for his through me.
He pulled me down so he could kiss me and our lovemaking turned slow and gentle. His touch was reverent and lingering, his kisses a drug that pulled me into him, so my heart beat in time with his.
He brushed his lips, feather light, across my bruised jaw and bleeding lip, whispered to me in Irish as we moved together in a slowly building rhythm.
A rush of energy, my soul to his, and I buried my face in his sticky warm throat. God, I loved this infuriating man.

And there's a giveaway so be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post. There's a rafflecopter at the end.

Now without further ado, here is Amy Burgess:

We gather around the memorial stone. Around us, hummingbirds zip and dart. The zinging sound of their wings fills the air. The trees are leafy green and shake in a gentle mountain breeze. I listen as my human friend sends our wolf friend to rest – to play and run in the otherworld.

Behind us in the enclosures, the wolves and wolf dogs who live there, make their way to the fence line to watch with their dark, knowing eyes. 

Siggy, a gorgeous shaggy collie-wolf, points his muzzle to the incredible blue sky. His howl rips through the spring air – trembling, soaring, full of grief.  My eyes fill with tears. Other wolves and wolf-dogs raise their noses to the clouds and join him in his sad song. Tears spill down my cheeks and I am caught halfway between this world and another. Between human and wolf.  And I know what my shifters feel like. In that moment, I am one of them. Haunted.

I’ve been writing the Wolf Within series for almost three years now. Spanning six novels with a seventh due to be released next year, I’ve traced the journey of my protagonist, Stanzie Newcastle, and her wolf.

I met Stanzie’s wolf on November 1^st, 2010 when I started a NaNoWriMo novel which would become Beneath the Skin.  Stanzie was dreaming she was her wolf and her wolf was looking desperately for Him and Her, her bond mates. Only they were not there anymore and never would be again. 

As I wrote the novel (and it was very much by the seat of my pants – I had no clue where my characters would take me from one scene to the next), I learned more and more about Stanzie’s wolf. She was different than the other shifters’ wolves. Childlike. Joyful. Stubborn. 

Stanzie’s former pack, Riverglow, sheltered her and her wolf, allowing her to remain unchanged and unfettered. But when Stanzie’s bond mates are killed and she is thrown out of her pack, she suspects her wolf will have to change. She’s right.

She bonds with Liam Murphy who is from a large pack in Ireland. He and his wolf work with Stanzie’s to ready her for introduction to a much larger pack with far more rules and expectations of its members.

Writing the shifting scenes for each novel is one of my favorite joys.  The evolution of Stanzie’s wolf has been a fascinating journey. 

My visit to W.O.L.F. in Colorado came about in part because I wanted to do some actual research into how real wolves behave so I could write realistic shifting scenes. While my characters are shifters and not true wolves, I still thought meeting wolves would be beneficial.  And, way cool. I love animals and an opportunity to meet and interact with real wolves was a bucket list item apart from my work on the Wolf Within series.

Meeting Siggy was one of the highlights of my two day visit. He’d recently lost his pack mate and his grief was visible in his face, his eyes, the way he held his body. His howling broke my heart.

 

The remainder of her tour stops:

November 1, 2013

I know that Book {Featured Book – Beneath the Skin – Book Review, Guest Post & Site Giveaway}

 

November 4, 2013

Paranormal Realms {Featured Book – Across the Line – Book Review, Author Interview & BTB Giveaway}

 

November 6, 2013

Book Bliss {Featured Book – Beneath the Skin – Book Review, Author Interview & Site Giveaway}

 

November 7, 2013

Sexy Between the Covers {Featured Book – Across the Line – Guest Post & BTB Giveaway}

 

November 21, 2013

Rose & Beps Blog {Featured Book – Beneath the Skin – Guest Post & BTB Giveaway}

 

November 22, 2013

Brooke Blogs {Featured Book – Beneath the Skin – Book Review, Guest Post & Site Giveaway}

Amy Lee Burgess is a transplanted New Englander living in Houston, Texas with two dogs and lots of DVDs. In an attempt to bond with the city after being forced out of New Orleans post-Katrina, she turned to her writing. Determined to finally finish that novel she’d been hacking away at since high school, Amy managed to come up with a wolf shifter character named Stanzie Newcastle. She and Stanzie have been BFFs ever since.
In addition to Stanzie, Amy has also forged a relationship with several vampires, a witch or two, and other assorted supernatural creatures she hopes will entertain her readers. But she will always have room for coffee and butterscotch squares with Stanzie.

Amy’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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BOOKS 1-5 THE WOLF WITHIN SERIES

Beneath the Skin – Book #1Amazon and Barnes & Noble

If you could shift into a wolf, what would you discover about yourself?

Two years after the deaths of her bond mates, Constance Newcastle is ready to start over. The problem? The rest of the Great Pack, gathered in Paris to shift into wolves together, is not so sure she deserves the chance. Although the Great Council ruled the car crash an accident, even Constance blames herself. She was driving, after all.

Treated like a pariah by those she longs to rejoin, Constance reunites with an old lover. Everything looks promising until he mysteriously dies. Accused of his murder and desperate to clear her name, Constance joins forces with handsome, confident Liam Murphy, a former Alpha pack leader with a past as tragic and troubled as her own. Guided by the mysterious Councilor Jason Allerton, Constance and Liam discover they are not alone– throughout the Great Pack, people are dying. Can all the deaths be accidents, or is something more sinister going on?

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, some sexual situations

Scratch the Surface – Book #2 {Excerpt}

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Something’s rotten in the Riverglow pack.

Still learning more about each other as bond mates and adjusting to their new roles as Advisors to a Councilor, Constance Newcastle and Liam Murphy must deal with the ghosts of their past.

A quiet weekend in Boston is anything but that, when Constance comes face to face with the betrayal of those she considered the closest to her. Everyone has secrets, and wherever Constance goes, she has a knack for uncovering them. The only problem is that some secrets are deadly.

WARNING: Strong language, sexual situations, and a lot of graphic shoe description.

{Excerpt} Hidden in Plain Sight – Book #3

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As Stanzie discovers her wolf, she learns being herself is more dangerous than ever.

Where is Bethany Dillon? The seventeen-year-old girl is missing from the Maplefair pack and Constance Newcastle–Stanzie–and Liam Murphy must find her. Fast. A serial killer still has not been caught. Bethany could have run away, or killed herself. But no one in her pack seems to know the truth. Or, they’re just not telling.

Constance’s knack for uncovering secrets leads her into peril, and to save Bethany, she must break every rule. She risks losing everything, including Liam…and her life.

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, some sexual situations

Inside Out – Book #4 {Excerpt}

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For Stanzie, being herself is more dangerous than ever.

There’s no place like home…or is there? When Stanzie is asked to investigate her birth pack- Mayflower–she isn’t prepared for what she finds. No one respects the Alphas and the newest adult member of the pack is being encouraged to leave. Why?

To make matters worse, the men are dangerously intent on mating and shifting with her. How far will the pack she thought she knew go to get what they want? Without her bond-mate, Liam, Stanzie must face this alone and, barely ahead of threat of violence, must solve the mysteries, and fast.

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, some sexual situations

{Excerpt} About Face – Book #5

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Being herself is more dangerous than ever.

Stanzie’s job as Advisor to the Great Council is discovering other people’s secrets. When those secrets are being kept by the ones she loves most, can she find the courage to expose them?

Under orders from a Councilor, Stanzie journeys to Dublin and the MacTire pack. Her mission: warn her estranged bond mate, Liam Murphy, to abandon his overzealous search for the man responsible for the death of his first bond mate. Not only is he endangering himself, but also disrupting the delicate balance between opposing factions in the conspiracy threatening to tear the Great Pack apart.

Liam needs Stanzie’s help to protect their Alpha, who has entangled himself in the conspiracy’s deadly web. But he also desperately needs her back. In a race against time, Stanzie and Liam discover enemies often wear the faces of friends.

CONTENT WARNING: Vulgar language, some sexual situations