GUEST POST :: Chaos Kin by Sheryl R. Hayes #Excerpt #Giveaway #GuestPost
✨ GUEST POST ✨
A lot of people ask one question when I say I write about vampires and werewolves – why? And I understand the unspoken reasoning. Vampires and werewolves are everywhere you look in Western pop culture. They are the heroes and villains of horror, of romance, and even of kids cartoons. So why do I feel the need to add to the multitude of stories out there?
It had to do with that multitude. Because no matter where I looked, I didn’t see the story that I wanted to read. Most of the stories I read had the same premise – werewolves and vampires are at best reluctant allies and at worst outright enemies. Usually they were somewhere in the middle, but the stereotypes of heroes versus villains were consistent. There is a lot of room to play in that sandbox. You could do variations on Romeo and Juliet love stories to teaming up to prevent a worse monster from taking over to turning on each other to prevent the destruction of life as we know it. The possibilities are endless. But there was a plot point that I never had answered.
Why were they enemies? Was it the natural competition between two apex predators? Had it started as a personal grudge that became encoded into speciesism through the centuries? Or had the true reasons been lost in the mists of time?
I craved that answer. But none of those books I read ever offered one. I finally decided that I needed to tell the stories that would give it.
One thing I considered as I started world-building was I did not want to cast one side as the villains and one as the heroes. My vampires and werewolves are people, with all their messiness. There’s what the vampires say happened. There’s what the werewolves say happened. Of course their stories make them look like the victimized party and the other as the villain. And each group has variations of those stories, further muddying the waters. At this point, I am the only one who knows exactly what happened, and I’m not telling.
Excuse me while I indulge in an evil chuckle for a moment.
So how do I work that into my stories? That’s the purpose of my characters, primarily Jordan. Half of the problems she faces is because she is trying to determine out what is going on – who is telling the truth, who is lying, and who is withholding key information. Based on what she knows and what she thinks she knows, she doesn’t always make the right decision. Plus she’s a werewolf who spends a lot of time with vampires. That makes herself suspect from their points of view. But slowly the layers are being peeled back as she asks questions and makes discoveries. Those mistakes are leading to answers, and of course to more problems.
Will the whole picture ever be revealed? Probably not. There is a lot of backstory and world-building I have that will be peppered into stories, or have as a ready answer if a reader ever questions why I wrote something that particular way. But writing the Jordan Abbey series has given me the chance to share the answers I have come up with.
Chaos Kin
by Sheryl R. Hayes
Series: Jordan Abbey (Book 3)
Release Date: Tuesday, January 14 2025
Publisher: Stitched Wolf Press
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde Media
Primary Plot Arc: Speculative Fiction
Main Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Sub-Genres: urban fantasy
LGBTQ+ Identities: bi, poly
Keywords/Categories: werewolf, vampire
Length: Novel / 74,000 Words / 307 Pages
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Series Blurb
In the Northern California town of Rancho Robles where the Children of the Wolf and the Bat share an uneasy coexistence. One werewolf woman threatens to upset that balance.
Book Blurb
In the town of Rancho Robles, can one werewolf protect the Children of the Wolf and the Bat? Chaos Wolf Jordan Abbey has made friends among the Black Oak Pack even though she refuses to join it. The same can’t be said of the vampires, but her life has taken a turn for the better.
That is until Enya Blevins, sister to the werewolf who turned Jordan, arrives in Rancho Robles. She wants to know who killed her baby brother and is less than impressed by the Chaos Wolf. Enya wants revenge, starting with Jordan and ending with the vampires infesting the area.
Jordan is prepared to flee, but a technicality makes her an Alpha Werewolf. Now she must stand her ground to protect her nascent Pack and those she loves.
The past has come back to bite her. Does she have the fangs to bite back?
Excerpt
“You ready for this?”
Jordan nodded. She and Montgomery had pulled over three blocks from the entrance to the Black Oak Pack’s compound for one last quick discussion. “Got the Uber request programmed in to meet me here. If things go wrong, we run.”
Montgomery shook his head, hand tightening on the steering wheel. “No, you run.”
Jordan’s expression tightened. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Jordan, you have to run without me.” Montgomery stared at her until she looked away. “I know you’re afraid of what will happen to me. But they won’t harm me. To do so is to risk open conflict with Elder Marcus.”
Jordan bit back her response. Alpha Shane may have a vested interest in living in peace with the Elder of the Conclave of Rancho Robles. That didn’t mean that these strangers who came from far away would have the same desires. Add to the fact things were personal between Montgomery and Enya, and the odds were that they wouldn’t be thinking about insulting the vampires in the area.
She sighed and recited the plans they had come up with the night before. “If things go south, I run back to the Cataluña and wait for you or Thorn. If after twenty-four hours, neither of you show up, I ask Elder Marcus for help getting someplace safe. You and Thorn will join me once you’re able to.”
Montgomery smiled and nodded. She noticed a tear in the corner of his eye. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
She didn’t bother to say that he didn’t sound like he believed it any more than she did.
Jordan closed her eyes but lifted her head as she and Montgomery drove up to the gate of the Black Oak Pack’s home territory. As if by mutual consent, neither of them spoke as Sentry Rodriguez waved them through. There was no point hashing out their plans further. In the next ten minutes, they would know if she would have to run and hide with her tail between her legs.
The silence continued as they walked to the front door. Angela opened the door before she had a chance to knock on it, focusing on Jordan instead of Montgomery. The blonde blond werewolf arched her eyebrows in a question.
Jordan shook her head ever so slightly.
Angela’s lips pressed together as she narrowed her eyes. Jordan could hear her thoughts. Why am I not surprised? Instead, she gestured them inside. “This way please.”
The entire pack was gathered, clumping together in little knots around the room. Pamela met her eyes and then turned her attention back to her conversation with Tran. Alpha Shane, Envoy Blevins, and Talespeakers stood by the cold, dark fireplace. Angela took her place with the rest of the younger people in the room. The tension in the room ramped up as the four highest-ranking werewolves focused on her and Montgomery. Alpha Shane dipped his head in greeting. “Chaos Wolf Abbey, Mr. Cooper.”
Enya was far less formal, not giving Montgomery and Jordan a chance to greet them. She assessed Jordan, head lifted so she stared down her nose. “Were you able to retrieve the fangs?”
Jordan drew herself up to stand straight and as tall as she could. “No.”
Everyone around her tensed, which she expected.
“This isn’t her fault,” Montgomery said. “She didn’t know—”
“Silence, vampire!” Enya snapped. Her focus was on Jordan as she paced forward. “It’s not completely your fault. I blame you as much as I blame him.” She nodded towards Alpha Shane. “And him.” Her gaze turned towards Montgomery.
Alpha Shane’s shoulders hunched. He shifted his weight but said nothing.
She felt her ears flatten, an impressive trick as she was in her human form. Jordan opened her mouth, trying to force her words through her snarl. To her surprise, Billy, Juan, Tran, and Maria surrounded her and Montgomery with Angela taking the point in front of Jordan. Jordan couldn’t see her expression, but the young woman stood stiffly, legs apart, and fists braced on her waist.
Confused, Jordan looked at Billy on her right, eyes wide. “What’s going on?” she whispered as Montgomery put a hand on her shoulder.
“We’re saving your skin,” he said. “Now, shush.”
Angela looked at Enya. “Jordan shouldn’t be treated as a chaos wolf. She is—”
“Angela!” Alpha Shane barked, glaring at her.
His daughter didn’t stop speaking. “—An alpha wolf in her own right.”
About the Author
Sheryl R. Hayes can be found untangling plot threads or the yarn her three cats have been playing with. She is equally likely to be shooing one of them off the keyboard as she is working on her novels and short stories. In addition to writing, she is a cosplayer focusing on knit and crochet costumes.
Author Links
Giveaway
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