Awesome new series beginning in 2009!
Okay, as promised, here are some really exciting new series beginning in 2009!
February
OUTCAST SEASON: UNDONEby Rachel Caine (Roc, mass market)
Once she was Cassiel, a Djinn of limitless power. Then she defied her ruler, who punished her by tearing her very essence away and reshaping her in human flesh….
Forced to live among those she considers inferior, Cassiel has found refuge among the Weather Wardens - whose power she must tap into regularly or she will die.
Cassiel earns her keep by assisting the Earth Warden Manny Rocha on his missions - something she finds much easier than coping with the emotions and frailties of her human condition, especially her growing affection for Manny's brother, Luis. But when Cassiel encounters a malevolent force that threatens the Rocha family, she discovers that her perceived human weaknesses may be her greatest strengths….
April
SOME GIRLS BITE: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill (NAL trade paperback)
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires.
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker-and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude- and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood.
June
JAQUAR NIGHT, first in the Sentinels series, by Doranna Durgin (Silhouette Nocturne, mass market)
The Sentinels are a long line of shapeshifters who consider themselves Sentinels of the Earth...and at the same time guard its people against the Atrum Core, an equally ancient group who, in an effort to vanquish the Sentinels, steal their powers anyway they can. Both groups have their roots in the same Roman-druidic family, but a thousand years is enough time to push a lot of boundaries...
The first book, Jaguar Night, features a fiercely independent Sentinel who takes the form of a black jaguar. Dolan goes rogue to find a powerful artifact before the enemy does, but doesn't count on needing help from Meghan Lawrence, the disenchanted daughter of a Sentinel killed in the line of duty....
July
DYING BITES: The Bloodhound Files by D.D. Barant (St. Martin's, mass market)
In this dark urban fantasy, hardened profiler Jace Valchek is "reassigned" to an alternate world in which humans are the distinct minority, secondary citizens to vampires, lycanthropes and golems. It’s a reality where the viruses that have reshaped it have virtually cured the mental misfirings that lead to insanity…only the unthinkable has happened: this world's first serial killer. And only Jace can get inside the twisted mind.
THE CALLING by David Mack (Pocket, trade paperback)
For millennia, a supernatural war has been waged on Earth, with all the souls who dwell there as its pawns. On one side are the Called - men and women guided by guardian angels who defend humanity from its own worst impulses. On the other side are the Scorned - people influenced by fallen angels.
Tom Nash is a member of the Called who works as a handyman and makes his living doing odd jobs. He's thirty-three years old, married, and a few weeks away from becoming a father for the first time. And since he was sixteen, he's been hearing other people's prayers.
So when he hears the prayers of a kidnapped young girl in New York, he leaves his pregnant wife behind to help, unknowingly becoming a key figure in the ages-old conflict between the Called and the Scorned.
Expertly written, briskly paced, and featuring an edgy, cinematic style, The Calling is a page-turning thriller that readers will be unable to put down.
SKINWALKER: A Jane Yellowrock Novel by Faith Hunter (Roc, mass market)
A year ago Jane nearly lost her life taking down an entire blood family of deadly rogue vampires that preyed on the helpless local populace of an Appalachian town. Now, after months of recuperation, she’s back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she’s hired by those she’s trained to kill-vampires...
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. Back from hiatus, she’s hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.
Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission-or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…
August
BUNDLE OF TROUBLE: A Maternal Instincts Mystery by Diana Orgain (Berkley Prime Crime, mass market)
First-time mom Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home job: Private Investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you're going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes.
Kate imagined she'd spend her maternity leave crooning lullabies and snuggling her beautiful new baby. But then she receives a disturbing phone call telling her that a body has been pulled from San Francisco Bay, and the police think it may be her brother-in-law.
Now, in addition to trying to solve the mystery of how one six-pound baby can generate ten times her weight in laundry, Kate finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with multiplying victims. And when her husband is detained in connection with the crimes, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say "diaper rash" to keep her little family together.
October
THE CHRISTMAS STRANGER: first in The Bancroft Brides trilogy by Beth Cornelison (Silhouette Romantic Suspense mass market)
First in a series in which three sisters from Louisiana discover that the road to the altar can be filled with danger and other surprises on the way to finding their Mr. Right.
November
BITTER NIGHT: The Horngate Witches series by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Pocket mass market)
Awesome new urban fantasy series from the author of the Path and Crosspointe novels (Roc books).
YOURS FOR THE NIGHT: The Courtesan Tales by Jasmine Haynes (Berkley Heat, trade paperback)
Transformed into mistresses of the night, three women discover that sometimes fulfilling your deepest desire is the most dangerous thing you can do.
Raised to believe that the only measure of self-worth is money, being a courtesan gives Marianna Whitney value beyond her wildest dreams in "The Girlfriend Experience."
Devastated when her husband dumps her, all Dominique Lowe wants is "Payback." Becoming a courtesan is the perfect revenge. Until she meets a man determined to resist her...
In "Triple Play," three divorces have taught Noelle St. James that her sexual appetite is far too insatiable for any one man. Until one man gives her everything she needs.
December
THE RECKONERS by Doranna Durgin (Tor Romance, mass market)
The Reckoners kicks off a new contemporary fantasy romance series about a young woman once mentored by a ghost and now leading a ghostbuster team, all of whom tangle with a fiercely driven demon-hunter from a different dimension. For when Lisa McGarrity and her team come across an intruder in a client's spirit-infested house and he claims to need their help, they're skeptical. When he tells them of trouble at the Winchester Mystery House--San Jose's riddle of a mansion built first to draw ghosts and now a steady stream of tourists--they're even less inclined to believe. But when inexplicable, deadly events rock the city to its core, they're forced to help the mysterious Trevarr...secrets and all.
CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON by Susan Wright (Roc, mass market)
After accidentally stealing the life force from a dying demon, Allay became the only human-demon hybrid in existence. Because demons feed off of human emotions, Allay decided the safest way to live as a demon and still retain some semblance of humanity would be to open a bar and drink from her patrons’ pain and torment.
And she’s managed to stay under the demon radar-until now. Attacked and nearly killed by another demon, Allay is saved by a human who comes to her rescue. Theo Ram is tall, handsome, and mortal-and Allay feels a connection to him she didn’t think she’d ever know. But their bonds are tested when the demon community in New York begins to rise up, and two opposing clans fight for power. Now Allay is caught in the middle, and she must decide where her loyalties lie….
There will be more where those came from. For some, the schedule and/or title just aren't firm yet. And stay tuned for books in continuing series!
February
OUTCAST SEASON: UNDONEby Rachel Caine (Roc, mass market)
Once she was Cassiel, a Djinn of limitless power. Then she defied her ruler, who punished her by tearing her very essence away and reshaping her in human flesh….
Forced to live among those she considers inferior, Cassiel has found refuge among the Weather Wardens - whose power she must tap into regularly or she will die.
Cassiel earns her keep by assisting the Earth Warden Manny Rocha on his missions - something she finds much easier than coping with the emotions and frailties of her human condition, especially her growing affection for Manny's brother, Luis. But when Cassiel encounters a malevolent force that threatens the Rocha family, she discovers that her perceived human weaknesses may be her greatest strengths….
April
SOME GIRLS BITE: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill (NAL trade paperback)
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires.
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker-and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude- and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood.
June
JAQUAR NIGHT, first in the Sentinels series, by Doranna Durgin (Silhouette Nocturne, mass market)
The Sentinels are a long line of shapeshifters who consider themselves Sentinels of the Earth...and at the same time guard its people against the Atrum Core, an equally ancient group who, in an effort to vanquish the Sentinels, steal their powers anyway they can. Both groups have their roots in the same Roman-druidic family, but a thousand years is enough time to push a lot of boundaries...
The first book, Jaguar Night, features a fiercely independent Sentinel who takes the form of a black jaguar. Dolan goes rogue to find a powerful artifact before the enemy does, but doesn't count on needing help from Meghan Lawrence, the disenchanted daughter of a Sentinel killed in the line of duty....
July
DYING BITES: The Bloodhound Files by D.D. Barant (St. Martin's, mass market)
In this dark urban fantasy, hardened profiler Jace Valchek is "reassigned" to an alternate world in which humans are the distinct minority, secondary citizens to vampires, lycanthropes and golems. It’s a reality where the viruses that have reshaped it have virtually cured the mental misfirings that lead to insanity…only the unthinkable has happened: this world's first serial killer. And only Jace can get inside the twisted mind.
THE CALLING by David Mack (Pocket, trade paperback)
For millennia, a supernatural war has been waged on Earth, with all the souls who dwell there as its pawns. On one side are the Called - men and women guided by guardian angels who defend humanity from its own worst impulses. On the other side are the Scorned - people influenced by fallen angels.
Tom Nash is a member of the Called who works as a handyman and makes his living doing odd jobs. He's thirty-three years old, married, and a few weeks away from becoming a father for the first time. And since he was sixteen, he's been hearing other people's prayers.
So when he hears the prayers of a kidnapped young girl in New York, he leaves his pregnant wife behind to help, unknowingly becoming a key figure in the ages-old conflict between the Called and the Scorned.
Expertly written, briskly paced, and featuring an edgy, cinematic style, The Calling is a page-turning thriller that readers will be unable to put down.
SKINWALKER: A Jane Yellowrock Novel by Faith Hunter (Roc, mass market)
A year ago Jane nearly lost her life taking down an entire blood family of deadly rogue vampires that preyed on the helpless local populace of an Appalachian town. Now, after months of recuperation, she’s back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she’s hired by those she’s trained to kill-vampires...
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. Back from hiatus, she’s hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.
Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission-or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…
August
BUNDLE OF TROUBLE: A Maternal Instincts Mystery by Diana Orgain (Berkley Prime Crime, mass market)
First-time mom Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home job: Private Investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you're going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes.
Kate imagined she'd spend her maternity leave crooning lullabies and snuggling her beautiful new baby. But then she receives a disturbing phone call telling her that a body has been pulled from San Francisco Bay, and the police think it may be her brother-in-law.
Now, in addition to trying to solve the mystery of how one six-pound baby can generate ten times her weight in laundry, Kate finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with multiplying victims. And when her husband is detained in connection with the crimes, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say "diaper rash" to keep her little family together.
October
THE CHRISTMAS STRANGER: first in The Bancroft Brides trilogy by Beth Cornelison (Silhouette Romantic Suspense mass market)
First in a series in which three sisters from Louisiana discover that the road to the altar can be filled with danger and other surprises on the way to finding their Mr. Right.
November
BITTER NIGHT: The Horngate Witches series by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Pocket mass market)
Awesome new urban fantasy series from the author of the Path and Crosspointe novels (Roc books).
YOURS FOR THE NIGHT: The Courtesan Tales by Jasmine Haynes (Berkley Heat, trade paperback)
Transformed into mistresses of the night, three women discover that sometimes fulfilling your deepest desire is the most dangerous thing you can do.
Raised to believe that the only measure of self-worth is money, being a courtesan gives Marianna Whitney value beyond her wildest dreams in "The Girlfriend Experience."
Devastated when her husband dumps her, all Dominique Lowe wants is "Payback." Becoming a courtesan is the perfect revenge. Until she meets a man determined to resist her...
In "Triple Play," three divorces have taught Noelle St. James that her sexual appetite is far too insatiable for any one man. Until one man gives her everything she needs.
December
THE RECKONERS by Doranna Durgin (Tor Romance, mass market)
The Reckoners kicks off a new contemporary fantasy romance series about a young woman once mentored by a ghost and now leading a ghostbuster team, all of whom tangle with a fiercely driven demon-hunter from a different dimension. For when Lisa McGarrity and her team come across an intruder in a client's spirit-infested house and he claims to need their help, they're skeptical. When he tells them of trouble at the Winchester Mystery House--San Jose's riddle of a mansion built first to draw ghosts and now a steady stream of tourists--they're even less inclined to believe. But when inexplicable, deadly events rock the city to its core, they're forced to help the mysterious Trevarr...secrets and all.
CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON by Susan Wright (Roc, mass market)
After accidentally stealing the life force from a dying demon, Allay became the only human-demon hybrid in existence. Because demons feed off of human emotions, Allay decided the safest way to live as a demon and still retain some semblance of humanity would be to open a bar and drink from her patrons’ pain and torment.
And she’s managed to stay under the demon radar-until now. Attacked and nearly killed by another demon, Allay is saved by a human who comes to her rescue. Theo Ram is tall, handsome, and mortal-and Allay feels a connection to him she didn’t think she’d ever know. But their bonds are tested when the demon community in New York begins to rise up, and two opposing clans fight for power. Now Allay is caught in the middle, and she must decide where her loyalties lie….
There will be more where those came from. For some, the schedule and/or title just aren't firm yet. And stay tuned for books in continuing series!