JL Merrow

This is a question I’ve been asked quite a few times. And the short answer is no, it isn’t. But while there are no recurring characters from Camwolf in Midnight in Berlin, the two novels are set very firmly in the same universe. And it’s one where the nightlife in Germany often steps out in fur and fangs. (I’ll be writing about why Germany and werewolves are often linked in my mind in the March edition of The Big Thrill, the magazine of International Thriller Writers—watch my blog for details when it’s out).

Although Camwolf is set in Britain, all the werewolves have some connection with Germany. Nick, the hero of Camwolf, was infected by his ex boyfriend Carl, who was bitten by a man he’d hooked up with while spending a year studying in southern Germany. Julian, Nick’s lover, is German, and was deliberately infected by his father, the leader of a pack of werewolves.

Leon, my American protagonist and narrator in Midnight in Berlin, is about to find out for himself the hazards of casual sex in a foreign country. If you’ve read Camwolf, you may be a little surprised at what Leon finds himself confronting in Christoph, but there’s a definite reason for this. Notice I don’t say it’s a good reason! I’d love to tell you what it is, but sorry—no spoilers!

Just for fun, here’s a couple of snippets to compare and contrast:

Nick & Julian from Camwolf:

Julian drew in a sharp breath. “If you change more frequently, the pain lessens. Considerably. I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”

“Well, forgive me for not having been brought up by werewolves!” Nick regretted his temper immediately, as Julian’s face took on that closed look he’d seen all too often. “Look, I’m sorry,” Nick forced himself to say. “It’s just a little galling—I’ve been a werewolf for three years now, and here you are, telling me I’ve been doing it wrong all this time!”

Leon & Christoph from Midnight in Berlin:

“Say, you, uh, you wanna keep your eyes on the road? In fact, you know what? I can walk from here. You can set me down anywhere now.”

“I don’t think so,” Christoph told me, his voice so damn cold I started to shiver…

“I won’t tell, okay? I’ll keep your secret, I swear it; you can let me go,” came out of my throat in a stranger’s voice. I felt sorry for the stranger. He sounded like he was on the edge of blubbing like a baby. Me, I was thinking, right, let’s talk our way out of here and then we can get the cops onto the psycho beast-guy, let them deal with the werewolf shit.

I guess I thought that a little too loud.

“I’m sorry,” Christoph said. The crazy thing was, I actually believed him for a moment, but then his face warped again and the teeth grew and his hot breath was on my face and I was thinking, oh, God, Mom, I’m sorry—then he lunged to tear out my throat.

…over at Stumbling Over Chaos 

Just leave a comment on this post!

Good luck!

January-April 2012

Fashionably late by 12 hrs or so (depending on time zone), here’s the BYWBBT post for Valentine’s day!

Valentine’s day means different things to different people. It’s hard to know what it meant to the original St Valentine—for one thing, there were at least three, and perhaps as many as fourteen of them! Given what people were generally made saints for, it’s probably safe to assume a bunch of flowers and a box of chocs weren’t, alas, involved.

What it meant to Geoffrey Chaucer (charmingly played by Paul Bettany in the film First Knight, which I mention purely because he first appears with no clothes on *g*) was the day the birds chose their mates:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

– Parliament of Foules, C14th.

(If he’d ever been canonised, dear old Geoff would undoubtedly have been the patron saint, sorry, seynt of poor spellers).

What was good enough for the birds, people thought in the Middle Ages, was good enough for them. And so it became customary to exchange love tokens on this day.

Nowadays, a lot of us are rather cynical about the whole thing. So what does St Valentine’s Day mean to you? Is it simply a profit-making time for card companies and an excuse for restaurants to put up their prices for a night? Or have you managed to keep the romance alive?

My fellow authors Heidi Cullinan, Ellis Carrington, Kate McMurray, and Andrew Grey are here to tell you what Valentine’s Day means to them.

Continue reading →

The hookup from hell…or the ride of his life?
Leon’s drifter lifestyle gives him the freedom to attend as many music festivals as his heart desires. Even the ones that leave him covered in feathers. Wet feathers, thanks to the rain as he hitchhikes back to his hostel. When he’s offered a ride by a good-looking man in a Porsche, Leon thinks it’s his lucky night. Until he discovers his savior from the storm hides a dark secret: he’s a werewolf.
At first glance, Christoph thinks the shaggy stranger walking Berlin’s streets is a rogue werewolf. By the time he realizes his mistake, it’s too late for both of them. Forced to turn Leon into a monster to save his life, Christoph still has to suffer his pack leader’s brutal punishment for endangering them all.
Leon awakens, horrified by what he’s become—but it’s his lover’s fate that spurs him to action. Freeing Christoph is easy, but the aftermath complicates everything as they go on the run, desperate to uncover the secrets their pack leader is hiding. Secrets the pack will kill to protect… 

Product Warnings

Take a trip to Europe. Soak up the local culture, meet a creature from your worst nightmares. Contains werewolves behaving badly, clothed and unclothed. Author is not responsible for unexpected, uncontrollable urges to consume massive amounts of, um, bacon. 

Midnight in Berlin will be released on Tuesday 21st February, and to celebrate, I’ll be offering a free copy in the format of their choice to one lucky commenter on this post!  You can comment on LJ, WordPress or on Goodreads, and I’ll make the draw on Monday 20th, at 11pm GMT.

… that code’s due to expire on 14th February 2012!

If you summon this demon, he’s guaranteed to come!
With a killer succubus leaving a trail of desiccated corpses around town, Detective Lars Thornsson knows he shouldn’t be falling for a suspect, but a hot little piece of demon tail like Rael is impossible to resist.
Sexy male succubus Rael has an insatiable appetite for men that can get him into all kinds of trouble. And he’s just found his favorite flavor: a hunky blond detective. When those cool Nordic looks combine with Rael’s smouldering dark charms, all Hell could be let loose!

This was such a cute story. Right off the bat I was laughing as Rael used his charm and sexuality in confronting the young, straight man who summoned him while hoping for a female demon. The story has a nice flow and easiness to it, which is partly due to Rael’s confident, sexy, and funny voice…Also, the sex was smokin’! I love me a demon with an agile tail – Cole, Brief Encounters Reviews.

A Calling for Pleasure is the first in a series of stories about Rael which continues with A Blast from the Past and A Wish Too Far, and was previously published in the Torquere anthology The Care and Feeding of Demons, now out of print.  The story has been revised and expanded, with cover art by the very talented Lou Harper.

For a limited time only, up until February 14th, you can download a copy of A Calling for Pleasure absolutely FREE from Smashwords here.  All you need is this discount code: TY79V

After February 14th, A Calling for Pleasure will be available for the princely sum of 99c.

Also available on Kindle.

September 14th – 16th 2012

will see the third annual UK Meet for readers/writers/reviewers/fans of GLBTQ fiction.

There will be a full day of programmed events on Saturday 15^th, plus social events on Friday evening and Sunday morning.

Full press release, with details of where, what and how to book, goes live Friday 24th Feb.

Call for submissions for linked anthology "Lashings of Sauce" goes live Friday 2nd March.

UK Meet team (Jo, Jamie, Clare, Alex and Charlie)

UK GLBTQ Fiction – Read it, Write it, Love it

Hop on over to Ellis Carrington’s blog where Ellis, Heidi Cullinan, Kate McMurray, Marie Sexton, Andrew Grey and I are talking about where we’d like to get away to right now, dammit! ;D

And because Ellis wasn’t able to include my final picture, here it is: believe it or not, THIS is what attracted Christopher Isherwood to Berlin in 1929:

Twinks ain’t what they used to be… ;D

Be sure to leave a comment at each stop of the tour for up to sixteen chances at the grand prize: a $200 USD gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice! Also keep an eye out for links to individual authors’ sites on their release dates for a chance to win some free books.

Good luck in the draws!

If you pop on over to Joyfully Jay this week and leave a comment on this post, you’ll be in with a chance to win one of over a dozen rock star themed books, including my own Batteries Not Included! Make sure you check out Jay’s reviews and other posts throughout the week too.

….may be interested to hear that Best Lesbian Romance 2012 is available at a discount from now through Valentine’s Day. If you order from the Cleis Press website, use discount code “Valentine 14” to get 14% off.

And check out this funky cover:

a new feminine/Sapphic blending of physical power and inescapable desires.She Shifters re-envisions common and not-so-common myths – due out in paperback from Cleis Press on 10th July 2012, and available to pre-order on Amazon.

My stories for She Shifters:

Nine Days and Seven Tears
A selkie blown off course inspires an island girl yearning for fulfillment

Belling the Kat
Two bridesmaids conspire to hide one girl’s furry little tail

Yes, the fourth instalment in this series of Wednesday posts to brighten your week is here!

January-April 2012

Today, Heidi Cullinan, Ellis Carrington, Kate McMurray, Marie Sexton, Andrew Grey and I are over at Lou Harper’s blog talking about winter in our respective back yards.  We have snowy landscapes, cute animals and… brightly coloured flowers?! It’s winter, but not as we know it, cap’n.

Be sure to leave a comment at each stop of the tour for up to sixteen chances at the grand prize: a $200 USD gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice! Also keep an eye out for links to individual authors’ sites on their release dates for a chance to win some free books.

Good luck in the draws!