Werecats and the American Civil War

Introduction
I am J.M. Snyder, author of gay erotic/romantic fiction. I began self-publishing with iUniverse in 2002 and while I still enjoy the amount of control I retain when publishing my own books (which I do infrequently through Lulu Press), I now work with Amber Allure, Aspen Mountain, and Torquere Presses. My short fiction has appeared online at Ruthie's Club, Tit-Elation, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies released by Aspen Mountain Press, Cleis Press, and Alyson Books.

I will keep this post at the top of the page while I'm chatting here. Scroll down to read the latest entries!

Between States
Today I'd like to talk a bit about my e-book series, Between States, which is about shapeshifters. Currently there are two stories available in the series: Under a Confederate Moon and Beneath a Yankee Sky, both published by Amber Allure Press.

If the titles of the first two don't clue you in, the stories are set during the American Civil War. Caleb Chilson is a soldier in the Confederate army (for those who may not know, that means he fights for the South). Brance Brenneman is a Union soldier, fighting for the North. Once a month for a few days while the moon is full, they shift into bobcats and spend their nights hunting in the woods. By morning, they return to human form and rejoin their respective armies.

In the first book, Under a Confederate Moon, told from Caleb's point of view, the two meet in shifted form. Brance is wounded, and Caleb has never met another like himself. After assisting the older bobcat with his injury, Caleb refuses to leave him, though when morning comes, he realizes they fight on opposing sides. When he returns to his unit, Caleb is brought before his commanding officer on charges of desertion. To save himself, he blurts out the location of the Yankee camp. Fighting ensues, and Caleb must decide what matters more to him ~ the war raging between humans or the undeniable attraction he feels for a fellow shifter.

In the second book, Beneath a Yankee Sky, readers get an inside look at the elusive Brance. The son of an Amish preacher, Brance knew the simple life on a Pennsylvanian farm wasn't for him and he left home at an early age. By the time this story opens, he and Caleb have deserted the War Between the States, choosing to forge their own path together. However, trappers in the woods threaten their safety, and when the hunters see the two shift into bobcat form, Brance knows they're in trouble. A cleverly placed trap snares Caleb, and Brance must fight to protect the life ~ and the man ~ he's come to love.

Coming up
Later this fall, a third story will be released, entitled A More Perfect Union, and in early January 2009, a paperback collection of all three stories will be available, entitled Between States. Both will be published by Amber Allure Press.

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts, and thank you, Jeanne, for having me here today! I'll post two excerpts later in the day, one from each book in the Between States series, and will be giving away a copy of both e-books to one lucky winner who comments on any of my entries.