Wolf Huntress

Maralee Decatur comes from a long line of Wolf Hunters. On the night of the full moon, she stalks man-eating, immortal Wolves with a sword made of solid silver - their only weakness. One full-moon night, Maralee encounters Nash, a man with a strange compassion for the enormous beasts. He prevents her from killing them, even seems to mourn the death of the single monster she killed that night. She doesn't understand how anyone could show kindness towards a Wolf, her entire family was murdered by a pack of them when she was a child, but she can't help but be attracted to sexy, compassionate Nash and his dangerous, dominating streak.

Nash is a Wolf Guardian. The only of his kind--a race of shape-shifting wolves--who is not affected by the curse placed upon them 500 years ago. Normally, a peaceful, forest-dwelling people, the full moon causes them to go mad and hunt humans in their Wolf form. As a Guardian, Nash can placate his people and prevent them from attacking humans, but then the haughty Wolf Huntress shows up in his territory and slays his brother right before his eyes. He should hate her, but he doesn't. He failed to protect his brother. He doesn't blame her. He actually thinks she might be able to help his people break their curse, and so he invites her to stay among the Wolves (in their human form).

Their attraction is instantaneous, their love deep, until Maralee finds her lover is a Wolf. She must come to terms with her feelings of animosity towards Wolves and learn to accept the man she loves for what he is. Together they can break the curse on Nash's people, if the bigotry of his people and hers doesn't drive them apart.

This cover was designed by me for promotion in the contest.

A few comments from the contest:
(note: click on the author's cover to learn about their novels)

"Fantastic, Jamie! You stirred all our senses right in the first paragraph, letting us see, hear, and feel the cold night, then kept us on edge with the threat of danger and the stranger in the shadows. Feral eyes and earthy scent! "Was it possible for someone to smell dangerous?" Great line, and the answer is obviously hell, yes. You sure can set a scene. The conflict is terrific, too... [G]reat plot! Love her warrior look too. Love the whole thing".
-Starr Toth, author of "Trust Me" to be released in 2008

"This is one of the best beginnings I've seen in a romance in a long time. Your writing is excellent and compelling, especially in the first few paragraphs. You genuinely pull someone into the story - and I'm not a huge fan of the werewolf genre. Your character development is exceptional - I love the kick ass heroine (a favorite of mine) and the conflicted hero. [T]his is wonderful, Jamie. You are truly gifted."
-Minnette Meador, author of "StarSight"