It’s kind of amazing to think it was only FOUR years ago that Riley Jenson popped into the literary consciousness.
Nine books later (nine!), Riley’s adventures have come to an end with this past Spring’s Moon Sworn, but her legacy (and Keri Arthur’s, of course) certainly lives on.
What’s kind of nice about a series ending, though, is that means you know you can pick up the first book and not have to worry if the story is ever going to be finished. This story is finished. So if you like paranormal romance or urban fantasy (I think it does a fine job of straddling the line of those two sub-genres), check out Full Moon Rising, the first book in the Guardian series.
I’ll see you in eight more books!
Below, Keri’s editor, Anne Groell, talks about signing Keri and the success of Full Moon Rising. There’s also an excerpt from the audio book of Full Moon Rising.
“Keri Arthur was my second paranormal/urban fantasy buy for Bantam, and another book which was the subject of a hot auction. (My boss at the time had also fallen in love with the book, and wasn’t about to lose it. And there’s no better way to be guaranteed to get a book you love than having the boss in your corner!) And, yes, the fact that both my two paranormal authors at the time had the initials K.A. was an oddity that did not escape my notice. (Then I went and made it even more surreal by adding a third with the initials J.B.–one letter off in each direction!)
But the real take-home lesson from this book was the power of the bookseller. Because what I remember most clearly about the early stages of this book was the back and forth we did about the category that would end up on the spine. Now, the paranormal genre is never an easy one to categorize–especially with the recent collision between urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I have definitely read a lot of books with “Romance” on the spine that I felt were more urban fantasy–and vice-versa. So it is a tricky game in the first place, and one that usually comes down to which editor acquires the book and for which imprint. But sometimes, it comes down to the booksellers–as it did in this case.
It was never a clear-cut category decision in Keri’s case, anyway. Riley didn’t end up with her soul mate at the end of book one, as is more traditional for romances, but there as a lot more hot sex in it that is average for your traditional urban fantasy. (Though, admittedly, I am saying “average,” because there are clearly exceptions to all rules.) So we went back and forth, trying to figure out what would be best for the book. And finally, we asked the chains.
In my mind, I like to picture this as a cage match, with each of the contestants (a la Douglas Adams) resplendent in their jeweled battle shorts, but it basically did come down to a showdown between the romance and the SF/F buyers as to which most wanted it in their section. And so was the Fantasy designation placed on the spine–thus qualifying it for inclusion in this whole extravaganza. So don’t ever let it be said that we never listen to outside advice…”
–Anne Groell, Senior Editor, Spectra
Check out this excerpt from the Full Moon Rising audio book, courtesy of Random House Audio:
To see the complete list, click here
