Stalking Buffalo Bill by j. leigh bailey Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Hi guys, we have j. leigh bailey popping in today with her upcoming release Stalking Buffalo Bill, we have a brilliant guest post, a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Stalking Buffalo Bill

(Dreamspun Beyond 03 / Shifter U 01)
by

j. leigh bailey

A smitten coyote isn’t the only one stalking Buffalo Bill.

A buffalo walks into a cafe. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but for coyote shifter Donnie Granger, it’s the beginning of an obsession. Donnie is a little hyperactive and a lot distractible, except when it comes to William. He finally works up the nerve to approach William but is interrupted by a couple of violent humans.

While William—don’t call me Bill—is currently a professor, he once worked undercover against an international weapons-trafficking ring. Before he can settle into obscurity, he must find out who leaked his location and eliminate the thugs. He tries keeping his distance to protect Donnie, but the wily coyote won’t stay away.

It’ll take both Donnie’s skills as a stalker—er, hunter—and William’s super-spy expertise to neutralize the threat so they can discover if an excitable coyote and a placid-until-pissed buffalo have a future together.

Release date: 1st September 2017
Pre-order:
 Dreamspinner Press ebook | Dreamspinner Press paperback | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble |Kobo | iBooks | GooglePlay

j. leigh!

Before I get started, I wanted to say a big “thank you” to MM Good Book Reviews for letting me stop by today and celebrate the upcoming release of STALKING BUFFALO BILL. I had so much fun writing this book, and I’m thrilled to be a part of Dreamspinner Press’s new line, Dreamspun Beyond.

The Birth of the Shifter U Series…

It all started with a short story.

Every now and then I like to write a short story as a sort of palate cleanser between bigger projects. It so happened that I came across a call for submissions for male/male shifter romances, specifically with non-traditional (i.e. not werewolves) shifted forms. I’d been wanting to set a story in Wyoming (I’d spent half of my youth in Wyoming and still visit family there regularly) and wanted to try writing a quirky, voice-driven character. And that’s how Donnie—a hyperactive coyote shapeshifter in love with a mysterious buffalo shapeshifter—was born.

But there was a problem. I fell in love with Donnie and William (the buffalo shapeshifter in question). And I created a university where shapeshifters went to took classes in safety while staying a secret from the humans. And, well, suddenly it was too much for a 10,000 word story. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to actually write a full-length paranormal romance novel. Sure, several publishers were looking for paranormal, especially shapeshifters. And there were many Manuscript Wish Lists with shapeshifters—especially male/male pairings. But it all seemed geared towards alpha men, like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, but with fur (which is an amazing combination, by the way). I didn’t know if my quirky coyote would find a home outside of this particular short story anthology call for submissions.

So I did what any self-respecting author would do. I sent the first pages to my critique group (none of whom read paranormal, by the way). They also fell in love with Donnie. Not only that, they convinced me that my potential short story really needed to be at least a novella, if not a novel. AND, really, I had the perfect setup for a series. And, of course, as soon as they said that, my brain started whirring and chugging (there may have been smoke escaping via my ears), and I had characters and scenarios and… oh my goodness, I needed to talk to my agent, STAT. And my agent was onboard 100%. So I set aside the YA project I’d been half-heartedly working on (thus the need for the short story palate cleanser) and started expanding STALKING BUFFALO BILL from a short story to a novel with series potential.

So, here’s a little more about the Shifter U series:

A fun, male/male take on shapeshifter romance, the Shifter U stories include characters who shapeshift into more than the average apex predator. Sure, there are wolves, tigers, and bear shifters, but there are also coyotes, owls, beavers, bison, and more.

All books in the series center around Cody College, located on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, where the occasionally furry have a safe place to further their education. Affectionately known as Shifter U, the school offers shapeshifting students a “special track” which gives them the chance to learn important subjects like mathematics, philosophy, and, most importantly, how to hide their secret identity from local humans.

Maintaining secret identities is tough. Dark secrets, old enemies, mythical heritage, and a mysterious illness challenge the stealth skills of even the sneakiest students and staff. While these shifters struggle to handle their type of “normal,” thorny complications of attraction pop up—always at the worst possible times.

Book 2—CHASING THUNDERBIRD—is tentatively scheduled to release in early 2018 as part of Dreamspinner Press’s Dreamspun Beyond line.

Excerpt!

I glanced at the clock above the stone fireplace in the corner. It was time. If I waited any longer, he’d get up and leave. “I’m taking my break.” I untied my forest-green apron and tossed it on the counter by the register.

Ford scowled at me. “It’s almost eleven. We have to prep for the lunch crowd.”

“I won’t be long.” I rushed to the back room.

The back room was about the size of a coat closet and held a small desk with a computer monitor, a safe, and a folding chair. There wasn’t space for anything else. I reached under the desk and grabbed the insulated bag I’d brought with me this morning. I pulled out the rectangular storage container, inhaling the distinctive basil-and-parmesan scent. My stomach lurched. It wasn’t the scones—they smelled fantastic—it was nerves. I’d been planning this moment for weeks. Now the time had finally come, and it struck me as stupid, potentially humiliating, and maybe a little dangerous. After all, what did I really know about my manly man?

“Don’t wuss out now,” I ordered myself, gripping the plastic box.

Before I could second-guess myself again, I pushed out of the back room and strode to the dining area with as much swagger as I could manage. Coyotes were good at bluffing, especially among the bigger predators.

William looked up from his newspaper.

After an embarrassingly long pause—yeah, words really weren’t happening for me at that moment—he arched a brow. “Did you need something?”

Scones.” I cringed. I’d blurted the word out a little too loudly.

He cocked his head. “Scones?” His voice was deep and rumbly, and I quivered at the sound.

I nodded. “Exactly. Scones.”

“What about them?”

I cleared my throat. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ford smirking at me. Damn, I seriously needed to get my shit together. “I made some. I wondered if you wanted any?”

He glanced down at his plate, which held half of an onion bagel with cream cheese. “I’m fine.”

I sucked in a breath. Whatever I’d hoped to accomplish with this little interaction was going to explode in my face if I didn’t get my head out of my ass. “No, I know. I mean, I’m trying a new recipe, and I hoped you’d taste test it for me.” I shoved the box toward him. “I noticed you stay away from our sweeter items, but you like the more savory bagels and such. And, well, I came up with a sun-dried tomato, basil, and parmesan scone recipe I thought you might like.”

He leaned back in his chair, the move showcasing the amazing breadth of his chest. “You didn’t have anyone else who could test them for you?” He was so hard to read. He didn’t seem opposed to the idea. Not standoffish. Reserved, maybe? Like he wasn’t used to people approaching him with savory treats.

“Well, my friend Ford,” I said, bobbing my head toward the front counter, “is allergic to tomatoes. And my family tends to be a bit boring in their tastes. Real red-meat-and-potatoes kind of people. They think they’re being exotic when they eat bison instead of beef.”

William’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and for a second I thought I’d made him mad. Maybe it was the meat comment? “Are you a vegetarian? I know some people don’t even want to talk about meat and food in the same sentence. Too gory for them, maybe.” On the edge of babbling, I snapped my jaw closed.

“It’s fine,” William said after a minute. “I’m a vegetarian, but I’m not squeamish.” He took the container from me. “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”

I shifted from foot to foot. C’mon, Donnie. Say something. Seriously, I was usually better than this.

“Is there something else?” He watched me from under thick, straight brows.

I guessed he was older than me by a decade, but I refused to let the possible age gap or intimidating stare put me off. Especially since it kind of turned me on.

“Oh, I’m Donnie. Donnie Granger?” Shit. Now I sounded like an adolescent girl, all questions and enthusiasm.

His gaze flicked to my nametag, eyes crinkling, and it looked like he tried not to smile. “William,” he said.

“Oh, I know.” Again, I sounded a bit too enthusiastic. I licked my lips, racking my brain for something to say, anything to keep the conversation going. And preferably in a way that wouldn’t make me sound like a junior-high schooler. “What do you do?”

He pushed back from the table far enough he could cross one leg over the other, and his grassy, sagey scent wafted toward me. It was all I could do to stop my tongue from lolling out of my mouth like a dog. “I’m a professor of history and politics over at CC.” He paused. “The special track.”

Ah, that meant he taught some of the shifter-only classes.

“Damn, if I’d had a professor like you, I probably wouldn’t have dropped out.”

He raised his brows.

Double crap. If I wanted to impress a professor, mentioning I was a college dropout probably wasn’t the best way.

About j. leigh!

j. leigh bailey is an office drone by day and the author of Young Adult and New Adult LGBT Romance by night. She can usually be found with her nose in a book or pressed up against her computer monitor. A book-a-day reading habit sometimes gets in the way of… well, everything…but some habits aren’t worth breaking. She’s been reading romance novels since she was ten years old. The last twenty years or so have not changed her voracious appetite for stories of romance, relationships and achieving that vitally important Happy Ever After. She’s a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, sexual orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending. For upcoming releases and appearances information, sign up for her newsletter at https://t.co/FfL9gFVJLQ.

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Giveaway!

Win A signed copy of j. leigh bailey’s gay YA action/adventure novel DO-GOODER (US only) or a digital copy of one of the contemporary New Adult m/m romance titles in my Letting Go series (open internationally)

(Just answer j. leigh’s question in the comments on this post)

Have your plans ever gone awry, but resulted in something better than you’d originally intended?

(Ends when j. leigh bailey picks a winner)