Interview with Eileen Wilks, 'World of the Lupi' author

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It would appear that Christmas is still rolling on for me – because today I received an email in my inbox from one of my all-time-favourite urban fantasy authors, Eileen Wilks! 

I have loved her ‘World of the Lupi’ series since I first read Lily and Rule’s short story ‘Only Human’ years and years ago. 

Now the series is nine book deep (with ‘Ritual Magic’ set for release in August 2013) and the World of the Lupi is one that still captivates and fascinates. Lily and Rule are one of the urban fantasy coupes du jour and Eileen Wilks surely has to be on every paranormal lovers ‘must read’ list. 

Getting to ask some questions of one of my favourite authors was certainly a gift to me, and I hope you’re as tickled by this treat as I am - Enjoy!

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Q: Are you a plotter or a ‘pantser’? – That is, do you meticulously plot your novel before writing, or do you ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ and let the story evolve naturally?

I'm mostly panster.  I do some plotting ahead of time, but in a loosey-goosey kind of way.  I send my editor what I call a (cough, cough) synopsis (parenthetical expression included.)  I like to know a couple of the major Turning Points before starting, but often find in the course of writing a story that they change in ways major or minor.  For example, In the current work-in-progress (Ritual Magic), I've kept one of the Turning Points I envisioned, but it's going to work at the Climax instead of the Midpoint Crisis.  The villain has changed since I wrote the (cough, cough) synopsis, and at this moment I'm not at all sure how to resolve that climax, but I'm pretty clear on what the final scene will be.

Q: Where do story ideas generally start for you? Do you first think of the character, theme, ending? Or is it just a free-fall?

Writing a series is different from writing stand-alone books.  There are always trailing ends from the previous book waiting for me to snatch them and launch into the next one.  Sometimes I know as I finish one book where the next one will start and what it will deal with. Often I don't, but I do have those trailing threads to play with, tangle and untangle . . . for me like Lily) it's all about the questions.  What question left hanging from a previous book won't let me go until I begin digging into it?

I can say one thing about my process definitively: I never think in terms of theme.  Not before I start a book.  Not while writing it.  Not after I finish.  For me, themes are like ideas: they emerge from Great Cosmic Swamp, surprising beasts dripping gobs of primordial ooze.

Q: Lily and Rule first appeared in the short story ‘Only Human’ for the 2003 ‘Lover Beware’ anthology. You then made ‘Only Human’ into the longer novel ‘Tempting Danger’. And now we’re at nine books in the ‘World of the Lupi’ series, with a tenth due out next year. Did you ever envision that Lily and Rule would come this far? What was it about the ‘Only Human’ short that you couldn’t let go of, and knew had series potential?

Something about Lily and Rule and the world they lived in had ideas popping and bursting in me.  The possibilities fizzed and churned and would not let me go--making that one a short story was terribly painful, so I was enormously relieved when my editor said I could turn it into a book, the start of a series.  And gave me a contract so I could make it so.  What was it about them and their world that set up such a firestorm in my creativity?  I think because they tapped into all sorts of ideas and thoughts I'd been daydreaming and thinking about for years . . . questions that wouldn't let me go.

Q: Your series has really become one of the hallmarks of the ‘Urban Fantasy’ scene – I wonder if you were always fascinated by werewolves and witchcraft before you started writing ‘World of the Lupi’, and what so intrigued you about werewolves in the first place?

Werewolves intrigued me because they're such an interesting vantage point to look at what makes us human . . . and what makes us monsters. Being human means carrying the potential for monstrous behavior within us--and isn't that how most people think of werewolves?  As a man/beast or man/monster hybrid . . . but animal half is not where monsters are birthed, is it? 

Q: Lily Yu has been such a fascinating protagonist. She has a very sad past, but is such a strong character. She’s certainly no damsel in distress, and she holds her own in this dangerous supernatural world. Why was it important to you to write such a strong female protagonist?

I'm not sure how to write any other kind.   There are all sorts of strength, however. I consider Arjenie one of the strongest characters I've written, yet she is the opposite of Lily in many ways.  The two women have some things in common, though. Both know themselves well enough to understand their limits--then push beyond them when they have to.

Q: Cullen Seaborne has many fans – and his unconventional marriage to Cynna pleased many of them. And their daughter, Ryder, is a really fascinating new edition to the universe. Will we see Ryder grow up and if yes, would you ever consider writing a young adult series based around her?

One of the things that bothers me is that I may not have the chance to write about Ryder as she comes into adulthood--and she would be such a great character to write.  All I can say is that we'll see.  I surely don't know.

Q: I loved book seven, ‘Blood Challenge’, partly because Benedict and Arjenie’s romance was absolutely delicious. You also wrote a short story for them in the ‘Tied with a Bow’ Christmas anthology. Do you have more short stories planned for these two – or perhaps another ‘World of the Lupi’ book that focuses on them as ‘Blood Challenge’ did? Would you ever consider a spin-off series for them?

I'd love to write more about Benedict and Arjenie, but don't think I could base a whole series on them.  Another novella or even a book that focusses on them--that's a real possibility, though I don't have a story like that in mind right now.

Q: What’s next after ‘Ritual Magic’ is released in 2013? How many ‘World of the Lupi’ books do you have planned?

Um . . . a bunch?  I don't plan ahead enough to put a number to this.

Q: In your ‘World of the Lupi’ FAQ, you answer the question of “will Lily and Rule ever have a baby?”

I used to answer this question by saying, I don't know.  Now I do . . . but I'm not telling.  

Q: Favourite book(s) of all time

No answer possible for this, but I love to reread favorites.  I recently reread several of Jim Butcher's Dresden books.  Before that, I reread some of Laurie King's.  After watching the Hobbit in 3-D  I'm thinking it may be time to revisit Tolkien.

Q: What advice do you have for budding young writers?

Write, write, write.  Writing is a practice.  Baseball players don't learn how to connect bat with ball by reading "how to hit a home run" books.  Be patient with yourself.  You won't know what you're doing most of the time.  Do it anyway.  Give yourself permission to do it wrong.  When you sit down to write, set aside your hopes and dreams.  Those are all about you, not about the story, and bringing them into your practice gets in the way.  Write a bad book.  Write two or three, and learn from them.  You start where you are, not where you hope to someday be.

'Mortal Ties' World of the Lupi #9 by Eileen Wilks

From the BLURB:

FBI agent Lily Yu is living at Nokolai Clanhome with her fiancé, lupi Rule Turner, when an intruder penetrates their territory, stealing the prototpye of a magical device the clan hopes will be worth a fortune--if a few bugs can be worked out . . .

But the protoytpe can be dangerously erratic, discharging a bizarre form of mind magic—and it looks like the thief wants it for that very side effect. Worse, whoever stole the device didn’t learn about it by accident. There’s a Nokolai traitor in their midst.

Lily and Rule have to find the traitor, the thief, and the prototype.  One job proves easy when the thief calls them--and his identity rocks Rule’s world.

As they race to recover their missing property, they find Robert Friar’s sticky footprints all over the place.  Robert Friar―killer, madman, and acolyte of the Old One the lupi are at war with―an Old One whose power is almost as vast as her ambition to rock the entire world . . .

This review contains spoilers of all other books in the 'World of the Lupi' series

Nokolai Clanhome is probably the most secure place in America. It is a safe haven for lupi and their families, where women and children are protected before all others, and the wolves feel free to be themselves away from the media’s glare and human prejudice. So when Clanhome is infiltrated in the dead of night, everyone is on edge and suspicious that a traitor may be in their midst.

But perhaps the most unsettling part of the attack is the fact that it was a distraction – while the lupi scrambled to respond to the grand attack, Cullen Seaborne’s workshop was broken into – and a rare artefact with powerful magic properties stolen.

Now Special Agent Lily Yu and her chosen, Rule Turner are on the hunt for Cullen’s artefact – suspecting that the thief is somehow connected to Robert Friar ―killer, madman, and acolyte of the Old One.

‘Mortal Ties’ is the ninth book in Eileen Wilk’s fabulous urban fantasy ‘World of the Lupi’ series.

I have been such a huge fan of Wilks’s series for the longest time. It’s crazy to think that first book ‘Tempting Danger’ first came out in 2004, and we’re now almost at a perfect ten for the series with ‘Ritual Magic’ due out next year. Ten books in a series is a pretty big deal, and there is a real sense throughout ‘Mortal Ties’ that something big is just around the corner . . . plans are being laid, new but important characters are introduced and perhaps most importantly of all is the reference to Lily and Rule’s long-awaited marriage (which is two months and some days away). ‘Mortal Ties’ feel like a book on the precipice of something big – but it’s also a book that’s looking back.

For one thing, the book opens with Lily visiting a graveyard – specifically, paying her respects to Helen Annabelle Whitehead. Though ‘respects’ probably isn’t the right word – Helen was the telepath Lily killed one year ago, back when this series started. Helen’s death has been plaguing Lily of late, probably because another death has been coming back to Lily in a much more surreal way – the ghost of Al Drummond has been visiting Lily and offering his services and himself as a sort of sidekick. But it’s not just Lily who is looking back – when the book begins Rule and Isen are also in a sort of mourning, as it’s Mick’s birthday – Rule’s half-brother who died in ‘Tempting Danger’.

So this is very much a book about looking back as much as it is about Wilks laying the groundwork for what’s to come with the all-important tenth book in the series. We’re remembering where Lily and Rule started, and how far they’ve come. A few times throughout the book Lily also makes mention of her own history; what made her want to be a cop in the first place, and the childhood tragedy that still has a great impact on her.

When Lily was nine years old, a monster had stolen her and her friend. He’d raped and killed Sarah. Lily was alive because of a cop who got there in time. Since she was nine years old, she’d known two things: there were monsters who looked like people. And one day she would become a cop and protect the real people from the monsters. By the time she joined the force, she’d understood that the monsters were real people too – twisted and warped and bad, but people. But her goal hadn’t changed.

But it’s not just Lily doing a bit of reflection into her past and particularly her childhood. The events in ‘Mortal Ties’ force Rule to confront the rocky history he had with his mother – the woman who left him to Isen shortly after he was born, and seemingly never looked back or came back for him. Rule has never really spoken about his mother before – something which greatly frustrates Lily, particularly because family is such a big part of her own life. I won’t give anything away, because there’s a great twist to Rule examining his childhood – but I look forward to this being picked apart more in future books.

As much as this book is about looking back and unearthing secrets and memories of the past, the storyline with Robert Friar is edge-of-your-seat fantastic. It’s a very tricky mystery to keep readers guessing, but so many fascinating clues are unearthed that will surely have wonderful repercussions in the future.

I loved this feeling of looking back but going forward throughout ‘Mortal Ties’. If I had any complaints, it’s probably that I wished Benedict and Arjenie had made an appearance on the page (instead they’re mentioned in phone conversations) only because this felt like a book about family and I would have loved Benedict’s reaction to Rule’s discoveries throughout. And, as always, I do wish we were further along in Rule and Lily’s relationship (two paltry months – we’re so close to “I do”!) but overall this felt like a wonderful book to gear up for number ten.

4.5/5

'Death Magic' World of the Lupi #8 by Eileen Wilks

From the BLURB:

DEATH MAGIC opens with Special Agent Lily Yu in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé--lupi prince Rule Turner—to testify before a Senate subcommittee about her role in the magical collapse of a mountain last month. She is not there to tell them about the strange legacy she carries from that event—or about the arcane bond between her and Rule--or what her boss in Unit Twleve of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division is really up to. She sure won’t tell them that the lupi are at war with an Old One who wants to remake humanity in her own image.

Lily is managing the conflict between her duty as an officer of the law and the need for secrecy pretty well . . . until the rabidly anti-magic senator who chairs that committee is murdered. The line between right and wrong, always so clear to her, becomes hopelessly blurred as events catapult them all towards disaster, and prophecies of a cataclysmic end to the country she loves and serves--and to the entire race of lupi--seem well on their way to being fulfilled.

It’s a bad time to be Supernatural. The ‘Humans First’ campaign is gaining momentum and questionable support. Lily’s boss, Ruben Brooks has already come under attack and now his failing health has shook up the Supernatural underground . . . there’s a unit being formed – The Shadow Unit. Many of Lily’s nearest and dearest are already members, joined in order to protect their families and loved ones. And now they want Lily to join – even though it goes against everything she stands for as a police officer.

But when the Great unnamed Bitch’s campaign gains momentum with Death Magic, Lily may have little choice in the matter of joining.

‘Death Magic’ is the eighth book in Eileen Wilks’s incredible ‘World of the Lupi’ series.

Eileen Wilks has already cemented her place on my soon-to-be-released 2011 Favourites list with her seventh novel ‘Blood Challenge’. I absolutely adored that book earlier this year, and was beside myself with excitement when I realized that in 2011 we’d be treated to a double-whammy of Lupi with ‘Death Magic’. Unfortunately, for me at least, there’s no competition and very little comparison between ‘Blood Challenge’ and ‘Death Magic’. One had my heart-pumping; the other left me a little cold . . .

The main reason I absolutely adored ‘Blood Challenge’ was the shifted character focus – when Rule’s previously secondary-character brother, Benedict, moved into the spotlight with his own love interest. A good portion of ‘Blood Challenge’ (while continuing the drama with the Great Bitch) was also focused on Benedict’s second mating with the beautiful Arjenie Fox. These two were fantastic – Arjenie’s adorable mile-a-minute thought processes, wild curls and sweet disposition coupled with Benedict’s icy demeanour, past heartbreak and burning passion. Arjenie and Benedict rocked my socks off – and I knew that it would be hard for Eileen Wilks to follow their story . . .

Arjenie and Benedict got the full love-story treatment and their very own sweeping saga. It was pretty hard not to fall in lust with Benedict, and holler-out for his sparking love story with the adorable Arjenie! Now in ‘Death Magic’ Eileen Wilks is switching gears and getting readers re-attuned to Lily and Rule. And, by comparison to Arjenie and Benedict, Lily and Rule are pretty ho-hum (even a little chilly?).

Fans know that when ‘World of the Lupi’ started out, Rule was very comfortable in his role as Lupi Prince; reaping the female benefits of his stardom and living life as all good Lupi do – lustfully. Lily, by contrast, comes from a strict Chinese upbringing and coupled with her stoic cop-demeanour she was much more reclusive and up-tight than Lothario Rule Turner. When she and Rule were fatefully ‘mated’ and chosen for one another by the Lady, it rocked both of their worlds. It has taken a long time for Lily to believe that Rule considers their mating a gift, and not an albatross around his neck. Likewise, Rule has taken a while to appreciate what Lily had to give up in order to be with him. Lily and Rule really are one of the best paranormal romance couples – bought together by fate, remaining for love.

Things reached a fever-pitch in their relationship when Rule broke taboos and proposed to Lily back in book five, ‘Mortals Sins’. But that was book five . . . we’re now into book eight and Lily is only just now becoming comfortable with even discussing plans for the wedding. Her cold-feet are now more chilled than icicled and both she and Rule still tend to walk on egg-shells with one another, and keep a lot of what they want to say bitten on their tongues.

It’s frustrating, to say the least. Especially when fans had Arjenie and Benedict to help highlight exactly just how much Rule and Lily have gone from burn to simmer by contrast.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am still a HUGE Rule & Lily fan (Rule’s proposal at the end of ‘Mortals Sins’ gets me every time!). But we’re eight books in now, and I want a little more open loving between them. I’m not afraid to say it – yes, I want more sex scenes. I want more proof that their love burns just as strong and fierce as it did back in ‘Tempting Danger’. But to believe that I need to read more skin, more intimate scenes that reveal that even if Lily is anti-PDA in public, she and Rule can still burn up the sheets behind closed doors.

Unfortunately in ‘Death Magic’, we don’t really get much sense of Lily and Rule’s fated love. There is a LOT of drama going on with the Great Bitch and new Shadow Unit. Big and exciting things are happening with Ruben (seriously, jaw-dropping, fist-pumping stuff!) and lots of curve-balls are thrown Lily’s way. So much is going on – explosions and battles, magic and ghosts that Lily and Rule really do get lost amongst the hubbub. It seems like, in this book at least, Wilks sacrificed a lot of character-development and intimacy for plot-momentum. When, really and ideally, I would have preferred a focus on Lily and Rule. I mean, the guy proposed back in book #5 and the wedding is still not even on the distant horizon for readers! C’mon!

There are a very few tender Lily and Rule scenes in ‘Death Magic’. And, not surprisingly, those are the moments that stood out and connected for me:

“You don’t know who you are if you aren’t first a cop. I knew that, but I didn’t..." He sifted her hair with his fingers as if he might find words there. “I didn’t understand in my gut. Now I do. I learned that I’m not . . . I’m no longer the Lady’s first. I still serve her, but she’s not first. If I must choose between you and her –”
“Don’t. Don’t try to choose.”
He placed his hand over hers. “Too late. I already have.”

I maintain that ‘World of the Lupi’ is one of the best urban fantasies out there. Eileen Wilks is unparalleled in her paranormal world-building and twisting characters. When she wants to, she writes romance that leaves readers pink in the cheeks and breathless for more (hello Benedict & Arjenie!). But I really missed her character connectedness in ‘Death Magic’. At this point in the series, eight books deep, I need to read more mushy stuff between one of my all-time favourite book couples, Lily and Rule. I've had my fingers crossed for their wedding since ‘Mortal Sins’, and I am building high-hopes that all their pent-up lust and walking-on-eggshells frustrations will be unleashed when they say “I do”.

To be fair, I did enjoy ‘Death Magic’ towards the end when Eileen Wilks takes the plot on a helter-skelter rollercoaster ride to an explosive finish. But it doesn’t change the fact that no matter how much I enjoyed the plot, I need more intimate character moments to balance it out.

3.5/5

Waiting on Wednesday: 'Death Magic' World of the Lupi #8 by Eileen Wilks

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

TITLE: 'Death Magic' World of the Lupi #8

AUTHOR: Eileen Wilks

RELEASE DATE: November 1st 2011

BLURB:

DEATH MAGIC opens with Special Agent Lily Yu in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé--lupi prince Rule Turner—to testify before a Senate subcommittee about her role in the magical collapse of a mountain last month. She is not there to tell them about the strange legacy she carries from that event—or about the arcane bond between her and Rule--or what her boss in Unit Twleve of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division is really up to. She sure won’t tell them that the lupi are at war with an Old One who wants to remake humanity in her own image.

Lily is managing the conflict between her duty as an officer of the law and the need for secrecy pretty well . . . until the rabidly anti-magic senator who chairs that committee is murdered. The line between right and wrong, always so clear to her, becomes hopelessly blurred as events catapult them all towards disaster, and prophecies of a cataclysmic end to the country she loves and serves--and to the entire race of lupi--seem well on their way to being fulfilled.

I adore Eileen Wilks's 'World of the Lupi' series. It is one of the best and most original urban fantasies out there. I can't believe we've been with Lily and Rule for eight books now ... it feels like it was only yesterday that I was foraging for books to fill the curiosity that 'Mercy Thompson', 'Sookie Stackhouse' and the like had infected me with. I stumbled across 'World of the Lupi' from word of mouth on the Amazon recommends pages, and had my curiosity heightened when many message board devotees pimped the series to me. And I'm so glad I found it.

Wilks's world has werewolves in the limelight, as tabloid fodder and political scandal. She takes the old mythology and puts a contemporary cultural and societal spin on it. Not to mention a steamy, illicit romance with an FBI agent and prince werewolf. *sigh*

I'm really looking forward to 'Death Magic' because book #7 was SPECTACULAR. 'Blood Challenge' was a real departure from the norm in the 'Lupi' series. In this book, a previously secondary character was given the narrative limelight and a new romance introduced. I loved Arjenie and Benedict - they were complete opposites with complicated pasts and plenty of baggage. But they were also terribly romantic, and Benedict became a new book boyfriend favourite.

I don't know how big an appearance Benedict and Arjenie will have in 'Death Magic', since Wilks has a short story planned for them in the Christmas supernatural anthology 'Tied With a Bow'. I do hope they at least make a cameo appearance... but even if they don't, I'd be quite happy for 'Death Magic' to be the Lily and Rule show. Are these two crazy kids gonna get married already!?!

Although, considering the HUGE end of 'Blood Challenge' that thrust Cynna and Cullen into the spotlight ... I have a feeling the 'World of the Lupi' will be expanding once again beyond Lily and Rule. I trust in Eileen Wilks completely, and will be salivating for this eighth instalment in the coming months!

'Blood Challenge' World of the Lupi #7 by Eileen WILKS

From the BLURB:

Ex-cop Lily Yu and werewolf Rule Turner’s engagement announcement is stirring up ugly passions in the Humans First camp. There’s hate mail, followed by death threats. And when a lupus in Tennessee goes on a killing spree, Lily realizes that it’s only the opening skirmish in an all-out war.

FBI agent Lily Yu and her Lupi (werewolf) prince mate, Rule Turner, have a rough road ahead. Rule has done the impossible and uncouth by proposing marriage to his human chosen mate. This is unheard of amongst the notoriously promiscuous Lupi. . . it is even unheard of for bond-mates like Lily and Rule, who are bound to one another per the Lupi’s deity, The Lady. But it’s not just Rule’s clan-mates who are suspicious of the upcoming nuptials. Human anti-werewolf groups are airing their grievances too – and one man in particular. Robert Friar is head of the ‘Humans First’ camp, and desperately trying to push for bestiality argument in banning human/Lupi marriage and couplings.

Is it a coincidence that when Robert Friar’s public arguments reach fever-pitch, Lily is put on the case of a homicidal werewolf?

It’s not just Lily and Rule’s life that is spiralling out of control. . . Rule’s elder brother, Benedict, has found the impossible... a second chosen mate. Years ago Benedict lost his love and his mind – he and Claire were the only mate-bonded pair in generations, and then Claire died and Benedict didn’t want to live. Now, at the age of seventy, Benedict has literally stumbled across Arjenie Fox. . . and a second mate-bond. It’s unheard of that a Lupi would get a second chosen in his lifetime.

‘Blood Challenge’ is the seventh novel in Eileen Wilk’s ridiculously brilliant ‘World of the Lupi’ urban fantasy series.

I wasn’t overly thrilled with the sixth instalment, ‘Blood Magic’. . . I felt like there was a big disconnect between emotion and plot in that book. So I was going into ‘Challenge’ with a small amount of trepidation. . . but came away with a smile on my face.

One thing I missed in ‘Blood Magic’ was a Lily and Rule focus. It felt like, for a long time, Wilks was walking around on eggshells when she wrote those two – as Lily grew concerned with the upcoming wedding arrangements (but didn’t voice her concerns) and Rule became increasingly agitated by Lily’s clear cold-feet. Well, I am happy to report that there’s not much room for eggshell-shenanigans in ‘Blood Challenge’, since the main focus of this book is the mate bond. Now, that’s not to say that the focus is specifically on Lily and Rule’s mate bond. . .

Surprisingly enough Lily and Rule are really not the star’s of ‘Blood Challenge’- that role is more reserved for Benedict and his recently discovered bond mate, Arjenie. Normally I hate it when Eileen Wilks veers away from Lily and Rule’s perspective (and I still haven’t forgiven her for making me slog through Cynna’s book, ‘Night Season’). But when the alternate romantic storyline is as romantic as Benedict and Arjenie’s, well then I welcome the shake-up.

Benedict has been a lurking secondary character throughout the ‘World of the Lupi’ series. He’s always been a bit of a black sheep and lone wolf (pardon the pun) but his history has always been referenced. From book one Lily has known about Benedict as a cautionary tale for bonded pairs. Benedict’s chosen died, and his sanity along with her. . . and for a long time he was an unstable and dangerous Lupi.

So when Benedict literally stumbles across a woman who reawakens his mate bond, he is startled, to say the least. Benedict is reluctant to succumb to another potentially disastrous bond mate, especially with a woman who is nabbed lurking around clan home for reasons she refuses to disclose.

Benedict and Arjenie’s romance is terribly sweet. Not least of all because Arjenie is a genuinely infectious and wonderful heroine. She has a permanent limp, riotous curly red hair and a perpetually racing mind. She’s brilliant. She’s a little clumsy, overtly earnest and incapable of lying – and she sends Benedict into a tail-spin. . . because as much as he may want to resist the mate bond, he (and readers) can see that there’s simply no resisting Arjenie.

“The most efficient way to live a life is to die a couple of seconds after you’re born. Pfft. Done.” She dusted her hands to demonstrate that. “It’s too late for you to achieve optimal efficiency, but you could still. . .”

Benedict was laughing. Silently. She couldn’t hear a thing, but his face, his open mouth, his whole body said laughter. It only lasted a few seconds before dwindling to an audible chuckle.

“You have a strange mind. I like it. I like you.”

He sounded surprised. She was surprised, too. Also delighted. And turned on. Her cheeks heated.

It’s quite odd that I so enjoyed Benedict’s storyline. It does take up a good chunk of ‘Blood Challenge’ page-time. . . yet I whinged about the lack of Lily and Rule page-time in ‘Blood Magic’ and hate the Cynna/Cullen side-story. But there was just something about Benedict and Arjenie that was just too good to hate.

But like I said, ‘Blood Challenge’ is primarily about the mate bond. As much as it’s about how it impacts Benedict, there’s also direct and indirect reference to how it impacted (and is still impacting) Lily and Rule’s relationship. I will say that Eileen Wilks still doesn’t go into enough relationship detail with these two, but it is an improvement over ‘Blood Magic’. Lily, for instance, finally admits some regrets to herself that come with being Rule’s mate.

But even if I wished there was more Lily/Rule focus in this book. . . I think ‘Blood Challenge’ succeeded in clearing some things up for me about the trajectory of this series. I’m starting to understand that Wilks’s ‘World of the Lupi’ series is not really ‘The Lily and Rule’ series. Maybe it’s a little late in the game (seven books late!) to finally have an accepting grasp of the series’ overarching objective. . . but I feel like things have never been more clear, for Wilks and readers alike, than in ‘Blood Challenge’. The ‘World of the Lupi’ series is bigger than the sum of its parts – it’s easier to think of it as being about the members of clan home and the impact of celebrity on an entire species of supernatural beings. . . perhaps Lily and Rule are often a convenient vessel through which to experience the changing social norms that come with their human/Lupi union, but they are not always going to be the focus of this ‘World’. And that’s okay. When you have side stories as good as Benedict and Arjenie’s, you hardly even notice that Lily and Rule are often sidelined.

I will also say that ‘Blood Challenge’ is some of Wilks’s finest writing. There are times throughout the book when her writing becomes a simmering blend of noir and urban fantasy. . . something dark and fantastical with a biting edge. Brilliant, and worthy of Raymond Chandler.

Fear comes in many flavours. Tonight’s dish was sour apples with a soupcon of bile. Arjenie swallowed and swallowed again.

The moon was high and nearly full. A few tatters of high-flying cirrus clouds marred the sky’s dome like scuff marks left by skidding giants. Arjenie held herself still so as not to send any crackles or crunches out into the moon-flooded night.

I really, really loved this installment. I went in with trepidation, and came out with a new series favorite. . . I will warn that there is a BIG cliff-hanger at the end, but that just seemed to make the novel all the more robust and fulfilling. ‘Blood Challenge’ was overall an enlightening and wonderful installment in a beloved urban fantasy series. I am now on pins and needles for the eighth book, 'Death Magic'!

5/5

'Blood Magic: World of the Lupi #6' by Eileen WILKS

From the BLURB:

As they plan their wedding, Lily Yu and lupus prince Rule Turner are facing a great deal of tension from both their families. Not everyone can accept their mixed marriage: she’s Chinese; he’s a werewolf. Even Lily’s grandmother is acting strangely distant, though Lily and Rule are about to discover that her behaviour has nothing to do with their upcoming nuptials.

A powerful, undying nemesis has come to San Diego to exact vengeance on Lily’s family and turn the city into a feeding ground. It’s up to Lily and Rule to stop her, in spite of ancient treaties and an inheritance passed down through the blood. Otherwise San Diego could go up in flames and they won’t live to make it to the altar.

This is the sixth book in Wilk’s ‘World of the Lupi’ series.

I’ve got to admit, I really wasn’t satisfied with this installment. I’m struggling to put my finger on precisely why I was so disheartened with this book – and I think it has to do with unmet expectations.

Wilks’s fifth book ‘Mortal Sins’ had such a beautiful heart-in-your-throat ending, and I thought it would be a great starting point for Lily and Rule in ‘Blood Magic’. At the end of ‘Mortal Sins’ Rule defied lycanthrope convention and proposed to Lily:

Her heart fluttered. “Why?” she whispered. “Why do you want this? I love you. We’re bonded for life. Marriage won’t…” Her voice trailed off. She swallowed.

“Why?”

“I want to plight you my troth.” His voice was soft now. Quiet. “It’s a lovely old word, isn’t it? Troth. It means loyalty, the pledge of fidelity. It comes from an Old English word meaning truth. You are my truth, Lily.”

I was really looking forward to ‘Blood Magic’ concentrating on the Lily/Rule wedding and Rule having to battle his clan and the press about how unconventional it is for a lycanthrope to enter into a monogamous marriage.

But the blurb’s opening line is very misleading; “As they plan their wedding, Lily Yu and lupus prince Rule Turner are facing a great deal of tension from both their families”. Lily and Rule do talk, briefly and heatedly, about their marriage plans – mainly the fact that Lily is stalling and possibly getting cold feet. After that the book concentrates on the dramatic mystery plot, putting Lily and Rule on the backburner.

I was even more frustrated by the lack of Lily/Rule discussion in ‘Blood Magic’ because the sneak-peek excerpt into book #7 (‘Blood Challenge’ – release date unknown – the excerpt is available from Wilks’s website) seems to hint that that book will concentrate heavily on the repercussions of their marriage. I was just annoyed that the blurb for ‘Blood Magic’ seems better suited to upcoming ‘Blood Challenge’.

My annoyance stems from the fact that Lily and Rule haven’t really had a chance to sit down and psychoanalyze their ‘mate bond’. Various world-ending catastrophes keep popping up and because they are still in the early stages of their relationship, both Lily and Rule tend to pussy-foot around their feelings for one another. In all the books Wilks does eventually write a scene in which Lily and Rule ‘have it out’ – but it’s usually a very slap/dash “we’re in the middle of a disaster and have to quickly address our personal issues” type of way. I was really hoping that a good portion of ‘Blood Magic’ would be dedicated to Lily and Rule’s personal problems.

Very early on I was quite excited by the plot developments in ‘Blood Magic’ – I was particularly intrigued by the appearance of a secondary character called Cody Beck who works for the Sheriff’s department and is Lily’s ex-boyfriend. I liked Cody’s appearance for two reasons – one is the fact that Wilks hasn’t really revealed much about Lily’s background before Rule entered her life. We know a lot about her family, and that she was a homicide detective, but readers (and Rule) are still very in the dark about her life before the mate bond.

Secondly, I thought introducing an ex-lover of Lily’s was a nice change of pace, because Wilks always mentions how Rule (and all lycanthropes, in fact) have very big sexual appetites – they don’t believe in marriage or jealousy and revel in pleasures of the flesh. As a result, Rule was a real play-boy before settling down with Lily – and throughout the series Lily has to contend with other people’s misconceptions about Rule’s promiscuity and her own jealousy at the fact that Rule has had a lot of lovers. I just liked the idea that Rule would be getting a taste of his own medicine.

Unfortunately this storyline doesn’t really pan out – we learn a bit about Lily’s previous relationship, but not enough to know how it impacted Lily emotionally. And there was never a big confrontation between Rule and Cody – Rule never even really admitted his jealousy.

The mystery plot of ‘Blood Magic’ is perhaps the best Wilks has written in the series thus far. She raises the stakes pretty high from the get-go by having Cullen Seaborne be the victim of an attempted assassination. From there the ‘whodunnit’ is intriguing and well-paced – the villain is complex and scary, and best of all has a vendetta against Lily’s Grandmother. Much is revealed about Grandmother’s past, and it impacts Lily in a very unusual way.

So while I did appreciate the dramatic plot of ‘Blood Magic’, I guess I was most disheartened because Wilks didn’t deliver on the emotional front. And it’s a shame because the end of ‘Mortal Sins’ was so heart-felt and romantic. I was doubly disappointed because there aren’t too many Lily/Rule lovey dovey scenes in ‘Blood Magic’. What there is, is pretty tame;

He clasped her hand and her waist, leaving several inches between them, and murmured, “We missed our dance.” And he began humming.

So she danced in bra and panties with her beautiful, naked Rule, with the lights of the city twinkling at them from the window wall. He danced her into the living area, humming a 1930s torch song, one that had been old-fashioned even back when he was born.

Wilks started out writing quite smutty Lily/Rule scenes in ‘Tempting Danger’, but hasn’t really managed to provide subsequent smuttiness in later books, unfortunately.

I think I had my expectations too high for this book. My fault. I thought Wilks would deliver on the Lily/Rule emotional front, but ‘Blood Magic’ is very plot-heavy and offers little insight into Lily and Rule’s relationship. On the plus side it looks as though book #7 ‘Blood Challenge’ will explore what ‘Blood Magic’ did not; the downside is that book seven will probably have a 2011 release date.

2.5/5

'World of the Lupi' series by Eileen WILKS

From the BLURB:

Lily Yu is a San Diego police detective investigating a series of grisly murders that appear to be the work of a werewolf. To hunt down the killer, she must infiltrate the clans. Only one man can help her--a were named Rule Turner, a prince of the lupi, whose charismatic presence disturbs Lily. Rule has his own reasons for helping the investigation--reasons he doesn't want to share with Lily. Logic and honor demand she keep her distance, but the attraction between them is immediate and devastating-and beyond human reason. Now, in a race to fend off evil, Lily finds herself in uncharted territory, tested as never before, and at her back a man who she's not sure she can trust ....

This series was created in a very round-about kind of way. Before ‘World of the Lupi’, Wilks was a silhouette writer of romance fiction (titles such as ‘The Virgin & the Outlaw’). Then she had a short story published in the 2003 anthology ‘Lover Beware’. The short story was called ‘Only Human’, and is pretty much a condensed version of the full-length first Lupi book, ‘Tempting Danger’. The short story was picked up and turned into a series which currently has 5 books with a 6^th due for release in February next year.

From the urban fantasy blogs and chatboards I browse, I’m always surprised to find out that nobody seems aware of this series. ‘World of the Lupi’ has all the ingredients for great urban fantasy / paranormal romance. A ballsy female protagonist and protective Alpha werewolf are thrown together to solve a series of murders that point to said werewolf being the main suspect. It’s a great plot, and Eileen Wilks does an amazing job of combining both a detective mystery and simmering romance. Lily is a fascinating female lead; she’s a strong-willed detective who is firmly grounded by her Chinese ancestry, particularly her familial commitments. Lily’s dual personalities of dutiful daughter and hard-nosed detective make for a fascinating character who experiences huge life changes while remaining true to her core.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this series is the unique werewolf mythology Wilks has built upon. These are werewolves like you’ve never read them before. In the Lupi universe, humans and werewolves co-exist, and werewolves are all male. There are no female werewolves, only male children have the ability to shift. In this world, werewolves are subject to the full spectrum of human opinion. There are those who think their animalistic, commitment-phobic, highly sexed culture is barbaric and detestable. Then there are those wolf groupies who treat them like rock-stars (totally understandable). For these women the ultimate werewolf pin-up is Rule Turner, son to the San Diego pack Alpha. He is not actually a ‘prince’ (as the media label him), but he is the handsome poster boy for the werewolf culture, and his being tangled in a murder investigation could be devastating for werewolves everywhere.

I also love this series because in this world, some humans are born with unique supernatural gifts. Lily, for instance, has the ability to ‘feel’ magic. That is, she associates certain supernaturals with different textures; around Rule, she feels fur against her skin. I love that Wilks has created a world with ‘grey’ areas; it’s not clean-cut ‘us’ and ‘them’ between humans and werewolves, but rather different degrees of paranormal. This makes for interesting self-reflection on Lily’s part when she considers the way Rule and other werewolves are unfairly labeled and demonized, compared to her and others with varying degrees of magic.

My one complaint in this series is book #4, ‘Night Season’, when Wilks deviates slightly and makes two minor characters the main characters for one book. It’s a little bit jarring to have a break in narrative and I never warmed to the female character, Cynna, and slightly resented having to read her POV. What makes it worse is that Lily and Rule feature in the book and quite a few plot changes affect the rest of the series, so you can’t even skip reading it.

I love this series. Lily and Rule are one of my all-time favorite paranormal couples. Knowing how underrated the books are, I feel the need to spread the word…. So, consider it spread!

4.5/5