I’m thrilled to welcome author Allie Ritch to my blog today. Allie has one of the quirkiest senses of humor on the planet and she’s not only talented, but also super charming – and that’s hard to do via the internet. Though Allie and I live in the same state and only about 40 minutes travel time away from each other, after four years we still haven’t managed to meet face-to-face!!! By the gollies, I’m making it happen before the end of 2013. Without further ado, here’s Allie.

Thank you for having me here, Jianne, and for letting me share my new shifter/sci-fi romance, Tribal Shift. Tribal Shift is a full-length novel that’s packed with so many of the elements I enjoy, especially my love of fantasy and fascination with animals.

I think the latter is something all of us shifter writers must have. I, for one, watch a ton of Animal Planet and am always amazed by the wondrous creatures that share this world with us. Fact really can be stranger than fiction, and some of the species discovered in exotic locations are even more fantastical than anything we authors come up with.

Kalya, the heroine of Tribal Shift, offered me the chance to—pardon the pun—go wild with my imagination and include dozens of different animals. She’s an omnimorph—a shifter who can morph into almost anything. Throughout the novel, she transforms into everything from a Secretary Bird to a jaguar, and she can travel by air, land, or water. And Rasik, the caracal shifter who loves her, is no less amazing.

Because I incorporated so many animals into Tribal Shift, I had to do a lot of research for this book. While I certainly didn’t bog down the story with too many facts (there were scorching sex scenes demanding attention, after all), I did want to be certain I was accurate in my descriptions and what I had the hero and heroine do in each form. I learned more than I expected and had a blast in the process.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the more interesting tidbits I discovered, so here are some nifty facts:

(1)  Secretary Birds can grow to be four feet tall. That’s as tall as some of my younger relatives and wouldn’t be a big adjustment for a shifter since the bird spends most of its time on the ground walking on two legs.

(2)  Tigers are the largest cat species and can reach up to eleven feet in length. They have canine teeth about three inches long! Kalya definitely uses this form to her advantage when some power-hungry leopard shifters try to hurt Rasik.

(3)  Unlike the noisy spotted hyena, the striped hyena is less vocal and usually silent. As Rasik and Kalya witness, this quiet menace can be far more frightening.

(4)  A crocodile can’t move its tongue (it’s attached to the bottom of its mouth). That feels very strange to Kalya, especially since she can’t change her facial expression while in crocodile form.

(5)  The maned wolf has a roar-bark that can be quite startling. Kalya shocks her runaway cousin when she yells at the girl while in the body of this wolf.

Tribal Shift is filled with hot romance, lethal danger, and a safari-like adventure that will carry you across the wilderness. I hope you’ll come along for the journey.

Read on for a blurb and excerpt and leave your e-mail address in the body of your comment for a chance to win an e-book copy of Tribal Shift. Good luck!

 Blurb:  Kalya has loved Rasik since they were children, and that love has followed them into adulthood. The only problem is he’s a caracal shifter, while she’s an omnimorph—a shifter capable of morphing into any animal on the planet of A’ata. Coveted and resented for centuries, her people stick to themselves and keep their abilities a secret. But when Kalya’s young cousin and Rasik’s brother run away together, she and Rasik are thrown together as they chase after them. Across the wilds of A’ata, they confront hostile shifters, perilous terrain, and a passion that could reveal all their secrets. Can shifters from two different tribes become mates? Or will nature and their families keep them apart?

Excerpt:

Rasik met Kalya’s eye before he headed for the tree line. The news about the leopard attacks disturbed her, and she scanned the brush and sniffed the air for danger.

She cursed herself even as she trotted after him. “Rasik.”

He stopped to wait for her.

“Be careful. I’d hate to see you torn apart by leopards.”

“Would it break your heart to lose me, catling? I’d feel the same way if anything happened to you.”

His words warmed her and rubbed her the wrong way at the same time. “Oh please. I just don’t want to lose an ally.”

Rasik didn’t look like he believed her. He stroked her hair. “Don’t worry. I’m faster than any leopard.”

“And weaker,” she said, slipping free of his reach when she really wanted to let him pet her. “Leopards are far more powerful than caracals. Your speed won’t do you any good if you’re ambushed.”

His grin was back in place. “You’re worried about me. Don’t fret. Your male knows how to take care of himself.”

“You are not my male.” Kalya would have whipped her tail if she’d been in another form. Even as a woman, she felt the hair on her neck stand up in agitation.

She was faster than he was, so she could have leaped free. She wasn’t sure why she let him slide his palm around her nape.

He crowded her until only a sliver of air separated their bodies. “Aren’t I? Don’t leave with Dhiraj. You don’t need to search all of A’ata for a mate. I’m right here.”

He pressed his lips against hers so softly they felt like the brush of a feather. Her eyelids drifted down, and she swayed onto the balls of her feet before she came to her senses. With a nasty growl, she shoved him hard enough to knock him back a step.

“Insolent male.” She resisted the urge to touch her tingling mouth. “Go home.”

His smirk was gone, but she didn’t like the calculating look in his eye.

Fighting a sensual shiver, Kalya held her head high as she spun on her heel to return to the veranda. She refused to look at him again, though she kept her ears tuned to the sound of his footsteps when he retreated a moment later. Despite her annoyance, she also listened to the wider environment for the slightest sound of danger.

There were still leopard shifters to worry about, and Rasik was walking home alone. Once she was sure he was out of sight, she’d morph and follow the foolish male to make certain he was safe.

Her father must have gone back inside, but her mother was waiting for her when she stepped back into the shade of the veranda. Nadira’s eyes were more almond-shaped than her mate’s—a trait she’d subtly passed on to her children. Her hair had turned the color of slate with age, and her irises were silver with striations of blue and green.

She waited for Kalya to draw close. “You should be careful, Daughter. Males like Rasik find a challenge irresistible.”

“You’d prefer I encourage him?”

Nadira gave her the look. It was a stare only mothers could pull off and conveyed a clear warning not to sass her.

Kalya scuffed her foot against the wooden floorboards. “I can handle him.”

“Can you?” Her mother sounded skeptical. “Your mind may say one thing, but I’m not sure your heart wants to push him away…”

Buy Link: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/allie-ritch.html

 Website/Blog: http://allieritch.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to leave a comment with your email address to be entered into a contest for a free copy of Tribal Shift!

Cheers,

Jianne