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Title: Shifted Perspective: Tails of Change Book One
Author: J. Bridger
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Number Of Pages: 192 (As A Word Doc./PDF)
Word Count: 69, 977
Cover Artist: Rebecca Weaver
Book Description
Caleb Byrne is a bright high school senior who has enough to deal with between college choices, taking care of his single dad, and dealing with his headstrong girlfriend Joanna and an eccentric set of cousins in California. He was managing to get by until the day he woke up a Cocker Spaniel. Even if it only happens monthly and is more embarrassing than painful, the so-called ability is something that he's anxious to be rid of.
He didn't realize his transformations would drag him into a hidden society of canine and lupine shape shifters as well as a family legacy he hates. To make matters worse, after moving to Los Angeles to learn more about his heritage from his Aunt Moira and his cousin Kalista, Caleb now struggles through life-and-death matters. He keeps angering the werewolves in charge of the shifter world, especially Kalista's boyfriend Peter, the Southern California alpha's son, who also happens to be grade-A sociopath. Worse, Caleb's floundering to keep his secret from Joanna.
While his family offers him some support, they may not be enough as Caleb realizes that the rules in shifter society---number one is supposed to be don't kill humans---are not so ironclad. Some werewolf out there is leaving a blood-soaked trail across the Midwest and it might just be with the alpha's blessing..
He didn't realize his transformations would drag him into a hidden society of canine and lupine shape shifters as well as a family legacy he hates. To make matters worse, after moving to Los Angeles to learn more about his heritage from his Aunt Moira and his cousin Kalista, Caleb now struggles through life-and-death matters. He keeps angering the werewolves in charge of the shifter world, especially Kalista's boyfriend Peter, the Southern California alpha's son, who also happens to be grade-A sociopath. Worse, Caleb's floundering to keep his secret from Joanna.
While his family offers him some support, they may not be enough as Caleb realizes that the rules in shifter society---number one is supposed to be don't kill humans---are not so ironclad. Some werewolf out there is leaving a blood-soaked trail across the Midwest and it might just be with the alpha's blessing..
Guest Post By J. Bridger
One of the things I like about my novel, Shifted Perspective, is the locations that it encompasses. It has basically two main settings---Los Angeles and Mt. Airy, North Carolina. As far as Los Angeles goes, I admit I had input and corrections sometimes from a friend who lives in Laguna Beach. However, I’d also been out there back about six years ago and toured UCLA’s campus as a prospective grad school fit. It was gorgeous of course, and my guide showed me all the glory and just coolness of Rodeo Drive (not that I could afford it). I even did one of those cheesy tours for “see the stars’ homes.” I didn’t see any famous people, but I did see a lot of different houses surrounding L.A.
I think my favorite because I’m a big cheese ball was seeing the house they used for the exterior shots of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air(I’m a huge Will Smith fan) and then actually realizing it’s not that big. Filming angles just make it more impressive, but it serves as sort of the measuring stick for what’s luxurious and how to compare my main character, Caleb’s L.A. family’s mansion to other L.A. landmarks. Obviously, it’s no Spelling mansion but the Katsaros family does well for itself.
The location, however, that means the most to me is Mt. Airy, North Carolina, which literally is Mayberry. It’s the hometown of Andy Griffith but also of my grandmother. When I was about thirteen, we went on a tour of all the parsonages and churches my great grandfather had preached at as a Methodist minister and Mt. Airy was our final stop. The Rockford Methodist Church where Caleb hides out after his first transformation is where my grandfather spent years building his congregation. It’s pretty cool that’s survived since the 1920s.
Similarly, while writing the novel, I ventured back to Mt. Airy to get a new feel for the town since fifteen years of memories aren’t always reliable. I still found the downtown as quaint as ever, and I loved visiting their main street, which had souvenirs of all types from classic TV and, of course, of the Mayberry gang from Otis to Barney Fife. Again, what made it into the novel is based on that from Caleb’s dad owning a tourist trap gift shop to the small time two screen theater on main street.
Excerpt
"Uh, hi," I said, shifting from foot to foot at
the booth in front of me. My cousin had taken me back to my uncle's restaurant,
Artemis, off Rodeo Drive. It wasn't a place with the fondest memories
but the food was good. Also, without my uncle there I had hoped we'd have a
better time.
This was a mistake.
My cousin had set me up. Sitting in the far corner of the booth I was supposed
to sit in was a girl maybe about 5'9 with thick black hair pulled into two
braided pigtails and bright, coffee colored eyes. She was fairly attractive, I
guess. Her skin was an almost flawless, striking shade of mahogany. Still, I
had a feeling this was all about trying to take my mind off of Joanna with any
old shifter girl. Kalista practically pushing me into the seat next to her
confirmed my suspicions.
"Penny, so glad you could make it! Caleb Byrne, my cousin,” my cousin
said, gesturing to me theatrically. “Caleb, Penny Spencer, one of my besties.”
Kalista was the type of person to whom that was an actual noun.
I sniffed the air just to be sure. My cousin said she was only taking me to
meet other shifters, but I hadn't been one hundred percent sure. A quick inhale
gave that odd mixed scent that was neither human nor canine but a faint mix of
both. It also wasn’t my scent or Kalista’s. Clearly Penny was in the club.
Penny chuckled and patted the table top before her. "I don't bite."
"I..."
She sighed. "There are twenty-five thousand of us in this region’s pack
besides you. Don't act completely shocked or think we're all going to take your
head off."
"Oh I wasn't," I said, squinting at her. If I'd practiced more with
my senses, then I'd at least be able to tell what she was when she had four
paws. As it was, I couldn't tell a Dachshund from St. Bernard. Wolves were
different, from what I could remember vaguely of the Morettis, now that I knew
what I’d smelled at Christmas. Still, telling one canine shifter from another?
Way beyond my skill set. Penny could be anything.
"Is it rude?" I started.
She quirked her head at me, smiling a little. "To ask what I am? No, it's
not considered impolite to ask each other. Cocker, right? Like Kalista?"
I nodded. “I guess you could say that."
Weird to admit out loud even in a corner booth of a restaurant.
"Beagle," she replied. "Best sense of smell this side of a
bloodhound. You need a fox found, call me."
I blanched. "Oh, I don't."
She shook her head. "Not like that. I was kidding. I moonlight once in a
while for the L.A.P.D. as a bomb sniffer."
"Yeah, right."
"Actually," Kalista said, picking up a menu as if she hadn't
memorized it by heart. "She does. It's not her main job, but she has a
hobby."
"How do you even---"
"More of us in the force than you'd think, and I have a better sense for
sniffing than even a German Shepard. But that's not my full roster."
"Huh?"
"You're not too talkative," she said. "No, I sort of skipped the
college route. I rent myself out by day and actually make a salary by being a
'consultant' for the same people who use me at night in the airport. Not many
of them know, obviously, that I'm the same individual. Most just think I'm a
bit kooky and that I'm clairvoyant."
"But we're not."
"No, but I can pick up a scent and, technically, I have that same fabulous
sense of direction we all have but can't fully explain. I can get trails and
clues humans can't. At night, I see a ton better, so it's easier to let them
think I'm eccentric."
"Than furry, gotcha."
She was at least interesting. I had to give her credit for that much. It still
didn't keep me from giving my cousin a swift kick under the table. I was going
to get her later for even trying to set me up. Yes, I hadn't officially dated
Joanna in months, but I didn't think I had anything else in common with Penny
but a species thing.
Whoop-di-doo.
Kalista just smiled back at me.
Bitch.
"Caleb's very smart. He got into Duke and likes all the engineering stuff.
He'll be going to UCLA with me instead and I figure doing nerd things."
I blushed. Some Yoda she was. "Well, I was thinking at least of going
pre-med. I wasn't sure if UCLA had a good enough set of programs for what I had
wanted. I...Aunt Moira suggested pre-vet. It's the same set of classes and I
figured, why not, as long as I can avoid cats."
"Yeah they're not big fans," Penny said.
"It might be interesting," Kalista added.
"And I might get a leg up being able to talk to my clients, explain the
reasoning. Maybe."
"Sure, telling a Doberman you're going to stick something sharp in its leg
is going to make it happy," my cousin deadpanned.
"It's not a perfect plan but if I'm stuck like this, I might at least make
more use of it. Besides, vet schools are more exclusive."
Penny smirked. "So you're telling me that the fact vet schools reject more
is a plus?"
I shrugged. "I'm competitive."
"And into using what you got. Good choice. I get some of my best leads
from dogs on the street. Being able to talk to individuals the rest overlook
comes in handy."
"Exactly, Penny's a regular Sam Spade," Kalista said, drumming her
fingers on the table. "Now if certain people would just show up."
Author Bio
J. Bridger has had an eclectic life. She’s worked
in the psychiatric ward in a hospital in La Paz, Bolivia, been a veterinary
intern giving all sorts of better-left-to-the-imagination exams to dogs and
cats, and had her own spate in creating and running a television ad campaign.
Currently, in her day job, she is getting her certification as a medical
Spanish interpreter in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.
By night, she’s a fledgling author, who has just
penned her debut novel, Shifted Perspective;
she is currently working on its sequel, the next installment of The Tails of Change Series. J.’s always
loved things that go bump (or that howl) in the night and devoured Stephen
King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker starting in middle school. Her favorite shows
are no less preternatural and include Big
Wolf on Campus, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, and Teen Wolf. While
she’s been writing fiction for eight years and been published in several
academic journals for her psychological research, this is her first venture
into published original fiction.
J. Bridger lives in Raleigh with two Yorkies, a
beagle, and a Schnauzer-Yorkie mix (as well as far too many dust bunnies).
Please Be Honest With Your Entries, Thank you!
I would want to transform into some kind of tiger or a bird.
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