Good day lovely readers! Thank you for joining me. I am M.D. Grimm and I am here to promote my newest release, “Red Sun.” This is the latest entry in The Shifter Chronicles. I am overjoyed and relieved to finally release a new book in this series. It’s been a long time coming. 2021 was quite a successful and productive year for me. I succeeded in re-releasing all books previously published with a former publishing house after much tweaking and revising. Now I can work on all brand new projects! “Red Sun” is only the first and considering how much I love it, I have a good feeling about the rest.

When I set out to write this story, Ahmes took time to develop. I think I had a draft written that I ended up discarding and rewriting. I needed Ahmes to have opposite and complementary elements to Raphael. Opposite in his age, maturity, and peace with how and what he is, a cat shifter, and complementary in his gentle and protective nature, and easy-going attitude. He was supportive of Raphael from the very start and never wavered in his determination to set his friend on the right path.

There is a considerable age gap between Ahmes and Raphael, and that was intentional. Raphael is nineteen and Ahmes is in his forties. Since I recognized the power imbalance from the start, in not only their ages but Ahmes’s knowledge about shifters, it was imperative that Ahmes present himself as friend first and foremost. It also led to my decision to make him asexual. I haven’t had ace representation in my series yet, and I want The Shifter Chronicles to be as inclusive as possible, to show the beautiful variety and diversity of who makes up our world.

Due to being ace, Ahmes has his own conflicts with his family and is starting the next phase of his life, away from his clowder, when he meets Raphael. They are both in a transitive state of life and help each other move forward and gain new perspective. Their friendship grows and blossoms into romance, and Ahmes is careful not to take advantage of his vulnerable friend. For his part, Raphael becomes his own man and is the one to push for more.

A fun aspect to Ahmes was his Ancient Egyptian heritage. While it didn’t play a huge part in the story, unlike the original draft, it flavored the world and the beliefs of various shifter clans. Ahmes’s clowder claim to be descendants of the cat goddess Bastet (or Bast) and her darker side, Sekhmet, the lion goddess. This will play a bit more into one of the larger storylines threaded throughout the series, and I was happy to bring it to the forefront in this book, letting it add more depth to a character as well as to the world building aspects.

Ahmes is a very sweet, good man, but don’t let that fool you! He’s far from boring and has his own baggage to work through. But much of it takes a backseat as he supports Raphael and helps him along in his journey.

And, fun fact, Ahmes’s cat is an Egyptian Mau. I suggest looking at a picture because those felines are gorgeous!

The Shifter Chronicles 1-14 (plus short story sequels) are available for purchase at Amazon (also in print!) and Smashwords. I have a newsletter that I send out monthly with all the goodies you can expect in the future. That’s the best way to find out about my current and future projects. Also, you can check out the first three chapters of “Red Sun” on my blog if you’re curious and unsure if you want to commit!

For fans of The Stones of Power series, book 8, “Sapphire: Home and Abroad” is due out in June 2022. Keep your eyes peeled for that! I’m also working diligently on the third book in Saga of the Bold People, “Resistance.”

I am booked (pun intended) solid this year, working on the next shifter book, the next stones book, a couple single titles, and the next On Wings Saga book. Wish me luck!

More information on my catalog can be found at my website.

I hope you stay safe and healthy, and may dragons guard your dreams,

M.D. Grimm